ay was strung to
the window of his own bedroom "scatecornered" across Willow Street.

His aim was the window of the little girls' big playing and sleeping
room now, for the wire basket chanced to be fastened at this end of the
line. He had it in his mind to pull the basket over to his own house,
fill it there with some sort of cargo, and draw it back and forth,
amusing himself by imagining that he was loading a ship from the dock.

"Or, maybe," Sammy ruminated, "I'll have the old ship wrecked, and the
lifesavers will put out the life buoy; and we'll bring the passengers
ashore. Crickey! that'll be just the thing. I'll save 'em all from
drownin'--that's what I'll do!"

Then he looked about in some anxiety for the wrecked passengers of the
foundered steamship which he immediately imagined was cast on the reef
just about as far from the Corner House as his own domicile stood.

"Got to have passengers!" cried Sammy. "Oh, crickey! the dolls would be
just the thing. But I promised I wouldn't touch them. Aw, pshaw! a
feller can't have much fun after all where there's a lot of girls
around."

Not that the girls were here to bother Sammy Pinkney now; but he felt
the oppressive effect of Dot's mandatory decree.

"If a fellow had _forty_ dolls he wouldn't be afraid to give them a ride
on this aerial tramway!"

Wandering downstairs again and out upon the side porch he found
Sandyface lying in the sun, but within sight and hearing of the four new
blind babies which were nested upon Uncle Rufus' old coat just within
the shed door.

"Je-ru-sa-_lem_!" gasped Sammy, his eyes big with a sudden idea.

He knelt down beside the little soft balls of fur, and Sandyface came to
rub around him and worship likewise. But she had no idea of the thought
that ran riot in Sammy's head.

"Say! they'd never know they was disturbed," muttered the boy.

He gathered up the old coat, with the four little mites in it, and
started stealthily for the back stairs. Sandyface, not at all disturbed
in her mind, followed, purring, but with no intention of quite losing
sight of her babies. The little girls were in the habit of carrying her
progeny all about the place and always brought them back in safety.

Sammy stole up the stairs on tiptoe. He knew very well he was up to
mischief and he did not wish to meet Mrs. MacCall, or even Linda. For
the Finnish girl who helped the housekeeper had her private opinion of
Sammy Pinkney--and often expressed it p