"I don't see why," grumbled Fred.
"You'll find out. My father went to a boarding school when he was a boy, and he told me," Bobby explained.
They did not have to wait until reaching Rockledge to learn something about the temper of the boys with whom they would be associated. At Cambwell several students got aboard and came into their car. They were all older than Bobby and Fred, and they were very noisy and self-assertive.
They sang, and joked together in the seats up front. Finally they spied the two boys from Clinton sitting in the middle of the car.
"Hullo!" exclaimed a tall, thin, yellow-haired boy who seemed to be a leader in the fun. "There's a couple of kids who look as though they'd just left home and mamma. Bet they're going with us."
One of the other boys said something in a low tone, and then he and the yellow-haired one got up and came down the aisle.
"Say!" said the second boy, who was short and stocky and squinted his eyes up in a funny way when he talked. "Goin' to school, sonnies?"
"Yes, we are," said Fred, sharply.
"Rockledge or Belden?"
"Rockledge, if you please," said Bobby, politely.