“What did he do then?” howled Jerry.

“Eh?” gasped the young policeman,—­“oh, he opened his mouth where he was soldered and let the stuff run out.  So the old hobo threw him into the river.  That’s why hoboes always pack a bottle with them now instead of a tomato-can.”

He leaned back with a sigh and, thrusting his hands deep into his pockets, smiled wanly at his vis-a-vis.

“There!” he said, with feeble triumph, “I’ve carried out the sentence.”

And it did him good to drink in her mirthful, waggish laugh.

“Yes!” she conceded gaily, “you certainly did great execution, though you look more like a prisoner just reprieved.”

Jerry, screwing up his small snub nose leered triumphantly across her lap at Alice.  “Goozlemy, goozlemy, goozlemy!” he squeaked, “that man was a real hobo.”

His grimace was returned with interest.  Alice hugged her puppy awhile contentedly, murmuring in that canine’s ear, “What a silly old thing that tomato-can must have been.  If I’d been him I’d have kept my mouth shut.”

“Cow Run!” intoned the brakeman monotonously, passing through the coaches, “Cow Run next stop!” His eye fell on Redmond.  “Wish I’d seen you before, Officer!” he remarked, “I’d have had a hobo for you.  Beggar stole a ride on us from Glenbow, back there.  The con’s goin’ to chuck him off here—­do you want him?”

“No!” said Redmond shortly, “let the stiff go—­I’m going on to Davidsburg—­haven’t got time to get messing around with ‘vags’ now.”

The train began to slow down and presently stopped at a small station.  Mechanically the quartette gazed through the window at the few shivering platform loungers, and beyond them to the irregular, low-lying facade of snow-plastered buildings that comprised the dreary main street of the little town.

Suddenly the children uttered a shrill yelp.

“There he is!” cried Alice, darting a small finger at the window-pane.

“I saw him first!” bawled Jerry.

And, slouching past along the platform, all huddled-up with hands in pockets, George beheld a ragged nondescript of a man whose appearance confirmed Master Jerry’s previous assertion beyond doubt.

The children drummed on the window excitedly.  Glancing up at the two small peering faces the human derelict’s red-nosed, stubble-coated visage contorted itself into a friendly grimace of recognition; at the same time, with an indescribably droll, swashbuckling swagger he doffed a shocking dunghill of a hat.

Suddenly though his jaw dropped and, replacing his battered headpiece, with double-handed indecent haste the knight of the road executed an incredibly nimble “right-about turn” and vanished behind the station-house.  Just then came the engine’s toot! toot!, the conductor’s warning “All aboar-rd!” and the train started once more on its journey westward.

Smiling grimly to himself, the policeman settled back in his seat again and glanced across at the lady.  She was shaking with convulsive laughter.