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diff --git a/old/44154-0.txt b/old/44154-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 0790ff6..0000000 --- a/old/44154-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,8440 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Swatty, by Ellis Parker Butler - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Swatty - A Story of Real Boys - -Author: Ellis Parker Butler - -Release Date: November 10, 2013 [EBook #44154] -Last Updated: March 11, 2018 - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SWATTY *** - - - - -Produced by David Widger - - - - - - -SWATTY - -A Story of Real Boys - -By Ellis Parker Butler - -With Illustrations - -HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY - -1920 - -TO FRED ERNST SCHMIDT - -OF MUSCATINE, IOWA THE FAITHFUL COMPANION OF MY BOYHOOD THIS BOOK IS -MOST GRATEFULLY INSCRIBED - - - - - -SWATTY - -A STORY OF REAL BOYS - - - - -I. THE BIG RIVER - -I guess if teachers always knew how lickings were going to turn out they -wouldn't lick us fellows so much. I am thinking about Miss Murphy, the -one that taught the room me and Swatty and Bony was in, and about the -time she was going to lick Swatty. One of the times. There were plenty -of others. - -You see, me and Swatty and Bony is chums, and we go together mostly, -but this was when we was in Miss Murphy's room. She's a good-looker, but -she's a tartar, too, when it comes to licking. - -The way of it was this: My sister Fan was mushy over Swatty's brother -Herb and she didn't care who knew it, because they were engaged, and Fan -was fixing up her things to get married in, and she wished I was a girl -so I could be her flower girl at the wedding, but she didn't know what -she'd do with me. She thought maybe she'd lock me in the cellar, she -said, but she didn't mean it. She was always codding me and Swatty. -She'd cod us that way, and then she'd give us a dime or something. She -was all right, and Swatty thought so too. - -So then Fan and Herb had a fight, like girls and fellows always do have; -but this was a good one. It was because Herb said maybe Fan would like -to have Miss Murphy for a bridesmaid, and Fan got mad because Herb had -gone with Miss Murphy once. So then Fan wouldn't forgive Herb. Herb came -over and fought for three evenings, and then Swatty brought a note from -him to Fan, and I took one from Fan to Herb, and that was the end of it. -The note I took had a ring in it, because I could feel it. Then Fan just -moped around the house and cried some, and after a while Herb had to go -and teach the eighth grade at school, because Professor Martin broke -his leg on the ice the janitor ought to have scraped off the steps but -didn't. So right away Herb began to get thick with Miss Murphy, but that -didn't make any difference to me. As soon as a fellow hasn't got one -girl he has another one, anyway, and I didn't blame Herb. I was -just sorry for Fan. And I thought Herb was crazy to make up to a -school-teacher, especially a tartar like Miss Murphy. She was an awful -licker. She'd lick a fellow for anything. - -Well, one day me and Swatty was going to school and we was talking at -each other the way we always did, and I said he thought he was great, -didn't he, because his brother was Miss Murphy's beau, and Miss Muiphy -wouldn't lick him when his brother was her beau. I didn't mean anything, -I just said it, but Swatty hauled off and hit me one and dared me to -say that again. So I said it again, and all the fellows got around and -yelled “Fight! Fight!” and I had to fight him. It would have been a -pretty good fight if Miss Murphy hadn't come along. She jumped right at -us and grabbed us both. - -“Who started this fight?” she asked, hopping mad. - -“He did,” I said. - -“Didn't neither!” said Swatty. “He did.” - -“Who struck the first blow?” says Miss Muiphy. - -Well, everybody told her Swatty did, which was the truth, and she let me -go. - -“Just as I thought, you--you little bulldozer,” she said, shaking him. -“You've been getting entirely too uppish of late, young man. You think -you can take advantage of--of circumstances; but I'll teach you a thing -or two. Get into school there, and wash yourself, and see that you are -in your seat when the bell rings.” - -So Swatty did it. Me and the Bony Highlander stayed out till the bell -rung, and then we went in, too, and as we went past Swatty's desk he -whispered, “She thinks she's going to lick me, but she ain't.” - -“Bet she does, if she said so,” I says; and I bet she would, too. So did -the Bony Highlander, because we knew she was the sort that would rather -lick a fellow than not. - -Well, that was in the morning, and they never lick at noon because the -way some fellows wriggle and twist it takes a long time to lick them, -and it would use up the noon hour. So they lick after school in the -afternoon when there is plenty of time. So me and the Bony Highlander -waited for Swatty, and we tried to scare him. We told him we bet Miss -Murphy would make him holler, because she licked with a rawhide pony -switch and whipped on the legs where the switch would wrap around and -sting, but we couldn't get Swatty to even pretend he might holler. He -said no teacher in the world could make him holler. We all said it. Or, -I don't know whether the Bony Highlander said it or not. He'd never been -licked in school. He wasn't the kind that gets licked, somehow. But he -was a pretty nice fellow, anyway. We liked him just as well, but not as -well as Swatty and me liked each other of course, because me and Swatty -was cow-cousins. - -Me and Swatty was both raised on the milk of the same cow, but it was -Schwartzes' cow, and when I was being raised on it Herb Schwartz used to -fetch the milk around, the way Swatty does now. I guess that's how Herb -got to know Fan. But the Bony Highlander was just a kid that moved into -the neighborhood. - -His name wasn't really Bony Highlander, but we called him that because -when he was reading a piece of poetry out of the Reader in school, and -ought to have said “bonny Highlander,” he said “bony Highlander.” But -we mostly called him Bony for short, like we called Schwartzy Swatty for -short. He was all right, but he never started to do things; he just -went along when we did them, and waited on the outside of the fence, and -things like that. - -Well, we waited on the corner for Swatty that afternoon until the bell -rung but he didn't come, so we went along, and he was at school already, -and after he had stayed in to be licked and Miss Murphy let him out, he -told us why he went early. He knew where she kept her rawhide, in the -closet at the end of the room on the shelf where the chalk boxes were, -and he went early at noon and took his pocket-knife and cut the rawhide -into little pieces about an inch long. He laid them all out on the shelf -in a row, and he said he nearly died laughing when she went to pick it -up and it was all in pieces. So Miss Murphy went to get another rawhide -from another teacher, but everybody had gone home, and she told Swatty -she would tend to him to-morrow. - -“I'd rather have been licked to-day and then I'd be done with it,” I -said, but Swatty didn't say so. - -“If you've got a licking,” he said, “you've got it, and you can't ever -un-get it, but I ain't ever going to get this one. I'll run away first.” - -“Ah, I bet you get it to-morrow,” I said, and the Bony Highlander said -so too. - -“Bet I don't!” said Swatty. So we made a bet. I bet him my clay pipe -against a nigger-shooter rubber he had. - -So the next day was when we'd know, and at noon Swatty came over to my -barn to get some oilcloth we had in the barn to put in his pants so the -licking wouldn't hurt so much, and I guessed I would win the bet. But he -couldn't fix the oilcloth so it would do any good and let him sit down. -He thought Miss Murphy would be onto it if he couldn't sit down. So he -gave that up. So we went to school. - -When school was nearly out Swatty got up and started to walk down his -aisle and up the next, like he was going out for a drink, but Miss -Murphy, who was doing an example on the blackboard for the B class, -turned around and saw him. - -“Where are you going?” she asked, like tacks in a bottle. - -“Just to get a drink,” said Swatty. - -“You take your seat this instant!” said Miss Murphy, and when she said -it, Swatty started to run; but she got there first and headed him off -and grabbed him by the arm. He kicked at her shins, but she gave him -a shake that made him see stars and marched him back to the end of the -room. I thought she was going to take him to his seat, but she didn't. - -Our schoolhouse has four rooms on a floor--two in front and two in -back--and the hall comes in the middle, but it don't run all the way -from front to back. In the middle in front on the second floor there is -a little room with some books in it, and they call it the library room. - -It has a window and three doors--one into the hall and one into our -room, and one into the room across the hall. So Miss Murphy yanked -Swatty into that room and locked all three doors. So she had him safe -until she got ready to lick him. Then she was going to unlock the door -and bring him out and do a good job, because she had a new rawhide all -ready. I guess she made up her mind she'd lick him until he hollered -that time. - -So Swatty waited until school was out. Then he had to wait until Miss -Murphy got rid of the ones she had kept in to write their names five -hundred times, and things like that, but he didn't wait. He opened the -window and looked out, and right below him was the peak roof of the -porch. It wasn't very big, and it was slated, and if he slipped he'd -be a goner and break a leg or something, but he got onto the window -sill and hung down with his hands on the sill, and dropped. He dropped -straddle of the roof and hung on the best way he could. - -He said the only thing he thought about was what a fool he had been not -to shut the window, but it was J une and most of the windows were wide -open anyway, and I guess Miss Murphy didn't notice. She unlocked the -door and looked into the room and Swatty wasn't there. Then I guess she -thought maybe somebody had come to the library room for a book and had -let Swatty out. She never put her head out of the window at all. So she -was beaten that time, and she went home. - -So Swatty waited until the janitor had swept all the rooms and started -to sweep the walk and he hollered to him. It is none of the janitor's -business who gets licked or who don't, so he came up to the room and -helped Swatty get in the window. He just laughed about it. - -So the next day Swatty went to school just the same as always, but at -noon he came over to my barn and Bony came with him. They generally came -because I had to feed my rabbits at noon. This time Swatty sort of poked -at the sawdust that was the floor of our barn and didn't say much. He -most generally wore his hat on the back of his head, but this time he -had it pulled down over his eyes and that was the way he did when he was -getting ready to fight a fellow. - -After a while he looked up. - -“Are you fellows going to school this afternoon?” he asked. - -“Yes,” I said. “Ain't you?” - -“Go and get licked? I guess not!” he said. “I'm going down to the -river.” - -“What are you going to do down at the river?” Bony asked. - -“Going to look at it; what you think I'm going to do?” said Swatty. - -Well, looking at it wasn't a bad thing to do, because the river was -away up, and when the Mississippi is up it is worth looking at. It looks -twice as big and sort of rounded up in the middle, and all sorts of -things floating down it--dead trees, and boxes, and logs, and dead pigs, -and sometimes sheds and things. It generally gets up in June, and we -always go down on Saturdays to see how she's getting along. - -“She's higher than she ever was,” said Swatty. - -“Well, I guess she'll be mighty high by Saturday,” said Bony. - -“No, she won't,” said Swatty, “because she's going to begin falling -to-day, the paper says. Why don't you come along down with me?” - -“Yes, and get licked for staying out of school!” I said. - -“All right for you fellows, then!” said Swatty. “I'll be mad at you for -good. If you were going to get licked I'd just _want_ to do something -so I could get licked too. Don't I always stick by you fellows? And when -I'm going to get licked you go back on me. You're 'fraid-cats.” - -“Who's a 'fraid-cat?” I asked, for I don't let anybody call me that. - -“You are!” said Swatty. “And so's Bony. You're afraid to stay out of -school one afternoon. You're afraid to stay out the day the river hits -high-water mark. You'll look nice, won't you, with just you and Bony and -a lot of girls in school!” - -“Who said we'd be the only kids there?” I asked. - -“Who said it? Why, I said it. You don't think any kids will go to school -this afternoon, do you? Everybody will be down at the levee--men and -everybody. If the river don't drop this afternoon she'll go over the -island levee. And you sit around in school like it was a common day! -Why, it's like--like election, or Fourth of July, or something like -that! It's worse than when the ice goes out.” - -Well, I never knew a boy to get licked for staying out of school when -the ice was going out of the river. He gets kept in the next day, or -something, but nobody can blame a boy for wanting to see the ice go out, -not even a teacher. So I guessed I'd go with Swatty, if I could sneak -it. Bony didn't want to go much, but he didn't like both of us to call -him a 'fraid-cat, so he came. We climbed out of my barn window, because -Swatty said we'd have to be careful; but I guess it wasn't much use, -because if we had gone out of the back gate it would have done just as -well, and if we had gone out of the front gate nobody would have thought -anything but that we were going to school. We kept in the alley all the -way down to Indian Creek, and Indian Creek was worth seeing, I tell you. - -Mostly there is nothing in it but a little bit of water twisting along -in the wet sand, away down in the bottom of the creek bed, but now the -creek was full right up to the top, and there were rowboats moored in -it. We played in the rowboats a while, until a man came and chased us -away, and then we went down along the creek to the river. I tell you, -she was some river! - -She went rushing along, all big and muddy and foamy, and she was half -covered with floating stuff--bark and whole haystacks and old trees and -boards and boxes and things. It scared a fellow just to look at her. It -made me feel the way a little baby feels when a big twelve-wheel mogul -engine comes roaring up to the depot platform, only ten times as scary. -It was like a whole ocean starting out to rush away somewhere. We just -stood and looked at it, and pretty soon Swatty says, “Gosh!” Only he -always says “Garsh!” And I said, “Gee!” That was all we said, and Bony -didn't say anything. He just stepped backward three or four steps and -looked frightened. That's the way you always feel when you see the old -Mississippi on a rampage. You feel as if you ought to do something to -stop it, and you know you can't--that nobody can. When it gets going it -is going to keep right on. So we went down to the levee. - -Well, there wasn't any levee! Our levee is just a long down-hill of -sand, and it wasn't there. The river had backed clean up to the railroad -tracks and was sploshing against the second rail of the outside track, -and at the down-river end of the levee it had gone under the tracks -and was all over Front Street at the corner. The ferry dock, that was -usually away down at the bottom of the levee, was tied right up close -to the railroad track, and the ferry was tied in behind the steamboat -warehouse, so she wouldn't wash away. The water was clean up over the -floor of the steamboat warehouse, too, and nothing looked the way it -used to look. It was worth forty lickings just to see how different -everything was. We just stood and looked and couldn't believe it. - -“Come on,” said Swatty, all at once, “let's have some fun. Let's take -off our shoes and stockings and have some fun.” - -We went across the street and asked a man if we could leave our shoes -and stockings in his store, and he said we could, and then we went back -and began to wade where the water wasn't very deep. There were a few -other boys there, wading, and a lot of men standing around, looking at -the water. Some would come down and look a while and then go away again, -and all at once Swatty said, “Garsh! What if our fathers came down -here!” - -So we got away from there, quick. We went down below the steamboat -warehouse, where the ferryboat was tied, because nobody was apt to come -down there, and nobody did. We played on the ferryboat a while and then -we got off her, and Swatty saw where somebody had fastened a lot of logs -and bridge timbers to the railway track. I guess they were stuff some -men had gone out in skiffs to catch as they floated by, before the river -got so rampageous. The way they fastened them was to drive a spike -in one end and tie a rope to that, and then tie the other end to the -railway track. So Swatty said, “Come on! Let's have some fun with these -logs and bridge timbers,” or something like that; so we did. We walked -on them, and some of them would sink under us, and then we would jump to -another. - -Well, there below the steamboat warehouse the water made an eddy, and -the bark and foam and some sticks kept going around and around in the -eddy, and pretty soon Swatty said: “Let's ride on these logs,” and that -was all right, too, because we could sit straddle of a log or a bridge -timber and paddle with our feet. So we did that. Swatty cut three of -them loose, and we each took a bridge timber, because they didn't turn -over like the logs did, and we paddled around in the eddy and played -we were steamboats. I was the “War Eagle,” and Swatty was the “Mary -Morton,” and Bony was the “Centennial.” We played that a long time and -then we took boards for paddles, and we could go better that way so we -played Indians in canoes, and I got on Swatty's timber and let mine go, -which was all right because the timbers would just go around and around -in the eddy. But Bony wouldn't get on with us, because he was afraid the -timber would sink. - -It got along to about five o'clock, and Bony said we had better go home. -He was always the first to want to go home. He told Swatty that Swatty -would be late going for his cow if he didn't start right away, but -Swatty said he didn't care if the old cow never got home. He said it -wouldn't hurt the old cow to wait a while, anyway. So we started to -paddle around the eddy again, and that time we got almost too far out, -I guess, and the end of the timber stuck out beyond the eddy into the -swift water. - -“Back her up! Quick!” Swatty yelled, and we both tried to back her with -our board paddles, but it was too late. The swift water caught her on -the side and swung her right out into the current. Gee, but she went! -Right away she was half a block away from Bony and I began to cry, for -there was no telling where she'd stop. You couldn't expect her to stop -this side of St. Louis or New Orleans. So I began to cry, and I stooped -down and hung onto the timber with both arms. It was all I could think -of to do. But Swatty let on he wasn't scared at all. He tried to paddle -toward shore, but there was so v much driftwood and stuff floating that -he couldn't do it. - -“Aw, shut up! Don't be a cry-baby!” he yelled at me. “This ain't -nothing. Grab your paddle, and we'll paddle out to the Tow Head and -we'll be all right.” - -The Tow Head is the big island in the river below town, but more to this -side of the river than to the other side. It is shaped like a horseshoe, -with the two ends down-stream. Me and Swatty knew it pretty well because -sometimes we used to row down there. It was all trees except a strip of -sand on each side, and in low water there used to be a sandbar below it. -It looked like a good idea to get to the Tow Head if we could; but I was -afraid to sit up so I just stayed the way I was. But Swatty paddled like -a good fellow. I guess the current helped him some. In low water there -are two channels, one on each side of the Tow Head, but when the river -is on a rampage it don't care anything about channels--it just goes. But -it kind of bends below town and I guess that helped Swatty. - -He kept yelling at me not to be a 'fraid-cat and to paddle, but I didn't -dare. So he paddled, and pretty soon I saw he was going to hit the Tow -Head all right. That made me feel better and I kind of raised up on -my hands and stopped crying, but when I looked I was scared worse than -ever. It looked as if the Tow Head was coming up-stream like a big -packet at full tilt. It didn't look as if we were floating down to -it, but as if it was tearing up-stream toward us, and it was coming -lickety-split. At its nose, where the water hit it, the river reared up -in a big yellow wave, like the bow wave of a ship, and was cut into foam -and spray where it hit the trees and then rushed away on either side -like mad. So I saw Swatty had made a mistake in trying to land on the -Tow Head. - -There wasn't really any Tow Head to land on. The river was way up in -the branches of the trees, and I guess the water was ten feet deep all -over the Tow Head, or deeper, and rushing through the trees like it was -crazy. But we didn't have time to think much about it. We just had time -to be scared, and to see the old Tow Head come rushing and foaming at -us, and then it sort of nabbed us, like a cat nabs a mouse. It was all a -big swosh of water noises and a big swosh of tree branches being slashed -by the water, and then me and Swatty was splashed all over, and the -bridge timber banged into two trees and stuck. Swatty went off the -timber like a stone out of a nigger-shooter, but I hung on. I've got -a black and blue spot inside my leg yet, where it hit the edge of the -timber. Right away the water began to surge over the timber like a giant -pushing against me, and I saw I couldn't hang on there very long, so I -reached up and grabbed a branch of one of the trees and hoisted myself -up and got up in the tree. And there was Swatty! He wasn't in my tree, -but he was in the tree next below mine. - -“Garsh!” he said, and that was all he said right then. So I began to -cry. It would make anybody cry to be there, up in a tree, with the whole -Mississippi River rushing along under him, so near he could stick his -toes down into it. It's an awful thing to think about. You can sit in a -tree and look at a creek run under you and you don't care, but when the -Mississippi is on a tear it is different. It's the biggest and strongest -thing in the world, and there was all of it rushing along right under -us, and the tree sort of waving back and forth. - -So I cried. - -“Aw, shut up!” Swatty said. “What are you crying about?” - -Well, I guess we were in a pretty bad fix--worse than we thought we -were. No boat there ever was could get at us where we were. No boat -could come at that Tow Head the way we did and last a minute, because -it would smash against the trees. And even if anybody knew where we were -they couldn't get to us. Even if the strongest men in town tried to -row a boat up-stream from below the Tow Head they couldn't get to us, -because they couldn't row among the trees on it. So I cried. - -“Shut up!” Swatty yelled at me. “Ain't it bad enough without you -bellering?” - -So there we were. - -When Bony saw us go out into the river he sat on his timber with his -mouth open, and he couldn't even holler--he was so scared--and then he -just paddled for shore and jumped off his timber and ran. He didn't know -where he was running--he was just running away from there. He was scared -stiff. When he come to, he was halfway home, and blubbering and panting, -and then he sat down on a horse block and didn't know what to do. He -thought we were drowned, sure. So he thought the best thing to do would -be to not say anything about it. He was afraid. First he thought he -would go home and act as if he had been at school and just stayed out -playing a while, and not do anything else about it and let folks find -out anyway they could; and then he thought that Mrs. Schwartz would miss -Swatty when it was time to fetch the cow, and that she would come over -to his house to see if Swatty was there, and he didn't know what else. -So he thought he would go over to Swatty's house first and sort of keep -Mrs. Schwartz from doing anything like that. So he went. He forgot he -was in his bare feet, or that he had ever had shoes and stockings. - -When he got to Swatty's house Mrs. Schwartz was on the front terrace -in her calico dress and with a birch switch in her hand, looking for -Swatty, because Swatty knew what time the cow ought to be fetched home. -Bony went up to the steps. - -“Do you want me to fetch the cow home, Mrs. Schwartz?” he asked. - -“What for should you fetch the cow home?” said Mrs. Schwartz, as angry -as could be. - -“I thought maybe Swatty was late, and I didn't want to keep you -waiting,” he said. - -“For why should you think he was late?” Mrs. Schwartz asked. She always -talked in a funny way, because she was German. - -“I thought maybe he was playing down at the river,” said Bony. “Lots of -boys were playing down there to-day.” - -“So!” said Mrs. Schwartz. “And he sends you home to get his cow, yes? He -could get his own cows. I wait for him.” - -So then Bony didn't know what to say. He stood around. And after a while -he said: - -“Maybe he won't come home to get the cows.” - -“What do you mean?” asked Mrs. Schwartz. “Maybe he's drowned,” said -Bony. “Maybe him and Georgie went down to the river and--and--” - -So then _he_ began to cry, and the first thing anybody knew he had me -and Swatty drowned and our bodies floating down to St. Louis or New -Orleans, and Mrs. Schwartz wringing her hands and hollering for Herb. So -Herb come out on the porch, and Bony told him me and Swatty had floated -away on a bridge timber and got drowned, and Herb got Mr. Schwartz out -of the house, and then he come over to my house to tell my father, -and my father and mother and Fan and all the Schwartzes and a lot -of neighbors all went running down to the levee, and took the Bony -Highlander with them to show them where we had got drowned from. So that -was why Bony didn't go home, and why he got licked when he did get home. - -By that time it wasn't dark but it was getting dark. Me and Swatty just -hung onto our trees, and that was all we could do; but all our folks and -most everybody in town got down to the levee, because Tim Mulligan at -the waterworks pump-house blew the alarm whistle. The firemen all came, -too, with their hose carts and ladder trucks, but most of the folks just -went around saying it was too bad, but that it was hopeless. Even the -mayor said it was hopeless. You see, nobody knew we were on Tow Head. -They thought we were drowned in the river, like Bony said. So there -wasn't anything to do, because it was too hopeless to do anything. The -only thing to do was to wait until the river fell, in a couple of weeks -or so, and then maybe they'd find what was left of me and Swatty -down-river, where we'd be washed up, if we ever was. - -Well, that was what everybody thought. My mother cried, and Mrs. -Schwartz cried, and I guess most of the women cried, and the men looked -mighty sober, and said what a pity it was so hopeless; but what could -they do? Everybody was sober or crying, I guess, except Fan, and I guess -she'd been so mad at Herb she just couldn't be anything but mad. She was -so full of mad that it had to come out, so while everybody was crying -and all she just flew up in the air and went over and gave Herb a good -raking. - -“Well!” she says. “And you call yourself a man! Do you mean to stand -around here like a bump on a log and do nothing?” she says. “I'm glad -I found out in time what a helpless ninny you are,” or something -like that. She gave it to him good, I tell you! “This trash,” she -says--meaning the mayor and the firemen and the city council and -everybody--“I don't expect anything else from, but I once thought you -had some gump.” Or something like that. So Herb got red. - -“Very well,” he says, like a man ready to jump off the high school roof, -“if you say so, I'll take a skiff and go out upon the river. You can't -call me a 'fraid-cat, Fan. You'll never call me that.” Or something like -that, he said. - -“Skiff indeed!” says Fan. “You'd have a nice picnic with a skiff, -wouldn't you? Have some sense, Herbert Schwartz. What good is that -ferryboat doing, tied up here?” - -Well, that was what they done. At first Captain Hewitt didn't want to -take the ferryboat out. He said it was hopeless, and that she was an -old rotten hull, and that a log would go through her like a needle, -and she'd sink, and she couldn't make headway up-stream against such a -flood, and a lot more, but with all the folks in town there he couldn't -keep that up long; so he went aboard and fired up, and sent up-town -for Jerry Mason, who was the regular fireman. By that time it was dark -enough for anybody, so Mr. Higgins, the steamboat agent, went and got -the two flambeaux he uses when steamboats unload at night, and everybody -that had a porch lantern with a reflector got that, and they put them -all on the ferryboat. Flambeaux are big iron baskets on iron poles, -and the poles are pointed at the bottom so they can be jabbed into the -ground or a floor or anything. You fill the baskets with tar and wood -and light them. So when that was all ready most of the firemen got -aboard with their hooks, off the hook and ladder trucks, and a lot of -other men got aboard with pike poles and grapple hooks, and Herb went -up in the pilot house with Captain Hewitt, and they set out to find our -bodies. - -But me and Swatty wasn't bodies yet, we was still folks. We were -feeling a little bit better, too, because Swatty found out that the tree -he was in was a slippery elm tree, and he peeled off some slippery elm -bark and chewed it, and he tossed some over to me, and I chewed that. -So we wondered how long a fellow could live on slippery elm bark, and if -Swatty would have the tree peeled clean before the river went down. If -he did we'd starve to death; but Swatty said that, as the water went -down, more and more of the tree trunk would be above water and we -could peel it and eat it. So we both felt better, only there was a dead -something had caught in the tree branches and when the wind changed it -didn't smell very good. It smelled worse than that, even. So about then -we began to see the lights come out on shore, and pretty soon we saw -the big, smoky light the flambeaux made. We thought it was a bonfire on -shore up at town. - -Well, I guess we'd have been bodies before anybody got to us, anyway, -if we hadn't had some bad luck. Me and Swatty was there in our trees -chewing away at slippery elm when all at once something big and black -come slamming down onto the point of the Tow Head. It looked like a -house, but I guess it was only a cow shed or something like that, that -had got floated off the river bottoms by the flood. It came all of a -sudden, and before we knew what had happened it hit the Tow Head point -and banged into the tree I was on, and the water began to rush over -it, and then all at once the tree I was on began to give. It began to -topple. It went slow at first and then it went quicker, and it fell over -against the tree Swatty was in, and the shed came bumping after it, and -then Swatty's tree keeled over, too, and me and Swatty went down under, -and the shed come grating over us--right over our heads and pushing our -trees down into the water. - -All I ever knew was that the next thing I knew I was slammed up against -the side of the shed by the water and pushed against it like a big hand -was pushing me, and I was fighting to get more out of the water, and -then the shed sort of melted and went to pieces and I was holding onto a -board and going down with the current between the trees of the Tow Head. -Sometimes the board hit a tree, and sometimes it didn't, but I thought -I was all over with, anyway, and then right ahead of me I saw the water -rushing and roaring up against something. - -I didn't know what it was, but it was a log raft the mill folks had put -in behind the Tow Head so it wouldn't get washed away. It was in the -inside of the horseshoe, and all across the front of it was driftwood -and trash and old boards and everything, and that was what the water was -splashing against, and before I knew it I was slammed up against it--me -and my board. And what I slammed up against was the bridge timber I had -been on before, or one like it. If I had slammed up against where it was -just bark and driftwood I would have clawed at it a while and then gone -under, I guess; but I crawled onto the timber and just lay there and -tried to get the water out of my nose. It looked like half a mile of -driftwood was jammed in between me and the log raft--jammed in and -pushed together the way a flood can jam it and push it. - -Well, that timber wasn't any place to be. The water rushed against it -and over it, so I was getting ducked all the time, and I put out my hand -and tried the drift stuff, but it didn't seem like it would hold me up, -but there was one board that was on top of the stuff, and I tried that. -I slid over onto it and it seemed all right, so I edged along it, and -when I got to the end of the board the drift stuff seemed firmer and -I got on my stomach and edged out onto it. It was firm enough, but not -very firm, but on my stomach that way I covered a good deal of it at a -time, and I sort of wiggled along, and the more I wiggled the firmer it -got. It had to, with all the river pushing it, and the driftwood back of -it pushing too. - -So it took me about an hour to get to the log raft, and when I got to -the edge logs, that are chained together, I was all scratched and sore -and I just sat down and cried, because I knew Swatty was dead. - -And all at once he said, “Hello, Georgie!” and there he was, crawling -along the logs toward me. He said he went under when the tree fell over, -and that he went under all the driftwood and come up through a hole -in the raft. Maybe he did. There were holes enough in the raft. But I -didn't get there that way. - -Anyway, there he was, and that made me feel a lot better, and we crawled -around the edge of the raft, because we wanted to get to the lower side. - -Swatty said maybe we could push a log under the outside chain of logs -and paddle to shore on it, but I wasn't going to do it. Only I wanted -to see him do it if he did it. So we got to the lower edge of the raft, -where it stuck out below the Tow Head, and just then along came the -ferryboat. She was back-paddling and going as slow as she could, and she -looked like an excursion with all the porch lamps and the flambeaux. -So me and Swatty hollered, but I guess they saw us before we hollered. -Everybody came over on our side and that tipped the ferry over a little, -and a lot of the men threw ropes at us and held out their pike poles, -and me and Swatty grabbed them and they yanked us aboard. So then she -whistled five times and waited and whistled five times again, and so on, -because that was the signal they was to make if they found our bodies, -and they had found them, but they were alive yet. So then Herb made the -captain whistle long and steady without stopping, so maybe they'd know -we were alive yet. But nobody knew it, because nobody thought we would -be. - -Well, the old ferry let out so much steam whistling she couldn't go -up-stream. I guess she couldn't anyway. So they ran her into the shore -just where she was and tied her to a big tree, and when we got to the -road there was Mother and Father and Mr. and Mrs. Schwartz in a livery -rig, because they had followed the boat all the way down. And Fan was -in the rig, too. So they all pawed me and Swatty over and saw how bad we -was scratched and all, and said we was suffering from exhaustion, but we -wasn't. We was only played out. - -So then Herbert said, “All right!” and started to go away, and Fan said, -“Herbert!” - -“What is it?” he said. - -“I want you to ride up-town with us,” she said. - -“No,” he said, “I'll go back and help Captain Hewitt get the boat in -shape. I guess I've done enough to show you I 've some gump.” - -“But I _want_ you to come,” Fan says. “I want to talk to you.” - -So he came. Him and Fan sat on the front seat and drove and talked, and -I guess their talk was all right, because they fixed everything up. And -that was where Miss Murphy got left. Just because she wanted to lick -Swatty she lost her beau. That's why I say I guess if teachers always -knew how their lickings were going to turn out they wouldn't lick us -fellows so much. Not when the fellow is the brother of their beau, -anyway. - - - - -II. MAMIE'S FATHER - -I guess this is a good time to tell about Mamie Little, because now you -know who me and Swatty and Bony are. Mamie Little was my girl, only she -didn't know it. Nobody knew it but me. It was a secret I had. That's -the way a fellow has a girl at first: she's a secret and she don't know -she's his girl. Sometimes she don't never get to know it and the fellow -has to get another girl. But while he “has” her the fellow knows it, and -it makes him feel bashful and uncomfortable and frightened when she is -near by and it is pretty bully. - -The reason I picked out Mamie Little for my girl was because she had -the nicest eyes and nicest hair of any girl I ever saw and the way she -swished her dress when she walked. She lived across the street from my -house and mostly played with my sister Lucy. So when I played with -Lucy I could play with Mamie Little, too, and nobody would think it was -because she was my girl. They would think I was just playing with my -sister. - -Mamie Little had been my girl a good while like that, with nobody -knowing it but me, and I guessed that pretty soon it would be time for -me to fight Swatty or somebody about her and have her for my real girl, -if she didn't mind; but just then Toady Williams came to town and he -picked out Mamie Little to be his girl and didn't care who knew it. And -Mamie Little didn't care who knew it. - -Toady was a new kid in town, because his father had come to Riverbank -to start a store. We never said Toady could be one of our crowd and we -never wanted him to be, but he just joined on because he felt like it. -That's the kind of boy he was. He thought anybody would be tickled to -death to have him be around with them. He wasn't a fat boy, but he was -a plump one, and his breeches always fit him so close they were like -the skin on a horse; when he wrinkled they wrinkled. He wore shoes in -summer. He looked all the time like company come to visit, and I guess -that was one reason we didn't care for him much. - -The reason we called him Toady was because of his eyes. They popped out -like a frog's eyes, sort of like brown marbles, and the more he talked -the more they popped out. When he talked he couldn't do anything else -but talk. Swatty could lie on his stomach and chew an apple and play -mumblety-peg and kick a hole in the sod with one toe and talk, all at -one time, but Toady couldn't. He had to sit up straight and pop his eyes -out. When he got started talking you could cut in and say, “Was your -grandmother a monkey?” and he'd say, “Yes,” as if he hadn't heard, -and go right on talking. He wouldn't fight, like me and Swatty, and -sometimes Bony, would. If you thought it was time to have a fight with -him and pitched into him he would bend down and turn his back and let -you mailer him until you got through. But, mostly, he would talk somehow -so you wouldn't want to fight him. That's no way for a boy to talk. It's -the way girls talk. Or preachers. - -Toady didn't get Mamie Little for his girl the right way. He never said -she _wasn't_ his girl, he just said she _was_. The right way is that -when the other fellows find out he has a girl they holler at him: “Mamie -Little is Georgie's girl! Mamie Little is Georgie's girl!” And he has -to get mad and fight them about it to prove it's a lie, but after he has -fought enough to prove she isn't his girl, why, then she is his girl -and he can have her for his girl and nobody hollers it at him. So -then she is the one he chooses to kiss when they play “Post-Office” or -“Copenhagen” at parties, and if he's got anything to give her he gives -it to her, like snail shells or a better slate pencil than she has, and -such things. So it's pretty nice, and you feel pretty good about it and -are glad she's your girl. - -Well, a short while before Toady Williams came to our town they had an -election to see whether the state was to be prohibition or not, and all -the school children whose fathers were prohibition paraded; so Mamie -Little paraded because her father had the prohibition newspaper in -Riverbank, and I paraded because Mamie did and my father didn't care -whether there was prohibition or not. Swatty didn't parade because his -father was a German tailor, and when he felt like a glass of beer he -wanted to have it, and every fall Swatty's mother made grape wine out of -wild grapes that me and Swatty got from the vines in the bottom across -the Mississippi. When they had the election, prohibition was elected all -over the state, but not in Riverbank; but we had to have it in Riverbank -because the state elected it. - -Of course I was prohibition, because I had paraded and because Mamie -Little was, but Swatty was antiprohibition. I didn't say a thing to make -Swatty mad; all I said was: “Huh! You thought you was so smart, didn't -you? You thought prohibition was going to get licked, but it was you -got licked. Next time you won't be so smart. I guess you and your father -feel pretty sick about it.” - -“Don't you say anything about my father!” Swatty said. - -“I'll say he was licked, because he was licked,” I said. - -So Swatty pulled off his coat and I pulled off mine, and we had a good -fight. He licked me because he always did; and when he was sitting on my -ribs and had his knees on my arms so I couldn't do anything, he asked me -if I had had enough, and I said I had. Because I had had. - -“I guess I showed you how much the prohibitions can lick the -anti-prohibitions!” he said. - -“Let me up,” I said. - -“Are you prohibition?” he asked. - -I said, “Yes, I am.” - -“All right!” he said, and he put his hand on my nose and pushed. He -pushed my nose right into my face. I never had anything hurt like that -did. I yelled, it hurt so much. I told him to stop. - -“All right,” he said, “if I stop what are you?” - -I knew what he meant. He had already got me from being a Republican -to being a Democrat that way once before. I wasn't thinking of Mamie -Little; I was thinking of my nose. So I said: - -“I'm an anti-prohibition. Now let me up. You 've busted my nose and some -of my ribs, and I want to put some plantain on my eye before it swells -up.” - -We felt of my ribs and couldn't find that any seemed busted, and my nose -stopped hurting and came back into shape, so me and Swatty were -better friends than we had ever been, because we were now both -anti-prohibitions. We went around and made a lot of prohibitions into -anti-prohibitions because Swatty showed me how to push a nose the way he -pushed mine. But it didn't do much good, I guess. The election was over -and, anyway, there were always more anti-prohibitions in Riverbank than -there were prohibitions. - -It was almost right away after that that me and Swatty and Bony met -Mamie Little and Lucy one Saturday afternoon. Lucy is my sister, and -they were going down-town. Me and Swatty and Bony were sitting on the -curb telling whoppers; or I guess Swatty and Bony were, I was just -telling some things that had happened to me sometime that I'd forgot -until I happened to think them up just then. - -Swatty was telling how he went up to Derlingport and his uncle -introduced him to the man that had the government job of making up new -swear words, when Mamie and Lucy came along. I said: - -“Where are you going?” - -“Down-town,” Lucy said. - -“Did Mother give you a nickel?” I asked, and I was sort of mad, because -Mother owed me a nickel and hadn't paid me, because she said she didn't -have one, and if she gave one to Lucy, why, all right for Mother! - -“No, she didn't give me a nickel, Mr. Smarty!” Lucy said. “If you want -to know so much, we're going down to Mr. Schwartz's shop to see if he'll -let Mamie have a father.” - -I guess that would sound pretty funny if you didn't know what she meant. -It was paper dolls. - -Girls always play paper dolls, I guess; so Mamie and Lucy and all the -girls played them; they got them out of the colored fashion plates in -the magazines--brides and mothers and sons and daughters. - -The trouble was that a good family has to have anyway one father in it, -and the magazines didn't have colored fashion plates of fathers. They -didn't have any fathers at all. - -Some of the girls drew fathers on paper and painted them, but they -looked pretty sick. I guess all the girls were jealous of Lucy because -she was kind of Swatty's girl, and Swatty sort of borrowed an old -colored tailor fashion plate out of his father's store and gave it to -Lucy. So Lucy had the only real fathers that any of the girls had. She -gave Mamie a couple of fathers out of the fashion plate, but they were -the ones that had been standing partly behind other fathers and had -mostly only one leg, or pieces cut out of their sides or something. They -didn't make Mamie real happy, I guess, so she thought she'd try to -get some good fathers. They were going down to ask Mr. Schwartz for a -fashion plate. - -Swatty was frightened right away, because he hadn't asked his father if -he could have the old fashion plate but had just sort of borrowed it. So -he said: - -“What are you going to ask my father?” - -“I'm going to tell him he gave you one for me,” Lucy said, “and I'm -going to ask him if he'll give me one for Mamie.” - -So then Swatty was scared. - -“No, don't do it!” he said. - -“I will, too, do it!” Lucy answered back. “I guess I know your father, -and I guess my father buys clothes of him, and I guess we take milk of -your mother, and I guess I will, too, ask him if I want to!” - -Well, Swatty couldn't answer back because he had Lucy for his secret -girl like I had Mamie Little. - -So I got up and stood in front of Lucy and pushed her a little, because -she wasn't my girl but only my sister, and I said: - -“You will not do it. You go home!” - -“You stop pushing me! I won't go home.” - -“Yes, you will, when I say so!” I said. - -I was going to tell her that as soon as there were any more old fashion -plates at Swatty's father's, Swatty would swi--would get one for Mamie, -but Lucy got mad because I just took hold of her arm too hard between my -thumb and finger. She said I pinched her, but I did not; I just sort of -took hold of her that way. She ran back a way and stuck out her tongue -at me. - -“Now, just for that, Mr. Smarty,” she yelled, “I'm going to tell Mamie -on you!” - -“You just dare!” I started for her, but she skipped off. - -“Mamie,” she shouted, “you'll be mad when I tell you! Georgie Porgie -is an anti-prohibition!” Mamie just stood and looked at me, because I'd -said I'd always be a prohibition. - -“Are you?” she asked. - -If Swatty hadn't been right there I would have changed back to a -prohibition again and it would have been all right, but he was there and -I wasn't going to have him think I would change just on account of a -girl. So I said: - -“Uh, huh!” - -“All right for you, Mr. Georgie! You needn't ever speak to me again as -long as you live!” she said. - -I felt pretty cheap. I tried to say something, and I couldn't think of -anything to say, so I made a face at her and she made one at me, and -then we were mad at each other and she went away. She went toward -down-town, and Lucy skipped across the street and ran and went with her. -And that was one reason Mamie was glad that Toady Williams had her for -his girl when he came to town. She guessed I did not like it. And I -didn't. - -Mr. Schwartz said Mamie could have the fashion plate as soon as he was -through with it, which would be at the end of the season when he got a -new one. Lucy let me know that, all right! I guess it was on account -of Lucy he promised to let Mamie have the fashion plate, because he was -awful fond of Lucy. - -Anyway, Mamie was mighty pleased to know she was going to have a good -father. - -When she played paper dolls with Lucy I used to sort of go over where -they were and maybe stand there to see if Mamie was mad at me still. -About all she said was how glad she'd be when she had a good father. I -guess I heard her say it a hundred times, but she never let on she knew -I was there at all. Sometimes I'd sort of drop an apple or something -so it would fall where she could reach it, but she never paid any -attention. The most she would do would be to pick up a one-legged father -and say: - -“'Where are you going, Mr. Reginald de Vere?' 'I'm going down-town to -vote a while if you do not need me to take care of the baby.' 