a lady about her
age; I must say I hadn't a speck of a notion of telling that sharp-nosed
mate that I lacked seven months of being twelve years old.

"How old are you?" he asked again.

"Twelve years," said I hastily.

"Well, then you must pay full fare."

I don't know how I looked outside at that minute. I know that inside of
me I was utterly aghast. Suppose I didn't have money enough! And I had
told a lie!

Now my purse is a little bit of a thing, hardly big enough for you to
get three fingers in. I took it out rather hurriedly--everything that I
undertake always goes with a rush, Mother says. How it happened I don't
know, but my five-crown note whisked out of my hand, over the railing
and out to sea.

"Catch it! Catch it!" I shouted.

"That is impossible," said the mate.

"Yes, yes! Put out a boat!" I cried. All the passengers crowded together
around us.

"Did the five crowns blow away?" piped Karsten.

"Was it, perhaps, the only one you had?" asked the mate. Ugh! how horrid
he was. Storekeeper Andersen and Mrs. Tellefsen and the mate laughed as
hard as they could. Karsten pulled at my waterproof.

"You're a good one! Now they will put us ashore because we haven't any
money. You always do something like that!"

"Are you going to put us ashore?" I asked.

"Oh, no," said the mate. "I will go up to your father's office and get
the money some time. That's all right."

Pshaw! that would be worse than anything else. Father would be raving.
He always says I lose everything.

"You'll catch it from Father," whispered Karsten.

Oh, what should I do! What should I do! Karsten and Mr. Singdahlsen
clambered up on some rigging away aft to get sight of the five-crown
note. Mr. Singdahlsen peered through the hollow of his hand and both he
and Karsten insisted that they saw it. But that couldn't help us any.

Oh! how disgusting everything had become all at once. The visit at
Uncle's and Aunt's would be horrid, too. To go there alone in this way,
and have to talk alone with Uncle, a minister, and all the other
grown-up people at the rectory--it would be disgustingly tiresome. There
was nothing that was any fun in the whole world. It would be disgusting
to go home again; for Father would be so dreadfully angry--and it was
most disgusting of all to be here on the steamboat where everybody
laughed at me.

And all on account of an old rag of a five-crown bill which had blown
away. Besides, I had told a lie and sai