DAB KINZER

 A STORY OF A GROWING BOY

 BY

 WILLIAM O. STODDARD

 1884

CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER I. THE KINZER FARM, THE NEW SUIT, AND THE WEDDING. 

CHAPTER II. DAB'S OLD CLOTHES GET A NEW BOY TO FIT. 

CHAPTER III. A MEMBER OF ONE OF THE OLDEST FAMILIES MEETS A YOUNGGENTLEMAN FROM THE CITY. 

CHAPTER IV. TWO BOYS, ONE PIG, AND AN UNFORTUNATE RAILWAY-TRAIN. 

CHAPTER V. NEW NEIGHBORS, AND GETTING SETTLED. 

CHAPTER VI. CRABS, BOYS, AND A BOAT-WRECK. 

CHAPTER VII. A VERY ACCIDENTAL CALL. 

CHAPTER VIII. A RESCUE, AND A GRAND GOOD TIME. 

CHAPTER IX. THERE ARE DIFFERENT KINDS OF BOYS. 

CHAPTER X. A CRUISE IN "THE SWALLOW". 

CHAPTER XI. SPLENDID FISHING, AND A BIG FOG. 

CHAPTER XII. HOW THE GAME OF "FOLLOW MY LEADER" CAN BE PLAYEDAT SEA. 

CHAPTER XIII. "HOME AGAIN! HERE WE ARE!". 

CHAPTER XIV. A GREAT MANY THINGS GETTING READY TO COME. 

CHAPTER XV. DABNEY KINZER TO THE RESCUE. 

CHAPTER XVI. DAB KINZER AND HAM MORRIS TURN INTO A FIRE-DEPARTMENT. 

CHAPTER XVII. DAB HAS A WAKING DREAM, AND HAM GETS A SNIFF OF SEA-AIR. 

CHAPTER XVIII. HOW DAB WORKED OUT ANOTHER OF HIS GREAT PLANS. 

CHAPTER XIX. A GRAND SAILING-PARTY, AND AN EXPERIMENT BY RICHARD LEE. 

CHAPTER XX. A WRECK AND SOME WRECKERS. 

CHAPTER XXI. DAB AND HIS FRIENDS TURN THEMSELVES INTO COOKS AND WAITERS. 

CHAPTER XXII. THE REAL MISSION OF THE JUG. 

CHAPTER XXIII. ANOTHER GRAND PLAN, AND A VERY GRAND RUNAWAY. 

CHAPTER XXIV. DABNEY'S GREAT PARTY. 

CHAPTER XXV. THE BOYS ON THEIR TRAVELS. A GREAT CITY, AND A GREAT DINNER. 

CHAPTER XXVI. THE FIRST MORNING IN GRANTLEY, AND ANOTHER EXCELLENT JOKE. 

CHAPTER XXVII. A NEW KIND OF EXAMINATION. 

CHAPTER XXVIII. AN UNUSUAL AMOUNT OF INTRODUCTION. 

CHAPTER XXIX. LETTERS HOME FROM THE BOYS. --DICK LEE'S FIRST GRIEF. 

CHAPTER XXX. DABNEY KINZER TRIES FRESH-WATER FISHING FOR THE FIRST TIME. 

CHAPTER XXXI. A FIGHT, AND WHAT CAME OF IT. 

CHAPTER XXXII. OLD FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS OF HIS COME TO VISIT DABNEY. 

DAB KINZER

CHAPTER I. 

THE KINZER FARM, THE NEW SUIT, AND THE WEDDING. 

Between the village and the inlet, and half a mile from the great "bay, "lay the Kinzer farm. Beyond the bay was a sandbar, and beyond that theAtlantic Ocean; for all this was on the southerly shore of Long Island. 

The Kinzer farm had lain right there--acre for acre, no more, noless--on the day when Hendrik Hudson long ago sailed the good ship "HalfMoon" into New-York Bay. But it was not then known to any one as theKinzer farm. Neither was there then, as now, any bright and growingvillage crowding up on one side of it, with a railway-station and apost-office. Nor was there, at that time, any great and busy city of NewYork, only a few hours' ride away, over on the island of Manhattan. TheKinzers themselves were not there then. But the bay and the inlet, withthe fish and the crabs, and the ebbing and flowing tides, were there, very much the same, before Hendrik Hudson and his brave Dutchmen knewany thing whatever about that corner of the world. 

The Kinzer farm had always been a reasonably "fat" one, both as to sizeand quality; and the good people who lived on it had generally been of asomewhat similar description. It was, therefore, every way correct andbecoming for Dabney Kinzer's widowed mother and his sisters to be theplump and hearty beings they were, and all the more discouraging to poorDabney that no amount of regular and faithful eating seemed to make himresemble them at all in that respect. 

Mrs. Kinzer excused his thinness, to her neighbors, to be sure, on theground that he was "such a growing boy;" but, for all that, he caughthimself wondering, now and then, if he would never be done with thatpart of his trials. For rapid growth has its trials. 

"The fact is, " he said to himself one day, as he leaned over the northfence, "I'm more like Ham Morris's farm than I am like ours. His farm isbigger than ours, all round; but it's too big for its fences, just asI'm too big for my clothes. Ham's house is three times as large as ours, but it looks as if it had grown too fast. It hasn't any paint to speakof, nor any blinds. It looks as if somebody'd just built it there, andthen forgot it, and gone oft and left it out of doors. "

Dabney's four sisters had all come into the world before him; but he wasas tall as any of them, and was frequently taken by strangers for a goodtwo years older than he was. It was sometimes very hard for him, a boyof fifteen, to live up to what was expected of those extra two years. 

Mrs. Kinzer still kept him in roundabouts; but they did not seem tohinder his growth at all, if that was her object in so doing. 

There was no such thing, however, as keeping the four girls inroundabouts of any kind; and, what between them and their mother, thepleasant and tidy little Kinzer homestead, with its snug parlor and itscosey bits of rooms and chambers, seemed to nestle away, under theshadowy elms and sycamores, smaller and smaller with every year thatcame. 

It was a terribly tight fit for such a family, anyway; and, now thatDabney was growing at such a rate, there was no telling what they wouldall come to. But Mrs. Kinzer came at last to the rescue; and shesummoned her eldest daughter, Miranda, to her aid. 

A very notable woman was the widow. When the new railway cut off part ofthe old farm, she had split up the slice of land between the iron trackand the village into "town lots, " and had sold them all off by the timethe railway company paid her for the "damage" it had done the property. 

The whole Kinzer family gained visibly in plumpness that year, except, perhaps, Dabney. 

Of course the condition and requirements of Ham Morris and his big farm, just over the north fence, had not escaped such a pair of eyes as thoseof the widow; and the very size of his great barn of a house finallysettled his fate for him. 

A large, quiet, unambitious, but well-brought-up and industrious youngman was Hamilton Morris, and he had not the least idea of the good instore for him for several months after Mrs. Kinzer decided to marry himto her daughter Miranda; but all was soon settled. Dab, of course, hadnothing to do with the wedding arrangements, and Ham's share wassomewhat contracted. Not but what he was at the Kinzer house a gooddeal; nor did any of the other girls tell Miranda how very much he wasin the way. He could talk, however; and one morning, about a fortnightbefore the day appointed, he said to Miranda and her mother, --

"We can't have so very much of a wedding: your house is so small, andyou've chocked it so full of furniture. Right down nice furniture it istoo; but there's so much of it, I'm afraid the minister'll have to standout in the front yard. "

"The house'll do for this time, " replied Mrs. Kinzer. "There'll be roomenough for everybody. What puzzles me is Dab. "

"What about Dab?" asked Ham. 

"Can't find a thing to fit him, " said Dab's mother. "Seems as if he wereall odd sizes, from head to foot. "

"Fit him?" exclaimed Ham. "Oh, you mean ready-made goods! Of course youcan't. He'll have to be measured by a tailor, and have his new suitbuilt for him. "

"Such extravagance!" emphatically remarked Mrs. Kinzer. 

"Not for rich people like you, and for a wedding, " replied Ham; "andDab's a growing boy. Where is he now? I'm going to the village, and I'lltake him right along with me. "

There seemed to be no help for it; but that was the first point relatingto the wedding, concerning which Ham Morris was permitted to haveexactly his own way. His success made Dab Kinzer a fast friend of hisfor life, and that was something. There was also something new andwonderful to Dabney himself, in walking into a tailor's shop, pickingout cloth to please himself, and being so carefully measured all over. He stretched and stretched himself in all directions, to make surenothing should turn out too small. At the end of it all, Ham said tohim, --

"Now, Dab, my boy, this suit is to be a present from me to you, onMiranda's account. "

Dab colored and hesitated for a moment: but it seemed all right, hethought; and so he came frankly out with, --

"Thank you, Ham. You always was a prime good fellow. I'll do as much foryou some day. Tell you what I'll do, then: I'll have another suit maderight away, of this other cloth, and have the bill for that one sent toour folks. "

"Do it!" exclaimed Ham. "Do it! You've your mother's orders for that. She's nothing to do with my gift. "

"Splendid!" almost shouted Dab. "Oh, but don't I hope they'll fit!"

"Vit, " said the tailor: "vill zay vit? I dell you zay vit you like aknife. You vait und zee. "

Dab failed to get a very clear idea of what the fit would be, but itmade him almost hold his breath to think of it. 

After the triumphant visit to the tailor, there was still a necessityfor a call upon the shoemaker, and that was a matter of no smallimportance. Dab's feet had always been a mystery and a trial to him. Ifhis memory contained one record darker than another, it was the endlesshistory of his misadventures with boots and shoes. He and leather hadbeen at war from the day he left his creeping-clothes until now. But nowhe was promised a pair of shoes that would be sure to fit. 

So the question of Dab's personal appearance at the wedding was allarranged between him and Ham; and Miranda smiled more sweetly than everbefore upon the latter, after she had heard her usually silent brotherbreak out so enthusiastically about him as he did that evening. 

It was a good thing for that wedding, that it took place in fine summerweather; for neither kith, kin, nor acquaintances had been slighted inthe invitations, and the Kinzers were one of the "oldest families. "

To have gathered them all under the roof of that house, without eitherstretching it out wider or boiling the guests down, would have been outof the question; and so the majority, with Dabney in his new clothes tokeep them countenance, stood out in the cool shade of the grand oldtrees during the ceremony, which was performed near the open door; andwere afterwards served with the refreshments in a style which spokevolumes for Mrs. Kinzer's good management, as well as for herhospitality. 

The only drawback to Dab's happiness that day was that his acquaintanceshardly seemed to know him. He had had almost the same trouble withhimself, when he looked in the glass that morning. 

Ordinarily, his wrists were several inches through his coat-sleeves, andhis ankles made a perpetual show of his stockings. His neck, too, seemedto be holding his head as far as possible from his coat-collar, and hisbuttons had no favors to ask of his button-holes. 

Now, even as the tailor had promised, he had received his "first fit. "He seemed to himself, to tell the truth, to be covered up in a prodigalwaste of new cloth. Would he ever, ever, grow too big for such a suit ofclothes as that? It was a very painful thought, and he did his best toput it away from him. 

Still, it was a little hard to have a young lady, whom he had knownsince before she began to walk, remark to him, --

"Excuse me, sir, but can you tell me if Mr. Dabney Kinzer is here?"

"No, Jenny Walters, " sharply responded Dab, "he isn't here. "

"Why, Dabney!" exclaimed the pretty Jenny. "Is that you? I declare, youhave scared me out of a year's growth!"

"I wish you'd scare me, then, " said Dab. "Then my clothes would stayfitted. "

Every thing had been so well arranged beforehand, thanks to Mrs. Kinzer, that the wedding had no chance at all except to go off well. Ham Morriswas rejoiced to find how entirely he was relieved of everyresponsibility. 

"Don't worry about your house, " the widow said to him, the night beforethe wedding. "We'll go over there, as soon as you and Miranda get away, and it'll be all ready for you by the time you get back. "

"All right, " said Ham. "I'll be glad to have you take the old place inhand. I've only tried to live in a corner of it. You don't know how muchroom there is. I don't, I must say. "

Dabney had longed to ask her if she meant to have it moved over to theKinzer side of the north fence, but he had doubts as to the propriety ofit; and just then the boy came in from the tailor's with his bundle ofnew clothes. 

CHAPTER II. 

DAB'S OLD CLOTHES GET A NEW BOY TO FIT. 

Hamilton Morris was a very promising young man, of some thirty summers. He had been an "orphan" for a dozen years; and the wonder was that heshould so long have lived alone in the big, square-built house hisfather left him. At all events, Miranda Kinzer was just the wife forhim. 

Miranda's mother had seen that at a glance, the moment her mind wassettled about the house. As to that and his great, spreading, half-cultivated farm, all either of them needed was ready money andmanagement. 

These were blessings Ham was now made reasonably sure of, on his returnfrom his wedding-trip, and he was likely to appreciate them. 

As for Dabney Kinzer, he was in no respect overcome by the novelty andexcitement of the wedding-day. All the rest of it, after the departureof Ham Morris and the bride, he devoted himself to such duties as wereassigned him, with a new and grand idea steadily taking shape in hismind. He felt as if his brains too, like his body, were growing. Some ofhis mother's older and more intimate friends remained with her all day, probably to comfort her for the loss of Miranda; and two or three ofthem, Dab knew, would stay to tea, so that his services would be indemand to see them safely home. 

All day long, moreover, Samantha and Keziah and Pamela seemed to findthemselves wonderfully busy, one way and another, so that they paid evenless attention than usual to any of the ins and outs of their brother. 

Dabney was therefore able, with little difficulty, to take for himselfwhatever of odd time he might require for putting his new idea intoexecution. 

Mrs. Kinzer herself noticed the rare good sense with which her sonhurried through with his dinner, and slipped away, leaving her inundisturbed possession of the table and her lady guests, and neither shenor either of the girls had a thought of following him. 

If they had done so, they might have seen him draw a good-sized bundleout from under the lilac-thicket in the back yard, and hurry downthrough the garden. 

A few moments more, and Dabney had appeared on the fence of the oldcross-road leading down to the shore. There he sat, eying one passer-byafter another, till he suddenly sprang from his perch, exclaiming, --

"That's just the chap! Why, they'll fit him, and that's more'n they everdid for me. "

Dab would probably have had to search along the coast for miles beforehe could have found a human being better suited to his presentcharitable purposes than the boy who now came so lazily down the road. 

There was no doubt about his color, or that he was all over of about thesame shade of black. His old tow trowsers and calico shirt revealed theshining fact in too many places to leave room for a question, and shoeshe had none. 

"Dick, " said Dabney, "was you ever married?"

"Married!" exclaimed Dick, with a peal of very musical laughter, "is Imarried? No. Is you?"

"No, " replied Dabney; "but I was very near it, this morning. "

"Dat so?" asked Dick, with another show of his white teeth. "Done yegood, den; nebber seen ye I look so nice afore. "

"You'd look nicer'n I do if you were only dressed up, " said Dab. "Justyou put on these. "

"Golly!" exclaimed the black boy. But he seized the bundle Dab threwhim, and he had it open in a twinkling. 

"Any t'ing in de pockets?" he asked. 

"Guess not, " said Dab; "but there's lots of room. "

"Say dar was, " exclaimed Dick. "But won't dese t'ings be warm?"

It was quite likely; for the day was not a cool one, and Dick neverseemed to think of getting off what he had on, before getting into hisunexpected present. Coat, vest, and trousers, they were all pulled onwith more quickness than Dab had ever seen the young African displaybefore. 

"I's much obleeged to ye, Mr. Kinzer, " said Dick very proudly, as hestrutted across the road. "On'y I dasn't go back fru de village. "

"What'll you do, then?" asked Dab. 

"S'pose I'd better go a-fishin', " said Dick. "Will de fish bite?"

"Oh! the clothes won't make any odds to them, " said Dabney. "I must goback to the house. "

And so he did: while Dick, on whom the cast-off garments of his whitefriend were really a pretty good fit, marched on down the road, feelinggrander than he ever had before in all his life. 

"That'll be a good thing to tell Ham Morris, when he and Miranda gethome again, " muttered Dab, as he re-entered the house. 

Late that evening, when Dabney returned from his final duties as escortto his mother's guests, she rewarded him with more than he couldremember ever receiving of motherly commendation. 

"I've been really quite proud of you, Dabney, " she said, as she laid herplump hand on the collar of his new coat, and kissed him. "You'vebehaved like a perfect little gentleman. "

"Only, mother, " exclaimed Keziah, "he spent too much of his time withthat sharp-tongued little Jenny Walters. "

"Never mind, Kezi, " said Dab: "she didn't know who I was till I toldher. I'm going to wear a label with my name on it when I go over to thevillage to-morrow. "

"And then you'll put on your other suit in the morning, " said Mrs. Kinzer. "You must keep this for Sundays and great occasions. "

"Any more weddings coming, right away?" said Dab, with a sharp glancearound upon what remained of the family; but the girls were all verybusy just then, with their books and their sewing, and he did not getany direct reply. Even his mother walked away after something she hadleft in the dining-room. 

When the next morning came, Dabney Kinzer was a more than usually earlyriser, for he felt that he had waked up to a very important day. 

"Dabney, " exclaimed his mother, when he came in to breakfast, "did I nottell you to put on your other suit?"

"So I have, mother, " replied Dab: this is my other suit. "

"That?" exclaimed Mrs. Kinzer. 

"So it is!" cried Keziah. 

"So it isn't, " added Samantha. "Mother, that is not what he had onyesterday. "

"He's been trading again, " mildly suggested Pamela. 

"Dabney, " said Mrs. Kinzer, "what does this mean?"

"Mean!" replied Dabney. "Why, these are the clothes you told me to buy. The lot I wore yesterday were a present from Ham Morris. He's a splendidfellow. I'm glad he got the best of the girls. "

That was a bad thing for Dabney to say just then, for it was vigorouslyresented by the remaining three. As soon as quiet was restored, however, Mrs. Kinzer remarked, --

"I think Hamilton should have consulted me about it, but it's too latenow. Anyhow, you may go and put on your other clothes. "

"My wedding suit?" asked Dab. 

"No, indeed! I mean your old ones, --those you took off night beforelast. "

"Dunno where they are, " slowly responded Dab. 

"Don't know where they are?" responded a chorus of four voices. 

"No, " said Dab. "Bill Lee's black boy had em on all yesterday afternoon, and I reckon he's gone a-fishing again to-day. They fit him a good sightbetter 'n they ever did me. "

If Dabney had expected a storm to come from his mother's end of thetable, he was pleasantly mistaken; and his sisters had it all tothemselves for a moment. Then, with an admiring glance at her son, thethoughtful matron remarked, --

"Just like his father, for all the world! It's no use, girls: Dabney's agrowing boy in more ways than one. Dabney, I shall want you to go overto the Morris house with me after breakfast. Then you may hitch up theponies, and we'll do some errands around the village. "

Dab Kinzer's sisters looked at one another in blank astonishment, andSamantha would have left the table if she had only finished herbreakfast. 

Pamela, as being nearest to Dab in age and sympathy, gave a veryadmiring look at her brother's second "good fit, " and said nothing. 

Even Keziah finally admitted, in her own mind, that such a change inDabney's appearance might have its advantages. But Samantha inwardlydeclared war. 

The young hero himself was hardly used to that second suit, as yet, andfelt any thing but easy in it. 

"I wonder, " he said to himself, "what Jenny Walters would say to me now. Wonder if she'd know me. "

Not a doubt of it. But after he had finished his breakfast, and goneout, his mother remarked, --

"It's really all right, girls. I almost fear I have been neglectingDabney. He isn't a little boy any more. "

"He isn't a man yet, " exclaimed Samantha. "And he talks slangdreadfully. "

"But then, he does grow so!" remarked Keziah. 

"Mother, " said Pamela, "couldn't you get Dab to give Dick Lee the slang, along with the old clothes?"

"We'll see about it, " replied Mrs. Kinzer. 

It was very clear that Dabney's mother had begun to take in a new ideaabout her son. 

It was not the least bit in the world unpleasant to find out that he was"growing in more ways than one, " and it was quite likely that she hadindeed kept him too long in roundabouts. 

At all events, his great idea had been worked out into a triumphantsuccess; and, before the evening was over, Pamela replied to a remark ofSamantha's, --

"I don't care. He's taller than I am, and I'd ever so much rather have afrock-coat walk beside me to meeting. "

CHAPTER III. 

A MEMBER OF ONE OF THE OLDEST FAMILIES MEETS A YOUNG GENTLEMAN FROM THECITY. 

Dick Lee had been more than half right about the village being adangerous place for him, with such an unusual amount of clothing overhis ordinary uniform. 

The very dogs, every one of whom was an old acquaintance, barked at himon his way home that night; and, proud as were his ebony father andmother of the improvement in their son's appearance, they yielded to hisearnest entreaties, first, that he might wear his present all the nextday, and, second, that he might betake himself to the "bay" early in themorning, and so keep out of sight "till he got used to it. "

"On'y, you jist mind wot yer about!" said his mother, "and see't youkeep dem clo'es from gettin' wet. I jist can't 'foard to hab dem spiledright away. "

The fault with Dab Kinzer's old suit, after all, had lain mainly in itssize rather than its materials; for Mrs. Kinzer was too good a managerto be really stingy. 

Dick succeeded in reaching the boat-landing without falling in with anyone who seemed disposed to laugh at him; but there, right on the wharf, was a white boy of about his own age, and he felt a good deal likebacking out. 

"Nebber seen him afore, either, " said Dick to himself. "Den I guess Iain't afeard ob him. "

The stranger was a somewhat short and thick-set, but bright andactive-looking boy, with a pair of very keen, greenish-gray eyes. But, after all, the first word he spoke to poor Dick was, --

"Hullo, clothes! Where are you going with all that boy?"

"I knowed it, I knowed it!" groaned Dick. But he answered as sharply ashe knew how, --

"I's goin' a-fishin'. Any ob youah business?"--

"Where'd you learn how to fish?" the stranger asked, "Down South? Didn'tknow they had any there. "

"Nebbah was down Souf, " was the somewhat surly reply. 

"Father run away, did he?"

"He nebber was down dar, nudder. "

"Nor his father?"

"'Tain't no business ob yourn, " said Dick, "but we's allers lived rightheah, on dis bay. "

"Guess not, " said the white boy knowingly. Dick was right, nevertheless;for his people had been slaves among the very earliest Dutch settlers, and had never "lived South" at all. He was now busily getting one of theboats ready to shove off; but his white tormentor went at him again, with, --

"Well, then, if you've lived round here as long as that, you must knoweverybody. "

"Reckon I do. "

"Are there any nice fellows around here? Any like me?"

"De nicest young gen'lman round dis bay, " replied Dick, "is Mr. DabKinzer. But he ain't like you. Not nuff to hurt him. "

"Dab Kinzer, " exclaimed the stranger. "Where'd he get his name?"

"In de bay, I 'spect, " said Dick, as he shoved his boat off; "caught 'imwid a hook. "

"Anyhow, " said the strange boy to himself, "that's probably the kind offellow my father would wish me to associate with. Only it's likely he'svery ignorant. "

And he walked away towards the village, with the air of a man who hadforgotten more than the rest of his race were ever likely to find out. 

At all events, Dick Lee had managed to say a good word for hisbenefactor, little as he could guess what might be the consequences. 

Meantime Dab Kinzer, when he went out from breakfast, had strolled awayto the north fence, for a good look at the house which was thenceforthto be the home of his favorite sister. He had seen it before, every daysince he could remember; but it seemed to have a fresh and almostmournful interest for him just now. 

"Hullo!" he exclaimed, as he leaned against the fence. "Putting upladders? Oh, yes, I see! That's old Tommy McGrew, the house-painter. Well, Ham's house needs a new coat as badly as I did. Sure it'll fittoo. Only it ain't used to it, any more'n I am. "

"Dabney!"

It was his mother's voice, and Dab felt like "minding" very promptlythat morning. 

"Dabney, my boy, come here to the gate. "

"Ham Morris is having his house painted, " he remarked, as he walkedtowards his mother. 

"Is he?" she said. "We'll go and see about it. "

The gate between the two "side-yards" had been there from timeimmemorial, and-they walked right through. As they drew nearer theMorris house, however, Dabney discovered that carpenters as well aspainters were plying their trade in and about the old homestead. Therewere window-sashes piled here, and blinds there; a new door or so, readyfor use, a great stack of bundles of shingles, some barrels of lime, anda heap of sand. Whichever way Dab looked, there were visible signs of anapproaching renovation. 

"Going to fix it all over, " he remarked. 

"Yes, " replied his mother: "it'll be as good as new. It was well built, and will bear mending. I couldn't say that of some of the shacklingthings they've been putting up around the village. "

When they entered the house it became more and more evident that the"shabby" days of the Morris mansion were numbered. There were men atwork in almost every room. 

Ham's wedding-trip would surely give plenty of time, at that rate, foran immense amount of "mending;" and his house would be, as the widow hadpromised, "all ready for him on his return. "

There was nothing wonderful to Dabney in the idea of his mother goingabout and inspecting work, and finding fault, and giving directions. Hehad never seen her do any thing else, and he had the greatest confidencein her knowledge and ability. He noticed too, before they left theplace, that the customary farm-work was going ahead with even moreregularity and energy than if the owner himself had been present. 

"Ham's farm'll look something like ours, one of these days, " he said, "if things go on at this rate. "

"I mean it shall, " replied his mother, a little sharply. "Now go and getout the ponies, and we'll do the rest of our errands. "

Dab started for the barn at a half trot; for, if there was one thing heliked better than another, it was to have the reins in his hands andthat pair of ponies before him. Time had been when Mrs. Kinzer did herown driving, and only permitted Dab to "hold the horses" while she madeher calls, business or otherwise; but that day had been safely put awayamong Dab's unpleasant memories for a good while. 

It was but a few minutes before the neat buggy held the widow and herson, and the ponies were taking them briskly down the road towards thevillage. 

It they had only known it, at that very moment Ham Morris and hisblooming bride were setting out for a drive, at the fashionablewatering-place where they had made their first stop in theirwedding-tour. 

"Ham, " said Miranda, "it seems to me as if we were a thousand miles fromhome. "

"We shall be a good deal farther before we get any nearer, " said Ham. 

"But I wonder what they are doing there, this morning, --mother, and thegirls, and dear little Dabney. "

"Little Dabney!" exclaimed Ham, with a queer sort of laugh on his face. "Why, Miranda, do you think Dab is a baby yet?"

"No, not a baby, but"--

"Well, he's a boy, that's a fact; but he'll be as tall as I am in threeyears. "

"Will he? Do you think so? But will he ever get fat?"

"Not till after he gets his full length, " said Ham. "We must have him atour house a good deal, after we get home, and feed him up. I've taken aliking to Dab. "

"Feed him up!" said Miranda. "Do you think we starve him?"

"No, I suppose not; but how many meals a day does he get?"

"Three, of course, like the rest of us; and he never misses one ofthem. "

"Exactly, " said Ham: "I shouldn't suppose he would. I never miss a meal, myself, if I can help it. But don't you think three meals a day israther short allowance for a boy like Dab?"

Miranda thought a moment, but then she answered positively, --

"No, I don't. Not if he does as well at each one of them as Dabney issure to. "

"Well, " said Ham, "that was in his old clothes, that were too tight forhim. Now he's got a good loose fit, with plenty of room, you don't knowhow much more he may need. No, Miranda, I'm going to have an eye onDab. "

"You're a dear good fellow, anyway, " said Miranda, with one of her verybest smiles, "and I hope mother'll have the house all ready for us whenwe get back. "

"She will, " replied Ham, after a moment spent in somewhat thoughtfulsilence. "Do you know, Miranda, I shall hardly be easy about that till Isee what she's done with it? It was in a dreadfully baggy condition. "

CHAPTER IV. 

TWO BOYS, ONE PIG, AND AN UNFORTUNATE RAILWAY-TRAIN. 

"That's him!"

Dab was standing by his ponies, in front of a store in the village. Hismother was making some purchases in the store, and Dab was thinking howthe Morris house would look when it was finished; and it was at him theold farmer was pointing in answer to a question which had just beenasked him. 

The questioner was the sharp-eyed boy who had bothered poor Dick Leethat morning, and he was now evidently making a sort of "study" of DabKinzer. 

At that moment, however, a young lady--quite young--came tripping alongthe sidewalk, and was stopped by Dabney, with, --

"There, Jenny Walters! If I didn't forget my label!"

"Why, Dabney! Is that you? How you startled me! Forgot your label?"

"Yes, " said Dab; "I'm in another new suit today; and I meant to have alabel on the collar, with my name on it. You'd have known me then. "

"But I know you now, " exclaimed Jenny. "Why, I saw you yesterday. "

"Yes, and I told you it was me. Can you read, Jenny?"

"Why, what a question!"

"Because, if you can't, it won't do me any good to wear a label. "

"Dabney Kinzer!" exclaimed Jenny, "there's an other thing you ought toget. "

"What's that?"

"Some good manners, " said the little lady snappishly. "Think of yourstopping me in the street to tell me I can't read!"

"Then you mustn't forget me so quick, " said Dab. "If you meet my oldclothes anywhere you must call them Dick Lee. They've had a change ofname. "

"So he's in them, is he? I don't doubt they look better than they everdid before. "

Jenny walked away at once, at the end of that remark, holding her headpretty high, and leaving her old playmate feeling as if he had had alittle the worst of it. That was often the way with people who stoppedto talk with Jenny Walters, and she was not as much of a favorite as sheotherwise might have been. 

Dabney looked after her with his mouth puckered into shape for awhistle; but she had hardly disappeared before he found himselfconfronted by the strange young gentleman. 

"Is your name Dabney Kinzer?"

"Yes, I believe so. "

"Well, I'm Mr. Ford Foster, from New York. "

"Come over here to buy goods?" suggested Dabney. "Or to get something toeat?"

Ford Foster was apparently of about Dab's age, but a full head less inheight, so that there was more point in the question than there seemedto be; but he treated it as not worthy of notice, and asked, --

"Do you know of a house to let anywhere about here?"

"House to let?" suddenly exclaimed the voice of Mrs. Kinzer, behind him, much to Dab's surprise. "Are you asking about a house? Whom for?"

Ford Foster had been quite ready to "chaff" Dick Lee, and he would nothave hesitated about trying a like experiment upon Mr. Dabney Kinzer;but he knew enough to speak respectfully to the portly and business-likelady before him now. 

"Yes, madam, " he said, with a ceremonious bow: "I wish to report to myfather that I have found an acceptable house in this vicinity. "

"You do!"

Mrs. Kinzer was reading the young gentleman through and through, as shespoke; but she followed her exclamation with a dozen questions, all ofwhich he answered with a good deal of clearness and intelligence. Shewound up at last, with, --

"Go right home, then, and tell your father the only good house to let inthis neighborhood will be ready for him next week. I'll show it to himwhen he comes, but he'd better see me at once. Dabney, jump into thebuggy. I'm in a hurry. "

The ponies were in motion, up the street, before Ford Foster quiterecovered from the shock of being told to "go right home. "

"A very remarkable woman, " he muttered, as he turned away, "and she didnot tell me a word about the house, after all. I must make some moreinquiries. The boy is actually well dressed, for a place like this. "

"Mother, " said Dabney, as they drove along, "you wouldn't let 'em haveHam's house, would you?"

"No, indeed. But I don't mean to have our own stand empty. "

With that reply a great deal of light broke in upon Dab's mind. 

"That's it, is it?" he said to himself, as he touched up the ponies. "Well, there'll be room enough for all of us there, and no mistake. Butwhat'll Ham say?"

That was a question which he could safely leave to the very responsiblelady beside him; and she found "errands" enough for him, during theremainder of that forenoon, to keep him from worrying his mind about anything else. 

As for Ford Foster, it was not until late on the following day that hecompleted all his "inquiries" to his satisfaction. He took the afternoontrain for the city, almost convinced that, much as he undoubtedly knewbefore he came, he had actually acquired a good deal more knowledgewhich might be of some value. 

Ford was almost the only passenger in the car he had selected. Trainsgoing towards the city were apt to be thinly peopled at that time ofday; but the empty cars had to be taken along all the same, for thebenefit of the crowds who would be coming out later in the afternoon andin the evening. The railway-company would have made more money with fullloads both ways, but it was well they did not have a full load on thatprecise train. 

Ford had turned over the seat in front of him, and stretched himself outwith his feet on it. It was almost like lying down, for a boy of hislength; and it was the very best position he could possibly have takenif he had known what was coming. 

Known what was coming?

Yes: there was a pig coming. 

That was all; but it was quite enough, considering what that pig wasabout to do. He was going where he chose, just then; and not only had hechosen to walk upon the railroad-track, but he had also made up his mindnot to turn out for that locomotive and its train of cars. 

He saw it, of course, for he was looking straight at it; and theengineer saw him, but it would have been well for the pig if he had beendiscovered a few seconds earlier. 

"What a whistle!" exclaimed Ford Foster at that moment. "It sounds morelike the squeal of an iron pig than any thing else. I"--

But at that instant there came to him a great jolt and a shock; and Fordfound himself tumbled all in a heap, on the seat where his feet hadbeen. Then came bounce after bounce, and the sound of breaking glass, and then a crash. 

"Off the track, " shouted Ford, as he sprang to his feet. "I wouldn'thave missed it for any thing. I do hope, though, there hasn't anybodybeen killed. "

In the tremendous excitement of the moment he could hardly have told howhe got out of that car; but it did not seem ten seconds before he wasstanding beside the engineer and conductor of the train, looking at thebattered engine, as it lay upon its side in a deep ditch. Thebaggage-car, just behind it, was broken all to pieces, but thepassenger-cars did not seem to have suffered very much; and nobody wasbadly hurt, as the engineer and fireman had jumped off in time. 

There had been very little left of the pig; but the conductor and therest seemed much disposed to say unkind things about him, and about hisowner, and about all the other pigs they could think of. 

"This train'll never get in on time, " said Ford to the conductor, alittle later. "How'll I get to the city?"

The railway man was not in the best of humors; and he answered, a littlegroutily, "Well, young man, I don't suppose the city could get alongwithout you over night. The junction with the main road is only twomiles ahead, and if you're a good walker you may catch a train there. "

Some of the other passengers, none of whom were much more than "badlyshaken up, " or down, had made the same discovery; and in a few minutesmore there was a long, straggling procession of uncomfortable people, marching by the side of the railway-track, in the hot sun. They werenearly all of them making unkind remarks about pigs, and the facultythey had of not getting out of the way. 

The conductor was right, however; and nearly all of them managed to walkthe two miles to the junction in time to go in on the other train. 

Ford Foster was among the first to arrive, and he was likely to reachhome in season, in spite of the pig and his outrageous conduct. 

As for his danger, he had hardly thought of that; and he again and againdeclared to himself that he would not have missed so important anadventure for any thing he could think of. It almost sounded once ortwice as if he took to himself no small amount of personal credit, notto say glory, for having been in so remarkable an accident, and come outof it so well. 

Ford's return, when he should make it, was to take him to a great, pompous, stylish, crowded "up-town boarding-house, " in one of thefashionable streets of the great city. There was no wonder at all thatwise people should wish to get out of such a place in such hot weather. Still it was the sort of home Ford Foster had been acquainted with allhis life; and it was partly owing to that, that he had become soprematurely "knowing. "

He knew too much, in fact, and was only too well aware of it. He hadfilled his head with an unlimited stock of boarding-house information, as well as with a firm persuasion that there was little more to behad, --unless, indeed, it might be scraps of such outside knowledge as hehad now been picking up over on Long Island. 

In one of the large "parlor-chambers" of the boarding-house, at abouteight o'clock that evening, a middle-aged gentleman and lady, with afair, sweet-faced girl of about nineteen, were sitting near an openwindow, very much as if they were waiting for somebody. Such a kind, motherly lady! She was one of those whom no one can help liking, afterseeing her smile once, or hearing her speak. 

Ford Foster himself could not have put in words what he thought abouthis mother. And yet he had no difficulty whatever in expressing hisrespect for his father, or his unbounded admiration for his prettysister Annie. 

"O husband!" exclaimed Mrs. Foster, "are you sure none of them wereinjured?"

"So the telegraphic report said; not a bone broken of anybody, but thepig that got in the way. "

"How I wish he would come!" groaned Annie. "Have you any idea, father, how Ford could get to the city?"

"Not clearly, my dear, " said her father; "but you can trust Ford not tomiss any opportunity. He's just the boy to look out for himself in anemergency. "

Ford Foster's father took very strongly after the son in whose presenceof mind and ability he expressed so much confidence. He had just such asquare, active, bustling sort of body, several sizes larger; with justsuch keen, penetrating, greenish-gray eyes. Anybody would have pickedhim out at a glance for a lawyer, and a good one. 

That was exactly what he was; and, if anybody had become acquainted witheither son or father, there would have been no difficulty afterward inidentifying the other. 

It required a good deal more than the telegraphic report of theaccident, or even her husband's assurances, to relieve the motherlyanxiety of good Mrs. Foster, or even to drive away the shadows from theface of Annie. 

No doubt, if Ford himself had known the state of affairs in his familycircle, they would have been relieved earlier; for, even while they weretalking about him, he had reached the end of his adventures, and wasalready in the house. It had not so much as occurred to him that hismother would hear of the disaster to the pig and the railway-train untilhe himself should tell her; and so he had made sure of his supper downstairs before reporting his arrival. He might not have done it perhaps;but he had entered the house by the lower way, through the area door, and that of the dining-room had stood temptingly open, with some veryeatable things spread out upon the table. 

That had been too much for Ford, after his car-ride, and his smash-up, and his long walk. 

Now, at last, up he came, three stairs at a time, brimful of new andwonderful experiences, to be more than a little astonished by the mannerand enthusiasm of his welcome. 

"Why, mother, " he exclaimed, when he got a chance for a word, "you andAnnie couldn't have said much more if I'd been the pig himself!"

"The pig!" said Annie. 

"Yes, the pig that stopped us. He and the engine won't go home to theirfamilies to-night. "

"Don't make fun of it, Ford, " said his mother gently. "It's too seriousa matter. "

Just then his father broke in, almost impatiently, with, --

"Well, Ford, my boy, have you done your errand? or shall I have to seeabout it myself? You've been gone two days. "

"Thirty-seven hours and a half, father, " replied Ford, taking out hiswatch. "I've kept an exact account of my expenses. We've saved the costof advertising. "

"And spent it on railroading, " said his father, with a laugh. 

"But, Ford, " asked Annie, "did you find a house?--a good one?"

"Yes, " added Mrs. Foster: "now I'm sure you're safe, I do want to hearabout the house. "

"It's all right, mother, " said Ford confidently. "The very house youtold me to hunt for. Neither too large nor too small. I've only seen theoutside of it, but every thing about it is in apple-pie order. "

There were plenty of questions to answer now, but

Ford was every way equal to the occasion. Some of his answers might havemade Mrs. Kinzer herself open her eyes, for the material for them hadbeen obtained from her own neighbors. 

Ford's report, in fact, compelled his father to look at him with anexpression of face which very plainly meant, --

"That's my boy. He resembles me. I was just like him, at his age. He'llbe just like me, at mine. "

There was excellent reason, beyond question, to approve of the manner inwhich the young gentleman had performed his errand in the country; andMr. Foster promptly decided to go over in a day or two, and see whatsort of an arrangement could be made with Mrs. Kinzer. 

CHAPTER V. 

NEW NEIGHBORS, AND GETTING SETTLED. 

The week which followed the wedding-day was an important one. 

The improvements on the Morris house were pushed along in a way thatastonished everybody. Every day that passed, and with every dollar'sworth of work that was done, the good points of the long-neglected oldmansion came out stronger and stronger. 

The plans of Mrs. Kinzer had been a good while in getting ready, and sheknew exactly what was best to be done at every hole and corner. 

Within a few days after Ford's trip of investigation, he and his fathercame over from the city; and Mr. Foster speedily came to a perfectunderstanding with Dabney's mother. 

"A very business-like, common-sense sort of a woman, " the lawyerremarked to his son. "But what a great, dangling, overgrown piece of aboy that is! Still, he seems intelligent, and you may find him goodcompany. "

"No doubt of it, " said Ford. "I may be useful to him too. He looks as ifhe could learn if he only had a fair chance. "

"I should say so, " responded Mr. Foster. "We must not expect too much offellows brought up away out here, as he has been. "

Ford gravely assented, and they went back to report their success toMrs. Foster and Annie. 

