she was at leisure to look and enjoy; not having even to take care of her own footing.  The depth of green leafage over her head when she looked up; the depth of green shade on either hand of her, pierced by the endless colonnade of the boles of trees; how wildly beautiful it was!  Daisy thought of a good many things she would like to ask Dr. Sandford—­if she had the liberty; but he did not talk about wonderful things to her now that she was well and had her own means of amusement.  Now and then Daisy had the sight of a red squirrel, running along a tree bough or scampering over the ground from one rock to another.  What jumps he would make to get out of her way!  And birds were singing too, sometimes; and mosses were spread out in luxuriant patches of wood carpeting in many places; and rocks were brown and grey, and grown with other mosses and ferns; and through all this fairy work of beauty Daisy’s chair went at an easy, quiet pace, with a motion that she thought it very pleasant to feel.

It was a wild old wood, which nobody had ever meddled with.  Things were just as nature’s work had made them.  The path the little party were travelling was a wood road merely, where country wagons had made a track; or more properly, where the country people had made a track for their wagons.  It was but a rough way; stumps of trees that had been cut down stood right in the middle of it; and rocks and stones were in some places very thickly strewn over it.  After some time of wandering over level ground, the path took a turn and began to get among the hills.  It wound up and down and was bordered now by steep hillsides and sharp-rising rocks.  It was all the wilder and prettier.  The house Dr. Sandford spoke of had been passed; the turn had been taken; there was nothing to do now but follow on till they found the lake; but there were no signs of it yet, nor any sound of voices to be heard in the distance.  Even the boys were gone on out of sight; the stillness of summer noon was all through the deep woods, for it is a time of day when the birds do not feel like ringing much.  Daisy enjoyed it.  She thought no one of all their company was having a better time probably than she.

Suddenly Sam, who was foremost of the bearers, gave a great shout; and at the same instant dropped his end of Daisy’s chair and sprang to one side.  Then stood still.

“What for air ye playing capers like that?” inquired Logan, with an air of great disgust and a strong Scotch accent.  Sam stood still, drawing his countenance into all manner of grimaces.

“Speak then, can’t ye!  What ails ye?  Don’t stand there like a Merry Andrew, boy!”

“I’ve hurted myself!” Sam groaned.

“And how did ye hurt yourself?  When ye were walking along, couldn’t ye go for’rard quietly?  Where’s the hurt?”

“My foot!” said Sam bending down to it.  “I can’t stir it.  Oh!”

“Did ye hurt yourself before or after ye gave such a loup?” Logan grunted, going over however now to bring his own wisdom to bear on Sam’s causes of trouble.  “Whatever possessed ye boy, with the end of the chair in your hand?”