“Glorious!”

“The finest ever!”

“It beats the Dutch how Frank runs into snaps!”

This last, of course, from Jerry, who was taking his turn now at squeezing the hand of his chum.

“But, I’m afraid, fellows, that we won’t ever get the consent of our parents,” sighed Will.  “My mother would hate to have me go so far away.  You know she only has my twin sister Violet and myself.  Oh! it’s sure too good to be true.”

“Now don’t cross a river until you come to it, fellows.  To tell you the truth, that part of the programme has already been attended to.  My father and myself have been the rounds unbeknown to any of you, and got the consent of Will’s mother, as well as the parents of Bluff and Jerry.  It’s a settled thing, boys!”

They sat there and stared at each other.  Evidently none of them could fully grasp the wonderful proposition entirely.  They thought they must be dreaming.

“Please don’t wake me up; this is too bang-up for anything,” said Will.

“Frank, your equal never existed.  Talk to me about your chums, no fellows ever had such a boss comrade as your fellow-members of the Rod, Gun and Camera Club!” declared Jerry.

“When do we start?” demanded Bluff, as though ready to run for the train at that very minute.

“The day after to-morrow.  School closes in one more day, and father thought it wouldn’t matter much if we slipped off a bit ahead of time.  He will fix it with the Head all right.  So, now you’ve got to be as busy as bees getting your duffle in readiness between now and the time the train goes, eight A.M. sharp.”

“That governor of yours is certainly the finest ever.  How did it come that he fell in with the idea so quickly?  Did you have to beg hard?” asked Will.

“That’s the strangest part of it, as I’ll tell you presently.  He fairly jumped at the idea when I told him about Cedar Keys.  But we must spend the whole evening settling just what we are to take along with us,” ventured Frank.

“What did you say about grub?” queried Bluff, whose appetite never failed him.

“Archie wants us to accept all he has laid in, and encloses the list.  I need add only a few little things that I happen to know one or the other of us fancies especially, and we are fixed for two weeks.  You see there were two of them, and they expected to be afloat two months, so he laid in a large quantity of bacon, coffee, tea, sugar, and all substantials, much more than we can ever use; and I know Archie well enough to make sure they came from the best grocery in New York.”

“Oh! the darling, won’t we remember him in our prayers, boys, and hope he gets good and strong over at that cure in Europe?  There will be never a meal but that our thanks will ascend for this good deed of Cousin Archie.  He belongs to all of us; this club adopts him as its one honorary member; and I hereby propose three cheers for the biggest-hearted chap going.  Hip, hip, hurray!”