“And no telling how long we’ll be stalled here,” added Roger. “Quite an adventure, isn’t it?” and he smiled faintly.
“Well, we can be thankful that we weren’t caught somewhere along the road,” broke in Phil.
“That’s it!” came from Ben. “Why, if we had been caught in some out-of-the-way place, we might be frozen to death trying to find some shelter.”
The two rooms which the chums occupied on the third floor of the hotel were connected, and before they went to bed the youths all drifted into the one which was to be occupied by Dave and Ben, for here it was slightly warmer than in the other room, and the lamp gave a better light. It seemed good to be together like this, especially on a night when the elements were raging so furiously outside. The former school chums talked of many things––of days at Oak Hall, of bitter rivalries on the diamond, the gridiron, and on the boating course, and of the various friends and enemies they had made.
“The only one of our enemies who seems to have made a man of himself is Gus Plum,” remarked Dave. “He has settled down to business and I understand he is doing very well.”
“Well, Nat Poole is doing fairly well,” returned Ben. “I understand his father owns stock in that bank, so they’ll probably boost Nat along as rapidly as his capabilities will permit.”
“Nat was never the enemy that Plum and Jasniff and Merwell were!” cried Phil. “He was 118 one of the weak-minded kind who thought it was smart to follow the others in their doings.”
“This storm is going to interfere with our studies, Dave,” announced Roger. “Not but what I’m willing enough to take a few days’ rest,” he added with a grin.
“We’ll have to make up for it somehow, Roger,” returned our hero. “We’ve got to pass that examination with flying colors.”