'Not at -all, but I do hope you will show folks you are a prohibition. -If I ever heard you were an anti-prohibition I would cut you up into -mincemeat.'” - -So then I most generally went away. - -I got kind of sick of girls. I made up my mind they were no good anyway, -and that I'd never have another one if I lived to be a million years -old, and when I wrote notes to Mamie in school it wasn't any use -because she always tore them up without reading them. It made me feel -awful to have her so mean. Because she wasn't mean to Toady. - -Well, it came to examination time and we began to be examined. Swatty -and Bony and I didn't have to be examined in arithmetic until Thursday -afternoon and neither did Lucy or Mamie, so Swatty and Bony and I -thought we might as well go fishing that morning. We got our poles and -some bait and started, and we went down Third Street and when we came to -the railway track we cut across through Burman's lumber yard toward the -river because that was the quickest way. - -Burman's sawmill was the biggest one in Riverbank then. I guess you know -how big those sawmills were. Great big red buildings with gravel roofs -where they sawed the logs that came down the river in rafts, and where -they made shingles, and the row of sheds where they dried the lumber -with steam, and another big one where the planers were. There were -hundreds and hundreds of piles of lumber, each one as tall as a house, -and all the ground was made of sawdust and rattlings, because it was -filled ground. - -There were railway sidings here, and there were flat cars and box cars -being loaded. - -Burman's sawmill and lumber yards were just under the bluff. Once there -had been a brickyard there, and the bluff was cut down steep where -they had dug clay. Across the street there was still a brickyard, with -hundreds and hundreds of cords of wood, ready to be used to burn brick, -and with the kilns loosely roofed over. Back toward the town was a sash -and door factory, a pretty big building, and then some houses, and -then the stores began. About the fifth store on one side was Swatty's -father's tailor shop. It was a building all by itself, and it was one -story high and frame, and it had a false front above the first story, -with Swatty's father's name on it, and there was one window on the -street. - -Well, Swatty and Bony and me went through the lumber yard to the place -where Burman's oil shed was. - -The oil shed was right up against the bluff, almost at the railway, -and it was up on stakes, so that it was safer. It was about as big as a -kitchen, and was painted red and the floor and part of the and part of -the stakes were soaked with oil, and the grass underneath was withered -and oily because the oil had dripped and killed it. - -Just as we got there we saw Slim Finnegan, who was in our class at -school but ever so much older than we were, and he was under the oil -shed smoking a corncob pipe. His coat was on the grass beside him, and -just as we got there he jumped up and began slamming at the grass with -his coat, for the grass was afire. Before we could guess what happened, -the flames seemed to run up the stakes like live animals, and all at -once the whole bottom of the floor of the oil shed was afire. - -Slim Finnegan gave one look at it, and tucked his coat under his arm and -ran. There were piles and piles of lumber right there and he jumped in -among them, and I guess he hid. We didn't see him any more. - -Swatty ran for the sawmill. He shouted to the first man he saw before he -was halfway to the sawmill, and the man hollered “Fire!” and ran for a -hose wagon they had under a shed and began jerking it out, and Swatty -ran on, shouting “Fire!” - -It wasn't a second before all the men began piling out of the sawmill -and came running from the lumber yards, and the mill whistle began -blowing as hard as it could. It almost made you deaf when you were that -close. Right away the whole place seemed to fill up with men, and they -all had axes or hooks or whatever they ought to have had. - -The mill whistle kept blowing without stopping, and in a minute the -whistle on the sash and door factory joined in, and then the regular -fire whistle on the waterworks started up. The oil house was just one -big red flame that went up in the air and turned into the blackest kind -of smoke. We saw the men with the mill's hose trying to throw water on -the oil house, and every one was shouting at the tops of their voices. -We saw men on top of the nearest lumber piles, but almost as soon as we -saw them we saw them dodge away and climb down as quick as they could, -and the next minute those lumber piles were afire on one side. They were -red flames, and they climbed right up the sides of the piles and waved -at the top. - -Me and Swatty and Bony kept backing down the railway track as the fire -got too hot for us. There were hundreds of people, but there were more -than that in other parts of the neighborhood. Almost everybody in town -came to the fire, because by this time dozens of lumber piles were -afire, and the sawmill had set fire to the dry-sheds and the planer. You -couldn't see the bluff at all, because there was just one big wall of -flame in front of it. Whole boards went sailing right up into the air, -burning as they went, and the blue smoke that blew over the town was -full of pine cinders and burning pieces of wood. There never was such a -fire in Riverbank. The ground seemed to burn, too, and it did, because it -was sawdust and rattlings. - -The brickyard burned--everything that could burn--and the bluff of yellow -clay, there and beside the sawmill, was burned red, like brick--and the -flat cars and the box cars all burned. It was an awful fire! Wet lumber -in the newest piles burned as if it was dry. The railway bridge and two -other bridges burned. At noon it was like evening, because the smoke hid -the sun. - -Me and Swatty and Bony kept backing away as the fire came toward us. -Sometimes we would turn, and run. We backed away as far as ten city -blocks would be, I guess, before we were where we did not have to back -away any more. We forgot all about school, and about fishing, and about -everything. It was the kind of fire where nobody thinks of going home -until it is all over. - -It was about two o'clock when the people in front and the firemen in -front of them gave a sort of roar, as if they were a lot of animals, and -everybody crowded back. The firemen on top of the sash and door factory -ran from one edge of the roof to the other, looking down. Two of them -jumped off. They were killed, but the others got down the ladders, -and the next minute the factory and its oil house were all afire at -once--just sort of spouted fire from all the windows as if the fire had -been all fixed to break out that way. - -Before you could turn around and then look back, the sash and door -factory was one big, hot flame, and then the houses began to go. First -one and then another caught fire. - -We got crowded back until we were in the street right opposite to -Swatty's father's tailor shop, and Swatty's father was on the front step -of it shaking his hands in the air and shouting like a crazy man, but -nobody paid any attention to him. He was a little man and he had gray -hair, but he was mostly bald. He didn't have a hat on and he looked -pretty crazy standing there and shouting. - -Well, we didn't know until afterward what he was shouting about, but I -know now, so I might as well tell it. There was a cellar under his shop -and it was full of barrels of whiskey. When prohibition was elected the -saloons thought they would have to stop for a while and that then they -could go ahead again, so they hunted for some place to hide the whiskey -they owned, where it would be safe for a while, and Mr. Schwartz's -cellar was one of the places they hid it in. What Swatty's father was -trying to shout was that if his shop caught fire all the whiskey in the -cellar might explode and the people standing around might be killed and -the whole town burn up. I don't wonder he was sort of crazy about it. I -guess Swatty felt sort of ashamed that his father was acting so crazy. - -So then the house next to Swatty's father's shop caught fire, and the -next minute the side of Swatty's father's shop began to smoke. - -The policemen were sort of crowding us back all the time, but we would -n't go back much, and all at once Mamie Little started out of the crowd -and began to run toward Swatty's father's shop. But when she was halfway -there the fire marshal just caught her by the arm and gave her a sort of -twist and slung her back, and then the policeman nearest us caught her -and jammed her back against me and Swatty. She was crying all the time; -she kept moaning, “My father! My father!” - -So just then Swatty's father ran out and grabbed the fire marshal by the -arm and talked to him in German, because they were both German, and the -fire marshal ran toward his firemen and shouted through his trumpet, and -all the firemen up the street came running back, dragging all their hose -and all shouting. - -It was all wild and sort of crazy, and suddenly the fire marshal ran -back to where the firemen were tugging at the heavy hose and shouting, -and four firemen who were holding on to a nozzle pointed the stream into -the air. It was worse than any rain you ever saw. It was just “whoosh!” - and we were all soaked. So all the crowd hollered and screamed, and we -all turned and ran, and all I knew was that I had hold of Mamie Little's -hand and was helping her run. I was awful sorry for her because she was -crying and her father was going to burn. - -So Swatty said: “What's she crying for? Why don't she shut up?” - -He meant Mamie Little. So I said: - -“She can cry if she wants to! I'd like to see you try to stop her! She's -crying because your father gave her his fashion plate and it's going to -be burned up, and if you say much I'll lick you!” - -So Swatty said: “If that's all she's crying for, come on. We'll get her -old fashion plate for her.” So I said to Mamie Little: “Stop being a -baby and shut up, and we'll get your old fashion plate for you.” - -Swatty just cut in through the crowd, and me and Bony followed after -him. He went up the side street, and we climbed over the fence into -the yard of the corner house and cut across that yard and over another -fence. That way we got to the back of Swatty's father's shop without any -one stopping us. Bony kind of kept behind us. - -It was mighty hot, because the house next door was all afire, but the -firemen were keeping all their hose on the side of Swatty's father's -shop, trying to keep it from burning. We crouched down and kept our -backs to the fire so the heat wouldn't shrivel us, and we got to -the back door and it wasn't locked. We went in. It was hot--like an -oven--inside, and the noise of all the water on the side of the house -was like thunder, only louder. The inside of the shop was like under -a waterfall. You wouldn't think anything so wet could burn, but it did. -Before we were halfway to the front window the fire began to eat into -the shop along the floor. The water on that side just turned to steam -and dried as fast as it ran down. - -Bony began to cry, but we hadn't any time to stop. Swatty took him _by_ -the hand and jerked him along, and we got to the window and I grabbed -the fashion plate. Then we couldn't go back because the shop was mostly -afire and we would have been burned up. So then Bony got real scared and -ran to the front door and threw it open, and a stream from a hose -caught him and sent him head over heels back into the shop where it was -burning; he was knocked unconscious because his head hit a table leg. - -So I didn't know what to do. I guess I began to cry. I crouched down -in the window because I couldn't get out at the door on account of the -stream of water that was coming in there a hundred miles a minute, and -I couldn't go back because the back of the shop was all afire now. But -Swatty crawled on his hands and knees under the table where Bony was, -where the fire was beginning to burn harder, and he grabbed Bony and -yanked him along the floor back to the window. I guess I helped him jerk -Bony onto the window shelf, but just then another stream of water busted -the window in. The glass fell all around us and one piece cut Swatty on -the hand, but he only said, “Jump! Jump!” - -Maybe we would have jumped, but we didn't. The firemen had got to the -back of the building and had turned the hose in at the back window, and -just when Swatty said, “Jump!” the stream of water hit us like a board. -It took us as if we were pieces of paper and slammed us out of the -broken window and halfway across the street, and threw us head over -heels in the mud, and the fashion plate, with Mamie Little's father, -came flying with us. - -[Illustration: 66] - -So I crawled over to where the fashion plate was and took hold of it and -began to drag it to where Mamie Little was. A policeman came and took me -by the shoulder and lifted me up, but I couldn't stand, and that was the -first I knew my ankle was sprained. But Swatty got up himself and sassed -the policeman that came to get him. He told him he had a right to go -into his father's own shop if he wanted to, and that if the policeman -said much more he would go back again. - -I guess the whiskey exploded all right. Three more houses burned before -they stopped the fire, but we didn't see that because Bony ran all the -way home, and somebody carried me to a wagon, and drove home with me, -and Swatty's father got him and took him up the main street and waled -him on the hotel corner with a half-burned shingle that had blown from -the lumber fire. - -The next day my ankle hurt pretty bad and I stayed in bed with linament -on it and after school Lucy came up to see me. “Come on up in my room -and play,” I told her. - -“No,” she said, “I don't want to. I want to go down and play with Mamie -Little; we're playing paper dolls. We're having lots of fun.” - -“Ho!” I said. “Paper dolls! They're no fun.” - -“They are, too,” Lucy said. “And we've got to cut out Mamie's fathers. -She's got a whole fashion plate full.” - -“Where'd she get them?” I asked, because I guessed right away what -fashion plate it was. - -“Why, Toady Williams gave them to her,” Lucy said. “He got them out of -the fire or somewhere and gave them to her. He's helping us cut them -out.” - -Gee! I felt sore! - - - - -III. THE “DIVORCE” - -After I got out of bed and went back to school I fought Toady Williams -a couple of times, but it wasn't much good because he wouldn't fight -back. All the good it did was to make Mamie Little tell Lucy I was a -mean, bad boy and that she would never speak to me again as long as she -lived. Once I almost told her that it was me that got the father fashion -plate out of the fire and that Toady Williams didn't do anything but -pick it up out of the mud after I had got it for her, but I didn't tell -her because then she would have thought I was sweet on her. That _would_ -have made me feel cheap. - -It made me feel pretty mean, just the same, to see the way Toady -Williams was playing with her all the time, when I had picked her out to -be my secret girl. He gave her pencils and apples and everything and -I guess she liked it. I wished I was grown up, so I could ride up on a -bucking bronco and sling a lasso over Toady's head and jerk him into -the dust. Then Mamie Little would say, “Hello, Georgie! Can I get up -and ride behind you over the wild plains, because I don't want to have -anything more to do with a 'fraidy-cat like Toady.” - -But it didn't seem as if anything like that was going to happen. Not for -years, anyway. - -One day Swatty came over to my yard and he said, “Say!” so I said, “Say -what?” and he said, “Say, you know Herb's tricycle?” and I said I did. -Herb was Swatty's brother that wanted to marry my sister Fan and he -had got the tricycle a couple of years ago, when all the bicycles were -high-wheel bicycles. He had got it for him and Fan to ride on, and -it was a two-seat one--side-by-side seats--and after a few times Fan -wouldn't ride on it because it made her as conspicuous as a pig on a -flagpole. So Herb rode on it alone some, and with some other fellow -some, but mostly he kept it chained up in Swatty's barn and said he -would scalp Swatty and skin him alive if Swatty ever touched it. - -So this day Swatty came over and he said, “What do you think!” because -Herb said when he was married to Fan, Swatty could have the tricycle. -You bet Swatty was tickled. So I asked him who would ride on it with -him. - -“Well--you will,” he said. “And Bony. That's when I ain't taking -somebody else.” - -He didn't say who else, but I knew, because I knew Swatty was having my -sister Lucy for his secret girl. - -“And part of the time,” I said, “I can have it alone, can't I, Swatty?” - -“It's my tricycle--” he started to say. - -“It ain't yet,” I told him, “and I guess if I go to work good and plenty -it never will be, because if I want to I can think up how to make Fan -mad at Herb again and then you wouldn't get it. And, anyway, if Lucy went -to ride on it she might fall off and get hurt, so I guess I'd tell my -mother not to let Lucy ride on it. Unless I could take it sometimes and -find out that it was safe.” - -Because I guessed that if Mamie Little had a chance to ride on that -tricycle with me she'd be pretty sick of that fat, old Toady Williams -mighty quick. So me and Swatty fixed it up that way, that I was to have -the tricycle part of the time and he was to have it part of the time. -The only thing was to get Herb and Fan married off as soon as we could, -and to look out that nothing turned up to scare them away from each -other again like that Miss Murphy fuss did. It wasn't going to take -much to scare Herb away. I knew that. - -Well, I guess grown folks don't care whether they have a divorce or not, -because they are always having them and so maybe they get used to having -them and don't think much about it and are not ashamed to have them, -but I guess a kid is always kind of ashamed when his folks get them. We -never had one in our family but we had babies and I guess a kid feels -about the same way when there is a divorce in his family as he does -when there is a baby. It makes him feel pretty sick and ashamed and -miserable. It ain't his fault but he feels like it was. He goes out the -back gate and sneaks to school through the alley and when a kid sees him -the kid says: “Ho! you had a baby at your house,” and the kid that had -the baby come to his house wishes he could sneak into a crack in the -sidewalk or die or something. - -I guess that's the way it is when you have a divorce at your house. It -ain't your fault but you feel like it was and you don't have any of the -fun of fighting and getting the divorce, like your folks do; you just -have the feel-miserable part. - -So one day about when the river began to fall again, only it was still -mighty high, me and Swatty and Bony went up to Bony's room in Bony's -house. It was muddy weather, in June, and I guess we had been wading -in the mud or something so we knew Bony's mother wouldn't let us go -upstairs to his room unless we washed our feet first, unless we sneaked -it. So we sneaked it. - -The reason we went up was so Bony could prove it that the Victor bicycle -his father might maybe buy for him weighed only forty-five pounds. He -had a catalogue to prove it with but it was up in his room, so we went -up to get it. It proved it, all right. Swatty said that was pretty light -for a bicycle to weigh, and I said it, too. So then we said a lot of -more things about a lot of other things but mostly we talked about the -bicycle, because Bony was going to let me and Swatty learn to ride on it -if he got it. Swatty bet he could get right on it and ride right off -as slick as a whistle because he had an uncle in Derlingport that had -a dozen bicycles. So then Bony said he'd like to know why, if Swatty's -uncle had that many, he didn't send Swatty one, and Swatty said maybe he -would. We just kind of talked and let the mud dry on our feet and crack -off onto the floor. - -Well, in the floor in one place there was a hole and Bony showed us -how he could look through it down into the dining-room and see what -his mother was putting on the table for dinner whenever she was putting -anything on. The hole was about as big around as a stovepipe and it had -a tin business in it to keep the floor from catching afire because that -was where the stovepipe from the dining-room stove came up through the -floor to go into a drum to help heat Bony's room when it was winter. So -we all looked down into Bony's stovepipe hole to see if it was like he -said. And it was. - -Just then Bony's father came into the diningroom. He had his hat on -but it wasn't time for dinner or anything and he didn't come into the -dining-room as if he was coming for dinner. He came in fast and threw -his hat on the floor and pounded on the table twice with his fist. The -dishes jumped and a milk pitcher fell over on its side and spilled the -milk. - -“Mary! Mary!” he shouted. - -So Bony's mother came in from the kitchen. “Why, Henry!” she said; -“what's the matter?” - -“Matter? Matter?” he shouted. “I'll tell you what's the matter! I'll -show you what's the matter! Look at this! Look at this, will you!” - -Me and Swatty looked but Bony kind of drew back from the hole and his -mother didn't look. I guess she didn't have to. I guess she knew what it -was without looking. It was a bill, all right. Me and Swatty could see -that but we didn't know what it was for--whether it was for a hat or a -dress or what. So Bony's father threw the bill on the table and stood -with one fist on the edge of the table and the other fist opening and -shutting. Bony's mother had been paring potatoes or something, I guess. -She wiped her hands on her apron but she didn't pick up the bill. - -“Well?” she said. - -“Of all the useless, idiotic, ill-timed, outrageous, unheard-of -extravagance ever incurred by any brainless, gad-about, senseless, vain -peacock of a woman--” Bony's father said. - -“Henry! Stop right there!” Bony's mother said. “This time I will -not listen to your abuse. Year after year I have put up with this -browbeating. I go in rags, and if I so much as buy--” - -“Rags!” Bony's father shouted. “Rags! You in rags? You dare taunt -me with that, when you crowd enough on your back to support a dozen -families? Rags? When from year's end to year's end I do nothing but -struggle to pay your eternal bills!” Well, maybe I haven't got what -Bony's father and mother said just the way they said it, but it was like -that. So they had a good start and they went right on and pretty -soon Bony's father was walking up and down the room, talking loud -and pounding the table every time he passed it, and Bony's mother was -sitting with a corner of her apron in each hand and the hands pressed to -her cheeks. Her eyes were big and scary. So then Bony's father stopped -in front of her and said a lot and she didn't talk back. So that made -him mad and he took the tablecloth and jerked it and all the dishes fell -on the floor and broke. - -Bony just went to the bed and lay on his face and squeezed his hands -into his ears. I guess he felt pretty mean. He was crying, but we didn't -know that then. We found it out afterward. - -So then, when all the dishes broke, Bony's mother sort of yelled and -jumped up. Swatty said: - -“Garsh! What's she going to do?” - -But she didn't do anything like we thought she was going to. She bent -down and picked up a dish that wasn't all smashed to pieces and put -it on the table as easy as could be and then she untied her apron and -folded it up and laid it over the back of a chair as neat as a pin. She -looked at herself in the mirror in the sideboard and then walked around -Bony's father and went toward the door into the hall. - -“Where are you going?” Bony's father asked. - -“Going?” she said, or something like that. “I'm going to see if I can't -put a stop to this sort of thing. I have had enough years of it. I'm -going to see Mr. Rascop.” - -Well, we knew who he was; he was a lawyer. - -“Very well,” said Bony's father, “go! I assure you you cannot get a -divorce too quickly to suit me!” - -I guess that when the loud noise stopped Bony thought the fight was over -and listened again. Anyway he was listening now and he heard what they -said. - -“I thought that,” said Bony's mother. “This is not the first time, by -many, that I have thought it. You will be glad to be rid of me and I -of you. My mother will be glad enough to have me with her. I shall, of -course, take the boy.” - -“As you like!” said Bony's father. - -“The boy” was Bony, so he began to blubber worse than ever. He was -pretty much ashamed and when his folks began to talk quiet-like, without -shouting, me and Swatty began to be ashamed, too. We felt the way you -feel when there's just been a baby at your house--as if we hadn't ought -to be there. So Swatty picked up his hat. - -“Come on!” he said. “Let's go. It ain't no fun up here in Bony's room.” - -“Wait!” Bony whispered, like he was scared to be left there alone, so we -waited. He came along with us. - -We tiptoed downstairs and outdoors and I tell you it was good to get -outside where there wasn't any divorce but just good spring mud and -things. So Swatty whistled at a kid down the street but it was a kid -Swatty had said he would lick if he caught him, so the kid ran. - -Well, we sat down on the grass under the tree and me and Swatty talked -pretty loud and fighty because Bony wasn't saying anything at all and -was looking so earnest it made us feel sort of ashamed. He was thinking -of the divorce. So me and Swatty talked fighty to each other to try and -make Bony forget. - -But Bony didn't laugh. He didn't even smile. So Swatty took some mud and -stuck it on his nose and pretended it was medicine or something; to make -Bony laugh. But Bony didn't laugh. I guess he felt pretty bad. Maybe a -kid always feels that way when his folks are going to get divorced. So -then Swatty said: - -“Hey, George! this is the way I'll ride on Bony's bicycle when he gets -it!” - -So he pretended he was on a bicycle and he pretended to fall off all -sorts of ways and to run into a tree and everything. Then I thought of -something. I said: - -“Say! if they get a divorce and Bony goes away we can't learn bicycle -riding on his bicycle!” - -We hadn't thought of that before and right away we forgot about whether -Bony was feeling sick or not. We hadn't stopped to think that a divorce -Bony's folks were getting would make a big difference like that to me -and Swatty. It kind of brought us right into the divorce ourselves. -Swatty looked frightened. - -“Garsh! that's so!” he said. “We can't learn to ride on a bicycle that's -in another town.” - -“And, say!” I said, frightened, “if Herb hears about it, and how married -folks fight and get divorces over hat-bills and things he's going to be -scared to marry Fan, because hat-bills are the things father scolds Fan -most about. He'll ask Fan if she has hat-bills--” - -“Garsh!” said Swatty again, “we've got to stop the divorce,” only he -said “diworce,” because that was how he talked. - -I thought so, too. If Bony's folks got one and Herb heard about it and -got scared of marrying Fan, then Swatty wouldn't have the tricycle and I -couldn't take Mamie Little riding on it and make fat, old Toady Williams -look sick. So I thought like Swatty did, but I said: - -“Well, how are you going to stop it?” - -“If Bony was to get the diphtheria, and get it bad, that would stop it,” - he said. - -I saw that was so. If Bony got the diphtheria, and got it bad, they -wouldn't let him travel on the train, and so his mother couldn't go to -his grandmother's and that would stop it. So I said: - -“Yes, and while he was sick we could use his bicycle all the time. How's -he going to get diphtheria?” - -“Why, as easy as pie,” Swatty said. “They've got it down at Markses. -All he's got to do is to go down there and sneak in and stand around in -Billy Markses bedroom until he gets it. Diphtheria is one of the easiest -things you can get. Anybody can get it!” - -It looked like a mighty good plan to me. Me and Swatty went on talking -about it and the more we talked the better it was. We talked about how -long it would be after Bony got exposed to it before he would really -have it and Swatty said that wouldn't matter. All Bony would have to do -would be to go right down to Markses and get exposed and then hurry home -and tell his mother. The divorce would stop right away and wouldn't have -to wait until he was sick in bed before it stopped. So then I said that, -anyway, Bony's father would send for the bicycle right away, because -fathers always hurry up to get things when their boys are good and sick. -It was all bully and fine and me and Swatty felt pretty good about it, -but Bony spoke up. - -“I ain't going to get diphtheria!” he said. - -Well, that's the way some fellows are! You go and work your brains all -to pieces thinking up things to help them out of their troubles and then -they say something like that. We saw it wasn't any use to coax him. -If we wanted to stop the divorce we would have to do it another way. I -said: - -“I know the preacher that Bony's mother goes to the church of.” - -“Well, what's that got to do with it?” Swatty asked. - -“Well, couldn't we tell him about it and get him to stop the divorce? -When Jim Carter wouldn't marry our cook my father told the Catholic -priest and he made Jim Carter marry her as easy as pie.” - -“That's no good,” Swatty said. “That was marrying. That's what priests -and preachers are for--marrying folks together--they ain't for diworcing -them apart again. If it was somebody I wanted to have married together -of course I'd have thought of a preacher right away. You don't think I'm -so dumb as not to have thought of that, do you? But this ain't marrying -them together, it's keeping them married together; it's keeping them -from diworcing apart.” Then, all at once he said, “Garsh!” - -“What are you garshing about?” I asked him. - -“Garsh!” he said again. “I guess I am dumb! I guess I ought to let a -mule kick me! I ought to have thought of it right off!” - -“Thought of what, Swatty?” - -“Why, the judge! You, talking about preachers and priests and all them -and not thinking of the judge! It's a judge that always diworces people -apart, ain't it? Well, what we've got to do is see the judge and tell -him not to diworce Bony's folks apart!” - -“Come on! We'll go see the judge and tell him not to diworce Bony's -folks apart.” - -Well, I guess we didn't think when we started how we would do it. We -just started. - -When we got down to the court-house, where the judge stays, I didn't -feel so much like doing it and Bony didn't feel like doing it at all. It -was different when we got down there than it was when we were sitting -on the grass under my apple tree. All along the front edge of the front -porch of the court-house were big pillars and each pillar was as big -around as twenty boys standing in a lump would be. So me and Bony we -sort of peeked into the hall and went out on the porch again, but Swatty -went right inside. So we sort of frowned at Swatty and shouted in a -whisper: “Aw! come on, Swatty! Let's go home.” - -But Swatty spoke right out, as if he wasn't afraid of the court-house at -all. - -“Aw, come on!” he said. “What are you afraid of?” - -I wouldn't have talked out loud like that for anything. His voice came -back in echoes: “Aw-waw-come-um-um-on-non-non!” Like that. Every word he -said said itself over and over that way. - -But Swatty, when we didn't come, went down the hall and when he found an -open door he went right in. He asked for the judge. We looked into the -hall and we saw Swatty come out of the door he had gone in at and we saw -him go up the wide stairs and push open the green door at the head -of the stairs and go in. After a while he came out again and came -downstairs and out on the porch. - -“Did you see him?” I asked. - -“No,” he said. “I'd ought to have remembered that this was Saturday. -Judges don't have court on Saturday; they go fishing.” - -So then Bony began to cry. He leaned against one of the big pillars and -began to snigger like a little kid that's lost, and then he turned his -face to the pillar and I guess he bawled to himself. I guess he had sort -of thought Swatty would have everything fixed so there wouldn't be any -divorce when he came from the judge's room and it disappointed him. So -Swatty said: “Aw! shut up your bellerin'! We ain't going to let your -folks get diworced, are we? You make me sick, acting like we was. I -guess me and George knows what we are going to do, don't we, George?” So -I says, “Yes; what is it?” - -Well, Swatty knew just what we were going to do; and so did I, after he -told me. We were going to go to the judge where he was fishing and tell -him not to divorce Bony's folks. And that was all right because Bony's -mother was afraid of the water and wouldn't ride in a rowboat and so -even if she wanted to get divorced quick she couldn't be until the judge -came back from fishing. So then I said: - -“Aw! there ain't no fishing when the water is so high in the river!” - -“Aw! who told you so much?” Swatty said. “You think you know all the -kinds of fishing there is, don't you? Well, I guess you don't! I guess -me and the judge knows more kinds of fishing than you do.” - -So we walked down to the river and Swatty told us. It was buffalo -fishing you do with a pitchfork. I guess you know what kind of a fish a -buffalo is. At first nobody ate buffalo fish but niggers, and they ate -dogfish, too, but pretty soon the fishmarket men got so they shipped -buffalo fish to Chicago and everywhere just like they shipped catfish. -But nobody in our town ate them but niggers, because they tasted of mud. -Maybe the Chicago people liked to taste mud. - -Well, anyway, the buffalo fish eat grass or roots or something and in -the spring, when the river is high and up over the bottoms, the buffalo -fish swim up to wherever the edge of the river has gone in the grass and -weeds and sometimes they swim in so close that their backs stick out -of water and they sort of swim on their bellies in the mud--dozens and -hundreds of them, big fat fellows. So then the farmer can't plough yet, -because it is too muddy in the fields, and they get their farm wagons -and some pitchforks and drive down to the river. Then they separate -apart and wade out and come together again when' they are out about -waist deep and they wade in toward shore and the buffalo fish are -between them and the shore. Then the farmers go with a rush and the -buffalo fish get scared. Some of them get so scared they try to swim -right up on shore on their bellies, and some try to swim out into deep -water, but whatever they try to do the farmers just pitchfork them up -onto shore. Wagon loads of them! So, before the Chicago folks got to -like buffalo fish, the farmers chopped the buffalo fish into bits and -ploughed them into the ground to make things grow better, but now they -mostly hauled them to town and sold them to the fishmarket men for one -and one half cents a pound. So that was where the judge was. He was -over to a farmer's named Shebberd, in Illinois, because he had never -pitchforked buffalo fish before and he wanted to do it once and see what -it was like. - -Me and Swatty and Bony knew where Shebberd's was, because when you were -over in Illinois you could get a drink of water there. - -I guess it was almost a mile across the river and then it was almost -five miles back to Shebberd's bottom land cornfield. We got a skiff at -the boathouse and me and Swatty and Bony rowed across the river. The -water was mighty high and the current was everywhere and not just in one -place, and it was strong. Bony sat in the stem and me and Swatty rowed -and we had to row almost straight up-stream. It was hard work. My wrists -swelled up and got hot and tight but we kept thinking about the divorce -we didn't want Bony's folks to get and we kept on rowing. Even with the -boat pointed almost straight up-stream we were about half a mile below -where we started, when we reached the Illinois side and rowed in among -the trees. It was easier there; not so much current. - -It was fine rowing through the trees, seeing everything, and nothing -looking like it usually does. We came to the First Slough and it was -just water--like a road of water between the trees--and we kept on -rowing and came to the Second Slough and the Third Slough and they were -like that, too, and then we came out of the trees and we were in a whale -of a lot of water. Bony said, “Oh!” and Swatty looked over his shoulder -and said, “Garsh!” and stopped rowing. It looked like miles and miles of -water--water we had never seen before--and all at once you felt little -and lost and sort of frightened. - -“Garsh!” Swatty said. “I was never here before.” - -“Where is it?” I asked. - -Swatty looked all around. - -“I don't know,” he said. “I never heard of a place like this.” - -“Swatty!” I said. - -“What?” - -“Let's go home!” - -I guess I sort of whined it, and so Bony began to cry. Swatty stood up -and let his oars rest and looked all around. He looked anxious and when -Swatty looked anxious it was time to be frightened. Anyway, I thought -so. - -When Swatty had looked all around and didn't know any more than he did -before, he sat down and looked over the edge of the boat at the water. -So I did it. - -“What do you see, Swatty?” I asked, because I was afraid he saw -something to be frightened of. But what he saw was little flecks of -leaves and things floating by in the water the way dust floats in the -sunlight, and the reason he looked was so he could see which way the -current was running, because no matter where we were we wanted to row -up-stream. We had gone into the woods below the bottom road and when the -water was as high as it was now the bottom road either made a dam across -the bottom or the water came over it like a waterfall or rushed through -in a rapids nobody could row up. So Swatty knew we couldn't have passed -the bottom road but must be below it somewhere and the place we wanted -to be at was just where the bottom road hit the hill, so what we had to -do--wherever we were then--was to row up-stream. So we rowed. We rowed I -don't know how far and all at once Bony said: - -“Look out! you're rowing into something!” - -Me and Swatty backed water as quick as we could and looked over our -shoulders. What we had nearly rowed into was a pile of sticks and a heap -of dried grass. It was a good deal as if somebody had chucked a couple -of forks full of hay on a lot of driftwood and set it adrift. - -“There's something alive in it!” Bony sort of shivered. - -Swatty looked and I looked. - -“Mush-rat's house!” Swatty said right away, and it was. It was the kind -the mush-rats make so that when a flood comes it will float and not -sink, and there it was right out in the middle of the lake we were lost -in. - -Then all at once Swatty said: “Say!” - -Gee, but he scared me! - -“What, Swatty?” I asked. - -“Say!” he said; “we're floating away from that mush-rat house and it -ain't floating with us. I never heard of a mush-rat house out in the -middle of a lake, with a current floating by, that didn't float with the -current!” - -“Are you scared, Swatty?” I asked, for if he was scared I didn't know -what I would be. - -“No, I ain't scared,” he said, “but it ain't right. It ain't possible, -that's all! I bet this is a haunted lake. I bet there is a haunted house -around here, or an ol' witch, or something.” - -“Come on, let's get out of it, then. Let's row!” - -I said. - -“You bet I'll row!” Swatty said, and we did. We steered off to one -side of the mush-rat's house and rowed hard. We had a good double-ender -skiff, rounded bottom and not flat bottom, and we made her hump! All of -a sudden Swatty's left oar came out of the oarlock and he nearly fell -backwards into the bottom of the boat. He got up and slapped the oar -back into the oarlock and we both rowed hard. - -“We ain't moving!” - -Bony said that. He was hanging onto the sides of the skiff with both -hands, looking scared and white, and you never heard anybody say -anything the way he said that! It was like he had seen a ghost. Me and -Swatty stopped rowing and looked. About twenty feet away from us was -that old mush-rat house and we could see a little ripple of water on -the upper side of it but it wasn't moving and we weren't floating away -from it. There was the same kind of ripple against the bow of our boat. - -We rowed again and we rowed hard and the skiff didn't move! There we -were, out in the middle of that haunted lake, or whatever it was, and no -bottom that you could reach with an oar, and we couldn't row up-stream -and we didn't float downstream. And over yonder was a mush-rat's house -just like we were. It sure looked like we were in a haunted lake and I -didn't blame Bony for being scared and crying. I was scared myself. It -looked like we were in a haunted lake we could not row out of and that -we might have to stay there forever. - -“Well, garsh!” Swatty said, “we rowed up here, we ought to be good and -able to row back where we come from.” So we swung the skiff around and -rowed down-current. No good! We didn't move at all. Or we just moved a -foot or two. - -It wasn't like when you run up on a snag or a rock. It wasn't stiff -like that. We floated all right but we couldn't go anywhere. - -“Listen!” Swatty said. - -Away off far we heard voices and splashing, sounding the way things -sound when you hear them across water. Swatty shouted. “Hello!” he -shouted, and his voice came back to him, “Lo-wo-wo!” in an echo, the way -echoes do. - -“All right!” he said. “Now we know where the Illinois hills are, anyway. -That's the way they echo back at you, so they must be over there. And I -bet those men splashing in the water are after buffalo with pitchforks. -So that's where we want to row.” That was pretty fine, wasn't it, when -we couldn't row at all? I told Swatty so. I said we'd better shout and -have the men come and get us. Swatty said they'd just think it was kids -shouting for fun; and I guess that's what they did think, for we shouted -and shouted, and when we quit we could still hear the men laughing and -talking and splashing. So then Swatty sat down and put his head in his -hands and thought. When we looked up he said: - -“Do you believe in haunts and things?” - -“I don't know,” I said. “Do you?” - -“I don't know, either,” Swatty said. “Maybe I do and maybe I don't, but -I know one thing: I ain't going to believe in them until I have to. I -ain't going to believe this boat is 'witched here until I know it ain't -stuck here some other way. I'm going to find out.” - -“How?” I asked. - -“Well, if we're stuck we're stuck on something under the water and -that's sure, and I'm going to skin off my clothes and find out.” - -So he did. I wouldn't have done it for a million dollars and I tried to -make him not, but he did it. He took off his clothes and lowered himself -over the side of the boat and said, garsh! how cold it was! So then he -edged himself along, holding onto the side of the boat and all at once -he swore. - -“What?” me and Bony both asked at once. - -“Bob wire!” he said, and he let go with one hand and felt down into -the water. Then he took hold of the boat with both hands and felt along -under the boat with his feet. “It's a post,” he said. “It's a bob-wire -fence.” - -So that was what it was. There was a bob-wire fence and we had -rowed right on top of one of the posts and stuck there, on a nail or -something, and the post was loose in the mud and gave when we rowed, so -we couldn't wrench loose by rowing. And that was why the mush-rat house -did not float downstream; it was caught on another post. So all at once -Swatty said: - -“I know where we are; we're in Shebberd's lower cornfield!” And that was -where we were. The water had come up and covered it up to the tops of -the bob-wire fence posts. - -Well, Swatty's teeth were chattering but he wouldn't get right into the -boat. He made me and Bony row while he was out, and I guess with the -boat lighter it floated off the post easier, for it did float off. So -then Swatty got in and dressed and we rowed toward the voices and the -splashing. - -It was Judge Hannan all right. He was pitch-forking buffalo fish with -the Shebberds. He had on rubber hip boots and he was hot and having a -good time. We rowed in close to where he was and watched them pitchfork -awhile and then Swatty backwatered the skiff up to where the judge was -standing and said: - -“Say, mister judge!” - -The judge leaned his hand on the stem of the boat and said: - -“Yes, my lad, what is it?” - -“Are you the judge that gives diworces?” - -“I'm the one that don't give them unless I have to, son,” the judge -laughed. “Looking for one? You don't look as if you had reached that age -and state yet.” - -“It ain't mine,” Swatty said. “It's Bony's folkses. They're having a -fight and they're going to get a diworce and me and Georgie and Bony -don't want them to. So we rowed over to tell you not to give them one.” - -The judge felt in his pocket and got out his spectacles and put them on -and looked at us. He asked which was Bony and then he knew who Bony was -and that he knew Bony's folks. He said he did. - -“And you don't want any divorces in your family, hey?” he said. “Why -not?” - -Bony didn't say anything, so Swatty started to tell about the bicycle, -but before he got very far Bony just doubled over and put his head on -his knees and began to beller like a real baby. So the judge stopped -Swatty. - -“Son,” he said to Swatty, “I guess you've mistooken the proper legal -grounds for not giving divorces. The desire of a youth to learn to ride -one of the condemned things when he is related to the separating parties -only by neighborhood is not sufficient to sway the court. But you, son,” - he said to Bony, “have got exactly the right idea. You've swayed this -old, bald-headed court right down to the mud he's standing in and, so -help me John Joseph Rogers! if those two parents of yours get a divorce -it will only be over my dead body! Hey, Sheb! can these kids go up to -your house and get some buttermilk?” - -So I said I didn't like buttermilk and the judge said: “Caesar's ghost! -I didn't mean get it for you; I meant get it for us!” - -So we got it. So Bony's folks didn't get a divorce. Anyway, if they -did they didn't separate apart from each other and that was all me and -Swatty cared for because Herb Schwartz wouldn't be scared to marry Fan, -and maybe we could hurry up the wedding and get the tricycle sooner. - - - - -IV. THE STUMP - -Well, you never can tell how things are going to go in this world, I -guess. I don't mean that I spent all my time thinking how getting the -tricycle with two seats would make Mamie Little think more of me than -she thought of Toady Williams, because I didn't. I had school and my -chores and me and Swatty and Bony was building a capstan in our side -yard, to pull up stumps and move houses if we wanted to, but once in a -while I did think how I would ride up to Mamie Little's front gate on -the tricycle and say, “Say! wanta take a ride?” - -It looked as if it wouldn't be long before Herb and Fan got married, -because they hadn't fought for a long while and Fan was embroidering -towels by day and by night. One reason it all looked good was that Miss -Murphy, who was my teacher and had had Herb for a while, had gone away -for a while and Miss Carter was substituting for her in our room. So Fan -needn't be jealous of Miss Murphy any more. - -So I felt pretty good mostly but I was feeling pretty mean this day, -because Swatty and Bony had been let out on time and Miss Carter had -kept me in after school. I was feeling mean because they would be -working on the capstan, and it was the day we thought we would get it -finished and begin capstaning things with it, and I wouldn't be home -when they got it done. I wanted to be there when they started to use -it. So that made me feel mean one way, and teacher made me feel meaner, -another way. - -I liked Miss Carter better than any teacher I ever had. So all I did -was not know my geography-lesson, or my arithmetic-lesson or my -grammar-lesson, or my history, and I missed in spelling. I guess maybe I -read all right, because she didn't say I didn't, but maybe she forgot to -talk about that because she was so busy saying my deportment was bad and -it was certainly an outrage that my copy-book was so poorly kept. So she -kept me in to study, and it was four o'clock pretty soon, and she put -her papers in her desk and shut down the lid and came back to my seat. -Everybody else had gone home. I was sort of scared. I thought she was -going to say her patience was exhausted and then whale me with the -rawhide she kept in the closet. - -But she didn't. She came back to where I was, and when she got to my -seat she sat down in it beside me and I had to move over so she would -have room. I guess I ought to have put my hands in my pockets, but of -course I didn't know what she was going to do, and the first thing she -did was to put her left hand on top of my hand and hold it, like that, -on top of my desk. So I tried to pull it away, but she held on. So then -she put her arm--her right arm--along the desk back of me, and I felt -mighty mean. A boy don't like to be armed around that way, or his hand -held like that. - -“George,” she said, “what is it? Why are you acting the way you are? Are -you doing it to try to distress me?” - -Well, I couldn't say anything to that, could I? I just looked at the top -of the desk and moved my feet around. - -“Tell me!” she said as if she wasn't mad at all but as if she was -sorry. “I can't understand it. It is no use for you to pretend you can't -learn your lessons, for I have seen that it is no trouble at all for -you, when you want to. And you are such a naturally good, well-behaved -boy at heart--why are you trying to act as if you were not? Are you -doing it to distress me?” - -I guess I sort of said “No!” I don't know what I did say. I felt pretty -bad, with my hand held like that and her arm right there and liable to -get around my shoulders the way she does to the girls when she's fond of -them and they disappoint her and she has a talk with them and makes them -cry. - -“Then what is it, George?” she asked. - -Well, you can't blat right out and say nothing is the matter only you -don't feel like learning any old lessons or anything, can you? There -wasn't anything the matter. I didn't have it in for teacher or anything. -I just didn't feel like learning any lessons about then, and it was mean -of teacher to let on I was doing things because I didn't like her or -something. So I didn't say anything. I sort of scrooged down in my seat -so she couldn't put her arm around me any more than it was. - -“Is it Mamie Little?” she asked then, all of a sudden. - -That was an awful mean thing to say, and I guess she knew it was, -because when a fellow has a girl he don't want anybody to know it or -talk about it. He'll fight any fellow that says it, but he can't fight -his teacher when she says it. - -“I think it must be Mamie Little, George,” she said next, “because -I have noticed you keep your eyes on her more than you do on your -lessons.” - -That made me squirm, I guess! But that wasn't the worst. She wasn't -hardly started. - -“I don't blame you for liking Mamie, George,” she said. “She is a sweet -child and I love her, too, and I am glad you are fond of her; but don't -you think she would like you better if you learned your lessons and -behaved in a manner she could admire, instead of trying to attract her -attention by smarty tricks? Don't you think a boy with your ability -should try to impress her by his excellence rather than by his smarty -tricks?” - -Gee! I felt mean! Running a fellow's girl in on him like that! I was -so ashamed all over that I couldn't move. I didn't dare to move even a -finger. I couldn't do anything but swallow. - -“Now, we won't say anything more about it,” she said, and she patted my -hand! “You know how much I like you, George, and how proud I usually am -of you, and I think Mamie is fond of you, too. I don't think you need to -be a smarty to attract her. If you don't care to do it for me, George, -tell me you will try to learn your lessons and behave better on Mamie's -account. You will, won't you? Say you