“I never saw the sky look so blue before in all my life,” the other boy admitted. “And listen to the church bells ringing, will you? It seems to me they must know all that’s happened here, and are singing just as my heart’s doing right now. I’m the happiest fellow in Cliffwood; and I ought to get out so as to try to make some other chap feel a little the same way by doing him a good turn.”
“My mother will be just tickled half to death,” asserted Leslie. “She’s been doing little save talk about your trouble ever since I told her, trying to figure out how she could help you all without offending you. I just can’t stay any longer because I want to tell her the big news. Hurrah for Uncle Silas, say I! He’s turned out to be a regular trump! And how he did fool me in the bargain!”
With that Leslie hurried away, only turning to wave his hand at his chum, and shout out:
“Everything’s headed your way at last, Dick; and I bet you five cents against a cookey that fine farce of yours is bound to take the prize Mr. Holwell’s offering. Nat may try all he wants, but he can’t fight against such luck as has set in toward the Horners. Mark my words, will you?”
Dick only laughed in reply as he closed the door, and once more went in to make sure the amazing paper still stood there on the mantel in the living room. If he took it in his hands and examined the precious document once that morning, he did a dozen times; though finally Mrs. Horner thought it best to place it securely away in a receptacle where she kept the few little valuables she possessed.
Toward the middle of the morning, Dick, remembering his new hockey skates, managed to tear himself away from the little house where so much happiness was concentrated, and go forth to seek the big pond, with the intention of testing the steel runners.
And during that day the boy sought and found some fellow who had been utterly forgotten by the patron saint of Christmas, upon whom he bestowed his other skates, as well as something in the shape of money. Dick’s heart was overflowing with gratitude for the amazing good fortune that had come to his home; and this, according to his mind, was the only way in which he could pass the good cheer along.
CHAPTER XXIX
THE END OF THE STRUGGLE
The time had finally come when the committee appointed to judge the several farces entered in the competition for the prize, met to complete their part of the proceedings.
Every fellow who belonged to the Boys’ Department of the prosperous Y. M. C. A., as well as many of the girls, were on the tiptoe of excitement. While the vast majority of them firmly believed that Dick was sure to be the successful candidate for honors, there were others who seemed confident that Nat would come in a winner.