initial commit of ebook 14110HEADmain

1 files changed, 3230 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/14110-0.txt b/14110-0.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..eea6440
--- /dev/null
+++ b/14110-0.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,3230 @@
+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 14110 ***
+
+Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this
+      file which includes the original lovely illustrations.
+      See 14110-h.htm or 14110-h.zip:
+      (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/4/1/1/14110/14110-h/14110-h.htm)
+      or
+      (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/4/1/1/14110/14110-h.zip)
+
+
+
+
+
+KERNEL COB AND LITTLE MISS SWEETCLOVER
+
+Written by
+
+GEORGE MITCHEL
+
+Illustrated by Tony Sarg
+
+1918
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+        _To_ Ursula, Dordie, Hutch and Bob
+        And children the wide world over,
+        I dedicate brave Kernel Cob
+        And dear Little Miss Sweetclover.
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+Jackie was a little boy and he had a little sister named Peggs, and
+they lived with their Aunt who was very old, maybe thirty-two.
+
+And it was so very long since she had been a little girl, that she
+quite forgot that children need toys to play with and all that.
+
+So poor little Jackie and Peggs had no soldiers or dolls but could
+only play at make-believe all day long.
+
+They lived in a little white house nearly all covered with
+honeysuckle, and a little white fence with a little white gate in it
+ran all about and at the back of the little white house was a little
+garden with beautiful flowers growing in it.
+
+And once, when they were making pies in the garden, Peggs began to cry
+and Jackie ran and put his arms about her, for he loved his little
+Peggs very dearly; and he said to her:
+
+"What's the matter, Peggsie? Did a spider bite you?"
+
+"No," says Peggs, "it didn't."
+
+"Was it a naughty worm?"
+
+"No," says Peggs, "it wasn't."
+
+"Well, what was it?" says Jackie.
+
+"It weren't anything that bit me, only I want a doll," and away she
+cried again.
+
+"Huh!" says Jackie, "that's nothing. You don't want a doll any mor'n I
+want a soldier," and he sat down beside her and began to cry, too.
+
+And after they had cried for a long time, maybe four hours or two,
+they stopped.
+
+"I tell you what!" says Jackie.
+
+"What?" says Peggs, drying her eyes on her pinafore.
+
+"If no one will give us a soldier"...
+
+"But I don't want a soldier," says Peggs. "I want a doll."
+
+"Let's make one," says Jackie.
+
+"That's a good way," says Peggs.
+
+"You bet," says Jackie, and he slapped one of his legs the way sailors
+do in tales of the sea.
+
+"What'll we make it of?" asked Peggs.
+
+"Things," says Jackie. "Goodie!" says Peggs.
+
+And they went in search of the things they would make the dolls of.
+And pretty soon, Peggs made the most wonderful doll of flowers that
+ever a child could see.
+
+The head was of Sweetclover, the dress was a purple morning-glory
+turned upside-down so it looked like a bodice and a skirt, and it was
+tied to the head so that they wouldn't come apart. And perched on the
+top of the head was a little bonnet, only it wasn't really a bonnet,
+you know, but a little four o'clock.
+
+And she called it Little Miss Sweetclover and it was the dearest
+little doll and as fresh as the morning dew.
+
+In the meantime, Jackie had been busy, you may be sure; but he
+couldn't find anything to make a soldier of except sticks of wood, but
+he had no jack-knife, much as he had always wanted one.
+
+"Whatever shall I do?" thought Jackie, as he looked about the garden,
+and just then he saw an ear of corn and he picked it up.
+
+"Maybe this will do," and he picked all the kernels off except two for
+the eyes, one for the nose, two more for the ears and a row for the
+teeth.
+
+And he ran to Peggs to have her sew some clothes for his soldier.
+
+"What do you think of Little Miss Sweetclover?" says Peggs, holding it
+up for Jackie to see.
+
+"I think she's very pretty," says Jackie, "only she needs legs." And
+while Peggs cut out and sewed a uniform for the soldier, Jackie went
+in search of legs for Sweetclover.
+
+And these he made of two stems of a flower, bent at the ends to look
+like feet. And he ran back to Peggs with them.
+
+"Here are the legs for Sweetclover with green shoes and stockings on."
+And he tied them to the rest of Sweetclover so that when she walked,
+they wouldn't come off.
+
+By this time Peggs had finished the uniform for Jackie's soldier and a
+hat of newspaper with a great plume of cornsilk and a lot of medals
+which were cut from the gold leaf that comes on a card of buttons. And
+when they were all sewed on the jacket, he cut out a sword from the
+gold leaf and made hands and feet from the corn husk. And he colored
+the eyes with black ink and the lips with red, and, much before you
+could say "Crickety," the soldier was all finished.
+
+"What'll we call him?" asked Jackie.
+
+And they thought, and thought, and thought.
+
+"I have it!" said Jackie.
+
+"What?" asked Peggs.
+
+"We'll call him Kernel Cob," says Jackie.
+
+"Goodie!" says Peggs, clapping her hands with glee.
+
+And you will see what wonderful dolls they were, and what wonderful
+things they did, and how they helped Jackie and Peggs to find ... but
+never mind.
+
+You will see.
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+
+And one day, when Jackie and Peggs were playing in the garden with
+Kernel Cob and Sweetclover, the sun was very hot, so Peggs ran and got
+a parasol and put it over the dolls so they wouldn't wilt.
+
+"I'd like Kernel Cob to be a great general," said Jackie as he put up
+the parasol, "and fight in all the wars of the world and lead his
+soldiers with a sword in his hand and get wounded and all that. Not
+very much wounded, though. Or I'd like to have him be an Admiral and
+sail all around the world. What do you think of that?"
+
+"That's good," said Peggs.
+
+"You bet," said Jackie. And he stood on his tippy toes to look bigger.
+
+"And I'd like Sweetclover to be a mother," says Peggs, "and have
+hundreds and hundreds of children so she could give them all the dolls
+that ever they wanted."
+
+"That would be noble," said Jackie.
+
+"It's terrible for children to have no father or mother isn't it?"
+asked Peggs looking far off at nothing in the sky.
+
+"Yes," said Jackie.
+
+"I would rather have a mother and father than everything else in the
+world," says Peggs.
+
+"Better'n little Sweetclover?" asked Jackie.
+
+"Yes," answered Peggs, "for I could make another doll, but you can
+only have one mother and one father."
+
+"Maybe you're right," said Jackie, "but I love Kernel Cob very much,
+just the same."
+
+"Of course!" says Peggs.
+
+Now, all of this was heard by Kernel Cob and Sweetclover, for all
+flowers and vegetables understand the language of people, but people
+do not understand the language of flowers and vegetables; and when
+Kernel Cob and Sweetclover talked, Jackie and Peggs couldn't hear them
+because flowers whisper very softly, and even if the children could
+hear them they couldn't understand them, you see, because it's a
+different kind of language and they never had heard it.
+
+Sometimes, if you are a child, and sit in the garden when the wind is
+blowing, and listen, you may hear a kind of whispering among the
+flowers. And if you look very closely, you will see them sway toward
+each other and smile and nod their heads. Well, that is when they
+whisper in each other's ears just as if they were children.
+
+And all vegetables are like that too, only the corn has a louder
+voice, because the wind loves to blow through its ears and make it
+wave so it looks like a great green ocean.
+
+"Did we have a mother and father?" asked Peggs.
+
+"Of course!" answered Jackie, "Everybody has to have a mother and a
+father, except orphans."
+
+"Are we orphans?" asked Peggs.
+
+"I guess we must be," said Jackie, "I heard Auntie tell somebody, the
+other day, that both our parents were lost."
+
+Just then the wind blew Sweetclover toward Kernel Cob, and, if you'd
+been there, you could have heard a whispering sound, and, if you'd
+been a flower, you would have heard Sweetclover say to Kernel Cob:
+
+"Poor little Peggs!" and if you had looked very closely you would have
+seen dew drops in her eyes.
+
+"What did she do?" asked Kernel Cob, and his voice was slow, for you
+must remember that it took him a long time to think, because his head
+was heavy and so filled up with corn cob. But, like most people who
+are slow, he was very determined, and once he made up his mind to do a
+thing you might be sure he would do it, no matter what.
+
+"She lost her motheranfather," said Sweetclover.
+
+"Did Jackie lose his motheranfather too?" asked Kernel Cob.
+
+"Of course," answered Sweetclover. "Don't you know that Jackie and
+Peggs are brother and sister?"
+
+"Sure," said Kernel Cob.
+
+"Well then," said Sweetclover.
+
+"You didn't tell me," said Kernel Cob.
+
+"Tell you what?" asked Sweetclover.
+
+"If Jackie lost his motheranfather," said Kernel Cob.
+
+"Jackie's motheranfather are the same as Peggs'," explained
+Sweetclover.
+
+"Doesn't everybody have his own motheranfather?" asked Kernel Cob.
+
+"Not always," says Sweetclover. "Why?" asks Kernel Cob.
+
+"Please keep quiet," said Sweetclover, "I can't hear what they are
+saying."
+
+"If our mother and father are lost," says Peggs, "why doesn't Auntie
+try to find them?"
+
+"I wish she would," says Jackie.
+
+"Did you hear that?" says Sweetclover.
+
+"What?" asked Kernel Cob.
+
+"That they would like to find their motheranfather," says Sweetclover.
+
+"Are they lost?" asks Kernel Cob.
+
+"Yes," says Sweetclover.
+
+"Who lost them?" asks Kernel Cob.
+
+"Hush!" says Sweetclover.
+
+For a long time nobody spoke and pretty soon a little breeze swayed
+Kernel Cob over toward Sweetclover and he said:
+
+"Let's try to find Jackie and Peggs' motheranfather. Let us pray to
+the fairies that something will come along to help us."
+
+"Good!" said Sweet clover, and they prayed and prayed and prayed.
+
+And just then a great wind came and raised the parasol from the
+ground, and the hook of the handle caught in Kernel Cob's belt and
+pulled him up with it and Sweetclover was just in time to catch hold
+of him as he sailed away. And Jackie and Peggs sat upon the grass and
+cried because they had lost their little dolls.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+
+And the parasol went up and up in the sky all the afternoon, and, try
+as he would, Kernel Cob could not get it to stop.
+
+"I wonder what the fairies are sending us up here for?" shouted Kernel
+Cob.
+
+"Maybe they're in Heaven," said Sweetclover, and just then the parasol
+went skimming through a beautiful white cloud, and the sun was dancing
+on it, making it look like pink eiderdown.
+
+And soon they came out of the cloud and were in the blue sky again.
+
+And up and up they sailed. And the sun dipped down in the sea, and its
+light went out, and the stars came out and began to peep through the
+sky like little fire-flies, and the moon came up, too, to see what was
+going on, and it grew bigger and bigger till it was nearly as big as
+the old Earth.
+
+And then they came to the Moon and could see little people running
+around the edge waving their hands excitedly, and they were all
+dressed in silver clothing, and when Kernel Cob and Sweetclover were
+landed the Moonpeople ran to them and wondered.
+
+And everything about them was silver. Churches and houses and rocks
+and rivers and trees and everything.
+
+And the Moonpeople ran ahead in great confusion to show them the way.
+
+And Kernel Cob formed them into line and put himself at the head of
+the column, as a general does, and they marched in step and everything
+until they came to the Palace of the King, which was of silver with
+turrets and spires of diamonds, and glittered so you could scarcely
+see.
+
+And the King and the Queen were sitting on thrones, and when the King
+saw how Kernel Cob had formed his people in order, he was greatly
+pleased and said to himself, "Here is a fine General. I will put him
+at the head of all my armies."
+
+And Kernel Cobb and Sweetclover were invited to a great banquet, as
+splendid as ever you could imagine.
+
+And when they were seated, Sweetclover saw some flowers on the banquet
+table which were very beautiful, white with silver calyx, and they
+were called Silverfloss, and Sweetclover whispered to Silverfloss:
+
+"Do you understand Earth talk?"
+
+"Ting-a-ling," answered Silverfloss, and it sounded like the tinkling
+of a little silver bell.
+
+"What did she say?" asked Kernel Cob.
+
+"It must be Moonflower talk," said Sweetclover, and she looked about
+and saw some Edelweiss and she was very glad and said: "Edelweiss,
+Edelweiss, how came you here?"
+
+Now you must know the Edelweiss is a little white flower that grows
+away up in the snow of the mountains of Switzerland.
+
+"One night I was blown up here in a great snow storm and I've been
+here ever since," said Edelweiss.
+
+"Can you speak Moonflower talk?" asked Sweetclover.
+
+"Yes," said Edelweiss.
+
+"Very well," said Kernel Cob, "we are trying to find Jackie and Peggs'
+motheranfather and we came all the way from the Earth on a parasol to
+do so. Maybe you can help us."
+
+"I would if I could," replied Edelweiss. "But I am afraid they are not
+here. I've been here over four seasons and I've never seen a human
+being, and even if they were here they couldn't live here because it's
+too cold."
+
+"You bet it is," said Kernel Cob, and he shivered till the medals on
+his coat rattled.
+
+"Maybe they could be here in some other part of the Moon!" said
+Sweetclover. "Would you mind looking?"
+
+"I would be glad to look," said Edelweiss, for he was a very polite
+little flower and had very pretty manners.
