“Attendnow，“hesuddenlyexclaimed。“Itwillnotbesohsoon。Atderendofderday，venweshallhavehomegecommen，denwullitpeadjudge，eh？AREwardofmerittohimwhoderbes’pehaves。Itisanorder。Vorwarts！“
“ThatwasaSacramentotrain，“saidMarcustoSelinaastheystartedoff；“itwas，forafact。“
“IknowagirlinSacramento，“TrinatoldMcTeague。“She’sforewomaninaglovestore，andshe’sgotconsumption。“
“IwasinSacramentoonce，“observedMcTeague，“nearlyeightyearsago。“
“Isitaniceplace——asniceasSanFrancisco？“
“It’shot。Ipractisedthereforawhile。“
“IlikeSanFrancisco，“saidTrina，lookingacrossthebaytowherethecitypileditselfuponitshills。
“SodoI，“answeredMcTeague。“Doyoulikeitbetterthanlivingoverhere？“
“Oh，sure，Iwishwelivedinthecity。Ifyouwanttogoacrossforanythingittakesupthewholeday。“
“Yes，yes，thewholeday——almost。“
“Doyouknowmanypeopleinthecity？DoyouknowanybodynamedOelbermann？That’smyuncle。HehasawholesaletoystoreintheMission。Theysayhe’sawfulrich。“
“No，Idon’knowhim。“
“Hisstepdaughterwantstobeanun。Justfancy！AndMr。
Oelbermannwon’thaveit。Hesaysitwouldbejustlikeburyinghischild。Yes，shewantstoentertheconventoftheSacredHeart。AreyouaCatholic，DoctorMcTeague？“
“No。No，I——“
“PapaisaCatholic。HegoestoMassonthefeastdaysonceinawhile。Butmamma’sLutheran。“
“TheCatholicsaretryingtogetcontroloftheschools，“
observedMcTeague，suddenlyrememberingoneofMarcus’spoliticaltirades。
“That’swhatcousinMarksays。Wearegoingtosendthetwinstothekindergartennextmonth。“
“What’sthekindergarten？“
“Oh，theyteachthemtomakethingsoutofstrawandtoothpicks——kindofaplayplacetokeepthemoffthestreet。“
“There’soneuponSacramentoStreet，notfarfromPolkStreet。Isawthesign。“
“Iknowwhere。Why，Selinausedtoplaythepianothere。“
“Doessheplaythepiano？“
“Oh，yououghttohearher。Sheplaysfine。Selina’sveryaccomplished。Shepaints，too。“
“Icanplayontheconcertina。“
“Oh，canyou？Iwishyou’dbroughtitalong。Nexttimeyouwill。Ihopeyou’llcomeoftenonourpicnics。You’llseewhatfunwe’llhave。“
“Finedayforapicnic，ain’tit？Thereain’tacloud。“
“That’sso，“exclaimedTrina，lookingup，“notasinglecloud。Oh，yes；thereisone，justoverTelegraphHill。“
“That’ssmoke。“
“No，it’sacloud。Smokeisn’twhitethatway。“
“’Tisacloud。“
“IknewIwasright。IneversayathingunlessI’mprettysure。“
“Itlookslikeadog’shead。“
“Don’tit？Isn’tMarcusfondofdogs？“
“Hegotanewdoglastweek——asetter。“
“Didhe？“
“Yes。HeandItookalotofdogsfromhishospitaloutforawalktotheCliffHouselastSunday，butwehadtowalkallthewayhome，becausetheywouldn’tfollow。You’vebeenouttotheCliffHouse？“
“Notforalongtime。WehadapicnicthereoneFourthofJuly，butitrained。Don’tyoulovetheocean？“
“Yes——yes，Ilikeitprettywell。“
“Oh，I’dliketogooffinoneofthosebigsailingships。
Justaway，andaway，andaway，anywhere。They’redifferentfromalittleyacht。I’dlovetotravel。“
“Sure；sowouldI。“
“Papaandmammacameoverinasailingship。Theyweretwenty-onedays。Mamma’suncleusedtobeasailor。HewascaptainofasteameronLakeGeneva，inSwitzerland。“
