the favorite resort of the passengers.

It was two o'clock in the morning, and the independent excursionists
were tired and sleepy. They had taken first-class tickets, and two of
them had been assigned to each "huette." As soon as they went on board,
therefore, they retired, and most of them slept, in spite of the fleas
and other vermin that revelled in their banquet of blood. None but
very tired boys could have slumbered under such unfavorable
circumstances, and it is a great pity that a steamer otherwise so
neat and comfortable should be given up to the dominion of these
sleep-destroying insects.

At seven the party turned out, anxious to see the scenery on the banks
of the canal. The steamer was still in the river, a stream not more
than a hundred and fifty feet wide, with occasional rapids, which are
passed by canals, with locks in them. The scenery was pleasant, with
rocky hills on each side. Schooners and other craft were continually
met, loaded with lumber and other articles from the lakes. The scene
was novel and interesting, and though the boys gaped fearfully, they
enjoyed the view.

Presently one of the women, who do all the work of stewards and
waiters, appeared with coffee on deck, passing the cups to the
passengers first, and then filling them. The coffee was delicious,
served with the whitest of sugar and the richest of cream, with some
little biscuits. It waked the boys up, and seemed to make new beings
of them.

"How's this, Sanford?" said Scott.

"First rate! That's the best coffee I ever drank in my life," replied
the coxswain.

"Is it a free blow?"

"I don't know. How is it, Ole?"

"No; you pay at the end of the trip for all you have had," replied the
waif.

"But who keeps the account?" asked Scott.

"Nobody," laughed Ole. "On the boats from Christiania every passenger
tells what he has had, and pays for it."

"Do they think everybody is honest?"

"Certainly; everybody is honest."

"Not much," added Sanford, shaking his head. "Of course you don't
pretend to be honest, Norway."

"But I do."

"You didn't take a sovereign from me, and another from Burchmore--did
you?"

"I take what you give me."

"It may be honest, but I don't see it in that light, Norway."

"Never mind that now, Sanford," interposed Burchmore. "He sold out the
last time for the public good."

"Do you expect to find the ship in Stockholm when we get there?" asked
Scott.

"Of course I do," replied Sanford. "