"A carpenter might have a ladder and an axe, and I think we have
neither," said Mrs. Peterkin.

"A carpenter! A carpenter!" exclaimed the rest.

It was decided that Mr. Peterkin, Solomon John, and the little boys
should go in search of a carpenter.

Agamemnon proposed that, meanwhile, he should go and borrow a
book; for he had another idea.

"This affair of the turkey," he said, "reminds me of those buried
cities that have been dug out,­Herculaneum, for instance."

"Oh, yes," interrupted Elizabeth Eliza, "and Pompeii."

"Yes," said Agamemnon, "they found there pots and kettles. Now,
I should like to know how they did it; and I mean to borrow a
book and read. I think it was done with a pickaxe."

So the party set out. But when Mr. Peterkin reached the carpenter's
shop, there was no carpenter to be found there.

"He must be at his house, eating his dinner," suggested Solomon
John.

"Happy man," exclaimed Mr. Peterkin, "he has a dinner to eat!"

They went to the carpenter's house, but found he had gone out of