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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/32249-8.txt b/32249-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..fe7e15f --- /dev/null +++ b/32249-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,7288 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Princess and Joe Potter, by James Otis + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Princess and Joe Potter + +Author: James Otis + +Illustrator: Violet Oakley + +Release Date: May 4, 2010 [EBook #32249] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PRINCESS AND JOE POTTER *** + + + + +Produced by David Edwards, Josephine Paolucci and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net. + + + + + + + + +THE PRINCESS AND JOE POTTER + +[Illustration: JOE FINDING THE PRINCESS. + +(_See page 22._)] + + + + +THE PRINCESS AND JOE POTTER + +BY + +JAMES OTIS + +AUTHOR OF + +"JENNY WREN'S BOARDING-HOUSE," "TEDDY AND CARROTS," ETC. + +Illustrated by + +VIOLET OAKLEY + +[Illustration] + +BOSTON +ESTES AND LAURIAT +PUBLISHERS + + +_Copyright, 1898_ +BY ESTES AND LAURIAT + +Colonial Press: +Electrotyped and Printed by C. H. Simonds & Co. +Boston, U. S. A. + + + + +CONTENTS. + + + +CHAPTER PAGE + +I. A RUINED MERCHANT 11 + +II. THE PRINCESS 26 + +III. AN ADVERTISEMENT 41 + +IV. JOE'S FLIGHT 60 + +V. IN THE CITY 73 + +VI. DAN, THE DETECTIVE 86 + +VII. AUNT DORCAS 98 + +VIII. A HUNGRY DETECTIVE 115 + +IX. A FUGITIVE 127 + +X. THE JOURNEY 141 + +XI. A BRIBE 157 + +XII. A STRUGGLE IN THE NIGHT 171 + +XIII. A CONFESSION 188 + +XIV. A RAY OF LIGHT 201 + +XV. AN UNEXPECTED ARRIVAL 219 + +XVI. THE REWARD 234 + + + + +ILLUSTRATIONS. + + + PAGE + +JOE FINDING THE PRINCESS _Frontispiece_ + +"HE BEGAN TO FEED THE LITTLE MAID" 51 + +"DAN POINTED TO AN ADVERTISEMENT" 57 + +"'MAY WE COME IN AN' STAY A LITTLE WHILE?'" 81 + +"JOE POINTED TO A TINY COTTAGE" 101 + +"SHE HAD A PLATE HEAPED HIGH WITH COOKIES" 108 + +"'WELL, BLESS THE BOY, HE DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO PLANT POTATOES!'" 143 + +"THE PRINCESS SUFFERED AUNT DORCAS TO KISS HER" 167 + +"A DARK FORM LEAPED THROUGH THE OPEN WINDOW" 185 + +JOE AND DAN DISAGREE 207 + +"COME ON QUICK, PLUMS! DAN'S SET THE BARN A-FIRE!'" 215 + +"JOE, BELIEVING HIMSELF ALONE, BEGAN TO SOB AS IF HIS HEART + WERE BREAKING" 225 + +"THEN AUNT DORCAS AND HER FAMILY WERE READY FOR THE RIDE" 241 + +"'MCGOWAN'S RESTAURANT AIN'T IN IT ALONGSIDE OF WHAT + WE STRUCK UP AT THE PRINCESS'S HOUSE'" 245 + +TAILPIECE 249 + + + + +THE PRINCESS AND JOE POTTER. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +A RUINED MERCHANT. + + +"Hello, Joe Potter! What you doin' up in this part of the town?" + +The boy thus addressed halted suddenly, looked around with what was very +like an expression of fear on his face, and then, recognising the +speaker, replied, in a tone of relief: + +"Oh, it's you, is it, Plums?" + +"Of course it's me. Who else did you think it was? Say, what you doin' +'round here? Who's tendin' for you now?" + +"Nobody." + +"It don't seem as though this was the time of day when you could afford +to shut up shop." + +"But that's what I have done." + +"Got some 'portant business up here at the _de_pot, eh?" + +Joe shook his head mournfully, stepped back a few paces that he might +lean against the building, and looked about him with a languid air, +much as if there was no longer anything pleasing for him in life. + +Plums, or to give him his full name, George H. Plummer, gazed at his +friend in mild surprise. + +Any other boy of Joe Potter's acquaintance would have been astonished at +the great change which had come over him; but Plums was not given to +excesses of any kind, save in the way of eating. That which would have +excited an ordinary lad only served to arouse Plums in a mild degree, +and perhaps it was this natural apathy which served to give Master +Plummer such an accumulation of flesh. He was what might be called a +very fat boy, and was never known to move with sufficient energy to +reduce his weight. + +Sim Jepson stated that Plums sold newspapers in the vicinity of the +Grand Central Station because he lived only a couple of blocks away, and +therefore had sufficient time to walk to his place of business during +the forenoon. + +"How he ever earns enough to pay for fillin' hisself up is more'n I can +make out," Master Jepson had said, with an air of perplexity. "By the +time he's sold ten papers, he's ate the profits off of twenty, an' acts +like he was hungrier than when he begun." + +As Plums waited for, rather than solicited, customers, he gazed in an +indolent fashion at the dejected-looking friend, who might have served, +as he stood leaning against the building on this particular June day, as +a statue of misery. + +Joe Potter was as thin as his friend was stout, and, ordinarily, as +active as Plums was indolent. His listless bearing now served to arouse +Master Plummer's curiosity as nothing else could have done. + +"Business been good down your way?" he finally asked. + +"It's mighty bad. I got stuck on a bunch of bananas, and lost thirty-two +cents last week. Then oranges went down till you couldn't hardly see +'em, an' I bought a box when they was worth two dollars. It seems like +as if every _I_talian in the city, what ain't blackin' boots, has +started a fruit-stand, an' it's jest knocked the eye out of business." + +"I shouldn't think you could afford to lay 'round up here if it is as +bad as all that." + +"It don't make any difference where I am now, 'cause I've busted; Plums, +I've busted. Failed up yesterday, an' have got jest sixteen cents to my +name." + +"Busted!" Master Plummer exclaimed. "Why, you told me you had more'n +seven dollars when you started that fruit-stand down on West Street." + +"Seven dollars an' eighty-three cents was the figger, Plums, an' here's +what's left of it." + +Joe took from his pocket a handful of pennies, counting them slowly to +assure himself he had made no mistake in the sum total. + +Master Plummer was so overwhelmed by the sad tidings, that two intending +purchasers passed him by after waiting several seconds to be served, and +Joe reminded him of his inattention to business by saying, sharply: + +"Look here, Plums, you mustn't shut down on business jest 'cause I've +busted. Why don't you sell papers when you get the chance?" + +"I didn't see anybody what wanted one. I'm jest knocked silly, Joe, +about your hard luck. How did it happen?" + +"That's what I can't seem to make out. I kept on sellin' stuff, an' of +course had to buy more; but every night the money was smaller an' +smaller, till I didn't have much of any left." + +"I felt kind of 'fraid you was swellin' too big, Joe. When a feller +agrees to give five dollars a month rent, an' hires a clerk for a dollar +a week, same's you did, he's takin' a pretty good contract on his +shoulders. Did you pay Sim Jepson his wages all right?" + +"Yes, I kept square with him, and I guess that's where most of my money +went. Sim owns the stand now." + +"He owns it? Why, he was your clerk." + +"Don't you s'pose I know that? But he was gettin' a dollar a week clean +money, an' it counted up in time. If things had been the other way, most +likely I'd own the place to-day." + +Master Plummer was silent for an instant, and then a smile as of +satisfaction overspread his fat face. + +"I'll tell you how to do it, Joe: hire out to Sim, an' after a spell +you'll get the stand back ag'in." + +"That won't work; I tried it. You see, when it come yesterday, I owed +him a dollar for wages, an' thirty cents I'd borrowed. There wasn't +more'n ninety cents' worth of stuff in the stand, an' Sim said he'd got +to be paid right sharp. Of course I couldn't raise money when I'd jest +the same's failed, an' told him so. He offered to square things if I'd +give him the business; an' what else could I do? I left there without a +cent to my name; but earned a quarter last night, an' here's what's left +of it." + +The ruined merchant mournfully jingled the coins in his hand, while he +gazed dreamily at the railway structure overhead, and Master Plummer +regarded him sympathetically. + +"What you goin' to do now?" the fat boy asked, after a long pause. + +"That's jest what I don't know, Plums. If I had the money, I reckon I'd +take up shinin' for a spell, even if the _I_talians are knockin' the +life out of business." + +"Why don't you sell papers, same's you used to?" + +"Well, you see when I went into the fruit-stand I sold out my rights +'round the City Hall, to Dan Fernald, an' it wouldn't be the square +thing for me to jump in down there ag'in." + +"There's plenty of chances up-town." + +"I don't know about that. S'posen I started right here, then I'd be +rubbin' against you; an' it's pretty much the same everywhere. I tell +you, Plums, there's too many folks in this city. I ain't so certain but +I shall go for a sailor; they say there's money in that business." + +"S'posen there was barrels in it, how could you get any out?" and in his +astonishment that Joe should have considered such a plan even for a +moment, Master Plummer very nearly grew excited. "You ain't big enough +to shin up the masts, an' take in sails, an' all that sort of work, +same's sailors have to do." + +"I'd grow to it, of course. I don't expect I could go down to the docks +an' get a chance right off as a first-class hand on masts an' sails; but +I shouldn't go on a vessel, you know, Plums. I'm countin' on a +steamboat, where there ain't any shinnin' round to be done. Them fellers +that run on the Sound steamers have snaps, that's what they have. You +know my stand was on West Street, where I saw them all, and the money +they spend! It don't seem like as if half a dollar was any account to +'em." + +"But what could you do on a steamboat?" + +"I don't know yet; but I'll snoop 'round before the summer's over, an' +find out. Where you livin' now?" + +"Well, say, Joe, you can talk 'bout steamboat snaps; but this house of +mine lays over 'em all. I s'pose I've got about the swellest layout in +this city, an' don't have to give up a cent for it, either. First off +McDaniels counted on chargin' me rent, an' after I'd been there a couple +of days he said it didn't seem right to take money, 'cause the place +wasn't fit for a dog. I'll tell you what it is, if McDaniels keeps his +dogs in any better shanty than that, they must be livin' on the fat of +the land." + +"Who's McDaniels?" + +"He's the blacksmith what owns the shanty where I live. You see, it was +like this: I allers sold him a paper every afternoon, an' when it +rained, or business was dull, I loafed 'round there, an' that's how I +found the place." + +"Do you live in the blacksmith's shop?" + +"Well I should say I didn't! Right behind it is a shed he built, to keep +a wagon in, but I guess he ain't got any now, leastways he don't flash +one up. There was a lot of old iron an' the like of that thrown in at +one end, an' when I saw it, I says to myself, says I, 'That's a mighty +good shanty for some feller what don't want to give up all the money he +makes for a place to sleep in,' and I began to figger how it could be +fixed. It took me as much as two days before I could see into it, an' +then I had it all in my mind; so I tackled McDaniels about hirin' it. He +was willin', so long's I 'greed to be careful about fire, an'--well, if +you're out of business now there's nothin' to keep you from comin' down +to-night an' seein' it." + +"I'm not only out of business, but I'm out of a home, Plums. You see, +when I sold the fruit-stand of course I hadn't any right to count on +sleepin' there, an'--" + +"Didn't Sim Jepson offer you the chance?" + +"He seemed to think it wasn't big enough for two." + +"He didn't have any sich swell notions when you first started there, an' +he wanted a place to sleep." + +"Yes, I remember all about that; but it's no use twittin' a feller. He +was willin' enough to bunk in with me, but if he don't want to turn +about an' give me the same show, it ain't any of my business." + +"Of course you can come to my place, an' stay jest as long as you want +to, Joe, an' I'll be glad to have you; but if you're countin' on workin' +down-town it won't be very handy." + +"I ain't certain but I'll try my luck hangin' 'round the _de_pot here +waitin' for a chance to carry baggage. I've done them kind of jobs +before, an' they didn't turn out so terrible bad. You see, with only +sixteen cents, a feller can't spread hisself very much on goin' into +business." + +"You might buy papers, an' sell 'em here. It ain't a very great show for +trade, but you won't have to work very hard, an' there's a good deal in +that." + +"Yes, Plums, there is, for a feller like you, what don't want to stir +'round much; but I'm ready to hustle, an' it wouldn't suit me nohow. You +don't earn more'n fifteen or twenty cents a day." + +"Not a great deal more," Master Plummer replied, in a tone of content, +and a probable customer approaching just at that moment, he succeeded in +making sufficient exertion to offer his wares for sale. + +"That's jest about the way of it!" he exclaimed, as the gentleman passed +into the building without giving heed to the paper held invitingly +towards him. "There's no use to hustle 'round here, 'cause it don't pay. +If they want to buy papers they buy 'em, an' if they don't, you can't +give 'em away. There's one good thing about doin' business here, though, +an' that is, the other fellers won't try to drive you out. It's mighty +tough on you, droppin' all that money. If I'd had most eight dollars you +can bet I wouldn't take the chances of losin' it. I'd sooner spend the +whole pile buyin' swell dinners down on the Avenue." + +"Yes, it's tough," Joe replied, musingly; "but I'd a good deal rather +get rid of the money tryin' to make more, than spend it fillin' myself +up with hash. When do you knock off work?" + +"Oh, somewhere 'bout dark, 'less I've sold out before. Say, I know of a +place where you can get the biggest bowl of stew in this city, for five +cents,--'most all meat. Of course there'll be a bone now an' then,--you +expect that; but it's rich! We'll go there to-night, eh?" + +"I ain't so certain whether a feller with only sixteen cents ought'er +spend five of it fer stuff to eat," Joe replied, reflectively; "but if I +make a few nickels 'tween now an' night, perhaps we'll take a whirl at +it." + +"A feller's bound to eat, whether he makes anything or not. So long's +you've got that much money you might as well enjoy yourself. Now I say +it's best not to go hungry, else you can't do so much work, 'an then--" + +"I'll see you later," Joe interrupted, not caring just at the moment to +listen to his friend's ideas on the subject of food, for it was well +known among Master Plummer's acquaintances that his highest idea of +happiness consisted in ministering to his stomach. + +The fat boy gazed after the ruined merchant until the latter was lost to +view amid the throng of pedestrians, and then in a dreamy, indolent +fashion he turned his attention once more to the business of selling +newspapers to such of the passers-by as requested him to do so, +murmuring mournfully from time to time: + +"Seven dollars an' eighty-three cents, an' a feller can buy custard pies +two inches thick for a dime apiece!" + +Having assured himself of a lodging-place, and decided as to what +business he should pursue, Joe Potter wasted no more time, but set +about earning his livelihood in as cheery a fashion as if the depression +in the fruit market had brought him great gains instead of dire failure. + +Before the night had come he was richer by forty cents, through having +carried to their several destinations, a satchel for a gentleman, a +basket containing a kitten for a lady, and a message for one of the +employees at the station. + +"Business is boomin' right along. At this rate I guess I can afford to +stand one of Plums's bowls of stew," he said to himself, in a tone of +satisfaction, and was about to seek other employment when his name was +called from a shop on the opposite side of the street. + +Turning quickly, he saw a boy with whom he had had slight acquaintance +while in the fruit business, who stood in the door of the shop, and +said, as Joe crossed the street: + +"I'm workin' here now. It's a good deal more tony than down on West +Street. You ought'er move your stand up this way somewhere." + +"I haven't got any to move," Joe replied, and then explained why he was +no longer connected with the business. + +The young clerk did not appear particularly surprised by the +information. + +"I thought that's 'bout the way it would turn out, when I heard you +hired Sim to help you. He's got the business, an' you've got the +shake." + +"Sim was square with me," Joe replied, stoutly. + +"Well, I'm glad you think so, for you're the only one he ever acted +square with, an' it wouldn't astonish me a bit to know he'd done you +up." + +Joe was a boy who would not willingly listen to evil words against one +he called a friend, and was about to begin a wordy war in Sim's behalf, +when his friend's employer put an end to the conversation by demanding +that the clerk "get in and attend to business." + +"I won't believe Sim ever did a thing crooked to me," Joe said, +recrossing the street and taking up his station where he could have a +full view of those who came from the building. "He saved his money while +I was losin' mine, an' that's all there is to it. It seems like as if +everybody wanted to jump on him 'cause he had sense enough to do jest +what he has done." + +This was not the first time Master Potter had heard such an accusation +against his late clerk, and, while he would not believe Sim had been +dishonest, the suggestion so troubled him that he had some difficulty in +banishing the matter from his mind. + +As the passengers from the incoming train appeared, he had other affairs +than Sim's possible dishonesty to think about, as he did his best to +attract the attention of those whom he thought might prove to be +patrons. + +In this manner, but yet without earning any more money, the remainder of +the afternoon was passed, and when one by one the electric lights began +to appear, telling that the day had come to a close, he decided it was +time to seek out Master Plummer. + +Now the thought of that bowl of stew for five cents was particularly +pleasing, and he had made up his mind to indulge in such a hearty meal, +when a little tot of a girl, who could not have been more than three +years old, came out from among the throng of pedestrians and stood +looking up into Joe's face. + +"Well, say, but you are a dandy!" Master Potter exclaimed, in genuine +admiration, as he surveyed the tiny figure, allowing his eyes to dwell +almost lovingly upon the sweet, baby face. "You are a dandy, an' no +mistake; but them as owns you must be crazy to let sich a mite of a +thing snoop 'round here alone." + +The child came nearer, and Joe stooped down to look at her more closely, +for she was the most dainty little maid he had ever seen. + +"I'd ask you to speak to me if I was any ways fit," he said, holding out +a not over-cleanly hand. + +The little maid must have judged the boy by his face rather than his +apparel, for hardly had he spoken when she came boldly towards him and +laid her tiny hand on his cheek with a caressing movement that +captivated Joe immediately. + +"Talk about daisies! Why, you're a corker! You look jest like a pink an' +blue image I've seen in the shop windows. What's your name?" + +"Essie," the little lady replied, and added what may have been words; +but might equally well be Greek so far as Joe was concerned. + +"What's that you say? I didn't jest catch on." + +Miss Essie cooed at him once more, and Joe winked and blinked, trying +most earnestly to understand what she said; but all to no purpose. + +Then he stood erect, fearing lest the little maid's parents should +appear and reprove him for having dared to speak to her; but the moments +passed and no one came to claim the child. + +It was evident Essie had not been accustomed to neglect, for when Joe +ceased speaking, she put a tiny little hand in his and told him in her +childish dialect what may have been a very interesting story. + +Joe looked at the pink hand, and then at his own soiled palm. + +"I'd give a nickel if I was a little bit cleaner! It seems like it was +wicked to hold her hand while mine is so dirty. She takes the shine off +of anything I ever saw before. Say, Essie, where's your mamma?" + +"Mamma dorn," and the little lady clutched Joe's finger yet more +tightly. + +"Well, say, do you s'pose this kid's lost?" and now Joe began to look +alarmed. "Anybody what would lose their grip of a dandy little thing +like her ought to be horsewhipped, an' I'd like to do it." + +Again he tried to get some information from the little maid, and again +she replied readily; but Joe was no wiser than before. + +The night had come; those who passed this way or that on the sidewalk +moved rapidly as if in haste to get home; but no one gave any heed to +the ruined fruit merchant or the charming little child by his side. + +"Look here, baby," Joe said, after what seemed to him like a long time +of waiting, and no one came to claim the child, "will you let me take +you up in my arms, if I try not to muss your clothes? I'm 'fraid folks +can't see sich a bit of a thing down there, an' I'll hold you high, so's +your mother can find you easier." + +Miss Essie certainly understood something of what the fruit merchant +said, for she held out her hands towards him as if to be taken, and he +lifted her carefully, saying, as he did so: + +"It's pretty rough for a feller like me to handle a kid like her! It +seems like I was holdin' some of that swell candy you see in the shop +windows. It'll be a wonder if I don't daub her all up with my great, +dirty hands. I never knew how big they was till she took hold of 'em." + +The little maid must have thought he was speaking for her especial +benefit, for she made reply in language which apparently gave her the +most intense satisfaction, but failed to enlighten Master Potter, and +during perhaps five minutes the two stood on the sidewalk near the +curbstone, jostled rudely now and then by the homeward-bound throng, but +seeing no one who laid claim to the baby. + +"This won't do at all," Joe said. "It ain't right for you to stay out in +the night, and I don't know what's to be done, unless you could stand it +for a spell in Plums's shanty. Say, I wonder if that wouldn't go down? +Will you be willin' to hang 'round with us till mornin', if I buy a slat +of good things? When it comes daylight I can find your folks without +much trouble, 'cause of course they'll be right here huntin', don't you +see? Is it a go?" + +From what the little maid said, Joe concluded it was a "go," and, since +she made no protest when he walked swiftly down towards where he knew +his fat and hungry friend would be waiting for him, believed he had +chosen such a course as met with her approval. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +THE PRINCESS. + + +It was no easy task for Joe Potter to carry his burden, light though it +was, amid the throng of pedestrians, without being pushed rudely here or +there by those who were so intent upon their own business or pleasure as +to give but little heed to the boy and the child. + +Had he been alone, he could readily have forced a passage, but fearing +lest the little maid might be injured by rough contact with one or the +other, he proceeded so cautiously as to make but slight headway, until, +forsaking the sidewalk, he betook himself to the street. + +There was a fear in his mind lest Master Plummer, grown weary with long +waiting, had gone home, and this would have been a serious matter, +because Joe had no idea as to the whereabouts of his friend's lodgings. + +Once out of the throng, he pressed on at a swift pace until he was +nearly overturned by a boy coming from the opposite direction, whom he +had failed to see in the shadows. + +"What's the matter with you, chump? Can't you see where you're goin'?" +he cried, angrily, and the tightening of the little maid's arm around +his neck told that she was frightened. + +"How much of this street do you own? Why don't you mind your--Hello, Joe +Potter, is that you?" and the ruined merchant recognised the voice as +that of his friend with whom he had spoken a short time before in front +of the fruit store. + +"'Course it's me. You ought'er look out how you run 'round here, when +folks has got babies in their arms." + +"I didn't see you, Joe, an' that's a fact. Where'd you get the kid?" + +"She's lost, I reckon, an' I'm takin' her home for to-night," Joe +replied, and, without waiting to make further explanation, hastened on, +leaving his friend, the clerk, staring after him in open-mouthed +astonishment. + +"Don't you be afraid, little one," Joe said, as Essie clung yet more +tightly to him. "They sha'n't hurt you, an' if there's any more funny +business of runnin' into us tried, I'll break the feller's jaw what does +it." + +The child seemed reassured by the sound of his voice, and at once began +to tell him something which was evidently interesting to herself. + +"If I could understand what you say, things would be all right," Joe +said, with a laugh, and then, as he emerged from the shadows cast by the +overhead railway structure, he came face to face with Master Plummer. + +"Well, I'd begun to think you never was comin'," that young gentleman +began, but ceased speaking very suddenly, as he observed the burden in +Joe's arms. "What you got there?" + +"Can't you see for yourself?" and Joe lowered the little maid gently to +the sidewalk, that Master Plummer might have a full view of his +treasure. + +"Well, I'll be blowed! Where'd you get it?" + +"She's lost, 'cordin' to my way of thinkin', an' I've been tryin' to +find her folks, but it's no use huntin' 'round in the night, an' I'll +tell you what it is, Plums, we've got to take care of her till mornin'." + +"Take care of her! What's creepin' on you, Joe Potter? How do you think +we're goin' to look after a kid like that?" + +"I don't know why we can't," Joe replied, sharply. "It'll be pretty +tough if a couple of fellers ain't able to tend out on a mite of a thing +such as her. Say, Plums, don't she look like somethin' you see in the +store windows?" + +"She's fine as silk, there's no gettin' over that," and Master Plummer +would have touched one pink-and-white cheek but that his friend +prevented him. + +"Now don't go to hurtin' her! She's in hard luck enough as it is, +without your mussin' her all up." + +"Who's a-hurtin' of her? I was jest goin' to put one finger on her +cheek." + +"There's no need of doin' so much as that. It might frighten the little +thing, and besides, she's too fine to be handled by you and me, Plums. +She's a reg'lar little princess, that's what she is," and Joe raised the +child quickly, as if to remove the temptation from Master Plummer's +path. + +"What's her name?" the fat boy asked, as he gazed admiringly at the +child. + +"I can't seem to make out, she talks so queer," and as if to illustrate +his meaning, Joe's princess began to chatter, while she clasped both +tiny arms around her self-elected guardian's neck. + +"Well, say, I'd give up what I made this afternoon jest for the sake of +havin' her hug me like that! Ain't she a daisy?" + +"It would be mighty hard to find anything finer in this town." + +"That's a fact; but say, Joe, it's no kind of use, your talkin' 'bout +our takin' care of her, 'cause it can't be done." + +"I'd like to know why?" + +"Jest run your eye over her, an' then look at us! Why, she's been kept +rolled up in silk all the time, an' you talk 'bout takin' her down to +the blacksmith's shop!" + +There was little need for Master Plummer to make further explanation. +Joe had so thoroughly lost himself in admiration of the treasure he had +found that, until this moment, he had not realised how poor was the home +to which he proposed to carry her. + +Now he looked about him in perplexity, and the princess, impatient +because of the delay and her guardian's silence, began to protest most +vehemently. + +"See here, Plums, we've _got_ to take her down to your place, an' that's +all there is to it! There ain't any chance of findin' her folks +to-night, so what else can we do?" + +"It's goin' to be mighty tough on her," Master Plummer replied, with a +shake of the head, and Joe put an end to further discussion by starting +off at a rapid pace down the street, regardless of the fact that he was +in ignorance of the whereabouts of his friend's lodging-place. + +The princess, satisfied now that they were moving, cooed and chattered +in Joe's ear, much to his delight, and Master Plummer was forced to +follow or allow himself to be left behind. + +"There's no use in rushin' as if we hadn't another minute to live," he +cried, when, by dint of rapid running, he overtook his friend. "I don't +like to race 'round when we can jest as well go slow." + +"It would be a good deal better if you walked fast once in awhile, +'cause then you wouldn't be so fat." + +"S'pose I'd rather be fat than as lean as some fellers I know?" + +"Then it would be all right to creep along the street same's we're doin' +now. Say, how far off is your shanty?" + +"Down here a bit; but you don't count on goin' right there, do you?" + +"Why not? Where else should we go?" + +"Seems to me it would be better to get that stew first, an' then we +sha'n't have to come out again to-night." + +"Look here, Plums," and Joe spoke sharply, "do you think I'm goin' to +take the princess into a place where they sell five-cent stews?" + +"She's got to go somewhere, if she wants anything to eat." + +"We'll bring her supper to your shanty. I won't carry this little thing +into a saloon for a crowd of toughs to look at." + +Master Plummer sighed. He had been anticipating a feast of stew from the +moment Joe left him to engage in his new vocation, and it was a grievous +disappointment that the pleasure should be so long delayed. + +"We'll go down to your place an' try an' fix things up; then you can +leave us there--" + +"But you want somethin' to eat as well as I do." + +"I guess I can get along without anything, for a spell. It's the +princess I'm thinkin' about; she's got to have somethin' fine, you know. +Stew'd never do for her." + +"How's custard pie? I know where they've got some that's great,--two +inches thick, with the crust standin' up 'round the edge so the inside +won't fall out while you're eatin' it." + +"Perhaps the princess might like the custard; but I ain't so sure about +the crust. It seems to me she's been fed mostly on candy, an' sich stuff +as that. Anyhow, you take my money an' buy whatever you think she'd +like. Got any candles down to your place?" + +"I did have one last week; but the rats ate most of it, an' I don't +s'pose it would burn very well now." + +"Take this nickel, an' buy some in that grocery store." + +"Why don't you come, too?" + +"I don't believe the princess would like to go into sich a place, an' +besides, folks might want to take hold of her. I ain't goin' to have any +Dutch groceryman slobberin' over her." + +Master Plummer took the nickel and crossed the street in his ordinarily +slow fashion, while Joe and the princess held a long and animated +conversation, to the evident satisfaction of the little maid and the +mystification of the boy. + +Owing to his being thus engaged, Joe did not grow impatient because of +Master Plummer's long absence, as he might have done under other +circumstances, and said to his princess when the newsdealer rejoined +them: + +"Now, little one, we're goin' to Plums's home, an' you must try not to +feel bad 'cause it ain't very swell. It's bound to be better'n stayin' +out in the street all night, for I've tried that game a good many times, +an' there's nothin' funny 'bout it." + +The little maid, perched on Joe's arm something after the fashion of a +bird, chirped and twittered a reply, and Plums, who had fallen in the +rear that he might secretly touch the arm which was around Joe's neck, +said, reflectively: + +"I s'pose we'll have a high old time between now and mornin', 'cause +that kid, sweet as she's lookin' jest now, ain't goin' to be quiet in a +place like mine. It's fellers like you an' me, Joe, who've knocked +'round the city a good many times when we didn't have the price of a +lodgin' in our pockets, what can 'preciate a home where the wind an' +rain can't get in." + +"You're talkin' straight enough, Plums, an' I 'gree to all you say; but +this 'ere princess ain't like the general run of kids,--that you could +see if you was blind. She's a reg'lar swell, an' you can bet there won't +be any kick 'cause we ain't stoppin' at the Walledoff. Couldn't you get +a little more of a move on? At this rate we sha'n't have supper much +before mornin'." + +Master Plummer was willing to comply with this request, and did indeed +appear to be making strenuous efforts to walk at a more rapid pace; but +having patterned after a snail so many years, it seemed impossible for +him to overcome what had become a habit. + +Not once during the short journey did the princess make any protest +against the plan her temporary guardian had suggested. + +She was very comfortable, and although Joe's arms ached from long +holding the light burden, she knew it not,--perhaps it would have made +no difference had she been aware of the fact. + +Finally, and after what had seemed a very long journey to the princess's +guardian, the little party arrived in front of the blacksmith's shop, +and Master Plummer conducted his guests through a narrow alley to the +rear of the building, where was a small, shed-like structure, the end of +which was open, save for a pile of boxes and boards directly in front of +it. + +"This is the place," Master Plummer said, with an air of proprietorship; +"an' seein's you've got the kid in your arms, I'd better light a candle +so's you can see the way, 'cause there's a lot of stuff out here at this +end. I've been countin' on clearin' it up some day, but can't seem to +find the time. Besides, it wouldn't make any difference to us,--it's +only 'cause we've got the princess to lodge with us that I'd like to see +it a little cleaner. Say, Joe, what _is_ a princess, anyhow?" + +"Why, it's a--you see, it's--it's a--well, look at her, can't you see? +That's what it is. _She's_ a princess. Now don't be all night lightin' +one candle." + +It did really appear as if Plums was even slower than usual, and so +awkward that two matches were consumed before the wick was ignited. + +"You see I don't often swell out in so much style as to have candles, +an' it takes me quite a spell to get one goin'," he said, in an +apologetic tone. "She's all right now, though. Jest come 'round the end +of that box, an' look out for this pile of iron, 'cause you might trip. +There _would_ be a mess if your princess was dumped down on this stuff." + +"You get on with the candle, an' I'll see to the rest of the business," +Joe said, impatiently, for by this time his arms ached severely. + +Master Plummer obeyed, and a moment later Joe and the princess were +surveying the home, which occupied six square feet or more in one corner +of the shed, was walled in by barrels and boxes, and furnished with a +pile of straw and a disreputable-looking gray blanket. + +"I've slept here some mighty cold nights, an' I know jest how good the +place is," the proprietor said, proudly. "She's tight as a brick, an' +there can't so much as a sniff of wind get in. Then look here!" + +He raised the lid of a small box, thereby displaying two tin tomato cans +in which were fragments of biscuits, a broken cup half full of sugar, +two wooden plates, a knife, a fork, and a spoon. + +"When trade is dull, I buy stuff at the grocery store, an' bring it in +here. Why, Joe, things will keep jest as well in that box as they would +in one of your tony 'frigerators, an' I ain't sure but it's better. I +have had ice in there two or three days, though I don't know as it +'mounted to anything 'cept to wet everything." + +Joe gave little heed to his friend's cupboard. He was looking around for +some spot where the princess could sit down without danger of soiling +her garments, but failed to find that for which he sought. + +"See here, Plums, you'll have to spread some papers over that blanket; +it'll never do to put this little thing down where everything is so +dirty." + +"I don't see what there is 'round here that's dirty. It seems like she +couldn't come to much harm on the straw. It's only been here two weeks." + +"Put the papers down, an' we'll talk 'bout it afterwards. It seems as +though my arms would break." + +Master Plummer obeyed, but with an ill grace, for this fault-finding +without reason was not agreeable. + +There was no lack of newspapers in the house, and in as short a time as +Plums could compass it the straw was covered. + +It was with a long breath of relief that Joe sat his charming burden +down, and then were the boys treated to an exhibition of the princess's +temper. + +Cleanly though the couch was, she had no idea of sitting bolt upright +when there were two subjects at hand to obey her wishes. + +She positively refused to be seated, but held out her hands as if for +Joe to take her in his arms once more, and when the boy attempted to +explain that it was necessary she remain there a few moments, the little +maiden made protest at the full strength of her lungs. + +"I guess I'll have to take her up again," Joe said, with a long-drawn +sigh, "an' I don't know as she's to be blamed for not wantin' to stay +there." + +"Well, I'd never believed anything so pretty could screech so loud!" +Master Plummer exclaimed, in a tone of wonderment. "She yells jest 'bout +the same's old Mis' Carter's kids do, an' there's nothin' swell about +them." + +Joe made no reply. He was too deeply engaged in trying to hush the +princess to give any heed to his friend's remark, and fully five minutes +passed before the imperious little maid was reduced to silence. + +Then she nestled down in his arms with such apparent content, and looked +so charming, that he was her willing slave, without one disagreeable +thought concerning her temper. + +"If my face was washed, I'd kiss her this minute," he said, half to +himself, and immediately Master Plummer looked jealous. + +"If you can do that, I reckon I can." + +"Well, there won't either of us try it yet awhile, so s'posin' you go +after your supper, an' bring something for the princess when you come +back. Don't be gone any longer'n you can help, will you, Plums, 'cause +she must be gettin' hungry by this time." + +"I'll take the cans an' get the stew in them, else I'd be gone quite a +spell if I waited to eat my share. Will I buy custard pie for her?" + +"Yes, an' anything else you think she'd like. Don't get cheap stuff, +'cause she ain't used to it." + +Then Joe emptied the contents of his pocket in Master Plummer's hands, +and the latter asked, in surprise: + +"Are you goin' to spend the whole of this?" + +"It don't seem as though you'd have to, an' besides, we ought to leave a +little something for breakfast. Do the best you can, Plums." + +With an air of responsibility, the proprietor of the establishment +walked slowly out, and Joe was left alone with his baby. + +Swaying his body to and fro to delude her with the idea of being rocked, +Master Potter did his best to please the princess, and evidently +succeeded, for in a very short time after Plums had departed, the +sleep-elves soothed her eyelids with their poppy wands until she crossed +over into dreamland. + +Now Joe would have laid the tiny maid on the straw to give relief to his +arms, but each time he attempted anything of the kind she moved +uneasily, as if on the point of awakening, and he was forced to abandon +the effort. + +"I must be a chump if I can't hold a bit of a thing like her till she's +through sleepin'," he said to himself, "an' I ought'er be mighty glad to +have such a chance." + +It was monotonous work, this playing the nurse while seated on the +ground with no support to his back; but never for a moment, not even +when his arms ached the hardest, did Joe Potter regret having taken upon +himself such a charge. + +He had given little heed as to how the princess's parents might be +found, because he believed that would prove an exceedingly simple task. +He had only to go to the railroad station in the morning, and there +deliver the child to her mother, who, as a matter of course, would be in +waiting. + +There was never a thought in his mind that, by bringing her to this home +of Master Plummer's, he had in fact secreted her from those who must at +that moment be making eager search. + +He had done what seemed to him fitting under all the circumstances, and +felt well satisfied that no one could have cared for the child in a +better fashion, save in the matter of lodgings, which last left much to +be desired. + +After a time, Joe succeeded in so far changing his position that it was +possible to gain the use of one hand, and immediately this had been +done, he set about carefully covering the princess's garments with a +newspaper, lest he himself should soil the fabrics. + +Then there was nothing to do save wait the leisurely movements of Plums, +and it seemed as if fully an hour passed before that young gentleman +finally made his appearance. + +"If I haven't got all you fellers can eat, then I'm mistaken," Master +Plummer announced, in an exceedingly loud tone as he entered the +building; and Joe whispered, hoarsely: + +"What are you makin' sich a row for? If you ain't careful, you'll wake +the princess." + +"Well, I'll be blowed, if she ain't gone to sleep jest like any of Mis' +Carter's kids would do!" Plums said, in a tone of surprise, when he was +where a view could be had of the sleeping child. + +"Of course she has. You don't s'pose swells sleep different from other +folks, do you?" + +"I don't know, 'cause I never had a chance to see one close to, before. +Say, here's the stuff." + +Plums was literally laden with small packages, and, in addition, had the +two tomato cans nearly filled with what he declared was "great stew." + +"I tell you there's no flies on that stuff, an' here's the pie," he +added, as he took a parcel wrapped in brown paper from under his arm. +"I'm 'fraid it's got mashed a little, but I couldn't carry it any other +way. Takin' the stew an' that, with what other things I've got, it'll be +funny if your princess can't fill herself up in great shape." + +Then, from one pocket and another, Master Plummer drew out two small +cakes frosted with white and sprinkled with red sugar, three inches or +more of Bologna sausage, a cruller, a small bag of peanuts, an apple, +and two sticks of candy which looked much the worse for wear, because of +having been placed in his pocket without a covering. + +"Now if that ain't rich enough for any feller's blood, I'd like to know +what you'd call it? Three or four princesses like your'n ought'er get +through with a layout same's this, an' thank their lucky stars for +havin' the chance." + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +AN ADVERTISEMENT. + + +Having placed the packages on the straw near about his friend, in what +he believed to be a most tempting display, Master Plummer seemed to +consider that his duties as host had been performed properly, and gave +himself wholly up to the pleasures of eating. + +With one of the tomato cans between his knees, he gave undivided +attention to the savoury stew, until, the first pangs of hunger having +been appeased, he noted, as if in surprise, that Joe was not joining in +the feast. + +"Why ain't you eatin' somethin'?" he asked, speaking indistinctly +because of the fullness of his mouth. + +"I don't see how it can be done while the princess is asleep." + +"Put her down on the blanket, where she belongs. You don't count on +holdin' her all night, I hope?" + +"It looks like I'd have to. Jest the minute I stir she begins to fuss +'round, an'--" + +"Well, let her fuss. Old Mis' Carter says kids wouldn't be healthy if +they didn't kick up a row every once in awhile." + +"I guess she won't be sick any to speak of, if we keep her quiet till +mornin'. The trouble is, Plums, there's bound to be an awful row jest +as soon as she wakes up an' finds out where she is. I s'pose she's been +tended like she was a piece of glass, an' the shanty must look pretty +hard to her. You can tell by the way she acts that the princess has +always had a reg'lar snap, an' I wouldn't be s'prised if this was the +meanest place she was ever in." + +"She'll be lucky never to get in a worse one," Master Plummer replied, +emphatically; and added, after having filled his mouth once more, +"There's no reason why you can't eat your share of the stew an' hold her +at the same time." + +"I'm 'fraid I might spill some of it on her dress." + +"Look here, Joe Potter," and now Plums spoke sharply, "you'll be all +wore up before mornin', carryin' on at this rate. It wouldn't hurt that +kid a bit if she had every drop of stew we've got, on her clothes, an' +she's playin' in big luck to be with us instead of walkin' 'round the +streets. Take your share of the stuff while it's goin', for of course +you haven't had anything to eat since noon." + +"I had a pretty fair breakfast." + +"An' nothin' since then?" Master Plummer cried, in astonishment. + +"Well, I wasn't hungry,--that is, not very. You see, when a feller +closes up business, the same's I've done, he don't think much 'bout +eatin'." + +"Well, think about it now, an' _do_ it, too!" + +Having thus spoken, and in his sternest tones, Plums placed the second +can of stew where his friend could reach it conveniently, and waited +until Joe had so changed his position that it was possible for him to +partake of the food. + +No better proof of Master Plummer's interest in his friend could have +been given than when he thus voluntarily ceased eating to serve him. + +The boys had not attempted to remove either the princess's hat or cloak, +and she appeared anything rather than comfortable as she lay wrapped in +newspapers, with her head pillowed on Joe's arm; but yet her slumbers +were not disturbed when Master Potter, his appetite aroused by the odour +of the stew, proceeded to make a hearty meal. + +"I s'pose we ought'er wake her up, so's she'll get somethin' to eat," +Joe said, thoughtfully, and Plums replied, very decidedly: + +"Don't you do anything of the kind. So long's a kid's quiet you'd better +leave 'em alone, 'cause it ain't safe to stir 'em up 'less you want a +reg'lar row." + +"Of course that wouldn't do; but say, Plums, if she keeps on sleepin' +like this, it won't have been a terrible hard job to take care of her." + +"Not 'less you count on holdin' her all night." + +Joe was already cramped from sitting so long in one position, and as if +his friend's remark had reminded him of the fact, he made another effort +to relieve himself of the burden, this time being successful. + +The princess moved uneasily when she was first laid upon the bed of +straw, and the boys literally held their breath in suspense, fearing she +would awaken; but, after a few moments, the child lay quietly, and +Plums said, in a tone of satisfaction: + +"I know a good bit about kids, I do, 'cause old Mis' Carter had sich a +raft of 'em, an' I lived with her 'most a year. The right way is to +chuck 'em 'round jest as you want to, an' they'll stand it; but once you +begin to fuss with 'em, there's no end of a row." + +"The princess ain't anything like Mis' Carter's youngsters." + +"No, I don't know as she is; but I guess the same kind of handlin' will +fetch her 'round all right in the long run. Can't you eat some peanuts?" + +"I've had enough, an', besides, we must leave somethin' to give the +princess, 'cause she'll be hungry in the mornin'." + +"Yes, I s'pose we must. It always makes me feel bad to stop when there's +good things in the house," and Master Plummer told his friend of the +"great time" he had had on a certain rainy day, when it would have been +useless to attend to business, and the larder was well filled. + +"I kept right on eatin', from mornin' till it was time to go to bed; +didn't rush, you know, but stuck at it." + +"Didn't it make you sick?" + +"Well, I did have a pretty bad ache before mornin'; but jest as likely +as not that would have come whether I'd eat anything or not. Mis' Carter +says if I don't stop bein' so hungry all the time I'll fill up a +glutton's grave, but how can a feller keep from wantin' something to +eat?" + +"I don't s'pose it's anybody's business, Plums, what you do, so long as +you pay the bills; but it does seem to me that it would be better if +you'd get on more of a hustle when you're at work, an' stop thinkin' so +much about vittles. I can't see how you earn money enough to keep this +thing up." + +"Seems like I've got some push to me if I do it, don't it?" Master +Plummer replied, complacently, and there the conversation came to an +end. + +Plums, having ministered to his appetite, stretched himself at full +length on the ground, and it seemed to Joe as if he had but just assumed +that position when his heavy breathing told that he had fallen asleep. + +Now and then from the street beyond could be heard the rumbling of a +carriage, sounding unusually loud owing to the stillness of the night. +At intervals the hum of voices told that belated seekers after pleasure +were returning home, and, in fact, everything reminded the ruined fruit +merchant that the time for rest was at hand. + +Joe's eyelids were heavy with sleep, yet he resisted the impulse to +close them, because it seemed necessary he should watch over the +princess. + +The candle, having burned down to the neck of the bottle in which it had +been placed, spluttered and fretted because its life was so nearly at an +end, and Joe replaced it with a fresh one. + +With his back against the box which served as cupboard, he sat watching +the little maid with a strong determination not to indulge in sleep, and +even as he repeated for the twentieth time that it was necessary he +remain awake, his eyes closed in slumber. + +It was yet dark, and the second candle nearly consumed, when the +princess suddenly opened her big, brown eyes, and during a single +instant looked about her in silent astonishment. + +Then, as the only way by which she could express her displeasure with +her surroundings, the child opened her tiny mouth to its fullest extent, +and from the little pink throat came as shrill a scream as was ever +uttered by one of "old Mis' Carter's kids." + +Joe Potter was on his feet instantly, and during the first few seconds +after being thus rudely awakened was at a loss to understand exactly +where he was, or what had aroused him. + +The princess introduced herself to his attention very quickly, however, +for she was a maid who had ever received, and was ever ready to demand, +attention. + +Joe had her in his arms as soon as might be, but just at this moment it +was her mother she wanted, and the friendship previously displayed for +her new guardian was forgotten. + +In other words, the princess screamed passionately; Joe walked to and +fro with her in his arms, whispering soothing words which did not +soothe; and through all the uproar Master Plummer slumbered as sweetly +as an infant. + +"I know what you want, you poor little thing; but how am I goin' to get +it for you to-night? Why won't you try to make the best of it till +mornin', an' then we'll be sure to find your folks? Here, eat some of +these peanuts; they must be awful good, 'cordin' to the way Plums +pitched into 'em last night." + +The princess had no appetite for peanuts just then, and, as the readiest +way of giving her guardian such information, she struck the outstretched +hand with her tiny fist, sending the nuts flying in every direction. + +Joe was considerably surprised that such a dainty-looking little maiden +could display so much temper, but did not relax his efforts to please. + +One of the sugared cakes had escaped Master Plummer's cyclonic appetite, +and with this the amateur nurse tried to tempt the screaming child into +silence. + +The cake shared the fate of the peanuts, and the princess gave every +evidence in her power of a positive refusal to be soothed. + +Joe had tossed her in the air, fondled her in his arms, paced to and fro +as if walking for a wager, but all without avail, and now it seemed +necessary he should have assistance. + +Master Plummer's rest had not been disturbed by the noise, but he rose +to a sitting posture very suddenly when Joe kicked him almost roughly. + +"Wha--wha--what's the matter?" he asked, blinking in the light of the +candle, which was directly in front of his eyes. + +"I should think you might know by this time! Can't you hear the +princess?" + +"I thought there'd be a row if she waked up," Master Plummer replied, in +a matter-of-fact tone, and then he laid himself down again, evidently +intending to continue the interrupted nap. + +"See here, Plums, you can't do that!" Joe cried, sharply. "I mustn't be +left alone with this poor little thing. It ain't certain but she'll die, +she's so frightened." + +"Don't fret yourself. She'll come out of it after a spell; all Mis' +Carter's kids used to." + +"But she isn't like them, I tell you! They could stand 'most anything, +an' she's been raised different." + +"She cries jest the same's they did." + +"Look here, George Plummer, get up on your feet an' help me! This thing +is growin' dangerous!" + +Plums had no fear the princess would injure herself by crying; but his +friend spoke so sternly that he decided it was wisest to obey the +command, and a very sleepy-looking boy he was, as he stood yawning and +rubbing his eyes, with an expression of discontent amounting almost to +peevishness upon his face. + +"There ain't anything either you or I can do. Youngsters have to yell +jest about so much,--it makes 'em healthy,--an' she'll quiet down after +a spell. Why don't you give her somethin' to eat?" + +"I tried that, but she wouldn't take a single crumb. The trouble is, we +haven't got what she wants. Now, if there was some milk in the house--" + +"But there ain't, so what's the use thinkin' of that?" + +"It must be near mornin', an' if there is a bakeshop anywhere 'round, +you could get some." + +"Do you want a feller to turn out in the night an' travel 'round the +streets lookin' for milk?" Plums asked, indignantly. + +"It is better to do that than have a dear little baby like this die." + +"But there's no danger anything of that kind will happen. I've seen lots +of worse scrapes than this, but they always ended up all right." + +"Look here, Plums, will you go out an' get some milk?" + +"What's the use--" + +"_Will_ you go an' get the milk?" + +Just for an instant Master Plummer stood irresolute, as if questioning +the necessity for such severe exertion, and then a single glance at his +friend's face decided the matter. + +In silence, but with a decided show of temper, the fat boy picked up one +of the tomato-cans, jammed his battered hat down over his head, and +stalked out of the shanty. + +During this brief conversation the princess's outcries had neither +ceased nor diminished in volume, and when Plums had thus unwillingly +departed, it was as if she redoubled her efforts. + +Unfortunately, Joe had had no experience with "old Mis' Carter's kids," +and when the child's face took on a purplish hue, he was thoroughly +alarmed, believing her to be dying. + +"Don't, baby dear, don't! You'll kill yourself if you act this way! I'm +doin' the best I know how; but the trouble is, I can't tell what you +want!" + +Entreaties were as useless as any of his other efforts to soothe, yet +he alternately begged her to be silent, and paced to and fro with her in +his arms, until, when it seemed to him that at least one whole night +must have passed since she awakened, the princess tired of her +exertions. + +Then it was a tear-stained, grief-swollen face that he looked into, and +the childish sobs which escaped her lips gave him deeper pain than had +her most energetic outcries. + +Believing her to be suffering severely, the big tears of sympathy rolled +down Joe's face as he told her again and again of all he would do +towards finding her mother when the day had come. + +The princess was lying quietly in Joe's arms when Master Plummer finally +returned, bringing the can of milk, and yawning as if he had been asleep +during the entire journey and had but just awakened. + +"Now you can see that it was jest as I said!" he exclaimed. "When +youngsters start in yellin', they've got to do about so much of it, an' +there's no use tryin' to stop 'em. Here I've walked all over this city +huntin' for milk when I might jest as well have been sleepin'." + +"It won't do you any harm, Plums, an' I honestly think the princess is +hungry." + +"She can't be very bad off, with Bologna, an' cakes, an' peanuts 'round. +I'll bet she won't touch this." + +Joe broke into the milk such fragments of cracker as remained in the +cupboard-box, after which, and first wiping the spoon carefully on his +coat sleeve, he began to feed the little maid. + +[Illustration: "HE BEGAN TO FEED THE LITTLE MAID."] + +To Master Plummer's disappointment, she ate almost greedily, and Joe +said, in a tone of triumph: + +"You may know a good deal 'bout Mis' Carter's babies, but you're way off +when it comes to one of this kind." + +"I don't know whether I am or not," and Plums laid himself down once +more, falling asleep, or pretending to, almost immediately thereafter. + +Having eaten with evident relish the food which had cost Plums so much +labour, the princess's ill-temper vanished entirely, and she twittered +and chirped to Joe until he forgot his former fears and anxieties in the +love which sprang up in his heart for the tiny maid who was dependent +upon him for a shelter. + +The day was close at hand when the amateur nurse and his charge +journeyed into dreamland for the second time, and although Joe had +gained but little rest during the night, his slumbers were not so +profound but that a hum of shrill voices near the building awakened him +very shortly afterward. + +The one fear in his mind was that the princess would be disturbed, and +he stepped quickly outside the shanty to learn the cause of the noise. + +"Here he is! Here he is now! We was in big luck to come 'round this +way!" one of a party of boys said, excitedly, and Joe recognised in +these early visitors three friends and business acquaintances, all of +whom were looking very serious, and evidently labouring under great +excitement. + +"What's brought you fellers up to this part of the town so early?" Joe +asked, in surprise, and Dan Fernald, who had under his arm a bundle of +morning papers, said, in a mournful tone: + +"We've come after you." + +"What for? I'm goin' to hang 'round here a spell till I can get enough +money ahead to go into business ag'in. Did you fellers think I'd be so +mean as to sell papers 'round City Hall after I'd sold out to Dan?" + +"It ain't anything like that, Joe Potter," Master Fernald replied, so +gravely that the princess's guardian could not fail of being alarmed. + +"What's floatin' over you fellers?" he asked, sharply. "Ain't been +gettin' into trouble, have you?" + +"We're all right; but there's somethin' mighty wrong 'bout you, Joe. +Say, did you do anything crooked when you sold that stand to Sim +Jepson?" + +"Crooked? Why, how could I? He'd been workin' for me at a dollar a week, +an' when I hadn't any more money, he took the stand for what I owed him. +If you call it crooked to sell out a business for a dollar an' twenty +cents, when it cost pretty nigh eight times as much, you're off your +base." + +"Then what _have_ you been doin'?" Tim Morgan asked. + +By this time Joe began to understand that something serious had caused +this early visit, and he began to grow alarmed, without knowing why it +should disturb him. + +"I don't want you to make any noise 'round here, 'cause Plums an' me +have got a kid what we picked up in the street last night, an' she's +asleep. It won't do to wake her 'less you want to hear the tallest kind +of screechin'. But I've got to know what's givin' you fellers the +chills; so out with it, but be as quiet as you can." + +Dan Fernald looked at his comrades as if hoping one of them would act as +spokesman; but since both remained silent, he began by saying: + +"See here, Joe, you know we're your friends, an' are willin' to do all +we can to help you out of a scrape?" + +"Yes," Master Potter replied, growing yet more alarmed because of Dan's +solemn manner. + +"If you'd come right to us in the first place, we'd helped you, no +matter how much money was wanted." + +"Look here, Dan, don't give me a stiff like this!" Joe cried, +imploringly. "If anything's wrong, out with it, 'stead of mumblin' 'bout +helpin' me. I've allers managed to help myself, and you fellers, too, a +good many times, so I don't know why you should stand 'round lookin' +like as if somethin' was chewin' you." + +"If we wasn't your friends, Joe, you might give us a bluff like that, +an' even if we didn't take it, we'd make out as though we did. See +here," and unfolding a newspaper, Dan pointed to an advertisement, as he +added, "I saw this almost 'fore I got out of the _Herald_ office, an' +didn't stop for anything but jest to pick up Tim an' Jerry before I come +to find you." + +Joe looked at each of his friends in turn before taking the proffered +paper, and then, after considerable difficulty because of the necessity +of spelling out each word in turn, he read the following: + + JOSEPH POTTER. Information wanted of a newsboy or fruit + vendor answering to the name of Joseph Potter. He was last + seen in front of the Grand Central Station at about seven + o'clock on the evening of yesterday (Tuesday), holding in + his arms a child three years old. A liberal reward will be + paid for information as to the present whereabouts of the + boy. Address Cushman & Morton, Attorneys at Law, 47-1/2 Pine + Street, New York. + +Immediately below this was an advertisement signed with the same names, +requesting information concerning a little girl who had strayed from the +Grand Central Station and was last seen in the company of a newsboy; but +this Joe did not read. + +The fact that he was advertised for, as if he had been a fugitive from +justice, terrified him. + +He could not so much as speak; but looked alternately at the printed +sheet and his companions, until Dan said, sternly: + +"Now, Joe, you can tell us 'bout this thing or not, jest as you have a +mind. What we've come for is to help you get clear, an' we're bound to +do it." + +"Get clear of what?" Joe repeated, in bewilderment. + +"You know better'n we do, an' I ain't askin' questions if you think it +ought'er be kept secret from us." + +"But I haven't been doin' anything that wasn't square," Joe replied, +with a trembling voice. + +"Then what's a couple of lawyers advertisin' you for?" Tim Morgan asked, +shrilly. "Do you s'pose sich folks want'er catch a feller what sells +papers, jest to look at him?" + +[Illustration: "DAN POINTED TO AN ADVERTISEMENT."] + +"See here, Tim, you know me, an' you know I never did a mean thing to +anybody in my life." + +"Then what they advertisin' yer for?" + +"Say, fellers, I wouldn't try to make out--" + +"Now, Joe, this ain't any time for you to stuff us," Dan Fernald said, +impatiently. "If you hadn't done anything crooked, your name wouldn't be +right there in them big letters. You've allers been willin' to do us a +good turn, an' we're goin' to pay you back. You've _got_ to skip! An' +you've got to skip bloomin' quick!" + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +JOE'S FLIGHT. + + +It was literally impossible for Joe Potter to make any reply to Dan +Fernald's positive statement that he must run away in order to escape +punishment. + +As a matter of course he knew he had done nothing of a criminal nature, +and yet the advertisement, which seemed to stand out more conspicuously +than any other item in the paper, could not be construed either by +himself or his companions to mean anything else. + +The fact that it was signed by attorneys seemed to Joe and his friends +positive proof that a crime had been committed; otherwise why would +representatives of the law have appeared in the matter? + +Dan Fernald, as Joe's oldest and nearest friend, took it upon himself to +act as master of ceremonies in the affair, and, understanding that his +comrade was so overwhelmed by the impending danger as to be absolutely +incapable of intelligent movement, led him towards the shanty, as he +said, gravely: + +"Never mind what it is you've done, Joe, us fellers are goin' to see you +through, an' it won't do to hang 'round here very long, if you plan on +givin' the perlice the slip. I reckon they'll be hot after you before +nine o'clock, an' by that time I'm countin' on havin' you hid. Got +anything here you want to take with you?" + +Joe shook his head; but Master Fernald seemed to consider it necessary +they should enter the building, and his two comrades followed close in +the rear. + +Once inside the shanty, the visitors, as a matter of course, saw the +princess sleeping on the straw, and, despite the fact that her garments +were not as cleanly as on the day previous, making a most charming +picture. + +"Well, I'll be blowed! Where'd you get that?" + +Joe had been so bewildered by the terrible knowledge that the officers +of the law were probably on his trail, as to have forgotten for the +moment that the princess was in his charge, and he stood for an instant +staring at her vacantly before making any reply, which odd behaviour +served to strengthen the belief in the minds of his friends that he was +guilty of some serious crime. + +"Oh, that's the princess. She lost her folks somewhere near the _de_pot +last night, an' I was countin' on findin' 'em for her this mornin'. +Plums an' me had to take her in, else she'd been layin' 'round the +streets." + +Dan looked at him sharply, while Tim and Jerry raised themselves on +tiptoe to gaze at the sleeping child. + +"Well, what you goin' to do with her now?" Dan asked, after waiting in +vain for his friend to speak. + +"I don't know," Joe replied, sadly, and added, in a more hopeful tone, +"If you fellers would look after the little thing, she might--" + +"We'll have all we can do keepin' you out of jail, without bein' +bothered by a kid taggin' everywhere we go. You don't seem to +understand, Joe, that it's goin' to take mighty sharp work, an' most +likely every feller that ever knew you will be watched by the perlice +from this time out." + +"But I can't leave her here alone," Master Potter wailed. + +"Why not take her down where Plums used to live? Mis' Carter's got a +reg'lar raft of kids, an' ought'er know how to take care of another." + +"It would jest 'bout break the little thing's heart to put her in with +that Carter gang, an' I can't do it. I'd sooner the perlice nabbed me." + +"Now you're talkin' through your hat. Of course you don't want to go up +to Sing Sing for two or three years, an' that's what's bound to happen +if them lawyers get hold of you. What's Plums snorin' away for, when +things are all mixed up so bad?" Dan asked, impatiently, and without +further delay he proceeded to arouse Master Plummer to a knowledge of +the terrible danger that threatened Joe, by shaking him furiously. + +"What do you want now,--more milk?" the fat boy asked, without opening +his eyes, and Dan pulled him suddenly to his feet. + +"Wake up, an' see what we want! Here's the perlice after Joe, red-hot, +an' we've got to get him out'er town." + +"After Joe?" Master Plummer repeated, stupidly. "What's he been doin'?" + +"We don't know, an' he won't tell us." + +"I haven't been doin' a thing, Plums, as true as I live; but there it +all is in the paper," Master Potter replied, in a tearful voice. "Of +course there's no gettin' away from that." + +Not until Plums had spelled out for himself the ominous advertisement +was it possible for those who would rescue Joe Potter from the impending +doom to do anything towards his escape, and, once having mastered the +printed lines, the fat boy gazed at his grief-stricken friend in mingled +astonishment and reproach. + +"Of course the perlice are goin' to know you slept here last night, an' +jest as likely as not I'll be pulled for takin' you in." + +"Course you will!" Jerry Hayes cried, shrilly. "You're in a pretty tight +box, Plums." + +Joe protested vehemently that he was innocent of any intentional +wrong-doing; but with that unexplainable advertisement before him, Plums +received the statement with much the same incredulity as had the others. + +"Where you goin' to take him?" he asked of Dan; and the latter replied: + +"I don't know; but we've got to get him out of town by the shortest cut, +an' I reckon that'll be Thirty-fourth Street Ferry. How much money you +fellers got?" + +Master Plummer took from his pocket that which remained of the amount +given him by Joe the night previous, and, after counting it twice, +replied: + +"Here's sixteen cents what belongs to Joe, an' I've got twenty of my +own." + +"Us fellers have anteed up a dollar an' a quarter towards seein' you +through, an' here it is," Master Fernald said, as he gave Plums a +handful of small coins. + +Joe did not so much as glance at the money, and Dan said, impatiently: + +"Now, don't hang 'round here any longer, you two, 'cause it's mighty +near sunrise." + +"But what about the kid?" Plums asked, as if until that moment he had +entirely forgotten the sleeping child. + +"I reckon she'll have to take her chances," Dan replied, carelessly. +"Some one will look out for her, of course,--turn her over to McDaniels, +the blacksmith." + +This suggestion aroused Joe very suddenly, and he glanced at each of his +companions in turn, as if to read the thoughts of all, after which he +said, sharply: + +"You fellers can believe me or not, but I haven't done anything to set +the perlice after me. I can't say as I blame you for thinkin' it ain't +so, 'cause there's that advertisement; but it's a fact all the same, an' +I'm goin' to let the cops take me." + +"What?" Tim Morgan screamed. "You're goin' to jail?" + +"What else can I do?" + +"Run away, of course, the same's we're fixin' it." + +"In the first place, we haven't got money enough to go very far, an' +then, ag'in, I won't leave the princess knockin' 'round the streets." + +"You'd have to if you went to jail." + +"I could take her with me for a spell, anyhow." + +Joe appeared so thoroughly determined to give himself up to the +officers of the law that his comrades were seriously alarmed. + +Although there was but little question in their minds that he was guilty +of some crime, not one of them was willing he should yield to the order +of arrest which they believed had already been issued. + +Plums looked at Dan imploringly, and the latter said, as he laid hold of +Joe's arm: + +"Now see here, old man, we ain't goin' to stand by with our hands in our +pockets while you go to jail, 'cause there's no need of it. The perlice +won't be 'round for two or three hours, an' it's pretty hard lines if we +can't get you out of town before they come." + +"I won't leave the princess," Joe replied, doggedly. + +"Then take her with you. Of course there's a good deal of risk in it, +seein's how the advertisement said you had her; but it's a blamed sight +better'n givin' right up same's any chump would do." + +"I counted on findin' her folks this mornin'." + +"The way things have turned out, you can't; an' what's the odds if you +wait two or three days? I'll see that you have money enough to keep you +goin' for a spell, anyhow, 'cause all the fellers what know you an' +Plums will chip in to help." + +"Am I goin', too?" Master Plummer asked, in surprise. + +"I can't see any other way out of it. When the perlice find where Joe +slept last night, they're bound to pull you in. It don't look to me as +if it was goin' to be sich a terrible hard thing to go off in the +country for a spell, now the weather's warm, an' if it wasn't for the +kid here, I'd say you'd have a great time." + +At this moment the princess awakened, and, fortunately, in an amiable +mood. + +She raised her hands towards Joe as if asking to be taken in his arms, +and, instantly the mute request was complied with, the ruined merchant's +courage failed him. + +Burying his face in her dress, regardless of the possible injury to be +done the delicate fabric, the poor boy gave way to tears, and the little +maid must have understood that he was suffering, for she patted him on +the ear, or ruffled his hair gently with her hands, all of which served +but to make his grief more intense. + +"Now's the time to get him right away," Dan said, in a low tone to +Master Plummer. "We've fooled 'round here too long already, and if he +kicks ag'in goin', why, we've got to lug him, that's all. I won't see +Joe Potter put in jail if it can be helped." + +"What do you s'pose he's been doin'?" Plums asked, in a terrified +whisper. + +"Blamed if I know; but it must be somethin' pretty tough, else they +wouldn't spend money advertisin' for him." + +"I don't b'lieve he'd kill anybody." + +"Neither do I; but it must be somethin' 'bout as bad as that. While he's +takin' on so we can get him off without much trouble. We'd better walk +to the ferry, 'cause there might be somebody on the horse-car what would +know him." + +"If I've got to leave the town, I don't want to hang 'round Long +Island, 'cause there ain't so much chance of gettin' further away," +Plums objected, and Dan began to show signs of ill temper at being thus +thwarted in his efforts to do a favour. + +"You'll be blamed lucky if you get anywhere, except to jail." + +"But what's the difference if we go over to Jersey? It ain't much +further to the Weehawken Ferry than it is Thirty-fourth Street way." + +"All right, go there, then,--anywhere, so's you get a move on." + +Master Plummer took the precaution to gather up such provisions as +remained in the cupboard, and, after one long look around at the home he +might be leaving for ever, shook Joe gently. + +"Come on, old man; this thing's got to be done, an' the sooner we start +the better. There's no show for you to give yourself up 'less I'm with +you, 'cordin' to what Dan says, an' you can bet I ain't countin' on +goin' to jail so long as it can be helped." + +Joe rose to his feet obediently, still holding the princess tightly in +his arms, and Dan ordered Jerry to precede them into the street, in +order to make certain the officers of the law were not in the vicinity. + +"If you whistle once, we'll know nobody's there, an' twice means that +we're surrounded." + +Jerry, looking as important as the occasion demanded, set about doing +the scouting for the party, and an instant later a shrill call rang out +on the morning air, telling that the coast was clear. + +Dan and Plums ranged themselves either side of Joe; Tim marched in +advance, wary as an Indian hunter; and in this order the little party +gained the street, the princess in high glee because of the numbers who +were escorting her. + +Joe neither spoke nor looked back. His heart was as heavy as though the +shadow of a real crime hung over him, and, had he been going directly to +prison, could not have appeared more despondent. + +On the other hand, Dan Fernald was enjoying himself hugely. + +Aiding a desperate criminal to escape from the clutches of the law was +to him a most exciting adventure. He had always believed he possessed +remarkable detective ability, and this was the first time an opportunity +of establishing such fact had presented itself. + +"If I don't get you two fellers out of this scrape, then I'm willin' to +lay right down," he said, as Tim and Jerry led the way towards the west +side of the city at a rapid pace. "I've kept myself posted on the +detective business pretty sharp, 'cause I've made up my mind to go into +it before long, an' by the time we finish this job I guess the perlice +will find out what I'm made of. I ain't so sure but I shall join the +force after you're straightened out." + +"They wouldn't take on a feller of your size," Master Plummer said, with +something very like a sneer; which was not seemly, in view of the fact +that Dan was at this moment giving him the full benefit of his wonderful +ability, simply through friendship. + +"It don't make any difference about a feller's size; it's the head what +counts. Before long you'll find out whether I've got one or not." + +Joe gave no heed to his friend's words. His grief was so great that +probably he knew nothing whatever regarding that morning journey, save +that the princess, when not laughing and chattering at him, was eating, +with evident relish, the sugar-besprinkled cake which Plums had slipped +into her chubby hand. + +The boy did not realise that he might be doing a grievous wrong against +the parents of the princess by thus taking her from the city. He knew +she would be cared for to the best of his ability, and it seemed as if +those who loved her must realise the same. Of course he understood that +she was to be restored to her father and mother as soon as it should be +possible, but he failed to take into consideration the suffering which +might be theirs because of her disappearance. + +Therefore it was that, in all this wretched business, at the end of +which he could see nothing but the open door of a prison, the only +bright thing to him, amid the clouds of despair, was the companionship +of the princess. + +After the first slight sorrow at being forced to leave his home, Plums +began to enjoy this flight, and discussed with Dan the possible +enjoyment of a detective's life until the party arrived within a block +of the ferry-slip. + +It was yet so early in the morning that but few were on the street; but +Dan had no intention of allowing the boy whom he was saving to enter +the slip like an ordinary citizen. + +Ordering a halt near the entrance of an alleyway which led between two +stables, he said, with the air of a general: + +"Tim, you scout along down towards the ferry-slip, an' see if anybody's +there on the watch. We'll stay here so's we can sneak up through this +alley if you should whistle twice. Jerry, you're to walk back about half +a block, so's to make certain the perlice don't creep up on us from +behind." + +"But there ain't a dozen people in sight, an' we can see that there's no +cop 'round!" Master Plummer exclaimed. "What's to hinder our goin' right +on board the boat?" + +"Look here, Plums, if you know more 'bout this kind of business than I +do, take hold an' run the thing. We'll see how far you'll get before the +whole crowd is nabbed." + +"I don't know anything about it, of course; but I can see there's nobody +between us an' the ferry-slip that would likely make trouble." + +"If we depended on you, we wouldn't have got so far as we have," Master +Fernald replied, disdainfully. "Jest likely as not, there's a dozen cops +hid close 'round here, an' I ain't goin' to be fool enough to walk right +into their arms." + +Plums was silenced by this exhibition of superior wisdom, and Joe +indifferent to whatever steps might be taken for his own safety; +therefore Dan was not interfered with in his management of the affair. + +The scouts set about their work, and not until fully ten minutes had +passed did the amateur detective give the word for the fugitives to +advance. + +"I reckon it's all straight enough now, an' we'll go on board the boat; +but there's no tellin' what might have happened if I hadn't 'tended to +the work in the right way." + +Then Master Fernald walked a few paces in advance of his friends, moving +stealthily, as if knowing danger menaced them on every hand, and casting +furtive glances up and down the street until, had any one observed his +movements, suspicions must have been aroused as to the innocence of his +purpose. + +Jerry paid for the ferry tickets out of his own funds, for it was the +purpose of these rescuers to remain in the company of the fugitives +until they should have escaped from the State. + +Once on the boat, Joe wanted to remain in the ladies' cabin, because of +the princess; but Dan would not countenance any such rash proceeding. + +He insisted that they must take up their stations in what was, for the +time being, the bow of the boat, where they could prevent possible +pursuers from "sneakin' up on 'em." + +The princess made no objection to this breezy position, otherwise the +boy who was being rescued by Master Fernald would have flatly refused to +obey orders; and thus the fugitives and their friends remained where +every passenger on board must of necessity have seen them. + +Dan gave his friends what he considered good advice during the passage, +and when the boat was nearing the slip on the Jersey side, summed up his +instructions with a statement which electrified them all. + +"You fellers are to hang 'round Weehawken till 'long towards dark, when +Plums must come down to the ferry-slip. I'm goin' back to New York to +fix up my business, so's I can stay with you till the worst of the +trouble is over." + +"Are you countin' on runnin' away with us?" Master Plummer asked, in +surprise. + +"That's jest the size of it. You fellers don't seem to know scarcely +anything at all about takin' care of yourselves, an' if I don't 'tend to +business you'll both be in jail before to-morrow mornin'. I'm goin' to +size up things 'round perlice headquarters to-day, an' then come over to +look after you. Jest as soon's the boat touches the slip, you two take a +sneak, find some place where you can hide till night, an' then watch out +for me." + +Five minutes later, the fugitives stepped on Jersey soil, and Master +Fernald's scouts were deployed to guard against an attack from the enemy +until the two boys were lost to view in the distance. Then the amateur +detective said, in a tone of grim determination, "Now, fellers, we'll go +back, an' size up the cops in New York." + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +IN THE CITY. + + +When Dan Fernald and his two assistants returned to their usual place of +business in the city, they found Joe Potter's mercantile friends in a +state of high excitement. + +It seemed as if the eyes of each boy who was acquainted with Joe had +been attracted to that particular advertisement, and business among a +certain portion of the youthful merchants in the vicinity of City Hall +Square was almost entirely suspended because of the startling +information that "the lawyers were after Joe Potter." + +It was only natural for each fellow to speculate as to the reason why +the unfortunate fruit merchant should be "wanted," and many and wild +were the theories advanced. + +Some of the boys even went so far as to suggest that Joe had robbed a +bank, and, in order to make such a proposition plausible, insinuated +that he had failed in the fruit business simply for the purpose of +deceiving the public as to the true state of his finances. + +Little Billy Dooner ventured the opinion that "perhaps Joe had killed a +_I_talian," but no one gave weight to the possible explanation, for +Master Potter enjoyed the reputation of being as peaceable a boy as +could be found in the city. + +When each one of those more particularly interested had in turn given +his theory regarding the mystery, without throwing any positive light on +the subject, the conversation was always brought to a close with +something like the following words: + +"At any rate, he's gone a mighty long ways crooked, else the lawyers +wouldn't spend money advertisin' for him." + +The arrival of Dan Fernald and his assistants only served to heighten +the mystery, for these young gentlemen positively refused to make any +statement either for or against the missing boy, and the natural result +was that they were credited with knowing very much more regarding the +affair than really was the case. + +Dan immediately assumed such an air as he believed befitted detectives, +and hinted more than once that Joe's friends "would be s'prised before +the day was ended." + +Not until noon was there any change in the situation of affairs, and +then a bootblack who worked in the vicinity of the Grand Central Station +came down to City Hall Square with information that Plums was no longer +attending to business. + +"If he wasn't so bloomin' slow, I'd say he'd run away with Joe Potter," +the informant added; "but as it is, he couldn't get out of the town in +much less than a week, even if he humped hisself the best he knew how." + +Under ordinary circumstances, Plums might have disappeared without +causing a ripple of excitement among his business acquaintances, but +since Joe Potter was missing also, it began to look as if the two might +be together. + +At three o'clock in the afternoon Sim Jepson startled the community of +newsboys by announcing that he had been closely questioned by a man in +citizen's clothing, who "looked for all the world like a cop got up in +disguise," concerning Joe's habits, and Master Jepson added, on his own +responsibility: + +"They're after him hot, an' no mistake. He'll be mighty smart if he can +keep out of sight when they've gone reg'larly to work huntin' him up." + +This information disturbed Dan Fernald not a little. + +Although quite positive he was a match for any detective or policeman in +the city, Dan would have preferred to work on a case where there +appeared to be less danger. This affair of Joe's was growing more +serious each moment, and he who meddled with it might come to grief, but +yet never for a moment did Master Fernald think of abandoning his +friend. + +"I'll do jest as I told him I would, no matter what kind of a scrape I +get into," he said, confidentially, to Tim and Jerry. "You fellers must +hang 'round here so's to find out all that's goin' on, an' be sure to +let me know if any more men come here searchin' for Joe." + +"But you ain't goin' to stay in Weehawken?" + +"Well, I guess not." + +"Then how shall we know where to find you?" + +"Look here, Jerry Hayes, if you ain't smart enough to find us three when +you know we're somewhere in Jersey, it ain't any kind of use for you to +try to be a detective, 'cause you'll never make one. You must come over +to Weehawken, an' get on our trail; then the rest of it will be easy +enough." + +"I'd like to know how we're goin' to do that?" + +"If I've got to explain every little thing, I might jest as well run +this case all by myself. Findin' a man when you don't know where he is, +is the first thing a detective has to learn, an' you'd better put in a +good part of your time studyin' it up. Now I'm goin' to see how much +money I can raise, an' 'long 'bout five o'clock you can count on my +sneakin' out of town." + +While his friends were thus speculating, and working in what they +believed to be his behalf, Joe was spending a most wretched day. + +Immediately after landing from the ferry-boat, he, carrying the princess +and followed by Plums, walked directly away from the river, believing +that by such a course he would the sooner arrive at the open country. + +Now that he was really running away, his fears increased momentarily. + +While in the city, it had seemed to him as if he could summon up +sufficient courage to surrender himself to those people, who most likely +wanted to commit him to prison; but having once begun the flight, all +his courage vanished,--he no longer even so much as dreamed of facing +the trouble. + +The princess, well content with this morning stroll and the cake Joe +had given her, appeared willing to continue such form of amusement +indefinitely. + +She laughed and crowed until the young guardian trembled lest she should +attract undue attention to him, and when, ceasing this, the little maid +poured some wondrous tale in his ear, his heart smote him, for he +believed she was urging to be taken home. + +"I'll find your mother, baby darling, the very first thing after I get +out of this scrape; but there couldn't any one blame me for runnin' away +when the perlice are after me." + +Plums was more discontented than alarmed during this journey. There was +altogether too much walking in it to please him, and Joe pushed ahead so +rapidly that he nearly lost his breath trying to keep pace with him. + +"If you go on this way much longer I'll have to give the thing up," he +said, in despair, when they were a mile or more from the ferry-slip. + +"But you surely ought to walk as fast as I can when I am carrying the +princess." + +"Perhaps I ought'er, but I can't. I'm pretty near knocked out of time +already. Why not slack up a little now, we're so far from the city?" + +"I don't dare to, Plums. We haven't gone any distance yet, an' jest as +likely as not the perlice here have had orders to stop us. Do the best +you can a spell longer, an' perhaps we can find a place to hide in till +you get rested." + +Master Plummer made no reply; but his companion could readily see that +he was suffering severely from such unusual exertions. His fat face was +of a deep crimson hue; tiny streams of perspiration ran down his cheeks, +and he breathed like one affected with the asthma. + +There was little need for Master Plummer to explain that a halt would +soon be necessary, for this Joe understood after but one glance at the +unhappy-looking boy. + +The princess's guardian had hoped they might gain the forest, where it +would be possible to hide, or at the least find a small thicket of trees +or bushes; but as yet there were dwellings on every hand, and each +instant the sun was sending down more fervent rays. + +At the expiration of an additional ten minutes Plums gave up the +struggle by saying, despondently: + +"It's no use, Joe, I couldn't keep on my feet half an hour longer, to +save the lives of all hands. S'posin' you leave me here, an' go on by +yourself? That will be better than for both of us to be arrested." + +"I'm not sich a chump as to do anything of that kind, old man. You got +into this trouble through tryin' to help me, an' I'll stay right side of +you till it's over." + +"But it ain't safe to hang 'round here." + +"I know it; yet what else can we do? We're bound to take the chances, +an' I'm goin' to stop at one of these houses." + +Master Plummer appeared thoroughly alarmed, yet he made no protest +against the proposed plan. + +At that moment imprisonment had less horrors for him than such severe +exertions. + +Joe's greatest fear was that, while asking for shelter, he would be +forced to explain why he was taking the princess with him for a long +tramp, when the day was so warm; and, dangerous though such a course +might be, he was resolved to tell only the truth. + +"If I can't get through without lyin', I'll go to jail, an' take my +medicine like a man," he said to himself, and once this resolve had been +made he stopped in front of the nearest dwelling. + +His timid knock at the door was answered by a motherly-looking German +woman, who appeared surprised at seeing the visitors. + +"If we'll pay whatever you think is right, may we come in an' stay a +little while?" Joe asked, falteringly. "It's awful hot, an' the princess +must be tired." + +"Kannst du kein deutch sprechen?" + +Joe looked at her in bewilderment, and Plums said in a whisper: + +"She talks a good deal the way the princess does. I guess the kid must +know what she says." + +"We want to come in for a little while, an' are willin' to pay you for +it," Joe repeated, and the old lady shook her head doubtfully as she +leaned over and kissed the princess squarely on the mouth. + +"Ich kann nicht Englisch sprechen." + +As she spoke, the good woman gave Joe a smile which went far towards +reassuring him, and he in turn shook his head. + +"I guess we'll have to give it up," Plums said, mournfully. "It's too +bad, for she must be a real good kind of an old woman, or she wouldn't +have kissed the princess." + +Joe hesitated an instant, and had half turned to go when the old lady +stretched out her hands towards the child, who immediately displayed a +very decided desire to forsake the boy who had ministered to her wants +so devotedly during the past twelve or fifteen hours. + +"Komme herein aus der hitze." + +This was said with a gesture which could not be misunderstood, as the +old lady took the princess in her arms; and Joe followed without +hesitation, Master Plummer saying, meanwhile: + +"If she can't talk United States, an' that seems to be about the size of +it, there ain't any chance she can tell where we are. It's mighty lucky +we struck her, 'cordin' to my way of thinkin'." + +Joe was of the same opinion, when the old lady ushered them into a +cleanly but scantily furnished room, so darkened as to make it seem cool +by comparison with the scorching rays of the sun on the pavements, and +then gave her undivided attention to the baby. + +She took off the child's hat and cloak, and, carrying her into an +adjoining room, bathed her face and hands, much to the delight of the +princess. + +"I'd 'a' washed her up this mornin' if I hadn't been 'fraid she'd get +mad about it," Joe said, regretting most sincerely that he had not +attended to the little maiden's toilet in a proper manner. + +"What's the good? Old Mis' Carter says dirt makes children healthy, an' +if that's straight I should say your princess needs a couple of quarts +to put her in trim." + +[Illustration: "'MAY WE COME IN AN' STAY A LITTLE WHILE?'"] + +"She ain't like Mis' Carter's kids, so what's the use to keep throwin' +them up all the time. Say, Plums, look at the old woman now! Why didn't +I think of cuddlin' the princess in that style?" + +Their hostess, having made the little maid more presentable, gathered +the child to her breast, as she rocked to and fro in a capacious +armchair, singing a lullaby, which speedily closed the two brown eyes in +slumber. + +"I shouldn't feel very bad if the old woman served me in the same way," +Master Plummer said, with a long-drawn sigh, as he straightened himself +up in the wooden chair. "I'd rather lay right down on the floor an' go +to sleep than do anything else I know of." + +"But you mustn't, Plums, you mustn't," Joe whispered, nervously. "If you +should do anything like that she'd think we was more'n half fools, both +of us." + +"Seid ihr kinder hungrich?" + +The old lady spoke so abruptly that the boys started as if in alarm, +both looking at her with such a puzzled expression on their faces that +she must have known they failed to understand the question. + +"Perhaps she thinks we can't pay our way," Plums whispered. "You might +let her know we've got money, even if you can't do anything better." + +Joe acted upon the suggestion at once by taking several coins from his +pocket, holding them towards the old lady. + +She shook her head and smiled cheerily. Then, laying the princess on a +chintz-covered couch without disturbing the child's slumbers, she left +the room. + +Again was Master Potter surprised by the apparently careless, yet deft +manner in which she handled the child, and he said, in a tone of +admiration to his friend: + +"Don't it jest knock your eye out to see the way she fools with the +princess, an' yet the little thing seems to like it? If I'd done half as +much as that she'd be screechin' blue murder by this time." + +"Women know how to take care of kids better'n boys do, though I ain't +any slouch at it, 'cause I've tried it so many times down to Mis' +Carter's." + +"I notice you couldn't stop her from cryin' last night." + +"I didn't try, did I? Perhaps if you hadn't sent me racin' all over the +city for milk I might'er done somethin'." + +This conversation was interrupted by the German lady, who returned, +bringing two plates, one of which was heaped high with seed-cakes, and +the other filled with generous slices of boiled ham. + +If a boy's mouth ever did water, Plums was in that peculiar condition +just at that moment. + +Alarmed by the news which Dan Fernald brought, he had, for perhaps the +first time in his life, forgotten to eat breakfast, and nothing could +have been more welcome in his eyes than this plentiful supply of food. + +"Better pay her for it," he whispered to Joe, "an' then she'll be likely +to bring on more. I could eat all she's got there, an' not half try." + +Joe did as his companion wished; but the old lady positively refused to +take the money until the boy urged her in dumb show, when, with the air +of one who complies with a request against her will, she took from +Master Potter's outstretched hand a dime. + +Plums had not waited for this business to be finished before he began +the attack, and when Joe turned he saw that his comrade had assumed a +position of supreme content, with three seed-cakes in one hand, and a +large slice of ham in the other. + +"You're awfully good to us, an' I wish you'd taken more money," Joe +said, as he helped himself to a small portion of the food, knowing, even +as he spoke, that his words would not be understood. + +The old lady smiled, and went out of the room again, returning almost +immediately with a glass of water and more ham, much to Master Plummer's +satisfaction. + +"I guess we're fixed jest about as well as we could be, an' it'll pay us +to hang on here till Dan comes over. This beats walkin' 'round the +streets." + +"Perhaps she wouldn't like it if we stayed a great while," Joe +suggested. + +"Well, s'posin' she shouldn't? So long's she can't talk United States +there's no chance of her turnin' us out, or tellin' where we are." + +"Would you stay here when you thought she didn't want us?" + +"I'd stay in most any place where we was strikin' it as rich as we are +jest now," and then Master Plummer ceased speaking, in order that he +might give more attention to this unexpected meal. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +DAN, THE DETECTIVE. + + +It was sunset, and Master Plummer stood at the ferry-slip in Weehawken, +awaiting the coming of Dan, the detective. + +Much against his will had the fat boy left the home of the German lady +to set out on this long tramp. He understood that it would not be safe +for Joe to come out of hiding, and, because of the arrangements made by +Dan in the morning, it was absolutely necessary some one should meet the +amateur detective at the ferry-slip. + +Hence it was that Master Plummer was loitering around just outside the +gate, keeping a close watch upon all who came from the boat, and on the +alert for anything bearing the resemblance of a blue coat with brass +buttons. + +Dan Fernald, believing that a detective who knew his business would not +make a single movement without a certain attendant mystery, had decided +it was not safe for him to leave New York in the daytime, and therefore +Plums's time of waiting was exceedingly long. + +Not until eight o'clock did Dan appear; and then, instead of answering +his friend's hail, he marched gravely out through the gate, crossed the +street, and, during several seconds, stood peering first to the right +and then the left, while from the opposite side Plums looked at him in +bewilderment. + +Master Plummer had spoken to his friend, but received no reply; had +followed a certain distance without being apparently recognised, and +stopped in bewilderment when Dan indulged in these curious antics. + +Finally the fat boy grew impatient, and, crossing the street, asked, +sharply: + +"What's the matter with you, anyhow, Dan?" + +Master Fernald glanced at his friend only sufficiently long to wink in a +most mysterious fashion, and then, turning quickly around, marched +gravely up the street without speaking. + +Plums watched in anxiety until, seeing his friend dart into a doorway, +it suddenly dawned upon him that Dan was desirous of avoiding a too +public interview. + +Then Plums hastened after him, muttering to himself: + +"That feller thinks he's awful smart, scrimpin' an' scrapin' 'round here +as if there was a dozen perlicemen right on his track. If he'd go on +about his business nobody'd notice him; but when he's kitin' 'round in +this fashion folks are bound to wonder what's the matter." + +On arriving at the doorway, he looked in, but without seeing any one, +because of the gloom. + +Thinking he had made a mistake, Plums would have hurried on, but for a +hoarse whisper which came from out the darkness. + +"Come in here, quick! Don't stand there where everybody'll tumble to who +you are." + +Plums obeyed immediately, as was his custom when any one spoke harshly, +and Dan seized him by the arm. + +"Keep quiet, now, whatever you do, 'cause I wouldn't be s'prised if +more'n a dozen cops followed me over on the boat." + +"I didn't see any," Plums replied, in astonishment. + +"That's 'cause you didn't keep your eye peeled. Of course they wouldn't +try to get on my track while they was dressed in uniform. I saw one I +felt certain about; he was disguised like a truckman, an' drivin' a +team, but he couldn't fool me." + +"Do they know where Joe an' I are?" + +"I don't think so; but jest as soon as I left the town they was bound to +have their eyes open mighty wide, 'cause I guess it must be known up to +perlice headquarters that I'm in on this case. Where's Joe?" + +Master Plummer told the amateur detective of the very pleasant refuge +they had found, and concluded by saying: + +"First off we couldn't talk with the old woman at all; but at +dinner-time a kid about half as big as me, what calls her 'grandmarm,' +come home, an' he knew how to talk United States. Little as he was, he +could chin in the old woman's lingo as fast as she. That fixed things +for us. Joe said he was out lookin' for work, which is the dead truth +when you come to that, an' made a trade for us to stay there a couple of +days. I was 'fraid they'd ask about the princess, but it seems like they +didn't. They thought she belonged to us straight enough, so it's been +all plain sailin'." + +"I didn't get over here any too soon, if you fellers have gone to +stoppin' at a house." + +"But why shouldn't we, when we found one like that where they'll take us +in mighty cheap? An' say, that old woman is the boss cook!" + +"An' she'll get in jail, too, if you keep on this way. Here's you an' +Joe advertised for by the lawyers, an' yet are sich chumps as to settle +right down where the detectives will get on to you the very first +thing." + +"I ain't been advertised for." + +"Well, that's where you make a mistake, Master Smartie. Perhaps you +haven't seen the evenin' papers." + +"What's in them?" Plums cried, in a tone of alarm. + +"Pretty much the same as what you saw in the _Herald_ this mornin', only +that they're offerin' to pay for any news of Joe Potter an' a feller +what's called 'Plums.'" + +"Do you mean that, Dan? Are they really advertisin' for me?" Master +Plummer asked, in a tone of terror. + +"That's what they're doin', an' the way the cops are chasin' 'round town +huntin' up bootblacks an' newsboys is a caution. Three different ones +asked Jerry Hayes if he knew you or Joe; but you can bet they didn't +find out very much. Jerry's sharp enough to keep his mouth shut." + +"But what do they want me for? What have I done?" + +"I reckon it's 'cause Joe slept at your house. Now the only safe thing +is for us to strike off into the country as quick as we know how. We've +got to walk all night before we so much as think of stoppin'." + +"But what about the princess? We can't make that little thing travel +from post to pillar." + +"If Joe Potter hadn't been a fool he'd left her in town. It jest makes +my blood boil when I think of his havin' a kid taggin' 'round after him, +an' every detective in New York on his track!" + +"I don't believe he'd be willin' to leave the princess, not even if he +knew he was goin' to be 'rested the next minute." + +"He's got to, or I'll throw up the job of tryin' to save him. Now we'll +go up to this Dutch woman's house that you've been talkin' 'bout, an' +snake him out. All I hope is we'll get away in time." + +Master Plummer turned to walk out of the hallway in obedience to this +command, when Dan, clutching him by the arm, brought the boy to a sudden +standstill. + +"What kind of a way is that to go out when the streets are full of +detectives huntin' after you?" + +"How else can I go?" Plums asked, in surprise. + +"I'll show you. Watch out on what I do, an' act the very same way. I'll +go on one side of the street, an' you on the other, so's folks sha'n't +know we're together." + +Master Plummer was puzzled to understand why it might work them mischief +if the public knew they were acquainted with each other; but Dan was so +peremptory in his commands that the boy did not venture to ask a +question. + +Then Master Fernald went out from the hallway, in what he evidently +believed was the most approved detective fashion of walking, and, as +Plums confidentially told Joe later, "he acted like he was a +jumpin'-jack, with some one pullin' the string mighty hard." + +The two went slowly up the street, one on either side, and such of the +citizens of Weehawken who saw them were mystified by their singular +method of proceeding. + +Dan quieted down somewhat after half an hour had passed, for no slight +amount of labour was required to continue the supposed detective manner +of walking, and, before arriving at the house where Joe had taken +refuge, he behaved very nearly like other and more sensible boys. + +"No, I won't go in," he said, decidedly, when Plums proposed that he +call upon the old lady. "You don't catch me showin' myself 'round this +place any more'n I can help, 'cause there's no tellin' when the perlice +will be here askin' questions, an' I'm goin' to steer clear of trouble." + +"Shall I tell Joe to come out?" Plums asked, timidly, for Dan's superior +wisdom awed him. + +"Of course, else how can I see him? Don't let that kid tag on behind, +for it's mighty dangerous to be on the street with her. That +advertisement about you had in it that you was last seen with a little +girl." + +Master Plummer entered the dwelling, and Dan paced to and fro on the +sidewalk, with a consequential air, until Joe appeared. + +"Why don't you come in?" the latter asked. "Mrs. Weber--that's the name +of the lady who owns the house--is mighty nice, even if you can't talk +to her." + +"I ain't so foolish as to show myself in such places, an' you ought'er +let your head be cut off before takin' all these chances." + +"But we couldn't keep the princess out-of-doors from mornin' till night, +an'--" + +"That's what's makin' all the trouble, Joe Potter. If you hadn't brought +the kid along we'd get through this scrape in good style." + +"But I couldn't have left her in Plums's shanty alone." + +"It was a fool business pickin' her up in the first place, 'cause if you +never'd done it, them lawyers couldn't say you had a kid with you. +That's the very best way they have to let folks know who you are. +Anyhow, you've got to give her the dead shake now, if you want me to +keep hold of this case." + +"Then I'll have to get along the best I can without you, for I won't run +away from a poor little baby, who counts on my findin' her folks." + +Joe spoke so decidedly that the amateur detective understood he could +not easily be turned from his purpose, and Master Fernald was +astonished. He had supposed that his threat to "drop the case" would +have reduced the unfortunate merchant to submission, and it seemed +little less than madness for Joe and Plums to continue the flight +without the guiding hand of one so wise as himself. + +"Of course, if you don't want me, that settles it," he said, sulkily. "I +ain't throwin' my time away when folks had rather I wasn't 'round; but +you'll get into a heap of trouble without somebody what knows the ropes, +to steer you." + +"I would like to have you with us, Dan; but I won't leave that poor +little princess when she needs me so much." + +"But how you goin' to fix it nights? We've got to sleep outdoors mostly +all the time, an' she'd soon get wore up with that kind of knockin' +'round." + +"Why must we sleep outdoors?" + +Dan explained that the search for the supposed criminal was to be +prosecuted with such vigour that even Master Plummer was included in the +advertisements, which piece of news both alarmed and mystified Joe. + +"What are they after him for? Does anybody claim he's been goin' +crooked?" + +"I s'pose it's 'cause he let you sleep in his shanty. You see, Joe, the +lawyers are bound to nab you if the thing can be done, an' you've got to +give up sleepin' in houses. It might work once or twice; but you'd be +sure to run across somebody what had read the papers, an' then you'd +find yourself an' the princess in jail mighty quick. The evenin' papers +said a large reward would be paid, an' perhaps, by mornin', they'll +raise the price to as much as ten dollars." + +It can well be understood how disturbed in mind Joe was at learning that +his enemies were so eager to capture him; but yet he had no intention of +abandoning the princess, until Plums made a suggestion which seemed like +an exceedingly happy one. + +"Why not pay old Mis' Weber somethin' to take care of her for two or +three days?" he asked. "The little thing would get along a good deal +better with a woman, an' we can sneak back here once in awhile to make +certain she's all right. I don't believe them lawyers will spend very +much more money huntin' for us, 'cause we ain't worth it, no matter what +we've done." + +"That's the very best snap you could fix up!" Dan cried, approvingly. +"I'd been thinkin' of somethin' like that myself; but didn't have time +to tell you about it. I've got more'n two dollars that I borrowed to +help you fellers through with this scrape, an' that ought'er be a good +deal more'n enough to keep her till we can earn more." + +Joe understood that it would be to the princess's advantage if he left +her with the kind old German lady, and at once decided in favour of the +plan. + +Never for a moment did he fancy they might be as safe in this house as +anywhere else, but firmly believed a continuation of the flight was +absolutely necessary, as Dan had announced. + +"I'll see what Mis' Weber says about it, an' if she's willin', we'll go +right away." + +"Don't stay in there all night chinnin', 'cause it's mighty dangerous +for us to be hangin' 'round here," Dan called after him as he entered +the dwelling, and Joe hastened the matter as much as possible. + +The princess was in bed sleeping quietly, and looking, as Plums +expressed it, "fit to eat." Mrs. Weber's grandson was ready to act as +interpreter, and in a few moments Joe had made the proposition. + +The good woman asked no questions concerning the parents of the child it +was proposed she should keep, and her silence on this point may have +been due to the fact that, even with her grandson's aid, it was +difficult to understand all the boys said. + +She was willing to take the princess for a week, but not longer, and +decided that one dollar would repay her for the labour. + +"Tell your grandmother we'll make the trade," Joe said, quickly, +delighted because the sum named was so much less than he expected. "I'll +be back here in two days at the longest, an' she's to take the very best +care of the little thing." + +"Granny would be kind even to a mouse," Master Weber replied, with an +air of pride, and Joe added, promptly: + +"I ought'er know as much by this time, an' if I didn't, the princess +wouldn't be left with her. That poor little swell hasn't got anybody to +look out for her but me, till we find her folks, an' I ain't takin' +chances of her comin' to harm. Here's the dollar, an' you tell your +granny I'll be back by the day after to-morrer if all the cops in New +York are close after me." + +The little German boy looked up in perplexity, for he failed to +understand the greater portion of what Joe had said, and the latter was +in too great a hurry to heed the fact. + +A shrill whistle from the outside told that detective Dan was growing +impatient, and Joe started towards the door, after seeing the old lady +take the money; but halted an instant later. + +"Is there something more you want granny to do?" the German boy asked, +and Joe was at a loss for a reply. + +"I was thinkin', perhaps,--if, course, it wouldn't make any difference +to your granny,--say, I'm goin' to sneak in an' kiss the princess!" + +The boy nodded carelessly, but Joe made no effort to carry his threat +into execution. + +Again the amateur detective whistled, and Master Potter stepped towards +the bedroom door, but halted before gaining it. + +"Perhaps her folks wouldn't want a duffer like me doin' anything of that +kind," he muttered, and straightway walked out of the house as rapidly +as his legs would carry him, much as if he feared to remain longer lest +the temptation should be too great to resist. + +"It begun to look as if you was goin' to stay all night," Dan said, +petulantly, when Joe appeared. "There's more'n a hundred people walked +past here, an' I'll bet some of 'em was huntin' for us; we've got to get +out of this place mighty lively, if you don't want to be chucked into +jail." + +Plums looked so thoroughly terrified that Joe at once understood the +amateur detective had been frightening him by picturing improbable +dangers, and said, almost sharply: + +"There's no use makin' this thing any worse than it really is." + +"That can't be done, Joe Potter. You're in an awful scrape, an' don't +seem to know it." + +"I wish I'd stood right up like a man till I'd found the princess's +folks, an' then gone to jail, if the lawyers are so set on puttin' me +there." + +"What's comin' over you now?" + +"I'm thinkin' of that poor little swell we've brought out here." + +"She's a good deal better off than if you let her tag along behind." + +"That may be; but I ought'er found her folks instead of runnin' away." + +"Now, see here, Joe Potter, you're makin' a fool of yourself, an' all +about a kid what's goin' to have a soft snap while she stays here. Of +course if you want to be put into jail for two or three years, I won't +say another word, an' you can rush right straight back to the city." + +"Don't stand here talkin'!" Plums cried, in an agony of apprehension. +"We've got to leave, else nobody knows what may happen!" + +Dan seized Joe by the arm, literally forcing him onward, and the two who +were ignorant of having committed any crime continued the flight from +the officers of the law. