"GO"
Old Trimmer chugged up to the edge of the island in the shabbiest,
leakiest little motor dory on the river, and grasped a little tuft of
greensward to keep his boat from drifting.
"Well, now, what's all this?" he began. "What you youngsters been
doin' up the river, eh?"
"This used to be your land before it was an island," said Pee-wee
diplomatically. "I bet you'll say it's funny how it used to be your
apple tree and everything. But it broke away and kind of fell down and
now it's an island and we discovered it. It can't--one thing--it can't
ever be a peninsula again, that's sure. Islands, they're discovered
and then you own them, that's the way it is. Findings is keepings with
islands."
"Is that so?" said old Trimmer, half-interested and examining what
might be called the underpinning of the island with keen preoccupation.
[Illustration: The boys hold the island in spite of old Trimmer's
protest.]
"Well, you'll just clear off'n this here property double quick. Pile
in here and I'll set you ashore."
"Don't you go," urged Pee-wee; "we've got a right here; we're going to
camp on this island."
"Sure we are," said Roly Poly.
"And you can't make us get off, either, because it isn't on your land."
Old Trimmer wasted no words. "Pile in here, all of you," he said,
indicating the boat, "or I'll have yer all up fer trespassin'."
"Do you own this old scow or whatever it is underneath us?" Townsend
asked quietly.
"Look a'here, young feller, no talkin' back," said old Trimmer testily;
"come along, step lively. I'm going to tow this whole business back up
to where it belongs. Now d'ye want me ter set yer ashore or not?"
"Not," said Roly Poly.
"I don't think we have anything to say about it, Mr. Trimmer," said
Townsend. "The land that used to be part of your field seems to be on
a scow or something or other and we're on the land that's on the scow.
We're here because we're here----"
"Let's hear you answer that argument!" shouted Pee-wee in a voice of
thunder. "This is a river, isn't it? Do you deny that? It's an
inward waterway--I mean inland--and it belongs to the government and
this scow or whatever it is, is on it and something that used to be a
peninsula but isn't any more is on the scow and we're on the thing that
used to be a peninsula----"
"In the shade of the young apple tree," said Townsend.
"That's just what I was going to say," said Pee-wee, "and you can't put
us off this land because if that's trespassing then the land is
trespassing too--it's trespassing on the scow--so we won't get off the
land till you take the land off the scow and put it back where it
belongs and then we'll get off it because, gee whiz, scouts have no
right to trespass." He paused, not for lack of arguments but for lack
of breath.
"So that's the way it is, is it?" said old Trimmer darkly. "Well,
we'll see."
"Sure we'll see," said Pee-wee. "That shows how much you know about
geography and international law and all those things. Suppose Cape Cod
should break off and float away. Would it belong to New Hampshire any
more--I mean Connecticut--I mean Massachusetts? Gee whiz, we're going
to stay right here because we're on a public waterway and anyway you
don't own the scow that this land is on, do you?"
There was, of course, no answer to this fine analysis of the legal
points involved.
"That there scow was under my land," said old Trimmer.
"It was in the river and it wasn't on anybody's land as I understand
it," said Townsend in his funny way. "Your land trespassed on the
scow----"
"Sure it did!" interrupted Pee-wee.
"It really had no right to do that, Mr. Trimmer, unless you can show
that you own the scow. As I understand it this is a kind of a legal
sandwich. The land that used to be a part of your field is between
the scow and us----"
"Sure it is!" vociferated Pee-wee, caught by the idea of a sandwich so
huge and picturesque. "We're kind of like one of the slices of bread
and the scow is the other slice. It's thick and dark like rye bread,"
he added to make the picture more graphic.
"It's a kind of a legal sandwich," said Townsend, sitting back against
the tree with his knees drawn up and talking with a calmness and
seriousness which aroused the wrath of old Trimmer. "It's a kind of an
interesting situation. We have as much right on the scow as the land
has, as I see it----"
"Sure, you learn that in the third grade!" shouted Pee-wee. "That's
logic."
"Really, the best thing to do," drawled Townsend, "would be to remove
the land, which would let us down onto the scow and that would let you
out of the difficulty. We'd be answerable to the owner of the scow."
