So now, as Mollie ran toward him with outstretched hand, he held up to her delighted gaze not only one letter, but four.
"One for each of you," he said beamingly, as Mollie reached him. "I thought that probably I would find all four of you at one place, so I kept the letters together."
"Oh, thanks, it is awfully good of you," said Mollie absent-mindedly, as she took the welcome letters and hurried with them back to the garage. "One for each of us, just think of that!" she cried to the questioning girls. "It looks as if the boys had all written at the same time. Put down your duster, Betty, for goodness' sake, and read what Alien has to say. Maybe," she added hopefully, as she ripped her envelope open, "they will tell us something definite about coming home."
So down the girls sat in the midst of dust cloths and more or less dirt to find what the boys had written. For a moment only the crackling of paper broke the silence. Then Grace gave a little joyful cry.
"Will says he is almost sure to be home soon--"
"And he has been made a sergeant," Amy interrupted, or rather added, her eyes shining with pride. "Just think of that--Will, a sergeant!"
"I was just going to tell them that if you had waited a minute," said Grace, rather crossly. There was quite a little jealousy between Grace and Amy over Will. Grace had declared more than once that whereas she had known her brother all her life, Amy had only known him for a couple of years--or--or more. Grace loved her brother devotedly and once in a while she resented Amy's place in his affections.
So now to change the subject and avert a possible quarrel, Mollie jumped into the breach.
"Listen to this," she said. "Roy and Frank have been made corporals and Allen--oh, look at Betty blush!" She looked gleefully across at the Little Captain and Amy and Grace followed her glance.
Betty was not blushing, but she felt as uncomfortable as though she had been.