“I agree with you on both counts,” Bill told him, and Gordon nodded his head in consent. “Then there’s nothing to do but pack up and start back home,” Rogers told them. “That’s about all, I guess,” Bill agreed, “Except that we’ve got to make a call in Honolulu.” “You mean on that girl?” “On her parents. We promised we would,” Bill told him. “Of course you won’t see the girl,” Gordon grinned. “Of course not,” Rogers laughed. Although he was trying his best not to let them know how bitterly disappointed he was, both the boys knew that the failure to find the platinum had been a hard blow to him. They knew that he was far from being a rich man and had expected much from the venture. But all the way back to camp he kept up a lively conversation and tried to appear in good spirits. But they could see that it was forced and wished they could do something to make it easier for him. It was after ten o’clock when they reached camp and they at once set to work packing up for their departure, although they had decided not to start until after dinner. “We might as well have dinner early,” Gordon suggested as he finished rolling his tent. “I was expecting something of the sort,” Bill told him. “Well, we don’t want to get over there just at supper time, do we?” “Sure not. Start the fire going and I’ll get busy even if it isn’t eleven o’clock yet,” Bill laughed. “What’ll it be, canned lobster or corned beef?” “Lobster for me,” Gordon told him, and Rogers voted the same way. Dinner was rather a quiet meal. In fact there seemed to be little to say. The boys longed to console their friend but hesitated to do so as they knew he was trying to keep his disappointment from them and would feel all the worse to know that he was not succeeding. So the subject of the platinum was not mentioned while they were eating. Although no one had said anything in particular about it as if by mutual consent they hurried to clean up as soon as the meal was finished and, shortly after one o’clock, were ready for the hop. “Honestly, boys, I think you had better leave me here and stop for me on your way back,” Rogers told them when all was ready. “Nothing doing,” Bill told him. “You’re going with us or we don’t go at all.” “That final?” he asked. “That’s final,” Gordon assured him. “Then I’ll go of course, but I hate to be a wet blanket at a party and you may have suspected that I’m not feeling exactly what you’d call jovial.” “Who’d a thunk it?” Gordon laughed. “Honest injun, Steve, as a crape hanger you’d make a good end man. You couldn’t be a wet blanket if you tried.” “But I’d counted a lot on this thing and——” “Don’t we know it?” Bill interrupted. “But we’ve done our best, you know, and——”