CHAPTER V.

MARK AND RUTH ATTEND AN AUCTION.


Although Mr. and Mrs. Elmer regretted the delay in Key West, being
anxious to get settled in their new home as soon as possible, the
children did not mind it a bit; indeed, they were rather glad of
it. In the novelty of everything they saw in this queerest of
American cities, they found plenty to occupy and amuse them.

The captain and their father were busy in the court-room nearly
every day, and Mrs. Elmer did not care to go ashore except for a
walk in the afternoon with her husband. So the children went off
on long exploring expeditions by themselves, and the following
letter, written during this time by Ruth to her dearest friend,
Edna May, will give an idea of some of the things they saw:

"KEY WEST, FLA., December 15, 188-.

"MY DEAREST EDNA,--It seems almost a year since I left you in dear
old Norton, so much has happened since then. This is the very
first chance I have had since I left to send you a letter, so I
will make it a real long one, and try to tell you everything.

"I was not sea-sick a bit, but Mark was.

"In the Penobscot River we rescued a man from a floating cake of
ice, and brought him with us. His name is Jan Jansen, but Mark
calls him Jack Jackson. A few days before we got here we found a