Just then Tom came into the dining room holding something in his hand covered with a long paper bag.  From under the bag smoke was curling.

“In honor of the Fourth of July!” cried the fun-loving Rover and placed the object upright in the center of the long table.  Then he took off the bag with a flourish.  There was revealed a big cannon cracker, fully a foot and a half high and several inches in diameter.  The fuse was spluttering away at a great rate.

“Tom!” Yelled Mr. Rover in alarm.  “Throw that thing out!”

“We’ll be blown to pieces!” yelled Fred.

“That’s too big to shoot off indoors,” added songbird, preparing to run.

“Ve peen knocked to bieces!” groaned Hans, and slid under the table out of sight.

The ladies shrieked and so did the girls.  Mrs. Stanhope looked ready to faint, but Tom whispered hastily into her ear and she recovered.  Mr. Rover wanted to throw the cannon cracker through a window, but Tom held him back.

The long fuse continued to splutter and all watched it as if fascinated, and the girls put their hands to their ears in anticipation of a fearful explosion.  Then came a tiny flash, a strange clicking, and off flew the top of the cannon cracker, sending a shower of confetti of various colors in all directions.

“Oh!” shrieked the girls, and then everybody but Hans set up a laugh.  The German youth looked suspiciously out from under the table.

“Vot’s der madder—­did he go off?” he questioned.

“Yes, he did, Hans,” answered Grace.  “It was nothing but a cracker full of colored paper instead of powder.”

“Is dot so?” Hans got up and looked around.  “Vell, I neffer!  Looks like ve got a colored snowstorm alretty, hey?” And this caused a roar.  It certainly did look like a “colored snowstorm,” for the confetti was everywhere, on the table, on their heads and over their clothing.  Now it was over everybody was highly amused, even Mrs. Stanhope laughing heartily.  As for Aleck, he roared so loudly he could be heard a block up the docks.

“Dat’s jess like Massa Tom!” he cried.  “I suspicioned he’d be up to somet’ing afo’ de day was up.  Yo’ can’t keep him down no mo’ dan yo’ kin keep a jack rabbit from hoppin’, no, sah!”

“It certainly looked like the real thing,” was Mr. Rover’s comment.  “Had it been—­”

“I’d never have brought it in here,” finished Tom.  “I’m sorry if I frightened anybody,” he added, looking at Mrs. Stanhope and Mrs. Laning.

“We’ll forgive you, Tom,” answered Mrs. Stanhope, and Mrs. Laning said she would, provided he wouldn’t scare them again that holiday.

After that, the confetti on the table was cleared away and they ate their lunch amid a constant cracking of jokes and bright sayings.  Songbird woke up and recited some verses he said he had composed the night before, while lying awake in his berth.  Some of these ran in this fashion: