"Hullo, there is Josiah Crabtree!"
"Where?" questioned Dick with deep interest.
"Across the way. He has just entered the jewelry store on the corner."
"Say, perhaps he's buying a wedding ring," blurted out Tom before he stopped to think.
"Tom, that matter is no joke," came from Dick, as his face grew red. "I sincerely hope, for Dora Stanhope's sake, that he never marries, Dora's mother."
"Oh, so do I," answered Tom readily.
"Why, he isn't fit to be stepfather to a dog!"
"Let us look into the window and see what he is doing," suggested Dick uneasily, for he could not get it out of his head but that his brother's guess might be correct.
The window was broad and clear, and they looked through it into the shop with ease. Josiah Crabtree stood at the counter, talking to a clerk, who presently brought forth a tray of plain rings.
"It is a wedding ring, as sure as you are born!" cried Tom.