He was very tired, now, and very cold. He felt something give--it was a bone. He felt something give again--it was a rib. The body of the man was breaking up into the very shape and semblance of a skeleton, but still it wasn't enough. The boy said: "Wait till I take it home with me." So he left it and went back to the station house and put in an hour or so more before he went home. The skeleton was hanging over a chair in the back part of the little office, looking not more than five feet tall. The boy pulled the chair over by the stove, and said, "Now we'll have some cheer and talk over it, and see what we'll do." So the boy took hold of the skeleton's knees and started to lever it up. But it was stuck fast to the chair. "Why, you can't lift it!" said the boy. "Yes I can," said the skeleton. "But, you're going to let me off it, aren't you?" "You bet!" said the boy. "I've got you, now, all right. But look here, aren't you afraid of what will happen?" "No," said the skeleton. "You bet I'm not! Why, I had the idea of that thing long before I was born. That's my first trip--just to let me see the country." "And you won't feel afraid when you come back?" "Oh no," said the skeleton, "I never feel afraid when I'm on a trip. It's good exercise." So the boy let the skeleton down and got him in his little stove. Then he brought in his own bed and put it at one end of the room, so that the little stove was in the middle of the floor. Then he put the skeleton's chair opposite the stove and went home. He told his mother when he got there, and they were very much astonished to see the little blue smoke come from under the skeleton. "Och, shure!" said his mother, "that's a quare ould oyester! Come on, now, and take off them shures." She lifted the skeleton's shirt and then pulled it down from under the coat, while he held it up. "Isn't he a queer one," she said, "and thin enough! I don't know how you'll get along with him, but I suppose you're used to such." The boy took off the bones and set them all in a row on a paper. "What kind of a one is he?" said his mother. "Oh," said the boy, "he's very thin. He was terribly overworked." "Yes," said his mother, "that was it. It often takes off a man's stoutness." "Och, shure!" said she, "a thin man makes plenty for a big man!" "But you're going to give him something to eat, aren't you?" said the boy. "Yes, he's used to eating. He's a great big feller! He was made to wear a shirt, I tell you." "Well," said the boy, "he's all yours. But I must get home." He went home and put the bones on the stove to warm up and then he made some kind of a mixture of broth and milk. And he put it on the fire to cook. When it was ready, he went in to look at the skeleton. He was sitting in his chair, with his back to the stove, and his hands clasped in his lap. He turned around to look at it and his jaw dropped. "Massy!" he cried, "how thin you have gotten!" "Oh, I'm not very thin now," said the skeleton. "Oh," said the boy, "but you were!" "Yes," said the skeleton, "I was, but I'm not thin now. Wait till I come back." "Well," said the boy, "I'll give you a lot of nice pieces of meat. I can save my fat and skin in a can till you come back." "No," said the skeleton, "I want some of that fat and skin. But you go ahead and get those meat scraps for me." "Do you feel as if you could get some more sleep?" said the boy. "Why, no," said the skeleton. "I'll get all I can now. I know what it is to sleep. When I'm lying awake here on the bed, I'll take a little trip around, you know." "That's what you must do," said the boy. "You must go out and round among the boys and girls, and play with them. And then when they get to talking to you and asking you questions, you must give them a good answer. You must never lie to them, you know, because they have sense and will know if you do. It is the boys and girls who think you're real. You see, when you're asleep you are not so real, so they will speak to you in their sleep and ask questions, and they are not awake to know. So, if you have any secret to tell any one, you must tell it to the little ones--don't you see? I have got some secret things to tell a boy--and I'm going to try some new ones on the neighbors' boy." "Och, shure!" said the skeleton. "Shure, I'll be glad to be round among them all!" "Don't stay too long," said the boy. "No," said the skeleton. "I'm going out right now. I'll see you in a few days." He went and called the cat and dog. And he told them to go out and play and stay out until he came back. "Will you come back with a secret, when you come back, though?" said the boy. "I'm going to do that," said the skeleton. "Well," said the boy, "this is all a secret between us." He gave the skeleton a little bundle of things to eat and a little piece of soap to wash with. And then he shut the door, and put the screen in front of it and the dog and cat behind it. And the skeleton went out. The dog was so glad he barked. When he came back from his last trip he would come at night, before his mother had gone to bed. But she saw him when she came down the next morning, and said, "Why, son, where did you get that skin?" She took off the shirt and looked and looked. "Oh," said the boy, "I got that skin in a dream." "My good law!" said the skeleton, "is it gone?" "Yes," said the boy. "And she said to go right away, and be sure and come back before it was dark, and I would be a fine lad. So I went to the cat and told him to go out and play. And he went out and he and I played till it was dark. And then I came in and I put on your shirt and all your things on and here I am!" "Very well," said the skeleton. "And you did what I told you?" "Yes," said the boy. "Och, shure!" said the skeleton. "I did." "And now," said the boy, "if you'll be all right, I'll go out again and come in again and then go out once more, before it gets dark. I won't stay out late this time." "All right," said the skeleton. "Then I'm going to get my things together and make some more journeys." So he got his old clothes out of the chest and put them on, and washed and combed his hair, and dressed it, so he would be more presentable. And then he went to his table and cleaned his dishes, and put them away, and dusted the floor, and got all straight and clean and nice. He put on some of his old rags, too, and looked as if he had been out and was returning. He had got his old hat and coat and skeleton's coat on the table. He put on a little shawl that was hanging on the nail, and put his bones in his pocket and locked the door, and locked it, and took out his handkerchief and his pipe, and opened the door for a short time, to let the cat in. Then he closed it and took the key and went out. And the boy went out and let the dog in, so he would know that all was right. Then he put the screen in front of the door, locked it, and took off the key. He got into bed and when he was sleepy he told his mother that he was going to take a nap