Tattine | Page 6

then she stood with her arms akimbo in blank
astonishment. The little grave had disappeared. She kicked aside the
loose earth, and saw that box and Bunny were both gone, and, not
content with that, they had partially chewed up the tombstone, which
lay upon its face a little distance away. They, of course, meant Betsy
and Doctor. "There was no use in my putting: 'Laverack setters not
allowed,' " she said to herself sorrowfully, and she ran off to tell her

Mother of this latest tragedy.
"Yes, I know, Tattine dear," said Mrs. Gerald, in the first pause; "there
is neither pity nor mercy in the heart of a setter when he is on the scent
of a rabbit, alive or dead--but, Tattine, don't forget they have their good
sides, Doctor and Betsy; just think how fond they are of you and me.
Why, the very sight of us always makes them beat a tattoo with their
tails."
"Yes, I know, Mamma, but I can't feel somehow that tattoos with their
tails make up for killing rabbits with their teeth."

CHAPTER II
. A MAPLE-WAX MORNING
A team came rushing in between the gate-posts of the stone wall, and it
looked like a run-away. They were riderless and driverless, and if there
had been any harness, there was not a vestige of it to be seen; still, they
kept neck and neck, which means in horsey language side by side, and
on they came in the maddest fashion. Tattine stood on the front porch
and watched them in high glee, and not a bit afraid was she, though
they were coming straight in her direction. When they reached her they
considerately came to a sudden stop, else there is no doubt whatever
but she would have been tumbled over.
"Well, you are a team," laughed Tattine. and they laughed back, "Yes,
we know we are," and sat down on the step on either side of her. Of
course, that would have been a remarkable thing for some teams to do,
but not for this one, for, as you can guess, they were just two little
people, Mabel and Rudolph, but they were a perfect team all the same;
everybody said so, and what everybody meant was this--that whatever
Rudolph "was up to," Mabel was "up to" also, and vice versa. They
traveled together finely, right "up on the bit" all the time. It would have
been easier for those who had charge of them if one or the other had
held back now and then, and set a slower pace, but as that was not their
nature and could not be helped, everybody tried to make the best of
them, and everybody loved them. Tattine did not see how she could
ever have lived without them, for they were almost as much a brother
and sister to her as to each other. This morning hey had come over by
invitation for what they called a Maple-wax morning, and that was

exactly what it was, and if you have never had one of your own, wait
till you read about this one of Tattine's, and then give your dear
Mamma no peace until you have had one, either in your kitchen in
town, or in the woods out of town, which is better. One thing is
necessary to its complete enjoyment, however: you must have a "sweet
tooth," but as most little people cut that particular tooth very early,
probably you are among the fortunate number.
"Well, I don't see what we are sitting here for," said Mabel at last.
"Neithet do I," said Tattine; "I was only giving you a chance to get a
little breath. You did not seem to have much left."
"No more we had," laughed Rudolph, who was still taking little
swallows and drawing an occasional long breath, as people do when
they have been exercising very vigorously. "But if everything is ready."
he added, "let us start."
"Well, everything is ready," said Tattine quite complacently, as she led
the way to the back piazza, where "everything" was lying in a row.
There was the maple sugar itself, two pounds of it on a plate, two large
kitchen spoons, a china cup, two sheets of brown wrapping-paper, two
or three newspapers, a box of matches, a pail of clear spring water, a
hammer, an ice-pick, and last, and most important of all, a granite-ware
kettle.
"Now if you'll carry these," explained Tattine, "I'll run and tell Philip to
bring the ice," so Rudolph and Mabel "loaded up" and marched down
to the camp, and Tattine disappeared in the direction of the ice-house.
The camp was not far away, and consisted of a cosy little "A" tent, a
hammock hung between two young chestnuts, and a fire-place