He could see the tops of the many tents and the roof of the grandstand, dazzlingly white in its new coat of paint, and the long, curving course of the race track stretching before it. All of these things he quickly recognized from the descriptions he had heard the boys give, and then, too, it resembled the Circus to a striking degree.
About the tents and buildings he could see the crowds beginning to surge. He could hear the barking of many dogs, the cackling of chickens, the lowing of the cows, the baaing of the sheep, the squealing of the pigs, and the confused murmur of the people,—a great hubbub down there, but just a faint murmur at this distance.
“Oh, if only I were there! It must be glorious. See that beautiful horse trotting around the track at the far side—and there, there is our auto, I’m sure of it! I wonder what Mrs. Treat will say when she discovers that something has happened to her fine lunch. But here, I must gain entrance to these grounds by hook or by crook.”
He thought a long time, but one plan after another was cast aside as being too foolhardy, or unworthy his prowess, or beneath his dignity. At last, just below him, he spied little Dick coming along beside his mother.
“Ah, there is my playfellow!” and with no thought but to join him, he bounded over the forbidding fence.
“Oh, Billy, Billy!” shouted surprised Dick. “I’m so glad to see you,” but Billy needed just one quick glance at Mrs. Treat’s face to realize that it was wise for him to keep his distance and away he scurried, free as when on his native hills in far-away Switzerland.
CHAPTER III
IN THE NEEDLEWORK EXHIBIT
AFTER Billy had put a safe distance between himself and Mrs. Treat to feel at ease, he wandered aimlessly along, letting himself be carried here and there, wherever he chanced to see anything that offered interest, when suddenly he heard a squeaky, high-pitched voice saying:
“Oh, where have you been,