“This is the Wonderland, I assume?” spoke the caller, grandiloquently.

“You have assumed right,” replied Pep.

“Mr. Frank Durham, proprietor?”

“One of them.”

“Can I see Mr. Durham personally. Important business.”

“Certainly. This way,” directed Pep, and he led the way to the living room at the rear.

“What did I tell you!” half groaned Hal Vincent into Frank’s ear the moment he set eyes on the newcomer.

“Ah, Mr. Durham—forgotten me, I suppose?” airily intimated the visitor, as he entered the room.

“Not at all,” replied Frank, with a pleasant smile, as he arose from the desk at which he was seated.

Jolly had got hold of a very presentable desk in his trading. It had been set in a convenient corner of the room and constituted the “office” of the Wonderland.