He was actually jumping into his outer clothes.
“Where are you going?” demanded Jack.
“To find Rose,” insisted Ed. “My Rose—or was she your Rose—and is she my Nellie?”
“For goodness sake, man!” wailed Jack, “don’t make any further fuss around here to-night. The ladies and the girls will be scared to death if you start chasing my—shadow. We have got to-morrow to investigate. If the runaways are here to-night they will be here to-morrow.”
“That sounds like good advice,” assented Walter. “And if I don’t get a little rest there will be great ugly dark rings under my eyes, and my complexion will simply be ruined.”
“And his hair won’t stay up,” added Ed, taking up the girlish tone Walter had assumed. “Well, if you beauties must sleep suppose you go at it. I could snore looking at the floor,” and Ed suited his actions to the words, for very shortly, neither Walter nor Jack could compel him to answer a single question with so much as an intelligent grunt.
It seemed scarcely possible that daylight had come, when a tapping at the door awoke Jack.
“Jack,” called Cora, “I must speak with you. Come out as soon as you can.”
“Now what’s up?” asked Ed with a yawn.
“We’ve got to get up,” replied Walter, “and since you managed to get to sleep first, we will give you first whack at the wash basin.”