will!” - -I guess I tried to say I would, but I couldn't even swallow. I didn't -know how I'd even get away from there, because Miss Carter might stay -until I said I would or something, and I couldn't work my voice: it had -dried up, I guess. But I didn't have to say anything. Miss Carter put -her hand on my head and let it stay there a minute, and then she smiled -and jumped up as if everything was fixed and I had said I would, and she -said: “All right, George; you can go home.” And I went, you bet. - -Well, that settled Miss Carter with me! She had been one of the three -women I thought were dandy, because the other two were my mother and my -grandmother that everybody calls “Ladylove” because she is so dear, but -after that I was done with Miss Carter. Anybody that would talk to a -fellow about his girl as if she _was_ his girl! I guessed maybe I would -n't go back to school any more unless I could get transferred to another -teacher's room. - -So I felt pretty mean and sore and everything when I got home, and I -started around to the side yard, where Swatty and Bony were finishing -the capstan, and all at once my mother came to the end of the porch and -pulled the vines aside and said: - -“George, come here!” - -I tried to think what I had done to make her say it like that, but I -couldn't, only a fellow is always doing something, so it didn't matter -much what it was. I went around and onto the porch. - -“Yes, ma'am,” I said. - -“George,” my mother said in the way they call severe, “Mrs. Martin was -here.” - -“Yes'm,” I said, for I didn't know what else to say, because I didn't -know why Mrs. Martin had been there. I knew who Mrs. Martin was and -where she lived, because she was the lady that had the lame boy that -would never grow up but would always be about five years old. He was -thirteen years old, and he played with a rag doll and always stayed -in his yard, but sometimes he looked out between the fence-pickets. -Sometimes when I went downtown on errands and got a nickel for it and -bought some candy, I'd give him a piece when I went by, and so would -Swatty and so would Bony. Sometimes he'd say, “Where you get that ball? -I want it!” just like a little baby, and if we didn't give it to him, -he'd cry, but we couldn't give him our ball, could we? So when we went -by his house we hid anything he might cry for, so he wouldn't cry for -it. That was all I knew about Mrs. Martin, only she was a widow and she -was cross sometimes. Anyway, sometimes she looked cross. - -“George,” my mother said--and I guess she never spoke to me any sadder -than she did then--“Mrs. Martin told me something I would never have -believed of my boy. I have always thought you were a kind-hearted, -considerate boy. Oh, George, why--why did you strike that poor, helpless -little cripple?” - -“I did not! I didn't do any such thing! It ain't so!” I said, because I -knew she meant I had hit Sammy Martin. - -My mother sort of threw out her hand. - -“Don't!” she said. “It is enough without that. It is enough to be a -bully without being a liar. Mrs. Martin has told me--” - -“I ain't a liar!” I said, because I was so mad I could have cried. “If -she said that, she's a liar; that's what she is!” - -Well, I oughtn't to have called a lady that, or anybody, but I was so -mad I didn't think. I wasn't thinking about how I said it, and when a -fellow's mother looks at him the way my mother was looking at me, and -won't believe him when he's telling the truth, what's he going to do? I -guess my mother was feeling pretty bad herself or she wouldn't have said -any such thing to me as that I was one. Because I wasn't one! Not about -that! I had never hit Sammy Martin. I had never done anything to him but -give him candy once in a while. - -“George!” said my mother, and she was sad about it, as if she was now -quite hopeless about me. - -Then she went on, as quietly as if we were at a funeral: - -“That poor child's mother came here to beg me to protect her child -against you--to beg me to ask you not to harm him again! You called him -to the fence and struck him across the face with a stick or a switch. -Oh, don't deny it! She has seen you coax him to the fence before and -give him candy, and when he came crying to her with a welt rising on -his poor face, he told her you had done it. And I thought you were--I -thought--” - -So then she cried, and I couldn't do anything but stand there and -feel--oh, I don't know how I felt! I guess I had never felt like that in -my life. It wasn't so, and I knew it wasn't so, and nobody would ever -believe it wasn't so. I couldn't do anything but stand there and wish -I was dead or grown up or something. I just stood and looked down, and -once in a while I blinked. So then, after a while, my mother wiped her -eyes and walked past me without saying anything or looking at me and -went into the house, and I stood there awhile and then I sort of turned -and went to the edge of the porch and sneaked around to the back yard. -It wasn't fair to think such things of me when they were not so, and -I felt awful bad. I never wanted to see my mother again. So then Swatty -saw me and shouted. - -“Come on!” he yelled. “We've got her done! She's a dandy!” - -So I ran to where the capstan was, and she was a dandy! - -I guess you know what capstans are--the things they use in moving -houses? In Riverbank they move a lot of houses, because people are -always wanting to build other houses where houses already are, and you -can't move a house without a capstan. They have them on boats, too, but -not quite the same kind. The house-moving kind is like a square box, -without sides. In the middle, up and down, is a kind of roller that the -rope rolls onto, and the roller has to stick up above the top of the box -so there can be a place to stick a pole into to turn the roller. When -they move houses they set the capstan in the middle of the street a long -way from the house, and carry a rope back and fasten it to the house, -and then a horse that is fastened to the pole walks around and around -the capstan, stepping over the rope every time he passes it, and winds -up the rope, and that pulls the house. Only we didn't have any horse, -so we thought maybe we'd use Swatty's cow. But we didn't. We turned the -capstan ourselves. All the time we were making the capstan Swatty said -the cow would turn it, but when we got it done he said: - -“Who ever heard of a cow turning a capstan?” - -“I did,” I said. “In the Bible-book there is a picture of a cow turning -a capstan.” - -“Well, that ain't the same thing,” Swatty said. “That's a Bible-cow, and -ours is part Alderney and part Holstein.” - -“And this isn't any cow-capstan, anyway,” Bony said. “A cow couldn't -work this capstan, because a cow has two toes, and she'd get the rope -caught between her toes and fall and kill herself.” - -“Whose cow are you saying would fall and kill herself--my cow?” Swatty -asked, the way he did when he meant: “Take it back or I'll lick you!” - Then he says: “You'd better not say my cow would fall and kill herself. -If my cow couldn't step over a rope without getting it between her toes, -I'd take her and kill her.” - -“Aw, you would not!” I said. - -“Yes, I would, too!” Swatty said. “We had a cow once that couldn't step -over a rope without getting it between her toes, and my father took her -down to the river and killed her. You needn't say we'd have a cow that -can't step over a rope--” - -“I never said it,” I said. - -“Well, if you didn't say it, who did say it, I'd like to know,” Swatty -asked. “Bony didn't say it and you'd better not say he said it, because -he came over and helped me finish the capstan, and you stayed in school -and let us do it.” - -“I didn't stay in school; I was kept in.” - -“Well, you say you was, but I don't have to believe it, do I?” - Swatty said. “I don't have to believe everything you say just because -I'm--because I'm in your yard, do I?” - -Well, I saw Swatty wanted a fight, and I wanted a fight anyway. I felt -like it. So I said; “Who are you calling a liar?” - -I went up close to him, and he went up close to me; and then I pushed -him and he pushed me back; and then I hit him and he hit me back. And -when he had me down and asked me if I had had enough and got off of me, -we went ahead with the capstan. I wasn't hurt _anywhere_ except on the -inside of my cheek, where a tooth cut it. - -The capstan was a good one. Swatty showed how it worked, and pushed the -pole around, and it worked fine. So then I got my sled out of the barn, -where it had been since last winter, and we took turns being pulled on -the sled. So then we wished we had a house to move, but there wasn't -any house or building we dared move. I bet we could have done it. So we -looked for something we couldn't move without a capstan, so we could use -the capstan to move it. There is no use having a capstan if you haven't -anything to do with it. You might just as well not have made one. So I -said: - -“I'll tell you! Let's pull up the old stump that's in our front yard!” - -“All right--let's!” Swatty said. - -We had a lot of trees in our yard--a big silver poplar in the back yard -that was twice as big around as a barrel, and a yellow-mellow apple, -and a Benoni apple, and a black-heart cherry, and a row of pines leading -down to the gate, and big maples inside the fence, and maybe some more. -There were trees all over town, lots of them, and you would have thought -there had always been trees, but I guess that isn't so. People planted -them. When people came to Riverbank and made a town of it, they planted -the trees because there were none when they came, and I guess they -liked it better with trees growing than when it was all bare. I know my -grandmother did. - -My grandmother was an old, old woman, and she lived with us because the -house had been built by my grandfather, and my grandfather had planted -the trees. That was a long time before I was ever born. We called my -grandmother “Ladylove,” because I guess that is what my grandfather -called her. Nobody ever called her anything else but Ladylove, not -“Gran'ma” or anything like that. - -I guess nobody ever loved trees the way she loved them. I guess she was -always sorry she had come away from Pennsylvania where there are lots of -trees and hills. Sometimes, early in the morning, she would come out on -the porch and look up and say, “I lift up mine eyes to the hills!” and -then she would sigh and shake her head. That was because there was no -hills in Riverbank when she lifted? up her eyes from our porch, and I -guess she was thinking of the hills in Pennsylvania, because when she -was a girl and lived there, there were always hills to lift up her eyes -to--hills that were covered with trees. - -That was the way my grandmother Ladylove was, as old as old, and nobody -ever loved trees the way she did. She liked boys too. She liked all the -boys that ever came to play with me. She was the only one that never -scolded me. Plenty of times when we had fresh cookies and nobody was to -touch a single one until the next day, Ladylove would see us playing in -the yard and she would come out with a china plate with a napkin on it -piled up with cookies. Then she would say a verse of poetry and give us -the cookies and go into the house just as happy as could be. Sometimes -she would forget she had brought us any and would come right out with -another plateful and say the poetry over again and be just as happy over -that one as she was over the other. - -When I said, “Let's pull the old stump that's in the front yard,” I -didn't think anything but that it would be a good thing to pull. I -didn't even know it had ever _been_ a tree; it had always been a stump -since I was a little bit of a kid, anyway. It wasn't much of a stump -any more. It was only about as high as my knee, and right at the ground -it was only as big around as a man's knee. Once I had a little hatchet, -but it wouldn't cut much, but I chopped the stump with it. I could only -chop off a little splinter at a time, and I never got much off. It only -made the stump raggedy at the top. It was just an old stump that wasn't -worth anything and wasn't any good to anybody. - -Swatty and Bony and me started to move the capstan into the front yard -where the stump was. It was so heavy we could hardly wiggle it, so after -we had moved it an inch or two I said: - -“Aw! we can't move it!” - -So Bony said the same thing; but Swatty stood and looked at the capstan -awhile, and then he said: “Yes, we can move it, too! We can make it move -itself.” - -“How can we?” - -“You come ahead and I'll show you,” he said; and he did. He drove a -stake into the ground about as far as our capstan rope would reach, and -fastened the rope to it. Then he made Bony turn the capstan pole, and -that wound up the rope, and the capstan just had to move toward the -stake. When we got it to the stake we knocked the stake out with an -axe and put it in again farther along. That way we moved the capstan to -where we wanted it. Swatty thought of how to do it. - -So then we had the capstan in the front yard, and we tied the rope -around the old stump and tried to pull it, but the capstan just moved -up to the stump. So Swatty said he knew what was the matter and that we -were all crazy because we didn't think of it before, and that all the -house-movers, when they were moving houses, drove stakes in front of -their capstans to keep them from moving, and stakes behind them to keep -them from tipping up. - -We got some stakes and did it. Swatty drove the stakes because he was -strongest, and anyway, he knew how to swing an axe, because he had -often studied how the circus roughnecks swung them. Anyway he said he -had. He said he had sat for over an hour and just studied how they swung -axes at stakes and that then he asked one roughneck to let him try -it, and he did, and he drove over a hundred. He said that while he was -driving stakes Mr. Barnum came out of the big tent and watched him, and -that he liked the way he was driving stakes so well that he offered him -a hundred dollars a year just to drive stakes for the circus. So I asked -Swatty if he took up the offer, and he said he did. He said he went with -the circus all over the United States, driving stakes, and that he drove -so many he got so he could drive a stake with one blow. So then he said -he went to Mr. Bamum and asked him to pay him two hundred dollars a -year, but Mr. Bamum said he couldn't afford it. He said Swatty was worth -two hundred dollars a year but the show couldn't afford it. So, Swatty -said, he came home. That's what Swatty said, but I didn't hardly believe -it. But, anyway, we had to let him drive the stakes. - -Well, the stump didn't come out as easy as we had thought it would. It -was pretty rotten, and it pulled off piece by piece, but the inside was -tough. Our rope was old, too, and broke nearly every time we tautened -it. But it was good fun, anyway. We took turns turning the capstan pole. -One would turn and the other would keep the rope on the stump and the -other would be boss and shout, “Whoa! Get up! Whoa there, you!” A lot -of boys came and looked through the picket fence and wished we would let -them come in and help us capstan the stump, but we wouldn't. What's the -use of having something somebody else hasn't got, if you are going to -let them have it too? - -Pretty soon we got the stump all pulled. There was only a hole where it -had been and the rotted wood was scattered around on the grass, and we -felt pretty good about it, because nobody wants old stumps sticking up -in their yards. Swatty said maybe my father would give me a quarter for -pulling the stump and I thought maybe he would, too. We all felt as if -we had done something pretty fine, and I wished I could go and get my -mother and have her come out and see how good our capstan was and have -her say, “Why, that's fine, Georgie! I'll have your father give you -a quarter when he comes home.” But I remembered about Mrs. Martin. I -remembered that my mother would probably never think anything I ever did -again was any good at all. So I didn't call her. - -Just then Ladylove--my grandmother--came out of the side door. She stood -a moment on the top step, looking, and then she came down to the grass -and started toward us. She had a plate in her hand, and there were -graham crackers on it, because there were no cookies that day. I guess -she heard us shouting and thought we would like some graham crackers, -because we were boys. - -As soon as I saw her I jumped and ran toward her, because she was some -one we could show what we had done. - -“Come here, Ladylove,” I shouted. “Come on, we want to show you what we -did with our capstan!” - -“Yes! yes!” she said. - -So I took the plate of crackers, and with the other hand I sort of -steadied her elbow, because our yard wasn't very smooth and she didn't -walk very steady or very fast. We came to where the capstan was, and she -steadied herself with one hand on it. - -“There!” I said. “See what we did, Ladylove! We pulled that old tree -stump right out of the ground. We got rid of that old stump all right!” - -Ladylove stood quiet so long that I got frightened. She looked up at the -sky and when she looked down at me there were tears in her eyes. I could -see them. - -“My tree! My beautiful tree!” she said. “Ah, Georgie, could you kill my -tree?” And then she closed her eyes and held out her hands and said: - - “Degenerate Douglas! Oh, the unworthy lord! - Whom mere despite of heart could so far please - To level with the dust a noble horde, - A brotherhood of venerable trees!” - -It wasn't a horde of trees at all, nothing but an old rotten stump and -no good to anybody, but I felt awful bad about it as soon as she spoke -that poetry--not because the old stump was any good but because my -grandmother was so old and seemed to think so much of the old stump. - -Me and Swatty and Bony just stood and didn't know what to say. We wished -she had scolded us or something instead of feeling that way. - -“Gone! Gone!” she said, letting her hands fall, as if that old stump was -the only thing she ever cared for. “Gone!” - - “It is not now as it has been of yore; - Turn wheresoe'er I may, - By night or day, - The things which I have seen - I now can see no more!” - -Well, we couldn't say anything, could we, when she felt like that? We -could just feel mean. It didn't matter that we knew it was just an old, -rotten, no good stump, because she thought it was a tree and that we had -cut it down. She shook her head, and then: - - “Some they have died, and some they have left me, - And some are taken from me; all are departed; - All, all are gone, the old familiar faces.” - -So then she turned and walked away with her head bent down and the tears -running down her cheeks, and I stood there with the plate of graham -crackers in my hand and didn't know what to do or what to say, and -Bony stood and looked kind of scared. I didn't dare look after my -grandmother. I just felt mean and sneaky and ashamed and sort of -miserable about everything, because I knew she thought I had done it -when I knew I oughtn't to have done it. At the step of the side door -she stopped and looked back and then went into the house, all old and -sad-looking. I guessed I had broken her heart, she felt so bad about it. - -So then Bony started to go home. He didn't say anything, but he sort of -edged off as if he wanted to sneak away and get out of any trouble I was -in. Swatty spoke right up. - -“You come back here!” he said. “You come back, or I'll show you!” - -I was glad to have anybody say anything, even that. - -“Aw, I got to go home,” Bony said. But he came back. He knew what Swatty -would do to him if he didn't. So then Swatty made a face at the pieces -of old stump. - -“Garsh!” he said. “Garsh! who'd of thunk anybody cared for that old -stump? We didn't know Ladylove cared that much for it, did we? Well, -come on!” - -“Come on where?” Bony sort of whined. - -“Where do you think?” Swatty asked. “What do I care where? Anywhere we -can get a tree to plant--that's where. We'll get a big tree, like those -maple trees, and we'll fetch it here and plant it; that's what we'll -do! I'll tell you what. We'll take the capstan rope and go out to the -cow pasture and dig up a big tree and let my cow drag it here. We'll -play she's a team of oxen.” - -Well, we got to fighting about who would drive the team of oxen and who -would ride on the tree, and we forgot all about being ashamed of pulling -up the stump. We took a spade and the axe, and went out to the pasture, -but when we saw how big a big tree was, we guessed we'd get one that -wasn't so big, and then we guessed we'd get one that wasn't as big -as that, because Swatty said he didn't want his cow to strain herself -pulling it. So the one we got wasn't very big, after all, but it was -more of a tree than that old rotten stump was. It was a willow tree. We -got a willow tree after we'd tried to dig up the roots of an elm tree. -Swatty said that a willow tree didn't need any roots. - -The cow didn't like pulling a tree very well, but she got used to it -before we got home--only we couldn't ride on such a little tree. We had -to take turns being the ox-driver. But we got home all right and dug a -hole where the old stump had been, and we planted the tree. She looked -bully. She looked almost like a real tree. So then I went into the house -to get my grandmother, to show her, so she wouldn't feel so bad about -the old stump. - -I guess she had forgotten all about it. She was sitting by the window, -reading the limber-backed psalm-book, and when I came in she looked up -and smiled. - -“Come on out in the yard, Ladylove,” I said. “I want to show you what me -and Bony and Swatty did.” - -She closed the psalm-book with her glasses inside and put the book on -her sewing-table and went with me. I took her right to where the tree -was. - -“There!” I said. “Me and Bony and Swatty planted a new tree for you -where that old stump was.” - -THE STUMP - -My grandmother looked at the tree. Her eyes were full of tears again, -but they weren't the kind that worried me. She held out a hand toward -the tree and said some more poetry: - - “What plant we in this apple tree? - Buds, which the breath of summer days - Shall lengthen into leafy sprays; - Boughs, where the thrush with crimson breast - Shall haunt and sing and hide her nest. - We plant upon the sunny lea - A shadow for the noontide hour, - A shelter from the summer shower, - When we plant the apple tree.” - -Well, it wasn't an apple tree, but I didn't care, and neither did -Swatty or Bony. I was just glad because Ladylove was glad, and I guessed -she knew it wasn't an apple tree, because when you use poetry you have -to use the kind there is, and it don't always fit. But this one fitted -close enough to show how happy Ladylove was. She was very happy, and -when she had said the verses she laughed and kissed Swatty's hand, and -then Bony's and then mine, and took her skirt in two hands and made us a -curtsy and went away as happy as anything. I felt pretty good. - -So just then my father came home, because it was supper-time. He came -into the yard, and he walked across the grass to where we were. He -looked sort of sober, the way fathers do when they want to know what -their sons have been doing. - -“What's that?” he asked, short. - -“It's a capstan,” I said. “Me and Bony and Swatty made it.” - -“What are you going to do with it?” - -“I don't know. Maybe nothing.” - -“Hm! And what is this tree doing here?” - -“Why--” I said, and then I didn't know what to say. - -“Why, there was an old stump here,” said Swatty, “and we pulled it up -with the capstan, and Ladylove, she came out, and she felt pretty bad--” - “She couldn't remember it wasn't a tree #ny more,” said Bony. - -“And so we went and got a tree and planted it for her,” I said. - -My father looked at me. Then he turned away. “Don't do any damage with -that capstan thing,” he said, and that was all. - -Well, nobody said anything at supper, so after supper I went out and sat -on the porch, and Herb Schwartz had come over to talk with Fan awhile -and they were there too. So pretty soon my father came out and lighted -a cigar and gave Herb one. Then my mother came out and I guessed I would -go into the back yard or somewhere, because I knew she would tell my -father about what Mrs. Martin had lied about me hurting her crazy boy. -So I went and sat on the woodshed step awhile, because if my father was -going to lick me he would do it out there anyway. - -But he didn't come, so after a while I went around front again. I -stopped by the vines at the end of the porch, because my father was -talking. - -“And I will tell you something else,” he was saying. So he told them -about the stump, and how we had pulled it up and then gone and got -another tree because Ladylove felt so bad about it. “And Mrs. Martin nor -any one else need tell me that a boy that would do that would torment -a crippled child,” my father said. “I think I know my son George fairly -well. What did George say about it?” - -“He said Mrs. Martin--lied,” said my mother. “And she probably did,” - said my father. “Unintentionally but none the less wickedly. I am going -to see her. I think she is going to apologize.” - -So I felt bully about that, and my father went down the walk and mother -went into the house. I felt bully because father was right. Only I was -n't the one that thought of planting the new tree. That was Swatty. But -I guess I'd have thought of it if Swatty hadn't. - -I was just going to go up on the porch when Fan said something. What she -said was: - -“Poor father! The way he lets Georgie behave and then stands up for -him!” - -“Why, Fan,” Herb said, “you don't think George did anything of the sort -Mrs. Martin said, do you?” - -“I wouldn't put it beyond him,” Fan said. - -“That's not fair! That's unjust!” Herb said. - -“Oh! I'm unfair, am I? I'm unjust, am I?” Fan flared up. - -“You are if you say such things about George,” Herb said, and he said it -out flat, too, as if he meant it. - -“Oh!” Fan said. “The last time I was jealous. Now I am unjust! I'm sure -I thank you for your opinion of me--” - -“And, now, Frances,” said Herb, standing up because Fan was, “you are -unfair and unjust to me. Either that or frivolous.” - -“Oh!” Fan cried out and she slung something on the porch that bounced -and rolled. It came through the vines and to where I was, and I picked -it up. It was her engagement ring, but she didn't care where it went, -because she went slamming into the house, and Herb went stamping to the -gate and out of the yard. - -So I stood there and looked at the ring and felt pretty sick, because -it was just because Herb thought I wasn't a liar and a mean -cripple-torturer that he had stood up for me. And, just because I was -n't, his wedding was off again and nobody could tell when me and Swatty -would get his tricycle. - - - - -V. SCRATCH-CAT - -Well, when mother heard that Herb and Fan had had another fight she was -so hurt by it she just set down and cried and said, “Fan! Fan! I don't -know what is going to become of you with that temper of yours, because -Herbert Schwartz is one of the finest young men in the whole world and -if you keep on you 'll delineate his affections away from you entirely -forever,” or something like that. - -And it did look like it. Professor Martin's leg didn't get any better -and he had to go over to the hospital at Chicago to have it broke -again and fixed and Herb was made a regular professor at our school and -principal of it, and every day he used to come into our room and talk -awhile with Miss Carter, and walk home with her. I tell you it looked -mighty bad for Fan, and I didn't blame Herb, because Miss Carter was -nice. She was nice for a teacher, I mean, and sweet and pretty and -everything. - -Well, I had the engagement ring. I didn't know whether it was mine or -whose it was, because Fan had thrown it away and Herb hadn't bothered to -pick it up. So it looked as if it was mine, because finders is keepers. -So I asked Swatty. So Swatty wanted to look at the ring and when he saw -it had a diamond in it he said it was my ring, because Herb and Fan had -thrown it away, but that half of it was his, because Herb was as much -Swatty's brother as Fan was my sister, and if they had of had the fight -on Herb's porch instead of Fan's porch, it would of been Swatty that -found the ring. So we had it in pardnership and said we would keep it, -because if Herb got engaged again to Fan or to Miss Carter or anybody we -could trade it to him for his two-seat tricycle, maybe. - -Bony was sitting there all the time, listening to us, so all at once he -said: - -“Ain't any of the ring going to be mine?” - -The reason he said it was because most of the things we have we have -sort of in cahoots, the three of us. - -“Garsh, no, Bony,” Swatty said. “We'd like to have you part own it but -you ain't got no excuse to. Herb ain't your brother, and Fan ain't your -sister, like they are mine and Georgie's, are they? You ain't related to -the ring no way. We wish he was, don't we, Georgie? but he ain't.” - -Well, Bony was sort of mad at it, but it wasn't our fault. So then -Swatty said to me: - -“I ain't going to play with your sister any more.” - -“Why ain't you?” I asked him. - -“Because I ain't,” he said. “If my brother Herb ain't good enough for -your sister Fan, then I ain't good enough to play with Lucy. And I -won't.” Well, I knew what he meant, even if he didn't say it out in -words. He meant that he had been having Lucy for his secret girl, like -I wanted to have Mamie Little for mine, and now he wasn't going to have -her any more because Fan had been mean to Herb. - -“Well, I don't blame you,” I said. “I wouldn't either.” - -So none of us said anything for a while. Then all at once Bony said -something. - -“Say!” he said. - -“Say it yourself and see how you like it,” Swatty said. - -“Why, say!” Bony said, getting red in the face and digging into the -grass with his toe; “if--if you don't want to play with her, can I play -with her?” - -He meant with Lucy. He meant could he have Lucy for his girl if Swatty -didn't want her any more, only he didn't say it right out, of course. -So Swatty said he could. He said he didn't want her and Bony could have -her. - -“Well, then--” Bony said. “Well, then, I'd ought to be part owner of the -ring.” - -So we talked it over and me and Swatty thought that would be all right, -because if Bony wasn't a brother or sister of Herb or Fan he was going -to have Lucy for his girl and Lucy was my sister and Fan's. So we told -Bony he was third pardner in the ring. - -I guess Bony felt pretty set up and proud to have a girl that Swatty had -had, when he had never had any girl before. Right away he began to get -mad when we said Lucy was his girl, and that's a good sign, because -that's the way fellows feel. - -But girls don't feel that way when they Have fellows. Right away they -begin to wiggle their skirts when they walk, and want their mothers -to curl their hair every day, and put fresh hair-bows on them. So they -start right in saying how they hate the fellow that's their fellow; but -they take slate pencils and apples and things from him when he gives -them on the sly, and they begin writing notes to him in school, like -“Don't you think you 're smart with your new shoes on,” and things -like that. So he feels pretty good after all, and gives her apples when -nobody is looking, and pushes her around mean-like when anybody does -look. - -But she don't mind being pushed around, because that's one way she knows -he's her fellow. So, when there is a party, she is the one he drops a -pillow before, and if she don't kiss him, all right for her! But mostly -she does. She lets on that she hates it, but she don't. She likes it. - -Well, I guess one reason Swatty was glad to get rid of Lucy was because -Swatty didn't care for kissing games anyway, and it wasn't much fun for -him to have a girl, because nobody hardly dared yell at him: - - “Swatty! Swatty! Swatty! - Lucy she is your girl!” - -He was too good a fighter. And half the fun of having a girl is getting -mad because they yell it at you. And, anyway, Swatty was sort of rough -to have Lucy for his girl, and she didn't like to have him for a fellow -very much. As soon as school was out Swatty would begin clod fighting -with the Graveyard Gang, or make a bee-line for the baseball lot, or -get up a good fight. He never wanted to sort of walk on the edge of the -sidewalk when the girls were walking on the middle of it, and cut up -funny to make them look and giggle. It was boys he liked to push around, -and not girls. - -One reason Lucy didn't care much to have him for her fellow was because -his father and mother were German, and none of the girls like a Dutchy -for a fellow, because lots of Dutchies worked in the sawmills and -couldn't talk good English. But Swatty's father didn't work in a -sawmill; he was a tailor. But he was a Dutchy just the same, and when -the fellows got mad at Swatty sometimes they would yell: - - “Dutchy! Dutchy! - Stuffed with straw - Can't say nothing but - 'Yaw! yaw! yaw!'” - -Well, when I had time to think it over I thought it was funny that -Swatty had let Bony have a third partnership in the engagement ring as -easy as he had. And then one day I found out why it was. It shows how -slick Swatty was to keep a secret or anything. - -The vacation before the time I'm telling about--which was almost -vacation time again--there was a new girl came to Riverbank. She lived -in a little house across Main Street that had a picket fence and a yard -that ran mostly down the gully toward Front Street, and the first I knew -about her was one day when I had to go down town on an errand and went -past her house. - -I had on some new shoes, so I knew everybody would see them and be -thinking of them, and I felt pretty mean; and when I went by the little -house the girl was behind the picket fence, looking out. So I made a -face at her, because it was none of her business if I did have on new -shoes. - -It was summer, of course, and hot; but the girl had on a woolen -dress--red and black checks--and it fitted her pretty tight all over, -and was too short and little, so that it was tight like skin, and her -wrists stuck out too far. She was barefoot, too, and that was funny, -because girls don't go barefoot. It was as funny to see her barefoot as -to see me with shoes on. - -I was going to yell something at her, but I didn't, I only made a face -at her. But she didn't make one back at me. She just looked. - -She wasn't like any girl in Riverbank that I ever saw. She was -brown--almost like an Indian--but she had reddish cheeks, and her hair -was as black as tar and cut short, like a boy's, only it was banged in -front, and her bangs were so long they came down to her eyes, and were -cut as straight as a string. - -She stood behind the picket fence and just looked at me, and I didn't -like it. Her eyes were like big black marbles and her mouth like a -painted red. So I whistled and looked the other way and the first thing -I knew she was out of the gate and after me. I tried to run, but she -cornered me and took me by the hair and jerked me back and forth. I -thought she was going to jerk my head off. So I pulled loose and ran, -because no girl can jerk me around by the hair like that. So all she got -for her smarty business was just a handful of hair or two. And who cares -for a handful of hair? - -Well, you bet I got even with her, all right! I never went past her -house alone after that. - -So that's the way she was. She stayed in her yard, and when a boy came -along she would jump out and grab him by the hair, or slap him, and -chase him away from in front of her house. She was a tartar, all right. -She was like a spider that is always waiting and comes out and grabs -flies; only what she grabbed wasn't flies--it was boys. So we all got -afraid of her, and we didn't dast go past her house unless we were -two or three together. And then we generally went round some other way. -Except Swatty. - -Because one day Swatty he went past her house, and she come out and was -going to pull his hair, like she did the rest of us; and when she came -at him he backed up against the fence, and when she reached out for his -hair he hit her hand away with one hand and slapped her on the face good -and plenty. He slapped her two or three times and dared her to touch -him. So she didn't say anything, and Swatty didn't say anything, and -they just stood there. - -And pretty soon Swatty went on downtown. So she just stood there. - -Well, me and Bony used to play with girls sometimes because they let us -be the husbands and fathers, and boss them around and whip the children. -So when we did Swatty used to come along. Mostly he would sit and -whittle until me and Bony got through, but sometimes he would be the -policeman to arrest the husbands when they got drunk, or a pirate, or an -Indian lurking to scalp the wives, or a 'rangatang to carry the children -off. - -I guess the girls wished he wouldn't come, because a 'rangatang is such -an interruption to plain housekeeping, and pirates and policemen are -an awful nuisance to mothers who want to bring up a peaceful family -and don't want their husbands taken to jail just when the mud pies are -cooked and dinner is ready. But they couldn't help it, because if they -didn't let him me and Bony would go where Swatty went. - -Well, one time when teacher kept Swatty in school to have the principal -lick him, she went out to get the principal and locked Swatty in the -room, and he climbed out of the window onto a maple tree branch and -got away. So the principal licked him the next day. Anyway, the trees -darkened the room all up, so they had the janitor cut down the two trees -and they fell down the bank back of the schoolhouse. - -So that day the leaves were only beginning to wither, and the branches -of the trees made a bully place to play in. So Mamie Little and my -sister and me and Bony went right out there after dinner and played -house; and when Swatty had been licked, or whatever he had been kept in -for, he came there too. We made houses among the branches and -leaves, and were fathers and mothers; and Swatty had a lair and was a -'rangatang, and hung by his knees and swang from branch to branch. - -It was pretty good fun, even if it was playing with girls, because it -was a jungle, and me and Bony hunted the wild 'rangatang between meals; -and we were playing along all right when I saw my sister standing and -looking. I guess you know how a girl stands and looks--the way a cow -does--when she don't like something. So I looked, and out in the street -was the girl in the red and black check woolen dress. She was just -standing and looking back at my sister. It made my sister mighty mad. I -guess girls can look the things boys generally holler at each other. So -my sister said: - -“Bony, I don't want that girl to look at me!” - -So Bony looked, and when he saw who was looking he said: - -“Aw! let her look! Let her look, if she wants to. She ain't hurting -anybody!” - -So then my sister got awful mad. She stamped her foot. - -“I _won't_ let her look at me that way.” - -So she started on a run for the girl. She didn't get quite up to her. -Before she got quite to her, the girl sort of flashed up to my sister. -That was about all I could see. The next I saw, she was standing just -where she had always been, and my sister was flopped down on the ground -with her arms over her head, yelling bloody murder. So I jumped out of -the tree and ran up to my sister. Her face was all scratched up. There -were four long scratches on each side of her face where the girl had -raked her with her claws. So Mamie Little came running too, and helped -my sister up. - -“If I was a boy,” she said, “I wouldn't let anybody do that to my sister -unless I was a 'fraid-cat.” - -“Aw! who's a 'fraid-cat?” I said. I wasn't no more 'fraid-cat than she -was, but I guess J knew that girl. - -So Mamie Little took my sister by the arm. “Come on,” she said. “I guess -everybody around here is a 'fraid-cat. You and me will be mad at them -and stay mad for ever and ever!” - -So I had to go. I wasn't going to hit the girl. I just thought I'd sort -of push her away--only maybe a little rough--until I pushed her -inside her gate, so I could show a smarty like Mamie Little who was a -'fraid-cat and who wasn't. I walked over to where the girl was, and -she waited for me. All I had time to see was the girl's eyes turning to -something like prickly black fire, and something plumped against me like -a bag of flour shot out of a sling. It was as if her body hit against -me everywhere at once. And then something grabbed my hair and yanked -me, and I felt scratches burning on my face, and, somehow, I was on the -ground, yelling and holding my arms above my head. The girl was standing -where she had always been. I heard Mamie Little and my sister yelling: - -“Scratch-Cat! Scratch-Cat!” - -Swatty came on the run. He was pretty mad, because him and me was chums, -and I was his cow-cousin and his double Dutch uncle, and he ran right -past me and up to the girl. He gave her a push with his hand, and it -sort of pushed her around; but she straightened up again and just looked -at him. - -“You scratch-cat!” he said, as mean as he knew how. “Who are you -scratching around here, I'd like to know?” - -I thought she'd jump on him and claw him, like she did me; but she -didn't. - -“I ain't going to hurt you,” she said. - -“You bet you ain't!” Swatty said. “'Cause why? 'Cause you darsent, -that's why!” Only he said, “'Cors why?” like he always does. - -She didn't say she did dare, and she didn't say she didn't dare. She -said: - -“Come over in my yard and play with me. Don't you play with them. I can -play good.” - -So Swatty pushed her again, and she stepped back a step. - -“Don't you play with girls!” she said. “You come and play with me.” - -“Aw! you're a girl too,” Swatty said. “Go awrn home and play with -yourself.” - -So he gave her another push. She looked as if she hadn't ever thought -that she was a girl before. She said: - -“I can beat you running. I can beat you jumping. I can beat you climbing -trees. I can beat you skinning the cat. I can chin myself ten times more -than you can. I can stand on my head longer than you can.” - -“Go awrn home!” Swatty said, and gave her another shove. - -She stepped back again. - -“Come on and play in my yard,” she said again. “I can throw you any hold -you want. I can fight you and lick you.” - -“Becors you're a scratch-cat,” Swatty said, and pushed her again. - -“I can lick you without scratching,” the girl said. “Well, then, do it!” - said Swatty. “Go on and do it, why don't you? I want to see you do it!” - -So each time he said it he gave her a push. - -“I won't!” she said. “I ain't going to fight you.” - -“You darsent!” - -“I ain't going to!” - -“You don't dare!” - -“I ain't going to!” - -So every time Swatty said anything he shoved her again, and pretty soon -he had her pushed clear back against the fence of her yard, and he left -her there and came back. We went on playing. But every once in a while -we thought of her, and when we looked she was standing just where Swatty -had left her. - -Well, we found out her name was Dell Brown, because my father went to -speak to her father about the way she scratched my sister. Her father's -name was Reverend Brown; but he had adopted her because her folks died, -and she was a sore trial, but no doubt willed by the Almighty. The -Reverend Brown was a sort of preacher, and had an old white horse and -drove around the country and preached wherever he thought they needed -preaching. Mrs. Brown was a sort of invalid and old, like Reverend Brown -was, and he was almost too old to adopt Dell Brown for his daughter. -He had ought to have adopted her for his granddaughter when he was -adopting. - -So he said he would pray about it, and Mrs. Brown said she couldn't -understand Dell Brown, hardly, why she had the fighting streak in her, -because at home she was all love and affection to Mrs. Brown, and a word -made the child weep. I guess Dell Brown had just so much fight in her -and had to get it fought out. I guess she thought it was better to go -out and fight than to fight Mr. and Mrs. Brown. Maybe she was sort of -fond of them because they were funny and old and had adopted her. I -guess she was like George Washington: she was good and nice, but she -liked to fight. - -Well, after while school started again. I kind of hated to go, because -I always hate to, but more because I thought Dell Brown would go to -school. So she did, and the first time she got me alone she took me -by the hair and walloped me good. I hadn't done nothing to her, except -maybe yell “Scratch-Cat!” at her sometimes when I was far enough away. -So after that I didn't go to school very early, but kind of hung around -until Dell Brown went in, and then I went in. I never told on her. If -she says I did she tells what ain't so. It was Toady Williams. - -Me and Swatty was kept in that day, like we 'most always were, and Bony -was waiting outside. So Miss Murphy thought it wasn't any use talking -to Dell Brown any more; it was time to rawhide her. She got the rawhide -out of the closet, and told Dell Brown to come to the back of the room, -and Dell Brown went. Miss Murphy put one hand on Dell Brown's shoulder, -and lifted up the whip to switch her across the legs, and the next thing -she did was to let out a scream, and you couldn't have believed her -dress could be tom so in just a second if you hadn't seen it. Her hands -were beginning to get red in streaks where Dell Brown had scratched -them. So Dell Brown just threw Miss Murphy's hair switch on a desk, and -stood there with her chest swelling in and out under her red and black -checked dress, and Miss Murphy backed away and began winding her switch -on her head again. - -When Miss Murphy got her hair on, she went out and locked the door and -got Professor Martin, the principal, who is her beau. He came in, and he -was pretty mad. He grabbed Dell Brown and gave her a shake, and she -flew at him like a cat and scratched him across the face. He slung her -around, and she hit a desk and fell on the floor. It made her cry, and -Professor Martin was scared of what he had done and went to pick her up. -But when he stooped she clawed at him and scratched his other cheek, and -he left her alone and told her to get up and go home, because she was -expelled from school. - -So Dell Brown got up, and held her hand to her side, and went and got -her books and went home. But there was only one rib broke, and I guess -it healed all right, because she was young and tough. But nobody whipped -any more girls in school. I guess they thought it was safer to whip -boys. They are more used to it, and their ribs ain't so brittle. Or -maybe the school board stopped it. Professor Martin almost got fired -because he had broken a rib for Scratch-Cat and he would of been fired -only Scratch-Cat was such a ruffian, everybody said. - -Well, of course the expelling didn't take, and Dell Brown came back -after while, when Miss Murphy went away and Miss Carter came. She didn't -fight much, because her rib was brittle yet, but she was cross all the -time. It looked like she hated everybody and everybody hated her. - -But one day Miss Carter was walking down the aisle and she had some -flowers pinned on, and one dropped in the aisle, and Dell Brown picked -it up and put it in a book. She used to open the book and look at the -flower. She used to sit and look at Miss Carter, and you couldn't tell -whether she was mad at her or not, because her face was so dark and her -bangs so long that she always looked scowly. But I guess she wasn't -mad, I guess she wanted Miss Carter to like her, but didn't know how to -make her. - -None of the girls played with Scratch-Cat because she scratched; and -none of the boys played with her either, because they were afraid of -her. As soon as school was out she would go home and play in her own -yard. I guess she was pretty lonely. - -Well, that was how it was up to the time I'm telling about, just before -school closed, in June, and the weather was bully and warm. It made you -want to do things. So on Saturday me and Swatty and Bony was sitting in -my barn and talking about what we would do that afternoon. We thought of -a lot of things, and said them, but, every time, Swatty said: “Aw! no, -let's don't!” So we didn't. So then I said: - -“I'll tell you what!” - -“What?” Swatty asked. - -“Pshaw, no!” I said. “It ain't no use. We couldn't get any. It ain't -time for them yet.” - -“Aw! what are you talking about?” Swatty asked. “What ain't it time -for?” - -“Water-lilies,” I said. “If it was time for waterlilies we could row up -to the water-lily pond and get some water-lilies.” - -So then Swatty he talked up. - -“Well, we could row up the river anyway, couldn't we?” he said--only he -said “rowr” instead of “row,” like he always does. “We could rowr up the -river and get some pond-lily roots and sell them.” - -“Aw! who would buy old pond-lily roots?” Bony wanted to know. - -Well, I thought at first that the reason Swatty said we could sell -pond-lily roots was because once I had told him about a man or somebody -who had made money getting pond-lily roots and selling them to people -who wanted to raise pond-lilies in a tub in their gardens. But that was -n't why he said it. - -“Why, garsh! plenty of people would want to buy them,” Swatty said. “I -guess I ought to know. I guess I've got an uncle in Derlingport, ain't -I? I guess he ought to know about pond-lily roots, oughtn't he?” - -It looked like that ought to be so, because Derlingport is three times -as big as Riverbank, and Swatty's uncle was older than any of us. But -Bony said: “Aw! what does your old uncle know about pond-lily roots, -anyway?” - -“I guess he knows plenty about them,” Swatty said. “I guess if you went -up to Derlingport to visit him you'd see whether he knows anything about -them or not! I bet my uncle is the richest man in Derlingport, and the -reason he is is because once, when I was out pond-lilying, I sent him -a pond-lily root and he grew it in a tub, and when folks saw it they -wanted to grow some too. So my uncle he rowred up the river to a -pond-lily pond, and he got some roots and sold them. First orff he only -got a few and sold them; but pretty soon he had a hundred men getting -pond-lily roots for him, and he had to build a pond-lily root elevator, -like the grain elevator down on the levee, but ten times bigger.” - -“Gee-my-nentily!” Bony said. “Ten times bigger! Gee!” - -“Ho! that ain't nothing!” Swatty said. “That was when he was just -beginning to start out. He's got ten of them elevators now, and--he's -got almost ten trillion-billion pond-lily roots in them. He's got a -railway switch and a steamboat dock to each elevator, and when he ships -pond-lily roots