"
"Oh, have you collected butterflies?" cried Jack, whirling around, greatly
excited.
"Yes; Dave and I have," said Joel, "we have lots and lots."
It didn't take Jack long to be over in front of the cabinet, and pulling
out its many drawers. So that he was lost to all the fuss of dressing that
Joel and David were undergoing, and it wasn't till he had been clapped on
the back most vigorously with a, "Wake up, old chap," that he realized that
the dreaded time had arrived when he must go out to his first company. Then
a dreadful feeling came over him.
"Oh, I can't go," he declared, his face turning as red as a beet, and he
stood still, perfectly miserable.
"Why, Mrs. Sterling expects you," began David!
Joel had no such gentle ways.
"Come along, you," he cried, hauling Jack away from the cabinet and
hurrying him off downstairs. Then he began to chatter as hard as he could,
saying the first things that came into his head, until the gray stone
mansion was reached, and they were fast and safe within the door.
Joel drew a long breath and began to mount the stairs.
"Any boys here yet?" he asked, looking up at Gibson in the upper hall.
"Yes," said Gibson; "three boys have come."
Joel didn't wait to ask who they were; he left David to bring Jack along
and raced in to speak to Mrs. Sterling and the members of the Comfort
committee.
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