ADVENTURE NUMBER EIGHT
THE TRIPPERTROTS AND THE BASKET OF CLOTHES
“My, he is gone a terrible long time,” said Mary Trippertrot, after she and her brothers had waited, and waited, and waited some more, for the grocery boy to come back.
“Yes, perhaps he is lost himself, looking for the stable where his horse is,” suggested Johnny.
“Oh, grocery boys can’t get lost,” declared Tommy. “They have to know their way everywhere, so as to deliver groceries, and bread and butter and—and—lots of things. They can’t get lost.”
“Yes, they can,” said Johnny. “Don’t you remember when we once moved in a new house, and the grocery boy came with some groceries? Suzette told him to put them down cellar. He went down the stairs with his basket, and pretty soon we heard him hollering like anything. He was lost in the cellar, all right, so that shows you grocery boys can get lost.”
“Oh, I remember that time,” said Mary, with a laugh. “The boy hollered because Suzette forgot, and locked him in the cellar, and he couldn’t get out.”
“Well, when you can’t get to where you want to go you’re lost,” insisted Johnny, “so it’s the same thing. That grocery boy was lost, and maybe this one is, who has gone after the horse to take us home.”
“Oh, I hope not,” said Mary, “for it’s getting late, and it will soon be dark. I wish we were home. But we’ll wait here a little while longer.”
So the three little Trippertrots sat on the house-steps and watched the people walking along the street.
“Oh, dear!” exclaimed Tommy, at length, “everybody seems to have a house but us. See, they are all hurrying home, and we have to stay here.”