he ships them by the trainload. Only, when he sells them -in Dubuque or Keorkuk, he ships them by the boatload.” - -“Gee-my-nentily!” said Bony again. “Come on! Let's--” - -“Well, I guess so!” said Swatty. “I guess it's no wonder he's the -richest man in Derlingport! And I can just go and visit him any time I -want to. I can go visit him and take a bath right in his china bathtub.” - -“Aw! go on!” I said. “He ain't got a china bathtub!” - -“Yes, sir! just like a tea-cup.” - -“Gosh!” Bony said. “Did you take a bath in it?” - -“Garsh, no!” said Swatty. “Do you think I'd go taking bath-tub baths -when I didn't have to? When I visit him my uncle lets me do just what I -want to. I don't have to wash my feet, or take a bath, or go for a cow, -or fetch in wood--” - -“Who fetches in the wood?” Bony asked. - -“Nobody,” Swatty said. “My uncle don't burn sawmill slabs or cord wood. -He burns coal.” - -“Well, somebody has to fetch in the coal, don't he?” I wanted to know. - -“Well, I guess not!” said Swatty. “He--he has a--a bridge built right -over the top of his house, so he can run a railroad over it, and he has -a big iron box on top of his house under the bridge, and the railroad -hawrls the cars of coal right up on top of the roof and dumps the coal -into the iron box, and it runs down the chimbleys right into the stove.” - Well, me and Bony didn't say nothing. We just sat there and thought what -we thought. - -“And he's got a road scooped out under his house for a railroad to run -on,” Swatty said, “and there is a train of cars under the house, and -when my uncle, or anybody, shakes the grate the ashes fall right down an -iron pipe into the cars.” - -“Come on!” I said. “Come on! Let's go somewhere.” - -So Swatty looked at me; but I hadn't said he was a liar or anything, so -there was nothing to fight about. If I had wanted to I could have said I -had an uncle somewhere that didn't bother with dirty old coal and ashes -at all, but had his own natural gas well and used natural gas; but my -nose was sore yet from the last time Swatty had pushed it into my face, -so I didn't say it. - -We went down to the boat-house and hired a skiff and rowed up the river -to the pond-lily pond. The river was pretty low and it was muddy on the -bank of the river--over knee-deep in mud. Swatty got out over the bow of -the skiff to pull it up on the mud, so the wash from any steamboat would -n't send it adrift, and he went in over the knees of his pants, so we -thought we had better undress in the skiff, and we did. It felt bully to -be undressed outdoors again. - -I guess you know how the lily-pond is. On one side is the railroad and -on the other side is the river; but between the pond and the river -is narrow sand, with willows on it--bush willows. It makes a bank all -around the lower end of the pond-lily pond and ends at the railroad. So -me and Bony and Swatty talked it over, and thought we'd better not leave -our clothes in the skiff, because somebody might steal them. First we -thought we'd hide them in the willows, and then we thought we'd carry -them around by the sand spit to the railroad, because the pond-lily -roots were over by the railroad more. So we did. We walked around to the -railroad and left our clothes there, and waded in. Swatty went first. - -It was pretty tough. You went into the mud pretty deep, and there -were plants that had scratch-els on them, and the lily plants and the -arrow-leaf plants were so thick you could hardly wade. They were all -around the shore for two or three rods, and you couldn't see over them. -They rustled like corn when we pushed through them. But we knew there -was a big clear place in the middle of the pond, so we waded on out -to it. It was the place where I learned to swim. It wasn't over head -anywhere. - -Well, Swatty came to the open place first, and he stopped and said: - -“There's somebody out there.” - -Me and Bony peeked, and there was. Right off we saw who it was--it was -Scratch-Cat. She was in where the water was under-arm deep, and she -was sort of crying, she was so mad. Then we saw what she was trying -to do--she was trying to learn herself to swim. It was enough to make -anybody laugh. - -It looked like she had been at it a long time, for she was so cold she -was shivering. We were near enough to her to see that the black spot on -her arm was a mole and not a leaf or a vaccination, and we could see her -shiver as plain as could be. The way she was learning herself to swim -was this: she put her hands out in front of her and sort of jumped off -her feet and then kicked and pounded the water and went down under. I -guess you know how that feels. You can't get your head above water when -you are that deep unless you stand up; so you paw in the mud, and get -scared because you can't get to your feet. Dell Brown would come up -scared to death, and spit and blow, and sort of cry, and shiver, and -then she would do it all again. - -I guess it was pretty tough. Every time she went down she must have -got scratched up by the weeds with scratchels on them--some kind of -smartweed--and she was scared and chilly. It was mighty funny. I guess I -laughed out aloud. - -Anyway, all at once she saw Swatty and us. She ducked like a shot, until -only her head was out of water, and me and Bony laughed. But Swatty -didn't. He pushed me and Bony back and said: “Hey! Scratch-Cat! Wait; -I'll show you how to swim.” Only, he said, “I'll showr you how to swim,” - the way he always says “show.” - -So he slid his hands out on the water and turned on his side and swam -towards where she was. He didn't mean nothing. All he meant was to show -her how to swim, because she would never learn the way she was trying. -But Scratch-Cat turned and held her arms straight out in front of her -and hurried for the shore, pushing the weeds away with her hands. - -Swatty kept telling her to wait, and once he came up to her, and she -turned and hammered him with her fists, crazy mad, and he let her go on. -The weeds must have scratched her pretty bad, ripping through them that -way; but she got to the railway track and began putting her clothes on -fast. So Swatty said: “Garsh! I bet she gets our clothes and hides them -or something!” - -So me and Swatty and Bony hurried to where our clothes were and dressed. -We got most of our duds on and were putting on the rest, when we heard -somebody yelling. It was a woman, and she was over on the river road, -across a cornfield from where we were, and she was yelling like she was -being murdered. I was mighty scared. All I thought of was that whoever -was murdering her would murder her and then come over and murder us. - -I guess Bony thought the same thing, for he got white and started to -run down the railway bank toward our skiff. So I started after him. But -Swatty he started to run the other way, down the bank to the cornfield, -towards where the woman was screaming. He rolled under the bob-wire -fence and started down between the com rows as hard as he could go. Me -and Bony stopped and looked, and then we went after him, only slower. -When we got deep into the com we got more scared. We didn't like to be -so far from where Swatty was, with a woman screaming like that and being -murdered. So I hurried up, and Bony came along, blubbering. I told him -to shut up. - -We came to the edge of the cornfield and stopped. It was Miss Carter, -our teacher, and a tramp had her by the throat, trying to make her stop -her yelling. And just then Swatty jumped on the tramp. He had a rock, -and he lammed at the tramp with it and hit him on the arm. So then Miss -Carter went limp and stopped yelling, and fell in a pile on the road, -because the tramp let go of her and she fainted. - -The road was all tramped up and covered with walked-on flowers Miss -Carter had been getting; but the tramp reached around and grabbed -Swatty and got him by the neck and began to pound his head. Me and Bony -crouched down and looked between the boards of the cornfield fence, -because we was too scared to run away. - -Swatty done the best he could, but it wasn't much use. He was getting -killed, I guess. But all at once Scratch-Cat came a-sailing out of the -cornfield and lit on the tramp with both hands. - -When her eight claws came raking down his face he let loose of Swatty -and grabbed for Scratch-Cat; but she wasn't where he grabbed. She was -standing away, with her hands clawed and her head sort of pointed at -him, ready to jump again. So Swatty picked up the rock and slung it, and -caught him in the back of the neck. He hollered like a bull and turned, -and Scratch-Cat went at him and raked him on the side of his face. He -lammed at her, and I guess he caught her on her brittle rib, because she -hollered. - -She didn't care what happened, I guess, when he hit her brittle rib, -so she went right at him, and Swatty made a dive for his legs and got a -hold on them. The tramp fought good and hard. He went down, but he kept -on fighting; and Swatty hollered for me to get a rock and whack the -tramp on the head with it. Maybe I would have. I don't know. Just then a -top buggy came around the bend of the road, and the tramp showed all he -was worth and beat off Swatty and Scratch-Cat and cut into the woods. -We heard him cracking the brush as he scooted, and that was all we knew -about him. - -Well, the man in the top buggy was Herb Schwartz. So he got out and -picked up Miss Carter and fetched her to, and Swatty told him what had -happened. So Herb went to where Scratch-Cat was sitting on the side of -the road, with her hand where her brittle rib had busted. So Swatty went -over there too. - -“Garsh! I'd of been killed if you hadn't come!” he said. But she stood -up and looked at him. - -'“What'd you come swimming at me when I was naked for?” she said, and -she was as mad as hops. I guess her rib hurt her and made her sort -of crazy mad, and Swatty was the first one that came near her, so she -picked on him. “Why'd you dare?” she screeched at him. “I'll show you -not to!”--or something like that. - -So she went for him. She didn't scratch, either; she used her fists. She -fought like crazy, and got her leg back of his, and threw him and piled -on top of him. He had to fight as hard as he knew how to, and it was all -right, because she wasn't a girl--she was something crazy mad. It was -a quick fight and a good one, and then Herb Schwartz grabbed Scratch-Cat -by the shoulder and pulled her off Swatty; but that didn't matter, -because the fight was over anyhow. Swatty had said: “Enough! I won't do -it again!” - -Well, as soon as Herb had stood Scratch-Cat up, she turned white and -fell down. She had fainted. It was a good deal of a mess-up. Miss Carter -had got hysterical, and was laughing and crying so she couldn't put -her hair up where it had fell down, and Scratch-Cat was stretched out -fainted, and I guess Herb Schwartz was never so busy in his life before. -He sent me and Bony and Swatty over to the pond-lily pond for a hatful -of water, and while we were gone he hugged Miss Carter until she wasn't -hysterical, because I guess that was what she needed to cure her, and -then he soused Scratch-Cat with the water and she came around all right. -So he took Miss Carter and Scratch-Cat back to town in the top buggy, -and me and Swatty and Bony went back to our skiff and rowed home. - -Swatty was pretty quiet. I guess he thought Herb and Miss Carter would -tell all over town how he had been licked by a girl; but he told me and -Bony he would kill us if we told it, so we didn't. But neither did Herb -or Miss Carter. The reason was that Scratch-Cat told them not to tell -she had been fighting. Herb told Swatty that Scratch-Cat had asked them -not to. - -After a while Scratch-Cat's brittle rib healed up again and she didn't -have to stay in bed, and I was going down-town on an errand past her -house, and I saw Swatty in her yard. They were playing mum-bledy-peg. So -after that she played with me and Bony and Swatty, and pretty soon with -Mamie Little and my sister and the other girls, and she was almost the -one they liked best. - -So one day Swatty said to me: - -“Don't you ever darst yell at me that Scratch-Cat is my girl!” - -“Aw! I never yelled it!” I said. - -“You better not!” he said. “Because she ain't.” So then I knew she was. - - - - -VI. THE CARDINAL'S SIGNET RING - -Well, for about a day I guess Bony thought he was about the smartest kid -that ever lived. Anyhow, he acted that way and the reason was that his -house had been burglared and mine and Swatty's houses hadn't been. But -that wasn't our fault. - -Swatty didn't say much because he thought maybe the burglar would come -around and burglar his house and then he would be as good as Bony. But -the burglar didn't go to any more houses, and me and Swatty got pretty -sick and tired of hearing Bony bragging about the burglar climbing right -in at his window and almost falling over his bed, and about how--if he -had wakened up--he would have gone into his father's room and got his -father's shotgun and shot the burglar. - -We got pretty sick of hearing about the reward Bony's father had -offered, and about how the policemen came to the house and looked at -Bony's bedroom window and everything and wrote it all down. - -“Garsh!” Swatty said; “it ain't nothing to brag about to be burglared! -The way you talk you'd think nobody in the world could be burglared but -you. If I wanted to I could write to my uncle in Derlingport and he'd -send down a burglar to burglar my house in a minute. And he'd burglar -Georgie's house, too. And my uncle would send down a real burglar, too.” - -That was a good one on Bony, because the newspaper said the policemen -said the burglar that bur-glared Bony's house wasn't a real burglar but -only “local talent.” - -“Well--well--” Bony said, “well, if your uncle can send down so many -real burglars, why don't he do it, and not leave you sitting there -talking about what he can do all the time?” - -“Aw! if you say much more about your old burglar I will write to my -uncle to send some down,” Swatty said. - -“Aw! and if you did he wouldn't get nothing! What'd he get at your -house? I bet he wouldn't get any cardinal's signet ring.” - -Well, I guess that made Swatty pretty mad. I guess we had heard about -all we wanted to hear about that old signet ring, so Swatty started to -go away, and he said to me: - -“Come on! he thinks there ain't nothing in the world but that old signet -ring. I bet it was brass, anyway.” - -But the cardinal's signet ring wasn't brass, because it said in the -newspaper it was gold. - -I guess I knew plenty about that signet ring before the burglar ever got -it, because once Bony told us about it when we were at his house and he -would have showed it to us, only his mother would not let him. - -It had been in the family from generation unto generation. So when -Bony's mother would not let us see it because her hands were in the -dough and boys are too careless, Bony told us what it was like and said -he guessed it was worth a million dollars, or maybe a hundred, anyway, -because it was solid gold and had a red, carved stone in it, and the -cardinal had given it to his son, and he had given it to his son, and it -had always been in the family. So I said: - -“Aw! 't ain't so! Because cardinals couldn't give anything to their -sons; they don't have any sons to give anything to.” - -“Well, this cardinal gave this ring to his son, so he did,” Bony said. -“This cardinal had a son.” - -“No, he didn't!” I said. “I guess I know about cardinals. They don't -have any sons. They can't have sons. That's the law.” - -Well, Bony didn't know what to say, because he knew I was right, because -I read a lot of books and he don't. So, if it hadn't been for Swatty I -don't know what we would have done about it. I guess me and Bony would -have been mad at each other forever, or had a fight or something, but -Swatty had just been listening and spoke up. - -“Aw!” he said; “that ain't nothing to fight about. The cardinal's signet -ring could be an heirloom from generation to generation and the cardinal -needn't have any son either. He could give it to his grandson, couldn't -he?” - -“Of course he could!” Bony said. “That's what he did.” - -“Sure he did!” said Swatty. “That's how all cardinals do. When they want -to start an heirloom going they look around for a son to give it to, and -when they haven't any sons they give the heirloom to their grandsons.” - -Well, the burglary was about Monday of the last week of school, and -about Tuesday we were sick and tired of it--me and Swatty was--but we -didn't know how to shut Bony up, because we couldn't have burglars come -to our houses just because we wished they would. So Tuesday after school -when I went home my sister Fan was out in the side yard, where the vines -grow on the porch, and she was down on her hands and knees. - -Fan had been looking pretty sick for a good while and it was because -Herb had gone back on her, or her on him. I felt mighty sorry for her, -even if she was my sister, and mother said she was worried and that the -only thing to cheer Fan up would be to send her somewhere, far from the -scene. So Fan had said she would go. - -So there she was on her knees in the grass and when she saw me she said, -“Georgie!” - -“What?” I said. - -“Georgie,” she said, “I lost a ring here--one with just one diamond in -it--” - -“I know. The ring Herb gave you.” - -“Yes. If you find it for me, George,” she said, “I'll give you--I'll -give you ten dollars.” - -Well, I tried to divide three into ten, and you can't do it, so I said: - -“Maybe I can find it for fifteen dollars,” because that would be five -dollars apiece for me and Swatty and Bony. - -Fan looked at me, and then said, “Very well, find it if you can, -please.” - -And that wasn't like Fan, because what she would mostly say, would be, -“You little imp, you know where that ring is! You get it this instant or -father will attend to you.” - -So I knew she was pretty sick about Herb. - -Well, as soon as Fan said that I skipped out the back way, over -to Swatty's, and asked him for the ring, because we had had it in -pardnership, and I had let him have it awhile. I told him what I wanted -it for and he said: - -“I ain't got it. I thought you or Bony had it; I gave it to Bony.” - -So we went over to Bony's house, and the minute we said “ring” he was -scared stiff. “It was stole,” he said. “The burglar stole it out of my -pants pocket, but I didn't say nothing because I guessed the police -would get it back again.” So that was a nice one, wasn't it? So me and -Swatty were mad at Bony and we wouldn't talk to him or let him play with -us unless we got the ring back, and none of the policemen caught -Bony's burglar. Bony's father printed a reward of fifty dollars in the -newspaper, but my father said that whoever caught the burglar would -n't be half as lucky if he caught him as he would if he ever got fifty -dollars out of Bony's father, because my father would be blessed if he -believed Bony's father had ever seen fifty dollars at one time. So maybe -the policemen knew that. Anyway, they did not catch the burglar. I guess -folks thought he would never be caught, and he never would have been -if it hadn't been for me and Swatty and Mamie Little. I guess he would -never have been caught if Mamie Little had known how to spell “sulphur.” - -The burglar got plenty of other things from Bony's house, too, but the -signet ring is the thing I'm telling about because it was the signet -ring that helped Swatty to catch the burglar. That and Mamie Little, -only Mamie Little didn't know she helped until I told her, and then she -didn't understand any better than she did about the sulphur bag. I guess -nobody will know unless I tell it. So I'll tell it. - -Thursday afternoon I went past Mamie Little's yard about five o'clock -and she was trying to fix up a couple of old boxes to make a playhouse -and I leaned on the fence and was glad I was there, because nobody else -was there to see me. So I said: “Aw! that's no way to make a playhouse -out of boxes!” - -“Oh, dear!” she said. “I know it ain't. I want this one on top of the -other one but I can't lift it.” - -“I bet I could lift it!” I said. - -“I know you could,” she said. “Boys are stronger than girls.” - -“If you don't tell anybody,” I said, “I'll come in and lift it for you.” - -So I went in and lifted it, and she was glad. She said it made a dandy -upstairs for her playhouse, and she said boys were fine, because they -were so strong. So I felt pretty good. So she took a hammer and began to -nail some nails, to make shelves and things, and I told her girls didn't -know how to nail, and she said she knew they didn't. - -So I took the hammer, and just then I saw Swatty coming. So I threw down -the hammer mighty quick and said: - -“I got to go now. My mother wants me, but if you want me to I'll come -over Saturday and we'll fix up the playhouse nice.” - -So she did want me to; and I said I'd come and I felt gladder than I -had ever felt before, and I dodged behind the lilac bushes and got out -of her yard the back way, and Swatty did not see me. So that was all -right. - -Well, I guess there was diphtheria or scarlet fever or something in town -then and, anyway, my mother and lots of the kids' mothers made us wear -sulphur bags. That was so we wouldn't catch it, whatever it was. They -were little bags about as big as a watch, and there was sulphur in them -and aseophidity, or asophedeta, or asofiditty, or whatever you spell it. - -It smells pretty rank but it keeps away whatever you might catch. - -Well, going to school Swatty met me and he said: - -“Say, let's go fishing down the Slough, tomorrow.” - -“I can't, Swatty,” I said, because I wanted to do what I had said I -would do for Mamie Little, only I didn't want to tell Swatty that, so I -said: “I've got to stay home and work.” - -“Pshaw!” Swatty said, only he said it “Pshawr!” like he always does. “If -you can't go I won't go, either! If you can't go I'm going to stay home -and split the wood I ought to split.” - -“Well, I can't go,” I said. So we went into the schoolhouse and into our -room. Mamie Little was there. She had just hung up her hat and she was -standing by her desk, nearly across the room, and she looked fine, her -cheeks were so red and her eyes were kind of sparkly. There were only -one or two there besides us. - -So, while she was standing by her desk she sort of picked at her dress -on her chest a couple of times the way I had been picking at my shirt -front, and I was glad to think she had a sulphur bag, too, like I had. -It was nice to think we both had the same, only she didn't know I had -one. - -So I whistled a little whistle--“Wheet!”--and she looked at me. I -guess she smiled at me. I felt mighty brave. So I started with the -deaf-and-dumb alphabet, pointing at my eye for “I,” and rubbing my hands -across each other for “h” and I spelled out “I have a” and she nodded -her head at each word to show she knew what I was spelling. So I spelled -out “sulphur,” because what I wanted to tell her was “I have a sulphur -bag, too,” but when I got to “sulph” she shook her head and I had to -begin again, because she couldn't understand. - -I was standing up and she was standing up and she was standing so she -looked right at me, and I spelled and spelled. Sometimes I began at the -beginning and spelled “I have sulph” and sometimes I spelled “sulphur” - over and over, but she just shook her head each time and smiled and -waited. She was awfully interested, and more and more scholars came in, -and pretty soon they were all watching me and trying to spell what I was -spelling, but nobody did, I guess. Mamie Little got awfully interested -and she was mighty eager to find out what I was trying to spell. Then, -all at once, I knew why she couldn't tell; it was because she didn't -have any sulphur bag on. So, all at once, I felt mighty cheap! There -she was, thinking I had something awfully important I was trying to tell -her, and she didn't have a sulphur bag, and I was making a fool of her -before the whole school, because what would she think of me telling her -I had a sulphur bag if she didn't have one? And making such a fuss about -it, as if it was something wonderful like telling her her father was -dead, or something. - -Then, all of sudden, I remembered I was going to her yard the next day, -to help her with her playhouse, and I felt worse than ever. The first -thing she would want to know would be what I had tried to spell out, -and if I told her she would think I was crazy to make so much fuss about -such a thing, and if I did not tell her she would be mad at me forever -and maybe talk about me to the other girls. I couldn't bear to think -about it and I couldn't help thinking about it. So, after school, I -hurried away as fast as I could, and when Swatty caught up with me I -told him I had changed my mind and that I would go fishing with him. So -that is how Mamie Little helped catch Bony's burglar. If it hadn't been -for Mamie Little not knowing how to spell “sulphur” I wouldn't have gone -fishing, and Swatty wouldn't have gone either, and the burglar wouldn't -have been caught. - -So Saturday morning I got in enough wood for all day and it wasn't -much, because it was summer and the kitchen wood was all I had to get -in. Then I hunted up a new tin can, because when we get through fishing -we always throw the old one into the Slough, because by that time the -worms that are left are pretty; bad. Sometimes, if the can has been -in the sun, they are even worse than that. So I got a new can and went -around to the other side of the barn and the spade was there yet, from -the last time I had dug worms, so I dug some more. - -Just then Swatty came into the yard and he was ready to start. So my -mother came to the back door with some sandwiches and things in a box, -and I said: - -“Aw! I don't want to carry a big box like that! Aw! I just want a couple -of sandwiches in my pocket!” - -“Georgie!” she said. “You take this box! You 'll be glad enough of -everything that's in it!” - -Me and Swatty went up over the hill and down past the Catlic church to -South Riverbank and we stopped at the pump on the corner and had a good -drink and cooled off our feet in the mud under the pump spout, because -the sidewalks were hot. - -The water in the Slough wasn't high and it wasn't low. Once the Slough -ran through to the river at this end but now it was all filled in with -sawdust from the sawmill, and a big conveyor blowpipe kept blowing more -sawdust into the Slough from the mill, and all the surface of the Slough -was floating sawdust. Then, a little further along, it was water-lily -leaves. Then, further along, it was plain Slough for miles and miles and -miles. - -The water was three or four feet down from the top of the bank and the -bank was covered with pretty good grass, and all along the Slough there -was a path worn, because kids and fellows had fished in the Slough ever -since there was a Riverbank, and before that the Indians had fished in -it, I guess. Everywhere, close to the edge of the bank in the shade of -the trees, there were places worn smooth-like an old chair seat--where -fellows had sat and fished for years and years until they were regular -fishing places. When you saw one of them you knew it was a good fishing -place and that there was a bent root, all worn smooth and sometimes -almost worn in two, part way down the bank, to rest your feet on. - -It was all quiet and still, like a fishing place should be, except for -the “urr-urr” of the mills away off, or the “caw caw!” of crows or, once -in a while, somebody knocking the ashes out of a pipe against a root, -across the Slough or a little splash when somebody caught a fish. Then -everything would be quiet again. - -So me and Swatty walked along down the path, because we thought we would -go as far as we had ever been, or farther, this time. Once we stopped -and ate 'most all of my lunch. It was nine o'clock but we were mighty -hungry. Then we went on. - -We got two or three miles down the Slough and most of the fishing places -were empty there and I wanted to stop but Swatty said: “Aw! come on! -Let's go on down to the point!” so we went. - -The point wasn't much of a point but you felt more out in the Slough -when you were on it. There was a big water maple at the end of it, with -fine roots to sit on, and I sat on some of the roots and fished and -Swatty sat on some others and fished. It was good and hot and the Slough -smelled warm and weedy and we liked it, because that was part of the -regular fishing smell. There was just a little ripple and the corks -bobbed up and down gently and we set our poles among the roots and just -leaned back and felt good. Over across the Slough was another point, but -more rounded and bigger, and it was green and cool looking, with grass -and three big elms on it, and back in the fields a cow's bell jingled -once in a while, and the crows cawed, and the sawmill hummed away off in -the distance, and it got hotter and hotter. I watched my cork until -it seemed to lose itself in the ripples and my eyes got sleepier and -sleepier and, the next thing I knew, I woke up and Swatty wasn't there! -Neither was my cork! - -The first thing I did was give my pole a yank and out came a jim-dandy -goggle-eye sunfish, just about as good as I ever caught. I held him so -the stickers wouldn't sting me and got the hook out of him and strung -him on a piece of twine and I was tying the string to a root so the -goggle-eye would be in the water when somebody down the Slough a ways -hawked, clearing the tobacco out of his throat, and I looked around and -saw Swatty coming back to the point, not making any noise. He held up a -finger for me to be quiet and then he climbed out onto the roots of the -maple and sat down. - -“I caught a dandy goggle-eye, Swatty,” I whispered. - -He leaned over toward me. - -“Don't make any noise!” he whispered. “Bony is over on that point.” - -I looked and I saw him. It was pretty far across the Slough and Bony -couldn't hear us if we whispered. - -“Well, he can't hear us, can he?” I whispered back. - -“No,” Swatty said and then he climbed over beside me and sat on a root. -“There's a man down there,” he said and he pointed. - -“I heard him spit.” I whispered. I began to feel scary because there was -n't any use for Swatty to be so whispery unless there was something to -feel scary at, was there? - -“He's got Bony's father's signet ring,” Swatty whispered. “Anyway, I -guess he's got it. He's got a ring like what Bony says his father's ring -is like. He's fishing and he's got the ring on his thumb.” - -Well, then I knew what Swatty had done. While I was asleep he had -sneaked down to see what luck the man was having and he had seen the -ring. - -“Gee!” I said. - -Swatty sat awhile with his forehead wrinkled and looked at the Slough -and he was thinking. - -“Garsh!” he said; “I'd like to be the one to get that fifty dollars. I -wish I knew for certain it is Bony's father's ring. Fifty dollars is a -lot of money. If I had it I'd put it in the bank.” - -“What bank?” I asked him. “The Savings Bank or the Riverbank National?” - -“I guess maybe I'd put half in one and half in the other,” Swatty said. -“Then if one bank busted I'd have half left, anyway.” - -“Well, if one did bust maybe you'd get some of your money back,” I said. -“My father had money in a bank once and it busted and he got part of it -back.” - -“That's so,” Swatty said. “If I put in twenty-five and the bank busted -maybe I'd get back fifteen of it. That would be forty dollars I'd have, -even if the bank did bust. I'd like to have it.” - -So we sat there awhile and the crows cawed and the cowbell jingled and -it was quiet, but we didn't catch any more fish. - -“If we hadn't got mad at Bony he would be over here,” Swatty said after -a while. - -“Well, what if he was?” I said. - -“Well, he could sneak up and see if that ring is his father's ring, -couldn't he?” said Swatty. - -“Well, then,” I said, “why don't you call to him to come over?” - -As soon as I said it I knew it wasn't much to say, because it was two -or three miles back to the end of the Slough and four or six miles -Bony would have to go to get around to us, and he wouldn't come anyway -because he'd think maybe we wanted to lick him or something. And if we -shouted what we wanted him for, the burglar would hear us and would get -away from there mighty quick. - -“I'm going over and get Bony.” - -“How are you going to get him?” I asked. - -“I'm going to row over,” he said. “You stay here and watch that man and -I'll go over and get Bony.” Well, I guessed that if he said he would, -he'd find some way to row over whether there was a boat or not, because -that was the way Swatty was. When he wanted to do anything he did it. So -I looked down the Slough and I could see the end of the man's fishpole -sticking out over the water and his cork floating and Swatty climbed -onto the bank and took his fishpole and went up the Slough. He had to -go pretty far before he found a boat and the boat he found was not much -good. It was an old flatboat and one end was busted some and it was -water-logged. Swatty had to stay away up in one end to keep the busted -end out of water and he paddled the best he could with a piece of fence -board. He paddled out to the middle of the Slough and stopped there and -pretended to fish a while and then he paddled a little nearer Bony and -pretended to fish a while longer, and then he paddled to shore near -where Bony was and got out of the flatboat and went up to Bony. For a -while they sat together and I guessed Swatty was talking to Bony about -the ring and the fifty dollars and the man, and coaxing Bony to come to -our side of the Slough and see if it was his father's ring the man had -on his thumb. - -So all the time I kept looking three ways--at Bony and Swatty, and at -my cork, and at the end of the man's fishpole--and all at once when I -looked the man's fishpole wasn't there. It was gone! - -So I looked harder, but it was gone, no matter how hard I looked. So -then I knew Swatty would give me a whale of a licking if he came back -and found out I had let the man get away while he was fetching Bony, and -I climbed off the root and up the bank and I was just starting to run, -to go where the man had been, when I saw him. He was right in the middle -of the path near where he had been fishing and he was bent down with -his back toward me, picking up fish, because the string he had had them -strung on had broken. He was stringing them again and as he picked them -up I could see the ring on his thumb. - -Pretty soon he had all his fish strung again and then he straightened -up and took a chew of tobacco and looked up into a tree that was right -there, and I looked up and saw he had put his fishpole up the tree, so I -guessed maybe he fished there pretty often, or was coming back sometime. -So then he slouched off. I watched him. - -He was big but he wasn't very old. Maybe he was twenty or thirty. His -clothes were pretty old and faded and he looked lazy in the arms and -legs and when he walked he walked tired. He went down the path a ways -and then he climbed over the fence there was along there and I went -across the path and watched him from behind another tree. It was a -ploughed field there and he walked in a furrow clear across the field to -the road that was on the other side and climbed over another fence. So I -climbed up on my fence and watched to see where he would go. There were -three little houses across the road and he went into the one on the end -toward town. So then I guessed that was where he lived and I got down -off my fence and went back to the point. - -Swatty and Bony were in the boat and Swatty was paddling it as well as -he could but it was only halfway across. Then, all at once, Swatty began -to paddle harder. He paddled as hard as he could and then, I guess, he -said something to Bony and Bony began to bail out the boat as fast as he -could. Then Bony began to cry. I could hear him where I was and Swatty -shouted at him and looked over his shoulder to see how far he had to -paddle. Then Swatty dropped his paddle stick and began to bail with -his hat like he was crazy. And before I could see it, almost, the old, -rotten flatboat took a dive and Swatty and Bony were in the water. -Bony yelled and went under but Swatty came right up, spitting water and -kicking out with his hands. It was a good thing he was barefoot. - -Well, Swatty looked all around as soon as he got the water out of his -eyes but he couldn't see Bony. So he dived for him. - -There's one place nobody ever swims and that is the Slough. All you have -to do is to look down into it anywhere and you know why. All you see -when you look down is seaweed--tons and oceans of it--all tangled and -twisty, and old trees and branches sticking around in it to get caught -onto. When the Slough is low you can't row on it because the seaweed -grabs your oars and holds on like it was some mean man trying to drown -your boat. It scares you. And all in among the seaweed are tough weeds -and water-lily stems and water vines. There have been plenty of boys -drowned in the Slough, I guess. So Bony had got caught in the weeds and -vines and things. - -Pretty soon Swatty came to the top but he didn't have Bony, but his arms -were covered with seaweed. He spit out water and scraped the seaweed -off his arms and then he took his nose in his hand and dived again. That -time he got him. He got him by one leg and he swam for shore dragging -Bony behind him and the seaweed strung out behind Bony. His head was all -covered with it. - -I was crying pretty hard, I guess. So Swatty told me to shut up and -he turned Bony over on his back and began scraping the seaweed off his -face, and Bony's face was scratched a good deal from the rough weeds and -maybe from where I had dragged him up the bank on his face. I thought he -was dead but Swatty didn't. He leaned down and listened to Bony's heart -and said all he needed was to be pumped out. So he started to pump him -out. - -Swatty got down on his knees a-straddle of Bony and took Bony's hands -in his and pumped him the way he had heard you ought to pump a drowned -person. He pushed Bony's arms clear back until they touched the ground -over his head and then he drew them forward until they touched the -ground again, and he kept right at it. Every once in a while Swatty -would shake his head to shake the water out of his ears but he went -right on pumping. So I stood and blubbered. - -Well, no water pumped out of Bony. Swatty pumped and pumped but no -water came out of Bony's mouth and pretty soon Swatty stopped and took a -couple of deep breaths. - -“Garsh!” he said; “I thought he would pump easier than that!” - -So he pumped him again a few times and then stopped again. It looked as -if it wasn't any use. - -“I know what's the matter,” Swatty said. “We've got to prime him. There -ain't enough water in him to start unless he's primed. When our cistern -is low at home we have to prime it before the water starts pumping up, -and that's what we've got to do.” - -Well, I guessed that was so. Our cistern pump was that way too. So I -took my bait can and washed it out good and clean and got a can of water -and I primed Bony. I poured a little water in Bony's mouth and Swatty -pumped. - -“Prime him some more,” Swatty said. - -So I primed him some more. It didn't seem to do any good. - -“Aw, prime him a lot!” Swatty said, so I poured all the water I had in -the can into Bony's mouth and went and got some more. - -“Keep on!” Swatty said. “He'll start pretty soon. We've got to get the -water pumped out of him.” - -So I was priming Bony again when somebody behind us said: - -“What are you trying to do to that boy?” - -I looked around, and Swatty looked around. It was the man with the ring -on his thumb. - -“He's drowned,” Swatty said, “and we're trying to pump him out.” - -The man took ahold of Swatty's shoulder and threw him almost into the -fence. He stooped down and grabbed Bony and threw him across a big maple -root, face down, and began to pump and pretty soon Bony began to pump -out. The man pumped him pretty dry and then he put him in the sun and -began to rub him good and after a while Bony opened his eyes. To see him -open his eyes was one of the best things I ever saw. I was mighty glad I -had helped to undrown him. - -Bony was pretty much wilted. Me and Swatty didn't know how we would ever -get him home but we didn't have to. - -“About one more can of water in this kid and he would have been gone for -good,” the man said. “Now, you help him onto my back and I'll get him -home for you.” - -We got Bony onto his back and Bony hung around his neck and the man held -Bony's legs under his arms. He climbed the fence with him that way and -started off across the ploughed field and me and Swatty went after him. -We didn't even think about taking our fishpoles along. We went across -the field and the man stopped at his house and called his mother and -she gave Bony some whiskey in hot water while the man went over to a -farmer's house and got a team and a wagon. So, while he was gone Swatty -said to Bony: - -“Is it?” - -He meant the cardinal's signet ring, and was it it. - -“Yes, it's it,” Bony said, but not very loud. He was pretty much drowned -yet. - -So we all went back to town in the farmer's wagon; me and Bony and -Swatty and the man and the farmer kid that was driving. So Swatty sat -with the farmer kid and talked to him. - -“That man saved Bony's life,” Swatty said. “Who is he?” - -“Him? He's Lazy Joe,” the farmer kid said. “He's Lazy Joe Mulligan. He -don't do nothing but fish and loaf.” - -So then Swatty knew who the burglar was. - -We drove up to town and Swatty told the farmer kid where to drive and -pretty soon we came to Bony's house. The man, Lazy Joe Mulligan, looked -pretty funny, you bet, when we drove right up to the house he had -burglared. He put his hand in his pocket and when he pulled it out the -ring was gone. - -“Come on!” Swatty said to me. - -“Where to?” I asked him. - -“Down to Bony's father's to get that fifty dollars,” Swatty said. So we -went. - -Well, I guess we forgot to tell Bony's father about Bony being drowned -and pumped out. We just told him we had the burglar up at his house and -that we wanted the fifty dollars, and he rushed out and up the street -and got a policeman and hurried to his house. Lazy Joe was there yet, -telling Bony's mother how he had pumped Bony out, but the farmer kid was -n't there, because Bony's mother had sent him down to get Bony's father. -She wanted Bony's father to give Lazy Joe five dollars or something for -pumping Bony out. - -Then me and Swatty and Bony's father and the policeman came in and -Bony's father was saying: “Officer, arrest him! He's the man that stole -my property,” while Bony's mother was saying: “Edward, give him five -dollars or something! He's the man that saved your son's life.” - -“How is that?” asked Bony's father, and he was pretty much mixed; “I -thought this was the burglar.” - -“He is the burglar,” said Swatty. “He's got the cardinal's ring in his -pocket right now. I seen it, and Georgie seen it, and Bony seen it.” - -Then Lazy Joe didn't know what to say. Then he said: - -“I'll give everything back.” - -So that was how they fixed it. Bony's father saved fifty-five dollars. -He saved the five dollars he ought to have given Lazy Joe for saving -Bony's life and he saved the fifty dollars he ought to have given -Swatty. So all me and Swatty knew next was that we were out on the -street and we didn't have anything to show for catching the burglar. All -we had was what Bony's father said. What he said was: - -“Get out of here, you little rats! Be thankful you haven't my child's -death on your shoulders!” - -Well, I was going, but Swatty stood right there. - -“No, sir!” he said. “I won't go. You can cheat us out of fifty dollars -reward, maybe, but you've got to give back the diamond ring this burglar -has that belongs to Herb and Fan. You got to give that back, because it -ain't yours.” - -“Have you got a ring like that?” the policeman asked Lazy Joe. - -“Yes,” he said, and he took it out of one of his pockets. So Swatty took -it and we skipped out. We went right over to my house, because it was -dark by now, and I went to Fan and told her we had her ring for her. I -didn't know what I would say when she asked me where I got it, but she -didn't ask. She just went to her drawer and got out fifteen dollars and -gave it to me and didn't say anything. Only when I went out of the room -I heard her bed creak sudden, and I knew she had sort of thrown herself -down on it, broken-hearted, like in a novel. - - - - -VII. THE HAUNTED HOUSE - -Well, it looked like that vacation would be a sort of nice one--at the -beginning of it, anyway--because Fan had taken mother's advice and gone -over to Chicago to visit Aunt Beatrice, and Mamie Little had gone down -to Betzville to be on her uncle's farm awhile, because it would do her -good. - -When Fan went she went in a closed carriage as far as the depot, because -she was so pale and peaked she didn't want anybody to see her and have -Herb hear of it. She sent him his ring back, I guess, before she went. - -I thought it was pretty mean that Fan had to be mostly sick like that, -while Herb was as well as ever and having a good time with Miss Carter, -as far as I knew, but it wasn't any of my business. Mother said she -guessed Fan would get over it, because she was young yet and, goodness -knew! there wasn't so much difference between one man and another, but -that if people like Bony's mother didn't stop coming over and talking -about it she would go mad. And I guess that was so because Bony's mother -is some talker. I 've heard her talk. - -I heard her talk about Fan one day, and it made me sick. And then she -talked about Bony, and it made me sicker. - -I was sitting on the edge of our porch waiting for Swatty and Bony. I -was tying a piece of salt pork on the bottom of my foot to keep from -getting the “lockjaw, because I had stepped on a rusty nail, and I -thought maybe I had better scrape some of the sand out of the nail hole -before I put the pork on, so it would heal quicker, and I was scraping -it out with my barlow knife. That's how I happened to be sitting on the -edge of the porch; but Bony's mother and my mother were at the other end -of the porch. So then Bony's mother said: - -“No, I have never used a switch on my son. I have never struck him -with my hand, nor has his father. We don't believe in it. We use moral -suasion.” That means they jaw Bony. They corner him up somewhere and jaw -him until he blubbers, the way the teachers jaw the girls when they get -too big to paddle, and then Bony's mother blubbers and makes Bony kiss -her and say that now he will be a better and truer boy and keep the Ten -Commandments and not smoke com silk any more. Or whatever it is. - -So my mother didn't say anything because when she thinks I need it -she wales me good. Anyway, I'd rather be waled ten times a day than be -moral-suasioned like Bony, and so would Swatty, and so would all the -kids, and so would Bony. But my mother didn't say anything because -Bony's mother was a caller and you don't fight with callers until after -they've got you so perfectly exasperated you just have to speak your -mind. - -So Bony's mother said: - -“Yes, indeed!” and she said it the way women say things when they 're -being stylish. “Yes, indeed! the rod implants fear in the child, and we -should rule by love. My child shall never know fear. The normal child -never knows fear.” - -Well, that's when I almost laughed out loud. Such a smarty, sitting -there and letting on she knew anything about boys! Say, I guess she -never was a boy! “Normal boys never know fear!” She must have thought -she was in heaven, talking about kid angels and not about boys! - -Boys are always afraid of something. Even Swatty used to be afraid of -that old witch, Mrs. Groogs. We other boys used to go across the street -from where she lived and holler: - - “Old Mother Groogsy, oh! - Lost her needle and couldn't sew! - Old Mother Groogsy, oh! - Lost her nee-dul and could-dent sew! - Old Mu-uth-er Gur-roog-sy, oh! - Lu-ost her nee-eedul and ku-uld-dent sew!” - -And then we'd throw clods at her shanty until she came out with a stick -or broom--mostly it was the cane she used to walk with--and then we'd -all throw clods at her at once and run. It made her pretty mad. But -Swatty made her maddest. He knew a German rhyme he could say pretty -fast, and he'd say it and she would get so mad she would shake all over. - -Well, one day when we were all sort of teasing her like that, and Swatty -was with us, she came out with a sword. It was a horse soldier's sword, -a saber, and it was so big she could hardly lift it, but she could with -both hands, and she came right at us across the street, swinging it -around her head. If it had hit us it would have killed us, but we ran. -So after that whenever she came out she would have the sword, but we -weren't afraid of her when we were together. It was when one of us -alone had to go anywhere near her shanty. We wouldn't do it. We'd go -'round. - -Well, she was one of the things we were afraid of, but the new street -got her away from there. The new street went right through where her -shanty was, so they tore the shanty down, and after that we weren't -afraid of her any more, because she was gone. - -So this day--it was Saturday--I was sitting on the porch fixing my foot -when Swatty came over, like he said he would. Bony was with him, but he -waited in the alley because he knew his mother was at my house. I got -around the corner of the house without my mother seeing I was limping -much, so she didn't call me back, and when we got to the alley Bony was -there all right, with a shovel he had borrowed out of their coal bin -while his mother wasn't home. It was to go ahead and make another room -in our cave with. I could walk pretty good, but I had to walk on the toe -end of one of my feet to keep the heel off the ground because the nail -hole was in the palm of my foot. We got to our cave all right. - -Our cave was a good one, it was the best one I ever saw anybody make. -It was in the clay bank at the side of Squaw Creek up where there are no -more Irish shanties or geese and where the creek bed is gravelly instead -of sandy. We found the place one day when we were explorers, exploring -the creek to its headwaters, only we stopped when we got to this place -and turned pirates and began digging the cave. We didn't do much that -day, but the next chance we got Swatty had us go up and dig again. We -dug a little every time we went up until the hole was big enough for us -all to get in, and then Swatty said we'd keep right on digging until it -was big enough to live in. - -That was what we thought of right at first, but we forgot it. We had had -enough cave digging, I guess. Swatty said: “Aw, garsh! come