“Halt！“shoutedMr。Sieppe，brandishinghisrifle。Theyhadarrivedatthegatesofthepark。AllatonceMcTeagueturnedcold。Hehadonlyaquarterinhispocket。Whatwasheexpectedtodo——payforthewholeparty，orforTrinaandhimself，ormerelybuyhisownticket？Andeveninthislattercasewouldaquarterbeenough？Helosthiswits，rollinghiseyeshelplessly。Thenitoccurredtohimtofeignagreatabstraction，pretendingnottoknowthatthetimewascometopay。Helookedintentlyupanddownthetracks；perhapsatrainwascoming。“Hereweare，“criedTrina，astheycameuptotherestoftheparty，crowdedabouttheentrance。“Yes，yes，“observedMcTeague，hisheadintheair。
“Gi’mefourbits，Mac，“saidMarcus，comingup。“Here’swhereweshellout。“
“I——I——Ionlygotaquarter，“mumbledthedentist，miserably。HefeltthathehadruinedhimselfforeverwithTrina。Whatwastheuseoftryingtowinher？Destinywasagainsthim。“Ionlygotaquarter，“hestammered。Hewasonthepointofaddingthathewouldnotgointhepark。
Thatseemedtobetheonlyalternative。
“Oh，allright！“saidMarcus，easily。“I’llpayforyou，andyoucansquarewithmewhenwegohome。“
Theyfiledintothepark，Mr。Sieppecountingthemoffastheyentered。
“Ah，“saidTrina，withalongbreath，assheandMcTeaguepushedthroughthewicket，“hereweareoncemore，Doctor。“
ShehadnotappearedtonoticeMcTeague’sembarrassment。
Thedifficultyhadbeentidedoversomehow。OncemoreMcTeaguefelthimselfsaved。
“Toderbeach！“shoutedMr。Sieppe。Theyhadcheckedtheirbasketsatthepeanutstand。Thewholepartytroopeddowntotheseashore。Thegreyhoundwasturnedloose。Thechildrenracedonahead。
FromoneofthelargerparcelsMrs。Sieppehaddrawnforthasmalltinsteamboat——August’sbirthdaypresent——agaudylittletoywhichcouldbesteamedupandnavigatedbymeansofanalcohollamp。Hertrialtripwastobemadethismorning。
“Gi’meit，gi’meit，“shoutedAugust，dancingaroundhisfather。
“Notsoh，notsoh，“criedMr。Sieppe，bearingitaloft。“I
mustfirstdereggsperimuntmake。“
“No，no！“wailedAugust。“Iwanttoplaywithut。“
“Obey！“thunderedMr。Sieppe。Augustsubsided。Alittlejettyranpartofthewayintothewater。Here，afteracarefulstudyofthedirectionsprintedonthecoverofthebox，Mr。Sieppebegantofirethelittleboat。
“Iwanttopututinthewa-ater，“criedAugust。
“Standback！“shoutedhisparent。“Youdonotknowsowellasme；dereisdandger。Mitoutattentionhewilleggsplode。“
“Iwanttoplaywithut，“protestedAugust，beginningtocry。
“Ach，soh；youcry，bube！“vociferatedMr。Sieppe。“Mommer，“
addressingMrs。Sieppe，“hewillsohsoonbege-whipt，eh？“
“Iwantmyboa-wut，“screamedAugust，dancing。
“Silence！“roaredMr。Sieppe。Thelittleboatbegantohissandsmoke。
“Soh，“observedthefather，“hegommence。Attention！Iputhiminderwater。“Hewasveryexcited。Theperspirationdrippedfromthebackofhisneck。Thelittleboatwaslaunched。Ithissedmorefuriouslythanever。Cloudsofsteamrolledfromit，butitrefusedtomove。
“Youdon’tknowhowshewo-rks，“sobbedAugust。
“Iknowmoresohmudgeasdergrossestliddlefoolasyou，“
criedMr。Sieppe，fiercely，hisfacepurple。
“Youmustgiveitsh——shove！“exclaimedtheboy。