"'Mercy!' exclaimed 'Aunt Twaddles' with a deep, weary sigh, 'we will take a good rest before we go on, for that was a hard climb.' "And now while 'Aunt Twaddles' and the two children are resting under the shade of a tree on the side of the mountain, we will rest for a moment, and I will thank you for a fresh drink of water before I go on with my story." ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CHAPTER IV THE CAVE IN THE MOUNTAIN As the "Prince of the Highway" finished the first part of his story and asked for a fresh drink of water before continuing, there was a wild, scampering foot-race between the two largest boys as they hastened away to the well, straining every muscle and nerve in the struggle to see who might have the pleasure of honoring the wanderer with a drink. All the children that were seated upon the grass about the Vagabond, began working closer and closer toward him, forgetful now of the cool and almost unkind manner in which they had turned a deaf ear to his request for a drink when first he paused in the centre of the hot, dusty road. The little girls took off their bright colored sun-bonnets in order that they might not lose a single word that fell from the lips of the dust-covered story-teller. "Mercy!" exclaimed one of the boys, as if just awakening from the scene that fancy had painted in his little brain. "Mercy!" again he exclaimed. "What a terrible climb! Isn't it a wonder that the two children could hold on so long?" As the words fell from the lips of the little speaker, the assembled children seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, for they well remembered that the two children were safe on the side of the mountain. Back over the lawn came the two boys bearing the water; and after the thirsty Vagabond had refreshed himself, he blinked his little black eyes and smacked his dry lips with evident delight, as thus he continued his story: "'Aunt Twaddles' and the children, by this time, were well rested; and rising from the ground she took them by the hands and went slowly up through the mountain woodland. "The effort was not nearly so tiresome as the long struggle on the face of the cliff had been, and for some time they made rapid progress; for the mountain rose in a gentle slope and the way was closely shaded by tall trees, that some weeks before had unfolded their bright foliage to the blue sky of spring. "If nothing greater was to be expected, the journey was a delight in itself; and it was fully an hour before they paused in a merry group on the very top of the mountain. "As their feet reached the level soil of the mountain crown, 'Aunt Twaddles' dropped her big bag of herbs for a moment of rest, and turning to the children, she exclaimed: "'There, darlings, at last! Now gaze about you on the great underworld and see if this isn't worth all the trouble and toil that we had on the face of the cliff?'