on and make -a good cave!” but we didn't want to. We wanted to smoke com silk and -talk and be comfortable. So Swatty went outside and climbed up the bank; -but pretty soon he came sliding down the bank. He made the silence sign -and motioned us to come with him. He looked good and scared. So we all -climbed up the bank and looked. - -The grass and weeds came right to the edge of the bank and from the edge -they stretched away over a big field. All around the field were trees, -edging it in, but that wasn't what Swatty wanted us to see. - -Away over in one corner of the field the Graveyard Gang was playing One -Old Cat. - -So that was where we were. The old Squaw Creek had turned and twisted -until it went right into the part of the edge of town where the -Graveyard Gang kids lived, and we had dug our cave right in a place -where we had never dared to go. Gee, I was scared! - -We were always scared of the Graveyard Gang. They had to come down to -our school, and there were a lot of them and mostly bigger than we were -and we generally fought after school, but it was only sometimes that -they could catch us and mailer us, because we could throw clods at them -and then skip into our yards where we lived, and they couldn't come -after us. But what they always tried to do was to get some of us -cornered off and chase us out toward the cemetery way. If they got us -out there they could surround us and mailer the life out of us. And they -would. - -So me and Bony saw that our cave was a pretty good thing. If the -Graveyard Gang got us cornered off and we had to run out their way they -would think they had us, but we would just run and slide down to our -cave and then we could fight them until they had enough or we had killed -them all. So every day that we went to the cave we took up stones, and -we dug and dug. It was a dandy cave. It was big enough to stand up -in, and we made a stove out of old iron and made a hole up through the -ceiling for the smoke to go out, and we had some potatoes and things so -we could stand a long siege. We worked at it nearly all vacation. Swatty -showed us how to make a door, and we made it and we painted the outside -with wet clay so the door would look like the side of the bank but it -didn't. It did some, but not much. - -Well, when school began again we began having clod fights with the -Graveyard Gang again and some of them were pretty tough fights. Once, -Swatty said, when me and Bony wasn't with him some of the Graveyard -kids cornered him off and chased him all the way out to their part of -town, but he dodged and went behind some bushes and got to the cave and -hid there until night, and they never found him. So we knew the cave was -a good thing to have. So this day I'm telling about we went right up -the creek to our cave and the minute we got there Swatty stopped short. - -“Somebody has been here!” he said. - -The door of the cave was busted in and was off one of its hinges. Our -stove was all kicked over and the table we had made was busted down and -everything we had was all kicked around. We guessed the Graveyard Gang -had found us out, so Swatty and me and Bony went to work and fixed up -the door and mended the stove. We didn't know when they would come -back. - -They came back quick enough. The first we heard was them talking at the -top of the bank, and then all of them slid down. I guess they wanted to -stop when they got to the cave mouth, but Swatty was in the door of the -cave and he had his pockets full of our throwing stones, and he leaned -out and let them have them. They yelled and slid right on down to the -creek. - -Bony began to cry. - -Well, there were about twelve of the Graveyard Gang down there in the -creek. They got together and talked about how they would get us and then -they began throwing stones. I tried to help Swatty stone them, but the -door was too narrow, and he told me to stay inside and hand him stones -to throw. He threw as fast as he could and sometimes he hit a Graveyard -kid and sometimes he missed, but one kid can't hardly throw against -twelve, and pretty soon a stone hit Swatty on the forehead just on his -eyebrow. He put up his hand to feel the place and another hit him on the -crazy bone, and he came inside and lay down on the floor of the cave -and hugged his elbow and rocked himself and groaned. I guess it hurt him -pretty bad. Bony just stood and bellered: “Oh, I want to go home! I want -to go home!” - -I went to the door and began to throw stones, but I was so mad I -couldn't aim straight. Swatty sat up and rocked himself and hugged his -elbow. - -“Shut the door!” he howled at me. “Come in and shut the door! Shut the -door!” - -So I did. I wasn't much afraid of being hit, but I knew the door shut -right away, so I shut it. The minute it was shut the stones hit against -it like hail. The Graveyard Gang cheered, but it didn't do them any -good; the little throwing stones couldn't break the door and they -couldn't throw big ones up that far. - -In a little while Swatty was just rubbing his elbow and he got up and -helped me brace the door shut with the shovel and things. His forehead -was swelled up like an egg, but he didn't mind that. - -“There!” he said. “This shows it was a good thing we have a cave,” and -I guessed he was right. He went over and made Bony stop blubbering. -He made him stop by telling him to hurry and build a fire in the stove -because maybe we might have to stay there a week or even longer, and -we'd have to cook potatoes to live on or else starve to death. So Bony -forgot to cry and started to make a fire. - -Between the boards of our door we could see out through the crack and we -could see that the Graveyard Gang didn't know what to do next to get us. -Once in a while they threw a stone or two but that didn't hurt us. And -then they did the thing that chased us out. - -I guess it was about five o'clock by then. We thought it was later -because it was getting dark, but we couldn't see that there was a big -storm coming up. It was coming up back of us and was hiding the sun. All -at once there was thunder, and then the stove began to smoke out into -the cave. Then the whole cave began to fill with smoke. - -I coughed, and me and Bony thought the wind was blowing the smoke down -the chimney, but Swatty went to the stove and kicked the top off and -began scattering the wood and coals over the floor to put out the fire. -Some of the Graveyard Gang had put something over the top of our chimney -so that the smoke would come into the cave and smoke us out. - -Well, that was all right. We kicked the fire out and that ought to have -stopped the smoke but it didn't. The smoke came in worse than ever, and -then Swatty knew what was the matter. The Graveyard Gang was filling our -chimney with burning grass or straw or something and then stopping the -top of the chimney so the smoke would come down into the cave. - -The smoke got so thick we couldn't see and we couldn't breathe. Swatty -looked out of the door cracks and there were eight or nine of the -Graveyard Gang down there in the creek laying for us, but what could we -do? We couldn't stay in the cave and be suffocated to death, could we? -So what we had to do we had to do mighty quick. - -Swatty threw open the cave door. He had picked up a stick and he sort -of waved it over his head. Bony was blubbering again and I couldn't see -very well for the smoke in my eyes, and neither could Swatty, I guess, -but Swatty waved the stick and shouted: - -“Come on, now!” he shouted. “We've got 'em surrounded! Charge 'em! We've -got 'em now!” - -Well, the Graveyard kids looked up at the top of the other bank and -Swatty started to slide down the bank right at them, and me and Bony -we started to slide down, and the Graveyard kids turned and ran up the -creek. I guess they were scared that Swatty had seen a lot more of our -kids coming. Anyway, they ran about half a block and then they saw there -was just Swatty and Bony and me and that we were climbing up the other -bank to get away, and they came for us. - -We didn't have much of a start. We didn't know exactly where we were. -We ran where the running was easiest, and pretty soon we came to a fence -and climbed over and we were in a road. We turned and ran up the road, -and the first of the Graveyard kids was piling over the fence already -so we just let out our legs and ran! Even Bony stopped crying. He just -turned white and scared-looking and ran. He ran so fast he ran in front -of us and we could hardly keep up with him. - -The whole Graveyard Gang was after us now, shouting and running and -pretty soon we knew where we were--we were on the Four Mile Road because -off in the distance we could see the big red building of the Poor Farm. -We knew that building pretty well because it is one of the places we -kept away from because they keep the crazy folks there. You never know -when a crazy man will cut you open with a knife or something. - -We didn't have time to think of that scare then, we were so scared of -what would happen to us if the Graveyard kids caught us. I guess we -didn't think of the Poor Farm crazy folks at all. - -So pretty soon Bony began to drop back, and we caught up with him. It -was thundering and lightning hard now and the wind was blowing the way -it does just before a big storm--big whoofs that throw up the dust in -thick waves and make the trees bend low down and shake the leaves out of -them--and Bony was crying again. Swatty shouted at him, but we couldn't -hear what he was saying, the wind and the thunder and trees made so much -noise. I looked back and saw that the Graveyard kids were right after us -and then--Bony fell down! - -He didn't fall flat. He fell half and took half a step and then turned -and fell sideways, and when he tried to get up he couldn't. I ran a -little bit before I stopped, but Swatty stopped short and when I looked -back he was trying to drag Bony up again. There was an awful flash of -lightning, one of the kind you can't see for a minute after, and then a -bang like a thousand cannon, only keener, and a big tree at the side of -the road just split in two and one half fell across the road. I guess -maybe I cried a little, but I didn't stop to do it; I ran back to Swatty -and Bony and grabbed hold of Bony's other arm and helped Swatty drag -him. - -I don't know what happened to the Graveyard Gang. I guess they got -scared of the storm and went home but we didn't think of that then, -All we thought of was to get Bony away in a hurry. It was awful! The -lightning and thunder were just glare, glare, glare! and bang, bang, -bang! and no rest in between, and the wind was bending the trees almost -down to the ground and holding them there stiff, not swaying. I was just -bellering and yanking Bony by the arm and saying, “Oh, come on, Bony! -Oh, come on, Bony!” over and over. Swatty was shouting at me all the -time, but I couldn't tell what he was saying, but he pulled more at his -arm of Bony than I pulled at mine, and then I saw he was taking him off -the road, because there was a house right where we were and he wanted to -get him to the house. - -Just when we got Bony onto the porch of the house it began to rain. It -didn't rain down, it rained straight across, like the lines on writing -paper, and it didn't rain a little--it rained all the rain there ever -was or will be, I guess. The rain came into that porch like water shot -out of a fire hose nozzle, just swish-swash against the front of the -house and then up to your ankles on the rotten floor of the porch. And -then, when there was a white flash of lightning I saw where we were. We -were on the porch of the Haunted House! - -[Illustration: 182] - -All the kids knew about the Haunted House. The way I knew about it was -because we used to go out the Four Mile Road nutting and then we used to -see it. Anybody would know it was a haunted house just by looking at it. -The glass in the windows was all gone and boards, any old boards, were -nailed across the windows, and the doors were either nailed up or broken -in and hanging crooked on one hinge. The paint was all off and the -chimneys had toppled over and the bricks and mortar were all scattered -down the roof and some on the porch roof. The shingles were all curled -up and there were bare patches where they had blown off. - -It was a big house, two stories and a half, and there was a porch all -across the front, but at one corner the porch post had rotted down so -that the porch roof sagged almost to the floor there, and the rest of -the roof was all skewish. The floor of the porch where we were was all -dry-rotted and some of the boards were gone, and the grass and weeds -grew up through the floor everywhere. The yard was all weeds, as high -as a man, and tangled blackberry bushes, and at night, so Swatty and -all the kids said, something white used to come to the windows and stand -there, and you could hear moans. It was a haunted house all right. All -the boys knew that and all the boys kept away from it. And there we -were, right on the porch and the rain just drowning us. - -“Come on, we got to get him inside,” Swatty said, and he took hold of -Bony again. - -I didn't want to. It was bad enough to be on the porch of a haunted -house or anywhere near it, but the thunder and lightning and rain and -wind and everything made all things kind of different than on other -days. It wasn't like real; it was like dreams. It was like the end of -the world, when you don't think what you do but just do it; and so I -took hold of Bony and helped. - -We got Bony to the front door and into the hall of the house. In there -it was so black we couldn't see except when the lightning flashed, -and then we couldn't see much. The rain was blowing in at the door and -running down the hall. The old house shook and trembled. A brick or -something rolled down the roof and thumped on the porch roof. - -We got Bony into a dry corner of the hall and let him sit on the floor -and Swatty tried to feel Bony's leg to see if it was broken or what, -and while he was doing that there came a big crash and the rain stopped -coming in at the front door. It was the porch roof. It had blown down -the rest of the way, shutting up the door and shutting us in. But we -didn't know then that we were shut in. We were just frightened by the -noise. We thought maybe the house had been struck by lightning. - -Well, after that it was darker in the house than ever. We didn't get the -light from the lightning through the door any more, and we only got -it through the cracks between the boards at the windows. We just stood -there, me and Swatty, and Bony on the floor, and listened to the storm -and the water swashing against the house and to the old house creaking -and grating, and Bony moaned over his ankle and cried because of -everything. I was just plain scared. I just stood and got more and more -scared. I tried to listen whether the creaking and grating was the house -or ghosts, and I listened so hard my ears seemed to reach out. I didn't -dare to breathe. Pretty soon I was too scared for any use. I said, -“Swatty!” - -“What?” he answered back. - -“I'm scared,” I said. - -Well, then Bony began to beller loud. - -“Aw, shut up!” Swatty told him. “I'm scared, too, ain't I? Feel my -wrist,” he says to me, “it's all goose flesh, ain't it? That's how -scared I am, but it don't do any good to beller about it.” - -So we just stayed there. Bony held on to Swatty's ankle with one hand -and I sort of edged over so I was close to Swatty, and we just waited, -because that was all there was to do. So after a while the storm let up. -It rained a little yet, but the thunder and lightning stopped. The wind -blew some, but not so much. It was pretty dark in the house. We knew it -must be getting toward night. - -“I guess we can go now,” Swatty said, and I was glad of it. We boosted -Bony up so he could hobble on one leg between us and we went to the -front door. Well, we couldn't get out! - -And that wasn't the worst of it; every other way out was boarded up! We -went all around the first floor and tried all the windows and the back -door and they were all boarded up. We were fastened tight into the -Haunted House. - -It was pretty bad going into the dark rooms, one after another, not -knowing whether something would jump out at you, and I guess me and Bony -wouldn't have done it if Swatty hadn't made us. But there wasn't any -way out, and that wasn't the worst. There wasn't even a little piece -of board to pry the boards off the windows. There, wasn't a loose brick -or anything. Nothing but dust, and maybe a couple of pieces of paper. - -“What'll we do?” I asked, awfully scared. “Garsh! I don't know!” Swatty -said. “We got to get out somehow. We'll starve to death here if we -don't. We got to get something to pry off a board from a window.” - -Well, there wasn't anything to pry one off with. Not down where we -were. So Swatty said, all of a sudden: - -“Come on! I'm going to see if there's anything we can get upstairs.” - -“Aw, no, Swatty!” I begged. “Don't go up there! I don't want to go up!” - -“Well, you don't have to, do you?” he said. “I didn't ask you to. I said -I was going.” - -So he went alone, and I stayed down with Bony. We were all alone in the -dark down there and Swatty went up the stairs. He went up a step at a -time and then stopped and listened, and then he went up another step and -listened. Pretty soon he got to the top of the stairs and then we heard -him going from one room to smother and feeling with his foot for a board -or something that would do to pry our way out. Then we didn't hear him -for a minute, I guess. - -Pretty soon he came to the head of the stairs. He leaned over the -balusters. - -“Hey! George! Come on up,” he said in a whisper. “There ain't nothing up -here. I want to go up in the attic.” - -Bony wouldn't go. Swatty had to come down and talk to him like a Dutch -uncle and tell him what he thought of him, and then he blubbered while -we were helping him up the stairs. He said it was all right for us to go -up because if anything--he didn't say a ghost, because he was afraid -to, but that was what he meant--jumped out at us we could run, but he -couldn't because his ankle was sprained. But we got him up all right. - -We got him up and I stayed with him at the head of the stairs, and -Swatty went and opened the attic stair door. He opened it, and then he -stood there a second. Even where I was I could hear it. It was like a -groan--like a long, sick sort of groan--and it was from up there in the -attic. I turned so stiff and cold I couldn't open or shut my lips. I -couldn't breathe. I was like ice, numb and cold all over except my hair -pulled upward all over my head. A ghost could have come and put its cold -hand on me and I couldn't have moved. - -“Oh! Oh--!” came that long moan from up in the attic. Bony stood up, -and his ankle gave way and he fell down the stairs--all the way to the -bottom. - -He stayed there, just calling out, “Swatty, Swatty!” over and over. - -It was dark there now, dead dark. All at once I screamed. Something had -touched me on the arm. - -“Aw, shut up!” Swatty said, because it was Swatty that had touched me. -“Shut up and don't be a baby! I've got to go up there, and you've got -to go up with me.” - -“Why?” - -“Because I don't want to go up there alone,” he said. “That's why if you -want to know.” - -“What do you want to go up for, anyway?” - -“Well, you won't go up alone, will you? And Bony won't go up alone, will -he? Somebody's got to go up and see if there's anything up there we can -pry our way out with. Come on! That noise ain't nothin' but the wind, -or maybe an owl, or something else.” So I had to go. I made Swatty go -first, and he went up the attic stairs real slow, and I didn't crowd him -any, you bet! At the top of the stairs he stopped short. So I stopped -short. - -“What's the matter?” I whispered. Swatty stood still. - -“There's something up here or somebody--something alive,” he whispered -back in terror. - -And there was! Between the moans I could hear it breathe, a long breath, -like “Ah-ah!” So the next thing I knew I was down two flights of stairs -at the front door, trying to scratch my way through the porch roof with -my finger nails, and Bony was hanging onto my legs, and we were both -scared stiff. I guess it wasn't so long after we heard something -breathe in the attic, about a second after, maybe. And I couldn't -scratch my way out. So I began to yell: “Swatty! Oh, Swatty! Come here; -why don't you come here? Oh, Swatty, come!” And Bony yelled too. We both -did. I guess we both cried, we were so scared and frightened and afraid. -Shut in a haunted house like that and something moaning and breathing in -the attic! Anybody would be scared. Anybody but Swatty. - -Afterward, the next time we got together after Bony's ankle was well and -after the manager of the Poor Farm had given us each a watch and chain -for what we did, Swatty said he wasn't scared when he heard the groaner -breathe, because he had heard his folks's cow when it had the colic, and -that was the way the cow groaned and breathed when it had it. Anyway, -when I ran away from him and left him alone he stood and listened, and -then he went up the last step and listened again. It was black up there. -So he said, “Who's there?” and waited and the groaning kept on. So he -walked right over toward where the groaning kept coming from. He walked -slowly, pushing one foot ahead of him and holding out both hands, -because the floor might not be all there, and all at once his foot hit -something hard and cold. He was barefoot, like all of us. - -It might have been a snake. It might have been anything, for all Swatty -knew, but he bent down and felt it with his hand. I wouldn't have done -it for a million dollars, and Bony wouldn't have done it for ten million -dollars! No, sir! So at first Swatty thought it was an old scythe blade -somebody had left there, and he was mighty glad anyway, because it would -do to pry the boards off a window and let us out, but when he tried to -pick it up it was held onto. - -Well, I guess I might as well say it right out. It was a sword, and it -was Mrs. Groogs's sword, and it was old Mrs. Groogs that was holding -onto the other end of the sword and lying there and groaning and -breathing! It was her son's sword, and he had been killed in the war -Grant and Lincoln and Swatty's father had been in, and when she ran away -from the Poor Farm and they couldn't find out where she had gone, that -was all she took and that was where she went to die--there in the attic -of the Haunted House. She went there because she was kind of crazy and -thought the mother of a son that had died for his country oughtn't to -die in the Poor House. But she didn't die in it, either, because the -Woman's Relief Corps rented a room for her and the city gave her Outside -Support again. - -So if it hadn't been for us Mrs. Groogs would have starved to death in -the Haunted House, and if it hadn't been for her and her sword maybe we -would have starved to death in it. So I guess it was all right. - -So that time none of us got licked when we got home. Swatty didn't -because his father was a G.A.R. and Mrs. Groogs was a G.A.R.-ess, and I -didn't because my folks were glad I hadn't been struck by lightning, and -Bony didn't because his folks were moral suasion. They jawed him. - - - - -VIII. WASTED EFFORT - -Well, a good many things happened that vacation. Fan stayed over -at Chicago and Herb Schwartz began studying to be a lawyer in Judge -Hannan's law office. Miss Carter went off to a school somewhere but I -don't know whether she was teaching or learning. Mamie Little was down -at Betzville, on a farm, and Lucy never did tag along with us anyway, so -it looked as if me and Swatty and Bony was going to have one of the -best vacations we ever had. We used to go up to our cave and work on it. -Scratch-Cat went with us mostly, but we didn't count her for a girl. So -it looked pretty good. - -Me and Swatty and Bony liked vacation because we never did have time to -do all we wanted to do when school kept. What we wanted to do most was -to finish up our cave in the clay bank up Squaw Creek. The Graveyard -Gang had chased us away from it, but that was all right when vacation -came because the Graveyard Gang kids all have to go to work when school -is over. Some of them work for the farmers on the Island, and some work -in the sawmills. So we went up and looked at the cave. - -The cave was all right. The Graveyard Gang had fixed up the door and -made it look better, and the stove was there, and they had made another -room to the cave, in behind, only it wasn't all dug out yet. So me and -Swatty and Bony and Scratch-Cat thought we would finish digging the new -room and then, maybe, we would get a Gatling gun or something and put it -in the cave, so we could hold the fort when school began again and the -Graveyard Gang tried to chase us out again. Swatty said maybe his uncle -would give him a Gatling gun for his birthday if he wrote to Derlingport -and asked him. So me and Bony thought that sounded good, and we went -ahead and dug at the cave. - -Well, it looked like we was going to have the best vacation we ever -had. I guess we ought to have known that when everything looked so -bully something was going to spoil it all. It was too good to be right. -Swatty's mother's cow went dry, and Swatty didn't have to go home early -to get her from the pasture so he could deliver the milk around to the -neighbors, and that was too good to be right; and Bony sort of stopped -bawling at every little thing, and that wasn't like him. We ought to -have knowed something was going to happen. - -It was too nice. Most always, in vacation, my mother made me and my -sister wash and wipe the dinner dishes at noon, and it didn't do any -good to drop plates and break them, or whine, or get a bad headache all -of a sudden; I had to wipe. There ought to be a law so boys couldn't -wipe dishes, but there ain't; so about all I could ever do was to wipe -them as mean as I could and leave the butter between the tines of the -forks when my sister didn't wash it all out. - -Well, when this vacation came I thought I'd have to start in wiping the -doggone dishes again; but I didn't. My mother got back the hired girl we -had off and on. Her name was Annie Dombacher and she was a strong girl -and a happy one, and she didn't care any more for work than shucks. She -could wash and wipe dishes and enjoy it, so maybe she was crazy; but -what did I care if she was? She pitched in and even carried in her own -wood, and made a jar of cookies every two days. I thought it was bully. -I ought to have knowed better. I ought to have knowed that mothers -don't get hired girls that will carry in the wood and everything unless -they've got something mean they are going to do to a fellow pretty soon. - -The first thing that happened was Bony. Me and Swatty had got so we -didn't hardly think of Bony as a cry-baby any more, and here all at once -he was different. He used to come yelling and “yoo-ooing” to meet us, -and then one noon he come sort of sneaking, like a dog you've told to go -home and thrown a stone at. He come up to us, mighty quiet and looking -pretty sick, and didn't say nothing. - -“What's the matter, Bony?” Swatty asked. - -“Nothing. You 'tend your own business, can't you?” he answered back. - -But it wasn't scrappy the way he said it; it was whiny. - -So I started to say something, but Swatty stopped me. - -“Aw! let him be!” he said. “If he wants to be a whine-cat let him be -one. What do we care?” - -So we let him. He came along to the cave with us and dug; but he didn't -seem to have no fun. It wouldn't have taken much to make him blubber. He -acted ashamed, that's what! - -Well, that was one day, and the next morning he was just as bad. We -teased him some that morning, but he took it and never jawed back. Then -he went down to the creek to get a drink, and me and Swatty talked -about him. Bony's father and mother fought a good deal with their jaws -sometimes, like when we thought Bony's father was going across the -river to kill himself and we went to keep him from it, and me and Swatty -decided there must be a big fight going on at Bony's house, because that -always makes a fellow feel cheap and mean. So we said we wouldn't tease -him about it. So Bony came back and we dug awhile and went home to -dinner. - -And the next thing was that Mamie Little came back from Betzville and -began playing with Lucy and Toady Williams again, and that made me feel -mean. And then Fan came back from Chicago. - -So, one day after dinner I had to go for an errand for my mother, and -when I came back Swatty and Bony hadn't come yet, but Mamie Little -was at our house waiting for my sister. She was on the front terrace -braiding the grass where it was long. So I picked some grass and made a -ball of it and threw it at her and she said to stop, and I got some more -and was going to throw it at her, and I felt pretty good, because she -said: “Oh, George! now don't!” but just then my father came out of the -house, so I stopped. I had thought he had gone already. I stood and -didn't do anything until he went by, and then I happened to think I had -left my nigger-shooter on my bureau in my room and I went to get it. - -I went into the house and up the stairs on the jump and busted into my -room, and then stopped mighty short because my mother was in my room. -She was at my bureau and had a drawer pulled out and was taking out some -of my clothes. So I grabbed my nigger-shooter off the bureau and was -going to go mighty quick, because mothers always think of something for -you to do when they see you. - -“George,” she said, “you are going over to your Aunt Nell's to stay a -week or two. I'll get your clothes all ready, and I want you to be a -good boy while you're there and be as little trouble as possible.” - -“Aw, gee!” I said. “What do I have to go over there for?” - -It made me sick, because Aunt Nell is always trying to do right by -me when I'm over there and combing my hair and making me wash my feet -before I go to bed and everything. So I said: - -“Aw, gee! I don't want to!” - -My mother went right on taking clothes out of my bureau. - -“I'm going to tell you something, Georgie, and then perhaps you will be -more reasonable. You and Lucy are going to Aunt Nell's because there -is a little new baby coming here. Now, will you be a good boy and say -nothing more?” - -“Yes'm,” I said, and I got out of the room pretty quick. I tiptoed down -the stairs and stood at the bottom. I didn't know whether to go out -or not. Bony and Swatty were out there now, and Mamie Little and -Scratch-Cat, and I didn't know how I would dare talk to them. I sort of -felt like they would see it in my face. If they did I would feel so mean -I'd die. - -I guess you know how a fellow feels about it. Any fellow would almost -rather go to jail than have a baby come to his house. The fellows yell -at him, “Aw, Georgie, you got a baby at your house.” And he knows it is -so and he can't tell them they're liars. - -But just then my mother came out of my room and said: “Georgie!” - -So I got out of the front door in a hurry. I was afraid she was going to -say something about it again. Women don't know any better; they'll say -anything right out and think it is all right and don't care how a fellow -feels sick to hear it. So I skipped. I went down to the front gate, and -Swatty and Bony and Mamie Little and Scratch-Cat were there. Bony was -off to one side, looking sick, and Swatty was “Awing” at Mamie Little -about something, but I felt too mean and cheap to “Aw!” back at him, -like I ought to have done. I let him “Aw!” I got as far away from Mamie -Little as I could and went over and sat by Bony and Scratch-Cat. - -Well, all at once I guessed maybe I knew what was the matter with Bony, -because I felt just like the way he had been acting. So I said: - -“Say, Bony, are you going to have a baby at your house?” - -He got sort of red and didn't dare look at me. Then he began to cry, -mad-like. - -“I don't care!” he blubbered out. “If you tell anybody I'll lick you, -I will, I don't care who you are! I'll--I'll shoot you. I'll kill you!” - Scratch-Cat didn't laugh. She just said, “Oh!” So I knew that was it. So -just then Mamie Little called out, “Oh, Georgie.” But I just hollered, -“Aw, shut up!” So I said: “Aw, come on, Swatty, let's go up to the -cave.” - -Well, just then my sister came out of the house. She had on a clean -dress, and she came hippety-hopping down the walk as happy as could -be and happier. She came right down to where Swatty was teasing Mamie -Little, and she said: - -“Mamie! Mamie! What do you think? We're going to have a little new -baby!” - -Well, I got up and climbed over the fence and ran. I don't know how I -ever got over a fence so quick--pickets and all--but I did, and I ran -up the street with my hands over my ears. I knew Swatty knew and Mamie -Little knew and that they were thinking: “Ho! Georgie is going to have a -new baby at his house.” And I was trying to run away. When I came to the -corner I dodged behind it, and stopped. - -Almost right away Bony came and Swatty came right after him, and -Scratch-Cat after Swatty, but we made her go back again. We didn't want -any girls around at all. Swatty was almost as sore as me and Bony was. -He just threw himself down on the grass and said, “Garsh!” - -“Well, you don't need to go and blame me,” I said. “I ain't the only one. -Bony's going to have one at his house, too.” - -So then Swatty sat up. - -“Aw, garsh!” he said. “You and Bony's always spoiling all our fun. I -ought to have knowed what was the matter with him, and now you 'll be -the same way. You bet I don't have no babies coming to my house, making -everybody grouchy. But you and Bony don't care; you don't care how you -spoil the fun.” - -Bony didn't say anything, but it made me mad. “Well, it ain't my fault, -is it?” I asked. “I don't want no baby to come to my house, do I? I -didn't order it from the doctor, did I?” - -“What doctor?” Swatty asked. “What has a doctor got to do with -it?” - -“Well, a doctor brings it, don't he?” I asked. - -“No, he don't!” Swatty said. “A stork brings it.” - -“My mother told me so a million times, and I guess she knows, don't she?” - -“Aw! That's in Germany,” I said. “I know that, I guess. In Germany a -stork brings it, but how can it in the United States where there ain't -no storks? Did you ever see a stork in the United States?” - -“Well, no,” Swatty had to say, because he didn't. “Well, you've seen -plenty of doctors in the United States, haven't you?” I asked. - -“Yes,” Swatty had to say, because he had. He saw Doctor Miller almost -every day, starting out or coming back with his old gray mare. He was -our doctor and Bony's folks' doctor, but Swatty's folks had Doctor -Benz, because they were German and water-curers. Doctor Miller was a -big-piller. So Swatty had to say yes. - -“Well,” I said, “don't that prove it?” Of course it did. Swatty had to -say it did. So he said: - -“Well, garsh! if doctors bring them in the United States I guess I would -n't be sitting around whining if I was you and Bony. I know what I'd -do!” - -“What would you do?” I asked. - -“I wouldn't let a doctor bring any, that's what I wouldn't do,” said -Swatty. “I'd find out what doctor was going to bring it, and I'd fix him -all right, you bet your boots!” - -“Well, Doctor Miller is going to bring them, if anybody does,” I said. -“He's our doctor and he's Bony's doctor, ain't he? What can me and Bony -do, I'd like to know?” - -“Well, I could help you, couldn't I?” Swatty wanted to know. “I would -n't have to go back on you just because Doctor Miller isn't our doctor, -would I?” - -“Well, what would we do, then?” I asked, but you bet I felt a whole lot -better; if Swatty was willing to help us it was different. He was a good -helper. Bony looked better, too. - -Swatty pulled a handful of grass and fooled with it and I could see he -was thinking mighty hard. - -“We've got the cave, ain't we?” he said after while. “Well, then, all -we've got to do is to get Doctor Miller and put him in the cave and keep -him there, and then he can't do anything about it, can he?” - -Of course that was so. I wouldn't have thought of it, and Bony would -n't, but Swatty thought of it in less than a minute. But right away I -thought of how hard it would be to do. If Doctor Miller had been a kid -it would have been easy, but he was a man and he was a mighty big man, -too. He was bigger around than any man in town, I guess, and almost as -tall. - -I asked Swatty, and he said of course we couldn't grab Doctor Miller and -push him a mile or so out to the cave and boost him up the clay bank and -into the cave. - -“We've got to think out a plan,” he said, only he said “plam,” like he -always does, and “gart,” instead of “got.” So we thought, and it wasn't -any use. So Swatty said we might as well go out to the cave and do some -work and think out there. So we went. - -The more I thought the more I couldn't think of anything. All I could -think of was how big Doctor Miller was, and I guess Bony thought the -same thing. I thought of his whiskers, too. - -You 're always kind of scared of a doctor, almost like you're scared -of a minister. They ain't like common folks. Common folks are just men, -except when they are your fathers; but ministers and doctors are men and -something else, and Doctor Miller was more doctory than any other doctor -in town. That was why so many folks had him. He had red-brown whiskers -and nothing on his chin or upper lip, and his whiskers were not stiff -and tough like whiskers generally are, but smooth and silky and fluffy. -He laughed a lot, too, and was always smiling, but he knew all about -your insides better than you did. It is creepy to see a man smiling so -much and feel that he knows more about you than you do yourself. And so -you were mighty scared of him. - -Well, we didn't think of anything, and I went home feeling pretty mean -and went in the alley way and my mother was keeping supper for me and -had my things and sister's all ready for us to go over to Aunt Nell's -and after supper she kissed us and we went. She gave me a dollar and she -gave Sis fifty cents, and she hugged us a long time before she let us -go. - -The next morning Aunt Nell started right in on me. She made me go -upstairs and brush my hair again and looked at my finger nails and in my -ears, and then said I didn't look as well as usual and wanted to know -if I slept well. I got away as soon as I could and went up to the cave. -Swatty and Bony was there already, digging at the roof of the back room -of the cave. - -“What you doing that for?” I asked. “If you dig up there much more the -roof will bust through.” - -“Well, ain't that what we want it to do?” Swatty asked. - -“Why do we?” I asked back. - -“You come on and help us work,” he said, “and I'll tell you why.” - -So I helped them work and Swatty told me he had thought of a bully plan. -I wouldn't have thought of it in a thousand years. I had stayed awake -all night--or anyway almost half an hour--trying to think how we could -get Doctor Miller into the cave, and all I could think of was grabbing -him somehow and tying ropes to him and yanking him up to the door of the -cave, and I knew we couldn't do it, because we weren't strong enough. -But Swatty had thought it all out, like he always does. I might have -known he would. - -We went ahead and dug at the roof of the cave, and pretty soon we dug -through to daylight. It took us all day and the dirt we got we spaded -into the tunnel between the two rooms and filled it up good and solid, -except a short way out of the front room. The next day we worked hard, -too. We dug out more of the roof of the back room, and then worked on -the door of the cave so we could fasten it up sound and quick when we -got the doctor in it. We took the stove out and everything else he could -use to dig with, and when we had to go home for supper we had it all -ready. Swatty said so. - -Well, all of us knew Jake Hines, the doctor's hired man, and he was -foreman of Fearless Hose Company No. 2, and every night he went over -to the hose-house and played cards after he got his work done at the -doctor's. I went to bed about nine o'clock, but I left my clothes on, -and when I thought it was midnight I got up and went downstairs and went -out into the alley. Swatty was there already, sitting in the shadow of -Doc Miller's manure box, but Bony hadn't come, so we guessed he was a -'fraid-cat and didn't dare. So we went ahead without him. - -The doctor's old gray mare was standing with her head at the little -square window, and Swatty got on the manure box and climbed in. He -opened the stable door and I went in after him. The old mare looked -around at us, but she didn't make any trouble, and Swatty untied the -halter strap and we led her out into the alley. We led her across the -public square, and down into the creek and then up the creek to where -our cave was. She came right along as easy as anything and we got her -up the bank and to where we had caved in the roof of the back cave. She -didn't want to go down there. I guess she thought it was kind of funny -to be taken into a hole like that, but a doctor's horse is used to being -out at night and to going into all sorts of places, and at last she set -her front feet and slid down. It was pretty steep, but she went down -easy. Swatty tied the halter strap to one of her front feet and we left -her there. - -We went back home and I went to bed. I was pretty scared. I thought the -doctor would get up in the morning and see his mare was gone and would -get a lot of people and police and there would be crowds hunting the -mare. I had pretty bad dreams. I dreamed I was hung about eight times -for horse stealing. - -When I got up in the morning I was mighty sick of it, you bet. I made -up my mind I wouldn't do any more, no matter how many babies the doctor -brought to our house. I would stay at Aunt Nell's and let on I didn't -know anything about gray mares or anything. I was through. - -So about nine o'clock, Swatty came to Aunt Nell's to get me, and he was -just hopping, he was so tickled. - -“Garsh!” he said. “It's better than I ever thort it would be. I came -through the alley and Jake Hines was sitting on the manure box waiting -for the mare to come home. And what do you think?” - -“What?” I asked. - -“He said he would give me a quarter if I found the mare,” Swatty -said. “He said he guessed he had left the stable door open and she had -wandered away and maybe she would come back, but if I hunted around -and found her and brought her back he would give me a quarter. So I'm -hunting around for her.” - -Well, I didn't feel so bad. Bony came and said it wasn't because he was -scared that he didn't come out last night, but because he had gone to -sleep and hadn't waked up. So Swatty talked some more and we all felt -fine. We seen it was bully. So I took my dollar, like we had fixed it -for me to do, and I bought some bread and some butter and some things -to eat while Swatty and Bony went out to the cave. We didn't want Doctor -Miller to starve to death while we had him locked in the cave because -that would be murder. So I took what I had bought to the cave and we put -it where the doctor could see it, and then we went down to the doctor's -house. It was about ten o'clock. We went to the front door and rung the -bell and Mrs. Miller came to the door. - -“Is Doctor Miller at home?” Swatty asked. - -She said he was, and Swatty told her we had found his horse, and she -said she would tell him. He came right out. He looked sort of jolly and -he said: “Well, boys, I suppose you are looking for a reward. Did you -bring old Jenny home?” - -“No, sir,” Swatty said. “We would of but we couldn't. We couldn't get -her out of the hole.” - -So he wanted to know what hole and Swatty told him. He told him we had a -cave up the creek and that it looked like the old mare had walked on top -of the cave and fell through. He asked if she was hurt and we said she -wasn't, we guessed, but she wouldn't come out for us. He got his hat. - -“Come on,” he said; “I'll see about it.” - -Well, he took us out the back way to the stable and yelled for Jake, and -Jake came. - -“Jake,” he said, “these boys have found Jenny, and she's fallen into a -hole and they can't get her out.” - -“All right,” Jake said; “I'll go with them.” - -You could have knocked me over with a feather. We hadn't thought of -that. The doctor started to go back to the house. Then he stopped. - -“Just wait a minute,” he said. “I think I'll go with you. If the mare is -hurt, I may be able to attend to her right there.” - -When the doctor came out with his medicine case we started, and me and -Swatty pretended to be eager to hurry up. Bony sort of held back behind. -The doctor talked to us a lot. He was sort of happy and good-natured -about it, like fat men are, and joked some how far it was. We took him -out the Graveyard Road and down into the creek bottom and showed him the -mouth of our cave up the bank. - -“Well, well,” he said. “This is mountain climbing indeed! If I had much -of this to do I'd be a smaller and a better man.” - -He made me carry his medicine case so he could use both hands, and I -went first. Then Jake came and then the doctor, and then Swatty and then -Bony. When we got to the door of the cave I stopped and Jake looked in. - -“Where's the mare?” he said. “I don't see no mare.” - -He turned to look back and the doctor was just behind him, panting -pretty hard. - -“What?” the doctor asked, and he stepped up. I started to say it was the -back cave the mare was in, but just then the doctor bumped against me -and went sort of down on his knees. It was as dark as pitch. Swatty had -slammed the door shut against the doctor and jolted him into the cave, -and me and Jake with him. I heard Swatty fastening the cave door, and -there we were--me and the doctor and Jake. We were locked in the cave. - -I was the first one to know what Swatty had done, and I pounded on the -door and hollered for them to let us out, but they didn't do it. Jake -was just standing and saying: - -“I'll be dumed! I'll be dumed!” - -“What does this mean?” Doctor Miller asked. - -I didn't know what to say, I was so scared. But I didn't have to say -anything. Jake said it. - -“I know mighty well what this means, Doc,” he said. “This is some of Tom -Foley's work, this is. He's been trying to get me out of the foremanship -of Fearless Hose No. 2 for the last three years, and we've got the -annual election to-night. He knows mighty well if I ain't there to-night -he can put it over on me, and this is his game. I'm mighty sorry you got -drug into it, Doc; but I'll make him suffer for this when I get out!” - -He struck a match and saw the food I had brought. He kept striking more -matches and looking around the cave. - -“Yes, by Susan!” he said. “Look at the food. This is Foley's work--the -great big mush! He thinks this is a good joke. I'll show him! Son,” he -said to me, “did Foley talk to you?” - -“No, sir,” I said. - -“I knew it!” Jake said. “It's that Swatty kid. He's a terror, he is. -Well, son, don't you mind; we'll mighty soon get out of here.” - -I felt a whole lot better. But I guess the doctor didn't. - -“Get out? How'll we get out?” he wanted to know. “If your friend -Foley fixed this up, you may be sure he did not expect you to get out -to-night. And I've got to get out. I've got two important cases, and I -must get out.” - -“Oh, we'll get out, Doc,” said Jake. And he lit another match. - -He looked at the door and tried it, butting into it with his shoulder. -But we had fixed it dandy. It didn't give at all. It was like butting a -rock. He tried it awhile, and then he said, but not so gay: “Well, we'll -have to dig out.” - -“Then, Jake, let us dig,” said the doctor. And they dug. I dug too, but -mostly I only pretended to dig. It was dark in there and you couldn't -see, and clay isn't anything to dig with your fingers. Jake and the -doctor had pocket knives, but you know how much you can dig with a -pocket knife. But they had the right idea. They didn't try to dig -through the tunnel, like me and Swatty thought they would. They dug -around the door. - -Well, when Swatty and Bony had locked us in they went and sat on the -bank across the creek to see what would happen. Nothing happened. Then -Swatty got to thinking. He didn't worry about Jake, because Jake was a -hired man and nobody ever knew when he would get home; but he knew my -aunt would want to know where I was. That made him think of Mrs. Miller, -and she would want to know where the doctor was. He was mighty worried. -We had thought that maybe we could keep the doctor in the cave a couple -of weeks until everything was all right, but he knew right away that me -and Jake and the doctor couldn't live on the food I had put in the cave, -and he knew my aunt would start out to find where I was, and Mrs. Miller -to find out where Doctor Miller was. He was mighty worried, and he -didn't know what to do. So he didn't do anything. - -It turned out like he thought it would. My aunt was mad when I did not -come home to dinner, and madder when I didn't come home to supper, but -when I didn't come home at all she was worried almost crazy and she -got my father to go hunt for me. He hunted awhile, and then he got some -other men to hunt for me, because he had to go home. - -They hunted all night. Along toward morning the hunters who were hunting -for me ran into the hunters who were hunting for Doctor Miller. They had -Swatty with them, because Mrs. Miller had said Swatty had come to the -house and the doctor had gone away with him. They were trying to make -Swatty tell where the doctor went, but he wouldn't. He just let on like -he was crying and said he didn't know. - -Well, the hunters who were hunting for Doctor Miller had just started -out, because Mrs. Miller hadn't got worried until toward morning, -because she thought he was attending to his business. But toward morning -my father and Bony's father came to his house, and it was at their -houses Mrs. Miller thought Doctor Miller was. So she was frightened and -got some men to hunt him. - -I guess I went to sleep about ten or eleven o'clock that night while -Jake find Doctor Miller were still digging. I woke up all of a sudden -and there I was in the cave, and the door open and men coming in and -Doctor Miller brushing off his hands. Him and Jake had almost dug a way -out, but the hunters had got Swatty to tell where we were. So about the -first thing I heard was a man saying: - -“Where's that Swatty? Don't let him get away!” - -But he had got. We didn't see him for about a week. He went over into -Illinois and got a job with a farmer. - -Well, all the way home Jake kept talking about Tom Foley and what he -would do to him, and when the hunters heard it they laughed like sixty -and said it was the best joke they ever