When we cleared port (that’s what Harry called it) we had the ship’s
papers secreted in one of the door pockets of the good brig _Cadillac_.
Those papers were the two newspaper articles published in March,
Eighteen Ninety-five, and the letter of the man who had been killed in
the wreck, and the description of the poplar that We had copied out of a
book. Pee-wee sat next to that pocket and kept his eye on it. Skinny sat
between us and Grove sat in front with Harry.
Pretty soon I said to Harry, “There’s one fellow I wish was on this
trip, and that’s Brent Gaylong.”
Harry laughed, and then he said, “It would be right in his line.”
“He was crazy for adventure,” I said. “Do you remember how he told us
about digging up a bottle full of gold paint?”
“Wonder what ever became of him and those kids?” Harry said.
It was while my patrol was on the long hike home from Temple Camp with
Harry Donnelle last summer, that we met Brent Gaylong and the five
little fellows that he called his patrol. They were on a hike to find a
missing person. They belonged in Newburgh and they were awful poor. They
were so poor that Brent named their patrol the Church Mice.
But one thing, that fellow was crazy for adventures and he had an awful
funny way of telling things. Gee, he had us laughing a lot on the night
that we all camped together. Pee-wee and Grove and Skinny had never met
him, because they weren’t with us on that trip—momentous trip.
“I’d like to see little Willie Wide-Awake again,” Harry said.
I said, “It’s too bad we didn’t think of it in time; we might have gone
through Newburgh.”
“Too late now,” Harry said.
Now I’m coming to the first adventure of that trip and it’s mostly about
Pee-wee, but it has something to do with being hungry, too. That’s one
thing Scouts like better than dinner and that’s supper. Especially
Pee-wee is always hungry; Harry says he’s a whole famine all by himself.
It was dark when we left Albany, because we had to stay there to get our
radiator fixed, and while the machine was in the garage, we went to the
movies. It was nice skimming along the road to Utica, and we could smell
the country. Gee whiz, when that smell gets in the air, I always begin
thinking about Temple Camp.
Pretty soon we came to a sign and Grove got out and read it by his
flashlight. It said “_Welcome to Crystal Falls. Automobile laws
enforced._”
“The pleasure is ours,” I said.
“I wonder if there’s any place in this berg where we can put up for the
night?” Harry said. “Hanged if I know what’s the matter, but we’re
running on five cylinders. That intake isn’t working right, either.”
“Believe _me_, my intake is all right,” Pee-wee shouted, “only it hasn’t
got anything to take in.”
“Always thinking about eats,” I said.
“How about _you_, Alf?” Harry said to Skinny. “Hungry?”
Skinny said, “Yes, sir.”
“Well then,” Harry said, “we’ll see if we can run her under cover
somewhere and get something to eat and a place to bunk in. I doubt if
there’s a garage in this thriving metropolis, but if there is, the
mechanics are probably home in bed. This machine seems to have an acute
attack of the pip. The gas isn’t feeding right.”
“You should worry, the rest of us will feed all right,” I told him.
Ever since we left Albany the engine hadn’t been running right and two
or three times Harry had tried to get it running smooth, but he said he
couldn’t do anything in the dark. So now we turned into the main street
of Crystal Falls and crept along very slow, the engine pounding all the
while. There wasn’t anybody to enforce the laws and there wasn’t anybody
to welcome us, either. The principal thing about the restaurants was
that there weren’t any. And the same with the hotels—they were very
nice, only they weren’t there.
“We should have kept out of that garage at Albany,” Harry said; “go to a
garage and then your troubles begin. The good ship _Cadillac_ will have
to be close-hauled, I’m afraid.”
We stopped alongside the curb and Harry tried to find out what was the
matter. I guess there were a lot of things the matter. Anyway, we
couldn’t get started again. After about half an hour he gave it up and
said he couldn’t do anything until daylight.
“She’s at the mercy of the wind and storm,” he said; “I guess we’ll have
to take to the small boats. Do you see that light up the street,
Pee-wee? Suppose you hike up there and see if there’s anybody about, and
if there is, find out where we can get something to eat and a place to
sleep. Tell them we’re wrecked on the treacherous rocks of Main Street.”
“I’ll find out,” Pee-wee said; “don’t you worry. I’ll fix it.”
He started along the street, going scout-pace, and we sat there in the
machine for about ten minutes, waiting for him. Gee whiz, I think I was
never so hungry in my life.
“I could eat a house,” Grove said.
“I could eat a whole row of apartments,” I told him.
“I could eat some bread and jam,” little Skinny piped up.
“Good for you, Alf,” Harry said; “if I met a piece of pie myself, I
wouldn’t be afraid to face it. I guess Pee-wee’ll scare up some
information for us.”
And believe _me_, he did! Pretty soon, back he came, panting all out of
breath and trying to shout.
“_Hurrah, hurrah_!” he was calling.
“Did you find anything to eat?” Harry asked him.
“_Better than that! Better than that!_” he shouted, coming up to the
car. “A scout is—is—a scout is a brother to every other scout. If he has
food—and—he has to—he has to share it. There’s a party of scouts up the
woods road—they’re having a big blowout—they’ve got liver—a man on
horse—a man on horseback told me—I called to him—come on, let’s find the
woods road!”
“They’ve got what?” Harry asked him.
“_Liver!_” Pee-wee panted. “Don’t you know what liver is? It—it—it
always goes with bacon. Don’t you know scouts always have liver and
bacon when they’re—they’re camping?”
“Sounds good to _me_,” Harry said; “where is this sumptous liver and
bacon blowout being held?”
“I told you,” Pee-wee panted; “up the woods road.”
“_Mmm, mmm!_” I said, “I’d just love to meet a slice of fried liver in
the woods to-night.”
Harry said, “Well, I guess we’ll have to make a raid on our scout
friends, that’s all.”
“We’ll track them to their camp,” Pee-wee said; “I’ll show you how.”