“Why, how funny!” exclaimed Mary. “Mamma was baking apple pies just before we went out to chase after Tommy’s ship.”
“I knew it!” cried the jolly sailor. “I can smell apple pies a good way off. So this is your house, eh? Well, now I will leave you.”
“Oh, no, you must come in!” said Tommy. “Mamma will want to thank you for bringing us home. And so will Suzette, for if you hadn’t brought us home, she would have had to go after us.”
“Yes, please do come in,” invited Mary. “And you, too, Jiggily Jig.” So they all went in the Trippertrot house, and I can’t tell you how glad Mrs. Trippertrot was to see her children back again, and so was Suzette glad to see them.
They were also glad to see the jolly sailorman and Jiggily Jig, and Mrs. Trippertrot at once went out to the kitchen and got some apple pie, and some glasses of milk, and gave the children some, and the jolly sailorman some, and also some to the funny dancing boy.
“Oh, I knew I smelled apple pie,” said the sailor, as he rubbed his wooden leg with his napkin. “I can always tell when I smell apple pie.”
So the jolly sailorman and Jiggily Jig stayed at the Trippertrot house that night, because it still rained very hard. And now I am going to tell you what happened the next day. It was quite an adventure for the Trippertrots.
The children were up in the playroom, showing their toys to the jolly sailorman, and to Jiggily Jig. Mary showed her new doll, and Tommy his toy ship, and then Johnny brought out his music-box, and played some jolly tunes, and the sailor sang the jolly songs that went with them.
“We got these for Christmas presents, from the man whose hat we chased, when the wind had blown it off,” explained Mary. “Of course it isn’t Christmas yet, but it will be on Monday, and we children must ask papa for some money, so we can buy some presents for our friends,” she said to her two brothers.
“Oh, would you ask your papa for money to buy presents?” inquired the jolly sailor, while Jiggily Jig was off in one corner of the room, trying to stand on his head on a soft cushion.