amount of money should hire him to go where he might be
tempted to do wrong. Nat quite agreed to this, and it was a
pleasant sight to see the innocent-hearted lad go driving away in
the gay wagons that stopped at the gate for him, or to hear him
come fiddling home tired but happy, with his well-earned money
in one pocket, and some "goodies" from the feast for Daisy or little
Ted, whom he never forgot.

"I'm going to save up till I get enough to buy a violin for myself,
and then I can earn my own living, can't I?" he used to say, as he
brought his dollars to Mr. Bhaer to keep.

"I hope so, Nat; but we must get you strong and hearty first, and
put a little more knowledge into this musical head of yours. Then
Mr. Laurie will find you a place somewhere, and in a few years we
will all come to hear you play in public."

With much congenial work, encouragement, and hope, Nat found
life getting easier and happier every day, and made such progress
in his music lessons that his teacher forgave his slowness in some
other things, knowing very well that where the heart is the mind
works best. The only punishment the boy ever needed for neglect
of more important lessons was to hang up the fiddle and the bow
for a day. The fear of losing his bosom friend entirely made him go
at his books with a will; and having proved that he could master
the lessons, what was the use of saying "I can't?"

Daisy had a great love of music, and a great reverence for any one
who could make it, and she was often found sitting on the stairs
outside Nat's door while he was practising. This pleased him very