hen the nine-o'clock bell was heard, Agamemnon, Solomon John, and the
little boys rushed to the church and found the carpenter.

They asked him to bring a ladder, axe, and pickaxe. As he felt it
might be a case of fire he brought also his fire-buckets.

When the matter was explained to him he went into the dining-room,
looked into the dumb-waiter, untwisted a cord, and arranged the
weight, and pulled up the dinner.

There was a family shout.

"The trouble was in the weight," said the carpenter.

"That is why it is called a dumb-waiter," Solomon John explained to
the little boys.

The dinner was put upon the table.

Mrs. Peterkin frugally suggested that they might now keep it for next
day, as to-day was almost gone, and they had had tea.

But nobody listened. All sat down to the roast turkey, and Amanda
warmed over the vegetables.

"Patient waiters are no losers," said Agamemnon.

THE PETERKINS' SUMMER JOURNEY.

In fact, it was their last summer's journey,--for it had been planned
then; but there had been so many difficulties it had been delayed.

The first trouble had been about trunks. The family did not own a
trunk suitable for travelling.

Agamemnon had his valise, that he had used when he stayed a week at a
time at the academy; and a trunk had been bought for Elizabeth Eliza
when she went to the seminary. Solomon John and Mr. Peterkin, each had
his patent-leather hand-bag. But all these were too small for the
family. And the little boys wanted to carry their kite.

Mrs. Peterkin suggested her grandmother's trunk. This was a
hair-trunk, very large and capacious. It would hold everything they
would want to carry except what would go in Elizabeth Eliza's trunk,
or the valise and bags.

Everybody was delighted at this idea. It was agreed that the next day
the things should be brought into Mrs. Peterkin's room for her to see
if they could all be packed.

"If we can get along," said Elizabeth Eliza, "without having to ask
advice I shall be glad!"

"Yes," said Mr. Peterkin, "it is time now for people to be coming to
ask advice of us."

[Illustration]

The next morning Mrs. Peterkin began by taking out the things that
were already in the trunk. Here were last year's winter things, and
not only these, but old clothes that had been put away,--Mrs.
Peterkin's wedding-dress; the skirts the little boys used to wear
before they put on jackets and trousers.

All day Mrs. Peterkin worked over the