heard. They said they would have -to hand it to Foley--he was a dandy. So I guess they told Foley so. I -guess he listened to them and didn't let on, only said he didn't do -it, and of course they didn't believe him, because he had been elected -foreman of Fearless Hose No. 2, like Jake had said he would be. So Foley -got sort of proud of it and let them think. So me and Bony and Swatty -never got anything, except Swatty got licked for being away for a week, -and that was all right; it was worth it for the fun we had. - -But the worst of it was that all of it wasn't any use. We had gone to -all the work for nothing. We had caved up the wrong doctor. We ought -to have caved up Doctor Wilmeyer and Doctor Brown. Because while we had -Doctor Miller caved up, and thought we had everything fine and dandy, -it was Doctor Wilmeyer and Doctor Brown who were the ones all the time. -When we got home from the cave with the hunters there was a new baby at -our house and one at Bony's house, and they had brought them. And that -wasn't the worst--they were both girls. So we had done worse than -nothing, because if we had left Doctor Miller alone he might, anyway, -have brought boys. - - - - -IX. THE MURDERERS - -Well, when we came to find out about it the new babies at my and Bony's -houses weren't near as hard to bear as we had thought they would be. -One reason was because they came at vacation time, when we didn't have -to go to school, and the other was that they didn't make us take them -out in baby carriages like we was afraid they would. One thing was that -they was too fresh yet, and the other was that they wouldn't trust them -to such young hoodlums anyway. - -At our house Fan spent most of her time loving the new kid, and Lucy and -Mamie Little didn't do much but hang around and coax to hold the baby a -minute, and Toady Williams just hung around and waited for Mamie Little -to come out and play. I guessed that I would never have anything to do -with Mamie Little again, but that when I got a new girl it would be a -different kind, like Scratch-Cat. I wished I hadn't got religion, or -anything that I'd got because of Mamie Little. - -A lot of us got religion at once, because that's how you usually get it. -It makes it easier and you don't feel so foolish going up front. - -Well, they had this revival at our church the winter before the vacation -I'm telling about. When they had it I was having Mamie Little for my -secret girl and she went up in front, so I got religion and went up in -front too. But you see I'd ought to have waited, because it made me -feel a lot worse about murdering a man. Or maybe it didn't. I guess -Swatty felt almost as bad as I did. We both felt awful bad. Swatty -didn't go to our church, he went to the German Lutheran church, and -nobody in that church ever got religion, they just had it. At our church -we didn't have it until we got it, and mostly we got it when there was a -revival meeting, and that was when I got it. - -So, I guess it was a lot worse for me when the thing happened that I'm -going to tell you, because I had religion and Swatty hadn't. - -Well, the way it happened was this way: I'm awfully croupy. I don't know -anybody that's as croupy as I am, so they rub hot goose grease on me -when I get to honking and then make me swallow a lot out of a spoon, and -that was all right when I was little enough so they could hold my nose, -but after I got big Mother said she wouldn't struggle with me another -time, and she changed and gave me a dime a spoonful. So I took the old -stuff because if I hadn't took it Father would have licked me, and I'd -have had to take it anyway. So I got a dime a spoonful. So I bought a -target rifle with the money, when I had enough, and then the rifle got -broke and I couldn't get it fixed until my mother gave me three dollars -because I had been such a good boy when the new baby came. - -So then all the kids were coming over to my yard to shoot all the -time--Swatty and Bony and the whole lot of them--and we shot at tin -cans and things against the barn, but we weren't any of us very good -shooters. I guess Swatty was the best. Or maybe I was about as good as -he was. - -That was all right, and I guess nobody cared anything, only Mother -was always putting her head out of the window and saying, “Boys, do -be careful with that gun!” So one day Swatty come over, like he always -does, and he says, “Say! we can't shoot the rifle any more!” And I says, -“Why can't we?” And Swatty says, “They made a law that we can't.” And I -says, “Who made a law that we can't?” And Swatty says, “The city council -made a law that nobody can shoot inside the city limits.” - -So I guessed they had, because that winter they had made a law we -couldn't slide down Third Street hill, and if they made a law like that -they might make almost any kind of a law. So Swatty says, “If we want to -shoot we've got to go outside the city limits.” And I said--I don't know -what I said but I guess I said that was so. - -So, anyway, we didn't shoot in my yard any more, and that wasn't our -fault but the fault of the city council. So that was one of the things -we thought of after we killed the man; but it didn't seem to make us -feel much better, like you'd think it would. I guess there wasn't -anything could make us feel better. Nobody wants to be hanged unless he -has to be, I guess. - -Well, it was vacation time, anyway, and we didn't want to shoot all the -time because part of the time we wanted to do something else. Only when -we wanted to go rowing on the river we took the rifle along anyway, -because sometimes we rowed up beyond the city limits and then it was all -right to shoot if we wanted to. - -So one day me and Swatty and Bony we went up the river in a skiff. We -always hired a skiff from old Higgins because it was ten cents an hour -or three hours for a quarter from him, and Rogers charged ten cents -straight. So when we got into the skiff and Higgins gave us the oars he -said, “Well, boys, have a good time, but don't shoot anybody with that -cannon.” And we said, all right, we wouldn't. We took turns rowing, like -we always did, and pretty soon we got to the Slough, and we rowed in -and shot at turtles awhile, and then Bony said, “Gee! the mosquitoes are -eating me up,” and they were eating all of us up, so we floated out onto -the river and just floated. We threw the bailing can over and shot at -it until it went down, and just about then we were going past the old -shanty boat, and we began to shoot at that. - -It was up on the mud and partly sunk into it and the hull was so rotten -you could kick a hole in it, and it wasn't anybody's anyway. Everybody -had thrown stones at the windows in the side and broken them and nobody -cared, I guess; but nobody had broken all the windows in the end toward -the river, because that end was toward the river, so we shot at the -windows. At first we couldn't hit them and we drifted below, but we -rowed back again and in closer and then we all hit them. We hit them a -lot of times, until they were all smashed out, and we began to say who -had hit the most times, and Swatty said, “Let's go ashore and see who is -the best shot. I bet I am.” So we went. - -So we shot at cans and things, and Swatty was the best shot, and then -nobody said anything but we just thought we'd go on the shanty boat for -fun. We climbed up on the little front deck, and Bony was first, and -Swatty was next, and then I come. So Bony pushed the door open and -looked in, and he stood there looking in and didn't move, and then, all -at once he made a sound--well, I don't know what kind of sound it was. -It was a frightened sound. I guess it was like the sound a rabbit makes -when you step on it by mistake. And then he turned, and his face was so -scary it frightened me and Swatty and we turned and jumped off the front -deck onto the railroad bank; but Bony jumped sideways off the deck and -landed on the cracked crust that was over the mud the shanty boat was -stuck in. He went right through the crust and over his knees in the -mud, but me and Swatty was so scared we started to run down the railroad -track as fast as we could. - -Pretty soon we stopped, because the sand between the ties was full of -sandburs, and then we didn't know what we were running for, so we looked -back. Bony was sort of swimming on top of the mud crust and he was -crying as hard as he could cry, but not loud. He was trying to get away -from the shanty boat as fast as he could, and every time he got a foot -out of the mud and tried to step he broke through the crust again, so he -sort of laid on the crust and bellied along. He looked like an alligator -swimming in the mud, and he was crying like an alligator, too. Only I -guess it is crocodiles that cry. Bony was trying to get to the skiff, -and Swatty knew that if Bony got there before we did he would get in -the skiff and go home and leave us. So we picked the sandburs out of our -feet and tried to hurry, but Bony got to the skiff and got in and pushed -off. - -We ran and hollered, but he didn't stop. He was so frightened that the -oars jumped out from between the pins almost every time he pulled on -them, and he was crying hard; but he rowed the boat pretty fast because -he was working his arms so hard. Swatty and me hollered at him and told -him what we would do to him if he didn't come back, but it didn't do any -good. He was too scared. All he wanted to do was to get away. - -Well, we tried to throw stones at him, to bring him back, but we -couldn't throw that far and we just stood and watched him row down-river -as hard as he could. - -“Say, what do you think he saw in there?” Swatty said after while. - -“I don't know what he saw,” I said. “What do you think he saw?” - -“I don't know what he saw, but I'm going to see what he saw,” Swatty -said. - -Swatty was always like that. If anybody saw anything he wanted to see it -too. - -“I ain't afraid to see it,” he said. - -“Well, I ain't afraid if you ain't afraid,” I said. - -So we climbed up on the deck of the shanty house again. We climbed up -careful and went to the door and peeked in. - -As soon as I had the first peek I turned, and jumped off the deck and -started to run, but Swatty just stood and looked. I hollered at him. I -guess I was crying, too. - -“Swatty! Swatty, come on! Oh, Swatty, come on, Swatty!” I hollered. - -He turned his head and looked at me and then he looked back into the -shanty boat. All he said to me was, “Shut up!” - -I guess you know what we saw when we looked into the shanty boat. There -was almost a whole page about it in the paper later on. He--the man--was -lying there on the floor of the shanty boat in the broken bottles and -straw and the dry mud that had sifted in when the river was high. He was -lying on his face with his feet to the door and he was sort of crumpled -up with one hand stretched out. He was dead. One side of his face was -up and there was blood from the place in his forehead where he had been -shot. It was on the floor. - -I didn't dare run away without Swatty, because I guess I was as scared -as Bony had been, and I didn't dare go back to the shanty boat, so I -just stood, and all at once I began to shake all over, the same as a wet -kitten shakes in cold weather. I couldn't help shaking. I felt pretty -sick. But most of all I was scared. - -I thought Swatty was going to stand there forever, looking into the -shanty boat, but pretty soon he went inside, and that shows he's as -brave as he always brags he is. I wouldn't have gone in for a million -billion quadrillion dollars. In a minute he come out and he dropped off -the end of the deck and sort of crouched low. He kept crouched low as he -come up the railroad bank, and he crouched low when he dodged down the -other side, so I crouched low, too, and went down the other side of the -railroad bank. And when Swatty come up to me I saw he was scared, too, -but he wasn't scared the way I was. I was just scared because I'd seen -a dead man, but Swatty was frightened. - -There was a lot of tall ragweed and a pile of railroad ties in the -bottom of the cut along side the railroad track, and Swatty went right -in close to the pile of ties where the ragweed hid everything and he sat -down there. He looked pretty frightened. - -“Well,” he said, “we killed him.” - -That was the first I'd thought that we'd killed the dead man; but the -minute Swatty said it I knew we had killed him by shooting through the -windows of the shanty boat. I couldn't shake any more than I had been -shaking so I just kept on shaking like I had been, but I got sicker at -my stomach. When I was through being sick Swatty he got mad. - -“Stop shaking like that!” he said. “We've gone and done it and we've -got to think what we 're going to do about it. Stop shaking and help me -think.” - -“I c-c-c-can't stop sh-sh-sh-shaking!” I said. “I w-w-w-would if I -c-c-c-c-could, w-w-w-wouldn't I?” - -“Well, you've got to stop shaking,” Swatty said. “If you go shaking all -around town like that everybody will know we did it. If you don't stop -shaking I'll lick you!” - -I began to cry. I didn't cry because Swatty said he'd lick me but -because I just had to cry. So Swatty tried to make me stop shivering. -He took the backbone of my neck in his thumb and fingers and pinched -it hard, because you can stop hiccoughs that way; but it didn't do any -good. So he got madder. - -“What are you shaking for, anyway?” he asked. “I ain't shaking.” - -“W-well, y-y-you h-h-haven't got r-r-religion,” I said. “It's w-w-worse -for anybody that's g-g-g-got r-r-religion to kill anybody.” - -Well, he hauled off and hit me. He hit me in the jaw, and then he said -what I wouldn't let anybody say about my getting religion, and I fought -him. Then we stopped fighting and I was still shaking, but not so bad. - -“Yah! Little sissy boy got religion!” he said. “Little sissy boy went -and got religion 'cause he's stuck on Mamie Little!” - -Well, that did make me mad! I lit into him, and we had another good -fight, and pretty soon he said, “'Nuff!” and I stopped. So I started to -tell him what I'd do to him if he ever said that again. I was crying, I -guess. - -“That's all right,” he said; “I just said it on purpose. I just said it -to make you fight. You ain't shaking now.” And I wasn't. I'd got so mad -I forgot to shake. So, as Swatty had just said what he said on purpose, -I didn't care. So I stopped crying. - -“Now you've got some sense,” Swatty said. “Don't you get that way again. -We don't want to get hung, do we?” - -I hadn't thought of that. Of course they would hang us if they found out -we'd killed the man in the shanty boat, and it made us pretty sober. I -guess I began to cry again. - -“Oh, shut up!” Swatty said. “If you're going to blubber all the time, -and not try to help, I wish I'd killed that man all by myself. You shut -up and try to help me think what to do, or I'll go and tell everybody -you killed him.” - -“You won't do it!” I said. - -“Yes, I will,” he said back. “And I'll prove it on you. You didn't look -at that man and I did, and I know what kind of a man he is.” - -“What kind of a man is he?” I asked. - -“He's a tough kind,” Swatty said. “And if you don't shut up your bawling -I'll say you and him got into an argument about religion, and you shot -him because he wouldn't come and join in with you and get it. And folks -will believe that, because you've just got it, and there ain't any -other reason why any of us should kill him. I haven't got religion, -have I?” - -“Well,” I said, for I saw Swatty could do like he said, “what are we -going to do, anyway?” - -“We've got to keep from getting arrested and put into jail and hung,” - Swatty said. “I don't know how, but we've got to. We've got to be -careful, and not let anybody know we shot that man. If they find it out -they'll hang us sure.” - -“We didn't mean to shoot him,” I said. “We had a right to shoot outside -the city limits.” - -“We didn't have a right to shoot anybody,” said Swatty. “We had a right -to see if there was anybody in the shanty boat before we shot at it. -We'll all three be hung if they find out we did it.” - -Well, I had an idea just then, but I didn't say it to Swatty. I didn't -really think it, it just come. I knew as soon as I thought it that I -wouldn't be so mean, and I knew Swatty wouldn't either. But it would -have been easy enough for me and Swatty to say Bony did it. We was two -to one. Maybe I would have said it if I hadn't got religion. But it made -me feel better for a while to think that I'd thought it and hadn't said -it. So the next thing I thought was that it would be mighty noble and -true and religious if I'd go to the mayor or somebody and just say: “I -killed a man up there at the old shanty boat on the river, but nobody is -to blame but me. Swatty ain't and Bony ain't, so go ahead and hang me. -I did it, and it was my target rifle.” But I thought that if I was going -to be hung I'd not feel as lonesome if Swatty and Bony got hung too. -Anyway, Swatty started to talk, and I forgot it. - -“If Bony hadn't gone off with the skiff,” he said, “we'd be all right. -We'd get in the skiff and row out to the middle of the river and lay -flat in it, and nobody would see us. We could float down the river as -far as we wanted to and hide in a cane-brake or somewhere. Or maybe, -we'd row up the Missouri and hide in the Rocky Mountains. If they got -after us we could turn bandits or something.” - -“You could,” I said, “but I couldn't.” - -“I forgot you'd got religion,” he said. “You'd have to start a ranch. -But we can't do that, because Bony went off with the skiff.” - -What we decided was that nobody would be apt to find the dead man that -day. Maybe they'd never find him. Unless somebody like us happened to -go into the old shanty boat he might never get found, and then, the next -spring, when the Mississippi had her spring flood, or that same fall, -if the water got high enough, we could come up and float the old shanty -boat out of the mud and take her out in the river and sink her. We -talked over a lot of things, and the more we talked the more it didn't -seem so bad. It looked as if we had a chance not to get hung, after all. - -I wanted to cut across the cornfield to the hill and go home that way, -so that if anybody saw us they'd think we had been up in the woods and -not near the shanty boat, but Swatty said that wouldn't do because our -footprints would show in the cornfield, and detectives would trace us by -them if they started out to find who murdered the man. He said it would -be more innocent to go right down the railroad track, and if anybody -asked us anything to say we hadn't been as far up as the shanty boat, -and that Bony had got a stomach ache or something and gone home first -with the boat. So we did that. We walked down the track. We talked about -the murder all the time, and the more we talked the surer we were nobody -would think we did it. - -Well, we got to my gate all right, and Swatty and me crossed our hearts -we wouldn't say anything about killing the man, and I tried to think -how I'd act so nobody at home would think anything different than they -always did, and I went into the house. It was pretty late. They were -eating supper. So I went in and sat down, and Father scolded me a -little for being late, like he does nearly every day, and then he said -something else. - -“Son,” he said, “after supper you'll get that target rifle of yours and -turn it over to me.” - -Well, I almost jumped out of my skin, I was so scared. - -“Now, you needn't begin any of that,” he said. “I mean what I say. Do -you know who was shot today?” - -I was so scared I couldn't swallow my piece of meat. I choked on it. - -“No, sir!” I said, pretty weakly. - -“Well, Benny Judge shot his little sister,” said my father. “Only by the -greatest luck she wasn't killed. As it is she has a bullet in her arm. -Now, mind! I want that rifle.” - -Well, I was glad and I was scared stiff, too. - -I had left the target rifle on the rocks up by the shanty boat. I began -to shake again because I knew somebody would find the target rifle and -it had my initials on it, and when they found the dead man they would -know I killed him. I guess my teeth chattered. Anyway I couldn't think -of anything at all. I just wished I was dead, because after supper -Father would want the rifle, and I didn't have it, and some one would -find it and I would be hung. - -Then Mother saw me shake, and she said, “What's the matter? Are you -cold?” - -“Y-y-yes'm,” I said. Well, it wasn't a lie. I was sort of cold. - -“Father, the poor child is sick,” Mother said. “See him chatter his -teeth.” - -So Father looked at me. “Malaria,” he said. So he asked me if I had been -up to the Slough, because he had been reading in a magazine about Slough -mosquitoes biting you and giving you malaria. I didn't know what to say. -It didn't look good to say I had been up there so near the old shanty -boat, and I didn't like to lie about it, because I was on probation -for getting religion. So I didn't say anything. I just shivered and -chattered my teeth. - -“Huh!” my father said. “I knew well enough something was the matter with -that boy when he got religion. He's had this malaria spell coming on. -Put him to bed and give him a big dose of quinine.” And then he said to -me, “Just let me catch you up near that Slough again, understand? Get to -bed, and quick! This family is just one thing after another!” - -I got to bed pretty quick and Mother gave me one of the big capsules. -She heated the scorched blanket at the kitchen stove and wrapped me up -in it and put all the bed covers she could find on top of me. I started -to sweat right away. So she said, “If you want anything I'll leave the -door open and you can call me,” and she went down again. She told Father -she guessed I was pretty sick because I looked like it, and all he said -was, “Huh! boys!” And I guessed he was right, and I made up my mind -to live a better and truer life, but I kept thinking of the man we had -killed. I never sweat so much in my life. - -All at once the doorbell rang and I sat right up in bed. I thought the -police had come for me. But it wasn't the police; it was something just -as bad--almost. It was old Higgins, the skiff man. He was talking to -Father. He asked him if I had got home all right. So Father said I had, -and I was sick and in bed. Then old Higgins said, “Well, I don't know -what to make of it. Nobody brought my skiff back. Your boy and two other -boys hired it off of me, and when it got late and they didn't bring it -back I got frightened. You ask him where he left my skiff, and if -they lost it somebody's got to pay me back for it.” Well, I was mighty -scared. I guessed Bony had been so scared he had upset the skiff and got -drowned, and maybe me and Swatty would get hung for that, too, though we -did throw rocks at Bony to try to get him to come back. But, anyway, me -and Swatty would have to tell why Bony had gone off in the skiff alone, -and then they would know everything, and take us to jail and hang us. I -crawled down under the covers and pretended to be asleep, but it wasn't -any use, because Father shook me by the shoulder. - -“Now, what?” he said, cross. “Here's Higgins, the skiff man, and he says -you hired a skiff and didn't bring it back. What's the meaning of all -this? And are you putting on this malaria on this account? Explain, -young man!” - -So I sat up and I said, “Bony took it.” - -“Come, now, explain!” my father said. - -“Well, we was up the river,” I said, “and me and Swatty and Bony got out -of the skiff and--and we went ashore. So--so--then me and Swatty, we run -down the railroad track a little way and--and when we looked back Bony -was going to get into the skiff, and we hollered for him to wait for us, -but he wouldn't. He got into it and rowed away.” - -“And left you there?” - -“Yes, sir.” - -I guess he didn't believe it. I guess he thought I was just trying to -put it onto Bony, to get out of it myself. He forgot I'd got religion, I -guess. So he snapped his fingers the way he does when he's mad. - -“Get out of that bed and get into your clothes and make haste about -it!” he said, and I said, “Yes, sir!” and I got out of bed right away. I -dressed quick. - -Mother cried because it was wrong to make a sick boy dress and go over -to Bony's house out of a sweat and I'd catch pneumonia; but I had to -go. So nobody said anything on the way over, except Mr. Higgins tried to -talk about what nice weather we were having, but Father wouldn't talk. -I didn't like to go, because--well, I thought all Bony's folks would be -crying because he was drowned when we got there; but of course if you -think about it, they wouldn't know. So when we got to their house they -weren't crying, but Mr. Booth--he was Bony's father--just come to the -door in his socks and said, “Well, what is it now?” because I was there, -and he knew something was the matter or I wouldn't be there with my -father. So Father said, “Did your son come home?” - -“Yes, he come home,” Mr. Booth said, “but he ain't well, and Ma put him -to bed.” - -I was glad he wasn't drowned, anyway. Unless he'd told about the dead -man, and then maybe it wouldn't have been so bad if he had been drowned. -So Father and Mr. Higgins told about the skiff, and Mr. Booth sent -Bony's ma to up ask Bony. Pretty soon she came down. - -“He's pretty sick,” she said. “He's complaining of pains in his arms and -back and he's shaking like he had the ague; but I hope not, because his -temp'ature ain't high. I guess maybe he caught a chill. And he tied the -skiff under the creek bridge. He left the oars in it. But he shall never -again play with those two boys! Never again! The idea of them running -off and leaving my poor child to row home all alone!” - -Well, that was a lie, but I wasn't sore at Bony because he's a coward -and it was better for him to tell a lie like that than to blab about the -dead man. Anyway, a fellow has to tell some lies until he gets religion. -After that it's different. - -“So you've been lying to me again!” Father said to me, but I didn't say -anything. Saying it was a lie didn't make it a lie, and all he could do -was lick me, anyway. But he didn't lick me, because he thought maybe -I did have malaria because I'd got religion. I guess that was what he -thought. So Mr. Higgins said, “Never mind, I'll get the skiff, but it -will be about a dollar.” So Father paid him and said he would take it -out of my allowance; but he hardly ever paid me my allowance, anyway, -so that was all right. He just gave me an allowance so he could say he -wouldn't pay it to me, I guess. Anyway, we went home. - -Well, I stayed awake for hours, thinking about the murder and what we -had better do about it, but maybe it was only a few minutes, and the -next morning Swatty came over before I was out of bed. He waited for me -in the side yard until I come down. - -“Well,” he said, “have you thought of anything to do?” - -I hadn't thought of anything except maybe I'd better go to the minister -and tell him all about it. So Swatty said if I did that he would knock -my head off, and I knew he would, if he could. - -“Well, have you thought of anything, then?” I asked him. - -So he told me he had sat up all night thinking about it. He said he -had paced the floor with his hands behind him and his brow knotted -in thought throughout the still hours of the night until cockcrow. I -thought he was lying, but I didn't tell him so. I told him I went to -sleep, and I told him about Bony and Mr. Higgins. I told him about the -rifle we had left on the rocks. He said that complicated matters, but we -would have to make the best of it. - -Then he showed me the braided horsehair bridle he had in his pocket that -his uncle had brought back from Texas, and the wooden tobacco pipe -he had in the other pocket. He said we might have gone to Texas, only -somebody in Texas might recognize the bridle and know it was the one his -uncle had had, and then know him and connect him up with the murder in -the shanty boat, so we would go to Montana or maybe New Mexico. He was -n't sure which we would go to, but that it would be better to start -right away. - -Well, I didn't like to leave home and never come back until I was a big -man with a beard, and the murder was forgotten about, but it seemed the -only thing to do. I talked and Swatty talked, and it seemed the only way -we could keep from being hung, because “murder will out,” as it says in -our reader. I only had twenty-five cents that I hadn't paid Mr. Higgins -for the skiff, and Swatty only had fourteen cents. We knew that was -n't nearly enough money. We didn't know what Bony had, but afterward -we found he only had a dime. But Swatty said we could get work to do -in some of the places we would get to, and we could steal green com and -roast it--only he would have to steal it, because it wouldn't be right -for me. - -We thought the best thing to do would be to start out of our back gate -and go due west, and keep going west until we came to Montana or New -Mexico, or wherever we got to, only we had to get the rifle first, -because if we left it, it would be evidence against us, and anyway we -might kill some game with it. We had it all fixed up how we would do, -and just then Bony came over the back fence, and we told it all over -again. We didn't think he would go with us, but he said he would. - -So we talked it all over, and it wasn't like any other time we had ever -talked anything over. Most times we just talked about running away but -we didn't mean it, but this time it was a mighty serious thing and we -meant it. Other times when we talked we were afraid to run away, but -this time we were afraid not to. It was almost noon when we got ready -to go, and just as we were going Mother saw us and called us back. She -asked me if we were going to the woods, and we were, so I said we -were, and she said we oughtn't to go without lunch, so she made us -sandwiches, and we were glad to have them. I said “Good-bye, Mother,” - and she said “Good-bye, son,” and she didn't know that maybe it was the -last time she'd ever say it to me, but I knew it because maybe she would -grow old and die before I ever came back. - -Well, we started off. We didn't talk much--even Swatty didn't. We went -past his barn, and he went in to say good-bye to his dog, but we didn't -dare take him along, because somebody might know us by him, so he whined -and cried when we went away. We didn't say anything much until we got to -the city limits and then Swatty said, “Well, anyway, now the town police -can't touch us, because we are out of town, and they can't touch anybody -out of town”, and Bony began to cry. - -But he didn't cry loud--he just sort of sniggered to himself and wiped -his eyes with the back of his hand. I guess maybe I cried, too, but not -very loud, either. - -If it hadn't been for being hung I would have gone back, and I would -have told the minister all about killing the man, because I kept -thinking about Mamie Little and that some other boy would play with her -and grow up and marry her, and maybe I'd never see her again, even if he -didn't marry her. Swatty was the only one that didn't cry a little. He -didn't have to, because he let on to be mad at us for being mushies, and -he swore instead. He swore at me and Bony, and I could have kept from -crying, too, if I could have swore, but I couldn't because I gave it up -when I got religion. - -After we got beyond the houses that are beyond the city limits we went -across the vacant lots and across the old fair grounds and down over the -hill. We got down to the river road and climbed over the fence and got -under the bob-wire fence on the other side of the road and went through -the cornfield. We forgot about our footprints. - -When we got to the edge of the cornfield Bony wouldn't go any farther. -He was scared to go any nearer the dead man. Swatty and me crawled under -the wires and went across the railroad track, and before we were across -them we dodged back into the cut alongside the track, and Swatty dropped -flat in the weeds. So I dropped flat, too. The reason was that there -were eight or ten men on the front deck of the shanty house, and I don't -know how many more inside. - -They had found the man we had murdered. - -We just lay there and held our breath. I couldn't think of anything, I -was so scared again. I just remembered how “murder will out,” and how -a murderer will always come back to where he murdered anybody, and that -there we were, and that as soon as they saw us they'd know we were the -murderers, because we had come back. I don't know what Swatty was doing, -and I didn't know what I was doing, but I guess as soon as I was able -I-started to try to dig a hole in the railroad embankment with my finger -nails, to crawl into and hide, because that was what I was doing when I -heard the men come up the other side of the embankment. - -They were coming up from the shanty boat, and one of the men was saying, -“Steady now! Keep that door level, can't you?” So I couldn't dig any -more. My fingers wouldn't work. My arms and legs felt as if they were -full of cold ice water, and I couldn't lift up my hands to put my hat -on tighter, which I wanted to do because I could feel my hair lifting up -and lifting my hat up. I didn't think about being hung or anything, but -just how awful it would be if the men let the door tip and rolled the -murdered man down on top of us. I guess I ought to have thought of how -innocent I was, but I didn't. I didn't even think of being religious. I -just felt my backbone creep and my hair lift up and my arms and legs get -colder and colder. - -We heard the men carrying the dead man away. I couldn't move, and I -guess I would never have dared to move again if it hadn't been for -Swatty. As soon as we couldn't hear the men any more Swatty lifted his -head and crawled up the embankment and looked. I wouldn't have done it -for a million billion quadrillion dollars. He looked, and when he saw -they weren't thinking of us, but were all looking at the dead man on -the door and going away from us down the railroad track he scrabbled up -the rest of the embankment and scrabbled across the track and down the -other side. He was back right away, with the target rifle, and then he -told me to get up and get away from there, but I couldn't get up. So he -kicked me two or three times hard, and when he kicked me on my hip bone -I got mad and forgot to be so scared and got up. We ran through the -cornfield and got Bony, and all three of us got across the road and ran -up the hillside into the woods as hard as we could run. - -I don't know how many miles we ran. We ran until we had to fall down -because our legs wouldn't work any more. We sat in the bushes awhile and -rested, and then we went on, but we walked mostly. We only ran once in -a while. We came to a road we didn't know, but it went sort of west; -and we went on down that road a long way and that night we slept in a -haystack--not because it was cold but to be hid. The next morning -we went on again, and before noon we were mighty hungry. Bony was -hungriest, and he cried a lot, and I cried a little, but Swatty was -willing to fight us whenever we wanted to stop and rest too long, -because it wasn't safe yet. We were a long way from Arizona or Montana -or wherever we were going, and it was just about the time the sheriff -and everybody would start out to find us if they thought we were the -murderers. We just plugged along and felt mean and tired, and I thought -about Mother and Mamie Little a lot. I felt so bad I almost didn't care -if they did catch me and hang me. That's the way Bony felt, too, but -Swatty kept us going. - -Swatty went up to a house about supper time and asked for some bread and -butter, and he got it and brought part of it to us. Then he made us go -on, because he said we ought to get as far from that house as we could -after we'd been seen there. So we went until I was ready to die, and -we found a hayrick in a field and we were just going to hide in it when -three men on horseback and some in a buggy--two more--came up the road -and saw us and shouted at us. - -Well, we knew it was all up. The men started to climb over the fence, -and we walked toward them because we knew we couldn't get away, and it -was just as well to be hung as to be shot trying to run away. I guess it -was the most awful feeling I ever had in my life. - -When we got up to them one of the men was Swatty's father and another -was my minister. As soon as Swatty got there his father took him by the -collar of his coat, and shook him and hit him on the side of the head -and told him what he thought of him for running away and making so much -trouble; but when he let go of him Swatty just dropped down on the grass -and shut his eyes, because he was so played out that all he had to -be was shook, and he went unconscious. So Bony started to cry and the -minister said, “Shame!” and then Swatty's father got red in the face, -and dropped on his knees beside Swatty and picked him up and kissed him. -He cried. It was the first time I ever saw a man cry. - -So then I guessed I'd confess the whole thing to my minister, and I -did. The other men were all trying to get Swatty to open his eyes and my -minister listened to me. He listened to all of it--all about the murder -and all. Then he put his hand on my shoulder, and he said, “You poor -boy! And you thought I was hunting you down?” And I said, “How long will -it be before they hang us?” And he said, “George, I hope you will never -be hung, because that man wasn't murdered. He was a suicide, and he -wrote a letter about it before he went to do it.” So I started to say -how glad I was and, when I come to, I was at a farmhouse and my minister -was trying to get me to drink some milk. - -So after while we went home. Father wasn't there, because he was out -with some other folks hunting for us, but Mother and Fan and a lot of -people were, and my minister told them all about it, and the women all -cried to think of us three all alone with a murder on our minds and our -legs tired, I guess, and not much to eat. But I was so tired I didn't -care. I was so tired I didn't care who was there. I was so tired I was -n't even glad I wasn't a murderer. Then somebody came out from behind -the women where she had been, where they wouldn't notice her much, and -she didn't look at me or anybody. She just said: - -“Well, I guess I'll go home now.” - -“Why, Mamie Little, have you been waiting up all this while?” my mother -said. “You should be in bed, child.” - -So she didn't look at me, and I didn't look at her. She just went home. -But then I knew I was glad I wasn't a murderer. Because I knew that -Mamie Little wouldn't have thought I'd got religion very good if all I'd -got let me go around murdering men in shanty boats. And I didn't want -Mamie Little to think that about me, because--well, I didn't know why, I -just thought it. - - - - -X. SLIM FINNEGAN - -Well, I guess the nearest Swatty ever came to having a lot of money was -the time Mr. Murphy got it and Swatty didn't. It was a thousand and five -hundred dollars, and if Swatty didn't get it Mamie Little ought to have -had it; and if Mamie Little didn't get it I ought to have had it; but we -didn't any of us get it, because Mr. Murphy got it. - -I told you about the time Mamie Little got mad at me because I had been -prohibition and changed over to anti-prohibition because Swatty could -lick me, and about how her father had the prohibition newspaper. Well, -he kept publishing in his newspaper that the saloons ought to be closed; -so one day somebody blew up Mr. Little's house with dynamite--only it -was gunpowder. But they called it dynamite. They called the men that -blew up the house the dynamiters. They blew up two other houses, too, -and that was why Mr. Murphy was in town. He was a detective. He came and -worked in the sawmill, and nobody knew he was a detective until he got -the money me or Swatty or Mamie Little ought to have had. - -Me and Swatty and Bony was sitting on the empty manure bin back of our -barn, smoking cornsilk cigarettes, and that reminded us of the time we -were up the river smoking driftwood grapevine cigarettes, when we saw -Slim Finnegan steal the gunpowder, and we got to talking about it. - -“Well, if anybody ever finds out Slim Finnegan stole it he won't stab -me!” Swatty said; “because he wouldn't think I told on him, because I -ain't prohibition and I never was; and I guess Slim and everybody knows -it.” - -So that made me and Bony feel pretty scared, because everybody knew -Slim Finnegan was a stabber. He'd just as soon stab you as not. I -don't remember whether he ever had stabbed anybody; but I guess he had, -because everybody said so. Anyway, he was always showing us the knife he -stabbed fellers with when he wanted to stab them, and he said he'd stab -any of us for two cents. The knife had a staghorn handle and a six-inch -blade, with a curve in it and a spring in the back that, when you -pressed it, snapped the blade open all ready to stab with. - -Once, when he met me when I was alone, he grabbed me by the neck and -backed me against a fence post, and pulled out the knife and opened it. -I bellered and said: “Aw, lemme alone, Slim! I never done nothin' to -you!” And he said he knew mighty well I hadn't and that I'd better not -try to, because he was a stabber, and if I did anything he didn't like -he'd cut my heart out and leave it sticking to the fence post with the -knife in it, to show fellers not to monkey with Slim Finnegan. So I said -I'd never, never do anything he didn't want me to, and please to let me -go. So he said, well, he guessed he'd stab me, anyway, while he had -me; and he put the point of his knife against my stomach and leaned up -against me, so that all he had to do was lean a little harder against -the handle of the knife and I'd be stabbed. - -I thought I was going to be killed, sure. I held my breath, and my -bones felt like water; and just then he laughed at me and bumped my head -against the post three times and threw me down on the grass and went -away. - -That was before me and Swatty and Bony saw him set the lumber yard afire -too. After we saw him set the lumber yard afire we were all more scared -of him than ever; even Swatty was scared of him, and said so. When we -saw him set the lumber yard afire Slim was in our class at school; but -he was twice as big as anybody in our room, because he only went to -school when he wanted to and he didn't want to very often; and after the -fire he quit going to school. I guess he went bumming for a while. - -The first I knew about Slim Finnegan was when I was a little bit of a -kid and not big enough to ride belly buster or knee gut on a sled or -slide down the big hills. I had a high sled and rode on it sitting down, -and rode from the sidewalk into the gutter, and things like that. So my -father got me a new sled on my birthday, a clipper sled with half-round -irons, and it was painted red and was named Dexter. I took it out on the -hill where the big kids were sliding and tried to ride belly buster on -it, which is lying flat on your stomach and steering with both feet, -like knee gut is lying on one knee and steering with the other foot, but -the runners on my sled were so slick that when I put the sled down it -slid away before I could get onto it. - -So I was trying that when Slim Finnegan came up. I hadn't ever seen him -before, but he acted nice and said the way I was trying to get onto the -sled wasn't the right way and he would show me how. So he took my sled -and ran away and belly busted onto it. He went down the hill like a -flash. I watched him until I couldn't tell which was Slim and which was -some other feller, away down the hill, and then I couldn't tell any one -from any other, and I waited for him to come back. One feller came up -the hill, and then another and dozens came up, but Slim didn't come back -with my sled; and after a while I began to blubber the way kids do, and -a girl I didn't know took me by the arm and led me home, saying, “Don't -cry, Georgie! Don't cry, Georgie!” all the way. - -So the girl told my mother somebody had stolen my sled, and that was the -first I knew it was stolen. When my father came home he asked me what -the boy was like that took my sled and I told him, and he went out and -after a long time he came back and he had my sled. It was all painted -over with fresh drab paint except where my father had scraped the paint -off to show that it was my sled. He said: “That drunken Finnegan's dirty -son stole it!” So that was the first I knew of Slim Finnegan. - -When I got old enough to play away from the house I mighty soon knew -that Slim Finnegan was the feller that would sneak up on us little kids -when we were playing marbles and grab up our marbles and steal them and, -if we said anything, twist our arms behind us until we yelled. He was -the one that would sit in the long grass out in the field when we played -ball and, if the ball came near him, grab it up and put it in his pocket -and laugh at us. He was the one that, if he came on us when we were -fishing, would throw our worm can in the Slough and take the fish we had -caught, and then swear at us. He was a sneak and a thief and a tough, -and his father was a tough and a drunkard; and it wasn't safe to send -your washing to Mrs. Finnegan because sometimes she got drunk and didn't -do it for a week, and sometimes it didn't all come back. - -Well, Swatty said that Slim Finnegan wouldn't stab him, because he was -anti-prohibition and Slim was too; so Bony thought maybe he'd better -turn anti-prohibition, and he did. And I hoped Slim knew I had turned, -but I was afraid he didn't. - -Well, one day that spring--but pretty late--me and Swatty and Bony went -down to the levee and hired a skiff from Higgins like we always did; -and we rowed across the Mississippi to the Illinois shore above the old -ferry landing. I guess maybe we were after turtle eggs; so when we saw -the shore was all mud Swatty said: - -“Let's row up to the head of the Slough and row down the Slough.” - -“What for?” I asked him. - -“Oh, just for cod!” he says. So we did. - -We rowed up to the place where the Slough branches off from the river, -and there was a good deal of water in the Slough yet, so we rowed down -the Slough until we came almost to the ferry road, and then we thought -we would stop and get some grapevine driftwood to smoke, and we did. -We rowed to the shore of the Slough and got out and found plenty of -driftwood where it had lodged against the bushes and tree roots, and we -lit up and smoked and sat awhile just doing that. - -Then Swatty said: “Come on! Let's go over to that sand by the powder -house and see if there are any turtle eggs there yet.” - -That was a good place for turtle eggs, because the sand was hotter there -sooner than anywhere else. It was a sort of cleared place without many -trees or bushes, all soft sand and not very far from the ferry road. -So we walked along down the Slough and pretty soon we came to a skiff -pulled up on the shore. I was nearest, so I jumped into it; but Swatty -didn't. He said: - -“Garsh! You'd better get out of that skiff. Some feller has just left -that skiff there, because his footprints on the bow seat ain't dry yet. -If he came back and seen us playing in his skiff he'd like as not give -us good and plenty!” - -And that was right, because when a feller rows over from town or -anywhere he don't like kids to fool with his skiff; because if the skiff -got away how could he get back to town? So if they catch you in their -skiffs they bat you a good one. So I got out of the skiff and Swatty -went on ahead, and me and Bony followed; and we come to the sandy place -by the powder house. - -A powder house is a little square shack about as big as a closet, -covered with sheet iron and painted red for danger. This was the only -one on the Illinois side, but there were two more on the Iowa side, up -the river from town a good ways; and the reason they were so far from -town was because the wholesale grocers sold powder, but the city didn't -allow them to keep any inside the city limits. When they sold some they -sent over to get it. The powder houses were painted with big letters -to say Danger! and that nobody must shoot at them or build a fire near -them, or they might explode. So that was why this one was in the middle -of the sandy place sand can't burn like grass does. - -So we come through the bushes to where we could see the powder house and -we all stopped short right there, for there was Slim Finnegan coming -out of the powder house with a bag over his shoulder, with what anybody -could tell was an iron powder keg in it. As soon as we saw him he saw us -and we dodged back into the bushes and ran. We ran pretty far, and then -we stopped and listened and didn't hear anything; so we hid down behind -a log and waited. We knew that if Slim Finnegan found us he'd stab us or -something. Anyway, we thought he would. Me and Bony did. I guess Swatty -did too. - -After we had waited what seemed like a couple of hours--but I guess -it was about half a minute--Swatty put his head up above the log and -looked, and didn't see anything. Then he got up and went round the log -and started to go back to the powder house. Bony didn't say anything, -because he was too scared, but I yelled, “Swatty! Swatty!” in a whisper, -because I wanted him to come back; but he just turned and motioned us to -be still, and he went on. He walked as careful as he could. Pretty soon -he came back and dropped down behind the log again. - -“It's Slim Finnegan, all right,” he said--only he said “orl right,” like -he always does; “and he's stealing a keg of powder”--only he said it -sort of like “kerg of powder.” - -“What'd you see, Swatty?” I whispered. - -“I seen him shift the bag from one shoulder to the other,” Swatty said, -“and I could see the ridges on the keg, all right! If we wanted to we -could tell the police and they'd put him in jail.” - -“Aw, don't, Swatty!” I said. “If you do that he'll wait until he gets -out and then he'll stab all of us. Aw, don't tell the police, Swatty!” - -“Maybe I will and maybe I won't,” Swatty said. “I ain't made up my mind -yet what I'll do. I ain't afraid of his old stabbin' knife, I tell you -that! He can't scare me! There ain't any Slim Finnegan that ever lived -could scare me. If he pulled his old frog stabber on me I'd--” - -He stopped short and I saw him put out one hand and grab the log, and -his face looked like a dead man's, and then I looked up from the callus -I was fixing on my foot and I saw Slim Finnegan too. He was standing -right in front of us with a pistol in his hand and the pistol was -pointed right at us. He had a mean-looking face, sort of foxy and sort -of sneery, and now it had a sort of grin on it, and it was ugly. It was -the kind of grin he had when he twisted a little kid's arm and made -him scream. He was just like he always was, sort of muddy-haired and -yellowfaced and slouchy in the shoulders, and tobacco juice in the -corners of his mouth. He looked just the way he always looked when he -was going to have some fun hurting somebody. - -I felt pretty sick, I felt hot in the stomach, as if a bullet had -already made a hot hole there. I sort of twitched in different places as -each place got to thinking it was the place the bullet was going to hit. -I don't know what Bony did; I had all I wanted to do without thinking of -anybody else. All of a sudden Slim opened his dirty mouth and swore at -us the worst anybody ever heard. - -“Get up out of there, you”--something--“rats!” he said in the meanest -voice he had. “Get up!” - -So we got up. - -“You get along there, now!” he ordered, swearing some more; and he waved -us where to go. - -We didn't say a word, not even Swatty. We just went; and instead of -thinking I felt the bullet coming into my stomach I thought I felt it -coming into the joints of my back. I put my hand behind me to sort of -help stop it if it came. That way he sent us through the brush to the -sandy place. He walked us toward the powder house, and then, all at -once, he shouted at us to throw down our grapevine cigarettes. He asked -us if we wanted to blow him to hell. So we threw them down. - -Then he came up to me and hit me on the side of the head and knocked me -down in the sand, and threw Bony on top of me, and slapped Swatty so -he staggered; but Swatty didn't fall. He swore back at Slim, and Slim -slapped him again and knocked him down. For a million dollars I would -n't have sworn back at a stabber that had a pistol; but that's how -Swatty is. Anyway, he was the only one of us that could swear good -enough to make it worth while swearing back. - -Well, Slim had left the door of the powder house open and when he had -us all knocked down he came over and kicked at us, and I was the one -he kicked. He swore all the time, a steady stream, and it was the -thoroughest swearing I ever heard. It sounded like business. Then he -jerked Swatty up and slung him toward the powder house and slung him -inside, and then he took me and Bony and slung us the same way. He slung -us all into the powder house. - -“I'll teach you to go blattin' about me when you see me!” he said. -“Dirty little rats! I'll learn you a lesson! You 'll never come your -sneakin' spy in' on me again! You'll have enough when I get through with -you this time. You want to know what I'm goin' to do with you?” - -Well, we did sort of want to know, but we didn't say so. - -“I'm goin' to lock you in there,” he said; “and I'm goin' to leave you -in there to starve, like the dirty sneaks you are. I'll teach you to -go tellin' lies about me! You'd go and say I stole that can of powder, -wouldn't you? Well, I didn't steal it--see? I bought it. I bought it -and they sent me over to get it. It's none of your business, anyway. You -sneakin' rats!” - -Bony started to cry. Slim told him to shut up, and he did. He scowled at -us. - -“No, by”--something--he said, swearing; “starving is too good for -tattle-tellin' rats like you. Somebody might come and let you out. I -know what I'm goin' to do to you. I'm goin' to lock you in and then I'm -goin' to set a fire and blow you to a million pieces. I'll blow you up, -like the sneakin' rats you are!” - -I can't make it sound the way it sounded to us, because I can't swear -the way he did. He swore, to show he meant it, and then he slammed the -iron-covered door and we heard the iron bar scrape as he put it across -the door, and we heard the padlock click into the staple. We were in the -dark, darker dark than I was ever in before. Bony began to cry sort of -funny, like a sick animal with a voice that was too weak to cry very -good. All I can remember was that I put out my hands and felt Swatty and -hung onto his coat with both hands. - -I hung on and held my breath and waited for the explosion to come. We -heard Slim cracking sticks across his knee; we could hear the sticks -snap. Then we heard him piling the sticks against the outside of the -powder house, and pretty soon we heard scratch! scratch!