Chapter I: Front Matter

THE VILLAGE OF HIDE AND SEEK.

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Illustration: _"The now smiling vagabond stood bowing and scraping in the middle of the sunbaked road."_

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THE VILLAGE

OF

HIDE AND SEEK

BY

BINGHAM THOBURN WILSON

AUTHOR OF

"YE MOUNTAINEER," "THE TALE OF THE PHANTOM YACHT," ETC.

ILLUSTRATIONS BY

W. HERBERT DUNTON

Illustration: Publisher's logo

NEW YORK
CONSOLIDATED RETAIL BOOKSELLERS
1905

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COPYRIGHTED, 1905, BY
CONSOLIDATED RETAIL BOOKSELLERS

REGISTERED AT STATIONERS' HALL, LONDON

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(_All Rights Reserved_)

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PUBLISHED, OCTOBER, 1905.
{Printed in the United States of America}.

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_Dedication._

TO THE CHILDREN OF POVERTY AND RAGS. TO THE
HOUSEHOLD OF SORROW AND BURDENSOME CARE.
TO THE LIVES IN THE SHADOW OF THE DARK GAUNT
FORM OF WOE. TO THOSE WHOSE EARS HAVE BEEN
ATTUNED TO THE HOLLOW, MOCKING VOICE OF
GRIEF. TO THE HUMBLEST OF THE HUMBLE, THE
POOR; THE VERY POOR. AND MAY THIS STORY
PROVE TO BE STARLIGHT IF NOT SUNSHINE.

VERY RESPECTFULLY,

THE AUTHOR.

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CONTENTS.

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CHAPTER
I. "HIS HIGHNESS," THE VAGABOND
II. AUNT TWADDLES
III. THE PATH UP THE CLIFF
IV. THE CAVE IN THE MOUNTAIN
V. THE VILLAGE OF HIDE AND SEEK
VI. THE QUEEN OF THE DOLLS
VII. KIMBO, THE GIANT
VIII. THE ISLAND OF DREAMS
IX. SODA WATER FOUNTAIN
X. IN THE VILLAGE OF HIDE AND SEEK

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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

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"Frontisepiece."

"Almost dumb with surprise, the children turned about to gaze on the
world that lay far beneath them"

"All the odd, ill-fitting garments ... were changed into raiments of
rich lace and gold"

"He seemed to be leaping over great fields fully a mile at a stride"

"The children stopped to look back upon the spot from which they had
just come"

"Looking upward they were amazed to behold the open sky filled with
sweet-voiced angels"

"He gave the old harp a nimble sweep with his dexterous fingers that
filled the air with enchanting music"

"Perhaps you have noticed by my long hair and studious demeanor that I
am both a gentleman and a scholar"

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THE VILLAGE OF HIDE AND SEEK

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