“Tell us something we don’t know,” Frank retorted.  “Gee, it’s been a fine experience and all, but, believe me, I’ll be glad when the call comes for action.”

“They’re off again,” said Grace plaintively.

“I must say you’re not awfully complimentary,” added Mollie, busily folding napkins.

“In what way, sweet maid, do we offend?” Will inquired.

“Oh, always talking about how glad you’ll be to get away from us,” she explained.  “Here we thought we’d been entertaining you so beautifully—­”

“Gee, you have!” cried Roy, propping himself on his elbow and speaking with unaccustomed solemnity.  “It’s been just great, having you girls here.”

“It certainly has,” added Frank.  “I guess we’d have gone clean crazy because of homesickness if you hadn’t come along just when you did.”

“Now you’re saying something,” added Allen warmly, while the girls stopped packing and looked on happily.  “Do you remember what we were talking about that day when we almost—­”

“Ran into what we were talking about?” finished Frank with a grin.  “You bet I do.”

“Well, what was it?” drawled Grace, after they had waited patiently for the boys to continue and the latter had smiled aggravatingly to themselves over their thoughts.

“If it’s bad,” added Mollie briskly, “we don’t want to hear it, for, as the old lady said that used to come to see Mother regularly once a year, ’I don’t care what terrible things people say or think about me, if they don’t tell me about it,’ But if it’s good—­we might stand it.”

“Oh, it was good all right,” Frank assured her, still smiling over his thoughts.  “We were saying that if we didn’t get a furlough so we could go back to Deepdale—­”

“For a certain purpose,” suggested Will.

“For a certain purpose,” Frank repeated solemnly—­“we were afraid we might have to desert.”

“Yes, that would have been sensible,” scoffed Mollie.  “Get half a dozen years in prison for yourselves and I’d like to know where your furloughs would be then.”

“And you haven’t really told us a single nice thing about ourselves,” added Betty plaintively.  “All the time we’ve just been holding our breath to listen—­”

“We’ve been doing our best to tell you those nice things, every minute of every day since then,” said Allen in a low voice.  “If you haven’t heard, it’s because you wouldn’t listen.”

Betty colored adorably—­to quote Allen again—­and resumed her packing with great fervor.

“All of which,” Frank finished his self-justification, “shows that we’re far from anxious to leave you girls when we say we’re eager for action.  I guess,” he added, thoughtfully, “it’s just because we’re so crazy to be with you that we’re eager to go across.”

“That sounds rather—­” began Grace, but Frank would not let her finish.

“I know it does,” he admitted.  “Sounds like a contradiction.  But I think you know what I’m trying to get at, just the same.”