d began to work his
way down; but the white sails of the Greyhound were seen, with all the
boats belonging to the estate, headed up stream. They were chasing him
in earnest, and he saw that it was not safe to remain on the river.

"Do you know where Mr. Grover lives?" he asked of a ragged boy who was
fishing on the bank of the river.

"Below Whitestone?"

"Yes."

"Will you take this boat down there?"

"I will," replied the boy, glad of the job, and willing to do it without
any compensation.

Noddy had taken off the tights belonging to the circus company, and
rolled them up in a bundle. In order to be as honest as Bertha had
taught him to be,--though he was not always so particular,--he engaged
the boy to leave them at the circus tent.

The boy got into the boat, and began his trip down the river. Noddy felt
that he had been honest, and he was rather proud of the record he was to
leave behind him; for it did not once occur to him that borrowing the
boat without leave was only a little better than stealing it, even if he
did return it.

The servants at Woodville and the constables at Whitestone were on his
track, and he had no time to spare. Taking a road leading from the
river, he walked away from it as fast as he could. About three miles
distant, he found a road leading to the northward; and thinking it
better to suffer by excess of prudence than by the want of it, he took
this direction, and pursued his journey till he was so tired he could go
no farther.

A farmer on the road gave him some dinner; and when he had rested
himself, he resumed his walk. At sunset he reached a large town on the
river, where he felt safe from pursuit until he saw the flaming
hand-bills of the Great Olympian Circus, which was almost as bad as
meeting one of the constables, for these worthies would expect to find
him at the tent, and probably were on the watch for him.

Noddy was too tired to walk any farther that day. He wanted to reach
some large seaport, like New York or Boston, where he could find a
vessel bound on a foreign voyage. He was almost afraid to go to the
former city, for he had heard about the smart detectives they have
there, who catch any person guilty of crime, though they never saw him
before. He had told Bertha that he intended to go to sea; and he was
afraid that Mr. Grant would be on the watch for him, or set some of
these detectives to catch him, if he went there.

It was almost time for the steamers for