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +AUNT DORCAS. + + +When the three had set out from Mrs. Weber's home, the amateur detective +announced that no halt would be made until sunrise. + +Joe, whose thoughts were with the princess, gave little heed to this +statement, if, indeed, he understood it, and Master Plummer had been so +terrified by Dan's positive assertion regarding the possibility of an +immediate arrest that he had failed to realise the labour which would be +required in thus prolonging the flight. + +Before an hour passed, however, even the detective himself began to +think he might have made a rash statement, and Plums, unaccustomed to +such violent exercise, was well-nigh exhausted. + +By this time Joe had come to understand what might be the result if +Dan's advice was followed implicitly, and this, together with the +knowledge that each moment he was increasing the distance between +himself and the princess, served to make him reckless. + +"Look here, Dan Fernald," he said, coming to a second halt. "Let's talk +over this thing before we go any further." + +"Perhaps you think we can afford to loaf 'round here," the amateur +detective said, sternly. "If you fellers want to keep your noses out of +jail, you'd best hump yourselves till daylight, an', even then, we won't +be far enough away." + +"We're jest as far now as I'm goin'," and there was that in Joe's voice +which told his companion that he would not be persuaded into changing +his mind. + +"What?" Dan screamed. + +"That's all there is to it. I'll stop here, an' you fellers can keep on +if you like." + +"But, Joe, if there was woods somewhere near I wouldn't say a word. How +can you hide where there's so many houses close 'round?" + +"I don't count on hidin', 'cause I can't afford it. Even if them lawyers +get hold of me to-morrer mornin', I'm goin' to stop here." + +"Right here in the road?" Plums asked, with less anxiety than he would +have shown an hour before, when he was not so tired. + +"Well, I don't mean to say I'll camp down in the road. But you fellers +listen to me. If the detectives are out after us, an' I s'pose, of +course, they are, we sha'n't be any safer twenty miles away than in this +very spot. We've got to stop sometime, an' it may as well be now. I +promised to go back to see the princess in two days, an' I'll keep my +word." + +"But where'll you stay all that time?" Dan asked, as if believing this +was a question which could not be satisfactorily answered. + +"I don't know yet; but I'm thinkin' of goin' up to that house," and Joe +pointed to a tiny cottage, which in the gloom could be but dimly seen +amid a clump of trees. "There's a light in the window, so of course the +folks are awake. I'll ask 'em if they haven't got work enough about the +place sich as I could do to pay my board over one day, an' if they say +no, I'll try at the next house." + +"You might as well go right into jail as do a thing like that," Dan +said, angrily. + +"I ain't so sure but it would have been a good deal better if I had, for +by this time the princess would be with her folks, where she belongs." + +"It seems to me you're terribly stuck on that kid." + +"Well, what if I am!" and Joe spoke so sharply that Master Fernald did +not think it wise to make any reply. + +During fully a moment the three stood silently in the road looking at +each other, and then Joe asked of Master Plummer: + +"Will you come with me?" + +The possibility of resting his tired limbs in a regular bed appealed +strongly to the fat boy, and, understanding that he was about to agree +to Joe's proposition, Dan said, gloomily: + +"This is what a feller gets for tryin' to help you two out of a scrape. +I've kept the detectives away so far, an' now you're goin' to give me +the dead shake." + +"There's no reason why you couldn't stay with us--" + +"You won't catch me in a house for another month, anyhow." + +[Illustration: "JOE POINTED TO A TINY COTTAGE."] + +The argument which followed this announcement was not long, but +spirited. + +Joe explained that it was his intention to remain in that vicinity, and +within forty-eight hours to return to Weehawken, according to the +promise he had made Mrs. Weber. + +Dan continued to insist that it was in the highest degree dangerous to +loiter there, and professed to believe himself deeply injured, because, +after having "taken up the case" in such an energetic fashion, he was +probably in danger of arrest through having aided these two supposed +criminals. + +Master Plummer had but little to say; the thought of walking all night +was nearly as painful as that of being imprisoned, and he was willing to +throw all the responsibility of a decision upon his friend. + +Before ten minutes had passed, the matter was settled,--not +satisfactorily to all concerned, but as nearly so as could have been +expected. + +Joe and Plums were to call at the cottage with the hope of finding +temporary employment, and the amateur detective was to conceal himself +in the vicinity as best he might, until he should be able to learn +something definite regarding the purpose of the lawyers who had +advertised. + +When Joe, followed by Master Plummer, turned from the highway into the +lane which led to the cottage, the amateur detective scrambled over the +fence on the opposite side of the road, and scurried through the field +as if believing he was hotly pursued. + +Not until they had arrived nearly at the house did Master Plummer make +any remark, and then he said, with a long-drawn sigh: + +"Dan Fernald makes too much work out of his detective business to suit +me. I couldn't walk all night if it was to save me life." + +"I don't believe there's any reason why we should, Plums. Because Dan +thinks the cops have followed us over to Weehawken doesn't make it so, +an' if we can't hide here, we can't anywhere, 'cordin' to my way of +thinkin'. Besides, it wouldn't be fair to go off so far that we can't +get back to the princess." + +Then Joe advanced to the side door, and knocked gently, Plums +whispering, hoarsely, meanwhile: + +"Be ready to skip, if you hear a dog. I've been told that folks out this +way keep reg'lar bloodhounds to scare away tramps." + +"I ain't 'fraid of dogs as much as I am that the man who lives here will +run us off the place the first minute he sees our faces," Joe replied, +and at that instant the door was opened. + +Holding a lamp high above her head, and peering out into the gloom as if +suffering from some defect of vision, stood a little woman, not very +much taller than Joe, whose wrinkled face told she had passed what is +termed the "middle age" of life. + +Joe's surprise at seeing this tiny lady, when he had expected to be +confronted by a man, prevented him from speaking at once, and the small +woman asked, with mild curiosity: + +"Whose children are you?" + +This was a question Joe was not prepared to answer, and he stammered and +stuttered before being able to say: + +"I don't know as we're anybody's, ma'am. You see we ain't got any place +to stop in for a day or two, an' thought perhaps a farmer lived here +what would have work we could do to pay for our board." + +"Are you hungry, child?" the small woman asked, quickly, and, as it +seemed to Joe, anxiously. + +"Not very much now, 'cause we've had a good supper; but we will be in +the mornin', you know." + +And Master Plummer interrupted, as he pinched his companion's arm to +reduce him to silence: + +"We've been walkin' a good while since then, an' it seems like I was +most starved." + +"You poor child! Come right into the house, an' it'll be strange if I +can't find something to eat; though, to tell the truth, I didn't have +real good luck with this week's batch of bread; but if custard pie--" + +"_If_ custard pie!" Master Plummer cried, ecstatically. "Why, I'd be +fixed great if I could have some!" + +He was following the small woman as he spoke, and, after closing and +barring the outer door, the hostess ushered them into such a kitchen as +they had never seen before. + +A spacious room, in which it seemed as if a hundred persons might have +found ample elbow-room, with a yellow, painted floor, on which not a +grain of dirt could be seen, and with numerous odd, stiff-looking +chairs ranged around the sides at regular intervals. At one end an +enormous fireplace, in front of which was a cook-stove actually +glittering with polish, and on the mantel behind it an array of shining +tins. + +As seen from the road, in the gloom, the cottage had not appeared even +as large as this kitchen, and because of such fact the boys were more +surprised than they otherwise would have been. + +Once in the room, where everything was so cleanly that, as Master +Plummer afterwards expressed it, "it come near givin' him a pain," the +boys stood awkwardly near the door, uncertain as to what might be +expected of them. + +"You can sit right here while I get you something to eat," and the +hostess placed two chairs in front of a small table in one corner of the +room. + +Master Plummer advanced eagerly, thinking only of the pleasure which was +about to be his, when the small lady exclaimed, as if in alarm: + +"Mercy on us, child! You're tracking dust all over the floor. Go right +back into the entry, and wipe your feet." + +Plums failed to see that he had soiled the floor to any extent, but both +he and Joe obeyed the command instantly, and while they were engaged in +what seemed to them useless labour, the small woman wiped carefully, +with a damp cloth, the dusty imprints of their shoes from the floor. + +"I never had any experience in my own family with boys," the +odd-looking little woman said, half to herself, "and perhaps that's why +I don't understand 'em any better; but I never could make out why they +should be so reckless with dirt." + +"I didn't think my shoes were so dusty when I come in, else I'd taken +them off," Joe said, apologetically. "You see, ma'am, we never saw a +floor as clean as this one." + +This compliment was evidently pleasing, for the small woman looked up +kindly at her guests, and said, in a friendly tone: + +"Don't call me 'ma'am,' child. I've been 'aunt Dorcas' to all the +children in this neighbourhood ever since I can remember, and anything +else doesn't sound natural." + +"Do you want us to call you 'aunt Dorcas'?" Joe asked, in surprise, and +Plums winked gravely at his companion. + +"Of course I do. Now, if your feet are clean, sit down, and I'll get the +pie." + +The boys tiptoed their way to the table, as if by such method they would +be less liable to soil the floor, and aunt Dorcas, taking the lamp with +her, disappeared through a door which evidently led to the cellar, +leaving them in the darkness. + +"Say, ain't this the greatest snap you ever struck?" Plums whispered. +"I'll bet aunt Dorcas is a dandy, an' if Dan Fernald knew what he's +missin', he'd jest about kick hisself black an' blue." + +Master Plummer was still better satisfied with the situation when their +hostess returned with a large custard pie, which she placed on the +table, and immediately afterwards disappeared within the cellar-way +again. + +"She's gone for more stuff!" Plums said, in a tone of delight. "If there +ain't too much work to be done 'round this place, I'd like to stay here +a year." + +[Illustration: "SHE HAD A PLATE HEAPED HIGH WITH COOKIES."] + +When aunt Dorcas entered the kitchen again, she had a plate heaped high +with cookies, on the top of which were three generous slices of cheese. + +This collection was placed by the side of the pie; the odd little woman +brought plates, knives, and forks, and two napkins from the pantry, +and, having arranged everything in proper order, said, as she stood +facing the boys, with her head slightly inclined to one side, until to +Joe she presented much the appearance of a sparrow: + +"If you can eat all there is here, I'll bring more, an' willingly. +Afterwards, we will talk about what is to be done for the night." + +"I can eat an' talk, too, jest as well as not," Plums said, as he drew +the pie towards him. + +Perhaps aunt Dorcas thought he intended to appropriate the whole to +himself, for she hurriedly cut it into four pieces, one of which she +placed on his plate. + +From Plums's manner of beginning the feast, there was good reason to +believe he had told the truth when he said he was starving, and, as she +watched him, an expression of deepest sympathy came over aunt Dorcas's +face. + +"It's too bad I haven't some meat to give you, child, for you must be +famishing." + +"I'd rather have this," Plums replied, speaking with difficulty, because +of the fullness of his mouth, and it appeared to his hostess as if he +had no sooner begun on a quarter of the pie than it disappeared. + +She gave the fat boy another section of the yellow dainty, watching him +like one fascinated, as he devoured it. Then Plums began an onslaught on +the cookies, after casting a wistful glance at the remaining quarter of +the pie. + +Joe was ashamed because his companion ate so greedily, and kicked him, +under the table, as a warning that he restrain his appetite; but Master +Plummer failed to understand the signal, and ate all the more greedily, +because he believed Joe thought it time to bring the feast to a close. + +"You mustn't think anything of his stuffin' hisself like this, ma'am,--I +mean, aunt Dorcas," Joe said, apologetically. "Plums always was the +biggest eater in New York, an' I guess he always will be." + +"What did you call him?" aunt Dorcas asked. + +"Plums was what I said. That ain't exactly his name, but it comes mighty +near to it. George H. Plummer is what he calls hisself when he wants to +be swell." + +"I think 'George' sounds much better than 'Plums,'" aunt Dorcas said, +thoughtfully. + +"Perhaps it does; but it don't fit him half so well." + +Meanwhile, the subject of this conversation was industriously engaged +devouring the cookies, and one would have said that he had no interest +in anything else. + +Aunt Dorcas stood looking questioningly at Joe, and, thinking he +understood that which was in her mind, he said: + +"My name is Joe Potter. I used to keep a fruit-stand down on West +Street, in New York, till I busted up, an' then I found the princess, +but--" + +Joe checked himself in time to preserve his secret. An instant later he +wished he had explained to aunt Dorcas why he was there, because of the +sympathy he read in her face. + +The little woman waited a few seconds for him to continue, but, since +he remained silent, she asked, with mild curiosity: + +"Who is the princess?" + +"She's a swell little girl what's lost her folks, an' I'm takin' care of +her for a spell. Say, ma'am,--I mean, aunt Dorcas,--is there any work +Plums an' I can do to pay for a chance of stoppin' here over to-morrow?" + +"I suppose I might find enough, Joseph, for there's always plenty to be +done around a place, no matter how small it is; but I'm not certain +you'd be strong enough to spade up the garden, and clear the drain, even +if you knew how. They say city boys are dreadful unhandy when it comes +to outdoor work." + +"Jest you try us an' see!" Joe cried, with animation. "We ain't sich +chumps but that we know how to do most anything, after we've studied +over it a spell. Will you let us stay if we do work enough?" + +"I surely ought to be willing to do that much for my fellow creatures, +Joseph, even though I get nothing in return; but I can't say it won't be +a trial for me to have two boys around the house after I've lived alone +so long. Martha, Mary, and I took care of this place, with the help of a +man in summer, a good many years after our parents died, and I suppose +we got fussy and old-maidish-like in our ways," aunt Dorcas said, +growing reminiscent. "Martha went home to heaven seven years ago in +September, and Mary followed her the next January. Since then I've been +alone, and it stands to reason I'm more old-maidish than ever; but I +hope I could keep two homeless boys twenty-four hours without +fretting." + +Then aunt Dorcas crossed the room to the mantel, in order to light +another lamp, and Plums whispered, hoarsely: + +"Say, Joe, what do you s'pose she put this clean towel here for? I've +got custard on it, an' I'm afraid that'll make her mad." + +Joe unfolded his napkin inquisitively, and looked at it an instant +before he understood for what purpose it must have been intended. + +Then, his cheeks reddening, he replied, in a low tone: + +"She must have counted on our bein' willin' to wash our faces, but +didn't want to say so right out, so put the towels here to remind us, +an' I'm as ashamed as I can be 'cause I didn't think of it before." + +The meal had come to an end, for the very good reason that there was +nothing more on the table to be eaten. + +While aunt Dorcas was talking with Joe, Plums had slyly taken the last +remaining section of pie, having previously devoured the cookies and +cheese, and, with a long-drawn sigh of content, he replied to his +friend's remark by saying: + +"I guess I couldn't eat any more if I'd washed my face a dozen times, so +it don't make much difference." + +Joe arose from the table, and seated himself in one of the chairs which +were ranged precisely against the wall, Master Plummer following his +example. + +Aunt Dorcas, having lighted the second lamp, said: + +"I'll leave you boys here alone while I attend to making up a bed. You +could sleep in the spare-room, I suppose; but my best sheets are there, +and I don't just like to--Why, you didn't use the napkins!" + +Joe's face was of a deep crimson hue, as he replied: + +"If I'd seen any soap an' water I'd known what they meant; but it's been +so long since I was in a reg'lar house that I've kind'er forgot how to +behave." + +Aunt Dorcas turned away quickly, and when she had left the room Plums +said, as he unbent from the awkward position he had at first assumed in +the straight chair: + +"Dan Fernald ain't in this! He may be a mighty big detective, but he +slips up when it comes to hustlin' for these kind of snaps!" + +"Aunt Dorcas is nice, ain't she?" + +"She's a corker!" + +"If the princess was only here we'd be jest about as snug as any two +fellers that could be found in this world." + +"I'm going to give you the chamber over the kitchen; it is clean and +comfortable, but, of course, not as nice as the spare-room," aunt Dorcas +said, as she entered suddenly, causing Master Plummer to instantly +assume a less negligent attitude. + +"Plums an' me ain't slept in a reg'lar bed for so long that a blanket +spread out on the floor would seem mighty good to us," Joe replied, and +the little woman held up both hands in astonishment. + +"Haven't slept in a bed! Well, I've heard of the heathen in our midst, +but never believed I'd be brought in contact with them. How did +you--But, there, I won't ask questions to-night, when I know you must +be tired. We'll read a chapter, and then you can go to bed. I will wash +the dishes afterwards." + +Reverentially the little woman took a well-worn Bible from the small +table beneath one of the windows, and while the two boys who were +fleeing from the officers of the law, as they believed, gazed at her in +wonderment and surprise, but not understanding that which they heard, +she read one of the psalms. + +Then kneeling, she prayed in simple language which reached their hearts, +for the homeless ones within her gates. + +Joe's eyes were moist when she rose to her feet, and Plums whispered, in +a voice choked with emotion: + +"She's a daisy, that's what's the matter with her!" + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +A HUNGRY DETECTIVE. + + +When aunt Dorcas had ushered the boys into the "room over the kitchen," +and left them with a kindly "good night," they gazed around in such +astonishment as can best be depicted by Master Plummer's emphatic remark +shortly after the little woman went down-stairs. + +"I've always thought swells had a pretty soft snap when they went to +bed; but I never counted on its bein' anything like this. Do you s'pose +she means for us to get right into that bed, an' muss it all up?" + +Joe did not reply for several seconds, and then said, doubtfully: + +"It seems as if that's what she must have meant, else why did she tell +about her best sheets bein' in the other room? I thought the old German +woman's house was mighty nice; but it wasn't a marker 'longside of this. +If the princess was only here!" + +"You can bet I don't bother my head 'bout no princesses when I've got a +chance to crawl into that nest. I almost wish now I'd had sense enough +to use one of them towels we had on the table, 'cause my hands look +pretty dirty when you get 'em side of that sheet." + +"Well, see this, Plums! If you'll believe it, here's a pitcher full of +water, an' soap, an' everything! Let's wash up now, will you?" + +Ordinarily, Master Plummer would have met this suggestion with a decided +refusal; but, being surrounded as he was by so much luxury, it seemed +necessary he should do something in the way of celebrating. + +It was not a very careful toilet which Plums made on this night, for he +was in too great a hurry to get between the lavender-scented sheets to +admit of spending much time on such needless work as washing his hands +and face; but he was more cleanly, and perhaps felt in a better +condition to enjoy the unusual luxury. + +"Say, Joe, it's a mighty big pity we've got to go to sleep." + +"Why?" + +"'Cause we ought'er keep awake jest to know how much swellin' we're +doin'. I stopped at a Chatham Street lodgin'-house one night, when I was +feelin' kind of rich, an' thought the bed there was great; but it wasn't +a marker 'longside of this one. I shouldn't wonder if there were +feathers in it." + +Joe was quite as well pleased with the surroundings as was his +companion; but he said less on the subject because his mind was fully +occupied with thoughts of the princess,--sad thoughts they were, for he +was beginning to believe he had been wickedly selfish in taking her away +from the place where her parents might have been found, simply to save +himself from arrest. + +He fell asleep, however, quite as soon as did the boy on whose +conscience there was no burden, and neither of the fugitives were +conscious of anything more until aroused by a gentle tapping on the +chamber door, to hear aunt Dorcas say: + +"It's five o'clock, children, and time all honest people were out of +bed." + +"We're gettin' up now," Joe cried, and he was on his feet in an instant; +but Master Plummer lazily turned himself in the rest-inviting bed, as he +muttered: + +"I don't see how it makes a feller honest to get up in the night when +he's out in the country where he hasn't got to go for the mornin' +papers, an' I guess I'll stay here a spell longer." + +"You won't do anything of the kind," and Joe pulled the fat boy out of +bed so quickly that he had no time for resistance. + +It was seldom Plums lost his temper; but now he was on the verge of +doing so because of having been thus forcibly taken from the most +comfortable resting-place he had ever known. + +"Now, don't get on your ear," Joe said, soothingly. "Aunt Dorcas has +told us to get up, an' that settles it. We're bound to do jest as she +says, 'cause all these things are hers. It won't pay to turn rusty, +Plums, else we may find ourselves fired out before breakfast, an' I +_would_ like to stay till to-morrow." + +"Don't you want to stop any longer than that?" and Master Plummer began +hurriedly to dress himself. + +"'Course I'd like to; but you see I've got to go back to the old German +lady's in the mornin'." + +"What good will that do? It ain't likely you can bring the princess +here." + +"I know that as well as you do; but I promised to be there in two days, +an' I'm goin', so we won't have any talk about it." + +Five minutes later, aunt Dorcas's guests were in the kitchen, where the +little woman was preparing a most appetising breakfast, and he would +have been a dull boy who did not understand that she must have been up +at least two hours before arousing her visitors. + +"It ain't right for you to wait on us jest like we was reg'lar folks, +an' we ain't used to it," Joe said, in a tone of mild reproof. "Anything +would have been good enough for us to eat, without your gettin' up so +early an' workin' hard to cook it." + +"Bless your heart, Joseph, I'm doing no more than if I was alone, except +perhaps there may be more victuals on the table. My appetite isn't as +hearty as it used to be; but I've got a pretty good idea how it is with +growing boys." + +"You're mighty good to us, aunt Dorcas, an' I'll feel a heap better if +you'll give me some work to do before breakfast." + +"I might have let you bring in the wood, if I'd thought; but I'm so +accustomed to doing such things for myself that it never came into my +mind. I wonder if you could split up a few kindlings? That is the most +trying part of keeping house alone, for whenever I strike a piece of +wood with an axe I never know whether it's going to break, or fly up and +hit me in the face." + +"Of course we can do it. Where's the axe?" + +Aunt Dorcas led the way to the shed, where was her summer's store of +wood, and before she returned to the kitchen Joe was causing the chips +to fly in a way which made the little woman's heart glad. + +"It does me good to see you work, Joseph. I have always lived in mortal +terror of an axe; but you seem to know how to use one." + +Joe earned his breakfast that morning fairly, and Plums appeared to +think he had done his full share by sitting on the saw-horse, watching +his comrade. + +Then came the summons to breakfast, and Master Plummer was eyeing +greedily a particularly large roasted potato, which he intended to take +from the plate, if an opportunity presented itself, when aunt Dorcas +suddenly bent her head, and invoked a blessing on the food. + +Plums kicked Joe, under the table, to express his surprise at this, to +him, singular proceeding, but, otherwise, behaved in a proper manner. + +The meal was prolonged because of the fat boy's hearty appetite, and, +when it was finally brought to a close, Joe said, as he rose from the +table: + +"Now, aunt Dorcas, if you'll show us something more to do I'll be glad, +'cause we've got to pay for what we've had, else it won't be a fair +shake." + +"You boys may go out and look around the place until I do the dishes, +and then we will see what I am to set you about." + +This was so nearly a request for them to leave the kitchen, that they +lost no time in obeying, and when they were in the open air Master +Plummer said, with an air of perplexity: + +"She's a mighty fine woman, an' all that kind of thing; but I'd like to +know what she's hintin' at by leavin' them towels on the table; they was +both there jest the same's last night, even though she must have known +that we was washed up in great shape." + +"I noticed 'em, but don't believe there's anything out of the way about +it. She's kind of funny, an' perhaps that's one of her queer spots." + +Aunt Dorcas's property was not extensive, as the boys learned after +walking over it. + +There was an orchard either side of the lane which led from the highway, +and, in the rear of the house, an acre of ground, which had been +cultivated at some time in the past. + +The buildings consisted of the cottage itself, the wood-shed, a second +shed which might once have been used as a carriage-house, and a small +barn or stable. + +By the time they had concluded their investigations, aunt Dorcas joined +them, and said, with an odd smile on her withered face: + +"It isn't much of a farm, as farms go nowadays, boys, but it's my home, +and very dear to me. Mr. McArthur, one of the neighbours, cuts the grass +in the orchards, and pays me a little something for it. I usually have a +garden out here; but this year it was neglected, until now it seems too +late for early vegetables." + +"It wouldn't take us long to chuck in a pile of seeds, if that's all +you want," and one to have seen Master Plummer, at that moment, would +have believed him the most energetic of boys. + +After aunt Dorcas explained that it would be necessary to spade up the +ground, Plums's enthusiasm for gardening diminished; but Joe begged for +the privilege of showing what he could do, and the little woman supplied +them with such tools as she thought necessary. + +"If you want to know about anything, come right up to the house. It is +baking-day with me, and I shall be busy in the kitchen until +dinner-time." + +Then she left them, and Plums seated himself within the shadow of the +barn, explaining, as he did so, that perhaps it would be better if he +"kinder got the hang of the thing by seein' Joe work." + +Eager to repay aunt Dorcas for her kindness, Joe Potter laboured +industriously, despite the blisters which soon appeared on his hands, +for half an hour or more, and then the two boys were startled by a +warning hiss, which apparently came from one end of the barn. + +"There must be snakes 'round here!" and Plums sprang to his feet, in +alarm. "Jim Flannigan says they always hiss like that before they bite." + +"Take hold of this spade for a little while, an' they won't bite you. It +seems to me I'm doin' all the work, an' I know you ate more'n your share +of the supper an' breakfast." + +The hissing noise was heard again, and, as the two gazed in the +direction from which it came, the head of Dan, the detective, appeared +from behind the barn. + +"What are you doin' there, tryin' to frighten us?" Plums asked, +indignantly. "Why didn't you come right up like a man? There's nobody +'round here but aunt Dorcas, an' she wouldn't hurt a fly." + +The amateur detective rose slowly to his feet, looking displeased. + +"You two are the most careless fellers I ever saw. Here's all the cops +in New York City out on your trail, an' you hollerin' fit to scare a +horse." + +"S'posin' we are?" and Master Plummer spoke boldly. "S'posin' the road +was full of perlicemen, how could they see us while we're behind this +barn?" + +"It don't make any difference whether they could or not. You've got to +mind your eye, if you want to keep out of jail, an' yellin' to me ain't +the way to do it. If the folks 'round here should know I was on this +case, jest as likely as not some of 'em would send word to the city, an' +then your game would be up." + +Plums had lost faith in Dan's detective ability, because of the fact +that the latter had failed to take advantage of the opportunity to spend +the night in aunt Dorcas's home, therefore he replied, boldly, to his +friend's reproof: + +"We're jest as safe here as we could be anywhere, an' I tell you what it +is, Dan, you ought'er seen the layout we had last night an' this +mornin'! Why, we slept in a bed that would make the tears come into your +eyes, it was so soft; an' talk 'bout spreads! You couldn't get a +breakfast down to McGinnis's restaurant, no matter how much you paid, +that would come up to what we had!" + +"Yes, you fellers are takin' all the chances, an' I'm pretty nigh +starved to death. I haven't had so much as a smell of anything since +yesterday noon." + +"You ought'er seen the custard pie aunt Dorcas put out before us last +night; thick as that!" and Plums measured on his finger the length of +three inches or more. "An' a crust that went to pieces in your mouth +like ice-cream." + +"If I had a cold boiled potato I'd be mighty glad." + +"We had a slat of hot roasted ones with nice butter on 'em, this +mornin'," Plums continued, as if it were his purpose to increase the +detective's hunger. + +"I'd give a dime for a sandwich," Dan wailed, and Master Plummer +described the fresh bread and sweet boiled ham with which aunt Dorcas +had regaled them. + +"Say, what's the use of tellin' 'bout what you've had, when I've been +fillin' up on wind? It only makes a feller feel worse. Why can't you +sneak in an' get something for me?" + +Plums hesitated, as if willing to act upon his friend's suggestion, when +Joe said, sharply: + +"Look here, Dan, I'm awful sorry if you're hungry; but Plums can't sneak +into aunt Dorcas's house an' get anything without her knowin' it, not +while I'm 'round. It seems kinder tough to ask her to put out more +stuff, after all we've had; but since you're starvin', we'll do it, an' +offer to pay for what you eat." + +"You mean to tell her I'm here?" + +"Of course. I wouldn't lie to her, not for any money." + +"Then I'll have to starve," Dan replied, angrily, "for I wouldn't let +anybody know I was here while I'm tryin' to keep you fellers out of +jail. But--" + +"Here comes aunt Dorcas now!" Plums exclaimed, as he turned towards the +house, and, in a twinkling, the amateur detective was screened from view +by the barn. + +"I thought you boys might be hungry, working so hard, and I brought out +this plate of fresh doughnuts," the little woman said, as she placed on +the grass a dish covered with a napkin. "Mr. McArthur always likes a +bite of something when he is here, and it will do you good. How well you +have gotten along! I wouldn't have thought you could have spaded up so +much in such a short time." + +Joe, feeling guilty, because he was keeping from aunt Dorcas the fact +that detective Dan was on the premises, was at a loss for a reply, but +Plums said, promptly: + +"We'll be glad of 'em, aunt Dorcas, 'cause we're kinder tired jest now," +and he would have begun to devour the doughnuts, but for a warning look +from his comrade. + +"You must eat them while they are hot," aunt Dorcas said, gravely, and +Joe promised to do so as soon as he had finished a certain amount of +work. + +Then the little woman went back to her cooking, and she had hardly +entered the dwelling before the amateur detective, with a hungry look in +his eyes, came out, hurriedly, from his hiding-place. + +"Now you've got somethin' to eat without our lyin' about it, so pitch in +before aunt Dorcas comes back." + +Dan did not need a second invitation, and an expression of deepest +regret came over Plums's face, as he watched the cakes disappear with +amazing rapidity. + +"I guess I can stand it, now, till night," the detective said, in a tone +of relief, as the meal was brought to a close, because all the food had +been eaten. + +"Are you countin' on stayin' 'round here?" Joe asked. + +"Of course I am. How else would you fellers get out of the scrape, if I +didn't?" + +"Now, look here, Dan, there's no sense in anything like that. You ain't +doin' any good, sneakin' 'round this house, 'cause, if the cops should +come, how could you prevent their luggin' us off?" + +"There's a good many ways that I might pull you through," Master Fernald +replied, with an air of mystery. "If you knew as much about this +business as I do, you'd be mighty glad to have me stay, 'specially when +it ain't costin' you a cent." + +"But I don't like to think of your bein' hungry, when it won't do the +least little bit of good. Take my advice, an' go right back to the +city." + +"If I should do that, it wouldn't be two hours before you'd be in jail." + +"We sha'n't go there any sooner if you leave us, an' it ain't jest +square to aunt Dorcas." + +"You can't give me points on detective business, Joe Potter, an' I've +told the fellers in town that I'll look out for you. That's what I'll +do, whether you like it or not," and, after assuring himself, by +stalking to and fro and gazing in every direction, that there were no +enemies in the immediate vicinity, the amateur detective disappeared +around the corner of the barn. + +"It's too bad for Dan to act the way he's doin'," Joe said, with a +long-drawn sigh. "I'm 'fraid, if aunt Dorcas gets a sight of him, we'll +have to clear out." + +"I don't s'pose it would do any good to ask her to let him bunk in with +us, would it?" Plums said, hesitatingly. + +"It would need big nerve, an', even if she was willin', he'd scare the +hair off her head talkin' 'bout lawyers an' detectives hoverin' 'round." + +Then Joe continued his interrupted work, and Plums assisted him by +looking on, until the task was completed after which it became necessary +to ask for further instructions. + +Although aunt Dorcas could not perform the labour herself, she knew how +gardening should be done, and under her directions, given during such +moments as she could safely leave the kitchen, the ground was prepared +in a proper manner by the time dinner had been made ready. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +A FUGITIVE. + + +Plums enjoyed his dinner quite as much as if he had performed his full +share of the gardening, and, when the meal was concluded, there came +into his mind the thought that aunt Dorcas Milford's home was a most +pleasant abiding-place. + +Even though he was, so to speak, in temporary exile, he was exceedingly +well content, save for the disagreeable fact that Joe had stated +positively he should go back to Weehawken on the following day. + +It seemed as if the thoughts of both the guests were running in the same +channel, for Joe, after gazing a moment at aunt Dorcas's placid face, +gave vent to a sigh of regret, and then looked out of the window, +abstractedly. + +"I s'pose we'd better get that garden planted this afternoon, if you've +got the seeds, aunt Dorcas, an' even then we sha'n't be payin' for what +we've had," Joe said, after a long pause, while the three yet remained +at the table. + +"Perhaps it will be as well to wait until to-morrow, and give the newly +turned earth a chance to get warm," the little woman said. + +"It seems as though we ought to do it to-day, if it would be jest as +well for the garden, 'cause we don't count on your keepin' us for ever; +an' after we leave here to-morrow it wouldn't be right to come back." + +"I did think boys would be a dreadful nuisance around the house," aunt +Dorcas began, as if speaking to herself, "but somehow I've felt real +contented-like while you've been here, and it's a deal more cheerful +with three at the table than to sit down alone." + +"It's the first time I was ever in a house like this," Joe added, in a +low tone. "It's awful nice, an' fellers what have a reg'lar home must be +mighty happy." + +"Where did you live in the city?" aunt Dorcas asked, after a pause. + +"I knocked 'round, mostly. Twice I've bunked with some other feller in a +room what we hired,--of course it wasn't anything like the one +up-stairs, but payin' so high for a bed was a little too rich for my +blood." + +"But you had to sleep somewhere," aunt Dorcas suggested, her eyes +opening wider, as she gained an insight into a phase of life which was +novel to her. + +The interest she displayed invited Joe's confidence, and he told her of +the life led by himself and his particular friends in a manner which +interested the little woman deeply. + +It was not a story related for the purpose of exciting sympathy, but a +plain recital of facts, around which was woven no romance to soften the +hardships, and there were tears in aunt Dorcas's faded eyes when the boy +concluded. + +"It seems wicked for me to be living alone in this house, when there are +human beings close at hand who haven't a roof to shelter them," the +little woman said, softly. "Why don't boys like you go out to the +country to work, instead of staying in the city, where you can hardly +keep soul and body together?" + +"We couldn't do even that, if we turned farmers," Master Plummer +replied, quickly. "Nobody'd hire us." + +"Why not?" + +"I know of a feller what tried to get a job on a farm, an' he hung +'round the markets, askin' every man he met, but all of 'em told him +city boys was no good,--that it would take too long to break 'em in." + +"But what's to prevent your getting a chance to work in a store, where +you could earn enough to pay your board?" + +"I had a notion last year that I'd try that kind of work," Plums said, +slowly, "an' looked about a good bit for a job; but the fellers what +have got homes an' good clothes pick up them snaps, as I soon found out. +It seems like when you get into the business of sellin' papers, or +shinin', you can't do anything else." + +"Selling papers, or what?" aunt Dorcas asked, with a perplexed +expression on her face. + +"Shinin'; that's blackin' boots, you know. Here's Joe, he scraped +together seven dollars an' eighty-three cents, an' said to hisself that +he'd be a howlin' swell, so what does he do but start a fruit-stand down +on West Street, hire a clerk, an' go into the business in style. It +didn't take him more'n two months to bust up, an' now he ain't got +enough even to start in on sellin' papers, 'cause he spent it all on the +princess." + +"Who is the princess?" aunt Dorcas asked, with animation. + +"She's a kid what he picked up on the street." + +"Oh!" and the little woman looked relieved. "I thought, last night, when +he spoke of the princess, that it was a child he meant." + +"Why, didn't I tell you it was?" + +"You said she was a kid." + +"So she is, an' ain't that a child, or the next thing to it,--a girl?" + +"Joseph, what does he mean? Who _is_ the princess?" + +"She's a little girl, aunt Dorcas, who's lost her folks, an' I found her +in the street. She hadn't anywhere to go, so I had to take care of her, +'cause a bit of a thing like her couldn't stay outdoors all night, +same's a boy." + +"And, even though having just failed in business, you took upon yourself +the care of a child?" + +"I couldn't do anything else, aunt Dorcas. There she was, an' somebody +had to do it." + +"You're a dear, good boy," and, leaning across the table, aunt Dorcas +patted one of Joe's hands, almost affectionately. "Where is the little +creature now?" + +"We hired an old German woman down in Weehawken to take care of her for +a week, an' paid a dollar. You see the fellers lent us some cash when we +came away." + +"But what made you leave, Joseph, if you were convinced it would be +impossible to earn any money in the country?" + +"You see, we had to, when--" + +Joe ceased speaking very suddenly. He could not bring himself to explain +to aunt Dorcas exactly why they had left New York, fearing lest she +would not believe him when he declared he was innocent of having +committed any crime, and it seemed to him it would be worse than any +ordinary lie to tell this kindly little woman that which was not +strictly true. + +He hesitated, made several vain attempts at an explanation, and finally +said, his cheeks reddening with shame: + +"I'd rather not tell you about that part of it, aunt Dorcas; but I +didn't do anything that wasn't jest straight, though all of 'em believe +I did." + +The little woman thought she understood something of the situation, and, +once more caressing Joe's hand, said, kindly: + +"I don't believe a boy who would try to help a child when he was in want +himself could do anything very wicked, Joseph. Sit right here while I do +the dishes, for that will give me a chance to think." + +Then aunt Dorcas set about her household duties, while the boys remained +at the table, Plums sitting in such a position that he could gaze +through the window which overlooked the lane. + +After five minutes or more had passed, during which time the silence had +been broken only by the rattling of dishes, aunt Dorcas asked, +abruptly: + +"If you paid the child's board for a week, why do you feel that you must +go there to-morrow?" + +"Because I promised Mis' Weber I'd come, an', besides, I want to make +certain the princess is all right." + +Aunt Dorcas gave her undivided attention to the dishes once more, and +Joe was looking straight before him, but without seeing anything, for +his thoughts were of the advertisements which had made him a wanderer, +when he became aware of the singular gestures in which Master Plummer +was indulging. + +It was some time before Joe understood that his comrade wanted him to +look out of the window, and when he did realise this fact sufficiently +to do as Plums wished, he saw that which disturbed him not a little. + +Dan was making his way up the lane from the road in the same ridiculous +fashion which he appeared to think necessary a detective should employ, +and Joe was positive aunt Dorcas would be seriously alarmed, if she saw +Master Fernald indulging in such antics. + +"Go out, Plums, an' make that bloomin' idjut keep away," he whispered to +his comrade. "I won't have him dancin' 'round here in that style, an' if +he does very much more of it I'll tell aunt Dorcas the whole story. I'd +rather be arrested ten times over than have her scared 'most to death." + +It was evident this was not a mission which pleased Master Plummer, for +he feared to incur the anger of one who professed to be so powerful, and +he asked, tremulously: + +"S'posin' he says the same thing he did this forenoon?" + +"Tell him to go back to the city, or I'll make it my business to send a +reg'lar detective here to fix things up." + +"If he gets mad, Joe, there's no knowin' what he might do." + +"He sha'n't stay 'round here, an' that settles it; tell him I said so, +an' I mean it." + +Plums stole softly out of the kitchen, but aunt Dorcas was so intent on +her thoughts that he might have made very much noise without attracting +her attention. + +Looking through the window, Joe could see Plums as he performed his +mission, and, judging from the gestures in which the amateur detective +indulged, it was quite evident he was displeased at receiving such a +command. + +After conversing together a short time, the two climbed over the fence, +and disappeared in the orchard, going, as Joe believed, towards the +barn. + +The threat had failed of immediate effect, and there came into Joe's +mind the thought that it was necessary he go out to make it more +emphatic, when aunt Dorcas, having finished the work in hand, seated +herself by the boy's side as if for a chat. + +"Where is George?" she asked, and Joe looked about him in astonishment, +not recognising the name for an instant. Then, finally understanding to +whom she referred, he explained that Plums had gone out for a few +moments, and proposed to summon him. + +"There is no need of that, for it is with you I want to talk. I've been +thinking about that little child, Joseph, and wondering what you could +do with her. You said the German woman had promised to keep her only a +week." + +"Yes, aunt Dorcas, and I was in hopes by that time I could go back to +New York." + +"What will you do to-morrow, after you have seen her?" + +"Jest hang 'round, I s'pose. I've got to go, 'cause I promised, an' +then, ag'in, it ain't right to leave the princess alone so long. I don't +know but what she's frettin'." + +"How old is she, Joseph?" + +"Not more'n six or seven years; but she can't talk." + +"Then she must be much younger than you think." + +"Well, perhaps she ain't more'n a year old; I don't know much about +kids, anyhow." + +"It seems as if my duty was plain in this case," aunt Dorcas said, +solemnly. "The little property I've got is enough to take care of me, +with economy; but surely a child wouldn't be very much expense, an' if +you'd do what you could towards helpin', I believe I'd say that she +might be brought here. It's a great responsibility; but if a woman like +me turns a deaf ear to such a story as you have told, it is almost a +crime. There's that poor child without father, or mother, or home, and I +have no right to fold my hands in idleness." + +Joe was about to explain that he hoped soon to find the princess's +parents, for aunt Dorcas's words sounded much as if she believed the +child to be an orphan; but, before he could speak, the little woman +said, emphatically: + +"You shall bring her here, Joseph, and I rely upon you to help me take +care of her." + +"Of course I'll promise that, aunt Dorcas, an' I'll do my best to find a +job somewhere near here, so I can come over evenings." + +"But I'm depending on your staying here, Joseph." + +"Do you mean for me to live in this house till I can go back to New +York?" and Joe looked bewildered. + +"Certainly; I shouldn't think of trying to take care of a child and do +my housework at the same time, even though there isn't a great deal to +be done. You see I'm not accustomed to children, an' wouldn't be as +handy as some other people." + +"But, aunt Dorcas, you can't afford to have two big chumps like Plums +an' me livin' on you." + +"We'll do all that lies in our power. If you and George are industrious, +you can do considerable gardening, and the vegetables you raise will go +a long ways towards our living." + +"You're awful good, aunt Dorcas,--you're the best woman I ever saw, an' +I wouldn't think of hangin' 'round here if I couldn't do somethin' +more'n run that little bit of a garden. Things will get straightened +out, after a spell, an' then I can go back to town, where I'm certain of +earnin' money." + +Again Joe was on the point of explaining that it was his duty to make +search for the princess's parents at the earliest possible moment, but +aunt Dorcas, fancying she understood the entire matter thoroughly, +checked him by saying: + +"We won't talk any more about it now, Joseph. Wait until the experiment +has been tried, and then we shall know better how to make our +arrangements. You're going to Weehawken in the morning?" + +"That's what I counted on." + +"But how can you get the child out here? It is three or four miles, +Joseph." + +"I'd walk twice that far, an' carry the princess all the way, for the +sake of havin' her where I am." + +Aunt Dorcas was not satisfied with this arrangement; but she could think +of nothing better just then, and appeared determined there should be no +further discussion on the subject. + +"We'll go into the garden and finish the task there. I don't suppose it +is anything more than one of Mr. McArthur's whims to let the upturned +ground remain twenty-four hours before putting the seed in; and even if +it is necessary, we can't afford to wait, because there won't be much +chance for such work after the baby is here." + +While she was speaking, the little woman had been putting on her +sunbonnet, and Joe was seriously alarmed. + +Unquestionably, detective Dan was in the vicinity of the garden, and, +not expecting aunt Dorcas to come out, neither he nor Plums would be on +the alert. + +Joe knew that if Dan was brought face to face with the little woman, +without an opportunity of escape, he would boldly declare himself a +detective, and this would be sufficient to cause her anxiety, if not +alarm, for she could hardly be expected to know that he was a detective +only in his own mind. + +"Let me go out and find Plums first," he said, hurriedly. "He ought'er +know what we're talkin' about, so if we don't get through with the work +to-night, he can finish it while I'm gone." + +Without waiting for her to reply, lest she should insist on going with +him, Joe ran out-of-doors, and, as he had expected, found Dan Fernald +and Plums behind the barn. + +"What did you come up here for, in the daytime, when anybody might have +seen you? I thought it wasn't safe to be hangin' 'round here." + +"Well, it ain't; but you don't s'pose I'm goin' to starve to death, do +you?" + +"Starve! Didn't you have somethin' to eat, this forenoon?" + +"How long do you think I can stand it on four doughnuts? Here are you +fellers livin' high, an' I'm goin' 'round jest about ready to die." + +"Well, that ain't our fault. I don't want to have a row with you, Dan, +'cause I s'pose you think you're helpin' us out. But I tell you you +ain't, an' carryin' on in this way only makes matters worse. Why can't +you go back to town an' leave us alone?" + +"Why can't I? 'Cause I promised the fellers I'd see you through, an' I'm +goin' to do it. Besides, by this time folks know I'm on the case, an' +would arrest me 'bout as quick as they would you." + +"Do you count on three of us livin' on one poor little old woman like +aunt Dorcas? Ain't you ashamed to hang 'round here when there's no need +of it, tryin' to make us steal something for you to eat?" + +"There's no reason for your stealin'. I've been thinkin' over what Plums +said 'bout that bed, an' the custard pie, an' I don't see why I +shouldn't get my share. You could tell her I am your pardner, an' in +hard luck." + +Now Joe was positively alarmed. If Master Fernald had made up his mind +that he desired to become an inmate of aunt Dorcas's family, he would +most likely do everything in his power to bring about such a result; and +the happiness which had been Joe's because the little woman had decided +to give the princess a temporary home, suddenly vanished. + +Rather than ask aunt Dorcas to support three boys, as well as a child, +he would go his way alone, after telling her exactly the truth of the +matter. + +"I'll loaf 'round here till 'long towards night, an' then I'll start up +to the house through the lane," Dan said, believing Joe did not dare +oppose him. "That'll give you a chance to tell her what hard luck I'm +in; an' lay it on as thick as you know how, so's she'll be willin' to +take me. Plum says this is about the softest snap he ever struck, an' I +want my share of it." + +Joe remained silent while one might have counted ten, trying to restrain +his anger, and then he said, quietly, but firmly: + +"Aunt Dorcas is too good a woman for us to beat in such a way as that, +an' I promise, Dan Fernald, that if you show your head on the lane +to-night, or try to come into the house, I'll first tell her the whole +thing, an' then go straight to the city. I ain't givin' you any fairy +story; I mean every word. There's no need of your starvin' 'round here, +'cause you can go back to town. The folks there don't think you're sich +an awful big detective that they're goin' to keep their eyes on you all +the time. I'll bet there ain't a single soul, except some of our crowd, +that know you've ever talked with us 'bout this." + +Dan looked at his friend in mute astonishment. It seemed to him the +height of ingratitude that Joe Potter should thus threaten, when he had +made so many sacrifices to aid him in escaping from the officers of the +law. + +More than all this was he hurt by the insinuation that his detective +ability was not of a high order, and in a very short time his +astonishment gave way to anger. + +"You can put on as many airs as you want to, Joe Potter, an' we'll see +whether I'm a detective or not. I went 'round among the fellers +borrowin' money, didn't make any account of my own time, an' walked 'way +out here, jest to help you. Now I'm goin' to do as much the other way, +an' we'll see what'll happen between now an' to-morrow night! You'll be +in jail, that's where you'll be, an' Plums with you!" + +"Here comes aunt Dorcas," Master Plummer whispered, hoarsely, and +instead of stalking away in a dignified fashion, as he had intended, the +amateur detective ran hurriedly around the corner of the barn to screen +himself from view of the little woman. + +"We're in an awful mess now," Plums whispered to Joe. "It's a good deal +worse than it was before, 'cause Dan will do everything he's threatened, +an' we can count on seein' as many as a dozen perlicemen here before +to-morrer night." + +Joe did not dare reply, for, by this time, aunt Dorcas was so near that +his words would have been overheard; but he appeared quite as disturbed +as did Master Plummer. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +THE JOURNEY. + + +Aunt Dorcas was so intent on the plans for the future which had just +been formed, that she failed to observe the constraint which had been +put upon the boys by her coming. + +There was in the little woman's mind only speculations concerning the +proposed addition to her family, which she believed, owing to the fact +that Joe had not had an opportunity of making the proper explanation, +would be permanent, and in connection with this was the making of the +garden. + +Therefore it was she set about directing the young workmen in her +customary manner, determined that no more time should be spent on the +task than was absolutely necessary. + +Aunt Dorcas had brought with her a small basket containing many tiny +packages, each neatly tied and labelled, and she had her own opinion as +to where the different kinds of seeds should be sown. + +"George, you make the hills for the potatoes, while Joseph and I plant +the sweet corn." + +It was necessary for her to speak twice before Master Plummer realised +she was addressing him, so unfamiliar did the name sound, and when he +finally became aware of the fact, he asked, in a careless tone, as if +planting potatoes were work with which he was thoroughly conversant: + +"How many hills do you want, aunt Dorcas, an' how big do they generally +run out this way?" + +"Put in four rows, and there is no need of making them very large until +after the plants are up." + +Then aunt Dorcas went with Joe to the opposite side of the garden, and, +intent on having the corn planted after a certain peculiar fashion of +her own, gave no heed to what Plums was doing, for ten minutes or more; +but when she did observe that young gentleman's method of working, a cry +of surprise and disapproval burst from her lips. + +"Whatever are you doing, George?" + +"Makin' these hills, of course," Plums replied, quietly, without ceasing +his work of shovelling the soft earth up into huge mounds, each of which +was twelve or fifteen times as large as it should have been. + +"Well, bless the boy, he don't even know how to plant potatoes!" and the +little woman regarded the results of Master Plummer's labour in dismay. +"Weren't you ever on a farm, George?" + +"I never was so far in the country as this before in my life," and Plums +wiped the perspiration from his flushed face; for, strange as it may +seem, he had, during these few moments, been working quite +industriously. + +[Illustration: "'WELL, BLESS THE BOY, HE DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO PLANT +POTATOES!'"] + +"You need a hoe instead of a shovel, and the hills should be made +something like these," aunt Dorcas said, as she pointed to where Joe, +thanks to her minute instructions, was performing his part of the task +in almost a workmanlike manner. + +Plums would have grumbled when the little woman insisted on his +demolishing the grotesque mounds which had cost him so much labour, but +that he remembered how dependent he was upon aunt Dorcas for food and +shelter, and held his peace. + +The remainder of the work done on this afternoon was performed under +aunt Dorcas's personal supervision, for she soon came to understand that +her assistants were absolutely ignorant of such tasks, and, if left to +their own devices, even for a few moments at a time, would succeed only +in making blunders. + +Thanks to her patience and Joe's willingness, however, the garden was +planted before sunset, and Master Plummer did but a small share of the +labour. After his exploit in building miniature mountains for +potato-hills, he became discouraged, and aunt Dorcas soon realised that +the task would progress more rapidly if he acted the part of spectator, +instead of farmer. + +"There is considerably more work to be done; but we must put it off +until morning, for it is time to get supper now. Can you boys build a +fire better than you can plant a garden?" + +Joe ran on ahead, to show what he could do in that line, and Plums +walked painfully by the side of aunt Dorcas towards the house. + +"Whatever makes you limp so, George?" the little woman asked, +solicitously, and Master Plummer replied, with a long-drawn sigh: + +"I don't know, 'less it is I'm all tired out. You see I never did much +farmin' before, an' it kind er strains me." + +"Do you think you've been doing any now?" and aunt Dorcas looked up at +the fat boy, with an odd twinkle in her eye. + +"Ain't that what we've been doin'?" + +"It's what Joseph and I have been about; but you were lying down most of +the time. George, can it be possible you are lazy?" + +"Some of the fellers say I am; but that's 'cause they don't know. It +tires me all out to move 'round very much." + +"You look as if you never had any very active exercise; but there's one +thing we have to be thankful for: there isn't an indolent bone in +Joseph's body. If I had seen any symptoms of it, I don't believe I +should have had the courage to make such a change in my way of living as +we have decided upon." + +Plums quickened his pace; he understood, both from her words and her +manner of speaking, that the little woman had no sympathy for "tired" +people, and the thought came into his mind that it was possible he might +not long remain an inmate of the cottage unless he proved he could be of +some service. + +When they entered the kitchen Joe was building a fire in such a manner +as met with aunt Dorcas's warmest approval, and the glance she bestowed +upon him told Master Plummer, even more strongly than her words had +done, that he must exert himself if he wished to enjoy what he had +believed was a "soft snap." + +After supper, on this evening, aunt Dorcas took up her knitting, the +boys seated themselves near the window, where they could see Dan, the +detective, if he should be so bold as to come again after Joe's warning, +and the three discussed the journey which the princess was to make on +the following day. + +Aunt Dorcas thought it would be only right for Mrs. Weber to return +five-sevenths of the money which had been paid her to take care of the +child for one week; but the boys were doubtful whether the old lady +would take the same view of the case. + +"I'll be willin' enough to let her keep it, so long's I can have the +princess with me," Joe said, finally, and aunt Dorcas reproved him, +gently. + +"Remember, Joseph, 'a penny saved is better than a penny earned,' and +you should never be careless about money matters. If the German woman +has boarded the child only two days, there is no reason why she should +be paid for seven." + +"Except that we gave her the money at the start, and she may say there's +no need to take princess away till the week is ended," Plums suggested, +sagely, and aunt Dorcas brought the argument to a close by saying, +severely: + +"If she insists on keeping the whole dollar, I shall never look upon her +as an honest woman." + +On this evening aunt Dorcas read two chapters, instead of one, and her +prayer was nearly twice as long as on the night previous. + +Then, as before, she accompanied the boys up-stairs, to make certain +everything in the chamber was in proper order, although it was already +scrupulously clean, and when, after having bidden them "good night," +they heard her light footsteps as she descended the stairs, Joe said, +with an air of perplexity: + +"I'm dead certain we don't do the right thing when she's prayin'." + +"I didn't make any noise," Plums replied, indignantly. + +"Course you didn't, else I'd thumped your head. I'd like to see the +feller that would kick up a row, or even so much as laugh while aunt +Dorcas was prayin'. What I mean is, that we ought'er do somethin', +instead of settin' up there like a couple of chumps, an' she on her +knees. Do you s'pose it would be right for us to kneel down when she +does?" + +"I don't know. It couldn't do much harm, I s'pose, an' if you think it +would please her any better, why, I'm willin' to stay on my knees half a +day." + +"We'll try it to-morrer night, and see how she takes it. Say, I've found +out what them towels are for. Aunt Dorcas had one side of her plate, an' +she wiped her mouth on it." + +"Perhaps she didn't have a handkerchief." + +"Now, look here, Plums, you don't s'pose that a woman what's so slick +an' clean as aunt Dorcas is would go 'round without a handkerchief, do +you?" + +"It seems as though she must, if she used the towel; but that ain't +botherin' me half so much jest now as Dan Fernald is. I reckon he's +pretty near wild by this time, an' it would be a terrible thing if the +perlice should come an' drag us out of this place, wouldn't it?" + +"I ain't afraid he'll kick up a row. That detective business is all in +his eye. He don't 'mount to any more'n Sim Jepson does, when it comes to +law matters." + +"But he might do something for all that." + +"If he does, it can't be helped. We'll know, whatever happens to us, +that princess has got a good home." + +"Of course, there's somethin' in that; but, all the same, I'd rather +know _I_ was goin' to stay in a good one," and Master Plummer crept +between the lavender-scented sheets with an expression of most intense +satisfaction upon his face. + +Day had but just dawned, when Joe Potter awakened after a long and +restful sleep. + +"Come, turn out, Plums," he said, as he shook his friend roughly. "I'm +goin' down-stairs to build a fire for aunt Dorcas before she gets up, +an' you'd better come along. If we're goin' to eat her food an' sleep in +her bed, it stands us in hand to try to pay our way." + +Master Plummer promised to get up in "two minutes" but the fire had been +built, and breakfast was nearly ready, when he made his appearance. + +Aunt Dorcas had made no remark, when she came down-stairs and found Joe +performing such of the household duties as he was familiar with; but he +knew, by the expression on her face, that she was pleased, and this was +sufficient reward for having left the rest-inviting bed at such an early +hour. + +According to the arrangements made on the previous evening, Joe was to +set out on his three-mile journey immediately after breakfast, and, as +soon as the meal was brought to a close, aunt Dorcas made up a +reasonably large parcel of seed-cakes and doughnuts, intended, as she +explained, to serve as lunch for the travellers. + +"But I won't be hungry, aunt Dorcas, 'cause I'm about as full as I can +be, now, an' the princess couldn't eat all you've got there if she tried +for a week." + +"I dare say you won't be sorry for taking it," and Joe made no further +protest. + +Aunt Dorcas actually kissed him, much to his embarrassment, as he left +the house, and called after him, while he was yet in the lane: + +"Don't try to make the child walk too far, Joseph, and be careful not to +carry her very long at a time. You've got plenty of food, even if you +shouldn't get back until nightfall, and it's better to go slowly than +overtax yourself." + +Perhaps never before in his life had Joe Potter been cautioned against +undue exertion, and he fully appreciated the little woman's +solicitousness. + +"If I was any kind of a feller, I'd turn to an' tell her the whole +story, but I don't dare to, for fear she'd believe I'd done somethin' +awful wicked, an' turn me out of the house. Of course it's got to come +some day, but it'll be tough,--mighty tough." + +There was but little room for bitter thoughts in Joe's mind on this +June morning when it seemed good to be alive, and before he had +traversed half a mile he put far from him all forebodings, thinking only +of what he would do to add to the comfort of aunt Dorcas, and the +happiness of the princess. + +There was in his mind a well-defined idea that it was his duty to search +for the child's parents, but he wholly failed to realise the mental +anguish which must be theirs while in ignorance of the baby's +whereabouts, and believed there was no especial reason why he should +inconvenience himself to find them. + +"If she wasn't all right, it would be different," he said, arguing with +himself. "After we get her into aunt Dorcas's home, she couldn't be +fixed any better if she was living with the President, so of course her +folks won't fuss so awfully much about her." + +He enjoyed this journey, because every step was bringing him nearer to +the princess, whose devoted slave he was, and the tramp of three miles +came to an end before he was conscious of having walked one-third of the +distance. + +He had arrived within sight of Mrs. Weber's home, and was hoping to +catch a glimpse of the princess's curly head in the window, when some +one stepped deliberately in front of him, barring his passage. + +"Hello, Dan, ain't you gone back to the city yet?" he cried, in +surprise, as he recognised the amateur detective. + +"I started last night, an' if I'd got there, you an' Plums would be in +jail by this time; but I wasn't such a chump as to run right over +without findin' out if things had been goin' wrong. You think I don't +'mount to anything as a detective, eh? Well, jest look at this, an' see +what would have happened if I'd gone there same's you'd done!" + +As he ceased speaking Dan handed his friend a copy of an evening paper, +folded in such a manner that a certain advertisement stood out +prominently. + +Joe's face paled, as he read the following lines: + + One hundred dollars will be paid for information concerning + the whereabouts of a fruit vendor known as Joseph Potter, + and two newsboys, one of whom answers to the nickname of + "Plums," and the other known as Dan Fernald. The above + reward will be paid to any one who will secure for the + undersigned an interview with either of the boys named. + + Address Cushman & Morton, Attorneys at Law, 47-1/2 Pine + Street, New York. + +As before, he failed to see immediately below this an advertisement +requesting information concerning a little girl who had strayed from the +Grand Central Depot, and offering one thousand dollars reward for the +same. + +"You see I got myself into a scrape tryin' to help you through and how's +it turned out! You wouldn't so much as give me a bite to eat when I was +starvin', even when you had plenty of it without costin' a cent. Now, if +I'm caught, I've got to go to jail, jest the same's if I'd done whatever +you did." + +"But I haven't done anything crooked, Dan. I can't so much as guess what +these lawyers want me for." + +"Oh, you tell that to the marines! Fellers what get so swell they can't +sell papers for a living, but splurge out into a fruit store, with a +clerk, an' all them things, have to get money somehow. I don't say as +you've robbed a bank, 'cause I don't see how you could get into one; but +it must be something pretty nigh as bad, else who'd offer a hundred +dollars jest to get hold of you? I ain't so certain but I shall snoop in +that cash, an' take the chances of goin' to jail." + +"I don't s'pose it's any use for me to keep on tellin' you I've been +straight ever since I started out sellin' papers," Joe said, sadly. +"It's true all the same, though, an' you can't find a feller what'll say +I ever did him out of one cent." + +"That's all in my eye, 'cause here's the advertisement what proves +different. All I want to know is, how am _I_ goin' to get out of the +scrape?" + +"I wish I could tell you." + +"If you did, I s'pose you'd say, 'Get over to the city, an' let them do +what they want to with you; but don't hang 'round me,' same's you did +yesterday." + +"Dan, I never believed the lawyers would know you had come away with us, +'cause it didn't seem reasonable, an' it's terrible to have you countin' +on livin' with aunt Dorcas, when she is feedin' two of us already." + +"What's the reason _you_ couldn't step out an' let _me_ have the snap +for a spell? _I_ ain't been stealin' money! _I_ wasn't advertised for, +till I took up _your_ case! No, that don't suit you; but _I_ must be the +one to starve, an' sneak 'round anywhere I can, while _you're_ bein' +filled up with custard pie, an' sleepin' on a bed so soft that Plums +thought it was feathers. You make me tired, you do!" + +"See here, Dan, I'm willing to do anything you say, now that you're +really in the scrape with us. Go to aunt Dorcas an' tell her I couldn't +come back. Perhaps she'll take you in my place." + +"Perhaps she will, an' perhaps she won't. I s'pose you've been coddlin' +the old woman up so she thinks there's nobody in the world but Joe +Potter; an' I wouldn't want to bet a great deal of money that you +haven't been tellin' her I'm a chump, an' all that kind of stuff, so she +wouldn't look at me if I should go there." + +"I never told her so much as your name--" + +"Where are you goin'?" Dan interrupted, suspiciously. + +"To get the princess; aunt Dorcas said I might bring her there." + +"So! You felt awful bad about lettin' your aunt Dorcas feed three when +_I_ was 'round starvin', yet you can make it three by luggin' in your +bloomin' princess." + +"Havin' a little baby in the house is different from a big boy like you, +Dan. There's no use for us to stand here chinnin' about it. I'm ready to +say I'm sorry for the way I talked to you yesterday, an' I'll 'gree +never to go back to aunt Dorcas's. Now, what more can I do?" + +"But I want you to go back," Dan replied, angrily. + +"What for?" + +"I'm no chump, Joe Potter, an' I know what kind of a stew would be +served up to me if I went there alone. I want you to go an' introduce me +to the family." + +"It's a dead sure thing, Dan, we can't all live there. You know Plums +won't work any more'n he has to, an' we're jest spongin' right off of a +poor woman what ain't got enough for herself." + +"It ain't any worse for me than it is for you." + +Joe was in a pitiable frame of mind. + +Believing that Dan was being searched for by the attorneys simply +because of what he had done in the affair, Joe considered the amateur +detective had such a claim upon him as could not be resisted; yet, at +the same time, he was determined not to add a fourth member to aunt +Dorcas's family. + +"Dan, you go an' tell her all I said,--tell her the whole truth if you +want to,--an' most likely she'll let you stay; but I can't ask her to +open up a reg'lar 'sylum for us fellers. Course I'm bound to do anything +you say, seein's you got into this trouble through me; but I won't 'gree +to sponge a livin' off the best woman that ever lived, when there's +three others doin' the same thing." + +"Look here, you've _got_ to go back with me." + +Joe was in deepest distress, and after a pause of several seconds he +said, slowly: + +"If you lay right down on my goin' to her house with you, I'll do it; +but I won't stay there a single minute. The princess can be left where +she is till I get back." + +Now was the time when Dan Fernald could exert his authority with effect, +and he said, sharply: + +"If you go back without the kid, the old woman'll lay it to me. Now this +is what you've _got_ to do. Take your bloomin' princess, an' act jest +the same as if you hadn't met me. I'll wait till your aunt Dorcas gets +through fussin' over the kid, an' then I'll flash up. Tell her I'm one +of your friends, an' we'll see how she takes it." + +"But I don't want to do that, Dan," Joe cried, in distress. + +"You must, or I'll have to go to jail, an' when it comes to anything +like that, the whole boilin' of us are in it. Go ahead, an' get the +kid." + +Joe was no longer able, because of his sorrow and perplexity, to contend +against the amateur detective, and, without making any further reply, he +walked slowly towards Mrs. Weber's home, his heart heavier even than on +that morning when he first read the advertisement which seemingly +branded him as a criminal. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +A BRIBE. + + +It appeared very much as if Dan suspected Joe of treachery even in this +matter of reclaiming the princess, for he followed him to Mrs. Weber's +home, and there stood within a few paces of the door, where he might +overhear all that was said. + +Now that the amateur detective was thoroughly alarmed concerning his own +safety, he had ceased his grotesquely mysterious movements, and behaved +very much like an ordinary boy. + +Not until Joe had knocked twice at the door was his summons answered, +and then the old German lady stood before him, with the princess in her +arms. + +He had hoped the child would recognise him, but was not prepared for +such a hearty greeting as he received. + +The princess, looking less dainty than when he first saw her, because of +a coarse calico frock which the careful Mrs. Weber had put on, in the +place of her more expensive garments, leaned forward in the old lady's +arms, stretching out both tiny hands to Joe, as she twittered and +chirped, after her own peculiar manner, what was evidently a greeting +to the boy who had acted a guardian's part to the best of his ability. + +"She really knows me!" Joe cried, in an ecstasy of joy, forgetting for a +moment his own sorrow, and, as the child nestled her face against his +neck, he kissed the curly brown hair again and again. + +Mrs. Weber welcomed the princess's guardian in her own language, which +was as unintelligible to Master Potter as the baby's cooing, and only +served to arouse the amateur detective's suspicions. + +"What's that old woman sayin'?" Dan asked, sharply. "You don't want to +try any funny games with me, 'cause I won't stand it." + +Joe did not hear the unkind words; his heart had been made so glad by +the princess's joy at seeing him, that he would hardly have been +conscious of the fact had the officers of the law come forward at that +moment to make him a prisoner. + +Mrs. Weber, observing Dan for the first time, addressed him in a kindly +tone, which only served to deepen the frown on the amateur detective's +face. + +"I dunno what you're drivin' at, missis; but you won't pull wool over my +eyes by jabberin' away in that lingo." + +It so chanced that Joe heard this remark, and, turning quickly towards +the boy who, he believed, held him in his power, he said, sharply: + +"Now, don't make a bigger fool of yourself than you can help, Dan +Fernald! Mrs. Weber can't talk our way, an' is only tryin' to treat you +decent." + +"I'm keepin' my eyes open, all the same, cause I don't count on gettin' +left the same as I was yesterday." + +Accepting the invitation given by gestures, Joe entered the house with +the princess in his arms, and followed by the boy who considered himself +his master. + +Now a serious difficulty presented itself. + +Mrs. Weber's grandson was not at home, and it would be necessary to +dispense with the services of an interpreter. + +"I don't know how I'm going to fix it," Joe said, speaking half to +himself, and Master Fernald believed he was addressed. + +"What is it you can't fix?" + +"I want to get back some of the money I paid Mrs. Weber; but how am I +goin' to tell her I'll carry the princess away for good?" + +"She must know what you say, of course. Who ever heard of a woman what +didn't understand how to talk?" + +"But she's a German, you know." + +"I can't help that. If you tell her right up an' down what you mean, +she's bound to know it, 'less she's a dummy." + +There was little in the way of advice to be gained from the alleged +detective, and Joe began a pantomime which he intended should convey the +idea. + +He pointed to the princess's clothes, then out of the window; put on his +hat, and, with the child in his arms, walked towards the door. + +Then he opened the parcel aunt Dorcas had given him, displaying the +food, and pointed up the street in the direction from which he had just +come. + +After a time, Mrs. Weber appeared to understand something of what he was +trying to convey, and, with a volley of words which sounded very much +like a protest, took the princess from him. + +The child screamed violently, clinging to Joe with all her little +strength, and the boy was seriously disturbed; but the smile on Mrs. +Weber's face told that she did not consider the outburst as anything +very serious. + +"What's she goin' to do with the kid?" Dan asked, as the German woman +disappeared in an adjoining room. + +"I s'pose she's gone to put on the princess's other clothes, 'cause it +seemed like as if she understood what I'd been tellin' her." + +"It would be a precious good job if she didn't come back. That kid has +got you into a heap of trouble, Joe Potter, an' it'll grow worse instead +of better so long as you stick to her." + +Joe made no reply. It is doubtful if he heard the words, for the +princess was crying so loudly he feared she might do herself an injury. + +Five minutes later, Mrs. Weber reëntered the room, bringing the princess +clad in her own garments, and the little maid ran with outstretched arms +to Joe, pressing her tear-stained face against his cheek in such a +manner as went straight to his heart. + +After a prolonged caress, Joe said to Dan, as if answering the remark +which the amateur detective had made a few moments previous: + +"No matter how much trouble she might get me into, I'd stick to this +little thing as long as I lived, if she needed me." + +"Course you've got the right to be jest as big a fool as you like; it +ain't any of my business, so long's I don't have to starve to death on +her account. What about the money you was goin' to try to get from the +old woman?" + +"I'll have to let that go, 'cause I can't make her understand what I +mean. Will you carry the cakes?" + +Master Fernald seized the parcel with avidity, and straightway began +devouring its contents. + +With the princess in his arms, Joe arose, put on his hat, and held out +his hand in token of adieu. + +Mrs. Weber looked at him in surprise an instant, and then, after saying +something in German, hastened out of the room, returning a moment later +with several silver coins in her hand. + +Joe hesitated, and then took from the outstretched palm fifty cents, +motioning that she keep the remainder. + +The old lady shook her head, energetically, and literally forced him to +take all the coins, which amounted in value to ninety cents. + +"You've only kept a dime," he said, in protest, "an' it isn't enough to +pay for takin' care of the princess two days." + +Mrs. Weber smiled, kindly, patted Joe on the head, kissed the princess +affectionately, and by opening the door signified that she would not +accept further payment for her services. + +"I'll come back some day an' square up for what you've done," Joe cried, +as he stepped down on to the sidewalk, and then he remembered that if +matters were arranged as seemed necessary, he would soon be in prison. +"Anyway, I'll come back as soon as I can," he added to himself, and +kissing the tiny hand which the princess had wilfully placed over his +mouth, he set forward, resolutely, on the journey, followed by the boy +who claimed the right to dictate as to his future movements. + +During half an hour Joe walked steadily on towards aunt Dorcas's +peaceful home, listening to the princess's childish prattle, and +banishing all forebodings from his mind with the thought that the baby +trusted and loved him. + +Then Dan, who had been walking a few paces in the rear, came to his +side, appearing a trifle more friendly than when they first met. + +"At this rate you'll get back in time for dinner." + +"It seems as though I ought to, but it's kind of hard work carryin' the +princess. Aunt Dorcas gave me the cakes so's we wouldn't need to hurry +on the road, an'--where are they?" + +"Do you mean that little bunch of cakes you gave me?" + +"Little bunch! Why, there was a stack of 'em!" + +"It don't make any difference how many there was, 'cause I ate the whole +lot." + +Joe looked at the amateur detective as if about to make an angry reply; +but checked himself, and Dan said, defiantly: + +"The time's gone by when you can put on airs with me, Joe Potter. I +ain't goin' to starve to death when there's anything 'round I can eat." + +"No, you'd rather let a little baby like this one go hungry. I wouldn't +have touched the cakes any sooner'n I'd cut my finger off, 'cause they +was for her." + +"You make me tired with your bloomin' princess. She's stuffed jest about +as full as she can hold, an' I'm the same as starved." + +Joe did not so much as look at the selfish boy, but walked more rapidly +than before until fully one-half the distance from Mrs. Weber's to aunt +Dorcas's had been traversed. + +Light though the burden was, his arms ached from long carrying the +child, and it seemed absolutely necessary to come to a halt. + +The princess was more than willing to take advantage of the opportunity +to search for flowers or wintergreen plums by the roadside, and Joe +stretched himself out at full length on the cool grass, keeping jealous +watch all the while over the happy little girl. + +Dan seated himself near by, having once more assumed an air of injured +innocence, and Master Potter could not longer delay having an +understanding with this boy, who was bent on claiming even more than his +right. + +"So you're bound on goin' straight to aunt Dorcas's with me?" he said, +after a brief pause. + +"It's got to be that, or jail." + +"I don't see why; there are other places 'round here besides hers." + +"Yes; but I ain't sure of gettin' into 'em for nothin'. When you strike +a house where Plums is so contented, it must be a pretty soft snap." + +"It ain't certain you can get in there, an' it's dead sure you're +drivin' the princess an' me away." + +"I ain't doin' anything of the kind. You're gettin' on your ear 'cause I +want to be treated decent, that's the size of it." + +"You know very well we can't ask that poor little woman to take care of +four, an' somebody must go, if you're comin'. Now, of course, I must +take the princess with me, an' I don't want to leave the very minute I +get there. Will you hang off a couple of days, an' give me a chance to +find out how I can fix things?" + +"I'd starve to death in two days, an' you know it." + +"That's all foolishness; you've got plenty of money in your pocket that +was borrowed from the fellers to help Plums an' me through." + +"I haven't so much that I can go sportin' 'round the country like a +swell, have I?" + +"You've got enough to keep you from starvin' for a week." + +"All the same, I'm goin' to live with you an' Plums," Dan replied, +doggedly, and Joe remained silent while one might have counted twenty, +after which he said, with the air of a boy who has suddenly decided upon +a course of action: + +"Mis' Weber gave me back ninety cents. Now I'll turn over seventy-five +of it if you agree not to show up at aunt Dorcas's until three o'clock +to-morrow afternoon." + +"What kind of a game are you tryin' to play on me now?" Master Fernald +asked, suspiciously. + +"It ain't any game. I'm hirin' you to stay away, so I can stop there +till that time, an' then I'll leave." + +"Yes, an' you're goin' to tell her a whole lot of stuff 'bout me, so's +she won't let me stop there." + +"I'll promise never to speak your name except to tell her you come as +far's this with us, an' was up behind the barn twice. Now with +seventy-five cents you can live a good deal more swell somewhere else +than at aunt Dorcas's, an' at three o'clock to-morrow afternoon you may +do what you please." + +"How do I know you'll keep your promise?" + +"'Cause neither you nor anybody else can say I ever went back on my +word, an' fix it any way you're a mind to, it's the best trade you can +make. I'm certain she wouldn't take in four of us, an' the only show +you've got is for me to leave." + +"But where'll I find a chance to buy something to eat?" + +"There are plenty of stores 'round here, an' you can get a lodging most +anywhere, for twenty-five cents." + +"Hand over your money." + +"Do you 'gree not to show your nose 'round there till three o'clock +to-morrow?" + +"Of course I do." + +Joe counted out the amount agreed upon, and said, warningly, as he gave +it to Master Fernald: + +"I'm reckonin' on your keepin' your word, same's I will mine; but don't +make the mistake of goin' back on me, Dan Fernald, for if you come to +aunt Dorcas's before the time we've 'greed on, I'll make it hot. You +know I can do it, so be square, or you'll get into worse trouble than if +the detectives found you." + +"That's right; threaten a feller when you think you've got him in a +hole!" + +"I ain't doin' half so much threatenin' as you did, an' besides, I'm +payin' for the privilege when I give you pretty nigh all the money I've +got, an' you with a pocket full." + +The amateur detective did not think it advisable to reply to this +remark, and the two remained silent until Joe believed the time had come +when the journey should be resumed. + +The princess was weary with running to and fro, and willingly allowed +the boy to take her in his arms again. + +"The next time we stop it'll be at aunt Dorcas's," Joe said, as he set +out, and then he halted suddenly, for Master Fernald was following close +in the rear. + +"Where you goin'?" + +"With you, of course." + +"Didn't I buy you off till three o'clock to-morrow afternoon?" + +"Does that mean I can't so much as walk up the road when you're on it?" + +"It means you mustn't follow me to aunt Dorcas's house, an', after all +that's been said and done, I shouldn't think you'd want to do anything +of the kind." + +"I'll keep my promise, an' I'll do whatever else I please. You better +not be too smart, 'cause I might back out of the trade." + +"It would be a sorry job for you," Joe said, threateningly, and, turning +once more, he continued the journey without heed to Master Fernald's +movements. + +[Illustration: "THE PRINCESS SUFFERED AUNT DORCAS TO KISS HER."] + +It was not yet eleven o'clock when Joe and the princess arrived at aunt +Dorcas's home, and the little woman cried, in delight, as Master Potter +led the child towards her: + +"What a sweet little darling! What a beautiful baby! Why, Joseph, I had +no idea she was such a lovely child as this!" and the princess suffered +aunt Dorcas to kiss her rapturously. + +"There's no flies on her, anyhow," Joe said, with an air of pride. + +It is doubtful if aunt Dorcas heard this last remark. She was as pleased +with the princess as a child would have been with a doll, and behaved +much after the same fashion. + +Joe and Plums listened with greatest satisfaction to her words of +praise. + +The little maid and the little woman had apparently conceived a most +violent admiration each for the other, and straightway it seemed as if +the boys were entirely forgotten, for the two went into the house +without so much as a backward glance. + +"'Cordin' to the looks of things, I guess they'll get along pretty well +together," Plums said, in a tone of satisfaction. "I'm mighty glad +you've come back, 'cause aunt Dorcas kept me humpin' myself ever since +you left. Why, I've finished up the whole garden, an' it seems to me as +if I'd done the work of four men. Did you get the money from the German +woman?" + +"Yes; but it didn't do me any good;" and then Joe told in detail of the +meeting with the amateur detective, and the bribe he had been forced to +give. + +"It seems as though Dan must be pretty smart if they're advertisin' for +him, too," Plums said, reflectively. "I can't make out what them lawyers +are up to, offerin' a whole hundred dollars for either one of us, an' +when it comes right down to dots, I don't s'pose we're actually worth +twenty-five cents." + +"I can't understand it, either, and I expect aunt Dorcas will think I'm +a terrible bad feller, when I tell her the story." + +"But you ain't goin' to do anything like that?" Plums cried, in alarm. + +"Yes, I am; I won't go away from here without tellin' her the truth, an' +I've got to leave before three o'clock to-morrow afternoon." + +"Now, look here, Joe, this ain't right to let Dan Fernald drive you off. +Where'll we find another place like this?" + +"I don't reckon we ever can; but it's got to be done. I'd be 'shamed +enough to die if Dan should settle hisself down here, after we've +brought the princess. That would make four of us for aunt Dorcas to +feed, an' we know she has 'bout all she can do to pay her own bills. It +seemed pretty tough when you an' I come; but I said to myself it was +only for two or three weeks, an' we could patch it up somehow, after we +got back to town." + +"But Dan's a fool!" Master Plummer cried, excitedly. "It's no dead sure +thing aunt Dorcas will take him in same's she has us, even if you do go +away." + +"But he thinks she will, so it 'mounts to the same thing." + +"Where are you goin'?" + +"I don't know," Joe replied, mournfully. "Perhaps it'll be better to go +straight to town, an' let 'em arrest me. Aunt Dorcas will tell me what's +best, an' I shall do as she says." + +"You ain't goin' to talk to her to-night?" + +"No, Plums, I'm countin' on holdin' out till to-morrow mornin', an' +enjoyin' myself all I can, 'cause it ain't no ways likely I'll ever have +the chance of stoppin' again in sich a place as this." + +Master Plummer was silent for a moment, and then a different aspect of +the case presented itself to him. + +"Why, what's goin' to become of me?" he cried. "I don't believe aunt +Dorcas'll keep me after you leave, an' what'll I do?" + +"If I let the lawyers get hold of me, that'll ease up on you, 'cause I'm +the only one they'd want to arrest, an' you can go back to town." + +"Yes, perhaps I can; but I'll hate to, mightily. That shanty of mine +won't seem half so nice, after we've lived here, an' I'll have to go to +work sellin' papers!" + +Master Plummer was now so absorbed in the contemplation of his own +unfortunate position as to be wholly unable to sympathise with his +friend, and the two sat on the greensward just outside aunt Dorcas's +door, in painful silence. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +A STRUGGLE IN THE NIGHT. + + +During the remainder of this day it appeared to Joe and Plums as if they +were abandoned by the little woman who had hitherto treated them with so +much attention. + +Immediately after Joe arrived with his charge, aunt Dorcas and the +princess disappeared inside the house, and neither of them seemed to +desire the companionship of the boys until, at an unusually late hour, +they were summoned to dinner. + +To Plums's great disappointment, the noonday meal was a lunch, rather +than a dinner, and aunt Dorcas apologised, by saying: + +"I was so interested in making the acquaintance of your princess, +Joseph, that, for perhaps the first time in my life, I forgot my +household duties, and it was half past eleven before I remembered we +hadn't had dinner." + +"'Cordin' to the slat of stuff you've got here on the table, I should +think you'd been at work all the forenoon," Joe said, approvingly, but +there was the faintest suspicion of jealousy in his heart because the +princess no longer demanded his attention. + +Aunt Dorcas had arrayed her in some plain garments which might once have +belonged to herself or her sisters, and the little maid was so well +content with this new friend that she had but curt greetings for the boy +who considered himself her guardian. + +Perhaps aunt Dorcas understood from the expression on Joe's face +something of that which was in his mind, when the princess chattered and +cooed to the little woman, paying no attention to the others at the +table, for she said, in a kindly tone: + +"It's to be expected, Joseph, that a baby like this one would take more +readily to a woman than a boy." + +"Oh, I know that, aunt Dorcas," Joe replied, with a poor assumption of +carelessness, "an' I'm awful glad you like her." + +"Indeed I do, Joseph. Even in the short time she has been here I have +realised what a comfort it is to have a child around the house, and I +believe God has been very good in sending you and her to me." + +Aunt Dorcas made no mention of being grateful because Plums was a member +of the family, but that young gentleman gave no apparent heed to the +omission, so intent was he upon the pleasure of eating. + +Joe had expected aunt Dorcas would question him closely concerning the +journey, and want to know if the princess had eaten the cookies she +sent. He feared he might not be able to answer her questions without +revealing some of the disagreeable events of the morning; but, to his +surprise, she never so much as referred to the subject. All her thoughts +were centred upon the child; how she should amuse her; how provide her +with new garments, and the little woman even went so far as to speculate +upon the time when it would be necessary to send her to school. + +Joe did not enjoy the food as he would have done but for having met with +Dan, the detective. + +A big lump came into his throat, with the thought that this might be the +last dinner for him in the cottage, the last time he would see aunt +Dorcas, and it was only with difficulty he could swallow. + +He had said he would give himself wholly up to the pleasure of being +there during the remainder of this day, and not until morning came +should aunt Dorcas hear his story; but before the dinner was eaten, he +began to question whether it might not be wiser to make the explanations +at once, and have done with them, so painful was the suspense. + +While the little woman washed the dishes, Joe was permitted to amuse the +princess, but, as soon as aunt Dorcas was at leisure, she took the child +in her arms, and said, preparatory to seating herself in the comfortable +rocking-chair near the west window: + +"The princess and I are going to have our nooning now, and you boys had +better go out-of-doors, where you can't disturb us with your noise." + +The lump in Joe's throat seemed to increase in size, but he forced it +back bravely, as he asked: + +"Isn't there any work we can do, aunt Dorcas? There's no reason why we +should hang 'round here with our hands in our pockets." + +"I'll venture to say George isn't eager to be doing anything, for I kept +him busy this morning. It appears to me he isn't a great lover of hard +work, and I am certain you need rest. A walk of six miles--and I dare +say you carried the child a good deal more than half the distance--is as +much as ought to be expected of a boy in one day." + +"But I'm not so awful tired, an' I guess Plums can hold out a spell +longer, so if there's anything you'll be wantin' done for the next week +or two, I wish you'd let me know it now." + +"I don't think of a thing, Joseph. Go into the orchard, and amuse +yourself in almost any way except by throwing rocks at the birds, until +the princess and I have had our nap." + +Joe could do no less than obey, and, once they were out of the house, he +said to Plums: + +"Of course I'm a big fool to think any such things, but I can't help +feelin' sorry because the princess had rather be with aunt Dorcas than +me." + +"I'd say it was a mighty lucky thing if we were goin' to stay here; but, +in case you stick to what you said about goin' away to-morrow, it will +be kinder tough on both of 'em." + +"I wouldn't wonder if aunt Dorcas wanted us to go, after I tell her why +I left the city. She's too good a woman to keep a feller 'round, if she +thinks he's been doin' something wicked." + +"But you say you haven't." + +"An' it's the truth, Plums; but I can't make other folks believe it, +not even you, on account of that advertisement. Everybody says I must +have been up to something crooked, else the lawyers wouldn't try so hard +to get hold of me." + +Plums could give no consolation. Although he had never known Joe to do +anything which was not absolutely just and honest, he was convinced that +some wrong had been committed, otherwise the advertisement would never +have appeared. + +Joe lay down on the grass, under one of the apple-trees, and, despite +the sorrow in his heart, the chirping of the birds, the soft murmur of +the leaves as they were moved to and fro by the breeze, and the hum of +insects, soon lulled him to sleep. + +The sun was far down in the west when he awakened, and, leaping to his +feet, surprised that he had spent nearly the entire afternoon in +slumber, he looked around for Master Plummer. + +That young gentleman was sitting with his back against the trunk of a +tree, looking idly up at the fleecy clouds, while an expression of +discontent overspread his face. + +"I guess I must have had a pretty long nap," Joe said, as if to make an +apology for his indolence. "I don't believe I ever did a thing like that +before. Hasn't aunt Dorcas called us yet?" + +"Not as I know," Master Plummer replied, curtly. + +"Then she an' the princess must be sleepin' as sound as I was. Of course +you'd heard if she'd called?" + +"I haven't been here all the time." + +"Where have you been?" + +Master Plummer hesitated an instant, and then replied, speaking rapidly, +as if to prevent Joe from interrupting him: + +"I saw Dan Fernald sneakin' 'round down by the road, an' went to see +him. We've been talkin' this thing over, Joe, an' it don't seem to me as +though there was any need for you to go off with the princess. You might +walk 'round the country for a week without findin' so good a place as +this. I'm sure aunt Dorcas had rather keep half a dozen boys than let +that youngster go, now she's begun to like her." + +"I wish I'd known Dan Fernald had come here. It was in the agreement he +should keep away, an' I'd 'a' pounded him if I'd caught him sneakin' +'round." + +"But, say, why can't you keep quiet, an' let him do as he's a mind to? +Perhaps aunt Dorcas won't take him in, after all." + +"I ain't goin' to say a word against him; but I shall tell her the whole +story to-morrow morning, an' then clear out." + +"Even if she wants you to stay?" + +"Yes; 'cause I'd be ashamed to own I was alive if I'd let her take care +of such a crowd as ours." + +Plums showed plainly that he was displeased by the stand his friend had +taken, and walked in silence down the lane to the road. + +"Any decent feller'd do the same's I'm countin' on." Joe said to +himself, as he went slowly towards the cottage. "He wants to stay 'cause +he gets plenty to eat an' no work to speak of, so he won't look at the +thing the way he ought'er." + +Arriving near the rear door of the cottage, he saw aunt Dorcas and the +princess playing on the grass with two dolls made of aprons, and the +little woman appeared to be enjoying herself as hugely as did the little +maid. + +"I declare, I'm almost ashamed of myself, Joseph, to be seen at such +games; but I couldn't resist your princess's coaxing, and I believe I've +really had a good time. We must find some more Christianlike name for +her than princess. I think she calls herself Essie." + +"I thought so, too; but I couldn't make out what kind of a name that +was. Did you call us after you got through with your nap, aunt Dorcas?" + +"Certainly I did, Joseph; but I suppose you were too far away to hear +me." + +Joe explained how he had spent the afternoon, whereat the little woman +laughed merrily, and invited him to play with them at keeping house. + +Not until fully half an hour after her usual time for preparing the +evening meal, did aunt Dorcas cease her share in the childish sport, and +then Joe had his princess all to himself until they were summoned to +supper. + +Meanwhile, Master Plummer had returned from his walk, but without having +concluded his fit of the sulks, and he apparently gave no heed to +anything around him until he was called to partake of supper. + +On this night aunt Dorcas's prayer was one of thanksgiving rather than +supplication; there was a cheery ring in her voice which the boys had +never heard before, and Joe wondered at it, without once guessing that +the coming of the princess had made the little woman more womanly and +younger. + +When the boys were in their room, Joe, who had almost forgotten, since +the moment he joined in the game of "keeping house," that, on the +morrow, he was to leave this pleasant abiding-place, realised even more +keenly than before how hard it would be to carry out the purpose he had +formed; but yet he did not falter for a single moment. + +"I'll do it in the mornin', sure, an' I wish I'd told her to-night; then +the hardest part would be over," he said to himself, as he crept into +bed by the side of the yet indignantly silent Master Plummer. + +Owing to his long sleep during the afternoon, and also the unpleasant +thoughts in his mind, Joe's eyes refused to close in slumber. He tossed +to and fro on the rest-inviting bed, while Plums slept audibly, until it +seemed to him as if the night must have passed and the morning was near +at hand. + +This belief was strengthened when he heard a noise as if the kitchen +window was being raised, and he leaped out of bed, vexed with himself +because he had not gone down sooner to build the fire. + +It was yet dark in the room, and he turned to pull aside the curtain, +when he found that it was already raised at full height. + +"It ain't mornin', that's certain," he said to himself. "I wonder what +aunt Dorcas is doin'? Perhaps the princess is sick." + +He went to the door and listened. A certain faint rustling, as if some +one was moving around in the room below, came to his ears; but it was so +indistinct he questioned whether it might not be fancy. + +One, two, three minutes he stood silent and motionless, and then, not +satisfied that everything was as it should be, crept softly down the +stairs. + +On nearing the kitchen he became positive some one was moving around the +room; but since no ray of light appeared from beneath the door when he +stood at the foot of the stairs, the startling thought came into his +mind that an evil-disposed person had effected an entrance. + +It seemed preposterous burglars should come to the cottage in the hope +of finding anything of very great value, and yet Joe felt convinced +there was an intruder in the house. + +Then it was that he believed he knew the person who was moving so +stealthily in the adjoining room. + +"Dan has broken in here to steal something to eat," he said to himself. +"He thinks neither Plums nor I would dare do anything to him, for fear +he'd tell the detectives where we are, and knows aunt Dorcas couldn't +make much of a row if she wanted to." + +Determined to punish the amateur detective soundly for his misdemeanour, +Joe crept softly to the door until his hand was on the latch, and at +that instant it was suddenly opened from the inside. + +Not anticipating any such movement as this, the boy, who had been +partially leaning against the door, was precipitated into the room. + +Only with difficulty did he prevent himself from falling, and had but +just recovered his balance when he was seized from behind by some one +who had evidently intended to clutch him by the throat, but, failing, +grasped his shirt-collar. + +Even now, Joe believed it was with Dan he had to deal, and wrenching +himself free, which was not difficult, since the cloth tore in the hand +of the intruder, he struck out right and left, with the hope of dealing +an effective blow. + +Before many seconds had passed, however, he understood that he was +battling with a man, and not a boy. + +Once he received a blow on the cheek which sent him staggering back +several paces, and, when he would have renewed the battle, was met by a +thrust in the face which almost dazed him. + +The intruder made no outcry, probably hoping the other inmates of the +house might not be aroused, and Joe remained silent, lest aunt Dorcas +should learn of the burglar's presence. + +After receiving a third blow, and not having been able to deliver one in +return, Joe understood that the battle would speedily be brought to an +end by his discomfiture, unless there was a change of tactics, and he +closed with the man at once, seizing him around the waist in such a +manner that the fellow could not do him much injury. + +The boy had but little hope he would come off victor in this unequal +battle; but yet he clung to his adversary, striving to overthrow him, +until, in their struggles, the two were at the open door through which +Joe had entered. + +Leading from the kitchen by this way was a short hall, ending in three +steps which led to the shed beyond, and Joe believed the time had come +when he might gain an advantage. + +At that instant, the burglar was standing with his back towards the +passageway, and putting all his strength into the effort, Joe flung his +whole weight upon the enemy. + +The man, taken for the instant at a disadvantage, yielded a single step, +and this was sufficient for his discomfiture. + +Joe forced him back, until the fellow toppled down the stairs, striking +his head against the threshold of the shed door with sufficient force to +render him unconscious. + +The crash which followed the burglar's fall literally shook the little +cottage, and before Joe fully realised he had vanquished the foe, aunt +Dorcas was calling him loudly by name. + +"It's all right; don't you come down, but send Plums here if you can," +he shouted, in reply, and then stood irresolutely wondering what could +be done. + +He had an ill-defined idea that the burglar should be made a prisoner; +but how that might be accomplished was more than he could say at that +moment. + +Aunt Dorcas had ceased to call for him, when he understood that it would +be more prudent on his part to secure a light before taking any steps to +fetter the burglar, and he stepped back into the kitchen for this +purpose; but he had not yet found a match when the little woman entered, +holding high above her head a lamp, as she had done on the night when +Joe first saw her. + +"Goodness gracious, Joseph! What _is_ the matter? You're covered with +blood! Have you met with an accident?" + +"Now don't get frightened, aunt Dorcas; I ain't hurt." + +"Why do you tell me that, Joseph, when I can see for myself? You must be +bleeding to death!" + +"But I am not, I tell you. I jest got a clip on the nose, an' another +one behind the ear; neither of 'em will do any harm. Now don't you get +frightened; but I s'pose I've got to tell you what happened." + +"Of course you have, Joseph. You don't fancy I can remain silent with +such goings on in my house, and not attempt to understand them. What +have you been doing to yourself? Why don't you answer? Can't you see you +are making me very nervous?" + +"I didn't want to tell you, aunt Dorcas, 'cause I was 'fraid you'd get +scared; but there's a burglar out here in the shed. I knocked him silly +by pitching him down-stairs, an' now I'm tryin' to think how we can keep +him from gettin' away." + +"A burglar! Keep him from getting away? Why, Joseph Potter, we don't +want any burglars 'round this house! For mercy's sake, if the poor, +misguided creature will go, don't you try to stop him! Did you hurt him +very much?" + +Joe was relieved in mind because aunt Dorcas, instead of being terrified +at the information that a burglar was in the house, was only solicitous +lest he might have been injured, and he replied, grimly: + +"I reckon I'm the one what got the worst of that little fuss. You +needn't feel so very bad 'bout him, 'cause he's only bumped his head. +But say, we mustn't let him go after what he's tried to do. I'll tie +him, an' you call Plums to go for a perliceman." + +"Joseph, I never would consent to have a poor fellow arrested; but he +shall be talked to severely, for injuring you as he has done. The idea +of a grown-up man striking a child so hard as to bring blood!" + +However serious the situation, Joe could not have restrained his mirth. + +Aunt Dorcas's pity for the burglar, and fear lest he had been injured, +was to him very comical, and he laughed heartily, until the little woman +said, in a tone of reproof: + +"Joseph, that poor man may be dying, and by your hand, while you are +making merry. Where is he?" + +Joe stifled his mirth as best he could, and, taking the lamp, and the +tender-hearted little woman's hand, led the way towards the shed door, +as he replied: + +"I'll show him to you, aunt Dorcas, an' then if you want to tie a rag +'round his throat, or put a plaster on his head, you can." + +But Joe did not make as thorough an exhibition of his burglar as he had +anticipated. + +The man had regained consciousness, and all aunt Dorcas saw of the +intruder was a dark form which ran past her into the kitchen, and from +there leaped through the open window. + +Joe could not have stopped the burglar if he wished, so sudden and +unexpected had been the fellow's movements; but he was deeply chagrined +that his enemy should thus have escaped so readily. + +"He's gone, an' I ought'er be kicked for standin' here chinnin' with +you, as if he'd wait till I got ready to tie him up!" + +"We should be thankful to him for going without making any more of a +disturbance. I'm relieved to know he wasn't seriously hurt, and--How +wicked I am to stand here talking about anything, when your wounds +should be attended to! It's a mercy you haven't bled to death long +before this." + +"There's no danger of anything of that kind, aunt Dorcas, and if you'll +go right back to bed, I'll tend to myself in great shape. There's no +need of your fussin' 'round." + +"You must believe me a perfect wretch if you think I could leave you in +such a condition. But, Joseph, I would like to go back and dress myself +properly." + +"There's no reason why you shouldn't leave me till mornin' jest as well +as not, so go ahead, aunt Dorcas, an' do whatever you please." + +[Illustration: "A DARK FORM LEAPED THROUGH THE OPEN WINDOW."] + +"Sit down here by the table, where you will have something on which to +rest your head if you grow faint, and I'll be back in a moment." + +Aunt Dorcas closed the kitchen door, lest a draft of air should come +upon the boy she believed so grievously wounded, and went to her own +room, Joe saying to himself, meanwhile: + +"I'd been willin' for him to have pounded me into shoestrings, if it +would save me from havin' to tell a woman as good as she is that I ran +away from New York to keep out of jail." + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +A CONFESSION. + + +It seemed to Joe as if aunt Dorcas had but just left the room when she +returned, ready for the work of binding up his wounds. + +"Do you feel any worse, Joseph?" she asked, laying her hand gently on +his shoulder. + +"Not a bit of it," Master Potter replied, stoutly. + +"Do you think you can bear up until I have built a fire and heated some +water?" + +"Now, look here, aunt Dorcas, I ain't hurt any to speak of, even though +there is a good deal of blood on my face, an' as for bearin' up, why, it +wouldn't do me a bit of harm if there wasn't anything done to my face. +I'll build a fire, if it's warm water you're after," and, before the +little woman could prevent him, he had set about the task. + +While waiting for the fire to burn, aunt Dorcas collected such articles +as she believed would be needed, and Joe found it difficult to prevent a +smile from appearing on his bruised face, as he watched the +preparations. + +Several rolls of clean, white cloth, in sufficient quantity to have +bandaged the heads of twenty boys, arnica, antiseptic washes, adhesive +plaster, a sponge, cooling lotions, and, as Joe afterwards told Plums, +"a whole apothecary's shop full of stuff," was placed on the table in a +methodical fashion. + +"I guess while this water's bein' heated I'll wash some of the blood off +my face, an' then you'll see that there ain't any need of worryin' much +'bout me," Joe said, with a laugh, as he turned towards the sink, and +aunt Dorcas cried, excitedly: + +"Don't do it, Joseph! Don't you dare to do it; it might be as much as +your life is worth to put cold water on that bruised flesh! It won't be +many minutes before we shall have plenty of the proper temperature." + +"Of course I'll do jest as you say, aunt Dorcas; but I've been hurt +worse'n this a good many times, an' never had any one to touch me up the +same's you seem bound on doin'." + +"If you have been foolhardy in the past, it is no reason why you should +run unnecessary risks now," the little woman said, severely, and Joe +made no further attempt to dissuade her from her purpose. + +When the water was sufficiently warm, aunt Dorcas set about her +self-appointed task, passing the moist sponge over Joe's face with an +exceedingly light touch, as if afraid of causing him pain, and he said, +with a stifled laugh: + +"You needn't be afraid of hurtin' me, aunt Dorcas. I can stand a good +deal more'n that without yippin'. I'd been willin' to got it twice as +bad, if we could have held on to that duffer." + +"You shouldn't harbour revengeful thoughts, Joseph. I am truly glad he +made his escape." + +"If you treat burglars in that way, this place will be overrun with them +before next winter." + +"Of course I don't like the idea of having strange men prowling around +the house in the night; but there is nothing here for them to steal, and +I am certain they couldn't be wicked enough to hurt a poor old woman +like me. Instead of harbouring revengeful thoughts, we should endeavour +to do good to those who would injure us, remembering the words spoken on +the Mount, 'That ye resist not evil; but whosoever shall smite thee on +the right cheek, turn to him the other also.'" + +"If a feller went 'round doin' anything like that, I reckon he'd soon be +in worse shape than I am. Do you mean, aunt Dorcas, that I ought to have +stood still an' let that burglar have fun with me?" + +"I can't think it was intended we should take the words literally; but +they certainly were meant that we should be forgiving,--that we should +love our enemies so heartily as to lead them from their evil ways. The +man who beat you so cruelly will never be brought into a better life by +harsh words. Now, I am going to put some arnica on these bruises; it +will hurt, but you must try to bear the pain manfully." + +"Don't be afraid of me, aunt Dorcas. You couldn't do anything that would +make me yip." + +The little woman treated Joe's wounds with such simple remedies as she +had near at hand, and then proceeded to bandage his head, until but +little more than his eyes and mouth could be seen, striving, meanwhile, +to show him how much better the world would be for his having lived in +it, if he would govern himself strictly by the Golden Rule. + +During all the while she was putting the many bandages in place, Joe was +saying to himself that now was come the time when he should make that +confession he had decided upon, and, although aunt Dorcas had said so +much concerning the blessedness of forgiving those who have done us an +injury, he did not believe she would so far carry her precepts into +practice as to be willing to shelter one who appeared to be as great a +criminal as himself. + +"I believe, Joseph, I have done all that is possible to-night," the +little woman finally said, as she fastened in place the last bandage. +"You are not to get up in the morning until after I have made certain +you are in no danger of a fever. Now, go to your room, and if you think +George may disturb you, I'll put him in the spare chamber." + +"Wait a minute, aunt Dorcas; I want to tell you something," and Joe laid +his hand on the little woman's arm to prevent her from rising. "You +never knew why Plums an' I left New York to come out here where there +isn't a chance to earn a living." + +"I understood from something you said, Joseph, that there was a reason +for your leaving home suddenly; but I can't believe, my boy, you have +done anything wrong." + +"An' I haven't, aunt Dorcas; as true as I live, I haven't, though +everybody, even Plums, thinks I've been cuttin' a terrible swath! Of +course, when that advertisement come out, I had to run away, else they'd +carried me to jail--" + +"To jail?" aunt Dorcas repeated, in horror. "What advertisement do you +mean, Joseph?" + +"The one that was in the paper 'bout payin' anybody who'd tell where I +was." + +"But who wanted to know where you were?" + +"The lawyers, of course,--the fellers that advertised." + +"Why did they want to find you?" aunt Dorcas asked, in perplexity. + +"That's what knocks me silly, 'cause I don't know a thing about it, any +more'n you do." + +"Did you say the advertisement knocked you silly, Joseph?" and the +little woman now looked thoroughly bewildered. + +"Course it did, an' it would have paralysed 'most anybody that didn't +know what they'd been about." + +"Joseph, I'm afraid I don't understand you. It is a printed +advertisement you are telling me about, isn't it?" + +"Of course. I saw the first one in the _Herald_, an'--" + +"I thought you said some one had dealt you a blow. Tell me what there +was in the advertisement." + +Joe repeated the words almost verbatim, and then told aunt Dorcas all +the details of the flight, up to the moment they arrived at her home. + +Regarding the threats made by the amateur detective he remained silent, +because of the promise to Dan. + +"There must be some terrible mistake about it all, Joseph. If you +haven't committed a crime, and I feel certain you couldn't have done +such a thing, then it is some other boy these lawyers are hunting for." + +"There's no such good luck as that, aunt Dorcas. I don't believe there's +another feller in town named Joseph Potter, who's been sellin' +newspapers an' then went into the fruit business. You see, that's me to +a dot, an' now Plums an' Dan are in the scrape because they helped me +away. Just as likely as not Dan will come here to-morrow to ask you to +take him in, too, an' I've made up my mind that the princess an' I have +got to leave. We're goin' away about noon, aunt Dorcas, an' some time +I'll be back to pay you for bein' so good to us." + +The little woman looked at Joe for an instant, as if not understanding +what he had said, and repeated: + +"Going away?" + +"Yes, aunt Dorcas, we've got to. Even if you was willin' we should stay, +after what I've told you, I wouldn't agree to hang 'round, livin' on +you, while there are two other fellers doin' the same thing." + +Aunt Dorcas gazed at Joe steadily during several seconds, and then said, +in a decided tone: + +"I don't understand what you have tried to tell me; but it is certain, +Joseph Potter, that you sha'n't leave my house while you are wounded so +seriously." + +"I ain't wounded, aunt Dorcas, an' I'm as well able to go this minute as +I was when I came." + +"It doesn't make any difference whether you are or not. I sha'n't allow +you to step your foot off of these premises until I know more about this +affair. It is all a mistake from beginning to end; there can be no +question of that, and I'll get at the bottom of it before we are very +much older. Now go straight to bed, and mind what I told you about +getting up in the morning." + +Aunt Dorcas pulled the bandages apart sufficiently to admit of her +kissing Joe on the lips, and then, putting the lamp in his hand, she led +him to the stairway. + +"You're an awful good woman, aunt Dorcas, an' some day I'll be able to +do more than tell you so." + +"Good night, my boy. Put this matter entirely out of your mind and go to +sleep." + +When Joe gained the chamber once more, it was as if a great weight had +been lifted from his heart. + +The confession which caused him so much anxiety had been made, and, +instead of reproaching him for having come to her home, aunt Dorcas was +the same kindly, Christianlike woman as when he first saw her. + +Master Plummer, who had slept peacefully during all the adventures of +the night, was disturbed by the light of the lamp, as it shone full in +his face, and opening his eyes, he said, petulantly: + +"What are you doin'--" He ceased speaking suddenly, as he saw his +friend's bandaged face, and cried, in something very like alarm, +"Wha--wha--what's happened to you?" + +"There was a burglar in the house, an' I tackled him." + +This was sufficient to bring Master Plummer to a sitting posture at +once, and he demanded to be told all the particulars. + +Joe began to comply with his friend's request, but was interrupted by +the voice of aunt Dorcas from the room below. + +"George! Don't you allow Joseph to say a single word to-night. He must +be kept perfectly quiet, or no one can say what may be the result of his +terrible wounds. Go to sleep immediately, both of you, and to-morrow +morning I'll do the talking, if Joseph isn't strong enough." + +"Go on, an' tell me all about it," Plums whispered. "She won't hear if +we talk low." + +"I'll do jest exactly as aunt Dorcas told me, even if she said I was to +stand on my head for half an hour. A feller who wouldn't mind what she +tells him ain't fit to live," and Joe got into bed, refusing to so much +as speak when Plums plied him with questions. + +Although he had made light of his wounds when talking to aunt Dorcas, +they gave him no slight amount of pain, and this, together with his +anxiety of mind, would seem to have been sufficient to keep his eyes +open until morning; yet within a very short time he was sleeping as +peacefully as if attorneys and burglars had never been known in this +world. + +Not until aunt Dorcas tapped gently on the door next morning did either +of the boys awaken, and then Joe would have leaped out of bed +immediately after answering her summons, but for the words: + +"You're not to get up, Joseph, until I am positive you are out of +danger." + +Joe laughed aloud, in the gladness of his heart; such solicitude for his +welfare was something he had never known before, and it seemed very +sweet to him. + +"Let me get up, aunt Dorcas, an' if I don't show you I'm all right, I'll +come straight back to bed. There's no need of my layin' here, 'cause I'm +sound as a nut." + +The little woman hesitated, but finally gave the desired permission, and +when Joe was in the kitchen once more, she insisted on removing the +bandages to examine the wounds before even so much as allowing Master +Plummer to partake of the breakfast already prepared. + +To Joe and Plums, who were accustomed to such injuries, there appeared +to be no reason why the bandages should be replaced, but aunt Dorcas, +who could be as firm as she usually was gentle, when occasion required, +insisted upon obedience, and once more Joe's face was enveloped in white +cloth, until he presented a most comical appearance. + +Then aunt Dorcas brought the princess down-stairs, and the little maid, +not recognising her young guardian, positively refused to speak to him, +but nestled close by the little woman's side until Joe, by dint of much +coaxing and bribing, persuaded her to accept him as a new, if not an +old, acquaintance. + +When the meal was brought to an end, and before the breakfast dishes +were cleared away, aunt Dorcas referred to the confession of the +previous night, by saying: + +"I've been thinking over what you told me, Joseph, and verily believe I +should have awakened you before daylight this morning to ask a few +questions, if you had not been in such a serious condition. You have no +objection to my speaking about the matter before George?" + +"Of course not, aunt Dorcas. He knows the whole thing as well as I do, +except he believes I must have done something pretty tough." + +"You should never think evil of any person, George, no matter how much +appearances are against him." + +"Well, if Joe didn't do anything, what are these lawyers offerin' to +give a whole hundred dollars to catch one of us for?" + +"That is what I hope to find out. There is something in connection with +the matter which you boys have failed to explain, that will make it all +very simple. Have either of you a copy of that advertisement?" + +"No, aunt Dorcas, I wasn't achin' to lug such a thing as that 'round +with me." + +"Does it still appear in the papers?" + +"It did yesterday mornin', 'cause Dan showed it to me, an' his name and +Plums's were 'longside of mine." + +"Then George must go to Weehawken and buy one of those papers." + +Master Plummer looked up in dismay. A six-mile walk was to him such +exercise as amounted almost to torture, and he said, petulantly: + +"What good will it do for you to read it in the paper, when we can tell +you every word?" + +"Indeed, I don't know; but there must be something which you have failed +to remember." + +"Truly, there isn't, aunt Dorcas. I said over the words jest as they was +printed, 'cause I'd be sure to remember a thing like that," Joe replied. + +"I am set, when I make up my mind, as all old maids are," the little +woman said, grimly, "and it seems to me absolutely necessary I should +see that advertisement. Now, if George thinks he cannot walk to +Weehawken, I must go myself." + +"Indeed you mustn't, aunt Dorcas," and Joe spoke in a tone of authority, +such as he had never before used. "There's nothin' to prevent my walkin' +a dozen miles, if anything is to be gained by it, an' I'll start this +very minute." + +To such a proposition as this, aunt Dorcas positively refused to listen. +She was certain Joe's wounds were of such serious nature that violent +exercise might be fatal to him, and Master Plummer began to fear he +would be forced to take that long walk when there was no real necessity +for so doing, until a happy thought came to him, and he cried, +animatedly: + +"There's no need for anybody to go to Weehawken, 'cause Dan Fernald must +have that paper he showed to Joe, in his pocket now." + +"Where is he?" aunt Dorcas asked, quickly. + +"Loafin' 'round here somewhere," Plums replied. "He counted on comin' +here this afternoon to ask if you'd let him stop a spell, so's the +lawyers couldn't catch him. He would have come last night, but Joe hired +him to keep away." + +Aunt Dorcas looked at Master Potter, inquiringly, and the latter said: + +"I promised Dan I wouldn't speak a word to you about what he was goin' +to do; but you'll know it all when he comes." + +"_I_ didn't promise, so there's nothing to keep me from tellin'," Master +Plummer cried, and, before his friend could prevent him, he had added, +"Joe thought it was playin' too steep on you for Dan to come, when you +had him, an' me, an' the princess, so he gave him seventy-five cents to +keep away till three o'clock this afternoon. He counted on goin' off +with the kid before then." + +Aunt Dorcas did not appear to fully understand this explanation; but her +impatience to see the advertisement was so great that she evidently +could not wait to ask further concerning the matter. + +"Can you find Dan Fernald now?" and she turned to Plums. + +"Well, I guess it wouldn't take very long, 'cause he's somewhere close +'round." + +"Go out this minute, George, and hunt for him." + +"He'll count on stoppin', once he gets in here," Plums said, warningly. + +"If the poor boy hasn't any home, and is hidin' here in the country for +the same reason you are, I will give him a shelter so long as may be +necessary." + +"But you see, aunt Dorcas, you can't afford to jam this house full of +boys what have got into a scrape," Joe cried. "I'm willin' to go away, +so's to give Dan the chance; but I won't hang 'round here when there's a +whole crowd." + +"You will remain exactly where you are, Joseph Potter, until this +matter is settled, so don't let me hear anything more of that kind. +George, go directly and find your friend." + +The boys did not dare oppose aunt Dorcas when she spoke in such a tone, +and although Plums was not inclined to do even so much as go in search +of Dan, when he might be resting quietly in the house, he obeyed. