178 FENCES.

so that they might go on, for they were
eager to get home again. They saw Jonas
coming out of the barn.

“ Aye the horses ready?” said Rollo.

“ Not quite yet,” said Jonas.

‘“ What are they eating?” said Rollo.

“ A peck of oats apiece,” Jonas replied.

“A peck! O, how many! They'll get
some grass when we get home, won't they,
Jonas?”

“Yes,” said Jonas; ‘we shall turn them
out to pasture at once.”

“ Why don’t you put them into a pasture,
here, at the taverns, as we go along, and so
let them have grass instead of oats?”

“QO, because,”’ said Jonas.

‘“ Because what ?’’ asked Lucy.

“Why, it would take them longer to
make a dinner of grass. And besides, they
might jump over the fence; and then what
should we do?” |

“If it was a good rail fence of five bars,
they couldn’t,” said Rollo.

“How came you to know about rail
fences?’’ said Jonas.

“Father told us all about fences, the other
day,”’ replied Rollo.