So Marco wished them good
luck, and began to mount the fence again, with the intention of
returning to his studies.
On looking toward the office, he saw his uncle coming out of the door
in the rear of it, and walking toward the house. Marco immediately
reflected that it would not answer for him to meet his uncle, and he
descended from the fence again on the same side with the boys, until
his uncle should go back. The boys thought he came back because he
was undecided whether to go with them or not, and they renewed their
invitations with redoubled urgency. Marco did not reply, but looked
steadily toward the house. He saw a man standing in the yard with a
small ladder in his hand. A moment afterward, Marco's uncle came out
of the house, and, to Marco's great consternation, he perceived that
he had a saw and a hatchet in his hand, and then he recollected that
his uncle had been intending to prune some trees that forenoon. The
trees were situated in various positions about the yard, so that Marco
could neither go in at the front door of the office, nor climb in at
the window, without being discovered. He did not know what to do.
In the mean time, the boys urged him to go with them. They did not
know any thing about his studies, and supposed that his hesitation was
only owing to his want of interest in the object of the expedition.
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