“Attendnow，“hesuddenlyexclaimed。“Itwillnotbesohsoon。Atderendofderday，venweshallhavehomegecommen，denwullitpeadjudge，eh？AREwardofmerittohimwhoderbes’pehaves。Itisanorder。Vorwarts！“
　　“ThatwasaSacramentotrain，“saidMarcustoSelinaastheystartedoff；“itwas，forafact。“
　　“IknowagirlinSacramento，“TrinatoldMcTeague。“She’sforewomaninaglovestore，andshe’sgotconsumption。“
　　“IwasinSacramentoonce，“observedMcTeague，“nearlyeightyearsago。“
　　“Isitaniceplace——asniceasSanFrancisco？“
　　“It’shot。Ipractisedthereforawhile。“
　　“IlikeSanFrancisco，“saidTrina，lookingacrossthebaytowherethecitypileditselfuponitshills。
　　“SodoI，“answeredMcTeague。“Doyoulikeitbetterthanlivingoverhere？“
　　“Oh，sure，Iwishwelivedinthecity。Ifyouwanttogoacrossforanythingittakesupthewholeday。“
　　“Yes，yes，thewholeday——almost。“
　　“Doyouknowmanypeopleinthecity？DoyouknowanybodynamedOelbermann？That’smyuncle。HehasawholesaletoystoreintheMission。Theysayhe’sawfulrich。“
　　“No，Idon’knowhim。“
　　“Hisstepdaughterwantstobeanun。Justfancy！AndMr。
　　Oelbermannwon’thaveit。Hesaysitwouldbejustlikeburyinghischild。Yes，shewantstoentertheconventoftheSacredHeart。AreyouaCatholic，DoctorMcTeague？“
　　“No。No，I——“
　　“PapaisaCatholic。HegoestoMassonthefeastdaysonceinawhile。Butmamma’sLutheran。“
　　“TheCatholicsaretryingtogetcontroloftheschools，“
　　observedMcTeague，suddenlyrememberingoneofMarcus’spoliticaltirades。
　　“That’swhatcousinMarksays。Wearegoingtosendthetwinstothekindergartennextmonth。“
　　“What’sthekindergarten？“
　　“Oh，theyteachthemtomakethingsoutofstrawandtoothpicks——kindofaplayplacetokeepthemoffthestreet。“
　　“There’soneuponSacramentoStreet，notfarfromPolkStreet。Isawthesign。“
　　“Iknowwhere。Why，Selinausedtoplaythepianothere。“
　　“Doessheplaythepiano？“
　　“Oh，yououghttohearher。Sheplaysfine。Selina’sveryaccomplished。Shepaints，too。“
　　“Icanplayontheconcertina。“
　　“Oh，canyou？Iwishyou’dbroughtitalong。Nexttimeyouwill。Ihopeyou’llcomeoftenonourpicnics。You’llseewhatfunwe’llhave。“
　　“Finedayforapicnic，ain’tit？Thereain’tacloud。“
　　“That’sso，“exclaimedTrina，lookingup，“notasinglecloud。Oh，yes；thereisone，justoverTelegraphHill。“
　　“That’ssmoke。“
　　“No，it’sacloud。Smokeisn’twhitethatway。“
　　“’Tisacloud。“
　　“IknewIwasright。IneversayathingunlessI’mprettysure。“
　　“Itlookslikeadog’shead。“
　　“Don’tit？Isn’tMarcusfondofdogs？“
　　“Hegotanewdoglastweek——asetter。“
　　“Didhe？“
　　“Yes。HeandItookalotofdogsfromhishospitaloutforawalktotheCliffHouselastSunday，butwehadtowalkallthewayhome，becausetheywouldn’tfollow。You’vebeenouttotheCliffHouse？“
　　“Notforalongtime。WehadapicnicthereoneFourthofJuly，butitrained。Don’tyoulovetheocean？“
　　“Yes——yes，Ilikeitprettywell。“
　　“Oh，I’dliketogooffinoneofthosebigsailingships。
　　Justaway，andaway，andaway，anywhere。They’redifferentfromalittleyacht。I’dlovetotravel。“
　　“Sure；sowouldI。“
　　“Papaandmammacameoverinasailingship。Theyweretwenty-onedays。Mamma’suncleusedtobeasailor。HewascaptainofasteameronLakeGeneva，inSwitzerland。“
