ng robbed, or
only murdered.

In the kitchen we saw that Noel was wrong as usual. It was neither. Mrs.
Pettigrew, screaming like a steam-siren and waving a broom, occupied the
foreground. In the distance the maid was shrieking in a hoarse and
monotonous way, and trying to shut herself up inside a clothes-horse on
which washing was being aired. On the dresser--which he had ascended by
a chair--was Billy, the acrobatic goat, doing his Alpine daring act. He
had found out his Andes for himself, and even as we gazed he turned and
tossed his head in a way that showed us some mysterious purpose was
hidden beneath his calm exterior. The next moment he put his off-horn
neatly behind the end plate of the next to the bottom row, and ran it
along against the wall. The plates fell crashing on to the soup tureen
and vegetable dishes which adorned the lower range of the Andes.

Mrs. Pettigrew's screams were almost drowned in the discording crash and
crackle of the falling avalanche of crockery.

Oswald, though stricken with horror and polite regret, preserved the
most dauntless coolness.

Disregarding the mop which Mrs. Pettigrew kept on poking at the goat in
a timid yet cross way, he sprang forward, crying out to his trusty
followers, "Stand by to catch him!"

But Dick had thought of the same thing, and ere Oswald could carry out
his long-cherished and general-like design, Dicky had caught the goat's
legs and tripped it up. The goat fell against another row of plates,
righted itself hastily in the gloomy ruins of the soup tureen and the
sauce-boats, and then fell again, this time towards Dicky. The two fell
heavily on the ground together. The trusty followers had been so struck
by the daring of Dicky and his lion-hearted brother that they had not
stood by to catch anything. The goat was not hurt, but Dicky had a
sprained thumb and a lump on his head like a black marble door-knob. He
had to go to bed.

I will draw a veil and asterisks over what Mrs. Pettigrew said. Also
Albert's uncle, who was brought to the scene of ruin by her screams. Few
words escaped our lips. There are times when it is not wise to argue;
however, little what has occurred is really our fault.

When they had said what they deemed enough, and we were let go, we all
went out. Then Alice said distractedly, in a voice which she vainly
strove to render firm:

"Let's give up the circus. Let's put the toys back in the boxes--no, I
don't mean that--the creatures