Then, without another word, he strode over and pulled the curtain aside. Jimmie was flat on his stomach, small hands extended, palm downward, while he elevated his head sufficiently to peer through the curtains at the men who were talking with Mollie. And Jimmie there was instantly dragged forth from a variety of hiding places Leathy and Leon, Johnnie, Willie and all the rest of the "sparrows." But the child upon whom all eyes were focused and which sent the captain into a great state of excitement was the beautiful, well-dressed, curly-haired, laughing baby which Mollie now grasped and held tightly in her arms. "Whose is that?" they asked her. "Mine," she declared with such vehemence that they all laughed. "And whose are all these?" the captain asked, indicating the ragged group assembled for police inspection. "Mine," snapped Mollie, again. No tigress fighting for her young could have exceeded Mollie's fervor, though she might have manifested it in a less gentle manner. Again the policemen laughed. "Now listen, little girl," said the captain, addressing Mollie in a tone that compelled her undivided attention. "There's something not right about all this and it has got to be straightened out. You needn't talk to me if you don't want to, but I'm going to tow this boat, with you and all these children, right down to town. Then we'll go up to see the Chief and you can talk to him." And even then poor Mollie had no idea who he was nor who a chief was. She had never seen nor heard of a policeman before she was brought to the Grimes farm and certainly she had never seen nor heard of one since. To her and to all the half-starved little ones with her, they were merely men with shiny buttons on their coats. But somehow, Mollie liked them, despite their big voices and stern eyes. They were so good to the children. And during the cruise down the river to the town they allowed the children to look over the rail at everything along the bank. But not once did one of the children speak. Mollie had signalled them to be silent. That the hot, sultry day developed suddenly into a one of storm, that lightning flashed and thunder roared seemed only to increase the pleasurable excitement of the young mariners. They were accustomed to rain. They had worked many a day in the rain. They were not afraid of thunder and lightning when they were outside the barn loft. Only once did there seem to be anything unusual about this storm which crashed over their heads on that memorable day. That was when one excessively vivid flash of lightning swept across the sky and seemed to dart downward back toward the point at which they had entered the boat. With it came a thunder clap more violent, more furious than anything they had ever heard. "Golly!" exclaimed Johnnie, "Thet war a whopper. I reckon ef thet hit somebody, he war a gonner." "He shore war," echoed Willie.