The Summer Holidays | Page 7

fishes, and listen to the songs of the birds, on the bushes that hung over the water. In a short time, a number of eels came from under a large stone, one after the other, and after swimming about for a little while, buried themselves in the mud. Samuel asked Thomas where so many came from.
"They live in the water," replied his cousin. "On a pleasant evening you can see many more swimming among the stones, and the roots of trees, by the edge of the creek. But, do you know, that they sometimes come out of the water, and glide about the meadows."
"No," said Samuel; "do they?"
"Yes," replied Thomas. "At night you may sometimes see a great many among the grass. One evening last summer John and I met a whole company of them, going from the little creek, near Daddy Hall's house, toward the mill pond. We thought, at first, that they were snakes, and so moved out of their road; but by and by, we perceived that they were eels. The weather had been hot and dry for two weeks before, and these eels were travelling to find more water. So father told us afterwards."
The boys now walked on, down the creek, until they came to a small bridge. On this a boy, about as large as Samuel, was standing, throwing stones into the water. When Thomas, and the other two, got near enough, they saw he was stoning frogs. Every time one of these little animals put its head above the water, the boy pelted it with a stone; and two or three had been mashed to death, as they sat on the broad stones, near the water's edge.
[Illustration: STONING FROGS.]
Now, all good boys and girls, who read this book, will say that this was a cruel boy--and so he was. As soon as John saw what he was about, he called to him to stop. The boy said he would not, and stoned harder than before. Then John began to grow angry. You remember, children, I told you, that though John was a noble hearted fellow, yet he was quick of temper; and when he saw boys doing wrong, he was apt to get angry very soon, if they did not stop when they were told. So, seeing that the boy still threw stones, he called to him again, louder than before.
"What shall I stop for?" said the boy.
"Because," said John, as he stepped on the bridge, "you have no business to stone frogs. What hurt do they do you?"
"A good deal," said the boy; and he threw another stone.
"I tell you to stop," replied John; "this is father's field, and they are his frogs, too; and you have no right here, if you can't behave yourself."
The boy now threw off his cap, as if to fight, and said: "I don't care for you or your father either; I'll stone as long as I please, and no one shall hinder me," and as he spoke, he shook his fist in John's face. John was now very angry.
"If you touch me," he said, "I'll throw you, head foremost, over the bridge. I tell you to quit stoning frogs, and you shall quit."
Thomas and Samuel now came forward; for they were afraid that there would be some fighting. John and the boy stood looking at each other for a little while; but at last, the boy seeing that John was not afraid of him, picked up his hat and walked off, muttering that he did not care for any body. "He had better go," said John. When his brother began to grow calm, Thomas told him that he ought not to get so angry, for he could have driven off the boy just as well, by speaking quietly to him. "I have seen him once or twice before," added Thomas, "and I hear that he is a very bad boy."
[Illustration]

CHAPTER IX.
THE HARD BATTLE.
In coming home by some cherry trees that stood near the fence, Samuel saw a little animal, larger than a bat, fly swiftly from one branch to another. He asked his cousins if it was not a flying squirrel. Thomas answered, "Yes. Several nests of them are in these trees. If you could examine one of these squirrels closely, you would see that its wings, as they are called, are not like bird's wings."
"They seem more like a bat's wings," said Samuel.
"So they are," replied his cousin; "only thin skins, stretched along the sides from the fore legs to the hind ones. But these squirrels cannot fly far, nor stay long in the air, as bats can. They merely dart swiftly from one branch to another."
"What other kinds of squirrels are there?" asked Samuel.
"The grey squirrel," said Thomas, "much larger than this one. It is