It would seem from this that Ralph took it for granted that he and his brother and cousin would get into the company without the least trouble, and he was somewhat surprised because Arthur did not offer to take in their names at the very next meeting; but he did not even ask them what their names were. He led them to the place where the master bowman and his bugler were standing in the midst of a party of their friends, and, as soon as the opportunity was presented, introduced them as visitors who thought it possible that they might one day become permanent residents of the village. Then he excused himself and went off to hunt up one of the girls with green and white badges, who were carrying little buckets of lemonade around among the thirsty firemen and soldiers.
Tom and his cousins found the young archers to be very pleasant and agreeable fellows, but a trifle too independent to suit them. They did not seem to think that Tom was better than any other boy because his father was a banker, and owned a yacht in which he talked of going to Florida during the coming winter, and neither did they ask him and his cousins to step
