A quarter of an hour later only Bob and Barry and Nelson remained. They had seen Dan off on the Bay State Limited and were on their way to the hotel for luncheon, the skirts of their oilskins wrapping around their legs and impeding progress at every gust of the wind that tore up the street. They weren’t particularly hungry, but the hotel promised more excitement than the launch on a day like this. After luncheon they went to the writing room and wrote letters to everyone they could think of, Bob supplementing the letters with a number of souvenir post cards. They killed three hours quite easily and went back to the _Vagabond_ at four o’clock. The rain had slackened considerably, but the wind still blew hard and gustily. The dark, leaden clouds which closed down upon the world showed no signs of breaking. They spent the rest of the afternoon as best they might, each rather dispirited and decidedly bored. At half-past five Bob went out and bought supplies for the larder and cooked dinner aboard when he returned. Neither he nor Nelson was very hungry and the meal was rather a silent one. After the things were cleared up they tried to read, but even that didn’t satisfy their restlessness, and when, at a little before nine, Bob wandered out to look at the weather and came back with the information that the moon was almost through the clouds and that the rain had ceased entirely and to the proposal that they take a walk Nelson assented eagerly. They got back into their oilskins and thick shoes, locked the door behind them and started out. “Gee,” said Nelson, “I feel as though I could walk a hundred miles!” “So do I,” answered Bob. “My legs feel positively rusty. Let’s have a good long tramp. I’m not the least bit sleepy.” “Nor am I. Which way shall we go?” “It doesn’t matter. Let’s turn down here. It’s no more muddy than any other street, I guess.” So they left the main street behind, turning to the left onto a dimly lighted road which led southward. Overhead the moon gleamed fitfully from between masses of somber clouds. The rain had ceased and the air felt warmer than it had all day. They struck out lustily, splashing through unseen puddles and leaving the town behind them in a jiffy. “This is something like,” grunted Bob, as he recovered himself from a stumble over a tree root. “Yes,” Nelson laughed. “If you don’t break your neck, there’s nothing like walking, after all. Remember the dandy times we had last summer.” “Well, we’ve had pretty good times this summer, too, so far,” replied Bob. “Only, I wish Tommy would show up. I’m beginning to get worried about him. If he doesn’t come back to-morrow we ought to write to his folks, or telegraph, maybe, and see if he’s with them.” “Oh, tommyrot!” said Nelson. “He wouldn’t go home. Besides, he didn’t have money enough. He’s around somewhere having a good time. I dare say he thinks he’ll get back at us for running away from him.” “Maybe, but how does he know we won’t go off without him?”