Читать книгу Pee-wee Harris and the Sunken Treasure - Percy Keese Fitzhugh - Страница 6

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If Pee-wee had discovered a new species of bird or an Indian relic he could hardly have been more elated than when he emerged from his home after luncheon on that memorable Saturday.

And indeed it must be admitted that he had good reason to think that he was on the trail of an adventure. If the boat had not passed down the river, then it was still up the river. And if it had not been found up the river that was because the authorities had not looked everywhere.

“Gee whiz, that’s a dandy argument,” said Pee-wee, commenting upon his own chain of reasoning. “And I bet maybe they went into that cove because maybe they were scared to go down the river again, and I bet maybe they tried to escape across the swamp in back of it, I bet maybe they did. Gee whiz, if a thing isn’t anywheres and there’s one other place it’s got to be in that place, that’s one thing sure.”

By way of clinching this argument, he delivered a vicious assault upon a large apple he had brought forth from the luncheon table, as if perhaps he had hopes of finding the recreant launch hiding within it. “That’s logic anyway, and I bet I find them,” he said.

“For goodness sakes what have you got there?” a merry voice caroled almost in his ear.

Pee-wee glanced around the side of the porch and beheld Minerva Skybrow, moving spirit of the local Girl Scouts, standing at the porch rail. She was accompanied by two of her followers, Dora Dane Daring and Winifred Wilde and they looked very winsome in their khaki attire.

“Are we excused for trespassing?” Minerva asked. “We’ve been on a perfectly wonderful hike and we’re taking a shortcut home. See? We discovered the first daisies of the season. Aren’t they nice? We’ve stole a march on you boys.”

“Do you think we go hunting for daisies?” Pee-wee thundered. “Gee whiz, when we can go hunting for bandits and burglars and robbers, maybe even murderers, and things!” You would have thought that Pee-wee expected to gather these gems of the springtime in the neighboring woods.

“Goodness gracious!” said Minerva. “I hope you don’t bring any of them here.”

“I’m going to find where some robbers that stole seventy thousand dollars—maybe it was even less than that—I’m going to find out where they are before to-day’s over. Do you know the Gardiner mansion down the river; that big white house? I bet you know Eleanor Gardiner maybe?”

Pee-wee had intended to wait for the return of his comrades to make known his plans. It was for that reason that he had stuffed his trusty scout book into his pocket. He intended to read his newspaper clipping to them immediately upon their return. He felt that it would have a certain weight and importance pasted in that extraordinary journal from which he intended to read it aloud.

But, alas, Pee-wee had one of the failings of genius; he could not resist these blithesome damsels. He liked to exploit his prowess. He liked to advertise the wonderful proficiency of scouts and the hopeless limitations of Girl Scouts.

“What on earth is that dreadful book?” asked Dora, lifting it out of Pee-wee’s pocket and glancing it over. “Oh look, it’s funny! It tells how to make incense cones out of molasses cake and cologne and tooth powder and—oh look, it tells how to make glue out of tree gum and how to broil toads——”

“Toadstools!” roared Pee-wee. “That tells how you can tell the wrong kind—mushrooms are toadstools only different——”

“Oh isn’t it interesting!” chirped Winnie Wilde, looking over her friend’s shoulder. “It tells about a perfectly dear trail——”

“That’s a deer’s trail!” Pee-wee fairly screamed. “Don’t you know what a deer is?”

“You’re one,” said Minerva. “You spelled it with an A. And oh, goodness me, here’s something about school! I never knew fish went to school!”

“You think you’re so smart!” Pee-wee roared. “Look at that article cut out of night before last’s newspaper and you’ll see how it’s nothing to laugh about and the reason everybody’s not so excited about it is on account of the big fire I guess, but anyway, maybe you think it’s fun to get a—a—a—lot of thousand dollars stolen from you in the middle of the night by desperaters——”

“By what?” Winnie inquired gently.

“Desperadoes,” Minerva said.

“You can read the article for yourselves, you’re so smart,” Pee-wee fairly shouted, “and see what happened and I know where maybe that boat that’s got the iron box is because I know things that nobody else knows—I mean places. So if you want to see me do a good turn for a girl—then maybe she’ll join the Girl Scouts, I bet she will—you can come with me down to the Gardiner mansion, I decided all of a sudden to go there first. I’ll show you how scouts have got prowesses and resources and things, I will.”

“The very idea!” said Miss Dora Dane Daring.

Pee-wee thrust his hand into the depths of his trousers pocket as if he were going to bring forth a few choice “prowesses” to show them. But all he succeeded in excavating was a licorice jawbreaker. It was rather sticky and it brought the whole lining of his pocket out with it. Pee-wee thereupon deposited it where it would never again cause trouble; that was in his mouth, and he stood there with his left cheek bulging. He forgot all about his patrol.

“Dywantergo’n see wtmgoingterdo?” he demanded, wrestling bravely with his huge square of sugared concrete.

“I should say we do,” said Minerva Skybrow.