There was a great surprise in store, consequently, for the people of thevillage. Early in the following week it was rumored from house tohouse, --

"The Kinzers are all a-movin' over to Ham Morris's. "

And then, before the public mind had become sufficiently settled toinquire into the matter, the rumor changed itself into a piece ofpositive news:--

"The widder Kinzer's moved over into Ham's house, bag and baggage. "

So it was; although the carpenters and painters and glaziers were stillat work, and the piles of Kinzer furniture had to be stored around asbest could be. Some part of them had even to be locked up over night inone of the barns. 

The Kinzers, for generations, had been a trifle weak about furniture;and that was one of the reasons why there had been so little room forhuman beings in their house. The little parlor, indeed, had been filleduntil it put one in mind of a small furniture-store, with not roomenough to show the stock on hand; and some of the other parts of thehouse required knowledge and care to walk about in them. It was bad fora small house, truly, but not so much so when the same articles weregiven a fair chance to spread themselves. 

It was a treat to Dab to watch while the new carpets were put down, andsee how much more at home and comfortable all that furniture looked, after it was moved into its new quarters. He remarked to Keziah, --

"It won't be of any use for anybody to try to sit on that sofa and playthe piano. They'll have to get up and come over. "

Mrs. Kinzer took good care that the house she left should speak well ofher to the eyes of Mrs. Foster, when that lady came to superintend thearrival of her own household goods. 

The character of these, by the way, at once convinced the villagegossips that "lawyer Foster must be a good deal forehanded in moneymatters. " And so he was, even more so than his furniture indicated. 

Ford had a wonderful deal to do with the settlement of his family intheir new home; and it was not until nearly the close of the week thathe found time for more than an occasional glance over the north fence, although he and Dab had several times exchanged a word or two when theymet each other on the road. 

"Take the two farms together, " his father had said to him, "and theymake a really fine estate. I learn, too, that the Kinzers have otherproperty. Your young acquaintance is likely to have a very good start inthe world. "

Ford had found out very nearly as much as that on his own account; buthe had long since learned the uselessness of trying to teach his fatherany thing, however well he might succeed with ordinary people, and so hesaid nothing. 

"Dabney, " said Mrs. Kinzer, that Friday evening, "you've been a greathelp all the week. Suppose you take the ponies to-morrow morning, andask young Foster out for a drive. "

"Mother, " exclaimed Samantha, "I shall want the ponies myself. I've somecalls to make, and some shopping. Dabney will have to drive. "

"No, Sam, " said Dabney: "if you go out with the ponies to-morrow, you'llhave my old clothes to drive you. I'll go and speak to them about it. "

"What do you mean?" asked Samantha. 

"I mean, with Dick Lee in them. "

"That would be just as well, " said Mrs. Kinzer. "The ponies are gentleenough, and Dick drives well. He'll be glad enough to go. "

"Dick Lee, indeed!" began Samantha. 

"A fine boy, " interrupted Dab. "And he's beginning to dress well. Hisnew clothes fit him beautifully. All he really needs is a shirt, andI'll give him one. Mine are getting too small. "

Samantha's fingers fidgeted a little with the tidy they were holding;but Mrs. Kinzer said composedly, --

"Well, Dabney, I've been thinking about it. You ought not to be tieddown all the while. Suppose you take next week pretty much to yourself:Samantha won't want the ponies every day. The other horses have all gotto work, or I'd let you have one of them. "

Dabney got up, for want of a better answer, and walked over to where hismother was sitting, and gave the thoughtful matron a good sounding kiss. 

At the same time he could not help thinking, --

"This comes of Ham Morris and my new rig. "

"There, Dabney, that'll do, " said his mother; "but how'll you spendSaturday?"

"Guess I'll take Ford Foster out in the bay, a-crabbing, if he'll go, "replied Dabney. "I'll run over and ask him. "

It was not too late, and he was out of the house before there was anychance for further remarks from the girls. 

"Now, " he muttered, as he walked along, "I'll have to see old lawyerFoster, and Mrs. Foster, and I don't know who all besides. I don't likethat. "

Just as he came to the north fence, however, he was hailed by a clear, wide-awake voice, --

"Dab Kinzer, is that you?"

"Guess so, " said Dab: "is that you, Ford?"

"I was just going over to your house, " said Ford. 

"Well, so was I just coming over to see you. I've been too busy all theweek, but they've let up on me at last. "

"I've got our family nearly settled, " replied Ford; "and I thought I'dask if you wouldn't like to go out on the bay with me to-morrow. Teachyou to catch crabs. "

Dabney drew a long, astonished sort of whistle; but he finished itwith, --

"That's about what I was thinking of. There's plenty of crabs, and I'vegot a tip-top boat. We won't want a heavy one for just us two. "

"All right, then. We'll begin on crabs, but some other day we'll go forbigger fish. What are you going to do next week?"

"Got it all to myself, " said Dab. "We can have all sorts of a good time. We can have the ponies, too, when we want them. "

"That's about as good as it knows how to be, " responded the younggentleman from the city. "I'd like to explore the country. You're goingto have a nice place of it, over there, before you get through. Only, ifI'd had the planning of that house, I'd have set it back farther. Toomuch room all round it. Not enough trees either. "

Dab came stoutly to the defence of not only that house, but ofLong-Island architecture generally, and was fairly overwhelmed, for thefirst time in his life, by a flood of big words from a boy of his ownage. 

He could have eaten up Ford Foster, if properly cooked. He felt sure ofthat. But he was no match for him on the building question. On his wayback to his new home, however, after the discussion had lasted longenough, he found himself inquiring, --

"That's all very nice, but what can he teach me about crabs? We'll seeabout that to-morrow. "

Beyond a doubt, the crab question was of special importance; but one offar greater consequence to Dab Kinzer's future was undergoingdiscussion, at that very hour, hundreds of miles away. 

Quite a little knot of people there was, in a hotel parlor; and whilethe blooming Miranda, now Mrs. Morris, was taking her share of talk verywell with the ladies, Ham was every bit as busy with a couple of elderlygentlemen. 

"It's just as I say, Mr. Morris, " said one of the latter, with asuperfluous show of energy: "there's no better institution of its kindin the country than Grantley Academy. I send my own boys there; and I'vejust written about it to my brother-in-law, Foster, the New-York lawyer. He'll have his boy there this fall. No better place in the country, sir. "

"But how about the expenses, Mr. Hart?" asked Ham. 

"Fees are just what I told you, sir, a mere nothing. As for board, all Ipay for my boys is three dollars a week. All they want to eat, sir, andgood accommodations. Happy as larks, sir, all the time. Cheap, sir, cheap. "

If Ham Morris had the slightest idea of going to school at a New-Englandacademy, Miranda's place in the improved house was likely to wait forher; for he had a look on his face of being very nearly convinced. 

She did not seem at all disturbed, however; and probably she knew thather husband was not taking up the school question on his own account. 

Nevertheless, that was the reason why it might have been interesting forDab Kinzer, and even for his knowing neighbor, to have added themselvesto the company Ham and Miranda had fallen in with on their wedding-tour. 

Both of the boys had a different kind of thinking on hand; and thatnight Dab dreamed that a gigantic crab was trying to pull Ford Fosterout of the boat, while the latter calmly remarked to him, --

"There, my young friend, did you ever see anything just like thatbefore?"

CHAPTER VI. 

CRABS, BOYS, AND A BOAT-WRECK. 

That Saturday morning was a sad one for poor Dick Lee. 

His mother, the previous night, carefully locked up his elegant apparel, the gift of Mr. Dabney Kinzer. It was done after Dick was in bed; and, when daylight came again, he found only his old clothes by the bedside. 

It was a hard thing to bear, no doubt; but Dick had been a bad boy onFriday. He had sold his fish instead of bringing them home, and then hadgone and squandered the money on a brilliant new red necktie. 

"Dat's good 'nuff for me to wear to meetin', " said Mrs. Lee, when hereyes fell upon the gorgeous bit of cheap silk. "Reckon it won't bewasted on any good-for-nuffin boy. I'll show ye wot to do wid yer fish. You' a-gettin' too mighty fine, anyhow. "

Dick was disconsolate for a while; but his humility took the form of adetermination to go for crabs that day, mainly because his mother hadlong since set her face against that tribe of animals. 

"Dey's a wasteful, 'stravagant sort ob fish, " remarked Mrs. Lee, infrequent explanation of her dislike. "Dey's all clo'es and no body, likesome w'ite folks I know on. I don't mean de Kinzers. Dey's all got bodynuff. "

And yet that inlet had a name and reputation of its own for crabs. Therewas a wide reach of shallow water, inside the southerly point at themouth, where, over several hundred acres of muddy flats, the depthvaried from three and a half to eight feet, with the ebb and flow of thetides. That was a sort of perpetual crab-pasture; and there it was thatDick Lee determined to expend his energies that Saturday. 

Very likely there would be other crabbers on the flats; but Dick was notthe boy to object to that, provided none of them should notice thechange in his raiment. At an early hour, therefore, Dab and Ford werepreceded by their young colored friend, they themselves waiting forlater breakfasts than Mrs. Lee was in the habit of preparing. 

Dick's ill fortune did not leave him when he got out of sight of hismother. It followed him down to the shore of the inlet, and compelledhim to give up, for that day, all idea of borrowing a respectable boat. 

There were several, belonging to the neighbors, from among which Dickwas accustomed to take his pick, in return for errands run and otherservices rendered to their owners; but on this particular morning notone of them all was available. Some were fastened with ugly chains andpadlocks. Two were hauled away above even high-water mark, and so Dickcould not have got either of them into the water even if he had dared totry; and as for the rest, as Dick said, --

"Guess dar owners must hab come and borrered 'em. "

The consequence was, that the dark-skinned young fisherman was for oncecompelled to put up with his own boat, or rather his father's. 

The three wise men of Gotham were not much worse off when they went tosea in a bowl than was Dick Lee in that rickety little old flat-bottomedpunt. 

Did it leak?

Well, not so very much, with no heavier weight than Dick's; but therewas reason in his remark that, --

"Dis yer's a mean boat to frow down a fish in, when you cotch 'im. He'sdone suah to git drownded. "

Yes, and the crabs would get their feet wet, and so would Dick; but heresigned himself to his circumstances, and pushed away. To tell thetruth, he had not been able to free himself from a lingering fear lesthis mother might come after him, before he could get afloat, with ordersfor some duty or other on shore; and that would have been worse thangoing to sea in the little old scow, a good deal. 

"Reckon it's all right, " said Dick as he shoved off. "It'd be an awfulrisk to trus' dem nice clo'es in de ole boat, suah. "

Nice clothes, nice boats, a good many other nice things, were as yetbeyond the reach of Dick Lee; but he was quite likely to catch as manycrabs as his more aristocratic neighbors. 

As for Dabney Kinzer and his friend from the city, they were on theirway to the water-side, after all, at an hour which indicated eithersmaller appetites than usual or greater speed at the breakfast-table. 

"Plenty of boats, I should say, " remarked Ford, as he surveyed thelittle "landing" and its vicinity with the air of a man who had a fewfleets of his own. "All sorts. Any of 'em fast?"

"Not many, " said Dab. "The row-boats, big and little, have to be builtso they will stand pretty rough water. "

"How are the sail-boats?"

"Same thing. There's Ham Morris's yacht. "

"That? Why, she's as big as any in the lot. "

"Bigger; but she don't show it. "

"Can't we take a cruise in her?" asked Ford. 

"Any time. Ham lets me use her whenever I like. She's fast enough, butshe's built so she'll stand 'most any thing. Safe as a house if she'shandled right. "

"Handled!"

Ford Foster's expression of face would have done honor to the Secretaryof the Navy, or the Chairman of the Naval Affairs Committee in Congress, or any other perfect seaman, Noah included. It seemed to say, --

"As if any boat could be otherwise than well sailed, with me on board!"

Dabney, however, even while he was talking, had been hauling in from its"float and grapnel, " about ten yards out at low water, the verystanch-looking little yawl-boat that called him owner. She was just sucha boat as Mrs. Kinzer would naturally have provided for her boy, --stout, well-made, and sensible, --without any bad habits of upsetting or thelike. Not too large for Dabney to manage all alone, "The Jenny, " as hecalled her, and as her name was painted on the stern, was all the betterfor having two on board, and had room in her then for more. 

"The inlet's pretty narrow for a long reach through the marsh, " saidDabney, "and as crooked as a ram's horn. I'll steer, and you pull, tillwe're out o' that, and then I'll take the oars. "

"I might as well row out to the crab-grounds, " said Ford, as he pitchedhis coat forward, and took his seat at the oars. "All ready?"

"Ready, " said Dab; and "The Jenny" glided gracefully away from thelanding with the starting-push he gave her. 

Ford Foster had had oars in his hands before, but his experience hadbeen limited to a class of vessels different in some respects from theone he was in now. 

He was short of something, at all events. It may have been skill, or itmay have been legs or discretion; but, whatever was lacking, at thethird or fourth stroke the oar-blades went a little too deeply below thesmooth surface of the water. There was a vain tug, a little out of"time;" and then there was a boy on the bottom of the boat, and a pairof well-polished shoes lifted high in the air. 

"You've got it, " shouted Dabney. 

"Got what?" exclaimed an all-but angry voice from down there between theseats. 

"Caught the first 'crab, '" replied Dabney: "that's what we call it. Canyou steer? Guess I'd better row. "

"No, you won't, " was the very resolute reply, as Ford regained his seatand his oars. "I sha'n't catch any more crabs of that sort. I'm a littleout of practice, that's all. "

"I should say you were, a little. Well, it won't hurt you. 'Tisn't muchof a pull. "

Ford would have pulled it now if he had blistered all the skin off hishands in doing so; and he did very creditable work for some minutes, among the turns and windings of the narrow inlet. 

"Here we are, " shouted Dabney at last. "We are in the inlet yet, but itwidens out into the bay. "

"That's the bay, out yonder?"

"Yes; and the island between that and the ocean's no better'n a mere barof sand. "

"How d'you get past it?"

"Right across there, almost in a straight line. We'll run it next weekin Ham's yacht. Splendid weak-fishing right in the mouth of that inlet, on the ocean side. "

"Hurrah!" exclaimed Ford, "I'm in for that. Is the bay deep?"

"Not very, " replied Dabney; "but it gets pretty rough sometimes. "

Ford was getting pretty red in the face just then, with his unaccustomedexercise; and his friend added, --

"You needn't pull so hard: we're almost there. Hullo! if there isn'tDick Lee, in his dry-goods box. That boat'll drown him some day, and hisdad too. But just see him pull in crabs!"

Ford came near "catching" one more as he tried to turn around for thelook proposed, exclaiming, --

"Dab, let's get to work as quick as we can. They might go away. "

"Might fly?"

"No; but don't they go and come?"

"Well, you go and drop the grapnel over the bows, and we'll see 'em comein pretty quick. "

The grapnel, or little anchor, was thrown over quickly enough; and thetwo boys were in such an eager haste that they had hardly a word to sayto Dick, though he was now but a few rods away. 

Now, it happened that when Ford and Dab came down to the water thatmorning, each of them had brought a load. The former had only a neatlittle japanned tin box, about as big as his head; and the latter, besides his oars, carried a seemingly pretty heavy basket. 

"Lots of lunch, I should say, " had been Ford's mental comment; but hehad not thought it wise to ask questions. 

"Plenty of lunch in that box, " thought Dab at the same moment, but onlyas a matter of course. 

And they were both wrong. Lunch was the one thing they had bothforgotten. 

But the box and the basket. 

Ford Foster came out, of his own accord, with the secret of the box; forhe now took a little key out of his pocket, and unlocked it with an airof--

"Look at this, will you?"

Dab Kinzer looked, and was very sure he had never before seen quite suchan assortment of brand-new fish-hooks, of many sorts and sizes, and offish-lines which looked as if they had thus far spent their lives on dryland. 

"Tip-top, " he remarked. "I see a lot of things we can use one of thesedays, but there isn't time to go over 'em now. Let's go for the crabs. What made you bring your box along?"

"Oh!" replied Ford, "I left my rods at home, both of 'em. You don'ts'pose I'd go for crabs with a rod, do you? But you can take your pickof hooks and lines. "

"Crabs? Hooks and lines?"

"Why, yes. You don't mean to scoop 'em up in that landing-net, do you?"

Dab looked at his friend for a moment in blank amazement, and then thetruth broke upon him for the first time. 

"Oh, I see! You never caught any crabs. Well, just you lock up yourjewellery-box, and I'll show you. "

It was not easy for Dab to keep from laughing in Ford Foster's face; buthis mother had not given him so many lessons in good-breeding fornothing, and Ford was permitted to close his ambitious "casket" withoutany worse annoyance than his own wounded pride gave him. 

But now came out the secret of the basket. 

The cover was jerked off; and nothing was revealed but a variedassortment of clams, large and small, but mostly of good size, --toughold customers, that no amount of roasting or boiling would ever haveprepared for human eating. 

"What are they for, --bait?"

"Yes, bait, weight, and all. "

"How's that?"

Dabney's reply was to draw from his pocket a couple of long, strongcords, bits of old fishing-lines. He cracked a couple of clams oneagainst the other; tied the fleshy part of one to each of the cords;tied bits of shell on, a foot or so from the ends, for sinkers; handedone cord to Ford, took the other himself, and laid the long-handledscoop-net he had brought with him down between them, saying, --

"Now we're ready. Drop your clam down to the bottom, and it won't behalf a minute before you feel something pull on it. Then you draw it upgently, --steady as you know how. You mustn't jerk the crab loose. You'llget the knack of it in five minutes. It's all knack. There isn't anything else so stupid as a crab. "

Ford watched carefully, and obeyed in silence the directions he hadreceived. 

In a minute or so more the operation of the scoop-net was called for, and the fun began. 

"You got him!" exclaimed Ford in a loud whisper, as he saw Dab quicklyplunge the net into the water, and then shake out of it into the bottomof the boat a great sprawling "blue-legged" crab. "He's a whopper!"

"He'll do for one. "

"There's one on mine! I declare, he's let go!"

"You jerked the clam away from him. Sink it again. He's mad about it. He'll take right hold again. "

"He's pulling now, or it's another one. "

"Let him pull. Lift him easy. Long as he thinks he's stealing something, he'll hold on. There he comes, --see him?"

Ford saw the white flesh of the clam coming slowly up through the water, and he held his breath; for just behind and below it was a sprawlingshadowy something that was tugging with all its might at that toughshell-fish. 

"It's an awful big one!"

"Shall I scoop him?"

"No, indeed: I want to scoop him myself. I saw how you did it. "

Splash went the net, as the prize came nearer the surface; and Fordbegan, somewhat excitedly, to shake it all over the bottom of the boat. 

"Why, where's that crab? You don't mean to say he was quick enough tododge away?"

"Quick? well, no, that isn't just the trouble. I forgot to tell you toscoop way under him. You hit him, square, and knocked him ever so far. The water deceives your eyes. Drive the net under him quick, and thenlift. I've got one--now just you see how I scoop. "

Ford felt dreadfully disappointed over the loss of his first crab, butthe rapidity with which he caught the "knack of it" after that was agreat credit to him. He did not miss the next one he pulled up. 

It was great fun; but it had its slack moments, and in one of these Dabsuddenly exclaimed, --

"The young black rascal! If he hasn't gone and got a sheep's-head!"

"A sheep's-head?"

They were both staring at the old punt, where Dick Lee was apparentlyenjoying the most extraordinary good fortune. 

"Yes, that's it. That's why he beats us so badly. They're a sightbetter'n clams, only you can't always get one. I wonder where he pickedup that one. "

"But how he does pull 'em in!"

"We're doing well enough, " began Dabney, when suddenly there came ashrill cry of pain from the black boy's punt. 

"He's barefooted, " shouted Dab, with, it must be confessed, somethinglike a grin; "and one of the little pirates has pinned him with hisnippers. "

That was the difficulty exactly, and there need not have been any veryserious result of such an expression of a crab's bad temper. But DickLee was more than ordinarily averse to any thing like physical pain, andthe crab which now had him by the toe was a very muscular and viciousspecimen of his quarrelsome race. 

The first consequence of that vigorous nip was a momentary dance up anddown in the punt, accompanied by exclamatory howls from Dick, but not bya word of any sort from the crab. 

The next consequence was, that the crab let go; but so at the sameinstant, did the rotten board in the boat-bottom, upon which Dick Leehad so rashly danced. 

It let go of the rest of the boat so suddenly that poor Dick had onlytime for one tremendous yell, as it let him right down through to hisarmpits. 

The water was perfectly smooth; but the boat was full in an instant, andnearly a bushel of freshly-caught and ill-tempered crabs weremanoeuvring in all directions around the woolly head, which was alltheir late captor could now keep in sight. 

"Up with the grapnel, Ford, " shouted Dab. "Take an oar: we'll both row. He can swim like a duck, but he might split his throat. "

"Or get scared to death. "

"Or those crabs might go for him, and eat him up. "

"How he does yell!"

CHAPTER VII. 

A VERY ACCIDENTAL CALL. 

At the very moment when the angry crab closed his nippers on the barebig toe of Dick Lee, and his shrill note of discomfort rang across theinlet, the shriller whistle of the engine announced the arrival of themorning train from the city, at the little station in the village. 

A moment or so later, a very pretty young lady was standing beside atrunk on the platform, trying to get some information from the flagman. 

"Can you tell me where Mr. Foster lives?"

"That's the gimlet-eyed lawyer from New Yark?"

"Yes, he's from New York, " said the young lady, smiling in his face. "Where does he live?"

"He's got the sassiest boy, thin. Is it him as took the Kinzer house?"

"I think likely it is. Can you tell me how to get there?"

"Thim Kinzers is foine people. The widdy married one of the gurrels toMisther Morris. "

"But how can I get to the house?"

"Is it there ye're afther goin'?--Hey, Michael, me boy, bring up yerowld rattlethrap, and take the leddy's thrunk. She'll be goin' to theKinzer place. Sharp, now. "

"I should say it was, " muttered the young lady, as the remains of whathad been a carryall were pulled up beside the platform by the skinnyskeleton of what might once have been a horse. "It's a rattletrap. "

There was no choice, however; for that was the only public conveyance atthe station, and the trunk was already whisked in behind the dashboard, and the driver was waiting for her. 

He could afford to wait, as it would be some hours before another trainwould be in. 

There was no door to open in that "carriage. " It was all door except thetop and bottom, and the pretty passenger was neither helped nor hinderedin finding her place on the back seat. 

If the flagman was more disposed to ask questions than to answer them, Michael said few words of any kind except to his horse. To him, indeed, he kept up a constant stream of encouraging remarks, the greatest partof which would have been difficult for an ordinary hearer to understand. 

Very likely the horse knew what they meant; for he came very nearbreaking from a limp into a trot several times, under the stimulus ofall that clucking and "G'lang, now!"

The distance was by no means great, and Michael seemed to know the wayperfectly. At least he answered, "Yes'm, indade, " to several inquiriesfrom his passenger, and she was compelled to be satisfied with that. 

"What a big house it is! And painters at work on it too, " she exclaimed, just as Michael added a vigorous jerk of the reins to the "Whoa!" withwhich he stopped his nag in front of an open gate. 

"Are you sure this is the place?"

"Yes'm; fifty cints, mum. "

By the time the trunk was out of the carriage and swung inside of thegate, the young lady had followed; but for some reason Michael at oncesprang back to his place, and whipped up his limping steed. It may havebeen from the fear of being asked to take that trunk into the house, forit was not a small one. The young lady stood for a moment irresolute, and then left it where it was, and walked on up to the house. 

No bell; no knocker. The workmen had not reached that part of theirimprovements yet. But the door was open; and a very neatly furnishedparlor at the left of the hall seemed to say, "Come right in, please;"and in she went. 

Such an arrival could not possibly have escaped the notice of theinmates of the house; and, as the young lady from the railway came in atthe front, another and a very different-looking lady marched through tothe parlor from the rear. 

Each one would have been a puzzle to the other, if the elder of the twohad not been Mrs. Kinzer, and the widow had never been very much puzzledin all her life. At all events, she put out her hand, with a cordialsmile, saying, --

"Miss Foster, is it not? I am Mrs. Kinzer. How could he have made such amistake?"

"Yes, Miss Annie Foster. But do please explain Where am I? and how doyou know me?"

The widow laughed cheerily. 

"How do I know you, my dear? Why, you resemble your mother almost asmuch as your brother Ford resembles his father. You are only one doorfrom home here, and I'll have your trunk taken right over to the house. Please sit down a moment. Ah! my daughter Samantha, Miss Foster. Excuseme a moment, while I call one of the men. "

By the time their mother was fairly out of the room, however, Keziah andPamela were also in it; and Annie thought she had rarely seen threegirls whose appearance testified so strongly to the healthiness of theplace they lived in. 

The flagman's questions and Annie's answers were related quickly enough, and the cause of Michael's blunder was plain at once. 

The parlor rang again with peals of laughter; for Dab Kinzer's sisterswere ready at any time to look at the funny side of things, and theiraccidental guest saw no reason for not joining them. 

"Your brother Ford is on the bay, crabbing with our Dabney, " remarkedSamantha, as the widow returned. But Annie's eyes had been furtivelywatching her baggage through the window, and saw it swinging upon abroad, red-shirted pair of shoulders, just then; and, before she couldbring her mind to bear upon the crab question, Keziah Kinzerexclaimed, --

"If there isn't Mrs. Foster, coming through the garden gate!"

"My mother!" and Annie was up and out of the parlor in a twinkling, followed by all the ladies of the Kinzer family. It was really quite aprocession. 

Now, if Mrs. Foster was in any degree surprised by her daughter's suddenappearance, or by her getting to the Kinzer house first instead of toher own, it was a curious fact that she did not say so by a word or alook. 

Not a breath of it. But, for all the thorough-bred self-control of thecity lady, Mrs. Kinzer knew perfectly well there was something odd andunexpected about it all. If Samantha had noticed this fact, there mighthave been some questions asked possibly; but one of the widow's mostrigid rules in life was to "mind her own business. "

The girls, indeed, were quite jubilant over an occurrence which madethem at once so well acquainted with their very attractive new neighbor;and they might have followed her even beyond the gate in the northfence, if it had not been for their mother. All they were allowed to dowas to go back to their own parlor, and hold "a council of war, " in thecourse of which Annie Foster was discussed, from her bonnet to hershoes. 

Mrs. Foster had been abundantly affectionate in greeting her daughter;but, when once they were alone in the wee sitting-room of the old Kinzerhomestead, she put her arms around her, saying, --

"Now, my darling, tell me what it all means. "

"Why, mother, it was partly my mistake, and partly the flagman's and thedriver's; and I'm sure Mrs. Kinzer was kind. She knew me before I said aword, by my resemblance to you. "

"Oh, I don't mean that! How is it you are here so soon? I thought youmeant to make a long visit at your uncle Hart's. "

"So I would, mother, if it had not been for those boys. "

"Your cousins, Annie?"

"Cousins, mother! You never saw such young bears in all your life. Theytormented me from morning till night. "

"But, Annie, I hope you have not offended"--

"Offended, mother? Aunt Maria thinks they're perfect, and so does uncleJoe. They'd let them pull the house down over their heads, you'd think. "

"But, Annie, what did they do? and what did you say?"

"Do, mother? I couldn't tell you in all day; but when they poured inkover my cuffs and collars, I said I would come home. I had just one pairleft white to wear home, and I travelled all night. "

Poor Mrs. Foster! A cold shudder went over her at the idea of that inkamong the spotless contents of her own collar-box. 

"What boys they must be! but, Annie, what did your aunt say?"

"Uncle Joe laughed till he cried; and Aunt Maria said, 'Boys will beboys;' and I half believe they were sorry; but that was only a sort of awinding-up, I wouldn't stay there another day. "

Annie had other things to tell; and, long before she had finished herstory, there was no further fault to be found with her for losing hertemper. Still her mother said mildly, --

"I must write to Maria at once, for it won't do to let those boys maketrouble between us. "

Annie looked at her with an expression of face which very plainlysaid, --

"Nobody in the wide world could have the heart to quarrel with you. "

CHAPTER VIII. 

A RESCUE, AND A GRAND GOOD TIME. 

Dab Kinzer and his friend were prompt enough coming to the rescue oftheir unfortunate fellow-lubber; but to get him out of the queer wreckhe had made of that punt looked like a tough task to both of them, andthey said as much. 

"I isn't drownin', " exclaimed Dick heroically, as the other boat waspulled alongside of him. "Jest you take your scoop-net, and save demcrabs. "

"They won't drown, " said Ford. 

"But they'll get away, " said Dab, as he snatched up the scoop. "Dick'shead is perfectly level on that point. "

The side-boards of the old punt were under water half the time, but thecrabs were pretty well penned in. Even a couple of them, that hadmistaken Dick's wool for another sheep's-head, were secured withoutdifficulty, in spite of the firmness with which they clung to theirprize. 

"What luck he'd been having!" said Ford. 

"He always does, " said Dab. "I say, Dick, how'll I scoop you in?"

"Has you done got all de crabs?"

"Every pinner of 'em. "

"Den you jest wait a minute. "

Waiting was all that was left them to do, for the shining black face andwoolly head disappeared almost instantly. 

"He's sunk, " exclaimed Ford. 

"There he comes, " replied Dab: "he'd swum ashore from here, and not halftry. Why, I could swim twice as far as that myself, and he can beat me. "

"Could you? I couldn't. "

That was the first time Dab had heard his city acquaintance make aconfession of inability, and he could see a more than usually thoughtfulexpression on his face. The coolness and skill of Dick Lee, in his hourof disaster, had not been thrown away upon him. 

"If I had my clothes off, " said Ford, "I believe I'd try that on. "

"Dab Kinzer, you's de bes' feller dar is. But wot'll we do wid de oldboat?" burst out Dick, on coming to the surface. 

"Let the tide carry her in while we're crabbing. She isn't worthmending, but we'll tow her home. "

"All right, " said Dick, as he grasped the gunwale of Dab's boat, andbegan to climb over. 

"Hold on, Dick. "

"I is a-holdin' on. "

"I mean, wait a bit. Ain't you wet?"

"Of course I's wet. "

"Well, then, you stay in there till you get dry It's well you didn'thave your new clothes on. "

"Ain't I glad 'bout dem!" enthusiastically ex-claimed the young African. "Nebber mind dese clo'es. De water on 'em's all good, dry water, like deres' ob de bay. "

And, so saying, Dick tumbled over in, with a spatter which made FordFoster tread on two of three crabs in getting away from it. It was notthe first time, by many, that Dick Lee had found himself bathing in thatbay without any time given him to undress. 

And now it was discovered that the shipwrecked crabber had never for oneinstant lost his hold of the line, to the other end of which wasfastened his precious sheep's-head. 

They made a regular crabbing crew now, --two to pull up, and one to scoopin; and never had the sprawling game been more plentiful on thatpasture, or more apparently in a greedy hurry to be captured. 

"What on earth shall we do with them all?" asked Ford. 

"Soon's we've got enough for a mess for both our folks, " said Dab, "we'll quit this, and go for some fish. The clams are good bait, and wecan try some of your tackle. "

Ford's face brightened a good deal at that suggestion, for he had morethan once cast a crest fallen look at his pretentious box. But hereplied, --

"A mess! How many crabs can one man eat?"

"I don't know, " said Dab. "It depends a good deal on who he is. Then, ifhe eats the shells, he can't take in so many. "

"Eat de shells? Yah, yah, yah! Dat beats my mudder! She's allersa-sayin' wot a waste de shells make, " laughed Dick. "I jest wish wemight ketch some fish. I dasn't kerry home no crabs. "

"It does look as if we'd got as many as we'll know what to do with, "remarked Dab, as he looked down on the sprawling multitude in the bottomof the boat. "We'll turn the clams out of the basket, and fill that; butwe mustn't put any crabs in the fish-car. We'll stow 'em all forward. "

The basket held more than half a bushel, but there was still a "heap" ofwhat Ford Foster called "the crusties" to pen up in the bow of the boat. 

That duty attended to, the grapnel was pulled up, and Dick was set atthe oars, while Dab selected from Ford's box just the hooks and linestheir owner had made least account of. 

"What'll we catch, Dab?"

"'Most anything. Nobody knows till he's done it. Perch, porgies, cunners, black-fish, weak-fish, maybe a bass or a sheep's-head, but morecunners than any thing else, unless we strike some flounders at the turnof the tide. "

"That's a big enough assortment to set up a fish-market on. "

"If we catch 'em. We've got a good enough day, anyhow, and the tide'llbe about right by the time we get to work. "

"Why not try here?"

"'Cause there's no fish to speak of, and because the crabs'll clean yourhook for you as fast as you can put the bait on. We must go out todeeper water and better bottom. Dick knows just where to go. You mighthang your line out all day and not get a bite, if you didn't strike theright spot. "

Ford made no answer, but looked on very seriously while Dab skilfullyslit up a tough old Dutch clam into bait. It was beginning to dawn uponhim that he could teach the "'long-shore boys, " whether black or white, very little about fishing. He even allowed Dab to pick out a line forhim, and to put on the hook and sinker; and Dick Lee showed him how tofix his bait, "so de fust cunner dat rubs agin it won't knock it off. Dem's awful mean fish. Good for nuffin but 'teal bait. "

A merry party they were; and the salt water was rapidly drying from thegarments of the colored oars-man, as he pulled strongly and skilfullyout into the bay, and around toward a deep cove at the north of theinlet mouth. 

Then, indeed, for the first time in his life, Ford Foster learned whatit was to catch fish. 

Not but what he had spent many an hour, and even day, on and about otherwaters, with a rod or a line in his hand; but he had never before hadtwo such born fishermen at his elbow to take him to the right placeprecisely, and at the right time, and then to show him what to do whenhe got there. 

It was fun enough; for the fish bit remarkably well, and some of thosewhich came into the boat were of a very encouraging size and weight. 

There was one curious thing about those heavier fish. 

Ford would have given half the hooks and lines in his box, if he couldhave caught from Dick or Dab the mysterious "knack" they seemed to haveof coaxing the biggest of the finny folk to their bait, and then overthe side of the boat. 

"There's some kind of favoritism about it, " he remarked. 

"Never mind, Ford, " replied Dab. "Dick and I are better acquainted withthem. They're always a little shy with strangers, at first. They don'treally mean to be impolite. "

Favoritism it was, nevertheless; and there was now no danger but whatDick would be able to appease the mind of his mother without making anymention of the crabs. 

At last, almost suddenly, and as if by common consent, the fish stoppedbiting, and the two "'long shore boys" began to put away their lines. 

"Going to quit?" asked Ford. 

"Time's up, and the tide's turned, " replied Dab. 

"Not another bite, most likely, till late this evening. We might as wellpull up, and start for home. "

"That's a curious kind of a habit for fish to have. "

"They've all got it though, 'round this bay. "

"Mus' look out for wot's lef' ob de ole scow, on de way home, " remarkedDick a little solemnly. "I's boun' to ketch it for dat good-for-notingole board. "

"We'll find it, and tow it in, " said Dab; "and perhaps we can get itmended. Anyhow, you can go with us next week. We're going to make acruise in Ham Morris's yacht. Will you go?"

"Will I go? Yoop!" almost yelled the excited boy. "Dat's jest de onet'ing I'd like to jine. Won't we hab fun! She's jest de bes' boat on dishull bay. You ain't foolin' me, is yer?"

He was strongly assured that his young white associates were in soberearnest about both their purpose and their promise; and, after that, heinsisted on rowing all the distance home. 

On the way the old punt was taken in tow; but the tide had already sweptit so far inside the mouth of the inlet, that there was less trouble inpulling it the rest of the way. It was hardly worth the labor, but Dabknew what a tempest the loss of it might bring around the ears of poorDick. 

When they reached the landing, and began to over-haul their verybrilliant "catch, " Dabney said, --

"Now, Dick, take your string home, leave that basket of crabs at Mr. Foster's, and then come back with the basket, and carry the rest of 'emto our house. Ford and I'll see to the rest of the fish. "

"I haven't caught half as many as you have, either of you, " said Ford, when he saw with what even-handed justice the fish were divided in threepiles, as they were scooped out of the fish-car. 

"What of that?" replied Dab. "We follow fishermen's rules, down thisway. Share and share alike, you know. All the luck is outside the boat, they say. Once the fish are landed, your luck's as good as mine. "

"Do they always follow that rule?"

"The man that broke it wouldn't find company very easily, hereabouts, next time he wanted to go a-fishing. No, nor for any thing else. Nobody'd boat with him. "

"Well, if it's the regular thing, " said Ford hesitatingly. "But I'lltell who really caught 'em. "

"Oh, some of yours are right good ones! Your string'd look big enough, some days, just as you caught 'em. "

"Would it?"

"Yes, it would. Don't you imagine we can pull 'em in every time like wedid this morning, --crabs nor fish. "

"No, I s'pose not. Anyhow, I've learned some things. "

"I guess likely. We'll go for some more next week. Now for a tug. "

"Ain't they heavy, though!"

The boat had already been made fast; and the two boys picked up theirstrings of fish, two for each, after Dick Lee had started for home; andheavy things they were to carry under that hot sun. 

"Come and show the whole lot to my mother, " said Ford, "before you takeyours into the house. I'd like to have her see them all. "

"All right, " replied Dab, but he little dreamed what was coming; for, when he and Ford marched proudly into the sitting-room with their finnyprizes, Dabney found himself face to face with, not good, sweet-voicedMrs. Foster, but, as he thought, the most beautiful young lady he hadever seen. 

Ford Foster shouted, "Annie! You here? Well, I never!"

But Dab Kinzer wished all those fish safely back again swimming in thebay. 

CHAPTER IX. 

THERE ARE DIFFERENT KINDS OF BOYS. 

Ham Morris was a thoughtful and kind-hearted fellow, beyond a doubt; andhe was likely to be a valuable friend for a growing boy like Dab Kinzer. It is not everybody's brother-in-law who would find time during hiswedding-trip to hunt up even so pretty a New-England village asGrantley, and inquire into questions of board and lodging and schooling. 

That was precisely what Ham did, however; and Miranda went with him ofcourse. 

Mrs. Myers, to the hospitalities of whose cool and roomy-looking househe had been commended by Mr. Hart, was so "crowded full with summerboarders, " liberally advertised for in the great city, that she hadhardly a corner left in which to stow away Ham and his bride, for evenone night. She was glad enough, however, that she had made the effort, and found one, after she discovered the nature of the stranger's errandin Grantley, and that it included "winter board" for a whole boy. 

There was a look of undisguised astonishment on the faces of the regularguests when they gathered for the next meal. It happened to be supper, but they all looked at the table and then at one another. It was a pityHam and Miranda did not understand the meaning of those glances, or elsethat they did not make a longer stay with Mrs. Myers. They might havelearned more about her and her boarding-house, if not about the academy. As it was, they only gathered a very high opinion of her cookery andhospitality, as well as an increase of respect for the "institution oflearning, " and for that excellent gentleman Mr. Hart; with a dim hopethat Dabney Kinzer might be permitted to enjoy the inestimableadvantages offered by Grantley and Mrs. Myers, and the society of Mr. Hart's two wonderful boys. 

Miranda was inclined to stand up for her brother somewhat, but finallyagreed with Ham, that, --

"What Dabney needs is schooling and polish, my dear. It'll be good forhim to board in the same house with two such complete young gentlemen asthe Hart boys. "

"Of course, Ham. And then, too, we'll feel sure of his having plenty toeat. There was almost too much on the table. "

"Not if the boarders had all been boys of Dab's age, and with hisappetite. Mrs. Myers is evidently accustomed to provide for them, Ishould say. "

So she was; and Ham and Miranda left Grantley next morning, after a veryearly breakfast; and, when the regular boarders came to theirs, theymight have guessed at once that the "transient guests" had gone. Theyeven guessed it out loud at dinner and at supper. 

Mrs. Myers had given Ham and his bride a world of interestinginformation about Grantley, and the things and people in it; but therewas one thing she had forgotten or neglected to mention. She had failedto tell them that the house she lived in, and the outlying farmbelonging to it, and nearly all the house-hold effects it contained, were the property of Mr. Joseph Hart, having cost that gentleman verylittle more than a sharp lawsuit. Neither did she say a word about howlong a time he had given her to pay him his price for it. All that washer own private affair, and none of Ham's business, or Miranda's. Still, it might have had its importance in their minds, if they had beeninformed of it. 

Perhaps, too, some of their rosy impressions might have been a littlemodified if they could have been at the breakfast-table of the Harthomestead the morning after Annie Foster's sudden departure. 

The table, truly, was there, as usual, with the breakfast-things on it, and there were husband and wife at either end; but the two side seatswere vacant. 

