“You see, mister, termorrow is Saturday. There’s no school. Across the street lives a whole lot of little boys and girls, and some of the boys don’t like me very well, but that doesn’t cut any figure with me. They comes over here every day after school and particularly on Saturday and hunt for hickory-nuts; but these old trees don’t bear any more; they’s dead. But that one over there, with the leaves, sometimes has hickory-nuts, but this year nary a nut is on the old tree. So I bought these here nuts an’ scattered ’em all around the ground, an’ termorrow I’ll sneak around the fence and watch the girls an’ boys gather them. Won’t they be happy?” “I should think they would,” replied the man. “They are real hickory-nuts, too,” added Jimmy, “I blowed in fifteen cents at our grocery store. If you want to you may come termorrow an’ I will guarantee you will see the happiest bunch ever gathered under a hickory-nut tree. Will you come?” “Well, I should be delighted to come; and I will be there before you will,” replied the gentleman kindly. “You see,” said Jimmy, “I cannot come until I deliver all my papers, an’ that’ll be about eight o’clock. If you get there before I do, don’t you ever tell who put the nuts under the tree, will you?” “I promise you, Jimmy, I will not only keep it to myself, but I will not even go on the lot, until you come.” A few words about Jimmy and his home, and they parted as friends. “Under the hickory-nut tree termorrow there’ll be a dozen happy girls an’ boys, an’ some of the boys don’t like me,” rang in the ears of the gentleman all during the evening and frequently in the night. What a sermon, sowing and reaping. [Illustration: “I AM SCATTERING HICKORY-NUTS UNDER THIS OLD TREE FOR THE CHILDREN TO FIND TERMORROW.” _See Page 7_ ] CHAPTER II. Saturday morning was an ideal autumn day; a day children delighted to go into the woods after hickory-nuts. A few moments before eight o’clock the gentleman was slowly walking around the great lot when he saw Jimmy running at full speed down the street towards him. Under the great trees were a dozen little boys and girls, and the air was filled with their merry laughter as they excitedly gathered into their baskets the hickory-nuts that Jimmy had so kindly dropped for their pleasure and happiness. “They tell me, Jimmy, you’re a bad boy,” said the gentleman as they sat on a stump of a tree, in sight of the children. Jimmy made no reply. “Well, I don’t care what any one says,” added the gentleman, “I don’t believe it. Your little act with the hickory-nuts has taught me a lesson I never learned in books. No boy would do that unless he has some good qualities in him. I feel honored to have this privilege of seeing those children so happy this morning, and to think who did all this. Jimmy,” and he took his little hand in his, “I want you to make me a promise—I want you always to be my friend. What do you say?”