wide-awake voice,--

"Dab Kinzer, is that you?"

"Guess so," said Dab: "is that you, Ford?"

"I was just going over to your house," said Ford.

"Well, so was I just coming over to see you. I've been too busy all the
week, but they've let up on me at last."

"I've got our family nearly settled," replied Ford; "and I thought I'd
ask if you wouldn't like to go out on the bay with me to-morrow. Teach
you to catch crabs."

Dabney drew a long, astonished sort of whistle; but he finished it
with,--

"That's about what I was thinking of. There's plenty of crabs, and I've
got a tip-top boat. We won't want a heavy one for just us two."

"All right, then. We'll begin on crabs, but some other day we'll go for
bigger fish. What are you going to do next week?"

"Got it all to myself," said Dab. "We can have all sorts of a good time.
We can have the ponies, too, when we want them."

"That's about as good as it knows how to be," responded the young
gentleman from the city. "I'd like to explore the country. You're going
to have a nice place of it, over there, before you get through. Only, if