THE BLACK SHEEP
We all went over and watched the dancing a little while and then we
started home. Pee-wee’s vamp (that’s what we called her) disappeared
forever in the wild and woolly dancing pavilion. Pee-wee never saw her
more—that’s what Brent said.
“I wonder how the sharpy happened to miss the carnival,” Warde said.
“He’ll die of shock when he hears there was dancing there.”
“Come on,” Brent said, “we’ve got to hustle.”
“It’s early yet,” Hervey said.
“Yes, it’ll be early in the morning pretty soon,” Brent said.
Hervey just started singing:
“Early to bed and early to rise,
And you’ll never meet any regular guys.”
He should worry.
We followed the Greenvale road to where Fox Trail branches out from it
to the left. But anyway I guess the left-handed hike was off for that
night. We dropped it, and if you pick it up you can have it—we don’t
want it.
It was pretty dark and spooky along Fox Trail; it runs through the
woods. It isn’t a regular road at all. That took us into the trail
around the lake again; you’ll see where if you look at the map. And that
trail took us into Cabin Lane right near the Main Pavilion. And there we
were back at camp again. If it hadn’t been for Sandwich we might have
been hiking around the lake yet and we might have starved just going
round in a circle and that’s why I have so much respect for sandwiches,
because they remind me of the little dog that saved our lives,
especially tongue sandwiches.
There was only one light in camp and that was in Administration Shack. I
thought it was funny because mostly there isn’t any light at all late at
night. The lake looked awful black and the reflection of the light in
Administration Shack showed away off on the water. It seemed like two
lights. We went hiking up the porch of Administration Shack as bold as
could be, with Hervey singing that crazy song:
“When you go on a hike just you mind what I say,
The right way to go is the opposite way.
If you come to a cross-road don’t make a mistake,
Choose a road, and the _other’s_ the one you should take.
Don’t bother with sign boards but follow this song,
If you start on the right road you’re sure to go wrong.
You can go on your feet, you can go on a bike,
But the right way is wrong when you start on a hike.”
Around he marched to the door singing a lot of other crazy stuff he knew
that goes like this:
For up to twelve o’clock it’s late,
Yes, up to twelve o’clock it’s late;
It’s very late,
It’s very late;
Observed his father, surly.
So I’ll stay out till after one,
Oh, I’ll stay out till after one,
Replied his very wise young son;
For after one it’s early.
In we went, pell-mell, and there was Mr. Arnoldson (he’s a resident
trustee) sitting at the table reading a magazine. He just laid it down
and looked at us and said very sober, “Well, what’s the big idea?”
I could see something was wrong; I knew he had been sitting up waiting
for us.
“We’ve been to the carnival in Greenvale,” Brent said. “Some crazy day
we’ve had.”
Mr. Arnoldson just said, “Hmph. Your idea, Willetts?”
“Why pick on me,” Hervey said.
“I guess we were all equally crazy,” Brent laughed.
Mr. Arnoldson said, “Well, I suppose you’re all equally reprehensible
then. You scouts know the rules of this camp, don’t you? You know you’re
supposed to be here at supper and afterward unless you have special
permission to be away. Who gave you permission?”
Brent just said, kind of surprised, “Why, I thought it would be all
right if we ’phoned. You said so yourself once.”
“You needn’t tell me what I said,” Mr. Arnoldson shot back at him. “Do
you want me to understand that you ’phoned to camp?”
Brent was sort of a little mad. He said, “I don’t care what you
understand, Mr. Arnoldson, and I think it’s all right to remind you that
you said if scouts were going to stay out they must ’phone. We did
’phone. And we thought that would be all right.”
“At what time did you ’phone?” he asked us.
“At about half-past six,” Brent said.
“From where?”
“From the railroad station at Greenvale.”
That seemed to be a poser to him; he just drummed on the table and
looked at all of us.
“Which one of you ’phoned?” he asked.
“Hervey ’phoned,” Brent said.
“Eh huh, I thought so,” Mr. Arnoldson said, with a kind of a funny
smile. “Who did you talk to, Willetts?”
“A scout named Wilkins,” Hervey said.
“Ask him his name?”
