“Oh, at least half a dozen times,” laughed Mr. Beaumont, spreading his hands in pretended dismay. “What other news of Border City have you, Bob?”
“Well, land values have, of course, taken a big boom; for employees of the various business enterprises had to have homes. Why, sir,—we didn’t really intend going to Circle T Ranch. But when Tim told us about all these things and the aviators at Lone Pine——”
“And the meet which is just about to take place,” supplemented Sam.
“We decided to take it in. And then, of course, it’ll be jolly fun to be out on the plains again.”
“And among the sheep raisers and cattlemen,” put in Dick, his face beaming with glee. “If you could only go along, Cranny!”
“Oh,” sighed Cranny, “if——”
He glanced at his father wistfully. Then his eyes fell upon Willie Sloan’s grinning face, and he felt that but for his woeful lack of enthusiasm such a delightful experience might have been possible. The mixture of feelings so disturbed him that he scarcely heard these words:
“Wonder if we’ll ever have an aeroplane, Bob?”
Tommy Clifton had ventured to speak at last. Tommy’s voice, like his stature, was changing and his tone was of an astonishing gruffness.
“I say, did you hear that, Cran?” exclaimed Willie, in a loud whisper. “You’d think it was a man.”