t Father will say when he sees the lot of us," said Don, with a
friendly nod, and then trotted away in pursuit of the wagon, which had
passed on while the girl leaned against the fence and feebly gasped, as
if her astonishment were too much for her.

Dan Potter's saloon was quite an imposing place, and very tawdry with
gilt adornments and coloured glass. They turned into a road at the left,
according to the direction given by the girl, and then followed a road
which was scarcely more than a track, and that abounded in mud puddles
of a deep and dangerous sort, where the going was so bad that Nealie was
forced to leave Rupert in the care of Sylvia, and come herself to guide
Rocky from the pitfalls of that evil place.

There were newly finished buildings that looked as if they had been run
up in the night; there were buildings in course of erection that looked
as if they would tumble down before they were finished; and there were
other buildings in process of being planned, but of which not much was
to be seen saving a forest of scaffold poles.

"What a big place it looks," said Nealie, as with an abrupt jerk she
pulled Rocky's head round in time to save him from pitching into an
unexpected hole that yawned in the path. "I had somehow got the idea
that it was only a little town, not much bigger than a village."

"It is awfully ugly though," replied Rumple, wrinkling his nose with an
air of extreme dissatisfaction. "The man that built those houses at the
end of the street ought to be condemned to live opposite to them."

"That might not be a hard sort of punishment at all," laughed Nealie;
"because, you see, if he had no eye for beauty or artistic fitness the
ugliness would not trouble him, he might even take a great deal of
satisfaction in thinking how nicely he had done them."

"There is no accounting for tastes," grumbled Rumple, who was really
more an admirer of what was beautiful than even Sylvia, who had the
reputation of being artistic.

Then he dashed off to ask a man if they were going right for Dr.
Plumstead's house, and, being told that it was the next small house that
stood alone, he rushed back to the wagon with his information.

"I wonder if Father will be at home," cried Billykins, with an eager
look on his face. "May we run forward and knock at the door, Nealie?"

"No, no; we will all go together," answered Nealie hurriedly, while a
flush rose in her cheeks, and there was a nervous look in her eyes,