THE BUTTERFLY HUNTERS. 1 5 



" Hallo, there 's our Fort," said Hal. The boys stopped 

 and examined with great interest a big square enclosed 

 with a stone wall, which it had taken Hal and some other 

 village boys the whole of a last Autumn's holiday to build. 

 The Winter frost had displaced many of the stones, and 

 one side was quite thrown down. "All open to the 

 enemy," said Hal, as he walked up to the breach. " Don't 

 you remember," he added, "how old Farmer Rogers, in 

 his long blue frock, chased us and yelled at us because 

 we stole a whole heap of his cider apples for shot and 

 shell ? " 



" Yes," said Johnny, soberly ; " and father was so sorry 

 about it, that he sent the old man a barrel of our best 

 Baldwins in return," 



" It was a mean trick in us boys, any way," said Hal. 



* Only see the Violets and Anemones," said Johnny. 

 The boys looked down under the Alders by the wall, 

 and were soon on their knees, plucking handfuls of the 

 delicate Wind-flowers and Violets. Before they reached 

 the nut-tree corner, they had gathered great bunches of 

 Dandelions, Liverwort, and Wild Geranium. 



" Chip, chip, chip," said Hal, as a striped squirrel darted 

 nimbly past them. The squirrels had a whole colony of 

 little burrows in the nut-tree corner, and might be seen 

 having a grand frolic there any warm sunny day. 



When the boys reached the corner, Tom threw himself 



