40i FOUH-FOOXED AMETllCANS 



When they were on the ear.s, ]Mr. Blake said incident- 

 ally that he wa.s going to give Olive something as a 

 reward for having been so patient with Nat and Dodo 

 and their perpetual questions, but added that he was 

 quite sure tliat they could never imagine what the gift 

 was to be. 



" A big box of books," ventured Rap. 



" A new album to paste her pressed flowers in," 

 guessed Dodo, "because the old one is crammed full." 



" No, something bigger than those, — a nice pony cart 

 so that she can drive herself anywhere she likes," said 

 Nat, earnestl}^ 



" Wrong," said Mr. Blake. " I know how fond you 

 all are of birds and their nests, of beasts and flowers and 

 bugs, so I tliought you would like to make a collection 

 of such things as you find about the farm, and let the 

 village children see and enjoy them also. As I know 

 tliat Olive may be trusted with it, I am going to buy 

 her a fine new gun so that she may shoot all these things 

 for 3-ou." 



" Why, daddy, I'm perfectly astonished ! " cried Dodo, 

 turning red and fairly bristling with indignation. "Do 

 you want to turn our Olive into a wicked Hunting 

 Wolf, and just when we've coaxed the Wood boys to 

 stop shooting Meadowlarks and made them promise not 

 to take but one egg out of each nest if they tmist go 

 collecting?" 



" Don't worry, Dodo," said Olive, laughing ; " for 

 though I have not the least idea al)out the present, I can 

 tell by the twinkle in Uncle Jack's eyes that it is some 

 very harmless, nice sort of gun he means." 



" Shall we have striped ice cream for lunch or dinner?" 



