BRUNO 73 



When Julius returned from Lemonville three 

 days later, he brought us the news that he had 

 promised to give the position a trial, and that 

 he had engaged temporary quarters for us in a 

 new house near the office. Moreover, we were 

 to move up there the following week, as Mr. 

 Hawkes was impatient for his help. 



While we felt relieved at this decision, there 

 was still something very sad about the breaking 

 up. We had builded so many hopes into our 

 pine-woods home, which had seemed to us to 

 be guarded by a "standing army' of giants 

 carrying silver banners, especially imposing 

 on moonlight nights when the wind kept the 

 banners of moss swaying under the immense 

 pine-trees. 



We had seen it in imagination blossoming as 

 the rose, a quiet little nest, far from the mad- 

 ding crowd. And now to abandon it at the 

 beginning and go back to village life, - - it was 

 leaving poetry for the flattest of prose. 



The first step towards breaking up was to 

 dispose of our fowls. This was soon arranged, 

 and when the cart came to carry them off, 

 Bruno watched the loading of them with the 

 keenest interest, turning his head sideways, 

 with alert ears, and catching his lip between his 