“How do you suppose I found out?” Hervey said. “I didn’t want to ’phone,
I’ll tell you that much. I didn’t care so much.”
“Don’t, Hervey,” Brent said in a low tone.
“I should bother,” Hervey said.
“Bother about whether you tell the truth or not? That what you mean?”
Mr. Arnoldson asked him. Then he said, “Any of you fellows see him
’phone?”
“No, we waited outside,” Brent said.
“Ah, yes,” Mr. Arnoldson said with a kind of a smile. “Well now,” he
said, and he clapped his hand down on the table, “there was no ’phone
message received at this camp from any of you boys this evening.”
“You sure of that?” Brent asked.
“_Absolutely_,” Mr. Arnoldson said. “And there is no scout or anybody
else at this camp by the name of Wilkins. I’m sorry for you four boys,
Harris and Blakeley and Hollister and Gaylong, you were duped. It’s all
right, go to bed and forget it. Willetts, you’re a liar and we don’t
want any liars at this camp. You not only try to fool the management and
disobey rules, but you fool your comrades. You thought we’d call you in
if you ’phoned. And you knew these boys wouldn’t stay out without
’phoning. So you put one over on them; you lied to them. I was going to
give you all a good calling down and then turn in because I’m sleepy. A
good calling down wouldn’t have killed you.”
“Gee whiz, it wouldn’t kill me,” Pee-wee said.
“Now you four turn in and forget it,” Mr. Arnoldson said. “And you,
Willetts, had better go up where your troop bunks, if you know where
that is, and pack up your stuff and get out of here in the morning. And
don’t ever show your face in Temple Camp again. Don’t talk back, and cut
out the bravado; there’s the door, get out of my sight.”
Hervey just stood there gulping. I was glad he wasn’t able to speak
because he would only have started swearing. He doesn’t care much what
he says, sometimes. Anyway before he got a chance I kind of got hold of
him and led him out through the door onto the porch. The others came
out, too, but none of them spoke to him except Pee-wee. He said, “Good
night, Hervey, and anyway I like you.” Hervey didn’t say anything,
didn’t even answer him. Brent and Warde started down Cabin Lane, but
neither of them spoke to him. Brent made out not to see him at all.
Gee, I hated to leave him that way. I waited and said, “Hervey, don’t
you care, maybe a camp like this isn’t the best place for you. I know
most of the things you do you don’t stop to think. You wanted us to keep
going and I’m not holding it against you. I know you’re reckless and you
don’t think. Don’t you care because you’d never get along here anyway. I
know the good side of you.”
“Do you think I’m a liar?” he asked me.
“No, I don’t,” I said. “Just that once——”
“Do you think I lied just that once?” he said. “Why should I lie? I’m
not afraid of Arnoldson and that bunch. I’ve stayed away a dozen times,
haven’t I? I never lied about it.”
I had to smile a little because it seemed as if he was even proud of it.
I said, “No, I know you don’t care about the management. If you did—sort
of fool Brent—it was for our sakes—so we could keep on having fun.”
“Well, I either lied or I didn’t,” Hervey said.
“I know that,” I said, “but I’m thinking of a lot of things the others
don’t think of——”
“_So am I_,” said Hervey.
“Never you mind,” I said.
Just then the light inside went out and I started away, because I guess
I didn’t want Mr. Arnoldson to come out and see me talking with Hervey.
I’m ashamed to admit it, but that’s the way I felt.
As I walked along Cabin Lane to where our troops bunk I noticed that the
reflection out on the water was still there even after the light in
Administration Shack was out. But I was too sleepy and I was feeling too
bad to think about that.
[Illustration: map
I made this map and it isn’t much good and it doesn’t show all the
buildings and things at Temple Camp. But anyway it shows how Cabin
Lane is and how West Trail turns out of it to the left and goes around
the lake and comes into it again near Main Pavilion. So you can see how
it is we kept going round and round the lake all the time till something
happened. Follow the arrows if you don’t want to get anywhere. Only if
you keep following them you’ll never get through the story.
Lucky for you Sandwich was with us, because if it wasn’t for him there
wouldn’t be any story, so that shows how a mutt can be a good author.
Roy Blakeley]