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +A RAY OF LIGHT. + + +The amateur detective was a boy who had but little faith in the honesty +of his fellows, perhaps because he himself could not be trusted +implicitly, and even though Joe Potter had solemnly promised he would +say nothing in his disfavour, Dan entertained grave suspicions that the +little woman was being prejudiced against him. + +Therefore it was he had been loitering near the cottage since early +morning, in the hope of gaining speech with Plums, and, when that young +gentleman finally appeared, Master Fernald came out from his +hiding-place amid a clump of bushes. + +"What's up, now?" he cried, suspiciously. + +"You're to come right in, an' see aunt Dorcas," Plums replied, with no +little show of excitement. + +"What's wrong? Has Joe been tellin' her not to take me in?" + +"Look here, Dan, I may not like his threatenin' to leave 'cause you was +comin', an' perhaps I said a good many hard things against him, when I +talked with you yesterday; but I won't let anybody accuse him of lyin'. +When Joe promised not to tell aunt Dorcas anything 'bout you, he meant +to keep his word, an' he'll do it. I told her he'd paid you +seventy-five cents to stay away till this afternoon." + +"What did you do that for? Are you turnin' sneak, Plums? 'Cause if you +are, I'll break your jaw!" + +"Perhaps you could do it; but I ain't so certain. Anyway, I told the +story, 'cause Joe gave the advertisement business dead away last night, +when he got thumped." + +"Did he have a row?" + +"He tackled a burglar, an' got the best of him, that's what Joe Potter +did. A feller has got nerve what'll jump on to a man in the dark, an' +don't you make any mistake." + +"Was there a real burglar in the house?" Dan asked, incredulously. + +"Course there was, an' Joe knocked him silly. The feller come in through +the kitchen window, an'--" + +"I'd made up my mind that 'most everybody knew I was out here on your +case," the amateur detective said, as if speaking to himself, and Plums +asked, in surprise: + +"What's that got to do with it?" + +"Nothin'; only it shows that some folks don't know it, else the burglar +never'd dared to show his nose 'round here." + +"'Cause he'd be afraid of you?" + +"He wouldn't run the risk of my gettin' on his trail," Master Fernald +replied, with dignity, and Plums could not repress a smile, for he had +already begun to question his friend's detective ability. + +Dan pretended not to see this evidence of incredulity, for it did not +suit his purpose to have hard words with Plums now, when he was, as he +believed, about to become his roommate. + +"See here, you've got to come right up to the house, 'cause aunt Dorcas +wants to see that paper," Master Plummer cried, as if but just reminded +of his mission. + +"What for?" + +"She wants to read the advertisement." + +"Oh, she does, eh? Well, if the old woman is willin' to promise that I +can come here to live, I'll let her take the paper; that's the only way +she'll get it." + +Plums looked at his friend, as if believing he had not heard him aright. + +"I mean what I say. I've got the chance now to have things my way, in +spite of all Joe Potter may do. Go up an' tell her so; if she agrees, +whistle, an' I'll be there before she can wink." + +"Come with me, an' tell her yourself; I won't carry a message like that +to aunt Dorcas," Plums replied, indignantly. + +"All right; then she can go without the paper. It don't make any +difference to me." + +"She won't go without it, 'cause one of us will walk over to Weehawken, +an' perhaps that would be cheaper for her than to feed you." + +The amateur detective began to understand that he was not exactly in a +position to drive a very hard bargain, although confident the possession +of the paper would give him the home he desired. Therefore, instead of +attempting to force Plums into acting the part of messenger, he said, in +a tone of condescension: + +"If you're so perky 'bout it, I s'pose I can go with you, though I'd +rather have the thing settled before I flash up." + +Without replying, Plums turned, and began to retrace his steps, +regretting, now, that he had spoken harshly to Joe concerning this +fellow who was displaying such a mean spirit. + +Master Fernald followed, with the air of one who is master of the +situation, rehearsing in his mind what he should say when the little +woman asked for the paper. + +The matter was not arranged exactly as he intended it should be. + +When they arrived at the cottage, Plums opened the door for him to +enter, and Dan stepped inside with a jaunty air, unsuspicious of his +companion's purpose. + +Aunt Dorcas greeted the newcomer kindly; but, before Joe could speak, +Plums, standing with his back against the door, to prevent the alleged +detective from making his escape, cried, in a loud tone: + +"Dan's got the paper, but says he won't give it up unless aunt Dorcas +agrees that he shall live here till we get out of the scrape." + +"Did you say that, Dan Fernald?" Joe asked, mildly. And the amateur +detective replied, with a great show of firmness: + +"That's what I told Plums; but I didn't mean to spring it on the old +woman quite so sudden." + +"Do you really mean it?" + +"Course I do; I ain't such a fool as to let a chance like this go by me. +I've got her where she can't help herself, now, an' we'll see who'll--" + +Dan did not conclude the threat, for, regardless of aunt Dorcas's +presence, Joe leaped from the table, and seized the pretended detective +by the throat, forcing him back against the wall. + +With a cry of fear, aunt Dorcas sprang to her feet, and would have gone +to Dan's relief, but that Plums, moving more quickly than he had ever +been known to move before, stepped directly in front of her, as he said, +imploringly: + +"Now, don't mix into this row, 'cause it wouldn't be fair. I knew pretty +well what Joe would do, after I'd told him how Dan was countin' on +gettin' pay for his paper, an' if he hadn't gone for the duffer, I'd had +to do it myself." + +"But I can't have any quarrelling in this house. Why, George, I'd rather +never see a paper in my life than to have a right-down fight here!" + +"There won't be any fight, aunt Dorcas," Plums said, with a smile, +"'cause Joe will chew him all up before he can wink." + +Brief as this conversation had been, before it came to an end there was +no longer any employment for a peacemaker. + +Joe had shaken the amateur detective until he was glad to give up the +worthless newspaper, and, before aunt Dorcas could step past Plums, +Master Fernald was literally thrown out of the kitchen door. + +"I'll have every perliceman in New York City here before you're an hour +older!" he screamed, shaking his fist in impotent wrath when he was at a +safe distance. + +"Go ahead, an' do what you can, an' when it's all over I'll finish +servin' you out for talkin' as you did to aunt Dorcas!" Joe replied, +after which he closed the door and resumed his seat at the table, as if +nothing unusual had occurred. + +"Now you can see the advertisement," Plums said, as he handed the paper +to the little woman; but she hesitated about taking it. + +"It seems as if we had robbed that poor boy," she said, in distress. "I +do wish, Joseph, that you hadn't been so hasty." + +"Now don't fret over the sneak, aunt Dorcas, 'cause he ain't worth it. +Robbed him of nothin'! What was the paper good for to him? Yet he +counted on makin' you do as he said for the sake of gettin' it." + +"Last night I wanted him to come here, an' thought Joe was kind er hard +when he wouldn't 'gree to it; but I'll take all that back now. Dan +Fernald's the meanest kind of a sneak," and Master Plummer, realising he +was indulging in too much exercise by thus allowing himself to be angry, +sank into a chair, as if exhausted. + +It is doubtful if aunt Dorcas would have taken the paper procured by +such a questionable method, but for anxiety to read the advertisement +which had made of Joe an exile. As a matter of fact, she did not take it +until after considerable urging from both the boys, and, even then, only +when Joe held it so near that it would have been necessary to close her +eyes in order to prevent herself from seeing the printed lines. + +[Illustration: JOE AND DAN DISAGREE.] + +The princess, who had been frightened into silence by Joe's attack on +Dan, crept into aunt Dorcas's lap, and, sitting directly opposite, the +two boys watched the little woman's face intently as she read the +fateful lines. + +It seemed to them as if she had kept her eyes fixed upon that particular +portion of the paper fully fifteen minutes before a look of relief came +over her face, and she asked, suddenly: + +"Did you tell me the princess's parents were dead?" + +"Oh, no; I said she'd lost 'em," Joe replied. + +"I understood you found her in the street." + +"An' that's true. I was up by the Grand Central _De_pot, lookin' for a +job to carry baggage, when she came along, an' I waited there till +pretty nigh dark without seem' anybody that belonged to her. We went to +Plums's shanty, an' stayed all night. I was countin' on findin' her +folks in the mornin', when Dan Fernald come up an' showed this +advertisement. Then, of course, we had to skip, an' you know the rest, +except that I'm goin' back as quick as ever I can, to hunt 'em up." + +"Did any one near the station know you had found a little girl?" aunt +Dorcas asked, now looking really cheerful. + +"Nobody that I knew, except Plums," Joe replied; and added, an instant +later, "Yes, there was. I'd forgot 'bout that feller who works in the +fruit store pretty near the _de_pot. He saw me when I was luggin' her +down to Plums's shanty, an' almost knocked us over." + +Aunt Dorcas looked straight up at the ceiling for as many as two +minutes, and then said, abruptly, as if having decided upon some course +of action: + +"George, I want you to go right over to Mr. McArthur's, and tell him +that I must be carried to the ferry at once. Be sure you say 'at once' +very emphatically, because I want him to understand that my business +admits of no delay, otherwise he will be putting me off with all manner +of excuses. Now go immediately; don't sit there looking at me," and aunt +Dorcas spoke so sharply that both the boys were amazed. + +The little woman, putting the princess down from her lap, began to clear +away the breakfast dishes, but stopped before the work was well begun, +as she said: + +"Why do I spend my time on such trifling matters, when it is so +necessary I get into the city at once? Haven't you gone yet, George?" + +"Say, aunt Dorcas, how do you s'pose I know where Mr. McArthur lives?" + +"You should know; he is our next-door neighbour; the first house on the +right, just above here. Now don't loiter, George, for I am in a great +hurry." + +Master Plummer, looking thoroughly bewildered, went out of the house +almost rapidly, and aunt Dorcas said to Joe: + +"Of course I am depending upon you to take care of the princess, and +when she goes to sleep this noon, perhaps you can put these soiled +dishes into the sink. I haven't the time now, because I must change my +clothes." + +"Are you goin' into the city, to try to help us out of the scrape?" + +"Of course I am, and it can be done. I knew there was some mistake about +it all when you told me the story; but I haven't time to talk with you +now, Joseph. You will find food enough in the pantry, in case I am not +back by dinner-time, and see to it that the princess doesn't go hungry. +I am depending upon your keeping things in proper order while I'm away." + +Before the astonished boy could ask any further questions, aunt Dorcas +had actually run up the stairs, and the princess immediately raised a +wail of sorrow at being separated from her particular friend, thereby +forcing Joe to devote all his attention to her for the time being. + +Before aunt Dorcas had completed her preparations for the journey, Joe +succeeded in inducing the little maid to walk out-of-doors with him, and +they were but a short distance from the house, down the lane, when Plums +returned with Mr. McArthur. + +The worthy farmer, alarmed by a peremptory message from a neighbour who +had never before been known to give an order save in the form of the +mildest request, had harnessed his horse with all possible despatch, and +was looking seriously disturbed in mind when he drove up to where Joe +was standing. + +"I reckon by your looks you're the boy what tackled the burglar last +night? Well, you showed clean grit, an' no mistake. Can you tell me what +the matter is with aunt Dorcas? This 'ere friend of yours seems to be +all mixed up; don't appear to know much of anything." + +"She wants to go to the city, sir, an' to get there quick." + +"There must be some powerful reason behind it all for Dorcas Milford to +send any sich message as this boy brought. I allow he mistook her +meanin', so to speak, eh?" + +"I didn't mistook anything," Plums cried, indignantly. "She said to tell +you she must be carried to the ferry at once, very emphatically, an' she +didn't want you to be puttin' her off with any excuses." + +"Is that so, sonny?" the farmer asked of Joe. + +"I don't think she said it exactly that way, an' Plums wasn't told you +shouldn't make any excuses; but aunt Dorcas wants to go in a hurry, I +know that much." + +"Anybody dead, eh?" + +"No, sir." + +"The burglar didn't get away with anything, eh?" + +"No, sir." + +Before the farmer could ask any more questions, aunt Dorcas herself +appeared on the scene. + +"I'm glad you came quickly, Mr. McArthur, because I'm in a great hurry," +she said, nervously. "Don't stop to drive up to the house, but turn +around right here." + +The farmer looked at her for a moment, and then, mildly urging the +patient steed on, he drove in a circle as wide as the lane would permit, +saying, meanwhile: + +"It seems to me, Dorcas Milford, I'd send some word by telegraph, rather +than get into sich a pucker. I never knowed you to be so kinder flighty +as you're appearin' now." + +"I shall be a good deal worse, Mr. McArthur, if you don't start very +soon," aunt Dorcas replied, in a matter-of-fact tone, which alarmed her +neighbour more than a threat from some other person would have done. + +"Take good care of the princess; don't get crumbs on the floor, an' be +sure to eat all you need," aunt Dorcas cried, as the vehicle was whirled +almost rapidly around the corner of the lane into the highway. And Plums +shouted: + +"When'll you be back?" + +"I can't say; be good boys, an' I'll come as soon as ever it's +possible." + +Then the little woman had disappeared from view, and Master Plummer, +turning to his friend, asked, seriously: + +"Do you s'pose there's anything gone wrong with aunt Dorcas's head? It +seems to me she don't act as if she was jest straight." + +"Now don't be foolish, Plums. If everybody in this world was as straight +as she is, us boys would have a snap." + +"But she seems to think she can fix all this, else why did she rush off +so?" + +"If anybody can straighten things out, she's the one, though I don't see +how it's goin' to be done. Let's go into the house, an' do the work. I +b'lieve I can wash the dishes without breakin' any of 'em." + +"What's the use to rush 'round like this? I'm all tired out goin' over +to McArthur's, an' there's no knowin' what'll happen if I can't get a +chance to rest." + +"Now, don't be so foolish, Plums. You haven't done enough to hurt a +kitten, since we come here, an' all I'll ask of you is to take care of +the princess while I'm fixin' up." + +With this understanding, Master Plummer agreed to his friend's proposal, +and during the next half hour Joe laboured faithfully at the housework, +while Plums amused the princess, when it was possible for him to do so +without too great an exertion. + +Then it was that the child, who had been looking out of the window for a +moment, clapped her tiny hands, and screamed, as she pointed towards the +orchard, thereby causing Master Plummer to ascertain the cause of the +sudden outburst. + +"There goes Dan Fernald!" he exclaimed. + +"Where?" + +"Sneakin' up through the orchard. It looks like he was goin' to the +barn." + +"He's on some of his detective sprees, I s'pose. That feller can make an +awful fool of hisself without tryin' very hard," and Joe would have gone +back to his work but that Plums prevented him, by saying: + +"He ain't sneakin' 'round there for any good. It would be different if +he thought we was in the garden. I wouldn't be 'fraid to bet he was +where he could see aunt Dorcas, when she went away, an' is countin' on +makin' it hot for us." + +[Illustration: "'COME ON QUICK, PLUMS! DAN'S SET THE BARN A-FIRE.'"] + +"It would be a sore job for him if he did. Look out for the princess, +an' I'll snoop 'round to see what he's doin'." + +Joe went through the shed door, which led out of the garden, but could +see no one. If the amateur detective had not gone inside the barn, he +must be loitering at the further end, where he was screened from view of +any one on either side the building. + +"If I go 'round there, he'll think it's because I'm 'fraid he'll make +trouble for us, an' that's what would please him," Joe said to himself. + +Then, passing through the shed, he looked out of the door on the +opposite side. + +No one could be seen from this point, and he returned to the garden just +as Dan came out from around the corner of the barn, running at full +speed towards a grove, situated a mile or more from the main road. + +"What have you been doin' 'round here?" Joe shouted, angrily, and the +amateur detective halted long enough to say: + +"You think you're mighty smart, Joe Potter, but you'll find there are +some folks that can give you points. What I've done to you this time +ain't a marker 'longside of what it'll be when I try my hand again." + +Then Master Fernald resumed his flight, much to Joe's surprise, and +halted not until he was within the friendly shelter of the trees. + +"Now, I wonder what he meant by all that talk? It seems like he was more +of a fool this mornin' than I ever knew him to be before." + +At that moment Joe saw, or fancied he saw, a tiny curl of blue vapour +rising from the corner of the barn, and, as he stood gazing in that +direction, uncertain whether his eyes might not have deceived him, +another puff of smoke, and yet another, arose slowly in the air, telling +unmistakably of what Master Fernald had done. + +Joe darted into the house, and seized the water-pail, as he cried, +excitedly: + +"Come on quick, Plums! Dan's set the barn a-fire! Get anything that you +can carry water in, and hump yourself lively!" + +"But what'll I do with the princess?" Master Plummer asked, helplessly. + +"She'll have to take care of herself," Joe cried, as he ran at full +speed towards the smoke, which was now rising in small clouds, giving +token of flames which might soon reduce aunt Dorcas's little home to +ashes. + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + +AN UNEXPECTED ARRIVAL. + + +It was really the princess who saved aunt Dorcas's home from +destruction. Had she not seen Dan Fernald, as he made his way through +the orchard, the barn would most likely have been in a blaze before Joe +or Plums were aware of the fact. + +Thanks to her warning, Joe saw the smoke before the fire gathered +headway, and when he arrived on the scene, the flames had but just +fastened upon the side of the barn. + +Plums, aroused to something like activity by the knowledge of danger, +followed Joe with remarkable promptness, and the amount of water thus +brought by both was sufficient to extinguish what, a few moments later, +would have been a conflagration. + +Not until he had pulled the charred sticks from beneath the end of the +barn, and assured himself every spark had been drowned out, did Joe +speak, and then it was to relieve his mind by making threats against the +would-be incendiary. + +"It's all well enough for a woman like aunt Dorcas to tell about doin' +good to them what tries to hurt you, for she couldn't so much as put up +her hands. If you keep on forgivin' duffers like Dan Fernald, you're +bound to be in such scrapes as this all the time. What he needed was a +sound thumpin', when he begun talkin' so rough to aunt Dorcas; then he +wouldn't dared to try a game of this kind. When I get hold of him again, +I'll make up for lost time." + +"I'll bet he's somewhere 'round here, watchin' out, an' when he sees +this game didn't work, he'll try somethin' else." + +"Not much he won't. I know pretty near where he is, an' I'm goin' to +make him--" + +At this moment the voice of the princess could be heard in vehement +protest against thus being left alone, and Joe was forced to defer his +punishment of the amateur detective until a more convenient season. + +"Stay here, Plums, an' watch for Dan, while I go and get the princess. +He went among them trees over there, so's to have a reserved seat while +the house was burnin'; but he's got to come out some time." + +"Don't stay away too long, for I ain't certain as I'd dare to tackle him +alone,--you see I'm too fat to be much of a fighter." + +A certain quaver in Plums's voice told that he was afraid to be alone +even while Dan was a long distance away, and Joe thought it extremely +comical that any one should fear the amateur detective. + +The princess did not object to taking a walk, fortunately for Master +Plummer's peace of mind, and, in a short time, the three were patrolling +the grounds, Joe carrying the little maid whenever she insisted upon +such service. + +At noonday, a certain amount of food was brought out on the lawn in +front of the house, and, even while the boys ate, they continued their +self-imposed duty of guarding the premises. + +Then the princess wanted to sleep, and Joe sat by her side, while Plums +kept watch from the windows, or walked rapidly around the buildings. + +So far as Dan was concerned, they might as well have amused themselves +according to their own fancies, for he never showed himself after having +sought refuge in the grove. + +When the excitement consequent upon the attempt to destroy aunt Dorcas's +home had subsided in a measure, the boys began to speculate upon the +reasons for the little woman's hurried departure, but could arrive at no +satisfactory conclusion as to what it might be she hoped to accomplish. + +"Of course she could do a pile of beggin' off for a feller, 'cause +anybody would have to listen to her; but when the lawyers are willin' to +pay a hundred dollars for either one of us three, I don't believe she +can do very much by talkin'," Joe said, reflectively, as he summed up +the situation according to his belief. "I expect she'll be terribly +disappointed when we see her again, 'cause she counts on straightenin' +things out in a jiffy." + +"Do you s'pose Dan Fernald will hang 'round here till he gets a chance +to do her some mischief?" + +"As soon as aunt Dorcas gets back I'm goin' to skirmish through them +trees, an', if he's there, it won't take more'n three minutes to make +him sick of this part of the country." + +The boys were yet discussing what should be done to Dan to prevent him +from attempting to work more mischief, when a covered carriage, drawn by +two horses, whose harness was resplendent with silver, and driven by a +coachman in livery, turned from the highway into the lane leading to the +cottage. + +"Hi, Joe!" Plums cried, excitedly. "See the swells what are comin' to +visit aunt Dorcas!" + +"They want to ask the way somewhere, an' seein's we couldn't even tell +'em where the post-office is, I guess we'd better keep kind er shady. +Now the princess is awake! We'll have to show ourselves, 'cause she's +bound to make a noise," Joe added, as the little maid clambered upon his +knee. + +"I'm goin'--Say, aunt Dorcas herself is in that funny rig!" + +"What are you givin' me?" and Joe leaned forward eagerly, in order to +have a better view. + +"It's her, dead sure! There! Look at that! What do you think, now?" + +It was, indeed, as Master Plummer had said. + +Aunt Dorcas was getting out of the carriage, assisted by a gentleman who +spoke to the driver in such a manner as one would expect from the owner +of the equipage, and immediately behind the little woman could be seen a +younger lady. + +"I wonder if aunt Dorcas thinks them swells would help two chumps like +us out of our scrape!" Joe exclaimed. "If she does, her head ain't--" + +"Papa! Papa!" the princess screamed in delight, as she pounded on the +window with her tiny fists, and instantly the gentleman left aunt Dorcas +to alight from the vehicle as best she could, while he ran at full speed +up the sharp ascent to the house. + +"I'll be blowed, if aunt Dorcas hasn't found the princess's folks!" Joe +cried, as an expression of bewilderment came over his face. "That dude +is comin' in, an' we'd best leave." + +Followed by Plums, Joe ran out of the kitchen door, just as the +gentleman came through the main entrance of the cottage, and the boys +heard a wild scream of delight from the princess. + +Master Potter threw himself, face downward, on the grass near the +garden, and Plums seated himself by his comrade's side, asking again and +again how it was aunt Dorcas had so readily found the princess's +parents. + +"When we first come here, I didn't think she 'mounted to very much, +'cause she was so little an' kind er dried up. Then, when she struck out +so heavy prayin', I begun to think there might be more to her than I'd +counted on. But now,--why, Joe, little as she is, aunt Dorcas has done +more'n all the cops in town put together. When we told her the princess +had lost her folks, what does she do but go right out and hunt 'em up, +an' don't look as though she'd turned a hair doin' it." + +Joe made no reply. + +"Didn't she hump herself, when we showed her that advertisement? She +was jest like a terrier after a rat, an' bossed me 'round till, as +true's you live, I run more'n half the way over to Mr. McArthur's. Then +how she jumped on him when he begun to ask questions! If I only had +somebody like aunt Dorcas to look out for me, I wouldn't have to work so +hard." + +Joe remained silent; but Plums was so intent on singing aunt Dorcas's +praises, that he failed to pay any especial attention to the fact that +his comrade had not spoken since they knew the princess's parents had +arrived. + +"Joseph! George!" + +"Here we are, aunt Dorcas," Plums replied. + +"Come into the house this very minute, both of you." + +"Come on, Joe; I s'pose we've got to go. The dude wants to thank us for +lookin' after the princess." + +"You can go; I sha'n't," Joe said, with difficulty, as if he were +choking, and Plums gazed at him in surprise. + +"Joseph! George! Where are you?" + +"Out here by the garden, aunt Dorcas. Joe won't come in." + +"Go on by yourself, an' leave me alone," Master Potter said, angrily, +still keeping his face hidden from view. + +"It can't do any hurt to have one look at the dudes, an' seein's how +there's nothin' else goin' on, I guess I'll take the show in." + +Then Master Plummer sauntered leisurely towards the cottage, and Joe, +believing himself alone, began to sob as if his heart were breaking. + +He failed to hear aunt Dorcas as she came swiftly out through the shed +door and kneeled by his side. Not until she spoke did he think there was +a witness to his grief. + +[Illustration: "JOE, BELIEVING HIMSELF ALONE, BEGAN TO SOB AS IF HIS +HEART WERE BREAKING."] + +"Josey, my poor boy, are you grieving because Essie's parents have found +her at last?" + +Joe tried to speak, but could not, and the little woman continued: + +"You should rejoice because the sufferings of that poor father and +mother are at an end. Try to imagine their distress when the dear child +was missing, and they could not know whether she was alive or dead. +Think of them, as they pictured her alone in the streets, wandering +around until exhausted, or falling into the hands of wicked people who +would abuse her. Fancy what their sufferings must have been as compared +with yours, when you know that she will receive even better treatment +than we could give her. It is wicked, Josey, my boy, to grieve so +sorely, for a mother's heart has been lightened of all the terrible load +which has been upon it for so many days." + +Then aunt Dorcas patted the small portion of cheek which was exposed to +view between the bandages, and in many a loving way soothed the +sorrowing boy, until he suddenly sat bolt upright, wiping both eyes with +the sleeve of his coat, as he said, stoutly: + +"I'm a bloomin' idjut, aunt Dorcas, that's what I am, an' if you'd turn +to an' kick me, I'd be served nearer right than by havin' you pity me." + +"You're very far removed from an idiot, Joseph, and I am glad to know +your heart is still so tender that you can feel badly at the loss of a +dear little child like Essie,--Esther is her name. Now, Josey dear, +don't you want to know why those lawyers tried to find you?" + +"Have you been to see them, too?" Joe cried, in surprise. + +"Yes, indeed, dear. In the paper you took from Dan Fernald was another +advertisement directly below the one referring to you, and it was +concerning a little child who had been lost in the vicinity of the Grand +Central Station. The same names were signed to it, and on seeing that, I +believed I understood why so much money would be paid for information +concerning you." + +"I s'pose it's all straight enough, aunt Dorcas; but I can't seem to +make out what you mean." + +"Nothing can be plainer, my child. Little Essie was left in charge of a +nurse at the station, and when the foolish woman missed the baby, +instead of making immediate inquiries, she spent her time fainting. Not +until nearly eight o'clock that evening did the poor mother learn of her +terrible loss, and then detectives were sent out at once. The boy at the +fruit store, on being questioned, as was every one else in that +vicinity, described the baby he saw in your arms, and told the officers +your name. You had disappeared, and the only thing left was to offer a +reward for information as to your whereabouts." + +"Then they didn't think I'd done anything crooked?" + +"If by that you mean 'wrong,' they didn't. It was the only clew they had +to the child; but on the following day it was learned you had been seen +with George, and then his name appeared in the advertisement. After +that, some of the newsboys from around City Hall Square brought word +that Dan Fernald was with you, and a reward was also offered for +knowledge of his whereabouts. You see, Josey dear, if Mr. Raymond--that +is the name of Essie's father--could find either of you three boys, he +was reasonably certain of getting news regarding his baby." + +"Then I ran away from nothing, did I?" + +"Yes, Josey dear, you did what many older persons than you have done, +and what God's Book tells us the wicked do,--fled when no man was +pursuing." + +"Well, I _have_ been a chump!" + +"Do you mean that you've been foolish?" + +"I s'pose that's what you'd call it. I'm a reg'lar jay from Jayville, +an' yesterday mornin' I let that bloomin' imitation detective scare me!" + +"Those wiser than you might have misconstrued that advertisement, +Joseph; but this shall teach you that there is nothing to fear when your +conscience is clear. Meet trouble half-way, and it dwindles into mere +vexation. Now, dear, I want you to come into the house with me and meet +Mr. and Mrs. Raymond. They know how kind you have been to Essie, and +wish to thank you." + +"Well, they can't thank me for takin' care of the princess, an' I only +wish she'd never had a father and a mother, for then I could have kept +her all the time." + +"Won't you come to please me, dear?" and aunt Dorcas laid her hand on +the boy's arm affectionately. + +"When you put it that way, I'll have to go," and Joe rose slowly to his +feet. + +"Of course you want to see Essie before she leaves?" + +"Are they goin' to take her right away?" + +"Certainly, Joseph. Do you fancy that poor mother could go away without +her?" + +Joe made no reply, and, linking her arm in his, aunt Dorcas led him in +through the shed, but before they had reached the cottage Plums came +towards them at an unusually rapid rate of speed, crying, excitedly: + +"The dudes have gone, aunt Dorcas. They've gone, and that very same +swell carriage is comin' here to-morrow mornin' to take me an' Joe an' +you into the city to see the princess." + +"Gone?" aunt Dorcas exclaimed, in surprise. + +"Yes; I told 'em Joe was kind er grumpy 'cause princess was goin' away, +an' the boss said perhaps it would be better if they took a sneak. He +left a letter in the front room for you,--wrote it on a card he got out +of his pocket." + +It was plain to be seen from the expression on aunt Dorcas's face that +she was disappointed; but she repressed her own feelings to say to Joe: + +"Perhaps it is the best way, dear, for it would have caused you still +more sorrow to say good-bye to Essie. Now you will have time to grow +accustomed to the loss before you see her again." + +Plums was in such a state of delirious excitement, owing to the fact +that he was to reënter New York like a "reg'lar swell," that it seemed +impossible for him to behave in a proper fashion. + +He danced to and fro, as if active movement was his greatest delight, +and insisted on bringing to aunt Dorcas the card which Mr. Raymond had +left, even while she was making her way as rapidly as possible to the +front room. + +The message to the little woman read as follows: + + MY DEAR MISS MILFORD: I understand that the lad who has been + so kind to Essie does not wish to see her just at present; + therefore, perhaps it is better we go at once, and without + ceremony. Will you yet further oblige me by coming to my + house to-morrow? The carriage shall be here about ten + o'clock. Very sincerely yours, + + EDWARD RAYMOND. + +"There is no reason why we shouldn't go, dear?" aunt Dorcas asked Joe, +after reading the message aloud. + +"There's Dan Fernald cuttin' across the orchard, down towards the road! +Now's our time to catch him!" Plums shouted, before Joe could reply to +aunt Dorcas's kindly words, and in another instant the two boys were in +hot pursuit. + +Aunt Dorcas, believing they were trying to catch the amateur detective +in order to punish him for what had been said during the morning, cried +shrilly for them to come back; but her words were unheeded, because +unheard. + +Master Fernald was not in condition for a race, owing to his having +travelled to and fro a goodly portion of the day in search of revenge, +and the chase was soon ended. + +In attempting to climb over the orchard fence into the road, he tripped, +fell, and, before it was possible to rise again, Joe was on his back. + +"I'll have the law on you if you dare to strike me!" Dan cried, in +accents of terror, and Joe replied, disdainfully: + +"Don't be afraid, you bloomin' duffer. I ain't goin' to hurt you now, +'cause I feel too good. I'm only countin' on showin' what kind of a +detective you are, an' tellin' what'll happen if you hang 'round here an +hour longer." + +"I'm goin' to New York an' have the perlice on your trail before dark +to-night," Dan cried, speaking indistinctly because of Joe's grasp upon +his throat. + +"I'm willin' you should do that jest as soon's you get ready. It won't +bother me a little bit, 'cause aunt Dorcas told the story this mornin', +an' the man what put the advertisement in the papers has been out here. +Now, you listen to me, Dan Fernald, and perhaps after this you'll give +over your funny detective business. All them lawyers wanted of me was to +find out where the princess was, an' if, instead of runnin' away, I'd +flashed myself up on Pine Street, there wouldn't have been any trouble. +I ought'er black both your eyes for tryin' to set fire to aunt Dorcas's +barn; but somehow I can't do it, 'cause she don't like to have fellers +fight. Now you can get into New York an' fetch your perlice." + +Joe released his hold of Master Fernald; but the latter was so +astonished by the information given, that he made no effort to rise. + +"Is all that true, or are you foolin' me?" he asked, after a time. + +"Say, the best thing you can do is to come up an' talk with aunt Dorcas. +It would do you a heap of good, Dan, an', come to think of it, you've +_got_ to go." + +Master Fernald was not as eager to visit the cottage now as he had +been, for he understood that Joe was speaking the truth, and the +prospect of meeting the little woman, after all he had said and +attempted to do, was not pleasing. + +"Don't let up on him," Plums cried, vindictively. "He's to blame for +this whole racket, an' ought'er be served out a good deal worse'n aunt +Dorcas will serve him." + +Dan struggled manfully, but all to no purpose. His late friends were +determined he should visit the woman he had intended to wrong, and half +dragged, half carried him up the lane, until they were met by aunt +Dorcas herself, who sternly asked why they were ill-treating a boy +smaller than themselves. + +"It's Dan Fernald, aunt Dorcas," Plums said, as if in surprise that she +should have interfered. "It's the same feller what wasn't goin' to show +you the paper till you'd 'greed to board him the balance of the summer, +an' in less than a half an hour after you went away he set the barn +afire. We thought it would do him a heap of good to talk with you a +spell." + +"Let him alone, children. If he doesn't wish to speak with me you must +not try to force him. Suppose you two go into the garden a little while, +and leave us alone?" + +This did not please Plums, for he had anticipated hearing the little +woman read Master Fernald a lecture; but he could do no less than act +upon the suggestion, and as the two went slowly towards the barn, Master +Plummer said, regretfully: + +"It's too bad we couldn't hear what she had to say, after I told her +about his settin' the barn afire." + +"Look here, Plums, you'd been disappointed if she'd let you listen. She +ain't the kind of a woman that would rave, an' scold, an' tear 'round; +but when she gets through with Dan Fernald, he'll feel a mighty sight +worse than if she'd knocked his two eyes into one." + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +THE REWARD. + + +The conversation did not lag during the two hours or more the boys +remained near about the garden, waiting for aunt Dorcas to summon them +after the interview with the amateur detective should have come to an +end. + +Now that there was no longer any mystery concerning the advertisement, +it seemed strange they had not understood why the attorneys wished to +see Joe. + +"We must be awful chumps, to let Dan Fernald frighten us as he did," Joe +said, thoughtfully, after they had discussed the matter in all its +different phases. "Why we didn't see that it was the princess they was +after, beats me! Perhaps it might have come 'round to it if I'd been +alone; but that imitation detective seemed to have it down so fine, that +I didn't stop to think of anything but what he said." + +"Anyhow, he did us a good turn, 'cause if we hadn't skipped we'd never +found out there was a woman like aunt Dorcas." + +"That's a fact, Plums, an', come to look at it that way, I ain't so +certain but we ought'er let up on the duffer. Say, it'll be mighty +tough to go back an' live in that shanty of your'n after bein' out here, +won't it?" + +"Do you s'pose we've got to leave this place?" and Master Plummer looked +alarmed. + +"Course we have. You don't count on spongin' a livin' out of a poor +little woman like aunt Dorcas, I hope?" + +"I wouldn't reg'larly do her up for my board; but I was thinkin' perhaps +she'd have work enough so's we could pay our way. You come pretty near +squarin' things when you tackled the burglar." + +"I didn't do so much as a flea-bite. If aunt Dorcas had been alone an' +heard the man sneakin' 'round, she'd been prayin' with him in less'n +five minutes, an' he'd gone away a good deal more sore than he did." + +"I guess that's straight enough," Plums replied, with a sigh, for as it +was thus proven that the little woman did not stand in need of their +services, his heart grew sad. + +"She can take care of herself, you bet, an' come up bright an' smilin' +every time. We've got to go back to-morrow, Plums, an' hustle for +five-cent stews." + +"I don't want any more of it, after knowin' how aunt Dorcas can cook. +Are you goin' into the paper business ag'in?" + +"I guess I'll have to, after I pick up enough cash to start in with. +I'll tackle the _de_pot, for that job was pannin' out mighty well till I +found the princess," Joe replied, and then he relapsed into silence, for +the thought that the child was no longer dependent upon him brought +more sorrow to his heart than had come to Plums because of being forced +to go to work again. + +Then came the summons for which the boys had been waiting, and when they +entered the house, expecting to find aunt Dorcas alone, a disagreeable +surprise awaited them. + +The amateur detective was in the kitchen regaling himself with a quarter +section of custard pie, while the little woman fluttered to and fro +between the table and the pantry, as if bent on tempting his appetite to +the utmost. + +"Dan will stay here till morning," she said, cheerily, as the boys +entered, "and then we'll take him to the ferry in Mr. Raymond's +carriage." + +"Are you goin' to keep him, after he set the barn afire?" Joe asked, in +surprise, as he shook his fist at the amateur detective, while aunt +Dorcas's back was turned. + +"He didn't really intend to do me an injury, and feels sorry because of +harbouring such revengeful thoughts." + +At that instant, aunt Dorcas saw Master Plummer making threatening +gestures, which were replied to vigorously by Dan, and she added, +quickly: + +"I want you boys to be firm friends from this day. All three have made a +mistake; but there will be no evil result from it unless through your +own wilfulness. Joe, try, for my sake, to be good, and treat Dan as if +there had been no hard feelings." + +Master Potter would have been better pleased if aunt Dorcas had asked of +him something which could only be performed after great suffering and +painful endurance; but with a slight show of hesitation he approached +the amateur detective in what he intended should appear like a friendly +manner, and said, stiffly: + +"I'll do what aunt Dorcas says, though it comes mighty hard after what +you threatened yesterday, Dan. We're friends now; but I'll wipe the +floor up with you, if you don't walk pretty near straight." + +The little woman was not particularly well pleased at this evidence of +friendliness; but she professed to be satisfied, and the three boys +glared at each other like so many pugnacious cats until the evening +devotions were begun. + +Then aunt Dorcas read, with great fervour, the first chapter of the +Sermon on the Mount, and afterwards prayed so earnestly for those +"within her gates," that Joe resolved then and there to treat Dan as he +had done before the princess was found,--at least, during such time as +the amateur detective behaved himself in what he considered a proper +manner. + +"Joseph and George are to sleep in the spare-room to-night, and Daniel +will occupy the chamber over the kitchen," aunt Dorcas announced, when +the devotions were brought to a close. + +"Did you take off the best sheets?" Master Potter asked. + +"Of course not, Joseph." + +"Why don't you do it? Plums an' me would be snug enough if there wasn't +any clothes at all on the bed." + +"We will leave it as it is, dear. Perhaps I was wrong in not letting you +occupy it before." + +"How could that be?" Joe asked, in astonishment. + +"I have allowed myself to be proud of the chamber, and the Book +particularly warns us against pride. It is better that I accustom myself +to seeing it used." + +When Joe and Plums were in the spare-room that night, neither daring to +stretch out at full length lest he should soil the sheets more than was +absolutely necessary, Master Potter whispered confidentially to his +friend: + +"Aunt Dorcas is a mighty good woman, Plums; but, 'cordin' to my way of +thinkin', she's makin' a pile of trouble for herself." + +"How?" + +"Some day a reg'lar duffer like Dan Fernald will come along, an' then +she'll get taken in mighty bad." + +"Seems almost as if we ought'er stay here an' take care of her, don't +it?" + +"There's no sense thinkin' anything like that, Plums. This is our last +night in a first-class bed, an' from to-morrow mornin' we've got to +hustle jest the same as if we'd never had it so rich." + +Then Joe fell asleep, to dream of the princess, and until aunt Dorcas +awakened him, next morning, it was as if nothing had occurred to depose +him from the position of guardian. + +There was work enough for all three of the guests in the Milford cottage +after breakfast had been served. + +The little woman was preparing for her visit to the city as if she +expected to be absent from home several days, instead of only a few +hours, and the boys were called upon to assist in the household duties, +although it is quite probable they were more of a hindrance than a help. + +Dan was doing his best at washing the kitchen floor, Joe was trimming +the lamps, and Plums piling up wood in the shed, when the Raymond +carriage rumbled up the lane, causing the utmost confusion and dismay +among aunt Dorcas's assistants. + +Because of having been kept thus steadily employed, the time had passed +wonderfully quick, and, until each in turn had looked at the clock, it +was impossible to realise that the coachman had not arrived long in +advance of the hour set. + +Even the little woman herself was unprepared for so early a coming of +the carriage, and during the ensuing ten minutes the utmost confusion +reigned. + +Then aunt Dorcas and her family were ready for the ride, and Plums said, +with an air of content as he leaned against the wonderful cushions of +the front seat: + +"We're a set of sporty dudes now, an' I only hope that feller won't +drive very fast, 'cause we shouldn't have any too long to stay in this +rig, even if he walked the horses every step of the way. Say, this is +great, ain't it?" + +Dan made no remark during the ride; but it was evident he enjoyed +himself quite as well as did any other member of the party, and when the +carriage was on the New York side of the river, Master Fernald looked +with undisguised envy at his companions, as he said to aunt Dorcas: + +"I s'pose I've got to get out now, eh?" + +"Yes, Daniel, for we are going directly to Mr. Raymond's home, and could +not take you there. Come to see me some time, and remember what you have +promised about being a good boy." + +"I'll keep as straight as I can," Master Fernald replied, and then he +glanced at the boys, as if doubtful whether he ought to bid them +good-bye. + +Perhaps Joe would have said no word in parting but for the gentle +pressure of aunt Dorcas's hand on his. He understood from it what the +little woman would have him do, and leaning forward, said, in a kindly +tone: + +"We'll see you later, Dan. Plums an' I won't be swellin' much longer, +but will be at work by this time to-morrow." + +Then Master Plummer did his part by adding: + +"We'll let up on the detective business, eh, Dan, an' settle down to +reg'lar work as soon as this swellin' is over." + +The coachman gave rein to the horses, and Dan Fernald was soon left far +in the rear. + + * * * * * + +On the afternoon of this same day, when the rush for evening papers had +subsided and the merchants of Newspaper Row were resting from their +labours, as they listened to Dan Fernald's story of his adventures, +Plums suddenly appeared, looking remarkably well pleased with himself +and the world in general. + +[Illustration: "THEN AUNT DORCAS AND HER FAMILY WERE READY FOR THE +RIDE."] + +"Hello! We thought you was settin' round up-town with the rest of the +dudes. Dan says you come down from the country in a swell turnout," +Jerry Hayes cried, with something very like envy in his tones. + +"Dan couldn't laid it on any too thick, for we've been humpin' ourselves +in great style," Master Plummer replied, with an air of satisfaction. + +"Did you really go into the dude's house?" + +"Yes, an' what's more, we eat dinner there! Say, boys, McGowan's +restaurant ain't in it alongside of what we struck up at the princess's +house. There was more stuff on the table than this crowd could have got +away with,--an' talk 'bout silver dishes! I never had any such time +before, an' I thought aunt Dorcas run a pretty fine place!" + +"Where's Joe Potter?" + +"Up there, actin' like he owned the town." + +"Do you mean that he's stoppin' with the dude all this time?" Jerry +asked, incredulously. + +"Yes, an' that ain't the worst of it. He's likely to hang 'round the +place quite a spell. Say, there was a thousand dollars reward to whoever +found the princess, an' her father says Joe was to have it!" + +"What? A thousand dollars? Go off, Plums; you're dreamin'." + +"You'll find out whether I am or not, when you see Joe. Say, I s'pose +you think he'll come 'round sellin' papers again, don't you? Well, he +won't. He's goin' to work down on Wall Street, for the princess's +father; an' him an' me are to live with aunt Dorcas from now out. He'll +come into town every mornin', an' I'll hang 'round the place livin' +high, with nothin' to do but tend to things." + +"What kind of a stiff are you puttin' up on us, Plums?" Tim Morgan +asked, sternly. + +"It's all straight as a string. When we got up to the princess's house, +she jest went wild at seein' Joe, an', if you'll believe it, she set on +his knee more'n half the time I stayed there. Her father made us tell +all we'd done from the minute Joe found the kid, an' then he said a +thousand dollars was promised to the feller what would find her. Of +course we didn't s'pose he'd pay the money after givin' us a ride in his +team, an' settin' up the dinner; but he stuck to it like a little man. +Aunt Dorcas is to take care of the wealth, an' seein's how she told him +where we fellers was, he's to give her what the advertisement promised, +an' that's a hundred dollars apiece for the three of us. When all this +was fixed, the princess's father offered Joe a job, an' he's to have six +dollars a week, with a raise every year if he minds his eye. They're out +buyin' clothes now, an' I slipped down to see you fellers, 'cause we're +goin' back to aunt Dorcas's house this evenin'." + +Master Plummer's friends were not disposed to believe what he told them, +until the story had been repeated several times, and all the details had +been given. + +Then it appeared as if there could be no doubt, and each boy vied with +the other in his attentions to Plums, who was now a very desirable +acquaintance, since it might possibly be in his power to invite them to +that cottage of aunt Dorcas's, concerning which Dan Fernald had given +such glowing accounts. + +[Illustration: "'McGOWAN'S RESTAURANT AIN'T IN IT ALONGSIDE OF WHAT WE +STRUCK UP AT THE PRINCESS'S HOUSE.'"] + +Plums had promised to meet the little woman and Joe at the Weehawken +ferry-slip at seven o'clock, and since at that hour there was no +business to be done on Newspaper Row, his friends decided to accompany +him to the rendezvous. + +To the delight of all the boys, aunt Dorcas and Joe arrived in Mr. +Raymond's carriage, and instantly they appeared, the assembled throng +set up such a shout of welcome as caused the little woman to grip Master +Potter's hand nervously, as she cried: + +"Mercy on us, Joseph, what _is_ the matter?" + +Joe had caught a glimpse of Plums's following before the outcry was +heard, and replied, with a laugh: + +"It's only a crowd of the fellers come to see us off. Most likely Plums +has been tellin' 'em about the good luck that has come to me, an' they +want to give us a send-off." + +"Do try to stop them from making such a noise, Joseph. What will the +neighbours think of us?" + +"They'll believe you're a howlin' swell, aunt Dorcas, an' everybody will +be wantin' to look at you." + +"Let us get out as quick as ever we can, or the policeman will accuse us +of making a disturbance." + +It was necessary aunt Dorcas should remain where she was until the +driver had opened the carriage door. By that time Plums's friends had +gathered around the vehicle, gazing with open-mouthed astonishment at +Joe, who was clad in a new suit of clothes, and looked quite like a +little gentleman. + +Aunt Dorcas was actually trembling as she descended from the carriage, +Joe assisting her in the same manner he had seen Mr. Raymond, and the +cheers which greeted her did not tend to make the little woman any more +comfortable in mind. + +The princess's father would have sent his carriage the entire distance +but for the fact that aunt Dorcas preferred to arrive at her home in +such a conveyance as could be hired in Weehawken. + +"It is more suitable," she had said. "While I enjoyed every inch of the +ride this morning, I could not help feeling as if we were wearing +altogether too fine feathers for working people." + +Plums's friends insisted on crossing the ferry with him, and during the +passage aunt Dorcas was presented to each in turn, a proceeding which +entirely allayed her fears lest they would create an "unseemly +disturbance." + +"I know I should come to like every one of them," she whispered to Joe, +"and before we go ashore you must invite them out to the cottage for a +whole day." + +"They'd scare the neighbours, aunt Dorcas," Joe said, with a laugh, and +the little woman replied, quite sharply: + +"Mr. McArthur is the only one who would hear the noise, and if I have +not complained because his dogs howled around the cottage night after +night these twenty years, I guess he can stand the strain one day." + +Joe repeated aunt Dorcas's invitation while the boat was entering the +slip, and when the little woman went on shore, the cheers which came +from twenty pairs of stout lungs drowned all other sounds. + +"Walk quickly, boys," she said, forced to speak very loud, because of +the tumult. "Your friends mean well, I have no doubt; but they are +making a perfect spectacle of us." + +It was not possible for the little woman to walk so rapidly but that she +heard distinctly, when at some distance from the ferry-slip, Jerry +Hayes's shrill voice, as he cried: + +"Now, fellers, give her three more, an' a tiger for the princess an' Joe +Potter!" + +[Illustration] + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Princess and Joe Potter, by James Otis + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PRINCESS AND JOE POTTER *** + +***** This file should be named 32249-8.txt or 32249-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/3/2/2/4/32249/ + +Produced by David Edwards, Josephine Paolucci and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net. + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Princess and Joe Potter + +Author: James Otis + +Illustrator: Violet Oakley + +Release Date: May 4, 2010 [EBook #32249] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PRINCESS AND JOE POTTER *** + + + + +Produced by David Edwards, Josephine Paolucci and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net. + + + + + + +</pre> + + + + +<h1>THE PRINCESS AND JOE POTTER</h1> + +<p><a name="front" id="front"></a></p> +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 457px;"> +<img src="images/frontis.jpg" width="457" height="650" alt="JOE FINDING THE PRINCESS. + +(See page 22.)" title="" /> +<span class="caption">JOE FINDING THE PRINCESS.<br /> + +(<i>See page 22.</i>)</span> +</div> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>THE PRINCESS AND JOE POTTER</h2> + +<h3>BY</h3> + +<h2>JAMES OTIS</h2> + +<h4>AUTHOR OF</h4> + +<h3>"JENNY WREN'S BOARDING-HOUSE," "TEDDY AND CARROTS," ETC.</h3> + +<h4>Illustrated by</h4> + +<h2>VIOLET OAKLEY</h2> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 139px;"> +<img src="images/titlepage.jpg" width="139" height="175" alt="" title="" /> +</div> + +<p class="center"> +BOSTON<br /> +ESTES AND LAURIAT<br /> +PUBLISHERS<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<i>Copyright, 1898</i><br /> +<span class="smcap">By Estes and Lauriat</span><br /> +<br /> +Colonial Press:<br /> +Electrotyped and Printed by C. H. Simonds & Co.<br /> +Boston, U. S. A.<br /> +</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>CONTENTS.</h2> + +<p> +<br /> +CHAPTER <span class="tocnum">PAGE</span><br /> +<br /> +I. <span class="smcap">A Ruined Merchant</span> <span class="tocnum"><a href='#Page_11'>11</a></span><br /> +<br /> +II. <span class="smcap">The Princess</span> <span class="tocnum"><a href='#Page_26'>26</a></span><br /> +<br /> +III. <span class="smcap">An Advertisement</span> <span class="tocnum"><a href='#Page_41'>41</a></span><br /> +<br /> +IV. <span class="smcap">Joe's Flight</span> <span class="tocnum"><a href='#Page_60'>60</a></span><br /> +<br /> +V. <span class="smcap">In the City</span> <span class="tocnum"><a href='#Page_73'>73</a></span><br /> +<br /> +VI. <span class="smcap">Dan, the Detective</span> <span class="tocnum"><a href='#Page_86'>86</a></span><br /> +<br /> +VII. <span class="smcap">Aunt Dorcas</span> <span class="tocnum"><a href='#Page_98'>98</a></span><br /> +<br /> +VIII. <span class="smcap">A Hungry Detective</span> <span class="tocnum"><a href='#Page_115'>115</a></span><br /> +<br /> +IX. <span class="smcap">A Fugitive</span> <span class="tocnum"><a href='#Page_127'>127</a></span><br /> +<br /> +X. <span class="smcap">The Journey</span> <span class="tocnum"><a href='#Page_141'>141</a></span><br /> +<br /> +XI. <span class="smcap">A Bribe</span> <span class="tocnum"><a href='#Page_157'>157</a></span><br /> +<br /> +XII. <span class="smcap">A Struggle in the Night</span> <span class="tocnum"><a href='#Page_171'>171</a></span><br /> +<br /> +XIII. <span class="smcap">A Confession</span> <span class="tocnum"><a href='#Page_188'>188</a></span><br /> +<br /> +XIV. <span class="smcap">A Ray of Light</span> <span class="tocnum"><a href='#Page_201'>201</a></span><br /> +<br /> +XV. <span class="smcap">An Unexpected Arrival</span> <span class="tocnum"><a href='#Page_219'>219</a></span><br /> +<br /> +XVI. <span class="smcap">The Reward</span> <span class="tocnum"><a href='#Page_234'>234</a></span><br /> +</p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>ILLUSTRATIONS.</h2> + +<p> +<span class="tocnum">PAGE</span><br /> +<br /> +<span class="smcap">Joe Finding the Princess</span> <span class="tocnum"><i><a href="#front">Frontispiece</a></i></span><br /> +<br /> +"<span class="smcap">He Began to Feed the Little Maid</span>" <span class="tocnum"><a href='#Page_51'>51</a></span><br /> +<br /> +"<span class="smcap">Dan Pointed to an Advertisement</span>" <span class="tocnum"><a href='#Page_57'>57</a></span><br /> +<br /> +"'<span class="smcap">May We Come in an' Stay a Little While</span>?'" <span class="tocnum"><a href='#Page_81'>81</a></span><br /> +<br /> +"<span class="smcap">Joe Pointed to a Tiny Cottage</span>" <span class="tocnum"><a href='#Page_101'>101</a></span><br /> +<br /> +"<span class="smcap">She Had a Plate Heaped High with Cookies</span>" <span class="tocnum"><a href='#Page_108'>108</a></span><br /> +<br /> +"'<span class="smcap">Well, Bless the Boy, He Don't Even Know How to Plant Potatoes!</span>'" <span class="tocnum"><a href='#Page_143'>143</a></span><br /> +<br /> +"<span class="smcap">The Princess Suffered Aunt Dorcas to Kiss Her</span>" <span class="tocnum"><a href='#Page_167'>167</a></span><br /> +<br /> +"<span class="smcap">A Dark Form Leaped through the Open Window</span>" <span class="tocnum"><a href='#Page_185'>185</a></span><br /> +<br /> +<span class="smcap">Joe and Dan Disagree</span> <span class="tocnum"><a href='#Page_207'>207</a></span><br /> +<br /> +"<span class="smcap">Come on Quick, Plums! Dan's Set the Barn A-fire</span>!'" <span class="tocnum"><a href='#Page_215'>215</a></span><br /> +<br /> +"<span class="smcap">Joe, Believing Himself Alone, Began to Sob as if His Heart Were Breaking</span>" <span class="tocnum"><a href='#Page_225'>225</a></span><br /> +<br /> +"<span class="smcap">Then Aunt Dorcas and Her Family Were Ready for the Ride</span>" <span class="tocnum"><a href='#Page_241'>241</a></span><br /> +<br /> +"'<span class="smcap">McGowan's Restaurant Ain't in It Alongside of What We Struck up at the Princess's House</span>'" <span class="tocnum"><a href='#Page_245'>245</a></span><br /> +<br /> +<span class="smcap">Tailpiece</span> <span class="tocnum"><a href='#Page_249'>249</a></span><br /> +</p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span></p> +<h2>THE PRINCESS AND JOE POTTER.</h2> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>CHAPTER I.</h2> + +<h3>A RUINED MERCHANT.</h3> + + +<p>"Hello, Joe Potter! What you doin' up in this part of the town?"</p> + +<p>The boy thus addressed halted suddenly, looked around with what was very +like an expression of fear on his face, and then, recognising the +speaker, replied, in a tone of relief:</p> + +<p>"Oh, it's you, is it, Plums?"</p> + +<p>"Of course it's me. Who else did you think it was? Say, what you doin' +'round here? Who's tendin' for you now?"</p> + +<p>"Nobody."</p> + +<p>"It don't seem as though this was the time of day when you could afford +to shut up shop."</p> + +<p>"But that's what I have done."</p> + +<p>"Got some 'portant business up here at the <i>de</i>pot, eh?"</p> + +<p>Joe shook his head mournfully, stepped back a few paces that he might +lean against the building, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span> looked about him with a languid air, +much as if there was no longer anything pleasing for him in life.</p> + +<p>Plums, or to give him his full name, George H. Plummer, gazed at his +friend in mild surprise.</p> + +<p>Any other boy of Joe Potter's acquaintance would have been astonished at +the great change which had come over him; but Plums was not given to +excesses of any kind, save in the way of eating. That which would have +excited an ordinary lad only served to arouse Plums in a mild degree, +and perhaps it was this natural apathy which served to give Master +Plummer such an accumulation of flesh. He was what might be called a +very fat boy, and was never known to move with sufficient energy to +reduce his weight.</p> + +<p>Sim Jepson stated that Plums sold newspapers in the vicinity of the +Grand Central Station because he lived only a couple of blocks away, and +therefore had sufficient time to walk to his place of business during +the forenoon.</p> + +<p>"How he ever earns enough to pay for fillin' hisself up is more'n I can +make out," Master Jepson had said, with an air of perplexity. "By the +time he's sold ten papers, he's ate the profits off of twenty, an' acts +like he was hungrier than when he begun."</p> + +<p>As Plums waited for, rather than solicited, customers, he gazed in an +indolent fashion at the dejected-looking friend, who might have served, +as he stood leaning against the building on this particular June day, as +a statue of misery.</p> + +<p>Joe Potter was as thin as his friend was stout, and,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span> ordinarily, as +active as Plums was indolent. His listless bearing now served to arouse +Master Plummer's curiosity as nothing else could have done.</p> + +<p>"Business been good down your way?" he finally asked.</p> + +<p>"It's mighty bad. I got stuck on a bunch of bananas, and lost thirty-two +cents last week. Then oranges went down till you couldn't hardly see +'em, an' I bought a box when they was worth two dollars. It seems like +as if every <i>I</i>talian in the city, what ain't blackin' boots, has +started a fruit-stand, an' it's jest knocked the eye out of business."</p> + +<p>"I shouldn't think you could afford to lay 'round up here if it is as +bad as all that."</p> + +<p>"It don't make any difference where I am now, 'cause I've busted; Plums, +I've busted. Failed up yesterday, an' have got jest sixteen cents to my +name."</p> + +<p>"Busted!" Master Plummer exclaimed. "Why, you told me you had more'n +seven dollars when you started that fruit-stand down on West Street."</p> + +<p>"Seven dollars an' eighty-three cents was the figger, Plums, an' here's +what's left of it."</p> + +<p>Joe took from his pocket a handful of pennies, counting them slowly to +assure himself he had made no mistake in the sum total.</p> + +<p>Master Plummer was so overwhelmed by the sad tidings, that two intending +purchasers passed him by after waiting several seconds to be served, and +Joe reminded him of his inattention to business by saying, sharply:</p> + +<p>"Look here, Plums, you mustn't shut down on business<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span> jest 'cause I've +busted. Why don't you sell papers when you get the chance?"</p> + +<p>"I didn't see anybody what wanted one. I'm jest knocked silly, Joe, +about your hard luck. How did it happen?"</p> + +<p>"That's what I can't seem to make out. I kept on sellin' stuff, an' of +course had to buy more; but every night the money was smaller an' +smaller, till I didn't have much of any left."</p> + +<p>"I felt kind of 'fraid you was swellin' too big, Joe. When a feller +agrees to give five dollars a month rent, an' hires a clerk for a dollar +a week, same's you did, he's takin' a pretty good contract on his +shoulders. Did you pay Sim Jepson his wages all right?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, I kept square with him, and I guess that's where most of my money +went. Sim owns the stand now."</p> + +<p>"He owns it? Why, he was your clerk."</p> + +<p>"Don't you s'pose I know that? But he was gettin' a dollar a week clean +money, an' it counted up in time. If things had been the other way, most +likely I'd own the place to-day."</p> + +<p>Master Plummer was silent for an instant, and then a smile as of +satisfaction overspread his fat face.</p> + +<p>"I'll tell you how to do it, Joe: hire out to Sim, an' after a spell +you'll get the stand back ag'in."</p> + +<p>"That won't work; I tried it. You see, when it come yesterday, I owed +him a dollar for wages, an' thirty cents I'd borrowed. There wasn't +more'n ninety cents' worth of stuff in the stand, an' Sim said he'd got +to be paid right sharp. Of course I couldn't raise money when I'd<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span> jest +the same's failed, an' told him so. He offered to square things if I'd +give him the business; an' what else could I do? I left there without a +cent to my name; but earned a quarter last night, an' here's what's left +of it."</p> + +<p>The ruined merchant mournfully jingled the coins in his hand, while he +gazed dreamily at the railway structure overhead, and Master Plummer +regarded him sympathetically.</p> + +<p>"What you goin' to do now?" the fat boy asked, after a long pause.</p> + +<p>"That's jest what I don't know, Plums. If I had the money, I reckon I'd +take up shinin' for a spell, even if the <i>I</i>talians are knockin' the +life out of business."</p> + +<p>"Why don't you sell papers, same's you used to?"</p> + +<p>"Well, you see when I went into the fruit-stand I sold out my rights +'round the City Hall, to Dan Fernald, an' it wouldn't be the square +thing for me to jump in down there ag'in."</p> + +<p>"There's plenty of chances up-town."</p> + +<p>"I don't know about that. S'posen I started right here, then I'd be +rubbin' against you; an' it's pretty much the same everywhere. I tell +you, Plums, there's too many folks in this city. I ain't so certain but +I shall go for a sailor; they say there's money in that business."</p> + +<p>"S'posen there was barrels in it, how could you get any out?" and in his +astonishment that Joe should have considered such a plan even for a +moment, Master Plummer very nearly grew excited. "You ain't big enough<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span> +to shin up the masts, an' take in sails, an' all that sort of work, +same's sailors have to do."</p> + +<p>"I'd grow to it, of course. I don't expect I could go down to the docks +an' get a chance right off as a first-class hand on masts an' sails; but +I shouldn't go on a vessel, you know, Plums. I'm countin' on a +steamboat, where there ain't any shinnin' round to be done. Them fellers +that run on the Sound steamers have snaps, that's what they have. You +know my stand was on West Street, where I saw them all, and the money +they spend! It don't seem like as if half a dollar was any account to +'em."</p> + +<p>"But what could you do on a steamboat?"</p> + +<p>"I don't know yet; but I'll snoop 'round before the summer's over, an' +find out. Where you livin' now?"</p> + +<p>"Well, say, Joe, you can talk 'bout steamboat snaps; but this house of +mine lays over 'em all. I s'pose I've got about the swellest layout in +this city, an' don't have to give up a cent for it, either. First off +McDaniels counted on chargin' me rent, an' after I'd been there a couple +of days he said it didn't seem right to take money, 'cause the place +wasn't fit for a dog. I'll tell you what it is, if McDaniels keeps his +dogs in any better shanty than that, they must be livin' on the fat of +the land."</p> + +<p>"Who's McDaniels?"</p> + +<p>"He's the blacksmith what owns the shanty where I live. You see, it was +like this: I allers sold him a paper every afternoon, an' when it +rained, or business was dull, I loafed 'round there, an' that's how I +found the place."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Do you live in the blacksmith's shop?"</p> + +<p>"Well I should say I didn't! Right behind it is a shed he built, to keep +a wagon in, but I guess he ain't got any now, leastways he don't flash +one up. There was a lot of old iron an' the like of that thrown in at +one end, an' when I saw it, I says to myself, says I, 'That's a mighty +good shanty for some feller what don't want to give up all the money he +makes for a place to sleep in,' and I began to figger how it could be +fixed. It took me as much as two days before I could see into it, an' +then I had it all in my mind; so I tackled McDaniels about hirin' it. He +was willin', so long's I 'greed to be careful about fire, an'—well, if +you're out of business now there's nothin' to keep you from comin' down +to-night an' seein' it."</p> + +<p>"I'm not only out of business, but I'm out of a home, Plums. You see, +when I sold the fruit-stand of course I hadn't any right to count on +sleepin' there, an'—"</p> + +<p>"Didn't Sim Jepson offer you the chance?"</p> + +<p>"He seemed to think it wasn't big enough for two."</p> + +<p>"He didn't have any sich swell notions when you first started there, an' +he wanted a place to sleep."</p> + +<p>"Yes, I remember all about that; but it's no use twittin' a feller. He +was willin' enough to bunk in with me, but if he don't want to turn +about an' give me the same show, it ain't any of my business."</p> + +<p>"Of course you can come to my place, an' stay jest as long as you want +to, Joe, an' I'll be glad to have you; but if you're countin' on workin' +down-town it won't be very handy."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span></p> + +<p>"I ain't certain but I'll try my luck hangin' 'round the <i>de</i>pot here +waitin' for a chance to carry baggage. I've done them kind of jobs +before, an' they didn't turn out so terrible bad. You see, with only +sixteen cents, a feller can't spread hisself very much on goin' into +business."</p> + +<p>"You might buy papers, an' sell 'em here. It ain't a very great show for +trade, but you won't have to work very hard, an' there's a good deal in +that."</p> + +<p>"Yes, Plums, there is, for a feller like you, what don't want to stir +'round much; but I'm ready to hustle, an' it wouldn't suit me nohow. You +don't earn more'n fifteen or twenty cents a day."</p> + +<p>"Not a great deal more," Master Plummer replied, in a tone of content, +and a probable customer approaching just at that moment, he succeeded in +making sufficient exertion to offer his wares for sale.</p> + +<p>"That's jest about the way of it!" he exclaimed, as the gentleman passed +into the building without giving heed to the paper held invitingly +towards him. "There's no use to hustle 'round here, 'cause it don't pay. +If they want to buy papers they buy 'em, an' if they don't, you can't +give 'em away. There's one good thing about doin' business here, though, +an' that is, the other fellers won't try to drive you out. It's mighty +tough on you, droppin' all that money. If I'd had most eight dollars you +can bet I wouldn't take the chances of losin' it. I'd sooner spend the +whole pile buyin' swell dinners down on the Avenue."</p> + +<p>"Yes, it's tough," Joe replied, musingly; "but I'd a good deal rather +get rid of the money tryin' to make<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span> more, than spend it fillin' myself +up with hash. When do you knock off work?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, somewhere 'bout dark, 'less I've sold out before. Say, I know of a +place where you can get the biggest bowl of stew in this city, for five +cents,—'most all meat. Of course there'll be a bone now an' then,—you +expect that; but it's rich! We'll go there to-night, eh?"</p> + +<p>"I ain't so certain whether a feller with only sixteen cents ought'er +spend five of it fer stuff to eat," Joe replied, reflectively; "but if I +make a few nickels 'tween now an' night, perhaps we'll take a whirl at +it."</p> + +<p>"A feller's bound to eat, whether he makes anything or not. So long's +you've got that much money you might as well enjoy yourself. Now I say +it's best not to go hungry, else you can't do so much work, 'an then—"</p> + +<p>"I'll see you later," Joe interrupted, not caring just at the moment to +listen to his friend's ideas on the subject of food, for it was well +known among Master Plummer's acquaintances that his highest idea of +happiness consisted in ministering to his stomach.</p> + +<p>The fat boy gazed after the ruined merchant until the latter was lost to +view amid the throng of pedestrians, and then in a dreamy, indolent +fashion he turned his attention once more to the business of selling +newspapers to such of the passers-by as requested him to do so, +murmuring mournfully from time to time:</p> + +<p>"Seven dollars an' eighty-three cents, an' a feller can buy custard pies +two inches thick for a dime apiece!"</p> + +<p>Having assured himself of a lodging-place, and decided as to what +business he should pursue, Joe Potter<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span> wasted no more time, but set +about earning his livelihood in as cheery a fashion as if the depression +in the fruit market had brought him great gains instead of dire failure.</p> + +<p>Before the night had come he was richer by forty cents, through having +carried to their several destinations, a satchel for a gentleman, a +basket containing a kitten for a lady, and a message for one of the +employees at the station.</p> + +<p>"Business is boomin' right along. At this rate I guess I can afford to +stand one of Plums's bowls of stew," he said to himself, in a tone of +satisfaction, and was about to seek other employment when his name was +called from a shop on the opposite side of the street.</p> + +<p>Turning quickly, he saw a boy with whom he had had slight acquaintance +while in the fruit business, who stood in the door of the shop, and +said, as Joe crossed the street:</p> + +<p>"I'm workin' here now. It's a good deal more tony than down on West +Street. You ought'er move your stand up this way somewhere."</p> + +<p>"I haven't got any to move," Joe replied, and then explained why he was +no longer connected with the business.</p> + +<p>The young clerk did not appear particularly surprised by the +information.</p> + +<p>"I thought that's 'bout the way it would turn out, when I heard you +hired Sim to help you. He's got the business, an' you've got the +shake."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Sim was square with me," Joe replied, stoutly.</p> + +<p>"Well, I'm glad you think so, for you're the only one he ever acted +square with, an' it wouldn't astonish me a bit to know he'd done you +up."</p> + +<p>Joe was a boy who would not willingly listen to evil words against one +he called a friend, and was about to begin a wordy war in Sim's behalf, +when his friend's employer put an end to the conversation by demanding +that the clerk "get in and attend to business."</p> + +<p>"I won't believe Sim ever did a thing crooked to me," Joe said, +recrossing the street and taking up his station where he could have a +full view of those who came from the building. "He saved his money while +I was losin' mine, an' that's all there is to it. It seems like as if +everybody wanted to jump on him 'cause he had sense enough to do jest +what he has done."</p> + +<p>This was not the first time Master Potter had heard such an accusation +against his late clerk, and, while he would not believe Sim had been +dishonest, the suggestion so troubled him that he had some difficulty in +banishing the matter from his mind.</p> + +<p>As the passengers from the incoming train appeared, he had other affairs +than Sim's possible dishonesty to think about, as he did his best to +attract the attention of those whom he thought might prove to be +patrons.</p> + +<p>In this manner, but yet without earning any more money, the remainder of +the afternoon was passed, and when one by one the electric lights began +to appear, telling that the day had come to a close, he decided it was +time to seek out Master Plummer.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span></p> + +<p>Now the thought of that bowl of stew for five cents was particularly +pleasing, and he had made up his mind to indulge in such a hearty meal, +when a little tot of a girl, who could not have been more than three +years old, came out from among the throng of pedestrians and stood +looking up into Joe's face.</p> + +<p>"Well, say, but you are a dandy!" Master Potter exclaimed, in genuine +admiration, as he surveyed the tiny figure, allowing his eyes to dwell +almost lovingly upon the sweet, baby face. "You are a dandy, an' no +mistake; but them as owns you must be crazy to let sich a mite of a +thing snoop 'round here alone."</p> + +<p>The child came nearer, and Joe stooped down to look at her more closely, +for she was the most dainty little maid he had ever seen.</p> + +<p>"I'd ask you to speak to me if I was any ways fit," he said, holding out +a not over-cleanly hand.</p> + +<p>The little maid must have judged the boy by his face rather than his +apparel, for hardly had he spoken when she came boldly towards him and +laid her tiny hand on his cheek with a caressing movement that +captivated Joe immediately.</p> + +<p>"Talk about daisies! Why, you're a corker! You look jest like a pink an' +blue image I've seen in the shop windows. What's your name?"</p> + +<p>"Essie," the little lady replied, and added what may have been words; +but might equally well be Greek so far as Joe was concerned.</p> + +<p>"What's that you say? I didn't jest catch on."</p> + +<p>Miss Essie cooed at him once more, and Joe winked<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span> and blinked, trying +most earnestly to understand what she said; but all to no purpose.</p> + +<p>Then he stood erect, fearing lest the little maid's parents should +appear and reprove him for having dared to speak to her; but the moments +passed and no one came to claim the child.</p> + +<p>It was evident Essie had not been accustomed to neglect, for when Joe +ceased speaking, she put a tiny little hand in his and told him in her +childish dialect what may have been a very interesting story.</p> + +<p>Joe looked at the pink hand, and then at his own soiled palm.</p> + +<p>"I'd give a nickel if I was a little bit cleaner! It seems like it was +wicked to hold her hand while mine is so dirty. She takes the shine off +of anything I ever saw before. Say, Essie, where's your mamma?"</p> + +<p>"Mamma dorn," and the little lady clutched Joe's finger yet more +tightly.</p> + +<p>"Well, say, do you s'pose this kid's lost?" and now Joe began to look +alarmed. "Anybody what would lose their grip of a dandy little thing +like her ought to be horsewhipped, an' I'd like to do it."</p> + +<p>Again he tried to get some information from the little maid, and again +she replied readily; but Joe was no wiser than before.</p> + +<p>The night had come; those who passed this way or that on the sidewalk +moved rapidly as if in haste to get home; but no one gave any heed to +the ruined fruit merchant or the charming little child by his side.</p> + +<p>"Look here, baby," Joe said, after what seemed to him<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span> like a long time +of waiting, and no one came to claim the child, "will you let me take +you up in my arms, if I try not to muss your clothes? I'm 'fraid folks +can't see sich a bit of a thing down there, an' I'll hold you high, so's +your mother can find you easier."</p> + +<p>Miss Essie certainly understood something of what the fruit merchant +said, for she held out her hands towards him as if to be taken, and he +lifted her carefully, saying, as he did so:</p> + +<p>"It's pretty rough for a feller like me to handle a kid like her! It +seems like I was holdin' some of that swell candy you see in the shop +windows. It'll be a wonder if I don't daub her all up with my great, +dirty hands. I never knew how big they was till she took hold of 'em."</p> + +<p>The little maid must have thought he was speaking for her especial +benefit, for she made reply in language which apparently gave her the +most intense satisfaction, but failed to enlighten Master Potter, and +during perhaps five minutes the two stood on the sidewalk near the +curbstone, jostled rudely now and then by the homeward-bound throng, but +seeing no one who laid claim to the baby.</p> + +<p>"This won't do at all," Joe said. "It ain't right for you to stay out in +the night, and I don't know what's to be done, unless you could stand it +for a spell in Plums's shanty. Say, I wonder if that wouldn't go down? +Will you be willin' to hang 'round with us till mornin', if I buy a slat +of good things? When it comes daylight I can find your folks without +much trouble, 'cause of course they'll be right here huntin', don't you +see? Is it a go?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span></p> + +<p>From what the little maid said, Joe concluded it was a "go," and, since +she made no protest when he walked swiftly down towards where he knew +his fat and hungry friend would be waiting for him, believed he had +chosen such a course as met with her approval.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span></p> +<h2>CHAPTER II.</h2> + +<h3>THE PRINCESS.</h3> + + +<p>It was no easy task for Joe Potter to carry his burden, light though it +was, amid the throng of pedestrians, without being pushed rudely here or +there by those who were so intent upon their own business or pleasure as +to give but little heed to the boy and the child.</p> + +<p>Had he been alone, he could readily have forced a passage, but fearing +lest the little maid might be injured by rough contact with one or the +other, he proceeded so cautiously as to make but slight headway, until, +forsaking the sidewalk, he betook himself to the street.</p> + +<p>There was a fear in his mind lest Master Plummer, grown weary with long +waiting, had gone home, and this would have been a serious matter, +because Joe had no idea as to the whereabouts of his friend's lodgings.</p> + +<p>Once out of the throng, he pressed on at a swift pace until he was +nearly overturned by a boy coming from the opposite direction, whom he +had failed to see in the shadows.</p> + +<p>"What's the matter with you, chump? Can't you see where you're goin'?" +he cried, angrily, and the tightening of the little maid's arm around +his neck told that she was frightened.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span></p> + +<p>"How much of this street do you own? Why don't you mind your—Hello, Joe +Potter, is that you?" and the ruined merchant recognised the voice as +that of his friend with whom he had spoken a short time before in front +of the fruit store.</p> + +<p>"'Course it's me. You ought'er look out how you run 'round here, when +folks has got babies in their arms."</p> + +<p>"I didn't see you, Joe, an' that's a fact. Where'd you get the kid?"</p> + +<p>"She's lost, I reckon, an' I'm takin' her home for to-night," Joe +replied, and, without waiting to make further explanation, hastened on, +leaving his friend, the clerk, staring after him in open-mouthed +astonishment.</p> + +<p>"Don't you be afraid, little one," Joe said, as Essie clung yet more +tightly to him. "They sha'n't hurt you, an' if there's any more funny +business of runnin' into us tried, I'll break the feller's jaw what does +it."</p> + +<p>The child seemed reassured by the sound of his voice, and at once began +to tell him something which was evidently interesting to herself.</p> + +<p>"If I could understand what you say, things would be all right," Joe +said, with a laugh, and then, as he emerged from the shadows cast by the +overhead railway structure, he came face to face with Master Plummer.</p> + +<p>"Well, I'd begun to think you never was comin'," that young gentleman +began, but ceased speaking very suddenly, as he observed the burden in +Joe's arms. "What you got there?"</p> + +<p>"Can't you see for yourself?" and Joe lowered the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span> little maid gently to +the sidewalk, that Master Plummer might have a full view of his +treasure.</p> + +<p>"Well, I'll be blowed! Where'd you get it?"</p> + +<p>"She's lost, 'cordin' to my way of thinkin', an' I've been tryin' to +find her folks, but it's no use huntin' 'round in the night, an' I'll +tell you what it is, Plums, we've got to take care of her till mornin'."</p> + +<p>"Take care of her! What's creepin' on you, Joe Potter? How do you think +we're goin' to look after a kid like that?"</p> + +<p>"I don't know why we can't," Joe replied, sharply. "It'll be pretty +tough if a couple of fellers ain't able to tend out on a mite of a thing +such as her. Say, Plums, don't she look like somethin' you see in the +store windows?"</p> + +<p>"She's fine as silk, there's no gettin' over that," and Master Plummer +would have touched one pink-and-white cheek but that his friend +prevented him.</p> + +<p>"Now don't go to hurtin' her! She's in hard luck enough as it is, +without your mussin' her all up."</p> + +<p>"Who's a-hurtin' of her? I was jest goin' to put one finger on her +cheek."</p> + +<p>"There's no need of doin' so much as that. It might frighten the little +thing, and besides, she's too fine to be handled by you and me, Plums. +She's a reg'lar little princess, that's what she is," and Joe raised the +child quickly, as if to remove the temptation from Master Plummer's +path.</p> + +<p>"What's her name?" the fat boy asked, as he gazed admiringly at the +child.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span></p> + +<p>"I can't seem to make out, she talks so queer," and as if to illustrate +his meaning, Joe's princess began to chatter, while she clasped both +tiny arms around her self-elected guardian's neck.</p> + +<p>"Well, say, I'd give up what I made this afternoon jest for the sake of +havin' her hug me like that! Ain't she a daisy?"</p> + +<p>"It would be mighty hard to find anything finer in this town."</p> + +<p>"That's a fact; but say, Joe, it's no kind of use, your talkin' 'bout +our takin' care of her, 'cause it can't be done."</p> + +<p>"I'd like to know why?"</p> + +<p>"Jest run your eye over her, an' then look at us! Why, she's been kept +rolled up in silk all the time, an' you talk 'bout takin' her down to +the blacksmith's shop!"</p> + +<p>There was little need for Master Plummer to make further explanation. +Joe had so thoroughly lost himself in admiration of the treasure he had +found that, until this moment, he had not realised how poor was the home +to which he proposed to carry her.</p> + +<p>Now he looked about him in perplexity, and the princess, impatient +because of the delay and her guardian's silence, began to protest most +vehemently.</p> + +<p>"See here, Plums, we've <i>got</i> to take her down to your place, an' that's +all there is to it! There ain't any chance of findin' her folks +to-night, so what else can we do?"</p> + +<p>"It's goin' to be mighty tough on her," Master Plummer replied, with a +shake of the head, and Joe put an end to further discussion by starting +off at a rapid pace down<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span> the street, regardless of the fact that he was +in ignorance of the whereabouts of his friend's lodging-place.</p> + +<p>The princess, satisfied now that they were moving, cooed and chattered +in Joe's ear, much to his delight, and Master Plummer was forced to +follow or allow himself to be left behind.</p> + +<p>"There's no use in rushin' as if we hadn't another minute to live," he +cried, when, by dint of rapid running, he overtook his friend. "I don't +like to race 'round when we can jest as well go slow."</p> + +<p>"It would be a good deal better if you walked fast once in awhile, +'cause then you wouldn't be so fat."</p> + +<p>"S'pose I'd rather be fat than as lean as some fellers I know?"</p> + +<p>"Then it would be all right to creep along the street same's we're doin' +now. Say, how far off is your shanty?"</p> + +<p>"Down here a bit; but you don't count on goin' right there, do you?"</p> + +<p>"Why not? Where else should we go?"</p> + +<p>"Seems to me it would be better to get that stew first, an' then we +sha'n't have to come out again to-night."</p> + +<p>"Look here, Plums," and Joe spoke sharply, "do you think I'm goin' to +take the princess into a place where they sell five-cent stews?"</p> + +<p>"She's got to go somewhere, if she wants anything to eat."</p> + +<p>"We'll bring her supper to your shanty. I won't carry this little thing +into a saloon for a crowd of toughs to look at."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span></p> + +<p>Master Plummer sighed. He had been anticipating a feast of stew from the +moment Joe left him to engage in his new vocation, and it was a grievous +disappointment that the pleasure should be so long delayed.</p> + +<p>"We'll go down to your place an' try an' fix things up; then you can +leave us there—"</p> + +<p>"But you want somethin' to eat as well as I do."</p> + +<p>"I guess I can get along without anything, for a spell. It's the +princess I'm thinkin' about; she's got to have somethin' fine, you know. +Stew'd never do for her."</p> + +<p>"How's custard pie? I know where they've got some that's great,—two +inches thick, with the crust standin' up 'round the edge so the inside +won't fall out while you're eatin' it."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps the princess might like the custard; but I ain't so sure about +the crust. It seems to me she's been fed mostly on candy, an' sich stuff +as that. Anyhow, you take my money an' buy whatever you think she'd +like. Got any candles down to your place?"</p> + +<p>"I did have one last week; but the rats ate most of it, an' I don't +s'pose it would burn very well now."</p> + +<p>"Take this nickel, an' buy some in that grocery store."</p> + +<p>"Why don't you come, too?"</p> + +<p>"I don't believe the princess would like to go into sich a place, an' +besides, folks might want to take hold of her. I ain't goin' to have any +Dutch groceryman slobberin' over her."</p> + +<p>Master Plummer took the nickel and crossed the street in his ordinarily +slow fashion, while Joe and the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span> princess held a long and animated +conversation, to the evident satisfaction of the little maid and the +mystification of the boy.</p> + +<p>Owing to his being thus engaged, Joe did not grow impatient because of +Master Plummer's long absence, as he might have done under other +circumstances, and said to his princess when the newsdealer rejoined +them:</p> + +<p>"Now, little one, we're goin' to Plums's home, an' you must try not to +feel bad 'cause it ain't very swell. It's bound to be better'n stayin' +out in the street all night, for I've tried that game a good many times, +an' there's nothin' funny 'bout it."</p> + +<p>The little maid, perched on Joe's arm something after the fashion of a +bird, chirped and twittered a reply, and Plums, who had fallen in the +rear that he might secretly touch the arm which was around Joe's neck, +said, reflectively:</p> + +<p>"I s'pose we'll have a high old time between now and mornin', 'cause +that kid, sweet as she's lookin' jest now, ain't goin' to be quiet in a +place like mine. It's fellers like you an' me, Joe, who've knocked +'round the city a good many times when we didn't have the price of a +lodgin' in our pockets, what can 'preciate a home where the wind an' +rain can't get in."</p> + +<p>"You're talkin' straight enough, Plums, an' I 'gree to all you say; but +this 'ere princess ain't like the general run of kids,—that you could +see if you was blind. She's a reg'lar swell, an' you can bet there won't +be any kick 'cause we ain't stoppin' at the Walledoff. Couldn't you<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span> get +a little more of a move on? At this rate we sha'n't have supper much +before mornin'."</p> + +<p>Master Plummer was willing to comply with this request, and did indeed +appear to be making strenuous efforts to walk at a more rapid pace; but +having patterned after a snail so many years, it seemed impossible for +him to overcome what had become a habit.</p> + +<p>Not once during the short journey did the princess make any protest +against the plan her temporary guardian had suggested.</p> + +<p>She was very comfortable, and although Joe's arms ached from long +holding the light burden, she knew it not,—perhaps it would have made +no difference had she been aware of the fact.</p> + +<p>Finally, and after what had seemed a very long journey to the princess's +guardian, the little party arrived in front of the blacksmith's shop, +and Master Plummer conducted his guests through a narrow alley to the +rear of the building, where was a small, shed-like structure, the end of +which was open, save for a pile of boxes and boards directly in front of +it.</p> + +<p>"This is the place," Master Plummer said, with an air of proprietorship; +"an' seein's you've got the kid in your arms, I'd better light a candle +so's you can see the way, 'cause there's a lot of stuff out here at this +end. I've been countin' on clearin' it up some day, but can't seem to +find the time. Besides, it wouldn't make any difference to us,—it's +only 'cause we've got the princess to lodge with us that I'd like to see +it a little cleaner. Say, Joe, what <i>is</i> a princess, anyhow?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Why, it's a—you see, it's—it's a—well, look at her, can't you see? +That's what it is. <i>She's</i> a princess. Now don't be all night lightin' +one candle."</p> + +<p>It did really appear as if Plums was even slower than usual, and so +awkward that two matches were consumed before the wick was ignited.</p> + +<p>"You see I don't often swell out in so much style as to have candles, +an' it takes me quite a spell to get one goin'," he said, in an +apologetic tone. "She's all right now, though. Jest come 'round the end +of that box, an' look out for this pile of iron, 'cause you might trip. +There <i>would</i> be a mess if your princess was dumped down on this stuff."</p> + +<p>"You get on with the candle, an' I'll see to the rest of the business," +Joe said, impatiently, for by this time his arms ached severely.</p> + +<p>Master Plummer obeyed, and a moment later Joe and the princess were +surveying the home, which occupied six square feet or more in one corner +of the shed, was walled in by barrels and boxes, and furnished with a +pile of straw and a disreputable-looking gray blanket.</p> + +<p>"I've slept here some mighty cold nights, an' I know jest how good the +place is," the proprietor said, proudly. "She's tight as a brick, an' +there can't so much as a sniff of wind get in. Then look here!"</p> + +<p>He raised the lid of a small box, thereby displaying two tin tomato cans +in which were fragments of biscuits, a broken cup half full of sugar, +two wooden plates, a knife, a fork, and a spoon.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span></p> + +<p>"When trade is dull, I buy stuff at the grocery store, an' bring it in +here. Why, Joe, things will keep jest as well in that box as they would +in one of your tony 'frigerators, an' I ain't sure but it's better. I +have had ice in there two or three days, though I don't know as it +'mounted to anything 'cept to wet everything."</p> + +<p>Joe gave little heed to his friend's cupboard. He was looking around for +some spot where the princess could sit down without danger of soiling +her garments, but failed to find that for which he sought.</p> + +<p>"See here, Plums, you'll have to spread some papers over that blanket; +it'll never do to put this little thing down where everything is so +dirty."</p> + +<p>"I don't see what there is 'round here that's dirty. It seems like she +couldn't come to much harm on the straw. It's only been here two weeks."</p> + +<p>"Put the papers down, an' we'll talk 'bout it afterwards. It seems as +though my arms would break."</p> + +<p>Master Plummer obeyed, but with an ill grace, for this fault-finding +without reason was not agreeable.</p> + +<p>There was no lack of newspapers in the house, and in as short a time as +Plums could compass it the straw was covered.</p> + +<p>It was with a long breath of relief that Joe sat his charming burden +down, and then were the boys treated to an exhibition of the princess's +temper.</p> + +<p>Cleanly though the couch was, she had no idea of sitting bolt upright +when there were two subjects at hand to obey her wishes.</p> + +<p>She positively refused to be seated, but held out<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span> her hands as if for +Joe to take her in his arms once more, and when the boy attempted to +explain that it was necessary she remain there a few moments, the little +maiden made protest at the full strength of her lungs.</p> + +<p>"I guess I'll have to take her up again," Joe said, with a long-drawn +sigh, "an' I don't know as she's to be blamed for not wantin' to stay +there."</p> + +<p>"Well, I'd never believed anything so pretty could screech so loud!" +Master Plummer exclaimed, in a tone of wonderment. "She yells jest 'bout +the same's old Mis' Carter's kids do, an' there's nothin' swell about +them."</p> + +<p>Joe made no reply. He was too deeply engaged in trying to hush the +princess to give any heed to his friend's remark, and fully five minutes +passed before the imperious little maid was reduced to silence.</p> + +<p>Then she nestled down in his arms with such apparent content, and looked +so charming, that he was her willing slave, without one disagreeable +thought concerning her temper.</p> + +<p>"If my face was washed, I'd kiss her this minute," he said, half to +himself, and immediately Master Plummer looked jealous.</p> + +<p>"If you can do that, I reckon I can."</p> + +<p>"Well, there won't either of us try it yet awhile, so s'posin' you go +after your supper, an' bring something for the princess when you come +back. Don't be gone any longer'n you can help, will you, Plums, 'cause +she must be gettin' hungry by this time."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span></p> + +<p>"I'll take the cans an' get the stew in them, else I'd be gone quite a +spell if I waited to eat my share. Will I buy custard pie for her?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, an' anything else you think she'd like. Don't get cheap stuff, +'cause she ain't used to it."</p> + +<p>Then Joe emptied the contents of his pocket in Master Plummer's hands, +and the latter asked, in surprise:</p> + +<p>"Are you goin' to spend the whole of this?"</p> + +<p>"It don't seem as though you'd have to, an' besides, we ought to leave a +little something for breakfast. Do the best you can, Plums."</p> + +<p>With an air of responsibility, the proprietor of the establishment +walked slowly out, and Joe was left alone with his baby.</p> + +<p>Swaying his body to and fro to delude her with the idea of being rocked, +Master Potter did his best to please the princess, and evidently +succeeded, for in a very short time after Plums had departed, the +sleep-elves soothed her eyelids with their poppy wands until she crossed +over into dreamland.</p> + +<p>Now Joe would have laid the tiny maid on the straw to give relief to his +arms, but each time he attempted anything of the kind she moved +uneasily, as if on the point of awakening, and he was forced to abandon +the effort.</p> + +<p>"I must be a chump if I can't hold a bit of a thing like her till she's +through sleepin'," he said to himself, "an' I ought'er be mighty glad to +have such a chance."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span></p> + +<p>It was monotonous work, this playing the nurse while seated on the +ground with no support to his back; but never for a moment, not even +when his arms ached the hardest, did Joe Potter regret having taken upon +himself such a charge.</p> + +<p>He had given little heed as to how the princess's parents might be +found, because he believed that would prove an exceedingly simple task. +He had only to go to the railroad station in the morning, and there +deliver the child to her mother, who, as a matter of course, would be in +waiting.</p> + +<p>There was never a thought in his mind that, by bringing her to this home +of Master Plummer's, he had in fact secreted her from those who must at +that moment be making eager search.</p> + +<p>He had done what seemed to him fitting under all the circumstances, and +felt well satisfied that no one could have cared for the child in a +better fashion, save in the matter of lodgings, which last left much to +be desired.</p> + +<p>After a time, Joe succeeded in so far changing his position that it was +possible to gain the use of one hand, and immediately this had been +done, he set about carefully covering the princess's garments with a +newspaper, lest he himself should soil the fabrics.</p> + +<p>Then there was nothing to do save wait the leisurely movements of Plums, +and it seemed as if fully an hour passed before that young gentleman +finally made his appearance.</p> + +<p>"If I haven't got all you fellers can eat, then I'm mistaken,"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span> Master +Plummer announced, in an exceedingly loud tone as he entered the +building; and Joe whispered, hoarsely:</p> + +<p>"What are you makin' sich a row for? If you ain't careful, you'll wake +the princess."</p> + +<p>"Well, I'll be blowed, if she ain't gone to sleep jest like any of Mis' +Carter's kids would do!" Plums said, in a tone of surprise, when he was +where a view could be had of the sleeping child.</p> + +<p>"Of course she has. You don't s'pose swells sleep different from other +folks, do you?"</p> + +<p>"I don't know, 'cause I never had a chance to see one close to, before. +Say, here's the stuff."</p> + +<p>Plums was literally laden with small packages, and, in addition, had the +two tomato cans nearly filled with what he declared was "great stew."</p> + +<p>"I tell you there's no flies on that stuff, an' here's the pie," he +added, as he took a parcel wrapped in brown paper from under his arm. +"I'm 'fraid it's got mashed a little, but I couldn't carry it any other +way. Takin' the stew an' that, with what other things I've got, it'll be +funny if your princess can't fill herself up in great shape."