The Road to Dumbiedykes 



children first" I readily acquiesced, 

 and a steady-going fellow, with good 

 references as to his personal character, 

 was duly employed to scout all night 

 through the shadows of the surround- 

 ing oaks. He was of course duly 

 armed, and a sense of safety immedi- 

 ately pervaded all the neighborhood. 

 Unfortunately we had not taken the 

 trouble to get references as to the 

 amount of gray matter carried under 

 the new watchman's hat. He was a 

 serious-minded German, and, as now 

 develops, with little sense of humor 

 in his mental makeup. 



The last thing we would hear at 

 night would be his reassuring tread 

 upon the grass, or down the road. He 

 did not sleep on the job. That seemed 

 obvious. Of course we did not lie 

 awake all night to make sure of that 

 fact, but about a week after we put 

 him on the watch we had proof that 

 he did keep going after we were safely 

 launched. 



[62] 



