As Uncle Ben turned his small gray eyes upon him in a half astonished, half questioning manner, the potent spirit of childish secretiveness suddenly took possession of the boy.

Wild horses could not now have torn from him that question which only a moment before was on his lips.
"Hullo, Johnny! What are ye doin' here ?" said Uncle Ben kindly.
"Nothin'." After a pause, in which he walked all round Uncle Ben's large figure, gazing up at him as if he were a monument, he added, "Huntin' blackberrieth." "Why ain't you over at the collation ?" "Ruperth there," he answered promptly.
The idea of being thus vicariously present in the person of his brother seemed a sufficient excuse.

He leap-frogged over the stump on which he had been sitting as an easy unembarrassing pause for the next question.
But Uncle Ben was apparently perfectly satisfied with Johnny's reply, and nodding to him, walked away.
When his figure had disappeared in the bushes, Johnny cautiously approached the cabin.

At a certain distance he picked up a stone and threw it against the door, immediately taking to his heels and the friendly copse again.

No one appearing he repeated the experiment twice and even thrice with a larger stone and at a nearer distance.