at the doorbell, and Bob jumped up to admit the expected guest.

"Hello, Mr. Brandon!" exclaimed Bob, as they both shook hands heartily.
"It seems great to see you again."

"I can say the same thing about you," replied Frank Brandon. "You're
tanned like a life guard at Coney Island. I'll bet you haven't been far
from salt water all summer."

"You're right there," smiled Bob. "I was in the water so much that it's a
wonder I didn't turn into a fish. The whole bunch of us had a wonderful
time of it."

"Good enough!" Brandon exclaimed, heartily. "Where's all the rest of your
crowd this evening?"

"They'll be around soon now. I'm expecting them any minute. There's Joe's
whistle now! I thought he'd be along soon."

As he finished speaking Joe came bounding up the porch two steps at a
time, and he had hardly got inside and shaken hands with Brandon when
Jimmy and Herb appeared together. There was great excitement while they
exchanged greetings, and then they went into the parlor and were made
welcome by Mr. and Mrs. Layton.

"It seems good to get back in this town again," said Brandon, in a voice
that carried conviction. "You folks have made me so welcome ever since we
became acquainted that it seems almost like my own home town."

"That's the way we want everybody to feel," smiled Mr. Layton. "Clintonia
is a neighborly town, and we always do our best to make visitors feel at
home."

"I hear you've done a good deal of traveling since you were here last,"
said Mrs. Layton.

"Yes, I had a little commission to execute for the government down in
Miami," said Brandon. "A radio inspector is apt to be sent anywhere on
short notice, you know."

"How is your cousin, Mr. Harvey, getting along?" asked Bob. "Has he got
entirely over his experience of last summer, when Dan Cassey knocked him
out and stole his money?"

"Oh, yes, he's all right now," responded Brandon. "I saw him only day
before yesterday, and he couldn't get through talking about the way you
fellows took charge of the station while he was down and out, and then got
the money back afterward. That was mighty fine work, and you can believe
both he and I are grateful to you for what you did."

"Oh, that wasn't much," disclaimed Bob. "Besides, he'd done so much for us
that we owed him something in return."

"He didn't say anything about that," observed Brandon.

"I suppose that's the last thing in the world he would mention," laughed
Joe. "But he gave us all