Polly's Southern Cruise

Jack and Ray returned to their friends on the Grand Stand. One glance at their smiling faces told the girls that they had found pals. Jack was bubbling over with pleasure at the meeting and the plans they had made for a good time during the visit at Panama.

“Gee! Bill looks great! He was so white and thin in the trenches over there, but now he has filled out and looks wonderful. I never dreamed he would turn out to be so handsome, did you, Ray?”

“No, but then Bob isn’t far behind in looks. It must be this climate that tans them to such a glorious shade,” said Ray.

“There are other things than tan that this climate does to one,” remarked Mr. Dalken, briefly. The boys laughed and agreed with him.

“For instance, malaria caught while alligator hunting,” said Mrs. Fabian, because she had heard the men discussing the possibility of their tired feeling being the result of the swamp visit.

The game now opened and the girls were all eyes and interest to see the Panama team win, because Jack happened to know two of the players. Whether it was the knowledge that four pretty girls were seated in the Grand Stand watching, or whether it was their usual manner of pitching and batting, the fact remains that Bill and Bob were the champion members of the team that day, and carried away the honors.

After the game ended the two crack players changed their togs and reappeared in uniform. Jack met them and escorted them to meet Mr. Dalken’s party. Then Polly saw that Jack had not exaggerated one bit when he had declared his two friends to be decidedly good looking.

“My! They’re more than that, Poll,” whispered Eleanor, in breathless admiration. “I think Bill is just too dear for anything.”

Ray overheard her remark. He grinned teasingly and said: “It’s the uniform, my dear child! If Bob or Bill wore a bell boy’s uniform, they’d look just as good, but you wouldn’t think so.”

“Pooh! No such thing!” exclaimed Eleanor, shrugging her pretty shoulders at Ray.

“Well, here is Jack and here am I, and I’m sure we are not bad looking, yet you never said you thought me ‘too dear for anything,’” complained Ray.

“How could I speak an untruth?” retorted Eleanor, laughing.

“All right for you! I’ll spy upon you after this and when I find you enjoying a tête-à-tête with a ‘dear for anything boy’ I’ll spoil it – see if I don’t!” Ray threatened but the girls knew he cared not a fig whether they thought him handsome or not. He was all for a good time and that was the end of his ambitions.

“Ray, you don’t stand a ghost of a show in the running with Bill or Bob,” declared Jack. “Bill with his French Medal and Bob with his Decoration for Bravery simply put us out of sight when the girls are on hand to offer adulation at the shrines of these heroes.”

“Oh, Jack! Tell us – are the two baseball players great heroes of the late war?” exclaimed Mrs. Courtney, eagerly.

“There now! Didn’t I tell you so!” laughed Jack, winking at his chum. “Even the adult admirers forget we are on earth the moment one mentions Bill and Bob.”

“Please, oh, please, Jack, tell us the story of, what they did over there,” beseeched Polly.

“If I were to tell you that tale I’d spoil it in the telling. Better ask Bill and Bob to tell their own thrillers, – if you really want to hear something that will compare favorably with those hair-raising experiences on Grizzly Slide,” replied Jack, earnestly.

During this little side-gossip the two victors in the recent contest with the Colon players, were engaged in talking to Mr. Dalken. Now they turned and addressed Jack.

“Mr. Dalken wishes us to dine on the yacht, but we shall have to ask permission to do that. I only wish we had a pull with some one, in order to get several days off. Then we could show you about in great style!” Bill kept his eyes fixed upon Polly as he spoke, and any one might think he was addressing her only. Eleanor smiled, but she had failed to turn and look at Bill’s companion. It was Nancy and Ruth who had to smile now at the attentive manner in which Bob stared at pretty Eleanor, totally oblivious of the other girls in the party.

“Oh, Mr. Ainslee, Dalky here is the professional wire-puller of North America – didn’t you know that? I’m sure he can find a string that will work for you,” laughed Polly.

“Tell me the names of the officers in your regiment, Ainslee, and let me see if I know them,” added Mr. Dalken.

“There now! Didn’t I tell you he could work it?” laughed Polly, while the other members in the group also laughed at their host’s quick acceptance of the suggestion.

Having mentioned the various officers and spoken of their individual tendencies, Mr. Dalken smiled wisely. “Leave the whole matter to me, boys, and we will win out.”