"Where are Joe and Foster, Maria?" asked Mr. Hart. 

"I'm sure they're up, father. I heard them come down stairs an hourago. "

"I can't wait for them"--

"You came home late last night, and they haven't seen you since Anniewent away. " There had been a suppressed sound of whispers in the entry, and the door had been held open about half an inch by some hand on theother side. It is possible, therefore, that Mr. Hart's reply was heardoutside. 

"Oh, I see! it's about Annie. Look here, Maria: they may have gone alittle too far, but if Annie can't take a joke"--

"So I tried to say to her, " began his wife; but at that instant thewhispers in the entry swelled suddenly to loud voices, and two boys camenoisily in, and filled the side chairs at the table. 

"Sit down, my dears, " said Mrs. Hart, with an admiring glance from oneto the other. "I have told your father about the sad trick you playedupon your cousin. "

"Yes, you young rogues, " added Mr. Hart, with affected sternness: "youhave driven her out of the house. "

"Joe, " said the boy on the left, to his brother across the table, "ain'tyou glad she's gone?"

"You bet I am. She's too stiff and steep for me. Spoiled all the fun wehad. "

"And so you spoiled her cuffs and collars for her. It was too badaltogether. I'm afraid there won't be much comfort for anybody in thishouse till you two get back to Grantley. "

"Fuz, " said Joe, "do you hear that? They're going to give us anotherterm at Grantley. "

"I don't care how soon we go, so we haven't got to board at old motherMyers's. "

"I can't say about that, " said Mr. Hart. "I half made her a promise"--

"That we'd board there?" exclaimed Fuz rebelliously. 

"Now, boys, " said their mother, in a gentle voice, that sounded a littlelike good Mrs. Foster's; but Joe sustained his brother with, --

"Prison-fare, and not half enough of it. I just won't stand it anotherwinter!"

"I'm not so sure it will be necessary, after all, " said their father, who seemed to have dismissed Annie's grievance from his mind for thepresent. "Your cousin Ford is sure to go; and I'm almost certain ofanother boy, besides the missionary's son. If she gets a few othersherself, her house'll be full enough, and you can board somewhere else. "

"Hurrah for that!" shouted Fuz. "And, if the new house doesn't feed uswell, we'll tear it down. "

"If you don't tear ours down before you go, I'll be satisfied. Maria, you must write to your sister, and smooth the matter over. Boys will beboys, and I wouldn't like to have any coolness spring up. Mr. Foster'llunderstand it. "

That was very nearly all that was said about it, and the two boysevidently had had no need for any hesitation in coming in to breakfast. 

They were not so bad-looking a pair, as boys go; although it may be fewother people would have seen so much to admire in them as their motherdid. 

Joe, the elder, was a loud, hoarse-voiced, black-eyed boy, of seventeenor thereabouts, with a perpetual grin on his face, as if he haddiscovered in this world nothing but a long procession of things to belaughed at. Foster, so named after his lawyer relative, was a year and ahalf younger, but nearly as tall as Joe. He was paler, but with hair andeyes as dark, and he wore a sort of habitual side-look, as if his mindwere all the while inquiring if anybody within sight happened to haveany thing he wanted. 

They both bore a strong likeness to their father, only they missedsomething bluff and hearty in his accustomed manner; and they each hadalso a little suggestion of their mother, that did not, however go sofar as to put anybody in mind of their aunt Foster. 

Nobody need have failed to see, at all events, after watching one or twoof their glances at each other, that they were the very boys to play themeanest kind of practical jokes when they could do it safely. There isreally no accounting for boys; and Joe and Fuz, therefore, might fairlybe set down among the "unaccountables. "

There was no sort of wonder that their easy-going mother and theirjoke-admiring father should be quite willing to have them spendthree-quarters of the year at boarding-school, and as much as possibleof the remainder somewhere else than "at home. "

After Mr. Hart went out to his business that morning, and Mrs. Hart setherself about her usual duties, Joe and Fuz took with them into thestreet the whole Grantley question. 

"We'll have to go, Fuz. "

"Of course. But we must have more to eat, and more fun, than we had lasttime. "

"Ford's coming, is he? The little prig! We'll roast him. "

"So we will that young missionary. "

"Look out about him, Joe, while he's at our house. He's coming righthere, you know. "

"Don't you be afraid. His folks are old friends of mother's. We'll letup on him till we get him safe to Grantley. "

"Then we'll fix him. "

They had plots and plans enough to talk about; but neither they, nor anyof the boys they named, nor any of the other boys they did not name, hadthe least idea of what the future really had in store for them. DabKinzer and Ford Foster, in particular, had no idea that the worldcontained such a place as Grantley, or such a landlady as Mrs. Myers. 

They had as little suspicion of them as they had had of finding AnnieFoster in the sitting-room that day, when they walked in with theirfamous strings of fish. 

Ford kissed his sister, but that operation hardly checked him for aninstant in his voluble narrative of the stirring events of his firstmorning on the bay. There was really little for anybody else to do butto listen, and it was worth hearing. 

There was no sort of interruption on the part of the audience; but themoment Ford paused for breath his mother said, --

"Are you sure the black boy was not hurt, Ford?"

"Hurt, mother? Why, he seems to be a kind of black-fish. The rest allknow him, and they went right past my hook to his, all the while. "

"Dear me!" exclaimed Mrs. Foster: "I forgot. Annie, this is Ford'sfriend Dabney Kinzer, our neighbor. "

"Won't you shake hands with me, Mr. Kinzer?" said Annie, with amalicious twinkle of fun in her merry blue eyes. 

Poor Dabney! He had been in quite a "state of mind" for at least threeminutes; but he would hardly have been his own mother's son if he hadlet himself be entirely "posed. " Up rose his long right arm, with theheavy string of fish at the end of it; and Annie's fun broke out into amusical laugh, just as her brother exclaimed, --

"There now, I'd like to see the other boy of your size can do that. Lookhere, Dab, where'd you get your training?"

"I mustn't drop the fish, you see, " began Dab; but Ford interrupted himwith, --

'No, indeed! You've given me half I've got, as it is. Annie, have youlooked at the crabs? You ought to have seen Dick Lee, with a lot of 'emgripping in his hair. "

"In his hair?"

"When he was down through the bottom of his boat. They'd have eaten himup if they'd had a chance. You see, he's no shell on him. "

"Exactly, " said Annie, as Dab lowered his fish. "Well, Dabney, I wishyou would thank your mother for me, for sending my trunk over. Yoursisters too. I've no doubt we shall be very neighborly. "

It was wonderfully pleasant to be called by his first name by so verypretty a young lady, and yet it seemed to bring up something curiousinto Dabney Kinzer's throat. 

"She considers me a mere boy, and she means I'd better take my fishright home, " was the next thought that came to him; and he was right, toa fraction. So the great lump in his throat took a very wayward andboyish form, and came out as a reply, accompanied by a low bow, --

"I will, thank you. Good-afternoon, Mrs. Foster. I'll see you to-night, Ford, about Monday and the yacht. Good-afternoon, Annie. "

And then he marched out with his fish. 

"Mother, did you hear him call me 'Annie'?"

"Yes; and I heard you call him 'Dabney. '"

"But he's only a boy "--

"I don't care, " exclaimed Ford. "He's an odd fellow, but he's a goodone. Did you see how wonderfully strong he is in his arms? I couldn'tlift these fish at arm's-length, to save my life. "

He knew, for he had been trying his best with his own. 

It was quite likely that Dab Kinzer's rowing, and all that sort ofthing, had developed in him greater strength of muscle than even hehimself was aware of; but for all that he went home with his very earstingling. 

"Could she have thought me ill-bred or impertinent?" he muttered tohimself. 

Thought? About him?

Poor Dab Kinzer! Annie Foster had so much else to think of just then;for she was compelled to go over, for Ford's benefit, the whole story ofher tribulations at her uncle's, and the many rudenesses of Joe Hart andhis brother Fuz. 

"They ought to be drowned, " said Ford indignantly. 

"In ink, " added Annie. "Just as they drowned my poor cuffs and collars. "

CHAPTER X

A CRUISE IN "THE SWALLOW. "

"Look at Dabney Kinzer, " said Jenny Walters to her mother, in church, the next morning. "Did you ever see anybody's hair as smooth as that?"

Smooth it was, certainly; and he looked, all over, as if he had givenall the care in the world to his personal appearance. How was AnnieFoster to guess that he had gotten himself up so unusually on heraccount? She did not guess it; but when she met him at the church-door, after service, she was careful to address him as "Mr. Kinzer, " and thatmade poor Dabney blush to his very eyes. 

"There!" he exclaimed: "I know it. "

"Know what?" asked Annie. 

"Know what you're thinking. "

"Do you, indeed?"

"Yes: you think I'm like the crabs. "

"What _do_ you mean?"

"You think I was green enough till you spoke to me, and now I'm boiledred in the face. "

Annie could not help laughing, --a little, quiet, Sunday-morning sort ofa laugh; but she was beginning to think her brother's friend was not abad specimen of a Long Island "country boy. "

She briskly turned away the small remains of that conversation fromcrabs and their color; but she told her mother, on their way home, shewas sure Dabney would be a capital associate for Ford. 

That young gentleman was tremendously of the same opinion. He had comehome, the previous evening, from a long conference with Dab, brimful ofthe proposed yachting cruise; and his father had freely given hisconsent, much against the inclinations of Mrs. Foster. 

"My dear, " said the lawyer, "I feel sure a woman of Mrs. Kinzer'sunusual good sense would not permit her son to go out in that way if shedid not feel safe about him. He has been brought up to it, you know; andso has the colored boy who is to go with them. "

"Yes, mother, " argued Ford: "there isn't half the danger there is indriving around New York in a carriage. "

"There might be a storm, " she timidly suggested. 

"The horses might run away. "

"Or you might get upset. "

"So might a carriage. "

The end of it all was, however, that Ford was to go, and Annie was morethan half sorry she could not go with them. In fact, she said so toDabney himself, as soon as her little laugh was ended, that Sundaymorning. 

"Some time or other I'd be glad to have you, " replied Dab very politely, "but not this trip. "

"Why not?"

"We mean to go right across the bay, and try some fishing. "

"Couldn't I fish?"

"Well, no, I don't think you could. "

"Why couldn't I?"

"Because, --well, because, most likely, you'd be too sea-sick by the timewe got there. "

Just then a low, clear voice, behind Dabney, quietly remarked, "Howsmooth his hair is!"

Dab's face turned red again. 

Annie Foster had heard it as distinctly as he had; and she walked rightaway with her mother, for fear she should laugh again. 

"It's my own hair, Jenny Walters, " said Dab almost savagely, as heturned around. 

"I should hope it was. "

"I should like to know what you go to church for, anyhow. "

"To hear people talk about sailing and fishing. How much do you s'pose ayoung lady like Miss Foster cares about small boys?"

"Or little girls, either? Not much; but Annie and I mean to have a goodsail before long. "

"Annie and I!"

Jenny's pert little nose seemed to turn up more than ever, as she walkedaway, for she had not beaten her old playfellow quite as badly as usual. There were several sharp things on the very tip or her tongue, but shewas too much put out and vexed to try to say them just then. 

Dab made the rest of his way home without any further haps or mishaps. Asail on the bay was nothing so new or wonderful for him to look forwardto, and so that Sunday went by a good deal like all his other Sundays. 

As for Ford Foster, on the contrary, his mind was in a stew and turmoilall day. In fact, just after tea that evening, his father asked him, --

"What book is that you are reading, Ford?"

"Captain Cook's Voyages. "

"And the other, in your lap?"

"Robinson Crusoe. "

"Well, you might have worse books than they are, that's a fact, even forSunday, though you ought to have better; but which of them do you andDabney Kinzer mean to imitate to-morrow?"

"Crusoe!" promptly responded Ford. 

"I see. And so you've got Dick Lee to go along as your man Friday. "

"He's Dab's man, not mine. "

"Oh! and you mean to be Crusoe number two? Well, don't get cast away onany desolate island, that's all. "

Ford slipped into the library, and put the books away. It had beenSamantha Kinzer's room, and had plenty of book-shelves, in addition tothe elegant "cases" Mr. Foster had brought from the city with him; forSamantha was inclined to be of a literary turn of mind. All the casesand shelves were full too; but not on any one of them was Ford Fosterable to discover a volume he cared to take out with him in place of"Cook" or "Crusoe. "

The next morning, within half an hour after breakfast, every member ofthe two families was down at the landing, to see their young sailorsmake their start; and they were all compelled to admit that Dab and Dickseemed to know precisely what they were about. 

As for Ford, that young gentleman was wise enough, with all those eyeswatching him, not to try any thing that he was not sure of; though hecarefully explained to Annie, "Dab is captain, you know. I'm under hisorders to-day. "

Dick Lee was hardly the wisest fellow in the world, for he addedencouragingly, --

"And you's doin' tip-top, for a green hand, you is. "

The wind was blowing right off shore, and did not seem to promise anything more than a smart breeze. It was easy enough to handle the littlecraft in the inlet; and in a marvellously short time she was dancing outupon the blue waves of the spreading "bay. " It was a good deal more likea land-locked "sound" than any sort of a bay, with that long, low, narrow sand-island cutting it off from the ocean. 

"I don't wonder Ham Morris called her the 'Swallow, '" said Ford. "Howshe skims! Can you get in under the deck, there, forward? That's thecabin. "

"Yes, that's the cabin, " replied Dab. "But Ham had the door put in witha slide, water-tight. It's fitted with rubber. We can put our things inthere, but it's too small for any thing else. "

"What's it made so tight for?"

"Oh! Ham says he's made his yacht a life-boat. Those places at the sidesand under the seats are all water-tight. She might capsize, but she'dnever sink. Don't you see?"

"I see. How it blows!"

"It's a little fresh, now we are getting away from under the land. How'dyou like to be wrecked?"

"Good fun, " said Ford. "I got wrecked on the cars the first time I cameover here. "

"On the cars?"

"Why, yes. I forgot to tell you about that. "

Then followed a very vivid and graphic account of the sad fate of thepig and the locomotive. The wonder was, how Ford should have failed togive Dab that story before. No such failure would have been possible ifhis head and tongue had not been so wonderfully busy about so many otherthings, ever since his arrival. 

"I'm glad it was I instead of Annie, " he said at length. 

"Of course. Didn't you tell me she came through all alone?"

"Yes; and she didn't like it much, either. Travelled all night. She ranaway from those cousins of mine. Oh, but won't I pay them off when I getto Grantley!"

"Where's that? What did they do?"

"The Swallow" was flying along nicely now, with Dab at the tiller, andDick Lee tending sail; and Dab could listen with all his ears to Ford'saccount of his sister's tribulations, and the merciless "practicaljokes" of the Hart boys. 

"Ain't they older and bigger than you?" asked Dabney, as Ford closed hisrecital. "What can you do with two of them?"

"They can't box worth a cent, and I can. Anyhow, I mean to teach thembetter manners. "

"You can box?"

"Had a splendid teacher. Put me up to all sorts of things. "

"Will you show me how, when we get back?"

"We can practise all we choose. I've two pair of gloves. "

"Hurrah for that! Ease her, Dick. It's blowing pretty fresh. We'll havea tough time tacking home against such a breeze as this. Maybe it'llchange before night. "

"Capt'in Dab, " calmly remarked Dick, "we's on'y a mile to run. "

"Well, what of it?"

"Is you goin' fo' de inlet?"

"Of course. What else can we do? That's what we started for. "

"Looks kind o' dirty, dat's all. "

So far as Ford could see, both the sky and the water looked cleanenough; but Dick was entirely right about the weather. In fact, ifCaptain Dabney Kinzer had been a more experienced and prudent seaman, hewould have kept "The Swallow" inside the bar that day, at any risk ofFord Foster's good opinion. As it was, even Dick Lee's keen eyes hardlycomprehended how threatening was the foggy haze that was lying low onthe water, miles and miles away to seaward. 

It was magnificently exciting fun, at all events; and "The Swallow"fully merited all that had been said in her favor. The "mile to run" wasa very short one, and it seemed to Ford Foster that the end of it wouldbring them up high and dry on the sandy beach of the island. 

The narrow "strait" of the inlet between the bay and the ocean washardly visible at any considerable distance. It opened to view, however, as they drew near; and Dab Kinzer rose higher than ever in his friend'sgood opinion, as the swift little vessel he was steering shot unerringlyinto the contracted channel. 

"Ain't we pretty near where you said we were to try for some fish?" heasked. 

"Just outside there. Get the grapnel ready, Dick. Sharp, now!"

Sharp it was, and Ford himself lent a hand; and, in another moment, thewhite sails went down, jib and main; "The Swallow" was drifting alongunder bare poles, and Dick Lee and Ford were waiting the captain'sorders to let go the neat little anchor. 

"Heave!"

Over went the iron, the hawser followed briskly. 

"That'll do, Dick: hold her!"

Dick gave the rope a skilful turn around its "pin, " and Dab shouted, --

"Now for some weak-fish! It's about three fathoms, and the tide's nearthe turn. "

Alas for the uncertainty of human calculations! The grapnel caught onthe bottom, surely and firmly; but, the moment there came any strain onthe seemingly stout hawser that held it, the latter parted like athread, and "The Swallow" was all adrift!

"Somebody's done gone cut dat rope!" shouted Dick, as he franticallypulled in the treacherous bit of hemp. 

There was an anxious look on Dab Kinzer's face for a moment. Then heshouted, --

"Sharp, now, boys, or we'll be rolling in the surf in three minutes!Haul away, Dick! Haul with him, Ford! Up with her! There, that'll giveus headway. "

Ford Foster looked out to seaward, even while he was hauling his bestupon the sail halyards. All along the line of the coast, at distancesvarying from a hundred yards or so to nearly a mile, there was anirregular line of foaming breakers--an awful thing for a boat like "TheSwallow" to run into!

Perhaps; but ten times worse for a larger craft, for the latter would beshattered on the shoals, where the bit of a yacht would find plenty ofwater under her; that is, if she did not, at the same time, find toomuch water _over_ her. 

"Can't we go back through the inlet in the bar?" asked Ford. 

"Not with this wind in our teeth, and it's getting worse every minute. No more will it do to try to keep inside the surf. "

"What can we do, then?"

"Take the smoothest places we can find, and run 'em. The sea isn't veryrough outside. It's our only chance. "

Poor Ford Foster's heart sank within him, as he listened, and as hegazed ahead upon the long white line of foaming surf and tossingbreakers. He saw, however, a look of heroic resolution rising in"Captain Kinzer's" face, and it gave him courage to turn his eyes againtowards the surf. 

"The Swallow" was now once more moving in a way to justify her name;and, although Ford was no sailor, he could see that her only chance topenetrate that perilous barrier of broken water was to "take it noseon, " as Dick Lee expressed it. 

That was clearly the thing Dab Kinzer intended to do. There were placesof comparative smoothness, here and there, in the tossing and plungingline; but they were bad enough, at the best, and they would have been agood deal worse but for that stiff breeze blowing off shore. 

"Now for it!" shouted Dab, as "The Swallow" bounded on. 

"Dar dey come!" said Dick. 

Ford thought of his mother, and sister, and father; but he had not aword to say, and hardly felt like breathing. 

Bows foremost, full sail, rising like a cork on the long, strongbillows, which would have rolled her over and over if she had not beenhandled so skilfully as she really was; once or twice pitchingdangerously in short, chopping seas, and shipping water enough to wether brave young mariners to the skin, and call for vigorous balingafterwards, --"The Swallow" battled gallantly with her danger for a fewmoments; and then Dab Kinzer swung his hat, and shouted, --

"Hurrah, boys! We're out at sea!"

"Dat's so, " said Dick. 

"So it is, " remarked Ford, a little gloomily; "but how on earth will weever get ashore again? We can't go back through that surf. "

"Well, " replied Dab, "if it doesn't come on to blow too hard, we'll runright on down the coast. If the wind lulled, or whopped around a little, we'd find our way in, easy enough, long before night. We might have atough time beating home across the bay, even if we were inside the bar, now. Anyhow, we're safe enough out here. "

Ford could hardly feel that very strongly, but he was determined not tolet Dab see it; and he made an effort at the calmness of a Mohawk, as hesaid, "How about fishing?"

"Guess we won't bother 'em much, but you might go for a bluefish. Sometimes they have great luck with them, right along here. "

CHAPTER XI. 

SPLENDID FISHING, AND A BIG FOG. 

There is no telling how many anxious people there may have been in thatregion that night, a little after supper; but there was no doubt of thestate of mind in at least three family circles. 

Good Mrs. Foster could not endure to stay at home and talk about thematter; and her husband and Annie were very willing to go over to theKinzers' with her, and listen to the encouraging views of Dabney'sstout-hearted and sensible mother. 

They were welcomed heartily; and the conversation began, so to speak, right in the middle. 

"Oh, Mrs. Kinzer! do you think they are in any danger?"

"I hope not. I don't see why there need be, unless they try to returnacross the bay against this wind. "

"But don't you think they'll try? Do you mean they won't be hometo-night?" exclaimed Mr. Foster himself. 

"I sincerely hope not, " said the widow calmly. "I should hardly feellike trusting Dabney out in the boat again, if he should do so foolish athing. "

"But where can he stay?"

"At anchor somewhere, or on the island; almost anywhere but tacking allnight on the bay. He'd be really safer out at sea than trying to gethome. "

"Out at sea!"

There was something really dreadful in the very idea of it; and AnnieFoster turned pale enough when she thought of the gay little yacht, andher brother out on the broad Atlantic in it, with no better crew thanDab Kinzer and Dick Lee. Samantha and her sisters were hardly as steadyabout it as their mother; but they were careful to conceal theirmisgivings from their neighbors, which was very kindly indeed in thecircumstances. 

There was little use in trying to think or talk of any thing else besidethe boys, however, with the sound of the "high wind" in the trees out bythe roadside; and a very anxious circle was that, up to the late hour atwhich the members of it separated for the night. 

But there were other troubled hearts in that vicinity. Old Bill Leehimself had been out fishing all day, with very poor luck; but he forgotall about that, when he learned, on reaching the shore, that Dick andhis white friends had not returned. He even pulled back to the mouth ofthe inlet, to see if the gathering darkness would give him any signs ofhis boy. He did not know it; but while he was gone Dick's mother, afterdiscussing her anxieties with some of her dark-skinned neighbors, halfweepingly unlocked her one "clothes-press, " and took out the suit whichhad been the pride of her absent son. She had never admired them half somuch before, but they seemed now to need a red necktie to set them off;and so the gorgeous result of Dick's fishing and trading came out of itshiding-place, and was arranged on the white coverlet of her own bed, with the rest of his best garments. 

"Jus' de t'ing for a handsome young feller like Dick, " she muttered toherself. 

"Wot for'd an ole woman like me want to put on any sech fool finery?He's de bestest boy in de worl', he is. Dat is, onless dar ain't not'in'happened to 'im. "

Her husband brought her home no news when he came, and Dick's goodqualities were likely to be seen in a strong light for a while longer. 

But if the folk on shore were uneasy about "The Swallow" and her crew, how was it with the latter themselves, as the darkness closed aroundthem, out there upon the tossing water?

Very cool and self-possessed indeed had been Captain Dab Kinzer; and hehad encouraged the others to go on with their blue-fishing, even when itwas pretty tough work to keep "The Swallow" from "scudding" at oncebefore the wind. He was anxious, also, not to get too far from shore;for there was no telling what sort of weather might be coming. It wascurious, moreover, what very remarkable luck they had; or rather, Fordand Dick, for Dab would not leave the tiller for a moment. Splendidfellows were those blue-fish, and hard work it was to pull in theheaviest of them. That was just the sort of weather they bite best in;but it is not often that such young fishermen venture to take advantageof it. No, nor the old ones either; for only the stanchest old "salts"of Montauk or New London would have felt altogether at home in "TheSwallow" that afternoon. 

"I guess I wouldn't fish any more, " said Dab at last. "You've caught tentimes as many now as we ever thought of catching. Some of them arewhoppers too. "

"Biggest fishing ever I did, " said Ford, as if that meant a great deal. 

"Or mos' anybody else, out dis yer way, " added Dick. "I isn't 'shamed toshow dem fish anywhar. "

"No more I ain't, " said Dab; "but you're getting too tired, and so am I. We must have a good hearty lunch, and put 'The Swallow' before the windfor a while. I daren't risk any more of these cross seas. We might getpitched over any minute. They're rising. "

"Dat's so, " said Dick. "And I's awful hungry, I is. "

"The Swallow" was well enough provisioned for a short cruise, not tomention the bluefish, and there was water enough on board for severaldays if they should happen to need it; but there was little danger ofthat, unless the wind should continue to be altogether against them. 

It was blowing hard when the boys finished their dinner, but no harderthan it had already blown several times that day; and "The Swallow"seemed to be putting forth her very best qualities as a "sea-boat. "

There was no immediate danger apparently; but there was one "symptom"which Dab discerned, as he glanced around the horizon, which gave himmore anxiety than either the stiff breeze or the rough sea. 

The coming darkness?

No; for stars and lighthouses can be seen at night, and steering by themis easy enough. 

Nights are pretty dark things, sometimes, as most people know; but thedarkest thing to be met with at sea, whether by night or by day, is a_fog_, and Dabney saw signs of one coming. Rain, too, might come withit, but that would be of small account. 

"Boys, " he said, "do you know we're out of sight of land?"

"Oh, no, we're not!" replied Ford confidently. "Look yonder. "

"That isn't land, Ford. That's only a fog-bank, and we shall be all inthe dark in ten minutes. The wind is changing, too, and I hardly knowwhere we are. "

"Look at your compass. "

"That tells me the wind is changing a little, and it's going down; but Iwouldn't dare to run towards the shore in a fog, and at night. "

"Why not?"

"Why? Don't you remember those breakers? Would you like to be blownthrough them, and not see where you were going?"

"Well, no, " said Ford: "I rather guess I wouldn't. "

"Jes' you let Capt'in Kinzer handle dis yer boat, " almost crustilyinterposed Dick Lee. "He's de on'y feller on board dat un'erstandsnagivation. "

"Shouldn't wonder if you're right, " said Ford good-humoredly. "At allevents, I sha'n't interfere. But, Dab, what do you mean to do about it?"

"Swing a lantern at the mast-head, and sail right along. You and Dickget a nap, by and by, if you can. I won't try to sleep till daylight. "

"Sleep? Catch me sleeping!"

"You must; and so must Dick, when the time comes. It won't do for us toall get worn out together. If we did, who'd handle the boat?"

Ford's respect for Dabney Kinzer was growing hourly. Here was thisovergrown gawk of a green country boy, just out of his roundabouts, whohad never spent more than a day at a time in the great city, and neverlived in any kind of a boarding-house; in fact, here was a fellow whohad had no advantages whatever, --coming out as a sort of hero. 

Ford looked at him hard, as he stood there with the tiller in his hand, but he could not quite understand it, Dab was so quiet andmatter-of-course about it all; and, as for that youngster himself, hehad no idea that he was behaving any better than any other boy could, should, and would have behaved in those very peculiar circumstances. 

However that might be, the gay and buoyant little "Swallow, " with hersignal lantern swinging at her mast-head, was soon dancing away throughthe deepening darkness and the fog; and her steady-nerved youngcommander was congratulating himself that there seemed to be a good dealless of wind and sea, even if there was more of mist. 

"I couldn't expect to have every thing to suit me, " he said to himself. "And now I hope we sha'n't run down anybody. Hullo! Isn't that a redlight, through the fog, yonder?"

CHAPTER XII. 

HOW THE GAME OF "FOLLOW MY LEADER" CAN BE PLAYED AT SEA. 

There was yet another gathering of human beings on the wind-sweptsurface of the Atlantic that evening, to whose minds the minutes andhours were going by with no small burden of anxiety to carry. 

Not an anxiety, perhaps, as great as that of the three families overthere on the shore of the bay, or even of the three boys tossing alongthrough the fog in their bubble of a yacht; but the officers, and not afew of the passengers and crew, of the great iron-builded ocean-steamerwere any thing but easy about the way their affairs were looking. Itwould have been so much more agreeable if they could have looked at themat all. 

Had they no pilot on board?

To be sure they had, for he had come on board in the usual way, as theydrew near their intended port; but they had somehow seemed to bring thatfog along with them, and the captain had a half-defined suspicion thatneither the pilot nor he himself knew exactly where they now were. Thatis a bad condition for a great ship to be in at any time, and especiallywhen it was drawing so near a coast which calls for good seamanship andskilful pilotage in the best of weather. 

The captain would not for any thing have confessed his doubt to thepilot, nor the pilot his to the captain; and that was where the realdanger lay, after all. If they could only have choked down their pride, and permitted themselves to talk of their possible peril, it would verylikely have disappeared. That is, they could at least have decided tostop the vessel till they were rid of their doubt. 

The steamer was French, and her captain a French naval officer; and itis possible he and the pilot did not understand each other any too well. 

It was a matter of course that the speed of the ship should be somewhatlessened, under such circumstances; but it would have been a good dealwiser not to have gone on at all. Not to speak of the shore they werenearing, they might be sure they were not the only craft steaming orsailing over those busy waters; and vessels have sometimes been known torun against one another in a fog as thick as that. Something could bedone by way of precaution in that direction, and lanterns with brightcolors were freely swung out; but the fog was likely to diminish theirusefulness somewhat. They took away a little of the gloom; but none ofthe passengers were in a mood to go to bed, with the end of their voyageso near, and they all seemed disposed to discuss the fog, if not thegeneral question of mists and their discomforts. All of them but one, and he a boy. 

A boy of about Dab Kinzer's age, slender and delicate-looking, withcurly light-brown hair, blue eyes, and a complexion which would havebeen fair, but for the traces it bore of a hotter climate than that ofeither France or America. He seemed to be all alone, and to be feelingvery lonely that night; and he was leaning over the rail, peering outinto the mist, humming to himself a sweet, wild air in a strange butexceedingly musical tongue. 

Very strange. Very musical. 

Perhaps no such words had ever before gone out over that part of theAtlantic; for Frank Harley was a missionary's son, "going home to beeducated;" and the sweet, low-voiced song was a Hindustanee hymn whichhis mother had taught him in far-away India. 

Suddenly the hymn was cut short by the hoarse voice of the "lookout, " asit announced, --

"A white light, close aboard, on the windward bow. "

That was rapidly followed by even hoarser hails, replied to by a voicewhich was clear and strong enough, but not hoarse at all. The nextmoment something, which was either a white sail or a ghost, cameslipping along through the fog, and then the conversation did notrequire to be shouted any longer. Frank could even hear one person sayto another out there in the mist, "Ain't it a big thing, Ford, that youknow French? I mean to study it when we get home. "

"It's as easy as eating. Dab, shall I tell 'em we've got some fish?"

"Of course. We'll sell 'em the whole cargo. "

"Sell them? Why not make them a present?"

"We may need the money to get home with. They're a splendid lot. Enoughfor the whole cabin-full. "

"Dat's a fack. Cap'in Dab Kinzer's de sort ob capt'in fo' me, he is!"

"How much, then?"

"Twenty-five dollars for the lot. They're worth it, --specially if welose Ham's boat. "

Dab's philosophy was a little out of gear; but a perfect rattle ofquestions and answers followed in French, and, somewhat to FrankHarley's astonishment, the bargain was promptly concluded. Fresh fish, just out of the water, were a particularly pleasant arrival to peoplewho had been ten days out at sea. 

How were they to get them on board? Nothing easier, since the little"Swallow" could run along so nicely under the stern of the greatsteamer, after a line was thrown her; and a large basket was swung outat the end of a long, slender spar, with a pulley to lower and raise it. 

There was fun in the loading of that basket: but even the boys from LongIsland were astonished at the number and size of the fine, freshly-caught blue-fish, to which they were treating the hungrypassengers of the "Prudhomme;" and the basket had to go and come againand again. 

The steamer's steward, on his part, avowed that he had never before metso honest a lot of Yankee fishermen. Perhaps not; for high prices andshort weight are apt to go together, where "luxuries" are selling. Thepay itself was handed out in the same basket which went for the fish, and then "The Swallow" was again cast loose. 

The wind was not nearly so high as it had been, and the sea had for sometime been going down. 

Twenty minutes later Frank Harley heard, --for he understood French verywell, --

"Hullo, the boat! What are you following us for?"

"Oh! we won't run you down. Don't be alarmed. We've lost our way outhere, and we're going to follow you in. Hope you know where you are. "

There was a cackle of surprise and laughter among the steamer'sofficers, in which Frank and some of the passengers joined; and thesaucy little "fishing-boat" came steadily on in the wake of her gigantictide. 

"This is grand for us, " remarked Dab Kinzer to Ford, as he kept his eyeson the after-lantern of the "Prudhomme. " "They pay all our pilot-fees. "

"But they're going to New York. "

"So are we, if to-morrow doesn't come out clear, and with a good wind togo home by. "

"It's better than crossing the Atlantic in the dark, anyhow. But what asteep price we got for those fish!"

"They're always ready to pay well for such things at the end of avoyage, " said Dab. "I expected, though, they'd try and beat us down apeg. They generally do. We didn't get much more than the fair marketprice, after all, only we got rid of our whole catch at one sale. "

That was a good deal better than fishermen are apt to do. 

Hour followed hour; and "The Swallow" followed the steamer, and the fogfollowed them both so closely, that sometimes even Dick Lee's keen eyescould with difficulty make out the "Prudhomme's" light. And now FordFoster ventured to take a bit of a nap, so sure did he feel that all thedanger was over, and that Captain Kinzer was equal to what Dick Leecalled the "nagivation" of that yacht How long he had slept, he couldnot have guessed but he was awakened by a great cry from out the mistbeyond them, and by the loud exclamation of Captain Kinzer, still at thetiller, --

"I believe she's run ashore!"

It was a loud cry, indeed, and there was good reason for it. Well was itfor all on board the great steamer, that she was running no faster atthe time and that there was no hurricane of a gale to make things worsefor her. Pilot and captain had both together missed theirreckoning, --neither of them could ever afterward tell how, --and therethey were, stuck fast in the sand, with the noise of breakers ahead ofthem, and the dense fog all around. 

Frank Harley peered anxiously over the rail again but he could not havecomplained that he was "wrecked in sight of shore, " for the steamer wasany thing but a wreck as yet, and there was no shore in sight. 

"It's an hour to sunrise, " said Dab to Ford, after the latter hadmanaged to comprehend the situation. "We may as well run farther in, andsee what we can see. "

It must have been aggravating to the people on board the steamer, to seethat little cockle-shell of a yacht dancing safely along over the shoalon which their "leviathan" had struck, and to hear Ford Foster sing out, "If we'd known you meant to run in here, we'd have followed some otherpilot. "

"They're in no danger at all, " said Dab, "If their own boats don't take'em all ashore, the coast-wreckers will. "

"The government life-savers, I s'pose you mean. "

"Yes: they're all alongshore, here, everywhere. Hark! there goes thedistress-gun. Bang away! It sounds a good deal more mad than scared. "

So it did; and so they were, --captain, pilot, passengers, and all. 

"Captain Kinzer" found that he could safely run in for a couple ofhundred yards or so; but there were signs of surf beyond, and he had noanchor to hold on by. His only course was to tack back and forth ascarefully as possible, and wait for daylight, --as the French sailorswere doing, with what patience they could command. 

In less than half an hour, however, a pair of long, graceful, buoyant-looking life-boats, manned each with an officer and eightrowers, came shooting through the mist, in response to the repeatedsummons of the steamer's cannon. 

"It's all right, now, " said Dab. "I knew they wouldn't be long incoming. Let's find out where we are. "

That was easy enough. The steamer had gone ashore on a sand-bar, aquarter of a mile from the beach, and a short distance from Seabright onthe New Jersey coast; and there was no probability of any worse harmcoming to her than the delay in her voyage, and the cost of pulling herout from the sandy bed into which she had so blindly thrust herself. Thepassengers would, most likely, be taken ashore with their baggage, andsent on to the city overland. 

"In fact, " said Ford Foster, "a sand-bar isn't as bad for a steamer as apig is for a locomotive. "

"The train you were wrecked in, " said Dab, "was running fast. Perhapsthe pig was. Now, the sandbar was standing still, and the steamer wasgoing slow. My! What a crash there'd have been if she'd been running tenor twelve knots an hour, with a heavy sea on!"

By daylight there were plenty of other craft around, including yachtsand sail-boats from Long Branch, and "all along shore;" and the LongIsland boys treated the occupants of these as if they had sent for them, and were glad to see them. 

"Seems to me you're inclined to be a little inquisitive, Dab, " saidFord, as his friend peered sharply into and around one craft afteranother; but just then Dabney sang out, --

"Hullo, Jersey, what are you doing with two grapnels? Is that boat ofyours balky?"

"Mind yer eye, youngster. They're both mine, I reckon. "

"You might sell me one cheap, " continued Dab, "considering how you got'em. Give you ten cents for the big one. "

Ford thought he understood the matter now, and he said nothing; but the"Jersey wrecker" had "picked up" both of those anchors, one time andanother, and had no sort of objection to "talking trade. "

"Ten cents! Let you have it for fifty dollars. "

"Is it gold, or only silver gilt?"

"Pure gold, my boy; but, seem' it's you, I'll let you have it for tendollars. "

"Take your pay in clams?"

"Oh, hush! I hain't no time to gabble. Mebbe I'll git a job here, 'roundthis yer wreck. If you reelly want that there grapn'I, wot'll yougimme?"

"Five dollars, gold, take it or leave it, " said Dab, pulling out a coinfrom the money he had received for his bluefish. 

In three minutes more "The Swallow" was furnished with a much larger andbetter anchor than the one she had lost the day before; and Dick Leeexclaimed, "It jes' takes Cap'n Kinzer!"

For some minutes before this, as the light grew clearer and the foglifted a little, Frank Harley had been watching them from the rail ofthe "Prudhomme, " and wondering if all the fisher-boys in America dressedas well as these two. 

"Hullo, you!" was the greeting which now came to his ears. "Go ashore inmy boat?"

"Not till I've eaten some of your fish for breakfast, " said Frank. "What's your name?"

"Captain Dabney Kinzer, of 'most anywhere on Long Island. What's yours?"

"Frank Harley of Rangoon. "

"I declare, " almost shouted Ford Foster, "if you're not the chap mysister Annie told me of! You're going to Albany, to my uncle Joe Hart's, ain't you?"

"Yes, to Mr. Hart's, and then to Grantley to school. "

"That's it. Well, then, you can just come along with us. Get your kitout of your state-room. We can send over to the city after the rest ofyour baggage, after it gets in. "

"Along with you! Where?"

"To my father's house, instead of ashore among those hotel people, andother wreckers. The captain'll tell you it's all right. "

Frank had further questions to ask before he was satisfied as to whosehands he was about to fall into; and the whole arrangement was, nodoubt, a little irregular. So was the present position of the"Prudhomme" herself, however; and all landing rules were a trifle out ofjoint by reason of that circumstance. So the steamer authoritieslistened to Frank's request when he made it, and gruffly granted it. 

"The Swallow" lay quietly at her new anchor while her passenger to bewas completing his preparations to board her. Part of them consisted ofa hearty breakfast, --fresh bluefish, broiled; and while he was eating itthe crew of the yacht made a deep hole in what remained of their ownsupplies. Nobody who had seen them eat would have suspected that theirlong night at sea had interfered with their appetites. In fact, each ofthem remarked to the others that it had not, so far as he was concerned. 

"We'll make a good run, " said Dab. "It'll be great!"

"What?" said Ford, in some astonishment; "ain't you going to New York atall?"

"What for?"

"I thought that was what you meant to do. Shall you sail right straighthome?"

"Why not? If we could do that distance at night, and in a storm, I guesswe can in a day of such splendid weather as this, with the wind justright too. "

CHAPTER XIII

"HOME AGAIN! HERE WE ARE!"

The wind was indeed "just right;" but even Dab forgot, for the moment, that "The Swallow" would go faster and farther before a gale than shewas likely to with the comparatively mild southerly breeze now blowing. He was by no means likely to get home by dinner-time. As for danger, there would be absolutely none, unless the weather should again becomestormy; and there was no probability of any such thing at that season. And so, after he had eaten his breakfast, and, with a genuine boy'sconfidence in boys, Frank Harley came on board "The Swallow" as apassenger, the anchor was lifted, and the gay little craft spread herwhite sails, and slipped lightly away from the neighborhood of theforlorn-looking, stranded steamer. 

