mild and sunny, he might
walk down to school this--afternoon.

"O dear!" groaned Charlie, when the doctor had left. "I wish I had scared
his horse off when I saw him coming down the lane. You and I, aunty, did
have such a nice time!"

O, the trials of this life!

Charlie, though, had a dose of comfort from Aunt Stanshy. She told him he
need not go to school until the next day, and when the morning came, she
said:

"I believe the _Neponset_ took a cargo on board in the night."

There in the shadow of the mast-head was a column of doughnuts!

"You may take them all to school with you, Charlie."

Now he was glad that he was not sick. He disposed of six doughnuts that
forenoon, and as these, if tied together, would have made good chain-shot
for the monitor, and yet did not affect him unfavorably, it was proof that
Charlie was restored to health.

CHAPTER VII.

THE NAILED DOOR AND WINDOW.

Charlie made a discovery in the barn. In that side toward the river there
was a door on the first floor, and there was also a window in the chamber
above. Not only was the door closed, and closed also was the wooden
shutter of the window, but over each iron hook dropped in its staple and
securing the door and window were two nails stoutly driven. All this
Charlie had noticed before. He now traced these half-obliterated words in
chalk on the door: "This is not to be opened." He was standing before this
prohibition, wondering who put it there, and for what purpose, thinking
how nice it would be to have the door open that the club might have a
chance to get down that way into the dock. Then he thought how pleasant it
would be, also, to have the window open that the club might have a lookout
upon the river and off toward the sea, on whose blue rim, a mile away,
could be seen the white tower of the light-house, where Simes Badger and
his assistant served their country alternate days. Suddenly, Charlie heard
a thick, hoarse voice behind him: "Your Aunt Stanshy in, sonny?"

Charlie turned, somewhat startled, and there was Simes Badger himself.

"She has gone out, I guess, sir."

"What are you looking at that door for? I don't believe your Aunt Stanshy
wants you to open it."

"O, I was not going to open it."

If, after the half-effaced chalk-marks, Charlie had seen a written threat,
"On pain of death," he could not have been more determined to let that
window alone.

"Do you know, Mr. Badger, who shut and nailed that wi