</p> + +<p>Then, from one pocket and another, Master Plummer drew out two small +cakes frosted with white and sprinkled with red sugar, three inches or +more of Bologna sausage, a cruller, a small bag of peanuts, an apple, +and two sticks of candy which looked much the worse for wear, because of +having been placed in his pocket without a covering.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Now if that ain't rich enough for any feller's blood, I'd like to know +what you'd call it? Three or four princesses like your'n ought'er get +through with a layout same's this, an' thank their lucky stars for +havin' the chance."</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span></p> +<h2>CHAPTER III.</h2> + +<h3>AN ADVERTISEMENT.</h3> + + +<p>Having placed the packages on the straw near about his friend, in what +he believed to be a most tempting display, Master Plummer seemed to +consider that his duties as host had been performed properly, and gave +himself wholly up to the pleasures of eating.</p> + +<p>With one of the tomato cans between his knees, he gave undivided +attention to the savoury stew, until, the first pangs of hunger having +been appeased, he noted, as if in surprise, that Joe was not joining in +the feast.</p> + +<p>"Why ain't you eatin' somethin'?" he asked, speaking indistinctly +because of the fullness of his mouth.</p> + +<p>"I don't see how it can be done while the princess is asleep."</p> + +<p>"Put her down on the blanket, where she belongs. You don't count on +holdin' her all night, I hope?"</p> + +<p>"It looks like I'd have to. Jest the minute I stir she begins to fuss +'round, an'—"</p> + +<p>"Well, let her fuss. Old Mis' Carter says kids wouldn't be healthy if +they didn't kick up a row every once in awhile."</p> + +<p>"I guess she won't be sick any to speak of, if we keep her quiet till +mornin'. The trouble is, Plums, there's<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span> bound to be an awful row jest +as soon as she wakes up an' finds out where she is. I s'pose she's been +tended like she was a piece of glass, an' the shanty must look pretty +hard to her. You can tell by the way she acts that the princess has +always had a reg'lar snap, an' I wouldn't be s'prised if this was the +meanest place she was ever in."</p> + +<p>"She'll be lucky never to get in a worse one," Master Plummer replied, +emphatically; and added, after having filled his mouth once more, +"There's no reason why you can't eat your share of the stew an' hold her +at the same time."</p> + +<p>"I'm 'fraid I might spill some of it on her dress."</p> + +<p>"Look here, Joe Potter," and now Plums spoke sharply, "you'll be all +wore up before mornin', carryin' on at this rate. It wouldn't hurt that +kid a bit if she had every drop of stew we've got, on her clothes, an' +she's playin' in big luck to be with us instead of walkin' 'round the +streets. Take your share of the stuff while it's goin', for of course +you haven't had anything to eat since noon."</p> + +<p>"I had a pretty fair breakfast."</p> + +<p>"An' nothin' since then?" Master Plummer cried, in astonishment.</p> + +<p>"Well, I wasn't hungry,—that is, not very. You see, when a feller +closes up business, the same's I've done, he don't think much 'bout +eatin'."</p> + +<p>"Well, think about it now, an' <i>do</i> it, too!"</p> + +<p>Having thus spoken, and in his sternest tones, Plums placed the second +can of stew where his friend could<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span> reach it conveniently, and waited +until Joe had so changed his position that it was possible for him to +partake of the food.</p> + +<p>No better proof of Master Plummer's interest in his friend could have +been given than when he thus voluntarily ceased eating to serve him.</p> + +<p>The boys had not attempted to remove either the princess's hat or cloak, +and she appeared anything rather than comfortable as she lay wrapped in +newspapers, with her head pillowed on Joe's arm; but yet her slumbers +were not disturbed when Master Potter, his appetite aroused by the odour +of the stew, proceeded to make a hearty meal.</p> + +<p>"I s'pose we ought'er wake her up, so's she'll get somethin' to eat," +Joe said, thoughtfully, and Plums replied, very decidedly:</p> + +<p>"Don't you do anything of the kind. So long's a kid's quiet you'd better +leave 'em alone, 'cause it ain't safe to stir 'em up 'less you want a +reg'lar row."</p> + +<p>"Of course that wouldn't do; but say, Plums, if she keeps on sleepin' +like this, it won't have been a terrible hard job to take care of her."</p> + +<p>"Not 'less you count on holdin' her all night."</p> + +<p>Joe was already cramped from sitting so long in one position, and as if +his friend's remark had reminded him of the fact, he made another effort +to relieve himself of the burden, this time being successful.</p> + +<p>The princess moved uneasily when she was first laid upon the bed of +straw, and the boys literally held their breath in suspense, fearing she +would awaken; but, after<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span> a few moments, the child lay quietly, and +Plums said, in a tone of satisfaction:</p> + +<p>"I know a good bit about kids, I do, 'cause old Mis' Carter had sich a +raft of 'em, an' I lived with her 'most a year. The right way is to +chuck 'em 'round jest as you want to, an' they'll stand it; but once you +begin to fuss with 'em, there's no end of a row."</p> + +<p>"The princess ain't anything like Mis' Carter's youngsters."</p> + +<p>"No, I don't know as she is; but I guess the same kind of handlin' will +fetch her 'round all right in the long run. Can't you eat some peanuts?"</p> + +<p>"I've had enough, an', besides, we must leave somethin' to give the +princess, 'cause she'll be hungry in the mornin'."</p> + +<p>"Yes, I s'pose we must. It always makes me feel bad to stop when there's +good things in the house," and Master Plummer told his friend of the +"great time" he had had on a certain rainy day, when it would have been +useless to attend to business, and the larder was well filled.</p> + +<p>"I kept right on eatin', from mornin' till it was time to go to bed; +didn't rush, you know, but stuck at it."</p> + +<p>"Didn't it make you sick?"</p> + +<p>"Well, I did have a pretty bad ache before mornin'; but jest as likely +as not that would have come whether I'd eat anything or not. Mis' Carter +says if I don't stop bein' so hungry all the time I'll fill up a +glutton's grave, but how can a feller keep from wantin' something to +eat?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span></p> + +<p>"I don't s'pose it's anybody's business, Plums, what you do, so long as +you pay the bills; but it does seem to me that it would be better if +you'd get on more of a hustle when you're at work, an' stop thinkin' so +much about vittles. I can't see how you earn money enough to keep this +thing up."</p> + +<p>"Seems like I've got some push to me if I do it, don't it?" Master +Plummer replied, complacently, and there the conversation came to an +end.</p> + +<p>Plums, having ministered to his appetite, stretched himself at full +length on the ground, and it seemed to Joe as if he had but just assumed +that position when his heavy breathing told that he had fallen asleep.</p> + +<p>Now and then from the street beyond could be heard the rumbling of a +carriage, sounding unusually loud owing to the stillness of the night. +At intervals the hum of voices told that belated seekers after pleasure +were returning home, and, in fact, everything reminded the ruined fruit +merchant that the time for rest was at hand.</p> + +<p>Joe's eyelids were heavy with sleep, yet he resisted the impulse to +close them, because it seemed necessary he should watch over the +princess.</p> + +<p>The candle, having burned down to the neck of the bottle in which it had +been placed, spluttered and fretted because its life was so nearly at an +end, and Joe replaced it with a fresh one.</p> + +<p>With his back against the box which served as cupboard, he sat watching +the little maid with a strong determination not to indulge in sleep, and +even as he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span> repeated for the twentieth time that it was necessary he +remain awake, his eyes closed in slumber.</p> + +<p>It was yet dark, and the second candle nearly consumed, when the +princess suddenly opened her big, brown eyes, and during a single +instant looked about her in silent astonishment.</p> + +<p>Then, as the only way by which she could express her displeasure with +her surroundings, the child opened her tiny mouth to its fullest extent, +and from the little pink throat came as shrill a scream as was ever +uttered by one of "old Mis' Carter's kids."</p> + +<p>Joe Potter was on his feet instantly, and during the first few seconds +after being thus rudely awakened was at a loss to understand exactly +where he was, or what had aroused him.</p> + +<p>The princess introduced herself to his attention very quickly, however, +for she was a maid who had ever received, and was ever ready to demand, +attention.</p> + +<p>Joe had her in his arms as soon as might be, but just at this moment it +was her mother she wanted, and the friendship previously displayed for +her new guardian was forgotten.</p> + +<p>In other words, the princess screamed passionately; Joe walked to and +fro with her in his arms, whispering soothing words which did not +soothe; and through all the uproar Master Plummer slumbered as sweetly +as an infant.</p> + +<p>"I know what you want, you poor little thing; but how am I goin' to get +it for you to-night? Why won't you try to make the best of it till +mornin', an' then we'll<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span> be sure to find your folks? Here, eat some of +these peanuts; they must be awful good, 'cordin' to the way Plums +pitched into 'em last night."</p> + +<p>The princess had no appetite for peanuts just then, and, as the readiest +way of giving her guardian such information, she struck the outstretched +hand with her tiny fist, sending the nuts flying in every direction.</p> + +<p>Joe was considerably surprised that such a dainty-looking little maiden +could display so much temper, but did not relax his efforts to please.</p> + +<p>One of the sugared cakes had escaped Master Plummer's cyclonic appetite, +and with this the amateur nurse tried to tempt the screaming child into +silence.</p> + +<p>The cake shared the fate of the peanuts, and the princess gave every +evidence in her power of a positive refusal to be soothed.</p> + +<p>Joe had tossed her in the air, fondled her in his arms, paced to and fro +as if walking for a wager, but all without avail, and now it seemed +necessary he should have assistance.</p> + +<p>Master Plummer's rest had not been disturbed by the noise, but he rose +to a sitting posture very suddenly when Joe kicked him almost roughly.</p> + +<p>"Wha—wha—what's the matter?" he asked, blinking in the light of the +candle, which was directly in front of his eyes.</p> + +<p>"I should think you might know by this time! Can't you hear the +princess?"</p> + +<p>"I thought there'd be a row if she waked up," Master Plummer replied, in +a matter-of-fact tone, and then he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span> laid himself down again, evidently +intending to continue the interrupted nap.</p> + +<p>"See here, Plums, you can't do that!" Joe cried, sharply. "I mustn't be +left alone with this poor little thing. It ain't certain but she'll die, +she's so frightened."</p> + +<p>"Don't fret yourself. She'll come out of it after a spell; all Mis' +Carter's kids used to."</p> + +<p>"But she isn't like them, I tell you! They could stand 'most anything, +an' she's been raised different."</p> + +<p>"She cries jest the same's they did."</p> + +<p>"Look here, George Plummer, get up on your feet an' help me! This thing +is growin' dangerous!"</p> + +<p>Plums had no fear the princess would injure herself by crying; but his +friend spoke so sternly that he decided it was wisest to obey the +command, and a very sleepy-looking boy he was, as he stood yawning and +rubbing his eyes, with an expression of discontent amounting almost to +peevishness upon his face.</p> + +<p>"There ain't anything either you or I can do. Youngsters have to yell +jest about so much,—it makes 'em healthy,—an' she'll quiet down after +a spell. Why don't you give her somethin' to eat?"</p> + +<p>"I tried that, but she wouldn't take a single crumb. The trouble is, we +haven't got what she wants. Now, if there was some milk in the house—"</p> + +<p>"But there ain't, so what's the use thinkin' of that?"</p> + +<p>"It must be near mornin', an' if there is a bakeshop anywhere 'round, +you could get some."</p> + +<p>"Do you want a feller to turn out in the night an'<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span> travel 'round the +streets lookin' for milk?" Plums asked, indignantly.</p> + +<p>"It is better to do that than have a dear little baby like this die."</p> + +<p>"But there's no danger anything of that kind will happen. I've seen lots +of worse scrapes than this, but they always ended up all right."</p> + +<p>"Look here, Plums, will you go out an' get some milk?"</p> + +<p>"What's the use—"</p> + +<p>"<i>Will</i> you go an' get the milk?"</p> + +<p>Just for an instant Master Plummer stood irresolute, as if questioning +the necessity for such severe exertion, and then a single glance at his +friend's face decided the matter.</p> + +<p>In silence, but with a decided show of temper, the fat boy picked up one +of the tomato-cans, jammed his battered hat down over his head, and +stalked out of the shanty.</p> + +<p>During this brief conversation the princess's outcries had neither +ceased nor diminished in volume, and when Plums had thus unwillingly +departed, it was as if she redoubled her efforts.</p> + +<p>Unfortunately, Joe had had no experience with "old Mis' Carter's kids," +and when the child's face took on a purplish hue, he was thoroughly +alarmed, believing her to be dying.</p> + +<p>"Don't, baby dear, don't! You'll kill yourself if you act this way! I'm +doin' the best I know how; but the trouble is, I can't tell what you +want!"</p> + +<p>Entreaties were as useless as any of his other efforts<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span> to soothe, yet +he alternately begged her to be silent, and paced to and fro with her in +his arms, until, when it seemed to him that at least one whole night +must have passed since she awakened, the princess tired of her +exertions.</p> + +<p>Then it was a tear-stained, grief-swollen face that he looked into, and +the childish sobs which escaped her lips gave him deeper pain than had +her most energetic outcries.</p> + +<p>Believing her to be suffering severely, the big tears of sympathy rolled +down Joe's face as he told her again and again of all he would do +towards finding her mother when the day had come.</p> + +<p>The princess was lying quietly in Joe's arms when Master Plummer finally +returned, bringing the can of milk, and yawning as if he had been asleep +during the entire journey and had but just awakened.</p> + +<p>"Now you can see that it was jest as I said!" he exclaimed. "When +youngsters start in yellin', they've got to do about so much of it, an' +there's no use tryin' to stop 'em. Here I've walked all over this city +huntin' for milk when I might jest as well have been sleepin'."</p> + +<p>"It won't do you any harm, Plums, an' I honestly think the princess is +hungry."</p> + +<p>"She can't be very bad off, with Bologna, an' cakes, an' peanuts 'round. +I'll bet she won't touch this."</p> + +<p>Joe broke into the milk such fragments of cracker as remained in the +cupboard-box, after which, and first wiping the spoon carefully on his +coat sleeve, he began to feed the little maid.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 457px;"> +<img src="images/z050.jpg" width="457" height="650" alt=""HE BEGAN TO FEED THE LITTLE MAID."" title="" /> +<span class="caption">"HE BEGAN TO FEED THE LITTLE MAID."</span> +</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span></p> + +<p>To Master Plummer's disappointment, she ate almost greedily, and Joe +said, in a tone of triumph:</p> + +<p>"You may know a good deal 'bout Mis' Carter's babies, but you're way off +when it comes to one of this kind."</p> + +<p>"I don't know whether I am or not," and Plums laid himself down once +more, falling asleep, or pretending to, almost immediately thereafter.</p> + +<p>Having eaten with evident relish the food which had cost Plums so much +labour, the princess's ill-temper vanished entirely, and she twittered +and chirped to Joe until he forgot his former fears and anxieties in the +love which sprang up in his heart for the tiny maid who was dependent +upon him for a shelter.</p> + +<p>The day was close at hand when the amateur nurse and his charge +journeyed into dreamland for the second time, and although Joe had +gained but little rest during the night, his slumbers were not so +profound but that a hum of shrill voices near the building awakened him +very shortly afterward.</p> + +<p>The one fear in his mind was that the princess would be disturbed, and +he stepped quickly outside the shanty to learn the cause of the noise.</p> + +<p>"Here he is! Here he is now! We was in big luck to come 'round this +way!" one of a party of boys said, excitedly, and Joe recognised in +these early visitors three friends and business acquaintances, all of +whom were looking very serious, and evidently labouring under great +excitement.</p> + +<p>"What's brought you fellers up to this part of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span> town so early?" Joe +asked, in surprise, and Dan Fernald, who had under his arm a bundle of +morning papers, said, in a mournful tone:</p> + +<p>"We've come after you."</p> + +<p>"What for? I'm goin' to hang 'round here a spell till I can get enough +money ahead to go into business ag'in. Did you fellers think I'd be so +mean as to sell papers 'round City Hall after I'd sold out to Dan?"</p> + +<p>"It ain't anything like that, Joe Potter," Master Fernald replied, so +gravely that the princess's guardian could not fail of being alarmed.</p> + +<p>"What's floatin' over you fellers?" he asked, sharply. "Ain't been +gettin' into trouble, have you?"</p> + +<p>"We're all right; but there's somethin' mighty wrong 'bout you, Joe. +Say, did you do anything crooked when you sold that stand to Sim +Jepson?"</p> + +<p>"Crooked? Why, how could I? He'd been workin' for me at a dollar a week, +an' when I hadn't any more money, he took the stand for what I owed him. +If you call it crooked to sell out a business for a dollar an' twenty +cents, when it cost pretty nigh eight times as much, you're off your +base."</p> + +<p>"Then what <i>have</i> you been doin'?" Tim Morgan asked.</p> + +<p>By this time Joe began to understand that something serious had caused +this early visit, and he began to grow alarmed, without knowing why it +should disturb him.</p> + +<p>"I don't want you to make any noise 'round here, 'cause Plums an' me +have got a kid what we picked up in the street last night, an' she's +asleep. It won't do to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span> wake her 'less you want to hear the tallest kind +of screechin'. But I've got to know what's givin' you fellers the +chills; so out with it, but be as quiet as you can."</p> + +<p>Dan Fernald looked at his comrades as if hoping one of them would act as +spokesman; but since both remained silent, he began by saying:</p> + +<p>"See here, Joe, you know we're your friends, an' are willin' to do all +we can to help you out of a scrape?"</p> + +<p>"Yes," Master Potter replied, growing yet more alarmed because of Dan's +solemn manner.</p> + +<p>"If you'd come right to us in the first place, we'd helped you, no +matter how much money was wanted."</p> + +<p>"Look here, Dan, don't give me a stiff like this!" Joe cried, +imploringly. "If anything's wrong, out with it, 'stead of mumblin' 'bout +helpin' me. I've allers managed to help myself, and you fellers, too, a +good many times, so I don't know why you should stand 'round lookin' +like as if somethin' was chewin' you."</p> + +<p>"If we wasn't your friends, Joe, you might give us a bluff like that, +an' even if we didn't take it, we'd make out as though we did. See +here," and unfolding a newspaper, Dan pointed to an advertisement, as he +added, "I saw this almost 'fore I got out of the <i>Herald</i> office, an' +didn't stop for anything but jest to pick up Tim an' Jerry before I come +to find you."</p> + +<p>Joe looked at each of his friends in turn before taking the proffered +paper, and then, after considerable difficulty because of the necessity +of spelling out each word in turn, he read the following:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span></p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>JOSEPH POTTER. Information wanted of a newsboy or fruit +vendor answering to the name of Joseph Potter. He was last +seen in front of the Grand Central Station at about seven +o'clock on the evening of yesterday (Tuesday), holding in +his arms a child three years old. A liberal reward will be +paid for information as to the present whereabouts of the +boy. Address Cushman & Morton, Attorneys at Law, 47-1/2 Pine +Street, New York.</p></div> + +<p>Immediately below this was an advertisement signed with the same names, +requesting information concerning a little girl who had strayed from the +Grand Central Station and was last seen in the company of a newsboy; but +this Joe did not read.</p> + +<p>The fact that he was advertised for, as if he had been a fugitive from +justice, terrified him.</p> + +<p>He could not so much as speak; but looked alternately at the printed +sheet and his companions, until Dan said, sternly:</p> + +<p>"Now, Joe, you can tell us 'bout this thing or not, jest as you have a +mind. What we've come for is to help you get clear, an' we're bound to +do it."</p> + +<p>"Get clear of what?" Joe repeated, in bewilderment.</p> + +<p>"You know better'n we do, an' I ain't askin' questions if you think it +ought'er be kept secret from us."</p> + +<p>"But I haven't been doin' anything that wasn't square," Joe replied, +with a trembling voice.</p> + +<p>"Then what's a couple of lawyers advertisin' you for?" Tim Morgan asked, +shrilly. "Do you s'pose sich folks want'er catch a feller what sells +papers, jest to look at him?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 453px;"> +<img src="images/z056.jpg" width="453" height="650" alt=""DAN POINTED TO AN ADVERTISEMENT."" title="" /> +<span class="caption">"DAN POINTED TO AN ADVERTISEMENT."</span> +</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span></p> + +<p>"See here, Tim, you know me, an' you know I never did a mean thing to +anybody in my life."</p> + +<p>"Then what they advertisin' yer for?"</p> + +<p>"Say, fellers, I wouldn't try to make out—"</p> + +<p>"Now, Joe, this ain't any time for you to stuff us," Dan Fernald said, +impatiently. "If you hadn't done anything crooked, your name wouldn't be +right there in them big letters. You've allers been willin' to do us a +good turn, an' we're goin' to pay you back. You've <i>got</i> to skip! An' +you've got to skip bloomin' quick!"</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span></p> +<h2>CHAPTER IV.</h2> + +<h3>JOE'S FLIGHT.</h3> + + +<p>It was literally impossible for Joe Potter to make any reply to Dan +Fernald's positive statement that he must run away in order to escape +punishment.</p> + +<p>As a matter of course he knew he had done nothing of a criminal nature, +and yet the advertisement, which seemed to stand out more conspicuously +than any other item in the paper, could not be construed either by +himself or his companions to mean anything else.</p> + +<p>The fact that it was signed by attorneys seemed to Joe and his friends +positive proof that a crime had been committed; otherwise why would +representatives of the law have appeared in the matter?</p> + +<p>Dan Fernald, as Joe's oldest and nearest friend, took it upon himself to +act as master of ceremonies in the affair, and, understanding that his +comrade was so overwhelmed by the impending danger as to be absolutely +incapable of intelligent movement, led him towards the shanty, as he +said, gravely:</p> + +<p>"Never mind what it is you've done, Joe, us fellers are goin' to see you +through, an' it won't do to hang 'round here very long, if you plan on +givin' the perlice the slip. I reckon they'll be hot after you before +nine<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span> o'clock, an' by that time I'm countin' on havin' you hid. Got +anything here you want to take with you?"</p> + +<p>Joe shook his head; but Master Fernald seemed to consider it necessary +they should enter the building, and his two comrades followed close in +the rear.</p> + +<p>Once inside the shanty, the visitors, as a matter of course, saw the +princess sleeping on the straw, and, despite the fact that her garments +were not as cleanly as on the day previous, making a most charming +picture.</p> + +<p>"Well, I'll be blowed! Where'd you get that?"</p> + +<p>Joe had been so bewildered by the terrible knowledge that the officers +of the law were probably on his trail, as to have forgotten for the +moment that the princess was in his charge, and he stood for an instant +staring at her vacantly before making any reply, which odd behaviour +served to strengthen the belief in the minds of his friends that he was +guilty of some serious crime.</p> + +<p>"Oh, that's the princess. She lost her folks somewhere near the <i>de</i>pot +last night, an' I was countin' on findin' 'em for her this mornin'. +Plums an' me had to take her in, else she'd been layin' 'round the +streets."</p> + +<p>Dan looked at him sharply, while Tim and Jerry raised themselves on +tiptoe to gaze at the sleeping child.</p> + +<p>"Well, what you goin' to do with her now?" Dan asked, after waiting in +vain for his friend to speak.</p> + +<p>"I don't know," Joe replied, sadly, and added, in a more hopeful tone, +"If you fellers would look after the little thing, she might—"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span></p> + +<p>"We'll have all we can do keepin' you out of jail, without bein' +bothered by a kid taggin' everywhere we go. You don't seem to +understand, Joe, that it's goin' to take mighty sharp work, an' most +likely every feller that ever knew you will be watched by the perlice +from this time out."</p> + +<p>"But I can't leave her here alone," Master Potter wailed.</p> + +<p>"Why not take her down where Plums used to live? Mis' Carter's got a +reg'lar raft of kids, an' ought'er know how to take care of another."</p> + +<p>"It would jest 'bout break the little thing's heart to put her in with +that Carter gang, an' I can't do it. I'd sooner the perlice nabbed me."</p> + +<p>"Now you're talkin' through your hat. Of course you don't want to go up +to Sing Sing for two or three years, an' that's what's bound to happen +if them lawyers get hold of you. What's Plums snorin' away for, when +things are all mixed up so bad?" Dan asked, impatiently, and without +further delay he proceeded to arouse Master Plummer to a knowledge of +the terrible danger that threatened Joe, by shaking him furiously.</p> + +<p>"What do you want now,—more milk?" the fat boy asked, without opening +his eyes, and Dan pulled him suddenly to his feet.</p> + +<p>"Wake up, an' see what we want! Here's the perlice after Joe, red-hot, +an' we've got to get him out'er town."</p> + +<p>"After Joe?" Master Plummer repeated, stupidly. "What's he been doin'?"</p> + +<p>"We don't know, an' he won't tell us."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span></p> + +<p>"I haven't been doin' a thing, Plums, as true as I live; but there it +all is in the paper," Master Potter replied, in a tearful voice. "Of +course there's no gettin' away from that."</p> + +<p>Not until Plums had spelled out for himself the ominous advertisement +was it possible for those who would rescue Joe Potter from the impending +doom to do anything towards his escape, and, once having mastered the +printed lines, the fat boy gazed at his grief-stricken friend in mingled +astonishment and reproach.</p> + +<p>"Of course the perlice are goin' to know you slept here last night, an' +jest as likely as not I'll be pulled for takin' you in."</p> + +<p>"Course you will!" Jerry Hayes cried, shrilly. "You're in a pretty tight +box, Plums."</p> + +<p>Joe protested vehemently that he was innocent of any intentional +wrong-doing; but with that unexplainable advertisement before him, Plums +received the statement with much the same incredulity as had the others.</p> + +<p>"Where you goin' to take him?" he asked of Dan; and the latter replied:</p> + +<p>"I don't know; but we've got to get him out of town by the shortest cut, +an' I reckon that'll be Thirty-fourth Street Ferry. How much money you +fellers got?"</p> + +<p>Master Plummer took from his pocket that which remained of the amount +given him by Joe the night previous, and, after counting it twice, +replied:</p> + +<p>"Here's sixteen cents what belongs to Joe, an' I've got twenty of my +own."</p> + +<p>"Us fellers have anteed up a dollar an' a quarter<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span> towards seein' you +through, an' here it is," Master Fernald said, as he gave Plums a +handful of small coins.</p> + +<p>Joe did not so much as glance at the money, and Dan said, impatiently:</p> + +<p>"Now, don't hang 'round here any longer, you two, 'cause it's mighty +near sunrise."</p> + +<p>"But what about the kid?" Plums asked, as if until that moment he had +entirely forgotten the sleeping child.</p> + +<p>"I reckon she'll have to take her chances," Dan replied, carelessly. +"Some one will look out for her, of course,—turn her over to McDaniels, +the blacksmith."</p> + +<p>This suggestion aroused Joe very suddenly, and he glanced at each of his +companions in turn, as if to read the thoughts of all, after which he +said, sharply:</p> + +<p>"You fellers can believe me or not, but I haven't done anything to set +the perlice after me. I can't say as I blame you for thinkin' it ain't +so, 'cause there's that advertisement; but it's a fact all the same, an' +I'm goin' to let the cops take me."</p> + +<p>"What?" Tim Morgan screamed. "You're goin' to jail?"</p> + +<p>"What else can I do?"</p> + +<p>"Run away, of course, the same's we're fixin' it."</p> + +<p>"In the first place, we haven't got money enough to go very far, an' +then, ag'in, I won't leave the princess knockin' 'round the streets."</p> + +<p>"You'd have to if you went to jail."</p> + +<p>"I could take her with me for a spell, anyhow."</p> + +<p>Joe appeared so thoroughly determined to give himself<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span> up to the +officers of the law that his comrades were seriously alarmed.</p> + +<p>Although there was but little question in their minds that he was guilty +of some crime, not one of them was willing he should yield to the order +of arrest which they believed had already been issued.</p> + +<p>Plums looked at Dan imploringly, and the latter said, as he laid hold of +Joe's arm:</p> + +<p>"Now see here, old man, we ain't goin' to stand by with our hands in our +pockets while you go to jail, 'cause there's no need of it. The perlice +won't be 'round for two or three hours, an' it's pretty hard lines if we +can't get you out of town before they come."</p> + +<p>"I won't leave the princess," Joe replied, doggedly.</p> + +<p>"Then take her with you. Of course there's a good deal of risk in it, +seein's how the advertisement said you had her; but it's a blamed sight +better'n givin' right up same's any chump would do."</p> + +<p>"I counted on findin' her folks this mornin'."</p> + +<p>"The way things have turned out, you can't; an' what's the odds if you +wait two or three days? I'll see that you have money enough to keep you +goin' for a spell, anyhow, 'cause all the fellers what know you an' +Plums will chip in to help."</p> + +<p>"Am I goin', too?" Master Plummer asked, in surprise.</p> + +<p>"I can't see any other way out of it. When the perlice find where Joe +slept last night, they're bound to pull you in. It don't look to me as +if it was goin' to be sich a terrible hard thing to go off in the +country for a spell,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span> now the weather's warm, an' if it wasn't for the +kid here, I'd say you'd have a great time."</p> + +<p>At this moment the princess awakened, and, fortunately, in an amiable +mood.</p> + +<p>She raised her hands towards Joe as if asking to be taken in his arms, +and, instantly the mute request was complied with, the ruined merchant's +courage failed him.</p> + +<p>Burying his face in her dress, regardless of the possible injury to be +done the delicate fabric, the poor boy gave way to tears, and the little +maid must have understood that he was suffering, for she patted him on +the ear, or ruffled his hair gently with her hands, all of which served +but to make his grief more intense.</p> + +<p>"Now's the time to get him right away," Dan said, in a low tone to +Master Plummer. "We've fooled 'round here too long already, and if he +kicks ag'in goin', why, we've got to lug him, that's all. I won't see +Joe Potter put in jail if it can be helped."</p> + +<p>"What do you s'pose he's been doin'?" Plums asked, in a terrified +whisper.</p> + +<p>"Blamed if I know; but it must be somethin' pretty tough, else they +wouldn't spend money advertisin' for him."</p> + +<p>"I don't b'lieve he'd kill anybody."</p> + +<p>"Neither do I; but it must be somethin' 'bout as bad as that. While he's +takin' on so we can get him off without much trouble. We'd better walk +to the ferry, 'cause there might be somebody on the horse-car what would +know him."</p> + +<p>"If I've got to leave the town, I don't want to hang<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span> 'round Long +Island, 'cause there ain't so much chance of gettin' further away," +Plums objected, and Dan began to show signs of ill temper at being thus +thwarted in his efforts to do a favour.</p> + +<p>"You'll be blamed lucky if you get anywhere, except to jail."</p> + +<p>"But what's the difference if we go over to Jersey? It ain't much +further to the Weehawken Ferry than it is Thirty-fourth Street way."</p> + +<p>"All right, go there, then,—anywhere, so's you get a move on."</p> + +<p>Master Plummer took the precaution to gather up such provisions as +remained in the cupboard, and, after one long look around at the home he +might be leaving for ever, shook Joe gently.</p> + +<p>"Come on, old man; this thing's got to be done, an' the sooner we start +the better. There's no show for you to give yourself up 'less I'm with +you, 'cordin' to what Dan says, an' you can bet I ain't countin' on +goin' to jail so long as it can be helped."</p> + +<p>Joe rose to his feet obediently, still holding the princess tightly in +his arms, and Dan ordered Jerry to precede them into the street, in +order to make certain the officers of the law were not in the vicinity.</p> + +<p>"If you whistle once, we'll know nobody's there, an' twice means that +we're surrounded."</p> + +<p>Jerry, looking as important as the occasion demanded, set about doing +the scouting for the party, and an instant later a shrill call rang out +on the morning air, telling that the coast was clear.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span></p> + +<p>Dan and Plums ranged themselves either side of Joe; Tim marched in +advance, wary as an Indian hunter; and in this order the little party +gained the street, the princess in high glee because of the numbers who +were escorting her.</p> + +<p>Joe neither spoke nor looked back. His heart was as heavy as though the +shadow of a real crime hung over him, and, had he been going directly to +prison, could not have appeared more despondent.</p> + +<p>On the other hand, Dan Fernald was enjoying himself hugely.</p> + +<p>Aiding a desperate criminal to escape from the clutches of the law was +to him a most exciting adventure. He had always believed he possessed +remarkable detective ability, and this was the first time an opportunity +of establishing such fact had presented itself.</p> + +<p>"If I don't get you two fellers out of this scrape, then I'm willin' to +lay right down," he said, as Tim and Jerry led the way towards the west +side of the city at a rapid pace. "I've kept myself posted on the +detective business pretty sharp, 'cause I've made up my mind to go into +it before long, an' by the time we finish this job I guess the perlice +will find out what I'm made of. I ain't so sure but I shall join the +force after you're straightened out."</p> + +<p>"They wouldn't take on a feller of your size," Master Plummer said, with +something very like a sneer; which was not seemly, in view of the fact +that Dan was at this moment giving him the full benefit of his wonderful +ability, simply through friendship.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span></p> + +<p>"It don't make any difference about a feller's size; it's the head what +counts. Before long you'll find out whether I've got one or not."</p> + +<p>Joe gave no heed to his friend's words. His grief was so great that +probably he knew nothing whatever regarding that morning journey, save +that the princess, when not laughing and chattering at him, was eating, +with evident relish, the sugar-besprinkled cake which Plums had slipped +into her chubby hand.</p> + +<p>The boy did not realise that he might be doing a grievous wrong against +the parents of the princess by thus taking her from the city. He knew +she would be cared for to the best of his ability, and it seemed as if +those who loved her must realise the same. Of course he understood that +she was to be restored to her father and mother as soon as it should be +possible, but he failed to take into consideration the suffering which +might be theirs because of her disappearance.</p> + +<p>Therefore it was that, in all this wretched business, at the end of +which he could see nothing but the open door of a prison, the only +bright thing to him, amid the clouds of despair, was the companionship +of the princess.</p> + +<p>After the first slight sorrow at being forced to leave his home, Plums +began to enjoy this flight, and discussed with Dan the possible +enjoyment of a detective's life until the party arrived within a block +of the ferry-slip.</p> + +<p>It was yet so early in the morning that but few were on the street; but +Dan had no intention of allowing the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span> boy whom he was saving to enter +the slip like an ordinary citizen.</p> + +<p>Ordering a halt near the entrance of an alleyway which led between two +stables, he said, with the air of a general:</p> + +<p>"Tim, you scout along down towards the ferry-slip, an' see if anybody's +there on the watch. We'll stay here so's we can sneak up through this +alley if you should whistle twice. Jerry, you're to walk back about half +a block, so's to make certain the perlice don't creep up on us from +behind."</p> + +<p>"But there ain't a dozen people in sight, an' we can see that there's no +cop 'round!" Master Plummer exclaimed. "What's to hinder our goin' right +on board the boat?"</p> + +<p>"Look here, Plums, if you know more 'bout this kind of business than I +do, take hold an' run the thing. We'll see how far you'll get before the +whole crowd is nabbed."</p> + +<p>"I don't know anything about it, of course; but I can see there's nobody +between us an' the ferry-slip that would likely make trouble."</p> + +<p>"If we depended on you, we wouldn't have got so far as we have," Master +Fernald replied, disdainfully. "Jest likely as not, there's a dozen cops +hid close 'round here, an' I ain't goin' to be fool enough to walk right +into their arms."</p> + +<p>Plums was silenced by this exhibition of superior wisdom, and Joe +indifferent to whatever steps might be taken for his own safety; +therefore Dan was not interfered with in his management of the affair.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span></p> + +<p>The scouts set about their work, and not until fully ten minutes had +passed did the amateur detective give the word for the fugitives to +advance.</p> + +<p>"I reckon it's all straight enough now, an' we'll go on board the boat; +but there's no tellin' what might have happened if I hadn't 'tended to +the work in the right way."</p> + +<p>Then Master Fernald walked a few paces in advance of his friends, moving +stealthily, as if knowing danger menaced them on every hand, and casting +furtive glances up and down the street until, had any one observed his +movements, suspicions must have been aroused as to the innocence of his +purpose.</p> + +<p>Jerry paid for the ferry tickets out of his own funds, for it was the +purpose of these rescuers to remain in the company of the fugitives +until they should have escaped from the State.</p> + +<p>Once on the boat, Joe wanted to remain in the ladies' cabin, because of +the princess; but Dan would not countenance any such rash proceeding.</p> + +<p>He insisted that they must take up their stations in what was, for the +time being, the bow of the boat, where they could prevent possible +pursuers from "sneakin' up on 'em."</p> + +<p>The princess made no objection to this breezy position, otherwise the +boy who was being rescued by Master Fernald would have flatly refused to +obey orders; and thus the fugitives and their friends remained where +every passenger on board must of necessity have seen them.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span></p> + +<p>Dan gave his friends what he considered good advice during the passage, +and when the boat was nearing the slip on the Jersey side, summed up his +instructions with a statement which electrified them all.</p> + +<p>"You fellers are to hang 'round Weehawken till 'long towards dark, when +Plums must come down to the ferry-slip. I'm goin' back to New York to +fix up my business, so's I can stay with you till the worst of the +trouble is over."</p> + +<p>"Are you countin' on runnin' away with us?" Master Plummer asked, in +surprise.</p> + +<p>"That's jest the size of it. You fellers don't seem to know scarcely +anything at all about takin' care of yourselves, an' if I don't 'tend to +business you'll both be in jail before to-morrow mornin'. I'm goin' to +size up things 'round perlice headquarters to-day, an' then come over to +look after you. Jest as soon's the boat touches the slip, you two take a +sneak, find some place where you can hide till night, an' then watch out +for me."</p> + +<p>Five minutes later, the fugitives stepped on Jersey soil, and Master +Fernald's scouts were deployed to guard against an attack from the enemy +until the two boys were lost to view in the distance. Then the amateur +detective said, in a tone of grim determination, "Now, fellers, we'll go +back, an' size up the cops in New York."</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span></p> +<h2>CHAPTER V.</h2> + +<h3>IN THE CITY.</h3> + + +<p>When Dan Fernald and his two assistants returned to their usual place of +business in the city, they found Joe Potter's mercantile friends in a +state of high excitement.</p> + +<p>It seemed as if the eyes of each boy who was acquainted with Joe had +been attracted to that particular advertisement, and business among a +certain portion of the youthful merchants in the vicinity of City Hall +Square was almost entirely suspended because of the startling +information that "the lawyers were after Joe Potter."</p> + +<p>It was only natural for each fellow to speculate as to the reason why +the unfortunate fruit merchant should be "wanted," and many and wild +were the theories advanced.</p> + +<p>Some of the boys even went so far as to suggest that Joe had robbed a +bank, and, in order to make such a proposition plausible, insinuated +that he had failed in the fruit business simply for the purpose of +deceiving the public as to the true state of his finances.</p> + +<p>Little Billy Dooner ventured the opinion that "perhaps Joe had killed a +<i>I</i>talian," but no one gave weight<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span> to the possible explanation, for +Master Potter enjoyed the reputation of being as peaceable a boy as +could be found in the city.</p> + +<p>When each one of those more particularly interested had in turn given +his theory regarding the mystery, without throwing any positive light on +the subject, the conversation was always brought to a close with +something like the following words:</p> + +<p>"At any rate, he's gone a mighty long ways crooked, else the lawyers +wouldn't spend money advertisin' for him."</p> + +<p>The arrival of Dan Fernald and his assistants only served to heighten +the mystery, for these young gentlemen positively refused to make any +statement either for or against the missing boy, and the natural result +was that they were credited with knowing very much more regarding the +affair than really was the case.</p> + +<p>Dan immediately assumed such an air as he believed befitted detectives, +and hinted more than once that Joe's friends "would be s'prised before +the day was ended."</p> + +<p>Not until noon was there any change in the situation of affairs, and +then a bootblack who worked in the vicinity of the Grand Central Station +came down to City Hall Square with information that Plums was no longer +attending to business.</p> + +<p>"If he wasn't so bloomin' slow, I'd say he'd run away with Joe Potter," +the informant added; "but as it is, he couldn't get out of the town in +much less than a week, even if he humped hisself the best he knew how."</p> + +<p>Under ordinary circumstances, Plums might have disappeared<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span> without +causing a ripple of excitement among his business acquaintances, but +since Joe Potter was missing also, it began to look as if the two might +be together.</p> + +<p>At three o'clock in the afternoon Sim Jepson startled the community of +newsboys by announcing that he had been closely questioned by a man in +citizen's clothing, who "looked for all the world like a cop got up in +disguise," concerning Joe's habits, and Master Jepson added, on his own +responsibility:</p> + +<p>"They're after him hot, an' no mistake. He'll be mighty smart if he can +keep out of sight when they've gone reg'larly to work huntin' him up."</p> + +<p>This information disturbed Dan Fernald not a little.</p> + +<p>Although quite positive he was a match for any detective or policeman in +the city, Dan would have preferred to work on a case where there +appeared to be less danger. This affair of Joe's was growing more +serious each moment, and he who meddled with it might come to grief, but +yet never for a moment did Master Fernald think of abandoning his +friend.</p> + +<p>"I'll do jest as I told him I would, no matter what kind of a scrape I +get into," he said, confidentially, to Tim and Jerry. "You fellers must +hang 'round here so's to find out all that's goin' on, an' be sure to +let me know if any more men come here searchin' for Joe."</p> + +<p>"But you ain't goin' to stay in Weehawken?"</p> + +<p>"Well, I guess not."</p> + +<p>"Then how shall we know where to find you?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Look here, Jerry Hayes, if you ain't smart enough to find us three when +you know we're somewhere in Jersey, it ain't any kind of use for you to +try to be a detective, 'cause you'll never make one. You must come over +to Weehawken, an' get on our trail; then the rest of it will be easy +enough."</p> + +<p>"I'd like to know how we're goin' to do that?"</p> + +<p>"If I've got to explain every little thing, I might jest as well run +this case all by myself. Findin' a man when you don't know where he is, +is the first thing a detective has to learn, an' you'd better put in a +good part of your time studyin' it up. Now I'm goin' to see how much +money I can raise, an' 'long 'bout five o'clock you can count on my +sneakin' out of town."</p> + +<p>While his friends were thus speculating, and working in what they +believed to be his behalf, Joe was spending a most wretched day.</p> + +<p>Immediately after landing from the ferry-boat, he, carrying the princess +and followed by Plums, walked directly away from the river, believing +that by such a course he would the sooner arrive at the open country.</p> + +<p>Now that he was really running away, his fears increased momentarily.</p> + +<p>While in the city, it had seemed to him as if he could summon up +sufficient courage to surrender himself to those people, who most likely +wanted to commit him to prison; but having once begun the flight, all +his courage vanished,—he no longer even so much as dreamed of facing +the trouble.</p> + +<p>The princess, well content with this morning stroll<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span> and the cake Joe +had given her, appeared willing to continue such form of amusement +indefinitely.</p> + +<p>She laughed and crowed until the young guardian trembled lest she should +attract undue attention to him, and when, ceasing this, the little maid +poured some wondrous tale in his ear, his heart smote him, for he +believed she was urging to be taken home.</p> + +<p>"I'll find your mother, baby darling, the very first thing after I get +out of this scrape; but there couldn't any one blame me for runnin' away +when the perlice are after me."</p> + +<p>Plums was more discontented than alarmed during this journey. There was +altogether too much walking in it to please him, and Joe pushed ahead so +rapidly that he nearly lost his breath trying to keep pace with him.</p> + +<p>"If you go on this way much longer I'll have to give the thing up," he +said, in despair, when they were a mile or more from the ferry-slip.</p> + +<p>"But you surely ought to walk as fast as I can when I am carrying the +princess."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps I ought'er, but I can't. I'm pretty near knocked out of time +already. Why not slack up a little now, we're so far from the city?"</p> + +<p>"I don't dare to, Plums. We haven't gone any distance yet, an' jest as +likely as not the perlice here have had orders to stop us. Do the best +you can a spell longer, an' perhaps we can find a place to hide in till +you get rested."</p> + +<p>Master Plummer made no reply; but his companion could readily see that +he was suffering severely from<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span> such unusual exertions. His fat face was +of a deep crimson hue; tiny streams of perspiration ran down his cheeks, +and he breathed like one affected with the asthma.</p> + +<p>There was little need for Master Plummer to explain that a halt would +soon be necessary, for this Joe understood after but one glance at the +unhappy-looking boy.</p> + +<p>The princess's guardian had hoped they might gain the forest, where it +would be possible to hide, or at the least find a small thicket of trees +or bushes; but as yet there were dwellings on every hand, and each +instant the sun was sending down more fervent rays.</p> + +<p>At the expiration of an additional ten minutes Plums gave up the +struggle by saying, despondently:</p> + +<p>"It's no use, Joe, I couldn't keep on my feet half an hour longer, to +save the lives of all hands. S'posin' you leave me here, an' go on by +yourself? That will be better than for both of us to be arrested."</p> + +<p>"I'm not sich a chump as to do anything of that kind, old man. You got +into this trouble through tryin' to help me, an' I'll stay right side of +you till it's over."</p> + +<p>"But it ain't safe to hang 'round here."</p> + +<p>"I know it; yet what else can we do? We're bound to take the chances, +an' I'm goin' to stop at one of these houses."</p> + +<p>Master Plummer appeared thoroughly alarmed, yet he made no protest +against the proposed plan.</p> + +<p>At that moment imprisonment had less horrors for him than such severe +exertions.</p> + +<p>Joe's greatest fear was that, while asking for shelter,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span> he would be +forced to explain why he was taking the princess with him for a long +tramp, when the day was so warm; and, dangerous though such a course +might be, he was resolved to tell only the truth.</p> + +<p>"If I can't get through without lyin', I'll go to jail, an' take my +medicine like a man," he said to himself, and once this resolve had been +made he stopped in front of the nearest dwelling.</p> + +<p>His timid knock at the door was answered by a motherly-looking German +woman, who appeared surprised at seeing the visitors.</p> + +<p>"If we'll pay whatever you think is right, may we come in an' stay a +little while?" Joe asked, falteringly. "It's awful hot, an' the princess +must be tired."</p> + +<p>"Kannst du kein deutch sprechen?"</p> + +<p>Joe looked at her in bewilderment, and Plums said in a whisper:</p> + +<p>"She talks a good deal the way the princess does. I guess the kid must +know what she says."</p> + +<p>"We want to come in for a little while, an' are willin' to pay you for +it," Joe repeated, and the old lady shook her head doubtfully as she +leaned over and kissed the princess squarely on the mouth.</p> + +<p>"Ich kann nicht Englisch sprechen."</p> + +<p>As she spoke, the good woman gave Joe a smile which went far towards +reassuring him, and he in turn shook his head.</p> + +<p>"I guess we'll have to give it up," Plums said, mournfully. "It's too +bad, for she must be a real good kind of an old woman, or she wouldn't +have kissed the princess."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span></p> + +<p>Joe hesitated an instant, and had half turned to go when the old lady +stretched out her hands towards the child, who immediately displayed a +very decided desire to forsake the boy who had ministered to her wants +so devotedly during the past twelve or fifteen hours.</p> + +<p>"Komme herein aus der hitze."</p> + +<p>This was said with a gesture which could not be misunderstood, as the +old lady took the princess in her arms; and Joe followed without +hesitation, Master Plummer saying, meanwhile:</p> + +<p>"If she can't talk United States, an' that seems to be about the size of +it, there ain't any chance she can tell where we are. It's mighty lucky +we struck her, 'cordin' to my way of thinkin'."</p> + +<p>Joe was of the same opinion, when the old lady ushered them into a +cleanly but scantily furnished room, so darkened as to make it seem cool +by comparison with the scorching rays of the sun on the pavements, and +then gave her undivided attention to the baby.</p> + +<p>She took off the child's hat and cloak, and, carrying her into an +adjoining room, bathed her face and hands, much to the delight of the +princess.</p> + +<p>"I'd 'a' washed her up this mornin' if I hadn't been 'fraid she'd get +mad about it," Joe said, regretting most sincerely that he had not +attended to the little maiden's toilet in a proper manner.</p> + +<p>"What's the good? Old Mis' Carter says dirt makes children healthy, an' +if that's straight I should say your princess needs a couple of quarts +to put her in trim."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;"> +<img src="images/z080.jpg" width="448" height="650" alt=""'MAY WE COME IN AN' STAY A LITTLE WHILE?'"" title="" /> +<span class="caption">"'MAY WE COME IN AN' STAY A LITTLE WHILE?'"</span> +</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span></p> + +<p>"She ain't like Mis' Carter's kids, so what's the use to keep throwin' +them up all the time. Say, Plums, look at the old woman now! Why didn't +I think of cuddlin' the princess in that style?"</p> + +<p>Their hostess, having made the little maid more presentable, gathered +the child to her breast, as she rocked to and fro in a capacious +armchair, singing a lullaby, which speedily closed the two brown eyes in +slumber.</p> + +<p>"I shouldn't feel very bad if the old woman served me in the same way," +Master Plummer said, with a long-drawn sigh, as he straightened himself +up in the wooden chair. "I'd rather lay right down on the floor an' go +to sleep than do anything else I know of."</p> + +<p>"But you mustn't, Plums, you mustn't," Joe whispered, nervously. "If you +should do anything like that she'd think we was more'n half fools, both +of us."</p> + +<p>"Seid ihr kinder hungrich?"</p> + +<p>The old lady spoke so abruptly that the boys started as if in alarm, +both looking at her with such a puzzled expression on their faces that +she must have known they failed to understand the question.</p> + +<p>"Perhaps she thinks we can't pay our way," Plums whispered. "You might +let her know we've got money, even if you can't do anything better."</p> + +<p>Joe acted upon the suggestion at once by taking several coins from his +pocket, holding them towards the old lady.</p> + +<p>She shook her head and smiled cheerily. Then, laying the princess on a +chintz-covered couch without disturbing the child's slumbers, she left +the room.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span></p> + +<p>Again was Master Potter surprised by the apparently careless, yet deft +manner in which she handled the child, and he said, in a tone of +admiration to his friend:</p> + +<p>"Don't it jest knock your eye out to see the way she fools with the +princess, an' yet the little thing seems to like it? If I'd done half as +much as that she'd be screechin' blue murder by this time."</p> + +<p>"Women know how to take care of kids better'n boys do, though I ain't +any slouch at it, 'cause I've tried it so many times down to Mis' +Carter's."</p> + +<p>"I notice you couldn't stop her from cryin' last night."</p> + +<p>"I didn't try, did I? Perhaps if you hadn't sent me racin' all over the +city for milk I might'er done somethin'."</p> + +<p>This conversation was interrupted by the German lady, who returned, +bringing two plates, one of which was heaped high with seed-cakes, and +the other filled with generous slices of boiled ham.</p> + +<p>If a boy's mouth ever did water, Plums was in that peculiar condition +just at that moment.</p> + +<p>Alarmed by the news which Dan Fernald brought, he had, for perhaps the +first time in his life, forgotten to eat breakfast, and nothing could +have been more welcome in his eyes than this plentiful supply of food.</p> + +<p>"Better pay her for it," he whispered to Joe, "an' then she'll be likely +to bring on more. I could eat all she's got there, an' not half try."</p> + +<p>Joe did as his companion wished; but the old lady positively refused to +take the money until the boy urged<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span> her in dumb show, when, with the air +of one who complies with a request against her will, she took from +Master Potter's outstretched hand a dime.</p> + +<p>Plums had not waited for this business to be finished before he began +the attack, and when Joe turned he saw that his comrade had assumed a +position of supreme content, with three seed-cakes in one hand, and a +large slice of ham in the other.</p> + +<p>"You're awfully good to us, an' I wish you'd taken more money," Joe +said, as he helped himself to a small portion of the food, knowing, even +as he spoke, that his words would not be understood.</p> + +<p>The old lady smiled, and went out of the room again, returning almost +immediately with a glass of water and more ham, much to Master Plummer's +satisfaction.</p> + +<p>"I guess we're fixed jest about as well as we could be, an' it'll pay us +to hang on here till Dan comes over. This beats walkin' 'round the +streets."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps she wouldn't like it if we stayed a great while," Joe +suggested.</p> + +<p>"Well, s'posin' she shouldn't? So long's she can't talk United States +there's no chance of her turnin' us out, or tellin' where we are."</p> + +<p>"Would you stay here when you thought she didn't want us?"</p> + +<p>"I'd stay in most any place where we was strikin' it as rich as we are +jest now," and then Master Plummer ceased speaking, in order that he +might give more attention to this unexpected meal.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span></p> +<h2>CHAPTER VI.</h2> + +<h3>DAN, THE DETECTIVE.</h3> + + +<p>It was sunset, and Master Plummer stood at the ferry-slip in Weehawken, +awaiting the coming of Dan, the detective.</p> + +<p>Much against his will had the fat boy left the home of the German lady +to set out on this long tramp. He understood that it would not be safe +for Joe to come out of hiding, and, because of the arrangements made by +Dan in the morning, it was absolutely necessary some one should meet the +amateur detective at the ferry-slip.</p> + +<p>Hence it was that Master Plummer was loitering around just outside the +gate, keeping a close watch upon all who came from the boat, and on the +alert for anything bearing the resemblance of a blue coat with brass +buttons.</p> + +<p>Dan Fernald, believing that a detective who knew his business would not +make a single movement without a certain attendant mystery, had decided +it was not safe for him to leave New York in the daytime, and therefore +Plums's time of waiting was exceedingly long.</p> + +<p>Not until eight o'clock did Dan appear; and then, instead of answering +his friend's hail, he marched gravely<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span> out through the gate, crossed the +street, and, during several seconds, stood peering first to the right +and then the left, while from the opposite side Plums looked at him in +bewilderment.</p> + +<p>Master Plummer had spoken to his friend, but received no reply; had +followed a certain distance without being apparently recognised, and +stopped in bewilderment when Dan indulged in these curious antics.</p> + +<p>Finally the fat boy grew impatient, and, crossing the street, asked, +sharply:</p> + +<p>"What's the matter with you, anyhow, Dan?"</p> + +<p>Master Fernald glanced at his friend only sufficiently long to wink in a +most mysterious fashion, and then, turning quickly around, marched +gravely up the street without speaking.</p> + +<p>Plums watched in anxiety until, seeing his friend dart into a doorway, +it suddenly dawned upon him that Dan was desirous of avoiding a too +public interview.</p> + +<p>Then Plums hastened after him, muttering to himself:</p> + +<p>"That feller thinks he's awful smart, scrimpin' an' scrapin' 'round here +as if there was a dozen perlicemen right on his track. If he'd go on +about his business nobody'd notice him; but when he's kitin' 'round in +this fashion folks are bound to wonder what's the matter."</p> + +<p>On arriving at the doorway, he looked in, but without seeing any one, +because of the gloom.</p> + +<p>Thinking he had made a mistake, Plums would have hurried on, but for a +hoarse whisper which came from out the darkness.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Come in here, quick! Don't stand there where everybody'll tumble to who +you are."</p> + +<p>Plums obeyed immediately, as was his custom when any one spoke harshly, +and Dan seized him by the arm.</p> + +<p>"Keep quiet, now, whatever you do, 'cause I wouldn't be s'prised if +more'n a dozen cops followed me over on the boat."</p> + +<p>"I didn't see any," Plums replied, in astonishment.</p> + +<p>"That's 'cause you didn't keep your eye peeled. Of course they wouldn't +try to get on my track while they was dressed in uniform. I saw one I +felt certain about; he was disguised like a truckman, an' drivin' a +team, but he couldn't fool me."</p> + +<p>"Do they know where Joe an' I are?"</p> + +<p>"I don't think so; but jest as soon as I left the town they was bound to +have their eyes open mighty wide, 'cause I guess it must be known up to +perlice headquarters that I'm in on this case. Where's Joe?"</p> + +<p>Master Plummer told the amateur detective of the very pleasant refuge +they had found, and concluded by saying:</p> + +<p>"First off we couldn't talk with the old woman at all; but at +dinner-time a kid about half as big as me, what calls her 'grandmarm,' +come home, an' he knew how to talk United States. Little as he was, he +could chin in the old woman's lingo as fast as she. That fixed things +for us. Joe said he was out lookin' for work, which is the dead truth +when you come to that, an' made a trade for us to stay there a couple of +days. I was 'fraid they'd ask about the princess, but it seems like they +didn't.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span> They thought she belonged to us straight enough, so it's been +all plain sailin'."</p> + +<p>"I didn't get over here any too soon, if you fellers have gone to +stoppin' at a house."</p> + +<p>"But why shouldn't we, when we found one like that where they'll take us +in mighty cheap? An' say, that old woman is the boss cook!"</p> + +<p>"An' she'll get in jail, too, if you keep on this way. Here's you an' +Joe advertised for by the lawyers, an' yet are sich chumps as to settle +right down where the detectives will get on to you the very first +thing."</p> + +<p>"I ain't been advertised for."</p> + +<p>"Well, that's where you make a mistake, Master Smartie. Perhaps you +haven't seen the evenin' papers."</p> + +<p>"What's in them?" Plums cried, in a tone of alarm.</p> + +<p>"Pretty much the same as what you saw in the <i>Herald</i> this mornin', only +that they're offerin' to pay for any news of Joe Potter an' a feller +what's called 'Plums.'"</p> + +<p>"Do you mean that, Dan? Are they really advertisin' for me?" Master +Plummer asked, in a tone of terror.</p> + +<p>"That's what they're doin', an' the way the cops are chasin' 'round town +huntin' up bootblacks an' newsboys is a caution. Three different ones +asked Jerry Hayes if he knew you or Joe; but you can bet they didn't +find out very much. Jerry's sharp enough to keep his mouth shut."</p> + +<p>"But what do they want me for? What have I done?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span></p> + +<p>"I reckon it's 'cause Joe slept at your house. Now the only safe thing +is for us to strike off into the country as quick as we know how. We've +got to walk all night before we so much as think of stoppin'."</p> + +<p>"But what about the princess? We can't make that little thing travel +from post to pillar."</p> + +<p>"If Joe Potter hadn't been a fool he'd left her in town. It jest makes +my blood boil when I think of his havin' a kid taggin' 'round after him, +an' every detective in New York on his track!"</p> + +<p>"I don't believe he'd be willin' to leave the princess, not even if he +knew he was goin' to be 'rested the next minute."</p> + +<p>"He's got to, or I'll throw up the job of tryin' to save him. Now we'll +go up to this Dutch woman's house that you've been talkin' 'bout, an' +snake him out. All I hope is we'll get away in time."</p> + +<p>Master Plummer turned to walk out of the hallway in obedience to this +command, when Dan, clutching him by the arm, brought the boy to a sudden +standstill.</p> + +<p>"What kind of a way is that to go out when the streets are full of +detectives huntin' after you?"</p> + +<p>"How else can I go?" Plums asked, in surprise.</p> + +<p>"I'll show you. Watch out on what I do, an' act the very same way. I'll +go on one side of the street, an' you on the other, so's folks sha'n't +know we're together."</p> + +<p>Master Plummer was puzzled to understand why it might work them mischief +if the public knew they were acquainted with each other; but Dan was so +peremptory<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span> in his commands that the boy did not venture to ask a +question.</p> + +<p>Then Master Fernald went out from the hallway, in what he evidently +believed was the most approved detective fashion of walking, and, as +Plums confidentially told Joe later, "he acted like he was a +jumpin'-jack, with some one pullin' the string mighty hard."</p> + +<p>The two went slowly up the street, one on either side, and such of the +citizens of Weehawken who saw them were mystified by their singular +method of proceeding.</p> + +<p>Dan quieted down somewhat after half an hour had passed, for no slight +amount of labour was required to continue the supposed detective manner +of walking, and, before arriving at the house where Joe had taken +refuge, he behaved very nearly like other and more sensible boys.</p> + +<p>"No, I won't go in," he said, decidedly, when Plums proposed that he +call upon the old lady. "You don't catch me showin' myself 'round this +place any more'n I can help, 'cause there's no tellin' when the perlice +will be here askin' questions, an' I'm goin' to steer clear of trouble."</p> + +<p>"Shall I tell Joe to come out?" Plums asked, timidly, for Dan's superior +wisdom awed him.</p> + +<p>"Of course, else how can I see him? Don't let that kid tag on behind, +for it's mighty dangerous to be on the street with her. That +advertisement about you had in it that you was last seen with a little +girl."</p> + +<p>Master Plummer entered the dwelling, and Dan paced<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span> to and fro on the +sidewalk, with a consequential air, until Joe appeared.</p> + +<p>"Why don't you come in?" the latter asked. "Mrs. Weber—that's the name +of the lady who owns the house—is mighty nice, even if you can't talk +to her."</p> + +<p>"I ain't so foolish as to show myself in such places, an' you ought'er +let your head be cut off before takin' all these chances."</p> + +<p>"But we couldn't keep the princess out-of-doors from mornin' till night, +an'—"</p> + +<p>"That's what's makin' all the trouble, Joe Potter. If you hadn't brought +the kid along we'd get through this scrape in good style."</p> + +<p>"But I couldn't have left her in Plums's shanty alone."</p> + +<p>"It was a fool business pickin' her up in the first place, 'cause if you +never'd done it, them lawyers couldn't say you had a kid with you. +That's the very best way they have to let folks know who you are. +Anyhow, you've got to give her the dead shake now, if you want me to +keep hold of this case."</p> + +<p>"Then I'll have to get along the best I can without you, for I won't run +away from a poor little baby, who counts on my findin' her folks."</p> + +<p>Joe spoke so decidedly that the amateur detective understood he could +not easily be turned from his purpose, and Master Fernald was +astonished. He had supposed that his threat to "drop the case" would +have reduced the unfortunate merchant to submission, and it<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span> seemed +little less than madness for Joe and Plums to continue the flight +without the guiding hand of one so wise as himself.</p> + +<p>"Of course, if you don't want me, that settles it," he said, sulkily. "I +ain't throwin' my time away when folks had rather I wasn't 'round; but +you'll get into a heap of trouble without somebody what knows the ropes, +to steer you."</p> + +<p>"I would like to have you with us, Dan; but I won't leave that poor +little princess when she needs me so much."</p> + +<p>"But how you goin' to fix it nights? We've got to sleep outdoors mostly +all the time, an' she'd soon get wore up with that kind of knockin' +'round."</p> + +<p>"Why must we sleep outdoors?"</p> + +<p>Dan explained that the search for the supposed criminal was to be +prosecuted with such vigour that even Master Plummer was included in the +advertisements, which piece of news both alarmed and mystified Joe.</p> + +<p>"What are they after him for? Does anybody claim he's been goin' +crooked?"</p> + +<p>"I s'pose it's 'cause he let you sleep in his shanty. You see, Joe, the +lawyers are bound to nab you if the thing can be done, an' you've got to +give up sleepin' in houses. It might work once or twice; but you'd be +sure to run across somebody what had read the papers, an' then you'd +find yourself an' the princess in jail mighty quick. The evenin' papers +said a large reward would be paid, an' perhaps, by mornin', they'll +raise the price to as much as ten dollars."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span></p> + +<p>It can well be understood how disturbed in mind Joe was at learning that +his enemies were so eager to capture him; but yet he had no intention of +abandoning the princess, until Plums made a suggestion which seemed like +an exceedingly happy one.</p> + +<p>"Why not pay old Mis' Weber somethin' to take care of her for two or +three days?" he asked. "The little thing would get along a good deal +better with a woman, an' we can sneak back here once in awhile to make +certain she's all right. I don't believe them lawyers will spend very +much more money huntin' for us, 'cause we ain't worth it, no matter what +we've done."</p> + +<p>"That's the very best snap you could fix up!" Dan cried, approvingly. +"I'd been thinkin' of somethin' like that myself; but didn't have time +to tell you about it. I've got more'n two dollars that I borrowed to +help you fellers through with this scrape, an' that ought'er be a good +deal more'n enough to keep her till we can earn more."</p> + +<p>Joe understood that it would be to the princess's advantage if he left +her with the kind old German lady, and at once decided in favour of the +plan.</p> + +<p>Never for a moment did he fancy they might be as safe in this house as +anywhere else, but firmly believed a continuation of the flight was +absolutely necessary, as Dan had announced.</p> + +<p>"I'll see what Mis' Weber says about it, an' if she's willin', we'll go +right away."</p> + +<p>"Don't stay in there all night chinnin', 'cause it's mighty dangerous +for us to be hangin' 'round here,"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span> Dan called after him as he entered +the dwelling, and Joe hastened the matter as much as possible.</p> + +<p>The princess was in bed sleeping quietly, and looking, as Plums +expressed it, "fit to eat." Mrs. Weber's grandson was ready to act as +interpreter, and in a few moments Joe had made the proposition.</p> + +<p>The good woman asked no questions concerning the parents of the child it +was proposed she should keep, and her silence on this point may have +been due to the fact that, even with her grandson's aid, it was +difficult to understand all the boys said.</p> + +<p>She was willing to take the princess for a week, but not longer, and +decided that one dollar would repay her for the labour.</p> + +<p>"Tell your grandmother we'll make the trade," Joe said, quickly, +delighted because the sum named was so much less than he expected. "I'll +be back here in two days at the longest, an' she's to take the very best +care of the little thing."</p> + +<p>"Granny would be kind even to a mouse," Master Weber replied, with an +air of pride, and Joe added, promptly:</p> + +<p>"I ought'er know as much by this time, an' if I didn't, the princess +wouldn't be left with her. That poor little swell hasn't got anybody to +look out for her but me, till we find her folks, an' I ain't takin' +chances of her comin' to harm. Here's the dollar, an' you tell your +granny I'll be back by the day after to-morrer if all the cops in New +York are close after me."</p> + +<p>The little German boy looked up in perplexity, for he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span> failed to +understand the greater portion of what Joe had said, and the latter was +in too great a hurry to heed the fact.</p> + +<p>A shrill whistle from the outside told that detective Dan was growing +impatient, and Joe started towards the door, after seeing the old lady +take the money; but halted an instant later.</p> + +<p>"Is there something more you want granny to do?" the German boy asked, +and Joe was at a loss for a reply.</p> + +<p>"I was thinkin', perhaps,—if, course, it wouldn't make any difference +to your granny,—say, I'm goin' to sneak in an' kiss the princess!"</p> + +<p>The boy nodded carelessly, but Joe made no effort to carry his threat +into execution.</p> + +<p>Again the amateur detective whistled, and Master Potter stepped towards +the bedroom door, but halted before gaining it.</p> + +<p>"Perhaps her folks wouldn't want a duffer like me doin' anything of that +kind," he muttered, and straightway walked out of the house as rapidly +as his legs would carry him, much as if he feared to remain longer lest +the temptation should be too great to resist.</p> + +<p>"It begun to look as if you was goin' to stay all night," Dan said, +petulantly, when Joe appeared. "There's more'n a hundred people walked +past here, an' I'll bet some of 'em was huntin' for us; we've got to get +out of this place mighty lively, if you don't want to be chucked into +jail."</p> + +<p>Plums looked so thoroughly terrified that Joe at once<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span> understood the +amateur detective had been frightening him by picturing improbable +dangers, and said, almost sharply:</p> + +<p>"There's no use makin' this thing any worse than it really is."</p> + +<p>"That can't be done, Joe Potter. You're in an awful scrape, an' don't +seem to know it."</p> + +<p>"I wish I'd stood right up like a man till I'd found the princess's +folks, an' then gone to jail, if the lawyers are so set on puttin' me +there."</p> + +<p>"What's comin' over you now?"</p> + +<p>"I'm thinkin' of that poor little swell we've brought out here."</p> + +<p>"She's a good deal better off than if you let her tag along behind."</p> + +<p>"That may be; but I ought'er found her folks instead of runnin' away."</p> + +<p>"Now, see here, Joe Potter, you're makin' a fool of yourself, an' all +about a kid what's goin' to have a soft snap while she stays here. Of +course if you want to be put into jail for two or three years, I won't +say another word, an' you can rush right straight back to the city."</p> + +<p>"Don't stand here talkin'!" Plums cried, in an agony of apprehension. +"We've got to leave, else nobody knows what may happen!"</p> + +<p>Dan seized Joe by the arm, literally forcing him onward, and the two who +were ignorant of having committed any crime continued the flight from +the officers of the law.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span></p> +<h2>CHAPTER VII.</h2> + +<h3>AUNT DORCAS.</h3> + + +<p>When the three had set out from Mrs. Weber's home, the amateur detective +announced that no halt would be made until sunrise.</p> + +<p>Joe, whose thoughts were with the princess, gave little heed to this +statement, if, indeed, he understood it, and Master Plummer had been so +terrified by Dan's positive assertion regarding the possibility of an +immediate arrest that he had failed to realise the labour which would be +required in thus prolonging the flight.</p> + +<p>Before an hour passed, however, even the detective himself began to +think he might have made a rash statement, and Plums, unaccustomed to +such violent exercise, was well-nigh exhausted.</p> + +<p>By this time Joe had come to understand what might be the result if +Dan's advice was followed implicitly, and this, together with the +knowledge that each moment he was increasing the distance between +himself and the princess, served to make him reckless.</p> + +<p>"Look here, Dan Fernald," he said, coming to a second halt. "Let's talk +over this thing before we go any further."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps you think we can afford to loaf 'round<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span> here," the amateur +detective said, sternly. "If you fellers want to keep your noses out of +jail, you'd best hump yourselves till daylight, an', even then, we won't +be far enough away."</p> + +<p>"We're jest as far now as I'm goin'," and there was that in Joe's voice +which told his companion that he would not be persuaded into changing +his mind.</p> + +<p>"What?" Dan screamed.</p> + +<p>"That's all there is to it. I'll stop here, an' you fellers can keep on +if you like."</p> + +<p>"But, Joe, if there was woods somewhere near I wouldn't say a word. How +can you hide where there's so many houses close 'round?"</p> + +<p>"I don't count on hidin', 'cause I can't afford it. Even if them lawyers +get hold of me to-morrer mornin', I'm goin' to stop here."</p> + +<p>"Right here in the road?" Plums asked, with less anxiety than he would +have shown an hour before, when he was not so tired.</p> + +<p>"Well, I don't mean to say I'll camp down in the road. But you fellers +listen to me. If the detectives are out after us, an' I s'pose, of +course, they are, we sha'n't be any safer twenty miles away than in this +very spot. We've got to stop sometime, an' it may as well be now. I +promised to go back to see the princess in two days, an' I'll keep my +word."</p> + +<p>"But where'll you stay all that time?" Dan asked, as if believing this +was a question which could not be satisfactorily answered.</p> + +<p>"I don't know yet; but I'm thinkin' of goin' up to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span> that house," and Joe +pointed to a tiny cottage, which in the gloom could be but dimly seen +amid a clump of trees. "There's a light in the window, so of course the +folks are awake. I'll ask 'em if they haven't got work enough about the +place sich as I could do to pay my board over one day, an' if they say +no, I'll try at the next house."</p> + +<p>"You might as well go right into jail as do a thing like that," Dan +said, angrily.</p> + +<p>"I ain't so sure but it would have been a good deal better if I had, for +by this time the princess would be with her folks, where she belongs."</p> + +<p>"It seems to me you're terribly stuck on that kid."</p> + +<p>"Well, what if I am!" and Joe spoke so sharply that Master Fernald did +not think it wise to make any reply.</p> + +<p>During fully a moment the three stood silently in the road looking at +each other, and then Joe asked of Master Plummer:</p> + +<p>"Will you come with me?"</p> + +<p>The possibility of resting his tired limbs in a regular bed appealed +strongly to the fat boy, and, understanding that he was about to agree +to Joe's proposition, Dan said, gloomily:</p> + +<p>"This is what a feller gets for tryin' to help you two out of a scrape. +I've kept the detectives away so far, an' now you're goin' to give me +the dead shake."</p> + +<p>"There's no reason why you couldn't stay with us—"</p> + +<p>"You won't catch me in a house for another month, anyhow."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 462px;"> +<img src="images/z100.jpg" width="462" height="650" alt=""JOE POINTED TO A TINY COTTAGE."" title="" /> +<span class="caption">"JOE POINTED TO A TINY COTTAGE."</span> +</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span></p> + +<p>The argument which followed this announcement was not long, but +spirited.</p> + +<p>Joe explained that it was his intention to remain in that vicinity, and +within forty-eight hours to return to Weehawken, according to the +promise he had made Mrs. Weber.</p> + +<p>Dan continued to insist that it was in the highest degree dangerous to +loiter there, and professed to believe himself deeply injured, because, +after having "taken up the case" in such an energetic fashion, he was +probably in danger of arrest through having aided these two supposed +criminals.</p> + +<p>Master Plummer had but little to say; the thought of walking all night +was nearly as painful as that of being imprisoned, and he was willing to +throw all the responsibility of a decision upon his friend.</p> + +<p>Before ten minutes had passed, the matter was settled,—not +satisfactorily to all concerned, but as nearly so as could have been +expected.</p> + +<p>Joe and Plums were to call at the cottage with the hope of finding +temporary employment, and the amateur detective was to conceal himself +in the vicinity as best he might, until he should be able to learn +something definite regarding the purpose of the lawyers who had +advertised.</p> + +<p>When Joe, followed by Master Plummer, turned from the highway into the +lane which led to the cottage, the amateur detective scrambled over the +fence on the opposite side of the road, and scurried through the field +as if believing he was hotly pursued.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span></p> + +<p>Not until they had arrived nearly at the house did Master Plummer make +any remark, and then he said, with a long-drawn sigh:</p> + +<p>"Dan Fernald makes too much work out of his detective business to suit +me. I couldn't walk all night if it was to save me life."</p> + +<p>"I don't believe there's any reason why we should, Plums. Because Dan +thinks the cops have followed us over to Weehawken doesn't make it so, +an' if we can't hide here, we can't anywhere, 'cordin' to my way of +thinkin'. Besides, it wouldn't be fair to go off so far that we can't +get back to the princess."</p> + +<p>Then Joe advanced to the side door, and knocked gently, Plums +whispering, hoarsely, meanwhile:</p> + +<p>"Be ready to skip, if you hear a dog. I've been told that folks out this +way keep reg'lar bloodhounds to scare away tramps."</p> + +<p>"I ain't 'fraid of dogs as much as I am that the man who lives here will +run us off the place the first minute he sees our faces," Joe replied, +and at that instant the door was opened.</p> + +<p>Holding a lamp high above her head, and peering out into the gloom as if +suffering from some defect of vision, stood a little woman, not very +much taller than Joe, whose wrinkled face told she had passed what is +termed the "middle age" of life.</p> + +<p>Joe's surprise at seeing this tiny lady, when he had expected to be +confronted by a man, prevented him from speaking at once, and the small +woman asked, with mild curiosity:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Whose children are you?"</p> + +<p>This was a question Joe was not prepared to answer, and he stammered and +stuttered before being able to say:</p> + +<p>"I don't know as we're anybody's, ma'am. You see we ain't got any place +to stop in for a day or two, an' thought perhaps a farmer lived here +what would have work we could do to pay for our board."</p> + +<p>"Are you hungry, child?" the small woman asked, quickly, and, as it +seemed to Joe, anxiously.</p> + +<p>"Not very much now, 'cause we've had a good supper; but we will be in +the mornin', you know."</p> + +<p>And Master Plummer interrupted, as he pinched his companion's arm to +reduce him to silence:</p> + +<p>"We've been walkin' a good while since then, an' it seems like I was +most starved."</p> + +<p>"You poor child! Come right into the house, an' it'll be strange if I +can't find something to eat; though, to tell the truth, I didn't have +real good luck with this week's batch of bread; but if custard pie—"</p> + +<p>"<i>If</i> custard pie!" Master Plummer cried, ecstatically. "Why, I'd be +fixed great if I could have some!"</p> + +<p>He was following the small woman as he spoke, and, after closing and +barring the outer door, the hostess ushered them into such a kitchen as +they had never seen before.</p> + +<p>A spacious room, in which it seemed as if a hundred persons might have +found ample elbow-room, with a yellow, painted floor, on which not a +grain of dirt could be<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span> seen, and with numerous odd, stiff-looking +chairs ranged around the sides at regular intervals. At one end an +enormous fireplace, in front of which was a cook-stove actually +glittering with polish, and on the mantel behind it an array of shining +tins.</p> + +<p>As seen from the road, in the gloom, the cottage had not appeared even +as large as this kitchen, and because of such fact the boys were more +surprised than they otherwise would have been.</p> + +<p>Once in the room, where everything was so cleanly that, as Master +Plummer afterwards expressed it, "it come near givin' him a pain," the +boys stood awkwardly near the door, uncertain as to what might be +expected of them.</p> + +<p>"You can sit right here while I get you something to eat," and the +hostess placed two chairs in front of a small table in one corner of the +room.</p> + +<p>Master Plummer advanced eagerly, thinking only of the pleasure which was +about to be his, when the small lady exclaimed, as if in alarm:</p> + +<p>"Mercy on us, child! You're tracking dust all over the floor. Go right +back into the entry, and wipe your feet."</p> + +<p>Plums failed to see that he had soiled the floor to any extent, but both +he and Joe obeyed the command instantly, and while they were engaged in +what seemed to them useless labour, the small woman wiped carefully, +with a damp cloth, the dusty imprints of their shoes from the floor.</p> + +<p>"I never had any experience in my own family with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span> boys," the +odd-looking little woman said, half to herself, "and perhaps that's why +I don't understand 'em any better; but I never could make out why they +should be so reckless with dirt."</p> + +<p>"I didn't think my shoes were so dusty when I come in, else I'd taken +them off," Joe said, apologetically. "You see, ma'am, we never saw a +floor as clean as this one."</p> + +<p>This compliment was evidently pleasing, for the small woman looked up +kindly at her guests, and said, in a friendly tone:</p> + +<p>"Don't call me 'ma'am,' child. I've been 'aunt Dorcas' to all the +children in this neighbourhood ever since I can remember, and anything +else doesn't sound natural."</p> + +<p>"Do you want us to call you 'aunt Dorcas'?" Joe asked, in surprise, and +Plums winked gravely at his companion.</p> + +<p>"Of course I do. Now, if your feet are clean, sit down, and I'll get the +pie."</p> + +<p>The boys tiptoed their way to the table, as if by such method they would +be less liable to soil the floor, and aunt Dorcas, taking the lamp with +her, disappeared through a door which evidently led to the cellar, +leaving them in the darkness.</p> + +<p>"Say, ain't this the greatest snap you ever struck?" Plums whispered. +"I'll bet aunt Dorcas is a dandy, an' if Dan Fernald knew what he's +missin', he'd jest about kick hisself black an' blue."</p> + +<p>Master Plummer was still better satisfied with the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span> situation when their +hostess returned with a large custard pie, which she placed on the +table, and immediately afterwards disappeared within the cellar-way +again.</p> + +<p>"She's gone for more stuff!" Plums said, in a tone of delight. "If there +ain't too much work to be done 'round this place, I'd like to stay here +a year."</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 651px;"> +<img src="images/z107.jpg" width="651" height="600" alt=""SHE HAD A PLATE HEAPED HIGH WITH COOKIES."" title="" /> +<span class="caption">"SHE HAD A PLATE HEAPED HIGH WITH COOKIES."</span> +</div> + +<p>When aunt Dorcas entered the kitchen again, she had a plate heaped high +with cookies, on the top of which were three generous slices of cheese.</p> + +<p>This collection was placed by the side of the pie; the odd little woman +brought plates, knives, and forks, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span> two napkins from the pantry, +and, having arranged everything in proper order, said, as she stood +facing the boys, with her head slightly inclined to one side, until to +Joe she presented much the appearance of a sparrow:</p> + +<p>"If you can eat all there is here, I'll bring more, an' willingly. +Afterwards, we will talk about what is to be done for the night."</p> + +<p>"I can eat an' talk, too, jest as well as not," Plums said, as he drew +the pie towards him.</p> + +<p>Perhaps aunt Dorcas thought he intended to appropriate the whole to +himself, for she hurriedly cut it into four pieces, one of which she +placed on his plate.</p> + +<p>From Plums's manner of beginning the feast, there was good reason to +believe he had told the truth when he said he was starving, and, as she +watched him, an expression of deepest sympathy came over aunt Dorcas's +face.</p> + +<p>"It's too bad I haven't some meat to give you, child, for you must be +famishing."</p> + +<p>"I'd rather have this," Plums replied, speaking with difficulty, because +of the fullness of his mouth, and it appeared to his hostess as if he +had no sooner begun on a quarter of the pie than it disappeared.</p> + +<p>She gave the fat boy another section of the yellow dainty, watching him +like one fascinated, as he devoured it. Then Plums began an onslaught on +the cookies, after casting a wistful glance at the remaining quarter of +the pie.</p> + +<p>Joe was ashamed because his companion ate so greedily, and kicked him, +under the table, as a warning<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span> that he restrain his appetite; but Master +Plummer failed to understand the signal, and ate all the more greedily, +because he believed Joe thought it time to bring the feast to a close.</p> + +<p>"You mustn't think anything of his stuffin' hisself like this, ma'am,—I +mean, aunt Dorcas," Joe said, apologetically. "Plums always was the +biggest eater in New York, an' I guess he always will be."</p> + +<p>"What did you call him?" aunt Dorcas asked.</p> + +<p>"Plums was what I said. That ain't exactly his name, but it comes mighty +near to it. George H. Plummer is what he calls hisself when he wants to +be swell."</p> + +<p>"I think 'George' sounds much better than 'Plums,'" aunt Dorcas said, +thoughtfully.</p> + +<p>"Perhaps it does; but it don't fit him half so well."</p> + +<p>Meanwhile, the subject of this conversation was industriously engaged +devouring the cookies, and one would have said that he had no interest +in anything else.</p> + +<p>Aunt Dorcas stood looking questioningly at Joe, and, thinking he +understood that which was in her mind, he said:</p> + +<p>"My name is Joe Potter. I used to keep a fruit-stand down on West +Street, in New York, till I busted up, an' then I found the princess, +but—"</p> + +<p>Joe checked himself in time to preserve his secret. An instant later he +wished he had explained to aunt Dorcas why he was there, because of the +sympathy he read in her face.</p> + +<p>The little woman waited a few seconds for him to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span> continue, but, since +he remained silent, she asked, with mild curiosity:</p> + +<p>"Who is the princess?"</p> + +<p>"She's a swell little girl what's lost her folks, an' I'm takin' care of +her for a spell. Say, ma'am,—I mean, aunt Dorcas,—is there any work +Plums an' I can do to pay for a chance of stoppin' here over to-morrow?"</p> + +<p>"I suppose I might find enough, Joseph, for there's always plenty to be +done around a place, no matter how small it is; but I'm not certain +you'd be strong enough to spade up the garden, and clear the drain, even +if you knew how. They say city boys are dreadful unhandy when it comes +to outdoor work."</p> + +<p>"Jest you try us an' see!" Joe cried, with animation. "We ain't sich +chumps but that we know how to do most anything, after we've studied +over it a spell. Will you let us stay if we do work enough?"</p> + +<p>"I surely ought to be willing to do that much for my fellow creatures, +Joseph, even though I get nothing in return; but I can't say it won't be +a trial for me to have two boys around the house after I've lived alone +so long. Martha, Mary, and I took care of this place, with the help of a +man in summer, a good many years after our parents died, and I suppose +we got fussy and old-maidish-like in our ways," aunt Dorcas said, +growing reminiscent. "Martha went home to heaven seven years ago in +September, and Mary followed her the next January. Since then I've been +alone, and it stands to reason I'm more old-maidish than ever; but I +hope I could keep two homeless boys twenty-four hours without +fretting."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span></p> + +<p>Then aunt Dorcas crossed the room to the mantel, in order to light +another lamp, and Plums whispered, hoarsely:</p> + +<p>"Say, Joe, what do you s'pose she put this clean towel here for? I've +got custard on it, an' I'm afraid that'll make her mad."</p> + +<p>Joe unfolded his napkin inquisitively, and looked at it an instant +before he understood for what purpose it must have been intended.</p> + +<p>Then, his cheeks reddening, he replied, in a low tone:</p> + +<p>"She must have counted on our bein' willin' to wash our faces, but +didn't want to say so right out, so put the towels here to remind us, +an' I'm as ashamed as I can be 'cause I didn't think of it before."</p> + +<p>The meal had come to an end, for the very good reason that there was +nothing more on the table to be eaten.</p> + +<p>While aunt Dorcas was talking with Joe, Plums had slyly taken the last +remaining section of pie, having previously devoured the cookies and +cheese, and, with a long-drawn sigh of content, he replied to his +friend's remark by saying:</p> + +<p>"I guess I couldn't eat any more if I'd washed my face a dozen times, so +it don't make much difference."</p> + +<p>Joe arose from the table, and seated himself in one of the chairs which +were ranged precisely against the wall, Master Plummer following his +example.</p> + +<p>Aunt Dorcas, having lighted the second lamp, said:</p> + +<p>"I'll leave you boys here alone while I attend to making up a bed. You +could sleep in the spare-room,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span> I suppose; but my best sheets are there, +and I don't just like to—Why, you didn't use the napkins!"</p> + +<p>Joe's face was of a deep crimson hue, as he replied:</p> + +<p>"If I'd seen any soap an' water I'd known what they meant; but it's been +so long since I was in a reg'lar house that I've kind'er forgot how to +behave."</p> + +<p>Aunt Dorcas turned away quickly, and when she had left the room Plums +said, as he unbent from the awkward position he had at first assumed in +the straight chair:</p> + +<p>"Dan Fernald ain't in this! He may be a mighty big detective, but he +slips up when it comes to hustlin' for these kind of snaps!"</p> + +<p>"Aunt Dorcas is nice, ain't she?"</p> + +<p>"She's a corker!"</p> + +<p>"If the princess was only here we'd be jest about as snug as any two +fellers that could be found in this world."</p> + +<p>"I'm going to give you the chamber over the kitchen; it is clean and +comfortable, but, of course, not as nice as the spare-room," aunt Dorcas +said, as she entered suddenly, causing Master Plummer to instantly +assume a less negligent attitude.</p> + +<p>"Plums an' me ain't slept in a reg'lar bed for so long that a blanket +spread out on the floor would seem mighty good to us," Joe replied, and +the little woman held up both hands in astonishment.</p> + +<p>"Haven't slept in a bed! Well, I've heard of the heathen in our midst, +but never believed I'd be brought in contact with them. How did +you—But,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span> there, I won't ask questions to-night, when I know you must +be tired. We'll read a chapter, and then you can go to bed. I will wash +the dishes afterwards."</p> + +<p>Reverentially the little woman took a well-worn Bible from the small +table beneath one of the windows, and while the two boys who were +fleeing from the officers of the law, as they believed, gazed at her in +wonderment and surprise, but not understanding that which they heard, +she read one of the psalms.</p> + +<p>Then kneeling, she prayed in simple language which reached their hearts, +for the homeless ones within her gates.</p> + +<p>Joe's eyes were moist when she rose to her feet, and Plums whispered, in +a voice choked with emotion:</p> + +<p>"She's a daisy, that's what's the matter with her!"</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span></p> +<h2>CHAPTER VIII.</h2> + +<h3>A HUNGRY DETECTIVE.</h3> + + +<p>When aunt Dorcas had ushered the boys into the "room over the kitchen," +and left them with a kindly "good night," they gazed around in such +astonishment as can best be depicted by Master Plummer's emphatic remark +shortly after the little woman went down-stairs.</p> + +<p>"I've always thought swells had a pretty soft snap when they went to +bed; but I never counted on its bein' anything like this. Do you s'pose +she means for us to get right into that bed, an' muss it all up?"</p> + +<p>Joe did not reply for several seconds, and then said, doubtfully:</p> + +<p>"It seems as if that's what she must have meant, else why did she tell +about her best sheets bein' in the other room? I thought the old German +woman's house was mighty nice; but it wasn't a marker 'longside of this. +If the princess was only here!"</p> + +<p>"You can bet I don't bother my head 'bout no princesses when I've got a +chance to crawl into that nest. I almost wish now I'd had sense enough +to use one of them towels we had on the table, 'cause my hands look +pretty dirty when you get 'em side of that sheet."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Well, see this, Plums! If you'll believe it, here's a pitcher full of +water, an' soap, an' everything! Let's wash up now, will you?"</p> + +<p>Ordinarily, Master Plummer would have met this suggestion with a decided +refusal; but, being surrounded as he was by so much luxury, it seemed +necessary he should do something in the way of celebrating.</p> + +<p>It was not a very careful toilet which Plums made on this night, for he +was in too great a hurry to get between the lavender-scented sheets to +admit of spending much time on such needless work as washing his hands +and face; but he was more cleanly, and perhaps felt in a better +condition to enjoy the unusual luxury.</p> + +<p>"Say, Joe, it's a mighty big pity we've got to go to sleep."</p> + +<p>"Why?"</p> + +<p>"'Cause we ought'er keep awake jest to know how much swellin' we're +doin'. I stopped at a Chatham Street lodgin'-house one night, when I was +feelin' kind of rich, an' thought the bed there was great; but it wasn't +a marker 'longside of this one. I shouldn't wonder if there were +feathers in it."</p> + +<p>Joe was quite as well pleased with the surroundings as was his +companion; but he said less on the subject because his mind was fully +occupied with thoughts of the princess,—sad thoughts they were, for he +was beginning to believe he had been wickedly selfish in taking her away +from the place where her parents might have been found, simply to save +himself from arrest.</p> + +<p>He fell asleep, however, quite as soon as did the boy<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span> on whose +conscience there was no burden, and neither of the fugitives were +conscious of anything more until aroused by a gentle tapping on the +chamber door, to hear aunt Dorcas say:</p> + +<p>"It's five o'clock, children, and time all honest people were out of +bed."</p> + +<p>"We're gettin' up now," Joe cried, and he was on his feet in an instant; +but Master Plummer lazily turned himself in the rest-inviting bed, as he +muttered:</p> + +<p>"I don't see how it makes a feller honest to get up in the night when +he's out in the country where he hasn't got to go for the mornin' +papers, an' I guess I'll stay here a spell longer."</p> + +<p>"You won't do anything of the kind," and Joe pulled the fat boy out of +bed so quickly that he had no time for resistance.</p> + +<p>It was seldom Plums lost his temper; but now he was on the verge of +doing so because of having been thus forcibly taken from the most +comfortable resting-place he had ever known.</p> + +<p>"Now, don't get on your ear," Joe said, soothingly. "Aunt Dorcas has +told us to get up, an' that settles it. We're bound to do jest as she +says, 'cause all these things are hers. It won't pay to turn rusty, +Plums, else we may find ourselves fired out before breakfast, an' I +<i>would</i> like to stay till to-morrow."</p> + +<p>"Don't you want to stop any longer than that?" and Master Plummer began +hurriedly to dress himself.</p> + +<p>"'Course I'd like to; but you see I've got to go back to the old German +lady's in the mornin'."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span></p> + +<p>"What good will that do? It ain't likely you can bring the princess +here."</p> + +<p>"I know that as well as you do; but I promised to be there in two days, +an' I'm goin', so we won't have any talk about it."</p> + +<p>Five minutes later, aunt Dorcas's guests were in the kitchen, where the +little woman was preparing a most appetising breakfast, and he would +have been a dull boy who did not understand that she must have been up +at least two hours before arousing her visitors.</p> + +<p>"It ain't right for you to wait on us jest like we was reg'lar folks, +an' we ain't used to it," Joe said, in a tone of mild reproof. "Anything +would have been good enough for us to eat, without your gettin' up so +early an' workin' hard to cook it."</p> + +<p>"Bless your heart, Joseph, I'm doing no more than if I was alone, except +perhaps there may be more victuals on the table. My appetite isn't as +hearty as it used to be; but I've got a pretty good idea how it is with +growing boys."</p> + +<p>"You're mighty good to us, aunt Dorcas, an' I'll feel a heap better if +you'll give me some work to do before breakfast."</p> + +<p>"I might have let you bring in the wood, if I'd thought; but I'm so +accustomed to doing such things for myself that it never came into my +mind. I wonder if you could split up a few kindlings? That is the most +trying part of keeping house alone, for whenever I strike a piece of +wood with an axe I never know whether it's going to break, or fly up and +hit me in the face."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Of course we can do it. Where's the axe?"</p> + +<p>Aunt Dorcas led the way to the shed, where was her summer's store of +wood, and before she returned to the kitchen Joe was causing the chips +to fly in a way which made the little woman's heart glad.</p> + +<p>"It does me good to see you work, Joseph. I have always lived in mortal +terror of an axe; but you seem to know how to use one."</p> + +<p>Joe earned his breakfast that morning fairly, and Plums appeared to +think he had done his full share by sitting on the saw-horse, watching +his comrade.</p> + +<p>Then came the summons to breakfast, and Master Plummer was eyeing +greedily a particularly large roasted potato, which he intended to take +from the plate, if an opportunity presented itself, when aunt Dorcas +suddenly bent her head, and invoked a blessing on the food.</p> + +<p>Plums kicked Joe, under the table, to express his surprise at this, to +him, singular proceeding, but, otherwise, behaved in a proper manner.</p> + +<p>The meal was prolonged because of the fat boy's hearty appetite, and, +when it was finally brought to a close, Joe said, as he rose from the +table:</p> + +<p>"Now, aunt Dorcas, if you'll show us something more to do I'll be glad, +'cause we've got to pay for what we've had, else it won't be a fair +shake."</p> + +<p>"You boys may go out and look around the place until I do the dishes, +and then we will see what I am to set you about."</p> + +<p>This was so nearly a request for them to leave the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span> kitchen, that they +lost no time in obeying, and when they were in the open air Master +Plummer said, with an air of perplexity:</p> + +<p>"She's a mighty fine woman, an' all that kind of thing; but I'd like to +know what she's hintin' at by leavin' them towels on the table; they was +both there jest the same's last night, even though she must have known +that we was washed up in great shape."</p> + +<p>"I noticed 'em, but don't believe there's anything out of the way about +it. She's kind of funny, an' perhaps that's one of her queer spots."</p> + +<p>Aunt Dorcas's property was not extensive, as the boys learned after +walking over it.</p> + +<p>There was an orchard either side of the lane which led from the highway, +and, in the rear of the house, an acre of ground, which had been +cultivated at some time in the past.</p> + +<p>The buildings consisted of the cottage itself, the wood-shed, a second +shed which might once have been used as a carriage-house, and a small +barn or stable.</p> + +<p>By the time they had concluded their investigations, aunt Dorcas joined +them, and said, with an odd smile on her withered face:</p> + +<p>"It isn't much of a farm, as farms go nowadays, boys, but it's my home, +and very dear to me. Mr. McArthur, one of the neighbours, cuts the grass +in the orchards, and pays me a little something for it. I usually have a +garden out here; but this year it was neglected, until now it seems too +late for early vegetables."</p> + +<p>"It wouldn't take us long to chuck in a pile of seeds,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span> if that's all +you want," and one to have seen Master Plummer, at that moment, would +have believed him the most energetic of boys.</p> + +<p>After aunt Dorcas explained that it would be necessary to spade up the +ground, Plums's enthusiasm for gardening diminished; but Joe begged for +the privilege of showing what he could do, and the little woman supplied +them with such tools as she thought necessary.</p> + +<p>"If you want to know about anything, come right up to the house. It is +baking-day with me, and I shall be busy in the kitchen until +dinner-time."</p> + +<p>Then she left them, and Plums seated himself within the shadow of the +barn, explaining, as he did so, that perhaps it would be better if he +"kinder got the hang of the thing by seein' Joe work."</p> + +<p>Eager to repay aunt Dorcas for her kindness, Joe Potter laboured +industriously, despite the blisters which soon appeared on his hands, +for half an hour or more, and then the two boys were startled by a +warning hiss, which apparently came from one end of the barn.</p> + +<p>"There must be snakes 'round here!" and Plums sprang to his feet, in +alarm. "Jim Flannigan says they always hiss like that before they bite."</p> + +<p>"Take hold of this spade for a little while, an' they won't bite you. It +seems to me I'm doin' all the work, an' I know you ate more'n your share +of the supper an' breakfast."</p> + +<p>The hissing noise was heard again, and, as the two gazed in the +direction from which it came, the head of Dan, the detective, appeared +from behind the barn.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span></p> + +<p>"What are you doin' there, tryin' to frighten us?" Plums asked, +indignantly. "Why didn't you come right up like a man? There's nobody +'round here but aunt Dorcas, an' she wouldn't hurt a fly."</p> + +<p>The amateur detective rose slowly to his feet, looking displeased.</p> + +<p>"You two are the most careless fellers I ever saw. Here's all the cops +in New York City out on your trail, an' you hollerin' fit to scare a +horse."</p> + +<p>"S'posin' we are?" and Master Plummer spoke boldly. "S'posin' the road +was full of perlicemen, how could they see us while we're behind this +barn?"</p> + +<p>"It don't make any difference whether they could or not. You've got to +mind your eye, if you want to keep out of jail, an' yellin' to me ain't +the way to do it. If the folks 'round here should know I was on this +case, jest as likely as not some of 'em would send word to the city, an' +then your game would be up."</p> + +<p>Plums had lost faith in Dan's detective ability, because of the fact +that the latter had failed to take advantage of the opportunity to spend +the night in aunt Dorcas's home, therefore he replied, boldly, to his +friend's reproof:</p> + +<p>"We're jest as safe here as we could be anywhere, an' I tell you what it +is, Dan, you ought'er seen the layout we had last night an' this +mornin'! Why, we slept in a bed that would make the tears come into your +eyes, it was so soft; an' talk 'bout spreads! You couldn't get a +breakfast down to McGinnis's restaurant, no matter how much you paid, +that would come up to what we had!"</p> + +<p>"Yes, you fellers are takin' all the chances, an' I'm<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span> pretty nigh +starved to death. I haven't had so much as a smell of anything since +yesterday noon."</p> + +<p>"You ought'er seen the custard pie aunt Dorcas put out before us last +night; thick as that!" and Plums measured on his finger the length of +three inches or more. "An' a crust that went to pieces in your mouth +like ice-cream."</p> + +<p>"If I had a cold boiled potato I'd be mighty glad."</p> + +<p>"We had a slat of hot roasted ones with nice butter on 'em, this +mornin'," Plums continued, as if it were his purpose to increase the +detective's hunger.</p> + +<p>"I'd give a dime for a sandwich," Dan wailed, and Master Plummer +described the fresh bread and sweet boiled ham with which aunt Dorcas +had regaled them.</p> + +<p>"Say, what's the use of tellin' 'bout what you've had, when I've been +fillin' up on wind? It only makes a feller feel worse. Why can't you +sneak in an' get something for me?"</p> + +<p>Plums hesitated, as if willing to act upon his friend's suggestion, when +Joe said, sharply:</p> + +<p>"Look here, Dan, I'm awful sorry if you're hungry; but Plums can't sneak +into aunt Dorcas's house an' get anything without her knowin' it, not +while I'm 'round. It seems kinder tough to ask her to put out more +stuff, after all we've had; but since you're starvin', we'll do it, an' +offer to pay for what you eat."</p> + +<p>"You mean to tell her I'm here?"</p> + +<p>"Of course. I wouldn't lie to her, not for any money."</p> + +<p>"Then I'll have to starve," Dan replied, angrily, "for<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span> I wouldn't let +anybody know I was here while I'm tryin' to keep you fellers out of +jail. But—"</p> + +<p>"Here comes aunt Dorcas now!" Plums exclaimed, as he turned towards the +house, and, in a twinkling, the amateur detective was screened from view +by the barn.</p> + +<p>"I thought you boys might be hungry, working so hard, and I brought out +this plate of fresh doughnuts," the little woman said, as she placed on +the grass a dish covered with a napkin. "Mr. McArthur always likes a +bite of something when he is here, and it will do you good. How well you +have gotten along! I wouldn't have thought you could have spaded up so +much in such a short time."</p> + +<p>Joe, feeling guilty, because he was keeping from aunt Dorcas the fact +that detective Dan was on the premises, was at a loss for a reply, but +Plums said, promptly:</p> + +<p>"We'll be glad of 'em, aunt Dorcas, 'cause we're kinder tired jest now," +and he would have begun to devour the doughnuts, but for a warning look +from his comrade.</p> + +<p>"You must eat them while they are hot," aunt Dorcas said, gravely, and +Joe promised to do so as soon as he had finished a certain amount of +work.</p> + +<p>Then the little woman went back to her cooking, and she had hardly +entered the dwelling before the amateur detective, with a hungry look in +his eyes, came out, hurriedly, from his hiding-place.</p> + +<p>"Now you've got somethin' to eat without our lyin' about it, so pitch in +before aunt Dorcas comes back."</p> + +<p>Dan did not need a second invitation, and an expression<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span> of deepest +regret came over Plums's face, as he watched the cakes disappear with +amazing rapidity.</p> + +<p>"I guess I can stand it, now, till night," the detective said, in a tone +of relief, as the meal was brought to a close, because all the food had +been eaten.</p> + +<p>"Are you countin' on stayin' 'round here?" Joe asked.</p> + +<p>"Of course I am. How else would you fellers get out of the scrape, if I +didn't?"</p> + +<p>"Now, look here, Dan, there's no sense in anything like that. You ain't +doin' any good, sneakin' 'round this house, 'cause, if the cops should +come, how could you prevent their luggin' us off?"</p> + +<p>"There's a good many ways that I might pull you through," Master Fernald +replied, with an air of mystery. "If you knew as much about this +business as I do, you'd be mighty glad to have me stay, 'specially when +it ain't costin' you a cent."</p> + +<p>"But I don't like to think of your bein' hungry, when it won't do the +least little bit of good. Take my advice, an' go right back to the +city."