"They'll have her out of that in less'n a week, " said Ford to Frank. "Myfather'll know just what to do about your baggage, and so forth. "

There were endless questions to be asked and answered on both sides; butat last Dab yawned a very sleepy yawn, and said, "Ford, you've had yournap. Wake up Dick, there, and let him take his turn at the tiller. Thesea's as smooth as a lake, and I believe I'll go to sleep for an hour orso. You and Frank can keep watch while Dick steers: he's a goodsteerer. "

Whatever Dab said was "orders" now on board "The Swallow;" and Ford'sonly reply was, --

"If you haven't earned a good nap, then nobody has. "

Dick, too, responded promptly and cheerfully; and in five minutes morethe patient and skilful young "captain" was sleeping like a top. 

"Look at him, " said Ford Foster to Frank Harley. "I don't know what he'smade of. He's been at that tiller for twenty-three hours by the watch, in all sorts of weather, and never budged. "

"They don't make that kind of boy in India, " replied Frank. 

"He's de bes' feller you ebber seen, " added Dick Lee. "I's jes' proud obhim, I is!"

Smoothly and swiftly and safely "The Swallow" was bearing her preciouscargo across the summer sea; but the morning had brought no comfort tothe two homes at the head of the inlet, or the humble cabin in thevillage. Old Bill Lee was out in the best boat he could borrow, by earlydaylight; and more than one of his sympathizing neighbors followed him alittle later. There was no doubt at all that a thorough search would bemade of the bay and the island, and so Mr. Foster wisely remained athome to comfort his wife and daughter. 

"That sort of boy, " mourned Annie, "is always getting into some kind ofmischief. "

"Annie!" exclaimed her mother indignantly, "Ford is a good boy, and hedoes not run into mischief. "

"I didn't mean Ford: I meant that Dabney Kinzer. I wish we'd never seenhim, or his sailboat either. "

"Annie, " remarked her father a little reprovingly, "if we live by thewater, Ford _will_ go out on it, and he had better do so in goodcompany. Wait a while. "

Annie was silenced, but it was only too clear that she was not entirelyconvinced. Her brother's absence and all their anxiety were positivelydue to Dab Kinzer, and his wicked, dangerous little yacht; and he mustbe to blame somehow. 

She could not help "waiting a while, " as her father bade her; but hereyes already told that she had been doing more than wait. 

Summer days are long; but some of them are a good deal longer thanothers, and that was one of the longest any of those people had everknown. 

For once, even dinner was more than half neglected in the Kinzer familycircle. At the Fosters' it was forgotten almost altogether. Long as theday was, and so dreary, in spite of all the bright, warm sunshine, therewas no help for it: the hours would not hurry, and the wanderers wouldnot return. Tea-time came at last; and with it the Fosters all came overto Mrs. Kinzer's again, to take tea, and tell her of several fishermenwho had returned from the bay without having discovered a sign of "TheSwallow" or its crew. 

Stout-hearted Mrs. Kinzer talked bravely and encouragingly, nevertheless, and did not seem to abate an ounce of her confidence inher son. It seemed as if, in leaving off his roundabouts, particularlyconsidering the way in which he had left them off, Dabney must havesuddenly grown a great many "sizes" in his mother's estimation. Perhaps, too, that was because he had not left them off any too soon. 

There they sat around the tea-table, the two mothers and all the rest ofthem, looking gloomy enough; while over there in her bit of a brownhouse, in the village, sat Mrs. Lee in very much the same frame of mind, trying to relieve her feelings by smoothing imaginary wrinkles out ofher boy's best clothes, and planning for him any number of bright redneckties, if he would only come back to wear them. 

The neighbors were becoming more than a little interested, and evenexcited about the matter; but what was there to be done?

Telegrams had been sent to other points on the coast, and all thefishermen notified. It was really one of those puzzling cases, whereeven the most neighborly can do no better than "wait a while. "

Still, there were more than a dozen people, of all sorts, including BillLee, lingering around the "landing" as late as eight o'clock thatevening. 

Suddenly one of them exclaimed, --

"There's a light coming in!"

Others followed with, --

"There's a boat under it!"

"Ham's boat carried a light. "

"I'll bet it's her!"

"No, it isn't"--

"Hold on and see. "

There was not long to "hold on;" for in three minutes more "The Swallow"swept gracefully in with the tide, and the voice of Dab Kinzer shoutedmerrily, --

"Home again! Here we are!"

Such a ringing volley of cheers answered him!

It was heard and understood away there in the parlor of the Morrishouse, and brought every soul of that anxious circle right up standing. 

"Must be it's Dab!" exclaimed Mrs. Kinzer. 

"O mother!" said Annie, "is Ford safe?"

"They wouldn't cheer like that, my dear, if any thing had happened, "remarked Mr. Foster; but, in spite of his coolness, the city lawyerforgot to put his hat on, as he dashed out of the front gate and downthe road towards the landing. 

Then came one of those times that it takes a whole orchestra and agallery of paintings to tell any thing about: for Mrs. Lee as well asher husband was on the beach; and within a minute after "Captain Kinzer"and his crew had landed, poor Dick was being hugged and scolded withinan inch of his life, and the two other boys found themselves in themidst of a perfect tumult of embraces and cheers. 

Frank Harley's turn came soon, moreover; for Ford Foster found hisbalance, and introduced the "passenger from India" to his father. 

"Frank Harley!" exclaimed Mr. Foster. "I've heard of you, certainly; buthow did you--boys, I don't understand"--

"Oh! father, it's all right. We took Frank off the French steamer, aftershe ran ashore. "

"Ran ashore?"

"Yes. Down the Jersey coast. We got in company with her in the fog, after the storm. That was yesterday evening. "

"Down the Jersey coast? Do you mean you've been out at sea?"

"Yes, father; and I'd go again, with Dab Kinzer for captain. Do youknow, father, he never left the rudder of 'The Swallow' from the momentwe started until seven o'clock this morning. "

"You owe him your lives!" almost shouted Mr. Foster; and Ford addedemphatically, "Indeed we do!"

It was Dab's own mother's arms that had been around him from the instanthe had stepped ashore, and Samantha and Keziah and Pamela had had tocontent themselves with a kiss or so apiece; but dear, good Mrs. Fosterstopped smoothing Ford's hair and forehead just then, and came and gaveDab a right motherly hug, as if she could not express her feelings inany other way. 

As for Annie Foster, her face was suspiciously red at the moment; butshe walked right up to Dab after her mother released him, and said, --

"Captain Kinzer, I've been saying dreadful things about you, but I begpardon. "

"I'll be entirely satisfied, Miss Foster, " said Dabney, "if you'll onlyask somebody to get us something to eat. "

"Eat!" exclaimed Mrs. Kinzer. "Why, the poor fellows! Of course they'rehungry. "

"Cap'n Kinzer allers does know jes' de right t'ing to do, " mumbled Dickin a half-smothered voice; and his mother let go of him, with--

"Law, suz! So dey be!"

Hungry enough they all were, indeed; and the supper-table, moreover, wasthe best place in the world for the further particulars of theirwonderful cruise to be told and heard. 

Dick Lee was led home in triumph to a capital supper of his own; and assoon as that was over he was rigged out in his Sunday clothes, --red silknecktie and all, --and invited to tell the story of his adventures to aroomful of admiring neighbors. He told it well, modestly ascribing everything to Dab Kinzer; but there was no good reason, in any thing he said, for one of his father's friends to inquire next morning, --

"Bill Lee, does you mean for to say as dem boys run down de Frenchsteamah in dat ar' boat?"

"Not dat. Not zackly. "

"'Cause, ef you does, I jes' want to say I's been down a-lookin' at her, and she ain't even snubbed her bowsprit. "

CHAPTER XIV. 

A GREAT MANY THINGS GETTING READY TO COME!

The newspapers from the city brought full accounts of the stranding ofthe "Prudhomme, " and of the safety of her passengers and cargo. 

The several editors seemed to differ widely in their opinions relatingto the whole affair; but there must have been some twist in the mind ofthe one who excused everybody on the ground that "no pilot, howeverskilful, could work his compass correctly in so dense a fog as that. "

None of them had any thing whatever to say of the performances of "TheSwallow. " The yacht had been every bit as well handled as the greatsteamship; but then, she had reached her port in safety, and she wassuch a little thing, after all. 

Whatever excitement there had been in the village died out as soon as itwas known that the boys were safe; and a good many people began towonder why they had been so much upset about it, anyhow. 

Mrs. Lee herself, the very next morning, so far recovered her peace ofmind as to "wonder wot Dab Kinzer's goin' to do wid all de money he gotfor dem bluefish. "

"I isn't goin' to ask him, " said Dick. "He's capt'in. "

As for Dab himself, he did an immense amount of useful sleeping, thatfirst night; but when he awoke in the morning he shortly made adiscovery, and the other boys soon made another. Dab's was, that all thelong hours of daylight and darkness, while he held the tiller of "TheSwallow, " he had been thinking as well as steering. He had thereforebeen growing very fast, and would be sure to show it, sooner or later. 

Ford and Frank found that Dab had forgotten nothing he had said aboutlearning how to box, and how to talk French; but he did not say a wordto them about another important thing. He talked enough, to be sure; buta great, original idea was beginning to take form in his mind, and hewas not quite ready yet to mention it to any one. 

"I guess, " he muttered more than once, "I'd better wait till Ham comeshome, and talk to him about it. "

As for Frank Harley, Mr. Foster had readily volunteered to visit thesteamship-office in the city, with him, that next day, and see thatevery thing necessary was done with reference to the safe delivery ofhis baggage. At the same time, of course, Mrs. Foster wrote to hersister Mrs. Hart, giving a full account of all that had happened, butsaying that she meant to keep Frank as her own guest for a while, ifMrs. Hart did not seriously object. 

That letter made something of a sensation in the Hart family. NeitherMrs. Hart nor her husband thought of making any objection; for, to tellthe truth, it came to them as a welcome relief. 

"It's just the best arrangement that could have been made, Maria, allaround, " said he. "Write at once, and tell her she may keep him as longas she pleases. "

That was very well for them, but the boys hardly felt the same way aboutit. They had been planning to have "all sorts of fun with that youngmissionary, " in their own house. He was, as Fuz expressed it, to be "putthrough a regular course of sprouts, and take the Hindu all out of him. "

"Never mind, though, " said Joe, after the letter came, and the decisionof their parents was declared: "we'll serve him out after we get toGrantley. There won't be anybody to interfere with the fun. "

"Well, yes, " replied Fuz, "and I'd just as lief not see too much of himbefore that. He won't have any special claim on us, neither, if hedoesn't go there from our house. "

That was a queer sort of calculation, but it was only a beginning. Theyhad other talks on the same subject, and the tone of them all had in ita promise of lively times at Grantley for the friendless young strangerfrom India. 

Others, however, were thinking of the future, as well as themselves; andJoe and Fuz furnished the subject for more than one animated discussionamong the boys down there by the Long Island shore. Ford Foster gave histwo friends the full benefit of all he knew concerning his cousins. 

"It's a good thing for you, " he said to Frank, "that the steamer didn'tgo ashore anywhere near their house. They're a pair of born youngwreckers. Just think of the tricks they played on my sister Annie!"

They were all related in Ford's most graphic style, with comments tosuit from his audience. After that conversation, however, it wasremarkable what good attention Dab Kinzer and Frank Harley paid to theirsparring-lessons. It even exceeded the pluck and perseverance with whichDab worked at his French; and Ford was compelled to admit, to him inparticular, "You ought to have a grown-up teacher, --somebody you won'tkill if you make out to get in a hit on him. You're too long in thereach for me, and your arms are too hard. "

What between the boxing-gloves and the boat, there could be no questionbut what Frank Harley had landed at the right place to get strong in. 

There was plenty of fishing, bathing, riding, boating, boxing: if theyhad worked day and night, they could not have used it all up. Three boystogether can find so much more to do than one can, all alone; and theymade it four as often as they could, for Dick Lee had proved himself thebest kind of company. Frank Harley's East-Indian experience had made himindifferent to the mere question of color, and Ford Foster was too muchof a "man" to forget that long night of gale and fog and danger on board"The Swallow. "

It was only a day or two after that perilous "cruise, " that Dab Kinzermet his old playmate, Jenny Walters, just in the edge of the village. 

"How well you look, Dabney!" remarked the sharp-tongued little lady. "Drowning must agree with you. "

"Yes, " said Dab, "I like it. "

"Do you know what a fuss they made over you, when you were gone? Is'pose they'd nothing else to do. "

"Jenny, " said Dab suddenly, holding out his hand, "you mustn't quarrelwith me any more. Bill Lee told me about your coming down to thelanding. You may say any thing to me you want to. "

Jenny colored, and bit her lip; and she would have given her bonnet toknow if Bill Lee had told Dab how very red her eyes were, as she lookeddown the inlet for some sign of "The Swallow. " Something had to be said, however; and she said it almost spitefully. 

"I don't care, Dabney Kinzer: it did seem dreadful to think of you threeboys being drowned, and you, too, with your new clothes on. Good-morning, Dab. "

"She's a right good-hearted girl, if she'd only show it, " muttered Dab, as Jenny tripped away; "but she isn't a bit like Annie Foster. "

His thoughts must have been on something else than his young-ladyacquaintances, nevertheless; for his next words were, "How I do wish HamMorris would come home!"

There was time enough for that, and Ham was hardly likely to be in ahurry. The days were well employed in his absence; and, as they went by, the Morris homestead went steadily on looking less and less like its oldself, and more and more like a house made for people to live and behappy in. Mrs. Kinzer and her daughters had now settled down in theirnew quarters as completely as if they had never known any others; and itseemed to Dab, now and then, as if they had taken almost too completepossession. His mother had her room, of course; and a big one it was. There could be no objection to that. Then another big one, of the verybest, had to be set apart and fitted up for Ham and Miranda on theirreturn home; and Dab had taken great delight in doing all in his powerto make that room all it could be made. But then Samantha had insistedupon having a separate domain, and Keziah and Pamela had imitated theirelder sister to a fraction. 

The "guest-chamber" had to be provided as well, or what would become ofthe good old Long Island notions of hospitality?

Dab said nothing while the partition was under discussion, nor for awhile afterwards; but one day at dinner, just after the coming of aletter from Miranda, announcing the speedy arrival of herself and herhusband, he quietly remarked, --

"Now I can't sleep in Ham's room any longer, I suppose I'll have to goout on the roof. I won't sleep in the garret or in the cellar. "

"That will be a good deal as Mrs. Morris says, when she comes, " calmlyresponded his mother. 

"As Miranda says!" said Dab, with a long breath. 

"Miranda?" gasped Samantha and her sisters in chorus. 

"Yes, my dears, certainly, " said their mother. "This is Mrs. Morris'shouse, --or her husband's, --not mine. All the arrangements I have madeare only temporary. She and Ham both have ideas and wills of their own. I've only done the best I could for the time being. "

The girls looked at one another in blank amazement, over the idea ofMrs. Kinzer being any thing less than the mistress of any house shemight happen to be in; but Dabney laid down his knife and fork, with--

"It's all right, then. If Ham and Miranda are to settle it, I think I'lltake the room Sam has now. You needn't take away your books, Sam: I maywant to read some of them, or lend them to Annie. You and Kezi and Melehad better take that upper room back. The smell of the paint's all gonenow, and there's three kinds of carpet on the floor. "

"Dabney!" exclaimed Samantha, reproachfully, and with an appealing lookat her mother, who, however, said nothing on either side, and was awoman of too much good sense to take any other view of the matter thanthat she had announced. 

Things were again all running on smoothly and pleasantly, before dinnerwas over; but Dab's ideas of how the house should be divided were likelyto result in some changes, --perhaps not precisely the ones he indicated, but such as would give him something better than a choice between thegarret, the cellar, and the roof. At all events, only three days wouldnow intervene before the arrival of the two travellers, and any thing inthe way of further discussion of the room question was manifestly out oforder. 

Every thing required for the coming reception was pushed forward by Mrs. Kinzer with all the energy she could bring to bear; and Dab felt calledupon to remark to Pamela, --

"Isn't it wonderful, Mele, how many things she finds to do after everything's done?"

The widow had promised her son-in-law that his house should be "ready"for him, and it was likely to be a good deal more ready than either heor his wife had expected. 

CHAPTER XV. 

DABNEY KINZER TO THE RESCUE. 

One of the most troublesome of the annoyances which come nowadays todwellers in the country, within easy reach of any great city, is the badkind of strolling beggar known as "the tramp. " He is of all sorts andsizes; and he goes everywhere, asking for any thing he wants, very muchas if it belonged to him and he had come for his own--so long as he cando his asking of a woman or a sickly-looking man. There had been veryfew of these gentry seen in that vicinity, that summer, for a wonder;and those who had made their appearance had been reasonably wellbehaved. Probably because there had been so many healthy-looking menaround, as a general thing. But it come to pass, on the very day inwhich Ham and Miranda were expected to arrive by the last of the eveningtrains, just as Dab Kinzer was turning away from the landing, where hehad been for a look at "The Swallow" and to make sure she was all rightfor her owner's eyes, that a very disreputable specimen of a worthlessman stopped at Mrs. Kinzer's to beg something to eat, and then saunteredaway down the road. It was a little past the middle of the afternoon;and even so mean-looking, dirty a tramp as that had a perfect right tobe walking along then and there. The sunshine, and the fresh salt airfrom the bay, were as much his as anybody's, and so was the water in thebay; and no one in all that region of country stood more in need ofplenty of water than he. 

The vagabond took his right to the road, as he had taken his other rightto beg his dinner, until, half-way down to the landing, he was met by anopportunity to do a little more begging. 

"Give a poor feller suthin'?" he impudently drawled, as he staredstraight into the sweet fresh face of Annie Foster. 

Annie had been out for only a short walk; but she happened to have herpocket-book with her, and she thoughtlessly drew it out, meaning to givethe scamp a trifle, if only to get rid of him. 

"Only a dime, miss?" whined the tramp, as he shut his dirty hand overAnnie's gift. "Come, now, make it a dollar, my beauty. I'll call it allsquare for a dollar. "

The whine grew louder as he spoke; and the wheedling grin on hisdisgusting face changed into an expression so menacing that Annie drewback with a shudder, and was about returning her little portemonnaie toher pocket. 

"No, you don't, honey!"

The words were uttered in a hoarse and husky voice, and were accompaniedby a sudden grip of poor Annie's arm with one hand, while with the otherhe snatched greedily at the morocco case. 

Did she scream?

How could she help it? Or what else could she have done, under thecircumstances?

She screamed vigorously, whether she would or no, and at the same momentdropped her pocket-book in the grass beside the path, so that itmomentarily escaped the vagabond's clutches. 

"Shut up, will you!"

Other angry and evil words, accompanied by more than one vicious threat, followed thick and fast, as Annie struggled to free herself, while herassailant peered hungrily around after the missing prize. 

It is not at all likely he would have attempted any thing so bold asthat, in broad daylight, if he had not been drinking too freely; and thevery evil "spirit" which had prompted him to his rash rascality unfittedhim for its immediate consequences. 

These latter, in the shape of Dab Kinzer and the lower joint of a stoutfishing-rod, had been bounding along up the road from the landing, at atremendous rate, for nearly half a minute. 

A boy of fifteen assailing a full-grown ruffian?

Why not? Age hardly counts in such a matter; and then it is not everyboy of even his growth that could have brought muscles like those of DabKinzer to the swing he gave that four-foot length of seasoned ironwood. 

Annie saw him coming; but her assailant did not until it was too latefor him to do any thing but turn, and receive that first hit in frontinstead of behind. It would have knocked over almost anybody; and thetramp measured his length on the ground, while Dabney plied the rod onhim with all the energy he was master of. 

"Oh, don't, Dabney, don't!" pleaded Annie: "you'll kill him!"

"I wouldn't want to do that, " said Dab, as he suspended his pounding;but he added, to the tramp, --

"Now you'd better get up and run for it If you're caught around hereagain, it'll be the worse for you. "

The vagabond staggered to his feet, and he looked savagely enough atDab; but the latter looked so very ready to put in another hit with thatterrible cudgel, and the whole situation was so unpleasantly suggestiveof further difficulty, that the youngster's advice was taken without aword. That is, if a shambling kind of double limp can be described as a"run for it. "

"Here it is: I've found my pocket-book, " said Annie, as her enemy madethe best of his way off. 

"He did not hurt you?"

"No: he only scared me, except that I suppose my arm will beblack-and-blue where he caught hold of it. Thank you ever so much, Dabney: you're a brave boy. Why, he's almost twice your size. "

"Yes; but the butt of my rod is twice as hard as his head, " said Dabney. "I was almost afraid to strike him with it. I might have broken hisskull. "

"You didn't even break your rod. "

"No; and now I must run back for the other pieces and the tip. I droppedthem in the road. "

"Please, Dabney, see me home first, " said Annie. "I know it's foolish, and there isn't a bit of danger; but I must confess to being a good dealfrightened. "

Dab Kinzer was a little the proudest boy on Long Island, as he walkedalong at Annie's side, in compliance with her request. He went nofarther than the gate, to be sure, and then he returned for the rest ofhis rod: but before he got back with it, Keziah Kinzer hurried home froma call on Mrs. Foster, bringing a tremendous account of Dab's heroism;and then his own pride over what he had done was only a mere drop in thebucket, compared to that of his mother. 

"Dabney is growing wonderfully, " she remarked to Samantha, "He'll be aman before any of us know it. "

If Dab had been a man, however, or if Ham Morris or Mr. Foster had beenat home, the matter would not have been permitted to drop there. Thattramp ought to have been followed, arrested, and shut up where hisvicious propensities would have been under wholesome restraint for awhile. As it was, after hurrying on for a short distance, and makingsure he was not pursued, he clambered over the fence, and sneaked intothe nearest clump of bushes. From this safe covert he watched DabKinzer's return after the lighter pieces of his rod; and then he evendared to crouch along the fence, and see which house his young conquerorwent into. 

"That's where he lives, is it?" he muttered, with a scowl of the mostferocious vengeance. "Well, they'll have some fun there before they gitto bed to-night, or I'll know the reason why. "

It could not have occurred to such a man that he had been given hisdinner at the door of that very house. What had the collection of hisrights as a "tramp" to do with questions of gratitude and revenge?

The bushes were a good enough hiding-place for the time, and he crawledback to them with the air and manner of a man whose mind was made up tosomething. 

Ford and Frank were absent in the city that day with Mr. Foster, who waskindly attending to some affairs of Frank's; but when the three camehome, and learned what had happened, it was hard to tell which of themfailed most completely in trying to express his boiling indignation. They were all on the point of running over to the Morris house to thankDab, but Mrs. Foster interposed. 

"I don't think I would. To-morrow will do as well, and you know they'reexpecting Mr. And Mrs. Morris this evening. "

It was harder for the boys to give it up than for Mr. Foster, and thewaiting till to-morrow looked a little dreary. They were lingering nearthe north fence two hours later, with a faint idea of catching Dab, eventhough they knew that the whole Kinzer family were down at therailway-station, waiting for Ham and Miranda. 

There was a good deal of patience to be exercised by them also; for thatrailway-train was provokingly behind time, and there was "waiting" to bedone accordingly. 

The darkness of a moonless and somewhat cloudy night had settled overthe village and its surrounding farms, long before the belated enginepuffed its way in front of the station-platform. 

Just at that moment, back there by the north fence, Ford Fosterexclaimed, --

"What's that smell?"

"It's like burning hay, more than any thing else, " replied Frank. 

"Where can it come from, I'd like to know? We haven't had a light out atour barn. "

"Light?" exclaimed Frank. "Just look yonder!"

"Why, it's that old barn, 'way beyond the Morris and Kinzer house. Somebody must have set it on fire. Hullo! I thought I saw a man running. Come on, Frank!"

There was indeed a man running just then; but they did not see him, forhe was already very nearly across the field, and hidden by the darkness. He had known how to light a fire that would smoulder long enough for himto get away. 

He was not running as well, nevertheless, as he might have done beforehe came under the operation of Dab Kinzer's "lower joint. "

Mrs. Kinzer did her best to prevent any thing like a "scene" at therailway-station when Ham and Miranda came out upon the platform; butthere was an immense amount of "welcome" expressed in words and hugs andkisses, in the shortest possible space of time. There was no lingeringon the platform, however; for Ham and his wife were as anxious to get atthe "surprise" they were told was waiting for them, as their friendswere to have them come to it. 

Before they were half way home, the growing light ahead of themattracted their attention; and then they began to hear the vigorousshouts of "Fire!" from the throats of the two boys, re-enforced now byMr. Foster himself, and the lawyer's voice was an uncommonly good one. Dabney was driving the ponies, and they had to go pretty fast for therest of that short run. 

"Surprise?" exclaimed Ham. "I should say it was! Did you light it beforeyou started, Dabney?"

"Don't joke, Hamilton, " remarked Mrs. Kinzer. "It may be a very seriousaffair for all of us. But I can't understand how in all the world thatbarn should have caught fire. "

"Guess it was set a-going, " said Dab. 

CHAPTER XVI. 

DAB KINZER AND HAM MORRIS TURN INTO A FIRE-DEPARTMENT. 

The Morris farm, as has been said, was a pretty large one; and the sametendency on the part of its owners which led them to put up so extensiveand barn-like a house, had stimulated them from time to time to make themost liberal provisions for the storage of their crops. Barns were afamily weakness with them, as furniture had been with the Kinzers. Thefirst barn they had put up, now the oldest and the farthest from thehouse, had been a large one. It was now in a somewhat dilapidatedcondition, to be sure, and was bowed a little northerly by the weight ofyears that rested on it; but it had still some hope of future usefulnessif it had not been for that tramp and his box of matches. 

"There isn't a bit of use in trying to save it!" exclaimed Ham, as theywere whirled in through the wide-open gate. "It's gone!"

"But, Ham, " said Mrs. Kinzer, "we can save the other barns perhaps. Lookat the cinders falling on the long stable. If we could keep them offsomehow!"

"We can do it, Ham, " exclaimed Dab, very earnestly. "Mother, will yousend me out a broom and a rope, while Ham and I set up the ladder?"

"You're the boy for me, " said Ham. "I guess I know what you're up to. "

The ladder was one the house-painters had been using, and was a prettyheavy one; but it was quickly set up against the largest and mostvaluable of the barns, and the one, too, which was nearest and mostexposed to the burning building and its flying cinders. The rope was onhand, and the broom, by the time the ladder was in position. 

"Ford, " said Dab, "you and Frank help the girls bring water, till themen from the village get here. There's plenty of pails, but every one ofour hands is away. --Now, Ham, I'm ready. "

Up they went, and were quickly astride of the ridge of the roof. Itwould have been perilous work for any man to have ventured fartherunassisted; but Dab tied one end of the rope firmly around his waist, Ham tied himself to the other, and then Dab could slip down the steeproof, in any direction, without danger of slipping off to the groundbelow. 

But the broom?

It was as useful as a small fire-engine. The flying cinders of burninghay or wood, as they alighted upon the sun-dried shingles of the roof, needed to be swept off as fast as they fell, before they had time tofulfil their errand of mischief. Here and there they had been at workfor some minutes, and the fresh little blazes they had kindled had sogood a start, that the broom alone would have been insufficient; andthere the rapidly-arriving pails of water came into capital play. 

Ford Foster had never shone out to so good an advantage in all his lifebefore, as he did when he took his station on the upper rounds of thatladder, and risked his neck to hand water-pails to Ham. It was hardwork, all around, but hardest of all for the two "firemen" on the roof. Now and then the strength and agility of Ham Morris were put to prettysevere tests, as Dab danced around under the scorching heat, or slippedflat upon the sloping roof. It was well for Ham that he was a man ofweight and substance. 

There were scores and scores of people streaming up from the villagenow, arriving in panting squads, every moment; and Mrs. Kinzer had allshe could do to keep them from "rescuing" every atom of her furnitureout of the house, and piling it up in the road. 

"Wait, please, " she said to them very calmly. 

"If Ham and Dab save the long barn, the fire won't spread any farther. The old barn won't be any loss to speak of, anyhow. "

Fiercely as the dry old barn burned, it used itself up all the quickeron that account; and it was less than thirty minutes from the time Hamand Dabney got at work before roof and rafters fell in, and the worst ofthe danger was over. The men and boys from the village were eager enoughto do any thing that now remained to be done; but a large share of thiswas confined to standing around and watching the "bonfire" burn down toa harmless heap of badly smelling ashes. As soon, however, as they wereno more wanted on the roof, the two "volunteer firemen" came down; andHam Morris's first word on reaching the ground was, --

"Dab, my boy, how you've grown!"

Not a tenth of an inch in mere stature, and yet Ham was entirely correctabout it. 

He stared at Dabney for a moment; and then he turned, and stared atevery thing else. There was plenty of light just then, moon or no moon;and Ham's eyes were very busy for a full minute. He noted rapidly theimprovements in the fences, sheds, barns, the blinds on the house, thepaint, a host of small things that had changed for the better; and thenhe simply said, "Come on, Dab, " and led the way into the house. Hermother and sisters had already given Miranda a hurried look at what theyhad done, but Ham was not the man to do any thing in haste. Deliberatelyand silently he walked from room to room, and from cellar to garret, hardly seeming to hear the frequent comments of his enthusiastic youngwife. That he did hear all that had been said around him as he went, however, was at last made manifest, for he said, --

"Dab, I've seen all the other rooms. Where's yours?"

"I'm going to let you and Miranda have my room, " said Dab. "I don'tthink I shall board here long. "

"I don't think you will either, " said Ham emphatically. "You're goingaway to boarding-school. Miranda, is there any reason why Dab can't havethe south-west room, up stairs, with the bay-window?"

That room had been Samantha's choice, and she looked at Dabreproachfully; but Miranda replied, --

"No, indeed. Not if you wish him to have it. "

"Now, Ham, " said Dabney, "I'm not big enough to fit that room. Give meone nearer my size. That's a little loose for even Sam, and she can'ttake any tucks in it. "

Samantha's look changed to one of gratitude, and she did not notice thedetested nickname. 

"Well, then, " said Ham, "we'll see about it. You can sleep in the sparechamber to-night. --Mother Kinzer, I couldn't say enough about this housebusiness if I talked all night. It must have cost you a deal of money. Icouldn't have dared to ask it. I guess you must kiss me again. "

A curious thing it was that came next, --one that nobody could havereckoned on. Mrs. Kinzer--good soul--had set her heart on having Ham andMiranda's house "ready for them" on their return; and now Ham seemed tobe so pleased about it, she actually began to cry. She said, too, --

"I'm so sorry about the barn!"

Ham only laughed, in his quiet way, as he kissed his portlymother-in-law, and said, --

"Come, come, mother Kinzer, you didn't set it afire. Can't Miranda and Ihave some supper? Dab must be hungry, too, after all thatroof-sweeping. "

There had been a sharp strain on the nerves of all of them that day andevening; and they were glad enough to gather around the tea-table, whileall that was now left of the old barn smouldered peaceably away withhalf the boys in the village on guard. 

Once or twice Ham or Dab went out to see that all was dying out rightly;but it was plain that all the danger was over, unless a high wind shouldcome to scatter the cinders. 

By this time the whole village had heard of Dab's adventure with thetramp, and had at once connected the latter with the fire. There werethose, indeed, who expressed a savage wish to connect him with itbodily; and it was well for him that he had done his running awaypromptly, and had hidden himself with care, for men were out after himin all directions, on foot and on horseback. Who would have dreamed ofso dirty a vagabond "taking to the water"?

"He's a splendid fellow, anyway!"

Odd, was it not? but Annie Foster and Jenny Walters were half a mileapart when they both said that very thing, just before the clock in thevillage church hammered out the news that it was ten, and bedtime. Theywere not either of them speaking of the tramp. 

It was long after that, however, before the lights were out in all therooms of the Morris mansion. 

CHAPTER XVII. 

DAB HAS A WAKING DREAM, AND HAM GETS A SNIFF OF SEA-AIR. 

Sleep? One of the most excellent things in all the world, and very fewpeople get too much of it nowadays. 

As for Dabney Kinzer, he had done his sleeping as regularly andfaithfully as even his eating, up to the very night after Ham Morriscame home to find the old barn afire. There had been a few, a very few, exceptions. There were the nights when he was expecting to goduck-shooting before daylight, and waked up at midnight with a strongconviction that he was late about starting. There were, perhaps, a dozenof "eeling" expeditions, that had kept him out late enough for a fullbasket and a proper scolding. There, too, was the night when he hadstood so steadily by the tiller of "The Swallow, " while she danced, through the dark, across the rough billows of the Atlantic. 

But, on the whole, Dab Kinzer had been a good sleeper all his life tillthen. Once in bed, and there had been for him an end of all wakefulness. 

On that particular night, for the first time, sleep refused to come, late as was the hour when the family circle broke up. 

It could not have been the excitement of Ham and Miranda's return. Hewould have gotten over that by this time. No more could it have been thefire, though the smell of smouldering hay came in pretty strongly attimes through the wide-open windows. If any one patch of that greatroomy bed was better made up for sleeping than the rest of it, Dab wouldsurely have found the spot; for he tumbled and rolled all over it in hisrestlessness. Some fields on a farm will "grow" wheat better thanothers, but no part of the bed seemed to grow any sleep. At last Dab gotwearily up, and took a chair by the window. 

The night was dark, but the stars were shining; and every now and thenthe wind would make a shovel of itself, and toss up the hot ashes thefire had left, sending a dull red glare around on the house and barnsfor a moment, and flooding all the neighborhood with a stronger smell ofburnt hay. 

"If you're going to burn hay, " soliloquized Dabney, "it won't do to takea barn for a stove. Not that kind of a barn. But what did Ham Morrismean by saying that I was to go to boarding-school? That's what I'd liketo know"

The secret was out. 

He had kept remarkably still, for him, all the evening, and had notasked a question; but, if his brains were ever to work over his books asthey had over Ham's remark, his future chances for sound sleep were allgone. It had come upon him so suddenly, the very thing he thought aboutthat night in "The Swallow, " and wished for and dreamed about during allthose walks and talks and lessons of all sorts with Ford Foster andFrank Harley, ever since they came in from that memorable cruise. 

It was a wonderful idea, and Dab had his doubts as to the way his motherwould take to it when it should be brought seriously before her. Littlehe guessed the truth. Ham's remark had gone deep into other ears as wellas Dabney's; and there were reasons, therefore, why good Mrs. Kinzer wassitting by the window of her own room, at that very moment, as littleinclined to sleep as was the boy she was thinking of. So proud of himtoo, she was, and so full of bright, motherly thoughts of the man hewould make, "one of these days, when he gets his growth. "

There must have been a good deal of sympathy between Dab and his mother;for by and by, just as she began to feel drowsy, and muttered, "Well, well, we'll have a talk about it to-morrow, " Dab found himself noddingagainst the window-frame, and slowly rose from his chair, remarking, --

"Guess I might as well finish that dream in bed. If I'd tumbled out o'the window I'd have lit among Miranda's rose-bushes. They've got theirthorns all out at this time o' night. "

It was necessary for them both to sleep hard, after that; for more thanhalf the night was gone, and they were to be up early. So indeed theywere; but what surprised Mrs. Kinzer when she went into the kitchen wasto find Miranda there before her. 

"You here, my dear? That's right. I'll take a look at the milk-room. Where's Ham?"

"Out among the stock. Dab's just gone to him. "

Curious things people will do at times. Miranda had put down thecoffee-pot on the range. There was not a single one of the farm "help"around, male or female; and there stood the blooming young bride, withher back toward her mother, and staring out through the open door. Andthen Mrs. Kinzer slipped forward, and put her arms around her daughter'sneck. 

Well, it was very early in the morning for those two women to standthere and cry; but it seemed to do them good, and Miranda remarked atlast, as she kissed her mother, --

"O mother, it is all so good and beautiful, and I'm so happy!"

And then they both laughed, in a subdued and quiet way; and Mirandapicked up the coffee-pot while Mrs. Kinzer walked away into themilk-room. Such cream as there seemed to be on all the pans thatmorning!

As for Ham Morris, his first visit on leaving the house had been to therelics of the old barn, as a matter of course. 

"Not much of a loss, " he said to himself; "but it might have been, butfor Dab. There's the making of a man in him. Wonder if he'd get enoughto eat, if we sent him up yonder? On the whole, I think he would. If hedidn't, I don't believe it would be his fault. He's got to go; and hismother'll agree to it, I know. Talk about mothers-in-law! If one of'em's worth as much as she is, I'd like to have a dozen. Don't know'bout that, though. I'm afraid the rest would have to take back seats aslong as Mrs. Kinzer was in the house. "

Very likely Ham was right; but just then he heard the voice of Dab, behind him, --

"I say, Ham, when you've looked at the other things, I want to show you'The Swallow. ' I haven't hurt her a bit, and her new grapnel's worththree of the old one. "

"All right, Dab. I think I'd like a sniff of the water. Come on. There'snothing else I know of like that smell of the shore with the tide halfout. "

No more there is; and there have been sea-shore men, many of them, whohad wandered away into the interior of the country, hundreds andhundreds of long miles, and settled there, and even got rich and oldthere, and yet who have come all the way back again, just to get anothersmell of the salt marshes and the sea-air and the out-going tide. 

Ham actually took a little boat, and went on board "The Swallow, " whenthey reached the landing, and Dab kept close to him. 

"She's all right, Ham. But what are you casting loose for?"

"Dab, they won't all be ready for breakfast in two hours. The stock andthings can go: the men'll tend to 'em. Just haul on that sheet a bit. Now the jib. Look out for the boom. There! The wind's a little ahead, but it isn't bad. Ah!"

The last word came out in a great sigh of relief, and was followed by achuckle which seemed to gurgle all the way up from Ham's boots. 

"This is better than railroading, " he said to Dabney, as they tackedinto the long stretch where the inlet widened toward the bay. "Nopounding or jarring here. Talk of your fashionable watering-places! Why, Dab, there ain't any thing else in the world prettier than that reach ofwater and the sand-island, with the ocean beyond it. There's some ducksand some gulls. Why, Dab, do you see that? There's a porpoise, insidethe bar!"

It was as clear as daylight that Ham Morris felt himself "at home"again, and that his brief experience of the outside world had by nomeans lessened his affection for the place he was born in. If the entiretruth could have been known, it would have been found that he felt hisheart warm toward the whole coast and all its inhabitants, including theclams. And yet it was remarkable how many of the latter were mere emptyshells when Ham finished his breakfast that morning. He preferred themroasted, and his mother-in-law had not forgotten that trait in hischaracter. 

Once or twice in the course of the sail, Dabney found himself on thepoint of saying something about boarding-schools; but each time hisfriend broke away to the discussion of other topics, such as blue-fish, porpoises, crabs, or the sailing qualities of "The Swallow, " and Dabdimly felt that it would be better to wait until another time. So hewaited. 

It was a grand good time, however, to be had before breakfast; and asthey again sailed up the inlet, very happy and very hungry, Dab suddenlyexclaimed, --

"Ham, do you see that? How could they have guessed where we'd gone?There's the whole Kinzer tribe, and the boys are with them, and Annie. "

"What boys and Annie?"

"Oh! Ford Foster and Frank Harley. Annie is Ford's sister. They live inour old house, you know. "

"What's become of Jenny?"

"You mean my boat? There she is, hitched a little out, just beyond thelanding. "

There was nothing on Dab's face to lead any one to suppose that heguessed the meaning of the quizzical grin on Ham's. 

It is barely possible, however, that there would have been fewer peopleat the landing, if Ham and Dab had not been keeping a whole house-fullof hungry mortals, including a bride, waiting breakfast for them. 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

HOW DAB WORKED OUT ANOTHER OF HIS GREAT PLANS. 

There was a sort of council at the breakfast-table of the Foster familythat morning; and Ford and Annie found their side of it "voted down. "

That was not at all because they did not debate vigorously, and even"protest;" but the odds were too much against them. 

"Annie, my dear, " said Mrs. Foster at last, in a gentle but decided way, "I'm sure your aunt Maria, if not your uncle, must feel hurt at yourcoming away so suddenly. If we invite Joe and Foster to visit us, itwill make it all right. "

"Yes, " sharply exclaimed Mr. Foster: "we must have them come. They'llbehave themselves here. I'll write to their father: you write to Maria. "

"They're her own boys, you know, " added Mrs. Foster soothingly. 

"Well, mother, " said Annie, "if it must be. But I'm sure they'll make usall very uncomfortable if they come. "

"I can stand 'em for a week or so, " said Ford, with the air of a man whocan do or bear more than most people. "I'll get Dab Kinzer to help meentertain them. "

"Excellent, " said Mr. Foster; "and I hope they will be civil to him. "

"To Dabney?" asked Annie. 

