"No! No! Ruth. He must be somewhere about the premises." Hand in hand they went all over the house and grounds, but they did not find him. "O I'm so afraid," sobbed Ruth! "Where shall we look now?" "Perhaps he had trouble with his kite and went over to Ralph Norwood's to have him fix it. He did that way with papa last year. We will go and see what he thinks about it." Mr. Cornwallis was of his wife's opinion. "Don't be frightened," he said. "Go home and look the premises over again and wait for him there while I go to Norwoods." The Norwoods lived at the opposite end of the town fully a mile away. The most direct course ran through the public square. Mr. Cornwallis went on in that direction, making his way as rapidly as possible through streets that were already strewn with firecrackers and torpedoes. It seemed to him that he had never before seen so many of all sorts and sizes in the town of Killsbury. Wherever there was a boy there was a fusilade of the evil-smelling things. Wherever there were several boys, small cannons and cartridges added to the noise and danger. Was it his anxiety about his own boy that made it seem so much worse than ever before, or was it a day of unusual horror in Killsbury? When he reached the Public Square the question was answered. The scene beggared description. The air was full of stench, smoke, hisses, cries of fright, hurt and brutal laughter. Horses, dogs and babies were fired at indiscriminately. It seemed as though all the boys in Killsbury and the surrounding country must have assembled there and were trying to do their worst--as though they had made a concerted attempt to seize the Public Square in army fashion and fire upon every one who attempted to enter it from any of the streets; for squads of them stood at every corner. Mr. Cornwallis saw that it would be impossible to cross the square safely and he was in haste to reach Norwoods' and find out if his boy were there. His boy! Had not a monster seized the town and swallowed up his boy already? He pushed his way desperately to a side street hoping to avoid further delay. As he turned the corner he saw a large load of people headed for the square. He looked again and recognized the Rundels--a family of hard working farmers--eleven in all, counting the aged grandfather and grandmother and an uncle and aunt. They were accustomed to driving into town on Independence Day to help celebrate and have a little pleasant diversion. They were in holiday mood and array and were coming on at a lively pace. "Good God!" exclaimed Cornwallis, "It will not do for them to drive into that infernal place."