than you can now," said the lame boy, as the Curlytops often called
him, though Hal was nearly cured.

"Well, _maybe_ we can make some now," suggested Ted, and a little
later the two boys were seated in the shade under the willow trees
that grew on the bank of a small river which flowed into Clover Lake,
not far from Cherry Farm. Nicknack, tied to a tree, nibbled the sweet,
green grass, and Jan made a wreath of buttercups for her doll.

After they had made some whistles, which did give out a little tooting
sound, Ted and Hal found something else to do, and Jan saw, coming
along the road, a girl named Mary Seaton with whom she often played.
Jan called Mary to join her, and the two little girls had a good time
together while Ted and Hal threw stones at some wooden boats they made
and floated down the stream.

"Oh, Ted, we must go home!" suddenly cried Jan. "It's getting dark!"

The sun was beginning to set, but it would not really have been dark
for some time, except that the western sky was filled with clouds that
seemed to tell of a coming storm. So, really, it did appear as though
night were at hand.

"I guess we'd better go," Ted said, with a look at the dark clouds.
"Come on, Hal. There's room for you, too, Mary, in the wagon."

"Can Nicknack pull us all?" Mary asked.

"I guess so. It's mostly down hill. Come on!"