“What?” exclaimed the others.
“I might as well. We can’t get out of here before to-morrow and I can be at home by three, spend the night and get back here by nine or ten to-morrow. Do you fellows mind?”
“Of course not,” answered Nelson.
“You see, I haven’t seen the folks since the Spring recess,” said Dan. “And I’m only three hours from New York, and——”
“Guess I’ll take a run up to Portland,” said Bob with a smile.
“And I’ll go with you as far as Boston,” said Nelson.
“If you really rather I wouldn’t go—” began Dan.
“Nonsense!” exclaimed Nelson. “We don’t mind. Go ahead. It’s a good scheme. But mind you don’t forget to come back!”
“Not likely! I’ll be here to-morrow forenoon. Come on over to the boat and help me put some things in a bag. There’s a train in about twelve minutes.”
A quarter of an hour later only Bob and Barry and Nelson remained. They had seen Dan off on the Bay State Limited and were on their way to the hotel for luncheon, the skirts of their oilskins wrapping around their legs and impeding progress at every gust of the wind that tore up the street. They weren’t particularly hungry, but the hotel promised more excitement than the launch on a day like this. After luncheon they went to the writing room and wrote letters to everyone they could think of, Bob supplementing the letters with a number of souvenir post cards. They killed three hours quite easily and went back to the Vagabond at four o’clock. The rain had slackened considerably, but the wind still blew hard and gustily. The dark, leaden clouds which closed down upon the world showed no signs of breaking. They spent the rest of the afternoon as best they might, each rather dispirited and decidedly bored. At half-past five Bob went out and bought supplies for the larder and cooked dinner aboard when he returned. Neither he nor Nelson was very hungry and the meal was rather a silent one. After the things were cleared up they tried to read, but even that didn’t satisfy their restlessness, and when, at a little before nine, Bob wandered out to look at the weather and came back with the information that the moon was almost through the clouds and that the rain had ceased entirely and to the proposal that they take a walk Nelson assented eagerly. They got back into their oilskins and thick shoes, locked the door behind them and started out.