Bob turned the corner of the cabin,—his head overtopped the comb of the roof by several feet!—and dropped upon hands and knees and crawled into the kitchen. The poor old woman again caught sight of him; and fled from the premises, screaming shrilly. Bob pitied her and called to her to come back, that he meant her no harm; but his awful bellowing voice served only to frighten her the more. The boy-giant—or the giant-boy, or whatever he should be called—discovered upon the table in the center of the floor a leg of roast mutton, a loaf of black bread, a jug of milk and some fruit; and ravenously devoured the whole. Then he retreated from the kitchen; and, feeling much refreshed, resumed his way toward the village, taking strides fully fifteen feet long. [Illustration] But when he had gone a short distance, he met the old woman whose food he had eaten returning toward her home, accompanied by her husband. The man had been at work in the fields; and now he was walking rapidly, his head down, cracking his fists and valiantly declaring what he would do to the bold intruder when he encountered him. Bob heard the fellow’s rash threats, and gave a loud laugh. The man flung up his head, took one look at the boy-giant—and incontinently took to his heels, literally dragging his wife after him. Across the fields they flew, and disappeared in a bit of woodland; and Bob pursued his course unmolested, still laughing boisterously. It was all so very funny! [Illustration: He picked up a large knotted pole for a cane.] Shortly he reached the top of the hill, where he could look down upon the little village, whose inhabitants were all unconscious of the terrible being that was approaching it. There the boy-giant paused to consider. Shaking his head he muttered, a grin spreading over his coarse features: “Well, those giant-tabs have increased my size wonderfully, but I don’t feel that they’ve increased my courage in the same way. I’m almost afraid to go down into that town. Those Portuguese might take it into their heads to shoot; and I’d be such a big mark they _couldn’t_ miss me. But I guess there’s no other way; so here goes.” He loped off down the hill; and a few minutes later he was entering the village. Some children at play saw him coming and ran ahead of him, screaming frantically. A woman came to her door, and immediately followed the children, also yelling at the top of her voice. Several men hastily put in an appearance; and as hastily joined the woman and children, in a mad race toward the public square of the town. The alarm spread. Others, and still others—of both sexes and all ages and sizes—emerged from concealment; and sought safety in mad flight, all speeding toward one destination, the mayor’s official residence.