the light of hope brightened their faces.

"Would she come?" that was the question each asked himself. These boys
knew nothing about the ways of the great world beyond their own parish.
If they did they would have known how utterly ridiculous was the
thought of a famous singer coming all the way to such an unknown place
as Hillcrest to sing to an invalid girl. But to them their little
circle was everything, and the idea of such a noted person coming was
nothing out of the ordinary.

"How much do you think she'd want?" Tommy Bunker queried.

"Let's give her half what we make," Rod suggested. "And look," he
continued, "we mustn't say a word to Captain Josh or Whyn, or to
anybody else. Let it be a big surprise to all. If she comes we can
keep her hid until the very last, and then she can come out and sing
just like people do in story-books. Wouldn't Whyn be surprised and
delighted?"

"But who's going to ask her?" Phil enquired. "Father's going to the
city on Wednesday, for I heard him say so this morning. Maybe he would
see her."

"But we mustn't let him know anything about it," Rod warned. "Why
couldn't you go with him, Phil?"

"I wouldn't like to go alone," was the reply. "She'd scare me, and I
wouldn't know what to say. I'll go, for one, if dad'll let me, and I
guess he will. Then, if you'll come, too, Rod, I'll go with you to see
her. You can do the talking, and I'll back you up."