rugged bark of some neighbouring pine or hemlock, bade the intruders on
his quiet haunts defiance; yet so bold in his indignation, he scarcely
condescended to ascend beyond their reach.

The long-continued hollow tapping of the large red-headed woodpecker, or
the singular subterranean sound caused by the drumming of the partridge,
striking his wings upon his breast to woo his gentle mate, and the soft
whispering note of the little tree-creeper, as it flitted from one hemlock
to another, collecting its food between the fissures of the bark, were
among the few sounds that broke the noontide stillness of the woods; but
to all such sights and sounds the lively Catharine and her cousin were
not indifferent. And often they wondered, that Hector gravely pursued his
onward way, and seldom lingered as they did to mark the bright colours of
the flowers, or the bright sparkling of the forest rill.

"What makes Hec so grave?" said Catharine to her companion, as they seated
themselves upon a mossy trunk, to await his coming up, for they had giddily
chased each other till they had far outrun him.

"Hector, sweet coz, is thinking perhaps of how many bushels of corn or
wheat this land would grow if cleared, or he may be examining the soil or
the trees, or is looking for his stick of blue-beech for your broom, or the
hiccory for his axe handle, and never heeding such nonsense as woodpeckers
and squirrels, and lilies and moss and ferns, for Hector is not a giddy
thing like his cousin Louis, or--"

"His sister Kate," interrupted Catharine, merrily; "but when shall we come
to the Beaver Meadow?"

"Patience, ma belle, all in good time. Hark, was not that the ox-bell? No;