In one corner of the apartment stood a bed.

At one side was a large fireplace, in which half a dozen sticks of green wood were hissing and sizzling in a vain attempt to make the contents of an iron pot, which hung over them, reach the boiling point.

No person was to be seen or heard on the premises, though the fire and the pot were suggestive of humanity at no great distance from the spot.
A door on the back side of the room was open, and Tom looked out in search of the occupants of the house.

In the garden he discovered the whole family, consisting of a man and his wife, a girl of twelve, and a boy of ten.

The man was digging in the garden, and the rest of the troupe seemed to be superintending the operation.