l down below but she never changed her smile at all. I couldn't tell
what to make of it when a feller came up to me an' says, 'Do you want
anything, old lady?' I stared at him and says 'Hist, sir, don't you see
this poor woman is dead. Died a stooping over too sudden.'"

[Illustration: "SO I SAYS, SAYS I, 'LEDDY, LET ME HELP YOU.'"]

"Then he just laughed at me a little, and pulled her dress to one side
and showed me that she was only a wax head and a stuffed body. That
made me mad, for it is a sin and a shame for to deceive people that way,
and defraud 'em of their hard earned money. I told him to show me the
way out, and I would report how he was defrauding the public to the
humane society or somebody. He just laughed at me again and invited me
to take a chair in the office if I wanted to wait for my folks. I went
in there and an awful nice woman talked to me and explained things till
I wasn't so mad as I was; but I still think it is a shame that a
Christian city should allow such awful frauds on peoples' eyes and
nerves. Anyhow, when I get home I want to go around and touch everything
and make sure that there is no more foolin', so I can live in peace and
facts."

Aunt was very indignant. She could stand the deceptions that Uncle had
been so opposed to at the Fair, but when she was deceived in her acts of
kindness, it was carrying things entirely too far.

The places of interest, as the guide books said, had now all been
visited, and they were walking down the street fully satisfied that they
had seen all the sights of the city from the skyscrapers to the organ
grinders. The police courts and the stock yards were not considered as
places of interest by them.

John and Fanny were in the lead, with the five girls just behind them,
and Uncle and Aunt bringing up the rear. As they reached the corner
there was a clamor and a scattering of people crossing the street, and a
rumbling that jarred the earth as two great fire engines dashed by
rolling smoke upward and clanging a bell in a way that was frightful.

"Fire, fire!" shouted Johnny.

"Oh that's what we want to see, a fire, a big fire," echoed the girls.

In a moment they were all running pell mell after the engines, jostling
against the people and exciting the merriment and wonder of every body.
The engines were running in the direction of their hotel and very likely
it was on fire and they would lose all their clothing.

"Come on girls," shouted John as he l