e was settled. She was prouder than ever of her boy; and,
truth to tell, her opposition was only what Mrs. Kinzer had considered
it, a piece of unaccountable "nonsense," to be brushed away by just such
a hand as the widow's own.

CHAPTER XIX.

A GRAND SAILING-PARTY, AND AN EXPERIMENT BY RICHARD LEE.

That was a great day for the boys; but, before the close of it, Ford
Foster had told his friends the news that Joe Hart and his brother Fuz
had been invited to visit with him.

"Will they come?" asked Dab.

"Certainly. That kind of boy always comes. Nobody wants to keep him from
coming."

"When do you look for them?"

"Right away. Vacation's almost gone, you know."

"Won't they be ashamed to meet your sister?"

"Not a bit. They'll try their tricks, even after they get here."

"All right. We'll help 'em all we know how. But, boys, I'll tell you
what we must try for."

"What's that?"

"One grand good sailing-party in 'The Swallow,' before they get here."

"Hurrah for that! Annie was wishing for one, only yesterday."

"We'll have all of your folks and all of ours. 'The Swallow' is plenty
big enough."

"Mother wouldn't go, and father can't just now. He's trying a case. But
there's Annie and Frank and me"--

"And my mother, and Ham and Miranda, and our girls. Ham'll go, sure.
Then we must take Dick Lee along. It'd make him sick if we didn't."

"Of course. Ain't I glad about him! Could we get ready and go
to-morrow?"

"Guess not so quick as that. We might by the day after, if the weather's
all right."

Exactly. There is always a large-sized "if" to be put in, where any
thing depends on the weather, Mrs. Kinzer took the matter up with
enthusiasm, and so did the girls, Miranda included; and Ford Foster was
quite right about his part of the company.

But the weather!

It looked well enough, to unpractised eyes; but Ham Morris shook his
head, and went to consult his fishermen friends. There was a good deal
of head-shaking done thereupon; for every human barometer among them
advised him to wait a day or so, and hardly any two of them gave him the
same reason for doing it.

Ford Foster was at the house when Ham made his report, and was a little
surprised to see how promptly Dab Kinzer yielded his assent to the
verdict.

"Such warm, nice weather as this is," he remonstrated; "and there isn't
any wind to speak of."

"There's too much of it coming," was Ham's response; and there was no
help for