"Fuz and Joe civil to Dab Kinzer?" exclaimed Ford. 

"Certainly: I hope so. "

"Father, " said Ford, "may I say just what I was thinking?"

"Speak it right out. "

"Well, I was thinking what a good time Fuz and Joe would be likely tohave, trying to get ahead of Dab Kinzer. "

Annie looked at her brother, and nodded; and there was a bit of atwinkle in the eyes of the lawyer himself, but he only remarked, --

"Well, you must be neighborly. I don't believe the Hart boys know muchabout the seashore. "

"Dab and Frank and I will try and educate them. "

Annie thought of the ink, and her box of spoiled cuffs and collars, while her brother was speaking. Could it be that Ford meant a good dealmore than he was saying? At all events, she fully agreed with him on theDab Kinzer question. 

That was one "council;" and it was one of peace or war, probably a gooddeal as the Hart boys themselves might thereafter determine. 

At the same hour, however, matters of even greater importance werecoming to a decision around the well-filled breakfast-table in theMorris mansion. Ham had given a pretty full account of his visit toGrantley, including his dinner at Mrs. Myers's, and all he had learnedrelating to the academy. 

"It seems like spending a great deal of money, " began Mrs. Kinzer, whenHam at last paused for breath; but lid caught her up at once, with--

"I know you've been paying out a good deal, mother Kinzer, but Dab mustgo, if I pay"--

"You pay, indeed? For my boy? I'd like to see myself! Now I've found outwhat he is, I mean he shall have every advantage. If this Grantley's theright place"--

"Mother, " exclaimed Samantha, "it's the very place Mr. Foster is goingto send Ford to, and Frank Harley. "

"Exactly, " said Ham; "Mr. Hart spoke of a Mr. Foster, --hisbrother-in-law, --a lawyer. "

"Why, " said Keziah, "he's living in our old house now. Ford Foster isDab's greatest crony. They're the very people you met at the landing. "

"Yes, I've heard all that, " said Ham, "but somehow I hadn't put the twothings together. Now, mother Kinzer, do you really mean Dab is to go?"

"Of course I do, " said she. 

"Well, if that isn't doing it easy! Do you know, it's about the nicestthing I've heard since I got here?"

"Except the barn, " said Dabney, unable to hold in any longer. "Mother, may I stand on my head a while?"

"You'll need all the head you've got, " said Ham. "You won't have muchtime to get ready. "

"He'll have books enough after he gets there, " said Mrs. Kinzerdecidedly. "I'll risk Dabney. "

"And they'll make him give up all his slang, " added Samantha. 

"Yes, Sam; when I come back I'll talk nothing but Greek and Latin. I'mgetting French now from Ford, and Hindu from Frank Harley. Then I knowEnglish, and slang, and Long-Islandish. Think of one man with sevenfirst-rate languages!"

But Dabney soon found himself unable to sit still, even at thebreakfast-table. Not that he got up hungry, for he had done his duty byMiranda's cookery; but the house itself, big as it was, seemed too smallto hold him, with all his new prospects swelling within him. Perhaps, moreover, the rest of the family felt that they would be better able todiscuss the important subject before them, after Dab had taken himselfout into the open air; for none of them tried to stay his going. 

"This beats dreaming, all hollow, " he said to himself, as he stood, withhis hands in his pockets, half way down to the gate between the twogardens. "Now I'll see what can be done about that other matter. "

Two plans in one head, and so young a head as that?

Yes; and it spoke well for Dab's heart, as well as his brains, that hisplan number two was not a selfish one. The substance of it came out inthe first five minutes of the talk he had, a trifle later, with Ford andFrank, on the other side of the gate. 

"Ford, you know there's twenty dollars left of the money the Frenchmanpaid us for the bluefish. "

"Well, what of it? Isn't it yours?"

"One share of it's mine. The rest is yours and Dick's. "

"He needs it more'n I do. "

"Ford, did you know Dick Lee was real bright?"

"'Cute little chap as ever I saw. Why?"

"Well, he ought to go to school. "

"Why don't he go?"

"He does, except in summer. He might go to the academy, if they'd takehim, and if he had money enough to go with. "

"Academy? What academy?"

"Why, Grantley, of course. I'm going, and so are you and Frank. Whyshouldn't Dick go?"

"You're going? Hurrah for that! Why didn't you say so before?"

"Wasn't sure till this morning. You fellows 'll be a long way ahead ofme, though. But I mean to catch up. "

For a few minutes poor Dick was lost sight of in a perfect storm oftalk; but Dab came back to him, with, --

"Dick's folks are dreadful poor, but we might raise it. Twenty dollarsto begin with. "

"I've ten dollars saved up, and I know mother'll say 'Pass it rightin, '" exclaimed Ford. 

It was hardly likely Mrs. Foster would express her assent in preciselythat way; but Frank Harley promptly added, --

"I think I can promise five. "

"I mean to speak to Ham Morris and mother about it, " said Dab. "All Iwanted was to fix it about the twenty dollars to start on. "

"Frank, " shouted Ford, "let's go right in, and see our crowd!"

Ford was evidently getting a little excited; and it was hardly fiveminutes later that he wound up his story, in the house, with, --

"Father, may I contribute my ten dollars to the Richard Lee EducationFund?"

"Of course; but he will need a good deal more money than you boys canraise. "

"Why, father, the advertisement says half a year for a hundred andfifty. He can board for less than we can. Perhaps Mrs. Myers would lethim work out a part of it. "

"I can spare as much as Ford can, " here put in Annie. 

"Do you leave me out entirely?" said her mother, with a smile that waseven sweeter than usual. 

As for sharp-eyed lawyer Foster himself, he had been hemming andcoughing in an odd sort of way for a moment, and he had said, "Ideclare, " several times; but he now remarked, somewhat more to thepurpose, --

"I don't believe in giving any man a better education than he will everknow what to do with; but then, this Dick Lee and you boys, --well, seewhat you can do; but no one must be allowed to contribute outside of theFoster and Kinzer families, and Frank. As for the rest, hem!--ah--Ithink I'll say that there won't be any difficulty. "

"You, father?"

"Why not, Annie? Do you s'pose I'm going to let myself be beaten in sucha matter by a mere country-boy like Dabney Kinzer?"

"Father, " said Ford, "if you'd seen how Dick behaved, that night, outthere on the ocean, in 'The Swallow'!"

"Just as well, just as well, my son. "

"Hurrah!" shouted Ford. "Then it's all right, and Dick Lee'll have afair shake in the world!"

"A what, my son?" exclaimed his mother. 

"I didn't mean to talk slang, mother: I only meant--well, you know howdreadfully black he is; but then, he can steer a boat tiptop, and he'ssplendid for crabs and bluefish; and Dab says he's a good scholar too. "

"Dab's a very good boy, " said Mrs. Foster; "but your friend Dick willneed an outfit, I imagine, --clothing, and almost every thing. I must seeMrs. Kinzer about it. "

Meantime Dick Lee's part in the matter, and that of his family, had beentaken for granted, all around. An hour later, however, Mrs. Kinzer'sfirst reply to her son, after listening to a calculation of his, whichalmost made it seem as if Dick would make money by going to Grantley, was, --

"What if Mrs. Lee should say she can't spare him?"

Dab's countenance fell. He knew Mrs. Lee, but he had not thought so faras that. 

He said something not very intelligible, but to that effect. 

"Well, Dabney, if we can make the other arrangements, I'll see her aboutit. "

Ham Morris had been exchanging remarkable winks with Miranda andSamantha, and now gravely suggested, --

"Maybe the academy authorities will refuse to take him. "

"Ford says they had a blacker boy than he is, there, last year. "

"Now, Dab!" exclaimed Ham. 

"Well, I know he's pretty black; but it don't come off. "

"Mother, " said Samantha, "Mrs. Foster and Annie are coming through thegate. "

Dab waited just long enough after that to learn the news concerning the"Richard Lee Education Fund" and Mr. Foster's offer, and then he was offtowards the shore. 

He knew very well in which direction it was best to go; and, half way tothe landing, he met Dick coming up the road with a basket of eels on hisarm. 

"Dick, " shouted Dabney, "I'm going away to boarding-school, at anacademy. "

"'Cad'my? Whar?"

"Up in New England. They call it Grantley Academy, --where Frank and Fordare going. "

"Dat spiles it all, " said Dick ruefully. "Now I's got to fish widfellers 'at don't know nuffin. "

"No, you won't. You're going with us. It's all fixed, --money and all. "

Dick would never have thought, ordinarily, of questioning a statementmade by "Captain Kinzer;" but the rueful expression deepened on hisface, the basket of eels dropped heavily on the grass, the tough blackfingers of his hands twisted nervously together for a moment, and thenhe sat mournfully down beside the basket. 

"It ain't no use, Dab. "

"No use? Why not?"

"I ain't a w'ite boy. "

"What of it? Don't you learn well enough, over at the school?"

"More dar like me. Wot'd I do in a place whar all de res' was w'ite?"

"Well as anybody. "

"Wot'll my mudder say, w'en she gits de news? You isn't a-jokin', isyou, Dab Kinzer?"

"Joking? I guess not. "

"You's lit onto me powerful sudden 'bout dis. Yonder's Ford an' Franka-comin'. Don't tell 'em. Not jes' yit. "

"They know all about it. They helped raise the money. "

"Did dey? I's obleeged to 'em. Well, 'tain't no use. All I's good for iseels and crabs and clams and sech. Har dey come. Oh, my!"

Ford and Frank brought a fresh gust of enthusiasm with them, and theyhad Dick and his eels up from the grass in short order. 

"We must see Mrs. Lee right away, " said Ford. "It would never do to letDick tell her. "

"Guess dat's so, " said Dick. 

Quite an embassy they made, those four boys, with Dab Kinzer forspokesman, and Dick Lee almost crouching behind them. Mrs. Lee listenedwith open mouth while Dab unfolded his plan, but when he had finishedshe shut her lips firmly together. They were not very thin, and not atall used to being shut, and in another instant they opened again. 

"Sho! De boy! Is dat you, Dick? Dat's wot comes ob dressin' on 'im up. How's he goin' to git clo'es? Wot's he got to do wid de 'Cad'my, anyhow?Wot am I to do, yer all alone, arter he's gone? Who's goin' to runerr'nds an' do de choahs? Wot's de use ob bringin' up a boy an' den habhim go trapesin' off to de 'Cad'my? Wot good'll it do 'im?"

"I tole yer so, Dab, " groaned poor Dick. "It ain't no use. I 'most wishI was a eel!"

Dabney was on the point of opening a whole broadside of eloquence, whenFord Foster pinched his arm, and whispered, --

"Your mother's coming, and our Annie's with her. "

"Then let's clear out. She's worth a ten-acre lot full of us. Come on, boys!"

If Mrs. Lee was surprised by their very sudden and somewhatunceremonious retreat, she need not have been, after she learned thecause of it. She stood in wholesome awe of Mrs. Kinzer; and a "brush"with the portly widow, re-enforced by the sweet face of Annie Foster, was a pretty serious matter. 

She did not hesitate about beginning the skirmish, however; for hertongue was already a bit loosened, and in fine working-order. 

"Wot's dis yer, Mrs. Kinzer, 'bout sendin' away my Dick to a furrin'Cad'my? Isn't he 'most nigh nuff spiled a'ready?"

"Oh! it's all arranged nicely. Miss Foster and I only came over to seewhat we could do about getting his clothes ready. He must have thingswarm and nice, for the winters are cold up there. "

"I hasn't said he might go--Dick, put down dem eels; an' he hasn't saidhe'd go--Dick, take off yer hat; an' his father"--

"Now, Glorianna, " interrupted Mrs. Kinzer, calling Dick's mother by herfirst name, "I've known you these forty years, and do you suppose I'mgoing to argue about it? Just tell us what Dick'll need, and don't let'shave any nonsense. The money's all provided. How do you know what'llbecome of him? He may be governor yet. "

"He mought preach!"

That idea had suddenly dawned upon the perplexed mind of Mrs. Lee, andDick's fate was settled. She was prouder than ever of her boy; and, truth to tell, her opposition was only what Mrs. Kinzer had consideredit, a piece of unaccountable "nonsense, " to be brushed away by just sucha hand as the widow's own. 

CHAPTER XIX. 

A GRAND SAILING-PARTY, AND AN EXPERIMENT BY RICHARD LEE. 

That was a great day for the boys; but, before the close of it, FordFoster had told his friends the news that Joe Hart and his brother Fuzhad been invited to visit with him. 

"Will they come?" asked Dab. 

"Certainly. That kind of boy always comes. Nobody wants to keep him fromcoming. "

"When do you look for them?"

"Right away. Vacation's almost gone, you know. "

"Won't they be ashamed to meet your sister?"

"Not a bit. They'll try their tricks, even after they get here. "

"All right. We'll help 'em all we know how. But, boys, I'll tell youwhat we must try for. "

"What's that?"

"One grand good sailing-party in 'The Swallow, ' before they get here. "

"Hurrah for that! Annie was wishing for one, only yesterday. "

"We'll have all of your folks and all of ours. 'The Swallow' is plentybig enough. "

"Mother wouldn't go, and father can't just now. He's trying a case. Butthere's Annie and Frank and me"--

"And my mother, and Ham and Miranda, and our girls. Ham'll go, sure. Then we must take Dick Lee along. It'd make him sick if we didn't. "

"Of course. Ain't I glad about him! Could we get ready and goto-morrow?"

"Guess not so quick as that. We might by the day after, if the weather'sall right. "

Exactly. There is always a large-sized "if" to be put in, where anything depends on the weather, Mrs. Kinzer took the matter up withenthusiasm, and so did the girls, Miranda included; and Ford Foster wasquite right about his part of the company. 

But the weather!

It looked well enough, to unpractised eyes; but Ham Morris shook hishead, and went to consult his fishermen friends. There was a good dealof head-shaking done thereupon; for every human barometer among themadvised him to wait a day or so, and hardly any two of them gave him thesame reason for doing it. 

Ford Foster was at the house when Ham made his report, and was a littlesurprised to see how promptly Dab Kinzer yielded his assent to theverdict. 

"Such warm, nice weather as this is, " he remonstrated; "and there isn'tany wind to speak of. "

"There's too much of it coming, " was Ham's response; and there was nohelp for it after that, not even when the mail brought word from "AuntMaria" that both of her dear boys would arrive in a day or two. 

"Our last chance is gone, Annie, " said Ford, when the news came. 

"O mother!" she said despondingly, "what shall we do?"

"Have your sail, just the same, and invite your cousins. "

"But the Kinzers"--

"Why, Annie! Mrs. Kinzer will not think of neglecting them. She's askind as kind can be. "

"And we are to pay her with Joe and Fuz, " said Ford. "Well, I wish HamMorris's storm would come along. "

He only had to wait until the next day for it, and he felt quitecontented to be safe on shore while it lasted. There was no call for anylaughter at the prophecies of the fishermen after it began to blow. Still the blow was not a long one, and Ham Morris remarked, --

"This is only an outside edge of it. It's a good deal worse than thisout at sea. I'm glad we're not out in it. "

Ford Foster thought that about the worst of that weather was when theafternoon train came in, and he had to show a pair of tired, moist, andaltogether unpleasant cousins to the room set apart for them. The cloudsin his mind did not clear away perceptibly even when, just after supper, a note came in from Mrs. Kinzer, inviting the Hart boys to join theyachting-party next morning. 

"The storm may not be over, " growled Ford a little sulkily. 

"Oh!" said Annie, "Mrs. Kinzer adds that the weather will surely be fineafter such a blow, and the bay will be quite safe and smooth. "

"Does she know the clerk of the weather?" asked Joe Hart. 

"Got one of her own, " said Ford. 

Joe and Ford both found something to laugh at in that, but they saidnothing. They were both feeling a little "strange, " as yet, and werealmost inclined to try and behave themselves; the main difficulty in theway of it being a queer idea they had that their ordinary way of doingthings made up a fair article of "good behavior. " Nobody had taken thepains to bounce them out of the notion. 

When the morning really came, sea and earth and sky seemed to be all thebetter for the trial they had been through, and the weather was all thatMrs. Kinzer had prophesied of it. The grass and trees were greener, andthe bay seemed bluer; while the few clouds visible were very white andclean, as if all the storms had been recently washed out of them. 

There was no question now to be raised concerning the yachting-party, orany part of it. Not a single thing went wrong in Mrs. Kinzer'smanagement of the "setting out, " and that was half the day won to beginwith. Ford had some difficulty in getting Joe and Fuz out of bed soearly as was necessary; but he gave them an intimation which provedquite sufficient:--

"You'd better hop, boys. Ham Morris wouldn't wait five minutes for theQueen of England, or even for me. "

"Joe, " whispered Fuz, a little while after they got on board the yacht, "are we to be gone a week?"

"Why? What's up?"

"Such piles of provisions as they've stowed away in that kennel!"

The bit of a water-tight cabin under the half-deck, at which Fuzpointed, was pretty well filled, beyond a doubt; but Mrs. Kinzer knewwhat she was about. She had provided luncheon for most of that partybefore, and the effect on them of the sea-air was also to be taken intoaccount. 

"Dab, " said Ford Foster, "you've forgotten to unhitch the 'Jenny, ' Hereshe is, towing astern. "

"That's all right. We may need her. She's too heavy to be taken onboard. "

A careful fellow was Mr. Hamilton Morris, and he well knew the value ofa rowboat to a sea-going picnic-party. As for Joe and Fuz, they werecompelled to overcome a strong inward inclination to cast the boatloose. Such a good joke it would have been! But Ham Morris was in theway of it, so long as he stood at the tiller. 

"The Swallow" was steady enough to inspire even Annie Foster with afeeling of confidence; but Ford carefully explained to her thedifference between slipping over the little waves of the landlocked bay, and plunging into the gigantic billows of the stormy Atlantic. 

"I prefer this, " said Annie. 

"But I wouldn't have missed the other for any thing, " replied Ford. "Would you, Dick?"

Mr. Richard Lee had taken his full share in the work of starting, andhad made himself singularly useful; but, if all the rest had not been sobusy, they would surely have noticed his remarkable silence. Hardly aword had he uttered that anybody could remember; and, now he was forcedto say something, his mouth opened slowly, as if he had never tried tospeak before, and was not quite sure he knew how. 

"No--Mr. --Foster, --I--would--not--have--missed--that--trip--for--a--good--deal. "

Every word came out by itself, "afoot and alone, " and as different fromDick's ordinary speech as a cut stone is from a rough one. Ham Morrisopened his eyes wide, and Ford puckered his lips into the shape of astill whistle; but Annie caught the meaning of it quicker than they did. 

"Dick, " she said at once, "are we to fish to-day?"

"May--be, --but--that--depends--on--Mr. Morris. "

Every word was slowly and carefully uttered, a good deal in the mannerof a man counting over a lot of money, and looking out sharp forcounterfeits. 

"Look here, Dick, " suddenly exclaimed Dab Kinzer, "I give it up: you cando it. But don't you try to keep it up all day. Kill you, sure as anything, if you do. "

"Did I say 'em all right, Cap'n Dab?" anxiously inquired Dick, with ahappy look on his merry black face. 

"Every word, " said Dab; "but it's well for you they were all short. Keepon practising. "

"I'll jes' do dat, shuah!"

Practising? Dick?

Yes, that was it; and he joined heartily in the peal of laughter withwhich the success of his first attempt at "w'ite folks' English" wasreceived by that party. 

Dab explained, that, as soon as Dick found he was really to go to theacademy, he determined to teach his tongue new habits; and the wholecompany heartily approved, even while they joined Dab in advising himnot to attempt too much at a time. 

"You might sprain your tongue over a big word, " said Ford. 

There was an abundance of talk and fun all around, as "The Swallow"skimmed onward; and the outlines of the long, low sand-island wererapidly becoming more distinct. 

Nearer they drew, and nearer. 

"Is that a light-house, away over there?" asked Annie of Dab. 

"Yes, that's a light-house; and there's a wrecking-station, close downby it. "

"A wrecking-station?"

"I say, " said Ford, "are there men there all the while? Are there manywrecks on this coast?"

"Ever so many wrecks, " said Dab, "and they keep a sharp lookout. Thereused to be more before there were so many light-houses. It was a badplace to go ashore in, too, --almost as bad as Jersey. "

"Why?"

"Well, the coast itself is mean enough, for shoals and surf; and thenthere were the wreckers. "

"Oh! I understand, " said Ford. "Not the Government men. "

"No, the old sort. It was a bad enough piece of luck to be driven in onthat bar, or another like it; but the wreckers made it as much worse asthey knew how to. "

They were all listening now, even his sisters; and Dabney launched outinto a somewhat highly-colored description of the terrors of theLong-Island "south shore, " in old times and new, and of the characterand deeds of the men who were formerly the first to find out if anything or anybody had been driven ashore. 

"What a prize to them that French steamer would have been!" said Annie;"the one you and Ford took Frank from. "

"No, she wouldn't. Why, she wasn't wrecked at all. She only stuck hernose in the sand, and lay still till the tugs came and pulled her off. That isn't a wreck. A wreck is where the ship is knocked to pieces, andpeople are drowned, and all that sort of thing. The crew can't helpthemselves, after that. Then, you see, the wreckers have a notion thatevery thing that comes ashore belongs to them. Why, I've heard some ofour old fishermen--best kind of men too--talk of how Government hasrobbed them of their rights. "

"By the new system?" said Annie. 

"Well, first by having wrecks prevented, and then by having all propertykept for the owners. "

"Isn't that strange! Did you say they were good men?"

"Some of 'em. Honest as the day is long about every thing else. But theyweren't all so. There was old Peter, now, and he lives on the islandyet. There's his cabin. You can just see it sticking out of the edge ofthat big sand-hill. "

"What a queer thing it is!"

"Queer? I guess you'd say so, if you could have a look at the thingshe's picked up along shore, and stowed inside of it. There isn't butjust room for him to cook and sleep in. "

"Is he a fisherman too?"

"Why, that's his trade. Sometimes the storms drift the sand high allover that cabin, and old Pete has to dig it out again. He gets snowedunder two or three times every winter. "

Annie Foster, and probably some of the others, were getting new ideasconcerning the sea-coast and its inhabitants, every minute; and she felta good deal like Dick Lee, --she "wouldn't have missed that trip for anything. "

They were now coasting along the island, at no great distance; and, although it was not nearly noon, Dabney heard Joe Hart say to hisbrother, --

"Never was so hungry in all my life. Glad they did lay in a good stockof provisions. "

"So am I, " returned Fuz; and he added in a whisper, "Isn't there any way for us to get into that cabin?"

Joe shook his head. There was not the slightest chance for any smallpiracy to be worked on that craft, so long as Mrs. Kinzer remained the"stewardess" of it; and the two hungry boys were compelled to wait hermotions. 

CHAPTER XX. 

A WRECK AND SOME WRECKERS. 

Dismally barren and lonesome was that desolate bar between the bay andthe ocean. Here and there it swelled up into great drifts and mounds ofsand, which were almost large enough to be called hills; but nowhere didit show a tree, or a bush, or even a patch of grass. Annie Foster foundherself getting melancholy, as she gazed upon it, and thought of how thewinds must sometimes sweep across it, laden with sea-spray and rain andhail, or with the bitter sleet and blinding snow of winter. 

"Dabney, " she said, "was the storm very severe here last night andyesterday?"

"Worse than it was over on our side of the bay, ten times. "

"Were there any vessels wrecked?"

"Most likely, but it's too soon to know just where. "

At that moment "The Swallow" was running around a sandy point, juttingout into the bay from the foot of the highest mound on the bar, not halfa mile from the light-house, and only twice as far from the low woodenroof of the "wrecking-station, " where, as Dab had explained to hisguests, the lifeboats and other apparatus of all sorts were kept safelyhoused. The piles of drifted sand had for some time prevented thebrightest eyes on board "The Swallow" from seeing any thing to seaward;but now, as they came around the point and a broad level lay beforethem, Ham Morris sprang to his feet in sudden excitement, as heexclaimed, --

"In the breakers! Why, she must have been a three-master! It's all upwith her now. "

"Look along the shore!" shouted Dab. "Some of 'em saved, anyhow. Thecoast-men are there, too, life-boats and all. "

So they were; and Ham was right about the vessel, though not a mast wasleft standing in her now. If there had been, indeed, she might have beenkept off the breakers, as they afterwards learned. She had beendismasted in the storm, but had not struck until after daylight thatmorning, and help had been close at hand and promptly given. There wasno such thing as saving that unfortunate hull. She would beat to piecesjust where she lay, sooner or later, according to the kind of weatherthat might take the job in hand, and the size and force of the waves itshould bring with it. 

The work done already by the life-boat men had been a good one; and ithad not been very easy, either, for they had brought the crew andpassengers safely through the boiling surf, and landed them all upon thesandy beach. They had even saved for them some items of baggage. In afew hours the coast "wrecking-tugs" would be on hand to look out for thecargo. There was therefore no chance for the 'long-shore men to turn anhonest penny without working hard for it. Work and wages enough therewould be, to be sure, helping to unload, whenever the sea, now so heavy, should go down a little; but "work" and "wages" were not the precisethings some of them were most hungry for. 

Two of them, at all events, --one a tall, grizzled, weather-beaten, stoop-shouldered old man, in tattered raiment, and the other morebattered still, but with no "look of the sea" about him, --stood on asand-drift, gloomily gazing at the group of shipwrecked people on theshore, and the helpless mass of timber and spars out there among thebeatings of the surf. 

"Not more'n three hunder' yards out She'd break up soon, 'f there was noone to hender. Wot a show we'd hev!"

"I reckon, " growled the shorter man. "'S your name Peter?"

"Ay. I belong yer. Allers lived 'bout high-water mark. Whar'd ye comefrom?"

The only answer was a sharp and excited exclamation. Neither of them hadbeen paying any attention to the bay side of the bar; and, while theywere gazing at the wreck, a very pretty little yacht had cast anchor, close in shore; and then, with the help of a rowboat, quite a party ofladies and gentlemen--the latter somewhat young-looking for the greaterpart--had made their way to the land, and were now hurrying forward. They did not pay the slightest attention to Peter and his companion, butin a few minutes more they were trying to talk to those poor people onthe seaward beach. Trying, but not succeeding very well; for the wreckhad been a Bremen bark, with an assorted cargo and some fiftypassengers, all emigrants. German seemed to be their only tongue, andnone of Mrs. Kinzer's pleasure-party spoke German. 

"Too bad, " Ford Foster was saying about it, when there came a sort ofwail from a group at a little distance, and it seemed to close with, --

"_Pauvre enfant!_"

"French!" exclaimed Ford. "Why, they look as Dutch as any of the rest. Come on, Annie, let's try and speak to them. "

The rest followed, a good deal like a flock of sheep; and it was a sadenough scene that lay before them. No lives had been lost in the wreck;but there had been a good deal of suffering among the poor passengers, cooped up between decks, with the hatches closed, while the stormlasted. Nobody drowned, indeed; but all had been dreadfully soaked inthe surf in getting ashore, and among the rest had been the fair-hairedchild, now lying there on his mother's lap, so pinched and blue, andseemingly so nearly lifeless. 

French, were they?

Yes and no; for the father, a tall, stout young man, who looked like afarmer, told Ford they were from Alsace, and spoke both languages. 

"The child, was it sick?"

Not so much "sick" as dying of starvation and exposure. Oh, such a sad, pleading look as the poor mother lifted to the moist eyes of Mrs. Kinzer, when the portly widow pushed forward and bent over the silentboy! Such a pretty child he must have been, and not over two years old;but the salt water was in his tangled curls now, and his poor lips wereparted in a weak, sick way, that told of utter exhaustion. 

"Can any thing be done, mother?"

"Yes, Dabney, there can. You and Ham and Ford and Frank go to the yacht, quick as you can, and bring the spirit-heater, lamp and all, and breadand milk, and every dry napkin and towel you can find. Bring Keziah'sshawl. "

Such quick time they made across that sand-bar!

They were none too soon, either; for, as they came running down to theirboat a mean-looking, slouching sort of fellow walked rapidly away fromit. 

"He was going to steal it!"

"Can't go for him now, Dab; but you'll have to mount guard here, whilewe go back with the things. "

There was a good deal of the "guard mounted" look in Dab's face, whenthey left him, a few minutes later, standing there by the boat, and hehad one of the oars in his hand. An oar is almost as good a club as thelower joint of a fishing-rod, and that was exactly the thought in Dab'smind. 

Ham and Frank and Ford hurried back to the other beach, to find thatMrs. Kinzer had taken complete possession of that baby. Every rag of hisdamp things was already stripped off; and now, while Miranda lighted the"heater, " and made some milk hot in a minute, the good lady began to rubthe little sufferer as only an experienced mother knows how. 

Then there was a warm wrapping-up in cloths and shawls, and bettersuccess than anybody had dreamed of in making the seemingly half-deadchild eat something. 

"That was about all the matter with him, " said Mrs. Kinzer. "Now, if wecan get him and his mother over to the house, we can save both of them. Ford, how long did you say it was since they'd eaten any thing?"

"About three days, they say. "

"Mercy on me! And that cabin of ours holds so little! Glad it's full, anyhow. Let's get every thing out and over here, right away. "

"The cabin?"

"No, Hamilton, the provisions. "

Not a soul among them all thought of their own lunch, any more than Mrs. Kinzer herself did; but Joe and Fuz were not among them just then. Onthe contrary, they were over there by the shore, where the "Jenny" hadbeen pulled up, trying to get Dab Kinzer to put them on board "TheSwallow. "

"Somebody ought to be on board of her, " said Fuz, in as anxious a toneas he could assume, "with so many strange people around. "

"It isn't safe, " added Joe. 

"Fact, " replied Dab; "but then, I kind o' like to feel a little unsafe. "

The Hart boys had a feeling, at that moment, that somehow or other Dabknew why they were so anxious to go on board; and they were rightenough, for he was saying to himself, "They can wait. They do lookhungry, but they'll live through it. There ain't any cuffs or collars inHam's locker. "

All there was then in the locker was soon out of it, after Mrs. Kinzerand the rest came, for they brought with them the officers of thewrecked bark; and neither Joe nor Fuz had an opportunity to so much as"help distribute" that supply of provisions. Ham went over to see thatthe distribution should be properly made; while Mrs. Kinzer saw herlittle patient, with his father and mother, safely stowed on board "TheSwallow. "

"I'll save that baby, anyhow, " she said to Miranda; "and Ford says hisfather's a farmer. We can find plenty for 'em to do. They'll never see athing of their baggage, and I guess they hadn't a great deal. "

She was just the woman to guess correctly about such a matter. 

At that moment Dabney was saying to Annie Foster, --

"Whom do you guess I've seen to-day?"

"I can't guess. Who was it?"

"The tramp!"

"The same one?"

"The very same. There he goes, over the sandhill yonder, with old Peterthe wrecker. We've got to hurry home now, but I'm going to set HamMorris on his track before we get through. "

"You'll never find him again. "

"Do you s'pose old Peter'd befriend a man that did what he did? Right onthe shore of the bay? No, indeed! There isn't a fisherman from here toMontauk, that wouldn't join to hunt him out. He's safe to be foundwhenever Ham wants him, if we don't scare him away now. "

"Don't scare him, then, " almost whispered Annie. 

The wind was fair; and the home sail of "The Swallow" was really a swiftand short one, but it did seem dreadfully long to her passengers. 

Mrs. Kinzer was anxious to see that poor baby and his mother safely inbed. Ham wanted to send a whole load of refreshments back to theshipwrecked people. Dab Kinzer could not keep his thoughts fromfollowing that "tramp. " And then, if the truth must come out, every soulon board the beautiful little yacht was getting more and more painfullyaware with every minute that passed, that they had had a good deal ofsea-air and excitement, and a splendid sail across the bay, but nodinner, --not so much as a red herring and a cracker. 

CHAPTER XXI. 

DAB AND HIS FRIENDS TURN THEMSELVES INTO COOKS AND WAITERS. 

As for the Kinzers, that was by no means their first experience in suchmatters; but none of their friends had ever before been so near anout-and-out shipwreck. 

It is quite possible, moreover, that they had never before been sonearly starved as they were that day. At least, something to that effectwas remarked by Joe Hart and Fuz, more than a dozen times apiece, while"The Swallow" was threading the crooked inlet, and making her way to thelanding. 

"Ham, " said Dab, "are you going right back again?"

"Course I am, --soon as I can get a load of eatables together, from thehouse and the village. You'll have to stay here. "

"Why can't I go with you?"

"Plenty for you to do at the house and around while I'm gone. No, youcan't go. "

Dab seemed to have expected as much; for he turned to Ford with, --

"Then, Ford, I'll tell you what we must do. "

"What's that?"

"We must see about the famine. Can you cook?"

"No. "

"I can, then. Ham'll have one half of our house at work getting hiscargo ready, and that baby'll fill up the other half. "

"Mother won't be expecting us so soon, and our cook's gone out for theday. Annie knows something. "

"She can help me, then. Those Hart boys'll die if they're not fed prettysoon. Look at Fuz. Why, he can't keep his mouth shut. "

Joe and his brother seemed to know as if by instinct that the dinnerquestion was under discussion, and they were soon taking at least theirshare of the talk. Oh, how they did wish it had been a share ofsomething to eat, instead!

"The Swallow" was carefully moored, after discharging her passengers;but Dab did not start for the house with his mother and the rest. Heeven managed to detain some of the empty lunch-baskets, large ones too. 

"Come on, Mr. Kinzer, " shouted Joe Hart. "Let's put for the village. We'll starve here. "

"A fellow that'll starve here, just deserves to, that's all, " saidDabney. "Ford, there's Bill Lee's boat and three others coming in. We'reall right. One of 'em's a dredger. "

Ford and Frank could only guess what their friend was up to, but Dab wasnot doing any sort of guessing. 

"Bill, " he shouted, as Dick Lee's father came within hearing, --"Bill!put a lot of your best panfish in this basket, and then go and fetch ussome lobsters. There's half a dozen in your pot. Did those others haveany luck?"

"More clams'n 'ysters, " responded Bill. 

"Then we'll take both lots. "

The respect of the city boys for the resources of the Long-Island shorein a time of famine began to rise rapidly a few moments later; for, notonly was one of Dab's baskets promptly laden with "panfish, " such asporgies, blackfish, and perch, but two others received all the clams andoysters they were at all anxious to carry to the house. At the same timeBill Lee offered, as an amendment on the lobster question, --

"Yer wrong 'bout de pot, Dab. "

"Wrong? Why"--

"Yes, you's wrong. Glorianny's been an' biled ebery one on 'em, an'dey're all nice an' cold by dis time. "

"All right. I never did eat my lobsters raw. Just you go and get them, Dick. Bring 'em right over to Ford's house. "

Bill Lee would have sent his house and all, on a suggestion that theKinzers or the Fosters were in need of it; and Dick would have carriedit over for him. 

As for "Glorianna, " when her son came running in with his errand, sheexclaimed, --

"Dem lobsters? Sho! Dem ain't good nuff. Dey sha'n't have 'em. I'll jes'send de ole man all roun' de bay to git some good ones. On'y dey isn'tno kine ob lobsters good nuff for some folks, dey isn't. "

Dick insisted, however; and by the time he reached the back door of theold Kinzer homestead with his load, the kitchen beyond that door hadbecome almost as busy a place as was that of Mrs. Miranda Morris, a fewrods away. 

"Ford, " suddenly exclaimed Dab, as he finished scaling a large porgy, "what if mother should make a mistake!"

"Make a mistake! How?"

"Cook that baby. It's awful!"

"Why, its mother's there. "

"Yes, but they've put her to bed, and its father too. Hey, here come thelobsters. Now, Ford"--

The rest of what he had to say was given in a whisper, and was not evenheard by Annie Foster, who was just then looking prettier than ever, asshe busied herself around the kitchen-fire. The bloom that was coming upinto her face was a sight worth seeing. As for the Hart boys, Mrs. Foster had invited them to come into the parlor and talk with her untildinner should be ready. She added, with her usual smile, that there werecooks enough in the kitchen. 

Such a frying and broiling!

Before Ham Morris was ready with his cargo for his trip back to thewreck, and right in the midst of his greatest hurry, word came over fromMrs. Foster that "the table was waiting for them all. "

Even Mrs. Kinzer drew a long breath of relief and satisfaction. Therewas nothing more in the wide world that she could do, just then, foreither "that baby" or its unfortunate parents; and she was beginning toworry about her son-in-law, and how she should manage to get him to eatsomething. For Ham Morris had worked himself into a high state ofexcitement, in his benevolent haste, and did not seem to know that hewas hungry. Miranda had entirely sympathized with her husband until thearrival of that message from Mrs. Foster. 

"O Hamilton! And good Mrs. Foster must have cooked it all herself!"

"No, Miranda, " said Ham thoughtfully. "Our Dabney went home with Fordand Annie. I can't stay more than a minute, but I think we'd better goright over. There's a good many things to come yet, from the village. "

Go they did; while the charitable neighbors whom Ham had stirred upconcerning the wreck, attended to the completion of the cargo of "TheSwallow. " More than that was true; for at least one other good andkind-hearted boat would be ready to accompany her on her return tripacross the bay, laden with creature comforts of all sorts. 

Even old Jock, the village tavern-keeper, not by any means the best manin the world, had come waddling down to the landing with a demijohn ofold "apple-brandy;" and his gift had been kindly accepted, by thespecial advice of the village physician. 

"That sort of thing has made plenty of shipwrecks around here, " said theman of medicine; "and the people on the bar have swallowed so much saltwater, the apple-jack can't hurt 'em. "

Maybe the doctor was wrong about it; but the demijohn went over to thewreck in "The Swallow, " very much to the gratification of old Jock. 

Mrs. Foster's dining-room was not a large one: there were no large roomsin that house. Nevertheless, the entire party managed to gather aroundthe table, --all except Dab and Ford. 

"Dab is head cook, and I'm head waiter, " had been Ford's explanation. "Frank and the boys are company. "

Certainly the cook had no cause to be ashamed of his work. The coffeewas excellent. The fish was done to a turn. The oysters, roasted, broiled, or stewed, and likewise the clams, were all that could havebeen asked of them. Bread there was in abundance; and all things weregoing finely, till Mrs. Kinzer asked her son, as his fire-red faceshowed itself at the kitchen-door, --

"Dabney, you've not sent in your vegetables. We're waiting for them. "

Dab's face grew redder, and he came near dropping a plate he held in hishand. 

"Vegetables? Oh, yes! Well, Ford, we might as well send them in now. I've got them all ready. "

Annie opened her eyes, and looked hard at her brother; for she knew verywell that not so much as a potato had been thought of in theirpreparations. Ford himself looked a little queer; but he marched rightout, white apron and all. A minute or so later the two boys came inagain, each bearing aloft a huge platter. 

One of these was solemnly deposited at each end of the table. 

"Vegetables?"

"Why--they're lobsters!"

"O Ford! how could you?"

The last exclamation came from Annie Foster, as she clapped her handsover her face. Bright-red were those lobsters, and fine-looking fellows, every one of them, in spite of Mrs. Lee's poor opinion; but they were alittle too well dressed, even for a dinner-party. Their thick shoulderswere adorned with collars of the daintiest material and finish, whileevery ungainly "flipper" wore a "cuff" which had been manufactured for adifferent kind of wrist. 

There were plenty of cuffs and collars, and queer enough the lobsterslooked in them. All the queerer because every item of lace and linen wasvariegated with huge black spots and blotches, as if some one had begunto wash it in ink. 

Joe and Fuz were almost as red as the lobsters; and Mrs. Foster's facelooked as severe as it could, but that is not saying a great deal. TheKinzer family knew all about those cuffs and collars, and Ham Morris andthe younger ladies were trying hard not to laugh. 

"Joe, " said Fuz snappishly, "can't you take a joke? Annie's got thelaugh on us this time. "

"I?" exclaimed Annie indignantly: "no, indeed! That's some of Ford'swork, and Dabney's. --Mr. Kinzer, I'm ashamed of you. "

Poor Dab!

He muttered something about those being all the vegetables he had, andretreated to the kitchen. 

Joe and Fuz, however, were not of the sort that take offence easily; andthey were shortly helping themselves quite liberally to lobster, cuffsor no cuffs. That was all that was necessary to restore harmony at thetable, but Dab's plan for "punishing the Hart boys" was a completefailure. 

