is telling a
joke."

"But he wasn't," resumed his brother, "and the long and short of the
matter is that we are all--papa, mamma, sister Agatha, Selwyn, and
I--to sail in the Majestic, June 17, so we've only about a week more to
wait."

"Oh! oh! it's too splendid for anything!" cried Selwyn, clapping his
hands in delight and giving the hammock a sudden impetus, which set it
swaying rapidly. "We're to spend some time with Uncle Geoffrey
Barrington--you know, Ned, Rex's father--and we're to see all the
sights of 'famous London town'--the Houses of Parliament, the Zoo,
Westminster Abbey, and the dear old Tower! Just think of it, Ned,
papa's going to show us the very cells in which Lady Jane Grey and Sir
Walter Raleigh were shut up! Oh, don't I wish you were going, too!"

"Wouldn't it be splendid!" said Charlie, throwing his arm across Ned's
shoulders.

"Wouldn't it!" echoed Ned, ruefully. "I wonder when our turn will
come; soon, I hope. I shall miss you fellows awfully."

"Never mind, Ned, we'll write to you," cried both boys, warmly, "and
tell you all about everything."

The next week was full of pleasant excitement for Charlie and Selwyn.
They left school a few days before it closed that they might help mamma
and sister Agatha, who were very busy getting things into what papa
called "leaving order." There was a great deal to do, but at last
everything was accomplished, the steamer trunks had been packed, and
some last good-byes spoken. Fritz and the rabbits had been given into
Ned's keeping with many injunctions and cautions. Carefully wrapped in
cloths, the boys had placed their bicycles in the seclusion which a
garret granted. Balls, tennis rackets, boxes of pet tools, favorite
books, everything, in fact, had been thought of and cared for, and at
last the eventful day of sailing arrived.

A number of friends came to the city to see the Kingsleys off. They
sat in the saloon of the big steamer with Mrs. Kingsley and her
daughter, while the boys, under papa's care, remained on the dock for a
while, deeply interested in their unusual surroundings. They were
almost wild with excitement, which not even the prospect of parting
with Ned could quiet, and it is not much to be wondered at, there was
so much going on.

The long covered dock was crowded with men, women, and children, nearly
all of whom were talking at the same time. Large wagons were
unloading; trunks, boxes and steamer-chairs stood about, wh