This time there was no mistake. A chorus of excited voices greeted Betty as she opened the door for them and a moment later the boys burst into the living-room, fairly exhaling importance. The girls welcomed them eagerly and drew up more chairs before the fire.
"Gee, but we've had some time," cried Allen, fairly panting from exertion and excitement. "If you girls were heroines before, you're more than ever so, now."
"But where's Will?" asked Grace, with that old, anxious look. "I thought he was coming with you."
"He is," Frank answered her. "But he was summoned to a very important conference with the colonel——"
"The colonel!" they cried incredulously, while Grace stamped her foot with impatience.
"What do you mean?" she demanded.
"Just that," he answered, enjoying their mystification too much to enlighten them at once. "When he received the order he told us fellows to come on over and he'd join us as soon as he could break away."
"Oh, Allen, please tell me what it all means." Grace was fairly crying with excitement and eagerness. "Please don't keep me waiting any longer!"
"I'm sorry, Grace—I didn't think," said Allen, in quick compunction. "It means," he added, with a ring of pride in his voice, "that Will is what we always believed him to be—one of the finest fellows that ever lived. I'm proud to be called his friend!"
"Oh, Allen!" Grace felt blindly for a handkerchief and Betty slipped it into her hand. "Oh, Allen,——"