“And we are real glad to have you,” answered Dick.

Aleck had been sent off to hunt up Captain Starr and the houseboat, and in the meantime all of the party obtained rooms for the night and then went to supper.

“This puts me in mind of the time we took dinner at Ithaca,” said Dick to Dora, on the way to the dining hall.  “Do you remember?”

“Indeed I do,” she answered, with a pretty blush.  “But please do not steer me into the smoking room again,” she added, mischievously.

“Don’t you think we are going to have a good time, Dora?”

“If I hadn’t thought that I shouldn’t have come,” answered the miss.

It was a happy gathering, and Hans Mueller kept the young folks convulsed by his odd speeches.

“And you ton’t vos put no salt py mine coffee in dis dime, Tom,” said Hans, referring to a trick which had once been played on him.

“All right, Hansy,” answered Tom.  “And please don’t you pour any coffee down my back,” he added, for he had not forgotten how he had been paid back for that joke.

The supper lasted a long time, and after it was over all went to one of the rooms upstairs, where they spent a couple of hours very agreeably.

“We can be thankful that it is such pleasant weather,” said Mrs. Stanhope.  “An outing on a houseboat during a wet spell would not be so nice.”

“Oh, we’d try to make things pleasant,” said Tom.  “There is a piano on board, and we could have music and singing—­”

“A piano!  Oh, Tom!” cried Nellie.  “How nice!  It must be a regular little palace!”

“I haven’t seen the boat yet.  Uncle Randolph said there was a piano on board.”

“And I’ve got a guitar,” came from Songbird Powell.

“With which he will sing to the moon on dark nights,” came from Tom.

“I haf got some musics py mine drunk in too,” said Hans.

“What have you got, Hansy?” asked Sam—­“a tin whistle?”

“No, a music pox vot mine fadder brought from Chermany.  He vos a fine pox, too, I can told you.”

“That’s splendid, Hans,” said Dora.  “I love a good music box.”

So the talk ran on until there was a knock at the door and Aleck appeared.  The look on his black face showed that he was excited.

“Say, Massah Dick, I would like to see yo’ in private a minute,” he said.

“Certainly,” replied Dick.  “Excuse me,” he added, to the others, and went out into the hall with the colored man.

“I didn’t want fo’ to alarm de ladies,” explained Aleck.  “But I wanted to tell you as soon as I could.”

“Tell me what, Aleck?”

“Dat I dun seen dat rascal, Dan Baxter, less dan half an hour ago,” was the answer.

CHAPTER XVII

A QUEER CAPTAIN

“You saw Dan Baxter, here in Pittsburg?” ejaculated Dick.

“Dat’s it.”