"I'm afraid not, thank you. I'd give anything to go, but I can't spare the time from college. Some other occasion, perhaps."
As Walter had predicted, Jack took fire at once oh hearing the proposal.
"It'll be great!" he declared. "I've always wanted to go. I wonder what sort of a boat we could get down there, Wally? It would be immense to go on a cruise, among those hundreds of islands."
"Time enough to think of that when we get there, old man. Then you'd like to go?"
"I sure would. Tell Mr. Robinson thanks—a hundred times."
"I'll save some of them for to-morrow; it's getting late. Now turn over, and go to sleep."
"Sleep! As if I could sleep with that news! Let's talk about it!"
And they did—the girls coming up with Mrs. Kimball for a brief chat.
Then the invalid was ordered to quiet down for the night.
Walter, with Harry, who was to remain at the Kimball residence for a few days, went home with the Robinson twins in their car, Cora trailing along in her automobile to bring back the boys.
The next day nothing was talked of but the prospective trip. Walter wired his people and received permission to absent himself from college, ostensibly to help look after Jack. As Harry had said, he could not go, but Mrs. Kimball and Cora fully made up their minds to make the journey with Jack, and close up the Chelton home for the winter months.