</p> + +<p>"If I should do that, it wouldn't be two hours before you'd be in jail."</p> + +<p>"We sha'n't go there any sooner if you leave us, an' it ain't jest +square to aunt Dorcas."</p> + +<p>"You can't give me points on detective business, Joe Potter, an' I've +told the fellers in town that I'll look out for you. That's what I'll +do, whether you like it or not," and, after assuring himself, by +stalking to and fro and gazing in every direction, that there were no +enemies in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span> the immediate vicinity, the amateur detective disappeared +around the corner of the barn.</p> + +<p>"It's too bad for Dan to act the way he's doin'," Joe said, with a +long-drawn sigh. "I'm 'fraid, if aunt Dorcas gets a sight of him, we'll +have to clear out."</p> + +<p>"I don't s'pose it would do any good to ask her to let him bunk in with +us, would it?" Plums said, hesitatingly.</p> + +<p>"It would need big nerve, an', even if she was willin', he'd scare the +hair off her head talkin' 'bout lawyers an' detectives hoverin' 'round."</p> + +<p>Then Joe continued his interrupted work, and Plums assisted him by +looking on, until the task was completed after which it became necessary +to ask for further instructions.</p> + +<p>Although aunt Dorcas could not perform the labour herself, she knew how +gardening should be done, and under her directions, given during such +moments as she could safely leave the kitchen, the ground was prepared +in a proper manner by the time dinner had been made ready.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span></p> +<h2>CHAPTER IX.</h2> + +<h3>A FUGITIVE.</h3> + + +<p>Plums enjoyed his dinner quite as much as if he had performed his full +share of the gardening, and, when the meal was concluded, there came +into his mind the thought that aunt Dorcas Milford's home was a most +pleasant abiding-place.</p> + +<p>Even though he was, so to speak, in temporary exile, he was exceedingly +well content, save for the disagreeable fact that Joe had stated +positively he should go back to Weehawken on the following day.</p> + +<p>It seemed as if the thoughts of both the guests were running in the same +channel, for Joe, after gazing a moment at aunt Dorcas's placid face, +gave vent to a sigh of regret, and then looked out of the window, +abstractedly.</p> + +<p>"I s'pose we'd better get that garden planted this afternoon, if you've +got the seeds, aunt Dorcas, an' even then we sha'n't be payin' for what +we've had," Joe said, after a long pause, while the three yet remained +at the table.</p> + +<p>"Perhaps it will be as well to wait until to-morrow, and give the newly +turned earth a chance to get warm," the little woman said.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span></p> + +<p>"It seems as though we ought to do it to-day, if it would be jest as +well for the garden, 'cause we don't count on your keepin' us for ever; +an' after we leave here to-morrow it wouldn't be right to come back."</p> + +<p>"I did think boys would be a dreadful nuisance around the house," aunt +Dorcas began, as if speaking to herself, "but somehow I've felt real +contented-like while you've been here, and it's a deal more cheerful +with three at the table than to sit down alone."</p> + +<p>"It's the first time I was ever in a house like this," Joe added, in a +low tone. "It's awful nice, an' fellers what have a reg'lar home must be +mighty happy."</p> + +<p>"Where did you live in the city?" aunt Dorcas asked, after a pause.</p> + +<p>"I knocked 'round, mostly. Twice I've bunked with some other feller in a +room what we hired,—of course it wasn't anything like the one +up-stairs, but payin' so high for a bed was a little too rich for my +blood."</p> + +<p>"But you had to sleep somewhere," aunt Dorcas suggested, her eyes +opening wider, as she gained an insight into a phase of life which was +novel to her.</p> + +<p>The interest she displayed invited Joe's confidence, and he told her of +the life led by himself and his particular friends in a manner which +interested the little woman deeply.</p> + +<p>It was not a story related for the purpose of exciting sympathy, but a +plain recital of facts, around which was woven no romance to soften the +hardships, and there were tears in aunt Dorcas's faded eyes when the boy +concluded.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span></p> + +<p>"It seems wicked for me to be living alone in this house, when there are +human beings close at hand who haven't a roof to shelter them," the +little woman said, softly. "Why don't boys like you go out to the +country to work, instead of staying in the city, where you can hardly +keep soul and body together?"</p> + +<p>"We couldn't do even that, if we turned farmers," Master Plummer +replied, quickly. "Nobody'd hire us."</p> + +<p>"Why not?"</p> + +<p>"I know of a feller what tried to get a job on a farm, an' he hung +'round the markets, askin' every man he met, but all of 'em told him +city boys was no good,—that it would take too long to break 'em in."</p> + +<p>"But what's to prevent your getting a chance to work in a store, where +you could earn enough to pay your board?"</p> + +<p>"I had a notion last year that I'd try that kind of work," Plums said, +slowly, "an' looked about a good bit for a job; but the fellers what +have got homes an' good clothes pick up them snaps, as I soon found out. +It seems like when you get into the business of sellin' papers, or +shinin', you can't do anything else."</p> + +<p>"Selling papers, or what?" aunt Dorcas asked, with a perplexed +expression on her face.</p> + +<p>"Shinin'; that's blackin' boots, you know. Here's Joe, he scraped +together seven dollars an' eighty-three cents, an' said to hisself that +he'd be a howlin' swell, so what does he do but start a fruit-stand down +on West Street, hire a clerk, an' go into the business in style. It +didn't<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span> take him more'n two months to bust up, an' now he ain't got +enough even to start in on sellin' papers, 'cause he spent it all on the +princess."</p> + +<p>"Who is the princess?" aunt Dorcas asked, with animation.</p> + +<p>"She's a kid what he picked up on the street."</p> + +<p>"Oh!" and the little woman looked relieved. "I thought, last night, when +he spoke of the princess, that it was a child he meant."</p> + +<p>"Why, didn't I tell you it was?"</p> + +<p>"You said she was a kid."</p> + +<p>"So she is, an' ain't that a child, or the next thing to it,—a girl?"</p> + +<p>"Joseph, what does he mean? Who <i>is</i> the princess?"</p> + +<p>"She's a little girl, aunt Dorcas, who's lost her folks, an' I found her +in the street. She hadn't anywhere to go, so I had to take care of her, +'cause a bit of a thing like her couldn't stay outdoors all night, +same's a boy."</p> + +<p>"And, even though having just failed in business, you took upon yourself +the care of a child?"</p> + +<p>"I couldn't do anything else, aunt Dorcas. There she was, an' somebody +had to do it."</p> + +<p>"You're a dear, good boy," and, leaning across the table, aunt Dorcas +patted one of Joe's hands, almost affectionately. "Where is the little +creature now?"</p> + +<p>"We hired an old German woman down in Weehawken to take care of her for +a week, an' paid a dollar. You see the fellers lent us some cash when we +came away."</p> + +<p>"But what made you leave, Joseph, if you were convinced<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span> it would be +impossible to earn any money in the country?"</p> + +<p>"You see, we had to, when—"</p> + +<p>Joe ceased speaking very suddenly. He could not bring himself to explain +to aunt Dorcas exactly why they had left New York, fearing lest she +would not believe him when he declared he was innocent of having +committed any crime, and it seemed to him it would be worse than any +ordinary lie to tell this kindly little woman that which was not +strictly true.</p> + +<p>He hesitated, made several vain attempts at an explanation, and finally +said, his cheeks reddening with shame:</p> + +<p>"I'd rather not tell you about that part of it, aunt Dorcas; but I +didn't do anything that wasn't jest straight, though all of 'em believe +I did."</p> + +<p>The little woman thought she understood something of the situation, and, +once more caressing Joe's hand, said, kindly:</p> + +<p>"I don't believe a boy who would try to help a child when he was in want +himself could do anything very wicked, Joseph. Sit right here while I do +the dishes, for that will give me a chance to think."</p> + +<p>Then aunt Dorcas set about her household duties, while the boys remained +at the table, Plums sitting in such a position that he could gaze +through the window which overlooked the lane.</p> + +<p>After five minutes or more had passed, during which time the silence had +been broken only by the rattling of dishes, aunt Dorcas asked, +abruptly:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span></p> + +<p>"If you paid the child's board for a week, why do you feel that you must +go there to-morrow?"</p> + +<p>"Because I promised Mis' Weber I'd come, an', besides, I want to make +certain the princess is all right."</p> + +<p>Aunt Dorcas gave her undivided attention to the dishes once more, and +Joe was looking straight before him, but without seeing anything, for +his thoughts were of the advertisements which had made him a wanderer, +when he became aware of the singular gestures in which Master Plummer +was indulging.</p> + +<p>It was some time before Joe understood that his comrade wanted him to +look out of the window, and when he did realise this fact sufficiently +to do as Plums wished, he saw that which disturbed him not a little.</p> + +<p>Dan was making his way up the lane from the road in the same ridiculous +fashion which he appeared to think necessary a detective should employ, +and Joe was positive aunt Dorcas would be seriously alarmed, if she saw +Master Fernald indulging in such antics.</p> + +<p>"Go out, Plums, an' make that bloomin' idjut keep away," he whispered to +his comrade. "I won't have him dancin' 'round here in that style, an' if +he does very much more of it I'll tell aunt Dorcas the whole story. I'd +rather be arrested ten times over than have her scared 'most to death."</p> + +<p>It was evident this was not a mission which pleased Master Plummer, for +he feared to incur the anger of one who professed to be so powerful, and +he asked, tremulously:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span></p> + +<p>"S'posin' he says the same thing he did this forenoon?"</p> + +<p>"Tell him to go back to the city, or I'll make it my business to send a +reg'lar detective here to fix things up."</p> + +<p>"If he gets mad, Joe, there's no knowin' what he might do."</p> + +<p>"He sha'n't stay 'round here, an' that settles it; tell him I said so, +an' I mean it."</p> + +<p>Plums stole softly out of the kitchen, but aunt Dorcas was so intent on +her thoughts that he might have made very much noise without attracting +her attention.</p> + +<p>Looking through the window, Joe could see Plums as he performed his +mission, and, judging from the gestures in which the amateur detective +indulged, it was quite evident he was displeased at receiving such a +command.</p> + +<p>After conversing together a short time, the two climbed over the fence, +and disappeared in the orchard, going, as Joe believed, towards the +barn.</p> + +<p>The threat had failed of immediate effect, and there came into Joe's +mind the thought that it was necessary he go out to make it more +emphatic, when aunt Dorcas, having finished the work in hand, seated +herself by the boy's side as if for a chat.</p> + +<p>"Where is George?" she asked, and Joe looked about him in astonishment, +not recognising the name for an instant. Then, finally understanding to +whom she referred, he explained that Plums had gone out for a few +moments, and proposed to summon him.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span></p> + +<p>"There is no need of that, for it is with you I want to talk. I've been +thinking about that little child, Joseph, and wondering what you could +do with her. You said the German woman had promised to keep her only a +week."</p> + +<p>"Yes, aunt Dorcas, and I was in hopes by that time I could go back to +New York."</p> + +<p>"What will you do to-morrow, after you have seen her?"</p> + +<p>"Jest hang 'round, I s'pose. I've got to go, 'cause I promised, an' +then, ag'in, it ain't right to leave the princess alone so long. I don't +know but what she's frettin'."</p> + +<p>"How old is she, Joseph?"</p> + +<p>"Not more'n six or seven years; but she can't talk."</p> + +<p>"Then she must be much younger than you think."</p> + +<p>"Well, perhaps she ain't more'n a year old; I don't know much about +kids, anyhow."</p> + +<p>"It seems as if my duty was plain in this case," aunt Dorcas said, +solemnly. "The little property I've got is enough to take care of me, +with economy; but surely a child wouldn't be very much expense, an' if +you'd do what you could towards helpin', I believe I'd say that she +might be brought here. It's a great responsibility; but if a woman like +me turns a deaf ear to such a story as you have told, it is almost a +crime. There's that poor child without father, or mother, or home, and I +have no right to fold my hands in idleness."</p> + +<p>Joe was about to explain that he hoped soon to find the princess's +parents, for aunt Dorcas's words sounded<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span> much as if she believed the +child to be an orphan; but, before he could speak, the little woman +said, emphatically:</p> + +<p>"You shall bring her here, Joseph, and I rely upon you to help me take +care of her."</p> + +<p>"Of course I'll promise that, aunt Dorcas, an' I'll do my best to find a +job somewhere near here, so I can come over evenings."</p> + +<p>"But I'm depending on your staying here, Joseph."</p> + +<p>"Do you mean for me to live in this house till I can go back to New +York?" and Joe looked bewildered.</p> + +<p>"Certainly; I shouldn't think of trying to take care of a child and do +my housework at the same time, even though there isn't a great deal to +be done. You see I'm not accustomed to children, an' wouldn't be as +handy as some other people."</p> + +<p>"But, aunt Dorcas, you can't afford to have two big chumps like Plums +an' me livin' on you."</p> + +<p>"We'll do all that lies in our power. If you and George are industrious, +you can do considerable gardening, and the vegetables you raise will go +a long ways towards our living."</p> + +<p>"You're awful good, aunt Dorcas,—you're the best woman I ever saw, an' +I wouldn't think of hangin' 'round here if I couldn't do somethin' +more'n run that little bit of a garden. Things will get straightened +out, after a spell, an' then I can go back to town, where I'm certain of +earnin' money."</p> + +<p>Again Joe was on the point of explaining that it was his duty to make +search for the princess's parents at the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span> earliest possible moment, but +aunt Dorcas, fancying she understood the entire matter thoroughly, +checked him by saying:</p> + +<p>"We won't talk any more about it now, Joseph. Wait until the experiment +has been tried, and then we shall know better how to make our +arrangements. You're going to Weehawken in the morning?"</p> + +<p>"That's what I counted on."</p> + +<p>"But how can you get the child out here? It is three or four miles, +Joseph."</p> + +<p>"I'd walk twice that far, an' carry the princess all the way, for the +sake of havin' her where I am."</p> + +<p>Aunt Dorcas was not satisfied with this arrangement; but she could think +of nothing better just then, and appeared determined there should be no +further discussion on the subject.</p> + +<p>"We'll go into the garden and finish the task there. I don't suppose it +is anything more than one of Mr. McArthur's whims to let the upturned +ground remain twenty-four hours before putting the seed in; and even if +it is necessary, we can't afford to wait, because there won't be much +chance for such work after the baby is here."</p> + +<p>While she was speaking, the little woman had been putting on her +sunbonnet, and Joe was seriously alarmed.</p> + +<p>Unquestionably, detective Dan was in the vicinity of the garden, and, +not expecting aunt Dorcas to come out, neither he nor Plums would be on +the alert.</p> + +<p>Joe knew that if Dan was brought face to face with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span> the little woman, +without an opportunity of escape, he would boldly declare himself a +detective, and this would be sufficient to cause her anxiety, if not +alarm, for she could hardly be expected to know that he was a detective +only in his own mind.</p> + +<p>"Let me go out and find Plums first," he said, hurriedly. "He ought'er +know what we're talkin' about, so if we don't get through with the work +to-night, he can finish it while I'm gone."</p> + +<p>Without waiting for her to reply, lest she should insist on going with +him, Joe ran out-of-doors, and, as he had expected, found Dan Fernald +and Plums behind the barn.</p> + +<p>"What did you come up here for, in the daytime, when anybody might have +seen you? I thought it wasn't safe to be hangin' 'round here."</p> + +<p>"Well, it ain't; but you don't s'pose I'm goin' to starve to death, do +you?"</p> + +<p>"Starve! Didn't you have somethin' to eat, this forenoon?"</p> + +<p>"How long do you think I can stand it on four doughnuts? Here are you +fellers livin' high, an' I'm goin' 'round jest about ready to die."</p> + +<p>"Well, that ain't our fault. I don't want to have a row with you, Dan, +'cause I s'pose you think you're helpin' us out. But I tell you you +ain't, an' carryin' on in this way only makes matters worse. Why can't +you go back to town an' leave us alone?"</p> + +<p>"Why can't I? 'Cause I promised the fellers I'd see you through, an' I'm +goin' to do it. Besides, by this<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span> time folks know I'm on the case, an' +would arrest me 'bout as quick as they would you."</p> + +<p>"Do you count on three of us livin' on one poor little old woman like +aunt Dorcas? Ain't you ashamed to hang 'round here when there's no need +of it, tryin' to make us steal something for you to eat?"</p> + +<p>"There's no reason for your stealin'. I've been thinkin' over what Plums +said 'bout that bed, an' the custard pie, an' I don't see why I +shouldn't get my share. You could tell her I am your pardner, an' in +hard luck."</p> + +<p>Now Joe was positively alarmed. If Master Fernald had made up his mind +that he desired to become an inmate of aunt Dorcas's family, he would +most likely do everything in his power to bring about such a result; and +the happiness which had been Joe's because the little woman had decided +to give the princess a temporary home, suddenly vanished.</p> + +<p>Rather than ask aunt Dorcas to support three boys, as well as a child, +he would go his way alone, after telling her exactly the truth of the +matter.</p> + +<p>"I'll loaf 'round here till 'long towards night, an' then I'll start up +to the house through the lane," Dan said, believing Joe did not dare +oppose him. "That'll give you a chance to tell her what hard luck I'm +in; an' lay it on as thick as you know how, so's she'll be willin' to +take me. Plum says this is about the softest snap he ever struck, an' I +want my share of it."</p> + +<p>Joe remained silent while one might have counted ten, trying to restrain +his anger, and then he said, quietly, but firmly:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Aunt Dorcas is too good a woman for us to beat in such a way as that, +an' I promise, Dan Fernald, that if you show your head on the lane +to-night, or try to come into the house, I'll first tell her the whole +thing, an' then go straight to the city. I ain't givin' you any fairy +story; I mean every word. There's no need of your starvin' 'round here, +'cause you can go back to town. The folks there don't think you're sich +an awful big detective that they're goin' to keep their eyes on you all +the time. I'll bet there ain't a single soul, except some of our crowd, +that know you've ever talked with us 'bout this."</p> + +<p>Dan looked at his friend in mute astonishment. It seemed to him the +height of ingratitude that Joe Potter should thus threaten, when he had +made so many sacrifices to aid him in escaping from the officers of the +law.</p> + +<p>More than all this was he hurt by the insinuation that his detective +ability was not of a high order, and in a very short time his +astonishment gave way to anger.</p> + +<p>"You can put on as many airs as you want to, Joe Potter, an' we'll see +whether I'm a detective or not. I went 'round among the fellers +borrowin' money, didn't make any account of my own time, an' walked 'way +out here, jest to help you. Now I'm goin' to do as much the other way, +an' we'll see what'll happen between now an' to-morrow night! You'll be +in jail, that's where you'll be, an' Plums with you!"</p> + +<p>"Here comes aunt Dorcas," Master Plummer whispered, hoarsely, and +instead of stalking away in a dignified fashion, as he had intended, the +amateur detective<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span> ran hurriedly around the corner of the barn to screen +himself from view of the little woman.</p> + +<p>"We're in an awful mess now," Plums whispered to Joe. "It's a good deal +worse than it was before, 'cause Dan will do everything he's threatened, +an' we can count on seein' as many as a dozen perlicemen here before +to-morrer night."</p> + +<p>Joe did not dare reply, for, by this time, aunt Dorcas was so near that +his words would have been overheard; but he appeared quite as disturbed +as did Master Plummer.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span></p> +<h2>CHAPTER X.</h2> + +<h3>THE JOURNEY.</h3> + + +<p>Aunt Dorcas was so intent on the plans for the future which had just +been formed, that she failed to observe the constraint which had been +put upon the boys by her coming.</p> + +<p>There was in the little woman's mind only speculations concerning the +proposed addition to her family, which she believed, owing to the fact +that Joe had not had an opportunity of making the proper explanation, +would be permanent, and in connection with this was the making of the +garden.</p> + +<p>Therefore it was she set about directing the young workmen in her +customary manner, determined that no more time should be spent on the +task than was absolutely necessary.</p> + +<p>Aunt Dorcas had brought with her a small basket containing many tiny +packages, each neatly tied and labelled, and she had her own opinion as +to where the different kinds of seeds should be sown.</p> + +<p>"George, you make the hills for the potatoes, while Joseph and I plant +the sweet corn."</p> + +<p>It was necessary for her to speak twice before Master<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span> Plummer realised +she was addressing him, so unfamiliar did the name sound, and when he +finally became aware of the fact, he asked, in a careless tone, as if +planting potatoes were work with which he was thoroughly conversant:</p> + +<p>"How many hills do you want, aunt Dorcas, an' how big do they generally +run out this way?"</p> + +<p>"Put in four rows, and there is no need of making them very large until +after the plants are up."</p> + +<p>Then aunt Dorcas went with Joe to the opposite side of the garden, and, +intent on having the corn planted after a certain peculiar fashion of +her own, gave no heed to what Plums was doing, for ten minutes or more; +but when she did observe that young gentleman's method of working, a cry +of surprise and disapproval burst from her lips.</p> + +<p>"Whatever are you doing, George?"</p> + +<p>"Makin' these hills, of course," Plums replied, quietly, without ceasing +his work of shovelling the soft earth up into huge mounds, each of which +was twelve or fifteen times as large as it should have been.</p> + +<p>"Well, bless the boy, he don't even know how to plant potatoes!" and the +little woman regarded the results of Master Plummer's labour in dismay. +"Weren't you ever on a farm, George?"</p> + +<p>"I never was so far in the country as this before in my life," and Plums +wiped the perspiration from his flushed face; for, strange as it may +seem, he had, during these few moments, been working quite +industriously.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 458px;"> +<img src="images/z142.jpg" width="458" height="650" alt=""'WELL, BLESS THE BOY, HE DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO PLANT +POTATOES!'"" title="" /> +<span class="caption">"'WELL, BLESS THE BOY, HE DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO PLANT +POTATOES!'"</span> +</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span></p> + +<p>"You need a hoe instead of a shovel, and the hills should be made +something like these," aunt Dorcas said, as she pointed to where Joe, +thanks to her minute instructions, was performing his part of the task +in almost a workmanlike manner.</p> + +<p>Plums would have grumbled when the little woman insisted on his +demolishing the grotesque mounds which had cost him so much labour, but +that he remembered how dependent he was upon aunt Dorcas for food and +shelter, and held his peace.</p> + +<p>The remainder of the work done on this afternoon was performed under +aunt Dorcas's personal supervision, for she soon came to understand that +her assistants were absolutely ignorant of such tasks, and, if left to +their own devices, even for a few moments at a time, would succeed only +in making blunders.</p> + +<p>Thanks to her patience and Joe's willingness, however, the garden was +planted before sunset, and Master Plummer did but a small share of the +labour. After his exploit in building miniature mountains for +potato-hills, he became discouraged, and aunt Dorcas soon realised that +the task would progress more rapidly if he acted the part of spectator, +instead of farmer.</p> + +<p>"There is considerably more work to be done; but we must put it off +until morning, for it is time to get supper now. Can you boys build a +fire better than you can plant a garden?"</p> + +<p>Joe ran on ahead, to show what he could do in that line, and Plums +walked painfully by the side of aunt Dorcas towards the house.</p> + +<p>"Whatever makes you limp so, George?" the little<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span> woman asked, +solicitously, and Master Plummer replied, with a long-drawn sigh:</p> + +<p>"I don't know, 'less it is I'm all tired out. You see I never did much +farmin' before, an' it kind er strains me."</p> + +<p>"Do you think you've been doing any now?" and aunt Dorcas looked up at +the fat boy, with an odd twinkle in her eye.</p> + +<p>"Ain't that what we've been doin'?"</p> + +<p>"It's what Joseph and I have been about; but you were lying down most of +the time. George, can it be possible you are lazy?"</p> + +<p>"Some of the fellers say I am; but that's 'cause they don't know. It +tires me all out to move 'round very much."</p> + +<p>"You look as if you never had any very active exercise; but there's one +thing we have to be thankful for: there isn't an indolent bone in +Joseph's body. If I had seen any symptoms of it, I don't believe I +should have had the courage to make such a change in my way of living as +we have decided upon."</p> + +<p>Plums quickened his pace; he understood, both from her words and her +manner of speaking, that the little woman had no sympathy for "tired" +people, and the thought came into his mind that it was possible he might +not long remain an inmate of the cottage unless he proved he could be of +some service.</p> + +<p>When they entered the kitchen Joe was building a fire in such a manner +as met with aunt Dorcas's warmest approval, and the glance she bestowed +upon<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span> him told Master Plummer, even more strongly than her words had +done, that he must exert himself if he wished to enjoy what he had +believed was a "soft snap."</p> + +<p>After supper, on this evening, aunt Dorcas took up her knitting, the +boys seated themselves near the window, where they could see Dan, the +detective, if he should be so bold as to come again after Joe's warning, +and the three discussed the journey which the princess was to make on +the following day.</p> + +<p>Aunt Dorcas thought it would be only right for Mrs. Weber to return +five-sevenths of the money which had been paid her to take care of the +child for one week; but the boys were doubtful whether the old lady +would take the same view of the case.</p> + +<p>"I'll be willin' enough to let her keep it, so long's I can have the +princess with me," Joe said, finally, and aunt Dorcas reproved him, +gently.</p> + +<p>"Remember, Joseph, 'a penny saved is better than a penny earned,' and +you should never be careless about money matters. If the German woman +has boarded the child only two days, there is no reason why she should +be paid for seven."</p> + +<p>"Except that we gave her the money at the start, and she may say there's +no need to take princess away till the week is ended," Plums suggested, +sagely, and aunt Dorcas brought the argument to a close by saying, +severely:</p> + +<p>"If she insists on keeping the whole dollar, I shall never look upon her +as an honest woman."</p> + +<p>On this evening aunt Dorcas read two chapters, instead<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span> of one, and her +prayer was nearly twice as long as on the night previous.</p> + +<p>Then, as before, she accompanied the boys up-stairs, to make certain +everything in the chamber was in proper order, although it was already +scrupulously clean, and when, after having bidden them "good night," +they heard her light footsteps as she descended the stairs, Joe said, +with an air of perplexity:</p> + +<p>"I'm dead certain we don't do the right thing when she's prayin'."</p> + +<p>"I didn't make any noise," Plums replied, indignantly.</p> + +<p>"Course you didn't, else I'd thumped your head. I'd like to see the +feller that would kick up a row, or even so much as laugh while aunt +Dorcas was prayin'. What I mean is, that we ought'er do somethin', +instead of settin' up there like a couple of chumps, an' she on her +knees. Do you s'pose it would be right for us to kneel down when she +does?"</p> + +<p>"I don't know. It couldn't do much harm, I s'pose, an' if you think it +would please her any better, why, I'm willin' to stay on my knees half a +day."</p> + +<p>"We'll try it to-morrer night, and see how she takes it. Say, I've found +out what them towels are for. Aunt Dorcas had one side of her plate, an' +she wiped her mouth on it."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps she didn't have a handkerchief."</p> + +<p>"Now, look here, Plums, you don't s'pose that a woman what's so slick +an' clean as aunt Dorcas is would go 'round without a handkerchief, do +you?"</p> + +<p>"It seems as though she must, if she used the towel;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span> but that ain't +botherin' me half so much jest now as Dan Fernald is. I reckon he's +pretty near wild by this time, an' it would be a terrible thing if the +perlice should come an' drag us out of this place, wouldn't it?"</p> + +<p>"I ain't afraid he'll kick up a row. That detective business is all in +his eye. He don't 'mount to any more'n Sim Jepson does, when it comes to +law matters."</p> + +<p>"But he might do something for all that."</p> + +<p>"If he does, it can't be helped. We'll know, whatever happens to us, +that princess has got a good home."</p> + +<p>"Of course, there's somethin' in that; but, all the same, I'd rather +know <i>I</i> was goin' to stay in a good one," and Master Plummer crept +between the lavender-scented sheets with an expression of most intense +satisfaction upon his face.</p> + +<p>Day had but just dawned, when Joe Potter awakened after a long and +restful sleep.</p> + +<p>"Come, turn out, Plums," he said, as he shook his friend roughly. "I'm +goin' down-stairs to build a fire for aunt Dorcas before she gets up, +an' you'd better come along. If we're goin' to eat her food an' sleep in +her bed, it stands us in hand to try to pay our way."</p> + +<p>Master Plummer promised to get up in "two minutes" but the fire had been +built, and breakfast was nearly ready, when he made his appearance.</p> + +<p>Aunt Dorcas had made no remark, when she came down-stairs and found Joe +performing such of the household duties as he was familiar with; but he +knew, by the expression on her face, that she was pleased, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span> this was +sufficient reward for having left the rest-inviting bed at such an early +hour.</p> + +<p>According to the arrangements made on the previous evening, Joe was to +set out on his three-mile journey immediately after breakfast, and, as +soon as the meal was brought to a close, aunt Dorcas made up a +reasonably large parcel of seed-cakes and doughnuts, intended, as she +explained, to serve as lunch for the travellers.</p> + +<p>"But I won't be hungry, aunt Dorcas, 'cause I'm about as full as I can +be, now, an' the princess couldn't eat all you've got there if she tried +for a week."</p> + +<p>"I dare say you won't be sorry for taking it," and Joe made no further +protest.</p> + +<p>Aunt Dorcas actually kissed him, much to his embarrassment, as he left +the house, and called after him, while he was yet in the lane:</p> + +<p>"Don't try to make the child walk too far, Joseph, and be careful not to +carry her very long at a time. You've got plenty of food, even if you +shouldn't get back until nightfall, and it's better to go slowly than +overtax yourself."</p> + +<p>Perhaps never before in his life had Joe Potter been cautioned against +undue exertion, and he fully appreciated the little woman's +solicitousness.</p> + +<p>"If I was any kind of a feller, I'd turn to an' tell her the whole +story, but I don't dare to, for fear she'd believe I'd done somethin' +awful wicked, an' turn me out of the house. Of course it's got to come +some day, but it'll be tough,—mighty tough."</p> + +<p>There was but little room for bitter thoughts in Joe's<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span> mind on this +June morning when it seemed good to be alive, and before he had +traversed half a mile he put far from him all forebodings, thinking only +of what he would do to add to the comfort of aunt Dorcas, and the +happiness of the princess.</p> + +<p>There was in his mind a well-defined idea that it was his duty to search +for the child's parents, but he wholly failed to realise the mental +anguish which must be theirs while in ignorance of the baby's +whereabouts, and believed there was no especial reason why he should +inconvenience himself to find them.</p> + +<p>"If she wasn't all right, it would be different," he said, arguing with +himself. "After we get her into aunt Dorcas's home, she couldn't be +fixed any better if she was living with the President, so of course her +folks won't fuss so awfully much about her."</p> + +<p>He enjoyed this journey, because every step was bringing him nearer to +the princess, whose devoted slave he was, and the tramp of three miles +came to an end before he was conscious of having walked one-third of the +distance.</p> + +<p>He had arrived within sight of Mrs. Weber's home, and was hoping to +catch a glimpse of the princess's curly head in the window, when some +one stepped deliberately in front of him, barring his passage.</p> + +<p>"Hello, Dan, ain't you gone back to the city yet?" he cried, in +surprise, as he recognised the amateur detective.</p> + +<p>"I started last night, an' if I'd got there, you an' Plums would be in +jail by this time; but I wasn't such<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span> a chump as to run right over +without findin' out if things had been goin' wrong. You think I don't +'mount to anything as a detective, eh? Well, jest look at this, an' see +what would have happened if I'd gone there same's you'd done!"</p> + +<p>As he ceased speaking Dan handed his friend a copy of an evening paper, +folded in such a manner that a certain advertisement stood out +prominently.</p> + +<p>Joe's face paled, as he read the following lines:</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>One hundred dollars will be paid for information concerning +the whereabouts of a fruit vendor known as Joseph Potter, +and two newsboys, one of whom answers to the nickname of +"Plums," and the other known as Dan Fernald. The above +reward will be paid to any one who will secure for the +undersigned an interview with either of the boys named.</p> + +<p>Address Cushman & Morton, Attorneys at Law, 47-1/2 Pine +Street, New York.</p></div> + +<p>As before, he failed to see immediately below this an advertisement +requesting information concerning a little girl who had strayed from the +Grand Central Depot, and offering one thousand dollars reward for the +same.</p> + +<p>"You see I got myself into a scrape tryin' to help you through and how's +it turned out! You wouldn't so much as give me a bite to eat when I was +starvin', even when you had plenty of it without costin' a cent. Now, if +I'm caught, I've got to go to jail, jest the same's if I'd done whatever +you did."</p> + +<p>"But I haven't done anything crooked, Dan. I can't so much as guess what +these lawyers want me for."</p> + +<p>"Oh, you tell that to the marines! Fellers what get<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span> so swell they can't +sell papers for a living, but splurge out into a fruit store, with a +clerk, an' all them things, have to get money somehow. I don't say as +you've robbed a bank, 'cause I don't see how you could get into one; but +it must be something pretty nigh as bad, else who'd offer a hundred +dollars jest to get hold of you? I ain't so certain but I shall snoop in +that cash, an' take the chances of goin' to jail."</p> + +<p>"I don't s'pose it's any use for me to keep on tellin' you I've been +straight ever since I started out sellin' papers," Joe said, sadly. +"It's true all the same, though, an' you can't find a feller what'll say +I ever did him out of one cent."</p> + +<p>"That's all in my eye, 'cause here's the advertisement what proves +different. All I want to know is, how am <i>I</i> goin' to get out of the +scrape?"</p> + +<p>"I wish I could tell you."</p> + +<p>"If you did, I s'pose you'd say, 'Get over to the city, an' let them do +what they want to with you; but don't hang 'round me,' same's you did +yesterday."</p> + +<p>"Dan, I never believed the lawyers would know you had come away with us, +'cause it didn't seem reasonable, an' it's terrible to have you countin' +on livin' with aunt Dorcas, when she is feedin' two of us already."</p> + +<p>"What's the reason <i>you</i> couldn't step out an' let <i>me</i> have the snap +for a spell? <i>I</i> ain't been stealin' money! <i>I</i> wasn't advertised for, +till I took up <i>your</i> case! No, that don't suit you; but <i>I</i> must be the +one to starve, an' sneak 'round anywhere I can, while <i>you're</i> bein' +filled up with custard pie, an' sleepin' on a bed so soft that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span> Plums +thought it was feathers. You make me tired, you do!"</p> + +<p>"See here, Dan, I'm willing to do anything you say, now that you're +really in the scrape with us. Go to aunt Dorcas an' tell her I couldn't +come back. Perhaps she'll take you in my place."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps she will, an' perhaps she won't. I s'pose you've been coddlin' +the old woman up so she thinks there's nobody in the world but Joe +Potter; an' I wouldn't want to bet a great deal of money that you +haven't been tellin' her I'm a chump, an' all that kind of stuff, so she +wouldn't look at me if I should go there."</p> + +<p>"I never told her so much as your name—"</p> + +<p>"Where are you goin'?" Dan interrupted, suspiciously.</p> + +<p>"To get the princess; aunt Dorcas said I might bring her there."</p> + +<p>"So! You felt awful bad about lettin' your aunt Dorcas feed three when +<i>I</i> was 'round starvin', yet you can make it three by luggin' in your +bloomin' princess."</p> + +<p>"Havin' a little baby in the house is different from a big boy like you, +Dan. There's no use for us to stand here chinnin' about it. I'm ready to +say I'm sorry for the way I talked to you yesterday, an' I'll 'gree +never to go back to aunt Dorcas's. Now, what more can I do?"</p> + +<p>"But I want you to go back," Dan replied, angrily.</p> + +<p>"What for?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span></p> + +<p>"I'm no chump, Joe Potter, an' I know what kind of a stew would be +served up to me if I went there alone. I want you to go an' introduce me +to the family."</p> + +<p>"It's a dead sure thing, Dan, we can't all live there. You know Plums +won't work any more'n he has to, an' we're jest spongin' right off of a +poor woman what ain't got enough for herself."</p> + +<p>"It ain't any worse for me than it is for you."</p> + +<p>Joe was in a pitiable frame of mind.</p> + +<p>Believing that Dan was being searched for by the attorneys simply +because of what he had done in the affair, Joe considered the amateur +detective had such a claim upon him as could not be resisted; yet, at +the same time, he was determined not to add a fourth member to aunt +Dorcas's family.</p> + +<p>"Dan, you go an' tell her all I said,—tell her the whole truth if you +want to,—an' most likely she'll let you stay; but I can't ask her to +open up a reg'lar 'sylum for us fellers. Course I'm bound to do anything +you say, seein's you got into this trouble through me; but I won't 'gree +to sponge a livin' off the best woman that ever lived, when there's +three others doin' the same thing."</p> + +<p>"Look here, you've <i>got</i> to go back with me."</p> + +<p>Joe was in deepest distress, and after a pause of several seconds he +said, slowly:</p> + +<p>"If you lay right down on my goin' to her house with you, I'll do it; +but I won't stay there a single minute. The princess can be left where +she is till I get back."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span></p> + +<p>Now was the time when Dan Fernald could exert his authority with effect, +and he said, sharply:</p> + +<p>"If you go back without the kid, the old woman'll lay it to me. Now this +is what you've <i>got</i> to do. Take your bloomin' princess, an' act jest +the same as if you hadn't met me. I'll wait till your aunt Dorcas gets +through fussin' over the kid, an' then I'll flash up. Tell her I'm one +of your friends, an' we'll see how she takes it."</p> + +<p>"But I don't want to do that, Dan," Joe cried, in distress.</p> + +<p>"You must, or I'll have to go to jail, an' when it comes to anything +like that, the whole boilin' of us are in it. Go ahead, an' get the +kid."</p> + +<p>Joe was no longer able, because of his sorrow and perplexity, to contend +against the amateur detective, and, without making any further reply, he +walked slowly towards Mrs. Weber's home, his heart heavier even than on +that morning when he first read the advertisement which seemingly +branded him as a criminal.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span></p> +<h2>CHAPTER XI.</h2> + +<h3>A BRIBE.</h3> + + +<p>It appeared very much as if Dan suspected Joe of treachery even in this +matter of reclaiming the princess, for he followed him to Mrs. Weber's +home, and there stood within a few paces of the door, where he might +overhear all that was said.</p> + +<p>Now that the amateur detective was thoroughly alarmed concerning his own +safety, he had ceased his grotesquely mysterious movements, and behaved +very much like an ordinary boy.</p> + +<p>Not until Joe had knocked twice at the door was his summons answered, +and then the old German lady stood before him, with the princess in her +arms.</p> + +<p>He had hoped the child would recognise him, but was not prepared for +such a hearty greeting as he received.</p> + +<p>The princess, looking less dainty than when he first saw her, because of +a coarse calico frock which the careful Mrs. Weber had put on, in the +place of her more expensive garments, leaned forward in the old lady's +arms, stretching out both tiny hands to Joe, as she twittered and +chirped, after her own peculiar manner, what<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span> was evidently a greeting +to the boy who had acted a guardian's part to the best of his ability.</p> + +<p>"She really knows me!" Joe cried, in an ecstasy of joy, forgetting for a +moment his own sorrow, and, as the child nestled her face against his +neck, he kissed the curly brown hair again and again.</p> + +<p>Mrs. Weber welcomed the princess's guardian in her own language, which +was as unintelligible to Master Potter as the baby's cooing, and only +served to arouse the amateur detective's suspicions.</p> + +<p>"What's that old woman sayin'?" Dan asked, sharply. "You don't want to +try any funny games with me, 'cause I won't stand it."</p> + +<p>Joe did not hear the unkind words; his heart had been made so glad by +the princess's joy at seeing him, that he would hardly have been +conscious of the fact had the officers of the law come forward at that +moment to make him a prisoner.</p> + +<p>Mrs. Weber, observing Dan for the first time, addressed him in a kindly +tone, which only served to deepen the frown on the amateur detective's +face.</p> + +<p>"I dunno what you're drivin' at, missis; but you won't pull wool over my +eyes by jabberin' away in that lingo."</p> + +<p>It so chanced that Joe heard this remark, and, turning quickly towards +the boy who, he believed, held him in his power, he said, sharply:</p> + +<p>"Now, don't make a bigger fool of yourself than you can help, Dan +Fernald! Mrs. Weber can't talk our way, an' is only tryin' to treat you +decent."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span></p> + +<p>"I'm keepin' my eyes open, all the same, cause I don't count on gettin' +left the same as I was yesterday."</p> + +<p>Accepting the invitation given by gestures, Joe entered the house with +the princess in his arms, and followed by the boy who considered himself +his master.</p> + +<p>Now a serious difficulty presented itself.</p> + +<p>Mrs. Weber's grandson was not at home, and it would be necessary to +dispense with the services of an interpreter.</p> + +<p>"I don't know how I'm going to fix it," Joe said, speaking half to +himself, and Master Fernald believed he was addressed.</p> + +<p>"What is it you can't fix?"</p> + +<p>"I want to get back some of the money I paid Mrs. Weber; but how am I +goin' to tell her I'll carry the princess away for good?"</p> + +<p>"She must know what you say, of course. Who ever heard of a woman what +didn't understand how to talk?"</p> + +<p>"But she's a German, you know."</p> + +<p>"I can't help that. If you tell her right up an' down what you mean, +she's bound to know it, 'less she's a dummy."</p> + +<p>There was little in the way of advice to be gained from the alleged +detective, and Joe began a pantomime which he intended should convey the +idea.</p> + +<p>He pointed to the princess's clothes, then out of the window; put on his +hat, and, with the child in his arms, walked towards the door.</p> + +<p>Then he opened the parcel aunt Dorcas had given<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span> him, displaying the +food, and pointed up the street in the direction from which he had just +come.</p> + +<p>After a time, Mrs. Weber appeared to understand something of what he was +trying to convey, and, with a volley of words which sounded very much +like a protest, took the princess from him.</p> + +<p>The child screamed violently, clinging to Joe with all her little +strength, and the boy was seriously disturbed; but the smile on Mrs. +Weber's face told that she did not consider the outburst as anything +very serious.</p> + +<p>"What's she goin' to do with the kid?" Dan asked, as the German woman +disappeared in an adjoining room.</p> + +<p>"I s'pose she's gone to put on the princess's other clothes, 'cause it +seemed like as if she understood what I'd been tellin' her."</p> + +<p>"It would be a precious good job if she didn't come back. That kid has +got you into a heap of trouble, Joe Potter, an' it'll grow worse instead +of better so long as you stick to her."</p> + +<p>Joe made no reply. It is doubtful if he heard the words, for the +princess was crying so loudly he feared she might do herself an injury.</p> + +<p>Five minutes later, Mrs. Weber reëntered the room, bringing the princess +clad in her own garments, and the little maid ran with outstretched arms +to Joe, pressing her tear-stained face against his cheek in such a +manner as went straight to his heart.</p> + +<p>After a prolonged caress, Joe said to Dan, as if answering the remark +which the amateur detective had made a few moments previous:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span></p> + +<p>"No matter how much trouble she might get me into, I'd stick to this +little thing as long as I lived, if she needed me."</p> + +<p>"Course you've got the right to be jest as big a fool as you like; it +ain't any of my business, so long's I don't have to starve to death on +her account. What about the money you was goin' to try to get from the +old woman?"</p> + +<p>"I'll have to let that go, 'cause I can't make her understand what I +mean. Will you carry the cakes?"</p> + +<p>Master Fernald seized the parcel with avidity, and straightway began +devouring its contents.</p> + +<p>With the princess in his arms, Joe arose, put on his hat, and held out +his hand in token of adieu.</p> + +<p>Mrs. Weber looked at him in surprise an instant, and then, after saying +something in German, hastened out of the room, returning a moment later +with several silver coins in her hand.</p> + +<p>Joe hesitated, and then took from the outstretched palm fifty cents, +motioning that she keep the remainder.</p> + +<p>The old lady shook her head, energetically, and literally forced him to +take all the coins, which amounted in value to ninety cents.</p> + +<p>"You've only kept a dime," he said, in protest, "an' it isn't enough to +pay for takin' care of the princess two days."</p> + +<p>Mrs. Weber smiled, kindly, patted Joe on the head, kissed the princess +affectionately, and by opening the door signified that she would not +accept further payment for her services.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span></p> + +<p>"I'll come back some day an' square up for what you've done," Joe cried, +as he stepped down on to the sidewalk, and then he remembered that if +matters were arranged as seemed necessary, he would soon be in prison. +"Anyway, I'll come back as soon as I can," he added to himself, and +kissing the tiny hand which the princess had wilfully placed over his +mouth, he set forward, resolutely, on the journey, followed by the boy +who claimed the right to dictate as to his future movements.</p> + +<p>During half an hour Joe walked steadily on towards aunt Dorcas's +peaceful home, listening to the princess's childish prattle, and +banishing all forebodings from his mind with the thought that the baby +trusted and loved him.</p> + +<p>Then Dan, who had been walking a few paces in the rear, came to his +side, appearing a trifle more friendly than when they first met.</p> + +<p>"At this rate you'll get back in time for dinner."</p> + +<p>"It seems as though I ought to, but it's kind of hard work carryin' the +princess. Aunt Dorcas gave me the cakes so's we wouldn't need to hurry +on the road, an'—where are they?"</p> + +<p>"Do you mean that little bunch of cakes you gave me?"</p> + +<p>"Little bunch! Why, there was a stack of 'em!"</p> + +<p>"It don't make any difference how many there was, 'cause I ate the whole +lot."</p> + +<p>Joe looked at the amateur detective as if about to make an angry reply; +but checked himself, and Dan said, defiantly:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span></p> + +<p>"The time's gone by when you can put on airs with me, Joe Potter. I +ain't goin' to starve to death when there's anything 'round I can eat."</p> + +<p>"No, you'd rather let a little baby like this one go hungry. I wouldn't +have touched the cakes any sooner'n I'd cut my finger off, 'cause they +was for her."</p> + +<p>"You make me tired with your bloomin' princess. She's stuffed jest about +as full as she can hold, an' I'm the same as starved."</p> + +<p>Joe did not so much as look at the selfish boy, but walked more rapidly +than before until fully one-half the distance from Mrs. Weber's to aunt +Dorcas's had been traversed.</p> + +<p>Light though the burden was, his arms ached from long carrying the +child, and it seemed absolutely necessary to come to a halt.</p> + +<p>The princess was more than willing to take advantage of the opportunity +to search for flowers or wintergreen plums by the roadside, and Joe +stretched himself out at full length on the cool grass, keeping jealous +watch all the while over the happy little girl.</p> + +<p>Dan seated himself near by, having once more assumed an air of injured +innocence, and Master Potter could not longer delay having an +understanding with this boy, who was bent on claiming even more than his +right.</p> + +<p>"So you're bound on goin' straight to aunt Dorcas's with me?" he said, +after a brief pause.</p> + +<p>"It's got to be that, or jail."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span></p> + +<p>"I don't see why; there are other places 'round here besides hers."</p> + +<p>"Yes; but I ain't sure of gettin' into 'em for nothin'. When you strike +a house where Plums is so contented, it must be a pretty soft snap."</p> + +<p>"It ain't certain you can get in there, an' it's dead sure you're +drivin' the princess an' me away."</p> + +<p>"I ain't doin' anything of the kind. You're gettin' on your ear 'cause I +want to be treated decent, that's the size of it."</p> + +<p>"You know very well we can't ask that poor little woman to take care of +four, an' somebody must go, if you're comin'. Now, of course, I must +take the princess with me, an' I don't want to leave the very minute I +get there. Will you hang off a couple of days, an' give me a chance to +find out how I can fix things?"</p> + +<p>"I'd starve to death in two days, an' you know it."</p> + +<p>"That's all foolishness; you've got plenty of money in your pocket that +was borrowed from the fellers to help Plums an' me through."</p> + +<p>"I haven't so much that I can go sportin' 'round the country like a +swell, have I?"</p> + +<p>"You've got enough to keep you from starvin' for a week."</p> + +<p>"All the same, I'm goin' to live with you an' Plums," Dan replied, +doggedly, and Joe remained silent while one might have counted twenty, +after which he said, with the air of a boy who has suddenly decided upon +a course of action:</p> + +<p>"Mis' Weber gave me back ninety cents. Now I'll<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span> turn over seventy-five +of it if you agree not to show up at aunt Dorcas's until three o'clock +to-morrow afternoon."</p> + +<p>"What kind of a game are you tryin' to play on me now?" Master Fernald +asked, suspiciously.</p> + +<p>"It ain't any game. I'm hirin' you to stay away, so I can stop there +till that time, an' then I'll leave."</p> + +<p>"Yes, an' you're goin' to tell her a whole lot of stuff 'bout me, so's +she won't let me stop there."</p> + +<p>"I'll promise never to speak your name except to tell her you come as +far's this with us, an' was up behind the barn twice. Now with +seventy-five cents you can live a good deal more swell somewhere else +than at aunt Dorcas's, an' at three o'clock to-morrow afternoon you may +do what you please."</p> + +<p>"How do I know you'll keep your promise?"</p> + +<p>"'Cause neither you nor anybody else can say I ever went back on my +word, an' fix it any way you're a mind to, it's the best trade you can +make. I'm certain she wouldn't take in four of us, an' the only show +you've got is for me to leave."</p> + +<p>"But where'll I find a chance to buy something to eat?"</p> + +<p>"There are plenty of stores 'round here, an' you can get a lodging most +anywhere, for twenty-five cents."</p> + +<p>"Hand over your money."</p> + +<p>"Do you 'gree not to show your nose 'round there till three o'clock +to-morrow?"</p> + +<p>"Of course I do."</p> + +<p>Joe counted out the amount agreed upon, and said, warningly, as he gave +it to Master Fernald:</p> + +<p>"I'm reckonin' on your keepin' your word, same's I<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span> will mine; but don't +make the mistake of goin' back on me, Dan Fernald, for if you come to +aunt Dorcas's before the time we've 'greed on, I'll make it hot. You +know I can do it, so be square, or you'll get into worse trouble than if +the detectives found you."</p> + +<p>"That's right; threaten a feller when you think you've got him in a +hole!"</p> + +<p>"I ain't doin' half so much threatenin' as you did, an' besides, I'm +payin' for the privilege when I give you pretty nigh all the money I've +got, an' you with a pocket full."</p> + +<p>The amateur detective did not think it advisable to reply to this +remark, and the two remained silent until Joe believed the time had come +when the journey should be resumed.</p> + +<p>The princess was weary with running to and fro, and willingly allowed +the boy to take her in his arms again.</p> + +<p>"The next time we stop it'll be at aunt Dorcas's," Joe said, as he set +out, and then he halted suddenly, for Master Fernald was following close +in the rear.</p> + +<p>"Where you goin'?"</p> + +<p>"With you, of course."</p> + +<p>"Didn't I buy you off till three o'clock to-morrow afternoon?"</p> + +<p>"Does that mean I can't so much as walk up the road when you're on it?"</p> + +<p>"It means you mustn't follow me to aunt Dorcas's house, an', after all +that's been said and done, I shouldn't think you'd want to do anything +of the kind."</p> + +<p>"I'll keep my promise, an' I'll do whatever else I<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span> please. You better +not be too smart, 'cause I might back out of the trade."</p> + +<p>"It would be a sorry job for you," Joe said, threateningly, and, turning +once more, he continued the journey without heed to Master Fernald's +movements.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 612px;"> +<img src="images/z166.jpg" width="612" height="600" alt=""THE PRINCESS SUFFERED AUNT DORCAS TO KISS HER."" title="" /> +<span class="caption">"THE PRINCESS SUFFERED AUNT DORCAS TO KISS HER."</span> +</div> + +<p>It was not yet eleven o'clock when Joe and the princess arrived at aunt +Dorcas's home, and the little woman cried, in delight, as Master Potter +led the child towards her:</p> + +<p>"What a sweet little darling! What a beautiful baby! Why, Joseph, I had +no idea she was such a lovely child as this!" and the princess suffered +aunt Dorcas to kiss her rapturously.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span></p> + +<p>"There's no flies on her, anyhow," Joe said, with an air of pride.</p> + +<p>It is doubtful if aunt Dorcas heard this last remark. She was as pleased +with the princess as a child would have been with a doll, and behaved +much after the same fashion.</p> + +<p>Joe and Plums listened with greatest satisfaction to her words of +praise.</p> + +<p>The little maid and the little woman had apparently conceived a most +violent admiration each for the other, and straightway it seemed as if +the boys were entirely forgotten, for the two went into the house +without so much as a backward glance.</p> + +<p>"'Cordin' to the looks of things, I guess they'll get along pretty well +together," Plums said, in a tone of satisfaction. "I'm mighty glad +you've come back, 'cause aunt Dorcas kept me humpin' myself ever since +you left. Why, I've finished up the whole garden, an' it seems to me as +if I'd done the work of four men. Did you get the money from the German +woman?"</p> + +<p>"Yes; but it didn't do me any good;" and then Joe told in detail of the +meeting with the amateur detective, and the bribe he had been forced to +give.</p> + +<p>"It seems as though Dan must be pretty smart if they're advertisin' for +him, too," Plums said, reflectively. "I can't make out what them lawyers +are up to, offerin' a whole hundred dollars for either one of us, an' +when it comes right down to dots, I don't s'pose we're actually worth +twenty-five cents."</p> + +<p>"I can't understand it, either, and I expect aunt Dorcas<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span> will think I'm +a terrible bad feller, when I tell her the story."</p> + +<p>"But you ain't goin' to do anything like that?" Plums cried, in alarm.</p> + +<p>"Yes, I am; I won't go away from here without tellin' her the truth, an' +I've got to leave before three o'clock to-morrow afternoon."</p> + +<p>"Now, look here, Joe, this ain't right to let Dan Fernald drive you off. +Where'll we find another place like this?"</p> + +<p>"I don't reckon we ever can; but it's got to be done. I'd be 'shamed +enough to die if Dan should settle hisself down here, after we've +brought the princess. That would make four of us for aunt Dorcas to +feed, an' we know she has 'bout all she can do to pay her own bills. It +seemed pretty tough when you an' I come; but I said to myself it was +only for two or three weeks, an' we could patch it up somehow, after we +got back to town."</p> + +<p>"But Dan's a fool!" Master Plummer cried, excitedly. "It's no dead sure +thing aunt Dorcas will take him in same's she has us, even if you do go +away."</p> + +<p>"But he thinks she will, so it 'mounts to the same thing."</p> + +<p>"Where are you goin'?"</p> + +<p>"I don't know," Joe replied, mournfully. "Perhaps it'll be better to go +straight to town, an' let 'em arrest me. Aunt Dorcas will tell me what's +best, an' I shall do as she says."</p> + +<p>"You ain't goin' to talk to her to-night?"</p> + +<p>"No, Plums, I'm countin' on holdin' out till to-morrow<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span> mornin', an' +enjoyin' myself all I can, 'cause it ain't no ways likely I'll ever have +the chance of stoppin' again in sich a place as this."</p> + +<p>Master Plummer was silent for a moment, and then a different aspect of +the case presented itself to him.</p> + +<p>"Why, what's goin' to become of me?" he cried. "I don't believe aunt +Dorcas'll keep me after you leave, an' what'll I do?"</p> + +<p>"If I let the lawyers get hold of me, that'll ease up on you, 'cause I'm +the only one they'd want to arrest, an' you can go back to town."</p> + +<p>"Yes, perhaps I can; but I'll hate to, mightily. That shanty of mine +won't seem half so nice, after we've lived here, an' I'll have to go to +work sellin' papers!"</p> + +<p>Master Plummer was now so absorbed in the contemplation of his own +unfortunate position as to be wholly unable to sympathise with his +friend, and the two sat on the greensward just outside aunt Dorcas's +door, in painful silence.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span></p> +<h2>CHAPTER XII.</h2> + +<h3>A STRUGGLE IN THE NIGHT.</h3> + + +<p>During the remainder of this day it appeared to Joe and Plums as if they +were abandoned by the little woman who had hitherto treated them with so +much attention.</p> + +<p>Immediately after Joe arrived with his charge, aunt Dorcas and the +princess disappeared inside the house, and neither of them seemed to +desire the companionship of the boys until, at an unusually late hour, +they were summoned to dinner.</p> + +<p>To Plums's great disappointment, the noonday meal was a lunch, rather +than a dinner, and aunt Dorcas apologised, by saying:</p> + +<p>"I was so interested in making the acquaintance of your princess, +Joseph, that, for perhaps the first time in my life, I forgot my +household duties, and it was half past eleven before I remembered we +hadn't had dinner."</p> + +<p>"'Cordin' to the slat of stuff you've got here on the table, I should +think you'd been at work all the forenoon," Joe said, approvingly, but +there was the faintest suspicion of jealousy in his heart because the +princess no longer demanded his attention.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span></p> + +<p>Aunt Dorcas had arrayed her in some plain garments which might once have +belonged to herself or her sisters, and the little maid was so well +content with this new friend that she had but curt greetings for the boy +who considered himself her guardian.</p> + +<p>Perhaps aunt Dorcas understood from the expression on Joe's face +something of that which was in his mind, when the princess chattered and +cooed to the little woman, paying no attention to the others at the +table, for she said, in a kindly tone:</p> + +<p>"It's to be expected, Joseph, that a baby like this one would take more +readily to a woman than a boy."</p> + +<p>"Oh, I know that, aunt Dorcas," Joe replied, with a poor assumption of +carelessness, "an' I'm awful glad you like her."</p> + +<p>"Indeed I do, Joseph. Even in the short time she has been here I have +realised what a comfort it is to have a child around the house, and I +believe God has been very good in sending you and her to me."</p> + +<p>Aunt Dorcas made no mention of being grateful because Plums was a member +of the family, but that young gentleman gave no apparent heed to the +omission, so intent was he upon the pleasure of eating.</p> + +<p>Joe had expected aunt Dorcas would question him closely concerning the +journey, and want to know if the princess had eaten the cookies she +sent. He feared he might not be able to answer her questions without +revealing some of the disagreeable events of the morning; but, to his +surprise, she never so much as referred to the subject. All her thoughts +were centred upon the child;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span> how she should amuse her; how provide her +with new garments, and the little woman even went so far as to speculate +upon the time when it would be necessary to send her to school.</p> + +<p>Joe did not enjoy the food as he would have done but for having met with +Dan, the detective.</p> + +<p>A big lump came into his throat, with the thought that this might be the +last dinner for him in the cottage, the last time he would see aunt +Dorcas, and it was only with difficulty he could swallow.</p> + +<p>He had said he would give himself wholly up to the pleasure of being +there during the remainder of this day, and not until morning came +should aunt Dorcas hear his story; but before the dinner was eaten, he +began to question whether it might not be wiser to make the explanations +at once, and have done with them, so painful was the suspense.</p> + +<p>While the little woman washed the dishes, Joe was permitted to amuse the +princess, but, as soon as aunt Dorcas was at leisure, she took the child +in her arms, and said, preparatory to seating herself in the comfortable +rocking-chair near the west window:</p> + +<p>"The princess and I are going to have our nooning now, and you boys had +better go out-of-doors, where you can't disturb us with your noise."</p> + +<p>The lump in Joe's throat seemed to increase in size, but he forced it +back bravely, as he asked:</p> + +<p>"Isn't there any work we can do, aunt Dorcas? There's no reason why we +should hang 'round here with our hands in our pockets."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span></p> + +<p>"I'll venture to say George isn't eager to be doing anything, for I kept +him busy this morning. It appears to me he isn't a great lover of hard +work, and I am certain you need rest. A walk of six miles—and I dare +say you carried the child a good deal more than half the distance—is as +much as ought to be expected of a boy in one day."</p> + +<p>"But I'm not so awful tired, an' I guess Plums can hold out a spell +longer, so if there's anything you'll be wantin' done for the next week +or two, I wish you'd let me know it now."</p> + +<p>"I don't think of a thing, Joseph. Go into the orchard, and amuse +yourself in almost any way except by throwing rocks at the birds, until +the princess and I have had our nap."</p> + +<p>Joe could do no less than obey, and, once they were out of the house, he +said to Plums:</p> + +<p>"Of course I'm a big fool to think any such things, but I can't help +feelin' sorry because the princess had rather be with aunt Dorcas than +me."</p> + +<p>"I'd say it was a mighty lucky thing if we were goin' to stay here; but, +in case you stick to what you said about goin' away to-morrow, it will +be kinder tough on both of 'em."</p> + +<p>"I wouldn't wonder if aunt Dorcas wanted us to go, after I tell her why +I left the city. She's too good a woman to keep a feller 'round, if she +thinks he's been doin' something wicked."</p> + +<p>"But you say you haven't."</p> + +<p>"An' it's the truth, Plums; but I can't make other<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span> folks believe it, +not even you, on account of that advertisement. Everybody says I must +have been up to something crooked, else the lawyers wouldn't try so hard +to get hold of me."</p> + +<p>Plums could give no consolation. Although he had never known Joe to do +anything which was not absolutely just and honest, he was convinced that +some wrong had been committed, otherwise the advertisement would never +have appeared.</p> + +<p>Joe lay down on the grass, under one of the apple-trees, and, despite +the sorrow in his heart, the chirping of the birds, the soft murmur of +the leaves as they were moved to and fro by the breeze, and the hum of +insects, soon lulled him to sleep.</p> + +<p>The sun was far down in the west when he awakened, and, leaping to his +feet, surprised that he had spent nearly the entire afternoon in +slumber, he looked around for Master Plummer.</p> + +<p>That young gentleman was sitting with his back against the trunk of a +tree, looking idly up at the fleecy clouds, while an expression of +discontent overspread his face.</p> + +<p>"I guess I must have had a pretty long nap," Joe said, as if to make an +apology for his indolence. "I don't believe I ever did a thing like that +before. Hasn't aunt Dorcas called us yet?"</p> + +<p>"Not as I know," Master Plummer replied, curtly.</p> + +<p>"Then she an' the princess must be sleepin' as sound as I was. Of course +you'd heard if she'd called?"</p> + +<p>"I haven't been here all the time."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Where have you been?"</p> + +<p>Master Plummer hesitated an instant, and then replied, speaking rapidly, +as if to prevent Joe from interrupting him:</p> + +<p>"I saw Dan Fernald sneakin' 'round down by the road, an' went to see +him. We've been talkin' this thing over, Joe, an' it don't seem to me as +though there was any need for you to go off with the princess. You might +walk 'round the country for a week without findin' so good a place as +this. I'm sure aunt Dorcas had rather keep half a dozen boys than let +that youngster go, now she's begun to like her."</p> + +<p>"I wish I'd known Dan Fernald had come here. It was in the agreement he +should keep away, an' I'd 'a' pounded him if I'd caught him sneakin' +'round."</p> + +<p>"But, say, why can't you keep quiet, an' let him do as he's a mind to? +Perhaps aunt Dorcas won't take him in, after all."</p> + +<p>"I ain't goin' to say a word against him; but I shall tell her the whole +story to-morrow morning, an' then clear out."</p> + +<p>"Even if she wants you to stay?"</p> + +<p>"Yes; 'cause I'd be ashamed to own I was alive if I'd let her take care +of such a crowd as ours."</p> + +<p>Plums showed plainly that he was displeased by the stand his friend had +taken, and walked in silence down the lane to the road.</p> + +<p>"Any decent feller'd do the same's I'm countin' on." Joe said to +himself, as he went slowly towards the cottage. "He wants to stay 'cause +he gets plenty to eat<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span> an' no work to speak of, so he won't look at the +thing the way he ought'er."</p> + +<p>Arriving near the rear door of the cottage, he saw aunt Dorcas and the +princess playing on the grass with two dolls made of aprons, and the +little woman appeared to be enjoying herself as hugely as did the little +maid.</p> + +<p>"I declare, I'm almost ashamed of myself, Joseph, to be seen at such +games; but I couldn't resist your princess's coaxing, and I believe I've +really had a good time. We must find some more Christianlike name for +her than princess. I think she calls herself Essie."</p> + +<p>"I thought so, too; but I couldn't make out what kind of a name that +was. Did you call us after you got through with your nap, aunt Dorcas?"</p> + +<p>"Certainly I did, Joseph; but I suppose you were too far away to hear +me."</p> + +<p>Joe explained how he had spent the afternoon, whereat the little woman +laughed merrily, and invited him to play with them at keeping house.</p> + +<p>Not until fully half an hour after her usual time for preparing the +evening meal, did aunt Dorcas cease her share in the childish sport, and +then Joe had his princess all to himself until they were summoned to +supper.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile, Master Plummer had returned from his walk, but without having +concluded his fit of the sulks, and he apparently gave no heed to +anything around him until he was called to partake of supper.</p> + +<p>On this night aunt Dorcas's prayer was one of thanksgiving<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span> rather than +supplication; there was a cheery ring in her voice which the boys had +never heard before, and Joe wondered at it, without once guessing that +the coming of the princess had made the little woman more womanly and +younger.</p> + +<p>When the boys were in their room, Joe, who had almost forgotten, since +the moment he joined in the game of "keeping house," that, on the +morrow, he was to leave this pleasant abiding-place, realised even more +keenly than before how hard it would be to carry out the purpose he had +formed; but yet he did not falter for a single moment.</p> + +<p>"I'll do it in the mornin', sure, an' I wish I'd told her to-night; then +the hardest part would be over," he said to himself, as he crept into +bed by the side of the yet indignantly silent Master Plummer.</p> + +<p>Owing to his long sleep during the afternoon, and also the unpleasant +thoughts in his mind, Joe's eyes refused to close in slumber. He tossed +to and fro on the rest-inviting bed, while Plums slept audibly, until it +seemed to him as if the night must have passed and the morning was near +at hand.</p> + +<p>This belief was strengthened when he heard a noise as if the kitchen +window was being raised, and he leaped out of bed, vexed with himself +because he had not gone down sooner to build the fire.</p> + +<p>It was yet dark in the room, and he turned to pull aside the curtain, +when he found that it was already raised at full height.</p> + +<p>"It ain't mornin', that's certain," he said to himself.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span> "I wonder what +aunt Dorcas is doin'? Perhaps the princess is sick."</p> + +<p>He went to the door and listened. A certain faint rustling, as if some +one was moving around in the room below, came to his ears; but it was so +indistinct he questioned whether it might not be fancy.</p> + +<p>One, two, three minutes he stood silent and motionless, and then, not +satisfied that everything was as it should be, crept softly down the +stairs.</p> + +<p>On nearing the kitchen he became positive some one was moving around the +room; but since no ray of light appeared from beneath the door when he +stood at the foot of the stairs, the startling thought came into his +mind that an evil-disposed person had effected an entrance.</p> + +<p>It seemed preposterous burglars should come to the cottage in the hope +of finding anything of very great value, and yet Joe felt convinced +there was an intruder in the house.</p> + +<p>Then it was that he believed he knew the person who was moving so +stealthily in the adjoining room.</p> + +<p>"Dan has broken in here to steal something to eat," he said to himself. +"He thinks neither Plums nor I would dare do anything to him, for fear +he'd tell the detectives where we are, and knows aunt Dorcas couldn't +make much of a row if she wanted to."</p> + +<p>Determined to punish the amateur detective soundly for his misdemeanour, +Joe crept softly to the door until his hand was on the latch, and at +that instant it was suddenly opened from the inside.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></span></p> + +<p>Not anticipating any such movement as this, the boy, who had been +partially leaning against the door, was precipitated into the room.</p> + +<p>Only with difficulty did he prevent himself from falling, and had but +just recovered his balance when he was seized from behind by some one +who had evidently intended to clutch him by the throat, but, failing, +grasped his shirt-collar.</p> + +<p>Even now, Joe believed it was with Dan he had to deal, and wrenching +himself free, which was not difficult, since the cloth tore in the hand +of the intruder, he struck out right and left, with the hope of dealing +an effective blow.</p> + +<p>Before many seconds had passed, however, he understood that he was +battling with a man, and not a boy.</p> + +<p>Once he received a blow on the cheek which sent him staggering back +several paces, and, when he would have renewed the battle, was met by a +thrust in the face which almost dazed him.</p> + +<p>The intruder made no outcry, probably hoping the other inmates of the +house might not be aroused, and Joe remained silent, lest aunt Dorcas +should learn of the burglar's presence.</p> + +<p>After receiving a third blow, and not having been able to deliver one in +return, Joe understood that the battle would speedily be brought to an +end by his discomfiture, unless there was a change of tactics, and he +closed with the man at once, seizing him around the waist in such a +manner that the fellow could not do him much injury.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span></p> + +<p>The boy had but little hope he would come off victor in this unequal +battle; but yet he clung to his adversary, striving to overthrow him, +until, in their struggles, the two were at the open door through which +Joe had entered.</p> + +<p>Leading from the kitchen by this way was a short hall, ending in three +steps which led to the shed beyond, and Joe believed the time had come +when he might gain an advantage.</p> + +<p>At that instant, the burglar was standing with his back towards the +passageway, and putting all his strength into the effort, Joe flung his +whole weight upon the enemy.</p> + +<p>The man, taken for the instant at a disadvantage, yielded a single step, +and this was sufficient for his discomfiture.</p> + +<p>Joe forced him back, until the fellow toppled down the stairs, striking +his head against the threshold of the shed door with sufficient force to +render him unconscious.</p> + +<p>The crash which followed the burglar's fall literally shook the little +cottage, and before Joe fully realised he had vanquished the foe, aunt +Dorcas was calling him loudly by name.</p> + +<p>"It's all right; don't you come down, but send Plums here if you can," +he shouted, in reply, and then stood irresolutely wondering what could +be done.</p> + +<p>He had an ill-defined idea that the burglar should be made a prisoner; +but how that might be accomplished was more than he could say at that +moment.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span></p> + +<p>Aunt Dorcas had ceased to call for him, when he understood that it would +be more prudent on his part to secure a light before taking any steps to +fetter the burglar, and he stepped back into the kitchen for this +purpose; but he had not yet found a match when the little woman entered, +holding high above her head a lamp, as she had done on the night when +Joe first saw her.</p> + +<p>"Goodness gracious, Joseph! What <i>is</i> the matter? You're covered with +blood! Have you met with an accident?"</p> + +<p>"Now don't get frightened, aunt Dorcas; I ain't hurt."</p> + +<p>"Why do you tell me that, Joseph, when I can see for myself? You must be +bleeding to death!"</p> + +<p>"But I am not, I tell you. I jest got a clip on the nose, an' another +one behind the ear; neither of 'em will do any harm. Now don't you get +frightened; but I s'pose I've got to tell you what happened."</p> + +<p>"Of course you have, Joseph. You don't fancy I can remain silent with +such goings on in my house, and not attempt to understand them. What +have you been doing to yourself? Why don't you answer? Can't you see you +are making me very nervous?"</p> + +<p>"I didn't want to tell you, aunt Dorcas, 'cause I was 'fraid you'd get +scared; but there's a burglar out here in the shed. I knocked him silly +by pitching him down-stairs, an' now I'm tryin' to think how we can keep +him from gettin' away."</p> + +<p>"A burglar! Keep him from getting away? Why, Joseph Potter, we don't +want any burglars 'round this<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span> house! For mercy's sake, if the poor, +misguided creature will go, don't you try to stop him! Did you hurt him +very much?"</p> + +<p>Joe was relieved in mind because aunt Dorcas, instead of being terrified +at the information that a burglar was in the house, was only solicitous +lest he might have been injured, and he replied, grimly:</p> + +<p>"I reckon I'm the one what got the worst of that little fuss. You +needn't feel so very bad 'bout him, 'cause he's only bumped his head. +But say, we mustn't let him go after what he's tried to do. I'll tie +him, an' you call Plums to go for a perliceman."</p> + +<p>"Joseph, I never would consent to have a poor fellow arrested; but he +shall be talked to severely, for injuring you as he has done. The idea +of a grown-up man striking a child so hard as to bring blood!"</p> + +<p>However serious the situation, Joe could not have restrained his mirth.</p> + +<p>Aunt Dorcas's pity for the burglar, and fear lest he had been injured, +was to him very comical, and he laughed heartily, until the little woman +said, in a tone of reproof:</p> + +<p>"Joseph, that poor man may be dying, and by your hand, while you are +making merry. Where is he?"</p> + +<p>Joe stifled his mirth as best he could, and, taking the lamp, and the +tender-hearted little woman's hand, led the way towards the shed door, +as he replied:</p> + +<p>"I'll show him to you, aunt Dorcas, an' then if you want to tie a rag +'round his throat, or put a plaster on his head, you can."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</a></span></p> + +<p>But Joe did not make as thorough an exhibition of his burglar as he had +anticipated.</p> + +<p>The man had regained consciousness, and all aunt Dorcas saw of the +intruder was a dark form which ran past her into the kitchen, and from +there leaped through the open window.</p> + +<p>Joe could not have stopped the burglar if he wished, so sudden and +unexpected had been the fellow's movements; but he was deeply chagrined +that his enemy should thus have escaped so readily.</p> + +<p>"He's gone, an' I ought'er be kicked for standin' here chinnin' with +you, as if he'd wait till I got ready to tie him up!"</p> + +<p>"We should be thankful to him for going without making any more of a +disturbance. I'm relieved to know he wasn't seriously hurt, and—How +wicked I am to stand here talking about anything, when your wounds +should be attended to! It's a mercy you haven't bled to death long +before this."</p> + +<p>"There's no danger of anything of that kind, aunt Dorcas, and if you'll +go right back to bed, I'll tend to myself in great shape. There's no +need of your fussin' 'round."</p> + +<p>"You must believe me a perfect wretch if you think I could leave you in +such a condition. But, Joseph, I would like to go back and dress myself +properly."</p> + +<p>"There's no reason why you shouldn't leave me till mornin' jest as well +as not, so go ahead, aunt Dorcas, an' do whatever you please."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 458px;"> +<img src="images/z184.jpg" width="458" height="650" alt=""A DARK FORM LEAPED THROUGH THE OPEN WINDOW."" title="" /> +<span class="caption">"A DARK FORM LEAPED THROUGH THE OPEN WINDOW."</span> +</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Sit down here by the table, where you will have something on which to +rest your head if you grow faint, and I'll be back in a moment."</p> + +<p>Aunt Dorcas closed the kitchen door, lest a draft of air should come +upon the boy she believed so grievously wounded, and went to her own +room, Joe saying to himself, meanwhile:</p> + +<p>"I'd been willin' for him to have pounded me into shoestrings, if it +would save me from havin' to tell a woman as good as she is that I ran +away from New York to keep out of jail."</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</a></span></p> +<h2>CHAPTER XIII.</h2> + +<h3>A CONFESSION.</h3> + + +<p>It seemed to Joe as if aunt Dorcas had but just left the room when she +returned, ready for the work of binding up his wounds.</p> + +<p>"Do you feel any worse, Joseph?" she asked, laying her hand gently on +his shoulder.</p> + +<p>"Not a bit of it," Master Potter replied, stoutly.</p> + +<p>"Do you think you can bear up until I have built a fire and heated some +water?"</p> + +<p>"Now, look here, aunt Dorcas, I ain't hurt any to speak of, even though +there is a good deal of blood on my face, an' as for bearin' up, why, it +wouldn't do me a bit of harm if there wasn't anything done to my face. +I'll build a fire, if it's warm water you're after," and, before the +little woman could prevent him, he had set about the task.</p> + +<p>While waiting for the fire to burn, aunt Dorcas collected such articles +as she believed would be needed, and Joe found it difficult to prevent a +smile from appearing on his bruised face, as he watched the +preparations.</p> + +<p>Several rolls of clean, white cloth, in sufficient quantity to have +bandaged the heads of twenty boys, arnica,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</a></span> antiseptic washes, adhesive +plaster, a sponge, cooling lotions, and, as Joe afterwards told Plums, +"a whole apothecary's shop full of stuff," was placed on the table in a +methodical fashion.</p> + +<p>"I guess while this water's bein' heated I'll wash some of the blood off +my face, an' then you'll see that there ain't any need of worryin' much +'bout me," Joe said, with a laugh, as he turned towards the sink, and +aunt Dorcas cried, excitedly:</p> + +<p>"Don't do it, Joseph! Don't you dare to do it; it might be as much as +your life is worth to put cold water on that bruised flesh! It won't be +many minutes before we shall have plenty of the proper temperature."</p> + +<p>"Of course I'll do jest as you say, aunt Dorcas; but I've been hurt +worse'n this a good many times, an' never had any one to touch me up the +same's you seem bound on doin'."</p> + +<p>"If you have been foolhardy in the past, it is no reason why you should +run unnecessary risks now," the little woman said, severely, and Joe +made no further attempt to dissuade her from her purpose.</p> + +<p>When the water was sufficiently warm, aunt Dorcas set about her +self-appointed task, passing the moist sponge over Joe's face with an +exceedingly light touch, as if afraid of causing him pain, and he said, +with a stifled laugh:</p> + +<p>"You needn't be afraid of hurtin' me, aunt Dorcas. I can stand a good +deal more'n that without yippin'. I'd been willin' to got it twice as +bad, if we could have held on to that duffer."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</a></span></p> + +<p>"You shouldn't harbour revengeful thoughts, Joseph. I am truly glad he +made his escape."</p> + +<p>"If you treat burglars in that way, this place will be overrun with them +before next winter."</p> + +<p>"Of course I don't like the idea of having strange men prowling around +the house in the night; but there is nothing here for them to steal, and +I am certain they couldn't be wicked enough to hurt a poor old woman +like me. Instead of harbouring revengeful thoughts, we should endeavour +to do good to those who would injure us, remembering the words spoken on +the Mount, 'That ye resist not evil; but whosoever shall smite thee on +the right cheek, turn to him the other also.'"</p> + +<p>"If a feller went 'round doin' anything like that, I reckon he'd soon be +in worse shape than I am. Do you mean, aunt Dorcas, that I ought to have +stood still an' let that burglar have fun with me?"</p> + +<p>"I can't think it was intended we should take the words literally; but +they certainly were meant that we should be forgiving,—that we should +love our enemies so heartily as to lead them from their evil ways. The +man who beat you so cruelly will never be brought into a better life by +harsh words. Now, I am going to put some arnica on these bruises; it +will hurt, but you must try to bear the pain manfully."</p> + +<p>"Don't be afraid of me, aunt Dorcas. You couldn't do anything that would +make me yip."</p> + +<p>The little woman treated Joe's wounds with such simple remedies as she +had near at hand, and then proceeded to bandage his head, until but +little more than<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</a></span> his eyes and mouth could be seen, striving, meanwhile, +to show him how much better the world would be for his having lived in +it, if he would govern himself strictly by the Golden Rule.</p> + +<p>During all the while she was putting the many bandages in place, Joe was +saying to himself that now was come the time when he should make that +confession he had decided upon, and, although aunt Dorcas had said so +much concerning the blessedness of forgiving those who have done us an +injury, he did not believe she would so far carry her precepts into +practice as to be willing to shelter one who appeared to be as great a +criminal as himself.</p> + +<p>"I believe, Joseph, I have done all that is possible to-night," the +little woman finally said, as she fastened in place the last bandage. +"You are not to get up in the morning until after I have made certain +you are in no danger of a fever. Now, go to your room, and if you think +George may disturb you, I'll put him in the spare chamber."</p> + +<p>"Wait a minute, aunt Dorcas; I want to tell you something," and Joe laid +his hand on the little woman's arm to prevent her from rising. "You +never knew why Plums an' I left New York to come out here where there +isn't a chance to earn a living."</p> + +<p>"I understood from something you said, Joseph, that there was a reason +for your leaving home suddenly; but I can't believe, my boy, you have +done anything wrong."</p> + +<p>"An' I haven't, aunt Dorcas; as true as I live, I haven't, though +everybody, even Plums, thinks I've<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</a></span> been cuttin' a terrible swath! Of +course, when that advertisement come out, I had to run away, else they'd +carried me to jail—"</p> + +<p>"To jail?" aunt Dorcas repeated, in horror. "What advertisement do you +mean, Joseph?"</p> + +<p>"The one that was in the paper 'bout payin' anybody who'd tell where I +was."</p> + +<p>"But who wanted to know where you were?"</p> + +<p>"The lawyers, of course,—the fellers that advertised."</p> + +<p>"Why did they want to find you?" aunt Dorcas asked, in perplexity.</p> + +<p>"That's what knocks me silly, 'cause I don't know a thing about it, any +more'n you do."</p> + +<p>"Did you say the advertisement knocked you silly, Joseph?" and the +little woman now looked thoroughly bewildered.</p> + +<p>"Course it did, an' it would have paralysed 'most anybody that didn't +know what they'd been about."</p> + +<p>"Joseph, I'm afraid I don't understand you. It is a printed +advertisement you are telling me about, isn't it?"</p> + +<p>"Of course. I saw the first one in the <i>Herald</i>, an'—"</p> + +<p>"I thought you said some one had dealt you a blow. Tell me what there +was in the advertisement."</p> + +<p>Joe repeated the words almost verbatim, and then told aunt Dorcas all +the details of the flight, up to the moment they arrived at her home.</p> + +<p>Regarding the threats made by the amateur detective he remained silent, +because of the promise to Dan.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</a></span></p> + +<p>"There must be some terrible mistake about it all, Joseph. If you +haven't committed a crime, and I feel certain you couldn't have done +such a thing, then it is some other boy these lawyers are hunting for."</p> + +<p>"There's no such good luck as that, aunt Dorcas. I don't believe there's +another feller in town named Joseph Potter, who's been sellin' +newspapers an' then went into the fruit business. You see, that's me to +a dot, an' now Plums an' Dan are in the scrape because they helped me +away. Just as likely as not Dan will come here to-morrow to ask you to +take him in, too, an' I've made up my mind that the princess an' I have +got to leave. We're goin' away about noon, aunt Dorcas, an' some time +I'll be back to pay you for bein' so good to us."</p> + +<p>The little woman looked at Joe for an instant, as if not understanding +what he had said, and repeated:</p> + +<p>"Going away?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, aunt Dorcas, we've got to. Even if you was willin' we should stay, +after what I've told you, I wouldn't agree to hang 'round, livin' on +you, while there are two other fellers doin' the same thing."</p> + +<p>Aunt Dorcas gazed at Joe steadily during several seconds, and then said, +in a decided tone:</p> + +<p>"I don't understand what you have tried to tell me; but it is certain, +Joseph Potter, that you sha'n't leave my house while you are wounded so +seriously."</p> + +<p>"I ain't wounded, aunt Dorcas, an' I'm as well able to go this minute as +I was when I came."</p> + +<p>"It doesn't make any difference whether you are or<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</a></span> not. I sha'n't allow +you to step your foot off of these premises until I know more about this +affair. It is all a mistake from beginning to end; there can be no +question of that, and I'll get at the bottom of it before we are very +much older. Now go straight to bed, and mind what I told you about +getting up in the morning."</p> + +<p>Aunt Dorcas pulled the bandages apart sufficiently to admit of her +kissing Joe on the lips, and then, putting the lamp in his hand, she led +him to the stairway.</p> + +<p>"You're an awful good woman, aunt Dorcas, an' some day I'll be able to +do more than tell you so."</p> + +<p>"Good night, my boy. Put this matter entirely out of your mind and go to +sleep."</p> + +<p>When Joe gained the chamber once more, it was as if a great weight had +been lifted from his heart.</p> + +<p>The confession which caused him so much anxiety had been made, and, +instead of reproaching him for having come to her home, aunt Dorcas was +the same kindly, Christianlike woman as when he first saw her.</p> + +<p>Master Plummer, who had slept peacefully during all the adventures of +the night, was disturbed by the light of the lamp, as it shone full in +his face, and opening his eyes, he said, petulantly:</p> + +<p>"What are you doin'—" He ceased speaking suddenly, as he saw his +friend's bandaged face, and cried, in something very like alarm, +"Wha—wha—what's happened to you?"</p> + +<p>"There was a burglar in the house, an' I tackled him."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</a></span></p> + +<p>This was sufficient to bring Master Plummer to a sitting posture at +once, and he demanded to be told all the particulars.</p> + +<p>Joe began to comply with his friend's request, but was interrupted by +the voice of aunt Dorcas from the room below.</p> + +<p>"George! Don't you allow Joseph to say a single word to-night. He must +be kept perfectly quiet, or no one can say what may be the result of his +terrible wounds. Go to sleep immediately, both of you, and to-morrow +morning I'll do the talking, if Joseph isn't strong enough."</p> + +<p>"Go on, an' tell me all about it," Plums whispered. "She won't hear if +we talk low."</p> + +<p>"I'll do jest exactly as aunt Dorcas told me, even if she said I was to +stand on my head for half an hour. A feller who wouldn't mind what she +tells him ain't fit to live," and Joe got into bed, refusing to so much +as speak when Plums plied him with questions.</p> + +<p>Although he had made light of his wounds when talking to aunt Dorcas, +they gave him no slight amount of pain, and this, together with his +anxiety of mind, would seem to have been sufficient to keep his eyes +open until morning; yet within a very short time he was sleeping as +peacefully as if attorneys and burglars had never been known in this +world.</p> + +<p>Not until aunt Dorcas tapped gently on the door next morning did either +of the boys awaken, and then Joe would have leaped out of bed +immediately after answering her summons, but for the words:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</a></span></p> + +<p>"You're not to get up, Joseph, until I am positive you are out of +danger."</p> + +<p>Joe laughed aloud, in the gladness of his heart; such solicitude for his +welfare was something he had never known before, and it seemed very +sweet to him.</p> + +<p>"Let me get up, aunt Dorcas, an' if I don't show you I'm all right, I'll +come straight back to bed. There's no need of my layin' here, 'cause I'm +sound as a nut."</p> + +<p>The little woman hesitated, but finally gave the desired permission, and +when Joe was in the kitchen once more, she insisted on removing the +bandages to examine the wounds before even so much as allowing Master +Plummer to partake of the breakfast already prepared.</p> + +<p>To Joe and Plums, who were accustomed to such injuries, there appeared +to be no reason why the bandages should be replaced, but aunt Dorcas, +who could be as firm as she usually was gentle, when occasion required, +insisted upon obedience, and once more Joe's face was enveloped in white +cloth, until he presented a most comical appearance.</p> + +<p>Then aunt Dorcas brought the princess down-stairs, and the little maid, +not recognising her young guardian, positively refused to speak to him, +but nestled close by the little woman's side until Joe, by dint of much +coaxing and bribing, persuaded her to accept him as a new, if not an +old, acquaintance.</p> + +<p>When the meal was brought to an end, and before the breakfast dishes +were cleared away, aunt Dorcas referred to the confession of the +previous night, by saying:</p> + +<p>"I've been thinking over what you told me, Joseph,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</a></span> and verily believe I +should have awakened you before daylight this morning to ask a few +questions, if you had not been in such a serious condition. You have no +objection to my speaking about the matter before George?"</p> + +<p>"Of course not, aunt Dorcas. He knows the whole thing as well as I do, +except he believes I must have done something pretty tough."</p> + +<p>"You should never think evil of any person, George, no matter how much +appearances are against him."</p> + +<p>"Well, if Joe didn't do anything, what are these lawyers offerin' to +give a whole hundred dollars to catch one of us for?"</p> + +<p>"That is what I hope to find out. There is something in connection with +the matter which you boys have failed to explain, that will make it all +very simple. Have either of you a copy of that advertisement?"</p> + +<p>"No, aunt Dorcas, I wasn't achin' to lug such a thing as that 'round +with me."</p> + +<p>"Does it still appear in the papers?"</p> + +<p>"It did yesterday mornin', 'cause Dan showed it to me, an' his name and +Plums's were 'longside of mine."</p> + +<p>"Then George must go to Weehawken and buy one of those papers."</p> + +<p>Master Plummer looked up in dismay. A six-mile walk was to him such +exercise as amounted almost to torture, and he said, petulantly:</p> + +<p>"What good will it do for you to read it in the paper, when we can tell +you every word?"</p> + +<p>"Indeed, I don't know; but there must be something which you have failed +to remember."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Truly, there isn't, aunt Dorcas. I said over the words jest as they was +printed, 'cause I'd be sure to remember a thing like that," Joe replied.</p> + +<p>"I am set, when I make up my mind, as all old maids are," the little +woman said, grimly, "and it seems to me absolutely necessary I should +see that advertisement. Now, if George thinks he cannot walk to +Weehawken, I must go myself."</p> + +<p>"Indeed you mustn't, aunt Dorcas," and Joe spoke in a tone of authority, +such as he had never before used. "There's nothin' to prevent my walkin' +a dozen miles, if anything is to be gained by it, an' I'll start this +very minute."</p> + +<p>To such a proposition as this, aunt Dorcas positively refused to listen. +She was certain Joe's wounds were of such serious nature that violent +exercise might be fatal to him, and Master Plummer began to fear he +would be forced to take that long walk when there was no real necessity +for so doing, until a happy thought came to him, and he cried, +animatedly:</p> + +<p>"There's no need for anybody to go to Weehawken, 'cause Dan Fernald must +have that paper he showed to Joe, in his pocket now."</p> + +<p>"Where is he?" aunt Dorcas asked, quickly.</p> + +<p>"Loafin' 'round here somewhere," Plums replied. "He counted on comin' +here this afternoon to ask if you'd let him stop a spell, so's the +lawyers couldn't catch him. He would have come last night, but Joe hired +him to keep away."</p> + +<p>Aunt Dorcas looked at Master Potter, inquiringly, and the latter said:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</a></span></p> + +<p>"I promised Dan I wouldn't speak a word to you about what he was goin' +to do; but you'll know it all when he comes."</p> + +<p>"<i>I</i> didn't promise, so there's nothing to keep me from tellin'," Master +Plummer cried, and, before his friend could prevent him, he had added, +"Joe thought it was playin' too steep on you for Dan to come, when you +had him, an' me, an' the princess, so he gave him seventy-five cents to +keep away till three o'clock this afternoon. He counted on goin' off +with the kid before then."</p> + +<p>Aunt Dorcas did not appear to fully understand this explanation; but her +impatience to see the advertisement was so great that she evidently +could not wait to ask further concerning the matter.</p> + +<p>"Can you find Dan Fernald now?" and she turned to Plums.</p> + +<p>"Well, I guess it wouldn't take very long, 'cause he's somewhere close +'round."</p> + +<p>"Go out this minute, George, and hunt for him."</p> + +<p>"He'll count on stoppin', once he gets in here," Plums said, warningly.</p> + +<p>"If the poor boy hasn't any home, and is hidin' here in the country for +the same reason you are, I will give him a shelter so long as may be +necessary."</p> + +<p>"But you see, aunt Dorcas, you can't afford to jam this house full of +boys what have got into a scrape," Joe cried. "I'm willin' to go away, +so's to give Dan the chance; but I won't hang 'round here when there's a +whole crowd."</p> + +<p>"You will remain exactly where you are, Joseph Potter,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</a></span> until this +matter is settled, so don't let me hear anything more of that kind. +George, go directly and find your friend."</p> + +<p>The boys did not dare oppose aunt Dorcas when she spoke in such a tone, +and although Plums was not inclined to do even so much as go in search +of Dan, when he might be resting quietly in the house, he obeyed.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</a></span></p> +<h2>CHAPTER XIV.</h2> + +<h3>A RAY OF LIGHT.</h3> + + +<p>The amateur detective was a boy who had but little faith in the honesty +of his fellows, perhaps because he himself could not be trusted +implicitly, and even though Joe Potter had solemnly promised he would +say nothing in his disfavour, Dan entertained grave suspicions that the +little woman was being prejudiced against him.</p> + +<p>Therefore it was he had been loitering near the cottage since early +morning, in the hope of gaining speech with Plums, and, when that young +gentleman finally appeared, Master Fernald came out from his +hiding-place amid a clump of bushes.</p> + +<p>"What's up, now?" he cried, suspiciously.</p> + +<p>"You're to come right in, an' see aunt Dorcas," Plums replied, with no +little show of excitement.</p> + +<p>"What's wrong? Has Joe been tellin' her not to take me in?"</p> + +<p>"Look here, Dan, I may not like his threatenin' to leave 'cause you was +comin', an' perhaps I said a good many hard things against him, when I +talked with you yesterday; but I won't let anybody accuse him of lyin'. +When Joe promised not to tell aunt Dorcas anything 'bout you, he meant +to keep his word, an' he'll do it. I<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</a></span> told her he'd paid you +seventy-five cents to stay away till this afternoon."</p> + +<p>"What did you do that for? Are you turnin' sneak, Plums? 'Cause if you +are, I'll break your jaw!"</p> + +<p>"Perhaps you could do it; but I ain't so certain. Anyway, I told the +story, 'cause Joe gave the advertisement business dead away last night, +when he got thumped."</p> + +<p>"Did he have a row?"</p> + +<p>"He tackled a burglar, an' got the best of him, that's what Joe Potter +did. A feller has got nerve what'll jump on to a man in the dark, an' +don't you make any mistake."</p> + +<p>"Was there a real burglar in the house?" Dan asked, incredulously.</p> + +<p>"Course there was, an' Joe knocked him silly. The feller come in through +the kitchen window, an'—"</p> + +<p>"I'd made up my mind that 'most everybody knew I was out here on your +case," the amateur detective said, as if speaking to himself, and Plums +asked, in surprise:</p> + +<p>"What's that got to do with it?"</p> + +<p>"Nothin'; only it shows that some folks don't know it, else the burglar +never'd dared to show his nose 'round here."</p> + +<p>"'Cause he'd be afraid of you?"</p> + +<p>"He wouldn't run the risk of my gettin' on his trail," Master Fernald +replied, with dignity, and Plums could not repress a smile, for he had +already begun to question his friend's detective ability.</p> + +<p>Dan pretended not to see this evidence of incredulity,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</a></span> for it did not +suit his purpose to have hard words with Plums now, when he was, as he +believed, about to become his roommate.</p> + +<p>"See here, you've got to come right up to the house, 'cause aunt Dorcas +wants to see that paper," Master Plummer cried, as if but just reminded +of his mission.</p> + +<p>"What for?"</p> + +<p>"She wants to read the advertisement."</p> + +<p>"Oh, she does, eh? Well, if the old woman is willin' to promise that I +can come here to live, I'll let her take the paper; that's the only way +she'll get it."</p> + +<p>Plums looked at his friend, as if believing he had not heard him aright.</p> + +<p>"I mean what I say. I've got the chance now to have things my way, in +spite of all Joe Potter may do. Go up an' tell her so; if she agrees, +whistle, an' I'll be there before she can wink."</p> + +<p>"Come with me, an' tell her yourself; I won't carry a message like that +to aunt Dorcas," Plums replied, indignantly.</p> + +<p>"All right; then she can go without the paper. It don't make any +difference to me."</p> + +<p>"She won't go without it, 'cause one of us will walk over to Weehawken, +an' perhaps that would be cheaper for her than to feed you."</p> + +<p>The amateur detective began to understand that he was not exactly in a +position to drive a very hard bargain, although confident the possession +of the paper would give him the home he desired. Therefore, instead<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</a></span> of +attempting to force Plums into acting the part of messenger, he said, in +a tone of condescension:</p> + +<p>"If you're so perky 'bout it, I s'pose I can go with you, though I'd +rather have the thing settled before I flash up."</p> + +<p>Without replying, Plums turned, and began to retrace his steps, +regretting, now, that he had spoken harshly to Joe concerning this +fellow who was displaying such a mean spirit.</p> + +<p>Master Fernald followed, with the air of one who is master of the +situation, rehearsing in his mind what he should say when the little +woman asked for the paper.</p> + +<p>The matter was not arranged exactly as he intended it should be.</p> + +<p>When they arrived at the cottage, Plums opened the door for him to +enter, and Dan stepped inside with a jaunty air, unsuspicious of his +companion's purpose.</p> + +<p>Aunt Dorcas greeted the newcomer kindly; but, before Joe could speak, +Plums, standing with his back against the door, to prevent the alleged +detective from making his escape, cried, in a loud tone:</p> + +<p>"Dan's got the paper, but says he won't give it up unless aunt Dorcas +agrees that he shall live here till we get out of the scrape."</p> + +<p>"Did you say that, Dan Fernald?" Joe asked, mildly. And the amateur +detective replied, with a great show of firmness:</p> + +<p>"That's what I told Plums; but I didn't mean to spring it on the old +woman quite so sudden."</p> + +<p>"Do you really mean it?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Course I do; I ain't such a fool as to let a chance like this go by me. +I've got her where she can't help herself, now, an' we'll see who'll—"</p> + +<p>Dan did not conclude the threat, for, regardless of aunt Dorcas's +presence, Joe leaped from the table, and seized the pretended detective +by the throat, forcing him back against the wall.</p> + +<p>With a cry of fear, aunt Dorcas sprang to her feet, and would have gone +to Dan's relief, but that Plums, moving more quickly than he had ever +been known to move before, stepped directly in front of her, as he said, +imploringly:</p> + +<p>"Now, don't mix into this row, 'cause it wouldn't be fair. I knew pretty +well what Joe would do, after I'd told him how Dan was countin' on +gettin' pay for his paper, an' if he hadn't gone for the duffer, I'd had +to do it myself."</p> + +<p>"But I can't have any quarrelling in this house. Why, George, I'd rather +never see a paper in my life than to have a right-down fight here!"</p> + +<p>"There won't be any fight, aunt Dorcas," Plums said, with a smile, +"'cause Joe will chew him all up before he can wink."</p> + +<p>Brief as this conversation had been, before it came to an end there was +no longer any employment for a peacemaker.</p> + +<p>Joe had shaken the amateur detective until he was glad to give up the +worthless newspaper, and, before aunt Dorcas could step past Plums, +Master Fernald was literally thrown out of the kitchen door.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</a></span></p> + +<p>"I'll have every perliceman in New York City here before you're an hour +older!" he screamed, shaking his fist in impotent wrath when he was at a +safe distance.</p> + +<p>"Go ahead, an' do what you can, an' when it's all over I'll finish +servin' you out for talkin' as you did to aunt Dorcas!" Joe replied, +after which he closed the door and resumed his seat at the table, as if +nothing unusual had occurred.</p> + +<p>"Now you can see the advertisement," Plums said, as he handed the paper +to the little woman; but she hesitated about taking it.</p> + +<p>"It seems as if we had robbed that poor boy," she said, in distress. "I +do wish, Joseph, that you hadn't been so hasty."</p> + +<p>"Now don't fret over the sneak, aunt Dorcas, 'cause he ain't worth it. +Robbed him of nothin'! What was the paper good for to him? Yet he +counted on makin' you do as he said for the sake of gettin' it."</p> + +<p>"Last night I wanted him to come here, an' thought Joe was kind er hard +when he wouldn't 'gree to it; but I'll take all that back now. Dan +Fernald's the meanest kind of a sneak," and Master Plummer, realising he +was indulging in too much exercise by thus allowing himself to be angry, +sank into a chair, as if exhausted.</p> + +<p>It is doubtful if aunt Dorcas would have taken the paper procured by +such a questionable method, but for anxiety to read the advertisement +which had made of Joe an exile. As a matter of fact, she did not take it +until after considerable urging from both the boys, and, even then, only +when Joe held it so near that it would have been necessary to close her +eyes in order to prevent herself from seeing the printed lines.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 462px;"> +<img src="images/z206.jpg" width="462" height="650" alt="JOE AND DAN DISAGREE." title="" /> +<span class="caption">JOE AND DAN DISAGREE.</span> +</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</a></span></p> + +<p>The princess, who had been frightened into silence by Joe's attack on +Dan, crept into aunt Dorcas's lap, and, sitting directly opposite, the +two boys watched the little woman's face intently as she read the +fateful lines.</p> + +<p>It seemed to them as if she had kept her eyes fixed upon that particular +portion of the paper fully fifteen minutes before a look of relief came +over her face, and she asked, suddenly:</p> + +<p>"Did you tell me the princess's parents were dead?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, no; I said she'd lost 'em," Joe replied.</p> + +<p>"I understood you found her in the street."</p> + +<p>"An' that's true. I was up by the Grand Central <i>De</i>pot, lookin' for a +job to carry baggage, when she came along, an' I waited there till +pretty nigh dark without seem' anybody that belonged to her. We went to +Plums's shanty, an' stayed all night. I was countin' on findin' her +folks in the mornin', when Dan Fernald come up an' showed this +advertisement. Then, of course, we had to skip, an' you know the rest, +except that I'm goin' back as quick as ever I can, to hunt 'em up."</p> + +<p>"Did any one near the station know you had found a little girl?" aunt +Dorcas asked, now looking really cheerful.</p> + +<p>"Nobody that I knew, except Plums," Joe replied; and added, an instant +later, "Yes, there was. I'd forgot 'bout that feller who works in the +fruit store pretty near the <i>de</i>pot. He saw me when I was luggin' her +down to Plums's shanty, an' almost knocked us over."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</a></span></p> + +<p>Aunt Dorcas looked straight up at the ceiling for as many as two +minutes, and then said, abruptly, as if having decided upon some course +of action:</p> + +<p>"George, I want you to go right over to Mr. McArthur's, and tell him +that I must be carried to the ferry at once. Be sure you say 'at once' +very emphatically, because I want him to understand that my business +admits of no delay, otherwise he will be putting me off with all manner +of excuses. Now go immediately; don't sit there looking at me," and aunt +Dorcas spoke so sharply that both the boys were amazed.</p> + +<p>The little woman, putting the princess down from her lap, began to clear +away the breakfast dishes, but stopped before the work was well begun, +as she said:</p> + +<p>"Why do I spend my time on such trifling matters, when it is so +necessary I get into the city at once? Haven't you gone yet, George?"</p> + +<p>"Say, aunt Dorcas, how do you s'pose I know where Mr. McArthur lives?"</p> + +<p>"You should know; he is our next-door neighbour; the first house on the +right, just above here. Now don't loiter, George, for I am in a great +hurry."