and it is too heavy to be raised, in any quantity, in the air with the water. Yet, I suppose, that a little salt is always mixed with the bubbles that form clouds."

CHAPTER VI.

HOW THOMAS KILLED A HAWK.

This afternoon was very hot, and the boys spent it in their room, arranging their books and pictures, and in reading. At five o'clock, while Thomas was standing by the window, he suddenly exclaimed: "There's a hawk!" Both the boys ran to the window, and saw a large hawk, sailing slowly toward the barn.

"He is the one that steals our chickens," said John. "And see, he's flying straight for the barn. Thomas, run and ask father for the gun."

Mr. Harvey kept two guns in his house; but he used them only for shooting hawks, when they were flying about to steal the poultry. John and Thomas had learned to use them, and sometimes spent an afternoon in firing at a mark. But they never did so without their father's consent.

THE HAWK

Thomas soon joined the other boys, having the gun in his hand; and after Mr. Harvey had bidden them to be careful, they followed in the direction the hawk was flying. They kept close by the fence, so that it could not see them. In a short time it was over the barn yard, and sailing round and round, in order to make a sweep downwards. "Hurry, Thomas," said John; and Thomas ran stooping along some bushes, followed by John and Samuel, on their hands and feet. The hawk was now quite low, and the boys could hear the hens screaming and running about. At last Thomas reached the barn fence, and his brother told him to fire. But he could not take aim, because the hawk was partly hidden by the corner of the barn. "I am afraid he'll get that little chicken," said Samuel. "See if you can take aim now," whispered John. The hawk now made a sweep at one of the chickens; but it ran under the barn, and the hawk flew up a little higher. Just then, Thomas fired. The hawk came down head foremost, and Thomas threw away his gun, and sprang over the wall. John and Samuel jumped after him, shouting as loud as they could. In a few moments the hawk was dead. It was the largest one that either of them had ever seen. When they reached the house, Mr. Harvey was waiting for them; and on seeing so large a hawk, promised to have it stuffed for them. The gun was then hung up in its place.

CHAPTER VII.

ABOUT BATS.

This evening, while the boys were reading and talking to Mr. Harvey, several bats flew in at the window. John caught one of them in his hat, and placed it on the table for his cousin to examine. Samuel asked his uncle if it would not fly away.

"No," said Mr. Harvey, "it cannot raise itself from the ground. What we call its wings, are, you see, nothing but two thin skins, or membranes, stretched from its hind legs to its fore ones, and fastened to its sides. When flying, it spreads out its toes, so as to unfold these membranes, and thus balances itself in the air."

"Do not some people think that the bat is a bird?" asked Samuel.

"Yes. But probably they never examined a bat closely. You see that it looks nothing at all like a bird."

"Father," said John, "where did those great bats come from, which you have in your cabinet?"

"From the island of Java," said Mr. Harvey. "They are called Java bats. I have seen some with bodies as large as hens, and wings like umbrellas. Hundreds of these animals fly about the gardens and orchards of that island, every night, destroying great quantities of fruit. The people there, spread nets over the trees, to protect the fruit, and shoot the bats with guns, as you did the hawk."

"I have read, in a book of travels," said Samuel, "that while persons are asleep, these bats, or some other large kind, suck their blood. Is that true, sir?"

"No," said Mr. Harvey. "Such tales were long believed, even by writers on natural history; and I have some where a picture of a monstrous bat sucking the blood from a man's veins. But all this is now known to be fabulous. No kind of bat will attack an animal as large as itself, nor enter a house when there is an abundance of fruit and insects in the field."

"Shall we let this bat go now?" said John. Mr. Harvey said yes; and then John lifted it on a large sheet of paper, and threw it into the air. In a moment it spread out its thin wings, and after flying about the room two or three times, passed out of the window. Mr. Harvey told them, that although the bat was so feeble when on the ground, yet its strength of wing was greater than that of any bird.

CHAPTER VIII.

THE WALK TO THE CREEK.

The next day there was a heavy thunder shower, in the morning, which compelled the boys to stay in the house; and in the afternoon the teacher of the academy paid Mr. Harvey a visit. During the time that he staid, Thomas, with his brother and cousin, were told to remain in the house. But the next day was cool and pleasant, and they started early on a ramble through the fields. As they passed close to a farm house, Samuel saw a large dog chained to a tree, in the yard. It looked very fierce at them as they passed, and then began to growl and bark. Thomas told his cousin, that this dog had bitten several persons in the neighborhood, and that some of the school boys had tried to poison it; but that the farmer was careful always to keep it chained, so that no body might get a chance to catch it in the road.

About half a mile further onward was a fine stream of water. It began in the hills, and ran winding along, deeper and broader, to a great distance. Mr. Harvey owned several farms along this creek; and here Thomas and John often came, in summer evenings, to swim. The water was clear and pure, so that hundreds of fish could be seen sporting around the shores.

When the boys reached this creek, they sat down under a shady tree, to watch the fishes, and listen to the songs of the birds, on the bushes that hung over the water. In a short time, a number of eels came from under a large stone, one after the other, and after swimming about for a little while, buried themselves in the mud. Samuel asked Thomas where so many came from.

"They live in the water," replied his cousin. "On a pleasant evening you can see many more swimming among the stones, and the roots of trees, by the edge of the creek. But, do you know, that they sometimes come out of the water, and glide about the meadows."

"No," said Samuel; "do they?"

"Yes," replied Thomas. "At night you may sometimes see a great many among the grass. One evening last summer John and I met a whole company of them, going from the little creek, near Daddy Hall's house, toward the mill pond. We thought, at first, that they were snakes, and so moved out of their road; but by and by, we perceived that they were eels. The weather had been hot and dry for two weeks before, and these eels were travelling to find more water. So father told us afterwards."

The boys now walked on, down the creek, until they came to a small bridge. On this a boy, about as large as Samuel, was standing, throwing stones into the water. When Thomas, and the other two, got near enough, they saw he was stoning frogs. Every time one of these little animals put its head above the water, the boy pelted it with a stone; and two or three had been mashed to death, as