Page:Anna Chapin--Half a dozen boys.djvu/271

Rh feeling vaguely that something very pleasant was in prospect. But an inquisitive sunbeam would shine directly into his eyes, and, as he  rolled over, he opened them to find that Fred  was not in bed.

“Why, Fred, where are you?” he exclaimed.

“Here,” responded a voice from the other side of the room. “I haven’t been asleep for ever so long, and my face felt so funny and hot I got up to put some cold water on it. I don’t know what’s the matter, but it feels so queer.”

Rob raised his head from the pillow, and eyed his friend curiously for a moment.

“Queer!” he said then, “I should think it might! You just ought to see yourself, Fred Allen. It’s all red and speckled—I’ll tell you, you must have hit some poison yesterday morning when we were out in the woods.”

“I wonder if that is it,” said Fred rather disconsolately. “My head aches enough to have it almost anything. How long does it last, Bob?”

“Oh, two or three weeks,” answered Rob encouragingly. “I’ve been poisoned lots of times, and it’s horrid. Pretty soon you’ll be-