“I don’t think they cost much,” said Ward. “Perhaps we have enough in your bank.”
Fred groaned in anguish and Polly laughed.
“That’s it,” said Fred, bitterly. “Never want to pay a cent in, but always willing to let it all go out. Take the last penny in the bank—what do you care? Why should dues worry you? They’re only something to throw away.”
“Don’t spend your old dues, if you don’t want to,” snapped Ward. “I don’t care whether you put in a furnace or not; I’m never cold. It’s the girls who are making a fuss.”
“A furnace costs a heap of money,” put in Polly, wisely. “We never could afford that. Besides, Mr. Larue wouldn’t let us. We might set fire to the barn.”
“Well, how about that old gasolene stove that Mother threw away last week?” suggested Artie. “There’s nothing the matter with it, except it leaks.”
“How much more do you want the matter with it?” inquired Fred. “No gasolene stove comes into this clubroom while I’m a member.”
“Then what shall we have?” asked Jess, sadly.
“I was just thinking that an electric heater wouldn’t be so bad,” said Fred. “We could run wires from the pole out in front and connect it with the heater in here. We could light the barn with the same current, too, and perhaps have meetings at night. That would be fun, wouldn’t it?”
“We could have our Hallowe’en party out here,” cried Polly. “Think of having it in the barn! Such heaps of fun!”