CONTENTS.
| Preface | [XI.] | |
| Chapter. | Page. | |
| I. | The Story Opened | [17] |
| II. | Will’s Lucky Blunder | [23] |
| III. | Will’s Native Village | [33] |
| IV. | The Heroes of this History | [39] |
| V. | An Unpleasant Ride for Will | [44] |
| VI. | Steve’s Retaliation | [54] |
| VII. | The Young Moralist.—A Clever Scheme | [66] |
| VIII. | George Comes Out Ahead | [75] |
| IX. | “Three Wise Men Went to Sea in a Bowl.” | [88] |
| X. | The “Bowl” Comes to Grief | [96] |
| XI. | A Talented Lecturer | [106] |
| XII. | An Extraordinary Mad Dog | [112] |
| XIII. | The Six go to a Picnic | [126] |
| XIV. | Disaster Rather Than Fun | [137] |
| XV. | A Lesson in Ballooning | [149] |
| XVI. | Unheard-of Adventures with Balloons | [156] |
| XVII. | They Prepare to “Giantize” | [163] |
| XVIII. | The Cousins See More Than They Bargained for | [169] |
| XIX. | Within and Without the Demon’s Cave | [178] |
| XX. | A Glorious Triumph | [186] |
| XXI. | Uncle Dick Himself Again | [197] |
| XXII. | Uncle Dick Evolves His Story | [204] |
| XXIII. | The Sage’s Experiment | [212] |
| XXIV. | The Sage Unearths a Treasure | [220] |
| XXV. | The Bitten Boy Takes Revenge | [229] |
| XXVI. | Bob’s Downfall | [240] |
| XXVII. | They Propose to Turn the Tables | [245] |
| XXVIII. | The Tables Turned with a Vengeance | [251] |
| XXIX. | A Horrible Plot.—The Haunted House | [260] |
| XXX. | The Blunderer at Work Again | [271] |
| XXXI. | Will Mends His Ways | [276] |
| XXXII. | The Arch-Plotter Arrives | [282] |
| XXXIII. | “A Lesson in French” | [287] |
| XXXIV. | Henry Takes His Bearings.—A Stampede | [298] |
| XXXV. | Marmaduke Grasps the Situation | [307] |
| XXXVI. | To the Rescue! | [319] |
| XXXVII. | Marmaduke Struggles with Romance | [325] |
| XXXVIII. | The Startlers Themselves are Startled | [335] |
| XXXIX. | Repentant Plotters.—The Heroes Re-united | [342] |
| XL. | The Heroes Figure as Hunters | [348] |
| XLI. | How Will Lost His Deer | [355] |
| XLII. | What Curiosity Cost the Hunters | [362] |
| XLIII. | Things Begin to Get Interesting | [370] |
| XLIV. | Is the Mystery Solved? | [377] |
| XLV. | The Last Blunder.—A Last Conversation | [382] |
| XLVI. | The Story Closed | [390] |
PREFACE.
Silly as this story may seem, there is a fixed purpose in writing it; and, like water in a goose-pond, it is deeper than it at first appears.
The intention chiefly is to be absurd; to cast ridicule on certain pedants and romancers; and to jeer at the ridiculous solemnity, mystery, and villainy, that hedge in works of fiction. Disgusted with tales which cause exceedingly good heroes and heroines to live a life of torture, only to find a haven of peace and security in the last line of the last chapter, the writer determined to go over the old ground in a different way. Now that the story is written, however, he has a horrible suspicion that in some measure he has totally failed in his design, and that more often than he cares to own, he has overshot the mark.
Having endeavored to make the intention tolerably clear, the reader may now be able to get more enjoyment from this tale.