"Ha! ha! Hurrah! It's nothing but the pen'lum and the two weights. Ha! ha! ha!"
Nobody could guess what he meant. If Elias knew, he kept his own counsel. But a gleam of intelligence broke over Solomon's face.
"It's a wise fellow who wrenches forth the serpent's fang," shouted he. "Three cheers for Romeo Augustus!"
The cheers were given with a will.
But mother caught her little son in her arms. "He's been walking in his sleep," she cried, "and it all comes from eating plum-cake for tea."
But the clock knew better. So did the clock-moon. It wagged its head at Romeo Augustus. "Brave boy! brave boy!"
And Romeo Augustus nodded back. "Good-night, old fellow!"
He could say that now with the rest. He was not afraid of the clock any longer.
