"Perhaps," said he, "that is what you will soon be doing."
CHAPTER XV
TO THE RESCUE
"I may be wrong," said Mr. Temple, thoughtfully, "in giving my sanction to this plan to rescue Mr. Hampton. But I do not believe so. And, all things considered, it seems the best if not the only way out.
"I have been accustomed to regard you as mere boys, but the conduct of every one of you in our adventures lately shows me you are able to think and act for yourselves. Yet I don't know. Jack, you and Frank are motherless. But—if anything happened to Bob—his mother never would forgive me."
"Say, Dad, forget it," grumbled the big fellow to hide his emotion. "I can take care of myself."
His father's eyes lighted approvingly as they surveyed his truly heroic frame.
"Yes, I guess you can," he said. "And you carry a cool head, too. At any rate, I've given my approval."
He smiled whimsically, then looked from one to another of the three eager young fellows.
"My daughter Delia was right," he said. "When I left home she said I was wrong to think of you any more as youngsters, and that the first thing I knew you would be making use of your wit and ingenuity to take care of me. And now her words in a measure are coming true."