along; so perhaps it might be wise to enter upon explanations while the
opportunity is open.

Now these tried and true chums had had strange things happen to them
before, but they were well agreed that their present undertaking far
exceeded everything else that had ever come their way, at least so far
as its being a romantic quest was concerned.

Everything combined to make it seem a page torn from one of those
old-time fairy books they used to love to read when much younger, and
more gullible. In the first place, it was a wonderful piece of luck that
came their way, when the School Directors agreed, after the summer was
half over, that the school buildings required considerable alterations
in order to make them sanitary for the coming winter; and really a
special providence that watches over the fortunes of boys and girls must
have caused the carpenters and masons to go on a protracted strike, so
that when this had been finally settled there was not nearly time enough
left in which to complete the extensive repairs.

School had started, and gone along in a rough-and-ready fashion for some
weeks; but everybody was "sore" about it. The builders complained that
they could not accomplish half the work they should, because of the
annoyance of having so many children trotting around, and bothering
them. And the teachers were almost distracted on account of the constant
pounding together with the presence of rough men, who broke in upon
classes, and forced them to vacate certain rooms because they had to do
something there.

And so along about the first of October the School Board wisely
concluded that a vacation of some two weeks would do far less harm to