`` It 's cooler up here , '' answered Ben , composing himself in the frame , and fanning his hot face with a green spray broken from the tall bushes rustling odorously all about him . `` I did all sorts of jobs . The old gentleman was n't cross ; he gave me a dime , and I like him first-rate . But I just hate ` Carrots ; ' he swears at a feller , and fired a stick of wood at me . Guess I 'll pay him off when I get a chance . '' Fumbling in his pocket to show the bright dime , he found the torn page , and remembered the thirst for information which had seized him in the morning . `` Look here , tell me about this , will you ? What are these chaps up to ? The ink has spoilt all but the picture and this bit of reading . I want to know what it means . Take it to 'em , Sanch . '' The dog caught the leaf as it fluttered to the ground , and carrying it carefully in his mouth , deposited it at the feet of the little girls , seating himself before them with an air of deep interest . Bab and Betty picked it up and read it aloud in unison , while Ben leaned from his perch to listen and learn . '' ` When day dawned , land was visible . A pleasant land it was . There were gay flowers , and tall trees with leaves and fruit , such as they had never seen before . On the shore were unclad copper-colored men , gazing with wonder at the Spanish ships . They took them for great birds , the white sails for their wings , and the Spaniards for superior beings brought down from heaven on their backs . '' `` Why , that 's Columbus finding San Salvador . Do n't you know about him ? ''
demanded Bab , as if she were one of the `` superior XXXXX , '' and intimately acquainted with the immortal Christopher .
Carrots beings chaps dime face frame interest perch spray wonder