r and red velvet sofas. We
let go of both the goat and the cat. It would be good for them to stir
their legs a little, poor creatures!

Pit-pat! pit-pat! Away went the goat to a sofa, and snatched a big bite
out of a bouquet of stock that lay there. One long lavender spray hung
dangling from Billy-goat's mouth.

"Oh, are you crazy? Catch your goat! Catch your goat!"

But the flowers were gone and the goat was dancing sideways over the
cabin floor.

From the sideboard sounded a thud and a horrible rattle te-bang of
glass and silver. The cat had sprung right up into a big bowl of cream
and all the cream was running down on the sofa.

It is a horrible sight to see two quarts of cream flowing over a red
velvet sofa! Oh, how frightened I was!

"Hold the door shut, Karsten!" I said. "I'll try to dry it up."

With shaking hands I tried to mop up the cream with my
pocket-handkerchief, while the cat and the kid lapped and drank the
cream that trickled down to the floor; and Karsten held the door shut
with all his might.

But it was like an ocean of cream. It was impossible--impossible for me
to dry it up.

"Oh, Karsten! what shall we do?"

"It was your cat that did it."

"Yes, but your goat ate the stock."

"Let's run away," said Karsten; and carrying the goat and the cat we
rushed up the narrow cabin stairs. But, O horrors! There wasn't any sort
of a place where we could hide.--And how it did look down in the cabin!
And Mother didn't know the least thing about it. O dear! O dear!

"If they only don't throw Billy-goat and the cat overboard!" said
Karsten thoughtfully.

"Are you up here again?" called Mother.

"Ye-es."

We ran away out forward, away to the bow of the boat. Usually I think
there is nothing so jolly as to sit far, far out in the bow, seeing
nothing of the boat back of me, just as if I were gliding forward high
up in the air. But to-day it wasn't the least bit jolly, for all that
cream down on the sofa was frightful to think of. Karsten and I couldn't
talk of anything else. He was angry, however, because I hadn't mopped it
up.

"Well, but I couldn't wipe it up with nothing."

"Oh, you could have taken your waterproof or something out of our
trunk."

I was really struck by that thought. Perhaps--perhaps I could get hold
of something to wipe up all that disgusting cream with. We both got up
from the box where we had been sitting. O horrors! There stood the
dining-room stewardess facing us. N