Out on the pier went Willie. Fascinated, he gazed about him. How the stirring life before him stimulated and thrilled him. Indeed, he hardly felt like the little country lad who had just come to New York to take a steamship voyage as the guest of an old chum. His spirit was like the eagle’s. He soared over vast distances, and saw strange lands. He was a globe-trotter, a world traveler. And in truth, Willie actually saw more of the world, standing on that East River pier than some folks do who circle it; for there be many who, having eyes, see not. Indeed, Willie not only saw, but also heard and even smelled and tasted; for the wind was bringing to him the delicious aroma from the near-by coffee-roasting establishments, and the ravishing odor of freshly made cocoa, and the scent of perfumes, and other odd and curious smells so tropical of this part of old New York. Willie had read of the perfumes of the Orient, but he doubted if they were any more pleasing than some of the odors that now assailed his nostrils. Presently Willie became conscious of the fact that he was tired. He had been on his feet a long time, for he had stood on the pier for two or three hours before the _Lycoming_ docked. The paving-stones and the wooden planks of the pier suddenly felt very hard to his feet. He sought for a place to rest. At one side of the pier some lumber was piled. Willie made his way to it. At the river end there was a sort of little recess in the pile, where some short lengths of board had been put in the centre of the lumber. A projecting plank or two made a comfortable seat. Willie sank down in this snug nook with a sigh of relief and comfort. His feet were really very tired. He found the wind was shut off by the lumber, too, and that was welcome, for the day was far along and it was growing cool. In perfect comfort Willie now sat in his little retreat, watching the river life before him. Without realizing it, Willie had chosen an observation post where he could hardly be observed himself, so well was he snuggled down among the projecting lengths of lumber. As the afternoon waned, the activities on the pier almost ceased. In fact, the place was practically deserted. Out toward the end of the pier Willie had casually noticed an old fellow who was aimlessly walking about. He appeared to be a tramp. Willie would never have given him a second thought had the man not suddenly disappeared. Willie was not watching him, and in fact was not directly conscious of the man’s presence on the pier; yet suddenly Willie’s subconsciousness told him that something was missing from the picture before him. That startled Willie into conscious mental effort. What was that something and why had it disappeared?