　　“Halt！“shoutedMr。Sieppe，brandishinghisrifle。Theyhadarrivedatthegatesofthepark。AllatonceMcTeagueturnedcold。Hehadonlyaquarterinhispocket。Whatwasheexpectedtodo——payforthewholeparty，orforTrinaandhimself，ormerelybuyhisownticket？Andeveninthislattercasewouldaquarterbeenough？Helosthiswits，rollinghiseyeshelplessly。Thenitoccurredtohimtofeignagreatabstraction，pretendingnottoknowthatthetimewascometopay。Helookedintentlyupanddownthetracks；perhapsatrainwascoming。“Hereweare，“criedTrina，astheycameuptotherestoftheparty，crowdedabouttheentrance。“Yes，yes，“observedMcTeague，hisheadintheair。
　　“Gi’mefourbits，Mac，“saidMarcus，comingup。“Here’swhereweshellout。“
　　“I——I——Ionlygotaquarter，“mumbledthedentist，miserably。HefeltthathehadruinedhimselfforeverwithTrina。Whatwastheuseoftryingtowinher？Destinywasagainsthim。“Ionlygotaquarter，“hestammered。Hewasonthepointofaddingthathewouldnotgointhepark。
　　Thatseemedtobetheonlyalternative。
　　“Oh，allright！“saidMarcus，easily。“I’llpayforyou，andyoucansquarewithmewhenwegohome。“
　　Theyfiledintothepark，Mr。Sieppecountingthemoffastheyentered。
　　“Ah，“saidTrina，withalongbreath，assheandMcTeaguepushedthroughthewicket，“hereweareoncemore，Doctor。“
　　ShehadnotappearedtonoticeMcTeague’sembarrassment。
　　Thedifficultyhadbeentidedoversomehow。OncemoreMcTeaguefelthimselfsaved。
　　“Toderbeach！“shoutedMr。Sieppe。Theyhadcheckedtheirbasketsatthepeanutstand。Thewholepartytroopeddowntotheseashore。Thegreyhoundwasturnedloose。Thechildrenracedonahead。
　　FromoneofthelargerparcelsMrs。Sieppehaddrawnforthasmalltinsteamboat——August’sbirthdaypresent——agaudylittletoywhichcouldbesteamedupandnavigatedbymeansofanalcohollamp。Hertrialtripwastobemadethismorning。
　　“Gi’meit，gi’meit，“shoutedAugust，dancingaroundhisfather。
　　“Notsoh，notsoh，“criedMr。Sieppe，bearingitaloft。“I
　　mustfirstdereggsperimuntmake。“
　　“No，no！“wailedAugust。“Iwanttoplaywithut。“
　　“Obey！“thunderedMr。Sieppe。Augustsubsided。Alittlejettyranpartofthewayintothewater。Here，afteracarefulstudyofthedirectionsprintedonthecoverofthebox，Mr。Sieppebegantofirethelittleboat。
　　“Iwanttopututinthewa-ater，“criedAugust。
　　“Standback！“shoutedhisparent。“Youdonotknowsowellasme；dereisdandger。Mitoutattentionhewilleggsplode。“
　　“Iwanttoplaywithut，“protestedAugust，beginningtocry。
　　“Ach，soh；youcry，bube！“vociferatedMr。Sieppe。“Mommer，“
　　addressingMrs。Sieppe，“hewillsohsoonbege-whipt，eh？“
　　“Iwantmyboa-wut，“screamedAugust，dancing。
　　“Silence！“roaredMr。Sieppe。Thelittleboatbegantohissandsmoke。
　　“Soh，“observedthefather，“hegommence。Attention！Iputhiminderwater。“Hewasveryexcited。Theperspirationdrippedfromthebackofhisneck。Thelittleboatwaslaunched。Ithissedmorefuriouslythanever。Cloudsofsteamrolledfromit，butitrefusedtomove。
　　“Youdon’tknowhowshewo-rks，“sobbedAugust。
　　“Iknowmoresohmudgeasdergrossestliddlefoolasyou，“
　　criedMr。Sieppe，fiercely，hisfacepurple。
　　“Youmustgiveitsh——shove！“exclaimedtheboy。