+
+And turning to Silverfloss he asked her if she had seen two
+earth-people on the Moon.
+
+"Ting-a-ling," answered Silverfloss and you would have thought it was
+two bells tinkling.
+
+"She says there never was a human being on the Moon," said Edelweiss.
+
+"Well if they are not here," said Kernel Cob, "we had better go before
+we freeze to death," and his teeth chattered.
+
+"How'll we get off?" asked Sweetclover.
+
+"I'll tell Silverfloss to weave you a strand of silver," and he turned
+to Silverfloss and said some tinkling words to her.
+
+"She's doing it," he said. "It's a thread of silver so thin that it
+can't be seen and yet it is so strong that it can easily bear your
+weight."
+
+"But I can't climb all the way down," said Kernel Cob.
+
+"You won't have to," said Edelweiss. "All you have to do is to catch
+hold of the end of the silver thread and hang on to it, and, as
+Silverfloss weaves the thread it gets longer and longer, until you
+have reached the Earth. You'd better start now, if you are going."
+
+So Kernel Cob wound the silver thread around his waist, and, lifting
+Sweetclover, was ready to start. "Good-bye," said Kernel Cob.
+"Good-bye," said Sweetclover.
+
+"Good-bye," said Edelweiss, "Hold on tight!"
+
+"All right," said Kernel Cob.
+
+"Thank you very much," cried Sweetclover.
+
+And down they went, Kernel Cob hanging to the silver thread and
+Sweetclover snuggled close against his jacket.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+
+Kernel Cob and Sweetclover went down and down and down through the sky
+from the Moon.
+
+And after they had gone down and down and down a long time Sweetclover
+suddenly cried:
+
+"What's that?" and pointed below. "It's like a great ball turning
+round and round."
+
+"It looks like another Moon with the lights out."
+
+"It's the Earth!" cried Sweetclover with delight, for she could now
+see the tops of trees as the sun began to show his golden head above
+the hills in the East. And little by little, as Kernel Cob and
+Sweetclover neared the Earth, they could see rivers and lakes and
+steeples and houses and after awhile, people and horses in the fields.
+
+And down, down, down they came, getting nearer and nearer and nearer
+until they saw, beneath their very feet, a great tall house with sails
+on it going round and round at a rapid rate, and, before you could
+say, "Look out!" Kernel Cob was caught in one of the sails and dashed
+to the ground.
+
+"Are you hurt?" asked Sweetclover sitting on the ground where she had
+been thrown.
+
+"No," said Kernel Cob, for a soldier must bear pain without complaint
+and pretend he isn't hurt even if he is.
+
+And a number of people who were working in the fields ran out to see
+what had happened, and you may be sure that they were surprised to see
+these strange dolls. And they spoke a strange language which neither
+Kernel Cob nor Sweetclover could make out.
+
+"I wonder where we are," said Sweetclover, "and who these people can
+be?"
+
+"They're very funny," laughed Kernel Cob, "I never saw shoes like
+those before. They look like boats."
+
+"They're made of wood," said Sweetclover.
+
+And just then a little Dutch girl--for you have guessed that they were
+in Holland--came over and picked them up and carried them off into her
+house.
+
+And little Antje, for that was her name, played with them all day,
+and, when night was come, she put them to sleep in a chair before the
+fireplace where it was nice and warm and cosy.
+
+And, in the middle of the night, a cricket came out on the hearth
+stone and began to chirp.
+
+"Chirp, chirp, chirp," sang the cricket, and Kernel Cob woke up and
+rubbed his eyes and listened.
+
+"Hello, Mister Cricket," shouted Kernel Cob peering over the side of
+the chair.
+
+And the Cricket hopped over to where Kernel Cob was lying.
+
+"Who are you?" he chirped.
+
+"I'm Kernel Cob. And Sweetclover and I are looking for Jackie and
+Peggs' motheranfather," said Kernel Cob, "Have you seen them?"
+
+"Never heard of them," chirped the Cricket. "What's their names?"
+
+"Just Jackie and Peggs' motheranfather; that's all."
+
+And just then Sweetclover woke up and sat on the side of the chair.
+
+"I'm sure that there isn't anybody by that name," chirped the Cricket,
+"but I'll soon find out."
+
+"How?" asked Kernel Cob.
+
+"I'll send a chirp to all the crickets in this house and garden, and
+they'll send a chirp to all the crickets in the next house and garden,
+and so on, and so on, and so on, all through this country, and in a
+little while I'll be able to tell you if they're here or not."
+
+"How'll you ever get the message back?" asked Sweetclover.
+
+"I'm the King of all the Crickets," chirped he, "and when I give an
+order you may be assured that it will be obeyed," and he stretched
+himself with so much pride that you could have heard his jacket
+crackle.
+
+"I'm sure you are very kind," said Sweetclover, "and Kernel Cob and I
+are very much obliged to you," and she said this so very sweetly and
+so prettily that the Cricket lost no time in sending the message.
+
+"Crick-a-crick-a-crick," he chirped, and it sounded just like a
+telegraph instrument. "Crick-a-crick-a-crick. There," he chirped,
+"I've told them to make a search and we'll soon have an answer."
+
+And while they waited, the cricket told them of the strange country
+they were in and all about the canals and the windmills and the
+skating in the winter and the curious wooden shoes that the people
+wore. And when he had done, Kernel Cob and Sweetclover told him about
+Jackie and Peggs, their wonderful visit to the Moon, and how they came
+down in the field and were picked up by little Antje.
+
+"Hush!" said Kernel Cob, "I hear the chirping of a Cricket," for his
+ears were quicker to hear than either Sweetclover's or the Cricket's.
+And sure enough you could now hear the chirping....
+
+"Crick-a-crick-a-crick," and the Cricket pricked up his ears and held
+up a foot to warn them to keep silence.
+
+"I'm sorry to tell you," he said as the chirping stopped, "that they
+are not here."
+
+"Too bad," said Sweetclover, and the dew began to come into her eyes.
+
+"Come," chirped the Cricket. "We must be quick, for if little Antje
+wakes up, you'll not get away so easily again," and they followed him
+as he hopped toward the window, upon which he leaped and was soon
+outside.
+
+Kernel Cob climbed upon a chair, lifted Sweetclover in his arms and
+was soon outside, following quickly on the heels of the nimble Cricket
+who led them down to the waterside, where they found an old wooden
+shoe.
+
+Into this Kernel Cob lifted Sweetclover and, after he had put up a
+stick to serve as a mast and had fastened a piece of cloth to it for a
+sail, he shook hands with the Cricket and climbed in. The cricket gave
+the shoe a push off with one of his feet and they were afloat on the
+sea.
+
+"Good-bye and good luck," chirped the Cricket.
+
+"Good-bye and many thanks," shouted Kernel Cob and Sweetclover, and
+soon they were far off for the wind was blowing very strong.
+
+Presently they were out of sight of the shore and the Cricket turned
+upon his heel and hopped away.
+
+
+                    CRICKETS
+
+        The Cricket is the kind of chap
+        For whom I never cared a rap!
+        I always thought he hopped about
+        The fields, because he had the gout
+        And lost his crutches in the crops,
+        And that's the reason why he hops.
+        But now I'll have to change my mind
+        Because I see he's very kind,
+        For he who is a friend in need
+        Is quite the best of friends indeed.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+
+And Kernel Cob and Sweetclover sailed and sailed for many days and
+nights.
+
+"I wonder where we are and if we shall ever be on land again," sighed
+poor little Sweetclover.
+
+"Of course we will," answered Kernel Cob although he, too, was
+doubtful, but being a soldier he had to keep his courage up and to
+cheer Sweetclover. So he pretended that they were perfectly safe.
+
+And on they sailed and you couldn't see anything but water for miles
+and miles, no matter where you looked.
+
+"What's that?" said Sweetclover, and she was so excited that she
+nearly tipped over the boat.
+
+"I can't see anything but water and a little too much of that to suit
+me," said Kernel Cob.
+
+"Don't you see something dark against the sky?" she asked.
+
+"No, I don't," said Kernel Cob, and he shaded his eyes with his hand
+the way sailors do when they look for something at sea.
+
+"I hope it isn't a whale," said Sweetclover.
+
+"It had better not be," said Kernel Cob, "if he knows what's good for
+him," and he patted his sword in a very brave manner.
+
+"It's getting bigger and bigger," said Sweetclover. "Don't you see
+it?"
+
+"Sure!" said Kernel Cob, "I saw it all the time, it's a ship." And
+like all people who tell fibs he was found out, for it wasn't a ship
+at all.
+
+"It's land!" said Sweetclover, joyfully, and sure enough it was, for
+soon you could see the trees. And as they sailed closer the trees grew
+taller and taller, and after a while you could see the shore.
+
+"It's a little island," said Sweetclover.
+
+"What's an island?" asked Kernel Cob.
+
+"Didn't you ever go to school?" asked Sweetclover.
+
+"No, but I wish I had."
+
+But Kernel Cob didn't answer. He just steered the shoeboat toward the
+shore by putting one leg over the side as if it were a rudder, and in
+a little while they ran the boat up on the shore and Sweetclover
+hopped out and Kernel Cob pulled the boat up on the beach so the tide,
+when it came in, wouldn't take it out to sea again.
+
+And they walked along the beach.
+
+"I'm very hungry," said Sweetclover.
+
+"Sit down here," said Kernel Cob, "and I'll see if I can find
+something for dinner." And he went along the beach.
+
+After he had walked a long distance, he found a tree with some nuts on
+it, and he picked a lot of them and put them in his hat and started
+back to Sweetclover.
+
+You may imagine his astonishment when he reached the spot where he had
+left her and discovered that she was not there.
+
+But, all about on the sand, he saw foot-prints as of a great number of
+bare footed people.
+
+"The savages have taken her," he muttered, and drawing his sword he
+ran off in the direction they had taken.
+
+Through the woods he ran, and pretty soon he came to a clearing and
+there was Sweetclover surrounded by about a thousand savages shouting
+and dancing and waving spears above their heads. And Kernel Cob
+grasped his sword firmly in his hand and ran at them, and, so fiercely
+did he fight, that in a minute he had driven away about a hundred of
+them. And he would have driven them all away, but his foot slipped
+and, before he could get up again, he was overpowered and bound hand
+and foot.
+
+And they brought him before their chief who was a great giant.
+
+And when it was night, the savages tied the two captives to trees and
+went to sleep about a great fire. And in the middle of the night when
+Kernel Cob was thinking of some way in which to make their escape, he
+heard something stirring in the grass at his feet.
+
+"Who's that?" he whispered.
+
+"Tommy Hare," was the reply, and he ran out from a stone behind which
+he had been hiding.
+
+"Good for you!" said Kernel Cob. "Come stand up on your hind legs,
+like a good fellow, and untie me from this tree."
+
+"Who are you?" asked Tommy cautiously.
+
+"I'm Kernel Cob and this is my little friend Sweetclover and we're
+looking for Jackie and Peggs' motheranfather and we've been captured
+by the savages who may keep us here forever if you don't help us."
+
+"That I will," said Tommy, and in a jiffy he had gnawed them free.
+
+"Now, show us the way down to the beach as quickly as you can," said
+Kernel Cob, "for it will be daylight soon and then it will be too
+late. Come."
+
+And they started running as fast as they could.
+
+And not a minute too soon, for they had got only half way when they
+heard the shouts of the savages and knew that their escape had been
+discovered.
+
+Faster and faster they ran, but the savages gained on them at every
+step and were soon close upon their heels.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+"Jump on my back!" shouted Tommy, "for I can run faster than all of
+them put together."
+
+And they did so and flew over the ground as fast as the wind.
+
+And they reached the shore and jumped into the shoeboat and Tommy
+shoved them off with a great push that put them out of sight of land,
+and the savages' spears fell in the water behind them.
+
+"That was a narrow escape," said Sweetclover, as she settled down in
+the boat. "I hope Tommy Hare wasn't caught by the savages."
+
+But she needn't have worried in the least about Tommy, for as soon as
+he had pushed them off, he scurried away and was at that moment
+sitting under a tree, eating his breakfast.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+
+Kernel Cob and Sweetclover sailed all day. The shoeboat rode the waves
+with perfect ease. Up it went and up till it came to the top of a
+great wave, and then it would race down on the other side as if they
+were bob-sledding and great sport it was, too, out in the middle of
+the ocean, and Sweetclover laughed and even old serious Kernel Cob
+smiled and forgot all about fighting.
+
+Toward the afternoon, the sea quieted down and they rode along faster
+and presently, Sweetclover, who was always watching, cried out:
+
+"I see another island!"
+
+"So it is!" said Kernel Cob, looking in the wrong direction.
+
+"Not over there. Look!" and she pointed.
+
+Sure enough. There was a large black stretch of what appeared to be
+land. And it was very flat.
+
+"I hope there will be no more savages to fight," said Sweetclover.
+
+"I hope there will," said Kernel Cob.
+
+"It's moving," said Sweetclover. "It seems to be coming this way."
+
+"Where did it go?" asked Kernel Cob, for at that moment it disappeared
+altogether.
+
+"I'm sure I saw it," said Sweetclover. "Didn't you?"
+
+But Kernel Cob only frowned and looked serious.