--like a match -on a box. It was the hardest waiting for anything I ever did. Waiting to -be blown up is always like that, I guess. - -The place where he was piling the sticks was one of the front corners -of the powder house, and there wasn't so very much powder in the house, -and what there was was in different piles, for the different kinds -and sizes of kegs. All of a sudden Swatty pushed my hands off him and -stooped down and began feeling on the floor in the corner where the fire -was going to be. There were four or five little kegs of powder in that -corner and Swatty began picking them up and putting them on one of the -other piles that was not so near the corner. I guess nobody but Swatty -would have thought of doing that; but when he started I started, too, -and we moved the powder as fast as we could. Then the door opened. - -Slim had taken off the padlock and the iron bar so quietly we hadn't -heard him, and when he opened the door he caught us shifting the kegs. - -“Come out of there!” he said. “Now you know what I'll do to you if you -go telling about me. If I ever hear you have mentioned my name, or if -you ever say it to each other, I'll get you and bring you over here and -finish this job right!” - -Well, we guessed he'd do it. - -“I'd have done it now,” he said, “only I don't want to blow up powder -that don't belong to me. And here's the keg I had,” he said, throwing -one into the powder house. “Now, you get! And if you ever say a word you -'ll know what 'll happen to you. Get!” - -We ran. We ran like scared deer, and all I wanted to do was to get as -far away as I could. We ran a long way up the Slough and then Swatty -stopped, and I stopped because he stopped, but Bony kept on running. - -“Come on!” I said to Swatty. “What you stopping for?” - -“Hide in there,” he said, pointing to some bushes. “I'll come back.” - -He crouched Indian fashion and went toward the Slough and out of sight. -It was quite awhile before he came back. - -“Garsh, he's a liar!” he said when he came back. “That keg of powder he -stole wasn't the one he put back. He's got that one in his skiff yet. -It was another one he put back.” - -“Swatty, you ain't goin' to tell on him, are you?” I asked. - -“You bet I ain't!” he said. “I just wanted to know. You bet I ain't -going to tell; if I did he'd stab us in a minute.” - -Well, I guess we waited round an hour before we went home, and then we -were mighty glad there was any of us left to go home, because we had all -thought we were going to be blown into such little pieces nobody would -ever find any of us again. - -Now about the dynamiters: After I had marched in the prohibition -parade because Mamie Little's father was a prohibition man--there was -prohibition in Iowa, all over, and for a while Riverbank didn't have any -saloons because it was against the law. So Slim Finnegan's father got a -shanty boat and started a saloon on it across the river, where there -wasn't prohibition; and Slim helped tend bar, and then other bumboats -started, and pretty soon I guess folks got tired of that and the saloons -started up again in Riverbank, so people could get drunk without having -to hire a skiff and go across the river. - -So three or four or five men made up their minds they would stop the -saloons again, and they started in to do it. Mamie Little's father was -one of them, because he printed the newspaper that wanted the saloons -closed; so one night three or four of the men's houses were blown up -with gunpowder, but the fuse went out on the other keg, so it didn't -blow up its house. But three of them were blown up. That was about three -months after me and Swatty and Bony saw Slim Finnegan steal the keg of -powder; and right away we thought of that and that Slim Finnegan was one -of the men that blew up the houses. - -Gee! We was scared! All we could think of was that now Slim Finnegan -would come round and stab us, so we wouldn't tell on him. One whole -afternoon we hid in the old box stall in my barn and didn't dare talk -above a whisper; and we had my target rifle, because if Slim came we -were going to sell our lives dearly. - -But that was afterward. We went to see the blown-up houses first--right -after breakfast the morning after the night they were blown up--and they -were all pretty bad. Everybody said it was a miracle nobody was killed, -and how Mamie Little and her folks walked across the bare rafters -and got out, and everything like that. So then the mayor offered five -hundred dollars reward and the governor offered a thousand dollars more; -and there was a big meeting downtown one night and everybody gave money -to hire detectives to catch the dynamiters. - -There were lots of detectives came to Riverbank; I guess maybe there -were a thousand. Everybody said it would be just a little while before -the dynamiters were all caught and sent to prison; but pretty soon -everybody began saying the detectives were no good, and that Mr. Murphy, -who was the one the committee had hired, was just pretending it was -worth while to detect, and that he would never get the dynamiters, -and that all he was staying in Riverbank for was to get the money the -committee paid him every week. All he found out, I guess, was that the -dynamite was gunpowder and that some of it was stole from the powder -house across the river and some from the powder houses up the river. But -me and Swatty and Bony knew who stole it. That's why we were scared. - -And you bet we were mighty scared! We made a fort in the hayloft of my -barn, with loopholes to shoot my target rifle through, so we could flee -to it if Slim Finnegan came round, and pop him from behind the fort -before he could stab us. Swatty got us to do that. He was going to -show us how to fix the barn stairs with each step on a hinge so when we -pulled a rope the steps would drop and make a slide, so that whenever -Slim tried to come up the steps he would get just part way and then -slide down again; but when we tried to pry the treads of the steps loose -the nails were rusted and the treads split; so we thought we'd better -not. - -We got up a signal word--only it was Swatty thought of it--so that when -any of us saw Slim we could say it, and we'd know we had to run for -shelter to our fort. The word was Vamoose! But it was too long, so -Swatty shortened it. He made it Vam! - -We did everything we could to get ready not to be stabbed. We made -daggers out of some kitchen knives I got in my kitchen, and Swatty -showed us how to do it while me and Bony turned the grindstone. We -sharpened them on both edges and made points on them and tied string -round the handles in loops, so we could hang them on our suspender -buttons and let them hang down inside our pants. Swatty showed me how to -carry my target rifle stuck down one pants leg, too, so it wouldn't be -visible. It made me walk stiff-legged, like I was lame, but Swatty -said that was a good thing--it would throw Slim Finnegan off his guard. -Swatty showed us how to stand back to back when Slim Finnegan attacked -us, so we would have a dagger in each direction and he couldn't stab us -in the backs. - -Whenever we could we got together and Swatty told us new ways to -keep from being stabbed, because he said he knew a feller in -Derlingport--where he had visited once--who was fixed just like we were, -with a big feller after him; and Swatty remembered other things he had -done. He didn't remember them all at once, but every day he remembered a -new one. When he remembered them we did them. One of them was to rub -our knee joints with sewing-machine oil, so they would be limber and we -could run like a deer when Slim Finnegan took after us. Before he got -through Swatty remembered a lot of things like that. We did them. - -Well, after a while I guess we sort of forgot about Slim Finnegan, -because he didn't come round to stab us. Maybe it was because Swatty -couldn't remember any more of the things the feller in Derlingport had -done, and maybe it was because school began again. We sort of turned -the fort in my hayloft into a dressing room for a circus. Swatty was -ringmaster. So then Bony's birthday started to come and his mother -thought she'd have a party for him, because they had a new parlor carpet -and had had the dining-room papered. So she had it. - -At first Bony said he wasn't going to his party, because there would be -girls there and they would want to play kissing games; but Swatty said, -Aw! he wasn't afraid to kiss all the girls there were in the world! and -that if Bony would go to the party he would go too. So I said if Bony -and Swatty would go I would go. I said, Aw! I bet I wasn't afraid to -kiss all the girls in the world, either! only I bet I wouldn't kiss -Mamie Little if she asked me a million times, because she was mad at me. -So we went to Bony's party. - -It was a pretty good party. Right at first it wasn't much because the -girls sat on one side of the room and tried to keep their white dresses -from getting wrinkled, and the boys sat on the other side. It wouldn't -have been any fun at all, that first part, only Swatty had brought some -beans in his pocket and we had some fun shooting them at the girls with -our thumbs. Every once in a while Bony's mother would come in from the -kitchen and clap her hands and say: - -“Come, now! We must all have a good time! All you boys and girls think -of a game and play it. Bony”--only she called him Harold--“I'm surprised -you don't start a game!” - -So then Bony wished he hadn't come to his party. So after a while Bony's -mother said to the cook: - -“Well, Maggie, we'd better give them the refreshments now, instead of -later; they won't liven up until they are fed.” - -We went into the dining-room and all sat round the big table, and we -began to have a good time. Us kids would get up and sneak round and -steal a girl's cake or something, and she would holler and be mad; -and then we started in to pull their hair-bows, and maybe their hair a -little, and they would slap at us and scold and giggle. They pretended -they didn't like it; but they did. So pretty soon some of them got up -and chased us round the table, and after the ice cream it turned out we -were playing tag; and Bony's mother said: - -“Heaven save the furniture! But, anyway, I'm glad they've waked up!” - -Well, I didn't pull Mamie Little's hair, or anything. I guess I wanted -to, but I sort of didn't dare. All she did was to make a face at me once -across the table, and when I threw a little piece of cake at her she -brushed it off her dress and said: - -“I consider that very rude!” - -So then we went into the parlor again and got to playing kissing -games--Copenhagen and post-office, and games like that. So then we -played pillow. I guess the girls like it because there isn't so much -game and there is more kissing, and I guess the boys don't care because -by the time you get to playing pillow they're used to it. You take a -sofa pillow and drop it in front of the girl you want to kiss and drop -on your knees, and she drops on her knees and then she kisses you. Then -she takes the pillow and drops it in front of the fellow she wants to -kiss next, and she kneels on it, and she kisses him. So I guess Kate -White dropped the pillow in front of me and kissed me; and then I took -the pillow and looked round the row of chairs. - -I saw Mamie Little and she looked as if she was trying to look as if she -didn't want me to drop the pillow in front of her, but really did want -me to. I didn't know what to do. Toady Williams was in the next chair to -Mamie Little. I guess maybe I wanted Mamie Little to kiss me, but I was -sort of scared to put the pillow in front of her. I got sort of hot. So, -all of a sudden, I dropped the pillow right in front of her and plumped -down on my knees. Everybody laughed and clapped their hands, except -Toady Williams. - -But Mamie Little didn't plump down on her knees in front of me. She -stuck her chin in the air and said: - -“No; thank you.” - -I guess I got hotter than I ever was in my life. I was burning hot. And -I guess I was pretty mad. I got up and held the pillow by one corner. - -“All right for you, then!” I said; and all I thought of was to make her -sorry for making me look silly before the whole crowd. “All right for -you! I know who dynamited your house, and now I won't tell!” - -Well, right away she got down on her knees. She took the pillow from me -and got down on her knees on it. So I kneeled down on it, too, and she -let me kiss her on the cheek. It was the softest cheek I ever kissed, -I guess. So then she got up, and took the pillow and looked around the -circle for a boy to drop it in front of, and when she didn't drop it in -front of Toady Williams the very first thing, I felt fine. Swatty leaned -over to me and said: - -“Garsh! Now you done it!” - -“Well,” I said back, “I got a right to tell if I want to, haven't I?” - -“No, you hain't,” Swatty said. “If you tell then Slim Finnegan will stab -the whole three of us.” - -“Well, let him stab!” I said, because that was how I felt just then, -because Mamie Little had not put the pillow down in front of Toady -Williams but in front of Bony, and that didn't mean much, because it -only meant that she wanted Bony to have it next, because he would give -it to Lucy. So, when he went to kiss Mamie she turned her head and he -hardly got any kiss at all, and she had let me kiss her fair and solid. -So I felt pretty good. I felt as if she was going to be my girl again. -And I guess she was, because when somebody put the pillow in front of -her again, she came right to me with it, and that time it was a good -kiss too. I felt great! - -When us boys was getting our hats, when the party was over, Swatty came -up to me. - -“If you tell her I'm going to lick you,” he said. - -“All right--lick!” I said. “I ain't afraid of your lickings. Lick all -you want to. I told her I'd tell and you nor nobody else can't make me a -liar!” - -So Mamie Little waited for me at the front door, and when I came out I -knew she had waited so I could walk home with her, and I did. - -“Well, I'm glad we aren't mad any more,” she said when we were walking -along. - -“Ah! who was mad? I wasn't mad,” I said. “Well, I ain't mad now,” she -said. “Who was it blew up our house?” - -“Oh, somebody!” I said. - -We walked a little way and then she said: - -“Who blew up our house?” - -“Slim Finnegan,” I said. - -“How do you know he did?” she said. - -“Because me and Swatty and Bony saw him steal the powder to do it with,” - I told her, “We was over in Illinois and we saw him steal it from the -powder house that's over there.” - -So we talked about that and when we got home to her house she told me to -come up on the porch, and I did; and then she opened the door and called -for her father, and he came to the door. - -“Papa, this is Georgie,” she said; “and he knows who blew up our house.” - -Well, he took me inside the house and asked me to tell all about it, and -I told him, and Mamie sat in a chair and listened to me tell it. When -he had asked me everything he could think of he went to the door with me -and said: - -“George, you are a fine boy!” - -I said: - -“Yes, sir!” and then I said, “Good-bye, Mamie!” And she said: - -“I don't like that mean old Toady Williams.” So I went home. - -That evening Mr. Murphy, the detective, came up to my house and Mr. -Little came with him; and Mr. Murphy asked me all the questions -Mr. Little had asked, and a lot more, and I told him all about Slim -Finnegan. He asked where Swatty and Bony lived and how to get to their -houses. So then Mr. Murphy said: - -“If the boy is telling the truth this may be more important than we -imagined. I have thought for some time that the reason Slim Finnegan -left town was because he knew something of this affair.” - -So I guess that was the reason Slim Finnegan hadn't come around to stab -us--he wasn't in Riverbank. I guess it was a month more before they -found him down in Oklahoma and fetched him back to Riverbank because -me and Swatty and Bony had oathed that he had stolen the keg of powder. -Petty larceny was what it was called. That was what they arrested him -for. - -Well, come to find out, Slim Finnegan hadn't blown up anything, and it -wasn't even his keg of powder that done it. He had stole the powder -to load a shotgun with, to go hunting, and he showed Mr. Murphy the -dry powder keg, with most of the powder in it yet. So he wasn't the -dynamiter, after all. - -But his father was. Mr. Murphy gave Slim Finnegan three degrees and said -to him, “I guess you know who blew up the houses and if you don't -tell I'll send you to the penitentiary for twenty years,” and Slim -Finnegan--the mean sneak--told that his father and two other men had -done it, and they were arrested and went to prison. - -So me and Swatty and Bony talked about which of us ought to have the -one-thousand-five-hundred-dollars reward, and we made up our minds that -Swatty ought to have it because he was the one that went back and saw -that Slim Finnegan was really stealing a keg of powder, and that if -Swatty didn't get it I ought to have it, because I was the one that told -Mamie Little, and that if I didn't get it Mamie Little ought to have it, -because if it hadn't been for her I never would have told. - -But none of us got it. Mr. Murphy got it. The only thing Swatty and Bony -got was that they didn't get stabbed. And I got Mamie Little back for my -secret girl again. - - - - -XI. “THIEF! THIEF!” - -While Mamie Little's father's house was getting fixed up, after being -dynamited, they went someplace else to live, and the only people that -lived across the street from us were the Burtons. There weren't any -Burtons to play with, because the only children they had was Tom Burton, -who was older than my sister Fan, and that summer he began taking Fan to -ride with the dandy horses and carriage the Burtons' hired man took care -of. - -The Burtons' hired man's name was Jimmy, and everybody called him that -except Mrs. Burton--she called him James. I guess Jimmy was forty years -old. Or maybe he was fifty, or thirty-five, or something. He was thin -and balder than hired men generally are, and his only bad habit was -putting angle worms in a pickle bottle and setting the bottle in the -sun to dissolve the worms into angle-worm oil for his rheumatism in the -winter; but summer was when the worms were, so he had to get a lot of -worms in the summer to last through the winter. - -Well, Jimmy had been with the Burtons six years and Annie, our hired -girl, had been with us on and off, for five years. I guess everybody -thought she hadn't any other name at all until one evening when -Jimmy came over and knocked at the back door and asked Mother if Miss -Dombacher was home. She wasn't, because she had gone to the Evangelical -Lutheran Church; but after that Jimmy used to come over, and Annie would -put two chairs out in the? yard under the apple tree and they would -sit and talk. Or Jimmy would talk. He would talk and talk and talk, and -every once in a while Annie would say, “Yes,” and, after she learned it, -“No.” So, after a couple of years, Jimmy began to hold Annie's hand -when he talked to her, and in a couple of years more they got engaged. I -guess they liked each other. - -I was in our dining-room one day, looking to see if Annie had put any -fresh cookies in the jar in the closet, when I heard my mother say, “Oh, -Annie!” in the kitchen, as if she was sorry about something. So then -Annie said: - -“I bin sorry to go avay, too, ma'am, but it is right everybody should -get married once or twice.” - -“I know,” my mother said; “but I don't know what I will ever do without -you, Annie.” - -So then Annie cried, and there were no cookies, so I went out. - -Well, it was like this: Jimmy had been saving his money ever since Annie -came to our house and now he had enough to get married on and buy a -couple of acres; so they were going to be married, and he was going to -leave the Burtons and raise garden stuff and peddle it. Annie was going -to raise chickens and sell eggs, and they would have a cow and sell -milk. - -So now I come to the story part of the story. I guess what the story is -about is that sometimes it is a good thing for a fellow to have a girl, -because if Mamie Little hadn't been my girl maybe Jimmy and Annie would -never have been married. - -There were two parts about the story. One was that a circus was coming -to town and me and Swatty weren't going; the other was that the -schoolhouse wore out and they built a new one. - -The night before the circus was coming there was going to be a reception -in the dandy big new schoolhouse to raise money for a library. Everybody -was going to go, and I guess everybody old enough was going to take his -girl. Anyway me and Swatty and Bony got to talking about taking girls to -parties and receptions and things, and the first thing you know we said -we'd do it. - -I guess I said Swatty was afraid, and Swatty dared me back, and we both -dared Bony, and so we wouldn't any of us take the dare. So Bony asked -Lucy and she said she'd go with him if my mother would let her. When -Bony told me I didn't believe him, but I asked Lucy and she said Bony -had asked her, and that Mamie Little was as mad as mad because I hadn't -asked Mamie. So I said: - -“Aw! How could I ask her when I hain't seen her yet?” - -“You could, too, see her, if you wanted to,” Lucy said. “You could see -her every minute of every day, if you wasn't a 'fraid-cat.” - -“'T ain't so. I'm not a 'fraid-cat!” I said. - -“'T is so, and you are! 'Fraidie-cat! You ain't going to take Mamie -Little, and you're her fellow!” - -“I am, too, going to take her!” I said back. - -But I wasn't going to take Mamie Little. I wouldn't have asked her for a -million dollars. But I didn't have to ask her. I met her that afternoon. -She was on the other side of the street and I just went along as if I -didn't see her. So she called across: “Oo-oo! Georgie! You know!” - -“Aw! What do I know?” I asked back. - -“You know! The reception!” she said. Well, I just went along and didn't -say anything. But that evening when I got home my mother said: - -“I hear you are getting to be quite a beau, Georgie.” - -I didn't know what she meant, so I said, “Huh?” - -“Mrs. Little called this afternoon,” my mother said, “and she told me -you had asked Mamie Little to go to the new school reception with you. -That's very nice.” - -I didn't say anything. It was Lucy, and I was mighty mad at her for -telling Mamie Little I was going to take her; but I was kind of glad, -too. I thought, “Well, anyway, Swatty and Bony are going to take girls.” - -The reception was the next night, so when Swatty and Bony came over the -next afternoon I told them I was going to take Mamie Little, and Swatty -said that was right, everybody was going to take a girl. - -So I asked him who he was going to take, because he had never let on he -had a girl. - -“Garsh!” he said, “I ain't going to take any girl!” - -That made me sick. Me and Bony had stood right up like men and had asked -girls, and Swatty had promised he would take one, and now he was backing -out. So I said: - -“Aw! You said you would take one!” - -“Well, don't I know it?” Swatty said. “Of course I said I would, but I -forgot.” - -“What did you forget?” I asked. - -“I forgot I was married,” Swatty said. - -We were all sitting under our apple tree, out in the yard, and it was a -good thing we were not sitting on a roof, because I would have fell off -and killed myself, I was so surprised. - -“Aw! When was you married?” I said. - -“That time I went to Derlingport to visit my uncle,” Swatty said. - -“Aw! Who did you marry?” - -“A girl,” he said. - -“Well, if you married a girl why didn't you ever tell us about it -before?” - -“Garsh! I can't remember everything that happened when I was in -Derlingport, can I? Mebbe I forgot I was married.” - -“Aw, pshaw!” I said. “What did you want to go and get married for, -Swatty?” - -“Well, I couldn't help it, could I?” he asked. - -“You don't think I'd go and get married if I could help it, do you? -My--my uncle made me.” - -“Why did he make you?” asked Bony. - -“Because my aunt had a felon on her finger. She had a felon on her -finger and it almost killed her to dam stockings, so my uncle said if I -wore any more holes in my stockings I'd have to get a wife of my own to -dam them.” - -So then we asked Swatty what his wife was like, and he told us a lot -about her. She was an Indian princess, and when you first looked at her -she looked all right, but pretty soon you saw she had a tomahawk in her -belt and the edge of it was all dried over with blood, because she had -had eight other husbands before Swatty, and she had got mad at all -of them and had killed them and scalped them. She had an album on her -parlor table, but instead of photographs in it she had the scalps of her -husbands. - -Swatty said there was just room in the scalp album for one more scalp, -and that every once in a while when he was at her house having his -stockings darned she would look at his head and kind of sigh. - -Well, we talked it over, and Swatty made us promise never to tell any -one he had been married, because if his mother knew it she would take -him out in the stable and wale him with a strap. He said that was why -he didn't dare take any girl to the new school reception, because if -his wife heard of it she would be jealous and she would come down and -tomahawk him and maybe kill him. And if she didn't kill him his mother -would notice his scalp was gone, the next time she washed his head, and -would wale him anyway. - -Well, my mother helped me dress for the reception, and then she gave me -twenty cents to spend. I had five cents of my own she didn't know about. -So that was all right. - -It was dark already. I went along, kind of dragging my hand along the -pickets of the fences and wishing I was dead or something, and it got -darker and darker. The new house Mamie Little lived in was away out over -Grimes's Hill, and when I got to the door Mr. Little and Mrs. Little and -Mamie were just getting ready to come out, and Mr. Little said: “Well! -Here is our cavalier!” - -Mamie and me walked in front, and it wasn't as bad as I thought it -would be, but I kept feeling sort of chilly when I thought of going into -the reception with Mamie. But before we got to the schoolhouse Mamie -said to me: - -“Say, Georgie! Don't you want a ticket for the circus?” - -I said aw, I didn't want to take her ticket away from her; but she said -she had one too, because her father was editor of the paper and he got -them complimentary. - -As soon as we got to the reception Mrs. Little said: “Now, you children -run along and enjoy yourselves.” - -Mamie said, right away: “Shall we get some ice cream first?” - -I said that would be all right, because mebbe people wouldn't notice I -was with Mamie Little and think I brought her. So we sat down at a table -and a girl took our order and brought us strawberry and vanilla--big -dishes--and passed us the cake and we took two pieces of cake apiece. - -That was all right; but when we were eating Swatty and Bony came past -and said: “Ho, Georgie! He brought a girl!” - -That was all right for Bony! He had sneaked out of bringing a girl, and -that was mighty mean, after he had gone and got me to bring one. I said -I'd fix him when I got him, and he was scared, too! So then we ate our -ice cream slow, to make it last longer, and I forgot how mean I felt -because I had brought a girl, when whoever was opposite us got through -and asked how much he owed. - -“Let me see!” the girl said. “Two ice creams at ten cents is twenty -cents, and two pieces of cake. That makes thirty cents.” - -Well, I almost rammed my spoon down my throat! I had never thought about -the cake being extra, and we had had four pieces, and that made twenty -cents, and the ice cream was twenty cents so it made forty cents all -together, and twenty-five cents was all the money I had! I was so scared -my throat sort of closed up on me. I guess my face got as red as fire, -and I leaned forward and took a big bite of cake, so Mamie Little would -n't see how red my face was, and then I choked on the cake! I guess I -never was so choked in my life. And I put a paper napkin up to my face -and went out into the hall. - -I guess Mamie Little sat there at the table; I don't know. As soon as I -was out in the hall I knew what I was going to do. I squeezed in among -the people and got to the door and skipped. - -As soon as I got home my father asked me did I take Mamie Little home; -so I didn't say anything. I went right upstairs to bed. After while my -father came up and asked me again if I had gone home with Mamie Little, -so I said I hadn't; I said I didn't want to. I said her folks could take -her home if they wanted to. So Father said he had a mind to lick me; but -he didn't. So I guess Mamie Little got home all right. It wouldn't have -helped her home if my father had licked me, but that's the way fathers -are. - -The next morning, about four o'clock, me and Swatty and Bony went down -to see the circus unload. We saw it. And then we went up to the circus -grounds and saw the tent go up and everything. So Bony said: - -“Aw! Don't you wish you was going to the circus?” - -So I said he needn't be so smart, that I was going, because I had a -ticket. So then I remembered that I had the twenty cents my mother had -given me to buy the ice cream with, only I hadn't spent it because I -came away so quick. So I told Swatty he could have the ticket, because -I had twenty-five cents to get into the circus with. So Swatty was glad. -He said he'd be my Dutch uncle as long as I lived, and that the first -dollar he saw rolling uphill he'd pay me back, if he could catch it. - -Well, we walked downtown with the parade and saw it, and walked back to -the circus grounds with it. Me and Swatty and Bony was the first to go -into the tent. We were right up against the rope when the ticket taker -let it down. So we hurried right through, because a lot of folks was -pushing behind us. The ticket taker yelled something at us, but I didn't -hear what it was and we scooted for the menagerie tent. - -When we were looking at the ostriches in their cage Swatty got close -beside me and said: “Lookee here!” - -I looked down, and he had his ticket in his hand yet, because that was -why the ticket taker had yelled at us. Swatty had sneaked in without -giving his ticket. - -“What did you do that for?” I said. - -“Because I'm hungry,” he said. - -“You can't eat your ticket,” I said. - -“You wait and you'll see,” he said, so then we went into the big tent -and we climbed up to the top row. When we poked our heads out we could -see right down where the ticket taker was taking tickets and all the -people were crowding to get in. Right down below us on the ground a bum, -or tent man, was asleep on his face with his arm under his head. His -coat was beside him. He was breathing hard. - -So then Swatty leaned out as far as he could and waved the ticket he -had, and called out who wanted to buy a ticket for a quarter. That was -just like Swatty anyhow. He was pretty slick. So pretty soon a man -said he'd buy the ticket, and he tossed a quarter up to Swatty. With a -quarter we could get enough peanuts to keep alive until supper time. - -Me and Swatty and Bony was just going to draw our heads in when we saw -Jimmy and Annie. I was going to yell at them when I saw something that -made me forget to yell. Swatty saw it, too. - -There was a man standing by the ropes that made the narrow place people -had to go through, but he was outside of the ropes on our side, and just -when Jimmy came opposite him and got a step past him his hand went out -like a flash and something dropped on the ground and the bum slid out -his hand and grabbed what had dropped, and slid it under the coat -and went on pretending he was asleep. The man by the ropes had picked -Jimmy's wallet out of his pocket. - -Well, I didn't know it, but Jimmy had all the money he was going to buy -a farm with in that wallet. It was circus day, and he didn't dare leave -it at home, because of thieves; so he brought it with him. - -I didn't think of anything to do, and neither did Bony, but Swatty did. -He looked down, and then slid one leg and then the other over the wall -of the tent and hung there a second and looked down. He hand-over-handed -a reach or two and then gave himself a sort of push and let go. He came -down right on the bum's head, straddle of his neck, and yelled: “Police! -Police!” Only he yelled it “Porlice! Porlice!” like he always says it. I -guess the bum was surprised, but he reached up and grabbed Swatty. - -It wasn't a fair fight, Swatty against a man, but it was a good one -while it lasted. Everybody on the top seats stuck their heads out and -yelled, and everybody down where Swatty was came running. One of the -town cops was first--the cross-eyed one--and he leveled a lick at the -bum with his club and caught Swatty across his breeches, and Swatty -yelled and let go of the bum. He could fight one bum but he couldn't -fight a cross-eyed policeman with a club, too. - -The minute the bum got loose he dived under the tent. We saw him scutter -along under the seats, and then we saw him come out away down the side -of the tent and scoot. The cross-eyed cop started after him, but he -never got him. - -Swatty didn't run. He just stood on the bum's coat, with his feet spread -out, and in a minute Jimmy and a lot of folks were crowded around him. -Then he lifted up the coat. We could see it all. Under the coat was -Jimmy's wallet and about six more. Jimmy just dropped on his wallet and -hugged it. He sort of blubbered and didn't know what to do, so he kissed -Swatty, and Swatty hit out at him and hit him in the chest. - -By that time a circus man in uniform had come up. He had a big hickory -club, peeled, and he pushed into the crowd. Behind him were four or five -more circus men, but they had tent stakes. - -“What's this row?” he asked. - -Somebody started to tell him. The man that took the wallet from Jimmy -was right there, and he turned away. So I shouted out: - -“Hey, mister! there's the man that took it.” - -The circus man looked around and the thief started to hurry. He didn't -have a chance to hurry much. The circus man made one jump for him and -caught him by the collar and gave one jerk, and the thief's coat and -vest came off and his shirt ripped right off him. The other circus men -were on him. If it had been me it would have killed me, but I guess he -was tough. - -When I turned around Mr. Little was standing right back of me. He had -come up to see what it all was, so he could put it in his paper. When he -saw it was me that had yelled, he said: - -“Why, hello, it's our gallant cavalier! These hard seats are no place -for a lady's man; come on over in the reserved seats.” - -“I can't,” I said, “I've got to wait for Swatty.” He didn't know who -Swatty was, so I told him. So when Swatty came in we went over into the -reserved seats, right in front of the middle ring. So Mr. Little asked -Swatty all about it, and Swatty told him, and Mr. Little wrote it down -and went downtown to his paper with it. He told Mrs. Little to take good -care of the three heroes. He meant me and Swatty and Bony. - -So Jimmy and Annie got married. All Mamie Little ever said about my -going home was: - -“I guess you think you were pretty smart, going home and letting Papa -take me home and pay for the ice cream!” - -But that didn't hurt me any. Girls are always saying things like that. - - - - -XII. THE RED AVENGERS - -Well, vacation got over, and school started again, and me and Swatty -and Bony got promoted into the A Class in Miss Carter's room, and so did -Mamie Little and Scratch-Cat. Lucy got promoted into the B Class in Miss -Carter's room, and she hated Miss Carter. I guess the reason was because -Miss Carter got in love with Herb Schwartz when Fan was mad at him. - -Anyway Miss Carter heard Lucy tell somebody that if Fan wanted Herb -Miss Carter would never have got him, and that anybody could catch a -second-hand fellow that a body had thrown away, so Miss Carter and -Lucy didn't like each other. But I guess it was Lucy's fault, because I -always liked Miss Carter all right. Most always. - -So school started again. Professor Martin came back with only a limp in -his leg and Herb Schwartz stopped being a professor and was in Judge -Hannan's law office all the time. He began smoking a curved pipe and -wearing spectacles and his hair pompadour, because he would pretty soon -be a lawyer, and he kept on going with Miss Carter, but I didn't care, -because Fan had stopped dying of love. She was going with Tom Burton. - -We liked Tom Burton good enough--me and Swatty and Bony did--until the -time Dad Veek's barn burned, but after that we didn't. We had it in for -him after that. - -I guess old Dad Veek was a cabinet maker or something. Anyway, he -used to work in his barn with a saw and a plane and he made a lot of -shavings. His barn was level, but to make it level it had to be up on -posts at the hind end because it was on a side hill, and that made a -kind of cave under it, and sometimes me and Bony and Swatty, when we got -tired playing in the creek, or it was raining, or we got cold skating, -would go up there and maybe smoke com silk or maybe just talk. So we got -all the shavings old Dad Veek swept out of his barn, and we made a kind -of nest under the barn, and we called it that--the Nest. - -Dad Veek did not like to have us under his barn, because when we smoked -com silk the smoke would go up between the boards of the floor and he -would come out and chase us. He didn't like us much, anyway, for any -boys, because there were grapevines between his barn and his house and -he thought maybe when we thought he wasn't around we crawled through the -fence and took some grapes. And we did. But only when they were ripe and -we happened to be over there. - -So one night his barn burned down. - -I guess that don't sound like much, but it was a good deal more than it -sounds like. You don't know about Toady Williams and the Red Avengers -and the fire insurance inspector yet. The fire insurance inspector was -a man who came over from Chicago and said old Dad Veek had set the barn -afire to get the insurance money, and said he guessed he would put old -Dad Veek in jail for it, because there was too much of that sort of -thing just now, and it was time to learn somebody a lesson. And I guess -nobody would have cared much if it hadn't been for Mrs. old Dad Veek. - -The reason my mother felt sorry for Mrs. old Dad Veek was because when -my mother was a little girl Mrs. old Dad Veek's name was Tilly, and she -worked for my mother's mother, and now she was a dear old lady and it -was too bad her husband was going to jail. So she thought somebody ought -to bestir themselves. - -Well, while my mother and the Ladies' Aid were bestirring themselves me -and Bony and Swatty and Toady Williams were out in our barn, and I felt -pretty bad, because it was tough to have my mother bestirring herself -about that barn fire when the chances were that I would be one she would -bestir into jail if she kept old Dad Veek out. Now you know that much, -you can see why we felt pretty sick out there in my barn. - -It was winter when old Dad Veek's barn burned down, and it was about -nine o'clock at night. I was going to bed because I had been skating all -day. I wore boots to skate in, like all the fellows, and my boots kind -of wrinkled around the ankles and they rubbed my ankles until they -were raw. So about eight o'clock I said, “Aw, come on, Swatty! Let's go -home!” but he wouldn't. - -“Well, if you won't go home with me I'm going up to the Nest and I'll -wait for you up there,” I said. - -So then Toady came up, and he asked where I was going and I told him I -was going to the Nest, and he said he was going to skate some more, but -Swatty and Bony said, “All right, we'll go up with you awhile.” They -didn't take off their skates. They walked up the hill to the barn on -their skates and we sat awhile in the Nest under old Dad Veek's barn and -smoked some com-silk cigarettes. Then Swatty and Bony wanted to skate -some more, and they did and after a while I went home. Gee! but there -was a raw spot on my ankle when I got my boot off! I was sitting on the -edge of my bed looking at it, about nine o'clock, when the fire-house -bell rang. Right away my mother came into my room and said: - -“George, there is a fire across the Square, and I think it is Mr. Veek's -barn. You can go if you want to.” - -I hid my raw ankle, because if my mother knew it was so bad she would -n't let me skate any more until it got well, and I pulled on my boot and -went to the fire. - -There was a pretty big crowd there already and the barn was burning -bully. I found Swatty first and then we found Bony, and we watched until -the fire burned out, and then we went home. - -The next day was Sunday, and when I got up I told my mother I had a -headache, like I always told her Sunday mornings; but I had to go to -Sunday school just the same. After dinner I went over to the ruins, and -Swatty and Bony and Toady and a lot of folks were there. It was good to -see and smell. When we got tired we went back to my yard, and it was too -cold to go into the barn, so we went up to my room. As soon as the door -was shut Swatty sat down on the edge of my bed and said: - -“Well, men, the Red Avengers have been true to their oath! The enemy's -property lies in ruins!” You see it was like this: Me and Swatty -and Toady and Bony were the Red Avengers. Maybe you never read the -book--“The Red Avengers, or The Boy Heroes of the Trail”--but it is a -bully book. It's a dime lib'ry, and if it hadn't been for Toady we -would never have had it. There was one thing about Toady that was pretty -good--he had lots of books. Dime lib'ry books. He got the new ones as -fast as they were printed, and he read them behind his geography at -school, and it was because he had them that we got to read “The Red -Avengers.” The Chief of the Red Avengers was a boy named Dick, and when -he was a young and tender nursling his fond parents took him out West -and they started a ranch that covered almost a whole state. They had -millions of cattle, but a lot of Mexicans came and burned the ranch and -Dick's parents were burned to death and Dick only escaped by creeping -into the chaparral and hiding until he grew up into a sturdy youthhood. -So then the Mexicans had divided up the ranch and had built houses and -barns and things, and when Dick asked for the ranch back they laughed -at him. So he got together a lot of true and faithful youths and started -the Red Avengers of the Trail and whenever they came to one of the -Mexican houses or bams they burned it down. Whenever anybody did -anything mean to anybody in the band of the Red Avengers, Dick wrote a -note saying the mean person's house would be burned at a certain minute, -and the note would appear mysteriously on the door of the house. And the -house burned down just as the Red Avengers said it would, and right on -the minute. - -So me and Swatty and Bony we started a Red Avengers band. We swore a -solemn oath never to divulge the secrets of the band or to tell what any -of us did, and to follow the orders of the Chief, whate'er might betide. -We had an election for Chief, and me and Swatty and Bony each got one -vote, so we made Swatty the Chief. Swatty made us make him. So I was -elected Secretary and Bony was elected Treasurer. The Secretary had -to write the vengeance warnings and keep track of them in a memorandum -book, so we wouldn't forget who we were going to be revenged on. The -Treasurer didn't have anything to do. It was an easy job. - -We did all that one day out in our barn, and, just when we had the Red -Avengers all fixed up, in came Toady. He wanted the dime lib'ry back. - -“Aw! come on, Toady!” Swatty said. “Let us keep it! You don't want it!” - -“Yes, I want it,” said Toady. - -“All right for you, then, Toady!” Swatty said. “I was going to tell you -something, but if you're going to be that mean I won't.” - -“What was it?” he asked. - -“It's all right what it was!” said Swatty. “You'll never know! Think -we'd tell you when you want your old dime lib'ry back? We won't ever -tell him, will we, George? Will we, Bony?” - -So we said no, we wouldn't. - -So then Toady looked at us and his eyes popped out; but Swatty threw -“The Red Avengers” book at him. - -“Take it!” he said. “We don't want it anyway. We know everything that's -in it and we don't need it. Only, if your house burns down you'll know -why. Garsh! here we were all ready to make you one of the band, and give -you the oath, and elect you--what were we going to elect him, George?” - “Librarian,” I said. - -“Yah!” said Swatty, as if Toady made him sick. “That's the kind of a -fellow you are!” - -So Toady didn't know what to do. He picked up the dime lib'ry and stood -looking. So Swatty didn't pay any attention to him. He said to me: - -“Seckertary, write in the Book of Doom that the first house the Red -Avengers will burn down will be Toady Williams's house, because he's a -stingy-cat and took his tom, old, no-good dime lib'ry away from us!” - -Toady looked awhile. Then he said: - -“Oh, I didn't know you were going to make me a librarian. I didn't know -you were going to do that. What do I have to do if I'm Librarian?” - -“Why, you keep charge of the library,” I said. “You take an oath to keep -and preserve it, in that starch box over there.” - -“And then you can be one of the band and take the oath, and if anybody -is mean to you we'll burn their houses down,” said Swatty. So Toady said -all right, he would be Librarian, and we gave him the oath, and he put -“The Red Avengers” in the starch box, and we held a council. We talked -about whose houses the Red Avengers ought to burn down first. - -I guess we all thought about Miss Carter first, because she had kept us -in school after hours that very afternoon; but she lived in a boarding -house and we couldn't burn down her room without burning down the rest -of the house, so we thought we would just record her in the book and -wait until she got married sometime, and had a house of her own, and -then burn that down. We thought of everybody, but the one we thought -was the meanest was old Dad Veek. So we wrote his name at the top of the -list in my memorandum book, and we said we'd burn his barn, and that we -would do it at nine of night on the eighteenth of December. I wrote the -letter of warning that was to be stabbed onto his door with a dagger, -because I was Secretary, and I wrote the date of revenge in the -memorandum book, and we all went out and over to Veek's barn. - -We hid in the dead weeds at the side of the road and drew straws to see -which of the Red Avengers had to go up