"I've just been thinking that you're lucky to be staying in town. You'll be able to have ice-cream sodas and we shan't."
"That's true, too," said Joe reflectively. He was very fond of sodas, and he had not considered the matter in this light before.
"Yes, but think of all the fun you'll have. And if you find any treasure in those caves you'll be able to eat ice-cream sodas for the rest of your lives."
"Our lives wouldn't last very long if we did nothing but eat sodas after we came back," laughed Frank. "How about another?"
The girls shook their heads. Chet groaned.
"This is my fifth to-day," he said. "I could take another but I wouldn't have any room left for supper. Guess we'd better quit."
"We'd better," agreed Biff. "If you're sick to-morrow morning we'll start without you."
The thought of this possibility drove all desire for another ice-cream soda from Chet Morton's mind and the boys and girls left the Bon Ton. As they would not be seeing one another again before the start of the trip, Callie and Iola said good-bye to Biff and the Hardy boys.
"We'll miss you," Callie assured them. "The town won't seem the same without you."
"It won't be, either," grinned Chet. "It'll be a lot quieter when we clear out."