+
+And, in a few minutes, they saw it again, but this time it was very
+much nearer and bigger and the sun made it look very smooth.
+
+"It's a whale!" said Sweetclover.
+
+"Who cares," said he, and drew his sword.
+
+And the turtle, for it was a turtle and not a whale at all, came
+towards them and it was very large, nearly as big around as an acre.
+And when it got very near to the boat, its head came up out of its
+shell and the little shoe boat shook with the waves it made.
+
+And the turtle was just about to snap the boat in its mouth when
+Kernel Cob swung his sword and with one mighty stroke cut off its
+head.
+
+"Ha, ha!" cried Kernel Cob, but, receiving no reply from Sweetclover,
+he looked about and found she had fainted.
+
+He found also that the boat was leaking badly from a crack in the side
+made, no doubt, by the turtle.
+
+Quickly, he lifted Sweetclover and carried her aboard the back of the
+turtle and laid her gently down, for the shoe was sinking and he was
+no sooner out of it than it turned over on its side.
+
+"Not a minute too soon," muttered Kernel Cob, "and now to revive
+Sweetclover." This he soon did and she opened her eyes and looked
+about in wonder.
+
+"Where are we?" she asked.
+
+"On the old turtle's back," laughed Kernel Cob.
+
+"But we shall never get anywhere now, for we have no sail," said
+Sweetclover. And she began to cry.
+
+"Crying never did anybody any good," said Kernel Cob, "I wish you
+would stop."
+
+"I can't help it," said Sweetclover, "I'm miserable."
+
+"What's all this about?" said a strange voice, and looking about
+quickly, they saw a sea-horse riding up to them.
+
+"I am very glad to see you," said Kernel Cob.
+
+"You're just in time to give us a lift on our journey."
+
+"With pleasure," whinnied the sea-horse. "And where might you be
+going?"
+
+"To find Jackie and Peggs' motheranfather," said Sweetclover.
+
+"Well, leap on my back," said the Horse, "and I'll see that you get
+there if it's in the water."
+
+So Kernel Cob got astride the horse and helped Sweetclover to mount
+behind him.
+
+"Where are we?" asked Kernel Cob.
+
+"Cuba is right over there," said the sea-horse pointing with his ear.
+
+"Well, let's see if they are there, if you please," said Sweetclover.
+
+"Aye, aye, Miss," he said, and trotted away as nearly like a real
+horse as he could.
+
+They had gone along for a couple of hours without mishap when a storm
+came up. At first the sea-horse paid no attention to the storm, but
+one great big clap of thunder rang out and a flash of lightning struck
+so close it startled him.
+
+With a great leap, he started forward, his eyes bulging from his head,
+and, with a stream of foam flung out from his mouth, he turned and
+raced through the water at a terrific rate, Kernel Cob and Sweetclover
+clinging to him with all their strength.
+
+"He's a runaway," shouted Kernel Cob and, sure enough, the horse was
+mad and nothing could stop him. On and on they raced, but everything
+must come to an end and along about the afternoon, they saw land in
+the distance.
+
+Toward this he made at breakneck speed and with a final spurt dashed
+into an inlet where many ships rode at anchor and a large city rose
+against the sky.
+
+"Hurrah!" shouted Kernel Cob.
+
+In and out among the ships the sea-horse ran, until, with a last gasp,
+he flung himself forward and fell upon the surface of the water.
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+
+When the sea-horse fell, Kernel Cob and Sweetclover were thrown over
+his head and landed into the water, but Kernel Cob told Sweetclover
+they would soon be picked up.
+
+And so they were, for a row-boat pulled toward them and in a minute
+they were taken from the water and laid on the bottom of the boat.
+
+"What did I tell you?" said Kernel Cob. "If you wish for anything
+strong enough you'll get it."
+
+"You'll wish you were never born before you get out of here," said a
+deep, strange voice, and looking about, Kernel Cob and Sweetclover
+were surprised to see two puppets, their own size.
+
+The one who spoke was a villainous-looking fellow dressed as a Pirate.
+His face was browned as if by the sun, earrings were in his ears, a
+black hat on his head, and a deep and very ugly scowl was painted on
+his forehead.
+
+The other was good looking and resembled the hero in a story. He had
+pink cheeks and a pretty smile.
+
+Now, when Sweetclover heard the villainous puppet speak, she moved
+away from him but Kernel Cob, who always welcomed a new adventure and
+saw in this fellow a possible enemy, spoke up:
+
+"Who and what are you?"
+
+"A friend," answered the Villain.
+
+"You don't look it," said Sweetclover, "you look more like a villain."
+
+"And so I am," said he. "At least that's what I'm painted to be, but I
+have a kind heart just the same."
+
+"What are you doing out here in this boat?" asked Kernel Cob.
+
+"The man who is rowing and who picked you up is a puppet showman," he
+explained.
+
+"I don't like him a bit," said Sweetclover.
+
+"You'll like him less and less as you get to know him," said the
+Villain. "He's very brutal. That's why we are in the boat, for
+yesterday during the puppet show, he broke the Hero in a rage and he
+had to go across the harbor to a toy-shop to buy another. That's the
+new Hero alongside of me."
+
+"He's very handsome," said Sweetclover.
+
+"Sure," said the Villain. "He's got to be. Heroes are all handsome."
+
+"But why are you so ugly?" asked Kernel Cob.
+
+"Ha, ha," laughed the Villain, "why bless your heart, I'm not a real
+villain, I only play the part of a villain in the play. My real self
+is something very different. But what, may I ask, are you doing out
+here in the harbor of Valparaiso?"
+
+"Is that where we are?" asked Sweetclover.
+
+"Sure," said Kernel Cob, for he didn't want the Villain to think he
+wasn't smart. "Didn't you know we were in Italy?"
+
+"Ha, ha," sneered the Hero, and from that moment Kernel Cob disliked
+him.
+
+"But you haven't told me how you got into the water," persisted the
+Villain.
+
+"We came on a sea-horse from Cuba," said Sweetclover.
+
+"That must have been an exciting adventure," said the Villain. "Tell
+me all of it."
+
+And Kernel Cob told him how they had been to the Moon on a parasol
+and all that. When he had finished, he asked the Villain to tell them
+some of his adventures.
+
+But the Villain was a modest sort of fellow and would say nothing but
+that he was very unhappy, leading a wicked life. What annoyed him
+most, he said, was that nearly everybody thought he was bad.
+
+"It only goes to show," he said, "that you can never go by anybody's
+looks."
+
+"You're right," said Kernel Cob, and gave a sharp glance at the Hero.
+"Many a kind heart beats beneath an ugly face."
+
+And then the row-boat landed at the dock, and the showman, taking the
+Villain and the Hero under one arm and Kernel Cob and Sweetclover
+under the other, got out and walked away.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+
+Through the town they went and everywhere children ran after them, and
+wondered at the strange puppets. And after a while they came to a
+little theatre and were thrown down among a lot of other puppets.
+
+"I don't intend to stay here," said Kernel Cob. "I'm going to run
+away. I've got to find Jackie and Peggs' motheranfather."
+
+"I don't think you'll be able to get away," said the Villain.
+
+"Well, at least I'll try," answered Kernel Cob. "Wouldn't you like to
+come with us?"
+
+"You bet," said the Villain, for he had taken a great fancy to Kernel
+Cob and especially to Sweetclover, whose gentle manners appealed very
+strongly to him. "But how are you going to do it?"
+
+"Let me think," said Kernel Cob and they were very quiet for a long
+while.
+
+"I tell you what," said the Villain, "When I am going to play I'll run
+off the stage and as soon as you see the Showman run after me, you
+must be ready to run and before he catches me, you'll be safe away."
+
+"But you won't be able to come with us, then," said Sweetclover, "and
+you'll be beaten."
+
+"Well, as long as you and Kernel Cob get away, it won't matter what
+happens to me," said the Villain.
+
+"That's very noble of you, I'm sure," said Kernel Cob, "and I see that
+you are a very friendly Villain, but I think I can find a better plan
+than that."
+
+While they were talking, the Showman came and tied some strings on
+Kernel Cob and Sweetclover.
+
+"What's that for?" asked Kernel Cob.
+
+"I guess you are going to play in the show," explained the Villain.
+"That's the way he works us."
+
+"Now we will never be able to get away," sighed Sweetclover.
+
+"Won't we though," said Kernel Cob, "leave it to me," for he was very
+brave of heart and nothing daunted him, because he was a soldier, you
+see, and was brave by nature.
+
+And the Showman took them into the theatre, and the performance began.
+When the play was over, quick as a flash, Kernel Cob cut the strings
+from Sweetclover and himself.
+
+"Now is our time!" shouted he to Sweetclover and the Villain, who were
+standing close by, and the Villain, catching Sweetclover by the hand,
+ran away with her.
+
+Holding the Showman at a distance, Kernel Cob backed his way off the
+stage, joined the Villain and Sweetclover and all three ran out into
+the street at the top of their speed, but the Showman was much faster
+and was close on their heels when they came to a corner.
+
+"Straight ahead!" shouted Kernel Cob while he turned and ran up the
+other street. This puzzled the Showman just what Kernel Cob wanted,
+and while he stood, wondering which one of them to follow, they gained
+on him.
+
+Feeling angrier with Kernel Cob than with the Villain and Sweetclover,
+he made after him, but Kernel Cob had a good start this time and had
+turned another corner, and seeing an open doorway, leaped in and was
+well-hidden by the time the Showman came puffing by.
+
+For a long time the Showman searched, but never thought of the door
+behind which Kernel Cob was hiding and finally gave up the search and
+went back.
+
+After Kernel Cob had given him plenty of time to get away, he came out
+cautiously and with great courage went back the way he had come,
+anxious to find Sweetclover and the Villain.
+
+When he came to the corner where Sweetclover and the Villain had gone
+straight ahead, he followed on after them, but could find no trace of
+them. Night was coming on and still he walked and being very tired
+with all his running, he sat down on the roadside, for he was now out
+in the country. And the moon came out and he watched it and thought of
+the many adventures he had been in since Sweetclover and he were up
+there and a great longing came into his heart to see her and if he had
+not been a soldier, I am sure he would have cried, but he didn't.
+Instead, he got upon his feet and looked about for some place where he
+could spend the night.
+
+This he soon found, for close at hand was a field in which some hay
+had been stacked, and, careful not to arouse the dog, he crept under
+one of the haystacks and soon was fast asleep.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+
+The Villain and Sweetclover ran on and on till their legs would carry
+them no farther and, being entirely out of breath, they came to a halt
+at last. They were far out beyond the City, and, if they had not been
+worried about Kernel Cob, they would have enjoyed the lovely fields of
+flowers and sunshine, but Sweetclover was quite sure that the wicked
+Showman had captured Kernel Cob and, having recovered her breath, sat
+down and began to cry. And the Villain, being a very kind-hearted
+puppet sat down to comfort her, but, try as he would, Sweetclover only
+cried the louder.
+
+"I'm sure he's captured, I'm sure he's captured," she repeated over
+and over again, until she made the Villain believe it and he began to
+cry, too.
+
+"Here, this will never do," said the Villain, getting up. "I'll go
+back and see if I can find him."
+
+"No, no!" cried Sweetclover. "You'll be caught too, and then what will
+I do?" So he stayed with her.
+
+Presently they were aroused by the barking of a dog and, looking
+about, discovered that they were sitting on the terrace of a big house
+all about which were fields of flowers and grain. And the dog, a big
+mastiff, came toward them. Sweetclover put out a friendly hand and
+said, "Nice Fido."
+
+"Don't call me Fido," said the dog, "my name is Napoleon."
+
+"Oh, excuse me," said Sweetclover, "I didn't know."
+
+"That's all right," said Napoleon with a stately bow. "Is there
+anything I can do for you?"
+
+"I'm afraid not," said Sweetclover. "My friend here," and she turned
+to the Villain, "and I have been separated from Kernel Cob and we are
+anxious to find him. You didn't see him pass by, did you?"
+
+"No," said Napoleon, "that I didn't."
+
+"Oh dear," sighed Sweetclover, "night is coming on and we have nowhere
+to go."
+
+"If you will give me a few minutes," said Napoleon, with a courteous
+wave of his paw in the direction of his house, "I will put my humble
+home at your disposal."
+
+"We cannot think of disturbing you," said Sweetclover.
+
+"It will be no trouble whatever," he said. "If I can be of any service
+to you, it will give me much pleasure."
+
+And so they followed him, as he walked away with great dignity, to his
+kennel.
+
+"What, may I enquire, has brought you to this neighborhood?" he asked
+as they arrived at his house.
+
+"You see," explained Sweetclover, "we were captured by a very wicked
+Showman and made to act with him in his puppet-show, so we ran away."
+
+"Have you been long in Valparaiso?" he asked. And she told him her
+story. How they had been to the moon in search of Jackie and Peggs'
+motheranfather, and so on, till the moment when he had met them on the
+road.
+
+"Very, very interesting, I am sure," he said, "and I wish I could help
+you in finding Jackie and Peggs' motheranfather, but I think you must
+be tired, so if you will lie down here I will sleep outside and
+protect you from any danger."
+
+So Sweetclover and the Villain entered his house, which was very
+nicely covered with straw and made a very comfortable place to sleep
+in, and in a few minutes were fast asleep.
