"This is a nice fix we're in," Westy said. "We'll be eaten up here."
"What do we care?" Pee-wee shouted. As long as there was some questionof eats it didn't make any difference to him where we were.
I said, "I'm not talking about you eating; I'm talking about themosquitoes. Wait till the sun goes down, there'll be nothing left of us,if we stay here."
"Well, let's be thankful the car didn't go down, anyway," one of thefellows said.
"Sure, it might be worse," another one of them shouted.
I said, "Oh, sure, this is a fine place for a scout headquarters.There's only one better place that I know of and that's on top of avolcano."
"Can we go on top of a volcano?" the inventor wanted to know.
"Not this afternoon," I told him.
"This is a dickens of a place to spend the summer," they all begansaying. "What are we going to do? We can't get the car either way now.It might just as well have broken through the trestle and gone down intothe marsh. It's no good to us here."
"I say let's leave it here and come on up to Temple Camp," Hunt Mannerssaid. "We've had trouble enough with it. Let it stay here and rot."
I said, "Don't let's get discouraged. Consider the busy littlemosquitoes. See how happy they are."
"Sure," Westy said; "and so would we be if we were in their shoes."
"In their _shoes_?" Pee-wee yelled.
"They ought to wear rubbers down here," I said. "Let's have a meeting ofthe general staff to decide what we'll do. We're in the midst of theenemies."
Dorry Benton said, "I vote that we go inside and shut the doors and thewindows. S--lap! There's one."
All around we could hear bzzzzzzz, bzzzzz----
I said, "S--_lap_! There goes another."
"Bzzzzzz--sl--_ap_!" Gee whiz, that was all I could hear. We looked likea class in physical training.
"Come on inside," I said. "This is getting terrible."
It wasn't so bad inside with the doors and windows shut. We chased someof them out and killed a lot of others. It was our lives against theirs.
"Don't give them any quarter," one fellow shouted.
"Don't give them even a dime," I said.
"Don't give them a cent," Pee-wee shouted, slapping at them right andleft.
Talk about the Huns! Oh, boy!
After a terrible massacre we got most of them out of the car. Then wesat down to talk about what we had better do. We were in a pretty badfix, that was sure. It looked as if that was the end of our dear oldcar, anyway for a meeting place in the summer, because we couldn't standagainst an army of several million billions. A scout is brave, but----
It was quite late in the afternoon and we were getting hungry. Themosquitoes had finished their supper. I hope they enjoyed it. Prettysoon it began to rain outside and the wind began to blow. One goodthing, it blew the mosquitoes away. That hour or so that we spent in thecar behind closed doors is known in scout history as the Siege ofCat-tail Marsh. And, believe me, we didn't like it very much. I'm not sostuck on history anyway.
CHAPTER XXXIII--WE SEPARATE
"One thing sure, I won't desert this car," Pee-wee said. "It's our carand I'm going to stick to it. I'm not going to leave it here to rotafter all the fun we've had in it."
I said, "You're welcome to take it with you for all I care. Maybe youknow some new kind of strategy to move it. I don't see that ourappetites are going to do us any good down here. Here's the car in themiddle of the marsh and that's all there is to it. If there shouldhappen to be an earthquake maybe that would move it."
"Let's have an earthquake," the inventor piped up.
"Maybe when the earth revolves a little it will start the car, hey?"Pee-wee shouted. "Maybe if we wait till to-morrow morning----"
"Suppose it starts it back and we bunk into Tony's lunch wagon?" DorryBenton said.
"The earth is moving the other way," Pee-wee shouted.
Westy said, "Well, here's an end to all our fine plans, that's sure. Idon't see what we can do. In the winter it won't be so bad down here,but now--s--_lap_, there's another."
"He must have come in through the glass," I said.
Then, just to make the fellows feel good, I started singing:
We started down to the river But fate is very--is very--is very----
"Harsh!" Westy shouted.
