Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: " Don't! don't!" cried Helen, in great terror, clutching Zaidee with both hands. " Don't go down there. You might tumble right through any time right on Mr. Satam's head!" But Zaidee, unheeding, jumped into the hole, and went on digging, sturdily, while Helen, frightened and apprehensive, watched her from above. Suddenly she shrieked in new terror : " Oh, Zaidee! come out! please come out! I see the feathers on his cap sticking right up tin'iv! oh, you '11 hit him in a minute, and he'11 jump up! " for " Mr. Satam," and Indian chiefs, with waving plumes, and tomahawks, formed a very confused picture in her mind. Zaidee scrambled up in a flash. " Where ? Where ?" she cried, peering down when safe above. Truly, at the bottom of the hole was seen the top of a feather dropped from a sea-gull's wing, and buried under the drifting sand, but the startled children never doubted that it was growing fast on the top of " Mr. Satam's" head, and they waited in terrified silence for that head to rise and confront them. Meanwhile, Billy was wandering around in great anguish of soul, not knowing what dreadful thing might happen any moment He startedback to the house at last. Cricket came skipping down the piazza steps. " See here, young un," Billy began, eagerly, — he seldom called the children by their names. " I 'm afraid suthin' dretful's goin' to happen." What's the matter, Billy ? Why, how your hands shake!" " Perhaps you can stop 'em," went on Billy, hurriedly; " them ere little tikes is a-doin' a dretful thing. They 're over by the sand-bank, a-diggin' fur — hell." He brought out this last word in a deep, half-frightened whisper. " Digging for what? Oh, Billy! " and Cricket's laugh rang out. " You know better than that. Where are they? I'm going to dig a little m... --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.