occasion, and the Secretary was instructed to invite Master
Lewis to be present, and to deliver an address.

Tommy Toby had been very reserved since the first meeting of the club.
He had been quite ignored, and his feelings were hurt.

"Are you sure you treated Tommy quite right at the first meeting?"
asked Ernest Wynn of Frank Gray, quietly, as he observed Tom's injured
look at the second meeting of the club.

"I fear I was not quite gentlemanly," said Frank. "But I had no wish
to join a society gotten up merely for fun."

"Tommy's suggestion was the beginning of the club," said Ernest.
"Let's give him a vote of thanks."

"I will offer the resolution," said Frank.

"Let us close this meeting," said Frank, "by recognizing the debt we
owe to one of our members. Thomas Toby is the real founder of this
club. I did not feel much interested in it at first. I do now. Let us
give Thomas a vote of thanks."

Every boy applauded the motion, which was passed enthusiastically.

Tommy's face brightened, and his eyes filled with tears.

"O Frank," he said, "how could you? Ernest Wynn was at the bottom of
this, wasn't he?"

"Yes," said Frank.

"Well, Ernest _is_ a better fellow than I."

"Or I."

"We both are all right now!"

"Yes."

"Have you decided upon a secret?" continued Frank.

"I have thought much about it," answered Tom.

"And what is the result?"

Tommy turned to the blackboard, and wrote,--

"ALL O!"

The boys looked at the characters mysteriously.

"Is that the secret?" asked Frank.

"Yes, and I myself am going to keep it for the club."

Master Lewis had a private talk with George Howe and Leander Towle
immediately on their return.

"I wish you to go," he said; "and I think a most profitable tour can
be made in the way you propose for $100. You can at least visit
Glasgow, Edinburgh, Birmingham, London, and Paris, and spend three
days each in the three great capital cities. The information you would
thus gain would be of great value to you. I thus estimate the probable
expense to each:--

Steerage passage to go and return $50.00
Glasgow to Edinburgh, 2_s._ 6_d._, or 60
Edinburgh to London, and London to Paris by way
of Dieppe, about L3, or 14.40
Shilling lodgings and meals for fourteen days 14.00
Miscellaneous expenses 11.00