"I'll rub it all out one of these days," replied Johnny; "but I must
show it first to Peter Crane. He says that I never hit on a likeness: if
he sees that, he'll never say so again!"

The next morning Jonas occupied himself with gathering wild flowers and
herbs in the fields. He carried them into his little room, where Johnny
heard him whistling "Old Tom Bowling," like one at peace with himself
and all the world.

Presently Jonas called to the boy to bring him a knife from the kitchen;
a request made in an unusually courteous tone of voice, and with which,
of course, Johnny immediately complied.

He found Jonas busy drying his plants, by laying them neatly between the
pages of a book, preparatory to pressing them down. What was the terror
of Johnny when he perceived that the book whose pages Jonas was turning
over for this purpose was no other than his "Robinson Crusoe"!

"Oh! if I could only get it out of his hands before he comes to that
horrid picture! Oh! what shall I do? what shall I do?" thought the
bewildered Johnny. "Uncle, I was reading that book," at last he mustered
courage to say aloud.

"You may read it again to-morrow," was the quiet reply of Jonas.

"Perhaps he will not look at that picture," reflected Johnny. "I wish
that I could see exactly which part of the book he is at! He looks too
quiet a great deal for any mischief to have been done yet! Dear! dear!
I would give anything to have that 'Robinson Crusoe' at the bottom of
the sea! I do think that my uncle's face is growing very red!--yes! the