“What under the sun—­” And, without a word more, Aunt Stanshy left the clothes she was washing and rushed into the yard.

“Come here, mister, and bring your saw,” she said to the man at the wood-pile, “and, Charlie, bring a hammer from the nail-box on the entry-shelf!”

The man at the wood-pile rushed after Aunt Stanshy, saw in hand, while Charlie hurriedly brought the hammer.

“Now saw into that box and knock away with the hammer, mister.  You see, Silas Trefethen wanted to hire my barn last winter, and thought he would put in what he called a fodder-box running down from the closet above to this floor, and then intended to knock the closet away when he had carried the box down here, thinking he might save some steps that way, but he was taken sick and the closet was left there; and that closet floor, I suppose, wasn’t left just right.”

Aunt Stanshy was talking while the man was sawing and hammering away.  He plied his tools vigorously, and soon let Wort out into the full light of day once more.  The boys shouted and laughed also as Wort wriggled forward into liberty.  He looked up, but seeing that his liberator was the man he had seeded, he dropped his head, and, refusing to look again, slunk away with an air that indicated a strong desire to find another box where he could shut himself up for the present.

The man concluded who his enemy was, and he said, “I guess we are even now.”

CHAPTER V.

The nation’s birthday.

“The great thing on the Fourth is to have a good time,” said the president.

“No, the great thing,” said the practical governor, “is to be sure and wake up in season.”

“That’s so,” chimed several voices in chorus.

“How shall we fix it?” asked Pip.

“Tie your toe to the bed-post,” said some one.

“Put a lot of stones in your bed,” said Sid, “and then you can’t sleep easy.”

“Two sleep together and tie their toes to one another,” said the governor.

Objections were found against all these plans, as they had been ineffectually tried by various members of the club.

“Go and holler under every boy’s window,” said Billy Grimes, with the air of one who had made an important discovery.  “I will holler under your’s, Pip,” was his magnificent offer.

“But who will be the feller to go to your window?” asked Sid.

“Why—­why—­you.”

“Well, who will holler under my window?” said Sid.

“I,” said Wort.

“And under yours?” continued the president.

“I,” said Juggie.

“And who under Juggle’s?”

“I,” said Tony.

“And who under Tony’s?”

“I,” said Charlie.

“And who under Charlie’s?”

That was a problem.

“Aunt Thanthy,” suggested Pip.

“Aunt Stanshy is going out visiting,” remarked Charlie.