V. CHRISTMAS EVE AND MORNING VI. NATURE'S HALF-KNOWN SECRETS VII. NEIGHBORS DROP IN VIII. EAGLES IX. SLEIGHING IN THE HIGHLANDS X. A WINTER THUNDER-STORM XI. NATURE UNDER GLASS XII. A MOUNTAINEER'S HOVEL XIII. ALMOST A TRAGEDY XIV. HINTS OF SPRING XV. NATURE'S BUILDING MATERIALS XVI. GOSSIP ABOUT BIRD NEIGHBORS XVII. FISHING THROUGH THE ICE XVIII. PLANNING AND OPENING THE CAMPAIGN XIX. WINTER'S EXIT XX. A ROYAL CAPTIVE XXI. SPRING'S HARBINGERS XXII. FIRST TIMES XXIII. REGRETS AND DUCK-SHOOTING XXIV. APRIL XXV. EASTER XXVI. VERY MOODY XXVII. SHAD-FISHING BY PROXY XXVIII. MAY AND GIRLHOOD XXIX. NATURE'S WORKSHOP XXX. SPRING-TIME PASSION XXXI. JUNE AND HONEY-BEES XXXII. BURT BECOMES RATIONAL XXXIII. WEBB'S ROSES AND ROMANCE XXXIV. A SHAM BATTLE AT WEST POINT XXXV. CHASED BY A THUNDER-SHOWER XXXVI. THE RESCUE OF A HOME XXXVII. A MIDNIGHT TEMPEST XXXVIII. THE TWO LOVERS XXXIX. BURT'S ADVENTURE XL. MISS HARGROVE XLI. A FIRE IN THE MOUNTAINS XLII. CAMPING OUT XLIII. AN OLD TENEMENT XLIV. "BUT HE RISKED HIS LIFE?" XLV. SUMMER'S WEEPING FAREWELL XLVI. FATHER AND DAUGHTER XLVII. DISQUIET WITHIN AND WITHOUT XLVIII. IDLEWILD XLIX. ECHOES OF A PAST STORM L. IMPULSES OF THE HEART LI. WEBB'S FATEFUL EXPEDITION LII. BURT'S SORE DILEMMA LIII. BURT'S RESOLVE LIV. A GENTLE EXORCIST LV. BURT TELLS HIS LOVE AGAIN LVI. WEBB'S FOUR-LEAVED CLOVER LVII. OCTOBER HUES AND HARVESTS LVIII. THE MOONLIGHT OMEN LIX. THE ROSE REVEALS ITS HEART LX. CHRISTMAS LIGHTS AND SHADOWS NATURE'S SERIAL STORY THIS BOOK IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED TO MY WIFE NATURE'S SERIAL STORY CHAPTER I A COUNTRY HOME How much it means--what possibilities it suggests! The one I shall describe was built not far from half a century ago, and the lapsing years have only made it more homelike. It has long ceased to be a new object--an innovation--and has become a part of the landscape, like the trees that have grown up around it. Originally painted brown, with the flight of time it has taken a grayish tinge, as if in sympathy with its venerable proprietor. It stands back from the roadway, and in summer has an air of modest seclusion. Elms, maples, and shrubbery give to the passer-by but chance glimpses of the wide veranda, which is indicated, rather than revealed, beyond the thickly clustering vines.