knew they were a
part of his Christmas entertainment. Humpy, proud of having thought of the
chicks, demanded the privilege of serving Shaver's breakfast. Shaver ate
his porridge without a murmur, so happy was he over his new playthings.

Mary bathed and dressed him with care. As the candy had stuck to the
stockings in spots, it was decided after a family conference that Shaver
would have to wear them wrong side out as there was no time to be wasted
in washing them. By eight o'clock The Hopper announced that it was time
for Shaver to go home. Shaver expressed alarm at the thought of leaving
his chicks; whereupon Humpy conferred two of them upon him in the best
imitation of baby talk that he could muster.

"Me's tate um to me's gwanpas," said Shaver; "chickee for me's two
gwanpas,"--a remark which caused The Hopper to shake for a moment with
mirth as he recalled his last view of Shaver's "gwanpas" in a death grip
upon the floor of "Gwanpa" Talbot's house.

[Illustration]

[Illustration]

IX

When The Hopper rolled away from Happy Hill Farm in the stolen machine,
accompanied by one stolen child and forty thousand dollars' worth of
stolen pottery, Mary wept, whether because of the parting with Shaver, or
because she feared that The Hopper would never return, was not clear.

Humpy, too, showed signs of tears, but concealed his weakness by
performing a grotesque dance, dancing grotesquely by the side of the car,
much to Shaver's joy--a joy enhanced just as the car reached the gate,
where, as a farewell attention, Humpy fell down and rolled over and over
in the snow.

The Hopper's wits were alert as he bore Shaver homeward. By this time it
was likely that the confiding young Talbots had conferred over the
telephone and knew that their offspring had disappeared. Doubtless the New
Haven police had been notified, and he chose his route with discretion to
avoid unpleasant encounters. Shaver, his spirits keyed to holiday pitch,
babbled ceaselessly, and The Hopper, highly elated, babbled back at him.

They arrived presently at the rear of the young Talbots' premises, and The
Hopper, with Shaver trotting at his side, advanced cautiously upon the
house bearing the two baskets, one containing Shaver's chicks, the other
the precious porcelains. In his survey of the landscape he noted with
trepidation the presence of two big limousines in the highway in front of
the cottage and decided that if possible he must see Murie