"We'll wait until the rest of the fellows come in, and then we'll hold a pow-wow and vote on what's to be done." "Tom! Oh, Tom! Fellows! Hoo-hoo!" roared Greg, making a megaphone of his hands.
"Wha-at's wa-anted ?" came Reade's hail, still from a distance.
"Hurry up!" yelled Greg.

"Hustle.

Big doings here!" "Have you found a boat ?" came Tom's query.
"No! But---hustle! Run!" Greg was alive with curiosity.

He could not wait.

If the box were to be opened only after a pow-wow, then the sooner the council were held the sooner the mystery of the box's contents would be solved.
Tom, Dan and Harry came in at a trot.
"What's all the row about ?" Reade demanded.
"That," stated Greg, pointing to the packing case.
"What's in it ?" asked Reade.
"We don't know," said Dick.
"I fail to see what's to hinder you from knowing," retorted Reade.
"I see that you have the tools for opening the case at hand.
What were you waiting for---my strong arm on the hammer?
If so-----" While speaking Tom had been glancing at the inscription on the card.
"I don't know just whether we ought to open it," Dave declared.
"That box may come from Dodge and Bayliss, and we may be sorry that we meddled with it." "There may be something in that," agreed Reade, laying down hammer and chisel and rising.