`` Mrs. Stanton of Boston was here today , '' said Sara , enjoying the moment of revelation hugely . `` She makes a hobby of collecting old furniture . I sold her every blessed thing in the blue north room except Mother 's carpet and Grandma 's mats and sampler . She wanted those too , but I could n't part with them . She bought everything else and , '' Sara lifted her hands , full of bills , dramatically , `` here are two hundred and fifty dollars to take you to the Valley Academy next fall , Ray . '' `` It would n't be fair to take it for that , '' said Ray , flushing . `` You and Will -- '' `` Will and I say you must take it , '' said Sara . `` Do n't we , Will ? There is nothing we want so much as to give you a college start . It is an enormous burden off my mind to think it is so nicely provided for . Besides , most of those old things were yours by the right of rediscovery , and you voted first of all to have Aunt Josephina come . '' `` You must take it , of course , Ray , '' said Willard . `` Nothing else would give Sara and me so much pleasure . A blessing on Aunt Josephina . '' `` Amen , '' said Sara and Ray . The Christmas Surprise at Enderly Road `` Phil , I 'm getting fearfully hungry . When are we going to strike civilization ? '' The speaker was my chum , Frank Ward . We were home from our academy for the Christmas holidays and had been amusing ourselves on this sunshiny December afternoon by a tramp through the `` back lands , '' as the barrens that swept away south behind the village were called . They were grown over with scrub maple and spruce , and were quite pathless save for meandering sheep tracks that crossed and recrossed , but led apparently nowhere .
Frank and I did not know exactly where we were , but the back lands were not so extensive but that we would XXXXX out somewhere if we kept on .
bought collecting come enjoying grown meandering part sold swept wanted