p on the Cap.

"See here, Woodie!" says I, "you're elected. You'll have to stay by the
kids until relieved. They've adopted you."

"Aw, I say now," says he, "this is too beastly absurd, y'know. It's a
bore. Why, if I don't find some place or other very soon I'll get a
wetting."

"You can't go anywhere without those kids," says I; "so come along back
with us. We need you in our business."

He didn't like it a little bit, for he'd figured on shakin' the bunch of
us; but he had to go, and when he came right-about-face the procession
did a snake movement there in the road that would have done credit to
the Seventh Regiment.

I'd been lookin' around for a place to make for. Off over the trees
toward the Sound was a flag-pole that I reckoned stood on some kind of a
buildin' and there was a road runnin' that way.

"We'll mosey down towards that," says I; "but we could make better time,
Cap'n, if you'd get your party down to light-weight marchin' order.
Suppose you give the command for them to shed them cork jackets."

"Why, really, now," says he, lookin' over the crowd kind of helpless, "I
haven't the faintest idea how to do it, y'know."

"Well, it's up to you," says I. "Make a speech to 'em."

Say, that was the dopiest bunch of kids I ever saw. They acted like they
wa'n't more'n half alive, standin' there in pairs, as quiet as sheep,
waitin' for the word. But that's the way they bring 'em up in these
Homes, like so many machines, and they didn't know how to act any other
way. Sadie saw it, and dropped down on her knees to gather in as many as
she could get her arms around.

"Oh, you poor little wretches!" says she, beginnin' to sniffle.

"Cut it out, Sadie!" says I. "There ain't any time for that. Unbuckle
them belts. Turn to, Cap, and get on the job. You're in this."

As soon as Woodie showed 'em what was wanted, though, they skinned
themselves out of those canvas sinkers in no time at all. We left the
truck in the road, and with the English gent for drum-major, Sadie in
the middle, and me playin' snapper on the end, we starts for the
flag-pole. I thought maybe it might be a hotel; but when we got where
the road opened out of the woods to show us how near the Sound we was, I
sees that it's a yacht club, with a lot of flags flyin' and a whole
bunch of boats anchored off. About then we felt the first wet spots.

"They've got to take us into that club-house," says Sadie.

We'd got as far as the gates, one of the