and dagger the warning onto old -Dad Veek's barn, and Bony drew the fatal straw; but of course he was -afraid to do it, so Swatty did it. He sneaked through the fence into -Veek's yard and up to the barn door. He didn't have a dagger, so he took -a sort of splinter and ran it through the warning and stuck the point -in a crack in the door, and scooted back to us. It was a daring deed, -worthy of our fearless Chief, and we received him with silent cheers, -because we had scarce hoped he would return from his perilous mission -alive. (That's from the dime lib'ry book.) - -Well, that was pretty good, and we felt bully. I guess we would have -gone ahead and put up some more warnings another day, but it turned cold -that night and the skating got good and we forgot to be Red Avengers. -You can't be everything all the time. We didn't think any more about it -until the day after the fire. That was the Sunday we were up in my room -and Swatty said: - -“Well, men, the Red Avengers have been true to their oath! The enemy's -property lies in ruins!” - -So I said: - -“Yes, Chief, I carried out the orders of the band to the fullest. My -trusty torch has laid the vermin's dwelling low.” - -“You?” said Swatty. “You didn't do it. I did it.” Toady was sitting on -the window sill, and Bony was in a chair looking at a magazine. Toady -just sat and popped his eyes at us. - -“Aw, now!” he said, “you didn't burn that barn down, either of you. -You're just fooling.” - -Well, I guess that was a little too much for anybody to say, especially -when he was a member of the Red Avengers himself. - -“I did, too!” I said. “I took my oath to do it, and I did it. Do you -think I'd take my oath to do it, and then not do it? Of course I burned -it down, when I said I would!” - -“Of course you would,” said Swatty. “If you took your oath to burn down -Veek's barn you'd do it. Only I was the one that took the oath; you -wasn't. Toady had better not say I'd take an oath and then not do it! -When you trust a job to the Chief of the Red Avengers it'll be done. At -nine of night I sneaked up to old Dad Veek's barn--” - -“Ho! Nine!” I said. “Well, no wonder! No wonder you thought you did it, -sneaking up at nine! Now I know why you thought you did it, when I was -the one that really did it! Why, I wouldn't wait until nine when I had -promised to set a barn afire at nine. I'd be afraid I might not get the -match lit in time, or something. I was there at a quarter of nine, and I -had the barn on fire long before nine.” Swatty kind of looked at me. - -“Oh!” he said. “Whereabouts did you set the fire going?” - -I thought a minute. - -“Around at the far side, away from the road, Chief,” I said. - -“Well, then, no wonder!” said Swatty. “That's why I didn't see you doing -it. I set the side toward the road burning. So I guess I was the one -that set the barn afire first, because it would take you a long time to -go around the barn to the other side.” - -“Maybe we both set it afire at the same time,” I said. - -“All right, maybe we did,” Swatty said. “Because,” I said, “I ain't -going to be cheated out of having set it afire by you or anybody, -Swatty, when I went to all the trouble I did.” - -“I know,” said Swatty, “but you can't say I didn't set it afire, either, -because when I was walking down to the creek from the West I turned my -ankle and had to take my skates off and limp home. Ain't that so, -Bony?” Bony said yes, it was. “And Bony thought I had really sprained my -ankle,” said Swatty, “but you know what I was up to. Throw 'em all off -the track! Be alone so I could do the deed!” - -“Well, I guess we both did it at the same time,” I said, and Swatty said -he guessed we did, so that settled it. But when Swatty got ready to go -home I whispered to him: - -“You didn't really do it, did you?” - -“No,” he said, “I just wanted to make Toady and Bony think I did. I was -in my kitchen putting arnica on my ankle. Did you really do it?” - -“Of course I didn't!” I said. “I was up here in my bedroom looking at my -raw ankle. But we won't let on.” - -“Sure not!” said Swatty. - -Well, pretty soon some of the fellows or somebody began saying maybe old -Dad Veek would have to go to jail for setting his own barn afire, like -I told you in the beginning. Then, after while, I heard my mother say -to my father, that some of the Ladies' Aid ladies were bestirring -themselves because they were sure that old Dad Veek wouldn't set his -own barn afire, and they had asked Tom Burton to help them and he was -helping. But one day we were up in my barn--me and Swatty and Bony--and -Toady came up. - -He came up the stairs far enough to see into the hayloft, then he -stopped and when we saw him he came on up. I said: - -“Hello, Toady!” - -“Hello!” he said. - -“What do you want?” I asked, because he hadn't been playing with us -much. - -“Oh, I just thought I'd get my dime lib'ry,” he said. “You don't want it -any more, do you?” - -“No, we don't want it,” I said, and he went to the starch box and got -it, and he came over to where we were, and he said: “I guess you have -n't set any more barns afire, have you?” - -“What barns?” Swatty asked. - -“Well, you did set one afire, didn't you?” said Toady. “You and George -set Veek's afire, didn't you?” - -Swatty stood up then, all right! He stood up and folded his fists. - -“Who said we set Veek's barn afire?” he asked, and he was pretty mad. -But I wasn't; I was just scared. It's incenderyism, or something like -that, if you set a barn afire, and you get sent to reform school for -life. - -“Who said it? I didn't say it,” said Toady. “You said it. You and George -said you did.” - -Well, of course I hadn't been lying when I told Toady and Swatty and -Bony how I had set Dad Veek's barn afire, but I had just been fooling. -So I said: - -“Aw! I never said no such thing! I never either said I set it afire. -Swatty said he set it afire. I couldn't have set it afire, because I was -sitting on my bed when it got afire.” - -So Swatty got mad. I guess he wanted to lick somebody, but he didn't -know whether to lick me or to lick Toady. - -“Aw! I never either said I set it afire!” he said. “If anybody set it -afire George did, because I was home, putting arnica on me, when the -fire started.” - -“Well, you said you did,” I said. “You said so right up in my room. You -did so.” - -“I did not! You said you did.” - -“I did not! I never said anything like it. If anybody said he set Veek's -barn afire, Swatty said it.” - -“Aw! I did not!” Swatty said. “You said it. You said it. You said you -took a torch, and went around to the far side and set the barn afire. -I heard you say it. And you said I couldn't have set the barn afire -because you had it all afire before I got there. Didn't he say that, -Toady?” - -Well, I guess Toady knew mighty well that if he was going to get -mallered for saying either of us said it he had better say I said it, -because Swatty could lick any of us. So he said I did say it. - -So I went for him and mallered him as much as I could. I got so mad I -cried, and I guess I kicked him. Not Swatty, Toady. So when I got tired -I was still mad, and I sat down on a box and cried. Then Toady sneaked -over to the stairs and went part way down, and just before he was out of -sight he looked back. - -“Cry-baby!” he said, and that meant me. Then he said: “All right, you'd -better look out! You both said you did it, and you both said you said -it, and Dad Veek's got that Red Avengers' notice you fastened on his -barn door and Tom Burton knows all about it.” - -Gee, we were scared! I was so scared I didn't throw anything at Toady, -and Swatty was so scared he just said: “Garsh!” and stood there. Well, -me and Swatty we talked it over. - -We knew we hadn't set the barn afire, but we knew we had said we had, -and we knew old Dad Veek would do 'most anything to keep out of jail, -and that my mother and the Ladies' Aid ladies were bestirring. So then -we knew why Toady had come up to get us to say again we had done it; he -was one of the Red Avengers and unless we said we had set the barn afire -ourselves all the Red Avengers would be sent to reform school, and he -wanted to get out of it and had gone and told Tom Burton about us and -the Red Avengers and that we had set the barn afire. - -“Garsh!” said Swatty, “he took the memorandum book you had old Veek's -barn wrote down at the top of the list of!” - -And he had! So Bony sort of doubled down in his corner and cried, but -me and Swatty sat down on a box to think and talk and see what we had -better do. - -Well, the way Tom Burton had gone to work to help my mother and the -Ladies' Aid ladies who were bestirring themselves, was this: He found -out that the reason old Dad Veek had so much insurance was because he -was a slow worker, and sometimes he had the barn almost full of stuff he -was working on, and then it was worth as much as it was insured for. So -that helped some. Then old Dad Veek showed him the Red Avengers' warning -Swatty had fastened on his barn door, and that was pretty bad, because -the time it said the barn would burn down was the time it did burn. - -I guess he might have thought it was some men or something, if it hadn't -been for the name of the Red Avengers. It sounded like boys. So Tom -Burton found out there was a dime lib'ry named “The Red Avengers,” - because one was hanging in Toady Williams's father's store window, and -then he knew it was boys. So he asked Toady Williams if he knew anything -about it, and Toady went and told him. He told him me and Swatty and -Bony was the Red Avengers and that we had set the barn afire. - -We found all that out mighty soon, because it wasn't half an hour after -Toady went out of the barn before Tom Burton came up. The tattle-tale -had gone right to him. - -Tom Burton came up and he stood and talked to us. He told us he knew -all about the Red Avengers and that he had our memorandum book with Dad -Veek's name in it and everything, and that he knew who had written the -memorandum book, and the notice that was daggered on Dad Veek's door, -and everything, and he asked us which one of us done it. Gee, I was -scared! But none of us said anything. Maybe we were too scared to. - -So then he said, “All right! it will only be a little while before all -will be known, and the one that did it will surely be sent to reform -school, so the other two, that didn't do it, had better tell on the one -that did do it.” - -But none of us said anything. So he talked awhile and then he went away. -Me and Bony didn't say anything. - -“Garsh!” Swatty said. “It's mighty bad.” - -Me and Bony didn't say anything yet. We was too scared. Bony began to -blubber. - -“You don't need to cry,” Swatty told him. “You ain't going to be sent to -reform school. You didn't do it.” - -“Well--well,” Bony blubbered. “You and Georgie didn't do it, either.” - -“Well, it don't matter whether we did it or didn't do it,” Swatty said. -“We wrote down that we were going to do it, and they've got the warning -and the memorandum book, and we both said we'd done it ourselves, and we -both said the other had done it, and I guess they'll send us to reform -school.” Bony kept on blubbering, so we told him he had better go home -if he was a cry-baby, and he went. So then Swatty said: - -“I guess it ain't much use; but we've got to say, no matter how they ask -us, that we ain't the Red Avengers.” - -“That'd be a lie,” I said. - -“Well, no, it wouldn't,” said Swatty, “because there won't be any Red -Avengers, and we'll say, 'No, we ain't!' and that'll be the truth, -because we won't be then. We'll bust up the Red Avengers right now.” - -So we took a vote and voted that we were not the Red Avengers any more -and that we never had been the Red Avengers. So that settled that, but -it didn't make us feel much better. We sat and thought awhile and then -Swatty said: - -“I know! Georgie, you can ask Fan to tell Tom Burton to let us go free.” - -“Aw! that won't do any good,” I said. - -And I didn't think it would, but Swatty said it was our only chance, so -I said I would ask Fan, and I did. I hated to, but I did it. - - - - -XIII. THE ICE GOES OUT - -First, of course, I made Fan promise she would never tell, hope to die -and cross her heart, and she promised, and then I told her all about the -Red Avengers and how, if we did set Dad Veek's barn afire we didn't mean -to, and she said she would talk to Tom Burton about it, but she said Tom -Burton was stubborn and she would have to wait until she had the right -chance. She was nicer than she had ever been to me. - -“Have you told anybody else?” she asked me. - -“No,” I said. - -“Did Swatty tell his brother Herbert?” she asked. - -“No. Nobody has told anybody,” I said. - -Well, me and Swatty felt pretty bad and scared and sick, and one reason -was that Bony stopped playing with us. His father found out about the -Red Avengers and made him promise he wouldn't play with me and Swatty -any more because we were bad boys and would ruin Bony. So we never -expected to play with Bony again, but we did, and this was how it -happened. - -Bony's father and mother used to fight like everybody else, and about -bills, because they were having a fight like that when Bony's father -took the shotgun and went away from home. I guess it was a hat Bony's -mother had bought that was the worst, but Bony wasn't sure. He said -they began to fight when the grocery bill came and fought harder and -harder the more bills there were, but it wasn't until the hat bill came -that Bony's father stopped sassing back, and got solemn and quiet and -said that sometimes he felt that it was no use trying to keep up the -struggle against poverty and starvation, and that sometimes when these -evidences of extravagance came in he felt just like going off somewhere -by himself and ending everything. So then Bony's mother said, “Oh! -nonsense!” and pretty soon Bony's father got his shotgun and went out of -the house. - -So Bony just sat there in the room expecting every minute to hear the -shotgun and to run out and see his father dead in the stable. He sat -there and pretended to be studying his geography lesson for Monday, but -all he was doing was listening to hear the shot. It was a mighty mean -job, I guess, sitting there listening like that, and waiting to hear his -father kill himself; but he didn't hear anything. - -So pretty soon he shut up his hook and sort of tiptoed out of the house, -but he did not dare go near the stable. He didn't know what to do. He -went out on the front steps and stood there, and pretty soon he saw me -and Swatty at the corner, and he waved to us and came running, and we -waited for him. - -It was January, but it wasn't cold because we were having a thaw. It was -good snow to make snowballs of, so when Bony started to come toward us -we made a few snowballs and just threw them at him. I guess we hit him -five or six times, but he didn't beller for us to stop, like he usually -does; he put his arm in front of his face and came right on. When he got -too close for us to throw at him any more we stopped and then we saw he -was crying. - -“Aw, shut up and don't be a baby!” Swatty said; “we didn't hurt you.” - But Bony kept right on bawling. He didn't bawl the way a cowardy-calf -bawls when he gets hurt, he bawled like--well, I guess he bawled like -a fellow bawls when his father has gone off with a shotgun to shoot -himself. So then we didn't tell him to shut up any more. Swatty said: - -“What's the matter, Bony?” - -So then Bony put his arm up against a tree and cried into it, and after -he had cried awhile he said: - -“My--my fath-father's out in the barn sh-shooting himself with his -shotgun!” - -“He ain't neither!” Swatty said, and I said it too. - -“He is, too, killing himself!” Bony said, and he blubbered at the same -time. “You needn't think, just because your fath-fathers don't kill -themselves, nobody else's father never kik-kills himself! My fa-father -said he'd kik-kill himself, and if he said so he w-will!” - -“Aw! He ain't neither killing himself in the barn!” Swatty said, and I -guess that made Bony mad, because it was like saying Bony's father was -a liar, or that Bony was, anyway. Mostly Bony wouldn't fight, no matter -what you said, because he's a cow-ardy-calf; but I guess when a fellow's -father is killing himself in a barn or anywhere he don't care what -happens to him, so Bony was so mad he forgot how easy Swatty could lick -him, and he sort of howled like a cat when you step on its tail and -he pitched into Swatty with both fists. So Swatty had to lick him. He -licked him good. So when Swatty had him down and was sitting on him, -Swatty said: - -“Now is your father killing himself in the barn?” - -“Yes, he is!” Bony blubbered, and then we knew that Bony's father was -really going to kill himself, because if Bony hadn't been pretty sure -he would have said he wasn't, because he knew how Swatty can push a -fellow's nose into his face with the bottom of his hand when he has got -him down and he don't say what Swatty wants him to say. So we knew it -must be pretty serious. So Swatty didn't push Bony's nose, but he said: - -“Well, your father ain't killing himself in the barn, because he went by -here a little while ago with his shotgun. How do you know he's going to -kill himself?” - -“I know it because him and Mother was fighting over bills, and he said -he would,” Bony said. - -So then Swatty said, aw! he didn't believe anybody would kill himself -because he was fighting over bills. He said he didn't believe any -grown-up man would fight over a little thing like bills; so that made me -mad, and I said, aw! any man would fight over bills, and that my father -did, and that my father was a better man than Swatty's father any day in -the week and could lick Swatty's father any time they wanted to try it. -And that was true, and Swatty knew it, because my father was bigger than -his father and not so old. So Swatty said, aw! well, his oldest brother -could lick my father, anyway. So I said he'd better try it if he wanted -to find out, and Swatty said, Aw! And I guess that's all we said about -that. - -Anyway, it didn't seem to make Bony feel any better that his father -had taken his shotgun and had gone off somewhere else to kill himself -instead of killing himself right at home in the barn. He kept right on -with a kind of whine-blubber, even when Swatty and me were jawing, so -Swatty said: - -“Aw! what you bellerin' about?” - -“I'll--I'll beller if I want to,” Bony said. “I guess you'd beller if -your father was going to kill himself, you would.” - -“I would not so!” Swatty said. “What's the use of bellerin' when you -can't do nothing about it? If he's going to kill himself, he's going to, -and you can't help it. If my father was going to do what you said -your father was going to do I'd let him do it, and I wouldn't spoil -everybody's fun by bawling about it. I'd just go ahead and play like -nothing was going to happen, until I had to go in and dress for the -funeral.” - -Well, I guess that wasn't a very good thing for Swatty to say, because -it made Bony blubber more than ever. So then Swatty got sore and -disgusted and he said: - -“Aw! shut up, then, and we'll go and find your father and take the -shotgun away from him, if you 're going to be a baby about it!” - -That's the way Swatty always is; me or Bony would never think of going -and taking a shotgun away from a father that wanted to kill himself, and -if we did think of it we would never dare to do it; but Swatty wouldn't -care who he took a shotgun away from if he got mad because somebody -bellered about nothing. So we knew he'd do it if we went along. So we -went along. - -When we saw Bony's father go by with the shotgun he was going toward -downtown, so me and Bony and Swatty started toward downtown, and we -talked about where Bony's father would probably go to kill himself if he -didn't want to kill himself in his barn, and none of us thought he would -go downtown to do it because somebody might see him start to do it and -stop him. So we talked about it and we made up our minds we would go -over into the Illinois bottom, across the Mississippi, because a man -once went over there to kill himself, and did it and nobody bothered him -while he was doing it or knew about it until afterward. - -Of course the ferry wasn't running, but it was easy enough for Bony's -father to get across the river because the ice was frozen and the river -was closed and he could go over on the ice. - -We went down to the river. There was a good deal of water on the ice in -some places, and the snow was mushy everywhere on it and it was pretty -bad walking. I guess you know what the river is like when it is closed. -There is a lot of snow on it because nobody shovels it off, and they -couldn't if they tried, because the river is three quarters of a mile -wide there, and there's no place to shovel the snow to, and it's just as -good right where it is as it would be anywhere else. - -But before the thaw comes the snow blows off some of the smooth places -and banks up against the rough places on the ice in drifts. The river -don't freeze over all at once--the ice floats down and jams and stops -and the bare places between freeze over; but when the ice jams, it -crumples up on the edges and makes ridges, and it is where the ridges -are that the snow banks up into drifts. Sometimes the drifts are all -around a smooth sheet of ice, and then when the snow begins to melt, the -smooth ice turns into a sort of pond, and maybe the water on top of the -ice is an inch deep and maybe it is more. - -Here and there there are air holes, because I guess a river has to -breathe like anybody else and the air holes are where it breathes. They -are different sizes. - -Well, the road across the river on the ice is always crooked. The -farmers over in Illinois make the road to bring over cordwood and hay -and stuff, because they can bring it over on the ice free and it costs -twenty-five cents a load when the ferry is running. - -So the first farmer that dares drive across on the ice starts out from -the Illinois shore, and he starts straight, but pretty soon he has to -curve around a drift, and then he has to curve around an air hole, and -then he has to go around a piece of ice that looks thin, and by the -time he has got to town he has made a crooked road; and the next farmer -drives in the same path, because the first farmer's horses' shoes have -roughed it up a little and made it easier to travel. - -So that is how the road gets made, and before very long it gets to be -quite a road. It gets dark and dirty from the horses and the dirt off -the cordwood and maybe some coal the farmers take home, and there are -wisps of hay all along, rubbed off loads when they passed other teams. - -By the time the thaw comes, a good deal of the river in front of town -gets so you know how it looks, just like the town itself. The wood -road goes zigzagging across, and maybe--if it is a cold winter--the -trotting-horse men have a speed track on the ice that is different from -the wood road and marked off to show a mile. Wagon loads of waste stuff -get dumped on the ice in piles and maybe a dozen or two dozen dead -horses. You get so you know how it looks, and you get to feeling as if -the river had always been frozen over and had always looked like that. -Maybe you have names for things, so anybody like Swatty or Bony knows -what you mean when you say: “You know, where the wood road comes nearest -to the horseshoe air hole.” - -Well, it was pretty mushy when we started across the river. It was warm, -too, warm enough to make us sweat; but there was a good breeze blowing -from the Illinois shore and it wasn't as warm as it might have been. -But, anyway, it was warm. Swatty showed us where to go. He went first -and we went behind him, and pretty soon we were far off the wood road -because wherever there was a drier place he went that way. - -When we got out toward the middle of the river, away from the town dirt, -I wished we hadn't come. Out there the ice hadn't been cut up by being -skated on, and there were whole big places where the ice was perfectly -smooth and green and clear, and with the snow water on top of it we -couldn't tell whether it was ice or air hole. We had to walk on the snow -close to the ridges, because there we knew there was ice under us, even -if we did wade through slush up to our knees. It was scary enough for -anybody and Bony began to cry. - -I guess we would have gone back if it hadn't been for Swatty, and even -Swatty didn't tell Bony to shut up and stop crying. I guess Swatty felt -pretty scared himself. You couldn't see anybody on the ice anywhere; we -were the only ones. I guess everybody was afraid to go on the ice, it -was getting so rotten. That's what I thought then, but it wasn't the -reason; Swatty knew the real reason, but he didn't tell us then because -he was afraid we would be more scared than we were. Nobody was on the -ice because they were afraid it might go out any minute. - -So all Swatty did was to say, “Hurry up!” because he was afraid if we -didn't hurry up maybe the ice would go out before we got across, and -nobody likes to get drowned in ice water. - -So pretty soon we came to a place where there wasn't any snow and where -there were no ridges--nothing but clear ice with water on it, and the -wind making little ripples. Bony cried, and I said, “Aw! let's go back, -Swatty!” because you couldn't tell whether it was ice under that water -or air hole. Swatty looked all around, but he couldn't see any way to -get to Illinois but to cross right over. Neither could any of us. So -Swatty said: - -“All right for you! You and Bony can let his father kill himself if you -want to; but I won't, and when I get back I'll lick you both.” - -Well, we didn't care if he did lick us. We'd rather be licked than be -drowned. So Swatty said: - -“Aw! Come on! I wouldn't have come if I thought you were a couple of -cry-baby cowardy-calves. I'll dare you to come!” - -But we didn't. So Swatty said: - -“I double tribble dare you, and whoever don't take the dare is a -sooner!” - -Well, a sooner was the worst thing anybody could call you; even Bony -would fight if you called him a sooner, but we didn't care what he -called us; but just then we heard a gun go off over in the woods, and -before either of us could stop him Bony started. He ran right out on the -wet ice, crying and blubbering, and he fell down in the water and got -up again and ran on. Every little while he would fall down, but he would -get right up and run again. The water was almost up to his knees, but -he didn't care. I guess he kind of liked his father and wanted to get to -him. - -Swatty shouted and told him to stop and come back, or anyway to wait for -us, but Bony ran right on. Swatty shouted: - -“Hey, Bony! come back, I was only fooling! Your father ain't going to -kill himself.” - -Because Swatty knew Bony's father wasn't going to kill himself, but he -was afraid Bony would be drowned. He just wanted us to cross the river -because nobody had ever crossed it when the ice was so rotten and we -would be the first that ever did it, and he knew we wouldn't do it -unless we thought we were going to save Bony's father, or something. So -all we could do was to go after Bony, and we did. We waded through the -water after Bony, and I was glad Bony had gone first because we were -sure there was no air hole where Bony had been ahead of us. - -But I made Swatty give me his hand anyway. I didn't like it much. I -didn't like it any. - -Well, we got across, and before we got across Bony had reached the shore -ice. It was pretty rotten and it rubbered down under him, and if he -hadn't been running so fast I guess he would have broken through. Then -he stopped and looked, because between him and the shore was a wide open -space--no ice, nothing but water. He just stopped and looked, and then -looked back at us and then he ran to the edge of the ice, and it broke -under him and he was in water up to his arms. It was because there was a -long sandbar reached out from the shore there; if not he would have been -drowned. So he walked through the water about half a block and me and -Swatty went after him. Gee, it was cold! - -When we got ashore Bony was up in the woods and we could hear him -shouting, “Papa! Papa!” and crying, too. It was kind of a sick shout, -part cry and part shout. It sounded like “Pwaw-pwa! Uh-uh! Pwaw-pa!” and -then “_Pwaw_-pwa! _Pwaw_-pwa!” and then “Uh-uh-uh!” like a little kid -cries when it has lost a penny it meant to get candy with and has cried -all the way home. - -All of a sudden we heard the shotgun again. It was toward down-river and -not near us at all. Bony heard it, too, and he stopped to listen and we -caught up with him. I guess he was as good as crazy, because when we got -to him he started to run, and he ran right into a grapevine tangle and -began pulling and pushing through it, although he could have taken ten -steps and have gone around it. I guess he must have liked his father a -lot to get so crazy about him. Swatty went right after him. He swore at -him in German and told him that the way was to go out on the shore where -the sand was, so he could run faster. So Bony went and we went, too, and -we all ran. - -We didn't say much. Swatty kept telling Bony what kind of a fool he was -for thinking his father was going to kill himself, and Bony kept sobbing -and running. I guess maybe I cried a little, too. I felt kind of--I -don't know--frightened, I guess. So then we got around the bend, and all -at once we saw Bony's father. - -He was out on the ice. When we saw him first he was about as far out on -the ice as two blocks would be, and he had on his rubber boots and his -hunting coat, and it looked bulged around the pockets, so me and Swatty -knew he had been hunting and had got two rabbits, or maybe three. We -guessed that what had happened was that when he got sick of fighting -about bills he went hunting, to forget about it, because Swatty's -father--when he felt that way--went down to his tailor shop and sewed -coats or pants, and when my father felt that way he would go out and -split wood or maybe clean out the barn. But I guess Bony's father -thought he'd go hunting. I guess maybe he thought he'd like to kill -something. - -When we saw him out on the ice he was walking fast, or sort of running, -going toward the Iowa shore, but that wasn't what scared us. What -scared us was that the ice was moving! - -We didn't see it at first. Bony was yelling at his father, and his -father heard him and turned and looked back, and then started to run -toward us. Where we were, at the bend, the ice came close in to the high -bank and on the ice there was a limb of a big tree. Somebody had made -a fire under it and it was partly burned. Bony ran up and down the bank -looking for a good place to climb down, but Swatty was going to slide -down right there and let his feet get on that old dead limb. But when -Bony's father saw Bony running up and down he shouted to Jim, “Back! -Back!” Swatty looked at Bony's father to see why he was shouting that. -Then he looked down at the old limb again. It had moved along! - -Well, you bet he was frightened for a minute! He wasn't thinking of the -ice, he was thinking of that dead branch, and for a dead branch to start -and move like that isn't natural. He felt the way you feel when you go -to pick up a stick and it is a live snake. For a minute he just stood -and held his breath and was scared, and then he saw it wasn't the dead -limb that was moving but the ice, and he grabbed my arm and pointed. And -just then the fire-whistle on the waterworks over in town began to blow. - -That was a sure sign the ice was going out, It was to let folks know -so they could come down and see the ice go out because, you bet, it is -worth seeing. You can't tell what the ice will do when it starts to go -out. - -So then we knew the ice must be going out faster on the Iowa side than -on our side. What Bony's father was trying to say and do was to tell us -to keep off the ice, and to get off it himself; but he did not have to -tell us much because before he got close enough for us to hear him much -the ice was making such a noise we couldn't hear him at all. And he -couldn't get off! The ice began to pile up against the upper side of the -bend, shearing itself off and sliding on top of itself and leaving a big -open space below the bend. - -Well, I guess Bony cried then! And he had something to cry about that -time. His father came running as near as he could to us, but it wasn't -very near, because the ice near shore was cracking up into big pieces. -He ran up-stream on the ice, shouting to us all the time, but the ice -was going downstream, and at last it floated down so there was an air -hole opposite us and he had to stop. I say he had to stop, but he kept -going, because the ice carried him on down the river. He looked all -around, and then waved his arm at us and started to run toward the Tow -Head. - -The Tow Head is a big island in the river but nearer Iowa than Illinois, -where we were. The wind was pushing the ice over that way, and I guess -he thought maybe he could get off the ice on the Tow Head if he could -get there before the ice carried him by. - -Bony's father ran around the air hole and kept running up and across, -and he ran hard; but by that time the ice was going pretty fast, so me -and Swatty and Bony got down to the sand and ran down-stream as fast -as we could. Or maybe not as fast as we could; we kept even with Bony's -father. He was running up-stream but he was going downstream all the -time. - -Pretty soon the old race track the men had made on the ice went by, and -then the end of the wood road went by. It was funny to think that me and -Bony and Swatty were running one way and Bony's father the other way, -and that we kept right opposite each other. But it wasn't very funny, -because we all thought Bony's father would be drowned. - -Well, the ice went past the Tow Head. It went past before Bony's father -was halfway to the Tow Head, and he stopped running and stood still. -Then he turned and started to run toward us again. - -On our side of the river the water between the shore and the ice was -getting wider and wider, because the river was wider here and because -the wind was blowing the ice toward the Iowa shore. If I had been Bony's -father I would have run for the Iowa shore because the ice was pushing -up against it, but it would have been foolish because the Tow Head was -like a knife and split all the ice as it came to it. Nobody could get -across from where Bony's father was to the Iowa shore, but I did -not think of that. But Bony's father did. So did Swatty. He said so -afterward. He said he would have done just what Bony's father did. - -Bony was crying, of course, and he was running in front, because he -wanted to see his father drowned if he was drowned, I guess. I was next, -but Swatty was behind because he had stopped to look, and that was the -way we were when we came to the mouth of the First Slough. The ice was -rubbery, but Bony and me ran across and up the bank and in through the -woods--you have to, there--and kept right on as soon as we came out on -the shore. - -Bony's father was getting nearer and nearer, but the stretch of water -was getting wider. It was too wide for anybody to swim, of course. I -felt kind of sick. I don't know why--I guess it was because I thought, -all at once, that I was running like that just to see a man drown in the -river, and it made me sick. I shouted to Bony, but he kept on running -and then I looked at Bony's father. - -He was still running, but he had his hand in the air and he was waving -a white handkerchief, and then he put it in his pocket and just ran. -Pretty soon I looked back for Swatty, and I saw him! - -He wasn't on the shore. He--but that's what Swatty is like. He was in a -skiff, rowing as hard as he could toward the ice! - -Bony and me had run across the First Slough without thinking of anything -but hurrying up, but Swatty, when he came to the Slough, thought, “Well, -if anybody has a boat around here they would haul it into the Slough -where the river ice wouldn't sweep it away or crush it.” So he just took -a look, and there was a skiff. It was hauled up under a tree and -padlocked to the tree. It looked as if it was there for good and all, -but when Swatty looked at the boat the chain was just stapled into the -boat and all he did was pry out the staple with a piece of driftwood. -There were no oarlocks, but you can make a thole pin with a piece of -wood, and that was what Swatty did. He made thole pins with pieces of -driftwood and he pried the skiff down to the ice and slid it to the -river, and then he jumped in and began rowing with two pieces of -driftwood for oars. - -I shouted to Bony and he stopped, and we turned back and ran. Swatty was -n't trying to keep up with the ice, he was trying to get to it any way -he could, and he was having a pretty hard time of it. First one thole -pin broke and then the other and he had to paddle. I thought he'd never -reach the ice. - -[Illustration: 316] - -Even Bony stopped crying. - -Well, Swatty got to the ice, but he couldn't land on it. He just sort of -hugged it with the boat, and Bony and me had to run again to keep even -with him. Then Bony's father came to the edge of the ice and tried it -carefully with his foot, but it was firm because all the weak ice had -been scraped off at the bend. So all he did was to get into the boat. It -was easy. Then he took one of the pieces of driftwood and helped Swatty -paddle. - -So then everything was all right and Bony's father wasn't drowned or -hadn't shot himself or anything, so Bony began to cry again. - -It took us a long time to get the boat back where it belonged and a -longer time to walk back to opposite the town. It was dark when we got -there and the ice was still going by, and we knew it might be a week -before we could get across the river again; but all at once we heard a -rifle or a shotgun across the river, and then Bony's father fired his, -and that let them know he was all right. So then we all worked and -built a big driftwood fire and when it was burning we walked in front of -it--one, two, three, four, and then back again: one, two, three, four. -We hoped they could see there were four of us and that we were all -right. - -And they did, because right away somebody shot off a pistol--one, two, -three, four. That meant they knew there were four of us. - -Well, it was two days before we could get across the river again, but we -got our meals at a house up on the bluff and slept in their barn, and it -was good enough fun. - -When Bony got home his father said: - -“Mother, look at this young hero! If it hadn't been for those boys I -would be dead this minute. Now, stop crying over him, and go and make -him the biggest lemon meringue pie he ever saw!” - -So I guess Bony felt all right. But when I got home Mother said: - -“Well, thank goodness you 're back! That child--Mamie Little--has -pestered the life out of me ever since you went away. For mercy's sake, -run over and tell her you're home again!” - -That was all right, but the best was that Bony's father wasn't mad at -us any more and he talked with us about Dad Veek's barn. He was pretty -solemn about it, and when we had told him all we wanted to he said it -looked serious, but he would help us all he could, and the first thing -he did was to go to Judge Hannan's office and see Herb Schwartz. So he -found that Herb was already bestirring himself, but when Bony's father -talked to him he said he would bestir himself more than ever. - - - - -XIV. HERB BESTIRS - -Well, the first thing Herb Schwartz did was to ask me and Swatty to go -down to Judge Hannan's office after school one day and we went. Bony -didn't go because Herb didn't want him to, and when we went in the -office Herb was sitting at a desk and he turned around in his chair -and told us to sit down. So we did. We thought maybe the first thing -he would tell us was that we were doomed and plumb goners, and how many -years we'd have to be in reform school, but he didn't. He looked at me -and said: - -“Well, George, how is your sister Frances?” - -“She's pretty good, I guess,” I told him. - -“That's nice,” he said. “And how do you like having that Burton fellow -of hers bestirring himself around to put you in reform school.” - -“I don't know,” I said. “I guess I don't like it very well.” - -“I shouldn't think you would,” he said. “But I suppose your sister -Frances likes it.” - -“She does not!” I said. - -“That's strange,” he said. “She thinks you are a totally depraved young -reprobate, don't she? It seems to me that the last conversation I had -with her she said that, or words to that effect. I supposed she was the -one that set that Burton fellow on you.” - -“No, she didn't!” I said. “My mother did.” - -“Oh! your mother did, did she?” Herb asked, but he grinned. - -“No, she didn't either,” I said. “All she did was to get Tom Burton to -bestir himself, so Dad Veek wouldn't go to jail or anything. She didn't -know he was going to bestir himself against me and Swatty. My mother -don't want me to go to reform school. And Fan don't.” - -So then Herb asked Swatty if, for goodness' sake! he couldn't sit still -without knocking his heels against his chair. Then he said to me: - -“Is it possible that your sister believes you are capable of -regeneration?” - -“I don't know what it is,” I told him, “but I guess so.” - -“I mean,” Herb said, “she thinks there may be some good in you after -all, does she?” - -“Yes, sir,” I said. - -So then he laughed and shook his head as if it was funny. I guess I knew -why. I guess it was because the reason Fan had thrown his ring at him -was because he said I was some good and she said I wasn't, and now she -thought the way he thought. - -Then Herb sobered up and asked about the fire and we told him -everything, even about the Red Avengers. He asked questions and we -answered them, and he seemed to know almost more about it than we did. -He knew about what we told Toady Williams when we were just bragging and -that we had bragged that we had set the barn afire. - -“But that was just pretend,” I said. - -“A mighty bad kind of pretend,” Herb said, and he asked us some more -questions. He would look at some papers on his desk and then ask some -more questions. When he got through asking he said: “Well, if the case -has to go into court Mr. Rascop will defend you two young rascals, and -if the case comes before Judge Hannan I think you'll have every chance -that can be hoped for, but I don't like the looks of things. Judge -Hannan knows what boys are, but if the case goes before some old stiff -it is going to be hard to make him think your brag to Toady Williams -was just pure brag. At the best it looks as if one of you two must have -dropped a com-silk cigarette stub in the shavings. You two had better -walk straight and keep out of trouble from now on. I'll do what I can -for you.” - -So we went out and we were pretty scared. We didn't say much. We just -walked along for a while. Then Swatty said: - -“Say! I know who wrote all those questions Herb asked us.” - -“Who did?” I asked him. - -“Fan did,” he said, “because I saw what Herb was reading from, and I saw -the last page and it said, 'Yours humbly, Frances.'” - -So that was how Herb knew so much about it, because I had told Fan and -she had told Herb in the letter. At first I was pretty mad that -she should be a tattle-tale but then I guessed that was how she was -bestirring herself, because it didn't do any good to bestir with Tom -Burton. - -When I got home it was almost supper time but Fan came to the front -porch when she heard me and asked me if I had seen Herb, and all about -it, and I told her. - -“Well, Georgie,” she said, “I'll stick by you through thick and thin,” - and then she began to cry and ran into the house, and I went in and -mother stopped me in the hall. - -“George,” she said, “this is a terrible affair and I don't know what -will be the end of it, but if I could give my life to keep you from harm -I would gladly do so. And, whatever comes of it, you must be tender -to Fan, because she quarreled with Herb because of you and now she has -quarreled with Tom, and she loves you very much,” or something like -that. - -So I felt pretty mean, because a boy don't like that kind of talk, and -when I went upstairs and Lucy was coming down I gave her a push. She -said: “You stop that! Are you and Swatty going to reform school?” - -“None of your business,” I told her. - -“Oh! you don't need to think I'd ask you, smarty!” she said. “I don't -care. I only asked you because Mamie Little asked me to ask you.” - -So then I felt how awful it would be to go to reform school and -everything and I went up to my room and cried on my bed. I was up there, -but mostly done crying, when my father came up. He put his hand on me -and said: - -“Here, now! None of this, old sport. Buck up! We'll get you out of this -all right, some way. Come on down to supper.” - -So then he kissed me. He hadn't kissed me for a long time before that, -because men don't, but it was all right this time. I went down to supper -like he said. - -Well, Herb and my father and Swatty and me had a meeting nearly every -night in our dining-room and talked about how we were getting along, but -we weren't getting along very much. The only thing that got along -was Fan, and she was making up to Herb again. She would come into the -dining-room and sit and talk to Herb and father, but she couldn't fool -me. She was making up to Herb all right. I could see that. - -Well, one day Tom Burton came over to our house and Fan and Tom Burton -had a regular row. It was a dandy. And that settled Tom, I guess. He -never came to our house again. - -Me and Swatty had to go to school just the same as ever. I wished, if -they were going to send us to reform school they would go ahead and do -it, because Miss Carter began to get mean to us. Professor Martin was -back and nearly every day Miss Carter kept us in school and Professor -Martin came in and talked to her while she kept us in. Mostly they -walked home together, because me and Swatty saw them. - -Well, me and Swatty had been sort of mad at Bony, like I told you, but -you can't keep mad always, and we started to letting him be with us -again. So one day me and Swatty and Bony got out of school late, because -Miss Carter had kept us in, and Scratch-Cat had been kept in, too. We -all came out of the schoolhouse together. It was almost spring again and -Bony had some marbles he had bought, so we said: - -“Let's play marbles.” - -Scratch-Cat didn't want to. - -“Well, you don't have to,” Swatty told her. “You're a girl, anyway. What -do you want to play?” - -“I don't want to play anything,” she said. “I've got a better game than -a play-game, and you can be in it if you want to.” - -“What is it, then?” Swatty asked. - -“Secret society,” Scratch-Cat said. “I thought it all up in school -to-day and it's Gypsies. Swatty will be the king and I'll be the queen, -and Georgie and Bony can be princes, and we 'll take an oath to be mean -to Miss Carter or anybody that keeps us in school or anything. We'll -think up things to do to them, and when Miss Carter and Professor Martin -are married we'll steal their children and raise them to be gypsies--” - -“Aw!” I said, “they ain't going to be married.” - -“Yes, they are!” Scratch-Cat said. “Because I saw him kiss her. He -kissed her in the cloak room almost before I was out of it, just now.” - -“Well, we ain't going to be secret gypsies or any secret society,” Bony -said, “because me and Swatty and Bony have one already.” - -“No, we haven't,” Swatty said. - -“We have, too!” Bony said. “We've got the Red Aven--” - -He stopped pretty short, you bet. - -“No, we haven't,” Swatty said again. “We never had. We had a meeting -and voted that there wouldn't be any Red Avengers any more and that -there never had been.” - -“But--but you couldn't,” Bony said. - -“Yes, we could,” Swatty said. “We started it and I guess we had a right -to stop it. Me and Georgie we voted on it. There never was any Red -Avengers. And I'll lick anybody that says there was.” - -“But--but don't we have to be true to the oath any more?” Bony asked. - -“Pooh, no!” Swatty said. “When there ain't any Red Avengers there ain't -any Red Avengers' oath, or nothing.” - -“And can't anybody put me in state's prison for saying what the oath -says I mustn't tell about any Red Avenger?” asked Bony. - -“No, sir!” said Swatty. “That oath is a dead oath and don't count no -more.” - -“Well, then,” Bony said. “Toady did it!” - -“Did what?” Swatty asked. - -“Toady set the barn afire,” Bony said, still pretty scared. “I couldn't -tell, because I took oath not to tell on any Red Avenger, but if there -ain't any oath Toady did it. I saw him. He had a pack of real cigarettes -and he didn't dare smoke while he was skating because Miss Carter was -skating on the creek, too. - -“So I guess Toady thought he would go up to the Nest to have a smoke,” - Bony went on, “and I was going home. So when we got up to the Nest he -asked me if I wanted to smoke a real cigarette, and I said I didn't. So -Toady lit one and threw down the match, and it set the shavings afire. -So he tried to stamp the fire out, but it spread too fast, and so he -ran, and I ran, and when we looked back the barn was all afire. So he -said that if I ever told he would have me sent to state's prison for -breaking the Red Avengers' oath and telling on a fellow comrade. But he -did it, and I saw him do it.” - -Well, Swatty got up and gave a yell and he had to hit some one, so he -hit Scratch-Cat, and she went for him and they had a good fight, but -Swatty was laughing all the time, and he didn't fight as hard as he -mostly did. When they got through fighting they shook hands, and we all -went down to Herb's and he listened to what we had to tell him. - -That ended it, except that he sent the engagement ring back to Fan in a -letter and she kept it, and Mr. Williams, who was Toady's father, -moved out of town mighty quick and took Toady with him, because Herb -telephoned him right away and I guess he thought he had better do it. - -So that's all. Me and Swatty didn't go to reform school. We didn't go -anywhere. The only others that went anywhere were Herb and Fan. They -went on a marriage trip, or whatever you call it. - -THE END - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Swatty, by Ellis Parker Butler - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SWATTY *** - -***** This file should be named 44154-0.txt or 44154-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/4/1/5/44154/ - -Produced by David Widger - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, -set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to -copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to -protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. 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