Then something awful queer happened. Maybe it was a half an hour
afterward, or maybe not so much—I don’t know. But anyway, I saw a light.
And I felt warm, sort of. And I guess I must have been asleep, because I
didn’t know what it was on my forehead, and I pulled the end of it and I
could see it plain. It wasn’t my scarf, because mine is gray, on account
of my patrol being the Silver Foxes. But it was black with stripes
across, and I knew it was the scarf of the Raven Patrol.
Then I saw there was a fire very near me—not so very near on account of
the wind—but pretty near. And I thought Grove Bronson must be there,
because he’s a Raven. Then I guess I must have gone to sleep again,
anyway, everything seemed kind of funny and I thought about how Grove
Bronson couldn’t get a fire started in the rain, because that’s hard and
only a few scouts can do that. Then I sort of could see my mother and
she was saying how I must stay home from school, only I knew I was out
there in the rain and that it was summer and there wasn’t any school.
Then all of a sudden, I could see a face and it scared me. It was all
white and the hair was streaky from the rain. It was Pee-wee’s face.
There didn’t seem to be anybody to it, only just a face. Pretty soon, it
moved.
I said, “_Don’t come near me! Stay away!_ I’m sick and I’m hurt. You
make me scared; don’t come near me! If you’re dead——”
“I just want to put the dry coat over you,” he said; “so I can dry the
other one. Don’t you know me—Roy?”
[Illustration: I JUST WANT TO PUT THE DRY COAT OVER YOU.]
“_Pee-wee!_” I just kind of gasped.
He said, “Lie still, don’t sit up. They can see the fire; they’re coming
down. It’s holding up now.”
Then I could see the rest of him as he got up from behind the fire. And
he came over with another coat that was dry and warm and laid it over
me, and took the other one.
“I had a dandy idea,” he said, and oh, gee, then I knew it was Pee-wee;
“I fixed a rock so it would get all warm underneath and the coats would
keep dry while I heated them. I invented it; it’s dandy.”
I guess I must have been going all to pieces, anyway, I didn’t know what
I was doing, but I just put my arms around him and I said, “I don’t care
anything about the coats, Pee-wee, as long as you’re alive—I don’t.
Honest, I don’t. I don’t care if I get wet——”
“You told me I couldn’t start a fire in the rain,” he said; “I’ve got a
special way I do it——”
“Don’t go away; stay right here,” I told him. And I just held onto him.
“They’re coming down, they can see the fire,” he said. “Lie right still.
Anyway, I’d like to tell you, because now we’re alone here, and so I’d
like to tell you that I’m not really mad when you think——”
All I could say was just, “Don’t, kid; don’t talk like that.” And I held
onto him tighter.
And all the while I could see the blaze and I could hear the wet wood on
the fire crackling, and the flame made the whole cliff plain. And I
could see how quick the rock was drying on account of the heat, and how
fire is stronger than water after all, because if you can only start it
right it just laughs at rain. And anyway, a scout like Pee-wee is better
than both, that’s one sure thing.
Then pretty soon I could hear voices, not up on the cliff, but coming
along down below and I could hear Skinny saying, “Will they be dead?”
And I could hear Harry say, “Yes, one of them, I’m afraid, Alf.”
“That’s where they all get left isn’t it?” Pee-wee said. “I’m glad I’m
alive just so as to fool them.”
That was Pee-wee all over.