"The wind is dead, there is no breeze
To stir the bushes or the trees.
Full well I know, as here I stand,
That Solitude commands the land!"
"Good! Fine! Immense! Great!" cried Sam enthusiastically. "Hurrah for
Solitude!"
"Why, Mr. Powell, you are a real poet," said one of the girls gravely.
And this pleased Songbird greatly.
"You'll have to write in my autograph album," said another, and the would-be poet readily consented. Later he inscribed a poem in the book three pages long.
At last it came time to leave the woods, and the boys walked with the girls toward the road. As they did this they heard the sound of wheels.
"Must be a carriage coming," said Dick, and stepped into the roadway to see, followed by the others in the party. A few seconds later a turnout rumbled into sight. It was the Hope Seminary carryall, and it contained half a dozen girls, including Dora, Nellie and Grace.
"Hello! Look there!" cried Tom, and raised his cap, and the other boys did the same. Dora and her cousins looked at the crowd, and their faces flushed. They bowed rather stiffly, and then the carryall bowled on its way.
"Why, those are your friends!" cried Minnie, turning to the Rovers.
"Don't you want to speak to them?"
"It's too late now," answered Dick. He had a curious sinking sensation in his heart that he could not explain. He looked at his brothers, and saw that they, too, were out of sorts.
The passing of the carryall put a damper on matters, and the girls felt it. They talked with the Rovers and Songbird a few minutes longer and then turned in one direction while the Brill students turned in another.