"Tt is such a beautiful moonlight night, mother," pleaded Mary, "won't you let us go for a sail on the lake?" Yes, do, Aunt Jenny," chimed in Mary's cousin Rolf, who was a very big boy i with his cousins during his hohe take the greatest care of Molly."
"And it is quite warm, too," said Mary's brother Dick. Well," replied Mrs. Fieldson, since Rolf knows 50 well how to manage a boat, you may go for half-an-hour or so; but Mary, you must take a shawl, and, boys, be very careful of your charge." "Won't you come too, Aunt Jenny enquired Rolf. No, thank you" smiled his aunt, 'I prefer my book and my arm chair." Within a very few minutes the three young people had settled themselves in the snug craft which they had dragged out of the shed, built on the edge of the lake, at the bottom of the grounds. Mary settled herself comfortably in the ster, while Rolf managed the sail, and Dick attended to the rudder. Look at the moon," cried Molly suddenly, it looks as if it was sinking." "So it does," re-[turned Rolf, without looking at it, so intent was he on his sail, "T know a fellow," put in Dick, " whose father gave him a stunning boat rigged and fitted out to perfection." "Oh, that was Jack Ferris," said Rolf; and after that the two boys began a conversa-ion on boats and boys, so uninteresting to Mary, as she sat wrapped in her shawl that she fixed her attention on the supposed sinking moon, which appeared to be almost on a level with the water of the rear lake. So intent were the boys over heir conversation that they scarcely heard Mary murmur once or twice: It looks as if we were running into it." And then with a great jump she started to her feot and cried out Oh! take care, take care, we are running into the moon." Rolf sprang up. Look out!" he shouted, but before anything could be done.to prevent it, the boat struck something solid,—wheeled round, heeled over, and sent the three occupants flying out on to ary land. Sure enough, they had run ashore on the moon, For a moment they sat upon the ground and stared vacantly at each other, unable to speak with astonishment, for' out of the darkness of the night they had run into perfect daylight, into anew world unlike anything they had ever seen or imagined. 'The atmosphere appeared to be soft and elmy, and the light, which was at first most' trying to their eyes, was of a silvery nature, Dick was the first to speak when he discovered that instead of sitting on the sands, as he thought, it was minute grains of silver. "Why, look here," he exclaimed, "here we are' on Tom Tiddler's ground' picking up gold and silver and he filled both his hands with the soft grains and let them run through his fingers. The moment the other two saw it, they forgot altogether their recent shock and began examining the grains of silver around them; then they all got up with one accord, dragged their boat on to the shore and turned about to explore. Wonders of wonders, right before them, standing up against a sky of faintest pink, loomed grent exquisite mountains composed of solid silver. What is the use," remarked Rolf, who was a big boy and who knew a great deal; " what is the use of discussing bimetallism after this? What will the people in the world say to this when we go back?" "If we ever do," wailed Molly as she suddenly realised the improbability of such an undertaking. 'I shall never see mother again and here the tears began to flow. Rub-hish, Molly," said Dick, don't be a silly, tanta and enquire the vay."" ™The moon we will go and hunt up the moon's inhabi
isn't inhabited," she objected, "Oh, of course, and it husn't.an atmosphere either, according to the world, you wait and see." "T quite think Molly is justified in being a little alarmed," put in Rolf and then he turned to his cousin. 'Don't ery, Molly, ye can't help ourselves, and we will ce. comfort, but Rolf was: wise' and. know nly go back if we can." This was poor much. "It was wonderful to touch and feel great slabs of silver, and pick. up lumps of silver as one walked instead of stones, and at first it seemed to the children that the moon was nothing but a silver world, and that the people were right as to its inhabitants, though they had so entirely mistaken the fact of its having an atmosphere. They wandered about in and out of silver mountains, for a good two
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.