"Don't go an' git lost, young man. Have ye a guide?"
"No, but I don't think we are going to get lost. What place do you call this?" the eldest Rover continued, thinking to ask some questions himself, and thus keep the fellow from becoming too inquisitive.
"This is Pluggins' Palace;" the man gave a short laugh. "Did ye ever hear of Pluggins?"
"No."
"Pluggins was a pretty fair sort, but had a habit of stickin' his nose into other folks' business. One day, so the story goes, he went too far, and nobody has seen him since."
"Was he killed?"
The man shrugged his shoulders.
"Don't ask me, stranger. He disappeared, and that was the end of him. He used to live here, and the boys writ that motto to his memory." And the man pointed to a wall, upon which hung a board, on which had been painted the following:
ThiS iS iN MEMorY Of
SiLAs plUGGinS
he waS A GooD MaN,
bUT hE coULD NOT kEEp HiS NOsE
FRoM oTHeRS biSSnESS.
tAkE wARNiNG.!
Dick read the lines with deep interest, and so did all of the others.
