ow fast money went, because he had never seen very
much of it, but he thought that, from the nature of his past business,
the ex-Pirate must have had wide experience in those matters. So he
said, "I suppose so."

"That's right," continued the ex-Pirate. "That's perfectly right. But I
ran as fast as I could, and I've only just arrived."

"You must be tired," remarked the little boy.

"Not at all. I never get tired. I'm ready to keep right on, if you want
to."

"Keep right on?" queried Tommy.

"Yes."

"On what?"

"Why, looking for the animals," replied the ex-Pirate.

"But I found them," said Tommy.

"You did?" exclaimed the ex-Pirate, in surprise.

"Certainly. They were right here."

"Where?"

"Right in this room."

"Well, where are they now?"

Tommy Toddles would have given his word, fifteen minutes before the
ex-Pirate asked him this question, that his Noah's Ark with the animals
in it was on the floor near the table; but when he went to look for it
to show it to his friend he could not find it anywhere.

"It's gone," he said finally, after several minutes of vain searching
under tables and sofas. "It's gone, and all the animals too."

"They've gone?" repeated the ex-Pirate.

"Yes," said Tommy, dejectedly, "they've gone away again. Not only the
animals, but the Ark."

"The Ark!" exclaimed the ex-Pirate.

"Certainly," said Tommy. "My animals belonged in the Ark. There were two
of each."

"In Noah's Ark?" said the ex-Pirate.

"Yes; did you never see one?"

"Why, what nonsense!" laughed the ex-Pirate. "That was hundreds and
hundreds of years ago."

"I know it was," said Tommy, with dignity. "But my animals were
imitations."

The ex-Pirate was gazing absent-mindedly out of the window over toward
the ocean. "Your animals had invitations?" he said presently, recovering
himself. "Of course. They all did. The Ark was no promiscuous affair.
There was admission by card only. All those that had invitations got in;
the others got drowned."

Tommy saw that the ex-Pirate did not quite understand what he had said
to him, so he thought it would be wiser to branch out on some other
topic, but before he could do so his visitor remarked,

"They had lots of fun in the Ark," and he chuckled to himself.

"How do you know?" asked the little boy.

"The Sheep told me. He was one of the Few Hundred. I should like to have
been on board too."

"So should I," assented Tommy, eagerly, "especially if they wer