FATE IS JUST
On that very morning Constable Bungel performed the stupendous feat
which sent his name ringing through Borden County and established him
definitely as the Sherlock Holmes of Everdoze.
Followed by the local citizenry, who marveled at his deductive skill, he
advanced against Kelly’s barn in the outskirts of Berryville. Here,
perceiving evidences of occupation, he demanded admittance and on being
ignored he forced an entrance and courageously arrested two young
fellows who were hiding there waiting for the night to come.
It is painful to relate that in process of being captured one of these
youthful fugitives delivered a devastating blow upon the long nose of
the constable thereby unconsciously doing a good turn like a true scout
and repaying him in kind for his treatment of Pee-wee.
Thus it will be seen that fate is just for, as Pee-wee explained to
Pepsy, “He got everything I wanted him to get, a punch in the nose and
two hundred and fifty dollars. And that shows how I got paid back for
doing a good turn, because if I hadn’t given up that two hundred and
fifty dollars he wouldn’t have got punched, so you see it pays to be
generous and kind like it says in the handbook.”
The official pride of Beriah Bungel as he led his captives back to
Everdoze to await transportation to Baxter City was somewhat chilled by
the inglorious appearance of his face. There can be no pomp and dignity
in company with a wounded nose and Beriah Bungel’s nose was the largest
thing about him except his official prowess.
“Don’t tell anybody I told him,” Pee-wee whispered to Pepsy, “or you’ll
spoil it all and they won’t give him the money.”
“Suppose he tells himself,” Pepsy said.
But Officer Bungel did not tell of the keen eyes and scout skill which
had put him in the way of profit and glory. For he was like the whole
race of Beriah Bungels the world over, officious, ignorant,
contemptible, grafting, shaming human nature and making thieving
fugitives look manly by comparison.
Everdoze was greatly aroused by this epoch-making incident. Even a few
stragglers from Berryville followed the crowd back as far as Uncle
Ebenezer’s farm and Pee-wee tried to tempt them into the ways of the
spendthrift with taffy and other delights which cause the reckless to
fall. But it was of no use.
“I bet if there was a murder we could sell a lot,” he said. “Motorcycle
thief crowds aren’t very big. If the town hall burned down I bet we’d do
a lot of business. I wish the school-house would burn down, hey? Murders
and fires, those are the best, especially murders, because lots of
people come.”
“I like fires better,” Pepsy said. “Lots and lots and lots of people go
to fires.”
“Yes, and they get thirsty watching them, too,” said Pee-wee. “That’s
the time to shout, ice cold lemonade.”
There was one person in Everdoze, and only one, who neither followed nor
witnessed this triumphal march, which had something of the nature of a
pageant. This was a little lame boy, very pale, who sat in a wheel chair
on the back porch of the lowly Bungel homestead.
The house was up a secluded lane and did not command a view of the weeds
and rocks of the main thoroughfare. This frail little boy, whose blue
veins you could follow like a trail, had never seen or heard of Pee-wee
Harris, scout of the first class (if ever there was one) and mascot of
the Raven Patrol. He had indeed heard his father speak of “cuffing a
sassy little city urchin on the ear,” but how should _he_ know that this
same sassy little urchin had thrown away two hundred and fifty dollars?
Thrown it away? Well, let us hope not. Let us hope that those wonder
workers in the big city succeeded in “fixing” him, as indeed they must
have done, if they were as good fixers as Scout Harris. Let us hope that
Licorice Stick had gotten things wrong (as we have seen him do once
before) and that little Whitie Bungel did not die in a rainstorm on a
Friday.