n front of them, held a knotted handkerchief with
which to scourge them when the name should be guessed. The arm which
held the handkerchief was so puny that the boys laughed to see the
feeble lad stand there in a threatening attitude.

"I say, Lum, don't hit too hard, now; my back is tender," said Bob
Holliday.

"Give us an easy one to guess," said Riley, coaxingly.

Columbus, having come from the back country, did not know the names of
half a dozen boats, and what he knew about were those which touched
daily at the wharf of Greenbank.

"F----n," he said.

"Fashion," cried all the boys at once, breaking into unrestrained mirth
at the simplicity that gave them the name of Captain Glenn's little
Cincinnati and Port William packet, which landed daily at the village
wharf. Columbus now made a dash at the boys, who were obliged to run to
the school-house and back whenever a name was guessed, suffering a
beating all the way from the handkerchief of the one who had given out
the name, though, indeed, the punishment Lum was able to give was very
slight. It was doubtful who had guessed first, since the whole party had
cried "Fashion" almost together, but it was settled at last in favor of
Harry Weathervane, who was sure to give out hard names, since he had
been to Cincinnati recently, and had gone along the levee reading the
names of those boats that did business above that city, and so were
quite unknown, unless by report, to the boys of Greenbank.

"A---- A----s," were the three letters which Harry gave, and Ben Berry
guessed "Archibald Ananias," and Tom Holcroft said it was "Amanda Amos,"
and at last all gave it up; whereupon Harry told them it was "Alvin
Adams," and proceeded to give out another.

"C---- A---- P----x," he said next time.

"Caps," said Riley, mistaking the x for an s; and then Bob Holliday
suggested "Hats and Caps," and Jack wanted to have it "Boots and Shoes."
But Johnny Meline remembered that he had read of such a name for a ship
in his Sunday-school lesson of the previous Sunday, and he guessed that
a steam-boat might bear that same.

"I know," said Johnny, "it's Castor----"

"Oil," suggested Jack.

"No--Castor and P, x,--Pollux--Castor and Pollux--it's a Bible name."

"You're not giving us the name of Noah's ark, are you?" asked Bob.

"I say, boys, that isn't fair a bit," growled Pewee, in all earnestness.
"I don't hardly believe that Bible ship's a-going now." Things were
mixed in Pewee'