HE OPEN

"Well, where do we go from here, boys?" asked Allen, lazily stretching out
on the grass with a convenient, raised bank of moss for a pillow, while
the girls repacked the depleted hampers. "It's such a wonderful day, and
camp was never like this."

"Tell us something we don't know," Frank retorted. "Gee, it's been a fine
experience and all, but, believe me, I'll be glad when the call comes for
action."

"They're off again," said Grace plaintively.

"I must say you're not awfully complimentary," added Mollie, busily
folding napkins.

"In what way, sweet maid, do we offend?" Will inquired.

"Oh, always talking about how glad you'll be to get away from us," she
explained. "Here we thought we'd been entertaining you so beautifully--"

"Gee, you have!" cried Roy, propping himself on his elbow and speaking
with unaccustomed solemnity. "It's been just great, having you girls
here."

"It certainly has," added Frank. "I guess we'd have gone clean crazy
because of homesickness if you hadn't come along just when you did."

"Now you're saying something," added Allen warmly, while the girls stopped
packing and looked on happily. "Do you remember what we were talking about
that day when we almost--"

"Ran into what we were talking about?" finished Frank with a grin. "You
bet I do."

"Well, what was it?" drawled Grace, after they had waited patiently for
the boys to continue and the latter had smiled aggravatingly to themselves
over their thoughts.

"If it's bad," added Mollie briskly, "we don't want to hear it, for, as
the old lady said that used to come to see Mother regularly once a year,
'I don't care what terrible things people say or think about me, if they
don't tell me about it,' But if it's good--we might stand it."

"Oh, it was good all right," Frank assured her, still smiling over his
thoughts. "We were saying that if we didn't get a furlough so we could go
back to Deepdale--"

"For a certain purpose," suggested Will.

"For a certain purpose," Frank repeated solemnly--"we were afraid we
might have to desert."

"Yes, that would have been sensible," scoffed Mollie. "Get half a dozen
years in prison for yourselves and I'd like to know where your furloughs
would be then."

"And you haven't really told us a single nice thing about ourselves,"
added Betty plaintively. "All the time we've just been holding our breath
to listen--"

"We've been doing our best to tell you those nice things, every min