"Oh I say--isn't it jolly," cried Jock, beating his breast gorilla-
fashion and uttering a wild murmur of "Am I not a man and a brother?"
then tumbling head over heels, half in ecstasy, half in imitation of
the fate of the Do as You Like, setting everybody off into fits
again.
"It's just what Robin is coming to," observed Bobus, as his namesake
stretched his arms and delivered himself of a waking howl; then
suddenly becoming conscious of Mr. Ogilvie, he remained petrified,
with one arm fully outstretched, the other still lifted to his head.
"Never mind, Brownlow maximus," said his master; "it was hardly fair
to surprise you in private life, was it?"
The boy made no answer, but scrambled up, sheepish and disconcerted;
and indeed the sun was entirely down and the dew almost falling, so
that the mother called to the young ones to gather up their things
and come home.
Such a collection! Bobus picked up a tin-case and basket full of
flowers, interspersed with bottles of swimming insects. The trio and
Armine shouldered their butterfly-nets, and had a distribution of
pill-boxes and bottles, in some of which were caterpillars intended
to live, in others butterflies dead (or dying, it may be feared) of
laurel leaves. Babie had a mighty nosegay; Janet put up the sketch,
which showed a good deal of power; and the whole troop moved up the
slope to go home by the lanes.
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