“Ah!” thought Adelaide, “this is encouraging. Buttertub and Ricos were out late on the night of our party, and Stacey can prove an alibi for Terwilliger. I shall report all this to Mr. Mudge.”
Jim returned persistently to the idea of the entertainment for the Home of the Elder Brother. “I wish you would see to it, Stacey. What are the boys doing now?”
“Tennis, and base-ball. You ought to see Woodpecker; he is going to be our tennis champion; he can make the neatest underhand cut. He’s simply great.”
“Any better than the club down at the Pier?” Jim asked.
“What! the Sand-flies? They can’t hold a candle to us.”
“It would be nice to have the Cadets play the Sand-flies,” Jim suggested. “Colonel Grey would give the tennis club a field-day if you asked him, and the excursion to the Pier by boat would be lovely. Mrs. Roseveldt says she’s going to open her cottage earlier than usual this year, and she will get the Sand-flies interested. Say, is it a go?”
Stacey lashed his boots lightly with his riding-whip; for he was on his way to the Park for a ride.
“We couldn’t make a success of the affair without Miss Milly’s help,” he said, “and after the way she treated me at the games I’ll never ask another favor of her—never.”
Jim was much distressed.
“That tournament scheme was such a good one,” he said. “The Sand-flies are already interested in the Home of the Elder Brother, and we could make a big affair of it and rake in lots of money for the Home. I mean to talk with Mrs. Roseveldt about it, any way.”