Toby curled up in the depths of a huge Morris chair that had been discarded as unworthy of a place in the living-room downstairs, and to which in due season Jack had naturally fallen heir. "Now, we've strolled over this evening in response to your call, Jack," observed Steve, with one of his wide grins, "and full to the brim with expectancy, as well as supper. Suppose you unload and tell us what you've struck this time?" "Yes, spin the yarn, please, Jack, because I'm fairly quivering with suspense, you must know," urged Toby, with a vein of entreaty in his voice. Jack laughed. He knew that while the others were trying to appear cool, inwardly both of them were boiling with curiosity and eagerness. "Well, the conundrum is solved, I reckon," he went on to say; "that is, if both of you agree with me that this chance is something like a gift dropped from the blue sky. We made up our minds a long time ago that it must be some sort of outing for us this summer, and the only thing that looked dubious was the state of our funds, and they have been drained pretty low, what with buying so many things needed for our sports. Well, that part of it has been settled. A magician bobbed up just when we needed one the worst kind." Steve no longer reclined at full length on the lounge; he sat up straight and turned a pair of dancing eyes on the speaker. As for Toby, he actually leaped out of the depths of his chair, and threatened to execute a Fiji Island war-dance on the spot. "Go on, tell us some more, please," urged Steve. "Who is this kind gentleman who has taken such an interest in our crowd that he'd actually offer to stand for the expense of our outing?" "Well, in the first place," Jack explained, "strange as you may think it, it happens that it isn't a gentleman at all, but a lady who offers to pay for everything we'll need, to have the greatest camping trip of our lives." "Re-markable!" gurgled Toby Hopkins. "Well, all I can say is that I'm more than surprised. But it's mighty evident to me that she does this because of the admiration she feels for our chum, Jack Winters; and I guess, Steve, once more we're lucky to have such a general favorite for a comrade." "Listen, fellows," remonstrated Jack, hastily, "there are several reasons why the lady is doing this for us. One of them is admiration for the way we acquitted ourselves in the baseball games lately played. She has a healthy regard for the proper bringing up of boys, though she has never been married herself, and therefore knows them only from hearsay. She is interested in the projected gymnasium, and means to invest some of her means in the enterprise, believing that it will pay enormous dividends to the young people of this community. But you mustn't ask me for her name, because I am not at liberty to mention it even to you fellows just yet. Later on the promise of secrecy may be withdrawn, after we've come back from our trip."