</p> + +<p>Master Plummer, looking thoroughly bewildered, went out of the house +almost rapidly, and aunt Dorcas said to Joe:</p> + +<p>"Of course I am depending upon you to take care of the princess, and +when she goes to sleep this noon, perhaps you can put these soiled +dishes into the sink. I haven't the time now, because I must change my +clothes."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Are you goin' into the city, to try to help us out of the scrape?"</p> + +<p>"Of course I am, and it can be done. I knew there was some mistake about +it all when you told me the story; but I haven't time to talk with you +now, Joseph. You will find food enough in the pantry, in case I am not +back by dinner-time, and see to it that the princess doesn't go hungry. +I am depending upon your keeping things in proper order while I'm away."</p> + +<p>Before the astonished boy could ask any further questions, aunt Dorcas +had actually run up the stairs, and the princess immediately raised a +wail of sorrow at being separated from her particular friend, thereby +forcing Joe to devote all his attention to her for the time being.</p> + +<p>Before aunt Dorcas had completed her preparations for the journey, Joe +succeeded in inducing the little maid to walk out-of-doors with him, and +they were but a short distance from the house, down the lane, when Plums +returned with Mr. McArthur.</p> + +<p>The worthy farmer, alarmed by a peremptory message from a neighbour who +had never before been known to give an order save in the form of the +mildest request, had harnessed his horse with all possible despatch, and +was looking seriously disturbed in mind when he drove up to where Joe +was standing.</p> + +<p>"I reckon by your looks you're the boy what tackled the burglar last +night? Well, you showed clean grit, an' no mistake. Can you tell me what +the matter is with aunt Dorcas? This 'ere friend of yours seems to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</a></span> be +all mixed up; don't appear to know much of anything."</p> + +<p>"She wants to go to the city, sir, an' to get there quick."</p> + +<p>"There must be some powerful reason behind it all for Dorcas Milford to +send any sich message as this boy brought. I allow he mistook her +meanin', so to speak, eh?"</p> + +<p>"I didn't mistook anything," Plums cried, indignantly. "She said to tell +you she must be carried to the ferry at once, very emphatically, an' she +didn't want you to be puttin' her off with any excuses."</p> + +<p>"Is that so, sonny?" the farmer asked of Joe.</p> + +<p>"I don't think she said it exactly that way, an' Plums wasn't told you +shouldn't make any excuses; but aunt Dorcas wants to go in a hurry, I +know that much."</p> + +<p>"Anybody dead, eh?"</p> + +<p>"No, sir."</p> + +<p>"The burglar didn't get away with anything, eh?"</p> + +<p>"No, sir."</p> + +<p>Before the farmer could ask any more questions, aunt Dorcas herself +appeared on the scene.</p> + +<p>"I'm glad you came quickly, Mr. McArthur, because I'm in a great hurry," +she said, nervously. "Don't stop to drive up to the house, but turn +around right here."</p> + +<p>The farmer looked at her for a moment, and then, mildly urging the +patient steed on, he drove in a circle as wide as the lane would permit, +saying, meanwhile:</p> + +<p>"It seems to me, Dorcas Milford, I'd send some word by telegraph, rather +than get into sich a pucker. I never<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</a></span> knowed you to be so kinder flighty +as you're appearin' now."</p> + +<p>"I shall be a good deal worse, Mr. McArthur, if you don't start very +soon," aunt Dorcas replied, in a matter-of-fact tone, which alarmed her +neighbour more than a threat from some other person would have done.</p> + +<p>"Take good care of the princess; don't get crumbs on the floor, an' be +sure to eat all you need," aunt Dorcas cried, as the vehicle was whirled +almost rapidly around the corner of the lane into the highway. And Plums +shouted:</p> + +<p>"When'll you be back?"</p> + +<p>"I can't say; be good boys, an' I'll come as soon as ever it's +possible."</p> + +<p>Then the little woman had disappeared from view, and Master Plummer, +turning to his friend, asked, seriously:</p> + +<p>"Do you s'pose there's anything gone wrong with aunt Dorcas's head? It +seems to me she don't act as if she was jest straight."</p> + +<p>"Now don't be foolish, Plums. If everybody in this world was as straight +as she is, us boys would have a snap."</p> + +<p>"But she seems to think she can fix all this, else why did she rush off +so?"</p> + +<p>"If anybody can straighten things out, she's the one, though I don't see +how it's goin' to be done. Let's go into the house, an' do the work. I +b'lieve I can wash the dishes without breakin' any of 'em."</p> + +<p>"What's the use to rush 'round like this? I'm all<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</a></span> tired out goin' over +to McArthur's, an' there's no knowin' what'll happen if I can't get a +chance to rest."</p> + +<p>"Now, don't be so foolish, Plums. You haven't done enough to hurt a +kitten, since we come here, an' all I'll ask of you is to take care of +the princess while I'm fixin' up."</p> + +<p>With this understanding, Master Plummer agreed to his friend's proposal, +and during the next half hour Joe laboured faithfully at the housework, +while Plums amused the princess, when it was possible for him to do so +without too great an exertion.</p> + +<p>Then it was that the child, who had been looking out of the window for a +moment, clapped her tiny hands, and screamed, as she pointed towards the +orchard, thereby causing Master Plummer to ascertain the cause of the +sudden outburst.</p> + +<p>"There goes Dan Fernald!" he exclaimed.</p> + +<p>"Where?"</p> + +<p>"Sneakin' up through the orchard. It looks like he was goin' to the +barn."</p> + +<p>"He's on some of his detective sprees, I s'pose. That feller can make an +awful fool of hisself without tryin' very hard," and Joe would have gone +back to his work but that Plums prevented him, by saying:</p> + +<p>"He ain't sneakin' 'round there for any good. It would be different if +he thought we was in the garden. I wouldn't be 'fraid to bet he was +where he could see aunt Dorcas, when she went away, an' is countin' on +makin' it hot for us."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 476px;"> +<img src="images/z214.jpg" width="476" height="600" alt=""'COME ON QUICK, PLUMS! DAN'S SET THE BARN A-FIRE.'"" title="" /> +<span class="caption">"'COME ON QUICK, PLUMS! DAN'S SET THE BARN A-FIRE.'"</span> +</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[Pg 217]</a></span></p> + +<p>"It would be a sore job for him if he did. Look out for the princess, +an' I'll snoop 'round to see what he's doin'."</p> + +<p>Joe went through the shed door, which led out of the garden, but could +see no one. If the amateur detective had not gone inside the barn, he +must be loitering at the further end, where he was screened from view of +any one on either side the building.</p> + +<p>"If I go 'round there, he'll think it's because I'm 'fraid he'll make +trouble for us, an' that's what would please him," Joe said to himself.</p> + +<p>Then, passing through the shed, he looked out of the door on the +opposite side.</p> + +<p>No one could be seen from this point, and he returned to the garden just +as Dan came out from around the corner of the barn, running at full +speed towards a grove, situated a mile or more from the main road.</p> + +<p>"What have you been doin' 'round here?" Joe shouted, angrily, and the +amateur detective halted long enough to say:</p> + +<p>"You think you're mighty smart, Joe Potter, but you'll find there are +some folks that can give you points. What I've done to you this time +ain't a marker 'longside of what it'll be when I try my hand again."</p> + +<p>Then Master Fernald resumed his flight, much to Joe's surprise, and +halted not until he was within the friendly shelter of the trees.</p> + +<p>"Now, I wonder what he meant by all that talk? It seems like he was more +of a fool this mornin' than I ever knew him to be before."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[Pg 218]</a></span></p> + +<p>At that moment Joe saw, or fancied he saw, a tiny curl of blue vapour +rising from the corner of the barn, and, as he stood gazing in that +direction, uncertain whether his eyes might not have deceived him, +another puff of smoke, and yet another, arose slowly in the air, telling +unmistakably of what Master Fernald had done.</p> + +<p>Joe darted into the house, and seized the water-pail, as he cried, +excitedly:</p> + +<p>"Come on quick, Plums! Dan's set the barn a-fire! Get anything that you +can carry water in, and hump yourself lively!"</p> + +<p>"But what'll I do with the princess?" Master Plummer asked, helplessly.</p> + +<p>"She'll have to take care of herself," Joe cried, as he ran at full +speed towards the smoke, which was now rising in small clouds, giving +token of flames which might soon reduce aunt Dorcas's little home to +ashes.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</a></span></p> +<h2>CHAPTER XV.</h2> + +<h3>AN UNEXPECTED ARRIVAL.</h3> + + +<p>It was really the princess who saved aunt Dorcas's home from +destruction. Had she not seen Dan Fernald, as he made his way through +the orchard, the barn would most likely have been in a blaze before Joe +or Plums were aware of the fact.</p> + +<p>Thanks to her warning, Joe saw the smoke before the fire gathered +headway, and when he arrived on the scene, the flames had but just +fastened upon the side of the barn.</p> + +<p>Plums, aroused to something like activity by the knowledge of danger, +followed Joe with remarkable promptness, and the amount of water thus +brought by both was sufficient to extinguish what, a few moments later, +would have been a conflagration.</p> + +<p>Not until he had pulled the charred sticks from beneath the end of the +barn, and assured himself every spark had been drowned out, did Joe +speak, and then it was to relieve his mind by making threats against the +would-be incendiary.</p> + +<p>"It's all well enough for a woman like aunt Dorcas to tell about doin' +good to them what tries to hurt you,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[Pg 220]</a></span> for she couldn't so much as put up +her hands. If you keep on forgivin' duffers like Dan Fernald, you're +bound to be in such scrapes as this all the time. What he needed was a +sound thumpin', when he begun talkin' so rough to aunt Dorcas; then he +wouldn't dared to try a game of this kind. When I get hold of him again, +I'll make up for lost time."</p> + +<p>"I'll bet he's somewhere 'round here, watchin' out, an' when he sees +this game didn't work, he'll try somethin' else."</p> + +<p>"Not much he won't. I know pretty near where he is, an' I'm goin' to +make him—"</p> + +<p>At this moment the voice of the princess could be heard in vehement +protest against thus being left alone, and Joe was forced to defer his +punishment of the amateur detective until a more convenient season.</p> + +<p>"Stay here, Plums, an' watch for Dan, while I go and get the princess. +He went among them trees over there, so's to have a reserved seat while +the house was burnin'; but he's got to come out some time."</p> + +<p>"Don't stay away too long, for I ain't certain as I'd dare to tackle him +alone,—you see I'm too fat to be much of a fighter."</p> + +<p>A certain quaver in Plums's voice told that he was afraid to be alone +even while Dan was a long distance away, and Joe thought it extremely +comical that any one should fear the amateur detective.</p> + +<p>The princess did not object to taking a walk, fortunately for Master +Plummer's peace of mind, and, in a short time, the three were patrolling +the grounds,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[Pg 221]</a></span> Joe carrying the little maid whenever she insisted upon +such service.</p> + +<p>At noonday, a certain amount of food was brought out on the lawn in +front of the house, and, even while the boys ate, they continued their +self-imposed duty of guarding the premises.</p> + +<p>Then the princess wanted to sleep, and Joe sat by her side, while Plums +kept watch from the windows, or walked rapidly around the buildings.</p> + +<p>So far as Dan was concerned, they might as well have amused themselves +according to their own fancies, for he never showed himself after having +sought refuge in the grove.</p> + +<p>When the excitement consequent upon the attempt to destroy aunt Dorcas's +home had subsided in a measure, the boys began to speculate upon the +reasons for the little woman's hurried departure, but could arrive at no +satisfactory conclusion as to what it might be she hoped to accomplish.</p> + +<p>"Of course she could do a pile of beggin' off for a feller, 'cause +anybody would have to listen to her; but when the lawyers are willin' to +pay a hundred dollars for either one of us three, I don't believe she +can do very much by talkin'," Joe said, reflectively, as he summed up +the situation according to his belief. "I expect she'll be terribly +disappointed when we see her again, 'cause she counts on straightenin' +things out in a jiffy."</p> + +<p>"Do you s'pose Dan Fernald will hang 'round here till he gets a chance +to do her some mischief?"</p> + +<p>"As soon as aunt Dorcas gets back I'm goin' to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[Pg 222]</a></span> skirmish through them +trees, an', if he's there, it won't take more'n three minutes to make +him sick of this part of the country."</p> + +<p>The boys were yet discussing what should be done to Dan to prevent him +from attempting to work more mischief, when a covered carriage, drawn by +two horses, whose harness was resplendent with silver, and driven by a +coachman in livery, turned from the highway into the lane leading to the +cottage.</p> + +<p>"Hi, Joe!" Plums cried, excitedly. "See the swells what are comin' to +visit aunt Dorcas!"</p> + +<p>"They want to ask the way somewhere, an' seein's we couldn't even tell +'em where the post-office is, I guess we'd better keep kind er shady. +Now the princess is awake! We'll have to show ourselves, 'cause she's +bound to make a noise," Joe added, as the little maid clambered upon his +knee.</p> + +<p>"I'm goin'—Say, aunt Dorcas herself is in that funny rig!"</p> + +<p>"What are you givin' me?" and Joe leaned forward eagerly, in order to +have a better view.</p> + +<p>"It's her, dead sure! There! Look at that! What do you think, now?"</p> + +<p>It was, indeed, as Master Plummer had said.</p> + +<p>Aunt Dorcas was getting out of the carriage, assisted by a gentleman who +spoke to the driver in such a manner as one would expect from the owner +of the equipage, and immediately behind the little woman could be seen a +younger lady.</p> + +<p>"I wonder if aunt Dorcas thinks them swells would<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[Pg 223]</a></span> help two chumps like +us out of our scrape!" Joe exclaimed. "If she does, her head ain't—"</p> + +<p>"Papa! Papa!" the princess screamed in delight, as she pounded on the +window with her tiny fists, and instantly the gentleman left aunt Dorcas +to alight from the vehicle as best she could, while he ran at full speed +up the sharp ascent to the house.</p> + +<p>"I'll be blowed, if aunt Dorcas hasn't found the princess's folks!" Joe +cried, as an expression of bewilderment came over his face. "That dude +is comin' in, an' we'd best leave."</p> + +<p>Followed by Plums, Joe ran out of the kitchen door, just as the +gentleman came through the main entrance of the cottage, and the boys +heard a wild scream of delight from the princess.</p> + +<p>Master Potter threw himself, face downward, on the grass near the +garden, and Plums seated himself by his comrade's side, asking again and +again how it was aunt Dorcas had so readily found the princess's +parents.</p> + +<p>"When we first come here, I didn't think she 'mounted to very much, +'cause she was so little an' kind er dried up. Then, when she struck out +so heavy prayin', I begun to think there might be more to her than I'd +counted on. But now,—why, Joe, little as she is, aunt Dorcas has done +more'n all the cops in town put together. When we told her the princess +had lost her folks, what does she do but go right out and hunt 'em up, +an' don't look as though she'd turned a hair doin' it."</p> + +<p>Joe made no reply.</p> + +<p>"Didn't she hump herself, when we showed her that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[Pg 224]</a></span> advertisement? She +was jest like a terrier after a rat, an' bossed me 'round till, as +true's you live, I run more'n half the way over to Mr. McArthur's. Then +how she jumped on him when he begun to ask questions! If I only had +somebody like aunt Dorcas to look out for me, I wouldn't have to work so +hard."</p> + +<p>Joe remained silent; but Plums was so intent on singing aunt Dorcas's +praises, that he failed to pay any especial attention to the fact that +his comrade had not spoken since they knew the princess's parents had +arrived.</p> + +<p>"Joseph! George!"</p> + +<p>"Here we are, aunt Dorcas," Plums replied.</p> + +<p>"Come into the house this very minute, both of you."</p> + +<p>"Come on, Joe; I s'pose we've got to go. The dude wants to thank us for +lookin' after the princess."</p> + +<p>"You can go; I sha'n't," Joe said, with difficulty, as if he were +choking, and Plums gazed at him in surprise.</p> + +<p>"Joseph! George! Where are you?"</p> + +<p>"Out here by the garden, aunt Dorcas. Joe won't come in."</p> + +<p>"Go on by yourself, an' leave me alone," Master Potter said, angrily, +still keeping his face hidden from view.</p> + +<p>"It can't do any hurt to have one look at the dudes, an' seein's how +there's nothin' else goin' on, I guess I'll take the show in."</p> + +<p>Then Master Plummer sauntered leisurely towards the cottage, and Joe, +believing himself alone, began to sob as if his heart were breaking.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[Pg 225]</a></span></p> + +<p>He failed to hear aunt Dorcas as she came swiftly out through the shed +door and kneeled by his side. Not until she spoke did he think there was +a witness to his grief.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"> +<img src="images/z224.jpg" width="600" height="517" alt=""JOE, BELIEVING HIMSELF ALONE, BEGAN TO SOB AS IF HIS +HEART WERE BREAKING."" title="" /> +<span class="caption">"JOE, BELIEVING HIMSELF ALONE, BEGAN TO SOB AS IF HIS +HEART WERE BREAKING."</span> +</div> + +<p>"Josey, my poor boy, are you grieving because Essie's parents have found +her at last?"</p> + +<p>Joe tried to speak, but could not, and the little woman continued:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[Pg 226]</a></span></p> + +<p>"You should rejoice because the sufferings of that poor father and +mother are at an end. Try to imagine their distress when the dear child +was missing, and they could not know whether she was alive or dead. +Think of them, as they pictured her alone in the streets, wandering +around until exhausted, or falling into the hands of wicked people who +would abuse her. Fancy what their sufferings must have been as compared +with yours, when you know that she will receive even better treatment +than we could give her. It is wicked, Josey, my boy, to grieve so +sorely, for a mother's heart has been lightened of all the terrible load +which has been upon it for so many days."</p> + +<p>Then aunt Dorcas patted the small portion of cheek which was exposed to +view between the bandages, and in many a loving way soothed the +sorrowing boy, until he suddenly sat bolt upright, wiping both eyes with +the sleeve of his coat, as he said, stoutly:</p> + +<p>"I'm a bloomin' idjut, aunt Dorcas, that's what I am, an' if you'd turn +to an' kick me, I'd be served nearer right than by havin' you pity me."</p> + +<p>"You're very far removed from an idiot, Joseph, and I am glad to know +your heart is still so tender that you can feel badly at the loss of a +dear little child like Essie,—Esther is her name. Now, Josey dear, +don't you want to know why those lawyers tried to find you?"</p> + +<p>"Have you been to see them, too?" Joe cried, in surprise.</p> + +<p>"Yes, indeed, dear. In the paper you took from Dan Fernald was another +advertisement directly below the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[Pg 227]</a></span> one referring to you, and it was +concerning a little child who had been lost in the vicinity of the Grand +Central Station. The same names were signed to it, and on seeing that, I +believed I understood why so much money would be paid for information +concerning you."</p> + +<p>"I s'pose it's all straight enough, aunt Dorcas; but I can't seem to +make out what you mean."</p> + +<p>"Nothing can be plainer, my child. Little Essie was left in charge of a +nurse at the station, and when the foolish woman missed the baby, +instead of making immediate inquiries, she spent her time fainting. Not +until nearly eight o'clock that evening did the poor mother learn of her +terrible loss, and then detectives were sent out at once. The boy at the +fruit store, on being questioned, as was every one else in that +vicinity, described the baby he saw in your arms, and told the officers +your name. You had disappeared, and the only thing left was to offer a +reward for information as to your whereabouts."</p> + +<p>"Then they didn't think I'd done anything crooked?"</p> + +<p>"If by that you mean 'wrong,' they didn't. It was the only clew they had +to the child; but on the following day it was learned you had been seen +with George, and then his name appeared in the advertisement. After +that, some of the newsboys from around City Hall Square brought word +that Dan Fernald was with you, and a reward was also offered for +knowledge of his whereabouts. You see, Josey dear, if Mr. Raymond—that +is the name of Essie's father—could find either of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[Pg 228]</a></span> you three boys, he +was reasonably certain of getting news regarding his baby."</p> + +<p>"Then I ran away from nothing, did I?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, Josey dear, you did what many older persons than you have done, +and what God's Book tells us the wicked do,—fled when no man was +pursuing."</p> + +<p>"Well, I <i>have</i> been a chump!"</p> + +<p>"Do you mean that you've been foolish?"</p> + +<p>"I s'pose that's what you'd call it. I'm a reg'lar jay from Jayville, +an' yesterday mornin' I let that bloomin' imitation detective scare me!"</p> + +<p>"Those wiser than you might have misconstrued that advertisement, +Joseph; but this shall teach you that there is nothing to fear when your +conscience is clear. Meet trouble half-way, and it dwindles into mere +vexation. Now, dear, I want you to come into the house with me and meet +Mr. and Mrs. Raymond. They know how kind you have been to Essie, and +wish to thank you."</p> + +<p>"Well, they can't thank me for takin' care of the princess, an' I only +wish she'd never had a father and a mother, for then I could have kept +her all the time."</p> + +<p>"Won't you come to please me, dear?" and aunt Dorcas laid her hand on +the boy's arm affectionately.</p> + +<p>"When you put it that way, I'll have to go," and Joe rose slowly to his +feet.</p> + +<p>"Of course you want to see Essie before she leaves?"</p> + +<p>"Are they goin' to take her right away?"</p> + +<p>"Certainly, Joseph. Do you fancy that poor mother could go away without +her?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[Pg 229]</a></span></p> + +<p>Joe made no reply, and, linking her arm in his, aunt Dorcas led him in +through the shed, but before they had reached the cottage Plums came +towards them at an unusually rapid rate of speed, crying, excitedly:</p> + +<p>"The dudes have gone, aunt Dorcas. They've gone, and that very same +swell carriage is comin' here to-morrow mornin' to take me an' Joe an' +you into the city to see the princess."</p> + +<p>"Gone?" aunt Dorcas exclaimed, in surprise.</p> + +<p>"Yes; I told 'em Joe was kind er grumpy 'cause princess was goin' away, +an' the boss said perhaps it would be better if they took a sneak. He +left a letter in the front room for you,—wrote it on a card he got out +of his pocket."</p> + +<p>It was plain to be seen from the expression on aunt Dorcas's face that +she was disappointed; but she repressed her own feelings to say to Joe:</p> + +<p>"Perhaps it is the best way, dear, for it would have caused you still +more sorrow to say good-bye to Essie. Now you will have time to grow +accustomed to the loss before you see her again."</p> + +<p>Plums was in such a state of delirious excitement, owing to the fact +that he was to reënter New York like a "reg'lar swell," that it seemed +impossible for him to behave in a proper fashion.</p> + +<p>He danced to and fro, as if active movement was his greatest delight, +and insisted on bringing to aunt Dorcas the card which Mr. Raymond had +left, even while she was making her way as rapidly as possible to the +front room.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[Pg 230]</a></span></p> + +<p>The message to the little woman read as follows:</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><span class="smcap">My Dear Miss Milford</span>: I understand that the lad who has been +so kind to Essie does not wish to see her just at present; +therefore, perhaps it is better we go at once, and without +ceremony. Will you yet further oblige me by coming to my +house to-morrow? The carriage shall be here about ten +o'clock. Very sincerely yours,</p> + +<p class="right"><span class="smcap">Edward Raymond.</span></p> +</div> + +<p>"There is no reason why we shouldn't go, dear?" aunt Dorcas asked Joe, +after reading the message aloud.</p> + +<p>"There's Dan Fernald cuttin' across the orchard, down towards the road! +Now's our time to catch him!" Plums shouted, before Joe could reply to +aunt Dorcas's kindly words, and in another instant the two boys were in +hot pursuit.</p> + +<p>Aunt Dorcas, believing they were trying to catch the amateur detective +in order to punish him for what had been said during the morning, cried +shrilly for them to come back; but her words were unheeded, because +unheard.</p> + +<p>Master Fernald was not in condition for a race, owing to his having +travelled to and fro a goodly portion of the day in search of revenge, +and the chase was soon ended.</p> + +<p>In attempting to climb over the orchard fence into the road, he tripped, +fell, and, before it was possible to rise again, Joe was on his back.</p> + +<p>"I'll have the law on you if you dare to strike me!" Dan cried, in +accents of terror, and Joe replied, disdainfully:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[Pg 231]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Don't be afraid, you bloomin' duffer. I ain't goin' to hurt you now, +'cause I feel too good. I'm only countin' on showin' what kind of a +detective you are, an' tellin' what'll happen if you hang 'round here an +hour longer."</p> + +<p>"I'm goin' to New York an' have the perlice on your trail before dark +to-night," Dan cried, speaking indistinctly because of Joe's grasp upon +his throat.</p> + +<p>"I'm willin' you should do that jest as soon's you get ready. It won't +bother me a little bit, 'cause aunt Dorcas told the story this mornin', +an' the man what put the advertisement in the papers has been out here. +Now, you listen to me, Dan Fernald, and perhaps after this you'll give +over your funny detective business. All them lawyers wanted of me was to +find out where the princess was, an' if, instead of runnin' away, I'd +flashed myself up on Pine Street, there wouldn't have been any trouble. +I ought'er black both your eyes for tryin' to set fire to aunt Dorcas's +barn; but somehow I can't do it, 'cause she don't like to have fellers +fight. Now you can get into New York an' fetch your perlice."</p> + +<p>Joe released his hold of Master Fernald; but the latter was so +astonished by the information given, that he made no effort to rise.</p> + +<p>"Is all that true, or are you foolin' me?" he asked, after a time.</p> + +<p>"Say, the best thing you can do is to come up an' talk with aunt Dorcas. +It would do you a heap of good, Dan, an', come to think of it, you've +<i>got</i> to go."</p> + +<p>Master Fernald was not as eager to visit the cottage<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[Pg 232]</a></span> now as he had +been, for he understood that Joe was speaking the truth, and the +prospect of meeting the little woman, after all he had said and +attempted to do, was not pleasing.</p> + +<p>"Don't let up on him," Plums cried, vindictively. "He's to blame for +this whole racket, an' ought'er be served out a good deal worse'n aunt +Dorcas will serve him."</p> + +<p>Dan struggled manfully, but all to no purpose. His late friends were +determined he should visit the woman he had intended to wrong, and half +dragged, half carried him up the lane, until they were met by aunt +Dorcas herself, who sternly asked why they were ill-treating a boy +smaller than themselves.</p> + +<p>"It's Dan Fernald, aunt Dorcas," Plums said, as if in surprise that she +should have interfered. "It's the same feller what wasn't goin' to show +you the paper till you'd 'greed to board him the balance of the summer, +an' in less than a half an hour after you went away he set the barn +afire. We thought it would do him a heap of good to talk with you a +spell."</p> + +<p>"Let him alone, children. If he doesn't wish to speak with me you must +not try to force him. Suppose you two go into the garden a little while, +and leave us alone?"</p> + +<p>This did not please Plums, for he had anticipated hearing the little +woman read Master Fernald a lecture; but he could do no less than act +upon the suggestion, and as the two went slowly towards the barn, Master +Plummer said, regretfully:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[Pg 233]</a></span></p> + +<p>"It's too bad we couldn't hear what she had to say, after I told her +about his settin' the barn afire."</p> + +<p>"Look here, Plums, you'd been disappointed if she'd let you listen. She +ain't the kind of a woman that would rave, an' scold, an' tear 'round; +but when she gets through with Dan Fernald, he'll feel a mighty sight +worse than if she'd knocked his two eyes into one."</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[Pg 234]</a></span></p> +<h2>CHAPTER XVI.</h2> + +<h3>THE REWARD.</h3> + + +<p>The conversation did not lag during the two hours or more the boys +remained near about the garden, waiting for aunt Dorcas to summon them +after the interview with the amateur detective should have come to an +end.</p> + +<p>Now that there was no longer any mystery concerning the advertisement, +it seemed strange they had not understood why the attorneys wished to +see Joe.</p> + +<p>"We must be awful chumps, to let Dan Fernald frighten us as he did," Joe +said, thoughtfully, after they had discussed the matter in all its +different phases. "Why we didn't see that it was the princess they was +after, beats me! Perhaps it might have come 'round to it if I'd been +alone; but that imitation detective seemed to have it down so fine, that +I didn't stop to think of anything but what he said."</p> + +<p>"Anyhow, he did us a good turn, 'cause if we hadn't skipped we'd never +found out there was a woman like aunt Dorcas."</p> + +<p>"That's a fact, Plums, an', come to look at it that way, I ain't so +certain but we ought'er let up on the duffer.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[Pg 235]</a></span> Say, it'll be mighty +tough to go back an' live in that shanty of your'n after bein' out here, +won't it?"</p> + +<p>"Do you s'pose we've got to leave this place?" and Master Plummer looked +alarmed.</p> + +<p>"Course we have. You don't count on spongin' a livin' out of a poor +little woman like aunt Dorcas, I hope?"</p> + +<p>"I wouldn't reg'larly do her up for my board; but I was thinkin' perhaps +she'd have work enough so's we could pay our way. You come pretty near +squarin' things when you tackled the burglar."</p> + +<p>"I didn't do so much as a flea-bite. If aunt Dorcas had been alone an' +heard the man sneakin' 'round, she'd been prayin' with him in less'n +five minutes, an' he'd gone away a good deal more sore than he did."</p> + +<p>"I guess that's straight enough," Plums replied, with a sigh, for as it +was thus proven that the little woman did not stand in need of their +services, his heart grew sad.</p> + +<p>"She can take care of herself, you bet, an' come up bright an' smilin' +every time. We've got to go back to-morrow, Plums, an' hustle for +five-cent stews."</p> + +<p>"I don't want any more of it, after knowin' how aunt Dorcas can cook. +Are you goin' into the paper business ag'in?"</p> + +<p>"I guess I'll have to, after I pick up enough cash to start in with. +I'll tackle the <i>de</i>pot, for that job was pannin' out mighty well till I +found the princess," Joe replied, and then he relapsed into silence, for +the thought that the child was no longer dependent upon<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[Pg 236]</a></span> him brought +more sorrow to his heart than had come to Plums because of being forced +to go to work again.</p> + +<p>Then came the summons for which the boys had been waiting, and when they +entered the house, expecting to find aunt Dorcas alone, a disagreeable +surprise awaited them.</p> + +<p>The amateur detective was in the kitchen regaling himself with a quarter +section of custard pie, while the little woman fluttered to and fro +between the table and the pantry, as if bent on tempting his appetite to +the utmost.</p> + +<p>"Dan will stay here till morning," she said, cheerily, as the boys +entered, "and then we'll take him to the ferry in Mr. Raymond's +carriage."</p> + +<p>"Are you goin' to keep him, after he set the barn afire?" Joe asked, in +surprise, as he shook his fist at the amateur detective, while aunt +Dorcas's back was turned.</p> + +<p>"He didn't really intend to do me an injury, and feels sorry because of +harbouring such revengeful thoughts."</p> + +<p>At that instant, aunt Dorcas saw Master Plummer making threatening +gestures, which were replied to vigorously by Dan, and she added, +quickly:</p> + +<p>"I want you boys to be firm friends from this day. All three have made a +mistake; but there will be no evil result from it unless through your +own wilfulness. Joe, try, for my sake, to be good, and treat Dan as if +there had been no hard feelings."</p> + +<p>Master Potter would have been better pleased if aunt Dorcas had asked of +him something which could only<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[Pg 237]</a></span> be performed after great suffering and +painful endurance; but with a slight show of hesitation he approached +the amateur detective in what he intended should appear like a friendly +manner, and said, stiffly:</p> + +<p>"I'll do what aunt Dorcas says, though it comes mighty hard after what +you threatened yesterday, Dan. We're friends now; but I'll wipe the +floor up with you, if you don't walk pretty near straight."</p> + +<p>The little woman was not particularly well pleased at this evidence of +friendliness; but she professed to be satisfied, and the three boys +glared at each other like so many pugnacious cats until the evening +devotions were begun.</p> + +<p>Then aunt Dorcas read, with great fervour, the first chapter of the +Sermon on the Mount, and afterwards prayed so earnestly for those +"within her gates," that Joe resolved then and there to treat Dan as he +had done before the princess was found,—at least, during such time as +the amateur detective behaved himself in what he considered a proper +manner.</p> + +<p>"Joseph and George are to sleep in the spare-room to-night, and Daniel +will occupy the chamber over the kitchen," aunt Dorcas announced, when +the devotions were brought to a close.</p> + +<p>"Did you take off the best sheets?" Master Potter asked.</p> + +<p>"Of course not, Joseph."</p> + +<p>"Why don't you do it? Plums an' me would be snug enough if there wasn't +any clothes at all on the bed."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[Pg 238]</a></span></p> + +<p>"We will leave it as it is, dear. Perhaps I was wrong in not letting you +occupy it before."</p> + +<p>"How could that be?" Joe asked, in astonishment.</p> + +<p>"I have allowed myself to be proud of the chamber, and the Book +particularly warns us against pride. It is better that I accustom myself +to seeing it used."</p> + +<p>When Joe and Plums were in the spare-room that night, neither daring to +stretch out at full length lest he should soil the sheets more than was +absolutely necessary, Master Potter whispered confidentially to his +friend:</p> + +<p>"Aunt Dorcas is a mighty good woman, Plums; but, 'cordin' to my way of +thinkin', she's makin' a pile of trouble for herself."</p> + +<p>"How?"</p> + +<p>"Some day a reg'lar duffer like Dan Fernald will come along, an' then +she'll get taken in mighty bad."</p> + +<p>"Seems almost as if we ought'er stay here an' take care of her, don't +it?"</p> + +<p>"There's no sense thinkin' anything like that, Plums. This is our last +night in a first-class bed, an' from to-morrow mornin' we've got to +hustle jest the same as if we'd never had it so rich."</p> + +<p>Then Joe fell asleep, to dream of the princess, and until aunt Dorcas +awakened him, next morning, it was as if nothing had occurred to depose +him from the position of guardian.</p> + +<p>There was work enough for all three of the guests in the Milford cottage +after breakfast had been served.</p> + +<p>The little woman was preparing for her visit to the city<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[Pg 239]</a></span> as if she +expected to be absent from home several days, instead of only a few +hours, and the boys were called upon to assist in the household duties, +although it is quite probable they were more of a hindrance than a help.</p> + +<p>Dan was doing his best at washing the kitchen floor, Joe was trimming +the lamps, and Plums piling up wood in the shed, when the Raymond +carriage rumbled up the lane, causing the utmost confusion and dismay +among aunt Dorcas's assistants.</p> + +<p>Because of having been kept thus steadily employed, the time had passed +wonderfully quick, and, until each in turn had looked at the clock, it +was impossible to realise that the coachman had not arrived long in +advance of the hour set.</p> + +<p>Even the little woman herself was unprepared for so early a coming of +the carriage, and during the ensuing ten minutes the utmost confusion +reigned.</p> + +<p>Then aunt Dorcas and her family were ready for the ride, and Plums said, +with an air of content as he leaned against the wonderful cushions of +the front seat:</p> + +<p>"We're a set of sporty dudes now, an' I only hope that feller won't +drive very fast, 'cause we shouldn't have any too long to stay in this +rig, even if he walked the horses every step of the way. Say, this is +great, ain't it?"</p> + +<p>Dan made no remark during the ride; but it was evident he enjoyed +himself quite as well as did any other member of the party, and when the +carriage was on the New York side of the river, Master Fernald looked +with undisguised envy at his companions, as he said to aunt Dorcas:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[Pg 240]</a></span></p> + +<p>"I s'pose I've got to get out now, eh?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, Daniel, for we are going directly to Mr. Raymond's home, and could +not take you there. Come to see me some time, and remember what you have +promised about being a good boy."</p> + +<p>"I'll keep as straight as I can," Master Fernald replied, and then he +glanced at the boys, as if doubtful whether he ought to bid them +good-bye.</p> + +<p>Perhaps Joe would have said no word in parting but for the gentle +pressure of aunt Dorcas's hand on his. He understood from it what the +little woman would have him do, and leaning forward, said, in a kindly +tone:</p> + +<p>"We'll see you later, Dan. Plums an' I won't be swellin' much longer, +but will be at work by this time to-morrow."</p> + +<p>Then Master Plummer did his part by adding:</p> + +<p>"We'll let up on the detective business, eh, Dan, an' settle down to +reg'lar work as soon as this swellin' is over."</p> + +<p>The coachman gave rein to the horses, and Dan Fernald was soon left far +in the rear.</p> + +<hr style='width: 45%;' /> + +<p>On the afternoon of this same day, when the rush for evening papers had +subsided and the merchants of Newspaper Row were resting from their +labours, as they listened to Dan Fernald's story of his adventures, +Plums suddenly appeared, looking remarkably well pleased with himself +and the world in general.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[Pg 241]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 650px;"> +<img src="images/z240.jpg" width="650" height="498" alt=""THEN AUNT DORCAS AND HER FAMILY WERE READY FOR THE +RIDE."" title="" /> +<span class="caption">"THEN AUNT DORCAS AND HER FAMILY WERE READY FOR THE +RIDE."</span> +</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[Pg 243]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Hello! We thought you was settin' round up-town with the rest of the +dudes. Dan says you come down from the country in a swell turnout," +Jerry Hayes cried, with something very like envy in his tones.</p> + +<p>"Dan couldn't laid it on any too thick, for we've been humpin' ourselves +in great style," Master Plummer replied, with an air of satisfaction.</p> + +<p>"Did you really go into the dude's house?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, an' what's more, we eat dinner there! Say, boys, McGowan's +restaurant ain't in it alongside of what we struck up at the princess's +house. There was more stuff on the table than this crowd could have got +away with,—an' talk 'bout silver dishes! I never had any such time +before, an' I thought aunt Dorcas run a pretty fine place!"</p> + +<p>"Where's Joe Potter?"</p> + +<p>"Up there, actin' like he owned the town."</p> + +<p>"Do you mean that he's stoppin' with the dude all this time?" Jerry +asked, incredulously.</p> + +<p>"Yes, an' that ain't the worst of it. He's likely to hang 'round the +place quite a spell. Say, there was a thousand dollars reward to whoever +found the princess, an' her father says Joe was to have it!"</p> + +<p>"What? A thousand dollars? Go off, Plums; you're dreamin'."</p> + +<p>"You'll find out whether I am or not, when you see Joe. Say, I s'pose +you think he'll come 'round sellin' papers again, don't you? Well, he +won't. He's goin' to work down on Wall Street, for the princess's +father; an' him an' me are to live with aunt Dorcas from now out. He'll +come into town every mornin', an' I'll hang 'round the place livin' +high, with nothin' to do but tend to things."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[Pg 244]</a></span></p> + +<p>"What kind of a stiff are you puttin' up on us, Plums?" Tim Morgan +asked, sternly.</p> + +<p>"It's all straight as a string. When we got up to the princess's house, +she jest went wild at seein' Joe, an', if you'll believe it, she set on +his knee more'n half the time I stayed there. Her father made us tell +all we'd done from the minute Joe found the kid, an' then he said a +thousand dollars was promised to the feller what would find her. Of +course we didn't s'pose he'd pay the money after givin' us a ride in his +team, an' settin' up the dinner; but he stuck to it like a little man. +Aunt Dorcas is to take care of the wealth, an' seein's how she told him +where we fellers was, he's to give her what the advertisement promised, +an' that's a hundred dollars apiece for the three of us. When all this +was fixed, the princess's father offered Joe a job, an' he's to have six +dollars a week, with a raise every year if he minds his eye. They're out +buyin' clothes now, an' I slipped down to see you fellers, 'cause we're +goin' back to aunt Dorcas's house this evenin'."</p> + +<p>Master Plummer's friends were not disposed to believe what he told them, +until the story had been repeated several times, and all the details had +been given.</p> + +<p>Then it appeared as if there could be no doubt, and each boy vied with +the other in his attentions to Plums, who was now a very desirable +acquaintance, since it might possibly be in his power to invite them to +that cottage of aunt Dorcas's, concerning which Dan Fernald had given +such glowing accounts.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[Pg 245]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 455px;"> +<img src="images/z244.jpg" width="455" height="650" alt=""'McGOWAN'S RESTAURANT AIN'T IN IT ALONGSIDE OF WHAT WE +STRUCK UP AT THE PRINCESS'S HOUSE.'"" title="" /> +<span class="caption">"'McGOWAN'S RESTAURANT AIN'T IN IT ALONGSIDE OF WHAT WE +STRUCK UP AT THE PRINCESS'S HOUSE.'"</span> +</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[Pg 247]</a></span></p> + +<p>Plums had promised to meet the little woman and Joe at the Weehawken +ferry-slip at seven o'clock, and since at that hour there was no +business to be done on Newspaper Row, his friends decided to accompany +him to the rendezvous.</p> + +<p>To the delight of all the boys, aunt Dorcas and Joe arrived in Mr. +Raymond's carriage, and instantly they appeared, the assembled throng +set up such a shout of welcome as caused the little woman to grip Master +Potter's hand nervously, as she cried:</p> + +<p>"Mercy on us, Joseph, what <i>is</i> the matter?"</p> + +<p>Joe had caught a glimpse of Plums's following before the outcry was +heard, and replied, with a laugh:</p> + +<p>"It's only a crowd of the fellers come to see us off. Most likely Plums +has been tellin' 'em about the good luck that has come to me, an' they +want to give us a send-off."</p> + +<p>"Do try to stop them from making such a noise, Joseph. What will the +neighbours think of us?"</p> + +<p>"They'll believe you're a howlin' swell, aunt Dorcas, an' everybody will +be wantin' to look at you."</p> + +<p>"Let us get out as quick as ever we can, or the policeman will accuse us +of making a disturbance."</p> + +<p>It was necessary aunt Dorcas should remain where she was until the +driver had opened the carriage door. By that time Plums's friends had +gathered around the vehicle, gazing with open-mouthed astonishment at +Joe, who was clad in a new suit of clothes, and looked quite like a +little gentleman.</p> + +<p>Aunt Dorcas was actually trembling as she descended<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[Pg 248]</a></span> from the carriage, +Joe assisting her in the same manner he had seen Mr. Raymond, and the +cheers which greeted her did not tend to make the little woman any more +comfortable in mind.</p> + +<p>The princess's father would have sent his carriage the entire distance +but for the fact that aunt Dorcas preferred to arrive at her home in +such a conveyance as could be hired in Weehawken.</p> + +<p>"It is more suitable," she had said. "While I enjoyed every inch of the +ride this morning, I could not help feeling as if we were wearing +altogether too fine feathers for working people."</p> + +<p>Plums's friends insisted on crossing the ferry with him, and during the +passage aunt Dorcas was presented to each in turn, a proceeding which +entirely allayed her fears lest they would create an "unseemly +disturbance."</p> + +<p>"I know I should come to like every one of them," she whispered to Joe, +"and before we go ashore you must invite them out to the cottage for a +whole day."</p> + +<p>"They'd scare the neighbours, aunt Dorcas," Joe said, with a laugh, and +the little woman replied, quite sharply:</p> + +<p>"Mr. McArthur is the only one who would hear the noise, and if I have +not complained because his dogs howled around the cottage night after +night these twenty years, I guess he can stand the strain one day."</p> + +<p>Joe repeated aunt Dorcas's invitation while the boat was entering the +slip, and when the little woman went on shore, the cheers which came +from twenty pairs of stout lungs drowned all other sounds.</p> + +<p>"Walk quickly, boys," she said, forced to speak very<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[Pg 249]</a></span> loud, because of +the tumult. "Your friends mean well, I have no doubt; but they are +making a perfect spectacle of us."</p> + +<p>It was not possible for the little woman to walk so rapidly but that she +heard distinctly, when at some distance from the ferry-slip, Jerry +Hayes's shrill voice, as he cried:</p> + +<p>"Now, fellers, give her three more, an' a tiger for the princess an' Joe +Potter!"</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 250px;"> +<img src="images/z248.jpg" width="250" height="573" alt="" title="" /> +</div> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Princess and Joe Potter, by James Otis + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PRINCESS AND JOE POTTER *** + +***** This file should be named 32249-h.htm or 32249-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/3/2/2/4/32249/ + +Produced by David Edwards, Josephine Paolucci and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net. + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Princess and Joe Potter + +Author: James Otis + +Illustrator: Violet Oakley + +Release Date: May 4, 2010 [EBook #32249] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PRINCESS AND JOE POTTER *** + + + + +Produced by David Edwards, Josephine Paolucci and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net. + + + + + + + + +THE PRINCESS AND JOE POTTER + +[Illustration: JOE FINDING THE PRINCESS. + +(_See page 22._)] + + + + +THE PRINCESS AND JOE POTTER + +BY + +JAMES OTIS + +AUTHOR OF + +"JENNY WREN'S BOARDING-HOUSE," "TEDDY AND CARROTS," ETC. + +Illustrated by + +VIOLET OAKLEY + +[Illustration] + +BOSTON +ESTES AND LAURIAT +PUBLISHERS + + +_Copyright, 1898_ +BY ESTES AND LAURIAT + +Colonial Press: +Electrotyped and Printed by C. H. Simonds & Co. +Boston, U. S. A. + + + + +CONTENTS. + + + +CHAPTER PAGE + +I. A RUINED MERCHANT 11 + +II. THE PRINCESS 26 + +III. AN ADVERTISEMENT 41 + +IV. JOE'S FLIGHT 60 + +V. IN THE CITY 73 + +VI. DAN, THE DETECTIVE 86 + +VII. AUNT DORCAS 98 + +VIII. A HUNGRY DETECTIVE 115 + +IX. A FUGITIVE 127 + +X. THE JOURNEY 141 + +XI. A BRIBE 157 + +XII. A STRUGGLE IN THE NIGHT 171 + +XIII. A CONFESSION 188 + +XIV. A RAY OF LIGHT 201 + +XV. AN UNEXPECTED ARRIVAL 219 + +XVI. THE REWARD 234 + + + + +ILLUSTRATIONS. + + + PAGE + +JOE FINDING THE PRINCESS _Frontispiece_ + +"HE BEGAN TO FEED THE LITTLE MAID" 51 + +"DAN POINTED TO AN ADVERTISEMENT" 57 + +"'MAY WE COME IN AN' STAY A LITTLE WHILE?'" 81 + +"JOE POINTED TO A TINY COTTAGE" 101 + +"SHE HAD A PLATE HEAPED HIGH WITH COOKIES" 108 + +"'WELL, BLESS THE BOY, HE DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO PLANT POTATOES!'" 143 + +"THE PRINCESS SUFFERED AUNT DORCAS TO KISS HER" 167 + +"A DARK FORM LEAPED THROUGH THE OPEN WINDOW" 185 + +JOE AND DAN DISAGREE 207 + +"COME ON QUICK, PLUMS! DAN'S SET THE BARN A-FIRE!'" 215 + +"JOE, BELIEVING HIMSELF ALONE, BEGAN TO SOB AS IF HIS HEART + WERE BREAKING" 225 + +"THEN AUNT DORCAS AND HER FAMILY WERE READY FOR THE RIDE" 241 + +"'MCGOWAN'S RESTAURANT AIN'T IN IT ALONGSIDE OF WHAT + WE STRUCK UP AT THE PRINCESS'S HOUSE'" 245 + +TAILPIECE 249 + + + + +THE PRINCESS AND JOE POTTER. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +A RUINED MERCHANT. + + +"Hello, Joe Potter! What you doin' up in this part of the town?" + +The boy thus addressed halted suddenly, looked around with what was very +like an expression of fear on his face, and then, recognising the +speaker, replied, in a tone of relief: + +"Oh, it's you, is it, Plums?" + +"Of course it's me. Who else did you think it was? Say, what you doin' +'round here? Who's tendin' for you now?" + +"Nobody." + +"It don't seem as though this was the time of day when you could afford +to shut up shop." + +"But that's what I have done." + +"Got some 'portant business up here at the _de_pot, eh?" + +Joe shook his head mournfully, stepped back a few paces that he might +lean against the building, and looked about him with a languid air, +much as if there was no longer anything pleasing for him in life. + +Plums, or to give him his full name, George H. Plummer, gazed at his +friend in mild surprise. + +Any other boy of Joe Potter's acquaintance would have been astonished at +the great change which had come over him; but Plums was not given to +excesses of any kind, save in the way of eating. That which would have +excited an ordinary lad only served to arouse Plums in a mild degree, +and perhaps it was this natural apathy which served to give Master +Plummer such an accumulation of flesh. He was what might be called a +very fat boy, and was never known to move with sufficient energy to +reduce his weight. + +Sim Jepson stated that Plums sold newspapers in the vicinity of the +Grand Central Station because he lived only a couple of blocks away, and +therefore had sufficient time to walk to his place of business during +the forenoon. + +"How he ever earns enough to pay for fillin' hisself up is more'n I can +make out," Master Jepson had said, with an air of perplexity. "By the +time he's sold ten papers, he's ate the profits off of twenty, an' acts +like he was hungrier than when he begun." + +As Plums waited for, rather than solicited, customers, he gazed in an +indolent fashion at the dejected-looking friend, who might have served, +as he stood leaning against the building on this particular June day, as +a statue of misery. + +Joe Potter was as thin as his friend was stout, and, ordinarily, as +active as Plums was indolent. His listless bearing now served to arouse +Master Plummer's curiosity as nothing else could have done. + +"Business been good down your way?" he finally asked. + +"It's mighty bad. I got stuck on a bunch of bananas, and lost thirty-two +cents last week. Then oranges went down till you couldn't hardly see +'em, an' I bought a box when they was worth two dollars. It seems like +as if every _I_talian in the city, what ain't blackin' boots, has +started a fruit-stand, an' it's jest knocked the eye out of business." + +"I shouldn't think you could afford to lay 'round up here if it is as +bad as all that." + +"It don't make any difference where I am now, 'cause I've busted; Plums, +I've busted. Failed up yesterday, an' have got jest sixteen cents to my +name." + +"Busted!" Master Plummer exclaimed. "Why, you told me you had more'n +seven dollars when you started that fruit-stand down on West Street." + +"Seven dollars an' eighty-three cents was the figger, Plums, an' here's +what's left of it." + +Joe took from his pocket a handful of pennies, counting them slowly to +assure himself he had made no mistake in the sum total. + +Master Plummer was so overwhelmed by the sad tidings, that two intending +purchasers passed him by after waiting several seconds to be served, and +Joe reminded him of his inattention to business by saying, sharply: + +"Look here, Plums, you mustn't shut down on business jest 'cause I've +busted. Why don't you sell papers when you get the chance?" + +"I didn't see anybody what wanted one. I'm jest knocked silly, Joe, +about your hard luck. How did it happen?" + +"That's what I can't seem to make out. I kept on sellin' stuff, an' of +course had to buy more; but every night the money was smaller an' +smaller, till I didn't have much of any left." + +"I felt kind of 'fraid you was swellin' too big, Joe. When a feller +agrees to give five dollars a month rent, an' hires a clerk for a dollar +a week, same's you did, he's takin' a pretty good contract on his +shoulders. Did you pay Sim Jepson his wages all right?" + +"Yes, I kept square with him, and I guess that's where most of my money +went. Sim owns the stand now." + +"He owns it? Why, he was your clerk." + +"Don't you s'pose I know that? But he was gettin' a dollar a week clean +money, an' it counted up in time. If things had been the other way, most +likely I'd own the place to-day." + +Master Plummer was silent for an instant, and then a smile as of +satisfaction overspread his fat face. + +"I'll tell you how to do it, Joe: hire out to Sim, an' after a spell +you'll get the stand back ag'in." + +"That won't work; I tried it. You see, when it come yesterday, I owed +him a dollar for wages, an' thirty cents I'd borrowed. There wasn't +more'n ninety cents' worth of stuff in the stand, an' Sim said he'd got +to be paid right sharp. Of course I couldn't raise money when I'd jest +the same's failed, an' told him so. He offered to square things if I'd +give him the business; an' what else could I do? I left there without a +cent to my name; but earned a quarter last night, an' here's what's left +of it." + +The ruined merchant mournfully jingled the coins in his hand, while he +gazed dreamily at the railway structure overhead, and Master Plummer +regarded him sympathetically. + +"What you goin' to do now?" the fat boy asked, after a long pause. + +"That's jest what I don't know, Plums. If I had the money, I reckon I'd +take up shinin' for a spell, even if the _I_talians are knockin' the +life out of business." + +"Why don't you sell papers, same's you used to?" + +"Well, you see when I went into the fruit-stand I sold out my rights +'round the City Hall, to Dan Fernald, an' it wouldn't be the square +thing for me to jump in down there ag'in." + +"There's plenty of chances up-town." + +"I don't know about that. S'posen I started right here, then I'd be +rubbin' against you; an' it's pretty much the same everywhere. I tell +you, Plums, there's too many folks in this city. I ain't so certain but +I shall go for a sailor; they say there's money in that business." + +"S'posen there was barrels in it, how could you get any out?" and in his +astonishment that Joe should have considered such a plan even for a +moment, Master Plummer very nearly grew excited. "You ain't big enough +to shin up the masts, an' take in sails, an' all that sort of work, +same's sailors have to do." + +"I'd grow to it, of course. I don't expect I could go down to the docks +an' get a chance right off as a first-class hand on masts an' sails; but +I shouldn't go on a vessel, you know, Plums. I'm countin' on a +steamboat, where there ain't any shinnin' round to be done. Them fellers +that run on the Sound steamers have snaps, that's what they have. You +know my stand was on West Street, where I saw them all, and the money +they spend! It don't seem like as if half a dollar was any account to +'em." + +"But what could you do on a steamboat?" + +"I don't know yet; but I'll snoop 'round before the summer's over, an' +find out. Where you livin' now?" + +"Well, say, Joe, you can talk 'bout steamboat snaps; but this house of +mine lays over 'em all. I s'pose I've got about the swellest layout in +this city, an' don't have to give up a cent for it, either. First off +McDaniels counted on chargin' me rent, an' after I'd been there a couple +of days he said it didn't seem right to take money, 'cause the place +wasn't fit for a dog. I'll tell you what it is, if McDaniels keeps his +dogs in any better shanty than that, they must be livin' on the fat of +the land." + +"Who's McDaniels?" + +"He's the blacksmith what owns the shanty where I live. You see, it was +like this: I allers sold him a paper every afternoon, an' when it +rained, or business was dull, I loafed 'round there, an' that's how I +found the place." + +"Do you live in the blacksmith's shop?" + +"Well I should say I didn't! Right behind it is a shed he built, to keep +a wagon in, but I guess he ain't got any now, leastways he don't flash +one up. There was a lot of old iron an' the like of that thrown in at +one end, an' when I saw it, I says to myself, says I, 'That's a mighty +good shanty for some feller what don't want to give up all the money he +makes for a place to sleep in,' and I began to figger how it could be +fixed. It took me as much as two days before I could see into it, an' +then I had it all in my mind; so I tackled McDaniels about hirin' it. He +was willin', so long's I 'greed to be careful about fire, an'--well, if +you're out of business now there's nothin' to keep you from comin' down +to-night an' seein' it." + +"I'm not only out of business, but I'm out of a home, Plums. You see, +when I sold the fruit-stand of course I hadn't any right to count on +sleepin' there, an'--" + +"Didn't Sim Jepson offer you the chance?" + +"He seemed to think it wasn't big enough for two." + +"He didn't have any sich swell notions when you first started there, an' +he wanted a place to sleep." + +"Yes, I remember all about that; but it's no use twittin' a feller. He +was willin' enough to bunk in with me, but if he don't want to turn +about an' give me the same show, it ain't any of my business." + +"Of course you can come to my place, an' stay jest as long as you want +to, Joe, an' I'll be glad to have you; but if you're countin' on workin' +down-town it won't be very handy." + +"I ain't certain but I'll try my luck hangin' 'round the _de_pot here +waitin' for a chance to carry baggage. I've done them kind of jobs +before, an' they didn't turn out so terrible bad. You see, with only +sixteen cents, a feller can't spread hisself very much on goin' into +business." + +"You might buy papers, an' sell 'em here. It ain't a very great show for +trade, but you won't have to work very hard, an' there's a good deal in +that." + +"Yes, Plums, there is, for a feller like you, what don't want to stir +'round much; but I'm ready to hustle, an' it wouldn't suit me nohow. You +don't earn more'n fifteen or twenty cents a day." + +"Not a great deal more," Master Plummer replied, in a tone of content, +and a probable customer approaching just at that moment, he succeeded in +making sufficient exertion to offer his wares for sale. + +"That's jest about the way of it!" he exclaimed, as the gentleman passed +into the building without giving heed to the paper held invitingly +towards him. "There's no use to hustle 'round here, 'cause it don't pay. +If they want to buy papers they buy 'em, an' if they don't, you can't +give 'em away. There's one good thing about doin' business here, though, +an' that is, the other fellers won't try to drive you out. It's mighty +tough on you, droppin' all that money. If I'd had most eight dollars you +can bet I wouldn't take the chances of losin' it. I'd sooner spend the +whole pile buyin' swell dinners down on the Avenue." + +"Yes, it's tough," Joe replied, musingly; "but I'd a good deal rather +get rid of the money tryin' to make more, than spend it fillin' myself +up with hash. When do you knock off work?" + +"Oh, somewhere 'bout dark, 'less I've sold out before. Say, I know of a +place where you can get the biggest bowl of stew in this city, for five +cents,--'most all meat. Of course there'll be a bone now an' then,--you +expect that; but it's rich! We'll go there to-night, eh?" + +"I ain't so certain whether a feller with only sixteen cents ought'er +spend five of it fer stuff to eat," Joe replied, reflectively; "but if I +make a few nickels 'tween now an' night, perhaps we'll take a whirl at +it." + +"A feller's bound to eat, whether he makes anything or not. So long's +you've got that much money you might as well enjoy yourself. Now I say +it's best not to go hungry, else you can't do so much work, 'an then--" + +"I'll see you later," Joe interrupted, not caring just at the moment to +listen to his friend's ideas on the subject of food, for it was well +known among Master Plummer's acquaintances that his highest idea of +happiness consisted in ministering to his stomach. + +The fat boy gazed after the ruined merchant until the latter was lost to +view amid the throng of pedestrians, and then in a dreamy, indolent +fashion he turned his attention once more to the business of selling +newspapers to such of the passers-by as requested him to do so, +murmuring mournfully from time to time: + +"Seven dollars an' eighty-three cents, an' a feller can buy custard pies +two inches thick for a dime apiece!" + +Having assured himself of a lodging-place, and decided as to what +business he should pursue, Joe Potter wasted no more time, but set +about earning his livelihood in as cheery a fashion as if the depression +in the fruit market had brought him great gains instead of dire failure. + +Before the night had come he was richer by forty cents, through having +carried to their several destinations, a satchel for a gentleman, a +basket containing a kitten for a lady, and a message for one of the +employees at the station. + +"Business is boomin' right along. At this rate I guess I can afford to +stand one of Plums's bowls of stew," he said to himself, in a tone of +satisfaction, and was about to seek other employment when his name was +called from a shop on the opposite side of the street. + +Turning quickly, he saw a boy with whom he had had slight acquaintance +while in the fruit business, who stood in the door of the shop, and +said, as Joe crossed the street: + +"I'm workin' here now. It's a good deal more tony than down on West +Street. You ought'er move your stand up this way somewhere." + +"I haven't got any to move," Joe replied, and then explained why he was +no longer connected with the business. + +The young clerk did not appear particularly surprised by the +information. + +"I thought that's 'bout the way it would turn out, when I heard you +hired Sim to help you. He's got the business, an' you've got the +shake." + +"Sim was square with me," Joe replied, stoutly. + +"Well, I'm glad you think so, for you're the only one he ever acted +square with, an' it wouldn't astonish me a bit to know he'd done you +up." + +Joe was a boy who would not willingly listen to evil words against one +he called a friend, and was about to begin a wordy war in Sim's behalf, +when his friend's employer put an end to the conversation by demanding +that the clerk "get in and attend to business." + +"I won't believe Sim ever did a thing crooked to me," Joe said, +recrossing the street and taking up his station where he could have a +full view of those who came from the building. "He saved his money while +I was losin' mine, an' that's all there is to it. It seems like as if +everybody wanted to jump on him 'cause he had sense enough to do jest +what he has done." + +This was not the first time Master Potter had heard such an accusation +against his late clerk, and, while he would not believe Sim had been +dishonest, the suggestion so troubled him that he had some difficulty in +banishing the matter from his mind. + +As the passengers from the incoming train appeared, he had other affairs +than Sim's possible dishonesty to think about, as he did his best to +attract the attention of those whom he thought might prove to be +patrons. + +In this manner, but yet without earning any more money, the remainder of +the afternoon was passed, and when one by one the electric lights began +to appear, telling that the day had come to a close, he decided it was +time to seek out Master Plummer. + +Now the thought of that bowl of stew for five cents was particularly +pleasing, and he had made up his mind to indulge in such a hearty meal, +when a little tot of a girl, who could not have been more than three +years old, came out from among the throng of pedestrians and stood +looking up into Joe's face. + +"Well, say, but you are a dandy!" Master Potter exclaimed, in genuine +admiration, as he surveyed the tiny figure, allowing his eyes to dwell +almost lovingly upon the sweet, baby face. "You are a dandy, an' no +mistake; but them as owns you must be crazy to let sich a mite of a +thing snoop 'round here alone." + +The child came nearer, and Joe stooped down to look at her more closely, +for she was the most dainty little maid he had ever seen. + +"I'd ask you to speak to me if I was any ways fit," he said, holding out +a not over-cleanly hand. + +The little maid must have judged the boy by his face rather than his +apparel, for hardly had he spoken when she came boldly towards him and +laid her tiny hand on his cheek with a caressing movement that +captivated Joe immediately. + +"Talk about daisies! Why, you're a corker! You look jest like a pink an' +blue image I've seen in the shop windows. What's your name?" + +"Essie," the little lady replied, and added what may have been words; +but might equally well be Greek so far as Joe was concerned. + +"What's that you say? I didn't jest catch on." + +Miss Essie cooed at him once more, and Joe winked and blinked, trying +most earnestly to understand what she said; but all to no purpose. + +Then he stood erect, fearing lest the little maid's parents should +appear and reprove him for having dared to speak to her; but the moments +passed and no one came to claim the child. + +It was evident Essie had not been accustomed to neglect, for when Joe +ceased speaking, she put a tiny little hand in his and told him in her +childish dialect what may have been a very interesting story. + +Joe looked at the pink hand, and then at his own soiled palm. + +"I'd give a nickel if I was a little bit cleaner! It seems like it was +wicked to hold her hand while mine is so dirty. She takes the shine off +of anything I ever saw before. Say, Essie, where's your mamma?" + +"Mamma dorn," and the little lady clutched Joe's finger yet more +tightly. + +"Well, say, do you s'pose this kid's lost?" and now Joe began to look +alarmed. "Anybody what would lose their grip of a dandy little thing +like her ought to be horsewhipped, an' I'd like to do it." + +Again he tried to get some information from the little maid, and again +she replied readily; but Joe was no wiser than before. + +The night had come; those who passed this way or that on the sidewalk +moved rapidly as if in haste to get home; but no one gave any heed to +the ruined fruit merchant or the charming little child by his side. + +"Look here, baby," Joe said, after what seemed to him like a long time +of waiting, and no one came to claim the child, "will you let me take +you up in my arms, if I try not to muss your clothes? I'm 'fraid folks +can't see sich a bit of a thing down there, an' I'll hold you high, so's +your mother can find you easier." + +Miss Essie certainly understood something of what the fruit merchant +said, for she held out her hands towards him as if to be taken, and he +lifted her carefully, saying, as he did so: + +"It's pretty rough for a feller like me to handle a kid like her! It +seems like I was holdin' some of that swell candy you see in the shop +windows. It'll be a wonder if I don't daub her all up with my great, +dirty hands. I never knew how big they was till she took hold of 'em." + +The little maid must have thought he was speaking for her especial +benefit, for she made reply in language which apparently gave her the +most intense satisfaction, but failed to enlighten Master Potter, and +during perhaps five minutes the two stood on the sidewalk near the +curbstone, jostled rudely now and then by the homeward-bound throng, but +seeing no one who laid claim to the baby. + +"This won't do at all," Joe said. "It ain't right for you to stay out in +the night, and I don't know what's to be done, unless you could stand it +for a spell in Plums's shanty. Say, I wonder if that wouldn't go down? +Will you be willin' to hang 'round with us till mornin', if I buy a slat +of good things? When it comes daylight I can find your folks without +much trouble, 'cause of course they'll be right here huntin', don't you +see? Is it a go?" + +From what the little maid said, Joe concluded it was a "go," and, since +she made no protest when he walked swiftly down towards where he knew +his fat and hungry friend would be waiting for him, believed he had +chosen such a course as met with her approval. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +THE PRINCESS. + + +It was no easy task for Joe Potter to carry his burden, light though it +was, amid the throng of pedestrians, without being pushed rudely here or +there by those who were so intent upon their own business or pleasure as +to give but little heed to the boy and the child. + +Had he been alone, he could readily have forced a passage, but fearing +lest the little maid might be injured by rough contact with one or the +other, he proceeded so cautiously as to make but slight headway, until, +forsaking the sidewalk, he betook himself to the street. + +There was a fear in his mind lest Master Plummer, grown weary with long +waiting, had gone home, and this would have been a serious matter, +because Joe had no idea as to the whereabouts of his friend's lodgings. + +Once out of the throng, he pressed on at a swift pace until he was +nearly overturned by a boy coming from the opposite direction, whom he +had failed to see in the shadows. + +"What's the matter with you, chump? Can't you see where you're goin'?" +he cried, angrily, and the tightening of the little maid's arm around +his neck told that she was frightened. + +"How much of this street do you own? Why don't you mind your--Hello, Joe +Potter, is that you?" and the ruined merchant recognised the voice as +that of his friend with whom he had spoken a short time before in front +of the fruit store. + +"'Course it's me. You ought'er look out how you run 'round here, when +folks has got babies in their arms." + +"I didn't see you, Joe, an' that's a fact. Where'd you get the kid?" + +"She's lost, I reckon, an' I'm takin' her home for to-night," Joe +replied, and, without waiting to make further explanation, hastened on, +leaving his friend, the clerk, staring after him in open-mouthed +astonishment. + +"Don't you be afraid, little one," Joe said, as Essie clung yet more +tightly to him. "They sha'n't hurt you, an' if there's any more funny +business of runnin' into us tried, I'll break the feller's jaw what does +it." + +The child seemed reassured by the sound of his voice, and at once began +to tell him something which was evidently interesting to herself. + +"If I could understand what you say, things would be all right," Joe +said, with a laugh, and then, as he emerged from the shadows cast by the +overhead railway structure, he came face to face with Master Plummer. + +"Well, I'd begun to think you never was comin'," that young gentleman +began, but ceased speaking very suddenly, as he observed the burden in +Joe's arms. "What you got there?" + +"Can't you see for yourself?" and Joe lowered the little maid gently to +the sidewalk, that Master Plummer might have a full view of his +treasure. + +"Well, I'll be blowed! Where'd you get it?" + +"She's lost, 'cordin' to my way of thinkin', an' I've been tryin' to +find her folks, but it's no use huntin' 'round in the night, an' I'll +tell you what it is, Plums, we've got to take care of her till mornin'." + +"Take care of her! What's creepin' on you, Joe Potter? How do you think +we're goin' to look after a kid like that?" + +"I don't know why we can't," Joe replied, sharply. "It'll be pretty +tough if a couple of fellers ain't able to tend out on a mite of a thing +such as her. Say, Plums, don't she look like somethin' you see in the +store windows?" + +"She's fine as silk, there's no gettin' over that," and Master Plummer +would have touched one pink-and-white cheek but that his friend +prevented him. + +"Now don't go to hurtin' her! She's in hard luck enough as it is, +without your mussin' her all up." + +"Who's a-hurtin' of her? I was jest goin' to put one finger on her +cheek." + +"There's no need of doin' so much as that. It might frighten the little +thing, and besides, she's too fine to be handled by you and me, Plums. +She's a reg'lar little princess, that's what she is," and Joe raised the +child quickly, as if to remove the temptation from Master Plummer's +path. + +"What's her name?" the fat boy asked, as he gazed admiringly at the +child. + +"I can't seem to make out, she talks so queer," and as if to illustrate +his meaning, Joe's princess began to chatter, while she clasped both +tiny arms around her self-elected guardian's neck. + +"Well, say, I'd give up what I made this afternoon jest for the sake of +havin' her hug me like that! Ain't she a daisy?" + +"It would be mighty hard to find anything finer in this town." + +"That's a fact; but say, Joe, it's no kind of use, your talkin' 'bout +our takin' care of her, 'cause it can't be done." + +"I'd like to know why?" + +"Jest run your eye over her, an' then look at us! Why, she's been kept +rolled up in silk all the time, an' you talk 'bout takin' her down to +the blacksmith's shop!" + +There was little need for Master Plummer to make further explanation. +Joe had so thoroughly lost himself in admiration of the treasure he had +found that, until this moment, he had not realised how poor was the home +to which he proposed to carry her. + +Now he looked about him in perplexity, and the princess, impatient +because of the delay and her guardian's silence, began to protest most +vehemently. + +"See here, Plums, we've _got_ to take her down to your place, an' that's +all there is to it! There ain't any chance of findin' her folks +to-night, so what else can we do?" + +"It's goin' to be mighty tough on her," Master Plummer replied, with a +shake of the head, and Joe put an end to further discussion by starting +off at a rapid pace down the street, regardless of the fact that he was +in ignorance of the whereabouts of his friend's lodging-place. + +The princess, satisfied now that they were moving, cooed and chattered +in Joe's ear, much to his delight, and Master Plummer was forced to +follow or allow himself to be left behind. + +"There's no use in rushin' as if we hadn't another minute to live," he +cried, when, by dint of rapid running, he overtook his friend. "I don't +like to race 'round when we can jest as well go slow." + +"It would be a good deal better if you walked fast once in awhile, +'cause then you wouldn't be so fat." + +"S'pose I'd rather be fat than as lean as some fellers I know?" + +"Then it would be all right to creep along the street same's we're doin' +now. Say, how far off is your shanty?" + +"Down here a bit; but you don't count on goin' right there, do you?" + +"Why not? Where else should we go?" + +"Seems to me it would be better to get that stew first, an' then we +sha'n't have to come out again to-night." + +"Look here, Plums," and Joe spoke sharply, "do you think I'm goin' to +take the princess into a place where they sell five-cent stews?" + +"She's got to go somewhere, if she wants anything to eat." + +"We'll bring her supper to your shanty. I won't carry this little thing +into a saloon for a crowd of toughs to look at." + +Master Plummer sighed. He had been anticipating a feast of stew from the +moment Joe left him to engage in his new vocation, and it was a grievous +disappointment that the pleasure should be so long delayed. + +"We'll go down to your place an' try an' fix things up; then you can +leave us there--" + +"But you want somethin' to eat as well as I do." + +"I guess I can get along without anything, for a spell. It's the +princess I'm thinkin' about; she's got to have somethin' fine, you know. +Stew'd never do for her." + +"How's custard pie? I know where they've got some that's great,--two +inches thick, with the crust standin' up 'round the edge so the inside +won't fall out while you're eatin' it." + +"Perhaps the princess might like the custard; but I ain't so sure about +the crust. It seems to me she's been fed mostly on candy, an' sich stuff +as that. Anyhow, you take my money an' buy whatever you think she'd +like. Got any candles down to your place?" + +"I did have one last week; but the rats ate most of it, an' I don't +s'pose it would burn very well now." + +"Take this nickel, an' buy some in that grocery store." + +"Why don't you come, too?" + +"I don't believe the princess would like to go into sich a place, an' +besides, folks might want to take hold of her. I ain't goin' to have any +Dutch groceryman slobberin' over her." + +Master Plummer took the nickel and crossed the street in his ordinarily +slow fashion, while Joe and the princess held a long and animated +conversation, to the evident satisfaction of the little maid and the +mystification of the boy. + +Owing to his being thus engaged, Joe did not grow impatient because of +Master Plummer's long absence, as he might have done under other +circumstances, and said to his princess when the newsdealer rejoined +them: + +"Now, little one, we're goin' to Plums's home, an' you must try not to +feel bad 'cause it ain't very swell. It's bound to be better'n stayin' +out in the street all night, for I've tried that game a good many times, +an' there's nothin' funny 'bout it." + +The little maid, perched on Joe's arm something after the fashion of a +bird, chirped and twittered a reply, and Plums, who had fallen in the +rear that he might secretly touch the arm which was around Joe's neck, +said, reflectively: + +"I s'pose we'll have a high old time between now and mornin', 'cause +that kid, sweet as she's lookin' jest now, ain't goin' to be quiet in a +place like mine. It's fellers like you an' me, Joe, who've knocked +'round the city a good many times when we didn't have the price of a +lodgin' in our pockets, what can 'preciate a home where the wind an' +rain can't get in." + +"You're talkin' straight enough, Plums, an' I 'gree to all you say; but +this 'ere princess ain't like the general run of kids,--that you could +see if you was blind. She's a reg'lar swell, an' you can bet there won't +be any kick 'cause we ain't stoppin' at the Walledoff. Couldn't you get +a little more of a move on? At this rate we sha'n't have supper much +before mornin'." + +Master Plummer was willing to comply with this request, and did indeed +appear to be making strenuous efforts to walk at a more rapid pace; but +having patterned after a snail so many years, it seemed impossible for +him to overcome what had become a habit. + +Not once during the short journey did the princess make any protest +against the plan her temporary guardian had suggested. + +She was very comfortable, and although Joe's arms ached from long +holding the light burden, she knew it not,--perhaps it would have made +no difference had she been aware of the fact. + +Finally, and after what had seemed a very long journey to the princess's +guardian, the little party arrived in front of the blacksmith's shop, +and Master Plummer conducted his guests through a narrow alley to the +rear of the building, where was a small, shed-like structure, the end of +which was open, save for a pile of boxes and boards directly in front of +it. + +"This is the place," Master Plummer said, with an air of proprietorship; +"an' seein's you've got the kid in your arms, I'd better light a candle +so's you can see the way, 'cause there's a lot of stuff out here at this +end. I've been countin' on clearin' it up some day, but can't seem to +find the time. Besides, it wouldn't make any difference to us,--it's +only 'cause we've got the princess to lodge with us that I'd like to see +it a little cleaner. Say, Joe, what _is_ a princess, anyhow?" + +"Why, it's a--you see, it's--it's a--well, look at her, can't you see? +That's what it is. _She's_ a princess. Now don't be all night lightin' +one candle." + +It did really appear as if Plums was even slower than usual, and so +awkward that two matches were consumed before the wick was ignited. + +"You see I don't often swell out in so much style as to have candles, +an' it takes me quite a spell to get one goin'," he said, in an +apologetic tone. "She's all right now, though. Jest come 'round the end +of that box, an' look out for this pile of iron, 'cause you might trip. +There _would_ be a mess if your princess was dumped down on this stuff." + +"You get on with the candle, an' I'll see to the rest of the business," +Joe said, impatiently, for by this time his arms ached severely. + +Master Plummer obeyed, and a moment later Joe and the princess were +surveying the home, which occupied six square feet or more in one corner +of the shed, was walled in by barrels and boxes, and furnished with a +pile of straw and a disreputable-looking gray blanket. + +"I've slept here some mighty cold nights, an' I know jest how good the +place is," the proprietor said, proudly. "She's tight as a brick, an' +there can't so much as a sniff of wind get in. Then look here!" + +He raised the lid of a small box, thereby displaying two tin tomato cans +in which were fragments of biscuits, a broken cup half full of sugar, +two wooden plates, a knife, a fork, and a spoon. + +"When trade is dull, I buy stuff at the grocery store, an' bring it in +here. Why, Joe, things will keep jest as well in that box as they would +in one of your tony 'frigerators, an' I ain't sure but it's better. I +have had ice in there two or three days, though I don't know as it +'mounted to anything 'cept to wet everything." + +Joe gave little heed to his friend's cupboard. He was looking around for +some spot where the princess could sit down without danger of soiling +her garments, but failed to find that for which he sought. + +"See here, Plums, you'll have to spread some papers over that blanket; +it'll never do to put this little thing down where everything is so +dirty." + +"I don't see what there is 'round here that's dirty. It seems like she +couldn't come to much harm on the straw. It's only been here two weeks." + +"Put the papers down, an' we'll talk 'bout it afterwards. It seems as +though my arms would break." + +Master Plummer obeyed, but with an ill grace, for this fault-finding +without reason was not agreeable. + +There was no lack of newspapers in the house, and in as short a time as +Plums could compass it the straw was covered. + +It was with a long breath of relief that Joe sat his charming burden +down, and then were the boys treated to an exhibition of the princess's +temper. + +Cleanly though the couch was, she had no idea of sitting bolt upright +when there were two subjects at hand to obey her wishes. + +She positively refused to be seated, but held out her hands as if for +Joe to take her in his arms once more, and when the boy attempted to +explain that it was necessary she remain there a few moments, the little +maiden made protest at the full strength of her lungs. + +"I guess I'll have to take her up again," Joe said, with a long-drawn +sigh, "an' I don't know as she's to be blamed for not wantin' to stay +there." + +"Well, I'd never believed anything so pretty could screech so loud!" +Master Plummer exclaimed, in a tone of wonderment. "She yells jest 'bout +the same's old Mis' Carter's kids do, an' there's nothin' swell about +them." + +Joe made no reply. He was too deeply engaged in trying to hush the +princess to give any heed to his friend's remark, and fully five minutes +passed before the imperious little maid was reduced to silence. + +Then she nestled down in his arms with such apparent content, and looked +so charming, that he was her willing slave, without one disagreeable +thought concerning her temper. + +"If my face was washed, I'd kiss her this minute," he said, half to +himself, and immediately Master Plummer looked jealous. + +"If you can do that, I reckon I can." + +"Well, there won't either of us try it yet awhile, so s'posin' you go +after your supper, an' bring something for the princess when you come +back. Don't be gone any longer'n you can help, will you, Plums, 'cause +she must be gettin' hungry by this time." + +"I'll take the cans an' get the stew in them, else I'd be gone quite a +spell if I waited to eat my share. Will I buy custard pie for her?" + +"Yes, an' anything else you think she'd like. Don't get cheap stuff, +'cause she ain't used to it." + +Then Joe emptied the contents of his pocket in Master Plummer's hands, +and the latter asked, in surprise: + +"Are you goin' to spend the whole of this?" + +"It don't seem as though you'd have to, an' besides, we ought to leave a +little something for breakfast. Do the best you can, Plums." + +With an air of responsibility, the proprietor of the establishment +walked slowly out, and Joe was left alone with his baby. + +Swaying his body to and fro to delude her with the idea of being rocked, +Master Potter did his best to please the princess, and evidently +succeeded, for in a very short time after Plums had departed, the +sleep-elves soothed her eyelids with their poppy wands until she crossed +over into dreamland. + +Now Joe would have laid the tiny maid on the straw to give relief to his +arms, but each time he attempted anything of the kind she moved +uneasily, as if on the point of awakening, and he was forced to abandon +the effort. + +"I must be a chump if I can't hold a bit of a thing like her till she's +through sleepin'," he said to himself, "an' I ought'er be mighty glad to +have such a chance." + +It was monotonous work, this playing the nurse while seated on the +ground with no support to his back; but never for a moment, not even +when his arms ached the hardest, did Joe Potter regret having taken upon +himself such a charge. + +He had given little heed as to how the princess's parents might be +found, because he believed that would prove an exceedingly simple task. +He had only to go to the railroad station in the morning, and there +deliver the child to her mother, who, as a matter of course, would be in +waiting. + +There was never a thought in his mind that, by bringing her to this home +of Master Plummer's, he had in fact secreted her from those who must at +that moment be making eager search. + +He had done what seemed to him fitting under all the circumstances, and +felt well satisfied that no one could have cared for the child in a +better fashion, save in the matter of lodgings, which last left much to +be desired. + +After a time, Joe succeeded in so far changing his position that it was +possible to gain the use of one hand, and immediately this had been +done, he set about carefully covering the princess's garments with a +newspaper, lest he himself should soil the fabrics. + +Then there was nothing to do save wait the leisurely movements of Plums, +and it seemed as if fully an hour passed before that young gentleman +finally made his appearance. + +"If I haven't got all you fellers can eat, then I'm mistaken," Master +Plummer announced, in an exceedingly loud tone as he entered the +building; and Joe whispered, hoarsely: + +"What are you makin' sich a row for? If you ain't careful, you'll wake +the princess." + +"Well, I'll be blowed, if she ain't gone to sleep jest like any of Mis' +Carter's kids would do!" Plums said, in a tone of surprise, when he was +where a view could be had of the sleeping child. + +"Of course she has. You don't s'pose swells sleep different from other +folks, do you?" + +"I don't know, 'cause I never had a chance to see one close to, before. +Say, here's the stuff." + +Plums was literally laden with small packages, and, in addition, had the +two tomato cans nearly filled with what he declared was "great stew." + +"I tell you there's no flies on that stuff, an' here's the pie," he +added, as he took a parcel wrapped in brown paper from under his arm. +"I'm 'fraid it's got mashed a little, but I couldn't carry it any other +way. Takin' the stew an' that, with what other things I've got, it'll be +funny if your princess can't fill herself up in great shape." + +Then, from one pocket and another, Master Plummer drew out two small +cakes frosted with white and sprinkled with red sugar, three inches or +more of Bologna sausage, a cruller, a small bag of peanuts, an apple, +and two sticks of candy which looked much the worse for wear, because of +having been placed in his pocket without a covering. + +"Now if that ain't rich enough for any feller's blood, I'd like to know +what you'd call it? Three or four princesses like your'n ought'er get +through with a layout same's this, an' thank their lucky stars for +havin' the chance." + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +AN ADVERTISEMENT. + + +Having placed the packages on the straw near about his friend, in what +he believed to be a most tempting display, Master Plummer seemed to +consider that his duties as host had been performed properly, and gave +himself wholly up to the pleasures of eating. + +With one of the tomato cans between his knees, he gave undivided +attention to the savoury stew, until, the first pangs of hunger having +been appeased, he noted, as if in surprise, that Joe was not joining in +the feast. + +"Why ain't you eatin' somethin'?" he asked, speaking indistinctly +because of the fullness of his mouth. + +"I don't see how it can be done while the princess is asleep." + +"Put her down on the blanket, where she belongs. You don't count on +holdin' her all night, I hope?" + +"It looks like I'd have to. Jest the minute I stir she begins to fuss +'round, an'--" + +"Well, let her fuss. Old Mis' Carter says kids wouldn't be healthy if +they didn't kick up a row every once in awhile." + +"I guess she won't be sick any to speak of, if we keep her quiet till +mornin'. The trouble is, Plums, there's bound to be an awful row jest +as soon as she wakes up an' finds out where she is. I s'pose she's been +tended like she was a piece of glass, an' the shanty must look pretty +hard to her. You can tell by the way she acts that the princess has +always had a reg'lar snap, an' I wouldn't be s'prised if this was the +meanest place she was ever in." + +"She'll be lucky never to get in a worse one," Master Plummer replied, +emphatically; and added, after having filled his mouth once more, +"There's no reason why you can't eat your share of the stew an' hold her +at the same time." + +"I'm 'fraid I might spill some of it on her dress." + +"Look here, Joe Potter," and now Plums spoke sharply, "you'll be all +wore up before mornin', carryin' on at this rate. It wouldn't hurt that +kid a bit if she had every drop of stew we've got, on her clothes, an' +she's playin' in big luck to be with us instead of walkin' 'round the +streets. Take your share of the stuff while it's goin', for of course +you haven't had anything to eat since noon." + +"I had a pretty fair breakfast." + +"An' nothin' since then?" Master Plummer cried, in astonishment. + +"Well, I wasn't hungry,--that is, not very. You see, when a feller +closes up business, the same's I've done, he don't think much 'bout +eatin'." + +"Well, think about it now, an' _do_ it, too!" + +Having thus spoken, and in his sternest tones, Plums placed the second +can of stew where his friend could reach it conveniently, and waited +until Joe had so changed his position that it was possible for him to +partake of the food. + +No better proof of Master Plummer's interest in his friend could have +been given than when he thus voluntarily ceased eating to serve him. + +The boys had not attempted to remove either the princess's hat or cloak, +and she appeared anything rather than comfortable as she lay wrapped in +newspapers, with her head pillowed on Joe's arm; but yet her slumbers +were not disturbed when Master Potter, his appetite aroused by the odour +of the stew, proceeded to make a hearty meal. + +"I s'pose we ought'er wake her up, so's she'll get somethin' to eat," +Joe said, thoughtfully, and Plums replied, very decidedly: + +"Don't you do anything of the kind. So long's a kid's quiet you'd better +leave 'em alone, 'cause it ain't safe to stir 'em up 'less you want a +reg'lar row." + +"Of course that wouldn't do; but say, Plums, if she keeps on sleepin' +like this, it won't have been a terrible hard job to take care of her." + +"Not 'less you count on holdin' her all night." + +Joe was already cramped from sitting so long in one position, and as if +his friend's remark had reminded him of the fact, he made another effort +to relieve himself of the burden, this time being successful. + +The princess moved uneasily when she was first laid upon the bed of +straw, and the boys literally held their breath in suspense, fearing she +would awaken; but, after a few moments, the child lay quietly, and +Plums said, in a tone of satisfaction: + +"I know a good bit about kids, I do, 'cause old Mis' Carter had sich a +raft of 'em, an' I lived with her 'most a year. The right way is to +chuck 'em 'round jest as you want to, an' they'll stand it; but once you +begin to fuss with 'em, there's no end of a row." + +"The princess ain't anything like Mis' Carter's youngsters." + +"No, I don't know as she is; but I guess the same kind of handlin' will +fetch her 'round all right in the long run. Can't you eat some peanuts?" + +"I've had enough, an', besides, we must leave somethin' to give the +princess, 'cause she'll be hungry in the mornin'." + +"Yes, I s'pose we must. It always makes me feel bad to stop when there's +good things in the house," and Master Plummer told his friend of the +"great time" he had had on a certain rainy day, when it would have been +useless to attend to business, and the larder was well filled. + +"I kept right on eatin', from mornin' till it was time to go to bed; +didn't rush, you know, but stuck at it." + +"Didn't it make you sick?" + +"Well, I did have a pretty bad ache before mornin'; but jest as likely +as not that would have come whether I'd eat anything or not. Mis' Carter +says if I don't stop bein' so hungry all the time I'll fill up a +glutton's grave, but how can a feller keep from wantin' something to +eat?" + +"I don't s'pose it's anybody's business, Plums, what you do, so long as +you pay the bills; but it does seem to me that it would be better if +you'd get on more of a hustle when you're at work, an' stop thinkin' so +much about vittles. I can't see how you earn money enough to keep this +thing up." + +"Seems like I've got some push to me if I do it, don't it?" Master +Plummer replied, complacently, and there the conversation came to an +end. + +Plums, having ministered to his appetite, stretched himself at full +length on the ground, and it seemed to Joe as if he had but just assumed +that position when his heavy breathing told that he had fallen asleep. + +Now and then from the street beyond could be heard the rumbling of a +carriage, sounding unusually loud owing to the stillness of the night. +At intervals the hum of voices told that belated seekers after pleasure +were returning home, and, in fact, everything reminded the ruined fruit +merchant that the time for rest was at hand. + +Joe's eyelids were heavy with sleep, yet he resisted the impulse to +close them, because it seemed necessary he should watch over the +princess. + +The candle, having burned down to the neck of the bottle in which it had +been placed, spluttered and fretted because its life was so nearly at an +end, and Joe replaced it with a fresh one. + +With his back against the box which served as cupboard, he sat watching +the little maid with a strong determination not to indulge in sleep, and +even as he repeated for the twentieth time that it was necessary he +remain awake, his eyes closed in slumber. + +It was yet dark, and the second candle nearly consumed, when the +princess suddenly opened her big, brown eyes, and during a single +instant looked about her in silent astonishment. + +Then, as the only way by which she could express her displeasure with +her surroundings, the child opened her tiny mouth to its fullest extent, +and from the little pink throat came as shrill a scream as was ever +uttered by one of "old Mis' Carter's kids." + +Joe Potter was on his feet instantly, and during the first few seconds +after being thus rudely awakened was at a loss to understand exactly +where he was, or what had aroused him. + +The princess introduced herself to his attention very quickly, however, +for she was a maid who had ever received, and was ever ready to demand, +attention. + +Joe had her in his arms as soon as might be, but just at this moment it +was her mother she wanted, and the friendship previously displayed for +her new guardian was forgotten. + +In other words, the princess screamed passionately; Joe walked to and +fro with her in his arms, whispering soothing words which did not +soothe; and through all the uproar Master Plummer slumbered as sweetly +as an infant. + +"I know what you want, you poor little thing; but how am I goin' to get +it for you to-night? Why won't you try to make the best of it till +mornin', an' then we'll be sure to find your folks? Here, eat some of +these peanuts; they must be awful good, 'cordin' to the way Plums +pitched into 'em last night." + +The princess had no appetite for peanuts just then, and, as the readiest +way of giving her guardian such information, she struck the outstretched +hand with her tiny fist, sending the nuts flying in every direction. + +Joe was considerably surprised that such a dainty-looking little maiden +could display so much temper, but did not relax his efforts to please. + +One of the sugared cakes had escaped Master Plummer's cyclonic appetite, +and with this the amateur nurse tried to tempt the screaming child into +silence. + +The cake shared the fate of the peanuts, and the princess gave every +evidence in her power of a positive refusal to be soothed. + +Joe had tossed her in the air, fondled her in his arms, paced to and fro +as if walking for a wager, but all without avail, and now it seemed +necessary he should have assistance. + +Master Plummer's rest had not been disturbed by the noise, but he rose +to a sitting posture very suddenly when Joe kicked him almost roughly. + +"Wha--wha--what's the matter?" he asked, blinking in the light of the +candle, which was directly in front of his eyes. + +"I should think you might know by this time! Can't you hear the +princess?" + +"I thought there'd be a row if she waked up," Master Plummer replied, in +a matter-of-fact tone, and then he laid himself down again, evidently +intending to continue the interrupted nap. + +"See here, Plums, you can't do that!" Joe cried, sharply. "I mustn't be +left alone with this poor little thing. It ain't certain but she'll die, +she's so frightened." + +"Don't fret yourself. She'll come out of it after a spell; all Mis' +Carter's kids used to." + +"But she isn't like them, I tell you! They could stand 'most anything, +an' she's been raised different." + +"She cries jest the same's they did." + +"Look here, George Plummer, get up on your feet an' help me! This thing +is growin' dangerous!" + +Plums had no fear the princess would injure herself by crying; but his +friend spoke so sternly that he decided it was wisest to obey the +command, and a very sleepy-looking boy he was, as he stood yawning and +rubbing his eyes, with an expression of discontent amounting almost to +peevishness upon his face. + +"There ain't anything either you or I can do. Youngsters have to yell +jest about so much,--it makes 'em healthy,--an' she'll quiet down after +a spell. Why don't you give her somethin' to eat?" + +"I tried that, but she wouldn't take a single crumb. The trouble is, we +haven't got what she wants. Now, if there was some milk in the house--" + +"But there ain't, so what's the use thinkin' of that?" + +"It must be near mornin', an' if there is a bakeshop anywhere 'round, +you could get some." + +"Do you want a feller to turn out in the night an' travel 'round the +streets lookin' for milk?" Plums asked, indignantly. + +"It is better to do that than have a dear little baby like this die." + +"But there's no danger anything of that kind will happen. I've seen lots +of worse scrapes than this, but they always ended up all right." + +"Look here, Plums, will you go out an' get some milk?" + +"What's the use--" + +"_Will_ you go an' get the milk?" + +Just for an instant Master Plummer stood irresolute, as if questioning +the necessity for such severe exertion, and then a single glance at his +friend's face decided the matter. + +In silence, but with a decided show of temper, the fat boy picked up one +of the tomato-cans, jammed his battered hat down over his head, and +stalked out of the shanty. + +During this brief conversation the princess's outcries had neither +ceased nor diminished in volume, and when Plums had thus unwillingly +departed, it was as if she redoubled her efforts. + +Unfortunately, Joe had had no experience with "old Mis' Carter's kids," +and when the child's face took on a purplish hue, he was thoroughly +alarmed, believing her to be dying. + +"Don't, baby dear, don't! You'll kill yourself if you act this way! I'm +doin' the best I know how; but the trouble is, I can't tell what you +want!" + +Entreaties were as useless as any of his other efforts to soothe, yet +he alternately begged her to be silent, and paced to and fro with her in +his arms, until, when it seemed to him that at least one whole night +must have passed since she awakened, the princess tired of her +exertions. + +Then it was a tear-stained, grief-swollen face that he looked into, and +the childish sobs which escaped her lips gave him deeper pain than had +her most energetic outcries. + +Believing her to be suffering severely, the big tears of sympathy rolled +down Joe's face as he told her again and again of all he would do +towards finding her mother when the day had come. + +The princess was lying quietly in Joe's arms when Master Plummer finally +returned, bringing the can of milk, and yawning as if he had been asleep +during the entire journey and had but just awakened. + +"Now you can see that it was jest as I said!" he exclaimed. "When +youngsters start in yellin', they've got to do about so much of it, an' +there's no use tryin' to stop 'em. Here I've walked all over this city +huntin' for milk when I might jest as well have been sleepin'." + +"It won't do you any harm, Plums, an' I honestly think the princess is +hungry." + +"She can't be very bad off, with Bologna, an' cakes, an' peanuts 'round. +I'll bet she won't touch this." + +Joe broke into the milk such fragments of cracker as remained in the +cupboard-box, after which, and first wiping the spoon carefully on his +coat sleeve, he began to feed the little maid. + +[Illustration: "HE BEGAN TO FEED THE LITTLE MAID."] + +To Master Plummer's disappointment, she ate almost greedily, and Joe +said, in a tone of triumph: + +"You may know a good deal 'bout Mis' Carter's babies, but you're way off +when it comes to one of this kind." + +"I don't know whether I am or not," and Plums laid himself down once +more, falling asleep, or pretending to, almost immediately thereafter. + +Having eaten with evident relish the food which had cost Plums so much +labour, the princess's ill-temper vanished entirely, and she twittered +and chirped to Joe until he forgot his former fears and anxieties in the +love which sprang up in his heart for the tiny maid who was dependent +upon him for a shelter. + +The day was close at hand when the amateur nurse and his charge +journeyed into dreamland for the second time, and although Joe had +gained but little rest during the night, his slumbers were not so +profound but that a hum of shrill voices near the building awakened him +very shortly afterward. + +The one fear in his mind was that the princess would be disturbed, and +he stepped quickly outside the shanty to learn the cause of the noise. + +"Here he is! Here he is now! We was in big luck to come 'round this +way!" one of a party of boys said, excitedly, and Joe recognised in +these early visitors three friends and business acquaintances, all of +whom were looking very serious, and evidently labouring under great +excitement. + +"What's brought you fellers up to this part of the town so early?" Joe +asked, in surprise, and Dan Fernald, who had under his arm a bundle of +morning papers, said, in a mournful tone: + +"We've come after you." + +"What for? I'm goin' to hang 'round here a spell till I can get enough +money ahead to go into business ag'in. Did you fellers think I'd be so +mean as to sell papers 'round City Hall after I'd sold out to Dan?" + +"It ain't anything like that, Joe Potter," Master Fernald replied, so +gravely that the princess's guardian could not fail of being alarmed. + +"What's floatin' over you fellers?" he asked, sharply. "Ain't been +gettin' into trouble, have you?" + +"We're all right; but there's somethin' mighty wrong 'bout you, Joe. +Say, did you do anything crooked when you sold that stand to Sim +Jepson?" + +"Crooked? Why, how could I? He'd been workin' for me at a dollar a week, +an' when I hadn't any more money, he took the stand for what I owed him. +If you call it crooked to sell out a business for a dollar an' twenty +cents, when it cost pretty nigh eight times as much, you're off your +base." + +"Then what _have_ you been doin'?" Tim Morgan asked. + +By this time Joe began to understand that something serious had caused +this early visit, and he began to grow alarmed, without knowing why it +should disturb him. + +"I don't want you to make any noise 'round here, 'cause Plums an' me +have got a kid what we picked up in the street last night, an' she's +asleep. It won't do to wake her 'less you want to hear the tallest kind +of screechin'. But I've got to know what's givin' you fellers the +chills; so out with it, but be as quiet as you can." + +Dan Fernald looked at his comrades as if hoping one of them would act as +spokesman; but since both remained silent, he began by saying: + +"See here, Joe, you know we're your friends, an' are willin' to do all +we can to help you out of a scrape?" + +"Yes," Master Potter replied, growing yet more alarmed because of Dan's +solemn manner. + +"If you'd come right to us in the first place, we'd helped you, no +matter how much money was wanted." + +"Look here, Dan, don't give me a stiff like this!" Joe cried, +imploringly. "If anything's wrong, out with it, 'stead of mumblin' 'bout +helpin' me. I've allers managed to help myself, and you fellers, too, a +good many times, so I don't know why you should stand 'round lookin' +like as if somethin' was chewin' you." + +"If we wasn't your friends, Joe, you might give us a bluff like that, +an' even if we didn't take it, we'd make out as though we did. See +here," and unfolding a newspaper, Dan pointed to an advertisement, as he +added, "I saw this almost 'fore I got out of the _Herald_ office, an' +didn't stop for anything but jest to pick up Tim an' Jerry before I come +to find you." + +Joe looked at each of his friends in turn before taking the proffered +paper, and then, after considerable difficulty because of the necessity +of spelling out each word in turn, he read the following: + + JOSEPH POTTER. Information wanted of a newsboy or fruit + vendor answering to the name of Joseph Potter. He was last + seen in front of the Grand Central Station at about seven + o'clock on the evening of yesterday (Tuesday), holding in + his arms a child three years old. A liberal reward will be + paid for information as to the present whereabouts of the + boy. Address Cushman & Morton, Attorneys at Law, 47-1/2 Pine + Street, New York. + +Immediately below this was an advertisement signed with the same names, +requesting information concerning a little girl who had strayed from the +Grand Central Station and was last seen in the company of a newsboy; but +this Joe did not read. + +The fact that he was advertised for, as if he had been a fugitive from +justice, terrified him. + +He could not so much as speak; but looked alternately at the printed +sheet and his companions, until Dan said, sternly: + +"Now, Joe, you can tell us 'bout this thing or not, jest as you have a +mind. What we've come for is to help you get clear, an' we're bound to +do it." + +"Get clear of what?" Joe repeated, in bewilderment. + +"You know better'n we do, an' I ain't askin' questions if you think it +ought'er be kept secret from us." + +"But I haven't been doin' anything that wasn't square," Joe replied, +with a trembling voice. + +"Then what's a couple of lawyers advertisin' you for?" Tim Morgan asked, +shrilly. "Do you s'pose sich folks want'er catch a feller what sells +papers, jest to look at him?" + +[Illustration: "DAN POINTED TO AN ADVERTISEMENT."] + +"See here, Tim, you know me, an' you know I never did a mean thing to +anybody in my life." + +"Then what they advertisin' yer for?" + +"Say, fellers, I wouldn't try to make out--" + +"Now, Joe, this ain't any time for you to stuff us," Dan Fernald said, +impatiently. "If you hadn't done anything crooked, your name wouldn't be +right there in them big letters. You've allers been willin' to do us a +good turn, an' we're goin' to pay you back. You've _got_ to skip! An' +you've got to skip bloomin' quick!" + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +JOE'S FLIGHT. + + +It was literally impossible for Joe Potter to make any reply to Dan +Fernald's positive statement that he must run away in order to escape +punishment. + +As a matter of course he knew he had done nothing of a criminal nature, +and yet the advertisement, which seemed to stand out more conspicuously +than any other item in the paper, could not be construed either by +himself or his companions to mean anything else. + +The fact that it was signed by attorneys seemed to Joe and his friends +positive proof that a crime had been committed; otherwise why would +representatives of the law have appeared in the matter? + +Dan Fernald, as Joe's oldest and nearest friend, took it upon himself to +act as master of ceremonies in the affair, and, understanding that his +comrade was so overwhelmed by the impending danger as to be absolutely +incapable of intelligent movement, led him towards the shanty, as he +said, gravely: + +"Never mind what it is you've done, Joe, us fellers are goin' to see you +through, an' it won't do to hang 'round here very long, if you plan on +givin' the perlice the slip. I reckon they'll be hot after you before +nine o'clock, an' by that time I'm countin' on havin' you hid. Got +anything here you want to take with you?" + +Joe shook his head; but Master Fernald seemed to consider it necessary +they should enter the building, and his two comrades followed close in +the rear. + +Once inside the shanty, the visitors, as a matter of course, saw the +princess sleeping on the straw, and, despite the fact that her garments +were not as cleanly as on the day previous, making a most charming +picture. + +"Well, I'll be blowed! Where'd you get that?" + +Joe had been so bewildered by the terrible knowledge that the officers +of the law were probably on his trail, as to have forgotten for the +moment that the princess was in his charge, and he stood for an instant +staring at her vacantly before making any reply, which odd behaviour +served to strengthen the belief in the minds of his friends that he was +guilty of some serious crime. + +"Oh, that's the princess. She lost her folks somewhere near the _de_pot +last night, an' I was countin' on findin' 'em for her this mornin'. +Plums an' me had to take her in, else she'd been layin' 'round the +streets." + +Dan looked at him sharply, while Tim and Jerry raised themselves on +tiptoe to gaze at the sleeping child. + +"Well, what you goin' to do with her now?" Dan asked, after waiting in +vain for his friend to speak. + +"I don't know," Joe replied, sadly, and added, in a more hopeful tone, +"If you fellers would look after the little thing, she might--" + +"We'll have all we can do keepin' you out of jail, without bein' +bothered by a kid taggin' everywhere we go. You don't seem to +understand, Joe, that it's goin' to take mighty sharp work, an' most +likely every feller that ever knew you will be watched by the perlice +from this time out." + +"But I can't leave her here alone," Master Potter wailed. + +"Why not take her down where Plums used to live? Mis' Carter's got a +reg'lar raft of kids, an' ought'er know how to take care of another." + +"It would jest 'bout break the little thing's heart to put her in with +that Carter gang, an' I can't do it. I'd sooner the perlice nabbed me." + +"Now you're talkin' through your hat. Of course you don't want to go up +to Sing Sing for two or three years, an' that's what's bound to happen +if them lawyers get hold of you. What's