Scout Harris showed him. Oh yes, he showed him. But Scout Harris was too
busy showing all the rest of them to do any exclusive showing for the
pioneer scout. And besides, Peter, who was too new and too bashful and
too awed by his companions and surroundings to be a good general mixer,
was mostly occupied with his hero, Nick Vernon. Pee-wee, who was a mixer
as well as a fixer, went on mixing and fixing and soon he performed his
greatest of all "fixing" feats; probably the greatest fixing feat in
scout history. Perhaps the greatest fixing stunt in the history of the
world.
But Peter was satisfied to laugh at Pee-wee with the rest of them, with
that bashful, hesitating laugh, which endeared him to them all.
It was natural that he should follow Nick Vernon about the island, for
everyone liked Nick, who was quiet, humorous, modest and withal very
resourceful and skilful. He had a kind of a contained air, as if he knew
more than he gave out, in contrast to Scout Harris who gave out more
than he knew. A bantering, off-hand way he had, as if all the things he
did (and he could do many) were done just to kill time. Skilful though
he was, he did not take himself too seriously. Everything he did he
seemed to do incidentally.
He would wander aimlessly into some triumph. "Going tracking?" they
would say. "Guess so," he would answer. He never made a fuss. The
general impression that he gave was that scouting was a good enough way
to while away a summer. Peter Piper worshipped at the shrine, winning
scout personality. He hoped that his mother would allow him to stay for
the finish so that he could see Nick receive the cup. He watched,
jealously, anxiously, the stunts of the other scouts, but none of them
could be mentioned along with Nick's signalling.
One morning Nick sauntered down to the shore, Peter with him.
"Going to wigwag?" they asked him.
"Maybe, if there's anyone to wigwag to. No use talking if there isn't
anyone in town to listen."
"Scout Harris talks whether there's anyone to listen or not," one said.
"Shall I bring the card to wigwag with?" Peter asked.
"No, don't bother. Got some matches? Never mind if you haven't."
Peter ran back and got some.
"If you're signalling tell them not to hurry with the school, we can
wait. Scout Harris is giving us an education. He's going to move the
lake to-morrow."
"He's a queer duck," one of the party sprawling around the tents said as
the two made their way down toward the shore.
"Who, Pete?"
"No, Nick; jiminy, it always seems as if--I don't know--as if he has
something up his sleeve."
"It's his arm," commented a joker.
"Maybe he knows about a mystery," Pee-wee said; "maybe there's treasure
buried on this island."
"There'll be some scouts buried on this island if we all die laughing at
you," another scout observed. "Come on, let's dig some bait."
Nick did not decide what he was going to do till he reached the shore.
That was just like him. Peter was all excitement.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account