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+
+In the morning, the sun was shining brightly and looking out of the
+door of Napoleon's house they were overjoyed to see Kernel Cob walking
+toward them, for the field in which he had slept was the one next to
+where Napoleon lived.
+
+You may imagine their joy.
+
+After he had been introduced to Napoleon, they sat down to think what
+had best be done.
+
+"I wish I could help you," said Napoleon, "but I am a watch dog and a
+watch dog may never shirk his duty. I never leave these grounds, for I
+love my master."
+
+"You have been very kind," said Sweetclover, "and I'm sure we are
+grateful to you."
+
+"I'll tell you what I can do," said Napoleon, whose forehead wrinkled
+as he thought, "I can introduce you to a great bird that lives in a
+field back of me. She is the South American condor and I'm sure she
+will be able to carry you somewhere."
+
+"All of us?" asked Kernel Cob.
+
+"Why, yes, indeed," replied Napoleon, "she is about ten times as big
+as you and very strong."
+
+"Oh, goodie," said Sweetclover, "where is she?"
+
+"Over there," answered Napoleon. "Just say I sent you and she will do
+anything for you."
+
+So, after thanking Napoleon for his kindness, they walked in the
+direction he had given them and soon came to a great haystack on the
+top of which was a large nest.
+
+And Kernel Cob called up to the nest and the bird put out her head.
+
+Kernel Cob then introduced everybody and the bird flew down at once.
+
+"We are trying to find Jackie and Peggs' motheranfather," he
+explained, and after he had told her their story, she was so
+interested that she said she would help them as soon as she had
+finished her breakfast.
+
+"Now," she said, "let us start. Where are the motheranfather of these
+little children?"
+
+"I don't know," said Kernel Cob. "They're lost."
+
+"I don't know anything about motheranfathers," replied the bird, "but
+I know when I lose anything it is because it falls out of my nest."
+
+"People don't live in nests," replied Kernel Cob. "For if they did,
+and fell out, they would get broken."
+
+"I say!" said the Villain who had been thinking very deeply. "Let's
+look for them near where they were lost."
+
+"That's a good way," said Sweetclover. "Let's go to the United States.
+How far is it?"
+
+"Thousands of miles," answered the Condor. "But that is nothing for
+me. I can fly that far in a few days. Come, get ready. We will go to
+the United States. Jump on my back."
+
+So they climbed up on the bird's back, and all being ready she flew
+away.
+
+"How does she know which way to fly?" asked Sweetclover.
+
+"Birds know everything in the air, just the same as fishes do in the
+water," said the Villain.
+
+"And worms in the ground," added Kernel Cob.
+
+"I guess Dolls must be the stupidest things in the world," said
+Sweetclover.
+
+"Only some of us," said Kernel Cob.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+At this Sweetclover, the Villain and the Condor laughed, but Kernel
+Cob didn't know what they were laughing at, which was a very good
+thing for him.
+
+All that day they flew, and were very happy indeed in the warm
+sunshine skimming through the clouds. And once they went through a
+rainstorm and got wet; but as the sun came out soon after and dried
+them quickly they were none the worse for their bath, but felt
+refreshed for it.
+
+And they passed over the great Amazon river, the largest river in the
+world, and, much before they knew it, they were in Central America
+going at a tremendous rate of speed.
+
+"We shall be in the United States very soon, at this pace," said the
+Villain.
+
+And on the Condor flew, swift as an arrow, but in the afternoon a
+great wind storm came from the East and she was obliged to turn her
+course in the direction of the wind, and late in the evening they were
+nearing a large city which was now visible in the distance.
+
+"I wish I had wings," sighed Sweetclover, "and could fly all over the
+world. It would be so wonderful."
+
+"We will rest to-night," said the bird, "and try to find the
+motheranfather of Jackie and Peggs to-morrow."
+
+"You will be too tired," said Sweetclover.
+
+"Oh, no," said the Condor. "You can have no fear. I will be all right.
+When I say I do something I do that. I never...."
+
+She did not finish what she was going to say, and maybe it was a
+punishment for boasting. People are often punished for talking too
+much about what they can do ... for just at that moment something
+dreadful happened that changed their plans.
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+
+And what do you think happened to the Condor?
+
+Just as they were coming to the city and the bird was looking back,
+talking to Kernel Cob and the others, and everything looked so happy
+and bright....
+
+"Look out!" shouted Kernel Cob, but it was too late. Straight ahead
+was a tall tree, toward which the bird was flying, and from the
+branches came a puff of smoke and the sharp crack of a gun.
+
+The next instant the Condor stopped flying, and slowly sank to the
+ground.
+
+"I am done for," she said in a feeble voice. "It is just the way of
+all birds. I am sorry that I cannot help you more. Good-bye."
+
+By this time she had reached the ground, and Kernel Cob was in a very
+great rage. He wanted to stay and fight the hunter who would soon come
+to take the bird, but Sweetclover and the Villain begged him to be
+prudent and run away, lest they all be captured.
+
+So with great sorrow, they said good-bye to the Condor and hurried
+away.
+
+From behind a rock, they watched the hunter take up the bird and carry
+it away.
+
+And our three little friends sat down upon a stone to think.
+
+"I don't know what to do," said Sweetclover. "We have lost our best
+friend."
+
+"Never mind," said the Villain tenderly, and he put his hand kindly on
+her shoulder. "It will all come right in the end. It always does, you
+know."
+
+"Yes, I know," said Sweetclover, "but you have to go through such
+terrible things first."
+
+"Well, we got along pretty well before we met the bird," said Kernel
+Cob. "Didn't we get to the Moon and all that?"
+
+"That was because we prayed to the Fairies," said Sweetclover.
+
+"And maybe if we pray now, something will happen to help us."
+
+Sweetclover had a very beautiful faith. She believed, as all good
+people do, that you must put your faith in something good, and then
+everything will be for the best, no matter what happens.
+
+So they knelt down by the side of the rock and prayed.
+
+"How do you pray?" whispered the Villain to Sweetclover. "I never
+prayed before in my life."
+
+"Just say, 'Please good, kind Fairies, I am a poor little Villain, and
+I need your help, and I'll never be bad any more.'"
+
+So they prayed, and pretty soon along came a team of horses drawing a
+big wagon packed with boxes of oranges.
+
+And the wagon stopped on the road where they were, and the driver got
+down to fix the harness of one of the horses.
+
+"I'm glad that buckle got loose," said the horse to his team-mate, "I
+was getting tired and needed a rest."
+
+"Hello there, Master Horse," shouted Kernel Cob.
+
+"Who are you?" neighed the horse.
+
+"I'm Kernel Cob. Where are you going?"
+
+"We're going to the city to pack these oranges on a train," was the
+reply.
+
+"Here's our chance!" cried Kernel Cob. "Come, let us hide in one of
+these boxes, and we'll get a ride on the train."
+
+"Good idea," said the Villain.
+
+So they waited till the man climbed up on his seat again, and shouted,
+"get up" to the horses; then they ran out and got on one of the spokes
+of the wheel when it was near the ground, and when the wheel turned
+and the spoke came up to the top, they sprang off onto the wagon and
+crawled into a box which is called a crate, and is open a little so
+the oranges do not get too hot and spoil. And it was perfectly safe
+and very comfortable.
+
+And they must have fallen asleep; for the next thing they knew they
+felt a rocking and a rocking and Kernel Cob got out of the crate and
+crawled along till he came to a stairway, and, climbing this,
+discovered that they were on a ship.
+
+He hurried back to tell his news to Sweetclover and the Villain.
+
+And Sweetclover began to cry.
+
+"A woman is the crybabiest person in the world," said Kernel Cob.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+                 NOBLE DEEDS!
+
+        If you attempt a noble deed
+        You're almost certain to succeed,
+        So do not give up hope, but try,
+        However rough your path may lie,
+        To forge ahead with all your might
+        And everything will come out right.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+
+For many days they sailed on the ship till they came to land. And men
+came to unload the vessel, and their crate of oranges was carried up
+on the dock and placed on a wagon, and they were driven off, not in
+the least knowing what country they were in, nor where they were
+going.
+
+And they peered out from the crate, and soon they heard the queerest
+kind of talk they ever heard, and Kernel Cob, bolder than the others,
+raised his head above an orange but quickly put it down again.
+
+"I know where we are," said the Villain who had been thinking. "We are
+in Japan."
+
+"How do you know?" asked Sweetclover.
+
+"I was here once with the Showman," said the Villain, "and I remember
+the way the people talked."
+
+And, being pushed onto a wagon, they were driven outside the city.
+
+"We mustn't go too far," said Sweetclover, "or we'll never find Jackie
+and Peggs' motheranfather. Let's get out before it's too late."
+
+So they climbed out of their hiding place, and jumped to the ground.
+
+They were not far from a house, and a curious kind of a house it was.
+
+"It looks like the kind of house Jackie used to make with cards," said
+Kernel Cob, and so intent were they, that they did not hear the
+approach of a little girl until she stood beside them, and lifted
+Sweetclover in her arms.
+
+Of course they did not understand what she said, but it must have been
+something very beautiful, for her face was all smiles.
+
+And the little Japanese girl lifted up Kernel Cob, and the Villain,
+too, and carried them off down the road and into the little house.
+
+A very wonderful house it was, and full of toys, mostly Japanese dolls
+with short, straight hair and beautiful dresses, and talking all at
+once, in a curious language.
+
+"Oh, dear," sighed Sweetclover, "shall we never understand anybody in
+this strange country?"
+
+"Aye, aye sir," came a voice at her feet, and looking down, much to
+her surprise she saw an American Sailor doll.
+
+"Bless my heart, mates," said the sailor, "I'm glad to see you aboard.
+I've been in this port these four months, and I haven't heard the
+sound of the American language in all that time. Shiver my timbers if
+I'm not glad to set eyes on you."
+
+And they talked it all over, where they'd been and everything, all
+about the Condor and the savages and the Moon.
+
+"Well, mates," said Jackie Tar, for that was his name, "you've seen a
+lot but you'll never do any more travelling, for you're in a pretty
+tight hole this time," and he went on to tell them about the Japanese
+who lived in the house and owned the store.
+
+"He's a Toy-maker, he is, and the first thing he'll do is to rip you
+up to see how you're laid together, so he can make more like you."
+
+"Mercy!" said Sweetclover, and she began to sob.
+
+"If you're going to begin to cry," said Kernel Cob, "I'm going to give
+up," but the Villain whispered something kindly in Sweetclover's ear,
+and she stopped at once, for the Villain had more patience, and knew
+how to comfort her.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+"Maybe I can help you to escape from here," said Jackie Tar, "and
+maybe I can't, but I can try. I've had a plan in my mind for a long
+time but I've had no one to help me but these Japs, and they're not
+worth the paint on their faces. Are you brave enough to risk it with
+me?"
+
+Kernel Cob swelled out his chest and showed his medals, and told
+Jackie Tar how he had fought the savages single handed.
+
+"You'll do," laughed the sailor, and he told them his plan. "Do you
+see that red box over there in the corner?
+
+"Well, that's a Japanese kite. It goes up into the air very quickly.
+What I say to do is to climb into the kite, and go up with it. It's a
+big one and will carry us all."
+
+"Where'll we go to?" asked the Villain.
+
+"What care we, as long as we get out of here," and he hitched his
+trousers as real sailors do.
+
+"Will you do it?"
+
+"You bet," said Kernel Cob.
+
+So it was agreed that they would go up in the kite, and they moved
+over to it and tugged at it till they had it in the center of the
+room. Then a great clatter of talk arose from all the Japanese dolls,
+which sounded like a lot of chickens calling for their dinner; but
+Kernel Cob and Jackie Tar and the Villain and Sweetclover paid no heed
+to them, but only tugged the harder till they had the kite out into
+the middle of the road.
+
+"There are just four of us," said Jackie Tar. "Each man tar to a
+corner. Quick! All aboard," and it was all they could do to hold down
+the kite.
+
+"Stand by to get the ship under way. Up anchor. Heave ho, lads. Heave
+ho."
+
+But at that moment....
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+
+The little Japanese girl returned, pulling her father down the road.
+
+The little old man was waving his arms about fiercely and shouting,
+"Zaca sakasaka," and before the kite had risen from the ground he had
+reached it, and the next moment Kernel Cob, Sweetclover, the Villain
+and Jackie Tar were being carried into the toy-shop.
+
+"Did you ever see such luck in all your life?" grumbled Kernel Cob.
+
+"I might have known it was Friday," said Jackie Tar, for sailors are
+very superstitious.
+
+"Never mind," said the Villain, "we'll get away another day."
+
+"Oh, let us hope so," said Sweetclover, "for I don't want to be ripped
+apart by that bad Japanese."
+
+"Well, that's what the toy-maker will do if you don't escape him,"
+said Jackie Tar, and his eyes would have bulged if they had been real
+ones instead of just painted.
+
+"Why doesn't he rip you apart?" asked Kernel Cob.
+
+"Because I'm made of wood. I haven't got any stuffings," said Jackie
+Tar.
+
+By this time the four had been laid upon the floor, and the Japanese
+dolls had started a great clatter of talk. The little girl picked up
+Sweetclover and was smoothing out her ruffled dress when the Toy-maker
+took up a pair of scissors and grabbed up Kernel Cob, before he could
+draw his sword.