Plums snorin' away for, when +things are all mixed up so bad?" Dan asked, impatiently, and without +further delay he proceeded to arouse Master Plummer to a knowledge of +the terrible danger that threatened Joe, by shaking him furiously. + +"What do you want now,--more milk?" the fat boy asked, without opening +his eyes, and Dan pulled him suddenly to his feet. + +"Wake up, an' see what we want! Here's the perlice after Joe, red-hot, +an' we've got to get him out'er town." + +"After Joe?" Master Plummer repeated, stupidly. "What's he been doin'?" + +"We don't know, an' he won't tell us." + +"I haven't been doin' a thing, Plums, as true as I live; but there it +all is in the paper," Master Potter replied, in a tearful voice. "Of +course there's no gettin' away from that." + +Not until Plums had spelled out for himself the ominous advertisement +was it possible for those who would rescue Joe Potter from the impending +doom to do anything towards his escape, and, once having mastered the +printed lines, the fat boy gazed at his grief-stricken friend in mingled +astonishment and reproach. + +"Of course the perlice are goin' to know you slept here last night, an' +jest as likely as not I'll be pulled for takin' you in." + +"Course you will!" Jerry Hayes cried, shrilly. "You're in a pretty tight +box, Plums." + +Joe protested vehemently that he was innocent of any intentional +wrong-doing; but with that unexplainable advertisement before him, Plums +received the statement with much the same incredulity as had the others. + +"Where you goin' to take him?" he asked of Dan; and the latter replied: + +"I don't know; but we've got to get him out of town by the shortest cut, +an' I reckon that'll be Thirty-fourth Street Ferry. How much money you +fellers got?" + +Master Plummer took from his pocket that which remained of the amount +given him by Joe the night previous, and, after counting it twice, +replied: + +"Here's sixteen cents what belongs to Joe, an' I've got twenty of my +own." + +"Us fellers have anteed up a dollar an' a quarter towards seein' you +through, an' here it is," Master Fernald said, as he gave Plums a +handful of small coins. + +Joe did not so much as glance at the money, and Dan said, impatiently: + +"Now, don't hang 'round here any longer, you two, 'cause it's mighty +near sunrise." + +"But what about the kid?" Plums asked, as if until that moment he had +entirely forgotten the sleeping child. + +"I reckon she'll have to take her chances," Dan replied, carelessly. +"Some one will look out for her, of course,--turn her over to McDaniels, +the blacksmith." + +This suggestion aroused Joe very suddenly, and he glanced at each of his +companions in turn, as if to read the thoughts of all, after which he +said, sharply: + +"You fellers can believe me or not, but I haven't done anything to set +the perlice after me. I can't say as I blame you for thinkin' it ain't +so, 'cause there's that advertisement; but it's a fact all the same, an' +I'm goin' to let the cops take me." + +"What?" Tim Morgan screamed. "You're goin' to jail?" + +"What else can I do?" + +"Run away, of course, the same's we're fixin' it." + +"In the first place, we haven't got money enough to go very far, an' +then, ag'in, I won't leave the princess knockin' 'round the streets." + +"You'd have to if you went to jail." + +"I could take her with me for a spell, anyhow." + +Joe appeared so thoroughly determined to give himself up to the +officers of the law that his comrades were seriously alarmed. + +Although there was but little question in their minds that he was guilty +of some crime, not one of them was willing he should yield to the order +of arrest which they believed had already been issued. + +Plums looked at Dan imploringly, and the latter said, as he laid hold of +Joe's arm: + +"Now see here, old man, we ain't goin' to stand by with our hands in our +pockets while you go to jail, 'cause there's no need of it. The perlice +won't be 'round for two or three hours, an' it's pretty hard lines if we +can't get you out of town before they come." + +"I won't leave the princess," Joe replied, doggedly. + +"Then take her with you. Of course there's a good deal of risk in it, +seein's how the advertisement said you had her; but it's a blamed sight +better'n givin' right up same's any chump would do." + +"I counted on findin' her folks this mornin'." + +"The way things have turned out, you can't; an' what's the odds if you +wait two or three days? I'll see that you have money enough to keep you +goin' for a spell, anyhow, 'cause all the fellers what know you an' +Plums will chip in to help." + +"Am I goin', too?" Master Plummer asked, in surprise. + +"I can't see any other way out of it. When the perlice find where Joe +slept last night, they're bound to pull you in. It don't look to me as +if it was goin' to be sich a terrible hard thing to go off in the +country for a spell, now the weather's warm, an' if it wasn't for the +kid here, I'd say you'd have a great time." + +At this moment the princess awakened, and, fortunately, in an amiable +mood. + +She raised her hands towards Joe as if asking to be taken in his arms, +and, instantly the mute request was complied with, the ruined merchant's +courage failed him. + +Burying his face in her dress, regardless of the possible injury to be +done the delicate fabric, the poor boy gave way to tears, and the little +maid must have understood that he was suffering, for she patted him on +the ear, or ruffled his hair gently with her hands, all of which served +but to make his grief more intense. + +"Now's the time to get him right away," Dan said, in a low tone to +Master Plummer. "We've fooled 'round here too long already, and if he +kicks ag'in goin', why, we've got to lug him, that's all. I won't see +Joe Potter put in jail if it can be helped." + +"What do you s'pose he's been doin'?" Plums asked, in a terrified +whisper. + +"Blamed if I know; but it must be somethin' pretty tough, else they +wouldn't spend money advertisin' for him." + +"I don't b'lieve he'd kill anybody." + +"Neither do I; but it must be somethin' 'bout as bad as that. While he's +takin' on so we can get him off without much trouble. We'd better walk +to the ferry, 'cause there might be somebody on the horse-car what would +know him." + +"If I've got to leave the town, I don't want to hang 'round Long +Island, 'cause there ain't so much chance of gettin' further away," +Plums objected, and Dan began to show signs of ill temper at being thus +thwarted in his efforts to do a favour. + +"You'll be blamed lucky if you get anywhere, except to jail." + +"But what's the difference if we go over to Jersey? It ain't much +further to the Weehawken Ferry than it is Thirty-fourth Street way." + +"All right, go there, then,--anywhere, so's you get a move on." + +Master Plummer took the precaution to gather up such provisions as +remained in the cupboard, and, after one long look around at the home he +might be leaving for ever, shook Joe gently. + +"Come on, old man; this thing's got to be done, an' the sooner we start +the better. There's no show for you to give yourself up 'less I'm with +you, 'cordin' to what Dan says, an' you can bet I ain't countin' on +goin' to jail so long as it can be helped." + +Joe rose to his feet obediently, still holding the princess tightly in +his arms, and Dan ordered Jerry to precede them into the street, in +order to make certain the officers of the law were not in the vicinity. + +"If you whistle once, we'll know nobody's there, an' twice means that +we're surrounded." + +Jerry, looking as important as the occasion demanded, set about doing +the scouting for the party, and an instant later a shrill call rang out +on the morning air, telling that the coast was clear. + +Dan and Plums ranged themselves either side of Joe; Tim marched in +advance, wary as an Indian hunter; and in this order the little party +gained the street, the princess in high glee because of the numbers who +were escorting her. + +Joe neither spoke nor looked back. His heart was as heavy as though the +shadow of a real crime hung over him, and, had he been going directly to +prison, could not have appeared more despondent. + +On the other hand, Dan Fernald was enjoying himself hugely. + +Aiding a desperate criminal to escape from the clutches of the law was +to him a most exciting adventure. He had always believed he possessed +remarkable detective ability, and this was the first time an opportunity +of establishing such fact had presented itself. + +"If I don't get you two fellers out of this scrape, then I'm willin' to +lay right down," he said, as Tim and Jerry led the way towards the west +side of the city at a rapid pace. "I've kept myself posted on the +detective business pretty sharp, 'cause I've made up my mind to go into +it before long, an' by the time we finish this job I guess the perlice +will find out what I'm made of. I ain't so sure but I shall join the +force after you're straightened out." + +"They wouldn't take on a feller of your size," Master Plummer said, with +something very like a sneer; which was not seemly, in view of the fact +that Dan was at this moment giving him the full benefit of his wonderful +ability, simply through friendship. + +"It don't make any difference about a feller's size; it's the head what +counts. Before long you'll find out whether I've got one or not." + +Joe gave no heed to his friend's words. His grief was so great that +probably he knew nothing whatever regarding that morning journey, save +that the princess, when not laughing and chattering at him, was eating, +with evident relish, the sugar-besprinkled cake which Plums had slipped +into her chubby hand. + +The boy did not realise that he might be doing a grievous wrong against +the parents of the princess by thus taking her from the city. He knew +she would be cared for to the best of his ability, and it seemed as if +those who loved her must realise the same. Of course he understood that +she was to be restored to her father and mother as soon as it should be +possible, but he failed to take into consideration the suffering which +might be theirs because of her disappearance. + +Therefore it was that, in all this wretched business, at the end of +which he could see nothing but the open door of a prison, the only +bright thing to him, amid the clouds of despair, was the companionship +of the princess. + +After the first slight sorrow at being forced to leave his home, Plums +began to enjoy this flight, and discussed with Dan the possible +enjoyment of a detective's life until the party arrived within a block +of the ferry-slip. + +It was yet so early in the morning that but few were on the street; but +Dan had no intention of allowing the boy whom he was saving to enter +the slip like an ordinary citizen. + +Ordering a halt near the entrance of an alleyway which led between two +stables, he said, with the air of a general: + +"Tim, you scout along down towards the ferry-slip, an' see if anybody's +there on the watch. We'll stay here so's we can sneak up through this +alley if you should whistle twice. Jerry, you're to walk back about half +a block, so's to make certain the perlice don't creep up on us from +behind." + +"But there ain't a dozen people in sight, an' we can see that there's no +cop 'round!" Master Plummer exclaimed. "What's to hinder our goin' right +on board the boat?" + +"Look here, Plums, if you know more 'bout this kind of business than I +do, take hold an' run the thing. We'll see how far you'll get before the +whole crowd is nabbed." + +"I don't know anything about it, of course; but I can see there's nobody +between us an' the ferry-slip that would likely make trouble." + +"If we depended on you, we wouldn't have got so far as we have," Master +Fernald replied, disdainfully. "Jest likely as not, there's a dozen cops +hid close 'round here, an' I ain't goin' to be fool enough to walk right +into their arms." + +Plums was silenced by this exhibition of superior wisdom, and Joe +indifferent to whatever steps might be taken for his own safety; +therefore Dan was not interfered with in his management of the affair. + +The scouts set about their work, and not until fully ten minutes had +passed did the amateur detective give the word for the fugitives to +advance. + +"I reckon it's all straight enough now, an' we'll go on board the boat; +but there's no tellin' what might have happened if I hadn't 'tended to +the work in the right way." + +Then Master Fernald walked a few paces in advance of his friends, moving +stealthily, as if knowing danger menaced them on every hand, and casting +furtive glances up and down the street until, had any one observed his +movements, suspicions must have been aroused as to the innocence of his +purpose. + +Jerry paid for the ferry tickets out of his own funds, for it was the +purpose of these rescuers to remain in the company of the fugitives +until they should have escaped from the State. + +Once on the boat, Joe wanted to remain in the ladies' cabin, because of +the princess; but Dan would not countenance any such rash proceeding. + +He insisted that they must take up their stations in what was, for the +time being, the bow of the boat, where they could prevent possible +pursuers from "sneakin' up on 'em." + +The princess made no objection to this breezy position, otherwise the +boy who was being rescued by Master Fernald would have flatly refused to +obey orders; and thus the fugitives and their friends remained where +every passenger on board must of necessity have seen them. + +Dan gave his friends what he considered good advice during the passage, +and when the boat was nearing the slip on the Jersey side, summed up his +instructions with a statement which electrified them all. + +"You fellers are to hang 'round Weehawken till 'long towards dark, when +Plums must come down to the ferry-slip. I'm goin' back to New York to +fix up my business, so's I can stay with you till the worst of the +trouble is over." + +"Are you countin' on runnin' away with us?" Master Plummer asked, in +surprise. + +"That's jest the size of it. You fellers don't seem to know scarcely +anything at all about takin' care of yourselves, an' if I don't 'tend to +business you'll both be in jail before to-morrow mornin'. I'm goin' to +size up things 'round perlice headquarters to-day, an' then come over to +look after you. Jest as soon's the boat touches the slip, you two take a +sneak, find some place where you can hide till night, an' then watch out +for me." + +Five minutes later, the fugitives stepped on Jersey soil, and Master +Fernald's scouts were deployed to guard against an attack from the enemy +until the two boys were lost to view in the distance. Then the amateur +detective said, in a tone of grim determination, "Now, fellers, we'll go +back, an' size up the cops in New York." + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +IN THE CITY. + + +When Dan Fernald and his two assistants returned to their usual place of +business in the city, they found Joe Potter's mercantile friends in a +state of high excitement. + +It seemed as if the eyes of each boy who was acquainted with Joe had +been attracted to that particular advertisement, and business among a +certain portion of the youthful merchants in the vicinity of City Hall +Square was almost entirely suspended because of the startling +information that "the lawyers were after Joe Potter." + +It was only natural for each fellow to speculate as to the reason why +the unfortunate fruit merchant should be "wanted," and many and wild +were the theories advanced. + +Some of the boys even went so far as to suggest that Joe had robbed a +bank, and, in order to make such a proposition plausible, insinuated +that he had failed in the fruit business simply for the purpose of +deceiving the public as to the true state of his finances. + +Little Billy Dooner ventured the opinion that "perhaps Joe had killed a +_I_talian," but no one gave weight to the possible explanation, for +Master Potter enjoyed the reputation of being as peaceable a boy as +could be found in the city. + +When each one of those more particularly interested had in turn given +his theory regarding the mystery, without throwing any positive light on +the subject, the conversation was always brought to a close with +something like the following words: + +"At any rate, he's gone a mighty long ways crooked, else the lawyers +wouldn't spend money advertisin' for him." + +The arrival of Dan Fernald and his assistants only served to heighten +the mystery, for these young gentlemen positively refused to make any +statement either for or against the missing boy, and the natural result +was that they were credited with knowing very much more regarding the +affair than really was the case. + +Dan immediately assumed such an air as he believed befitted detectives, +and hinted more than once that Joe's friends "would be s'prised before +the day was ended." + +Not until noon was there any change in the situation of affairs, and +then a bootblack who worked in the vicinity of the Grand Central Station +came down to City Hall Square with information that Plums was no longer +attending to business. + +"If he wasn't so bloomin' slow, I'd say he'd run away with Joe Potter," +the informant added; "but as it is, he couldn't get out of the town in +much less than a week, even if he humped hisself the best he knew how." + +Under ordinary circumstances, Plums might have disappeared without +causing a ripple of excitement among his business acquaintances, but +since Joe Potter was missing also, it began to look as if the two might +be together. + +At three o'clock in the afternoon Sim Jepson startled the community of +newsboys by announcing that he had been closely questioned by a man in +citizen's clothing, who "looked for all the world like a cop got up in +disguise," concerning Joe's habits, and Master Jepson added, on his own +responsibility: + +"They're after him hot, an' no mistake. He'll be mighty smart if he can +keep out of sight when they've gone reg'larly to work huntin' him up." + +This information disturbed Dan Fernald not a little. + +Although quite positive he was a match for any detective or policeman in +the city, Dan would have preferred to work on a case where there +appeared to be less danger. This affair of Joe's was growing more +serious each moment, and he who meddled with it might come to grief, but +yet never for a moment did Master Fernald think of abandoning his +friend. + +"I'll do jest as I told him I would, no matter what kind of a scrape I +get into," he said, confidentially, to Tim and Jerry. "You fellers must +hang 'round here so's to find out all that's goin' on, an' be sure to +let me know if any more men come here searchin' for Joe." + +"But you ain't goin' to stay in Weehawken?" + +"Well, I guess not." + +"Then how shall we know where to find you?" + +"Look here, Jerry Hayes, if you ain't smart enough to find us three when +you know we're somewhere in Jersey, it ain't any kind of use for you to +try to be a detective, 'cause you'll never make one. You must come over +to Weehawken, an' get on our trail; then the rest of it will be easy +enough." + +"I'd like to know how we're goin' to do that?" + +"If I've got to explain every little thing, I might jest as well run +this case all by myself. Findin' a man when you don't know where he is, +is the first thing a detective has to learn, an' you'd better put in a +good part of your time studyin' it up. Now I'm goin' to see how much +money I can raise, an' 'long 'bout five o'clock you can count on my +sneakin' out of town." + +While his friends were thus speculating, and working in what they +believed to be his behalf, Joe was spending a most wretched day. + +Immediately after landing from the ferry-boat, he, carrying the princess +and followed by Plums, walked directly away from the river, believing +that by such a course he would the sooner arrive at the open country. + +Now that he was really running away, his fears increased momentarily. + +While in the city, it had seemed to him as if he could summon up +sufficient courage to surrender himself to those people, who most likely +wanted to commit him to prison; but having once begun the flight, all +his courage vanished,--he no longer even so much as dreamed of facing +the trouble. + +The princess, well content with this morning stroll and the cake Joe +had given her, appeared willing to continue such form of amusement +indefinitely. + +She laughed and crowed until the young guardian trembled lest she should +attract undue attention to him, and when, ceasing this, the little maid +poured some wondrous tale in his ear, his heart smote him, for he +believed she was urging to be taken home. + +"I'll find your mother, baby darling, the very first thing after I get +out of this scrape; but there couldn't any one blame me for runnin' away +when the perlice are after me." + +Plums was more discontented than alarmed during this journey. There was +altogether too much walking in it to please him, and Joe pushed ahead so +rapidly that he nearly lost his breath trying to keep pace with him. + +"If you go on this way much longer I'll have to give the thing up," he +said, in despair, when they were a mile or more from the ferry-slip. + +"But you surely ought to walk as fast as I can when I am carrying the +princess." + +"Perhaps I ought'er, but I can't. I'm pretty near knocked out of time +already. Why not slack up a little now, we're so far from the city?" + +"I don't dare to, Plums. We haven't gone any distance yet, an' jest as +likely as not the perlice here have had orders to stop us. Do the best +you can a spell longer, an' perhaps we can find a place to hide in till +you get rested." + +Master Plummer made no reply; but his companion could readily see that +he was suffering severely from such unusual exertions. His fat face was +of a deep crimson hue; tiny streams of perspiration ran down his cheeks, +and he breathed like one affected with the asthma. + +There was little need for Master Plummer to explain that a halt would +soon be necessary, for this Joe understood after but one glance at the +unhappy-looking boy. + +The princess's guardian had hoped they might gain the forest, where it +would be possible to hide, or at the least find a small thicket of trees +or bushes; but as yet there were dwellings on every hand, and each +instant the sun was sending down more fervent rays. + +At the expiration of an additional ten minutes Plums gave up the +struggle by saying, despondently: + +"It's no use, Joe, I couldn't keep on my feet half an hour longer, to +save the lives of all hands. S'posin' you leave me here, an' go on by +yourself? That will be better than for both of us to be arrested." + +"I'm not sich a chump as to do anything of that kind, old man. You got +into this trouble through tryin' to help me, an' I'll stay right side of +you till it's over." + +"But it ain't safe to hang 'round here." + +"I know it; yet what else can we do? We're bound to take the chances, +an' I'm goin' to stop at one of these houses." + +Master Plummer appeared thoroughly alarmed, yet he made no protest +against the proposed plan. + +At that moment imprisonment had less horrors for him than such severe +exertions. + +Joe's greatest fear was that, while asking for shelter, he would be +forced to explain why he was taking the princess with him for a long +tramp, when the day was so warm; and, dangerous though such a course +might be, he was resolved to tell only the truth. + +"If I can't get through without lyin', I'll go to jail, an' take my +medicine like a man," he said to himself, and once this resolve had been +made he stopped in front of the nearest dwelling. + +His timid knock at the door was answered by a motherly-looking German +woman, who appeared surprised at seeing the visitors. + +"If we'll pay whatever you think is right, may we come in an' stay a +little while?" Joe asked, falteringly. "It's awful hot, an' the princess +must be tired." + +"Kannst du kein deutch sprechen?" + +Joe looked at her in bewilderment, and Plums said in a whisper: + +"She talks a good deal the way the princess does. I guess the kid must +know what she says." + +"We want to come in for a little while, an' are willin' to pay you for +it," Joe repeated, and the old lady shook her head doubtfully as she +leaned over and kissed the princess squarely on the mouth. + +"Ich kann nicht Englisch sprechen." + +As she spoke, the good woman gave Joe a smile which went far towards +reassuring him, and he in turn shook his head. + +"I guess we'll have to give it up," Plums said, mournfully. "It's too +bad, for she must be a real good kind of an old woman, or she wouldn't +have kissed the princess." + +Joe hesitated an instant, and had half turned to go when the old lady +stretched out her hands towards the child, who immediately displayed a +very decided desire to forsake the boy who had ministered to her wants +so devotedly during the past twelve or fifteen hours. + +"Komme herein aus der hitze." + +This was said with a gesture which could not be misunderstood, as the +old lady took the princess in her arms; and Joe followed without +hesitation, Master Plummer saying, meanwhile: + +"If she can't talk United States, an' that seems to be about the size of +it, there ain't any chance she can tell where we are. It's mighty lucky +we struck her, 'cordin' to my way of thinkin'." + +Joe was of the same opinion, when the old lady ushered them into a +cleanly but scantily furnished room, so darkened as to make it seem cool +by comparison with the scorching rays of the sun on the pavements, and +then gave her undivided attention to the baby. + +She took off the child's hat and cloak, and, carrying her into an +adjoining room, bathed her face and hands, much to the delight of the +princess. + +"I'd 'a' washed her up this mornin' if I hadn't been 'fraid she'd get +mad about it," Joe said, regretting most sincerely that he had not +attended to the little maiden's toilet in a proper manner. + +"What's the good? Old Mis' Carter says dirt makes children healthy, an' +if that's straight I should say your princess needs a couple of quarts +to put her in trim." + +[Illustration: "'MAY WE COME IN AN' STAY A LITTLE WHILE?'"] + +"She ain't like Mis' Carter's kids, so what's the use to keep throwin' +them up all the time. Say, Plums, look at the old woman now! Why didn't +I think of cuddlin' the princess in that style?" + +Their hostess, having made the little maid more presentable, gathered +the child to her breast, as she rocked to and fro in a capacious +armchair, singing a lullaby, which speedily closed the two brown eyes in +slumber. + +"I shouldn't feel very bad if the old woman served me in the same way," +Master Plummer said, with a long-drawn sigh, as he straightened himself +up in the wooden chair. "I'd rather lay right down on the floor an' go +to sleep than do anything else I know of." + +"But you mustn't, Plums, you mustn't," Joe whispered, nervously. "If you +should do anything like that she'd think we was more'n half fools, both +of us." + +"Seid ihr kinder hungrich?" + +The old lady spoke so abruptly that the boys started as if in alarm, +both looking at her with such a puzzled expression on their faces that +she must have known they failed to understand the question. + +"Perhaps she thinks we can't pay our way," Plums whispered. "You might +let her know we've got money, even if you can't do anything better." + +Joe acted upon the suggestion at once by taking several coins from his +pocket, holding them towards the old lady. + +She shook her head and smiled cheerily. Then, laying the princess on a +chintz-covered couch without disturbing the child's slumbers, she left +the room. + +Again was Master Potter surprised by the apparently careless, yet deft +manner in which she handled the child, and he said, in a tone of +admiration to his friend: + +"Don't it jest knock your eye out to see the way she fools with the +princess, an' yet the little thing seems to like it? If I'd done half as +much as that she'd be screechin' blue murder by this time." + +"Women know how to take care of kids better'n boys do, though I ain't +any slouch at it, 'cause I've tried it so many times down to Mis' +Carter's." + +"I notice you couldn't stop her from cryin' last night." + +"I didn't try, did I? Perhaps if you hadn't sent me racin' all over the +city for milk I might'er done somethin'." + +This conversation was interrupted by the German lady, who returned, +bringing two plates, one of which was heaped high with seed-cakes, and +the other filled with generous slices of boiled ham. + +If a boy's mouth ever did water, Plums was in that peculiar condition +just at that moment. + +Alarmed by the news which Dan Fernald brought, he had, for perhaps the +first time in his life, forgotten to eat breakfast, and nothing could +have been more welcome in his eyes than this plentiful supply of food. + +"Better pay her for it," he whispered to Joe, "an' then she'll be likely +to bring on more. I could eat all she's got there, an' not half try." + +Joe did as his companion wished; but the old lady positively refused to +take the money until the boy urged her in dumb show, when, with the air +of one who complies with a request against her will, she took from +Master Potter's outstretched hand a dime. + +Plums had not waited for this business to be finished before he began +the attack, and when Joe turned he saw that his comrade had assumed a +position of supreme content, with three seed-cakes in one hand, and a +large slice of ham in the other. + +"You're awfully good to us, an' I wish you'd taken more money," Joe +said, as he helped himself to a small portion of the food, knowing, even +as he spoke, that his words would not be understood. + +The old lady smiled, and went out of the room again, returning almost +immediately with a glass of water and more ham, much to Master Plummer's +satisfaction. + +"I guess we're fixed jest about as well as we could be, an' it'll pay us +to hang on here till Dan comes over. This beats walkin' 'round the +streets." + +"Perhaps she wouldn't like it if we stayed a great while," Joe +suggested. + +"Well, s'posin' she shouldn't? So long's she can't talk United States +there's no chance of her turnin' us out, or tellin' where we are." + +"Would you stay here when you thought she didn't want us?" + +"I'd stay in most any place where we was strikin' it as rich as we are +jest now," and then Master Plummer ceased speaking, in order that he +might give more attention to this unexpected meal. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +DAN, THE DETECTIVE. + + +It was sunset, and Master Plummer stood at the ferry-slip in Weehawken, +awaiting the coming of Dan, the detective. + +Much against his will had the fat boy left the home of the German lady +to set out on this long tramp. He understood that it would not be safe +for Joe to come out of hiding, and, because of the arrangements made by +Dan in the morning, it was absolutely necessary some one should meet the +amateur detective at the ferry-slip. + +Hence it was that Master Plummer was loitering around just outside the +gate, keeping a close watch upon all who came from the boat, and on the +alert for anything bearing the resemblance of a blue coat with brass +buttons. + +Dan Fernald, believing that a detective who knew his business would not +make a single movement without a certain attendant mystery, had decided +it was not safe for him to leave New York in the daytime, and therefore +Plums's time of waiting was exceedingly long. + +Not until eight o'clock did Dan appear; and then, instead of answering +his friend's hail, he marched gravely out through the gate, crossed the +street, and, during several seconds, stood peering first to the right +and then the left, while from the opposite side Plums looked at him in +bewilderment. + +Master Plummer had spoken to his friend, but received no reply; had +followed a certain distance without being apparently recognised, and +stopped in bewilderment when Dan indulged in these curious antics. + +Finally the fat boy grew impatient, and, crossing the street, asked, +sharply: + +"What's the matter with you, anyhow, Dan?" + +Master Fernald glanced at his friend only sufficiently long to wink in a +most mysterious fashion, and then, turning quickly around, marched +gravely up the street without speaking. + +Plums watched in anxiety until, seeing his friend dart into a doorway, +it suddenly dawned upon him that Dan was desirous of avoiding a too +public interview. + +Then Plums hastened after him, muttering to himself: + +"That feller thinks he's awful smart, scrimpin' an' scrapin' 'round here +as if there was a dozen perlicemen right on his track. If he'd go on +about his business nobody'd notice him; but when he's kitin' 'round in +this fashion folks are bound to wonder what's the matter." + +On arriving at the doorway, he looked in, but without seeing any one, +because of the gloom. + +Thinking he had made a mistake, Plums would have hurried on, but for a +hoarse whisper which came from out the darkness. + +"Come in here, quick! Don't stand there where everybody'll tumble to who +you are." + +Plums obeyed immediately, as was his custom when any one spoke harshly, +and Dan seized him by the arm. + +"Keep quiet, now, whatever you do, 'cause I wouldn't be s'prised if +more'n a dozen cops followed me over on the boat." + +"I didn't see any," Plums replied, in astonishment. + +"That's 'cause you didn't keep your eye peeled. Of course they wouldn't +try to get on my track while they was dressed in uniform. I saw one I +felt certain about; he was disguised like a truckman, an' drivin' a +team, but he couldn't fool me." + +"Do they know where Joe an' I are?" + +"I don't think so; but jest as soon as I left the town they was bound to +have their eyes open mighty wide, 'cause I guess it must be known up to +perlice headquarters that I'm in on this case. Where's Joe?" + +Master Plummer told the amateur detective of the very pleasant refuge +they had found, and concluded by saying: + +"First off we couldn't talk with the old woman at all; but at +dinner-time a kid about half as big as me, what calls her 'grandmarm,' +come home, an' he knew how to talk United States. Little as he was, he +could chin in the old woman's lingo as fast as she. That fixed things +for us. Joe said he was out lookin' for work, which is the dead truth +when you come to that, an' made a trade for us to stay there a couple of +days. I was 'fraid they'd ask about the princess, but it seems like they +didn't. They thought she belonged to us straight enough, so it's been +all plain sailin'." + +"I didn't get over here any too soon, if you fellers have gone to +stoppin' at a house." + +"But why shouldn't we, when we found one like that where they'll take us +in mighty cheap? An' say, that old woman is the boss cook!" + +"An' she'll get in jail, too, if you keep on this way. Here's you an' +Joe advertised for by the lawyers, an' yet are sich chumps as to settle +right down where the detectives will get on to you the very first +thing." + +"I ain't been advertised for." + +"Well, that's where you make a mistake, Master Smartie. Perhaps you +haven't seen the evenin' papers." + +"What's in them?" Plums cried, in a tone of alarm. + +"Pretty much the same as what you saw in the _Herald_ this mornin', only +that they're offerin' to pay for any news of Joe Potter an' a feller +what's called 'Plums.'" + +"Do you mean that, Dan? Are they really advertisin' for me?" Master +Plummer asked, in a tone of terror. + +"That's what they're doin', an' the way the cops are chasin' 'round town +huntin' up bootblacks an' newsboys is a caution. Three different ones +asked Jerry Hayes if he knew you or Joe; but you can bet they didn't +find out very much. Jerry's sharp enough to keep his mouth shut." + +"But what do they want me for? What have I done?" + +"I reckon it's 'cause Joe slept at your house. Now the only safe thing +is for us to strike off into the country as quick as we know how. We've +got to walk all night before we so much as think of stoppin'." + +"But what about the princess? We can't make that little thing travel +from post to pillar." + +"If Joe Potter hadn't been a fool he'd left her in town. It jest makes +my blood boil when I think of his havin' a kid taggin' 'round after him, +an' every detective in New York on his track!" + +"I don't believe he'd be willin' to leave the princess, not even if he +knew he was goin' to be 'rested the next minute." + +"He's got to, or I'll throw up the job of tryin' to save him. Now we'll +go up to this Dutch woman's house that you've been talkin' 'bout, an' +snake him out. All I hope is we'll get away in time." + +Master Plummer turned to walk out of the hallway in obedience to this +command, when Dan, clutching him by the arm, brought the boy to a sudden +standstill. + +"What kind of a way is that to go out when the streets are full of +detectives huntin' after you?" + +"How else can I go?" Plums asked, in surprise. + +"I'll show you. Watch out on what I do, an' act the very same way. I'll +go on one side of the street, an' you on the other, so's folks sha'n't +know we're together." + +Master Plummer was puzzled to understand why it might work them mischief +if the public knew they were acquainted with each other; but Dan was so +peremptory in his commands that the boy did not venture to ask a +question. + +Then Master Fernald went out from the hallway, in what he evidently +believed was the most approved detective fashion of walking, and, as +Plums confidentially told Joe later, "he acted like he was a +jumpin'-jack, with some one pullin' the string mighty hard." + +The two went slowly up the street, one on either side, and such of the +citizens of Weehawken who saw them were mystified by their singular +method of proceeding. + +Dan quieted down somewhat after half an hour had passed, for no slight +amount of labour was required to continue the supposed detective manner +of walking, and, before arriving at the house where Joe had taken +refuge, he behaved very nearly like other and more sensible boys. + +"No, I won't go in," he said, decidedly, when Plums proposed that he +call upon the old lady. "You don't catch me showin' myself 'round this +place any more'n I can help, 'cause there's no tellin' when the perlice +will be here askin' questions, an' I'm goin' to steer clear of trouble." + +"Shall I tell Joe to come out?" Plums asked, timidly, for Dan's superior +wisdom awed him. + +"Of course, else how can I see him? Don't let that kid tag on behind, +for it's mighty dangerous to be on the street with her. That +advertisement about you had in it that you was last seen with a little +girl." + +Master Plummer entered the dwelling, and Dan paced to and fro on the +sidewalk, with a consequential air, until Joe appeared. + +"Why don't you come in?" the latter asked. "Mrs. Weber--that's the name +of the lady who owns the house--is mighty nice, even if you can't talk +to her." + +"I ain't so foolish as to show myself in such places, an' you ought'er +let your head be cut off before takin' all these chances." + +"But we couldn't keep the princess out-of-doors from mornin' till night, +an'--" + +"That's what's makin' all the trouble, Joe Potter. If you hadn't brought +the kid along we'd get through this scrape in good style." + +"But I couldn't have left her in Plums's shanty alone." + +"It was a fool business pickin' her up in the first place, 'cause if you +never'd done it, them lawyers couldn't say you had a kid with you. +That's the very best way they have to let folks know who you are. +Anyhow, you've got to give her the dead shake now, if you want me to +keep hold of this case." + +"Then I'll have to get along the best I can without you, for I won't run +away from a poor little baby, who counts on my findin' her folks." + +Joe spoke so decidedly that the amateur detective understood he could +not easily be turned from his purpose, and Master Fernald was +astonished. He had supposed that his threat to "drop the case" would +have reduced the unfortunate merchant to submission, and it seemed +little less than madness for Joe and Plums to continue the flight +without the guiding hand of one so wise as himself. + +"Of course, if you don't want me, that settles it," he said, sulkily. "I +ain't throwin' my time away when folks had rather I wasn't 'round; but +you'll get into a heap of trouble without somebody what knows the ropes, +to steer you." + +"I would like to have you with us, Dan; but I won't leave that poor +little princess when she needs me so much." + +"But how you goin' to fix it nights? We've got to sleep outdoors mostly +all the time, an' she'd soon get wore up with that kind of knockin' +'round." + +"Why must we sleep outdoors?" + +Dan explained that the search for the supposed criminal was to be +prosecuted with such vigour that even Master Plummer was included in the +advertisements, which piece of news both alarmed and mystified Joe. + +"What are they after him for? Does anybody claim he's been goin' +crooked?" + +"I s'pose it's 'cause he let you sleep in his shanty. You see, Joe, the +lawyers are bound to nab you if the thing can be done, an' you've got to +give up sleepin' in houses. It might work once or twice; but you'd be +sure to run across somebody what had read the papers, an' then you'd +find yourself an' the princess in jail mighty quick. The evenin' papers +said a large reward would be paid, an' perhaps, by mornin', they'll +raise the price to as much as ten dollars." + +It can well be understood how disturbed in mind Joe was at learning that +his enemies were so eager to capture him; but yet he had no intention of +abandoning the princess, until Plums made a suggestion which seemed like +an exceedingly happy one. + +"Why not pay old Mis' Weber somethin' to take care of her for two or +three days?" he asked. "The little thing would get along a good deal +better with a woman, an' we can sneak back here once in awhile to make +certain she's all right. I don't believe them lawyers will spend very +much more money huntin' for us, 'cause we ain't worth it, no matter what +we've done." + +"That's the very best snap you could fix up!" Dan cried, approvingly. +"I'd been thinkin' of somethin' like that myself; but didn't have time +to tell you about it. I've got more'n two dollars that I borrowed to +help you fellers through with this scrape, an' that ought'er be a good +deal more'n enough to keep her till we can earn more." + +Joe understood that it would be to the princess's advantage if he left +her with the kind old German lady, and at once decided in favour of the +plan. + +Never for a moment did he fancy they might be as safe in this house as +anywhere else, but firmly believed a continuation of the flight was +absolutely necessary, as Dan had announced. + +"I'll see what Mis' Weber says about it, an' if she's willin', we'll go +right away." + +"Don't stay in there all night chinnin', 'cause it's mighty dangerous +for us to be hangin' 'round here," Dan called after him as he entered +the dwelling, and Joe hastened the matter as much as possible. + +The princess was in bed sleeping quietly, and looking, as Plums +expressed it, "fit to eat." Mrs. Weber's grandson was ready to act as +interpreter, and in a few moments Joe had made the proposition. + +The good woman asked no questions concerning the parents of the child it +was proposed she should keep, and her silence on this point may have +been due to the fact that, even with her grandson's aid, it was +difficult to understand all the boys said. + +She was willing to take the princess for a week, but not longer, and +decided that one dollar would repay her for the labour. + +"Tell your grandmother we'll make the trade," Joe said, quickly, +delighted because the sum named was so much less than he expected. "I'll +be back here in two days at the longest, an' she's to take the very best +care of the little thing." + +"Granny would be kind even to a mouse," Master Weber replied, with an +air of pride, and Joe added, promptly: + +"I ought'er know as much by this time, an' if I didn't, the princess +wouldn't be left with her. That poor little swell hasn't got anybody to +look out for her but me, till we find her folks, an' I ain't takin' +chances of her comin' to harm. Here's the dollar, an' you tell your +granny I'll be back by the day after to-morrer if all the cops in New +York are close after me." + +The little German boy looked up in perplexity, for he failed to +understand the greater portion of what Joe had said, and the latter was +in too great a hurry to heed the fact. + +A shrill whistle from the outside told that detective Dan was growing +impatient, and Joe started towards the door, after seeing the old lady +take the money; but halted an instant later. + +"Is there something more you want granny to do?" the German boy asked, +and Joe was at a loss for a reply. + +"I was thinkin', perhaps,--if, course, it wouldn't make any difference +to your granny,--say, I'm goin' to sneak in an' kiss the princess!" + +The boy nodded carelessly, but Joe made no effort to carry his threat +into execution. + +Again the amateur detective whistled, and Master Potter stepped towards +the bedroom door, but halted before gaining it. + +"Perhaps her folks wouldn't want a duffer like me doin' anything of that +kind," he muttered, and straightway walked out of the house as rapidly +as his legs would carry him, much as if he feared to remain longer lest +the temptation should be too great to resist. + +"It begun to look as if you was goin' to stay all night," Dan said, +petulantly, when Joe appeared. "There's more'n a hundred people walked +past here, an' I'll bet some of 'em was huntin' for us; we've got to get +out of this place mighty lively, if you don't want to be chucked into +jail." + +Plums looked so thoroughly terrified that Joe at once understood the +amateur detective had been frightening him by picturing improbable +dangers, and said, almost sharply: + +"There's no use makin' this thing any worse than it really is." + +"That can't be done, Joe Potter. You're in an awful scrape, an' don't +seem to know it." + +"I wish I'd stood right up like a man till I'd found the princess's +folks, an' then gone to jail, if the lawyers are so set on puttin' me +there." + +"What's comin' over you now?" + +"I'm thinkin' of that poor little swell we've brought out here." + +"She's a good deal better off than if you let her tag along behind." + +"That may be; but I ought'er found her folks instead of runnin' away." + +"Now, see here, Joe Potter, you're makin' a fool of yourself, an' all +about a kid what's goin' to have a soft snap while she stays here. Of +course if you want to be put into jail for two or three years, I won't +say another word, an' you can rush right straight back to the city." + +"Don't stand here talkin'!" Plums cried, in an agony of apprehension. +"We've got to leave, else nobody knows what may happen!" + +Dan seized Joe by the arm, literally forcing him onward, and the two who +were ignorant of having committed any crime continued the flight from +the officers of the law. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +AUNT DORCAS. + + +When the three had set out from Mrs. Weber's home, the amateur detective +announced that no halt would be made until sunrise. + +Joe, whose thoughts were with the princess, gave little heed to this +statement, if, indeed, he understood it, and Master Plummer had been so +terrified by Dan's positive assertion regarding the possibility of an +immediate arrest that he had failed to realise the labour which would be +required in thus prolonging the flight. + +Before an hour passed, however, even the detective himself began to +think he might have made a rash statement, and Plums, unaccustomed to +such violent exercise, was well-nigh exhausted. + +By this time Joe had come to understand what might be the result if +Dan's advice was followed implicitly, and this, together with the +knowledge that each moment he was increasing the distance between +himself and the princess, served to make him reckless. + +"Look here, Dan Fernald," he said, coming to a second halt. "Let's talk +over this thing before we go any further." + +"Perhaps you think we can afford to loaf 'round here," the amateur +detective said, sternly. "If you fellers want to keep your noses out of +jail, you'd best hump yourselves till daylight, an', even then, we won't +be far enough away." + +"We're jest as far now as I'm goin'," and there was that in Joe's voice +which told his companion that he would not be persuaded into changing +his mind. + +"What?" Dan screamed. + +"That's all there is to it. I'll stop here, an' you fellers can keep on +if you like." + +"But, Joe, if there was woods somewhere near I wouldn't say a word. How +can you hide where there's so many houses close 'round?" + +"I don't count on hidin', 'cause I can't afford it. Even if them lawyers +get hold of me to-morrer mornin', I'm goin' to stop here." + +"Right here in the road?" Plums asked, with less anxiety than he would +have shown an hour before, when he was not so tired. + +"Well, I don't mean to say I'll camp down in the road. But you fellers +listen to me. If the detectives are out after us, an' I s'pose, of +course, they are, we sha'n't be any safer twenty miles away than in this +very spot. We've got to stop sometime, an' it may as well be now. I +promised to go back to see the princess in two days, an' I'll keep my +word." + +"But where'll you stay all that time?" Dan asked, as if believing this +was a question which could not be satisfactorily answered. + +"I don't know yet; but I'm thinkin' of goin' up to that house," and Joe +pointed to a tiny cottage, which in the gloom could be but dimly seen +amid a clump of trees. "There's a light in the window, so of course the +folks are awake. I'll ask 'em if they haven't got work enough about the +place sich as I could do to pay my board over one day, an' if they say +no, I'll try at the next house." + +"You might as well go right into jail as do a thing like that," Dan +said, angrily. + +"I ain't so sure but it would have been a good deal better if I had, for +by this time the princess would be with her folks, where she belongs." + +"It seems to me you're terribly stuck on that kid." + +"Well, what if I am!" and Joe spoke so sharply that Master Fernald did +not think it wise to make any reply. + +During fully a moment the three stood silently in the road looking at +each other, and then Joe asked of Master Plummer: + +"Will you come with me?" + +The possibility of resting his tired limbs in a regular bed appealed +strongly to the fat boy, and, understanding that he was about to agree +to Joe's proposition, Dan said, gloomily: + +"This is what a feller gets for tryin' to help you two out of a scrape. +I've kept the detectives away so far, an' now you're goin' to give me +the dead shake." + +"There's no reason why you couldn't stay with us--" + +"You won't catch me in a house for another month, anyhow." + +[Illustration: "JOE POINTED TO A TINY COTTAGE."] + +The argument which followed this announcement was not long, but +spirited. + +Joe explained that it was his intention to remain in that vicinity, and +within forty-eight hours to return to Weehawken, according to the +promise he had made Mrs. Weber. + +Dan continued to insist that it was in the highest degree dangerous to +loiter there, and professed to believe himself deeply injured, because, +after having "taken up the case" in such an energetic fashion, he was +probably in danger of arrest through having aided these two supposed +criminals. + +Master Plummer had but little to say; the thought of walking all night +was nearly as painful as that of being imprisoned, and he was willing to +throw all the responsibility of a decision upon his friend. + +Before ten minutes had passed, the matter was settled,--not +satisfactorily to all concerned, but as nearly so as could have been +expected. + +Joe and Plums were to call at the cottage with the hope of finding +temporary employment, and the amateur detective was to conceal himself +in the vicinity as best he might, until he should be able to learn +something definite regarding the purpose of the lawyers who had +advertised. + +When Joe, followed by Master Plummer, turned from the highway into the +lane which led to the cottage, the amateur detective scrambled over the +fence on the opposite side of the road, and scurried through the field +as if believing he was hotly pursued. + +Not until they had arrived nearly at the house did Master Plummer make +any remark, and then he said, with a long-drawn sigh: + +"Dan Fernald makes too much work out of his detective business to suit +me. I couldn't walk all night if it was to save me life." + +"I don't believe there's any reason why we should, Plums. Because Dan +thinks the cops have followed us over to Weehawken doesn't make it so, +an' if we can't hide here, we can't anywhere, 'cordin' to my way of +thinkin'. Besides, it wouldn't be fair to go off so far that we can't +get back to the princess." + +Then Joe advanced to the side door, and knocked gently, Plums +whispering, hoarsely, meanwhile: + +"Be ready to skip, if you hear a dog. I've been told that folks out this +way keep reg'lar bloodhounds to scare away tramps." + +"I ain't 'fraid of dogs as much as I am that the man who lives here will +run us off the place the first minute he sees our faces," Joe replied, +and at that instant the door was opened. + +Holding a lamp high above her head, and peering out into the gloom as if +suffering from some defect of vision, stood a little woman, not very +much taller than Joe, whose wrinkled face told she had passed what is +termed the "middle age" of life. + +Joe's surprise at seeing this tiny lady, when he had expected to be +confronted by a man, prevented him from speaking at once, and the small +woman asked, with mild curiosity: + +"Whose children are you?" + +This was a question Joe was not prepared to answer, and he stammered and +stuttered before being able to say: + +"I don't know as we're anybody's, ma'am. You see we ain't got any place +to stop in for a day or two, an' thought perhaps a farmer lived here +what would have work we could do to pay for our board." + +"Are you hungry, child?" the small woman asked, quickly, and, as it +seemed to Joe, anxiously. + +"Not very much now, 'cause we've had a good supper; but we will be in +the mornin', you know." + +And Master Plummer interrupted, as he pinched his companion's arm to +reduce him to silence: + +"We've been walkin' a good while since then, an' it seems like I was +most starved." + +"You poor child! Come right into the house, an' it'll be strange if I +can't find something to eat; though, to tell the truth, I didn't have +real good luck with this week's batch of bread; but if custard pie--" + +"_If_ custard pie!" Master Plummer cried, ecstatically. "Why, I'd be +fixed great if I could have some!" + +He was following the small woman as he spoke, and, after closing and +barring the outer door, the hostess ushered them into such a kitchen as +they had never seen before. + +A spacious room, in which it seemed as if a hundred persons might have +found ample elbow-room, with a yellow, painted floor, on which not a +grain of dirt could be seen, and with numerous odd, stiff-looking +chairs ranged around the sides at regular intervals. At one end an +enormous fireplace, in front of which was a cook-stove actually +glittering with polish, and on the mantel behind it an array of shining +tins. + +As seen from the road, in the gloom, the cottage had not appeared even +as large as this kitchen, and because of such fact the boys were more +surprised than they otherwise would have been. + +Once in the room, where everything was so cleanly that, as Master +Plummer afterwards expressed it, "it come near givin' him a pain," the +boys stood awkwardly near the door, uncertain as to what might be +expected of them. + +"You can sit right here while I get you something to eat," and the +hostess placed two chairs in front of a small table in one corner of the +room. + +Master Plummer advanced eagerly, thinking only of the pleasure which was +about to be his, when the small lady exclaimed, as if in alarm: + +"Mercy on us, child! You're tracking dust all over the floor. Go right +back into the entry, and wipe your feet." + +Plums failed to see that he had soiled the floor to any extent, but both +he and Joe obeyed the command instantly, and while they were engaged in +what seemed to them useless labour, the small woman wiped carefully, +with a damp cloth, the dusty imprints of their shoes from the floor. + +"I never had any experience in my own family with boys," the +odd-looking little woman said, half to herself, "and perhaps that's why +I don't understand 'em any better; but I never could make out why they +should be so reckless with dirt." + +"I didn't think my shoes were so dusty when I come in, else I'd taken +them off," Joe said, apologetically. "You see, ma'am, we never saw a +floor as clean as this one." + +This compliment was evidently pleasing, for the small woman looked up +kindly at her guests, and said, in a friendly tone: + +"Don't call me 'ma'am,' child. I've been 'aunt Dorcas' to all the +children in this neighbourhood ever since I can remember, and anything +else doesn't sound natural." + +"Do you want us to call you 'aunt Dorcas'?" Joe asked, in surprise, and +Plums winked gravely at his companion. + +"Of course I do. Now, if your feet are clean, sit down, and I'll get the +pie." + +The boys tiptoed their way to the table, as if by such method they would +be less liable to soil the floor, and aunt Dorcas, taking the lamp with +her, disappeared through a door which evidently led to the cellar, +leaving them in the darkness. + +"Say, ain't this the greatest snap you ever struck?" Plums whispered. +"I'll bet aunt Dorcas is a dandy, an' if Dan Fernald knew what he's +missin', he'd jest about kick hisself black an' blue." + +Master Plummer was still better satisfied with the situation when their +hostess returned with a large custard pie, which she placed on the +table, and immediately afterwards disappeared within the cellar-way +again. + +"She's gone for more stuff!" Plums said, in a tone of delight. "If there +ain't too much work to be done 'round this place, I'd like to stay here +a year." + +[Illustration: "SHE HAD A PLATE HEAPED HIGH WITH COOKIES."] + +When aunt Dorcas entered the kitchen again, she had a plate heaped high +with cookies, on the top of which were three generous slices of cheese. + +This collection was placed by the side of the pie; the odd little woman +brought plates, knives, and forks, and two napkins from the pantry, +and, having arranged everything in proper order, said, as she stood +facing the boys, with her head slightly inclined to one side, until to +Joe she presented much the appearance of a sparrow: + +"If you can eat all there is here, I'll bring more, an' willingly. +Afterwards, we will talk about what is to be done for the night." + +"I can eat an' talk, too, jest as well as not," Plums said, as he drew +the pie towards him. + +Perhaps aunt Dorcas thought he intended to appropriate the whole to +himself, for she hurriedly cut it into four pieces, one of which she +placed on his plate. + +From Plums's manner of beginning the feast, there was good reason to +believe he had told the truth when he said he was starving, and, as she +watched him, an expression of deepest sympathy came over aunt Dorcas's +face. + +"It's too bad I haven't some meat to give you, child, for you must be +famishing." + +"I'd rather have this," Plums replied, speaking with difficulty, because +of the fullness of his mouth, and it appeared to his hostess as if he +had no sooner begun on a quarter of the pie than it disappeared. + +She gave the fat boy another section of the yellow dainty, watching him +like one fascinated, as he devoured it. Then Plums began an onslaught on +the cookies, after casting a wistful glance at the remaining quarter of +the pie. + +Joe was ashamed because his companion ate so greedily, and kicked him, +under the table, as a warning that he restrain his appetite; but Master +Plummer failed to understand the signal, and ate all the more greedily, +because he believed Joe thought it time to bring the feast to a close. + +"You mustn't think anything of his stuffin' hisself like this, ma'am,--I +mean, aunt Dorcas," Joe said, apologetically. "Plums always was the +biggest eater in New York, an' I guess he always will be." + +"What did you call him?" aunt Dorcas asked. + +"Plums was what I said. That ain't exactly his name, but it comes mighty +near to it. George H. Plummer is what he calls hisself when he wants to +be swell." + +"I think 'George' sounds much better than 'Plums,'" aunt Dorcas said, +thoughtfully. + +"Perhaps it does; but it don't fit him half so well." + +Meanwhile, the subject of this conversation was industriously engaged +devouring the cookies, and one would have said that he had no interest +in anything else. + +Aunt Dorcas stood looking questioningly at Joe, and, thinking he +understood that which was in her mind, he said: + +"My name is Joe Potter. I used to keep a fruit-stand down on West +Street, in New York, till I busted up, an' then I found the princess, +but--" + +Joe checked himself in time to preserve his secret. An instant later he +wished he had explained to aunt Dorcas why he was there, because of the +sympathy he read in her face. + +The little woman waited a few seconds for him to continue, but, since +he remained silent, she asked, with mild curiosity: + +"Who is the princess?" + +"She's a swell little girl what's lost her folks, an' I'm takin' care of +her for a spell. Say, ma'am,--I mean, aunt Dorcas,--is there any work +Plums an' I can do to pay for a chance of stoppin' here over to-morrow?" + +"I suppose I might find enough, Joseph, for there's always plenty to be +done around a place, no matter how small it is; but I'm not certain +you'd be strong enough to spade up the garden, and clear the drain, even +if you knew how. They say city boys are dreadful unhandy when it comes +to outdoor work." + +"Jest you try us an' see!" Joe cried, with animation. "We ain't sich +chumps but that we know how to do most anything, after we've studied +over it a spell. Will you let us stay if we do work enough?" + +"I surely ought to be willing to do that much for my fellow creatures, +Joseph, even though I get nothing in return; but I can't say it won't be +a trial for me to have two boys around the house after I've lived alone +so long. Martha, Mary, and I took care of this place, with the help of a +man in summer, a good many years after our parents died, and I suppose +we got fussy and old-maidish-like in our ways," aunt Dorcas said, +growing reminiscent. "Martha went home to heaven seven years ago in +September, and Mary followed her the next January. Since then I've been +alone, and it stands to reason I'm more old-maidish than ever; but I +hope I could keep two homeless boys twenty-four hours without +fretting." + +Then aunt Dorcas crossed the room to the mantel, in order to light +another lamp, and Plums whispered, hoarsely: + +"Say, Joe, what do you s'pose she put this clean towel here for? I've +got custard on it, an' I'm afraid that'll make her mad." + +Joe unfolded his napkin inquisitively, and looked at it an instant +before he understood for what purpose it must have been intended. + +Then, his cheeks reddening, he replied, in a low tone: + +"She must have counted on our bein' willin' to wash our faces, but +didn't want to say so right out, so put the towels here to remind us, +an' I'm as ashamed as I can be 'cause I didn't think of it before." + +The meal had come to an end, for the very good reason that there was +nothing more on the table to be eaten. + +While aunt Dorcas was talking with Joe, Plums had slyly taken the last +remaining section of pie, having previously devoured the cookies and +cheese, and, with a long-drawn sigh of content, he replied to his +friend's remark by saying: + +"I guess I couldn't eat any more if I'd washed my face a dozen times, so +it don't make much difference." + +Joe arose from the table, and seated himself in one of the chairs which +were ranged precisely against the wall, Master Plummer following his +example. + +Aunt Dorcas, having lighted the second lamp, said: + +"I'll leave you boys here alone while I attend to making up a bed. You +could sleep in the spare-room, I suppose; but my best sheets are there, +and I don't just like to--Why, you didn't use the napkins!" + +Joe's face was of a deep crimson hue, as he replied: + +"If I'd seen any soap an' water I'd known what they meant; but it's been +so long since I was in a reg'lar house that I've kind'er forgot how to +behave." + +Aunt Dorcas turned away quickly, and when she had left the room Plums +said, as he unbent from the awkward position he had at first assumed in +the straight chair: + +"Dan Fernald ain't in this! He may be a mighty big detective, but he +slips up when it comes to hustlin' for these kind of snaps!" + +"Aunt Dorcas is nice, ain't she?" + +"She's a corker!" + +"If the princess was only here we'd be jest about as snug as any two +fellers that could be found in this world." + +"I'm going to give you the chamber over the kitchen; it is clean and +comfortable, but, of course, not as nice as the spare-room," aunt Dorcas +said, as she entered suddenly, causing Master Plummer to instantly +assume a less negligent attitude. + +"Plums an' me ain't slept in a reg'lar bed for so long that a blanket +spread out on the floor would seem mighty good to us," Joe replied, and +the little woman held up both hands in astonishment. + +"Haven't slept in a bed! Well, I've heard of the heathen in our midst, +but never believed I'd be brought in contact with them. How did +you--But, there, I won't ask questions to-night, when I know you must +be tired. We'll read a chapter, and then you can go to bed. I will wash +the dishes afterwards." + +Reverentially the little woman took a well-worn Bible from the small +table beneath one of the windows, and while the two boys who were +fleeing from the officers of the law, as they believed, gazed at her in +wonderment and surprise, but not understanding that which they heard, +she read one of the psalms. + +Then kneeling, she prayed in simple language which reached their hearts, +for the homeless ones within her gates. + +Joe's eyes were moist when she rose to her feet, and Plums whispered, in +a voice choked with emotion: + +"She's a daisy, that's what's the matter with her!" + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +A HUNGRY DETECTIVE. + + +When aunt Dorcas had ushered the boys into the "room over the kitchen," +and left them with a kindly "good night," they gazed around in such +astonishment as can best be depicted by Master Plummer's emphatic remark +shortly after the little woman went down-stairs. + +"I've always thought swells had a pretty soft snap when they went to +bed; but I never counted on its bein' anything like this. Do you s'pose +she means for us to get right into that bed, an' muss it all up?" + +Joe did not reply for several seconds, and then said, doubtfully: + +"It seems as if that's what she must have meant, else why did she tell +about her best sheets bein' in the other room? I thought the old German +woman's house was mighty nice; but it wasn't a marker 'longside of this. +If the princess was only here!" + +"You can bet I don't bother my head 'bout no princesses when I've got a +chance to crawl into that nest. I almost wish now I'd had sense enough +to use one of them towels we had on the table, 'cause my hands look +pretty dirty when you get 'em side of that sheet." + +"Well, see this, Plums! If you'll believe it, here's a pitcher full of +water, an' soap, an' everything! Let's wash up now, will you?" + +Ordinarily, Master Plummer would have met this suggestion with a decided +refusal; but, being surrounded as he was by so much luxury, it seemed +necessary he should do something in the way of celebrating. + +It was not a very careful toilet which Plums made on this night, for he +was in too great a hurry to get between the lavender-scented sheets to +admit of spending much time on such needless work as washing his hands +and face; but he was more cleanly, and perhaps felt in a better +condition to enjoy the unusual luxury. + +"Say, Joe, it's a mighty big pity we've got to go to sleep." + +"Why?" + +"'Cause we ought'er keep awake jest to know how much swellin' we're +doin'. I stopped at a Chatham Street lodgin'-house one night, when I was +feelin' kind of rich, an' thought the bed there was great; but it wasn't +a marker 'longside of this one. I shouldn't wonder if there were +feathers in it." + +Joe was quite as well pleased with the surroundings as was his +companion; but he said less on the subject because his mind was fully +occupied with thoughts of the princess,--sad thoughts they were, for he +was beginning to believe he had been wickedly selfish in taking her away +from the place where her parents might have been found, simply to save +himself from arrest. + +He fell asleep, however, quite as soon as did the boy on whose +conscience there was no burden, and neither of the fugitives were +conscious of anything more until aroused by a gentle tapping on the +chamber door, to hear aunt Dorcas say: + +"It's five o'clock, children, and time all honest people were out of +bed." + +"We're gettin' up now," Joe cried, and he was on his feet in an instant; +but Master Plummer lazily turned himself in the rest-inviting bed, as he +muttered: + +"I don't see how it makes a feller honest to get up in the night when +he's out in the country where he hasn't got to go for the mornin' +papers, an' I guess I'll stay here a spell longer." + +"You won't do anything of the kind," and Joe pulled the fat boy out of +bed so quickly that he had no time for resistance. + +It was seldom Plums lost his temper; but now he was on the verge of +doing so because of having been thus forcibly taken from the most +comfortable resting-place he had ever known. + +"Now, don't get on your ear," Joe said, soothingly. "Aunt Dorcas has +told us to get up, an' that settles it. We're bound to do jest as she +says, 'cause all these things are hers. It won't pay to turn rusty, +Plums, else we may find ourselves fired out before breakfast, an' I +_would_ like to stay till to-morrow." + +"Don't you want to stop any longer than that?" and Master Plummer began +hurriedly to dress himself. + +"'Course I'd like to; but you see I've got to go back to the old German +lady's in the mornin'." + +"What good will that do? It ain't likely you can bring the princess +here." + +"I know that as well as you do; but I promised to be there in two days, +an' I'm goin', so we won't have any talk about it." + +Five minutes later, aunt Dorcas's guests were in the kitchen, where the +little woman was preparing a most appetising breakfast, and he would +have been a dull boy who did not understand that she must have been up +at least two hours before arousing her visitors. + +"It ain't right for you to wait on us jest like we was reg'lar folks, +an' we ain't used to it," Joe said, in a tone of mild reproof. "Anything +would have been good enough for us to eat, without your gettin' up so +early an' workin' hard to cook it." + +"Bless your heart, Joseph, I'm doing no more than if I was alone, except +perhaps there may be more victuals on the table. My appetite isn't as +hearty as it used to be; but I've got a pretty good idea how it is with +growing boys." + +"You're mighty good to us, aunt Dorcas, an' I'll feel a heap better if +you'll give me some work to do before breakfast." + +"I might have let you bring in the wood, if I'd thought; but I'm so +accustomed to doing such things for myself that it never came into my +mind. I wonder if you could split up a few kindlings? That is the most +trying part of keeping house alone, for whenever I strike a piece of +wood with an axe I never know whether it's going to break, or fly up and +hit me in the face." + +"Of course we can do it. Where's the axe?" + +Aunt Dorcas led the way to the shed, where was her summer's store of +wood, and before she returned to the kitchen Joe was causing the chips +to fly in a way which made the little woman's heart glad. + +"It does me good to see you work, Joseph. I have always lived in mortal +terror of an axe; but you seem to know how to use one." + +Joe earned his breakfast that morning fairly, and Plums appeared to +think he had done his full share by sitting on the saw-horse, watching +his comrade. + +Then came the summons to breakfast, and Master Plummer was eyeing +greedily a particularly large roasted potato, which he intended to take +from the plate, if an opportunity presented itself, when aunt Dorcas +suddenly bent her head, and invoked a blessing on the food. + +Plums kicked Joe, under the table, to express his surprise at this, to +him, singular proceeding, but, otherwise, behaved in a proper manner. + +The meal was prolonged because of the fat boy's hearty appetite, and, +when it was finally brought to a close, Joe said, as he rose from the +table: + +"Now, aunt Dorcas, if you'll show us something more to do I'll be glad, +'cause we've got to pay for what we've had, else it won't be a fair +shake." + +"You boys may go out and look around the place until I do the dishes, +and then we will see what I am to set you about." + +This was so nearly a request for them to leave the kitchen, that they +lost no time in obeying, and when they were in the open air Master +Plummer said, with an air of perplexity: + +"She's a mighty fine woman, an' all that kind of thing; but I'd like to +know what she's hintin' at by leavin' them towels on the table; they was +both there jest the same's last night, even though she must have known +that we was washed up in great shape." + +"I noticed 'em, but don't believe there's anything out of the way about +it. She's kind of funny, an' perhaps that's one of her queer spots." + +Aunt Dorcas's property was not extensive, as the boys learned after +walking over it. + +There was an orchard either side of the lane which led from the highway, +and, in the rear of the house, an acre of ground, which had been +cultivated at some time in the past. + +The buildings consisted of the cottage itself, the wood-shed, a second +shed which might once have been used as a carriage-house, and a small +barn or stable. + +By the time they had concluded their investigations, aunt Dorcas joined +them, and said, with an odd smile on her withered face: + +"It isn't much of a farm, as farms go nowadays, boys, but it's my home, +and very dear to me. Mr. McArthur, one of the neighbours, cuts the grass +in the orchards, and pays me a little something for it. I usually have a +garden out here; but this year it was neglected, until now it seems too +late for early vegetables." + +"It wouldn't take us long to chuck in a pile of seeds, if that's all +you want," and one to have seen Master Plummer, at that moment, would +have believed him the most energetic of boys. + +After aunt Dorcas explained that it would be necessary to spade up the +ground, Plums's enthusiasm for gardening diminished; but Joe begged for +the privilege of showing what he could do, and the little woman supplied +them with such tools as she thought necessary. + +"If you want to know about anything, come right up to the house. It is +baking-day with me, and I shall be busy in the kitchen until +dinner-time." + +Then she left them, and Plums seated himself within the shadow of the +barn, explaining, as he did so, that perhaps it would be better if he +"kinder got the hang of the thing by seein' Joe work." + +Eager to repay aunt Dorcas for her kindness, Joe Potter laboured +industriously, despite the blisters which soon appeared on his hands, +for half an hour or more, and then the two boys were startled by a +warning hiss, which apparently came from one end of the barn. + +"There must be snakes 'round here!" and Plums sprang to his feet, in +alarm. "Jim Flannigan says they always hiss like that before they bite." + +"Take hold of this spade for a little while, an' they won't bite you. It +seems to me I'm doin' all the work, an' I know you ate more'n your share +of the supper an' breakfast." + +The hissing noise was heard again, and, as the two gazed in the +direction from which it came, the head of Dan, the detective, appeared +from behind the barn. + +"What are you doin' there, tryin' to frighten us?" Plums asked, +indignantly. "Why didn't you come right up like a man? There's nobody +'round here but aunt Dorcas, an' she wouldn't hurt a fly." + +The amateur detective rose slowly to his feet, looking displeased. + +"You two are the most careless fellers I ever saw. Here's all the cops +in New York City out on your trail, an' you hollerin' fit to scare a +horse." + +"S'posin' we are?" and Master Plummer spoke boldly. "S'posin' the road +was full of perlicemen, how could they see us while we're behind this +barn?" + +"It don't make any difference whether they could or not. You've got to +mind your eye, if you want to keep out of jail, an' yellin' to me ain't +the way to do it. If the folks 'round here should know I was on this +case, jest as likely as not some of 'em would send word to the city, an' +then your game would be up." + +Plums had lost faith in Dan's detective ability, because of the fact +that the latter had failed to take advantage of the opportunity to spend +the night in aunt Dorcas's home, therefore he replied, boldly, to his +friend's reproof: + +"We're jest as safe here as we could be anywhere, an' I tell you what it +is, Dan, you ought'er seen the layout we had last night an' this +mornin'! Why, we slept in a bed that would make the tears come into your +eyes, it was so soft; an' talk 'bout spreads! You couldn't get a +breakfast down to McGinnis's restaurant, no matter how much you paid, +that would come up to what we had!" + +"Yes, you fellers are takin' all the chances, an' I'm pretty nigh +starved to death. I haven't had so much as a smell of anything since +yesterday noon." + +"You ought'er seen the custard pie aunt Dorcas put out before us last +night; thick as that!" and Plums measured on his finger the length of +three inches or more. "An' a crust that went to pieces in your mouth +like ice-cream." + +"If I had a cold boiled potato I'd be mighty glad." + +"We had a slat of hot roasted ones with nice butter on 'em, this +mornin'," Plums continued, as if it were his purpose to increase the +detective's hunger. + +"I'd give a dime for a sandwich," Dan wailed, and Master Plummer +described the fresh bread and sweet boiled ham with which aunt Dorcas +had regaled them. + +"Say, what's the use of tellin' 'bout what you've had, when I've been +fillin' up on wind? It only makes a feller feel worse. Why can't you +sneak in an' get something for me?" + +Plums hesitated, as if willing to act upon his friend's suggestion, when +Joe said, sharply: + +"Look here, Dan, I'm awful sorry if you're hungry; but Plums can't sneak +into aunt Dorcas's house an' get anything without her knowin' it, not +while I'm 'round. It seems kinder tough to ask her to put out more +stuff, after all we've had; but since you're starvin', we'll do it, an' +offer to pay for what you eat." + +"You mean to tell her I'm here?" + +"Of course. I wouldn't lie to her, not for any money." + +"Then I'll have to starve," Dan replied, angrily, "for I wouldn't let +anybody know I was here while I'm tryin' to keep you fellers out of +jail. But--" + +"Here comes aunt Dorcas now!" Plums exclaimed, as he turned towards the +house, and, in a twinkling, the amateur detective was screened from view +by the barn. + +"I thought you boys might be hungry, working so hard, and I brought out +this plate of fresh doughnuts," the little woman said, as she placed on +the grass a dish covered with a napkin. "Mr. McArthur always likes a +bite of something when he is here, and it will do you good. How well you +have gotten along! I wouldn't have thought you could have spaded up so +much in such a short time." + +Joe, feeling guilty, because he was keeping from aunt Dorcas the fact +that detective Dan was on the premises, was at a loss for a reply, but +Plums said, promptly: + +"We'll be glad of 'em, aunt Dorcas, 'cause we're kinder tired jest now," +and he would have begun to devour the doughnuts, but for a warning look +from his comrade. + +"You must eat them while they are hot," aunt Dorcas said, gravely, and +Joe promised to do so as soon as he had finished a certain amount of +work. + +Then the little woman went back to her cooking, and she had hardly +entered the dwelling before the amateur detective, with a hungry look in +his eyes, came out, hurriedly, from his hiding-place. + +"Now you've got somethin' to eat without our lyin' about it, so pitch in +before aunt Dorcas comes back." + +Dan did not need a second invitation, and an expression of deepest +regret came over Plums's face, as he watched the cakes disappear with +amazing rapidity. + +"I guess I can stand it, now, till night," the detective said, in a tone +of relief, as the meal was brought to a close, because all the food had +been eaten. + +"Are you countin' on stayin' 'round here?" Joe asked. + +"Of course I am. How else would you fellers get out of the scrape, if I +didn't?" + +"Now, look here, Dan, there's no sense in anything like that. You ain't +doin' any good, sneakin' 'round this house, 'cause, if the cops should +come, how could you prevent their luggin' us off?" + +"There's a good many ways that I might pull you through," Master Fernald +replied, with an air of mystery. "If you knew as much about this +business as I do, you'd be mighty glad to have me stay, 'specially when +it ain't costin' you a cent." + +"But I don't like to think of your bein' hungry, when it won't do the +least little bit of good. Take my advice, an' go right back to the +city." + +"If I should do that, it wouldn't be two hours before you'd be in jail." + +"We sha'n't go there any sooner if you leave us, an' it ain't jest +square to aunt Dorcas." + +"You can't give me points on detective business, Joe Potter, an' I've +told the fellers in town that I'll look out for you. That's what I'll +do, whether you like it or not," and, after assuring himself, by +stalking to and fro and gazing in every direction, that there were no +enemies in the immediate vicinity, the amateur detective disappeared +around the corner of the barn. + +"It's too bad for Dan to act the way he's doin'," Joe said, with a +long-drawn sigh. "I'm 'fraid, if aunt Dorcas gets a sight of him, we'll +have to clear out." + +"I don't s'pose it would do any good to ask her to let him bunk in with +us, would it?" Plums said, hesitatingly. + +"It would need big nerve, an', even if she was willin', he'd scare the +hair off her head talkin' 'bout lawyers an' detectives hoverin' 'round." + +Then Joe continued his interrupted work, and Plums assisted him by +looking on, until the task was completed after which it became necessary +to ask for further instructions. + +Although aunt Dorcas could not perform the labour herself, she knew how +gardening should be done, and under her directions, given during such +moments as she could safely leave the kitchen, the ground was prepared +in a proper manner by the time dinner had been made ready. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +A FUGITIVE. + + +Plums enjoyed his dinner quite as much as if he had performed his full +share of the gardening, and, when the meal was concluded, there came +into his mind the thought that aunt Dorcas Milford's home was a most +pleasant abiding-place. + +Even though he was, so to speak, in temporary exile, he was exceedingly +well content, save for the disagreeable fact that Joe had stated +positively he should go back to Weehawken on the following day. + +It seemed as if the thoughts of both the guests were running in the same +channel, for Joe, after gazing a moment at aunt Dorcas's placid face, +gave vent to a sigh of regret, and then looked out of the window, +abstractedly. + +"I s'pose we'd better get that garden planted this afternoon, if you've +got the seeds, aunt Dorcas, an' even then we sha'n't be payin' for what +we've had," Joe said, after a long pause, while the three yet remained +at the table. + +"Perhaps it will be as well to wait until to-morrow, and give the newly +turned earth a chance to get warm," the little woman said. + +"It seems as though we ought to do it to-day, if it would be jest as +well for the garden, 'cause we don't count on your keepin' us for ever; +an' after we leave here to-morrow it wouldn't be right to come back." + +"I did think boys would be a dreadful nuisance around the house," aunt +Dorcas began, as if speaking to herself, "but somehow I've felt real +contented-like while you've been here, and it's a deal more cheerful +with three at the table than to sit down alone." + +"It's the first time I was ever in a house like this," Joe added, in a +low tone. "It's awful nice, an' fellers what have a reg'lar home must be +mighty happy." + +"Where did you live in the city?" aunt Dorcas asked, after a pause. + +"I knocked 'round, mostly. Twice I've bunked with some other feller in a +room what we hired,--of course it wasn't anything like the one +up-stairs, but payin' so high for a bed was a little too rich for my +blood." + +"But you had to sleep somewhere," aunt Dorcas suggested, her eyes +opening wider, as she gained an insight into a phase of life which was +novel to her. + +The interest she displayed invited Joe's confidence, and he told her of +the life led by himself and his particular friends in a manner which +interested the little woman deeply. + +It was not a story related for the purpose of exciting sympathy, but a +plain recital of facts, around which was woven no romance to soften the +hardships, and there were tears in aunt Dorcas's faded eyes when the boy +concluded. + +"It seems wicked for me to be living alone in this house, when there are +human beings close at hand who haven't a roof to shelter them," the +little woman said, softly. "Why don't boys like you go out to the +country to work, instead of staying in the city, where you can hardly +keep soul and body together?" + +"We couldn't do even that, if we turned farmers," Master Plummer +replied, quickly. "Nobody'd hire us." + +"Why not?" + +"I know of a feller what tried to get a job on a farm, an' he hung +'round the markets, askin' every man he met, but all of 'em told him +city boys was no good,--that it would take too long to break 'em in." + +"But what's to prevent your getting a chance to work in a store, where +you could earn enough to pay your board?" + +"I had a notion last year that I'd try that kind of work," Plums said, +slowly, "an' looked about a good bit for a job; but the fellers what +have got homes an' good clothes pick up them snaps, as I soon found out. +It seems like when you get into the business of sellin' papers, or +shinin', you can't do anything else." + +"Selling papers, or what?" aunt Dorcas asked, with a perplexed +expression on her face. + +"Shinin'; that's blackin' boots, you know. Here's Joe, he scraped +together seven dollars an' eighty-three cents, an' said to hisself that +he'd be a howlin' swell, so what does he do but start a fruit-stand down +on West Street, hire a clerk, an' go into the business in style. It +didn't take him more'n two months to bust up, an' now he ain't got +enough even to start in on sellin' papers, 'cause he spent it all on the +princess." + +"Who is the princess?" aunt Dorcas asked, with animation. + +"She's a kid what he picked up on the street." + +"Oh!" and the little woman looked relieved. "I thought, last night, when +he spoke of the princess, that it was a child he meant." + +"Why, didn't I tell you it was?" + +"You said she was a kid." + +"So she is, an' ain't that a child, or the next thing to it,--a girl?" + +"Joseph, what does he mean? Who _is_ the princess?" + +"She's a little girl, aunt Dorcas, who's lost her folks, an' I found her +in the street. She hadn't anywhere to go, so I had to take care of her, +'cause a bit of a thing like her couldn't stay outdoors all night, +same's a boy." + +"And, even though having just failed in business, you took upon yourself +the care of a child?" + +"I couldn't do anything else, aunt Dorcas. There she was, an' somebody +had to do it." + +"You're a dear, good boy," and, leaning across the table, aunt Dorcas +patted one of Joe's hands, almost affectionately. "Where is the little +creature now?" + +"We hired an old German woman down in Weehawken to take care of her for +a week, an' paid a dollar. You see the fellers lent us some cash when we +came away." + +"But what made you leave, Joseph, if you were convinced it would be +impossible to earn any money in the country?" + +"You see, we had to, when--" + +Joe ceased speaking very suddenly. He could not bring himself to explain +to aunt Dorcas exactly why they had left New York, fearing lest she +would not believe him when he declared he was innocent of having +committed any crime, and it seemed to him it would be worse than any +ordinary lie to tell this kindly little woman that which was not +strictly true. + +He hesitated, made several vain attempts at an explanation, and finally +said, his cheeks reddening with shame: + +"I'd rather not tell you about that part of it, aunt Dorcas; but I +didn't do anything that wasn't jest straight, though all of 'em believe +I did." + +The little woman thought she understood something of the situation, and, +once more caressing Joe's hand, said, kindly: + +"I don't believe a boy who would try to help a child when he was in want +himself could do anything very wicked, Joseph. Sit right here while I do +the dishes, for that will give me a chance to think." + +Then aunt Dorcas set about her household duties, while the boys remained +at the table, Plums sitting in such a position that he could gaze +through the window which overlooked the lane. + +After five minutes or more had passed, during which time the silence had +been broken only by the rattling of dishes, aunt Dorcas asked, +abruptly: + +"If you paid the child's board for a week, why do you feel that you must +go there to-morrow?" + +"Because I promised Mis' Weber I'd come, an', besides, I want to make +certain the princess is all right." + +Aunt Dorcas gave her undivided attention to the dishes once more, and +Joe was looking straight before him, but without seeing anything, for +his thoughts were of the advertisements which had made him a wanderer, +when he became aware of the singular gestures in which Master Plummer +was indulging. + +It was some time before Joe understood that his comrade wanted him to +look out of the window, and when he did realise this fact sufficiently +to do as Plums wished, he saw that which disturbed him not a little. + +Dan was making his way up the lane from the road in the same ridiculous +fashion which he appeared to think necessary a detective should employ, +and Joe was positive aunt Dorcas would be seriously alarmed, if she saw +Master Fernald indulging in such antics. + +"Go out, Plums, an' make that bloomin' idjut keep away," he whispered to +his comrade. "I won't have him dancin' 'round here in that style, an' if +he does very much more of it I'll tell aunt Dorcas the whole story. I'd +rather be arrested ten times over than have her scared 'most to death." + +It was evident this was not a mission which pleased Master Plummer, for +he feared to incur the anger of one who professed to be so powerful, and +he asked, tremulously: + +"S'posin' he says the same thing he did this forenoon?" + +"Tell him to go back to the city, or I'll make it my business to send a +reg'lar detective here to fix things up." + +"If he gets mad, Joe, there's no knowin' what he might do." + +"He sha'n't stay 'round here, an' that settles it; tell him I said so, +an' I mean it." + +Plums stole softly out of the kitchen, but aunt Dorcas was so intent on +her thoughts that he might have made very much noise without attracting +her attention. + +Looking through the window, Joe could see Plums as he performed his +mission, and, judging from the gestures in which the amateur detective +indulged, it was quite evident he was displeased at receiving such a +command. + +After conversing together a short time, the two climbed over the fence, +and disappeared in the orchard, going, as Joe believed, towards the +barn. + +The threat had failed of immediate effect, and there came into Joe's +mind the thought that it was necessary he go out to make it more +emphatic, when aunt Dorcas, having finished the work in hand, seated +herself by the boy's side as if for a chat. + +"Where is George?" she asked, and Joe looked about him in astonishment, +not recognising the name for an instant. Then, finally understanding to +whom she referred, he explained that Plums had gone out for a few +moments, and proposed to summon him. + +"There is no need of that, for it is with you I want to talk. I've been +thinking about that little child, Joseph, and wondering what you could +do with her. You said the German woman had promised to keep her only a +week." + +"Yes, aunt Dorcas, and I was in hopes by that time I could go back to +New York." + +"What will you do to-morrow, after you have seen her?" + +"Jest hang 'round, I s'pose. I've got to go, 'cause I promised, an' +then, ag'in, it ain't right to leave the princess alone so long. I don't +know but what she's frettin'." + +"How old is she, Joseph?" + +"Not more'n six or seven years; but she can't talk." + +"Then she must be much younger than you think." + +"Well, perhaps she ain't more'n a year old; I don't know much about +kids, anyhow." + +"It seems as if my duty was plain in this case," aunt Dorcas said, +solemnly. "The little property I've got is enough to take care of me, +with economy; but surely a child wouldn't be very much expense, an' if +you'd do what you could towards helpin', I believe I'd say that she +might be brought here. It's a great responsibility; but if a woman like +me turns a deaf ear to such a story as you have told, it is almost a +crime. There's that poor child without father, or mother, or home, and I +have no right to fold my hands in idleness." + +Joe was about to explain that he hoped soon to find the princess's +parents, for aunt Dorcas's words sounded much as if she believed the +child to be an orphan; but, before he could speak, the little woman +said, emphatically: + +"You shall bring her here, Joseph, and I rely upon you to help me take +care of her." + +"Of course I'll promise that, aunt Dorcas, an' I'll do my best to find a +job somewhere near here, so I can come over evenings." + +"But I'm depending on your staying here, Joseph." + +"Do you mean for me to live in this house till I can go back to New +York?" and Joe looked bewildered. + +"Certainly; I shouldn't think of trying to take care of a child and do +my housework at the same time, even though there isn't a great deal to +be done. You see I'm not accustomed to children, an' wouldn't be as +handy as some other people." + +"But, aunt Dorcas, you can't afford to have two big chumps like Plums +an' me livin' on you." + +"We'll do all that lies in our power. If you and George are industrious, +you can do considerable gardening, and the vegetables you raise will go +a long ways towards our living." + +"You're awful good, aunt Dorcas,--you're the best woman I ever saw, an' +I wouldn't think of hangin' 'round here if I couldn't do somethin' +more'n run that little bit of a garden. Things will get straightened +out, after a spell, an' then I can go back to town, where I'm certain of +earnin' money." + +Again Joe was on the point of explaining that it was his duty to make +search for the princess's parents at the earliest possible moment, but +aunt Dorcas, fancying she understood the entire matter thoroughly, +checked him by saying: + +"We won't talk any more about it now, Joseph. Wait until the experiment +has been tried, and then we shall know better how to make our +arrangements. You're going to Weehawken in the morning?" + +"That's what I counted on." + +"But how can you get the child out here? It is three or four miles, +Joseph." + +"I'd walk twice that far, an' carry the princess all the way, for the +sake of havin' her where I am." + +Aunt Dorcas was not satisfied with this arrangement; but she could think +of nothing better just then, and appeared determined there should be no +further discussion on the subject. + +"We'll go into the garden and finish the task there. I don't suppose it +is anything more than one of Mr. McArthur's whims to let the upturned +ground remain twenty-four hours before putting the seed in; and even if +it is necessary, we can't afford to wait, because there won't be much +chance for such work after the baby is here." + +While she was speaking, the little woman had been putting on her +sunbonnet, and Joe was seriously alarmed. + +Unquestionably, detective Dan was in the vicinity of the garden, and, +not expecting aunt Dorcas to come out, neither he nor Plums would be on +the alert. + +Joe knew that if Dan was brought face to face with the little woman, +without an opportunity of escape, he would boldly declare himself a +detective, and this would be sufficient to cause her anxiety, if not +alarm, for she could hardly be expected to know that he was a detective +only in his own mind. + +"Let me go out and find Plums first," he said, hurriedly. "He ought'er +know what we're talkin' about, so if we don't get through with the work +to-night, he can finish it while I'm gone." + +Without waiting for her to reply, lest she should insist on going with +him, Joe ran out-of-doors, and, as he had expected, found Dan Fernald +and Plums behind the barn. + +"What did you come up here for, in the daytime, when anybody might have +seen you? I thought it wasn't safe to be hangin' 'round here." + +"Well, it ain't; but you don't s'pose I'm goin' to starve to death, do +you?" + +"Starve! Didn't you have somethin' to eat, this forenoon?" + +"How long do you think I can stand it on four doughnuts? Here are you +fellers livin' high, an' I'm goin' 'round jest about ready to die." + +"Well, that ain't our fault. I don't want to have a row with you, Dan, +'cause I s'pose you think you're helpin' us out. But I tell you you +ain't, an' carryin' on in this way only makes matters worse. Why can't +you go back to town an' leave us alone?" + +"Why can't I? 'Cause I promised the fellers I'd see you through, an' I'm +goin' to do it. Besides, by this time folks know I'm on the case, an' +would arrest me 'bout as quick as they would you." + +"Do you count on three of us livin' on one poor little old woman like +aunt Dorcas? Ain't you ashamed to hang 'round here when there's no need +of it, tryin' to make us steal something for you to eat?" + +"There's no reason for your stealin'. I've been thinkin' over what Plums +said 'bout that bed, an' the custard pie, an' I don't see why I +shouldn't get my share. You could tell her I am your pardner, an' in +hard luck." + +Now Joe was positively alarmed. If Master Fernald had made up his mind +that he desired to become an inmate of aunt Dorcas's family, he would +most likely do everything in his power to bring about such a result; and +the happiness which had been Joe's because the little woman had decided +to give the princess a temporary home, suddenly vanished. + +Rather than ask aunt Dorcas to support three boys, as well as a child, +he would go his way alone, after telling her exactly the truth of the +matter. + +"I'll loaf 'round here till 'long towards night, an' then I'll start up +to the house through the lane," Dan said, believing Joe did not dare +oppose him. "That'll give you a chance to tell her what hard luck I'm +in; an' lay it on as thick as you know how, so's she'll be willin' to +take me. Plum says this is about the softest snap he ever struck, an' I +want my share of it." + +Joe remained silent while one might have counted ten, trying to restrain +his anger, and then he said, quietly, but firmly: + +"Aunt Dorcas is too good a woman for us to beat in such a way as that, +an' I promise, Dan Fernald, that if you show your head on the lane +to-night, or try to come into the house, I'll first tell her the whole +thing, an' then go straight to the city. I ain't givin' you any fairy +story; I mean every word. There's no need of your starvin' 'round here, +'cause you can go back to town. The folks there don't think you're sich +an awful big detective that they're goin' to keep their eyes on you all +the time. I'll bet there ain't a single soul, except some of our crowd, +that know you've ever talked with us 'bout this." + +Dan looked at his friend in mute astonishment. It seemed to him the +height of ingratitude that Joe Potter should thus threaten, when he had +made so many sacrifices to aid him in escaping from the officers of the +law. + +More than all this was he hurt by the insinuation that his detective +ability was not of a high order, and in a very short time his +astonishment gave way to anger. + +"You can put on as many airs as you want to, Joe Potter, an' we'll see +whether I'm a detective or not. I went 'round among the fellers +borrowin' money, didn't make any account of my own time, an' walked 'way +out here, jest to help you. Now I'm goin' to do as much the other way, +an' we'll see what'll happen between now an' to-morrow night! You'll be +in jail, that's where you'll be, an' Plums with you!" + +"Here comes aunt Dorcas," Master Plummer whispered, hoarsely, and +instead of stalking away in a dignified fashion, as he had intended, the +amateur detective ran hurriedly around the corner of the barn to screen +himself from view of the little woman. + +"We're in an awful mess now," Plums whispered to Joe. "It's a good deal +worse than it was before, 'cause Dan will do everything he's threatened, +an' we can count on seein' as many as a dozen perlicemen here before +to-morrer night." + +Joe did not dare reply, for, by this time, aunt Dorcas was so near that +his words would have been overheard; but he appeared quite as disturbed +as did Master Plummer. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +THE JOURNEY. + + +Aunt Dorcas was so intent on the plans for the future which had just +been formed, that she failed to observe the constraint which had been +put upon the boys by her coming. + +There was in the little woman's mind only speculations concerning the +proposed addition to her family, which she believed, owing to the fact +that Joe had not had an opportunity of making the proper explanation, +would be permanent, and in connection with this was the making of the +garden. + +Therefore it was she set about directing the young workmen in her +customary manner, determined that no more time should be spent on the +task than was absolutely necessary. + +Aunt Dorcas had brought with her a small basket containing many tiny +packages, each neatly tied and labelled, and she had her own opinion as +to where the different kinds of seeds should be sown. + +"George, you make the hills for the potatoes, while Joseph and I plant +the sweet corn." + +It was necessary for her to speak twice before Master Plummer realised +she was addressing him, so unfamiliar did the name sound, and when he +finally became aware of the fact, he asked, in a careless tone, as if +planting potatoes were work with which he was thoroughly conversant: + +"How many hills do you want, aunt Dorcas, an' how big do they generally +run out this way?" + +"Put in four rows, and there is no need of making them very large until +after the plants are up." + +Then aunt Dorcas went with Joe to the opposite side of the garden, and, +intent on having the corn planted after a certain peculiar fashion of +her own, gave no heed to what Plums was doing, for ten minutes or more; +but when she did observe that young gentleman's method of working, a cry +of surprise and disapproval burst from her lips. + +"Whatever are you doing, George?" + +"Makin' these hills, of course," Plums replied, quietly, without ceasing +his work of shovelling the soft earth up into huge mounds, each of which +was twelve or fifteen times as large as it should have been. + +"Well, bless the boy, he don't even know how to plant potatoes!" and the +little woman regarded the results of Master Plummer's labour in dismay. +"Weren't you ever on a farm, George?" + +"I never was so far in the country as this before in my life," and Plums +wiped the perspiration from his flushed face; for, strange as it may +seem, he had, during these few moments, been working quite +industriously. + +[Illustration: "'WELL, BLESS THE BOY, HE DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO PLANT +POTATOES!'"] + +"You need a hoe instead of a shovel, and the hills should be made +something like these," aunt Dorcas said, as she pointed to where Joe, +thanks to her minute instructions, was performing his part of the task +in almost a workmanlike manner. + +Plums would have grumbled when the little woman insisted on his +demolishing the grotesque mounds which had cost him so much labour, but +that he remembered how dependent he was upon aunt Dorcas for food and +shelter, and held his peace. + +The remainder of the work done on this afternoon was performed under +aunt Dorcas's personal supervision, for she soon came to understand that +her assistants were absolutely ignorant of such tasks, and, if left to +their own devices, even for a few moments at a time, would succeed only +in making blunders. + +Thanks to her patience and Joe's willingness, however, the garden was +planted before sunset, and Master Plummer did but a small share of the +labour. After his exploit in building miniature mountains for +potato-hills, he became discouraged, and aunt Dorcas soon realised that +the task would progress more rapidly if he acted the part of spectator, +instead of farmer. + +"There is considerably more work to be done; but we must put it off +until morning, for it is time to get supper now. Can you boys build a +fire better than you can plant a garden?" + +Joe ran on ahead, to show what he could do in that line, and Plums +walked painfully by the side of aunt Dorcas towards the house. + +"Whatever makes you limp so, George?" the little woman asked, +solicitously, and Master Plummer replied, with a long-drawn sigh: + +"I don't know, 'less it is I'm all tired out. You see I never did much +farmin' before, an' it kind er strains me." + +"Do you think you've been doing any now?" and aunt Dorcas looked up at +the fat boy, with an odd twinkle in her eye. + +"Ain't that what we've been doin'?" + +"It's what Joseph and I have been about; but you were lying down most of +the time. George, can it be possible you are lazy?" + +"Some of the fellers say I am; but that's 'cause they don't know. It +tires me all out to move 'round very much." + +"You look as if you never had any very active exercise; but there's one +thing we have to be thankful for: there isn't an indolent bone in +Joseph's body. If I had seen any symptoms of it, I don't believe I +should have had the courage to make such a change in my way of living as +we have decided upon." + +Plums quickened his pace; he understood, both from her words and her +manner of speaking, that the little woman had no sympathy for "tired" +people, and the thought came into his mind that it was possible he might +not long remain an inmate of the cottage unless he proved he could be of +some service. + +When they entered the kitchen Joe was building a fire in such a manner +as met with aunt Dorcas's warmest approval, and the glance she bestowed +upon him told Master Plummer, even more strongly than her words had +done, that he must exert himself if he wished to enjoy what he had +believed was a "soft snap." + +After supper, on this evening, aunt Dorcas took up her knitting, the +boys seated themselves near the window, where they could see Dan, the +detective, if he should be so bold as to come again after Joe's warning, +and the three discussed the journey which the princess was to make on +the following day. + +Aunt Dorcas thought it would be only right for Mrs. Weber to return +five-sevenths of the money which had been paid her to take care of the +child for one week; but the boys were doubtful whether the old lady +would take the same view of the case. + +"I'll be willin' enough to let her keep it, so long's I can have the +princess with me," Joe said, finally, and aunt Dorcas reproved him, +gently. + +"Remember, Joseph, 'a penny saved is better than a penny earned,' and +you should never be careless about money matters. If the German woman +has boarded the child only two days, there is no reason why she should +be paid for seven." + +"Except that we gave her the money at the start, and she may say there's +no need to take princess away till the week is ended," Plums suggested, +sagely, and aunt Dorcas brought the argument to a close by saying, +severely: + +"If she insists on keeping the whole dollar, I shall never look upon her +as an honest woman." + +On this evening aunt Dorcas read two chapters, instead of one, and her +prayer was nearly twice as long as on the night previous. + +Then, as before, she accompanied the boys up-stairs, to make certain +everything in the chamber was in proper order, although it was already +scrupulously clean, and when, after having bidden them "good night," +they heard her light footsteps as she descended the stairs, Joe said, +with an air of perplexity: + +"I'm dead certain we don't do the right thing when she's prayin'." + +"I didn't make any noise," Plums replied, indignantly. + +"Course you didn't, else I'd thumped your head. I'd like to see the +feller that would kick up a row, or even so much as laugh while aunt +Dorcas was prayin'. What I mean is, that we ought'er do somethin', +instead of settin' up there like a couple of chumps, an' she on her +knees. Do you s'pose it would be right for us to kneel down when she +does?" + +"I don't know. It couldn't do much harm, I s'pose, an' if you think it +would please her any better, why, I'm willin' to stay on my knees half a +day." + +"We'll try it to-morrer night, and see how she takes it. Say, I've found +out what them towels are for. Aunt Dorcas had one side of her plate, an' +she wiped her mouth on it." + +"Perhaps she didn't have a handkerchief." + +"Now, look here, Plums, you don't s'pose that a woman what's so slick +an' clean as aunt Dorcas is would go 'round without a handkerchief, do +you?" + +"It seems as though she must, if she used the towel; but that ain't +botherin' me half so much jest now as Dan Fernald is. I reckon he's +pretty near wild by this time, an' it would be a terrible thing if the +perlice should come an' drag us out of this place, wouldn't it?" + +"I ain't afraid he'll kick up a row. That detective business is all in +his eye. He don't 'mount to any more'n Sim Jepson does, when it comes to +law matters." + +"But he might do something for all that." + +"If he does, it can't be helped. We'll know, whatever happens to us, +that princess has got a good home." + +"Of course, there's somethin' in that; but, all the same, I'd rather +know _I_ was goin' to stay in a good one," and Master Plummer crept +between the lavender-scented sheets with an expression of most intense +satisfaction upon his face. + +Day had but just dawned, when Joe Potter awakened after a long and +restful sleep. + +"Come, turn out, Plums," he said, as he shook his friend roughly. "I'm +goin' down-stairs to build a fire for aunt Dorcas before she gets up, +an' you'd better come along. If we're goin' to eat her food an' sleep in +her bed, it stands us in hand to try to pay our way." + +Master Plummer promised to get up in "two minutes" but the fire had been +built, and breakfast was nearly ready, when he made his appearance. + +Aunt Dorcas had made no remark, when she came down-stairs and found Joe +performing such of the household duties as he was familiar with; but he +knew, by the expression on her face, that she was pleased, and this was +sufficient reward for having left the rest-inviting bed at such an early +hour. + +According to the arrangements made on the previous evening, Joe was to +set out on his three-mile journey immediately after breakfast, and, as +soon as the meal was brought to a close, aunt Dorcas made up a +reasonably large parcel of seed-cakes and doughnuts, intended, as she +explained, to serve as lunch for the travellers. + +"But I won't be hungry, aunt Dorcas, 'cause I'm about as full as I can +be, now, an' the princess couldn't eat all you've got there if she tried +for a week." + +"I dare say you won't be sorry for taking it," and Joe made no further +protest. + +Aunt Dorcas actually kissed him, much to his embarrassment, as he left +the house, and called after him, while he was yet in the lane: + +"Don't try to make the child walk too far, Joseph, and be careful not to +carry her very long at a time. You've got plenty of food, even if you +shouldn't get back until nightfall, and it's better to go slowly than +overtax yourself." + +Perhaps never before in his life had Joe Potter been cautioned against +undue exertion, and he fully appreciated the little woman's +solicitousness. + +"If I was any kind of a feller, I'd turn to an' tell her the whole +story, but I don't dare to, for fear she'd believe I'd done somethin' +awful wicked, an' turn me out of the house. Of course it's got to come +some day, but it'll be tough,--mighty tough." + +There was but little room for bitter thoughts in Joe's mind on this +June morning when it seemed good to be alive, and before he had +traversed half a mile he put far from him all forebodings, thinking only +of what he would do to add to the comfort of aunt Dorcas, and the +happiness of the princess. + +There was in his mind a well-defined idea that it was his duty to search +for the child's parents, but he wholly failed to realise the mental +anguish which must be theirs while in ignorance of the baby's +whereabouts, and believed there was no especial reason why he should +inconvenience himself to find them. + +"If she wasn't all right, it would be different," he said, arguing with +himself. "After we get her into aunt Dorcas's home, she couldn't be +fixed any better if she was living with the President, so of course her +folks won't fuss so awfully much about her." + +He enjoyed this journey, because every step was bringing him nearer to +the princess, whose devoted slave he was, and the tramp of three miles +came to an end before he was conscious of having walked one-third of the +distance. + +He had arrived within sight of Mrs. Weber's home, and was hoping to +catch a glimpse of the princess's curly head in the window, when some +one stepped deliberately in front of him, barring his passage. + +"Hello, Dan, ain't you gone back to the city yet?" he cried, in +surprise, as he recognised the amateur detective. + +"I started last night, an' if I'd got there, you an' Plums would be in +jail by this time; but I wasn't such a chump as to run right over +without findin' out if things had been goin' wrong. You think I don't +'mount to anything as a detective, eh? Well, jest look at this, an' see +what would have happened if I'd gone there same's you'd done!" + +As he ceased speaking Dan handed his friend a copy of an evening paper, +folded in such a manner that a certain advertisement stood out +prominently. + +Joe's face paled, as he read the following lines: + + One hundred dollars will be paid for information concerning + the whereabouts of a fruit vendor known as Joseph Potter, + and two newsboys, one of whom answers to the nickname of + "Plums," and the other known as Dan Fernald. The above + reward will be paid to any one who will secure for the + undersigned an interview with either of the boys named. + + Address Cushman & Morton, Attorneys at Law, 47-1/2 Pine + Street, New York. + +As before, he failed to see immediately below this an advertisement +requesting information concerning a little girl who had strayed from the +Grand Central Depot, and offering one thousand dollars reward for the +same. + +"You see I got myself into a scrape tryin' to help you through and how's +it turned out! You wouldn't so much as give me a bite to eat when I was +starvin', even when you had plenty of it without costin' a cent. Now, if +I'm caught, I've got to go to jail, jest the same's if I'd done whatever +you did." + +"But I haven't done anything crooked, Dan. I can't so much as guess what +these lawyers want me for." + +"Oh, you tell that to the marines! Fellers what get so swell they can't +sell papers for a living, but splurge out into a fruit store, with a +clerk, an' all them things, have to get money somehow. I don't say as +you've robbed a bank, 'cause I don't see how you could get into one; but +it must be something pretty nigh as bad, else who'd offer a hundred +dollars jest to get hold of you? I ain't so certain but I shall snoop in +that cash, an' take the chances of goin' to jail." + +"I don't s'pose it's any use for me to keep on tellin' you I've been +straight ever since I started out sellin' papers," Joe said, sadly. +"It's true all the same, though, an' you can't find a feller what'll say +I ever did him out of one cent." + +"That's all in my eye, 'cause here's the advertisement what proves +different. All I want to know is, how am _I_ goin' to get out of the +scrape?" + +"I wish I could tell you." + +"If you did, I s'pose you'd say, 'Get over to the city, an' let them do +what they want to with you; but don't hang 'round me,' same's you did +yesterday." + +"Dan, I never believed the lawyers would know you had come away with us, +'cause it didn't seem reasonable, an' it's terrible to have you countin' +on livin' with aunt Dorcas, when she is feedin' two of us already." + +"What's the reason _you_ couldn't step out an' let _me_ have the snap +for a spell? _I_ ain't been stealin' money! _I_ wasn't advertised for, +till I took up _your_ case! No, that don't suit you; but _I_ must be the +one to starve, an' sneak 'round anywhere I can, while _you're_ bein' +filled up with custard pie, an' sleepin' on a bed so soft that Plums +thought it was feathers. You make me tired, you do!" + +"See here, Dan, I'm willing to do anything you say, now that you're +really in the scrape with us. Go to aunt Dorcas an' tell her I couldn't +come back. Perhaps she'll take you in my place." + +"Perhaps she will, an' perhaps she won't. I s'pose you've been coddlin' +the old woman up so she thinks there's nobody in the world but Joe +Potter; an' I wouldn't want to bet a great deal of money that you +haven't been tellin' her I'm a chump, an' all that kind of stuff, so she +wouldn't look at me if I should go there." + +"I never told her so much as your name--" + +"Where are you goin'?" Dan interrupted, suspiciously. + +"To get the princess; aunt Dorcas said I might bring her there." + +"So! You felt awful bad about lettin' your aunt Dorcas feed three when +_I_ was 'round starvin', yet you can make it three by luggin' in your +bloomin' princess." + +"Havin' a little baby in the house is different from a big boy like you, +Dan. There's no use for us to stand here chinnin' about it. I'm ready to +say I'm sorry for the way I talked to you yesterday, an' I'll 'gree +never to go back to aunt Dorcas's. Now, what more can I do?" + +"But I want you to go back," Dan replied, angrily. + +"What for?" + +"I'm no chump, Joe Potter, an' I know what kind of a stew would be +served up to me if I went there alone. I want you to go an' introduce me +to the family." + +"It's a dead sure thing, Dan, we can't all live there. You know Plums +won't work any more'n he has to, an' we're jest spongin' right off of a +poor woman what ain't got enough for herself." + +"It ain't any worse for me than it is for you." + +Joe was in a pitiable frame of mind. + +Believing that Dan was being searched for by the attorneys simply +because of what he had done in the affair, Joe considered the amateur +detective had such a claim upon him as could not be resisted; yet, at +the same time, he was determined not to add a fourth member to aunt +Dorcas's family. + +"Dan, you go an' tell her all I said,--tell her the whole truth if you +want to,--an' most likely she'll let you stay; but I can't ask her to +open up a reg'lar 'sylum for us fellers. Course I'm bound to do anything +you say, seein's you got into this trouble through me; but I won't 'gree +to sponge a livin' off the best woman that ever lived, when there's +three others doin' the same thing." + +"Look here, you've _got_ to go back with me." + +Joe was in deepest distress, and after a pause of several seconds he +said, slowly: + +"If you lay right down on my goin' to her house with you, I'll do it; +but I won't stay there a single minute. The princess can be left where +she is till I get back." + +Now was the time when Dan Fernald could exert his authority with effect, +and he said, sharply: + +"If you go back without the kid, the old woman'll lay it to me. Now this +is what you've _got_ to do. Take your bloomin' princess, an' act jest +the same as if you hadn't met me. I'll wait till your aunt Dorcas gets +through fussin' over the kid, an' then I'll flash up. Tell her I'm one +of your friends, an' we'll see how she takes it." + +"But I don't want to do that, Dan," Joe cried, in distress. + +"You must, or I'll have to go to jail, an' when it comes to anything +like that, the whole boilin' of us are in it. Go ahead, an' get the +kid." + +Joe was no longer able, because of his sorrow and perplexity, to contend +against the amateur detective, and, without making any further reply, he +walked slowly towards Mrs. Weber's home, his heart heavier even than on +that morning when he first read the advertisement which seemingly +branded him as a criminal. