The two ladies paused at a safe distance,--there seemed to be nothing but boys astir--boys and nuts; and these last not dropping from the tree, but thrown from hand to hand (hand to head would be more correct) of the busy throng. Some picking up, some throwing stones to bring down, others at some flat stone 'shucking,' others still filling their baskets. And four boys out of five, cracking and eating--whatever else they were about. The grass, trodden down by the many feet, lay in prostrate shadow at the foot of the great tree; and the shadows of other trees fell and met in soft wavy outline. From the side of one old tree a family of grey squirrels looked out, to see the besiegers lay waste the surrounding country; in the top of another--a tall hickory, full clad with golden leaves, Mr. Linden sat--to view the same country himself; well knowing that he had given the boys full occupation for at least fifteen minutes. He was not very visible from below, so thickly did the gold leaves close him in; but Faith heard one of the boys call out, "You Johnny Fax! if you throw stones in _that_ tree, you'll hit Mr. Linden." "Trust Johnny Fax for not never throwin' so high as _he_ is," said Joe Deacon. "I don't _want_ to--" said Johnny Fax--"I don't want to fetch _him_ down." Whereupon there was a general shout, and "Guess you'd better not, Johnny!"--"He might come, if you didn't just hit him," vociferated from various quarters. "My!" Mrs. Derrick said, surveying the golden hickory, "how on earth did he ever get up?--And how _do_ you s'pose, Faith, he'll ever get down!" Faith's low laugh was her only answer; but it would have told, to anybody who could thoroughly have translated it, Faith's mind on both points. Apparently he was in no haste to come down--certainly meant to send the nuts first; for a sudden shower of hickory nuts and leaves swept away every boy from the tree near which Faith and her mother stood, and threw them all into its vortex. Drop, drop, the nuts came down, with their sweet patter upon the grass; while the golden leaves fell singly or in sprays, or floated off upon the calm air. "Child," said Mrs. Derrick, "how pretty it is! I haven't seen such a sight since--since a long while ago," she added with a sobering face. "I want to be there under the tree," said Faith looking on enviously. "No mother--and I haven't seen it before in a long time, either. It's as pretty as it can be!" "Run along then, child," said her mother,--"only take care of your eyes. Why shouldn't you? I don't want to pick up nuts myself, but I'll go down and pick you up."