COMPANY-DAY. 
1G7 
look about lier, and, after taking a drink at 
the brook, begin a hungry search after the 
pieces of dried beef and halves of biscuits, 
—the remainder of the provisions which 
the children had emptied out of their bas¬ 
kets that they might have more room for 
their stones and mosses, little dreaming 
that they were leaving them for the pan¬ 
ther’s feast. 
The next day was what the children 
called a company-day. A carriageful of 
people arrived in the morning, and two or 
three gentlemen came to dinner: so that 
Aunt Louisa had her hands full, as w T ell as 
Annie, who was learning to be quite an effi¬ 
cient help upon such occasions. The boys 
slipped away after dinner and went up to 
see Jack Short, carrying with them some of 
the dessert-dainties which they thought he 
might fancy. Sidney had not said a word 
to Eichard of his adventure at the spring: 
he was nervously afraid of being laughed 
at as being deceived by his own excited 
imagination; and, after all, it hardly seemed 
possible that any wild beast could have ven¬ 
tured so near the village. They found Jack 
much better. lie was now able to sit up in 