"It belonged to the big dredge," Pee-wee said excitedly. "I knew all
the men on that dredge; I used to hang out on that dredge; those men
were all friends of mine. We wouldn't be trespassing except your land
is in the way."
"If you want us to shovel the land out of here we'll do it," suggested
Roly Poly.
"Then the tree'll fall over," said Brownie.
"Gee whiz," shouted Pee-wee, "it'll serve the tree right because all
the time fellers are being accused of trespassing in apple trees and
now you can see for yourself that apple trees are just as bad. They
trespass on scows."
"We could have this tree fined ten dollars," said Billy, "if we wanted
to report it to the dredging company in New York."
"Or it would have to go to jail for thirty days," yelled Pee-wee.
"I don't see what we're going to do, Mr. Trimmer," said Townsend.
"I know what we're going to do," said Pee-wee; "we're going to do a lot
of things. We're natives of this island."
"We don't recognize this land," said Townsend; "we consider it beneath
us."
"Sure it's beneath us!" shouted Pee-wee.
"It simply happens to trespass on the scow first," said Townsend. "I
think we'll stand on our rights."
"Well, yer ain't goin' ter stand on my property, yer ain't!" old
Trimmer bellowed, his wrath rising. Townsend's calmness seemed to goad
him to a perfect frenzy.
"Well, then," said Townsend, "the only thing for us to do is to shovel
out a space and camp on that. Then our feet will be on the scow----"
"We'll be on friendly territory," shouted Pee-wee. "Your land can camp
here with us if it wants to."
"Or you can take it away, just as you please," said Townsend. "Only we
warn you not to take any liberties with this scow. We're personally
acquainted with Mr. Steam of the Steam Dredging Company and we're going
to charter this scow, now that we're on it. We can get another desert
island to put on it if necessary."
"Do you see this traffic sign?" Pee-wee yelled at the top of his voice.
He stood like some conquering hero, holding the martial stop sign with
one hand. "The bottom of this bar is planted on the scow. Do you hear
the noise it makes when I bump it up and down? It goes right through
this land. We take possession of this scow in the name of the new
Alligator Patrol or maybe it'll be the Turtles, we don't know yet. We
plant our banner on the--the----"
"The rye bread," said Billy.
"And if this land," Pee-wee continued, "that used to be a peninsula and
stuck out over the river from your field and trespassed on the scow
when it didn't have any right to because it wasn't friends with the
dredge men--if this land wants to stay here it can."
"What do you say, Mr. Trimmer?" Townsend laughed. "If you want to tow
this whole business back up to your place we'll help you shovel the
land off the scow. We don't want to camp on an island that violates
the law. But you haven't got anything to do with this scow. I'm not
asking you how it got alongside your field or why the dredging people
didn't take it away when they took the dredge away; that's your
business," he added rather significantly. "We'll admit the land is
yours----"
"No, we won't!" said Pee-wee.
"Yes, we will," said Townsend quietly. "Now what do you want to do
about this property? Shall we wrap it up for you or shall we send it?
Our dealings are with the steam dredge people. Now what do you say?
By the way, will you have a cruller?"
It was perfectly evident that Townsend Ripley, with rather more quiet
shrewdness than any of them had given him credit for, had gently
stabbed Mr. Trimmer in a weak spot. It was the scow that old Trimmer
wanted. How he had come by it had been only faintly suggested by
Townsend. How it had chanced to be moored in that secluded spot under
the projecting land after the big dredge had gone away, was not
discussed and is not a part of this story. It seemed evident that old
Trimmer was rather disturbed at the thought of the boys getting in
touch with the dredge people.
"Go ahead n' camp on it then," he said in sulky surrender; "and don't
make a nuisance of yourselves writin' letters to the dredging company.
Them men has got something else ter do besides bothering with a crew of
crazy youngsters."
"But you know what you said about trespassing, Mr. Trimmer," said
Townsend. "You have taught us that we shouldn't trespass and we thank
you for the lesson. We'll have to drop Mr. Steam a line. How about a
cruller, Mr. Trimmer? They were just stolen from our small friend's
kitchen. Don't care for stolen fruit, hey? You're too particular, Mr.
Trimmer."