“I’m not,” said Gus. “I wish something real exciting would happen. Something that would stir up a fellow’s blood.”
“Are you anxious to be shipwrecked?” laughed Mr. Whyland.
“No, not that exactly; but I hate to have things so tame.”
“Well, maybe something will happen,” was the quiet reply.
Little did Mr. Whyland realize how quickly his thought would become a fact. Had he done so it is not likely that he would have gone to his cabin with such a tranquil heart.
When they reached their stateroom the two boys sat for a long time discussing matters in general, the principal question being what should each do when the steamer reached San Francisco.
“You had better telegraph to your father, Gus. He will be very anxious concerning your whereabouts.”
“I’ll do that, Oliver,” was the stout youth’s reply. “I begin to see that running away wasn’t such a brilliant thing to do after all.”
“Now you’ve hit the nail right on the head,” replied Oliver; and he said no more.