terribly, it all seemed real. mary as pa came nearer laura screamed, and over th her.

and at once t all. tanding t laura.

“ell!“ o ;youre only a little of cider by jinks! youre as strong as a little french horse!

“you s frig; ma said. “look heir eyes are.

pa looked, and took down o play and sing.

“yankee doodle to torousies, see tohere was so many houses.”

laura and mary forgot all about the mad dog.

“and t big guns, big as a log of maple, and every time tued em round, it took ttle.

“and every time t took a made a noise like fation louder.”

pa ime , and laura clapped o the music when he sang, “and ill sing yankee doodle-de-do, and ill sing yankee doodle, and ill sing yankee doodle-de-do, and ill sing yankee doodle!”

all alone in ttle able and night.

ts , and jack t lay blinking at the fireplace.

ma sat in of table. t and s in ttom of its glass boo keep ts of red flannel among t to make it pretty. it ty.

laura loved to look at ts glass cs yelloeadily, and its bos of flannel. so look at time, buing yelloimes green above the golden and ruby coals.

and told stories. ory, ake tickle til they laughed aloud. his eyes were blue and merry.

one nig black susan, stretc and in, and he said:

“do you kno a pant? a great, big, ?”

“no,“ said laura.

“ell, it is, said pa. “just imagine black susan bigger t like a panther.”

tled laura and mary more comfortably on ;ill tell you about grandpa and ther.”

“your grandpa?“ laura asked.

“no, laura, your grandpa. my father.”

“o; laura said, and s pas arm. she big oods, in a big log house. pa began:

tory of grandpa and t;your grandpa to toe starting was dark w ened, for he had no gun.”

“; laura asked.

“like a ; said pa. “like t; t laura and mary serror., ma jumped in ;mercy, charles! “

but laura and mary loved to be scared like t.

“t, for it it could not get a as t screamed no was always close behind.

“grandpa leaned foro run faster. t as it could possibly run, and still ther screamed close behind.

“t a glimpse of it, as it leaped from treetop to treetop, almost over;it imes bigger than black susan.

it if it leaped on grandpa it could kill s enormous, slass long seeth.

“grandpa, on just as a mouse runs from a cat.

“t scream any more. grandpa did not see it any more. but it er s might.

“at last to grandpas jumped off t t t be where grandpa had been.

“terribly, and ran. o ts cla grandpa grabbed to t in time to s ther dead.

grandpa said his gun.”

old tory, laura and mary so rong arms around them.

to be tretc beside ed and tiff along laura and mary listened to t lonely sound in t afraid.

table in ttle ed around it and t could not get in by the fire.