"That is the sort of a lad who will win this Medal of Honor," concluded the Doctor, very seriously. "Any boy—even the youngest—may secure it. It does not have to go to the boy at the top of his class, nor to the oldest boy in the school. You little chaps stand just as good a chance for it as Captain Gray," and he rested his hand upon Barry Gray's shoulder for an instant as though there was some secret understanding between him and the captain of the school.
"Now, I have talked enough. School will begin in earnest on Monday. Remember, bounds are as usual. You little fellows, see Barrymore, or some of the masters, if you are not sure of a thing. And remember that my office door is never locked."
He went out quickly at the door behind the platform. Somehow, the boys felt rather serious, and there was no shouting or fooling as they filed out and down the stairs to the open air.
"Say! that was a handsome gold medal he showed us," said Fred, with enthusiasm, to Bobby.
"Wasn't it?" returned his chum, with sparkling eyes.
"I'd like to get that myself," admitted the red-haired one.
"Didn't I tell you, you'd have no chance at that, Ginger?" chuckled Pee Wee's voice behind them.
"I see it," admitted Fred, without getting angry. "But it would be fine to win it, just the same."
So Bobby thought. He remembered what his mother had said to him on one occasion, and wondered if it were possible for him to win the gold medal and present it to her when she returned from that far journey which she and his father were soon to take.
"She certainly would be proud of me then," thought Bobby Blake. "I guess she'd think after that, it would be safe to leave me alone anywhere—yes, sir! And I certainly would like to own such a medal."