ain Wright, very quietly,
as he sat down opposite to Stumps, "with a young man named Wright--Robin
Wright?"

Stumps's face became deadly pale.

"Ah! I see you were," resumed the captain; "and you and he had
something to do, now, with bags of some sort?"

The captain was, as the reader knows, profoundly ignorant of everything
connected with the bags except their existence, but he had his
suspicions, and thought this a rather knowing way of inducing Stumps to
commit himself. His surprise, then, may be imagined when Stumps,
instead of replying, leaped up and dashed wildly out of the room,
overturning the pot of beer upon Captain Rik's legs.

Stumps shot like an arrow past the landlord, a retired pugilist, who
chanced to be in the doorway. Captain Rik, recovering, darted after
him, but was arrested by the landlord.

"Not quite so fast, old gen'l'man! As you've had some of your mate's
beer, you'd better pay for it."

"Let me go!--stop him!" cried the captain, struggling.

As well might he have struggled in the grasp of Hercules. His reason
asserted itself the instant the fugitive was out of sight. He silently
paid for the beer, went back to the Fairy Queen to inform the captain
that his man Gibson was a thief--to which the captain replied that it
was very probable, but that it was no business of his--and then wandered
sadly back to tell the Wright family how Gibson, _alias_ Stumps, _alias_
Shunks, had been found and lost.

CHAPTER THIRTY.

THE WRIGHT FAMILY REUNITED, AND SAM BECOMES HIGHLY ELECTRICAL.

That much-abused and oft-neglected meal called tea had always been a
scene of great festivity and good-fellowship in the Wright family.
Circumstances, uncontrollable of course, had from the beginning
necessitated a dinner at one o'clock, so that they assembled round the
family board at six each evening, in a hungry and happy frame of body
and mind, (which late diners would envy if they understood it), with the
prospect of an evening--not bed--before them.

In the earlier years of the family, the meal had been, so to speak, a
riotous one, for both Robin and Madge had uncontrollable spirits, with
tendencies to drop spoons on the floor, and overturn jugs of milk on the
table. Later on, the meal became a jolly one, and, still later, a
chatty one--especially after uncle Rik and cousin Sam began to be
frequent guests.

But never in all the experience of the family had the favourite meal
been so jolly, so p