y a crowd of people, and back of them two policemen.

"Come back, Oliver!" screamed Ruth, jumping up and down with
excitement. "Make him come back, Sunny."

But before Oliver could run over to the car, if he had wanted to, the
man, the crowd close upon his heels, had reached the spot where Oliver
stood. He caught hold of him, whirled him about, and dropped something
into his hands, all without stopping his headlong flight. The crowd
immediately closed in around Oliver just as Mr. Horton, attracted by
the noise and the shouting, came out of the store. One of the
policemen continued to run after the man.

"Oh, Daddy, get Oliver," Sunny Boy almost sobbed, as his father came
over to the car.

"Why, where is he?" asked Mr. Horton, surprised. "Aren't you all
here?"

"Oliver isn't. He's in there." Sunny Boy pointed to the crowd which
was growing larger every minute as more and more people pressed in,
eager to know what the excitement was about. "Oh, gee!"

Sunny Boy's eyes grew wide with wonder and terror. The other boys in
the car looked frightened. Ruth began to cry.

A policeman had come out from the center of the crowd, and he had
Oliver by the arm. Oliver was crying, and looked very small and
miserable.

"Why, Oliver Dunlap!" Mr. Horton walked up to him, and put his arm
protectingly around the frightened child. "What is the matter,
Officer?"

"Do you know him?" asked the policeman politely. "Maybe that's
different then. That pickpocket stole a lady's purse, and here's the
empty bag he left in the kid's hands. We thought they were
together--using the boy to cover up his tracks, you see."

"I left him in my car ten minutes ago with these other children," said
Mr. Horton calmly. "He's Henry Dunlap's son. Your chief knows his
father."

"If you say it's all right, it is," pronounced the policeman. "Don't
cry, kid, you're all right now. Sorry to make you any trouble, sir."

He turned to push back the crowd, which was surging about the
automobile now, and Mr. Horton lifted in Oliver. Then slowly, so as
not to injure any one, he steered the car out of the mass of people
and turned it around.

"Guess you'll stay in the car the next time, Oliver," jeered Harold
Wallace.

"That'll do, Harold," said Mr. Horton sharply. "I'm going to take you
all around the park twice now and then we'll scoot home for lunch. It
is twelve o'clock. I don't want to take home such solemn faces. See if
you can't smile a bit."

By the