"That was nicely done, and I'm much obliged. Can you tell me if that
cross-road leads to the Elms?" asked the lady, as she went slowly on
with Ben beside her.
"No, ma'am; I'm new in these parts, and I only know where Squire Allen
and Mrs. Moss live."
"I want to see both of them, so suppose you show me the way. I was here
long ago, and thought I should remember how to find the old house with
the elm avenue and the big gate, but I don't."
"I know it; they call that place the Laylocks now, 'cause there's a
hedge of 'em all down the path and front wall. It's a real pretty
place; Bab and Betty play there, and so do I."
Ben could not restrain a chuckle at the recollection of his first
appearance there, and as if his merriment or his words interested her,
the lady said, pleasantly: "Tell me all about it. Are Bab and Betty
your sisters?"
Quite forgetting his intended tramp, Ben plunged into a copious history
of himself and new-made friends, led on by a kind look, an inquiring
word, and sympathetic smile, till he had told everything. At the
school-house corner he stopped and said, spreading his arms like a
sign-post:
"That's the way to the Laylocks, and this is the way to the Squire's.
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