“Not the least doubt of it,” said Jiggily Jig, who was called that, you remember, because he was always dancing a jig.
“But where did you leave Simple Simon?” asked Mary, for the last they had seen of Jiggily Jig was when he was running off with Simple Simon, after they had met the pieman coming from the circus.
“Oh, Simple Simon has gone to work for the pieman,” said Jiggily Jig. “He had to have pie so often that his mother sent him there instead of after water in a sieve. Now watch me,” and Jiggily Jig turned two somersaults, one after another, and the drygoods box nearly upset, and the rain came down harder than ever.
“Wait! Hold on!” cried the newsboy. “This will never do! Do you know these children, Jiggily Jig?”
“To be sure I do,” answered the funny boy, “and I will take them home, for they are lost. I know they are. They are always lost; aren’t you?” and he looked at Mary and Tommy and Johnny.
“Yes,” said the Trippertrot children, in a chorus, “we are always lost.”
“But don’t worry, I will take you home,” said Jiggily Jig, with a jolly laugh. “You are going the wrong way. This boat must be turned around,” and with that he jumped out, and turned a somersault in the water, turned the box around, jumped in again, and the rain came down harder than ever.
“We’ll soon be home!” cried Jiggily Jig. “We’ll soon be at your green house,” and then the wind began to blow, and Jiggily Jig made a sail out of the newspapers, put it up on the edge of the box, with a piece of wood for a mast, and away they went as fast as fast could be, sailing in the drygoods box-ship.
All of a sudden, the wind began to blow harder than ever, and the children were afraid that it might blow the sail off their little ship.
“Don’t worry about that,” said Jiggily Jig. “I made the sail good and strong. It won’t blow away.”