"It was the time the monkey chewed
your hat, Flossie. We went into a store to buy a new one, and Daddy came
there and found us and the man's name was Whipple."
"That's right--it was," agreed Flossie. "Oh, isn't that _funny!_ And now
we're playing with _you_, Laddie."
"It is queer, I'm going to tell my aunt."
And when Laddie did, Mrs. Whipple remembered having heard her husband tell
about the two little lost children who came into his department store
after a street-piano monkey had spoiled a little girl's hat.
"And to think _you_ two are those same children!" cried Mrs. Whipple. "It
is quite remarkable, and New York such a big place as it is. I must tell
my husband. He's Laddie's uncle, you know."
"I've got another uncle, too, but we don't know where he is," went on
Laddie.
"Is he lost at sea?" asked Freddie. "If he is, I know how to find him.
Just ask Tommy Todd's father. He was shipwrecked, and me and Flossie found
him in a snow storm."
"You must tell me about that some time," said Mrs. Whipple. "But Laddie's
other uncle isn't lost at sea, so far as we know. It's too sad a story to
tell to children. But Mr. Whipple has a brother, who is also a brother to
Laddie's mother, but this brother has long been lost."
"How'd he get lost?" asked Freddie. "Did he go to the store and couldn't
find his way back?"
"No, my child. It was different from that. I'll tell you, perhaps, another
time. Go on with your play now.
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