dly.

"Let's open 'em right away," cried Cal Moody, jumping up and down in his
excitement. "It doesn't seem as if I could wait another minute."

"Yes. Let's open 'em!" shouted half a dozen voices.

"Hold on," commanded Will Rogers. "We haven't time to open all the
crates and put the machines together now. Besides, Pop Miller isn't
here, nor lots of people who have helped us get these bicycles, and who
would be awfully interested in seeing them opened. So I propose that we
leave them just as they are until after school, and then hold what you
might call an opening reception."

Although the Rangers agreed to this proposition, it was with reluctance;
and that their thoughts remained with those precious crates all day was
shown in more ways than one. In school, for instance, when little Cal
Moody was asked to spell and define the word biennial, he promptly
replied, with "Bi--_bi_, cy--_cy_, cle--_cle_--bicycle--a machine having
two wheels;" and when "Cracker" Bob Jones was requested to favor the
arithmetic class with an example in percentage he complied by stating,
"that if ten bicycles, listed at $125 each, could be bought for $350,
and sold at their listed price, the percentage of profit would be--"
Just here he was interrupted by a shout of laughter, in which even the
teacher, who thoroughly understood and sympathized with the situation,
was forced to join.

When the hour for the opening of the crates at length arrived, half the
village was there to see, and when the ten glittering bicycles, each of
which bore a small silver plate inscribed with the name of its new
owner, were finally put together and displayed to the admiring public of
Berks, there were no happier nor prouder boys in the United States than
the young Rangers who had earned them.

From that time on, they rode their bicycles during every leisure moment,
and on the 30th of May they celebrated their birthday by giving an
exhibition parade as bicycle fire scouts, that was pronounced the very
finest thing of its kind ever seen in that section of country. In this
parade each machine carried a fire bucket, and while some also bore
axes, others were equipped with the rope-ladder that Will Rogers and
Sam Ray had used so effectively, a fire-net, blankets, spades, and other
articles to be used in an emergency.

The Chester Wheel Club came over to join in the parade, and with them
came the bicycle-supply man, who was so impressed with the fact that
Berks was