way at a great rate.

"Tom!" yelled Mr. Rover in alarm. "Throw that thing out!"

"We'll be blown to pieces!" yelled Fred.

"That's too big to shoot off indoors," added Songbird, preparing to
run.

"Ve peen knocked to bieces!" groaned Hans, and slid under the table out
of sight.

The ladies shrieked and so did the girls. Mrs. Stanhope looked ready to
faint, but Tom whispered hastily into her ear and she recovered. Mr.
Rover wanted to throw the cannon cracker through a window, but Tom held
him back.

The long fuse continued to splutter and all watched it as if
fascinated, and the girls put their hands to their ears in anticipation
of a fearful explosion. Then came a tiny flash, a strange clicking, and
off flew the top of the cannon cracker, sending a shower of confetti of
various colors in all directions.

"Oh!" shrieked the girls, and then everybody but Hans set up a laugh.
The German youth looked suspiciously out from under the table.

"Vot's der madder--did he go off?" he questioned.

"Yes, he did, Hans," answered Grace. "It was nothing but a cracker full
of colored paper instead of powder."

"Is dot so?" Hans got up and looked around. "Vell, I neffer! Looks like
ve got a colored snowstorm alretty, hey?" And this caused a roar. It
certainly did look like a "colored snowstorm," for the confetti was
everywhere, on the table, on their heads and over their clothing. Now
it was over everybody was highly amused, even Mrs. Stanhope laughing
heartily. As for Aleck, he roared so loudly he could be heard a block
up the docks.

"Dat's jess like Massa Tom!" he cried. "I suspicioned he'd be up to
somet'ing afo' de day was up. Yo' can't keep him down no mo' dan yo'
kin keep a jack-rabbit from hoppin', no, sah!"

"It certainly looked like the real thing," was Mr. Rover's comment.
"Had it been----"

"I'd never have brought it in here," finished Tom. "I'm sorry if I
frightened anybody," he added, looking at Mrs. Stanhope and Mrs.
Laning.

"We'll forgive you, Tom," answered Mrs. Stanhope, and Mrs. Laning said
she would, provided he wouldn't scare them again that holiday.

After that, the confetti on the table was cleared away and they ate
their lunch amid a constant cracking of jokes and bright sayings.
Songbird woke up and recited some verses he said he had composed the
night before, while lying awake in his berth. Some of these ran in this
fashion:

"This is the day I love the best--
The day the small bo