Sure enough, it seemed as though all the juvenile population of Oldtown had turned out to give them a royal send-off.
They ran up to the boys with a shout.
“It’s bully of you fellows to walk all this distance to say good-by,” said Fred, and Teddy echoed him.
“We’d have come up to the house,” explained Bob Ellis, “but we knew you’d have a whole lot to say to your own folks, and we didn’t want to butt in.”
“We’re all dead sore at your leaving the town,” said Jim. “It won’t seem like the same old place with you fellows out of it.”
There was a general chorus of assent to this from the other boys.
“We hate to leave the old crowd, too,” said Fred. “But, of course, we’ll be back at holidays and vacation times. I only wish you fellows were going along with us.”
“That would be great,” agreed Jack. “But no such luck for us.”
“I don’t know how we’re going to fill your place on the football and baseball teams,” mourned Tom Barrett. “We’ll be dead easy for the other teams now.”
“Don’t you believe it!” said Fred heartily. “You’ll find fellows to take our places that will be better players than we ever dared to be.”