THE COMMITTEE IN SESSION
“Sixty-two dollars and sixty-five cents,” announced Louise Brent
disconsolately. “I don’t believe we’ll ever get enough!”
“I wonder who gave the five cents,” murmured Lanny.
The Twenty-fifth of October Fund Committee was assembled on the side
porch at Brentwood, facing a problem.
“We need about twenty-eight dollars more, don’t we?” asked Gordon.
Louise nodded.
“Unless we left off the filing-cabinet,” she said.
“How much less would that make it?”
“We figured the cabinet at eighteen dollars. Maybe it would be less,
though.”
“Eighteen,” reminded Morris, “was before we took off thirty per cent.
So it would only make it about twelve dollars.”
“Yes, and I so hoped we could get the cabinet too,” said Louise.
“Well, we’ve tackled about everyone in school,” said Gordon. “I can
give another dollar, I guess, but that doesn’t help much.”
“The trouble is,” said Morris, “that most of the fellows are down on
Mr. Grayson about the coaching business.”
“Don’t see why they should be,” said Lanny, “after Saturday’s game.
Seems to me that ought to prove that we can win without paying money
for a professional coach.”
“Of course,” agreed Morris hurriedly, darting an anxious glance at
Dick, fearing he had said something to hurt him. “Maybe they think
differently about it now. How would it do to ask fellows again?”
Gordon groaned. “I absolutely refuse,” he asserted. “If we have got to
do that someone will have to take my list.”
“How many are there who haven’t been asked?” inquired May Burnham.
“Only about twenty,” replied Louise, “and most of them are the younger
boys.”
“And they don’t give much, anyway,” said Gordon. “We may be able to
make up another five dollars, but I guess that’s about all. There’s
only two weeks more, about.”
“Well, supposing we got seventy dollars altogether,” asked Dick. “Is
there anything we could do without, so as to bring the whole bill to
seventy?”
Louise referred to her list. “The easy-chair would be about fourteen,”
she replied. “But we simply couldn’t do without that, Dick.”
“No, the easy-chair seems rather necessary. By the way, how much of the
sixty-two is actually paid?”
“Thirty-seven dollars and twenty-five cents. I don’t suppose we’ll get
it all, either, by the time we need it.”
“I’ll borrow the difference from father,” said Morris. “He will let
us have it, I guess. I dare say I could afford to contribute another
dollar or two.”
“There’s no reason why you should,” declared Nell Sawin. “I think it’s
a shame that we can’t make up a small amount like that. The girls have
given almost half again as much as the boys. They ought to be ashamed
of themselves!” This was quite severe for Nell, who was normally
incapable of censure, and Lanny was moved to a defense of his sex.
“We have more things to spend our money on than you girls,” he said.
“Besides, there are more girls than boys in school, Nell.”
“Only about ten,” said Louise severely, tapping her teeth with the tip
of her brother’s fountain pen. “We’ve just got to get some more money.”
“Let’s have a fair,” suggested May, and Grace Lovering, who had not
contributed to the discussion, clapped her hands.
“Let’s!” she said. “We could easily make twenty dollars, Louise!”
“Fairs are no earthly use,” was the reply. “Not when you really want
to make anything. It always costs nearly as much as you take in to get
ready. We’d have to make things or get folks to give us things to sell,
and there isn’t time. We might――might have an entertainment, though.”
“There isn’t time for that, either,” said Morris. “Besides, no one
would come.”
At that moment Lanny, who had been thoughtfully silent for a minute,
said: “I think I’ve got it, folks, but you’ll have to give me a day or
two to mull it over. No questions, please!”
“Oh, Lanny, have you really?” demanded Nell eagerly. “What is it? A
show?”
“No questions, I said,” laughed Lanny. “I’ll tell you on――let me see;
this is Monday――on Wednesday evening. We’ll have another meeting then,
if you like. Meanwhile you folks get busy with those who haven’t been
asked yet and see what can be done. I’d like to know how much we have
to make before I――spring my scheme on you.”
“I’m so glad someone’s thought of something,” declared Louise, with
a sigh of relief. “We’ll meet again Wednesday, then. Did――did anyone
say he wanted to subscribe some more?” And Louise held her list out
invitingly. Lanny took it and added his name for another dollar. Dick
shook his head with a smile.
“I’d like to, but I’m afraid I can’t, Louise.”
“Never mind. Gordon, you said you would, didn’t you?”
“Yes, I believe I did,” sighed Gordon, accepting the paper and taking
the pen from Lanny. “And just to prove that a Merrick is as good as his
word and a little better I’ll put my name down here for――for a dollar
and――let me see; if one ice-cream soda costs ten cents, two ice-cream
sodas would cost twenty cents. Wouldn’t they, Lanny?”
“What on earth are you talking about?” asked Louise.
“There; one dollar and twenty cents,” said Gordon, writing. “I’ll take
cash for those sodas, Lanny.”
“What sodas? Somebody feel his head, please!”
“Don’t you worry about my head, old chap. All you have to do is fork
over twenty cents.”
“What’s it for? Do I owe you twenty cents?”
“You owe me two sodas, Lanny, or, to be exact, you owe me one soda and
yourself one soda. Being a philanthropist I donate the price of the
sodas to this worthy cause.”
“Do you mean that I bet the sodas with you?”
“Ex-act-ly! You bet me we wouldn’t have a football coach within a week
and I bet you we would. And we did. Twenty cents, please!”
“Thunder! So I did!” laughed Lanny, fumbling in his pocket. “But, hold
on! Are you sure we got him within the week?”
“Positive,” declared Gordon with conviction. “We made the wager the
night of the last meeting of this committee, which was a Tuesday.
We secured our present capable coach at about nine-forty-five the
following Monday evening. Anything more to say?”
“No, here’s your old twenty cents. Only it’s a quarter. Got a nickel?”
“I may have,” replied Gordon untroubledly, “but I don’t intend to look.
I’ll just change that twenty cents to twenty-five and so save trouble.
There we are! And here’s the cash, Louise. Put your little cross
opposite my name, please.”
After that Morris insisted on giving another dollar and Nell fifty
cents. “I haven’t the slightest idea where I’ll get it,” declared the
latter tragically. “I’ll just have to do something and make some money.
Perhaps I’ll sell matches on the street corner! Or――or have a lemonade
stand in the front yard!”
“If you do please see that the lemonade is hot,” said Lanny. “Cold
lemonade in this weather wouldn’t go very fast.”
“Then,” said Louise, rising, “I suppose you don’t want any, Lanny.
Never mind, I dare say the rest of us can drink it.”
“Oh, well,” replied Lanny carelessly, “if you have it all made―― Rather
than seem unappreciative, you know――――”