iron
cannons interspersed with pyramids of cannon-balls, piled up in exact
order, which were spread out upon the parks. Then their wonder was
excited by the dry-dock, with its smooth granite walls, its massive
gates, and its capacious area, sufficient to float the largest frigate.
The lofty ship-houses in which vessels are constructed, and the long
stone rope-walk, with its curious machinery, also attracted their
attention. So interested were they in these things, that nearly two
hours elapsed before they started for home.

On their way back to the hotel, Joseph entertained Alfred and Oscar
with some incidents of his life. His mother, he said, died when he was
quite young. His father went to sea as the captain of a ship, two
years before, and had never been heard from. He had rich relatives,
who wanted him to go to West Point and be a cadet, but he did not like
to study, and had persuaded them to let him and Stephen go and live
with their uncle at the west, who had no boys of his own, and wanted
somebody to help him to manage his immense farm. Such, in brief, was
Joseph's story.

On their return route, the boys were careful to avoid passing by the
cellar from which Joseph had stolen the nuts. With all his pluck and
bravery, he did not care about meeting the man whose displeasure he had
excited a few hours before.

It was twelve o'clock before the boys reached the hotel. Oscar, during
the latter part of the walk, had been unusually silent. He was
thinking how he should manage to conceal his truancy, but he could not
hit upon any satisfactory plan. The more he reflected upon the matter,
the more he was troubled and perplexed about it. He might possibly
hide his mis-spent forenoon from his parents, but how should he explain
his absence to his teachers? He could not tell. He decided, however,
to see his brothers before they should get home from school, and, if
they had noticed his absence, to prevail upon them to say nothing about
it.

"You 'll be back again after dinner, Oscar?" said Alfred, as his friend
started for home.

"Yes," replied Oscar, with some hesitation; "I 'll see you before
school-time."

"School-time? You don't intend to go to school this afternoon, do
you?" inquired Alfred.

Oscar did not reply, but hastened homeward. He soon found Ralph and
George, but as neither of them spoke of his absence from school, he
concluded that they were ignorant of it, and he therefore made no
allusio