e Alden out of what's his. Soon's I'd made up my mind to
that, I drove over to Olmsted and made arrangements to sail from
New York on Saturday."

"Saturday? Why that's only three days off!" protested Mrs. Alden.

"Well, it'll only take a night and part of a day to get to New
York. That'll give you a day and a half to get ready, ma."

The thought of a trip to Scotland delighted Mrs. Alden, and she
immediately began to plan how she could get the boys, her husband
and herself ready in such a short space of time.

But Larry and Tom showed no signs of enthusiasm.

Noticing their silence, their father exclaimed:

"Don't you boys want to go? I never knew you so quiet before when
a trip was mentioned."

"But the ball game with Husted is on Saturday," said Larry, giving
voice to the thought uppermost in his mind. Then, as though he
realized that it was foolish to compare a trip to Scotland with a
game of baseball, he added: "Besides, Tom and I were planning--that
is, we were going to ask you if we couldn't go out to Tolopah and
spend the summer with Horace and Bill Wilder on their ranch."

With this announcement of a plan which the brothers had discussed
over and over, wondering how they could bring it about, the boys
anxiously watched their father's face.

"So that's how the wind blows, eh?" he commented. "Well, ma, what
do you say? Shall we take the boys with us or let them go to the
ranch?"

With her quiet mother's eye Mrs. Alden caught the appeal on her
sons' faces and after a short deliberation replied:

"I think they'd be better off with the Wilders--that is, if they'd
like to have the boys visit them."

"Hooray! hooray!" cried the boys together.

"We can telegraph and ask Mr. Wilder tonight," said Larry. "Can we
go to Bramley and send the message, father?"

"You can telephone the message to the station and the operator will
send it."

And while the boys puzzled over the wording of the telegram, their
father re-read his letter from Scotland.

"I've got the telegram ready," Tom exclaimed presently. "Listen."
And picking up the piece of paper on which he had been scribbling
he read:

"BILL AND HORACE WILDER,
"Tolopah, New Mexico:
"We can leave Saturday to visit you. Do you
want us? Answer quick. Father and mother
leave Friday for Scotland. We'll have to go,
if you don't want us.
"LARRY AND TOM ALDEN."

"You might make it shorter," chuckled the farmer.

"And muddle i