Grace and Cassy walked together very confidentially under the same umbrella which had sheltered them years ago--a black one marked with white paint, "Stolen from H.S.
Clifford." "Bold thieves" Horace called them; but they deigned no notice of his remark.
"I'll get an answer," murmured Horace, repeating aloud,-- "'Hey for the apple and ho for the pear, But give me the girl with the red hair.'" At this Grace turned around sharply, and shook her bare head, which gleamed in the sun like burnt gold.
"Panoria Swan has red hair," said she,--"fire-red; but mine is auburn." "O, I only wanted to make you speak, Grace; that will do." "Here we are at the woods," said Mr.Clifford.He had once owned a neighboring lot, and his pecan trees had been fenced around to protect them from the impertinent swine; but now the party were going into the heart of the forest.
The pecan trees were tall, somewhat like maples, with the nuts growing on them in shucks, after the manner of walnuts.

These shucks, if left till the coming of frost, would have opened of themselves, and scattered the nuts to the ground; but our friends preferred to gather a few bushels before they were perfectly ripened, rather than lose them altogether.
As the easiest method, Mr.Clifford said they might as well fell a tree, for he had a right to do so.

He had brought an axe in his carriage; and Mr.Parlin, whose good right arm had never been injured in the war, soon brought a noble tree to the ground.
Then there was a scrambling to see which should break off the most shucks.

Dotty sat down on a log, half afraid there might be a snake lurking under it, and picked with all her might.
[Illustration: GOING NUTTING .-- Page 131.] "We don't have any pecans at Deering's Oaks," she thought, "and nothing but shells at the Islands.

I only wish Prudy was here.