aving the Castle. 9
II. "The Hague." 23
III. The City. 30
IV. Allan's Story. 39
V. "Seeing the Elephant." 50
VI. A Dutch City. 62
VII. Under the Sea. 70
VIII. Thrilling Experience. 92
IX. Uncle John. 106
X. Strasbourg. 120
XI. Eric in Trouble. 135
XII. "A Friend in Need is a Friend Indeed." 145
XIII. The Real Thief. 153
XIV. Percy, Beauty, and Jack. 159
XV. The Last. 167

ERIC.

CHAPTER I.

LEAVING THE CASTLE.

Olendorf is not far from Hamburg. The broad and sparkling Elbe washes it
on the western side, and with the rugged mountains and the weird grand,
old forests upon the north and east, seem to shut the little town quite in
from the outer world; yet Olendorf had been an important place and on
account of its grand old fortress, Castle Wernier, was a bone of
contention throughout the French and German wars; and between the French,
who were resolute to hold the fortress, and the barons of Wernier, who
were equally resolute to regain it, the castle suffered severely; and
when, long years after, peace was declared, the last baron of Wernier
died, and the castle came into the possession of Adele Stanley, his great
granddaughter, it was merely a grand old ruin.

Adele's father rebuilt the tower and a couple of wings, and furnished all
the habitable rooms, intending to have his little Adele and Herbert spend
their childhood there. But while Adele was yet almost a baby, her kind
father died. Then she lost her mother, and was for a long time a wanderer
among strangers in a foreign land; and the old castle had been
uninhabited, except by Gretchen, the gardener's wife, and the owls in its
dark turrets. Now, however, the long windows were thrown open to the fresh
breezes and sunshine; merry laughter rang up from the garden; children's
voices echoed among the ruins, and children's feet danced through the long
corridors, keeping time to the music of the happy voices.

Adele and Herbert Stanley were at the castle with their young guests from
New York--Eric and Nettie Hyde. They had spent the s