"Yes," he said, "come by all means--if you can."

"It won't be for some time yet," quoth Dick, in his cheery voice;
"for when the hay is in up the river, I shall be for taking him a
round through the country between hay and wheat harvest, to see how
our friends live in the north country. Then in the wheat harvest we
shall do a good stroke of work, I should hope,--in Wiltshire by
preference; for he will be getting a little hard with all the open-
air living, and I shall be as tough as nails."

"But you will take me along, won't you, Dick?" said Clara, laying her
pretty hand on his shoulder.

"Will I not?" said Dick, somewhat boisterously. "And we will manage
to send you to bed pretty tired every night; and you will look so
beautiful with your neck all brown, and your hands too, and you under
your gown as white as privet, that you will get some of those strange
discontented whims out of your head, my dear. However, our week's
haymaking will do all that for you."

The girl reddened very prettily, and not for shame but for pleasure;
and the old man laughed, and said:

"Guest, I see that you will be as comfortable as need be; for you
need not fear that those two will be too officious with you: they
will be so busy with each other, that they will leave you a good deal
to yourself, I am sure, and that is a real kindness to a guest, after
all. O, you need not be afraid of being one too many, either: it is
just what these birds in a nest like, to have a good convenient