“I’ll promise, sir,” said Bob, and the others chimed in.
“Very well. I am pretty certain you went about this thing thoughtlessly, and I don’t want to be hard on you; but at the same time I can not altogether overlook it. Let me see; you asked for permission, didn’t you, to take dinner at the Inn?”
“Yes, sir.”
“And I gave it. Now I fancy you accord me the right of retracting that permission, don’t you?”
“Yes, sir,” said Nelson softly.
“Yes; well, I think you had better stay in camp the rest of the day. That’s all, boys.”
“Mr. Clinton,” said Tom, as they replaced their chairs, “please, sir, will you stop at the Inn landing for my aunt? I told her we’d be over to dinner and take her on the launch afterward, and I guess she’ll be worried.”
“H’m. I’d forgotten your aunt was here, Ferris. When does she return to the city?”
“First train in the morning, sir.”