"Oh, but say, don't you wish you were back at Harbor View?" asked Andy. "Think of the good times we had! Of the jokes I played on Chet Sedley! Of how we went after the whale, yes, and even being shut up in the cave, with the rising tide, by that Shallock fellow wasn't so bad—after we got out. Say, don't you wish you were back there, Frank?"
"No, I don't. This place is pretty tough, but I'm going to make myself like it, and stick."
"Oh, I guess you won't have to try to like it very hard."
"What do you mean?" and the older lad gazed at his brother in some astonishment.
"Oh, come off now! Don't pretend ignorance. I know why you want to stay all right!"
"Why?"
"Because that girl—the one we met on the boat, Gertrude Morton—lives near here. You're thinking you'll meet her again. I saw you giving her the friendly look as she got off the boat. That's why you want to linger here, even if the school is punk."
Frank did not answer. He made a jump for the bed, grabbed up a pillow and let it fly at his brother with such good aim that it struck Andy full in the face, and smothered the good-natured "joshing" he was keeping up against Frank.
"There!" cried the older lad gaily. "If you want another just say so!"
"Two can play at this game!" exclaimed Andy with a laugh, as he sent back the pillow with certain aim. "How's that? A strike all right, I guess."