“Hope you’ll like us, Allan. We may seem rather a rough and unpolished lot at first, but we’re not so bad when you cotton to our way of life.” “Of course I’ll like you,” said Allan, vehemently. “If it wasn’t for you and your father, Pete, where’d we be now?” “Where you are, I guess,” laughed Pete. “Let me tell you something, Allan. When you get out to Blackwater, don’t you go to speaking pieces at the old man, and thanking him; that’s a line of talk he can’t stand.” “But I’ve got to thank him,” objected Allan. “No you haven’t; your mother’s done that already in her letter. Besides, there isn’t anything to make a fuss about. I gave the tip to dad, and he bought up enough stock in the Gold Beetle to get control. Then he called a meeting, voted to go ahead with the mine, and--did it. And he found a whole bunch of ore, just as I knew he would. He don’t need any thanks. Why, ginger, the old mine will make him richer than it will you folks!” “Well, then, I’ll thank you again,” said Allan. “If you do, I’ll punch you! Look, there’s Rindgely with his folks. Nice-looking woman, that mother of his. Say, maybe I ain’t glad I didn’t have to show that confession of him!” “So’m I,” said Allan, heartily. “It would have been a shame to prevent him from graduating. After all, I don’t suppose he realized what he was doing.” “Well, I don’t know about that,” answered Pete. “Anyhow, I’m glad we caught on to him in time. And it was all Two Spot’s doing, too; did you ever think of that? If she hadn’t rolled that ball of paper to my feet I’d never have seen that chap’s name and asked about him. It was that that put me onto the game. I remembered Tommy’s telling about Rindgely and the St. Thomas Club. By the way, it’s time those fellows showed up.” “Tommy and Hal? They’re always late. Have you heard Tommy’s voice? He cheered so hard at the ball game this afternoon that he can’t talk above a whisper. Hal’s trying to induce him to sing with the glee club.” “There’s Hooker and Long. What sort of a captain do you suppose Long will make?” “First rate, I should think. The fellows like him and he’s a hard-working, earnest sort of a fellow.” “Well, just as long as they didn’t light on Monroe,” said Pete. “That man will be the death of me, he puts on so many airs. Next fall, when I get back, I’m going to start right in and learn how to throw the hammer, and keep at it until I can beat him at that, too.” “You’ll be busy at football,” suggested Allan. “Football? Oh--well, maybe; football isn’t a bad game, after all. But-- Here they are. O Tommy! Tommy Sweet!” Tommy and Hal, attracted by Pete’s bellow, turned and joined them. “Thought we’d never get here,” said Tommy, hoarsely. “Hal got mixed up with an ice-cream freezer and ate six saucerfuls before I could drag him away.” “That’s so,” Hal confessed. “That’s the trouble with breaking training; things taste so good and it’s so jolly nice to be able to eat all you want to. I expect to be fine and sick to-night.”