us all off."

Hugging her basket of flowers close in her arms, she leaned her head
against him contentedly as they cantered down the avenue.

"Look!" whispered all the locusts, waving their hands to each other
excitedly. "Look! The master has his own again. The dear old times are
coming back to us."

"How the trees blow!" exclaimed the child, looking up at the green arch
overhead. "See! They's all a-noddin' to each othah." "We'll have to get
my shoes an' 'tockin's," she said, presently, when they were nearly
home. "They're in that fence cawnah behin' a log."

The Colonel obediently got down and handed them to her. As he mounted
again he saw a carriage coming toward them. He recognized one of his
nearest neighbours. Striking the astonished Maggie Boy with his spur,
he turned her across the railroad track, down the steep embankment, and
into an unfrequented lane.

"This road is just back of your garden," he said. "Can you get through
the fence if I take you there?"

"That's the way we came out," was the answer. "See that hole where the
palin's are off?"

Just as he was about to lift her down, she put one arm around his neck,
and kissed him softly on the cheek. "Good-bye, gran'fatha'," she said,
in her most winning way. "I've had a mighty nice time." Then she added,
in a lower tone, "'Kuse me fo' throwin' mud on yo' coat."