He turned over the log, and there beneath it he found a neatly made nest of long grasses, built between the detached bark and the log itself, and containing a number of tiny baby-mice. They were orphans now, alas! the father and mother having both been killed by Sirius, but Peter determined that the little ones should not suffer for this misfortune. Carefully removing the nest from its resting-place, he laid it in his cap and started for home. He would have liked to examine the log further, for it seemed to be an interesting place. A colony of large black ants, which had fashioned for themselves a most elaborate dwelling, were running about now in a distracted manner, owing to the sudden upheaval of the log, which had probably been their undisturbed home for a long time; and Peter would have been glad to watch them. But from the way in which Sirius was barking and sniffing at a hole in the log, Peter was led to suspect that another nest of mice might be there, and rather than have that family also broken up, and because he had no way of disposing of the little creatures in his cap, he hurried away from the fascinating scene, calling to the dog to follow. He took a short cut across the woody pasture, which lay on the outskirts of the thicker woods, his mind so absorbed with the adventure, that there was no room for thought of Sophy. He had forgotten her as completely as though she did not exist. Then, too, to his delight and surprise, he came across some fungi. They were growing in a grassy place at the border of the field, and just above the river. It seemed very early in the season for mushrooms, but still these might be of an edible variety, and if they were, would it not be an excellent plan to take them home for supper? The family refrained always from eating the cultivated mushrooms which Peter could sell, but if they were beginning already to grow wild, they surely might be indulged in. Peter placed his cap on the top of a rock, which was too high and too steep for Sirius to scale, and proceeded to test the fungi. Were they edible or not? Unfortunately they were not, as he soon discovered by bruising the gills. A white milk exuded, and his reading had taught Peter that such were to be avoided. Greatly disappointed, he picked up his capful of mice once more and continued on his way. Arrived at the barn, he made the little orphans as comfortable as possible in a place which was quite protected from an attack by Sirius. He looked for Carney, but the boy was not to be found. Victoria, however, was busy with her violets, and Peter consulted with her as to the best method of disposing of his new pets. “Dear me!” exclaimed Victoria, when he showed them to her. “They are the cunningest things I ever saw, but you are not going to keep them, are you, Peter? Why not set them free?”