Subject of Wallace's story.

The promised moral.

CHAPTER V.

WALLACE'S STORY.

"My story," said Wallace, in commencing his narrative, "is rather more appropriate to boys than to girls, or rather the moral of it, so far as there is any moral, applies more particularly to them than to you. I am afraid, besides, that you will not find it very interesting in itself. It is nothing but an account of my getting locked out of my father's house one night in New York, and of my adventures in getting a lodging at the hotel.”

"That will be an interesting story," said one of the younger girls.

"I was returning from the country," resumed Wallace, "where I had been spending the summer. All the family were out of town too, so that the house was empty, except that there was one servant there who had been left to take charge of it. I returned a day or two before the rest of the family, in order to make the necessary arrangements for opening the house, and

Wallace returning to New York.

Situaton of the house.

getting it ready for my father and mother, and Malleville.

"The cars in which I was traveling were to arrive at nine o'clock in the evening; and as James did not usually fasten up the house until ten, I thought I should have ample time to get home from the station in Canal street, before he to bed."

had

gone

Who was James?" asked one of the children named Marianne.

"He was the servant," replied Wallace, "who had charge of the house."

"Yes, you might have known that," said Caroline. You must not interrupt the story

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to ask questions."

I thought that James would not have locked up the house," continued Wallace, "before I should get home, and if he should have done so, I knew that it would be of no great consequence, as I had a night-key.”

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What is that?" asked Caroline.

'Why it is a kind of key," said Wallace, "which the New York people use to unlock their doors with, when they come home in the night." "Yes, you might have known that," said Marianne.

"You should not interrupt the story

to ask questions."

G

Marianne's retort upon Caroline.

The railroad accident.

The children all laughed at this retort. Caroline laughed too, more than the rest. She shook her fingers at Marianne, saying,

"Ah, you little bobalink,-now you have caught me and made them all laugh at me,— and I the queen too. I shall have to send you to the tower for that."

This was the very best thing that Caroline could have done in such a case.

The very best possible way to receive a harmless joke, is to join in the laugh that it occasions. Caroline, who was a girl of great intelligence and tact, perceived this at once in this instance, and thus escaped from her awkward position very gracefully. If she had looked grave and displeased, and thus evinced ill-humor and resentment on the occasion, she would have fixed herself in the position in which Marianne's retaliation had placed her, and made herself doubly ridiculous.

'About half-past seven o'clock in the evening," continued Wallace, "when we were about thirty or forty miles from New York, we met with an accident which stopped the train." "What accident was it?" asked Phonny, eagerly. 'Did you run over a cow ?"

"No," said Wallace, "it was not that. Nor do I know, in fact, precisely what the accident

Long detention.

Late arrival at New York.

Wallace's plans.

was. Something gave way about the machinery of the locomotive. We were detained an hour; for the conductor was obliged to send back five miles to get a new locomotive. Then we had to stop after that, at almost every station, to wait for other trains, coming from New York; for we had lost the time that belonged to our train, for getting into the city, and so we had to go on afterward as we could, in the intervals between the other trains. When at last we turned into the great station at Canal street, I looked at my watch and found that it was five minutes past eleven. Then I knew of course that James had gone to bed.

I determined however to go home and get into the house by means of my night-key, and go to my room, without letting James know that I had arrived, until the next morning. I had my plan all formed for getting a light and for doing every thing else which should be necessary, without disturbing James. What my plan was, you will understand by hearing what I did. As soon as I got out of the cars, I engaged a hack and gave my checks to the driver.”

What checks ?" asked Sarah. Sarah had never traveled by a railroad, and she did not know what Wallace meant.

The baggage checks.

Great number required.

"The checks for my baggage," said Wallace. "The railroad baggage-men have round pieces of metal with numbers stamped upon them which they call checks. They are about as large as a dollar. Sometimes, however, the checks are square. They are in pairs, each pair having the same number stamped upon both checks. When you begin your journey in the cars, the baggage-master takes your trunk, and then taking a pair of checks, he fastens one to your trunk by means of a little strap, and gives you the other: thus the trunk is numbered, and you have the number of it in your pocket, upon the check which is given to you. He gives you another check for your carpet-bag.'

"That is a good plan," said Phonny. "What were the numbers on your checks ?"

"I only remember one of them," said Wallace: "that was 1066."

Oh, how many trunks!" said Phonny. "Did they have a thousand and sixty-six trunks in that baggage-car?"

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Perhaps not," replied Wallace, " in that one train; but there are a great many trains sent off in the course of a day, and the baggage-masters require a great many checks. I gave my checks to the hackman, so that he might go and