Minnie was there, and Frank smiled to see the eager look she bent on him as he joined her.
“Oh, Frank! how do you feel?” she asked, anxiously. “All that horrid smoke you must have swallowed, I should think would make you sick. You do look pale right now; and you ought to go home and lie down.”
“Well, what sort of sissy do you take me for, Minnie?” asked the amused Frank. “A boy ought to be used to smoke. Lots of them seem to get a lot of pleasure out of soaking themselves in it, when they go to college, you know. Why, I’m feeling as fit as ever, I guess; and I expect to go on that long run this afternoon, just to keep in trim for the trial heats Saturday next.”
“Of course I’m glad to hear you say that, Frank; but it did frighten us when we saw you lead the way into the cellar, with all that black smoke pouring out.”
“It wasn’t so very black, you know, Minnie,” interrupted Frank, teasingly.
“Well, anyway,” she went on, “Helen and I just fell into each other’s arms; and we stood that way, hugging tight, all the time you were in there. We’re both proud of you; and Helen would be here to say the same if she wasn’t so busy telling Paul Bird something like that right now.”
Lanky Wallace was hovering around, as though he wanted to speak to Frank; and the latter could give a pretty good guess what it might be.
“Just wait for me a minute while I speak to Lanky, Minnie,” he remarked; “and then I’d like to walk home with you. I’ve got something to say about that little boat-ride we planned to take to-night, because the moon is full, and it’s going to be a glorious night. Can you wait for me a minute or two, Minnie?”
“I suppose so, seeing that I’ve already waited an hour almost; but be as quick as you can, Frank, for I’m almost famished, I confess to you,” was the reply; as the girl gave him one of her most roguish smiles, for which almost any sensible fellow would feel like going through fire and water, if he could feel that it was meant as a reward for his daring.
“Say, I didn’t like to call you away,” remarked Lanky, as Frank joined him. “But I wanted to say that as we have that run this afternoon, and there’s going to be no session to-morrow, perhaps we’d better postpone our trip to Budd’s Corners, till the morning. How does that suit you, Frank?”