ums of yours, the whole three--plenty of sleeping
accommodations for the lot aboard!'" cried Frank, with a smile.

Then there _was_ a scene! Jerry gripped Bluff, and gave him a hug a bear
might have envied, while Will was shaking Frank's hand as though it were
a pump handle.

"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 es