She ran quickly downstairs and out upon the piazza. A moment more, and the wagon turned in at the gate. "Mother, mother," called Susie, "they're here!" But Mrs. Leonard was already beside her. Her pleasant face glowed with a happy smile as Frank drew rein before the door. Then such a time! Uncle Robert sprang from the seat beside Frank, hugged Mrs. Leonard, then Susie, then both together. Donald, who was seated in the back of the wagon on Uncle Robert's trunk, turned a handspring, landed on his feet somehow or other, and stood grinning at Susie. Mr. Leonard had also heard the sound of the wheels. He hurried from the barn, calling Peter to come and help him carry Uncle Robert's trunk upstairs. Jane came to the door of the dining-room, eager to see the Uncle Robert of whom she had heard so much. Then, with a nod of her head, she ran back, slipped the pan of biscuits into the oven, and put the kettle on to boil. Uncle Robert had come! Everybody was happy. No one more so than Uncle Robert himself. "Now, this is good," he said, when at length they were seated around the supper table. "I feel at home already. Susie, did those violets on my table grow in your garden?" [Illustration: Violets.] "Oh, no," replied Susie. "I found them in the woods by the creek. And the buttercups, didn't you see them in the glass, too?" "Buttercups so early ?" asked Uncle Robert. "Oh, yes, the low ones do come early. You must take me down where they grow some day." "We'll go to-morrow," said Susie. Uncle Robert smiled at the eager little face, and, turning to Mr. Leonard, said: "Frank tells me the farm is looking well this spring." "Yes, it looks fairly well," replied Mr. Leonard. "The seed is all in but the corn. That is a little late. The water on the bottom land stayed longer than usual this year." "Peter thinks we can start the planting to-morrow," said Frank. "Yes," replied his father, "I think so, too." When supper was over they all went out on the side porch. The sun was setting. The air was soft and spring-like. The lilacs along the fence filled the air with fragrance. "Don't you want to see Susie's garden, Robert?" asked Mrs. Leonard, "Yes, indeed," said Uncle Robert. "Susie wrote me some nice little letters about that garden." As they walked along the narrow paths Susie showed him where the seeds were already planted, and told him what she thought she would have in the other beds. "This is phlox," said Susie, leading Uncle Robert by the hand; "and marigolds are here, and sweet peas over there by the fence. That place between mother's garden and mine is filled with rosebushes, syringas, and hollyhocks." "I still call the vegetable garden mine, but the boys do most of the work," said Mrs. Leonard. "That big bush at the end of the row is an elder."