Lucy; and with one swing of his strong arms he placed her beside
Minnie. "The rest of us will walk a piece, I fancy. As this is
supposed to be a climbing expedition, we must make some show, at
least, to begin with."

There was a general laugh, and Tom and Lucy thought there could not
be so pleasant an old gentleman as Judge Keane anywhere.

Miss Keane elected Tom for her cavalier, and made him feel very
important indeed, by treating him as if he were quite a man; and they
got into a very interesting talk about the great painters and their
work. She was astonished to find what a thorough knowledge the boy
had of the subject, and how well he could talk on what interested him
most.

"Robert must see this young artist," was her mental comment. The
judge followed behind with Mr. Goldthwaite; while Mr. George Keane
and Miss Goldthwaite brought up the rear, walking very slowly, and
talking very earnestly. Nobody took any notice of them whatever,
evidently being of opinion that they were quite capable of amusing
each other. The waggon-path, winding gradually up the mountain side,
was rough and stony, and even Billy's cautious feet stumbled
sometimes; and the two girls were jolted so that they laughed till
they cried.

"I think we'd better get out; don't you, Lucy?" cried Minnie at last,
"else there'll be none of us left to see the top of the Peak. I never
was so sore in my life. Isn't it fun though?"

"Yes; and the sun is so bright, and everybody so kind, and everything