“And don’t eat apples yet, for they aren’t ripe,” warned Farmer Joel as the children, putting on their old clothes, started out to explore things. “I want to see some horses!” cried Laddie. “I want to go where the sheep are,” Mun Bun said. “So do I,” chimed in Margy. “I’ll go to the kitchen to help mother,” offered Rose, but her mother said: “No, you run out and play now. Norah and I can manage the work all right. Later on if you want to help you may.” So Rose went out with Russ and the others. “There’s a brook, Russ!” called Violet, as she caught sight of the sparkle of a little stream. “That’s good. Then I’ll make a water wheel and a mill,” said Russ. He and Laddie were looking at the brook, poking in sticks to find out how deep it was and making ready to build the dam for the water wheel, when suddenly they heard the voice of Rose crying: “Oh, drive him away! Make him go away! Oh! Oh! Oh!” “What’s that?” asked Russ, looking up. “It was Rose,” answered Laddie. “I guess——” The loud barking of a dog interrupted him, and Rose cried again: “Oh, Russ, come and drive him away!” CHAPTER VIII IN THE HAY Russ looked up from the dam he was making for the water wheel. He could not see Rose. Nor could Laddie, who was helping his brother make the little mill pond. But Rose kept on yelling and the dog kept on barking. “Oh, somebody please come!” cried Rose. “I’m coming!” shouted Russ. He leaped up, followed by Laddie, and, as they turned around a clump of bushes and looked down the brook they saw Rose standing with her back against a big tree while in front of her, leaping about and barking loudly, was a large brown dog. “Oh, Russ! Russ!” begged his sister, as she caught sight of him and Laddie. “Come and drive this dog away! He wants to bite me!” “I’ll drive him away!” declared Russ. “And I’ll help,” added Laddie. “He’s a bad dog!” Before the two brothers could reach their sister there came running toward Rose another boy. This boy had a freckled face and red hair. “Don’t hit my dog!” cried this red-haired boy. “He won’t hurt you. Hi, Jimsie!” called this new boy, “behave yourself! Down! Quiet! Quit your barking!” The dog looked around at the voice, wagged his tail to show that he was friendly, and stopped barking. Just then up rushed Russ and Laddie with sticks in their hands. Rose also had a stick which she had raised toward the dog, but she had not hit him. “Don’t beat my dog Jimsie!” begged the strange boy. “He didn’t mean any harm.” “What did he try to bite my sister for?” demanded Russ, who was angry. “Oh, he didn’t exactly try to _bite_ me,” said Rose. “He just barked a lot and he wouldn’t let me get away, and I was afraid he’d bite me.” “Jimsie wouldn’t bite anybody,” said the boy, whose name was Ralph Watson. He lived on the farm next to that of Mr. Todd. “Well, then, what made him bark at my sister?” asked Russ. “’Cause she had a stick,” answered Ralph.