As Ford told him afterwards:

"Feel it? Not they. You might as well try to hurt a clam with a pin. "

"And I hurt your sister's feelings instead of theirs, " said Dab. "Well, I'll never try any thing like it again. Anyhow, Joe and Fuz ain'tcomfortable they ate too many roasted clams and a good deal too muchlobster. "

There was a certain degree of consolation to be had from such a fact asthat. 

CHAPTER XXII. 

THE REAL MISSION OF THE JUG. 

Ham Morris ate well, when he once got at it; but he did not linger longat the dinner-table, for his heart was in "The Swallow. " Dab would havegiven more than ever for the privilege of going with him. Not that hefelt so dreadfully charitable, but that he did not care to prolong hisstay at Mrs. Foster's, as "cook" or otherwise. He had not by any meanslost his appetite, --although he seemed disposed to neglect the lobsters;and when he had taken proper care of it he hurried away "on an errandfor his mother, " in the direction of the village. Nearly everybody hemet had some question or other to ask him about the wreck, and it wasnot to have been expected that Jenny Walters would let her oldacquaintance pass her without a word or so. 

Dab answered as well as he could, considering the disturbed state of hismind; but he wound up with, --

"Jenny, I wish you'd come over to our house by and by. "

"What for?"

"Oh! I've got something to show you--something you never saw before. "

"Do you mean your new baby? the one you found on the bar?"

"Yes, but that baby, Jenny!"

"What's wonderful about it?"

"Why, it's only two years old, and it can squall in two languages. That's a good deal more than you can do. "

"They say your friend, Miss. Foster, speaks French, " retorted Jenny. "Was she ever shipwrecked?"

"In French? May be so; but not in German. "

"Well, Dabney, I don't propose to squall in any thing. Are your folksgoing to burn any more of their barns this year?"

"Not unless Samantha gets married. Jenny, do you know what's the latestfashion in lobsters?"

"Changeable green, I suppose. "

"No: I mean after they're boiled. It's to have 'em come on the table incuffs and collars. Lace around their necks, you know. "

"And gloves?"

"No, not any gloves. We had lobsters to-day, at Mrs. Foster's, and youought to have seen 'em. "

"Dabney Kinzer, it's time you went to school again. "

"I'm going, in a few days. "

"Going? Do you mean you're going away somewhere?"

"Ever so far; and Dick Lee's going with me. "

"I heard about him, but I didn't know he meant to take you along. That'svery kind of Dick. I s'pose you won't speak to common people when youget back. "

"Now, Jenny"--

"Good-afternoon, Dabney. Perhaps I'll come over before you go, if it'sonly to take a look at that shipwrecked baby. "

A good many of Mrs. Kinzer's lady friends, young and old, deemed ittheir duty to come and do that very thing within the next few days. Thenthe sewing-circle took the matter up, and both the baby and its motherwere provided for as they never had been before. It would have takenmore languages than two, to fairly express the gratitude of the poorAlsatians. As for the rest of them, out there on the bar, they werespeedily taken off, and carried to "the city, " none of them beingseriously the worse for their sufferings, after all. Ham Morris declaredthat the family he had brought ashore "came just in time to help him outwith his fall work, and he didn't see any charity in it. "

Good for Ham!

It was the right way to feel about it, but Dab Kinzer thought he couldsee something in it that looked like "charity" when he met his tired-outbrother-in-law on his late return from that second trip across the bay. 

Real charity never cares to make an exhibition of itself. 

They were pretty thoroughly worn out, both of them; but they carefullymoored "The Swallow" in her usual berth before they left her. 

She had effectually "discharged her cargo, " over on the sand-island; butthey Had enough of a load to carry home, in the shape of empty basketsand things of that sort. 

"Is every thing out of the locker, Dab?" inquired Ham. 

"All but the jug. I say, did you know it was nearly half full? Would itdo any hurt to leave it here?"

"The jug? No, not if you just pour out the rest of the apple-jack overthe side. "

"Make the fish drunk. "

"Well, it sha'n't do that for anybody else, if I can help it. "

"Well, if it's good for water-soaked people, I guess it can't hurt thefish. "

"Empty it, Dab. Empty it, and come along. The doctor wasn't so farwrong, and I was glad to have it with me. Seemed to do some of 'em apower of good. But medicine's medicine, and I only wish some people Iknow of would remember it. "

"Some of 'em do a good deal of that kind of doctoring. "

The condemned liquor was already gurgling from the mouth of the demijohninto the salt water, and neither fish nor eel came forward to get ashare of it. They were probably all feeling pretty well that night. Whenthe demijohn was empty and the cork replaced, it was set down again inthe "cabin;" and that was left unlocked, for there was no more danger init for anybody. Dab and Ham were altogether too tired to take any painsthere was no call for. 

Dab's mind must have been tired, as well as his body; for he decided topostpone until the morrow the report he had to make about the tramp. Hewas strongly of the opinion that the latter had not seen him torecognize him; and, at all events, the matter could wait. 

So it came to pass that all the shore, and the road that led away fromit, and the village the road led into, were deserted and silent, an houror so later, when a stoutly-built "cat-boat, " with her one sail lowered, was quietly sculled up the inlet. 

There were two men on board, a tall one and a shorter one; and they rantheir boat right alongside "The Swallow, " as if that were the precisething they had come to do. 

"Burgin, " remarked the tall man, "wot ef we don't find any thin', arterall this sailin' and rowin' and scullin'? Most likely he's kerried it tothe house. In course he has. "

The keenly watchful eyes of Burgin had noted the arrival of thatapple-jack at the island; and they had closely followed its fortunes, from first to last. He had more than half tried, indeed, to work himselfin among the crowd, as one of the "sufferers, " but with no manner ofsuccess. 

The officers of the ship knew every face that had any right to aspoonful, and Burgin's failed to pass him. He had not failed, however, to note that his coveted "medicine" was by no means exhausted, and tosee Ham stow the demijohn carefully away, at last, under the half-deckof "The Swallow. " That information had given all the inducement requiredto get old Peter and his boat across the bay; and the ancient "wrecker"was as anxious about the result as the tramp himself could be. It washard to say, now, which of them was the first on board "The Swallow. "

"It ain't locked!"

"Then the jug ain't thar. "

"Wall, it is, " exclaimed Burgin triumphantly, as he pulled it out; buthis under jaw dropped a little when he felt "how light it lifted. "

"Reckon they helped themselves on thar way hum. "

It was a good deal worse than that; and an angry and disappointed pairwere they when the cork and the truth came out. 

"Thar's jest a good smell!"

That was old Peter's remark; and it sounded as if words failed him toadd to it, but Burgin's wrath exploded in a torrent of bitter abuse ofthe man or men who had emptied that demijohn. He gave old Peter acapital chance to turn upon him morosely with, --

"Look a-yer, my chap, is this 'ere your boat?"

"No: I didn't say it was, did I?"

"Is that there your jug? I don't know if I keer to sit and hear one ofmy neighbors--and he's a good feller too, he is--abused all night, jestbekase I've been and let an entire stranger make a fool of me. "

"Do you mean me?"

"Well, ef I didn't I wouldn't say it. Don't you git mad, now. It won'tpay ye. Jest let's take a turn 'round the village. "

"You kin go ef you want ter. I'll wait for ye. 'Pears like I didn't feelmuch like doin' any trampin' 'round. "

"Stay thar, then. But mind you don't try on any runnin' away with myboat. "

"If I want a boat, old man, there's plenty here that's better worthstealin' than yourn. "

"That's so. I didn't know you'd been makin' any kalkilation on it. Iwon't be gone any great while. "

He was gone some time, however, whatever may have been his errand. OldPeter was not the man to be at a loss for one, of some sort, even atthat hour of the night; and his present business, perhaps, did notparticularly require company. 

When he returned at last, he found his own boat safe enough, and hereally could not tell if any of the others had walked away; but helooked around in vain for any signs of his late comrade. Not that hespent much time or wasted any great pains in searching for him; and hemuttered to himself, as he gave it up, --

"Gone, has he? Well, then, it's a good riddance to bad rubbidge. I ain'tno aingil, but that feller's a long ways wuss'n I am. "

Whether or not old Peter was right in his estimate of himself or ofBurgin, in a few moments more he was all alone in his "cat-boat, " andwas sculling it rapidly out of the crooked inlet. 

His search for Burgin had been a careless one, for he had but glancedover the gunwale of "The Swallow. " A second look might have shown himthe form of the tramp, half covered by a loose flap of the sail, deeplyand heavily sleeping on the bottom of the boat. It was every bit ascomfortable a bed as he had been used to; and there he was still lying, long after the sun had looked in upon him, the next morning. 

Other eyes than the sun's were to look in upon him before he awakenedfrom that untimely and imprudent nap. 

It was not so very early when Ham Morris and Dabney Kinzer were stirringagain; but they had both arisen with a strong desire for a "talk, " andHam made an opportunity for one by saying, --

"Come on, Dab. Let's go down and have a look at 'The Swallow. '"

Ham had meant to talk about school and kindred matters, but Dab's firstwords about the tramp cut off all other subjects. 

"You ought to have told me, " he said. "I'd have had him tied up in aminute. "

Dab explained as well as he could; but, before he had finished, Hamsuddenly exclaimed, --

"There's Dick Lee, on board 'The Swallow!' What on earth's he therefor?"

"Dick!" shouted Dabney. 

"Cap'n Dab, did yo' set this yer boat to trap somebody?"

"No. Why?"

"'Cause you's done gone an' cotched 'im. Jes' you come an' see. "

The sound of Dick's voice, so near them, reached the dull ears of theslumbering tramp; and as Ham and Dabney sprang into a yawl, and pushedalong-side the yacht, his unpleasant face was slowly and sleepily liftedabove the rail. 

"It's the very man!" excitedly shouted Dabney. 

"The tramp?"

"Yes, --the tramp!"

No one would have suspected Ham Morris of so much agility, although hisbroad and well-knit frame promised abundant strength; but he was onboard "The Swallow" like a flash, and Burgin was "pinned" by his irongrasp before he could so much as guess what was coming. 

"Le' go o' me!"

"I've got you!"

It was too late for any such thing as resistance; and the captivesettled at once into a sullen, dogged silence, after the ordinary customof his kind when they find themselves cornered. It is a species of dull, brute instinct, more than cunning, seemingly; but not a word more didHam and Dab obtain from their prisoner, --although they said a good manyto him, --until they delivered him over to the safe-keeping of the lawfulauthorities at the village. That done, they went home to breakfast, feeling that they had made a good morning's work of it, but wonderingwhat would be the end and result of it all. 

"Ten years, I guess, " said Ham. 

"In State prison?"

"Yes. Breaking stone. He'll get his board free, but it'll be totalabstinence for him. I wonder what took him on board 'The Swallow, '"

"I know, --the jug!"

"That's it, sure's you live. I saw him over on the island. I declare! Tothink of an empty demijohn having so much good in it!"

CHAPTER XXIII. 

ANOTHER GRAND PLAN, AND A VERY GRAND RUNAWAY. 

The whole community was stirred up over the news of the capture of thetramp. It made a first-class excitement for a place of that size; butnone of the inhabitants took a deeper interest in the matter than didFord and Frank and the two Hart boys. It was difficult for them to gettheir minds quite right about it, especially the first pair, to whom itwas a matter of unasked question just how much help Ham had given Dab incapturing the marauder. Mr. Foster himself got a little excited aboutit, when he came home; but poor Annie was a good deal more troubled thanpleased. 

"O mother!" she exclaimed. "Do you suppose I shall have to appear incourt, and give my testimony as a witness?"

"I hope not, my dear. Perhaps your father can manage to prevent itsomehow. "

It would not have been an easy thing to do, even for so good a lawyer asMr. Foster, if Burgin himself had not saved them all trouble on thatscore. Long before the slow processes of country criminal justice couldbring him to actual trial, so many misdeeds were brought home to him, from here and there, that he gave the matter up, and not only confessedto the attack on Annie's pocket-book, but to the barn-burning, to whichDab's cudgelling had provoked him. He made his case so very clear, thatwhen he finally came before a judge and jury, and pleaded "guilty, "there was nothing left for them to do but to say just what he was guiltyof, and how long he should "break stone" to pay for it. It was likely tobe a good deal more than "ten years, " if he lived out his "time. "

All that came to pass some months later, however; and just now thevillage had enough to talk about in discussing the peculiar manner ofhis capture. 

The story of the demijohn leaked out, of course; and, while it did notrob Dab and Ham of any part of their glory, it was made to do severeduty in the way of a temperance lecture. 

Old Jock, indeed, protested. 

"You see, boys, " said he, "real good liquor, like that, don't do nobodyno harm. That was the real stuff, --prime old apple-jack 'at I'd had inmy cellar ten year last Christmas; an' it jest toled that feller acrossthe bay, and captered him, without no manner of diffikilty. "

There were some among his auditors who could have testified to adecidedly different kind of "capture. "

One effect of Dab's work on the day of the yachting-trip, including hisspecial performances as cook, and as milliner to the lobsters, was, thathe felt himself thenceforth bound to be somewhat carefully polite to Joeand Fuz. The remaining days of their visit would have been altogethertoo few for the varied entertainments he laid out for them, in his ownmind, by way of reparation for his unlucky "practical joke. " They wereto catch all there was in the bay. They were to ride everywhere. Theywere to be shown every thing there was to see. 

"They don't deserve it, Dab, " said Ford; "but you're a real good fellow. Mother says so. "

"Does she?" said Dab; and he evidently felt a good deal relieved, afterthat. 

Mr. Richard Lee, when his friends once more found time to think of him, had almost disappeared from the public eye. 

Some three days after "the trip, " while all the other boys were out inthe "Jenny, " having a good time with their hooks and lines, Dick'smother made her appearance in Mrs. Kinzer's dining-room, or Miranda's, with a face that was even darker than usual, with a cloud of motherlyanxiety. 

"Miss Kinzer, " she said, "has you seen my Dick, dis week?"

"No: he hasn't been here at all. Is there any thing the matter withhim?"

"Dat's de berry question. I jes' doesn't know wot to make ob 'im. "

"Why, Glorianna, do you think he's studying too hard?"

"It ain't jes' de books; I isn't so much afeard ob dem: but it's all'long ob de 'Cad'my. I wish you'd jes' take a good look at 'im, fustchance ye git. "

"Does he look badly?"

"No: 'tain't jes' altogedder his looks. He's de bes' lookin' boy 'longshoah. But den de way he's a-goin' on to talk. 'Tain't natural. He usedto talk fust-rate. "

"Can't he talk now?"

"Yes, Miss Kinzer, he kin talk; but den de way he gits out his words. Nebber seen sech a t'ing in all my born days. Takes him ebber so longjes' to say good-mornin'. An' he doesn't say it like he use ter. I wishyou'd jes' take a good look at 'im. "

Mrs. Kinzer promised, and she gave her black friend what comfort shecould; but Dick Lee's tongue would never again be the free-and-easymember of society it had been. Even when at home, and about hiscommonest "chores, " he was all the while struggling with what he calledhis "pronounciation. " If he should succeed as well with the rest of his"schooling, " it was safe to say that it would not be thrown away uponhim. 

Glorianna went her way that morning; and the next to intrude upon Mrs. Kinzer's special domain was her son-in-law himself, accompanied by hisblooming bride. 

"We've got a plan. "

"You? Apian? What about?"

"Dab and his friends. "

That was the beginning of a tolerably long consultation, and the resultsof it were duly reported to Dabney when he came home with his fish. 

"A party?" he exclaimed, when his mother finished her brief butcomprehensive statement: "Ham and Miranda to give a party for us boys?Well, now, if they're not right down good! But, mother, we'll have toget it up mighty quick. "

"I know it, Dab; but that's easy enough, with all the help we have. I'lltake care of that. "

"A party! but, mother, what can we do? There's only a few of 'em knowhow to dance. I don't, for one. "

"You must talk it over with Ford. Perhaps Annie and Frank can help you. "

They were all taken into counsel soon enough; and endless were the plansand propositions made, till even Mrs. Kinzer found her temper getting alittle fretted and worried over them. 

At all events, it was a settled fact that the "party" was to be; and theinvitations went out in due and proper form. 

"Miranda, " said her mother, on the morning of the important day, "wemust manage to get rid of Dabney and those boys for a few hours. "

"Send 'em for some greens to rig the parlor with, " suggested Ham. "Let'em take the ponies. "

"Do you think the ponies are safe for them to drive, just now?"

"Oh! Dab can handle 'em. They're a trifle skittish, that's all. Theyneed a little exercise. "

So they did; but it was to be doubted if the best way to secure it forthem was to send them out in a light, two-seated wagon, with a load offive lively boys. 

"Now, don't you let one of the other boys touch the reins, " said Mrs. Kinzer. 

Dab's promise to that effect proved a hard one to keep; for Fuz and Joealmost tried to take the reins away from him, before they had driven twomiles from the house. He was firm, however, and they managed to reachthe strip of woodland, some five miles inland, where they were to gathertheir load, without any disaster; but it was evident to Dab, all theway, that his ponies were in uncommonly "high" condition. He took themout of the wagon, while the rest began to gather their liberal harvestof evergreens; and he did not bring them near it again until all wasready for the start homeward. 

"Now, boys, " he said, "you get in; Joe and Ford and Fuz on the backseat, to hold down the greens. Frank, get up there, forward, while Ihitch in the ponies. These fellows are chuck full of mischief. "

Very full, certainly; nor did Dab Kinzer know exactly what the matterwas for a minute or so after he seized the reins and sprang up besideFrank Harley. 

Then, indeed, as the ponies kicked and reared and plunged, he thought hesaw something work out from under their collars, and fall to the ground. An acorn-burr is just the thing to worry a restive horse, if put in sucha place; but Joe and Fuz had hardly expected their "little joke" to beso very successful as it was. 

The ponies were off now!

"Joe, " shouted Fuz, "let's jump!"

"Don't let 'em, Ford, " exclaimed Dab, giving his whole energies to thehorses. "They'll break their necks if they do. Hold 'em in. "

Ford, who was in the middle, promptly seized an arm of each of hispanic-stricken cousins, while Frank clambered over the seat to help him. They were all down on the bottom now, serving as a, weight to hold theevergreen branches, as the light wagon bounced and rattled along overthe smooth, level road. 

In vain Dab pulled and pulled at the ponies. Run they would, and runthey did; and all he could do was to keep them fairly in the road. 

Bracing strongly back, with the reins wound around his tough hands, andwith a look in his face that should have given courage even to the Hartboys, Dab strained at his task as bravely as when he had stood at thetiller of "The Swallow" in the storm. 

There was no such thing as stopping those ponies. 

And now, as they whirled along, even Dabney's face paled a little. 

"I must reach the bridge before he does: he's just stupid enough to keepright on. "

It was very "stupid, " indeed, for the driver of that one-horse"truck-wagon" to try and reach the little narrow unrailed bridge first. It was an old, used-up sort of a bridge, at best. 

Dab loosened the reins a little, but could not use his whip. 

"Why can't he stop!"

It was a moment of breathless anxiety, but the wagoner kept stolidly on. There would be barely room to pass him on the road itself; none at allon the narrow bridge. 

The ponies did it. 

They seemed to put on an extra touch of speed on their own account, justthen. 

There was a rattle, a faint crash; and then, as the wheels of the twovehicles almost touched each other in passing, Ford shouted, --

"The bridge is down!"

Such a narrow escape!

One of the rotten girders, never half strong enough, had given way underthe sudden shock of the hinder wheels; and that truck-wagon would haveto find its road across the brook as best it could. 

There were more wagons to pass, as they plunged forward, and roughplaces in the road for Dabney to look out for; but even Joe and Fuz werenow getting confidence in their driver. Before long, too, the poniesthemselves began to feel that they had had enough of it. Then it wasthat Dab used his whip again, and the streets of the village weretraversed at a rate to call for the disapprobation of all sober-mindedpeople. 

"Here we are, Ham! Greens and all. "

"Did they run far, Dab?" asked Ham quietly. 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

DABNEY'S GREAT PARTY. 

The boys returned a good deal earlier than anybody had expected, butthey made no more trouble. As Ford Foster remarked, "they were allwilling to go slow for a week, " after being carried home at such a rateby Dab's ponies. 

There was a great deal to be said, too, about the runaway, and Mrs. Foster longed to see Dabney, and thank him on Ford's account; but hehimself had no idea that he had done any thing remarkable, and was verybusy decking Miranda's parlors with the evergreens. 

A nice appearance they made, too, all those woven branches and clusteredsprays, when they were in place; and Samantha declared for them that, --

"They had kept Dab out of mischief all the afternoon. "

At an early hour, after supper, the guests began to arrive; for Mrs. Kinzer was a woman of too much good sense to have night turned into daywhen she could prevent it. As the stream of visitors steadily poured in, Dab remarked to Jenny Walters, --

"We shall have to enlarge the house, after all. "

"If it were only a dress, now!"

"What then?"

"Why, you could just let out the tucks. I've had to do that with mine. "

"Jenny, shake hands with me. "

"What for, Dabney?"

"I'm so glad to meet somebody else that's outgrowing something. "

There was a tinge of color rising in Jenny's face; but, before she couldthink of any thing to say, Dab added, --

"There, Jenny: there's Mrs. Foster and Annie. Isn't she sweet?"

"One of the nicest old ladies I ever saw. "

"Oh! I didn't mean her mother. "

"Never mind. You must introduce me to them. "

"So I will. Take my arm. "

Jenny Walters had been unusually kindly and gracious in her manner thatevening, and her very voice had less than its accustomed sharpness; buther natural disposition broke out a little, some minutes later, whileshe was talking with Annie Foster. Said she, --

"I've wanted so much to get acquainted with you. "

"With me?"

"Yes: I've seen you in church, and I've heard you talked about, and Iwanted to find out for myself. "

"Find out what?" asked Annie a little soberly. 

"Why, you see, I don't believe it's possible for any girl to be as sweetas you look. I couldn't, I know. I've been trying these two days, andI'm nearly worn out. "

Annie's eyes opened wide with surprise; and she laughed merrily, as sheanswered, --

"What can you mean! I'm glad enough if my face doesn't tell tales ofme. "

"But mine does, " said Jenny. "And then I'm so sure to tell all the restwith my tongue. I do wish I knew what were your faults. "

"My faults? What for?"

"I don't know. Seems to me, if I could think of your faults instead ofmine, it wouldn't be so hard to look sweet. "

Annie could but see that there was more earnestness than fun in thequeer talk of her new acquaintance. 

The truth was, that Jenny had been having almost as hard a struggle withher tongue as Dick Lee with his, though not for the same reason. Beforemany minutes she had frankly told Annie all about it, and she could nothave done that if she had not somehow felt that Annie's "sweetness" wasgenuine. 

The two girls were sure friends after that, much to the surprise of Mr. Dabney Kinzer. He, indeed, had been too much occupied in caring for allhis guests, to pay especial attention to any one of them. 

His mother had looked after him again and again, with eyes brimful ofpride and of commendation of the way in which he was acquitting himselfas "host. "

Mrs. Foster herself remarked to her husband, who had now arrived, --

"Do you see that? Who would have expected as much from a raw, greencountry boy?"

"But, my dear, don't you see? The secret of it is, that he's notthinking of himself at all he's only anxious that his friends shouldhave a good time. "

"That's it; but then, that, too, is a very rare thing in a boy of hisage. "

"Dabney, " exclaimed the lawyer in a louder tone of voice. 

"Good-evening, Mr. Foster. I'm glad you've found room. The house isn'thalf large enough. "

"It'll do. I understand your ponies ran away with you to-day. "

"They did come home in a hurry, that's a fact; but nobody was hurt. "

"I fear there would have been, but for you. Do you start for Grantleywith the other boys, tomorrow?"

"Of course. Dick Lee and I need some one to take care of us. We neverhave travelled so far before. "

"On land, you mean. Is Dick here to-night?"

"Came and looked in, sir; but he got scared by the crowd, and wenthome. "

"Poor fellow! I don't wonder. Well, we will all do what we can for him. "

Poor Dick Lee!

And yet, if Mr. Dabney Kinzer had known his whereabouts at that verymoment, he would half have envied him. 

Dick's mother was in the kitchen, helping about the "refreshments;" butshe had not left home until she had compelled her son to dress himselfin his best, --white shirt, red necktie, shining shoes, and all; and shehad brought him with her, almost by force. 

"You's goodnuff to go to de 'Cad'my and leab yer pore mother, an' Ireckon you's good nuff for de party. "

Dick had actually ventured in from the kitchen, through the dining-room, and as far as the door of the back parlor, where few would look. 

How his heart did beat, as he gazed upon the merry gathering, a largepart of whom he had "known all his born days"!

But there was a side-door opening from that dining-room upon the longpiazza which Mrs. Kinzer had added to the old Morris mansion; and Dick'shand was on the knob of that door, almost before he knew it. 

Then he was out on the road to the landing; and in five minutes more hewas vigorously rowing the "Jenny" out through the inlet, towards thebay. 

His heart was not beating unpleasantly any longer; but as he shot outfrom the narrow passage through the flags, and saw the little waveslaughing in the cool, dim starlight, he suddenly stopped rowing, leanedon his oars, gave a great sigh of relief, and exclaimed, --

"Dar, I's safe now. I ain't got to say a word to nobody out yer. Wonder'f I'll ebber git back from de 'Cad'my, an' ketch fish in dis yer bay. Sho! Course I will. But goin' 'way's awful!"

Dab Kinzer thought he had never before known Jenny Walters to appear sowell as she looked that evening; and he must have been right, for goodMrs. Foster said to Annie, --

"What a pleasant, kindly face your new friend has! You must ask her tocome and see us. She seems to be quite a favorite with the Kinzers. "

"Have you known Dabney long?" Annie had asked of Jenny a little beforethat. 

"Ever since I was a little bit of a girl, and a big boy, seven or eightyears old, pushed me into the snow. "

"Was it Dabney?"

"No; but Dabney was the boy that pushed him in for doing it, and thenhelped me up. Dab rubbed his face with snow for him, till he cried. "

"Just like him!" exclaimed Annie with emphasis. "I should think hisfriends here will miss him. "

"Indeed they will, " said Jenny, and then she seemed disposed to be quietfor a while. 

The party could not last forever, pleasant as it was; and by the timehis duties as "host" were all done and over, Dabney was tired enough togo to bed and sleep soundly. His arms were lame and sore from the strainthe ponies had given them; and that may have been the reason why hedreamed, half the night, that he was driving runaway teams, and crashingover rickety old bridges. 

There was some reason for that; but why was it that every one of hisdream-wagons, no matter who else was in it, seemed to have Jenny Waltersand Annie Foster smiling at him from the back seat?

He rose later than usual next morning, and the house was all in itscustomary order by the time he got down stairs. 

Breakfast was ready also; and it was hardly over before Dab's great newtrunk was brought down into the front-door passage by a couple of thefarmhands. 

"It's an hour yet to train-time, " said Ham Morris; "but we might as wellget ready. We must be on hand in time. "

What a long hour that was! And not even a chance given to Dab to rundown to the landing for a good-by look at the "Jenny" and "The Swallow. "

His mother and Ham, and Miranda, and the girls, seemed to be all made upof "good-by" that morning. 

"Mother, " said Dab. 

"What is it, my dear boy?"

"That's it exactly. If you say 'dear boy' again, Ham Morris'll have tocarry me to the cars. I'm all kind o' wilted now. "

Then they all laughed, and before they got through laughing they allcried except Ham. 

He put his hands in his pockets, and drew a long whistle. 

The ponies were at the door now. The light wagon was a roomy one; but, when Dab's trunk had been put in, there was barely room left for theladies, and Dab and Ham had to walk to the station. 

"I'm kind o' glad of it, " said Dab. 

It was a short walk, and a silent one; but when they came in sight ofthe platform, Dab exclaimed, --

"There they are, --all of them!"

"The whole party?"

"Why, the platform's as crowded as our house was last night. "

Mrs. Kinzer and her daughters were already the centre of a talkativecrowd of young people; and Ford Foster and Frank Harley, with Joe andFuz Hart, were asking what had become of Dab, for the train was insight. 

A moment later, as the puffing locomotive pulled up in front of thewater-tank, the conductor stepped out on the platform, exclaiming, --

"Look a-here, folks, this ain't right. If there was going to be a picnicyou ought to have sent word, and I'd have tacked on an extra car. You'llhave to pack in now, best you can. "

He seemed much relieved when he found how small a part of that crowdwere to be his passengers. 

"Dab, " said Ford, "this is your send-off, not ours. You'll have to makea speech. "

Dab did want to say something; but he had just kissed his sisters andhis mother, and half a dozen of his school-girl friends had followed theexample of Jenny Walters; and then Mrs. Foster had kissed him, and HamMorris had shaken hands with him; and Dab could not have said a word tohave saved his life. 

"Speech!" whispered Ford mischievously, as Dab stepped upon thecar-platform; but Dick Lee, who had just escaped from the tremendous hughis mother had given him, and had got his breath again, came to hisfriend's relief in the nick of time. Dick felt, as he afterwardsexplained, that he "must shout, or he should go off;" and so, at the topof his shrill voice he shouted, --

"Hurrah for Cap'n Kinzer! Dar ain't no better feller lef long shoah!"

And then, amid a chorus of cheers and laughter, and a grand waving ofwhite handkerchiefs, the engine gave a deep, hysterical cough, andhurried the train away. 

Three homesteads by the Long Island shore were lonely enough thatevening, and they were all likely to be lonelier still before they gotfairly accustomed to the continued absence of "those boys. "

It was well understood that the Fosters had determined to prolong their"summer in the country" until the arrival of cold weather, they hadfound all things so pleasant; and the Kinzers were well pleased withthat, as Samantha remarked, --

"If it's only to compare letters. I do hope Dabney will write as soon ashe gets there, and tell us all about it. "

"He will, " said his mother; but Ham's face put on a somewhat doubtfullook. 

"I'm not quite sure about Dab, " he said slowly. "If things ain't justright, he's the sort of boy that wouldn't say a word about it. Well, Imust say I liked what I saw of Mrs. Myers's notions about feedingpeople. "

CHAPTER XXV. 

THE BOYS ON THEIR TRAVELS. A GREAT CITY, AND A GREAT DINNER. 

The conductor of that train need not have been much alarmed at fallingin with a "picnic" of any moderate size, for he would have had room inhis train to seat a good part of it, at least. 

The boys had no difficulty in getting seats "all together. " That is, they found four empty ones, two on each side, right opposite; and whenthey had turned over the front seats, there they were. Ford and Frankwere facing Dabney and Dick on the right; and the two Hart boys werefacing each other on the left, each with a whole seat to himself. 

Almost the first thing Joe did, after taking possession, was to leanover, and whisper, --

"Look out, Fuz, --keep your secret. "

"Catch me spoiling a good joke. "

The other party seemed disposed to keep pretty quiet for a while; thefirst break of any consequence, in the silence, coming when Ford Fosterexclaimed, --

"Dab, it was right along here. "

"What was?"

"Where the pig had his collision with my train, first time I was overhere. "

"Did you hear him squeal?" asked Frank, as he peered through the window. 

"The pig? No; but you ought to have heard the engine squeal, when it sawhim coming. "

The story had to be all told over again, of course, and did good servicein getting their thoughts in order for the trip before them. Up to themention of the pig, it had somehow seemed to Dab as if therailway-platform at the station, and all the people on it, had keptcompany with the train; and Frank Harley found himself calculating thedistance between that car and the "mission" at Rangoon in far-awayIndia. 

As for Ford Foster, he stood in less need of any "pig" than the rest, from the fact that he had a large-sized idea in his head. 

He kept it there, too, until that train pulled up within reachingdistance of one of the Brooklyn ferries. Before them lay the swift tideof the broad East River; and beyond that, with its borders of crowdeddocks and bristling masts, lay the streets and squares, and swarmed themultitudes, of the great city of New York. 

"Ford, " said Dabney, "you're captain this time. What are we to do now?"

"Well, if I ain't captain, I guess I'd better do a little steering. Wemust give our checks to the expressman, and have our luggage carted overto the Grand Central Depot. "

"Will it be sure to get there in good time?"

"Of course it wouldn't if we were in any hurry; but our train doesn'tleave until three o'clock, and the express won't fail to have it therebefore that. "

Ford was all alive with the responsibilities of his position, as theonly boy in the party who had been born in the city, and had travelledall over it, and a little out of it. 

"Joe and Fuz, " he said, "will want to take the night boat for Albany. They've more time on their hands than we have. Joe?--Fuz?--why can't youcome along with us after you've checked your trunks? We'll be gettingdinner before long. "

The Hart boys promptly assented, after a look at each other, and a sortof chuckle. 

"Might as well keep together, " said Joe. "We'd like to take a look atthings. "

"Come along. I'll show you. "

Frank Harley had seen quite a number of great cities, and he couldhardly help saying something about them while they were going over onthe ferryboat. They were all as far forward as they could get. 

"Did you ever see any thing just like this?" asked Dab. 

"Well, no, not just like it"--

"In India, or in China, or in London, or in Africa?" said Ford. 

"It's a little different from any thing I ever saw. "

"Well, isn't it bigger?"

That was a question Frank might have undertaken to answer if there hadbeen proper time given him; but just then the boat was running into her"slip, " away down town, and Ford exclaimed, --

"Hurrah, boys! Now for Fulton Market and some oysters. "

"Oysters?" said Dab. 

"Yes, sir! There's more oysters in that old shanty than there are inyour bay. "

"I don't know about that, " said Dab, staring at the queer, huge, ricketyold mass of unsightly wood and glass that Ford was pointing at, afterthey got ashore. "I'm hungry, anyhow. "

"Hungry? So am I. But no man ought to say he's been in New York tillhe's tried some Fulton-Market oysters. "

"Let's take 'em raw, " said Fuz. "Then we can go ahead. "

Dick Lee had been in the city before, but never in such company, nor insuch very good clothes; and there was an expression on his face a gooddeal like awe, when he actually found himself standing at an"oyster-counter, " in line with five well-dressed young white boys. 

The man behind the counter served him, too, in regular turn; and Dickfelt it a point of honor to empty the half-shell before him as quicklyas any of the rest. There was no delay about that, anywhere along thatline of boys. 

"Dick, " said Ford, "where's your lemon? There it is!"

Ford had already explained to the rest that it was "against theconstitution and by-laws of Fulton Market to eat a raw oyster withoutthe lemon-juice, " and Dick would have blushed if he could. 

"Dat's so. I forgot um!" and then he added, with great care, "Yes, Mr. Foster, the lemon improves the oyster. "

"I declare!" muttered Ford. "He's keeping it up!"

The oysters were eaten, and then it was "Come on, boys;" and away theywent up Fulton Street to Broadway. They walked two and two, as well asthe streams of people would let them, but the Hart boys kept a little inthe rear. 

"What do you think of it, Joe?"

"Think of what?"

"Walking over New York with Dick Lee, just as if he was one of us?"

"Guess nobody'll think we're walking with him. Anybody can tell what weare, just by looking at us. "

"Dick's face shows just what he is too. I don't care for this once, butit's awful. "

If any such thought were troubling Ford Foster, he made no confession ofit, and was even specially careful, now and then, to turn around andaddress some remark or other to "the member from Africa, " as he calledhim. 

"Dick, " said Dab in an undertone, as they were leaving the market, "youlook out, now: you must have as good a time as any of us, or I won'tfeel right about it. "

"Jes' you sail right ahead, Cap'n Dab. I's on hand. "

Ford was determined to "do the honors, " and he led them down Broadway tothe Battery before he started "up town;" and he had something to sayabout a great many of the buildings. Dab felt his respect for city boysincreasing rapidly, and Dick remarked, --

"Ef he don't know dis coas' mos' as well as I know de bay!"

It looked like it, and he also seemed to be on terms of easyacquaintance with some of the human "fish" they fell in with. Not thathe spoke to any of them; but he pointed out the severalkinds, --policemen, firemen, messenger-boys, loafers, brokers, post-office carriers, a dozen more, with a degree of confidence whichfairly astonished his friends. 

"I could learn to tell all of them that wear uniforms, myself, " saidDabney; "but how do you know the others?"

"How do I know 'em? Well, it's just like knowing a miller or ablacksmith, when you see him. They all have some kind of smut on themthat comes from their trade. "

There may have been something in that, or it may be barely possible thatFord now and then mixed his men a little, and pointed out brokers as"gamblers, " and busy attorneys as probable pickpockets. He may have beentoo confident. 

On they went, till the brains of all but Ford and Frank were in a sortof whirl. Even Dab Kinzer was contented to look without talking; andDick Lee, although he had not a word to say, found unusual difficulty inkeeping his mouth shut. It positively would come open, every time Fordpointed out another big building, and told him what it was. 

They were not travelling very fast, but they were using a good deal oftime in all that sight-seeing; and walking is hungry business, and a fewraw oysters could not last six hearty boys very long. 

"I say, Ford, " sung out Joe from the rear, "isn't it getting pretty neartime for us to think of getting something to eat?"

"We're 'most there now. We're going to have our dinner at theMagnilophant to-day. "

"What's that?" said Frank. 

"Never heard of it? Oh! You're the member from India. Well, it's thegreatest restaurant in the known world, or in Paris either. Beats anything on Long Island. Serve you up any thing there is, and no living mancan tell what he's eating. "

Ford was in high spirits, and seemed all one chuckle of self-confidence. It was indeed a remarkably elegant establishment in its line, into whichhe led them a few minutes later. 

There certainly was nothing like it on Long Island, whatever might betrue of Paris and other places outside of the "known world. "

Dab Kinzer felt like walking very straight as he followed his "leader, "and Dick Lee had to use all the strength he had to keep himself fromtaking his hat right off when he went in. 

There was any amount of glitter and shine, in all directions; and Dabhad a confused idea that he had never before believed that the worldcontained so many tables. Ford seemed wonderfully at home and at ease;and Dick found voice enough to say, half aloud, --

"Ain't I glad he's got de rudder, dis time? Cap'n Dab couldn't steert'rough dis yer. "

The "steering" was well done; and it brought them nearly to the fartherend of the great, splendid room, and seated them at a round table thatseemed as well furnished as even Mrs. Foster's own. They all imitatedFord in hanging their hats on the appointed pegs before sitting down. 

"Now, boys, what shall we have?" he said, as he gazed learnedly up anddown the printed bill of fare. "Speak up, Joe, Fuz, what's yourweakness?"

Every boy of them was willing to let Ford do his best with that part ofthe dinner; and he was hard at work deciding what soup and fish he hadbetter pick out, when the tall waiter who had bustled forward to receivethe coming "order, " bent over his shoulder, and pointed to Dick Lee, inquiring, --

"Beg pardon, sah! Is dis young colored gen'l-man of youah party? It's'gainst de rules ob de establishment, sah. "

Dab Kinzer felt his face flush fiery red; and he was on the point ofsaying something, he hardly knew what, when Ford looked calmly up intothe mahogany face of the mulatto waiter, with, --

"You refer to my friend from Africa? We'll talk about that after dinner. Gumbo soup and Spanish mackerel if you please. Sharp, now!"

"But, sah"--

"Don't be afflicted, my friend. He's as white as anybody, except onFridays: this is his black day. Hurry up the soup and fish. "

Joe and Fuz were looking as if they were dreadfully ashamed ofsomething; but poor Dick was sitting up as straight as a ramrod, underthe influence of a glance that he had taken at the face of Dab Kinzer. 

"I isn't goin' back on him and Ford, " he said to himself. "I'd follerdem fellers right fru' dis yer eatin'-house. "

Frank Harley seemed to be getting some information. In the country hehad lived in nearly all his life, "colored people" were as good asanybody if they were of the right sort; and a man's skin had little todo with the degree of respect paid him, although even there it was anexcellent thing to be "white. "

As for the mulatto waiter, after a moment more of hesitation, he tookFord's order, and walked dignifiedly away, muttering, --

"Nebber seen de like afore. Reckon I isn't g'wine to tote soup and fishfor no nigger: I'll see de boss. "

That meant an appeal to the lordly and pompous but quite gentlemanly"head waiter, " a man as white as Ford Foster. A word or two to him, afinger pointed towards the upper end of the hall, and the keen eyes ofthe "man in authority" took it all in. 

"Six of them, --five white and one black. Well, Gus, do they look as ifthey could pay their bill before they go?"

"Yes, sah, dey does. De young gen'lman wid de bill ob fare in his han', he's got moah cheek, an' moah tongue, an' moah lip, sah"--

"Well then, Gus, you just tramp right along. If he and the rest don'tcare, I don't. It'll be time enough for me to make a fool of myself whensomebody offers to pay me for it. Give 'em their dinner! Sharp!"

