“We will go!” cried Ted, who was used to at least starting to do whatever he thought would be fun. He did not always finish, though, for his father or mother often stopped him.
“It will be great to go fishing!” went on Ted. “Grandpa Martin has a boat on the lake. I’ll ask him if we can’t go and take you.”
“Oh, will you?” cried Hal, with eager, sparkling eyes. “It will be the best fun ever. I wonder if they’ll let me go?” and he looked wistfully over toward the big, red brick building—the Home.
“I’ll get my father to ask them,” said Jan. “I’ll tell them how you scared the sheep away from us with salt, and everything like that.”
“I didn’t scare the sheep,” said Hal. “I wouldn’t want to do that. I like ’em. But I knew salt would scatter them better than by throwing stones. Oh, I do hope we can go fishing.”
He and the Curlytops did. Grandpa Martin spoke to the superintendent of the Home, and as Hal was quite well and strong except for his lame foot and as Daddy Martin promised to go along in the boat to see that all was well, the little party started off on Clover Lake one morning.
CHAPTER X
NICKNACK RUNS AWAY
Clover Lake was not far from the farmhouse where the Curlytops were spending their happy vacation days in the country. Nor was it far from the Home where Hal Chester and other crippled boys and girls were staying until they were made well and strong. The Curlytops and Daddy Martin drove over to the Home in Grandpa Martin’s big wagon and there found Hal, all ready and eagerly waiting. He had been sitting on the steps with his little packet of lunch ever since sunrise, one of the nurses said.
“Oh, we’ve got some lunch, too!” cried Janet. “We’ve got sandwiches, and a bottle of milk and——”
“We’ve got enough so we can be shipwrecked if we want to,” interrupted Teddy eagerly.