“Ouch!” cried Joe, rubbing his arm. “You needn’t be so literal.”
“There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for my friends,” said Jim, piously.
Questions poured in thick and fast.
“How can you possibly get ready in time?” 62 asked Clara. “It’s the sixteenth now, and the teams leave Chicago on the nineteenth.”
“Oh, we’re not going to make the trip across the country,” explained Mabel, flushed with happiness. “Reggie and I will join the party in San Francisco or Seattle, or wherever they start from. So that will give us nearly a month, and I’m going to spend most of that right here—if you can stand me that long.”
Clara came round the table and gave her an impulsive hug.
“I’d be glad to have you stay here forever,” said Mrs. Matson fervently.
Just here a thought struck Joe.
“It’s the greatest thing ever that you’re going as far as Japan,” he said. “But why can’t you keep on with us and swing right around the circle?”
“You greedy boy!” murmured Mabel.