“Oh, Roger, of course you did!” cried Phil, with a twinkle in his eye. “That’s the way he salutes girls always, Laura.”
“Is this the way you are packing up?” demanded Dave’s sister, with a little smile, while poor Roger grew redder than ever.
“Oh, we were only waiting for you to bring my things, Laura,” answered her brother, coolly. “We’ll be ready in three minutes and a half by the factory whistles.”
“Say, what is this I hear about a wild man?” continued Laura, as she sat down on a chair Roger shoved towards her. “You’ve made Mrs. Wadsworth and Jessie all excited over it.”
“Oh, it isn’t anything,” burst out Phil, quickly. “I made a mistake even to mention it.”
“She came down and told Jessie and me that she was afraid you’d have more trouble, when you got back to school. As if you haven’t had troubles enough already!” And Laura looked affectionately at her brother, and then at his chums.
“Oh, this won’t amount to anything, Laura,” 8 said Dave. “So tell Mrs. Wadsworth and Jessie not to worry about it.”
“But I want to know what it means?” demanded the sister; and in the end Dave and his chums had to relate what they knew about the wild man. As they finished the girl shook her head doubtfully.
“I don’t like that a bit,” she said. “I am sure you’ll get mixed up with that wild man somehow. Why, he might attack you and try to kill you!”
“We’ll be on our guard—when we go near the woods,” answered Roger.