men.

How many secrets we have listened to! How many love scenes we have
witnessed! How many ringing shouts of laughter have we heard! How
many unbidden tears have we seen flow! What stories we might tell!
But it would not be right for us to tell all we know. I suppose the
good old couple, as they sat of winter evenings over the embers,
when the children were gone to bed, never thought of our telling
what we heard.

One trick that the boys planned in our hearing, and the punishment
they got for their roguery, I will tell you about, if you are not
tired of our story."

"Go ahead," shouted the musket, with a bounce.

"There were five boys in the family. One of them, a little fellow of
ten years of age, was foolish enough to be afraid of the dark. His
brothers resolved to cure him, and took the worst way possible,
which was, to give him something to be frightened at.

On the upper shelf of a closet in the room in which they slept was a
very large bundle. They determined to tie a string to the bundle,
and, before George went up to bed, to tie the other end of the
string to the latch of the door, so that, when he opened it, this
bundle would come thundering down, and, as they said, give him
something to be scared at.

The man servant heard of the plan as he was lighting the lamps while
the boys were talking it over. He had a particular fancy for George