"My word!" gasps J. Dudley. "You must feel like successful bank robbers."
"Wonderful!" says Professor Barr, breathin' excited through his whiskers. "Why, some of these doubloons must have been coined during the reign of—"
"Cornelia," breaks in Mrs. Mumford, "will you look at that old brooch. It's exquisite!"
"Then it is yours as a souvenir of the trip," says Auntie—just like that.
Next, Dudley and the Professor was asked to pick out a trinket. After which Mr. Ellins suggests that they divide the loot into five equal piles, and that we draw numbers to see who get which. Rupert wasn't strong for this free and casual way of splittin' the gate receipts, but he gives in. And when we each has our heap in front of us, with the sand scraped into the middle of the cloth, Old Hickory has the glasses filled once more, and starts up that pirate song of his:
"Fifteen men on a dead man's chest—
Yo-ho-ho! and a bottle of rum."
Right in the middle of the festivities, too, I takes my runnin' jump. Pickin' out a quaint old ring from my collection, I slips around beside Auntie and snuggles up confidential.
"Well, Torchy," says she, "what is it?"
"It's a big favor," says I. "See this? I want you to let me ask Vee to wear this for—for keeps. Can I?"
"You—you mean—" she begins.