Besides, the weather here is very hot. But in England it is
colder, and walking is a pleasure. I have walked over twenty miles a
day, many times, not because I had to do it, but as a day's pleasure
with a friend."
"Can you shoot, cousin?"
"No," Dick laughed. "There is nothing to shoot at. There are no wild
beasts in England, and no game birds anywhere near London."
Dick saw, at once, that he had descended many steps in his cousins'
estimation.
"Then what can you find to do?" the younger boy asked.
"Oh, there is plenty to do," Dick said. "In the first place, there is
school. That takes the best part of the day. Then there are all sorts
of games. Then I used to take lessons in sword exercise, and did all
sorts of things to improve my muscles, and to make me strong. Then, on
holidays, three or four of us would go for a long walk, and sometimes
we went out on the river in a boat; and every morning, early, we used
to go for a swim. Oh, I can tell you, there was plenty to do, and I
was busy from morning till night. But I want very much to learn to
shoot, both with gun and pistol, as well as to ride."
"We have got English guns and pistols," Doast said. "We will lend them
to you.
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