Читать книгу Roy Blakeley's Elastic Hike - Percy Keese Fitzhugh - Страница 6

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Now I’m going to be serious for about a page, maybe only two pages, I can’t tell. But there was a reason why we made that rule about having every fellow that was going to get into our patrol do that hike to the old toll-gate.

One reason we didn’t want any flat tires or false alarms in our patrol and we wanted to make sure a fellow could do something if he was going to be a scout. We said if he was the kind of a fellow that would hike five miles and back again he was all right. And besides that he’d have to find a way to get across where that old bridge used to be. We didn’t care how he did it, if he swam it or how. But if he came back and said he couldn’t make the hike after he said he would, just on account of a bridge not being where it ought to be, that would show he wasn’t solid silver, only silver plate or something like that and Silver Foxes are solid silver just the same as the Golden Eagle patrol over in East Bridgeboro are only gold filled. They make me laugh, that bunch.

So then I told Dinkey Waters just what he’d have to do and of course Pee-wee had to butt in like he always does, doing all the talking.

“All right, let him talk,” I said.

“I’m only telling him what he has to do,” the kid shouted, “because I’m going along too, you can bet.”

“Good night!” Warde said.

The kid shouted, “You have to hike to the old toll-gate and cut your initials there where all the rest of them are and you have to hike back again and you have to get across the stream your own way without anybody helping you, doesn’t he, Warde? And you have to make a solemn pledge that you won’t eat your lunch while you’re sitting there before you start back, but you can’t eat anything till you get there anyway, what do you care, it’s only five miles and you can do it in less than two hours and I’m going with you too. Warde and Roy and I will go.” Then he stopped and came up for air.

Dinkey Waters said, “Sure I’ll do it.”

“Do you make a solemn vow you won’t eat anything till you get to the toll-gate?” the kid shot at him.

“Do you?” I asked him.

“Suuure I do,” Pee-wee said, very big like. “Do you think even I couldn’t starve for an hour? Because anyway I was telling him how if a scout says he’ll do it even if he can’t do it because——”

“A scout’s honor is to be toasted,” I said.

“It’s better fried,” Warde said; “it’s best fried on both sides, inside and out. Tell him all about law one, kid,” he said, kind of winking at me.

“I’ll tell you about it,” Pee-wee shouted. “If a scout doesn’t do exactly a given task he can’t be a scout. That’s law one. You look in the Handbook. I’ll leave it to Warde. Isn’t it there?”

“It’s there as clear as mud,” Warde said.

“I’d take you in my patrol only it is full,” Pee-wee said. “Isn’t it, Roy?”

“I never saw any of you empty,” I told him.

“So we’ll start to-morrow morning right after breakfast, hey?” the kid said, all the time dancing around all excited. “Because four of my patrol are away and Ben Maxwell is going to paint his canoe so I can go with you so raise up your hand.”

Warde said, “Good night, we don’t have to run our patrol. P. Harris runs it for us.”

Warde gave me a funny kind of a wink as if he wanted to tell me to let the kid manage the whole thing. He said, “Go ahead, administer the pledge, kid.”

I said to Dinkey Waters (gee, he’s an awful nice fellow, I’ll say that), I said, “If you want to be a solid Silver Fox, absolutely guaranteed, raise up your left foot and place it against your right knee, then raise your left hand and keep it raised while you lift both feet off the ground. Then answer carefully the following questions:

“What was your correct age when you were born?

“Do your parents reside in America or do they only live here and if so, which?

“Do you eat chocolate sundaes?”

“Will you shut up and have some sense even if you haven’t got any!” Pee-wee yelled. “Do you want me to give him the pledge or not?”

“If you give it to him you’ll never get it back,” I said.

“Will you shut up!” Pee-wee screamed at me.

“All we want is a little sense, and not too much of that,” Warde said.

I said, “You are absolutely right, Warde. Pee-wee wants to give a pledge and it isn’t his to give. On with the dance, I mean the hike. Go ahead and we’ll all be serious.”

So then Pee-wee shouted at Dinkey, “Do you solemnly promise to hike to the old toll-gate and cut your initials there, and not eat anything till you get there, and then hike back?”

“Are we all going to do it?” Dinkey wanted to know. I guess he didn’t know what to think, Warde and I were laughing so hard.

“Sure we are!” Pee-wee shouted, “only we’re not going to cut our initials because Warde’s and Roy’s are there already and I’m not a Silver Fox anyway. But anyway, we’re going.”

Dinkey looked at me. Jiminy, I guess he didn’t know what to think.

I said, “It’s all true and we’ll start to-morrow morning. Do you say you’ll do it? A scout’s honor is to be toasted.”

“I’m with you,” Dinkey said.

“Will you promise never to do anything that has any sense to it?” I asked him.

He said, “I promise.”

And jimmy crinkums I have to admit he has always kept his word.