The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1909-02-23
. CHAPTER III.
Continued.


4 your schoolboy time and at college
is SO nice that know l have beer
persuading you to make the most o.
it for my sake. But, Edward, yor
must not humor me any more. fee
that it is wasting your time"
NO." he said, when one has tt
pick up ones thread it is best to dc
1t thoroughly. This will all be OF
service, every word of it"
Il see you mean to begin with q
! retrospect" she cried, Frightening
again.
Not SO much as retrospect" he
said with a twinge of conscience, "but
ones early ideas, though they are
often absurd, are very suggestive.
ooh, not absurd" she cried II
wounded her to hear such word ap-
piled to anything of his.
But little Tom had come home for
his holidays, which showed that it
was four or five months in the
settling down. They had taken pos
session of Easton in the end of Au-
gust. Tom came home very manly
and grow up after his first half
at school. He was close upon eleven,
and he had very high opinion OF
his own position and prospects. His
school was large preparatory one
where things were done as much as
possible on the model of Elton, which
was the goal of all the little boys
ambition. 1t was little disappoint-
ing after the first genuine moment OF
pleasure in coming home, and the
ecstatic sense of being a very great
man to little Janet, to find that aftei
all Janet was only little girl and
did not understand the half of what
he told her. He felt the want of
male soci2ty very much on the sec
ond day, and to think that there
would not be a fellow to speak to for
whole month damped the delightful
prospect of being his own master for
that time, which had smiled so much
upon him. Janet, it is scarcely neces-
sary to say, gave boundless faith to
her brother, and listened to the tale
of his achievements, and of what the
fellows did, with an interest unal-
loyed by criticism. Her mouth and
her eyes were full of a round o. of
wonder and admiration. She never
tired of hearing of the feats and the
scrapes and the heroic incidents of
school. To dazzle her so completely
was something; but mind accus-
toned to the company of the nobler
sex soon made it apparent that he was
bored.
There's lot of houses about he
said. aren't there any fellows down
there, or there"-he pointed to dis
tant roofs and groups of chimneys
appearing at intervals from among
the leafless trees-"that one could
speak to? It's awfully dull here after
knowing so many at school,"
There are some children at the
white house with the blue roof" said
Janet, "but they're not good enough,
nurse says; and don't know nobody
to play WHY'S" the little girl added
rather wistfully-the made all her
"th's" into "y's" still--"I only take
walks"
"Children!" said Tom contemptu-
ously. Il wasn't asking about chill
dren. l mean fellows at school. If
they're at good school they're good
enough. I'll soon find out. When a
fellow has been out in the world, and
goes to school, you don't suppose he
minds what nurse says"
oh, but nurse says a great, great
many wings" said Janet. "She says
Easton's little poking house, and
that we should be in our own family
place. What's family place? Do
you know? 1t is something fayer is
buried in," the little girl added after
moment, with little thrill of SOL
emnity. Tom burst into laugh in
the pleasure of his superior knowl-
edge
You are little ass, Jan! Of
course know. The family place is a
grand one, with a big tower and flag
on it when I'm at home-like the
Queen at Windsor! The worst is | m
never at home; but shall be when
I'm big, and then shan't we have
times I've told lot of fellows. I'll
have them up to my place in Scotland
for the shooting, don't you know"
Janet only gave him look out OF
her large light eyes. "Girl's don't
shoot" she said. II don't want to be
at your shooting. Tom, do you re-
member fayer? He's buried there .
"Oh, humbug, he's buried in the
churchyard, where all the dead peo-
pie are buried. OF course remember
him. What's that got to do with it?
l remember having a ride on his big
black mare, such a big tall beast, and
nobody will ride him except me and
him, you know He was behind when
/ rode him, and she carried us both
as easy as a lamb. Old Duncan told
me so--as easy as lamb-because
she knew who was her masterl" the
boy cried, with the color mounting UP
into his cheeks.
He began to switch the chairs with
little cane he had in his hand, and
babe them to get on" and gee up,
to Janet's considerable disturbance
for she had already learned that a
boys boots were apt TO be muddy, and
that chairs covered with brocade and
carved and gilded were not meant
to be ridden or to gee-up.
Don't, Tom" she said; they're
meyers pretty chairs"
"Oh, bother! said the boy
where's mother? l want to tell her
lots of things, but won't if she's sc
particular about things and stays SC
long away"