At length, the enemies of these three laid a snare, in a path they were known to use.

The first that came to the trap was the pig.  He viewed it with contempt, and, to show his disdain of his enemies and his disregard for their snare, he tried to walk through it with a lofty tread.  He found he had undervalued it, however, when, in spite of his struggles, he was caught and strangled.

The next that came was the monkey.  He inspected the trap carefully; then, priding himself upon the skill and dexterity of his fingers, he tried to pick it to pieces.  In a moment of carelessness, however, he became entangled, and soon met the fate of the unfortunate pig.

The last that came was the fox.  He looked at the snare anxiously, from a distance, and, approaching cautiously, soon made himself thoroughly acquainted with its size and power.  Then he cried, “Thus do I defeat the machinations of my enemies!”—­and, avoiding the trap altogether, by leaping completely over it, he went on his way rejoicing.

DAB KINZER:  A STORY OF A GROWING BOY.

BY WILLIAM O. STODDARD.

CHAPTER XIV.

The next day’s newspapers, from the city, brought full accounts of the stranding of the “Prudhomme,” as well as of the safety of her passengers and cargo; but they had nothing whatever to say about the performances of the “Swallow.”  The yacht had been every bit as well handled as the great steamship, but then she had got home safely, and she was such a little thing, after all.  Whatever excitement there had been in the village died out as soon as it was known that the boys were safe; and then, too, Mrs. Lee found time to “wonder wot Dab Kinzer means to do wid all de money he done got for dem blue-fish.”

Dab himself had been talking with Ford Foster and Frank Harley, and an original idea of his own was beginning to take some sort of form in his mind.  He did not, as yet, mention it to any one, as he wanted very much to consult with Ham Morris about it.  As for Frank, Mr. Foster had readily volunteered to visit the steamship office, in the city, when he went over to business, next day, and do whatever might be needed with reference to the young gentleman’s baggage.  At the same time, Mrs. Foster wrote to her sister, Mrs. Hart, giving a full account of what had happened, and saying she meant to keep Frank as Ford’s guest for a while.

The Hart boys hardly knew whether to submit or not, when that letter came, as they had planned for themselves all sorts of rare fun with “the young missionary” in their own home.

“Never mind, Fuz,” said Joe, “we’ll serve him out when we get to Grantley.”

“Yes,” replied Fuz; “I’d just as lief not see too much of him before that.  He wont have any special claim on us if he doesn’t go there from our house.”

Other talk they had together, and the tone of it promised very lively times at Grantley Academy for the stranger from India.  But while the Hart boys were laying their plans for the future, they were themselves the subjects of more than one discussion, for Ford Foster gave his two friends the benefit of all he knew of his cousins.