It was part of her self-imposed duties to play Lady Bountiful to some of the poorer persons who rented Uncle Peter Stower's tenements.

"Well, as long as you don't go to buying 'dangly jet eawin's' for Olga Pederman it will be all right," said Agnes, and they laughed at this remembrance of the girl who, when ill with diphtheria, had asked for these ornaments when Ruth called to see what she most wanted.

Eventually all the many details were arranged and taken care of. A mechanic had gone over the motor of the _Bluebird_ and p.r.o.nounced it in perfect running order, a fact which Neale verified for himself. He had made all his plans for going on the trip, and between that and eagerly waiting for any news of his missing father, his days were busy ones.

Mr. Howbridge had closely questioned Hank Dayton and had learned all that rover could tell, which was not much. But it seemed certain that Mr. O'Neil had started from Alaska for the States.

That he had not, even on his arrival, written to Neale, was probably due to the fact that the man did not know where his son was. His Uncle Bill Sorber, of course, knew Neale's address, but the trouble was that the circus, which was not a very large affair, traveled about so, on no well-kept scheduled route, that Mr. Sorber was difficult to find.

Letters had been addressed to him at several places where it was thought his show might be, but, so far, no answer had been received. He was asked to send a message to Mr. Howbridge as soon as any word came from Mr. O'Neil.

To Hank Dayton was left the task of picking out some mules to tow the houseboat through the stretch of ca.n.a.l. About a week, or perhaps longer, would be consumed on this trip, as there was no hurry.

Where the voyage is kept up for any length of time, two sets of mules or horses are used in towing ca.n.a.l boats. When one team is wearied it is put in the stable, which is on board the ca.n.a.l boat, and the other team is led out over a bridge, or gangplank, specially made for the purpose, on to the towpath.

But on the _Bluebird_ there were no provisions for the animals, so it was planned to buy only one team of mules, drive the animals at a leisurely pace through the day and let them rest at night either in the open, along the ca.n.a.l towpath, or in some of the ca.n.a.l barns that would be come upon on the trip. At the end of the trip the animals would be sold. Mr. Howbridge had decided that this was the best plan to follow, though there was a towing company operating on the ca.n.a.l for such boat owners as did not possess their own animals.

As Mr. Howbridge had shrewdly guessed, the rough clothes of Hank Dayton held a fairly good man. He had been in poor luck, but he was not dissipated, and even Mrs. MacCall approved of him when he had been shaved, a shave being something he had lacked when Neale first saw him.

Then, indeed, he had looked like a veritable tramp.

Gradually all that was to be done was accomplished, and the day came when Ruth and Agnes could say:

"To-morrow we start on our wonderful trip. Oh, I'm so happy!"

"What about your Civic Betterment Club?" asked Agnes of her sister.

"That will have to keep until I come back. Really no one wants to undertake any munic.i.p.al reforms in the summer."

"Oh, my! The political airs we put on!" laughed Agnes. "Well, I'm glad you are going to have a good time. You need it."

"Yes, I think the change will be good for all of us," murmured Ruth.

"Tess and Dot seem delighted, and--"

She stopped suddenly, for from the floor above came a cry of alarm followed by one of distress.

"What's that?" gasped Ruth.

"Dot or Tess, I should say," was the opinion of Agnes. "They must have started in to get some of their change already. Oh, gee!"

"Agnes!" Ruth took time to protest, for she very much objected to Agnes'

slang.

A moment later Dot came bursting into the room, crying:

"Oh, she's in! She's in! And it isn't holding her up at all! Come on, quick. Both of you! Tess is in!"

CHAPTER VIII

THE ROBBERY

Dot Kenway stood in the middle of the room, dancing up and down, fluttering her hands and crying over and over again:

"She's in! She's in! And it isn't holding her up! Oh, come quick!"

With a bound Ruth was at her sister's side. She grasped Dot by the arm and held her still.

"Be quiet, honey, and tell me what the matter is," Ruth demanded.

"Oh, she's in! She's in! And it isn't holding her up!" Dot repeated.

"We'd better go and see what it is," suggested Agnes. "Tess may merely have fallen out of bed."

"Fallen out of bed--this time of day?" cried Ruth. "Impossible!"

But she let go of Dot and sped up the stairs whence floated down a series of startled cries. Agnes followed, while Dot called after them:

"Look in the bathroom! She's in! It isn't holding her up!"

To the bathroom rushed Ruth and Agnes, there to behold a sight which first made them gasp and then, instantly, started them into energetic action. For Tess was floundering about in the tub, full of water, with part of her bathing suit on and something bulky tied around her waist.

She was clinging to the edge of the tub with both hands and trying to get to her feet. The tub was filled with water, and much of it was splashing over the side. Fortunately the floor of the bathroom was tiled.

"Oh, Tess! what are you doing?" cried Agnes, as she and Ruth pulled the small girl to her feet. Tess was gasping for breath, and had evidently swallowed some water.

"I--I--er--gug--I--was--" That was all Tess could say for a while.

"You poor child!" exclaimed Ruth, reaching for a towel, to dry the dripping face. "Did you fall in? And what possessed you to put on your bathing suit?"

"And what _have_ you got around your waist?" cried Agnes.

"That--that--that's my--my _life preserver_!" exploded Tess. "If--if you'll take the towel out of my moo-oo-oo-uth I'll t-t-tell--you!" she stammered.

"Yes, do let's let her tell, for mercy's sake!" exclaimed Ruth. "Did your head go under, Tessie, dear?"

Tess nodded. It was easier than speaking, especially as she had not yet quite got her breath back.

The two older sisters dried her partly on the towel, the little girl raising her hands to keep her sisters from stuffing any more of the Turkish towel into her mouth, and then Dot came up the stairs.

"Is she--is she drowned?" was the awed whisper.

"No, but she might have been," answered Ruth.

"What were you two doing? This is worse than the clothes basket elevator. What were you doing?"

"I was making a life preserver," volunteered Tess, when she had been helped out of the bathtub and was standing on a big mat that absorbed the little rivulets of water streaming from her.

"A life preserver?" questioned Agnes.