tell his mother on him."

"And I'll tell his father," added Dent.

Bob was a little afraid lest Mrs. Dodson might come out, and seeing
the state her employees were in, would know the lad had had a hand
in it. The effects might be more unpleasant than they now promised
to be. So Bob hastened his pace, and was soon out of sight of the
big house on the hill. He left behind him two very angry persons,
yet when they glanced at each other neither Susan nor Dent could
help laughing. They looked as if they had been through a cyclone
and cloud-burst, both at the same time, as the hired man expressed
it.

Bob's father did hear of the trick, but not in the way the lad
expected he would. On cooling down neither the hired man nor the
cook felt like going and making a complaint about what Bob had
done. The trick, however, had been witnessed by the coachman, and
he told some friends in the village. In this way it became known
to several persons, and Mr. Henderson heard of it.

"Bob," he said to his son very sternly that night, "I thought you
had given up such foolishness as playing those tricks."

"I thought I had, too, dad, but I couldn't help doing this. Her
apron strings came just in the right place."

"Do you think it was a nice thing to do?"

"No, sir. I s'pose not."

Mr. Henderson sighed. Bob was so frank to acknowledge a fault that
it was hard to punish him.

"I don't know what's going to become of you," he said.

"Well, that was my last land joke, dad."

"Your last land joke? What do you mean?"

"I'm going to sail with Captain Spark soon, and I'll not have time
for any more."

"That's so, and I'm glad of it. If you try any jokes on the
sailors you may find they know a trick or two themselves."

"Oh, I'm going to turn over a new leaf."

"It's about time."

Bob really intended to mend his ways. This, perhaps, was due as
much to a fear of what the sailors on the ship might do to him if
he played any pranks on them as it was to a desire to reform.

That same night Captain Spark arrived at the Henderson home a
little ahead of time. He announced that his ship was ready to
sail, and that he and Bob would depart the next morning for the
seaport town.

"All ready, Bob?" he asked.

"Aye, aye, sir."

"That's the way to talk. We may have to lay at the dock for a
couple of days longer than I calculated on, but that will give you
a chance to get acquainted with the ship before we strike blue
water