"Nonsense!" snorted the explorer. "What the boy needs is something different. Complete change—ocean air—make him forget all about his books for six months!"
"There's a good deal in that, Tom," agreed his sister thoughtfully. "Perhaps if I took him abroad for a month or two—"
"Stop right there!" interrupted the explorer. "Take him abroad, indeed! Tie him to your apron strings and lead him to bang-up hotels? Dress him up every day, stuff him on high-class grub? Nonsense! If you want him to go abroad, for goodness sake give him a flannel shirt and a letter of credit, and let him go. Don't baby him! Give him a chance to develop his own resources. Guess you didn't have any indulgent papa, Tom! All the boy wants is a chance. Why won't you let him have it?"
"Don't be a fool, George!" cautioned his sister, smiling at the outburst. "You know perfectly well that I don't want my boy running wild. He's all we have, and we intend to take care of him. And I warn you right here not to put any of your notions into his head. It's bad enough to have one famous man in the family!"
The explorer laughed and winked at Mr. St. John, who was enjoying the discussion from the shelter of his cigar smoke. At this, however, he came to the aid of his brother-in-law.
"Yes, George is perfectly right, Etta. Burt needs to shift for himself a bit, and I think the Kennebec trip will be just the thing for him if we give him a free hand and let him suit himself. I don't want to send him off to foreign countries all alone."
"Look here, Tom." Mr. Wallace leaned forward and spoke very earnestly. "That kind of a vacation isn't worth much to a good, healthy boy. He wants something he has earned, not something that's shoved at him. Make Burt earn some money while he's having a good time. He'll enjoy it twice as much. Make him pay his own expenses somewhere; do something that will repay him, or get busy on some outdoor stunt that will give him something new and interesting to absorb him. Think it over!"
The conversation ended there for the night. Mr. Wallace was satisfied that he had sown good seed, however, and went up to Burt's room with a smile.
"Hello, uncle!" cried the boy, giving up his chair and flinging himself down on the bed. "Say anything to the folks yet?"
"A little. We'll have to go slow, remember! Now just what do you know about putting up skins and taking them from their rightful owners?"