"Correct," I said.
We started down to the river, But fate is very harsh. We started out for the, what-d'you call it, promised land, And got stuck in the middle of the marsh.
But, gee whiz, they didn't feel like singing, I could see that. Pee-weeshouted, because that kid would be happy in the bottom of a well, butthe rest of them just kept still and looked grouchy.
"It's raining, too," one of them said.
"It always rains in vacation," another began grumbling.
"Vacations and Saturdays," another said.
"Come on home; that's the end of our plans," Dorry said. "I'm sorry wedidn't go up to Temple Camp with the others. I bet they'll be good andmad when they see where the car is."
I said, "A scout is supposed to be cheerful; let's laugh, ha, ha!"
"I tell you what let's do," Pee-wee said. "Let's camp here all night."
"What good will that do?" one of the fellows wanted to know.
I said, "Well, I'm not going home in all this rain, anyway. We're hereand I'm going to stay here till it holds up."
"That will be in about two weeks," one of them said.
"I'll go and tell our mothers and fathers and I'll get some eats,"Pee-wee shouted. "And I'll get some games and----"
"Ah, give us a rest," Bad Manners said.
I said, "Isn't it nice, we're all such optimists?"
"Where did you get that word?" one of them grumbled.
"That means a man that tests your eyes," Pee-wee shouted.
"You mean an optometrist," Westy said.
I said, "What's the use of grouching? We're here because we're here. Canyou deny that? Is it our fault if the car didn't go all the way? Youfellows make me sick. Look at the inventor; he'd be happy on top of avolcano."
"No wonder," Westy said. "That's because a volcano is on fire."
"Fire's better than rain, anyway," one of them said.
"Oh, is that so?" I shot back at him. "If it wasn't for rain therewouldn't be any good fishing."
"A lot of fish we'll catch here," Will Dawson said.
"And another thing," I said, "look at Queen Victoria; she reigned forfifty years and she didn't get mad. That shows you women are better thanmen. Maybe Minerva Skybrow could think of a way for us to get the carout of here."
"Sure, maybe she'll talk Italian to the cattails," Ralph Warner said.
"Maybe she could get the mosquitoes to move, she was so successful withTony," Charlie Seabury began grouching.
"I wish school would open," Dorry Benton said.
I said, "Do you take back that remark?"
"A lot of fun we'll have here," somebody else started grumbling.
Pee-wee said, "Just the same, I bet we'll have some more adventures. Isaw a yellow dog running east last night, and that's a sign we'll havemore adventures. The lowest ebb is the turn of the tide; that's what itsays in my copy book."
I said, "You've got the right idea, Kid. A car may be down, but it'snever out."
"Well, _I'm_ going out," Hunt Manners said. "I'm going home."
"So am I," Charlie Seabury said, very grumpy like.
"Go ahead," I told them. "We should worry. Pee-wee and the inventor andI are going to stay here."
"I'm going to stay, too," Westy said.
"I'm going home to get supper and go to the movies," Dorry said, with ablack look on his face.
"Give my regards to Charlie Chaplin," I said.
Hunt Manners said, very cross, "Come on, fellows. Let's go up toBennett's and get some sodas. Want to go, Pee-wee?"
I looked at the kid. Gee whiz, that was the hardest moment in his
life.He stood between love and duty; I mean between love and more love.
"Go ahead," he said. "I saw a yellow dog going east last night, and thatmeans we're going to have more adventures. Anyway, I can go with you andget a soda and then come back."
Jiminies, I had to laugh.
"I'm through with this old shack; come on," Tom Warner said.
"The pleasure is mine," I told him. "So long."
"We're going to have adventures, ain't we?" the inventor piped up.
"I don't know," I said, "but we're going to have a game of checkersanyway."
"I'm with you," Will Dawson said.
I said, "All right, there are five of us and we'll challenge the world."
"That's us," Westy said.
