e was very curious about that package."

"Where shall we go now?" asked Bessie. "Shall we really go to Lottie's
after we lose the bundle?"

"No indeed! They'd tease us to death about it. I don't know where
we'll go," she added, for she was getting rather cross. "I wish we'd
left the old cat in the cellar anyway; it was a silly plan to do
this."

"I think you're real mean to talk so," said Bessie indignantly, for it
was her plan, you remember. "I don't care if the whole town knows it!
it wasn't my fault anyway--'n' I'm going home tomorrow--so there!"

This brought Helen to her senses, for she didn't want Bessie to go
home, and she remembered that she was the one who had spilled the
medicine.

"I didn't mean that"--she said quickly; "I meant going in the stage
'n' all that."

During this little talk the girls had walked a block or two. "But
where shall we go now?" asked Bessie anxiously, for she felt lost
among so many streets all looking just alike.

"There's a ferry at the end of the street," said Helen, brightening
up; "I didn't think of that. We might cross it and lose the bundle in
the river."

"That'll be easy," said Bessie, and with fresh courage they walked on.

It was a long way to the ferry, and two rather tired girls went on to
the boat, having paid their fare with the last penny they had, for
they had expected to walk home from Lottie's. They forgot until they
had started that they had no money to get back, and that thought so
frightened Helen that she almost forgot about the first pressing
business of getting rid of her package.

There seemed to be as much trouble about that as ever, for the boat
was full of passengers and somebody was all the time looking at them.
They dared not drop it in when any one was looking, for fear they
would think it very queer, and perhaps try to get it for them. Helen
had heard of such things.

They walked to the front end of the boat, but could not find a chance
when no one was looking; and indeed no doubt their manner was so
strange that they aroused the curiosity of everybody.

One of the deck-hands, too, kept close watch of them, and when they
went to the front of the boat, hoping to get where they would not be
noticed, he came up to them and said to Helen:

"Look out, Miss! you might slip and fall overboard," and kept near
them as if he suspected that she meant to jump into the river.

"We can't do it here," Helen whispered; "we'll have to go back--and I
h