al size. Aunt Sarah's bread won a
prize. A blue ribbon attached to Frau Schmidt's highly-prized,
old-fashioned, patchwork quilt, showed it to be a winner. Ralph, being
interested in the pens of fancy chickens, prize cattle, etc., Mary
reluctantly left the woman's department of fancy work, and other
interesting things, and accompanied him. On their way to the outlying
cattle sheds they noticed two lovers sitting on a bench. Upon a second
glance they were convinced that it was Jake and Sibylla. Jake, beaming
with happiness, said, "Sibylla vos side by me yet?" They were busily
engaged eating a lunch consisting of rolls with hot "weiners" between
the two halves, or, as Jake called them, "Doggies," munching pretzels
and peanuts between sips of strong coffee, both supremely happy. A
yearly visit to the Allentown Fair on "Big Thursday," was _the event_
in their dull, prosaic lives.

[Illustration: DURHAM CAVE]

CHAPTER XXX.

FRITZ SCHMIDT EXPLORES DURHAM CAVE.

It appeared to be nothing new for Fritz Schmidt to get into trouble;
rather the contrary. One day in early Fall, after the first frost, he,
in company with a number of boys, drove to Durham, not many miles
distant from his home, in search of persimmons, the crop of which, on
account of the severity of the preceding winter, old farmers had
predicted would be exceedingly heavy.

Fritz did not tell the boys of his intention to explore a cave which
he had been told was in the neighborhood, thinking it would be a good
joke to explore the cave first, then tell the boys later of his
adventure.

The old gentleman from whom Fritz gained his information relative to
the cave aroused the boy's curiosity by saying, "Very many years ago,
a skeleton was found in Durham cave and one of the bones, on
examination, proved to be the thigh bone of a human being. How he came
there, or the manner of his death, was never known." A large room in
the cave is known as "Queen Esther's Drawing Room," where, tradition
has it "Queen Esther," or Catharine Montour, which was her rightful
name, at one time inhabited this cave with some of her Indian
followers.

Fritz accidentally stumbled upon the mouth of the cave. None of the
other boys being in sight, Fritz quickly descended into the cave,
which was dark as night. By lighting a second match as quickly as one
was burned, he explored quite a distance, when, accidentally dropping
his box of matches, the burning match in his hand, at th