"That's me, too," the inventor shouted. "I hope we get in a lot ofdanger, hey?"
"Don't lose your lives playing checkers," Hunt Manners said.
"Don't risk your young lives up at the Lyric Theatre," I told him. "Becareful when you're crossing Main Street."
"Don't let the mosquitoes eat you up," Charlie Seabury said.
"Thanks," I told him. "Look out you don't get run over by a babycarriage."
"We're going to start for Temple Camp in the morning," Dorry said, verygrouchy.
"Just tell them that you saw us," I said.
"Tell them we wouldn't desert the old car in the marsh," Westy shoutedafter them.
"I'm through with it," another one of them said.
"We're going to stick to our wounded comrade in No Man's Land. Hey?"Pee-wee said. Gee, that was a good name for Cat-tail Marsh.
So that's the way it was. Will Dawson, Westy, Pee-wee, the inventor andI stayed down in the car, only Pee-wee went up with the others becausehe was going to tell our mothers and get some eats and things. We toldhim to get games and hooks, too. As long as there wasn't anything betterto do, and it was raining and blowing, we thought we might as well campin the old car that night. We knew there wouldn't be much doing, but,gee whiz, I'm tired of the movies.
The others went back along the trestle, Pee-wee with them, and we couldsee them when they got out from among the cat-tails and started upacross the Sneezenbunker land. It was raining hard and it was gettingdark and we could see the little lights shining on Main Street. It wasnice and cozy in that old car. Maybe it wasn't a good place for it, I'mnot saying, and maybe it wouldn't be any use there, especially in thesummer, but anyway, we were going to have one last night in it.
"Will he come back?" the inventor asked me.
"Who? Pee-wee?" I said. "You bet he will. He's not missing anything; noteven a soda."
"Can I watch you play checkers?" the kid wanted to know.
"You bet!" I told him.
"I hope it rains all night. Don't you?" he asked me.
"Sure thing," I said.
"I like water better than fire. Don't you?" he wanted to know.
"You're changing," I said.
He went over and sat with his face plastered against one of the windows,watching for Pee-wee. The rain was just dripping down outside thewindows. The kid's nose was flat against the pane.
Pretty soon he shouted, "I see him! Here he comes!"
Away up on the Sneezenbunker land we could see a black speck comingtoward us through all the rain. In a couple of minutes it got down tothe edge of the marsh and we couldn't see it any more on account of thecat-tails.
CHAPTER XXXIV--ONE ENDING
Now if you want to stick to those fellows, go ahead and do it. I'm notstopping you. This story has two endings and you can choose whicheverone you please. I should worry. If you want to stay with us and watch usplay checkers, all right. If you want to go with them, all right.
First I'll tell you their ending of the story. They stopped at Bennett'sand had sodas, and Charlie Seabury bought some gumdrops. After supperthey went down to the Lyric Theatre and they stopped with Dorry while hebought a bell for his bicycle. After the excitement of buying the bellwas over, they stopped in the library and Hunt Manners got "Kidnaped,"by Stevenson. He should have got slapped on the wrist instead ofkidnaped.
Then they went on down to the Lyric and stood on the line for twentyminutes. When they got in they saw "The Cowboy's Vengeance." Oh, theyhad a wild time that night. That cowboy had troubles of his own. But onething, he killed eleven train robbers. Maybe you'll say our poor old carthat was marooned in the marsh didn't have any pep compared to thattrain going through the Rocky Mountains. But you cannot sometimes alwaystell.
That's one ending to this story. Now comes the other one.
CHAPTER XXXV--CEDAR
One thing I'll tell you. If you ever see a yellow dog going east,prepare for the worst. That's all.
We cooked some eats on the old stove in the corner of the car that nightand they tasted good. After that we fixed two of the seats facing eachother and sat in them, watching the rain. We jollied Pee-wee and talkedabout stalking and merit badges and told riddles. After that we playedcheckers and when we all got good and sleepy we fixed the seats intoberths. The way you make a berth is to lift a seat out and lay itlengthwise across two other seats. We made five berths that way. Then wewent to sleep.