“Tell us, Dalky! What can you do about tonight?” asked the girls eagerly.

“For to-night, I propose having all the officers and the two heroes of the ball game on the yacht to dinner. They cannot very well say no to Bill and Bob if they accept for themselves, can they?”

“Good gracious, Dalky! If you plan to have a dinner party it is high time we all ran away to prepare for the social event,” declared Mrs. Courtney. This was the first time she had ever used the familiar name the girls had given Mr. Dalken, but it did not escape Polly’s notice. She gave Eleanor a glance, but Eleanor had been too interested in learning the outcome of the proposition made by Mr. Dalken.

“I haven’t the slightest hope that our invitation will be accepted for this evening, as in all probability the officers have made other engagements for dinner. But it paves the way for me to urge them to give Bill and Bob leave of absence for to-night. Then I will invite the men who cannot come to-night, to come as soon as they can make the date. I believe I have a speaking acquaintance with the Colonel and I hope to improve our acquaintance while we stop here – then you girls ought to be able to make the most of this opportunity by winning a few days’ vacation for Bill and Bob.”

“Fine!” exclaimed Eleanor, clapping her hands. “Now you three men hurry away and see the Colonel.”

Bill and Bob looked at Mr. Dalken and, seeing he was willing to accompany them, they politely said good-afternoon to the other members in the party and stood ready to go.

“There may be strength in numbers, and we are glad to go with you,” hinted Jack, linking an arm in that of Ray and stepping up beside the host.

“As far as strength goes I always favor pretty girls for power when one has to use diplomacy and cunning,” laughed Mr. Dalken.

“Not in this case, however,” retorted Bill. “If our Colonel knew the danger we boys were running by volunteering to walk right up before the ammunition of beauty, he’d never let us out of his sight.”

“Ha! Mr. Ainslee discovered other things in France besides medals for bravery!” laughed Mrs. Courtney, shaking a playful finger at him.

“Medals! Who told you anything about medals?” asked Bill, with genuine amazement in his voice.

“A little bird whispered it at my ear,” laughed Mrs. Courtney teasingly.

“I know the bird! We always thought it was a raven over there – from the way he croaked whenever he had to eat army mess,” was the humorous reply from Bill.

Midst the general laugh at Jack’s expense which followed Bill’s speech, the men left and walked in the direction of the waiting automobile which had been placed at the ball-players’ disposal for the day.

Polly turned to her friends and said: “Oh, I’m sure Dalky will succeed in getting them off for a few days. I really believe Dalky can do anything!”

Eleanor glanced at Mrs. Courtney as Polly spoke, and caught a puzzling expression which had flashed over that lady’s face. In a moment, however, she was as inscrutable as ever she cared to appear.

“We may as well go into this shop and have a lemonade while we are waiting for the returns of the election,” suggested Mr. Ashby.

“Do you think it will take the boys very long to find the officer who can permit them to get off tonight?” asked Polly.

“I have an idea that Bill will know exactly where to find his superiors and not more than half an hour should elapse before they will come back,” returned Mr. Ashby, glancing at his watch.

“I was about to say – that we should have gone on to the yacht and dressed for to-night, if they are to be gone as long as that,” ventured Polly.

“I tell you what we might do!” cried Eleanor, plumping her glass upon the marble slab with such emphasis that the lemonade spattered up and over her hands. “Leave Mr. Fabian and Mr. Ashby at this corner so the others can see them upon their return, and we ladies go on to the yacht and touch up for the evening’s fray.”

“That’s just what I was about to say,” added Mrs. Courtney.

“Where’s the fray? You ladies never thought the superior faction of this yachting party worthy of captivation before,” remarked Mr. Fabian cynically, albeit he smiled.

“I should say not! Two old married fogies, two harum-scarum boys, and a grass-widower!” exclaimed Nancy Fabian.

A general laugh rewarded Nancy’s retort, and Mr. Ashby held up both hands in a helpless manner. “Oh, for pity’s sake, go – GO and touch up for the young men, or Fabian and I shall have to crawl under the soda fountain to escape your wit!”

The girls started up at that and the ladies followed laughingly; soon they were out of sight on their way to the White Crest and an elaborate toilette for the dinner party that night.