+
+But at that moment the Fairies must have heard Sweetclover's prayer,
+for I am sure she must have uttered one when her beloved Kernel Cob
+was so near to being cut apart.
+
+The door opened, and in walked a man, a woman, and a little girl. And
+they were Americans, too, for the first thing Sweetclover heard was
+the little girl saying:
+
+"Mother dear, I do so want a dollie."
+
+"Dorothy wants a doll, John," said the little girl's mother.
+
+"Very well," said John, and turning to the Toy-maker said:
+
+"You sell doll?"
+
+"Me sell him very plenty doll," answered the Toy-maker.
+
+"How much for this one?" asked the man, picking up a little Japanese
+doll.
+
+But the little girl had seen Kernel Cob in the Toy-maker's hand, and
+clapping her hands joyfully said:
+
+"Oh, Dad, may I have this one? I think he's so cunning."
+
+"How much?" asked Dorothy's father.
+
+"Him cost two yen."
+
+"Let's see, that's one dollar."
+
+"All right," and he took Kernel Cob, and gave the money to the
+Toy-maker.
+
+Now you may be sure that Sweetclover's heart fell, when she heard
+this, and thought of being separated from Kernel Cob, and I am quite
+sure that she prayed very hard to the Fairies; for at that moment the
+little Japanese girl dropped her, and this caused Dorothy to see what
+had fallen, and, when she saw Sweetclover, she ran and picked her up.
+
+"Oh!" she cried with pleasure. "Isn't she lovely. May I have her too?"
+
+"Why, I suppose so," said her father. "If she doesn't cost too much."
+
+[Illustration]
+
+"Him allee same cost like soldier doll," explained the Toy-maker.
+
+"Very well," said Dorothy's father, "we'll take him too," and he gave
+the Toy-maker the money.
+
+Sweetclover's heart was beating high with happiness; but suddenly
+there came into her mind the thought of leaving the Villain; her good,
+thoughtful friend, who had so often consoled her in her troubles, and
+her heart fell again. Oh, if she could only talk to little Dorothy and
+beg her to take the Villain and Jackie Tar; but this she could not do
+so she prayed to the Fairies instead and at once her prayer was heard;
+for the Toy-maker, who had a very good business head on his shoulders,
+ran to the door as Dorothy and her parents were going out and called
+to them:
+
+"Little girl want nice Pirate and Sailor feller? Allee same price like
+other doll."
+
+And Dorothy's father, being a very kind father indeed, and just the
+right kind of father for every little girl to have, bought them and
+Dorothy went down the road with the four dolls under her arms.
+
+And you may be sure that Sweetclover was happy, for they had not only
+escaped being ripped apart, but were all together, safe and sound.
+
+And Dorothy and her parents went to their hotel in the city, and
+Dorothy played with her new dolls till her mother came to her and
+said:
+
+"Dorothy, dear, we must pack our things for we are going to China this
+afternoon."
+
+But a great misfortune happened, for when Dorothy's parents arrived in
+China they were in a great hurry to leave the dock, where the boat
+landed, and Dorothy, who had fallen asleep, forgot her dolls, and left
+them on a bench in the waiting room, and before Kernel Cob or Jackie
+Tar or the Villain or Sweetclover could catch up to her, she had been
+lifted into her mother's arms and had disappeared in the crowd.
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+
+"Well," said Jackie Tar, "Here we are in China." "I don't see any cups
+and saucers," said Kernel Cob, looking about the streets. "All I can
+see is a lot of women with hair hanging down their backs."
+
+"Those are men--Chinamen," explained Jackie Tar, for sailors travel
+all about and know pretty nearly everything about the people of the
+world.
+
+"Well, if they are men," said Kernel Cob, "they ought to have their
+hair cut, and look like men. And if Jackie and Peggs' motheranfather
+look like these Chinamen, I don't want to find them at all, for I
+think a child is better off _without_ parents than having two
+mothers."
+
+"I wish we had never come here at all," said Sweetclover.
+
+"Never mind," said the Villain, "we will find a way to get out of
+here."
+
+"Leave it to me," said Jackie Tar. "I've been about this old world
+enough to know how to manage things."
+
+But much as he had been about, he didn't count on the things that
+happen when you least expect them, for just at that moment, and
+without any warning, they were picked up by a little Chinese boy who
+carried them home.
+
+"This must be the thirteenth of the month," said Jackie Tar, for you
+know that people think that the number thirteen brings bad luck.
+
+But it wasn't the thirteenth as you will presently see, for it was a
+very lucky day indeed for our little friends.
+
+And they were played with by the little Chinese boy, and, when it came
+time to go to bed, he took the little dolls with him and for once they
+were fed a very enjoyable supper of rice and milk, a food which Jackie
+Tar and the Villain liked, but Kernel Cob said it needed raisins and
+more sugar, so it might be a rice pudding, and after that they were
+properly put to bed under nice warm covers, but they did not sleep,
+you may be sure, but lay awake waiting for the little boy to fall
+asleep so that they might make their escape.
+
+At last the moment arrived, and silently and cautiously they crept
+from under the covers, and once the Villain stumbled in climbing over
+the side of the crib, which wakened the little boy, but he must have
+been very tired for he went to sleep at once without thinking of his
+dolls.
+
+They hurried away in the direction of the water, which Jackie Tar said
+he knew, for, said he, "A sailor can always smell the salt sea air, no
+matter how far away he may be."
+
+And sure enough, in a few moments they arrived at the water's edge.
+
+"Now that we are here," said Kernel Cob, "what's to be done?"
+
+"All in good time, Kernel," said Jackie Tar, "Each man to his trade,"
+and he began to look about.
+
+"Gather all the sticks you see and bring them to me," said he, and
+they brought him pieces of wood, large and small, and he chose the
+largest, and having torn the lining of his jacket into strips, he
+spliced them into a rope and with this he tied the wood together until
+he had made a very good raft indeed.
+
+And he set the biggest stick of all, which was a bamboo pole, into the
+raft and tying his jacket with one sleeve at the top, and the other at
+the bottom of the pole, he had a good sail made in a jiffy.
+
+"All aboard," he sang out and they got upon the raft and sat
+"forward," as he told them, and grasping the tail of his coat in one
+hand, and the rudder with the other, for he had tied a flat board at
+the stern of the raft, they set sail.
+
+"Where away?" he asked.
+
+"I don't care," said Kernel Cob, "as long as we get away from this
+China place, for I don't like any place that isn't what it says it
+is."
+
+"Aye, aye, sir," said Jackie Tar. "If you take my advice, we'll steer
+for India."
+
+"Why?" asked the Villain.
+
+"Because," said Jackie Tar, "from India there is always a ship bound
+for England and, once in England, we can easily get a ship for
+America."
+
+"Goodie!" said Sweetclover.
+
+And so Jackie Tar steered the raft in the direction of India, and they
+sailed with a good wind.
+
+"I thought you said it was the thirteenth of the month?" said the
+Villain.
+
+"I must have made a mistake," said Jackie Tar, "for I never had a
+better ship in all the years I've sailed the seas."
+
+[Illustration]
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+                  SAILORS
+
+        When I am grown to be a man
+        I'll be a sailor if I can;
+        For sailors, everywhere they roam
+        Are sure to find a welcome home.
+
+        They sail upon the many seas
+        We learn of in Geographies,
+        And steer their ship by sun and star
+        From Vera Cruz to Zanzibar.
+
+        They visit Chili and Japan,
+        And Guyaquil and Yucatan,
+        And they have friends in Martinique
+        And relatives in Mozambique.
+
+        And all about the world they sail
+        In wind and storm and mighty gale,
+        So they can tell the tales they do
+        That children love to listen to.
+
+        And so when I am grown a man
+        I'll be a sailor, if I can,
+        And sail upon the many seas
+        We learn of in Geographies.
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+
+And under the skillful command of Jackie Tar, they reached India.
+
+"We'd better land at night," said Jackie Tar, "so we won't be bothered
+with a lot of people watching us."
+
+So they waited until it was dark.
+
+"I've been thinking," said Jackie Tar. "Once when I was here before, I
+saw some magicians who did wonderful tricks. They are called Hindus. A
+Hindu is an Indian."
+
+"Oh, I know," said Kernel Cob, "he's got red skin and wears feathers
+in his hair."
+
+"No!" said Jackie Tar. "That's an American Indian; but these Hindus
+are born in India where we are now."
+
+"Tell us about the tricks," said Sweetclover.
+
+"Well," said Jackie Tar, "there isn't a trick which they can't do.
+Once I saw them make a little boy run up a long pole and when he came
+to the top he disappeared."
+
+"You mean to say they can do that?" asked the Villain.
+
+"They sure can," answered Jackie Tar. "And my idea is this: If they
+can do that, maybe they can show you where Jackie and Peggs'
+motheranfather are."
+
+"What makes you so smart, Jackie Tar?" asked the Villain.
+
+"I don't know," said he, "I guess I was just born that way."
+
+"Well, let's go ashore and ask one of them to help us," said Kernel
+Cob.
+
+"Aye, aye, mates," said Jackie Tar.
+
+So they went ashore, and walked along the streets until they came to a
+little house that Jackie Tar said he remembered as being the house
+where a magician lived.
+
+And they knocked upon the door and it opened. And they went inside and
+all was quiet and black as night. And they groped their way till they
+heard a low mumbling sound, and, pulling aside a curtain, they saw an
+old man with a long white beard, sitting in a room with black
+furniture and curtains.
+
+And he said something to them in a very strange language which they
+couldn't understand.
+
+And Jackie Tar stepped forward and said:
+
+"Please, kind magician, we have come to find the motheranfather of
+Jackie and Peggs. Will you be good enough to help us?" And even as he
+was speaking a great cloud spread through the room and floated toward
+the ceiling. In a minute the cloud became thinner, so you could see
+through it, and at once trees and a house were seen.
+
+"It's Jackie and Peggs' garden," said Sweetclover in a breathless
+whisper. "Look!"
+
+And sure enough there was the garden just as they left it, and Jackie
+and Peggs were playing with Kernel Cob and Sweetclover just as they
+did on that day they were blown away by the storm.
+
+"It's us! It's us!" cried Sweetclover, and as she spoke Peggs came and
+put the parasol over them and the storm arose that carried them away
+toward the sky. Then the cloud disappeared, and the vision was gone.
+
+"It's the strangest thing I ever saw," and Kernel Cob rubbed his eyes
+and pinched himself, but he had to admit that he had not been asleep
+and dreamed it.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+And the Magician led them into another room through a black curtain,
+and this new room was blacker than the first one, and they held hands
+so they wouldn't become separated.
+
+In the middle of the room was a great crystal globe which stood upon a
+low table, and the Magician went to it, and, waving his hand above it,
+said something which sounded like "Alla ballaboo." And at once the
+globe began to glow as though there were a fire inside of it.
+
+Then the light began to fade until the globe looked like a ball of
+milk.
+
+Again the Magician waved his hand above it and a picture began to show
+itself upon its surface, like when you develop a photograph plate in a
+dark room.
+
+First the trees, and then a little hut and snow, lots and lots of
+snow, and then a man with a shovel and a pick on his shoulder, and
+then a woman and they were roughly dressed.
+
+And the man in the picture began to pick the ground, and the woman
+took the shovel, and they worked and worked. Presently, the man
+stooped down and picked up what seemed to be a stone, and he showed it
+eagerly to the woman and she trembled with excitement and the stone
+glowed.
+
+"It must be gold," said Jackie Tar.
+
+"They're gold miners."
+
+"But who are they?"
+
+"I've got it!" cried Kernel Cob. "They're Jackie and Peggs'
+motheranfather," and he danced with joy.
+
+But in his excitement he made a great mistake, for in hopping about he
+bumped into the crystal ball, and knocked it from the little table on
+which it stood.
+
+The Magician rushed to save the globe from falling, but he was too
+late.
+
+It came to the floor and crashed into a thousand pieces.
+
+When he saw what was done and who had done it, he turned on Kernel
+Cob, and it was with great difficulty that Kernel Cob got out of his
+way.
+
+Out into the street ran Kernel Cob, followed by Sweetclover, the
+Villain and Jackie Tar, the Magician in hot pursuit, and only that he
+was a very old man he would have caught them.
+
+But he didn't, thank goodness! and at last they arrived at the raft.
+
+"Well," said Jackie Tar, when they were safely seated, "one thing we
+know, anyway, and that is that Jackie and Peggs' motheranfather are
+living somewhere in the snow, and if it hadn't been for Kernel
+Cob...."
+
+But he didn't finish what he was going to say, for, looking at Kernel
+Cob, he discovered him doing something that he had never done
+before--CRYING!
+
+Sweetclover ran to him.
+
+"Oh, Kernel Cob!" she cried, "what is it. Are you hurt?"
+
+"Oh," he sobbed, "if it weren't for me, maybe we would have found out
+all about Jackie and Peggs' motheranfather, and maybe the Magician
+would have showed us how to get there," and he cried as if his heart
+would break.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+
+And they sat upon the raft and talked it all over, what was to be
+done, and how they were to do it.
+
+"Well," said Jackie Tar, "the nearest gold mines to us are in Africa."
+
+"Have they got snow around them?" asked Sweetclover.