Now I couldn't see just exactly what happened because I was asleep. ButI found out afterwards. I thought I heard funny kinds of noises in thenight, but that old car had so many creaks in it that it was like a fullorchestra whenever the wind blew.
Anyway, when I woke up in the morning and looked out of the window, Ithought I was in Noah's Ark. I was so surprised that I couldn't doanything but just stare. _We were floating down the river!_ That's justas true as that I'm sitting on the window seat in my room, writing. _Wewere floating down the river_. You can ask anybody in Bridgeboro.
I gave Westy a shake and said, "Wake up and look out of the window!Hurry up! _Westy!_"
In a half a minute we were all staring out of the window.
Will Dawson said, "Are we dreaming or not?"
I said, "I wouldn't say for sure that I'm awake, but I _think_ I am.Either that or I've gone crazy reading 'Alice in Wonderland.' _Look!_There's the park! We're about half a mile down the river."
The inventor started shouting, "Oh, good, good, good! I'm glad. Maybewe'll go across the ocean! Will we?"
"Nothing would surprise me," Westy said. "I hope we'll meet Sinbad, thesailor."
"This car wouldn't float," Will Dawson said.
"It _wouldn't_" I said; "but it _does_."
"Open the window and look out," Westy said.
"What did I tell you about yellow dogs?" Pee-wee shouted.
"Can I be the captain?" the inventor wanted to know. "Is it a ship?"
"Either that or an insane asylum," I said.
"Look out of the window," Westy said. "I see what happened. Come on,let's look out from one of the doors. I know what happened all right!"
We threw open three or four windows and looked down. Then he ran for oneof the doors and looked out. The car was on something, that was sure.
"It's an old scow," Westy said. "Look!"
I looked down from the car door just as Westy jumped down. He said,"It's an old scow just as sure as you live. It was part of the solidpart of the trestle. See how the old tracks are broken?What--do--you--know--about--that?"
He pulled off a chip of wood and threw it up to me. "Cedar," he said;"smell it."
I saw just how it was. The car was standing on an old scow. The oldrusty tracks were twisted and broken off and stuck out over the end. Infive seconds we were all down on the deck of it, staring around.
Westy said, "Did you smell it? It's cedar."
And just then I remembered about something we had read in a scouts' bookabout trees. Westy knows all the different kinds of wood; he's crazyabout trees. This is it, copied right out of the book:
Cedar is the wood most valuable for the hulls of vessels. When kept under water its freshness is everlasting. While other woods rot away this soft, spongy wood that yields so r
eadily to the ax or the jack-knife, defies the decaying effects of water, its soft fiber swelling and toughening even in ordinary dampness. Time is powerless to rot it when it is in its natural element.
"What happened?" I asked him, because he seemed to know more about itthan I did.
He said, "That's easy to see. The creek flooded the marsh last night.The solid part of the trestle that we noticed was just several oldscows. I guess this was the only one made of cedar. Anyway, it rose withthe water and broke the old tracks and floated away. It's lucky the carwasn't half on one scow and half on another."
"I'm always lucky, I am!" Pee-wee shouted.
"I guess that's because the dog was good and yellow," I said. "If he hadbeen orange color, goodness only knows what might have happened."
"Stick to this old car and you can't go wrong," Will Dawson said.
"You said it," I told him.
"Now we can be pirates, hey?" the inventor said.
"Sure," I said. "You climb up and get inside the car. The first thingyou know you'll fall in the water, and the water around here is verywet."
"Didn't I say stick to the car?" Pee-wee wanted to know.
"Oh, you're just the little hero," I told him. "If we all get drownedwe'll have to thank you."
"_Drowned?_ What are you talking about?" he said. "If you're afraid----"