A SUMMER BOATING TRIP 31 



a fly had alighted upon her," said Mr. Knapp, " I think 

 she would have paid just as much attention to it as she 

 did to me." 



Early in the afternoon I encountered another boy, 

 Henry Ingersoll, who was so surprised by my sudden 

 and unwonted appearance that he did not know east 

 from west. " Which way is west ? " I inquired, to see 

 if my own head was straight on the subject. 



"That way," he said, indicating east within a few 

 degrees. 



"You are wrong," I replied. "Where does the sun 

 rise ? " 



" There," he said, pointing almost in the direction he 

 had pointed before. 



" But does not the sun rise in the east here as well as 

 elsewhere?" I rejoined. 



"Well, they call that west, anyhow." 



But Henry's needle was subjected to a disturbing 

 influence just then. His house was near the river, and 

 he was its sole guardian and keeper for the time; his 

 father had gone up to the next neighbor's (it was Sun- 

 day), and his sister had gone with the schoolmistress 

 down the road to get black birch. He came out in 

 the road, with wide eyes, to view me as I passed, when 

 I drew rein, and demanded the points of the compass, 

 as above. Then I shook my sooty pail at him and asked 

 for milk. Yes, I could have some milk, but I would 

 have to wait till his sister came back; after he had 

 recovered a little, he concluded he could get it. He 

 came for my pail, and then his boyish curiosity ap- 

 peared. My story interested him immensely. He had 

 seen twelve summers, but he had only been four miles 

 from home up and down the river: he had been down 