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +A BRIBE. + + +It appeared very much as if Dan suspected Joe of treachery even in this +matter of reclaiming the princess, for he followed him to Mrs. Weber's +home, and there stood within a few paces of the door, where he might +overhear all that was said. + +Now that the amateur detective was thoroughly alarmed concerning his own +safety, he had ceased his grotesquely mysterious movements, and behaved +very much like an ordinary boy. + +Not until Joe had knocked twice at the door was his summons answered, +and then the old German lady stood before him, with the princess in her +arms. + +He had hoped the child would recognise him, but was not prepared for +such a hearty greeting as he received. + +The princess, looking less dainty than when he first saw her, because of +a coarse calico frock which the careful Mrs. Weber had put on, in the +place of her more expensive garments, leaned forward in the old lady's +arms, stretching out both tiny hands to Joe, as she twittered and +chirped, after her own peculiar manner, what was evidently a greeting +to the boy who had acted a guardian's part to the best of his ability. + +"She really knows me!" Joe cried, in an ecstasy of joy, forgetting for a +moment his own sorrow, and, as the child nestled her face against his +neck, he kissed the curly brown hair again and again. + +Mrs. Weber welcomed the princess's guardian in her own language, which +was as unintelligible to Master Potter as the baby's cooing, and only +served to arouse the amateur detective's suspicions. + +"What's that old woman sayin'?" Dan asked, sharply. "You don't want to +try any funny games with me, 'cause I won't stand it." + +Joe did not hear the unkind words; his heart had been made so glad by +the princess's joy at seeing him, that he would hardly have been +conscious of the fact had the officers of the law come forward at that +moment to make him a prisoner. + +Mrs. Weber, observing Dan for the first time, addressed him in a kindly +tone, which only served to deepen the frown on the amateur detective's +face. + +"I dunno what you're drivin' at, missis; but you won't pull wool over my +eyes by jabberin' away in that lingo." + +It so chanced that Joe heard this remark, and, turning quickly towards +the boy who, he believed, held him in his power, he said, sharply: + +"Now, don't make a bigger fool of yourself than you can help, Dan +Fernald! Mrs. Weber can't talk our way, an' is only tryin' to treat you +decent." + +"I'm keepin' my eyes open, all the same, cause I don't count on gettin' +left the same as I was yesterday." + +Accepting the invitation given by gestures, Joe entered the house with +the princess in his arms, and followed by the boy who considered himself +his master. + +Now a serious difficulty presented itself. + +Mrs. Weber's grandson was not at home, and it would be necessary to +dispense with the services of an interpreter. + +"I don't know how I'm going to fix it," Joe said, speaking half to +himself, and Master Fernald believed he was addressed. + +"What is it you can't fix?" + +"I want to get back some of the money I paid Mrs. Weber; but how am I +goin' to tell her I'll carry the princess away for good?" + +"She must know what you say, of course. Who ever heard of a woman what +didn't understand how to talk?" + +"But she's a German, you know." + +"I can't help that. If you tell her right up an' down what you mean, +she's bound to know it, 'less she's a dummy." + +There was little in the way of advice to be gained from the alleged +detective, and Joe began a pantomime which he intended should convey the +idea. + +He pointed to the princess's clothes, then out of the window; put on his +hat, and, with the child in his arms, walked towards the door. + +Then he opened the parcel aunt Dorcas had given him, displaying the +food, and pointed up the street in the direction from which he had just +come. + +After a time, Mrs. Weber appeared to understand something of what he was +trying to convey, and, with a volley of words which sounded very much +like a protest, took the princess from him. + +The child screamed violently, clinging to Joe with all her little +strength, and the boy was seriously disturbed; but the smile on Mrs. +Weber's face told that she did not consider the outburst as anything +very serious. + +"What's she goin' to do with the kid?" Dan asked, as the German woman +disappeared in an adjoining room. + +"I s'pose she's gone to put on the princess's other clothes, 'cause it +seemed like as if she understood what I'd been tellin' her." + +"It would be a precious good job if she didn't come back. That kid has +got you into a heap of trouble, Joe Potter, an' it'll grow worse instead +of better so long as you stick to her." + +Joe made no reply. It is doubtful if he heard the words, for the +princess was crying so loudly he feared she might do herself an injury. + +Five minutes later, Mrs. Weber reentered the room, bringing the princess +clad in her own garments, and the little maid ran with outstretched arms +to Joe, pressing her tear-stained face against his cheek in such a +manner as went straight to his heart. + +After a prolonged caress, Joe said to Dan, as if answering the remark +which the amateur detective had made a few moments previous: + +"No matter how much trouble she might get me into, I'd stick to this +little thing as long as I lived, if she needed me." + +"Course you've got the right to be jest as big a fool as you like; it +ain't any of my business, so long's I don't have to starve to death on +her account. What about the money you was goin' to try to get from the +old woman?" + +"I'll have to let that go, 'cause I can't make her understand what I +mean. Will you carry the cakes?" + +Master Fernald seized the parcel with avidity, and straightway began +devouring its contents. + +With the princess in his arms, Joe arose, put on his hat, and held out +his hand in token of adieu. + +Mrs. Weber looked at him in surprise an instant, and then, after saying +something in German, hastened out of the room, returning a moment later +with several silver coins in her hand. + +Joe hesitated, and then took from the outstretched palm fifty cents, +motioning that she keep the remainder. + +The old lady shook her head, energetically, and literally forced him to +take all the coins, which amounted in value to ninety cents. + +"You've only kept a dime," he said, in protest, "an' it isn't enough to +pay for takin' care of the princess two days." + +Mrs. Weber smiled, kindly, patted Joe on the head, kissed the princess +affectionately, and by opening the door signified that she would not +accept further payment for her services. + +"I'll come back some day an' square up for what you've done," Joe cried, +as he stepped down on to the sidewalk, and then he remembered that if +matters were arranged as seemed necessary, he would soon be in prison. +"Anyway, I'll come back as soon as I can," he added to himself, and +kissing the tiny hand which the princess had wilfully placed over his +mouth, he set forward, resolutely, on the journey, followed by the boy +who claimed the right to dictate as to his future movements. + +During half an hour Joe walked steadily on towards aunt Dorcas's +peaceful home, listening to the princess's childish prattle, and +banishing all forebodings from his mind with the thought that the baby +trusted and loved him. + +Then Dan, who had been walking a few paces in the rear, came to his +side, appearing a trifle more friendly than when they first met. + +"At this rate you'll get back in time for dinner." + +"It seems as though I ought to, but it's kind of hard work carryin' the +princess. Aunt Dorcas gave me the cakes so's we wouldn't need to hurry +on the road, an'--where are they?" + +"Do you mean that little bunch of cakes you gave me?" + +"Little bunch! Why, there was a stack of 'em!" + +"It don't make any difference how many there was, 'cause I ate the whole +lot." + +Joe looked at the amateur detective as if about to make an angry reply; +but checked himself, and Dan said, defiantly: + +"The time's gone by when you can put on airs with me, Joe Potter. I +ain't goin' to starve to death when there's anything 'round I can eat." + +"No, you'd rather let a little baby like this one go hungry. I wouldn't +have touched the cakes any sooner'n I'd cut my finger off, 'cause they +was for her." + +"You make me tired with your bloomin' princess. She's stuffed jest about +as full as she can hold, an' I'm the same as starved." + +Joe did not so much as look at the selfish boy, but walked more rapidly +than before until fully one-half the distance from Mrs. Weber's to aunt +Dorcas's had been traversed. + +Light though the burden was, his arms ached from long carrying the +child, and it seemed absolutely necessary to come to a halt. + +The princess was more than willing to take advantage of the opportunity +to search for flowers or wintergreen plums by the roadside, and Joe +stretched himself out at full length on the cool grass, keeping jealous +watch all the while over the happy little girl. + +Dan seated himself near by, having once more assumed an air of injured +innocence, and Master Potter could not longer delay having an +understanding with this boy, who was bent on claiming even more than his +right. + +"So you're bound on goin' straight to aunt Dorcas's with me?" he said, +after a brief pause. + +"It's got to be that, or jail." + +"I don't see why; there are other places 'round here besides hers." + +"Yes; but I ain't sure of gettin' into 'em for nothin'. When you strike +a house where Plums is so contented, it must be a pretty soft snap." + +"It ain't certain you can get in there, an' it's dead sure you're +drivin' the princess an' me away." + +"I ain't doin' anything of the kind. You're gettin' on your ear 'cause I +want to be treated decent, that's the size of it." + +"You know very well we can't ask that poor little woman to take care of +four, an' somebody must go, if you're comin'. Now, of course, I must +take the princess with me, an' I don't want to leave the very minute I +get there. Will you hang off a couple of days, an' give me a chance to +find out how I can fix things?" + +"I'd starve to death in two days, an' you know it." + +"That's all foolishness; you've got plenty of money in your pocket that +was borrowed from the fellers to help Plums an' me through." + +"I haven't so much that I can go sportin' 'round the country like a +swell, have I?" + +"You've got enough to keep you from starvin' for a week." + +"All the same, I'm goin' to live with you an' Plums," Dan replied, +doggedly, and Joe remained silent while one might have counted twenty, +after which he said, with the air of a boy who has suddenly decided upon +a course of action: + +"Mis' Weber gave me back ninety cents. Now I'll turn over seventy-five +of it if you agree not to show up at aunt Dorcas's until three o'clock +to-morrow afternoon." + +"What kind of a game are you tryin' to play on me now?" Master Fernald +asked, suspiciously. + +"It ain't any game. I'm hirin' you to stay away, so I can stop there +till that time, an' then I'll leave." + +"Yes, an' you're goin' to tell her a whole lot of stuff 'bout me, so's +she won't let me stop there." + +"I'll promise never to speak your name except to tell her you come as +far's this with us, an' was up behind the barn twice. Now with +seventy-five cents you can live a good deal more swell somewhere else +than at aunt Dorcas's, an' at three o'clock to-morrow afternoon you may +do what you please." + +"How do I know you'll keep your promise?" + +"'Cause neither you nor anybody else can say I ever went back on my +word, an' fix it any way you're a mind to, it's the best trade you can +make. I'm certain she wouldn't take in four of us, an' the only show +you've got is for me to leave." + +"But where'll I find a chance to buy something to eat?" + +"There are plenty of stores 'round here, an' you can get a lodging most +anywhere, for twenty-five cents." + +"Hand over your money." + +"Do you 'gree not to show your nose 'round there till three o'clock +to-morrow?" + +"Of course I do." + +Joe counted out the amount agreed upon, and said, warningly, as he gave +it to Master Fernald: + +"I'm reckonin' on your keepin' your word, same's I will mine; but don't +make the mistake of goin' back on me, Dan Fernald, for if you come to +aunt Dorcas's before the time we've 'greed on, I'll make it hot. You +know I can do it, so be square, or you'll get into worse trouble than if +the detectives found you." + +"That's right; threaten a feller when you think you've got him in a +hole!" + +"I ain't doin' half so much threatenin' as you did, an' besides, I'm +payin' for the privilege when I give you pretty nigh all the money I've +got, an' you with a pocket full." + +The amateur detective did not think it advisable to reply to this +remark, and the two remained silent until Joe believed the time had come +when the journey should be resumed. + +The princess was weary with running to and fro, and willingly allowed +the boy to take her in his arms again. + +"The next time we stop it'll be at aunt Dorcas's," Joe said, as he set +out, and then he halted suddenly, for Master Fernald was following close +in the rear. + +"Where you goin'?" + +"With you, of course." + +"Didn't I buy you off till three o'clock to-morrow afternoon?" + +"Does that mean I can't so much as walk up the road when you're on it?" + +"It means you mustn't follow me to aunt Dorcas's house, an', after all +that's been said and done, I shouldn't think you'd want to do anything +of the kind." + +"I'll keep my promise, an' I'll do whatever else I please. You better +not be too smart, 'cause I might back out of the trade." + +"It would be a sorry job for you," Joe said, threateningly, and, turning +once more, he continued the journey without heed to Master Fernald's +movements. + +[Illustration: "THE PRINCESS SUFFERED AUNT DORCAS TO KISS HER."] + +It was not yet eleven o'clock when Joe and the princess arrived at aunt +Dorcas's home, and the little woman cried, in delight, as Master Potter +led the child towards her: + +"What a sweet little darling! What a beautiful baby! Why, Joseph, I had +no idea she was such a lovely child as this!" and the princess suffered +aunt Dorcas to kiss her rapturously. + +"There's no flies on her, anyhow," Joe said, with an air of pride. + +It is doubtful if aunt Dorcas heard this last remark. She was as pleased +with the princess as a child would have been with a doll, and behaved +much after the same fashion. + +Joe and Plums listened with greatest satisfaction to her words of +praise. + +The little maid and the little woman had apparently conceived a most +violent admiration each for the other, and straightway it seemed as if +the boys were entirely forgotten, for the two went into the house +without so much as a backward glance. + +"'Cordin' to the looks of things, I guess they'll get along pretty well +together," Plums said, in a tone of satisfaction. "I'm mighty glad +you've come back, 'cause aunt Dorcas kept me humpin' myself ever since +you left. Why, I've finished up the whole garden, an' it seems to me as +if I'd done the work of four men. Did you get the money from the German +woman?" + +"Yes; but it didn't do me any good;" and then Joe told in detail of the +meeting with the amateur detective, and the bribe he had been forced to +give. + +"It seems as though Dan must be pretty smart if they're advertisin' for +him, too," Plums said, reflectively. "I can't make out what them lawyers +are up to, offerin' a whole hundred dollars for either one of us, an' +when it comes right down to dots, I don't s'pose we're actually worth +twenty-five cents." + +"I can't understand it, either, and I expect aunt Dorcas will think I'm +a terrible bad feller, when I tell her the story." + +"But you ain't goin' to do anything like that?" Plums cried, in alarm. + +"Yes, I am; I won't go away from here without tellin' her the truth, an' +I've got to leave before three o'clock to-morrow afternoon." + +"Now, look here, Joe, this ain't right to let Dan Fernald drive you off. +Where'll we find another place like this?" + +"I don't reckon we ever can; but it's got to be done. I'd be 'shamed +enough to die if Dan should settle hisself down here, after we've +brought the princess. That would make four of us for aunt Dorcas to +feed, an' we know she has 'bout all she can do to pay her own bills. It +seemed pretty tough when you an' I come; but I said to myself it was +only for two or three weeks, an' we could patch it up somehow, after we +got back to town." + +"But Dan's a fool!" Master Plummer cried, excitedly. "It's no dead sure +thing aunt Dorcas will take him in same's she has us, even if you do go +away." + +"But he thinks she will, so it 'mounts to the same thing." + +"Where are you goin'?" + +"I don't know," Joe replied, mournfully. "Perhaps it'll be better to go +straight to town, an' let 'em arrest me. Aunt Dorcas will tell me what's +best, an' I shall do as she says." + +"You ain't goin' to talk to her to-night?" + +"No, Plums, I'm countin' on holdin' out till to-morrow mornin', an' +enjoyin' myself all I can, 'cause it ain't no ways likely I'll ever have +the chance of stoppin' again in sich a place as this." + +Master Plummer was silent for a moment, and then a different aspect of +the case presented itself to him. + +"Why, what's goin' to become of me?" he cried. "I don't believe aunt +Dorcas'll keep me after you leave, an' what'll I do?" + +"If I let the lawyers get hold of me, that'll ease up on you, 'cause I'm +the only one they'd want to arrest, an' you can go back to town." + +"Yes, perhaps I can; but I'll hate to, mightily. That shanty of mine +won't seem half so nice, after we've lived here, an' I'll have to go to +work sellin' papers!" + +Master Plummer was now so absorbed in the contemplation of his own +unfortunate position as to be wholly unable to sympathise with his +friend, and the two sat on the greensward just outside aunt Dorcas's +door, in painful silence. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +A STRUGGLE IN THE NIGHT. + + +During the remainder of this day it appeared to Joe and Plums as if they +were abandoned by the little woman who had hitherto treated them with so +much attention. + +Immediately after Joe arrived with his charge, aunt Dorcas and the +princess disappeared inside the house, and neither of them seemed to +desire the companionship of the boys until, at an unusually late hour, +they were summoned to dinner. + +To Plums's great disappointment, the noonday meal was a lunch, rather +than a dinner, and aunt Dorcas apologised, by saying: + +"I was so interested in making the acquaintance of your princess, +Joseph, that, for perhaps the first time in my life, I forgot my +household duties, and it was half past eleven before I remembered we +hadn't had dinner." + +"'Cordin' to the slat of stuff you've got here on the table, I should +think you'd been at work all the forenoon," Joe said, approvingly, but +there was the faintest suspicion of jealousy in his heart because the +princess no longer demanded his attention. + +Aunt Dorcas had arrayed her in some plain garments which might once have +belonged to herself or her sisters, and the little maid was so well +content with this new friend that she had but curt greetings for the boy +who considered himself her guardian. + +Perhaps aunt Dorcas understood from the expression on Joe's face +something of that which was in his mind, when the princess chattered and +cooed to the little woman, paying no attention to the others at the +table, for she said, in a kindly tone: + +"It's to be expected, Joseph, that a baby like this one would take more +readily to a woman than a boy." + +"Oh, I know that, aunt Dorcas," Joe replied, with a poor assumption of +carelessness, "an' I'm awful glad you like her." + +"Indeed I do, Joseph. Even in the short time she has been here I have +realised what a comfort it is to have a child around the house, and I +believe God has been very good in sending you and her to me." + +Aunt Dorcas made no mention of being grateful because Plums was a member +of the family, but that young gentleman gave no apparent heed to the +omission, so intent was he upon the pleasure of eating. + +Joe had expected aunt Dorcas would question him closely concerning the +journey, and want to know if the princess had eaten the cookies she +sent. He feared he might not be able to answer her questions without +revealing some of the disagreeable events of the morning; but, to his +surprise, she never so much as referred to the subject. All her thoughts +were centred upon the child; how she should amuse her; how provide her +with new garments, and the little woman even went so far as to speculate +upon the time when it would be necessary to send her to school. + +Joe did not enjoy the food as he would have done but for having met with +Dan, the detective. + +A big lump came into his throat, with the thought that this might be the +last dinner for him in the cottage, the last time he would see aunt +Dorcas, and it was only with difficulty he could swallow. + +He had said he would give himself wholly up to the pleasure of being +there during the remainder of this day, and not until morning came +should aunt Dorcas hear his story; but before the dinner was eaten, he +began to question whether it might not be wiser to make the explanations +at once, and have done with them, so painful was the suspense. + +While the little woman washed the dishes, Joe was permitted to amuse the +princess, but, as soon as aunt Dorcas was at leisure, she took the child +in her arms, and said, preparatory to seating herself in the comfortable +rocking-chair near the west window: + +"The princess and I are going to have our nooning now, and you boys had +better go out-of-doors, where you can't disturb us with your noise." + +The lump in Joe's throat seemed to increase in size, but he forced it +back bravely, as he asked: + +"Isn't there any work we can do, aunt Dorcas? There's no reason why we +should hang 'round here with our hands in our pockets." + +"I'll venture to say George isn't eager to be doing anything, for I kept +him busy this morning. It appears to me he isn't a great lover of hard +work, and I am certain you need rest. A walk of six miles--and I dare +say you carried the child a good deal more than half the distance--is as +much as ought to be expected of a boy in one day." + +"But I'm not so awful tired, an' I guess Plums can hold out a spell +longer, so if there's anything you'll be wantin' done for the next week +or two, I wish you'd let me know it now." + +"I don't think of a thing, Joseph. Go into the orchard, and amuse +yourself in almost any way except by throwing rocks at the birds, until +the princess and I have had our nap." + +Joe could do no less than obey, and, once they were out of the house, he +said to Plums: + +"Of course I'm a big fool to think any such things, but I can't help +feelin' sorry because the princess had rather be with aunt Dorcas than +me." + +"I'd say it was a mighty lucky thing if we were goin' to stay here; but, +in case you stick to what you said about goin' away to-morrow, it will +be kinder tough on both of 'em." + +"I wouldn't wonder if aunt Dorcas wanted us to go, after I tell her why +I left the city. She's too good a woman to keep a feller 'round, if she +thinks he's been doin' something wicked." + +"But you say you haven't." + +"An' it's the truth, Plums; but I can't make other folks believe it, +not even you, on account of that advertisement. Everybody says I must +have been up to something crooked, else the lawyers wouldn't try so hard +to get hold of me." + +Plums could give no consolation. Although he had never known Joe to do +anything which was not absolutely just and honest, he was convinced that +some wrong had been committed, otherwise the advertisement would never +have appeared. + +Joe lay down on the grass, under one of the apple-trees, and, despite +the sorrow in his heart, the chirping of the birds, the soft murmur of +the leaves as they were moved to and fro by the breeze, and the hum of +insects, soon lulled him to sleep. + +The sun was far down in the west when he awakened, and, leaping to his +feet, surprised that he had spent nearly the entire afternoon in +slumber, he looked around for Master Plummer. + +That young gentleman was sitting with his back against the trunk of a +tree, looking idly up at the fleecy clouds, while an expression of +discontent overspread his face. + +"I guess I must have had a pretty long nap," Joe said, as if to make an +apology for his indolence. "I don't believe I ever did a thing like that +before. Hasn't aunt Dorcas called us yet?" + +"Not as I know," Master Plummer replied, curtly. + +"Then she an' the princess must be sleepin' as sound as I was. Of course +you'd heard if she'd called?" + +"I haven't been here all the time." + +"Where have you been?" + +Master Plummer hesitated an instant, and then replied, speaking rapidly, +as if to prevent Joe from interrupting him: + +"I saw Dan Fernald sneakin' 'round down by the road, an' went to see +him. We've been talkin' this thing over, Joe, an' it don't seem to me as +though there was any need for you to go off with the princess. You might +walk 'round the country for a week without findin' so good a place as +this. I'm sure aunt Dorcas had rather keep half a dozen boys than let +that youngster go, now she's begun to like her." + +"I wish I'd known Dan Fernald had come here. It was in the agreement he +should keep away, an' I'd 'a' pounded him if I'd caught him sneakin' +'round." + +"But, say, why can't you keep quiet, an' let him do as he's a mind to? +Perhaps aunt Dorcas won't take him in, after all." + +"I ain't goin' to say a word against him; but I shall tell her the whole +story to-morrow morning, an' then clear out." + +"Even if she wants you to stay?" + +"Yes; 'cause I'd be ashamed to own I was alive if I'd let her take care +of such a crowd as ours." + +Plums showed plainly that he was displeased by the stand his friend had +taken, and walked in silence down the lane to the road. + +"Any decent feller'd do the same's I'm countin' on." Joe said to +himself, as he went slowly towards the cottage. "He wants to stay 'cause +he gets plenty to eat an' no work to speak of, so he won't look at the +thing the way he ought'er." + +Arriving near the rear door of the cottage, he saw aunt Dorcas and the +princess playing on the grass with two dolls made of aprons, and the +little woman appeared to be enjoying herself as hugely as did the little +maid. + +"I declare, I'm almost ashamed of myself, Joseph, to be seen at such +games; but I couldn't resist your princess's coaxing, and I believe I've +really had a good time. We must find some more Christianlike name for +her than princess. I think she calls herself Essie." + +"I thought so, too; but I couldn't make out what kind of a name that +was. Did you call us after you got through with your nap, aunt Dorcas?" + +"Certainly I did, Joseph; but I suppose you were too far away to hear +me." + +Joe explained how he had spent the afternoon, whereat the little woman +laughed merrily, and invited him to play with them at keeping house. + +Not until fully half an hour after her usual time for preparing the +evening meal, did aunt Dorcas cease her share in the childish sport, and +then Joe had his princess all to himself until they were summoned to +supper. + +Meanwhile, Master Plummer had returned from his walk, but without having +concluded his fit of the sulks, and he apparently gave no heed to +anything around him until he was called to partake of supper. + +On this night aunt Dorcas's prayer was one of thanksgiving rather than +supplication; there was a cheery ring in her voice which the boys had +never heard before, and Joe wondered at it, without once guessing that +the coming of the princess had made the little woman more womanly and +younger. + +When the boys were in their room, Joe, who had almost forgotten, since +the moment he joined in the game of "keeping house," that, on the +morrow, he was to leave this pleasant abiding-place, realised even more +keenly than before how hard it would be to carry out the purpose he had +formed; but yet he did not falter for a single moment. + +"I'll do it in the mornin', sure, an' I wish I'd told her to-night; then +the hardest part would be over," he said to himself, as he crept into +bed by the side of the yet indignantly silent Master Plummer. + +Owing to his long sleep during the afternoon, and also the unpleasant +thoughts in his mind, Joe's eyes refused to close in slumber. He tossed +to and fro on the rest-inviting bed, while Plums slept audibly, until it +seemed to him as if the night must have passed and the morning was near +at hand. + +This belief was strengthened when he heard a noise as if the kitchen +window was being raised, and he leaped out of bed, vexed with himself +because he had not gone down sooner to build the fire. + +It was yet dark in the room, and he turned to pull aside the curtain, +when he found that it was already raised at full height. + +"It ain't mornin', that's certain," he said to himself. "I wonder what +aunt Dorcas is doin'? Perhaps the princess is sick." + +He went to the door and listened. A certain faint rustling, as if some +one was moving around in the room below, came to his ears; but it was so +indistinct he questioned whether it might not be fancy. + +One, two, three minutes he stood silent and motionless, and then, not +satisfied that everything was as it should be, crept softly down the +stairs. + +On nearing the kitchen he became positive some one was moving around the +room; but since no ray of light appeared from beneath the door when he +stood at the foot of the stairs, the startling thought came into his +mind that an evil-disposed person had effected an entrance. + +It seemed preposterous burglars should come to the cottage in the hope +of finding anything of very great value, and yet Joe felt convinced +there was an intruder in the house. + +Then it was that he believed he knew the person who was moving so +stealthily in the adjoining room. + +"Dan has broken in here to steal something to eat," he said to himself. +"He thinks neither Plums nor I would dare do anything to him, for fear +he'd tell the detectives where we are, and knows aunt Dorcas couldn't +make much of a row if she wanted to." + +Determined to punish the amateur detective soundly for his misdemeanour, +Joe crept softly to the door until his hand was on the latch, and at +that instant it was suddenly opened from the inside. + +Not anticipating any such movement as this, the boy, who had been +partially leaning against the door, was precipitated into the room. + +Only with difficulty did he prevent himself from falling, and had but +just recovered his balance when he was seized from behind by some one +who had evidently intended to clutch him by the throat, but, failing, +grasped his shirt-collar. + +Even now, Joe believed it was with Dan he had to deal, and wrenching +himself free, which was not difficult, since the cloth tore in the hand +of the intruder, he struck out right and left, with the hope of dealing +an effective blow. + +Before many seconds had passed, however, he understood that he was +battling with a man, and not a boy. + +Once he received a blow on the cheek which sent him staggering back +several paces, and, when he would have renewed the battle, was met by a +thrust in the face which almost dazed him. + +The intruder made no outcry, probably hoping the other inmates of the +house might not be aroused, and Joe remained silent, lest aunt Dorcas +should learn of the burglar's presence. + +After receiving a third blow, and not having been able to deliver one in +return, Joe understood that the battle would speedily be brought to an +end by his discomfiture, unless there was a change of tactics, and he +closed with the man at once, seizing him around the waist in such a +manner that the fellow could not do him much injury. + +The boy had but little hope he would come off victor in this unequal +battle; but yet he clung to his adversary, striving to overthrow him, +until, in their struggles, the two were at the open door through which +Joe had entered. + +Leading from the kitchen by this way was a short hall, ending in three +steps which led to the shed beyond, and Joe believed the time had come +when he might gain an advantage. + +At that instant, the burglar was standing with his back towards the +passageway, and putting all his strength into the effort, Joe flung his +whole weight upon the enemy. + +The man, taken for the instant at a disadvantage, yielded a single step, +and this was sufficient for his discomfiture. + +Joe forced him back, until the fellow toppled down the stairs, striking +his head against the threshold of the shed door with sufficient force to +render him unconscious. + +The crash which followed the burglar's fall literally shook the little +cottage, and before Joe fully realised he had vanquished the foe, aunt +Dorcas was calling him loudly by name. + +"It's all right; don't you come down, but send Plums here if you can," +he shouted, in reply, and then stood irresolutely wondering what could +be done. + +He had an ill-defined idea that the burglar should be made a prisoner; +but how that might be accomplished was more than he could say at that +moment. + +Aunt Dorcas had ceased to call for him, when he understood that it would +be more prudent on his part to secure a light before taking any steps to +fetter the burglar, and he stepped back into the kitchen for this +purpose; but he had not yet found a match when the little woman entered, +holding high above her head a lamp, as she had done on the night when +Joe first saw her. + +"Goodness gracious, Joseph! What _is_ the matter? You're covered with +blood! Have you met with an accident?" + +"Now don't get frightened, aunt Dorcas; I ain't hurt." + +"Why do you tell me that, Joseph, when I can see for myself? You must be +bleeding to death!" + +"But I am not, I tell you. I jest got a clip on the nose, an' another +one behind the ear; neither of 'em will do any harm. Now don't you get +frightened; but I s'pose I've got to tell you what happened." + +"Of course you have, Joseph. You don't fancy I can remain silent with +such goings on in my house, and not attempt to understand them. What +have you been doing to yourself? Why don't you answer? Can't you see you +are making me very nervous?" + +"I didn't want to tell you, aunt Dorcas, 'cause I was 'fraid you'd get +scared; but there's a burglar out here in the shed. I knocked him silly +by pitching him down-stairs, an' now I'm tryin' to think how we can keep +him from gettin' away." + +"A burglar! Keep him from getting away? Why, Joseph Potter, we don't +want any burglars 'round this house! For mercy's sake, if the poor, +misguided creature will go, don't you try to stop him! Did you hurt him +very much?" + +Joe was relieved in mind because aunt Dorcas, instead of being terrified +at the information that a burglar was in the house, was only solicitous +lest he might have been injured, and he replied, grimly: + +"I reckon I'm the one what got the worst of that little fuss. You +needn't feel so very bad 'bout him, 'cause he's only bumped his head. +But say, we mustn't let him go after what he's tried to do. I'll tie +him, an' you call Plums to go for a perliceman." + +"Joseph, I never would consent to have a poor fellow arrested; but he +shall be talked to severely, for injuring you as he has done. The idea +of a grown-up man striking a child so hard as to bring blood!" + +However serious the situation, Joe could not have restrained his mirth. + +Aunt Dorcas's pity for the burglar, and fear lest he had been injured, +was to him very comical, and he laughed heartily, until the little woman +said, in a tone of reproof: + +"Joseph, that poor man may be dying, and by your hand, while you are +making merry. Where is he?" + +Joe stifled his mirth as best he could, and, taking the lamp, and the +tender-hearted little woman's hand, led the way towards the shed door, +as he replied: + +"I'll show him to you, aunt Dorcas, an' then if you want to tie a rag +'round his throat, or put a plaster on his head, you can." + +But Joe did not make as thorough an exhibition of his burglar as he had +anticipated. + +The man had regained consciousness, and all aunt Dorcas saw of the +intruder was a dark form which ran past her into the kitchen, and from +there leaped through the open window. + +Joe could not have stopped the burglar if he wished, so sudden and +unexpected had been the fellow's movements; but he was deeply chagrined +that his enemy should thus have escaped so readily. + +"He's gone, an' I ought'er be kicked for standin' here chinnin' with +you, as if he'd wait till I got ready to tie him up!" + +"We should be thankful to him for going without making any more of a +disturbance. I'm relieved to know he wasn't seriously hurt, and--How +wicked I am to stand here talking about anything, when your wounds +should be attended to! It's a mercy you haven't bled to death long +before this." + +"There's no danger of anything of that kind, aunt Dorcas, and if you'll +go right back to bed, I'll tend to myself in great shape. There's no +need of your fussin' 'round." + +"You must believe me a perfect wretch if you think I could leave you in +such a condition. But, Joseph, I would like to go back and dress myself +properly." + +"There's no reason why you shouldn't leave me till mornin' jest as well +as not, so go ahead, aunt Dorcas, an' do whatever you please." + +[Illustration: "A DARK FORM LEAPED THROUGH THE OPEN WINDOW."] + +"Sit down here by the table, where you will have something on which to +rest your head if you grow faint, and I'll be back in a moment." + +Aunt Dorcas closed the kitchen door, lest a draft of air should come +upon the boy she believed so grievously wounded, and went to her own +room, Joe saying to himself, meanwhile: + +"I'd been willin' for him to have pounded me into shoestrings, if it +would save me from havin' to tell a woman as good as she is that I ran +away from New York to keep out of jail." + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +A CONFESSION. + + +It seemed to Joe as if aunt Dorcas had but just left the room when she +returned, ready for the work of binding up his wounds. + +"Do you feel any worse, Joseph?" she asked, laying her hand gently on +his shoulder. + +"Not a bit of it," Master Potter replied, stoutly. + +"Do you think you can bear up until I have built a fire and heated some +water?" + +"Now, look here, aunt Dorcas, I ain't hurt any to speak of, even though +there is a good deal of blood on my face, an' as for bearin' up, why, it +wouldn't do me a bit of harm if there wasn't anything done to my face. +I'll build a fire, if it's warm water you're after," and, before the +little woman could prevent him, he had set about the task. + +While waiting for the fire to burn, aunt Dorcas collected such articles +as she believed would be needed, and Joe found it difficult to prevent a +smile from appearing on his bruised face, as he watched the +preparations. + +Several rolls of clean, white cloth, in sufficient quantity to have +bandaged the heads of twenty boys, arnica, antiseptic washes, adhesive +plaster, a sponge, cooling lotions, and, as Joe afterwards told Plums, +"a whole apothecary's shop full of stuff," was placed on the table in a +methodical fashion. + +"I guess while this water's bein' heated I'll wash some of the blood off +my face, an' then you'll see that there ain't any need of worryin' much +'bout me," Joe said, with a laugh, as he turned towards the sink, and +aunt Dorcas cried, excitedly: + +"Don't do it, Joseph! Don't you dare to do it; it might be as much as +your life is worth to put cold water on that bruised flesh! It won't be +many minutes before we shall have plenty of the proper temperature." + +"Of course I'll do jest as you say, aunt Dorcas; but I've been hurt +worse'n this a good many times, an' never had any one to touch me up the +same's you seem bound on doin'." + +"If you have been foolhardy in the past, it is no reason why you should +run unnecessary risks now," the little woman said, severely, and Joe +made no further attempt to dissuade her from her purpose. + +When the water was sufficiently warm, aunt Dorcas set about her +self-appointed task, passing the moist sponge over Joe's face with an +exceedingly light touch, as if afraid of causing him pain, and he said, +with a stifled laugh: + +"You needn't be afraid of hurtin' me, aunt Dorcas. I can stand a good +deal more'n that without yippin'. I'd been willin' to got it twice as +bad, if we could have held on to that duffer." + +"You shouldn't harbour revengeful thoughts, Joseph. I am truly glad he +made his escape." + +"If you treat burglars in that way, this place will be overrun with them +before next winter." + +"Of course I don't like the idea of having strange men prowling around +the house in the night; but there is nothing here for them to steal, and +I am certain they couldn't be wicked enough to hurt a poor old woman +like me. Instead of harbouring revengeful thoughts, we should endeavour +to do good to those who would injure us, remembering the words spoken on +the Mount, 'That ye resist not evil; but whosoever shall smite thee on +the right cheek, turn to him the other also.'" + +"If a feller went 'round doin' anything like that, I reckon he'd soon be +in worse shape than I am. Do you mean, aunt Dorcas, that I ought to have +stood still an' let that burglar have fun with me?" + +"I can't think it was intended we should take the words literally; but +they certainly were meant that we should be forgiving,--that we should +love our enemies so heartily as to lead them from their evil ways. The +man who beat you so cruelly will never be brought into a better life by +harsh words. Now, I am going to put some arnica on these bruises; it +will hurt, but you must try to bear the pain manfully." + +"Don't be afraid of me, aunt Dorcas. You couldn't do anything that would +make me yip." + +The little woman treated Joe's wounds with such simple remedies as she +had near at hand, and then proceeded to bandage his head, until but +little more than his eyes and mouth could be seen, striving, meanwhile, +to show him how much better the world would be for his having lived in +it, if he would govern himself strictly by the Golden Rule. + +During all the while she was putting the many bandages in place, Joe was +saying to himself that now was come the time when he should make that +confession he had decided upon, and, although aunt Dorcas had said so +much concerning the blessedness of forgiving those who have done us an +injury, he did not believe she would so far carry her precepts into +practice as to be willing to shelter one who appeared to be as great a +criminal as himself. + +"I believe, Joseph, I have done all that is possible to-night," the +little woman finally said, as she fastened in place the last bandage. +"You are not to get up in the morning until after I have made certain +you are in no danger of a fever. Now, go to your room, and if you think +George may disturb you, I'll put him in the spare chamber." + +"Wait a minute, aunt Dorcas; I want to tell you something," and Joe laid +his hand on the little woman's arm to prevent her from rising. "You +never knew why Plums an' I left New York to come out here where there +isn't a chance to earn a living." + +"I understood from something you said, Joseph, that there was a reason +for your leaving home suddenly; but I can't believe, my boy, you have +done anything wrong." + +"An' I haven't, aunt Dorcas; as true as I live, I haven't, though +everybody, even Plums, thinks I've been cuttin' a terrible swath! Of +course, when that advertisement come out, I had to run away, else they'd +carried me to jail--" + +"To jail?" aunt Dorcas repeated, in horror. "What advertisement do you +mean, Joseph?" + +"The one that was in the paper 'bout payin' anybody who'd tell where I +was." + +"But who wanted to know where you were?" + +"The lawyers, of course,--the fellers that advertised." + +"Why did they want to find you?" aunt Dorcas asked, in perplexity. + +"That's what knocks me silly, 'cause I don't know a thing about it, any +more'n you do." + +"Did you say the advertisement knocked you silly, Joseph?" and the +little woman now looked thoroughly bewildered. + +"Course it did, an' it would have paralysed 'most anybody that didn't +know what they'd been about." + +"Joseph, I'm afraid I don't understand you. It is a printed +advertisement you are telling me about, isn't it?" + +"Of course. I saw the first one in the _Herald_, an'--" + +"I thought you said some one had dealt you a blow. Tell me what there +was in the advertisement." + +Joe repeated the words almost verbatim, and then told aunt Dorcas all +the details of the flight, up to the moment they arrived at her home. + +Regarding the threats made by the amateur detective he remained silent, +because of the promise to Dan. + +"There must be some terrible mistake about it all, Joseph. If you +haven't committed a crime, and I feel certain you couldn't have done +such a thing, then it is some other boy these lawyers are hunting for." + +"There's no such good luck as that, aunt Dorcas. I don't believe there's +another feller in town named Joseph Potter, who's been sellin' +newspapers an' then went into the fruit business. You see, that's me to +a dot, an' now Plums an' Dan are in the scrape because they helped me +away. Just as likely as not Dan will come here to-morrow to ask you to +take him in, too, an' I've made up my mind that the princess an' I have +got to leave. We're goin' away about noon, aunt Dorcas, an' some time +I'll be back to pay you for bein' so good to us." + +The little woman looked at Joe for an instant, as if not understanding +what he had said, and repeated: + +"Going away?" + +"Yes, aunt Dorcas, we've got to. Even if you was willin' we should stay, +after what I've told you, I wouldn't agree to hang 'round, livin' on +you, while there are two other fellers doin' the same thing." + +Aunt Dorcas gazed at Joe steadily during several seconds, and then said, +in a decided tone: + +"I don't understand what you have tried to tell me; but it is certain, +Joseph Potter, that you sha'n't leave my house while you are wounded so +seriously." + +"I ain't wounded, aunt Dorcas, an' I'm as well able to go this minute as +I was when I came." + +"It doesn't make any difference whether you are or not. I sha'n't allow +you to step your foot off of these premises until I know more about this +affair. It is all a mistake from beginning to end; there can be no +question of that, and I'll get at the bottom of it before we are very +much older. Now go straight to bed, and mind what I told you about +getting up in the morning." + +Aunt Dorcas pulled the bandages apart sufficiently to admit of her +kissing Joe on the lips, and then, putting the lamp in his hand, she led +him to the stairway. + +"You're an awful good woman, aunt Dorcas, an' some day I'll be able to +do more than tell you so." + +"Good night, my boy. Put this matter entirely out of your mind and go to +sleep." + +When Joe gained the chamber once more, it was as if a great weight had +been lifted from his heart. + +The confession which caused him so much anxiety had been made, and, +instead of reproaching him for having come to her home, aunt Dorcas was +the same kindly, Christianlike woman as when he first saw her. + +Master Plummer, who had slept peacefully during all the adventures of +the night, was disturbed by the light of the lamp, as it shone full in +his face, and opening his eyes, he said, petulantly: + +"What are you doin'--" He ceased speaking suddenly, as he saw his +friend's bandaged face, and cried, in something very like alarm, +"Wha--wha--what's happened to you?" + +"There was a burglar in the house, an' I tackled him." + +This was sufficient to bring Master Plummer to a sitting posture at +once, and he demanded to be told all the particulars. + +Joe began to comply with his friend's request, but was interrupted by +the voice of aunt Dorcas from the room below. + +"George! Don't you allow Joseph to say a single word to-night. He must +be kept perfectly quiet, or no one can say what may be the result of his +terrible wounds. Go to sleep immediately, both of you, and to-morrow +morning I'll do the talking, if Joseph isn't strong enough." + +"Go on, an' tell me all about it," Plums whispered. "She won't hear if +we talk low." + +"I'll do jest exactly as aunt Dorcas told me, even if she said I was to +stand on my head for half an hour. A feller who wouldn't mind what she +tells him ain't fit to live," and Joe got into bed, refusing to so much +as speak when Plums plied him with questions. + +Although he had made light of his wounds when talking to aunt Dorcas, +they gave him no slight amount of pain, and this, together with his +anxiety of mind, would seem to have been sufficient to keep his eyes +open until morning; yet within a very short time he was sleeping as +peacefully as if attorneys and burglars had never been known in this +world. + +Not until aunt Dorcas tapped gently on the door next morning did either +of the boys awaken, and then Joe would have leaped out of bed +immediately after answering her summons, but for the words: + +"You're not to get up, Joseph, until I am positive you are out of +danger." + +Joe laughed aloud, in the gladness of his heart; such solicitude for his +welfare was something he had never known before, and it seemed very +sweet to him. + +"Let me get up, aunt Dorcas, an' if I don't show you I'm all right, I'll +come straight back to bed. There's no need of my layin' here, 'cause I'm +sound as a nut." + +The little woman hesitated, but finally gave the desired permission, and +when Joe was in the kitchen once more, she insisted on removing the +bandages to examine the wounds before even so much as allowing Master +Plummer to partake of the breakfast already prepared. + +To Joe and Plums, who were accustomed to such injuries, there appeared +to be no reason why the bandages should be replaced, but aunt Dorcas, +who could be as firm as she usually was gentle, when occasion required, +insisted upon obedience, and once more Joe's face was enveloped in white +cloth, until he presented a most comical appearance. + +Then aunt Dorcas brought the princess down-stairs, and the little maid, +not recognising her young guardian, positively refused to speak to him, +but nestled close by the little woman's side until Joe, by dint of much +coaxing and bribing, persuaded her to accept him as a new, if not an +old, acquaintance. + +When the meal was brought to an end, and before the breakfast dishes +were cleared away, aunt Dorcas referred to the confession of the +previous night, by saying: + +"I've been thinking over what you told me, Joseph, and verily believe I +should have awakened you before daylight this morning to ask a few +questions, if you had not been in such a serious condition. You have no +objection to my speaking about the matter before George?" + +"Of course not, aunt Dorcas. He knows the whole thing as well as I do, +except he believes I must have done something pretty tough." + +"You should never think evil of any person, George, no matter how much +appearances are against him." + +"Well, if Joe didn't do anything, what are these lawyers offerin' to +give a whole hundred dollars to catch one of us for?" + +"That is what I hope to find out. There is something in connection with +the matter which you boys have failed to explain, that will make it all +very simple. Have either of you a copy of that advertisement?" + +"No, aunt Dorcas, I wasn't achin' to lug such a thing as that 'round +with me." + +"Does it still appear in the papers?" + +"It did yesterday mornin', 'cause Dan showed it to me, an' his name and +Plums's were 'longside of mine." + +"Then George must go to Weehawken and buy one of those papers." + +Master Plummer looked up in dismay. A six-mile walk was to him such +exercise as amounted almost to torture, and he said, petulantly: + +"What good will it do for you to read it in the paper, when we can tell +you every word?" + +"Indeed, I don't know; but there must be something which you have failed +to remember." + +"Truly, there isn't, aunt Dorcas. I said over the words jest as they was +printed, 'cause I'd be sure to remember a thing like that," Joe replied. + +"I am set, when I make up my mind, as all old maids are," the little +woman said, grimly, "and it seems to me absolutely necessary I should +see that advertisement. Now, if George thinks he cannot walk to +Weehawken, I must go myself." + +"Indeed you mustn't, aunt Dorcas," and Joe spoke in a tone of authority, +such as he had never before used. "There's nothin' to prevent my walkin' +a dozen miles, if anything is to be gained by it, an' I'll start this +very minute." + +To such a proposition as this, aunt Dorcas positively refused to listen. +She was certain Joe's wounds were of such serious nature that violent +exercise might be fatal to him, and Master Plummer began to fear he +would be forced to take that long walk when there was no real necessity +for so doing, until a happy thought came to him, and he cried, +animatedly: + +"There's no need for anybody to go to Weehawken, 'cause Dan Fernald must +have that paper he showed to Joe, in his pocket now." + +"Where is he?" aunt Dorcas asked, quickly. + +"Loafin' 'round here somewhere," Plums replied. "He counted on comin' +here this afternoon to ask if you'd let him stop a spell, so's the +lawyers couldn't catch him. He would have come last night, but Joe hired +him to keep away." + +Aunt Dorcas looked at Master Potter, inquiringly, and the latter said: + +"I promised Dan I wouldn't speak a word to you about what he was goin' +to do; but you'll know it all when he comes." + +"_I_ didn't promise, so there's nothing to keep me from tellin'," Master +Plummer cried, and, before his friend could prevent him, he had added, +"Joe thought it was playin' too steep on you for Dan to come, when you +had him, an' me, an' the princess, so he gave him seventy-five cents to +keep away till three o'clock this afternoon. He counted on goin' off +with the kid before then." + +Aunt Dorcas did not appear to fully understand this explanation; but her +impatience to see the advertisement was so great that she evidently +could not wait to ask further concerning the matter. + +"Can you find Dan Fernald now?" and she turned to Plums. + +"Well, I guess it wouldn't take very long, 'cause he's somewhere close +'round." + +"Go out this minute, George, and hunt for him." + +"He'll count on stoppin', once he gets in here," Plums said, warningly. + +"If the poor boy hasn't any home, and is hidin' here in the country for +the same reason you are, I will give him a shelter so long as may be +necessary." + +"But you see, aunt Dorcas, you can't afford to jam this house full of +boys what have got into a scrape," Joe cried. "I'm willin' to go away, +so's to give Dan the chance; but I won't hang 'round here when there's a +whole crowd." + +"You will remain exactly where you are, Joseph Potter, until this +matter is settled, so don't let me hear anything more of that kind. +George, go directly and find your friend." + +The boys did not dare oppose aunt Dorcas when she spoke in such a tone, +and although Plums was not inclined to do even so much as go in search +of Dan, when he might be resting quietly in the house, he obeyed. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +A RAY OF LIGHT. + + +The amateur detective was a boy who had but little faith in the honesty +of his fellows, perhaps because he himself could not be trusted +implicitly, and even though Joe Potter had solemnly promised he would +say nothing in his disfavour, Dan entertained grave suspicions that the +little woman was being prejudiced against him. + +Therefore it was he had been loitering near the cottage since early +morning, in the hope of gaining speech with Plums, and, when that young +gentleman finally appeared, Master Fernald came out from his +hiding-place amid a clump of bushes. + +"What's up, now?" he cried, suspiciously. + +"You're to come right in, an' see aunt Dorcas," Plums replied, with no +little show of excitement. + +"What's wrong? Has Joe been tellin' her not to take me in?" + +"Look here, Dan, I may not like his threatenin' to leave 'cause you was +comin', an' perhaps I said a good many hard things against him, when I +talked with you yesterday; but I won't let anybody accuse him of lyin'. +When Joe promised not to tell aunt Dorcas anything 'bout you, he meant +to keep his word, an' he'll do it. I told her he'd paid you +seventy-five cents to stay away till this afternoon." + +"What did you do that for? Are you turnin' sneak, Plums? 'Cause if you +are, I'll break your jaw!" + +"Perhaps you could do it; but I ain't so certain. Anyway, I told the +story, 'cause Joe gave the advertisement business dead away last night, +when he got thumped." + +"Did he have a row?" + +"He tackled a burglar, an' got the best of him, that's what Joe Potter +did. A feller has got nerve what'll jump on to a man in the dark, an' +don't you make any mistake." + +"Was there a real burglar in the house?" Dan asked, incredulously. + +"Course there was, an' Joe knocked him silly. The feller come in through +the kitchen window, an'--" + +"I'd made up my mind that 'most everybody knew I was out here on your +case," the amateur detective said, as if speaking to himself, and Plums +asked, in surprise: + +"What's that got to do with it?" + +"Nothin'; only it shows that some folks don't know it, else the burglar +never'd dared to show his nose 'round here." + +"'Cause he'd be afraid of you?" + +"He wouldn't run the risk of my gettin' on his trail," Master Fernald +replied, with dignity, and Plums could not repress a smile, for he had +already begun to question his friend's detective ability. + +Dan pretended not to see this evidence of incredulity, for it did not +suit his purpose to have hard words with Plums now, when he was, as he +believed, about to become his roommate. + +"See here, you've got to come right up to the house, 'cause aunt Dorcas +wants to see that paper," Master Plummer cried, as if but just reminded +of his mission. + +"What for?" + +"She wants to read the advertisement." + +"Oh, she does, eh? Well, if the old woman is willin' to promise that I +can come here to live, I'll let her take the paper; that's the only way +she'll get it." + +Plums looked at his friend, as if believing he had not heard him aright. + +"I mean what I say. I've got the chance now to have things my way, in +spite of all Joe Potter may do. Go up an' tell her so; if she agrees, +whistle, an' I'll be there before she can wink." + +"Come with me, an' tell her yourself; I won't carry a message like that +to aunt Dorcas," Plums replied, indignantly. + +"All right; then she can go without the paper. It don't make any +difference to me." + +"She won't go without it, 'cause one of us will walk over to Weehawken, +an' perhaps that would be cheaper for her than to feed you." + +The amateur detective began to understand that he was not exactly in a +position to drive a very hard bargain, although confident the possession +of the paper would give him the home he desired. Therefore, instead of +attempting to force Plums into acting the part of messenger, he said, in +a tone of condescension: + +"If you're so perky 'bout it, I s'pose I can go with you, though I'd +rather have the thing settled before I flash up." + +Without replying, Plums turned, and began to retrace his steps, +regretting, now, that he had spoken harshly to Joe concerning this +fellow who was displaying such a mean spirit. + +Master Fernald followed, with the air of one who is master of the +situation, rehearsing in his mind what he should say when the little +woman asked for the paper. + +The matter was not arranged exactly as he intended it should be. + +When they arrived at the cottage, Plums opened the door for him to +enter, and Dan stepped inside with a jaunty air, unsuspicious of his +companion's purpose. + +Aunt Dorcas greeted the newcomer kindly; but, before Joe could speak, +Plums, standing with his back against the door, to prevent the alleged +detective from making his escape, cried, in a loud tone: + +"Dan's got the paper, but says he won't give it up unless aunt Dorcas +agrees that he shall live here till we get out of the scrape." + +"Did you say that, Dan Fernald?" Joe asked, mildly. And the amateur +detective replied, with a great show of firmness: + +"That's what I told Plums; but I didn't mean to spring it on the old +woman quite so sudden." + +"Do you really mean it?" + +"Course I do; I ain't such a fool as to let a chance like this go by me. +I've got her where she can't help herself, now, an' we'll see who'll--" + +Dan did not conclude the threat, for, regardless of aunt Dorcas's +presence, Joe leaped from the table, and seized the pretended detective +by the throat, forcing him back against the wall. + +With a cry of fear, aunt Dorcas sprang to her feet, and would have gone +to Dan's relief, but that Plums, moving more quickly than he had ever +been known to move before, stepped directly in front of her, as he said, +imploringly: + +"Now, don't mix into this row, 'cause it wouldn't be fair. I knew pretty +well what Joe would do, after I'd told him how Dan was countin' on +gettin' pay for his paper, an' if he hadn't gone for the duffer, I'd had +to do it myself." + +"But I can't have any quarrelling in this house. Why, George, I'd rather +never see a paper in my life than to have a right-down fight here!" + +"There won't be any fight, aunt Dorcas," Plums said, with a smile, +"'cause Joe will chew him all up before he can wink." + +Brief as this conversation had been, before it came to an end there was +no longer any employment for a peacemaker. + +Joe had shaken the amateur detective until he was glad to give up the +worthless newspaper, and, before aunt Dorcas could step past Plums, +Master Fernald was literally thrown out of the kitchen door. + +"I'll have every perliceman in New York City here before you're an hour +older!" he screamed, shaking his fist in impotent wrath when he was at a +safe distance. + +"Go ahead, an' do what you can, an' when it's all over I'll finish +servin' you out for talkin' as you did to aunt Dorcas!" Joe replied, +after which he closed the door and resumed his seat at the table, as if +nothing unusual had occurred. + +"Now you can see the advertisement," Plums said, as he handed the paper +to the little woman; but she hesitated about taking it. + +"It seems as if we had robbed that poor boy," she said, in distress. "I +do wish, Joseph, that you hadn't been so hasty." + +"Now don't fret over the sneak, aunt Dorcas, 'cause he ain't worth it. +Robbed him of nothin'! What was the paper good for to him? Yet he +counted on makin' you do as he said for the sake of gettin' it." + +"Last night I wanted him to come here, an' thought Joe was kind er hard +when he wouldn't 'gree to it; but I'll take all that back now. Dan +Fernald's the meanest kind of a sneak," and Master Plummer, realising he +was indulging in too much exercise by thus allowing himself to be angry, +sank into a chair, as if exhausted. + +It is doubtful if aunt Dorcas would have taken the paper procured by +such a questionable method, but for anxiety to read the advertisement +which had made of Joe an exile. As a matter of fact, she did not take it +until after considerable urging from both the boys, and, even then, only +when Joe held it so near that it would have been necessary to close her +eyes in order to prevent herself from seeing the printed lines. + +[Illustration: JOE AND DAN DISAGREE.] + +The princess, who had been frightened into silence by Joe's attack on +Dan, crept into aunt Dorcas's lap, and, sitting directly opposite, the +two boys watched the little woman's face intently as she read the +fateful lines. + +It seemed to them as if she had kept her eyes fixed upon that particular +portion of the paper fully fifteen minutes before a look of relief came +over her face, and she asked, suddenly: + +"Did you tell me the princess's parents were dead?" + +"Oh, no; I said she'd lost 'em," Joe replied. + +"I understood you found her in the street." + +"An' that's true. I was up by the Grand Central _De_pot, lookin' for a +job to carry baggage, when she came along, an' I waited there till +pretty nigh dark without seem' anybody that belonged to her. We went to +Plums's shanty, an' stayed all night. I was countin' on findin' her +folks in the mornin', when Dan Fernald come up an' showed this +advertisement. Then, of course, we had to skip, an' you know the rest, +except that I'm goin' back as quick as ever I can, to hunt 'em up." + +"Did any one near the station know you had found a little girl?" aunt +Dorcas asked, now looking really cheerful. + +"Nobody that I knew, except Plums," Joe replied; and added, an instant +later, "Yes, there was. I'd forgot 'bout that feller who works in the +fruit store pretty near the _de_pot. He saw me when I was luggin' her +down to Plums's shanty, an' almost knocked us over." + +Aunt Dorcas looked straight up at the ceiling for as many as two +minutes, and then said, abruptly, as if having decided upon some course +of action: + +"George, I want you to go right over to Mr. McArthur's, and tell him +that I must be carried to the ferry at once. Be sure you say 'at once' +very emphatically, because I want him to understand that my business +admits of no delay, otherwise he will be putting me off with all manner +of excuses. Now go immediately; don't sit there looking at me," and aunt +Dorcas spoke so sharply that both the boys were amazed. + +The little woman, putting the princess down from her lap, began to clear +away the breakfast dishes, but stopped before the work was well begun, +as she said: + +"Why do I spend my time on such trifling matters, when it is so +necessary I get into the city at once? Haven't you gone yet, George?" + +"Say, aunt Dorcas, how do you s'pose I know where Mr. McArthur lives?" + +"You should know; he is our next-door neighbour; the first house on the +right, just above here. Now don't loiter, George, for I am in a great +hurry." + +Master Plummer, looking thoroughly bewildered, went out of the house +almost rapidly, and aunt Dorcas said to Joe: + +"Of course I am depending upon you to take care of the princess, and +when she goes to sleep this noon, perhaps you can put these soiled +dishes into the sink. I haven't the time now, because I must change my +clothes." + +"Are you goin' into the city, to try to help us out of the scrape?" + +"Of course I am, and it can be done. I knew there was some mistake about +it all when you told me the story; but I haven't time to talk with you +now, Joseph. You will find food enough in the pantry, in case I am not +back by dinner-time, and see to it that the princess doesn't go hungry. +I am depending upon your keeping things in proper order while I'm away." + +Before the astonished boy could ask any further questions, aunt Dorcas +had actually run up the stairs, and the princess immediately raised a +wail of sorrow at being separated from her particular friend, thereby +forcing Joe to devote all his attention to her for the time being. + +Before aunt Dorcas had completed her preparations for the journey, Joe +succeeded in inducing the little maid to walk out-of-doors with him, and +they were but a short distance from the house, down the lane, when Plums +returned with Mr. McArthur. + +The worthy farmer, alarmed by a peremptory message from a neighbour who +had never before been known to give an order save in the form of the +mildest request, had harnessed his horse with all possible despatch, and +was looking seriously disturbed in mind when he drove up to where Joe +was standing. + +"I reckon by your looks you're the boy what tackled the burglar last +night? Well, you showed clean grit, an' no mistake. Can you tell me what +the matter is with aunt Dorcas? This 'ere friend of yours seems to be +all mixed up; don't appear to know much of anything." + +"She wants to go to the city, sir, an' to get there quick." + +"There must be some powerful reason behind it all for Dorcas Milford to +send any sich message as this boy brought. I allow he mistook her +meanin', so to speak, eh?" + +"I didn't mistook anything," Plums cried, indignantly. "She said to tell +you she must be carried to the ferry at once, very emphatically, an' she +didn't want you to be puttin' her off with any excuses." + +"Is that so, sonny?" the farmer asked of Joe. + +"I don't think she said it exactly that way, an' Plums wasn't told you +shouldn't make any excuses; but aunt Dorcas wants to go in a hurry, I +know that much." + +"Anybody dead, eh?" + +"No, sir." + +"The burglar didn't get away with anything, eh?" + +"No, sir." + +Before the farmer could ask any more questions, aunt Dorcas herself +appeared on the scene. + +"I'm glad you came quickly, Mr. McArthur, because I'm in a great hurry," +she said, nervously. "Don't stop to drive up to the house, but turn +around right here." + +The farmer looked at her for a moment, and then, mildly urging the +patient steed on, he drove in a circle as wide as the lane would permit, +saying, meanwhile: + +"It seems to me, Dorcas Milford, I'd send some word by telegraph, rather +than get into sich a pucker. I never knowed you to be so kinder flighty +as you're appearin' now." + +"I shall be a good deal worse, Mr. McArthur, if you don't start very +soon," aunt Dorcas replied, in a matter-of-fact tone, which alarmed her +neighbour more than a threat from some other person would have done. + +"Take good care of the princess; don't get crumbs on the floor, an' be +sure to eat all you need," aunt Dorcas cried, as the vehicle was whirled +almost rapidly around the corner of the lane into the highway. And Plums +shouted: + +"When'll you be back?" + +"I can't say; be good boys, an' I'll come as soon as ever it's +possible." + +Then the little woman had disappeared from view, and Master Plummer, +turning to his friend, asked, seriously: + +"Do you s'pose there's anything gone wrong with aunt Dorcas's head? It +seems to me she don't act as if she was jest straight." + +"Now don't be foolish, Plums. If everybody in this world was as straight +as she is, us boys would have a snap." + +"But she seems to think she can fix all this, else why did she rush off +so?" + +"If anybody can straighten things out, she's the one, though I don't see +how it's goin' to be done. Let's go into the house, an' do the work. I +b'lieve I can wash the dishes without breakin' any of 'em." + +"What's the use to rush 'round like this? I'm all tired out goin' over +to McArthur's, an' there's no knowin' what'll happen if I can't get a +chance to rest." + +"Now, don't be so foolish, Plums. You haven't done enough to hurt a +kitten, since we come here, an' all I'll ask of you is to take care of +the princess while I'm fixin' up." + +With this understanding, Master Plummer agreed to his friend's proposal, +and during the next half hour Joe laboured faithfully at the housework, +while Plums amused the princess, when it was possible for him to do so +without too great an exertion. + +Then it was that the child, who had been looking out of the window for a +moment, clapped her tiny hands, and screamed, as she pointed towards the +orchard, thereby causing Master Plummer to ascertain the cause of the +sudden outburst. + +"There goes Dan Fernald!" he exclaimed. + +"Where?" + +"Sneakin' up through the orchard. It looks like he was goin' to the +barn." + +"He's on some of his detective sprees, I s'pose. That feller can make an +awful fool of hisself without tryin' very hard," and Joe would have gone +back to his work but that Plums prevented him, by saying: + +"He ain't sneakin' 'round there for any good. It would be different if +he thought we was in the garden. I wouldn't be 'fraid to bet he was +where he could see aunt Dorcas, when she went away, an' is countin' on +makin' it hot for us." + +[Illustration: "'COME ON QUICK, PLUMS! DAN'S SET THE BARN A-FIRE.'"] + +"It would be a sore job for him if he did. Look out for the princess, +an' I'll snoop 'round to see what he's doin'." + +Joe went through the shed door, which led out of the garden, but could +see no one. If the amateur detective had not gone inside the barn, he +must be loitering at the further end, where he was screened from view of +any one on either side the building. + +"If I go 'round there, he'll think it's because I'm 'fraid he'll make +trouble for us, an' that's what would please him," Joe said to himself. + +Then, passing through the shed, he looked out of the door on the +opposite side. + +No one could be seen from this point, and he returned to the garden just +as Dan came out from around the corner of the barn, running at full +speed towards a grove, situated a mile or more from the main road. + +"What have you been doin' 'round here?" Joe shouted, angrily, and the +amateur detective halted long enough to say: + +"You think you're mighty smart, Joe Potter, but you'll find there are +some folks that can give you points. What I've done to you this time +ain't a marker 'longside of what it'll be when I try my hand again." + +Then Master Fernald resumed his flight, much to Joe's surprise, and +halted not until he was within the friendly shelter of the trees. + +"Now, I wonder what he meant by all that talk? It seems like he was more +of a fool this mornin' than I ever knew him to be before." + +At that moment Joe saw, or fancied he saw, a tiny curl of blue vapour +rising from the corner of the barn, and, as he stood gazing in that +direction, uncertain whether his eyes might not have deceived him, +another puff of smoke, and yet another, arose slowly in the air, telling +unmistakably of what Master Fernald had done. + +Joe darted into the house, and seized the water-pail, as he cried, +excitedly: + +"Come on quick, Plums! Dan's set the barn a-fire! Get anything that you +can carry water in, and hump yourself lively!" + +"But what'll I do with the princess?" Master Plummer asked, helplessly. + +"She'll have to take care of herself," Joe cried, as he ran at full +speed towards the smoke, which was now rising in small clouds, giving +token of flames which might soon reduce aunt Dorcas's little home to +ashes. + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + +AN UNEXPECTED ARRIVAL. + + +It was really the princess who saved aunt Dorcas's home from +destruction. Had she not seen Dan Fernald, as he made his way through +the orchard, the barn would most likely have been in a blaze before Joe +or Plums were aware of the fact. + +Thanks to her warning, Joe saw the smoke before the fire gathered +headway, and when he arrived on the scene, the flames had but just +fastened upon the side of the barn. + +Plums, aroused to something like activity by the knowledge of danger, +followed Joe with remarkable promptness, and the amount of water thus +brought by both was sufficient to extinguish what, a few moments later, +would have been a conflagration. + +Not until he had pulled the charred sticks from beneath the end of the +barn, and assured himself every spark had been drowned out, did Joe +speak, and then it was to relieve his mind by making threats against the +would-be incendiary. + +"It's all well enough for a woman like aunt Dorcas to tell about doin' +good to them what tries to hurt you, for she couldn't so much as put up +her hands. If you keep on forgivin' duffers like Dan Fernald, you're +bound to be in such scrapes as this all the time. What he needed was a +sound thumpin', when he begun talkin' so rough to aunt Dorcas; then he +wouldn't dared to try a game of this kind. When I get hold of him again, +I'll make up for lost time." + +"I'll bet he's somewhere 'round here, watchin' out, an' when he sees +this game didn't work, he'll try somethin' else." + +"Not much he won't. I know pretty near where he is, an' I'm goin' to +make him--" + +At this moment the voice of the princess could be heard in vehement +protest against thus being left alone, and Joe was forced to defer his +punishment of the amateur detective until a more convenient season. + +"Stay here, Plums, an' watch for Dan, while I go and get the princess. +He went among them trees over there, so's to have a reserved seat while +the house was burnin'; but he's got to come out some time." + +"Don't stay away too long, for I ain't certain as I'd dare to tackle him +alone,--you see I'm too fat to be much of a fighter." + +A certain quaver in Plums's voice told that he was afraid to be alone +even while Dan was a long distance away, and Joe thought it extremely +comical that any one should fear the amateur detective. + +The princess did not object to taking a walk, fortunately for Master +Plummer's peace of mind, and, in a short time, the three were patrolling +the grounds, Joe carrying the little maid whenever she insisted upon +such service. + +At noonday, a certain amount of food was brought out on the lawn in +front of the house, and, even while the boys ate, they continued their +self-imposed duty of guarding the premises. + +Then the princess wanted to sleep, and Joe sat by her side, while Plums +kept watch from the windows, or walked rapidly around the buildings. + +So far as Dan was concerned, they might as well have amused themselves +according to their own fancies, for he never showed himself after having +sought refuge in the grove. + +When the excitement consequent upon the attempt to destroy aunt Dorcas's +home had subsided in a measure, the boys began to speculate upon the +reasons for the little woman's hurried departure, but could arrive at no +satisfactory conclusion as to what it might be she hoped to accomplish. + +"Of course she could do a pile of beggin' off for a feller, 'cause +anybody would have to listen to her; but when the lawyers are willin' to +pay a hundred dollars for either one of us three, I don't believe she +can do very much by talkin'," Joe said, reflectively, as he summed up +the situation according to his belief. "I expect she'll be terribly +disappointed when we see her again, 'cause she counts on straightenin' +things out in a jiffy." + +"Do you s'pose Dan Fernald will hang 'round here till he gets a chance +to do her some mischief?" + +"As soon as aunt Dorcas gets back I'm goin' to skirmish through them +trees, an', if he's there, it won't take more'n three minutes to make +him sick of this part of the country." + +The boys were yet discussing what should be done to Dan to prevent him +from attempting to work more mischief, when a covered carriage, drawn by +two horses, whose harness was resplendent with silver, and driven by a +coachman in livery, turned from the highway into the lane leading to the +cottage. + +"Hi, Joe!" Plums cried, excitedly. "See the swells what are comin' to +visit aunt Dorcas!" + +"They want to ask the way somewhere, an' seein's we couldn't even tell +'em where the post-office is, I guess we'd better keep kind er shady. +Now the princess is awake! We'll have to show ourselves, 'cause she's +bound to make a noise," Joe added, as the little maid clambered upon his +knee. + +"I'm goin'--Say, aunt Dorcas herself is in that funny rig!" + +"What are you givin' me?" and Joe leaned forward eagerly, in order to +have a better view. + +"It's her, dead sure! There! Look at that! What do you think, now?" + +It was, indeed, as Master Plummer had said. + +Aunt Dorcas was getting out of the carriage, assisted by a gentleman who +spoke to the driver in such a manner as one would expect from the owner +of the equipage, and immediately behind the little woman could be seen a +younger lady. + +"I wonder if aunt Dorcas thinks them swells would help two chumps like +us out of our scrape!" Joe exclaimed. "If she does, her head ain't--" + +"Papa! Papa!" the princess screamed in delight, as she pounded on the +window with her tiny fists, and instantly the gentleman left aunt Dorcas +to alight from the vehicle as best she could, while he ran at full speed +up the sharp ascent to the house. + +"I'll be blowed, if aunt Dorcas hasn't found the princess's folks!" Joe +cried, as an expression of bewilderment came over his face. "That dude +is comin' in, an' we'd best leave." + +Followed by Plums, Joe ran out of the kitchen door, just as the +gentleman came through the main entrance of the cottage, and the boys +heard a wild scream of delight from the princess. + +Master Potter threw himself, face downward, on the grass near the +garden, and Plums seated himself by his comrade's side, asking again and +again how it was aunt Dorcas had so readily found the princess's +parents. + +"When we first come here, I didn't think she 'mounted to very much, +'cause she was so little an' kind er dried up. Then, when she struck out +so heavy prayin', I begun to think there might be more to her than I'd +counted on. But now,--why, Joe, little as she is, aunt Dorcas has done +more'n all the cops in town put together. When we told her the princess +had lost her folks, what does she do but go right out and hunt 'em up, +an' don't look as though she'd turned a hair doin' it." + +Joe made no reply. + +"Didn't she hump herself, when we showed her that advertisement? She +was jest like a terrier after a rat, an' bossed me 'round till, as +true's you live, I run more'n half the way over to Mr. McArthur's. Then +how she jumped on him when he begun to ask questions! If I only had +somebody like aunt Dorcas to look out for me, I wouldn't have to work so +hard." + +Joe remained silent; but Plums was so intent on singing aunt Dorcas's +praises, that he failed to pay any especial attention to the fact that +his comrade had not spoken since they knew the princess's parents had +arrived. + +"Joseph! George!" + +"Here we are, aunt Dorcas," Plums replied. + +"Come into the house this very minute, both of you." + +"Come on, Joe; I s'pose we've got to go. The dude wants to thank us for +lookin' after the princess." + +"You can go; I sha'n't," Joe said, with difficulty, as if he were +choking, and Plums gazed at him in surprise. + +"Joseph! George! Where are you?" + +"Out here by the garden, aunt Dorcas. Joe won't come in." + +"Go on by yourself, an' leave me alone," Master Potter said, angrily, +still keeping his face hidden from view. + +"It can't do any hurt to have one look at the dudes, an' seein's how +there's nothin' else goin' on, I guess I'll take the show in." + +Then Master Plummer sauntered leisurely towards the cottage, and Joe, +believing himself alone, began to sob as if his heart were breaking. + +He failed to hear aunt Dorcas as she came swiftly out through the shed +door and kneeled by his side. Not until she spoke did he think there was +a witness to his grief. + +[Illustration: "JOE, BELIEVING HIMSELF ALONE, BEGAN TO SOB AS IF HIS +HEART WERE BREAKING."] + +"Josey, my poor boy, are you grieving because Essie's parents have found +her at last?" + +Joe tried to speak, but could not, and the little woman continued: + +"You should rejoice because the sufferings of that poor father and +mother are at an end. Try to imagine their distress when the dear child +was missing, and they could not know whether she was alive or dead. +Think of them, as they pictured her alone in the streets, wandering +around until exhausted, or falling into the hands of wicked people who +would abuse her. Fancy what their sufferings must have been as compared +with yours, when you know that she will receive even better treatment +than we could give her. It is wicked, Josey, my boy, to grieve so +sorely, for a mother's heart has been lightened of all the terrible load +which has been upon it for so many days." + +Then aunt Dorcas patted the small portion of cheek which was exposed to +view between the bandages, and in many a loving way soothed the +sorrowing boy, until he suddenly sat bolt upright, wiping both eyes with +the sleeve of his coat, as he said, stoutly: + +"I'm a bloomin' idjut, aunt Dorcas, that's what I am, an' if you'd turn +to an' kick me, I'd be served nearer right than by havin' you pity me." + +"You're very far removed from an idiot, Joseph, and I am glad to know +your heart is still so tender that you can feel badly at the loss of a +dear little child like Essie,--Esther is her name. Now, Josey dear, +don't you want to know why those lawyers tried to find you?" + +"Have you been to see them, too?" Joe cried, in surprise. + +"Yes, indeed, dear. In the paper you took from Dan Fernald was another +advertisement directly below the one referring to you, and it was +concerning a little child who had been lost in the vicinity of the Grand +Central Station. The same names were signed to it, and on seeing that, I +believed I understood why so much money would be paid for information +concerning you." + +"I s'pose it's all straight enough, aunt Dorcas; but I can't seem to +make out what you mean." + +"Nothing can be plainer, my child. Little Essie was left in charge of a +nurse at the station, and when the foolish woman missed the baby, +instead of making immediate inquiries, she spent her time fainting. Not +until nearly eight o'clock that evening did the poor mother learn of her +terrible loss, and then detectives were sent out at once. The boy at the +fruit store, on being questioned, as was every one else in that +vicinity, described the baby he saw in your arms, and told the officers +your name. You had disappeared, and the only thing left was to offer a +reward for information as to your whereabouts." + +"Then they didn't think I'd done anything crooked?" + +"If by that you mean 'wrong,' they didn't. It was the only clew they had +to the child; but on the following day it was learned you had been seen +with George, and then his name appeared in the advertisement. After +that, some of the newsboys from around City Hall Square brought word +that Dan Fernald was with you, and a reward was also offered for +knowledge of his whereabouts. You see, Josey dear, if Mr. Raymond--that +is the name of Essie's father--could find either of you three boys, he +was reasonably certain of getting news regarding his baby." + +"Then I ran away from nothing, did I?" + +"Yes, Josey dear, you did what many older persons than you have done, +and what God's Book tells us the wicked do,--fled when no man was +pursuing." + +"Well, I _have_ been a chump!" + +"Do you mean that you've been foolish?" + +"I s'pose that's what you'd call it. I'm a reg'lar jay from Jayville, +an' yesterday mornin' I let that bloomin' imitation detective scare me!" + +"Those wiser than you might have misconstrued that advertisement, +Joseph; but this shall teach you that there is nothing to fear when your +conscience is clear. Meet trouble half-way, and it dwindles into mere +vexation. Now, dear, I want you to come into the house with me and meet +Mr. and Mrs. Raymond. They know how kind you have been to Essie, and +wish to thank you." + +"Well, they can't thank me for takin' care of the princess, an' I only +wish she'd never had a father and a mother, for then I could have kept +her all the time." + +"Won't you come to please me, dear?" and aunt Dorcas laid her hand on +the boy's arm affectionately. + +"When you put it that way, I'll have to go," and Joe rose slowly to his +feet. + +"Of course you want to see Essie before she leaves?" + +"Are they goin' to take her right away?" + +"Certainly, Joseph. Do you fancy that poor mother could go away without +her?" + +Joe made no reply, and, linking her arm in his, aunt Dorcas led him in +through the shed, but before they had reached the cottage Plums came +towards them at an unusually rapid rate of speed, crying, excitedly: + +"The dudes have gone, aunt Dorcas. They've gone, and that very same +swell carriage is comin' here to-morrow mornin' to take me an' Joe an' +you into the city to see the princess." + +"Gone?" aunt Dorcas exclaimed, in surprise. + +"Yes; I told 'em Joe was kind er grumpy 'cause princess was goin' away, +an' the boss said perhaps it would be better if they took a sneak. He +left a letter in the front room for you,--wrote it on a card he got out +of his pocket." + +It was plain to be seen from the expression on aunt Dorcas's face that +she was disappointed; but she repressed her own feelings to say to Joe: + +"Perhaps it is the best way, dear, for it would have caused you still +more sorrow to say good-bye to Essie. Now you will have time to grow +accustomed to the loss before you see her again." + +Plums was in such a state of delirious excitement, owing to the fact +that he was to reenter New York like a "reg'lar swell," that it seemed +impossible for him to behave in a proper fashion. + +He danced to and fro, as if active movement was his greatest delight, +and insisted on bringing to aunt Dorcas the card which Mr. Raymond had +left, even while she was making her way as rapidly as possible to the +front room. + +The message to the little woman read as follows: + + MY DEAR MISS MILFORD: I understand that the lad who has been + so kind to Essie does not wish to see her just at present; + therefore, perhaps it is better we go at once, and without + ceremony. Will you yet further oblige me by coming to my + house to-morrow? The carriage shall be here about ten + o'clock. Very sincerely yours, + + EDWARD RAYMOND. + +"There is no reason why we shouldn't go, dear?" aunt Dorcas asked Joe, +after reading the message aloud. + +"There's Dan Fernald cuttin' across the orchard, down towards the road! +Now's our time to catch him!" Plums shouted, before Joe could reply to +aunt Dorcas's kindly words, and in another instant the two boys were in +hot pursuit. + +Aunt Dorcas, believing they were trying to catch the amateur detective +in order to punish him for what had been said during the morning, cried +shrilly for them to come back; but her words were unheeded, because +unheard. + +Master Fernald was not in condition for a race, owing to his having +travelled to and fro a goodly portion of the day in search of revenge, +and the chase was soon ended. + +In attempting to climb over the orchard fence into the road, he tripped, +fell, and, before it was possible to rise again, Joe was on his back. + +"I'll have the law on you if you dare to strike me!" Dan cried, in +accents of terror, and Joe replied, disdainfully: + +"Don't be afraid, you bloomin' duffer. I ain't goin' to hurt you now, +'cause I feel too good. I'm only countin' on showin' what kind of a +detective you are, an' tellin' what'll happen if you hang 'round here an +hour longer." + +"I'm goin' to New York an' have the perlice on your trail before dark +to-night," Dan cried, speaking indistinctly because of Joe's grasp upon +his throat. + +"I'm willin' you should do that jest as soon's you get ready. It won't +bother me a little bit, 'cause aunt Dorcas told the story this mornin', +an' the man what put the advertisement in the papers has been out here. +Now, you listen to me, Dan Fernald, and perhaps after this you'll give +over your funny detective business. All them lawyers wanted of me was to +find out where the princess was, an' if, instead of runnin' away, I'd +flashed myself up on Pine Street, there wouldn't have been any trouble. +I ought'er black both your eyes for tryin' to set fire to aunt Dorcas's +barn; but somehow I can't do it, 'cause she don't like to have fellers +fight. Now you can get into New York an' fetch your perlice." + +Joe released his hold of Master Fernald; but the latter was so +astonished by the information given, that he made no effort to rise. + +"Is all that true, or are you foolin' me?" he asked, after a time. + +"Say, the best thing you can do is to come up an' talk with aunt Dorcas. +It would do you a heap of good, Dan, an', come to think of it, you've +_got_ to go." + +Master Fernald was not as eager to visit the cottage now as he had +been, for he understood that Joe was speaking the truth, and the +prospect of meeting the little woman, after all he had said and +attempted to do, was not pleasing. + +"Don't let up on him," Plums cried, vindictively. "He's to blame for +this whole racket, an' ought'er be served out a good deal worse'n aunt +Dorcas will serve him." + +Dan struggled manfully, but all to no purpose. His late friends were +determined he should visit the woman he had intended to wrong, and half +dragged, half carried him up the lane, until they were met by aunt +Dorcas herself, who sternly asked why they were ill-treating a boy +smaller than themselves. + +"It's Dan Fernald, aunt Dorcas," Plums said, as if in surprise that she +should have interfered. "It's the same feller what wasn't goin' to show +you the paper till you'd 'greed to board him the balance of the summer, +an' in less than a half an hour after you went away he set the barn +afire. We thought it would do him a heap of good to talk with you a +spell." + +"Let him alone, children. If he doesn't wish to speak with me you must +not try to force him. Suppose you two go into the garden a little while, +and leave us alone?" + +This did not please Plums, for he had anticipated hearing the little +woman read Master Fernald a lecture; but he could do no less than act +upon the suggestion, and as the two went slowly towards the barn, Master +Plummer said, regretfully: + +"It's too bad we couldn't hear what she had to say, after I told her +about his settin' the barn afire." + +"Look here, Plums, you'd been disappointed if she'd let you listen. She +ain't the kind of a woman that would rave, an' scold, an' tear 'round; +but when she gets through with Dan Fernald, he'll feel a mighty sight +worse than if she'd knocked his two eyes into one." + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +THE REWARD. + + +The conversation did not lag during the two hours or more the boys +remained near about the garden, waiting for aunt Dorcas to summon them +after the interview with the amateur detective should have come to an +end. + +Now that there was no longer any mystery concerning the advertisement, +it seemed strange they had not understood why the attorneys wished to +see Joe. + +"We must be awful chumps, to let Dan Fernald frighten us as he did," Joe +said, thoughtfully, after they had discussed the matter in all its +different phases. "Why we didn't see that it was the princess they was +after, beats me! Perhaps it might have come 'round to it if I'd been +alone; but that imitation detective seemed to have it down so fine, that +I didn't stop to think of anything but what he said." + +"Anyhow, he did us a good turn, 'cause if we hadn't skipped we'd never +found out there was a woman like aunt Dorcas." + +"That's a fact, Plums, an', come to look at it that way, I ain't so +certain but we ought'er let up on the duffer. Say, it'll be mighty +tough to go back an' live in that shanty of your'n after bein' out here, +won't it?" + +"Do you s'pose we've got to leave this place?" and Master Plummer looked +alarmed. + +"Course we have. You don't count on spongin' a livin' out of a poor +little woman like aunt Dorcas, I hope?" + +"I wouldn't reg'larly do her up for my board; but I was thinkin' perhaps +she'd have work enough so's we could pay our way. You come pretty near +squarin' things when you tackled the burglar." + +"I didn't do so much as a flea-bite. If aunt Dorcas had been alone an' +heard the man sneakin' 'round, she'd been prayin' with him in less'n +five minutes, an' he'd gone away a good deal more sore than he did." + +"I guess that's straight enough," Plums replied, with a sigh, for as it +was thus proven that the little woman did not stand in need of their +services, his heart grew sad. + +"She can take care of herself, you bet, an' come up bright an' smilin' +every time. We've got to go back to-morrow, Plums, an' hustle for +five-cent stews." + +"I don't want any more of it, after knowin' how aunt Dorcas can cook. +Are you goin' into the paper business ag'in?" + +"I guess I'll have to, after I pick up enough cash to start in with. +I'll tackle the _de_pot, for that job was pannin' out mighty well till I +found the princess," Joe replied, and then he relapsed into silence, for +the thought that the child was no longer dependent upon him brought +more sorrow to his heart than had come to Plums because of being forced +to go to work again. + +Then came the summons for which the boys had been waiting, and when they +entered the house, expecting to find aunt Dorcas alone, a disagreeable +surprise awaited them. + +The amateur detective was in the kitchen regaling himself with a quarter +section of custard pie, while the little woman fluttered to and fro +between the table and the pantry, as if bent on tempting his appetite to +the utmost. + +"Dan will stay here till morning," she said, cheerily, as the boys +entered, "and then we'll take him to the ferry in Mr. Raymond's +carriage." + +"Are you goin' to keep him, after he set the barn afire?" Joe asked, in +surprise, as he shook his fist at the amateur detective, while aunt +Dorcas's back was turned. + +"He didn't really intend to do me an injury, and feels sorry because of +harbouring such revengeful thoughts." + +At that instant, aunt Dorcas saw Master Plummer making threatening +gestures, which were replied to vigorously by Dan, and she added, +quickly: + +"I want you boys to be firm friends from this day. All three have made a +mistake; but there will be no evil result from it unless through your +own wilfulness. Joe, try, for my sake, to be good, and treat Dan as if +there had been no hard feelings." + +Master Potter would have been better pleased if aunt Dorcas had asked of +him something which could only be performed after great suffering and +painful endurance; but with a slight show of hesitation he approached +the amateur detective in what he intended should appear like a friendly +manner, and said, stiffly: + +"I'll do what aunt Dorcas says, though it comes mighty hard after what +you threatened yesterday, Dan. We're friends now; but I'll wipe the +floor up with you, if you don't walk pretty near straight." + +The little woman was not particularly well pleased at this evidence of +friendliness; but she professed to be satisfied, and the three boys +glared at each other like so many pugnacious cats until the evening +devotions were begun. + +Then aunt Dorcas read, with great fervour, the first chapter of the +Sermon on the Mount, and afterwards prayed so earnestly for those +"within her gates," that Joe resolved then and there to treat Dan as he +had done before the princess was found,--at least, during such time as +the amateur detective behaved himself in what he considered a proper +manner. + +"Joseph and George are to sleep in the spare-room to-night, and Daniel +will occupy the chamber over the kitchen," aunt Dorcas announced, when +the devotions were brought to a close. + +"Did you take off the best sheets?" Master Potter asked. + +"Of course not, Joseph." + +"Why don't you do it? Plums an' me would be snug enough if there wasn't +any clothes at all on the bed." + +"We will leave it as it is, dear. Perhaps I was wrong in not letting you +occupy it before." + +"How could that be?" Joe asked, in astonishment. + +"I have allowed myself to be proud of the chamber, and the Book +particularly warns us against pride. It is better that I accustom myself +to seeing it used." + +When Joe and Plums were in the spare-room that night, neither daring to +stretch out at full length lest he should soil the sheets more than was +absolutely necessary, Master Potter whispered confidentially to his +friend: + +"Aunt Dorcas is a mighty good woman, Plums; but, 'cordin' to my way of +thinkin', she's makin' a pile of trouble for herself." + +"How?" + +"Some day a reg'lar duffer like Dan Fernald will come along, an' then +she'll get taken in mighty bad." + +"Seems almost as if we ought'er stay here an' take care of her, don't +it?" + +"There's no sense thinkin' anything like that, Plums. This is our last +night in a first-class bed, an' from to-morrow mornin' we've got to +hustle jest the same as if we'd never had it so rich." + +Then Joe fell asleep, to dream of the princess, and until aunt Dorcas +awakened him, next morning, it was as if nothing had occurred to depose +him from the position of guardian. + +There was work enough for all three of the guests in the Milford cottage +after breakfast had been served. + +The little woman was preparing for her visit to the city as if she +expected to be absent from home several days, instead of only a few +hours, and the boys were called upon to assist in the household duties, +although it is quite probable they were more of a hindrance than a help. + +Dan was doing his best at washing the kitchen floor, Joe was trimming +the lamps, and Plums piling up wood in the shed, when the Raymond +carriage rumbled up the lane, causing the utmost confusion and dismay +among aunt Dorcas's assistants. + +Because of having been kept thus steadily employed, the time had passed +wonderfully quick, and, until each in turn had looked at the clock, it +was impossible to realise that the coachman had not arrived long in +advance of the hour set. + +Even the little woman herself was unprepared for so early a coming of +the carriage, and during the ensuing ten minutes the utmost confusion +reigned. + +Then aunt Dorcas and her family were ready for the ride, and Plums said, +with an air of content as he leaned against the wonderful cushions of +the front seat: + +"We're a set of sporty dudes now, an' I only hope that feller won't +drive very fast, 'cause we shouldn't have any too long to stay in this +rig, even if he walked the horses every step of the way. Say, this is +great, ain't it?" + +Dan made no remark during the ride; but it was evident he enjoyed +himself quite as well as did any other member of the party, and when the +carriage was on the New York side of the river, Master Fernald looked +with undisguised envy at his companions, as he said to aunt Dorcas: + +"I s'pose I've got to get out now, eh?" + +"Yes, Daniel, for we are going directly to Mr. Raymond's home, and could +not take you there. Come to see me some time, and remember what you have +promised about being a good boy." + +"I'll keep as straight as I can," Master Fernald replied, and then he +glanced at the boys, as if doubtful whether he ought to bid them +good-bye. + +Perhaps Joe would have said no word in parting but for the gentle +pressure of aunt Dorcas's hand on his. He understood from it what the +little woman would have him do, and leaning forward, said, in a kindly +tone: + +"We'll see you later, Dan. Plums an' I won't be swellin' much longer, +but will be at work by this time to-morrow." + +Then Master Plummer did his part by adding: + +"We'll let up on the detective business, eh, Dan, an' settle down to +reg'lar work as soon as this swellin' is over." + +The coachman gave rein to the horses, and Dan Fernald was soon left far +in the rear. + + * * * * * + +On the afternoon of this same day, when the rush for evening papers had +subsided and the merchants of Newspaper Row were resting from their +labours, as they listened to Dan Fernald's story of his adventures, +Plums suddenly appeared, looking remarkably well pleased with himself +and the world in general. + +[Illustration: "THEN AUNT DORCAS AND HER FAMILY WERE READY FOR THE +RIDE."] + +"Hello! We thought you was settin' round up-town with the rest of the +dudes. Dan says you come down from the country in a swell turnout," +Jerry Hayes cried, with something very like envy in his tones. + +"Dan couldn't laid it on any too thick, for we've been humpin' ourselves +in great style," Master Plummer replied, with an air of satisfaction. + +"Did you really go into the dude's house?" + +"Yes, an' what's more, we eat dinner there! Say, boys, McGowan's +restaurant ain't in it alongside of what we struck up at the princess's +house. There was more stuff on the table than this crowd could have got +away with,--an' talk 'bout silver dishes! I never had any such time +before, an' I thought aunt Dorcas run a pretty fine place!" + +"Where's Joe Potter?" + +"Up there, actin' like he owned the town." + +"Do you mean that he's stoppin' with the dude all this time?" Jerry +asked, incredulously. + +"Yes, an' that ain't the worst of it. He's likely to hang 'round the +place quite a spell. Say, there was a thousand dollars reward to whoever +found the princess, an' her father says Joe was to have it!" + +"What? A thousand dollars? Go off, Plums; you're dreamin'." + +"You'll find out whether I am or not, when you see Joe. Say, I s'pose +you think he'll come 'round sellin' papers again, don't you? Well, he +won't. He's goin' to work down on Wall Street, for the princess's +father; an' him an' me are to live with aunt Dorcas from now out. He'll +come into town every mornin', an' I'll hang 'round the place livin' +high, with nothin' to do but tend to things." + +"What kind of a stiff are you puttin' up on us, Plums?" Tim Morgan +asked, sternly. + +"It's all straight as a string. When we got up to the princess's house, +she jest went wild at seein' Joe, an', if you'll believe it, she set on +his knee more'n half the time I stayed there. Her father made us tell +all we'd done from the minute Joe found the kid, an' then he said a +thousand dollars was promised to the feller what would find her. Of +course we didn't s'pose he'd pay the money after givin' us a ride in his +team, an' settin' up the dinner; but he stuck to it like a little man. +Aunt Dorcas is to take care of the wealth, an' seein's how she told him +where we fellers was, he's to give her what the advertisement promised, +an' that's a hundred dollars apiece for the three of us. When all this +was fixed, the princess's father offered Joe a job, an' he's to have six +dollars a week, with a raise every year if he minds his eye. They're out +buyin' clothes now, an' I slipped down to see you fellers, 'cause we're +goin' back to aunt Dorcas's house this evenin'." + +Master Plummer's friends were not disposed to believe what he told them, +until the story had been repeated several times, and all the details had +been given. + +Then it appeared as if there could be no doubt, and each boy vied with +the other in his attentions to Plums, who was now a very desirable +acquaintance, since it might possibly be in his power to invite them to +that cottage of aunt Dorcas's, concerning which Dan Fernald had given +such glowing accounts. + +[Illustration: "'McGOWAN'S RESTAURANT AIN'T IN IT ALONGSIDE OF WHAT WE +STRUCK UP AT THE PRINCESS'S HOUSE.'"] + +Plums had promised to meet the little woman and Joe at the Weehawken +ferry-slip at seven o'clock, and since at that hour there was no +business to be done on Newspaper Row, his friends decided to accompany +him to the rendezvous. + +To the delight of all the boys, aunt Dorcas and Joe arrived in Mr. +Raymond's carriage, and instantly they appeared, the assembled throng +set up such a shout of welcome as caused the little woman to grip Master +Potter's hand nervously, as she cried: + +"Mercy on us, Joseph, what _is_ the matter?" + +Joe had caught a glimpse of Plums's following before the outcry was +heard, and replied, with a laugh: + +"It's only a crowd of the fellers come to see us off. Most likely Plums +has been tellin' 'em about the good luck that has come to me, an' they +want to give us a send-off." + +"Do try to stop them from making such a noise, Joseph. What will the +neighbours think of us?" + +"They'll believe you're a howlin' swell, aunt Dorcas, an' everybody will +be wantin' to look at you." + +"Let us get out as quick as ever we can, or the policeman will accuse us +of making a disturbance." + +It was necessary aunt Dorcas should remain where she was until the +driver had opened the carriage door. By that time Plums's friends had +gathered around the vehicle, gazing with open-mouthed astonishment at +Joe, who was clad in a new suit of clothes, and looked quite like a +little gentleman. + +Aunt Dorcas was actually trembling as she descended from the carriage, +Joe assisting her in the same manner he had seen Mr. Raymond, and the +cheers which greeted her did not tend to make the little woman any more +comfortable in mind. + +The princess's father would have sent his carriage the entire distance +but for the fact that aunt Dorcas preferred to arrive at her home in +such a conveyance as could be hired in Weehawken. + +"It is more suitable," she had said. "While I enjoyed every inch of the +ride this morning, I could not help feeling as if we were wearing +altogether too fine feathers for working people." + +Plums's friends insisted on crossing the ferry with him, and during the +passage aunt Dorcas was presented to each in turn, a proceeding which +entirely allayed her fears lest they would create an "unseemly +disturbance." + +"I know I should come to like every one of them," she whispered to Joe, +"and before we go ashore you must invite them out to the cottage for a +whole day." + +"They'd scare the neighbours, aunt Dorcas," Joe said, with a laugh, and +the little woman replied, quite sharply: + +"Mr. McArthur is the only one who would hear the noise, and if I have +not complained because his dogs howled around the cottage night after +night these twenty years, I guess he can stand the strain one day." + +Joe repeated aunt Dorcas's invitation while the boat was entering the +slip, and when the little woman went on shore, the cheers which came +from twenty pairs of stout lungs drowned all other sounds. + +"Walk quickly, boys," she said, forced to speak very loud, because of +the tumult. "Your friends mean well, I have no doubt; but they are +making a perfect spectacle of us." + +It was not possible for the little woman to walk so rapidly but that she +heard distinctly, when at some distance from the ferry-slip, Jerry +Hayes's shrill voice, as he cried: + +"Now, fellers, give her three more, an' a tiger for the princess an' Joe +Potter!" + +[Illustration] + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Princess and Joe Potter, by James Otis + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PRINCESS AND JOE POTTER *** + +***** This file should be named 32249.txt or 32249.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/3/2/2/4/32249/ + +Produced by David Edwards, Josephine Paolucci and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net. + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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