“Yes. And if he is only an assistant he can’t be paid very much money. No wonder he wanted to join our crowd. I suppose he thought he could earn two or three times as much.”
“Well, Roger, you can’t blame him for wanting to earn money,” returned Dave briefly. “Now that he has paid the penalty of his crime, as the laws puts it, he has as much right to go where he pleases, and work at what he pleases, as anybody.”
“Oh, I’m not begrudging him a chance to earn his living,” cried the senator’s son quickly. “I hope he reforms and gets along well in life. I only want him to keep away from where I am. I think I’ve got a right to pick my company, and I don’t propose to pick such fellows as Jasniff.”
Sunday passed, and then Dave received another letter from Phil Lawrence stating that the ship-owner’s son had been delayed, but that he would surely come West in the near future, and that not only Shadow Hamilton but also Ben Basswood had promised to make the trip with him. Concerning Ben, Phil wrote as follows:
“You must know how grateful the Basswoods are to you and Roger for recovering those thousands of dollars’ worth of miniatures down there on the Border. I think they feel pretty wealthy now, having been offered a fine price for some of the little paintings. So it was an easy matter for Ben to get permission to join Shadow and me when the trip was proposed. Ben is wild, thinking what a good time he is going to have, for, as you know, he has never had the chance of getting around that we have had.”
“This is better than ever!” cried Roger, when he read the communication. “Talk about old times at Oak Hall! We will tear things wide open when they arrive.”
“We’ll have to attend to our work, Roger. You know we are here to learn all about surveying and civil engineering. Our play days are very largely at an end.”
“Oh, I think Mr. Obray and Frank Andrews will let us cut loose a little—after they understand matters,” pleaded the senator’s son.
The same mail had brought the young men letters from Jessie and Laura and also an interesting communication from Dave’s Uncle Dunston. The two girls had been on a trip to New York with Mrs. Wadsworth, and had much to tell about their sightseeing in and around the metropolis. Both said they wished Dave and Roger had been with them.
“Too bad! But we are a long way from old New York,” sighed Roger. “My, what a grand old time we could have had, visiting Bronx Park, Coney Island, and a lot of other places!”