and beg in the most enchanting manner. Johnnie played soldier with Luce
for flag-bearer, for nearly an hour, till his auntie called him in.

"I think, dear," she said, "that I must have you read a while every
morning. Edie has promised to practise an hour a day, and Mabel is going
to sit by me and crochet. All work and no play would never do, but all
play and no work would make you all wish you had never seen Locust
Hall."

"Now, Aunt Maria, how can you say that! I am sure I should be perfectly
happy if I could play with Luce and do nothing else all day long."

"Well, I'll let you try it, some day, on this condition: you will
promise, as an honorable boy, that no matter how tired you get, you will
keep to your part of the bargain."

Johnnie was about to promise, when Edith called out:

"Better think about it first, Johnnie. I once tried playing a whole day,
and it was tiresome enough, I can tell you, before I got through with
it. It was _dreadful_."

[Illustration]

"If we agree to do it, I'll keep to my part, Aunt Maria; but as Edith
says, I'll think about it first." So Johnnie went off to the library,
and took down a volume of stories about the Revolutionary war.