ll go back there after a while and eat our lunch with Polly--he'd be
so pleased!--and then we'll ask him."

"Who is Polly?" asked Miss Nellie.

"He's Paul Evert, my best friend, and he's a cripple."

"Oh, he's the boy you saved from the burning breaker! Yes, indeed,
mamma, let's go back and eat our lunch with him."

Mrs. Halford agreed to this, and after they had visited the blacksmith's
shop, where a cheery young fellow named Aleck was installed in Job
Taskar's place, they went back to Paul's station.

Both the ladies were charmed with the gentle simplicity and quaintness
of the crippled lad, and he thought he had never been so happy as in
acting the part of host to this underground picnic party. He showed them
all the strange and beautiful pictures on the walls of the gangway, and
Derrick managed to break off for them a couple of thin scales of slate
on which were impressed the delicate outlines of fern leaves.

Mrs. Halford sat in Paul's arm-chair, and he made a bench of the
tally-board for Miss Nellie. The two boys were content to sit on the
railway track, and each ate out of his or her own lunch-pail.

All at once Paul said, "'Sh! There they are! See!"

At this the visitors looked in the direction indicated, and both
screamed.

"Oh, you've frightened them away!" said Paul, regretfully.

"Why, I do believe they were rats!" cried Mrs. Halford, in a tone of
great surprise.

"Of course they were," answered Paul--"my rat Socrates and Mrs. Socrates
and a whole lot of little Soc rats. I meant to tell you, Derrick; he
brought them out this morning, his wife and a family of such cunning
little fellows."

When the ladies had heard the whole story of Socrates the rat, and how
wise he was, they became greatly interested, and wished he would appear
again.

"He will," said Paul, "if we only keep quiet. He's too wise to stay away
at lunch-time, but he don't like loud talking."

So they all kept very quiet, and sure enough the rat did come back after
a little while, and sitting upon his hind-legs, gravely surveyed the
party. In the gloom behind him could be seen the shining beady eyes of
some members of his family, who made comical attempts to sit up as he
did.

Being duly fed, they all scampered away with squeaks of thanks, and soon
afterwards Harry Mule broke up the picnic by coming jingling back from
his stable, to which he had been sent for dinner.

"I think he is just the very dearest old mule I ever saw,"