CHAPTER XXVII 
EARLY AUGUST DAYS 
I T Is August. The annuals that Joseph sowed 
early are having their main crop of flowers, 
while many of the perennials have grown tall and 
important-looking. My monthly roses are bloom- 
ing a little less freely than they did in July. It 
may be perhaps that they do not like these sultry 
days and cool nights. August, happily, is the time 
to enjoy things in a garden without doing very 
much work. Joseph has been playing every day 
lately in the tennis tournament. I believe he is 
growing to like this sport almost as much as gardenr 
ing, although he says he has only been playing to 
let Ben and Harry see that once in a while he can 
beat them. He has, besides, read much less in 
“An Ambitious Boy’s Garden” than formerly, al- 
though this does not surprise me, as I should think 
he might be able to repeat it from beginning to end. 
But, while Joseph has been playing tennis, Tim- 
othy has shown great devotion to the garden. He 
has weeded it often, and kept the borders trimmed 
neatly. He is making up his mind, he says, about 
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