"It's jes' a mons'ous outrage, " growled the offended waiter, as hestalked away; but he took good care to obey his orders, for he had aconsciousness that the eyes of his "master" were on him. He could hardlyhave guessed how completely his errand had been understood by the sixboys, or how closely Ford Foster had "hit it. " Said he, in reply to anangry remark from Dab Kinzer, --

"It's all humbug. They run this concern to make money, and they wantsome of ours. Mr. Marigold'll be sent right back with our soup. "

He was right; but, before they had eaten their way to the pie andpudding, Ford was dignifiedly informed, --

"If you please, sah, my name isn't Mr. Marigold, sah, it is Mr. Bellerington, sah; an' my first name isn't Coffee, sah, it's Augustus. "

"You don't say, " replied Ford: "well, Augustus, don't forget the littleremark I made about pie and the other things. "

It was a capital dinner; and Ford was proud of it, for he had picked outevery item of it, from the soup to the macaroons. Dick Lee had enjoyedit hugely, after he began to feel that his first social victory had beenfairly won for him. Still, he had doubts in his own mind as to whetherhe would ever dare such another undertaking with less than five whiteboys along to "see him through. "

Joe and Fuz ate well; but their spirits were manifestly low, for theywere painfully conscious of having forever lost the good opinion of thatmulatto waiter. 

"But for Dick Lee's being with us, " they thought, "he and everybody elsewould have known we were gentlemen. We'll never be caught in such a trapagain. "

It is a very sad matter, no doubt, to lose the intelligent respect ofsuch gentlemen as Mr. Augustus Bellerington, but it sometimes has to bedone; that is, unless their good opinion is to be gained by some nicelittle stroke of sneaking cowardice. 

Joe and Fuz stood it out, indeed, mainly because they were in some waymore afraid of Dab and Ford and Frank than they were of even Augustus. 

That, too, was strange; for they were older than either of the others, and taller than any but Dabney himself. 

The dinner was well eaten, and it was well paid for, as Dabney remarkedwhen he paid his share and half of Dick's; and then they were all in thestreet again, marching along, and "sight-seeing, " towards the GrandCentral Railroad Depot. 

CHAPTER XXVI. 

THE FIRST MORNING IN GRANTLEY, AND ANOTHER EXCELLENT JOKE. 

Ford Foster was the only one of those six boys who had ever seen thegreat railway-building, and he confessed that it looked a little large, even to him. Frank Harley freely declared that he had seen nothing likeit in India; and Dick Lee's eyes showed all the white they had to show, before he had seen the whole of it. 

Their first errand was to the baggage-room; and they were on their waywhen Dab Kinzer thoughtfully remarked, --

"Now, Joe, here we've dragged you and Fuz away up here, miles and milesout of your way. "

"That's so, " said Ford, "but they can take a street-car down. They'vegot hours of time to spare. "

"No hurry, " said Joe: "we'll see you off. " But Fuz whispered to him, --

"Time's up, Joe. Joke's got to come out now. "

It came out at the baggage-room; for there were the trunks of the Hartboys, and they had to go with the others to the ticket-office for theirtickets, before they could get their checks. 

"Do you mean you're to go right on now, with us?" said Ford in someastonishment. "I thought you were going home first. "

"No. We got a letter three days ago, telling us what to do. Our otherthings'll be sent on by express. "

The "joke" was out, and the two jokers were laughing as though it were aremarkably good one in their estimation; but Ford nodded his headapprovingly. 

"Uncle Joseph is a wise and careful man about his children, " he saidslowly. "He didn't mean you should make the trip alone. I'm much obligedto him for such an expression of his confidence in me. "

The laugh somehow died away, as if a sudden fit of sickness had carriedit off, while a broad smile widened on the faces of the other boys, notably including Dick Lee; but the baggage-checks were to be lookedafter, and there were seats in the sleeping-car to be secured. The lostjoke could hide itself easily in all that hurry and excitement. 

"The sleeper'll carry us the best part of the way, " said Ford, when atlast they took their seats; "but we'll have a doleful little ride on asmall railway, early in the morning. "

"But that'll take us right up north to Grantley, " added Dab, with along-drawn breath of expectation. The remaining hours of that Fridaywere largely spent by all six of them in looking out of the windows. When they were not doing that, it was mostly because Joe or Fuz wastelling some yarn or other about Grantley and its academy. 

They agreed perfectly in their somewhat extravagant praise of Mrs. Myersand her daughter Almira. "She's such a good, kind-hearted, liberal, motherly woman, " said Joe. 

"And Almira's a sweet young lady, " added Fuz, "only she's a little timidabout boys. "

"Needn't be afraid of us, I guess, " said Ford Foster, with a benevolentand protecting expression on his face; while Dab drew a mental pictureof the fair Almira as a sort of up-country copy of Annie Foster. Afterthe darkness came, and the "sleeper" was turned into a greattravelling-box full of little shaky bedrooms, there was no more talkingto be done, and all the boys were tired enough to go to sleep. 

One consequence of their beginning their slumbers so early, however, was, that they felt bright and fresh when the porter aroused them beforedaylight next morning; and they hurriedly dressed themselves for theirride on what Ford Foster called "the switch. "

It was quite a respectable railway, however, and it carried them throughscenery so different from any that Dabney or Dick was accustomed to, that they lost a good deal of what Joe and Fuz were saying about Dr. Abiram Brandegee, the learned principal of Grantley Academy. It was ofless importance, perhaps, because they had heard it all before, and hadgathered a curious collection of ideas concerning the man under whosedirection they were to get their new stocks of learning. 

"Dab, " said Dick, "if it was any fellers but them said it, I'd want togo home. "

"Well, yes, " said Dab quietly; "but then, that's just it. You can'tguess when they're telling the truth, and when they ain't. "

"Is dar really any fun in lyin', do you s'pose, Dab?"

"Can't say, Dick. Guess there wouldn't be much for you or me. "

"Dar's lots ob fun in Ford; an' he tells de truth mos' all de time, stiddy. So does Frank, jes' a little bit stiddier. "

"Ford never lies, Dick. "

"No, sir, he don't. But w'en anoder feller's lyin', he kin make believehe don't know it bes' of any feller I ebber seen. "

"Dick, " exclaimed Dabney, "what if Dr. Brandegee had heard you saythat!"

"I would tell him I was imitating somebody I had heard, " solemnlyresponded Dick, with fair correctness. 

The ride began in the dark hour that comes before the dawn, and thetrain ran fast. The sun was above the horizon, but had not yet peeredover the high hills around Grantley, when the excited schoolboys werelanded at the little station in the outskirts of the village. It was ona hillside; and they could almost look down upon a large part of thescene of their "good time coming, "--or their "bad time, " a good deal asthey themselves might make it. 

Dab and his friends saw that valley and village often enough afterwards;but never again did it wear to them precisely the same look it put onthat morning, in the growing light of that noble September day. As forJoe and Fuz, it was all an old story to them; and, what was more, theyhad another first-rate joke on hand. 

"There's the academy, " said Joe: "that big white concern in the middleof the green, and with so short a steeple. "

"Steeple enough, " said Ford. "Are the rest churches?"

"Yes; and, if you don't go to church reg'lar, Old By'll be sure to hearof it. "

"Old By" was the irreverent nickname they had selected for Dr. AbiramBrandegee; and Fuz added, --

"Never mind him, boys. He's a raspy old fellow; but he's such a little, old, withered wisp of a chap, you'll soon get used to him. "

Dab was bewildered enough, just then, to wonder how such a weak-minded, malicious old dwarf as had been painted to him, could have managed toget and keep so high a position in so remarkably beautiful a place asGrantley. He said something about the village being so pretty; but DickLee had been staring eagerly in all directions, and replied with, --

"Jes' one little mite of a patch ob water! Is dar any fish to ketch?"

"Fish? In that pond?" said Fuz. "Why, it's alive with 'em. The people ofGrantley just live on fish. "

"Guess I knows 'bout how many dey is now, " said Dick soberly; and he wasnot far from right, for there were no fish to speak of in thatwillow-bordered mill-pond. 

"Mrs. Myers will hardly be up so early as this, " said Dab. "We can getour trunks over by and by. Let's have a look at the village. Joe, it'syour turn to steer now. You and Fuz know how the land lies. "

They were ready enough to tell all they knew, and a good deal more; butthe listeners they had that morning were not without eyes of their own, and it was not a very fatiguing task to walk all over the village ofGrantley. 

The first house to be studied with special care was the neat whiteresidence of Dr. Brandegee, with its shady trees and its garden; for Joesaid, --

"That's where you fellows'll have to come right after breakfast, to beexamined. Oh, but won't Old By put you through!"

Dick Lee's mouth came open as he stared at the knob on the doctor'sfront door, and Dabney caught himself doubting if he knew themultiplication-table. Even Ford Foster wondered if there was really anything he could teach Dr. Brandegee, and remarked to Frank Harley, --

"I s'pose you're about the only man among us that he can't corner. "

"How's that?"

"Why, if he's too hard on you, you can answer him in Hindustanee. He'snever been a heathen in all his life: you'd have him"--

"Shuah!" chuckled Dick. 

The "green" was large and well-kept, and looked like the best kind of aball-ground; but there was nothing wonderful about the academy building, except that it evidently had in it room enough for a great many boys. 

"You'll see enough of it before you get through, " said Fuz. "Butthere'll have to be lots of whittling done this fall. "

"Whittling? what for?"

"Why, don't you see? They've gone and painted the old thing all overnew. Every boy cut his name somewhere before we left last term. They'reall painted over now: maybe they're puttied up level. They did that oncebefore, and we had to cut 'em all out again. "

"Oh!" said Ford, "I see: you were afraid they'd forget you. I don'tbelieve they would. "

"You haven't pointed out Mrs. Myers's, " said Dabney. "It must be prettynear breakfast-time. Where is it?"

The Hart boys broke out into a joint giggle of enjoyment as Joeresponded, --

"There it is, --right across there, beyond the harness-shop, opposite theother end of the green. Handy in bad weather. "

"It's a pretty decent-looking house too, " said Ford. "Come on: let's goover, and let her know we've arrived in port. "

"Well, no, " said Joe: "you fellows go over, soon as you please. Fuz andI won't take our breakfast there this morning. "

"Going somewhere else, eh? Well, we'll have an eye to your trunks whenthey come. "

The giggle grew rapidly into a laugh, as Fuz exclaimed, --

"Trunks! why, our baggage'll go to our boarding-house. We don't put upwith Mother Myers this time: got a new place. Oh, but won't you fellowsjust love her and Almira!"

It was all out, that deep secret about their change of boarding-house;and the Hart boys had something to enjoy this time, for Dab and hisfriends looked at each other for a moment in blank amazement. 

"All right, boys, " shouted Ford, at the end of it: "here's for somebreakfast. Good-morning, Joe. Day-day, Fuz. See you again by and by. "

They all followed him, but they could see that there was something morehidden under the mirth of Joe and Fuz as they walked away; and they werehardly out of hearing before Dab Kinzer remarked, --

"Look a' here, boys, I move we don't give those two any fun at ourexpense. "

"How?" asked Ford. 

"If there's any thing at Mrs. Myers's that we don't like, we mustn't letthem know it. "

"I's keep my mouf shet if I foun' de house was an ole eel-pot, " saidDick emphatically; and Frank and Ford came out even more strongly. Theyall seemed to feel as if some kind of a trick had been played upon them, to begin with. 

However, it served to put them on their guard, and prevented any changeof countenance among them when their knock at the front door of thathouse was answered, and the freckled face of Mrs. Myers beamed out uponthem from under its thin, smooth, glistening thatch of carroty hair. Shewas not a handsome woman, and she had a thin nose, and a narrow mouth, and very pale blue eyes; but she was all one smile of welcome as shestood in that doorway. 

"Mrs. Myers?" said Ford, with an extraordinary bow. "We arrived on themorning train. I am Mr. Foster. " And then, with a half turn to theright, he continued, "Mrs. Myers--Mr. Richard Lee, Mr. Dabney Kinzer, Mr. Francis Harley. Our baggage will come over pretty soon. "

"Walk in, young gentlemen, walk in. I'm happy to see you. --Almira? Herethey are: put breakfast on the table right away. "

"That isn't a bad beginning, " thought Dab. "That sounds a good deal likewhat Ham said of her. She knew we must be hungry. "

"Walk into the parlor, please. Breakfast'll be ready in one minute. I'llshow you your rooms afterwards. "

That, too, was considerate; and, when Almira herself came to the doorbetween the parlor and the dining-room, she, too, looked as if it werequite her habit to smile, when she said, --

"Breakfast's ready. "

Almira smiled, but she was too much like her mother. There was nothingat all about her to put Dabney in mind of Annie Foster, or of either ofhis own sisters. Samantha, or Keziah, or Pamela could have been "madeover" into two Almiras, in every thing but height; and Dab made up hismind at once that either of them could beat her at smiling, --not somuch, perhaps, as to mere quantity, but as to quality. 

That was a breakfast which would have fully justified Ham Morris'sreport, for it was well cooked and plentiful. The "johnnycake, " inparticular, was abundant; and all the boys took to it kindly. 

"Glad you like it, " said Mrs. Myers. "Almira, that's one thing wemustn't forget. I was always proud of my johnny cake. There's very fewknow what to do with their corn-meal, after they've got it. "

She did evidently, and the boys all said so except Dick Lee. He could dofull justice to his breakfast, indeed; but he was saying to himself allthe while, --

"I won'er 'f I'll ebber git used to dis yer. It's jes' awful, dis goin'to de 'cad'my. "

CHAPTER XXVII. 

A NEW KIND OF EXAMINATION. 

Three large trunks and one small one were delivered at Mrs. Myers'sfront door before that first breakfast was disposed of; and Miss Almiraremarked of the boys, a few minutes later, --

"How strong they are, especially Mr. Kinzer!"

"Don't make a mistake, Almira, " said her mother in an undertone. "I'mglad the trunks are up stairs, but we mustn't begin by saying 'mister'to them. I've got all their first names. They mustn't get it into theirheads that they're any thing more'n just so many boys. "

She hurried up stairs, however; and it did not take long to make her newboarders "know their places, " so far as their rooms were concerned. Thathouse was largely made up of its one "wing, " on the first floor of whichwas the dining-room and sitting-room, all in one. In the second story ofit were two bedrooms, opening into each other. The first and larger onewas assigned to Dab and Ford, and the inner one to Frank. 

"Yours is a coop, " said Ford to his friend from India; "but ours is bigenough. You can come in here to study, and we'll fix it up prime. Thestove's a queer one. Guess they burn wood up here mostly. "

Of course, so long as there was a good "wood-lot" on the outlying farmthat belonged to Mr. Hart's speculation. 

The stove was a little box of an affair, with two "griddles" on top, andwas quite capable of warming that floor. 

"She's putting Dick away in back somewhere, " said Frank. "We must lookand see what she's done for him. "

The main building of that house was only big enough for a "hall, " agood-sized parlor opening into it on the right, a bedroom and largecloset back of that, and two rooms overhead; but the kitchen andmilk-room back, which must have been stuck on at a later day, had onlyone wide, low garret of a room in the space under the roof. It waslighted by a dormer window, and it did not contain any stove. The floorwas bare, except in the spot covered by an old rug before the littlenarrow bed; but there was a table and a chair, by standing on either ofwhich Dick would be able to put his hand upon the unceiled rafters andboards of the roof. On the whole, it was a room well calculated to be ashot as possible in summer, and as cold as possible in winter, but thatwould do very well in spring and autumn. At all events, it was "as goodas he had been used to at home. " Mrs. Myers herself said that to Almira;and the answer was, --

"Guess it is, and better too. "

Dick never dreamed of making any criticisms. In fact, his young brainswere in a whirl of excitement, through the dust of which every thing inand about Grantley took on a wonderfully rosy color. 

"Dis room?" he said to his inquiring friends when they looked in on him. "How does I like dis room? It's de bes' room in de house. Ishall--study--hard--in--this--room. "

"Bully for you, " said Ford; "but you mustn't forget there's a stove inour room, when cold weather comes. Got your books out?"

"Here they are. I will pile them upon the table. "

"Stick to it, Dick, " said Ford. "But it's about time we set out for Dr. Brandegee's. --Dab, hadn't we better kindle a fire before we go? It makesme feel chilly to think of it. "

"We'll all be warm enough before he gets through with us, " said Dab. "But the sooner we get there, the better. Maybe there are other boys, and we must go in first. "

"Come on, Dick. "

Not one of them seemed to be in a hurry, in spite of Dab's prudentsuggestion; and at the bottom of the stairs they were met by Mrs. Myers. 

"Going for your examination? That's right. Dinner'll be ready athalf-past twelve. When, school's opened, it will be a few minutesearlier, so you'll have plenty of time to eat and get back. Dick, assoon as your examination's over, I want you to come right back here, soI can finish making my arrangement with you. "

"Yes, ma'am. I will return at once. "

"You said that tip-top, " said Dab, the moment they were on the sidewalk;"but I can't guess what she means. Ham Morris made all the bargain foryou when he settled for me. S'pose it's all right, though. "

"Course it is. I's got to work out half my board a-doin' chores. Jes'wot I's been used to all my life. "

Frank Harley had seen a great many people, considering how young he was;and he had done less talking than the rest, that morning, and more"studying" of his landlady and her daughter. The results of it came outnow. 

"Tell you what, boys: if I'm not mistaken, Dick Lee'll pay more for hisboard than we will for ours. "

"I don't care, " said Dick bravely. "It's wuff a good deal to feed a boylike me. "

His mother had told him so, many a time; and in that matter "Glorianna"had not been so far from the truth. 

Ham Morris had indeed made a careful and particular bargain for Dick, and that his duties about the house should not interfere with hisstudies. He had done more; for he had insisted on buying Dick'stext-books for him, and had made him promise to write to him about theway things went at Grantley. 

Up the street marched the four new boys, still a little slowly, untilFord broke out into a sudden word of encouragement, --

"Look here, boys, we're a set of wooden-heads! I'd like to know if weneed be afraid of any thing Joe and Fuz Hart could go through?"

"Well, I guess not, " replied Dab. "Let's push ahead. "

He found himself leading the procession when it went through Dr. Brandegee's front gate; and there was a look of admiration on Dick'sface, when he saw how promptly and courageously "Captain Dab Kinzer"pulled that door-bell. 

"This way, please, " said the servant who opened the door, --"into thelibrary. The doctor'll see you in a minute. "

"And we'll see him, " muttered Ford, as they walked in, and he added in awhisper to Dick, --

"That's his portrait. There, over the mantel. "

"Jes' so, " said Dick, coming dangerously near smiling; "an' his name denwas Oliver Cromwell, an' dey dressed him up in sheet iron. "

That was the name printed under the engraving; but the smile had barelytime to fade from Dick's face, before a door opened on the opposite sideof the room, and the dreaded Principal of Grantley Academy walked in. 

"Good-morning, my young friends. Glad to see you so early. "

His hand was out towards Dick Lee, as he spoke; and they all had whatFord afterwards called "a good square shake of it, " by the time theyrecovered their tongues, and replied to that genial, hearty, encouragingwelcome. 

Dick couldn't have helped it, if he had tried, --and he somehow forgot totry, --a broad grin of delight spread all over his face, as he looked upin that of the doctor. 

The latter himself was smiling a good deal as if he could not help it, but he did not know the exact reason why every one of those boys lookedso cheerful just then. 

The thought in Ford's mind came within an inch of getting out over histongue. 

"Dwarf? Why, he's more like a giant. How Joe and Fuz Hart did spin it!"

The great man was certainly a good "six feet two, " and all his bodilyproportions were correspondingly ample. 

Frank Harley was the last to be shaken hands with, and so had time tothink, --

"Afraid of him? Why, he's too big to be afraid of. We're all right. "

That was the whole truth. Dr. Brandegee was too big, in mind as well asbody, for any boy of their size to feel at all uneasy after the firsthalf-minute of looking in his calm, broad, thoughtful face. Every memberof that quartet began to feel a queer sort of impatience to tell all heknew about books. 

The doctor mentioned the fact that he had that morning received lettersfrom their parents and friends, announcing their arrival; but the oddityof it was that he seemed to know, at sight, the right name for each boy, and the right boy for each name. 

"He might have guessed at Dick, " thought Ford; "but how did he know me?"

Perhaps a quarter of a century spent in receiving, classifying, andmanaging young gentlemen of all sorts had given the man of learningspecial faculties for his work. 

"I shall have to ask you a few questions, my young friends; but I thinkthere will be little difficulty in assigning you your places andstudies. Be seated, please. "

That library was plainly a place where no time was to be wasted, for inless than a minute more Ford Foster was suddenly stopped in the middleof a passage of easy Latin, --

"That will do. Give me a free translation. "

Ford did so, glibly enough; but there followed no word of comment, favorable or otherwise. Similar brief glimpses were taken of three orfour other studies; and then the doctor suddenly remarked to him, inFrench, --

"Your father has written me very fully concerning your previous studies. You are well prepared, but you have plenty of hard work before you. "

Ford fairly strained his best French in the reply he made; and thedoctor observed, --

"I see. Constant practice. I wish more parents would be as wise. --Mr. Harley, I had not been informed that you spoke French. You noticed Mr. Foster's mistake. Please correct it for him. "

Frank blushed to his eyes, but he obeyed; and he hardly knew how it was, that, before the doctor's rapid questioning was over, his answers hadincluded the whole range of his schooling and acquirements. 

"Isn't dey doin' fine!" was the proud thought in the mind of Dick Lee. "But jes' wait till he gits hol' ob Cap'n Dab!"

Dick's confidence in his friend was at least ten times greater thanDabney's in himself. The very air of the room he was in seemed, to thelatter, to grow oppressively heavy with learning, and he dreaded his ownturn more than ever. While he was waiting for it to come, however, somecasual reference to Long Island by the doctor, and a question as to theprecise character of its southern coast, rapidly expanded into a widerrange of geography, upon the heels of which history trod a littlecarelessly, and other subjects came tumbling in, until Dabney discoveredthat he was computing, at the doctor's request, sundry arithmeticalresults, which might with greater propriety have been reserved for his"examination. " That, too, was the way poor Dick Lee came to make so bada breakdown. His shining face would have told, even to eyes lesspractised than those of Dr. Brandegee, exactly the answer, as to kindand readiness, which he would have made to every question put to hiswhite friends. That is, unless he had been directly called upon to"answer out aloud. " There is no telling what he would have done in sucha case as that. 

The doctor found out, for he quietly shifted his last question overDab's left shoulder, and let it fall upon Dick in such a way as not toscare him. 

"You's got me, dis time! Dat's de berry place whar we stopped at de endof our school, las' year. "

"Then, I think I know about where it's best for you to begin. I'll haveanother talk with you about it, Richard. You must come up and see meagain. "

It was not a great deal to say; but the way in which he said it plainlyadded, --

"I mean to be your friend, my dear boy. I'll do all I can to help youalong. "

Dick understood it too, but he was feeling dolefully about his tonguejust then. 

"Missed fire de fust time!" he said to himself; but he carefullyreplied, aloud, --

"Thank you, sir. Will you tell me when to come?"

"To-night, right away after tea. Now, young gentlemen, I must bid yougood-morning. Bear in mind that the first law of Grantley Academy ispunctuality. I expect you to be in your places promptly at nine o'clock, Monday morning. "

"We will, sir, " said Dabney. "But will you please tell us when we are tobe examined?"

"I believe, Mr. Kinzer, I have a fair idea of the use you have made ofyour books up to this time. No further examination will be necessary. Iwill see you all, with others, after school is opened, next Monday. "

They were politely shown out of the library, but they did not clearlycomprehend the matter until they had drawn each a good long breath inthe open air. 

"Dab, " said Ford, "can't you see it?"

"I'm beginning to. Seems to me we've been through the sharpestexamination I ever heard of. I say, Frank, do you know any thing hedidn't make you tell him?"

"Nothing but Hindustanee and a little Teloogoo. Well, yes, I know aKaren hymn. He got all the rest, if I'm not mistaken. "

There was no doubt at all but what Dr. Brandegee had gained a correctview of the attainments of his new pupils. 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 

AN UNUSUAL AMOUNT OF INTRODUCTION. 

The front door of Dr. Brandegee's library had hardly closed behind thatearliest flock of his autumn birds, before the door by which he hadentered swung open, and a fine-looking, middle-aged matron stood in it, remarking, --

"My dear, there are more than a dozen waiting in the parlor. Have younot spent a great deal of time on those four?"

"They're worth it, Mary. There's enough in every one of them to make aman of, and they've all started fairly well. "

"I fear that is more than you will be able to say of all these others. "

"Of course it will. Their fathers and mothers have had a great deal todo with that. "

They were all "examined, " however, in due season, some in one way andsome in another; and during all that time Dab Kinzer and his friendswere inwardly wondering, whether they said so or not, precisely whatimpression they had made upon the doctor. 

It was just as well, every way, that they did not know. 

It was a curious fact, that with one accord they accompanied Dick on hisreturn to their boarding-house; and, while he disappeared through thedoor at the end of the hall with Miss Almira, some invisibleleading-string dragged them up stairs. Not that they really had anystudying to do; but it was dinner-time before they had finished turningover the leaves of their text-books, and estimating the amount of hardwork it would cost to prepare for an "examination" on them. 

There was no good reason for complaint of that dinner any more than oftheir breakfast; and it wound up with a very excellent Indian-mealpudding, concerning which Dabney went so far as to say he would like tosend the recipe home to his mother. 

"I'm so glad you like it, " said Mrs. Myers. "Almira, just remember that. They can have it as often as they please. "

She asked them, too, how they proposed to spend their afternoon, andsmilingly explained, as to Dick Lee, that, --

"Saturday is one of my busy days, and he will have to stay at home andhelp. Errands to run, and I want him to learn how. He's a bright, activelittle fellow. "

That was all "according to contract;" but Dick did not come in for hisdinner until the rest had eaten theirs; and then he barely had time tosay to Dab Kinzer, --

"Did you ebber shell corn?"

"Course I have. Why?"

"'Cause dar's a bigger heap ob corn out in de barn dan you ebber see. "

"Bigger'n Ham's?"

"Well, no, not so big as his'n, mebbe; but dar's more ob it. I's got itto shell. "

Dab went off with the other two, vaguely beginning to ask himself ifshelling corn came fairly into the proper meaning of the word "chores. "

All that sort of thing was quickly forgotten, however; for there were adozen groups of boys scattered here and there over the broad expanse ofthe "green, " and Ford Foster at once exclaimed, --

"Boys, let's examine that crowd. It'll take all the afternoon to findwhat they know. "

Getting acquainted is apt to be a slow process in cases of that sort, unless it is taken hold of with vigor; and Ford was the very fellow tohurry it up. Before the afternoon was over, every boy on that green knewwho he was, and where he came from; and a good share of them had triedtheir hands at "chaffing" him and his friends. Of these latter it maysafely be said that not a single one could afterwards remember that hehad seemed to himself to get the best of it. 

"First day" at school is pretty safe to be a peace-day also; and none ofthe wordy collisions went too far, although it was plain that thenew-comers had not yet attained any high degree of popularity. 

After supper Dick Lee set off for Dr. Brandegee's, and his friendsattended him nearly to the gate. 

They would have been glad to have had a report of his visit from him, onhis return; but he had his "chores" to do then, and any amount ofcareful instruction concerning them to receive from Mrs. Myers andAlmira. 

The other three were more thoroughly tired out than they had at allexpected, and were all quite ready to agree with Frank Harley, --

"We'd better get to bed, boys. I want to see if this is a good house tosleep in. "

"Sleep?" said Ford. "I could go to sleep in an omnibus. "

Early to bed meant early to rise, necessarily; and they were all up anddressed the next morning, when Dick Lee slipped in on them. Before theyhad time to ask him a question, he exclaimed, --

"I say, Cap'n Dab, is you goin' to church dis mornin'?"

"Of course. We're all going. "

"So I heerd Mrs. Myers tell Miss Almiry. She's goin' to take you alongwid her when she goes. "

"Richard, " said Ford, "are you going?"

"Habn't heerd a word about dat. "

"Don't you go back on your friends, Richard. Be all ready in time, sure's you live, and go with us, or I'll complain to Dr. Brandegee. "

Dick's grin was a wide one; but he responded, --

"I'll be ready. See 'f I ain't. "

The voice of Almira, calling his name at the foot of the stairs, prevented any further conversation just then; and Dick found, afterwards, that he had undertaken a task of some difficulty. He hardlyknew when or where he squeezed out the time for the proper polishing ofhis shoes, or the due arrangement of his magnificent red necktie; butboth feats were accomplished most faithfully. 

The subject of church-going came up again, incidentally, at thebreakfast-table; and the remarks of her young boarders met the emphaticapproval of Mrs. Myers and her daughter. Perhaps because neither of themhad been near enough, after Dick dodged out of their room at the end ofhis early call, to hear Dabney Kinzer remark, --

"Ford, don't you think we can find our way across the green without anyhelp from the ladies?"

"I am pondering that matter. What do you say, Frank?"

"We must get out of it if we can politely. I don't just see how we'll doit. "

"Do it? Why, we'll all wait for Dick Lee. "

Mrs. Myers took a little too much for granted; and when the hour camefor starting, there came a slight disturbance in the smooth current ofher calculations. 

"Mr. Foster, " she called out, in her best voice, from half way up thestairs, "the first bell is ringing. Are you and your friends ready?"

"Ringing?" responded Ford. "So it is! I regret to say we are not yetready to go. "

At the same moment Dab was whispering, --

"We mustn't start until it's nearly done tolling. "

"What's that?" asked Frank. 

"Don't you know? It's always so in the country. First they ring thebell, as it's ringing now. That's to set people a-going. Then they tollit. You'll hear in a few minutes. That means, the time's up. "

Ford Foster's city training had not taught him as much as that, but hewas glad to know it. 

Mrs. Myers once more urged upon them the necessity of making haste. 

"It won't do to be late, " she said. "I never allow myself to be a minutebehind time. "

The last clause sounded a very, very little impatient; but Ford oncemore politely expressed his sorrow, and abstained from putting on hiscoat. At that moment, too, Dick Lee came tiptoeing in from his cheerlessgarret, and looking astonishingly spruce. The "shine" on his shoes was abrilliancy to be remembered; and so was the shine on his face, and thesunset glow of his necktie. 

"Sh! Dick, " said Dab. "Hold still a minute. The bell's beginning totoll. "

"I fear Almira and I will be compelled to start, " said Mrs. Myersregretfully. "Perhaps you can overtake us if you hurry. "

"Perhaps we could, " replied Ford, "but I beg you will not let yourselfbe late on our account. We're coming. "

He began to put his coat on as she and Almira went through the gate. Insuch a village as that, no one was afraid to leave a house alone for anhour or two. Not only was the door-lock "on the latch" as usual, butDick Lee had been vaguely expected to stay at home. There, again, Mrs. Myers had taken too much for granted; and she had not said a word to himabout it. 

Just as she heard the bell give its last few rapid and warning strokes, and disappeared through the church-door, she might have seen, had sheturned back and looked once more towards her own front gate, fourwell-dressed youngsters hurrying from it across the street as if a greatdeal depended on their reaching church before service could begin. 

"It's very kind of Mrs. Myers to invite us, " remarked Ford, "but shenever thought how bashful we'd be about it. "

They were quickly within the ample porch of the roomy and not at allovercrowded edifice, and were greeted by two or three benevolent-lookingelderly gentlemen, with a degree of prompt cordiality which left littleto be asked for. 

The deacons were awake to their duty relating to newscholars, --"students" they called them; and every attention was paidthese four who had begun so well their first Sunday. 

So it would be at every church on that green; and it would really beabout the middle of the term before stray "academy boys" would be leftto find their own way to well-whittled benches in the galleries. 

One of the best pews in the house, well forward in the middle aisle, andthey had it all to themselves. There was not another pew in church thatmorning which seemed to attract so large a share of the attention of thecongregation. Mrs. Myers and Almira were several pews behind, and on theother side of the house; and there had been no opportunity to captureher four boarders, or any of them, while they were marching in. 

"Almira! If they haven't brought Dick with them. "

"Yes, mother; but how very well they look! Mr. Kinzer is really quitehandsome. "

That was hardly Dab's opinion of himself, and nobody had ever takenpains to tell him so; but the four of them, standing up together, andall singing, made quite a picture. Dick Lee was between Dab Kinzer andFrank Harley, and seemed to feel in honor bound to sing his best. Thatwas very well too. 

If Glorianna could but have had a look at her boy that morning, there isno such thing as telling how proud she would have felt about him. It wastoo bad she could not have done so, especially as Dick was most loyallythinking of her, and wishing that she could. 

There was no fault to be found by Mrs. Myers, or anybody else, with thestrict decorum of her boarders, and their profound attention to theservice and sermon; but she felt that she had a duty to perform, and sheonly waited the proper time for its performance. 

The last hymn had been duly sung, and the boys were drifting along withthe tide in the aisle towards the door, when Dabney nudged Ford with hiselbow. 

"We're nabbed, Ford. "

"No escape this time, that's a fact. Don't let's try. She means it allfor politeness. "

They would have been quite willing to have been allowed to get out andgo home unnoticed; but there in the porch awaiting them were Mrs. Myersand Almira, and there was no possibility of an escape. It would havebeen unkind to try in the face of so much smiling. Besides, they didboard with her; and she had her rights of property, one of which was toshow them off, and introduce them. She proceeded to exercise it at once;and it was to the credit of the three white boys that they came promptlyto her assistance, and added any little matter she might happen to missin the hurry of the moment. 

"Deacon Short, this is Mr. Dabney Kinzer, of Long Island; this is Mr. Frank Harley, of Rangoon, son of Rev. Dr. Harley, our well-knownmissionary; this is Mr. Ford Foster, son of the eminent New-Yorklawyer. "

"Delighted"--began the deacon, rapidly grasping and shaking hand afterhand, with a peculiar lift of his elbow, that placed most of what mightbe called the "action" at the point of it; but Ford was thinking of thething Mrs. Myers had omitted, and he promptly added, --

"Glad to meet you, Deacon Short; and this is my friend Mr. Richard Lee, of Long Island. "

To do the good deacon justice, his grasp of Dick's hand was every bit ascordial as any other of his grasps; and he beamed on the smiling blackboy in a way that gave him back, after the manner of a reflection, agreat glow of the best and broadest "beaming. "

Mrs. Myers did not stop a moment in the repetition of her formula, andthere was sharp work before her; but Dab's tongue was also loose now, and Elder Potter had hardly time to hear who he was before Deacon Shorthad to let go of Dick, and hear Dab say, --

"How d'ye do, Elder Potter? and this is my near neighbor and friend, Mr. Richard Lee. "

"Mrs. Sunderland, " began Mrs. Myers, to a lady whose face and dressdeclared her a social magnate, "my new boarder, Mr. Frank Harley:" andthe rest of her introduction speech followed; and stately Mrs. Sunderland had just time to utter a few words of gracious inquiry aboutthe "precious health" of Frank's father and mother, when he, too, tookup the "omission, " and Dick Lee's introduction stepped into the place ofany other answer for a moment. 

It was a good thing for Dick, as Mrs. Sunderland was a member of asociety for promoting emigration to Liberia, and was seized at once witha dim idea that a part of her "mission" was standing before her in verybrilliant shoes and a new red necktie. She did not know how utterly sheand the other good people and those three boys were demolishing acurious vision of Almira's and her mother's, of some social advantagethey might derive, thenceforward, from having "a colored servant" intheir employ. Dick's own chance was coming right down upon him, a littlebefore he was quite ready for it; for the minister and his wife came outa few moments later, and Mrs. Sunderland took upon herself the duty ofpresenting Richard Lee to them, very much if as she would have said, --

"My dear Mr. Fallow, --my dear Mrs. Fallow, --see what I've found! Is henot remarkable?"

The words she really uttered were somewhat more formal; but the good, quiet-looking little minister and very quiet-looking little wife werestill shaking hands with Dick, that is, with his right hand, when heturned almost eagerly, and caught hold of Dab Kinzer with his left. 

"Yes, sir, an' dis is Cap'n Dab--I mean, this is my friend Mr. DabneyKinzer, of Long Island, --de bes'--"

"How do you do, Mr. Kinzer? Glad to make your acquaintance, " said Mr. Fallow; and Dick's success was complete, except that he was saying tohimself, --

"I jes' can't trus' my tongue wid de oder boys. Dey's got to take darchances. "

"Now, Mr. Kinzer, " said Miss Almira, at that moment, "it's time we weregoing home. "

"Yes, Frank, " said her mother patronizingly, "I think we had better begoing. "

If such an exercise as "introduction" could earn it, they were bothentitled to good appetites; and, after all, it had been quite a nicelittle affair. 

Dabney was quite as tall as Miss Almira; but as they walked across thegreen, side by side, he could not avoid a side-glance that gave him avery clear idea of the difference between his present company and AnnieFoster. It was at that very moment that it occurred to Frank that he hadlast walked home from church under the protecting wing of the portly andmatronly Mrs. Kinzer; and he could but draw some kind of a comparisonbetween her and Mrs. Myers. 

"They're both widows, " he thought; "but there isn't any otherresemblance. "

Ford and Dick brought up the rear; and for some reason, or there mayhave been more than one, they were both in capital good spirits. 

"Tell you wot, " exclaimed Dick: "if goin' to de 'cad'my is all like disyer--I am very glad indeed that I ever came. "

"Oh! you're all right, " said Ford; "but there's more good people in thisvillage than I'd any idea of. I'm glad we came to church. "

"Dick, " said Mrs. Myers a little sharply, when they reached the gate, "Iwant some wood and a pail of water. You'd better hurry up stairs, andput on your every-day clothes. "

CHAPTER XXIX. 

LETTERS HOME FROM THE BOYS. --DICK LEE'S FIRST GRIEF. 

There was a large number of new scholars assembled in the "great room"of Grantley Academy on the first Monday morning of that "fall term. "There were also many who had been there before, but the new-comers werein the majority. There were boys from the village, boys from thesurrounding country, and boys from even farther away than the southernshore of Long Island; and they were of many kinds and ages. The youngestmay have been "under twelve, " and entitled to ride in a street-car athalf-price; and several of the very older ones had already cast theirfirst vote as grown-up men. 

Counting them all, and adding those who were to make their appearanceduring the week, they made a little army of nearly two hundred. Therewas also a young ladies' department, with about a hundred pupils; andthere was quite as great a variety among them as among their younggentlemen fellow-students. 

The class-rooms assigned to the lady teachers and their several gradesof learners were all on the northern side of the academy building. Therewas a large wing there that belonged to them, and they only met the boysface to face in the "great room" during morning exercises. Even those ofthem who lived or boarded in the southern half of the village foundtheir way across the green, coming and going, under the shade of themost northerly row of trees. 

As to the "great room" itself, there had been much trouble about thename of it. Dr. Brandegee called it "the lecture-room, " and he did agreat deal towards making it so. There were those who tried to say"chapel" when they spoke of it; but so many others refused to know whatplace they were speaking of, that they had to give it up. "Hall" wouldnot fit, because it was square; and the boys generally rejected thedoctor's name because of unpleasant-ideas connected with the word"lecture. " So it came to be "the great room, " and no more; and a greatthing it was for Dick Lee to find himself sitting on one of the frontseats of it, with his friends all in line at his right, waiting theirturn with him to be "classified, " and sent about their business. 

Dr. Brandegee made wonderfully rapid work of it; and his severalassistants seemed to know exactly what to do. 

"The fact is, " said Ford, the first chance he had to speak to Dab, "I'vebeen studying that man. He's taught school before. "

"Guess he knows how, too. And I ain't afraid about Dick Lee, now I'veseen the rest. He can go right ahead of some of them. "

"They'll bounce him if he does. Tell you what, Dab, if you and I want tobe popular here, we'd better wear our old clothes every day but Sunday. "

"And miss about half the questions that come to us. Dick won't be sharpenough for that. "

"He says he's going to write a letter home tonight. Made him turn paletoo. "

Those first letters home!

Ford's was a matter of course, and Frank Harley had had some practicealready; but Dab Kinzer had never tried such a thing before, and DickLee would not come to anybody else for instructions. Neither would hepermit anybody, not even "Captain Dab, " to see his letter after it waswritten. 

"I's been mighty partikler 'bout de pronounciation, " he said to himself, "specially in wot I wrote to Mr. Morris, but I'd like to see dem allread dem letters. Guess dar'll be a high time at our house. "

It would be a long while before Frank Harley's epistle would reach theeyes that were anxiously waiting for it, but there were indeed "hightimes" in those three houses on the Long-Island shore. 

