If Nelly, the quiet Nelly, were as glad and excited as this, how do you suppose the adventurous Rob felt, when he heard the news? The house wouldn't hold him. He had to run out and turn summersaults on the grass. Then he raced off down to the tents, and told Flora and Ralph and Thomas. It was early in the morning, and Arthur was not up. All the servants were glad. They all liked Rob and Nelly, and they all saw how much better Arthur had grown since he had had children to play with. "Ah, Master Rob," said Thomas, "just wait till I drive ye out in the Park; that's a place worth looking at,--all beautiful green grass, and lakes, and roads as smooth and hard as a beach, and groves of trees,--not like this bare wilderness, I can tell ye." "Are there mountains there, Thomas?" asked Rob. "Mountains! no! The Lord be praised: never a mountain!" exclaimed Ralph; "and if ever I'm thankful for anything, it is to get out of sight of the ugly sides of 'em!" "Oh, Ralph!" was all Rob could say at hearing such an opinion of mountains. When Flora and Thomas brought Arthur out of the tent, Rob ran towards them. "Oh, Arthur--" he began. "I know all about it," said Arthur: "Nelly and you are going home with us. I'd rather stay here, but they won't let me; and having you go home with us is next best." Rob thought this was rather an ungracious way for Arthur to speak, and so it was. "You wouldn't like it here in the winter half so well as you do now, Arthur," he said. "It's awfully cold sometimes; and real deep snow. You'd be shut up in the house lots." "So I am at home," said Arthur: "weeks and weeks." "But your house is nicer to be shut up in than ours," continued Rob. "I don't care," said Arthur: "I wanted to stay. But I'm real glad you and Nelly are going. Can Nelly skate? We'll go and see her skate in the Park." "No, she can't! but I can," said Rob. "Is there good skating there?" "Oh, goodness, Rob!" exclaimed Arthur, "didn't you know about the skating in Central Park? Well, you'll see! We drive up there every pleasant day. I'm sick of it. But the skating's some fun: I wish I could skate." "Perhaps you'll get strong enough to, pretty soon," said Rob, sympathizingly. "If they'd let me stay here I might," said Arthur, fretfully; "but they won't." The nights grew cool so fast that Mr. and Mrs. Cook began to be impatient to set out for home. At first, Mr. and Mrs. March pleaded with them to stay longer; but one morning Mrs. March said suddenly to her husband:-- "Robert, I've changed my mind about the children's going: I think the sooner they go the better. It is just like having a day set for having a tooth pulled: you suffer all the pain ten times over in anticipating it. I can't think about anything else from morning till night. Oh, I do hope we haven't done wrong!" "It isn't too late yet to keep them at home," said Mr. March. "Don't let us do it if your mind is not clear. I don't think Nelly more than half wants to go now."