intently up into the
yellow face of an elderly Chinaman, who was carrying two buckets of
water hanging from a yoke across his shoulders.

"'Tis, after all; but what can he be doing there?" said Charlie, staring
in astonishment at the scene before him.

"Never mind what he's doing," said Allie. "He ran away, I suppose; but
we must get him home. I'll wait here, while you go and bring him out.
Mamma'd be dreadfully frightened if she knew where he was. Now hurry!"

The boys dashed away, and soon came back to her side, with the small
wanderer between them. Vic was in a state of open rebellion over this
abrupt ending to his explorations, and lifted up his voice in
lamentation, as Allie firmly turned his steps towards home.

"Everybody went off," he explained in an aggrieved tone. "You went, and
Ben went, and papa went, and ven I went, too. And I will go back to see
the Moolly-cow-man."

But his sister refused to be persuaded, and Vic's voice died away to a
whisper, as he continued to babble to himself of the wonders he had seen
in his walk.

"There's one thing, Allie, that I don't get used to, in this country,"
remarked Charlie, as they were crossing the main street; "and that's the
signs. See there!" And he pointed to a long, white building, one door of
which was surmounted with the sign, in great gilt letters: _Embalming
Emporium_; while a board, swinging out from its next-door neighbor, bore
the legend, _Shoos 1/2 Soled Here_. "But, I say," he added, as they came
in sight of the house; "what do you suppose Ned and Grant want? They've
camped out on our piazza, as if they meant to stay there. Hi--i!" he
shouted, waving his cap above his head.

"Hurry u--up!" responded Ned, returning the salute with interest.

"Thought you'd never come," added Grant, as they drew nearer.

"What do you want?" asked Howard.

But before Ned had time to reply, Allie interposed,--

"Just wait one minute, do, till I take Vic into the house to mamma. Is
she very much worried about him?"

"Don't believe she is," answered Ned. "She didn't say anything about it.
Probably she hasn't missed him at all. Now," he resumed, as Allie came
back to the piazza; "I've been waiting here for thirty-nine ages and a
quarter; and I was just ready to give up and go home again. Papa sent me
up to tell you that he's going to take a crowd down the Blue Creek, this
afternoon, and to ask you if you don't want to come along with us."

"I shouldn't think he'd