+
+"Why, no, that's so," said Jackie Tar.
+
+"Where else?" asked the Villain.
+
+"We can go down to the South Pole," said Jackie Tar. At which Kernel
+Cob began to laugh.
+
+"You don't expect to find any snow at the South Pole, do you?" he
+asked.
+
+"Why not?" said Jackie Tar.
+
+"It'll be too hot," answered Kernel Cob.
+
+And it took about half an hour to explain to him how it got colder the
+farther south you went, after you crossed the equator.
+
+So they set sail for the South Pole.
+
+And after they had sailed for a couple of days and nights, there
+suddenly arose a great hurricane.
+
+The wind raged and their tiny raft was blown clear out of the water.
+
+"I hope I may never have to go to sea again," said the Villain. "And I
+wouldn't much care, if I fell into the water and were drowned."
+
+But he clung to the mast just the same, for everybody loves to live no
+matter how miserable they may be, because they always hope that things
+will be better.
+
+Soon a bit of land was seen, and you may be sure that when they saw
+that there was a great shout of joy, especially from the Villain.
+
+Toward this they steered and in a little while Jackie Tar, who had
+been watching very closely, cried out that it was Venice.
+
+And they sailed toward Venice, which, as you know, is a city in Italy,
+and is built on a number of little islands and the streets are nearly
+all of water.
+
+"I think it is silly to go on," said Sweetclover, "for we know that
+Jackie and Peggs' motheranfather are not here, but somewhere in the
+mines."
+
+"That's so," said Kernel Cob, "Let's turn 'round and sail for the
+South Pole again."
+
+"Please don't," said the Villain, "I couldn't stand it. Isn't there
+some way that we can get to the South Pole by walking?"
+
+"Not that I know of," said Jackie Tar, "unless you were a crab and
+crawled along the bottom of the ocean."
+
+"Very well," said the Villain. "I'll try not to complain."
+
+"Cheer up," said Kernel Cob, "all our troubles are over," and so he
+thought, for the sea wasn't any rougher than the water in a bath tub.
+
+But often when you think there isn't anything going to happen, that's
+just the time when it does.
+
+You see the raft had been blown about a great deal, so it wasn't very
+strange that the pieces of wood had come apart here and there.
+
+The first they knew of their danger, the piece of wood that
+Sweetclover had been sitting on broke loose from the rest of the raft
+and began to float away and Kernel Cob jumped into the water to save
+her.
+
+He caught the piece of wood with so much strength that he toppled
+Sweetclover over into the water, and then he lost his head, I mean not
+really his head, you know, but only that he got excited and let go of
+the stick.
+
+The Villain, who couldn't swim at all, jumped in after them and all he
+did was to make matters worse.
+
+Jackie Tar tried to tell them what to do, but they were too startled
+to pay any attention to him. So in he plunged and swam to them, for he
+was a very good swimmer.
+
+When he reached them they were all floundering about, so he dived down
+and came up in the midst of them.
+
+"Put your hands gently on my shoulders," he ordered, "and don't weigh
+down or you will push me under."
+
+And when they had done this he looked about, but the raft was nowhere
+to be seen except for a few pieces of wood drifting about.
+
+They were about a mile from shore, which is a pretty good swim for one
+man alone, but here he was with three others who couldn't swim one
+stroke.
+
+But Jackie Tar was a brave sailor. Besides, he thought, "Here is a
+chance for me to show Kernel Cob that he is not the only brave person
+in the world."
+
+"Pull off your coat," he shouted to the Villain, and the Villain
+pulled it off.
+
+"Now tie one of the sleeves about my foot," he cried, and it was done.
+"Now each of you catch hold of the jacket and hang on for dear life
+and I'll see if I can pull you to shore."
+
+So he started swimming, and little by little he neared the land,
+swimming with a strong stroke until he brought them safely to the
+beach.
+
+You may think he was tired, but not so, for when they got up on their
+feet, and walked ashore, he simply knocked his heels together and
+danced a hornpipe and sang:
+
+"A sailor's life's the life for me."
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+
+And they sat upon the shore until Jackie Tar had finished his song
+about the Sailor's Life, and by that time their clothing was pretty
+well dried out from their swim, so they got up and wandered toward the
+city and it wasn't an easy thing to do, for they had a lot of bridges
+to cross and they had no boat.
+
+"I think the best thing to do," said the Villain, "is to find a
+toy-store, for there some doll can tell us what to do."
+
+So they kept an eye out for a toy-store, and pretty soon they found
+one.
+
+"I'd better go in alone," said Kernel Cob, "because I'm the bravest
+and have a sword and can fight if any trouble arises."
+
+"Aye, aye, skipper," said Jackie Tar.
+
+So Kernel Cob crept very carefully into the shop and very lucky he did
+so, for the shopkeeper was there although he was asleep.
+
+On a shelf stood a row of soldiers.
+
+And Kernel Cob saluted them and said, "I am Kernel Cob of the United
+States Army," at which the soldiers gave him three cheers.
+
+"My friends and I," said Kernel Cob, "are looking for the South Pole,
+where we hope to find Jackie and Peggs' motheranfather, and I thought
+maybe you could help us."
+
+But not one of them answered him for they didn't know what he had
+said.
+
+"I guess tin soldiers are deaf," said he.
+
+"No, they're not," said a voice behind him, "only these are Italians
+and do not understand English."
+
+And looking behind him, Kernel Cob discovered an English clown doll
+who turned a somersault and came up on his feet with a merry laugh.
+
+"Good for you," said Kernel Cob, "I wish I could do that."
+
+"Everybody to his trade," said the clown, and stood upon his head.
+
+"Maybe you'd be good enough to stay upon your feet till I find out
+what I want to know," said Kernel Cob.
+
+And the Clown sprang into the air, turned over three or four times,
+and landed neatly upon his feet again.
+
+"What is it you want to know?" he asked.
+
+"First I want to know why you don't keep still?" asked Kernel Cob, for
+the Clown's antics made him nervous.
+
+"I'm a Circus Clown," said he, "and I just turn these hand-springs all
+day."
+
+So Kernel Cob looked about the store, but could see nobody else that
+looked as if he could talk English.
+
+"What do you do all day without anybody to talk to?" he asked the
+Clown at length.
+
+"Oh," said the Clown, "I tell myself funny stories to make me laugh,
+and then I have my hand-springs to make; that keeps me pretty busy,"
+and he rolled along the shelf, head over heels.
+
+"Well, I always thought a Clown was a silly fellow," said Kernel Cob,
+"but now I'm sure of it," and he turned upon his heel and walked out
+of the store.
+
+When he got outside he told the others that it was no use trying to
+find out anything that way. So they walked along till night came and
+they crawled into a boat, which is called a gondola, and wait to
+sleep.
+
+During the night, they were wakened by the movement of the boat, and
+looking out they saw that they were in motion. A man in a white suit
+and a red sash was paddling the gondola with a long oar, and he was
+singing a very beautiful song, and the moonlight was on the water. And
+they passed many other gondolas, and all the men who paddled were
+singing beautiful songs.
+
+"I would like to live here," whispered the Villain, "everybody seems
+to be so happy."
+
+"So would I," said Sweetclover. "I love to hear beautiful music, but
+we have to find Jackie and Peggs' motheranfather."
+
+And being tired, they fell asleep and early in the morning their
+gondola was resting at the side of some marble steps which led up to a
+great square called Saint Mark's. So they got out of the gondola and
+walked across the square, for there wasn't anybody to be seen at so
+early an hour in the morning.
+
+And a great number of pigeons were flying about. Thousands and
+thousands of them.
+
+And Jackie Tar had a wonderful idea.
+
+"Let's ask the pigeons if they will help us."
+
+"Goodie!" said Sweetclover.
+
+So they went up to a group of pigeons which were strutting along the
+ground, picking grain which the people throw to them in the day time.
+
+"Hello! hello!" said Jackie Tar, and in a minute about a hundred
+pigeons gathered about them. And he said he wanted some of them to
+help him get to the South Pole.
+
+"I'll do it," said one of them, and he stepped up to Jackie Tar.
+
+"Good for you, matey," said Jackie Tar.
+
+"I've always wanted to travel," said the pigeon, "for I'm tired flying
+around here and I'd like to see the world."
+
+"So would I," said another.
+
+"And I."
+
+[Illustration]
+
+"And I." "And I," cried three or four more.
+
+You see pigeons are like people, for, lots of times, people want to do
+things but they wait and wait and wait till some one starts it.
+
+"Four are all we need," said Jackie Tar, "one for each of us." So the
+pigeons crowded about and begged and begged to be taken, and Kernel
+Cob and Sweetclover and the Villain and Jackie Tar chose the biggest
+and strongest, and the ones that they liked the color of the best.
+
+But one of the pigeons didn't want to go to the South Pole, for, said
+she, "You don't hear as much of the South Pole as you do of the North
+Pole, and unless you go to the North Pole, I won't go."
+
+So it was decided to go to the North Pole, "For," said Kernel Cob, "I
+don't think it makes any difference after all. The Magician didn't say
+which pole it was, so maybe it's just as well."
+
+"I say let's go to the North Pole," said Jackie Tar, "and, if we don't
+find them there, we can very easily try the South Pole next."
+
+"Yes," said Kernel Cob, "let's go to all the Poles there are until we
+find the right one."
+
+So they got upon the pigeons' backs, just as a little boy or girl gets
+on a pony, and one of the pigeons, the one that Sweetclover was on,
+said to the others:
+
+"Let's make a race of it for the first mile."
+
+"Good!" squeaked the others, and off they flew at their top speed.
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+
+It was a most exciting race, for they were pretty evenly matched in
+strength and speed, but one of them did win the race, and you will be
+very glad to know that it was the one on which Sweetclover was riding.
+
+"Hurrah!" shouted the Villain, for he was better pleased that she had
+won than if he had won himself.
+
+And they flew all day over Italy and, looking down, they saw people
+working in the fields and the vineyards, growing rice and grapes and
+all the fruits that come from Italy, and always they heard the people
+singing beautiful songs of gladness.
+
+"I wonder what makes them so happy?" said the Villain.
+
+"It's because it's such a beautiful country, I guess," said
+Sweetclover.
+
+And they flew over the lakes which lie between Italy and Switzerland,
+and on all sides were mountains, the tops of which are always covered
+with snow.
+
+Soon they came to Switzerland, which is away up in the mountains and
+very beautiful.
+
+People travel from all parts of the world to climb these mountains and
+to see the wonderful scenery.
+
+"Maybe it's here we are to find Jackie and Peggs' motheranfather,"
+said the Villain, "and not at the North Pole at all."
+
+"Oh, I hope so," said Sweetclover.
+
+It was getting very cold now, for you know that the higher you go up
+in the air, the colder it gets. That's why there's snow on the
+mountain tops. And it began to storm; at first tiny flakes of snow
+fell, and then faster and thicker till it was snowing very hard, and
+the pigeons could scarcely see where they were flying.
+
+"It seems to me," said the Villain, "that every time I get upon a boat
+or a bird or anything, it begins to storm."
+
+By this time it was really a blizzard and one by one the poor pigeons'
+wings became so covered with snow they could not fly and fell to the
+ground and lay on the snow.
+
+Of course they fell in different places, and Kernel Cob and Jackie Tar
+and Sweetclover and the Villain were separated.
+
+Each one looked about for the others as best he could and, after much
+searching about, the Villain found Sweetclover huddled in the snow and
+very cold indeed. So he pulled off his coat and wrapped it about her
+shoulders, although she tried her best to prevent him from making such
+a sacrifice, but he said:
+
+"I will certainly suffer more seeing you shiver, than I would from the
+cold itself."
+
+You see he was a kind-hearted Villain, and it was too bad that he was
+painted to look like one at all.
+
+So he dug a hole in a snowbank and they crawled into it, and in that
+way they were shielded from the wind.
+
+Night came on and Kernel Cob and Jackie Tar searched about, but it was
+so dark that they could not tell where they were going, but only went
+round and round in circles.
+
+In the morning the snow stopped falling, and if it hadn't been so cold
+it would have been a very beautiful sight. Snow lay all about them as
+far as the eye could reach.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+You must know that in the Alps mountains, where they were, there are
+dogs, and very wonderful dogs they are, who live in the snowy
+mountains and are trained to go about to find lost travellers and to
+help them.
+
+And one of these dogs came sniffing along and the first thing he did
+was to find the Villain, and you can imagine his and Sweetclover's
+delight when they saw him.
+
+Around his neck was a little knapsack, and this he told them to untie
+and they would find food and a roll of fine warm wool inside.
+
+And putting the wool about them they were soon warm as toast.
+
+"Let us try to find Kernel Cob and Jackie Tar before they die of the
+cold," said the Villain.
+
+"Very well," said Saint Bernard, for that was the name of the dog,
+"Come with me and we'll soon find them."
+
+So he asked them to climb upon his back and he trotted off, and pretty
+soon they came to a spot where Jackie Tar's head was sticking up out
+of the snow. In a jiffy they had him out and sitting on the Dog's
+back.
+
+"Hurrah!" shouted the Villain, "now for Kernel Cob."
+
+In less than a minute they came to a little mound of snow.
