“Hello! hello! What’s going on here?” cried Frank Andrews, coming up at that moment. “Have you fellows joined the Hopi Indians?”
“Our three chums are on the way—we expect them here inside of the next two days!” announced Dave.
“Is that so? I don’t wonder you’re so happy. As I understand it, you fellows were all very close chums.”
“The closest ever!” answered Roger. And then suddenly his face clouded a little. “But oh, Mr. Andrews, what are we going to do with them when they get here? We’ll have to make some sort of arrangements for them.”
“I reckon we can make room one way or another,” answered the older civil engineer. “You know Barry and Lundstrom have left and that gives us two vacant bunks, and we can easily fix up an extra cot here if we want to.”
“Then that’s what we’ll do, if you won’t mind,” announced Dave.
He and Roger had already spoken about the matter to Ralph Obray, and the general manager had given them permission to entertain their chums at the camp for several days if the visitors wished to stay that long. It was, of course, understood that their meals should be paid for, since a report of all expenditures had to be made to the head office.
“I think you fellows have earned a little vacation,” said the manager to the chums. “You have both worked very hard. And I have not forgotten, Porter, how you carried those documents to Orella for me and what a fight you had to get them there in safety.”
“But understand, Mr. Obray, we don’t expect to be paid for the time we take off,” interposed Roger. “At least I don’t expect to be paid for it.”
“And that is just the way I feel about it,” added Dave.