“Very good!” agreed the man, perfectly pleased with the transaction. “They’ll be here! Don’t you fret!”
Harold had just a moment to meet the “Widder Brown,” and when the man was not looking, he pressed a crumpled bill into her hand. Then he jumped into his Ford and was gone.
“And now for home and mother!” he exclaimed, making for the creek, where he stopped a few minutes to remove and wash off his disguise.
“By George! That feels good!” he said, as he finished shaving with the aid of his pocket mirror. Then, jumping into the creek for a swim, he came out and dressed in his own clothes.
“Even old lady Higgins wouldn’t know me now!” he chuckled in satisfaction. Then, “I wonder how long the old bird will keep Marjorie and Frieda! Ha! Ha! Ruth, the trick’s done! You will get the silver cup. And I’m going to be engaged to the prettiest little girl in town very soon, or know the reason why!
“By the immortal gods!” he cried; “I do believe I’ll make a trip to Silvertown myself. But first I’ll go home and get my duds!”
Mr. and Mrs. Andrews had conferred long and thoughtfully with Mr. Remington and Miss Phillips over the selection of the nine boys to receive invitations to the house-party. They had no difficulty in deciding upon Dick Roberts, David Conner, Roger Harris, and Jack Wilkinson as not only the best all-round scouts, but the most popular with the girls; and Miss Phillips had begged valiantly for John Hadley, for Marjorie’s sake. But the selection of the other four was a more difficult matter. Mr. Remington finally decided upon Stanley Winters and Raymond Hancock as the two most promising of the new, younger boys of the troop, in the interest of Florence Evans and Alice Endicott; and he recommended Max Stanton because he was a country boy, and hoped Frieda Hammer might find him congenial. Lawrence Field, a junior at Episcopal Academy, was the last one to be chosen; although he was not so well known to the girls, he was universally liked for his manliness, courtesy, and sincerity. No party was complete without Lawrence.
As soon as the girls had been introduced all around, and the topic of the missing scouts discussed from all angles, Mrs. Andrews suggested that the girls might like to go to their rooms.