“Who?” gasped Wayne.
“Gardiner, the great, good, and only Gardiner! He took the 2.30 for home, and now I can get some peace and quiet. Honest Injun, Wayne, if he had stayed another week I should have been a gibbering idiot and gone around cutting people’s throats with a long, keen blade!”
“Oh, dry up,” laughed Wayne. “Have you been upstairs? Is Don there?”
“I have. He is not. Come, let us go to the village and celebrate at Caper’s on soda water. Let us speed the parting guest. Gardiner’s all right, Wayne, but, ah, he’s terrible onaisy.”
“I don’t believe I’m supposed to drink soda water, Paddy, but I’ll go and watch you. Have you seen Dave lately?”
“No, what’s he been up to?”
“He’s been breaking his own record with the hammer.”
When Paddy heard the facts he was delighted, and proved it by dancing from side to side of the dusty roadway until out of breath.
“Old Dave will be pleased to death,” he panted. “He’s been awfully in the dumps since the handicaps. My, but I do hope he’ll win out at the interscholastic!”
And then they went on to the village and sought out the tiny shop where the enticing sign “Ice Cream Soda” flanked the doorway. And Paddy drank one of chocolate flavor in honor of Gardiner’s departure and one of strawberry in celebration of Dave’s success.