+
+So the Dog trotted up to it, and round on the other side they
+discovered an opening like a door, and inside lay Kernel Cob asleep,
+snoring away like anything.
+
+So they wakened him and he was glad to see them, you may be sure.
+
+And he climbed upon the Dog's back and all four rode off.
+
+"Where are you going?" he asked them.
+
+"We were on our way to the North Pole when our pigeons died,"
+explained Jackie Tar.
+
+"I'd like to take you there, if I could," said the Dog, "but I can't
+leave my work here. But I'll take you to the foot of the mountains,
+and there I'll have you meet a friend of mine who will take you to a
+ship going to the North Pole."
+
+"Thank you very much," said Sweetclover. "We shall never be able to
+pay you for your kindness."
+
+"Thank you, Miss," said the Dog. "I'm sure it will make me very happy
+to know that I helped you."
+
+And when they arrived at the foot of the mountain he introduced them
+to his friend, a French poodle named Pierre, and when it was come time
+to say good-bye, he gave them each his paw and the last they saw of
+him was his bushy tail wagging behind him, as he trotted up the snowy
+mountain where he did so much good.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+        I love dogs best of all God's creatures,
+        They have such noble, honest features,
+        You never really have to scold 'em
+        Because they do just what you've told 'em.
+
+        And even dogs that have no beauty
+        Are always quick to do their duty,
+        For they are faithful friends, and true,
+        And gladly give their lives for you.
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+
+
+"Well," said their new friend Pierre, "That was a bad storm."
+
+"We would have been lost in the snow, if it had not been for your good
+friend Saint Bernard," said Sweetclover.
+
+And Pierre took them to a seaport and put them on a sailing vessel
+which is called a whaler.
+
+"I have heard that this ship makes many voyages to the North," said
+Pierre, "And I'm sure that it will take you where you want to go."
+
+"You are very kind," said Sweetclover, "and we shall always remember
+how good you have been to us."
+
+"It is a pleasure to be of service to you," said Pierre.
+
+And they said good-bye to him and went aboard the whaler.
+
+The next morning the vessel set sail amid great cheering from a crowd
+which had gathered on the dock, and for days they sailed and sailed,
+and it got colder and colder till the vessel came to great fields of
+ice.
+
+But the dolls were happy, for they thought they were getting close to
+the North Pole and soon they would find Jackie and Peggs'
+motheranfather.
+
+"Do you think you will know them when you see them?" asked Jackie
+Tar.
+
+"I'm sure of it," answered Kernel Cob, "for I remember just the way
+they looked in the glass ball that the Magician showed us in India."
+
+And one night as they were sailing along, the dolls crept out on the
+deck to see where they might be, for all the time they were on the
+ship they were down in the hold to be out of sight.
+
+And they sat on a coil of rope but could see nothing except the great
+wide sea and the beautiful blue sky.
+
+And they fell asleep.
+
+But the vessel began to rock and, waking, they saw that a storm had
+risen.
+
+"Quick," said the Villain, "we must get down out of danger, for if we
+sit here we shall be swept overboard."
+
+But Kernel Cob who loved all sorts of adventures didn't want to go.
+
+"I love to be in danger," said he.
+
+"That's not sensible," said Sweetclover. "There is enough danger in
+the world without looking for more of it. Come, let us go."
+
+And the storm grew worse and worse, and the vessel was rolling and it
+was with great difficulty that they could stand.
+
+And now something very sad was about to happen, something I would like
+not to tell you, but it really happened, so I must.
+
+As Sweetclover stood up to move she slipped and fell upon the deck and
+would have rolled overboard if the Villain hadn't caught her, but
+alas! his generous action brought about his own misfortune for the
+vessel lurched at that moment and he was carried down to the side and
+before he could regain his balance he was swept overboard.
+
+There was no time to stand there, for nothing could be done and sadly
+Kernel Cob lifted Sweetclover and carried her below.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Let us not dwell upon the sadness of our poor little friends, but let
+us feel sure that no matter how long they live and no matter where
+they go, they will always remember this good, true, unselfish friend
+who was willing to lose his own life to save another's.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+And at length the vessel stuck in the ice and that was as far as they
+could go. Kernel Cob put his head out of the window of the vessel,
+which is called a port-hole, and saw nothing but ice, great fields of
+ice, greenish white and it was bitter cold. But Sweetclover had found
+some strips of woolen cloth on the ship which Jackie Tar had torn and
+tied about them to keep them warm, for sailors, you know, are very
+handy because they have no women about to help them to sew their
+clothes and cannot be running to the stores to buy things.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+                    VILLAINS
+
+        A Villain must be very horrid
+        To wear a frown upon his forehead
+        And lead a wicked pirate crew
+        To do the awful things they do.
+
+        It's quite as easy to be good
+        And kind to all, as children should,
+        For grown-ups never give you toys
+        If you are naughty girls and boys.
+
+        Besides, if you do what is right
+        Your mother kisses you at night,
+        And who could sleep in peaceful bliss
+        Without a mother's good-night kiss?
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+CHAPTER XX
+
+
+And Jackie Tar had found a little compass on the ship, and this he had
+put in his pocket, for said he:
+
+"You can never tell when you may be lost around the North Pole."
+
+So they went ashore and, after Jackie had taken his bearings with his
+compass to see which way to go, they set out to walk to the North
+Pole.
+
+And after they had walked for hours and hours, they saw a little bear,
+which is called a cub.
+
+"I wonder if he is a tame bear," said Sweetclover.
+
+And Kernel Cob went up to him as brave as you please and put out his
+hand to the bear and said:
+
+"Hello, Teddy!" but the bear growled and showed his teeth.
+
+"Don't start anything like that," said Kernel Cob, "unless you want to
+get hurt."
+
+"Well, don't you call me names," said the Cub.
+
+"Who's calling you names?" asked Kernel Cob.
+
+"You are," said the Cub.
+
+"What name did I call you?" asked Kernel Cob.
+
+"Would you like to be called after a make-believe bear if you were a
+real one?" asked the Cub.
+
+"No, I guess not," said Kernel Cob.
+
+"Well then," said the Cub.
+
+"Excuse me," said Kernel Cob, for he liked to see anybody who had
+spunk.
+
+And they shook hands and were friends at once.
+
+"Who are you?" asked the Cub, "and what are you doing up here?"
+
+"I'm Kernel Cob," said he, "and this is Sweetclover and Jackie Tar,"
+and the cub came forward and shook hands with them, and really he had
+very nice manners for a bear who lived so far away from nice people
+and things.
+
+"You haven't told me what you are doing way up here."
+
+"We're looking for Jackie and Peggs' motheranfather," answered Kernel
+Cob, "and we believe they are up here near the North Pole. Are we far
+away from it?"
+
+"About a hundred miles or so," said Wak Wak, for that was the cub's
+name.
+
+"Goodness," said Sweetclover, "how are we ever going to walk so far in
+this dreadful cold."
+
+"If you'll come to my cubby hole," said Wak Wak, "we can sit down and
+talk it over. It's not far." So they came to his cubby hole, they went
+inside and it was nice and warm and comfortable.
+
+"You must stay the night with me," he said.
+
+So he covered them over with some pieces of fur and they all went to
+sleep.
+
+But, in the middle of the night, they were awakened by loud yelping,
+and running to the doorway of the hole they saw thousands and
+thousands of what looked like little lanterns dancing on the ice.
+
+"What are all these lights for?" said Kernel Cob.
+
+"Those aren't lights," said the Cub, "those are eyes."
+
+"Who's eyes?" asked Sweetclover.
+
+"Wolves' eyes," said the Cub.
+
+"Stand back inside of the hole," said Kernel Cob, and he drew his
+sword and stepped outside.
+
+On came the wolves, yelping and growling and showing their great
+yellow teeth.
+
+And one by one as they came up to devour our little friends, Kernel
+Cob's sword flashed, and with each stroke down came a wolf.
+
+And when the last one had been slain Kernel Cob wiped his sword upon
+his coat and went inside.
+
+"Well," said Wak Wak, "I'm glad I'm not a wolf. That's the greatest
+fight I have ever seen."
+
+But Kernel Cob put his sword away and lay down to finish his sleep as
+if nothing had happened.
+
+In the morning when they got up they went outside and counted the
+wolves and they numbered two thousand, three hundred and twenty-one.
+
+But Kernel Cob turned his head away, for brave people are always
+modest and cannot bear to hear themselves praised.
+
+Later in the day Wak Wak took them to a friend of his, a pack-dog that
+he knew. A fine chap he was, and when he had heard our little friends'
+story, he was very willing to help them.
+
+"If you can rig up a sled I'll take you to the North Pole, and very
+gladly."
+
+"Why can't we sit on your back?" asked Jackie Tar.
+
+"I can't bear to have anything on my back," answered Speed, for that
+was his name.
+
+"I guess I can take care of the sled," said Jackie Tar, "if I can find
+some scraps of wood."
+
+"There are some staves of an old barrel not far from here," said
+Speed, "and if you will come with me, you can see for yourselves if
+they will do."
+
+So they went with him, and Jackie Tar found them very good indeed, and
+in a short while had tied them together.
+
+So they hopped on, sitting one behind the other, Sweetclover in the
+middle, and waving good-bye to Wak Wak, they soon were gliding over
+the ice at a great clip.
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+CHAPTER XXI
+
+
+Over the ice they went like lightning, drawn by the pack-dog, Speed.
+
+"I don't know of any name that would be better for him," said
+Sweetclover.
+
+"He goes as swiftly as the Condor did, do you remember?"
+
+Kernel Cob did remember, but he didn't want Sweetclover to think any
+more about the past for, thought he: "If she remembers the Condor she
+will remember the Villain, and the first thing you know we will be
+swimming in her tears and I can't stand crying. It makes me very
+angry."
+
+So he drew her attention to the scenery, although there was precious
+little of that, only ice.
+
+"I wonder where we are," said Jackie Tar, and he looked at his
+compass. "Whoa," he cried excitedly, and Speed came to a stop and sat
+down on the ice.
+
+"Here we are," said Jackie Tar.
+
+"Here?" asked Kernel Cob. "Where?"
+
+"The North Pole," said Jackie Tar.
+
+"I don't see any pole," said Kernel Cob, and Jackie Tar laughed till
+the tears ran down his cheeks and fell off in little icicles. "You
+didn't suppose there really was a pole, did you?"
+
+"Of course," said Kernel Cob.
+
+"I thought everyone knew that there wasn't a real pole here," answered
+Jackie.
+
+"Then what do you call it a pole for?" asked Kernel Cob.
+
+"I don't know," said Jackie Tar, "only I know there isn't a pole. It's
+just called that."
+
+"I don't believe you've found it at all," said Kernel Cob.
+
+"Oh yes," said Jackie Tar, "of that you may be sure for my compass
+tells me that this is the top of the world."
+
+"Well," said Kernel Cob, "that's the silliest thing I ever heard, for
+I thought we would see a great pole sticking high in the air."
+
+And they got off their sled and walked about.
+
+"Why did you want to come here?" asked Speed.
+
+"You see," explained Kernel Cob, "we are looking for Jackie and Peggs'
+motheranfather, and once when we were in India a Hoodoo ..."
+
+"A Hindoo you mean," corrected Jackie Tar.
+
+"A Hindoo," said Kernel Cob, "showed us on a crystal ball a picture of
+them in the snow, digging for gold. So we thought if we got to the
+North Pole we would find them."
+
+"Nobody comes to the North Pole to dig gold," said Speed.
+
+"Why not?" asked Sweetclover.
+
+"Because there isn't any gold here," said the dog.
+
+"There isn't?" asked Sweetclover.
+
+"No," answered Speed.
+
+"This is a funny world," said Kernel Cob, "the North Pole isn't a pole
+at all, and after we get here there isn't any gold mine. I wouldn't be
+surprised to hear that I wasn't alive."
+
+"The nearest gold mine that I ever heard of in these parts," said
+Speed, "is in the Yukon."
+
+"Where's that?" asked Kernel Cob.
+
+"In Alaska," answered Speed.
+
+"Is that far?" asked Sweetclover.
+
+"Yes, it's a great distance from here, but if you like I'll take you
+there."
+
+"You're very kind," said Sweetclover.
+
+"It's a pleasure to do for people who are so good," said Speed.
+
+So after Kernel Cob dug their names in the ice with his sword, they
+got on their sled and Speed started off again.
+
+"How do you know how to go to Yukon?" asked Sweetclover.
+
+"Oh, I've been over the ice lots and lots of times," said he.
+
+And they travelled all day.
+
+"I never saw such a long day," said Kernel Cob, "the sun doesn't seem
+to go down, but only round and round."
+
+"That's because we are so high on the earth," said Speed. "Some nights
+are six months long."
+
+But nothing could induce Kernel Cob to believe this, "For," said he,
+"I won't believe anything more about the world as long as I live."
+
+And after a few days they came to a place where the ice was broken,
+and they had to cross by floating on huge cakes of ice, which was very
+exciting.
+
+They were crossing on one of these once, and Kernel Cob and
+Sweetclover had gone across with Speed, when the cake of ice on which
+they were waiting for Jackie Tar, split suddenly, and Jackie Tar was
+left behind on a small piece.
+
+In vain they tried to catch him and slowly but surely he began to
+drift away from them farther and farther, and all they could do was to
+watch him fade out of sight.
