gged into the dining-room by Cap'n Cod, and formally presented
as "Mr. Winn, of Massachusetts," to "my grand-niece Sabella, sir."

[Illustration: Winn's introduction to Sabella.]

Winn will never know whether the girl laughed or not, for at that
moment Don Blossom, who had been seated on the floor daintily nibbling
a sweet biscuit, sprang chattering to her shoulder and buried his face
in her hair, as he had done upon the boy's first appearance. This
episode formed such a seasonable diversion that by the time the girl
succeeded in freeing herself from the clutches of her pet, Winn was
seated at the table with the most conspicuous portion of his absurd
costume concealed beneath its friendly shelter.

During the meal Winn and Sabella exchanged furtive glances, which each
hoped the other would not notice, and the boy, at least, blushed
furiously whenever one of his was detected. Although neither of them
said much, the meal was by no means a silent one; for the Captain
maintained a steady and cheerful flow of conversation from its
beginning to its end. He told Sabella a thrilling tale of Winn's
narrow escape from drowning, and how his friends were at that moment
drifting far away down the river, anxiously speculating as to his fate.
Then he told Winn of the painting of the panorama, the building of the
_Whatnot_, and of his plans for the future.

When the meal finally came to an end, on account of Winn's inability to
eat any more, the boy was surprised to find how much at home he had
been made to feel by the unaffected simplicity and unobtrusive kindness
of these strangers.

While Sabella and Solon cleared the table, the Captain lighted a
lantern and showed him over the boat. Thus the boy discovered that
while its after-part was devoted to the engine-room and quarters for an
animated, one-mule-power engine, a galley, and the general living-room,
the remainder of the house was arranged as an entertainment hall, with
a small curtained stage at one end, and seats for one hundred
spectators. Cap'n Cod informed him that this was to be his sleeping
apartment so long as he remained with them. The Captain slept in the
pilot-house, while Sabella's dainty little room was in the after-house
on the upper deck, and was connected with the living-room by a flight
of inside stairs.

CHAPTER XVIII.

FOLLOWING THE TRAIL.

The next morning, when Winn opened his eyes after the first night of
undisturbed sleep he had enjoye