“Exceptions prove the rule!” Charles triumphantly retorted.
“Well, what is it that you mean to do?” Steve inquired lazily.
“Oh, I don’t know; nothing in particular;” Charles answered. “But let us lay our heads together, and plan something startling.”
“Very good; but who is the one to be startled?” the Sage asked. “According to all accounts, we boys have startled the inhabitants of this village quite enough. Only the other day I heard a good old lady say, in speaking of us, ‘Those awful boys! They carry consternation with them!’”
“Of course;” put in Steve. “And now that we’ve got our reputation up, we must keep it up. It would be very wrong for us to let our talents dwindle and rust away; so, Charley, if any new idea has come to you, let us know it.”
“You all know the old house away up this river?” Charles asked.
“Well, I guess we are acquainted with it,” Will replied. “But what about it? What could we do there?”
“It seems to me that it would be a good thing to go there and inspect it. I never went through it, but I should like to do that now. And when we get there, we should feel so romantic that we might hit on something—we might even lay a plot!”
“What would the owner say to us for inspecting his house?” George asked.