"Why, he has a choice assortment," explained George. "It seems he used to work in a shop on Broome Street in New York City where they make legs and heads and arms for dummies."
"I don't understand yet," said Mr. Button blankly.
"Why, these wax figures that they have in the windows," explained Fred. "It was in a place where they make them that Sam Hodge worked and he made us all laugh when we took him on at Henderson Harbor. He was telling us about the boss throwing his leg at him and Sam told us he fired a foot back and before he had gone very far we had the air full of eyes, heads and legs and arms, feet and hands and everything else that goes to the making of a dummy. In fact I have almost come to believe that Sam is pretty well made up himself. When he comes down to-morrow I'm going to ask him to let me take out his eyes, take off his hair, pull out a foot and an arm, and when he gets through I'll see just how much there is of the real Sam anyway."
The boys laughed as Fred pictured the condition in which the loquacious Sam would be left.
Their interest, however, was still great in the exciting events through which they recently had passed. Mr. Button was an interested listener and when the story had been all told he said quietly, "Mr. Stevens has been down here several summers. I have been afraid of that girl every year. If she doesn't find herself in the bottom of the river some time soon, I don't believe the fault will be hers."
"Why, what's the matter with her?" inquired Fred.
"She's too much of a tomboy."
"What's that?" inquired Grant, winking at the other boys as he spoke.
"Why, she does most of the things that the boys do. She plays tennis, shoots a rifle, paddles a canoe and manages the Stevens family."
"And that is why you call her a tomboy?" inquired Fred.