+
+"Oh," cried Sweetclover, "we shall never see him again.
+
+"Will he be killed?"
+
+"I don't know," said Speed. "He's got a good chance of being picked up
+by a vessel, if he ever floats down south far enough."
+
+"Oh, I hope so," cried Sweetclover, "for he is such a brave sailor and
+was so good to us."
+
+And after Kernel Cob and Sweetclover had said a prayer to the fairies
+to take good care of Jackie Tar, they drove away in their sled and at
+length came to the Yukon.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+            A PRAYER FOR JACKIE TAR
+
+        Do not think it very nice
+        To travel on a cake of ice
+        Except in Summer when it's hot;
+        But in the Winter, when it's not
+        And icy winds blow in my face
+        I like an open fireplace
+        Where I can watch the glowing flames
+        Or play upon the floor with games.
+        So let us say a fervent prayer
+        That Jackie Tar may land somewhere
+        Beyond the sweep of wind and storm
+        Where he may find it safe and warm.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+CHAPTER XXII
+
+
+When they reached the Yukon, they told Speed not to go near the city
+or wait where he was, for they had been captured so often by people
+they wanted to stay away from them. So Speed took them up into the
+hills where they made their camp.
+
+But they hadn't been there a day when Speed was caught by a number of
+men, and again Kernel Cob and Sweetclover were left alone to work
+things out the best way they could.
+
+Sweetclover was very much discouraged, for said she: "Now that we are
+here and have lost all our friends, and with no one to help us, I
+don't see how we are ever to find Jackie and Peggs' motheranfather."
+
+But that only made Kernel Cob the more determined.
+
+"I've told you a thousand times that I'll find them, and find them I
+will."
+
+"Well," said Sweetclover, "I certainly hope so, but I'm sure I cannot
+see how it is going to be done."
+
+"You'll see if I am not right," said Kernel Cob.
+
+But nothing happened to raise their hopes.
+
+So they went up into the hills in search of a scene that looked like
+the one that the Magician had shown them on the crystal ball in
+India, and they walked about all day until, tired and worn out, they
+crept into a hollow stump to rest.
+
+They slept all night and in the morning they walked on.
+
+They were pretty high up in the mountains now, and Sweetclover, who
+was very tired, began to cry.
+
+"Oh dear, oh dear," said she, "will nothing ever happen to help us?"
+
+And just then something did happen; something that looked as if it
+were going to do them a great deal of harm, but which really did them
+a great deal of good and it was this:
+
+High over their heads, so small that you could scarcely see it, was an
+eagle. He was flying about in circles that brought him nearer and
+nearer to where Kernel Cob and Sweetclover were sitting.
+
+Closer and closer he flew, and still they didn't see him until it was
+too late.
+
+With a cry of alarm, Sweetclover jumped to her feet but the eagle
+caught her up in a powerful claw.
+
+Kernel Cob had been slow to see the danger, and by the time he had
+drawn his sword and was ready for the attack, he, too, had been caught
+and was struggling in the eagle's grasp.
+
+You know, of course, that eagles carry things off to their nests, and
+I suppose this one thought that Kernel Cob and Sweetclover were
+babies, and would be nice for Mrs. Eagle to play with. So, with the
+two dolls in his claws, he rose up from the ground with a great swoop.
+
+CRACK!
+
+The sound of a rifle and a bullet ripped through Kernel Cob's hat and
+struck the eagle full in the breast. His wings fluttered for a minute,
+and then with a plunge like a ball of lead he fell to the earth.
+
+"Well, well, well!" said Kernel Cob, as they lay under the eagle,
+"that was a pretty close shave."
+
+"I wonder who did it," said Sweetclover.
+
+"I don't know," said Kernel Cob, "but whoever it was did us a very
+good turn, for if he hadn't killed the Eagle we'd have been pulled to
+pieces in his nest, just to see what was inside of us. But come, we
+must get out of here before the hunter comes to take us, for surely he
+will want to keep the Eagle."
+
+"I don't see how we are to get out of here," said Sweetclover, "for
+this Eagle weighs about a thousand pounds. I can't move, can you?"
+
+And when Kernel Cob attempted to pull himself from under the Eagle he
+found he couldn't do it without pulling off his legs, and he was too
+sensible to think he could get far without them.
+
+By this time the hunter who had shot the Eagle came running up,
+followed by another.
+
+"It was a mighty foolish thing to do, John. I'll bet you've killed the
+children," said the second one.
+
+And they came and lifted the Eagle.
+
+"I thought so," said the same voice. "Both of 'em dead."
+
+But the hunter, called John, had stooped and picked up Kernel Cob, and
+was examining him with a curious smile.
+
+"Why, Margaret," he said, "they're dolls."
+
+And you should have seen Kernel Cob's face as he turned to Sweetclover
+and said:
+
+"I don't see any woman, do you?"
+
+But Sweetclover only smiled.
+
+"Do you see the one that isn't John?" she said.
+
+"Of course," said Kernel Cob, "I'm not blind."
+
+"Well," said Sweetclover, "she's a woman."
+
+"But she's got a man's suit on," said Kernel Cob.
+
+"Well, that doesn't make her a man." said Sweetclover.
+
+"What'll women be doing next," said Kernel Cob.
+
+And John and Margaret took Kernel Cob and walked to the edge of the
+lake where there was a sled which they started to pull to the opposite
+shore over the ice, for the lake was frozen over.
+
+And on the sledge were a great number of bags of gold.
+
+"Be careful," said Margaret, "If we were to go through the ice every
+bag of gold would be lost and all our five years' work would go for
+nothing."
+
+And just then, as is often the case, the very thing happened.
+
+They were crossing a bit of new ice when a cracking sound warned them,
+but it was too late to avoid the disaster, and the sledge, weighed
+down by the gold, went through the ice and was no more to be seen.
+
+Of course there was nothing to be done, and, discouraged, they made
+their way to the shore and sat down and thought and thought and
+thought.
+
+"We'll have to go back to the mines and start all over again," said
+John with a sigh. And they picked up Kernel Cob and Sweetclover, and
+walked on.
+
+And after a little while, John and Margaret sat down on a log and were
+silent for a long time. John had Kernel Cob on his knee, and Margaret
+had Sweetclover in her lap, and neither of them spoke, but looked far
+off without seeing anything except what had happened years and years
+ago and left only a picture in their minds.
+
+And Margaret sighed and turning to John said:
+
+"John dear, don't let us try to find any more gold. What good will all
+the gold in the world be to us without the children?"
+
+And John raised his head, and you could see tears in his eyes.
+
+"Little wife," he said, "you are right. Children are the greatest
+riches in the world. Let us go back to ours."
+
+And Margaret just smiled and kissed him.
+
+And they went down the mountain side with smiling faces, carrying
+Kernel Cob and Sweetclover with them.
+
+"I'm blest if I can understand any of this at all," said Kernel Cob.
+But Sweetclover only laughed.
+
+"Men dolls, especially Soldiers, are the stupidest things in the whole
+world," she said.
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+CHAPTER XXIII
+
+
+And John and Margaret went down the mountain and in due time reached
+San Francisco.
+
+And Margaret said:
+
+"I wonder if the children will remember us?"
+
+"I don't think so," said John, "for I believe they think we are dead.
+We haven't heard from them since that time, a year ago, when there was
+a report in the newspapers that we were lost in a snow storm."
+
+"Dear little children," sighed Margaret, "I hope it hasn't made them
+unhappy. Let's send a telegram that we're coming."
+
+"No," said John; "let's surprise them."
+
+And they got upon the train and for five days they rode and during all
+that time they played with Kernel Cob and Sweetclover, just as
+children would. And a happy smile lit up Margaret's face, for when she
+was dressed in woman's clothes and had on a hat with pretty flowers on
+it, she looked very beautiful, and as she was very happy and always
+smiling, it made her look more beautiful, for everybody looks more
+beautiful when they smile.
+
+"I wonder where we are going?" said Kernel Cob.
+
+"You will see," said Sweetclover.
+
+"I know I will see," said Kernel Cob. "Only I am going to escape from
+here the first thing I can."
+
+"Don't you dare," said Sweetclover.
+
+"Why not," said Kernel Cob, "don't you want to find Jackie and Peggs'
+motheranfather?"
+
+"Not any more," said Sweetclover with a smile.
+
+"Girl dolls, especially flowers, are the silliest things in the
+world," said Kernel Cob. "And if you don't want to come I will have to
+go alone, for I have sworn to find them and no power on earth will
+stop me."
+
+At this Sweetclover was very much alarmed.
+
+"Kernel Cob," said she, "if you don't get down on your knees and
+promise by all the Fairies that you will not attempt to escape, I'll
+never speak to you again."
+
+"But," said he.
+
+"Never mind," said Sweetclover "do as I tell you this minute."
+
+"Very well," said Kernel Cob, and he got upon his knees and promised.
+But he felt very sad about it for he said: "Now, we shall never find
+them."
+
+"Yes, we shall," said Sweetclover and she laughed so loudly that
+Kernel Cob was afraid that she would have hysterics.
+
+And finally the train came to a stop and the conductor came through
+calling, "New York, Grand Central Depot," and Margaret picked up
+Sweetclover and John picked up Kernel Cob, and they got into another
+train and rode a little way and got out again at another station
+called Orange. And they got into a wagon and told the driver to drive
+like lightning, and in a few minutes they came to a little white house
+with honeysuckle growing all about, and they jumped out of the wagon
+and were in such a hurry that they forgot to pay the driver. And they
+rushed up the path and opened a little white gate in a little white
+fence, and up another little path till they came to the little white
+house.
+
+"They're going crazy," said Kernel Cob, under John's arm.
+
+"You will see why in a minute," said Sweetclover who was tucked under
+Margaret's arm.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+And John pushed open the door and rushed into the house followed by
+Margaret, and, finding no one inside, they ran through and out into
+the garden, which was a very pretty little garden with beautiful
+flowers growing in it.
+
+And in the middle of the garden sat a little boy and a little girl and
+they were making mud cakes.
+
+And when John saw them he shouted with a great glad cry.
+
+"JACKIE!"
+
+"PEGGS!"
+
+And Margaret sank down upon the garden path, for she was so happy that
+she couldn't move another inch.
+
+And the two children stopped playing and turned to John and Margaret
+and a look of wild happiness came into their faces, and Jackie jumped
+to his feet and ran to John and threw himself into his outstretched
+arms and cried:
+
+"FATHER!"
+
+And Peggs ran to Margaret and was hugged and hugged in her loving
+arms.
+
+And all the time Kernel Cob was trying to understand what was going
+on, for he knew Jackie and Peggs the moment he saw them, but couldn't
+get into his head that Margaret and John were their motheranfather.
+
+"You dear, blessed children," cried John hugging them first one and
+then the other, "and to think that we could have ever left you to go
+hunt for gold."
+
+"And to think," said Margaret, "that these dolls should have been sent
+by Providence, way out to the Yukon to remind us that children are the
+greatest riches in the world."
+
+And she held the dolls up in her hands.
+
+"It's Kernel Cob and Sweetclover!" shouted Jackie and Peggs together,
+and in a jiffy they had them in their arms.
+
+And they all had a wonderful party of ice cream and cakes and puddings
+and candies, the best party ever you saw.
+
+"This is the happiest day of my life," said Father.
+
+"It is indeed," said Mother.
+
+"I never thought I could be so happy," said Peggs.
+
+"You bet," said Jackie.
+
+"Well," said Sweetclover to Kernel Cob, "now do you understand?"
+
+"Huh," said Kernel Cob, "I knew it all the time, only I didn't want to
+spoil the surprise for you."
+
+"But what I want to know," said Peggs, "is how Kernel Cob and Little
+Miss Sweetclover never wilted like all the other flowers, but have
+kept as fresh as the day we made them."
+
+"I'll tell you why," said Jackie, and he looked very wise. "It's
+because they are fairy dolls and everybody knows that fairies live on
+forever and forever!"
+
+[Illustration: The End.]
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Dear Children:
+
+Although we have been all over the world and even up to the moon, we
+have never seen any books that you will like better (we think) than
+the other books in the Volland "Happy Children" Series, to which we
+belong. Here they are:
+
+      WINKLE, TWINKLE AND LOLLYPOP
+        By Nina Wilcox Putnam and Norman Jacobsen,
+        illustrated by Katharine Sturges Dodge
+
+      THE PERHAPPSY CHAPS
+        By Ruth Plumly Thompson,
+        illustrated by Arthur Henderson
+
+      RAGGEDY ANN
+        Written and illustrated by Johnny Gruelle
+
+      MY VERY OWN FAIRY STORIES
+        Written and illustrated by Johnny Gruelle
+
+      RHYMES FOR KINDLY CHILDREN
+        By Fairmont Snyder, illustrated by Johnny Gruelle
+
+      QUACKY DOODLES' AND DANNY DADDLES BOOK
+        By Rose Strong Hubbell, illustrated by Johnny Gruelle
+
+You can get any one of these beautiful books from your Book Man, but
+if he hasn't got them, write to our publishers, P.F. VOLLAND COMPANY,
+at Chicago, Illinois.
+
+
+Lovingly yours,
+
+Kernel Cob
+
+Little Miss Sweetclover
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 14110 ***