“You are wondering about Allen,” he said, and Betty nodded eagerly.  “You see,” continued Will, his face lighting up in a smile that would always be boyish, “since Allen became one of the big bugs—­ which is another name for officer, you understand—­ he had to pay the penalty and stay over there with them for a little while longer.  He will probably be over on the next transport, although of course you can never be sure about that.  Oh, and I forgot,” he put his hand in his pocket and drew forth a pocketknife, a wad of string and—­ a little three-cornered note.  “He asked me to give this to you as soon as I saw you.  So now you can tell him that ’I seen my duty and I done it noble.’ "

With a twinkle in his eye Will turned back to the others and Betty was left to open her note.  This is what she read: 

  “Gosh, some fellows do have all the luck, don’t they?  But never
  mind, little girl.  I’m coming to you by the very first boat, and
  when I get there do you know what I’m going to do?  Do you?”

Betty wanted to run away by herself and read the note over and over again.  But she could not do that.  With a sigh she hid the little message in a pocket of her skirt and turned back to the others.

CHAPTER XIX

 Like old times

It was a long time before the boys and girls woke up to the fact that they were still standing in the center of the road and that they might be ever so much more comfortable on the porch of the lodge, if any one had had sense enough to think that far.

Mrs. Irving, who had been keeping herself rather in the background during the first rapturous greetings, now came in for her share of salutations and boyish greetings.  The young soldiers crowded about her, patting her hands and her shoulders and telling her how awfully fine she looked and how glad they were to find her here until the lady actually blushed with pleasure and begged them to stop their nonsense.  In fact, it was she who finally suggested that they go up to the lodge again.

“I don’t see why we didn’t think of that before,” said Mollie, joyfully slipping an arm into Frank’s and turning him right-about-face.  “We are due to talk all day anyway, so we might as well do it in comfort.  Don’t forget the lunch basket, Betty,” she called back to her chum.

Betty would have forgotten the basket and left it where it stood just as she had dropped it at the side of the road—­ and small wonder if she had—­ but as she stooped to pick it up, Will’s strong brown hand whipped out in front of her nose and seized the handle firmly.

“That’s the idea,” said Grace approvingly, adding with a sisterly pat on his shoulder:  “You run along with Amy and Mrs. Irving.  I want to talk to Betty.”

So Will, being a well-trained brother, did as he was told, and Grace drew Betty behind the others.