Old Bill Lee was obliged to trust largely to the greater learning of hiswife, but he chuckled over every word he managed to pick out, as if hehad pulled in a twenty-pound bluefish; and the signature at the bottomaffected him somewhat as if he had captured a small whale. 

"Sho! De boy!" said Glorianna. "He's doin' fust-rate. Dar ain't anoderyoung gen'lman at dat ar' 'cad'my jes' like him. Onless it's young Mr. Kinzer. I hasn't a word to say 'gin him or Mr. Foster, or dat ar' youngmish'nayry. "

"Glorianna, " said Bill doubtfully, "do you s'pose Dick did all datwritin' his own self?"

"Sho! Course he did! Don't I know his hand-writin'? Ain't he my ownblessed boy? Guess he did, and I's goin' ober to show it to Mrs. Kinzer. It'll do her good to hear from de 'cad'my. "

So it did; for Dick's letter to his mother, like the shorter one he sentto Ham Morris, was largely made up of complimentary remarks concerningDabney Kinzer. 

When Glorianna knocked at the kitchen door of the Morris mansion, however, it was opened by "the help;" and she might have lost her errandif Mrs. Kinzer had not happened to hear her voice. It is just possibleit was pitched somewhat higher than usual that morning. 

"Glorianna? Is that you? Come right in. We've some letters from theboys. Something in them about Dick that you'll be glad to hear. "

"Sho! De boy! Course dey all had to say somet'ing 'bout him! I's jes'like to know wot 'tis, dough. "

In she went, but more than the Kinzer family were gathered in thesitting-room. 

Mrs. Foster and Annie had brought Jenny Walters with them, and Ham wasthere, and all the rest; and they all sat still as mice while Gloriannalistened to Dab's account, and Ford's, of the journey to Grantley, andthe arrival, and the examination, and their boarding-house. 

There was not a word of complaint anywhere; and it did seem as if HamMorris was right when he said, --

"We've hit it this time, Mrs. Foster. I think I ought to write to Mr. Hart, and thank him for his recommendation. "

"Just as you please, Hamilton, " said Mrs. Kinzer; "but this is theirvery first week, you know. "

"Guess dey won't fool Dick much, anyhow, " said the radiant Glorianna. "But wot's dat 'bout de corn-shellin'?"

"That's all right, " said Ham. "Shelling corn won't hurt him. Gladthere's plenty of it. Mother Kinzer, you and Miranda must try thatrecipe Dab sent for the new pudding. "

"New pudding, indeed! Why, she doesn't put in half eggs enough. But I'mglad she's a good cook. We'll have that pudding for dinner this veryday. "

"So will we, " said Mrs. Foster. 

"Miss Kinzer, " said Dick's mother, "jes' won't you show me how to makedat puddin'? I's like to know jes' wot dey eat at de 'cad'my. "

It was a great comfort to know that the boys were so well satisfied; butthere was her usual good sense in Mrs. Kinzer's suggestion about itsbeing the very first week. 

There are never any more such letters as "first letters, " nor any otherweeks like the first. The fact that there were so many boys together, all old acquaintances, shut out any such thing as loneliness, and it wasnot time to be homesick. All that week was really spent in "gettingsettled, " and there did not seem to be more than a day or so of it. Saturday came around again somewhere in the place commonly taken byWednesday, and surprised them all. 

They had all been busy enough, but Dick Lee had never in all his lifefound so little spare time on his hands. 

"It's no use, Cap'n Dab, " he remarked on Friday: "we can't eat up all decorn I've shelled, not if we has johnnycake from now till nex' summer. "

Dab was looking a little thoughtful at that moment. 

"Ford, " he said slowly, "has she missed a day yet?"

"A corn day? No. "

"Or a meal?"

"No, I said I'd cut a notch on my slate first time she did, and it's allsmooth yet. "

He held it up as he spoke; and Frank remarked, --

"Yes, smooth enough on that side; but you've nicked it all down on theother, end to end. What's that for?"

"That? Oh! that's quite another thing. I'm keeping tally of Joe and Fuz. Every time one of 'em asks a question about our boarding-house, or Mrs. Myers, or Almira, or' little Dr. Brandegee, I nick it down. Got to quitpretty soon, or buy another slate. "

"They've kind o' kept away from us, " said Dab. "They're in only one ofmy classes, but they're in three of yours. "

"Ain't in any ob mine, " said Dick; "but Dr. Brandegee says he'll promoteme soon. "

Dick's tongue always began to work better, the moment he mentioned theacademy-principal. 

"I don't mind their keeping away from us, " said Frank. 

"Nor I, " said Ford. 

At that moment they reached their own gate, and Dick darted forward inresponse to an imaginary call from Mrs. Myers. 

Ford went on, --

"They can keep away all they please, but they won't do it long. They'rebound on mischief of some kind. "

"To us?" asked Frank. 

"Well, yes; but it'll light on Richard Lee first. He won't say a word tous about it, but they've bothered him. "

"I'll ask him, " said Dab, in whose face a flush was rising. "They mustlet Dick alone. "

"They won't, then. And there's plenty of others just like 'em. They'regetting together in a kind of a flock these last two or three days. Someof 'em are pretty big ones. "

"Boys, " exclaimed Frank, "how about our boxing lessons?"

"Guess we haven't forgotten 'em all in one week, " said Ford. "I wasthinking about to-morrow. "

So were they all; and they held a council-of-war about it, in their ownroom, before supper. The result was, that, by a unanimous vote, thatSaturday was to be devoted to the catching of fish, rather than toplaying ball, or any thing else that would bring them into immediatecontact with Joe and Fuz. 

They had all brought their fishing-tackle with them, as a matter ofcourse; plenty of worms for bait were to be dug in the garden; and DabKinzer had learned, by careful inquiry, that both bait and tackle couldbe used to good purpose in the waters of "Green Pond, " and sundry othersmall bits of lakes, miles and miles away among the hills to the northof Grantley. 

"We'll have a grand time, " he said, "and it'll do us all good. No crabs, though. Wonder if those fresh-water fish bite like ours down in thebay. "

"Some do, and some don't, " said Ford. "I've caught 'em. "

It did not occur to him now, however, that he could probably teach Dab;and they all obeyed the supper-bell. 

There were three kinds of corn-cake on the table, but the boys werethinking of something more important; and Dab hardly received his firstcup of tea before he remarked, --

"We're all going a-fishing to-morrow, Mrs. Myers; but we may get home intime for supper. Can you spare Dick?"

"What, on Saturday? The very day I need him most? Three loads of wood'llbe over from the farm to-night. "

Dick had been in the kitchen, and had advanced as far as the door whileDab was speaking. 

"Wood?" he muttered to himself. "Guess I know wot dat means. T'ree loadob wood, an' no fishin'! It's jes' awful!"

"Now, Mrs. Myers, " said Ford, "if you knew what a fisherman Dick is! Hemight bring you home a load of them. "

"I am sorry, " said Mrs. Myers, with more of firmness and less of smilethan they had ever seen on her face before. "I have no objection to therest of you going. You may do as you please about that, but I must keepRichard at his work. "

"I am particularly well pleased to learn that you have no objection toour going, " remarked Ford, with extreme politeness, and Dabney added, --

"It does me good too. We'll take Dick with us some other time. Mrs. Myers, if you will have breakfast pretty early I'll be much obliged toyou. "

Even Almira had never seen Dabney look quite so tall as he did at thatmoment. 

CHAPTER XXX. 

DABNEY KINZER TRIES FRESH-WATER FISHING FOR THE FIRST TIME. 

Conversation did not flourish at the supper-table that Friday evening. There was a puzzled look on the faces of Mrs. Myers and her daughter, and their three boarders seemed to be running a kind of race with eachother as to which of them should make out to be the most carefullypolite. As for poor Dick Lee, out there in the kitchen, the nearest hecame to breaking the silence was in a sort of smothered groan, and ahalf-uttered determination to "git up good and early, an' dig demfellers de bes' worms dey is in de gardin. "

There was talk enough in the room up stairs in the course of theevening; but the door was closed, and there was no chance for any one inthe passage outside, no matter how silently he or she might go by, tohear a distinct word of it. 

"You see, boys, " said Ford Foster, at the end of some extended remarks, "I'm not at all mean or exacting. My father only pays Mrs. Myers threedollars a week, and all she agreed to give was board. I can't expect herto be any kind of an aunt, too, and let me go a-fishing. I'll take itall off her hands, and let myself go. "

"It's hard on Dick, though, " said Dab, "and she's kind o' got the rightof it. "

"I s'pose she has. But if he isn't earning all he gets, I'm mistaken. Boys, if she puts any more work on him, what'll we do?"

"Eat, " said Dab: "that's the only way we can make it up. "

"We can't do it, Dab. Not unless the price of corn-meal goes up. Thinkof eating another three dollars' worth of hasty-pudding every week!"

Their landlady came out in all her smiles at breakfast, and hoped theywould have good success with their fishing. 

"Only, " she added, "I'm not very fond of fish, and I never take thetrouble to clean them. "

"We will try and catch ours ready cleaned, Mrs. Myers, " said Ford. "Now, boys, if you're ready, I am. "

They were ready, bait and all, thanks to Dick; and the breakfast hadbeen an early one. Dab thanked Mrs. Myers for that, even while he wishedhe had Ford Foster's tongue to do it with. 

In fact, he had been noticing of late that his ideas came to him alittle slowly. Not but what he had plenty of them, but they seemeddisposed to crowd one another; so that whenever there was any thing tobe said in a hurry, Ford was sure to get ahead of him, and sometimeseven quiet Frank Harley. 

"Must be I'm growing, somehow, " he said to himself, "or I wouldn't be soawkward. "

The north road from Grantley led through a region that was, as the oldfarmers said of it, "a-goin' back, " and was less thickly peopled than ithad been two or three generations before. There had once been prettywell cultivated farms all around some of the little lakes that were nowbordered by stout growths of forest; and the roads among the hills worea neglected look, many of them, as if it had ceased to profit anybody tokeep them in order. 

There was "coming and going" over them, nevertheless; and the boysmanaged to get a "lift" of nearly five miles in a farmer's wagon, sothat they reached the vicinity of Green Pond sooner than they hadexpected, and with much less fatigue. The same farmer, in response toanxious questioning by Dab, informed him, --

"Fish? Wall, ye-es. Nobody don't ketch 'em much nowadays. Time was whenthey was pretty much all fished out, but I heerd there was some fellersturned in a heap of seedlin' fish three or four year ago. Right awayarter that, my boys went over, and put in three days a hand runnin', butthey didn't get nothin' but pumpkin-seeds. Plenty of them yit, Is'pose. "

That was encouraging; but Ford at once remarked, --

"Pumpkin-seeds? A fine-looking fish, are they not? I know them. Somewhatdepressed, and extended laterally?"

"Guesso. You're 'tendin' school at the 'cadummy, ain't ye?"

"Yes, we're there. "

"Thought so. Ye-es. We-ell, it's a good thing for the 'cadummy. Hopeyou'll ketch some o' them seedlin' fish. Ef ye do, you kin jest stuff'em with big words, and bake 'em. They do say as how fish is good forthe brains. "

"Don't we turn off somewhere along here?" asked Dabney. 

"Ye-es. Green Pond's right down there, through the woods. Not more'n amile. See't ye don't lose yer way. What bait have ye got?"

"Bait? Angle-worms. Are they the right thing?"

"Worms? Ye-es. They'll do. Somebody told ye, did they? 'Twon't take yelong to larn how to put 'em on. "

There was not a great deal to be made out of that old New-Englandfarmer; and his good-natured contempt for a lot of ignorant young "cityfellers, " in good clothes, did not require any further expression. 

They left him with a wide grin on his wrinkled face, and followed hisdirections over the nearest fence; but with ideas concerning theirprobable string of fish, that were rather "depressed" than "extended. "

It was a long mile, but it did not contain any danger of getting lost;and at the end of it they had quite enough of a surprise to pay them fortheir trouble. 

"Why, Ford, it's a beauty!"

"Dab, do you s'pose as nice a pond as that hasn't any thing in it butpumpkin-seeds?"

"No boat that I can see, " remarked Frank. 

"We'll fish from the shore, " said Dab. "There's a log that runs away outin. Rocks too. "

Rocks and trees and natural ruggedness all around, and some ten or adozen acres of clear, cold, beautiful water, with little brooks andsprings running into it, and a brook running out on the opposite shorethat would have to grow considerably before it would be fit formill-turning. 

"Boys, " said Dabney, "we've missed it!"

"How's that?" asked Ford. 

"Put on the smallest hooks you've got, right away, and try for minnows. There must be pickerel and bass here. "

"Bass? Of course! Didn't he say something about seed-fish? That's whatthey put in; and they weren't as big as pins when his boys came for'em. "

"Minnow-poles, " as they called them, could be cut from the bushes at themargin, and little fish could be taken at the same time that they weretrying for large ones. They found too, before long, that sometimes avery respectable perch or bass would stoop to nibble at one of the"elegant worms" with which Dick Lee had provided them. 

"No turn of the tide to wait for here, Dab, " said Ford, "and no crabs tosteal your bait off. Hey! There comes one. Perch! First game for myhook. "

"We'll stay till dark, but we'll get a good string. Frank, your cork'sunder. "

"Never fished with one before, " said Frank. "I'll soon get the hang ofit. "

That was a capital school for it, at all events; and they learned thatit might be a good thing for a little lake like that to have a badreputation. 

"Fished out years ago. I understand now, " said Dab. 

"Understand what?"

"Why, those fellows in the village that sent me out here were playing ajoke on us, --a good deal like one of Joe and Fuz Hart's. "

"Best kind of a joke. But if we tell about it when we get home, thewhole village'll be over here next week. "

"Then we won't tell. Hurrah! I'll get him in. Steady, now. If he isn't atwo-pounder! see him run? Boys, this is going to be fun. "

They did not neglect their minnow-catching; and before a great whilethey were varying their bait, very much to their advantage. How they didwish for a boat, so they could try the deeper water! They worked theirway along, from point to point, looking for the best spot, if such therewere; and Dabney at last found himself quite a distance ahead of hiscompanions. 

"Boys! Ford! Frank! A boat! Come on!"

Lying behind the trunk of a tree that had fallen into the water, --notmuch of a boat, to be sure, and without any oars or even rowlocks; butwhen the water was tipped out of it, and it was shoved in again, itactually floated. 

"Careful, Ford, " said Dab. "Remember Dick Lee. The old thing may come topieces. It wasn't made yesterday. "

"Look's as if Christopher Columbus owned it, and forgot just where heleft it. We can paddle with pieces of bark, as far out as we need go. "

Now the fun was doubled; and some of the pickerel they pulled inreminded Dabney of small blue-fish, while the bass and perch were everyway as respectable as ordinary porgies and black-fish, except for size. He had even to confess that the sea itself contained a great many smallfish, and that he had often had much poorer luck in his own beloved bay. 

The boat was a great acquisition; but when they were paddling ashore forthe fourth time, "to turn her over and let the water out, " Dabneyremarked, --

"It's after dinner-time, boys. Could either of you fellows eat anything?"

"Eat?" said Frank. "I'd forgotten that. Yes, let's have lunch. Butthere's more cold johnny-cake than any thing else in the basket. "

"There's plenty of salt and pepper though; and it won't take any time atall to make a fire, and broil some fish. Didn't you ever go on achowder-party, and do your own cooking?"

"No, I never did. "

"Nor I, " said Ford very reluctantly. "Can we do it?"

"Do it? I'll show you. No kettle. We'll have to broil. You fellows makea fire, while I clean some of these fish. "

It was every bit as good fun as catching those fish, to cook them thereon the shore of that lovely little lake. Dabney did know all about it, as became a "'longshore boy;" and he took a particular pride in showingFord and Frank how many different ways there were of cooking a fishwithout an oven or a kettle or a gridiron. 

It was another fine point to discover, after they had eaten all theycould, including the cold johnny-cake, that they did not seem to havemade their strings of fish look perceptibly smaller. 

"Tell you what, boys, " said Dabney: "next time we come out we'll bring ahammer and nails, and some oakum, and I'll calk up that old punt soshe'll float well enough. Only it won't do to dance in her. "

"Then, " said Ford, "I move we don't try her again to-day. If we've gotto carry all these fish, it'll be a long pull home. We're not half sureof catching another ride. "

"We can pole our fish, though, and make it easy carrying. "

"How's that?"

"I'll show you. Cut two poles, hang your strings half way, shoulder thepoles, and take turns carrying. One boy getting rested, all the while, and no cords cutting your hands. "

That was as sensible as if his own mother had told him; and it was agood thing he thought of it, for they did not "catch a ride" till theywere half way home. All the wagons were coming the other way, of course, on Saturday afternoon; but the one chat then caught up with them hadbeen carrying a new stove home, and was returning empty. 

"Fine strings of fish, " remarked the stove-man as they clambered in. "Where'd you catch 'em?"

"Over in one of the lakes. "

"Did ye though? You don't say! Guess I know the place. You must have hadan all-killin' walk, though. I declare! I'm goin' to try that pond firstday I get away. "

"Want some of these?"

"Wouldn't rob ye, --but you've got a-plenty--that pickerel? Thank ye, now. Oh!--and the bass tew? You're good fellers. "

He seemed to be another; and Dab warned him at parting, that, "when hewanted to get a string of fish, if he'd come to him he'd tell him justwhere to go. "

"All right. Glad I had the luck to ketch up with ye. "

"Dab, " said Ford as they reached the outskirts of Grantley, "I know it'slate; but we must walk through the village with these fish, if it's onlyto have the whole town ask us where we caught them. "

"That's so. I'm rested now too. Let's get right out. "

They were nearly at the southerly end of the village, and there wasquite a walk before them. 

"Dab, " said Frank, "we've more fish than we'll need at our house, if wehave 'em for breakfast and dinner both. "

"I've been thinking of that. Let's vote on it now. What do you say? Onestring for the minister?"

"Yes, " said Ford, "a bass for Mr. Fallow, a small pickerel for Mrs. Fallow, and a perch or a pumpkin-seed for each of the six littleFallows. "

"All right; and that big pickerel I caught, for Dr. Brandegee, and thebiggest bass in the lot to keep it company. Let's make him up a primegood mess. "

"One that'll stand an examination, " said Ford. 

CHAPTER XXXI. 

FIGHT, AND WHAT CAME OF IT. 

Dick Lee was an unwise boy that afternoon. 

He knew how to turn his hand to a great many things, thanks to hishome-training; and a woodpile was one of the matters he had learned howto deal with, but he had not taken hold of that of Mrs. Myers with anyheart for his work. 

It was simply impossible for him to imagine that he was pulling in fish, or having any other kind of fun, while he was sawing wood, or even whilesplitting it. 

There was, however, something almost vicious in the way he came downwith his axe upon some of the more obstinate pieces. 

"He will be a very useful boy, " remarked Mrs. Myers, as she watched himfrom the window; "but I fear I shall have some difficulty with theothers. They are very much inclined to be uppish. "

Dick toiled faithfully; and he felt it as a kind of relief, late in theday, to be sent to the grocery-store, at the lower end of the village, with a basket that was to bring home the usual Saturday assortment forMrs. Myers. 

He did well enough in going; but on his way home, if the truth must betold, Dick Lee loitered dreadfully. It was so nice a day, and he hadbeen so long at his woodpile, and he had had so little time to call hisown that week. 

Over on the green, the boys of the village were playing a sort of"match-game" of base-ball, with a picked nine from the academy; andthere seemed no reason why Dick and his basket should not stroll alonginside the barrier-fence of the green, and see them play it. 

That was where his unwisdom showed itself; for among the boys who werenot playing were Joe and Fuz Hart and all their "crowd, " and this wasthe first time they had seen Dick on the green "all alone. "

That would have been quite enough of itself, considering how black hewas, and that he was a "new boy" at the academy; but the additional factthat he had his basket on his arm opened the way to trouble for him allthe sooner. 

He was standing still, on the walk near the fence, gazing at the battingand catching with so deep an interest that his mouth would stay open, when he suddenly found himself "surrounded. "

"Hullo, Dick, what you got in your basket?"

"Groceries! Groceries! Fresh from Afriky. "

"Let's see 'em. "

"Jes' you keep off, now. "

"Give us that basket. "

"Don't you tech a thing!"

"What you got, Midnight?"

"None ob youah business. I's 'tendin' to mine. Put dat back, now, willyou?"

Dick had promptly retreated against the fence, in his surprise andvexation, and was defending himself and his cargo vigorously, but he wassadly outnumbered. 

They were a cowardly lot: for their all but helpless victim had evenreceived several sharp blows, in return for his grasps and pushes; andthe matter threatened to end unpleasantly for him, when suddenly JoeHart felt his feet jerked from under him. Down he went, and over wentFuz on top of him; and then there were four or five boys all in a heap, with Dick's basket upset just beyond them, and Dick himself divinghither and thither after its late contents, and exclaiming, --

"Cap'n Dab's come! I's all right now. Jes' let me pick up some ob deset'ings. "

There was a resentful ring in the last remark, as if he were thinking ofsomething like war after the recovery of his groceries; but it wasindeed the voice of Dab Kinzer, shouting full and clear, --

"Pick 'em up, Dick! we're just in time. "

A boy somewhat larger than the rest, a good half-head taller thanDabney, but with a somewhat pasty and unhealthy complexion, had selectedFord Foster, as the shortest of the new arrivals, and demanded, --

"What are you meddling for?" just as he aimed a clumsy blow at his head. That blow did not hit Ford; but a shorter young ruffian had also pickedhim out, perhaps for the same reason, and the hit he aimed reached itsmark, for Ford had no extra pair of arms behind to box with. FrankHarley seemed, just then, to be remarkably busy with the heap of boys onthe ground. 

"Spat!"--that was the way something sounded; and Dab Kinzer added, --

"Go for that fellow on the grass, Ford: I'll take care of the long one. "

"You will, --will you?"

Spat--spat--spat!

"Oh! I see: you don't know how to box; weak in the arms too. Better gohome. "

The tall boy was stepping backwards quite rapidly, with one hand on hisnose, and the other swinging wildly in the air above him; and Ford waskeeping the "fellow on the grass" from getting up, when all the noisearound them suddenly ceased. 

"Dr. Brandegee!"

"Where? Where?"

"Coming across the green, at the upper end. "

"He's coming this way. "

Several of the late assailants started on a run at once; but Dab Kinzerhad caught a sharp whisper from Frank Harley, and he shouted, --

"No you won't, Joe Hart! Hold on, Fuz! That other chap must stay too. Give Dick back his groceries. "

"Dey's hooked a pile ob 'em, " said Dick, his eyes dancing with triumph. "Jes' make 'em hand ober. "

"Do you mean to say we've been stealing?" fiercely demanded Joe. 

"What, me? me, steal?" almost gasped Fuz. 

"They wouldn't do such a thing as that, " said Ford, not quitecomprehending the situation. 

"That's it, " said Dab: "let 'em empty their pockets"--

Joe was indignantly turning inside out the side pockets of his neat"cut-away, " and a small, brown-paper-covered parcel dropped upon theground. 

"Dem's de cloves, " shouted Dick, as he darted forward, and picked it up. 

The fingers of Fuz almost unconsciously imitated those of his elderbrother, and with a like result. 

"Dat's de cinnamon. If de oder feller didn't git de tea an' desal'ratus! Whar's de nutmegs?"

These, too, were forthcoming, as well as a paper of "indigo blue" forthe next Monday's washing, and other items which testified strongly asto "how much at a time" Mrs. Myers was in the habit of buying. 

It was all over in less than half a minute, but Dick's assailants lookedvery much as if they wanted to sink right down through the grass. 

"Go home, Joseph, " said Ford; "go home, Foster. I'll write to yourfather that you're out of these things at your boarding-house. We _buy_all our groceries, where we live. "

"I never touched a thing, " roared Joe. "Somebody put 'em in my pockets. "

"Don't say any thing more, Joseph, " said Ford calmly. "If you don't getenough to eat, come over to our house: we won't let you starve. Give youall the bluing you want too. "

They did not seem to need any just then; and there was such a crowd ofboys gathering that they were glad to take Ford's advice, and hurryaway. Even then a good deal more attention might have been paid them, all around, but for the excitement created in the mind of every boy wholooked at the great strings of fish Dab and his friends had dropped whenthey went in to the rescue of Dick Lee. 

Questions as to where they were caught, and how, poured upon the youngfishermen so fast that it was not easy to dodge them all at once, orprevent a general stampede of the academy boys to Green Pond. 

"They'd use up the boat in one day, and all the fish in the next, " saidDab to Frank; "but where'd you learn to do what you did for Fuz andJoe?"

"Sleight-of-hand? Oh! one of father's Hindu converts had been a juggler. He taught me. They're the best in the world, but father doesn't like meto do much of it. We can have some fun with it yet, though. It came tome like a flash when I saw those things on the ground. "

"Served 'em right. Spoiling 'em on the ground was next thing tostealing. "

"Come on, boys, " said Ford. "It's after five o'clock. "

They were all glad to escape from the crowd, especially Dick Lee; and itwas not until they were across the street that the tall form of Dr. Brandegee came slowly down past the ball-players. He seemed particularlyinterested in that game. It was currently reported, indeed, that he hadbeen a first-class athlete in his younger days, and that he took a quiethalf-hour in the morning with his dumb-bells now, before doing any thingat all with his Greek and Latin. 

The "short-stop" was a well-built, sunburned student of at least twenty;and the doctor noticed how neatly he had been doing his work. 

"Wish I could catch an equation as well as I can a ball, " said the youngfellow, coloring a little, perhaps at the memory of something inmathematics which had "got by him. "

"You will, I think. By the way, didn't I see what looked like adisturbance down here among the boys, just now?"

"Disturbance? Well, yes, I should say there was. Came near interruptingthe game. "

"Any thing serious?"

"Well, it might have been. Some of the boys made a set on that littlecolored chap. Mean thing to do. I'd ha' stopped it myself; but thatKinzer boy, and the other two that board with Mrs. Myers, they clearedit all up in no time. "

"No fighting, I hope?"

"Well, no; but I tell you what, doctor, the rest of the boys'll let thatnigger alone. His friends can box. "

"Ah, yes! I understand. They stood by him. Wouldn't see him imposedupon. "

"They just wouldn't. They're prime little chaps. The other boys werebigger'n they are. I'd ha' helped 'em, but they didn't need any help. "

"No. Yes, --I see. It won't do to have any fighting, but then! H'm! Theystood right by him! Good-afternoon, Mr. Pulsifer. "

"Good-afternoon, Dr. Brandegee. There, if he hasn't made me lose a hit!I'd ha' fetched it. But I'm glad I had a chance to set him right aboutthat scrimmage. I thought those three chaps were kind o' stuck up, buteverybody'll know where to place 'em now. "

There was nothing like anger, or even disapproval, on Dr. Brandegee'sface when he walked away; but he was muttering, --

"Know how to box, do they? I thought I saw something like it. They're afine lot of young fellows. I must keep my eye on them. They'll be MENone of these days!"

They were only boys yet, however; and they were hardly arrived in frontof the kitchen-door before they began to make the proposed division ofthe fish. 

Mrs. Myers came to meet Dick, and receive an account of his errand. 

"You've been gone twice as long--I declare, Almira, come here and seethese fish. You have had wonderful luck, I must say. More'n we'll knowwhat to do with. "

"I will attend to the cleaning of them, " began Dabney; but Dickinterrupted him with, --

"Guess not, Cap'n Dab. I's cleaned loads ob fish. Won't be no time atall puttin' t'rough jes' a string or two. "

"Dick will clean them, " said Mrs. Myers; "but it's too late to cook anyfor supper. "

She turned away into the house as she spoke, and took Almira with her. 

"Now, boys, " said Dabney, "we've just time, before supper, to go withthese other strings, and get back. "

They would have been late indeed, if they had stopped to talk with everyone who wanted to admire Dab's big pickerel and Ford's remarkable bass;but a little good management brought them to Dr. Brandegee's in not muchmore than five times the number of minutes needed to walk the distance. The fish were handed to the door-opener with, --

"The compliments of Mr. Harley, Mr. Kinzer, and Mr. Foster, " and a greatflourish of a bow from the latter, which could hardly be made to keepthat string company till the doctor should see it. 

"Now for the minister's. "

The good man himself replied to the ring at his door-bell; but Dabneywas half sorry he had consented to be spokesman this time. 

"My young friends?" said Mr. Fallow inquiringly. 

"Fish, sir, " said Dab. "Some we caught to-day over in Green Pond. Wethought we'd bring you a mess of 'em. "

He thought, too, without saying it, --

"Now I've made a mess of it. Why didn't I let Ford do it?"

"Thank you. Thank you, my young friends. Very kind and thoughtful. Won'tyou walk in?"

"No, sir, thank you. It's most supper-time. We must hurry back. "

"Mary! Come and see these fish. Some very fine ones. Going? Indeed? Sawyou in church last Sunday. Hope I'll see you there again to morrow. Good-afternoon, my dear young friends. "

"Good-afternoon, sir. "

They walked away a little rapidly, but with a vivid and decidedlypleasant impression that they had given the pale-faced, earnest-eyedminister an extraordinary amount of comfort. 

"The fish ain't worth much, " said Ford. "It couldn't have been justthem!"

No, indeed, it was not, and they failed to make it out to theirsatisfaction; but it might have helped them if they had seen him handthe fish to "Mary, " and say, --

"There, what do you think of that? The very boys I told you of. "

"The ones you saw on the green, fighting?"

"Exactly. I must see Dr. Brandegee. They can't be altogether bad. "

"Bad? No! There must be something about it. The doctor always knows. Hewill be able to explain it, I know. "

Great was the confidence of the Grantley people in Dr. Brandegee, as toany and all things relating to "his boys;" and that of Mrs. Fallow wasnone the less when her husband returned from his evening call. 

"Defending that colored boy? You don't say. The dear, brave littlefellows! Fighting is dreadful. Did any of them get hurt?"

"Hurt, dear? No; and they gave those young ruffians--H'm! Well--Davidhad to do a great deal of fighting, Mary, but we must not approvetoo. "--

"My dear! I say they did right. "

And the little woman's tired face flushed into sudden beauty, with herhonest enthusiasm over "those boys. "

They had not reached the end of their day's experiences, however, whenthey left the minister's gate, or even when they arrived at their own. 

At that very moment Mrs. Myers was once more standing in the kitchendoorway. 

"Dick, as soon as you've had your supper, you may take one of thosestrings of fish over to Deacon Short's, and another to Mrs. Sunderland's. You may clean all the rest. "

"Yes'm, " said Dick vaguely, "but dar's on'y one string. "

"Only one? Where are all the rest, I'd like to know?"

Dabney and his friends were around the corner of the house now, and herlast question was plainly directed to them. 

"The rest of what, Mrs. Myers'?"

"Why, the fish. What have you done with them?"

"Oh! they're all right, Mrs. Myers, " said Ford. "Fish are good forbrains. That's what we've done with 'em. "

"Brains? What"--

"Exactly. Next to us three, the men that work their brains the hardestaround here are Mr. Fallow and my friend Dr. Brandegee. "

"And you never asked me a word about it!"

"About what?" inquired Dabney. "I must say I don't quite understand. Doyou mean, about what we were to do with our fish?"

"Of course I do. I can't allow"--

She hesitated a moment, as if the next words were slow in coming; andDab helped her out with, --

"Can't allow what, Mrs. Myers?" and Ford added, --

"Now, Mrs. Myers, there's nothing healthier than fish. It won't hurteither of 'em. Is supper ready?"

"I hope it is, " said Dab. "I'm getting hungry again. "

Mrs. Myers looked at them in amazement; and so did Miss Almira, for, ifone thing was plainer than another, it was that neither of those threeboys understood the nature of her complaint. It did not seem to occur tothem, that she had, or could, or would claim any control over theresults of their day's fun; not even when she said, --

"I intended one string for Deacon Short, and another for Mrs. Sunderland"--

"Don't work their brains, Mrs. Myers, " said Ford. "Don't need any fish. But then, if we have as good luck next time, we'll bear them in mind. We've kept enough pan-fish for breakfast, and the big ones'll be justthe thing for dinner. "

That had been the plan of Mrs. Myers herself; for she had already saidto Almira, --

"It'll be a real saving, and the corned beef'll be just as good onMonday. "

More talk would hardly improve such a case as that; and it was reallybeginning to dawn upon Mrs. Myers, that her three boy boarders had mindsand wills of their own, moreover, that they had not the most distantidea of failing to exercise them on every proper occasion. 

CHAPTER XXXII. 

OLD FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS OF HIS COME TO VISIT DABNEY. 

"Boys, " remarked Dab Kinzer, when they gathered in their own room aftersupper, "I can't say we've learned a great deal this first week; butwe've found a tiptop fishing-ground, and we've settled the Hart boys. "

"Shouldn't wonder if Mrs. Myers feels a good deal more settled than shedid too, " said Ford. "But I'm thinking what Frank Harley's going to dowith his fingers, when we can give him a chance. We've loads of funahead, or I'm mistaken. "

"I won't try it on very often, " said Frank. "Fun's fun, that's a fact;but I came here to learn something. "

"My dear young friend, " said Ford, with a sudden imitation of Mr. Fallow, "think of how much you've learned in seven days. Dab's beginningto know so much, he can't talk. "

"I'm not just comfortable about Dick, " said Dabney. 

"Oh! he'll come out all right: the corn's mostly shelled, and thewoodpile can't last forever. He doesn't know how to run asewing-machine. She tried making him read aloud to her and Almira, lastnight; but Dick thinks she won't ask him to do it again. Don't betroubled about Richard: his future is safe. "

Part of it undoubtedly; and the boys had "settled" more things forthemselves and him than those they mentioned. 

They had settled their own position among the boys of the academy andthe village, old and young; for every soul of them had heard about "thebig fight on the green" before he went to bed that night. They hadsecured Dick Lee's position for him: not that they had given him a falseone, but that he would be safe to enjoy, almost unmolested, whateverposition his own conduct might earn for him. That was all any boy oughtto have, black or white. 

They had done much, as Ford said, to settle their own position at theirboarding-house; but that was nothing of importance compared to theimpression they had made upon the large heart and brain of the statelyacademy principal. They had made a firm friend of him, and of otherswhose friendship was worth having. 

All that was a great deal to have accomplished in one short week, butthere was much more that would require their immediate attention. 

Books, fishing, lectures, base-ball, French, pigeon-shooting, elocution, kites, composition, nutting, and the academy debating society; and thelist of the future demands upon their time grew as they talked, untilFord exclaimed, --

"Hold on, boys: my brains won't stand any more till after I've eaten asupply of fish. "

They ought all to have been able to think harder, after the next day'sbreakfast and dinner; but the "corned beef" came on Monday, and with it, as usual, came corn in other forms. "The farm" had done well that year, with that particular crop; but so had all the other farms, east andwest, and Mrs. Myers found her best market for her maize harvest at herown table. It would take a good while to dispose of what Dick hadalready shelled, and all she could do was to be liberal as to quantity. There was no fault to be found with her on that score, but Dabney didnot ask for any more recipes to send home to his mother. 

The second week was much longer than the first. Saturday came aroundvery nearly in its own turn this time; but it brought with it such astorm of wind and rain as not only shut Green Pond out of all possiblecalculations, but kept the village green as well, clear of all boys. 

It was a good time to write letters in, and those written were longones; but they did not contain a solitary complaint of any thing theboys had yet discovered in or about Grantley. 

"Hamilton, " said Mrs. Kinzer, after pondering a little over her letterwhen it came, "Dabney seems to be well satisfied. "

"Mrs. Foster says Ford and Frank are. "

"But I notice he doesn't say any thing about his appetite. I do hope heisn't losing it. He seems to be studying hard. "

"Dabney? Lose his appetite in less than two weeks? No, mother Kinzer, itwould take him longer than that. "

It was just one week later that he showed her a part of a curiousepistle he had himself received from Dab. It had evidently been writtenin a moment of what is called "confidence. "

"I tell you what, Ham, " he wrote, "mother doesn't know what can be donewith corn. Mrs. Myers does. She raised a heap of it, this year; and thethings she turns it into would drive a cook-book crazy. I've been givingthem Latin names; and Frank, he turns them into Hindustanee. It's realfun sometimes, but I sha'n't be the boy I was. I'm getting corned. Myhair is silkier, and my voice is husky. My ears are growing. I'd like afew clams and some fish, once in a while, just for a change. A crabwould taste wonderfully good. So would some oysters, and they don't haveany up here. We've had one good day's fishing, since we came; but we hadto go miles and miles after it. Now, don't you tell mother we don't getenough to eat. There's plenty of it, and you ought to see Mrs. Myerssmile when she passes the johnnycake. We're all trying to learn thatheavenly smile. Ford does it best. I think Dick Lee is getting a littlepale. Perhaps corn doesn't agree with him. He's learning fast, though, and so am I; but we have to work harder than Ford and Frank. I guess theHart boys know more than they did when they got here; and they didn'tlearn it all out of their books, either. We keep up our French and ourboxing; but oh, wouldn't I like to go for some blue-fish just now! Hasmother made any mince-pies yet? I've almost forgotten how they taste. Iwas going by a house, the other day, and I smelt some ham cooking. I wasreal glad I hadn't forgotten. I knew what it was, right away. Don't yoube afraid about my studying; for I'm at it all the while, except whenwe're playing ball or eating corn. They say they have sleighing hereearlier than we do, and more of it, and plenty of skating. Well, now, don't say any thing to mother about the corn; but won't I eat when I gethome! Yours all the while, DABNEY KINZER. "

"Why, the poor fellow!" exclaimed Mrs. Kinzer. "It's enough to stop hisgrowth. "

It was not many days after that, before Dabney received a couple ofboxes by express. The "marks" told where they came from; and he and theother boys carried them right up stairs, in the face of a kindsuggestion from Mrs. Myers that "they might take them right out into thekitchen, and open them there. "

She had almost ceased from putting her wishes in any more dictatorialform; but she and Almira wondered exceedingly what might be the contentsof those boxes. 

Dab was only a minute or so in finding out what was in one of them. 

"Boiled ham! A whole one! Out with it, Frank. All that brownpaper, --why, it's a pair of chickens, all ready to roast. "

"Something more's down under those slats, " said Ford, in a tone of greatexcitement. 

"Mince-pies! And they're not much mashed, either. It's wonderful howthey did pack them. "

"Slats and shingles and paper, " said Ford. "What can there be in thatother box?"

"Shall we eat first, or open it?"

"Open it! Open it! Maybe they've sent you some corn. "

Opened it was, with a desperate display of energy. 

"Ice!" said Frank Harley. 

"Sawdust!" shouted Ford. 

"Fish!" said Dabney. "Clams, oysters, crabs, lobsters. "

Dick Lee had gazed in absolute silence up to that very moment; and allhe could say now was, --

"Ah-h-h! O-h-h-h! Jes' ain't dey fine!"

"Boys, " said Dab, with a sort of loving look at the contents of thatbox, "do you suppose we can eat those fellows?"

"Eat 'em!" exclaimed Ford. "Why, after they're cooked!"

"Well, I s'pose we can; but I feel more like shaking hands with 'em allaround, just now. They're old friends and neighbors of mine, you know. "

"Yes; but I guess we'd better eat them. "

"Cap'n Dab, " said Dick, "dey jes' knock all de correck pronounciationout ob me, dey does. "

"Ford, Frank, I'll ask Mrs. Myers and Almira up here right away. Thoseoysters and clams have got to be eaten this very evening. "

They did not need twice asking; and there was a thoughtful expression onthe face of Mrs. Myers when she looked from one box into the other. Itwas fairly on her tongue's end to suggest what share of those luxuriesshould be taken at once to Deacon Short's or Mrs. Sunderland's; but shestopped in time, for that thought was followed by another, --

"What could the boys have been writing home about her cooking and hertable?"

There might be something serious in it; for boarders were people whocame and went, boys or no boys, and Dab and his friends were just thekind of boys to "come and go. " At all events, she could not object totheir having such a supply as that sent them; and she took up theresponsibility of all the cookery required, at once. 

It was a feast while it lasted, and the effects of it upon the characterof Mrs. Myers's table were permanent. 

There was no further danger that Dab's growth would be checked in anysuch manner as his mother had feared. 

Nor was there any great doubt remaining as to the steadiness of hisgrowth in other ways, during his school days at Grantley; for he and hisfriends were now "settled;" and they had made that most importantsuccess in life, --a Good Beginning. 

THE END.