“We should worry our young lives about how we’re going to get past,” I said. “Italy stood in our way—you saw what happened. This is the Berlin to Bagdad Railroad—branch of the Erie. We’re going to subdue all the land between here and the river. We should sneeze at the Sneezenbunker land. We’re going to make all the cats in Cat-tail Marsh pay an indemnity. Maybe you think you’re more important than Belgium, but we’ll go through you all right. You leave it to us. Food won the war so far, didn’t it? Posolutely, quoth he. “We haven’t opened our next campaign yet, but, anyway, we’re not too proud to fight. Please don’t bother us now; we’re planning our next big drive. We’re going to make the world safe for the boy scouts. If the police and our parents know what’s best for them they’ll stay neutral.” “Do you want to make a treaty with us?” Connie piped up. “Come on over to Bennett’s and we’ll treat you to a treaty.” Then we all began singing. We’re here because we’re here, We are not in despair; And when we are no longer _here_ Why, maybe we’ll be there. Mr. Slausen just went out and slammed the door. Gee whiz, that man can’t take a joke. CHAPTER XIV—SOMETHING MISSING Now I’m going to tell you all about what happened that night. Before dark Westy rode up to my house on his bicycle, because I had told him that I’d help him clean it up. We weren’t thinking about the car, because we had decided that we’d go and see Mr. Downing the next morning; that would be Sunday. We knew Mr. Downing took a lot of interest in the scouts, and we weren’t worrying, because we thought he would fix things for us. The way we talked to Mr. Slausen is the only way you can talk to a man like that, because he’s an old grouch. Everybody knows him. Now out by the road in front of my house is a carriage step, and Westy and I sat on that while we cleaned up his bike and oiled it and greased it. We kept working there till it was nearly dark. He has a dandy big flashlight and we used that to light up places that we couldn’t see very well. Pretty soon the bike was all clean and the dirt was all on us. So we went in to wash up. I was the first to get through, so I went out on the porch and lay down on the swing seat. Now there’s a wide lawn between our house and the road. I ought to know because I mow it every week. That’s where my sister and Harry Donnelle play tennis. He’s a big fellow. It was pretty nearly dark and I was waiting for Westy to come out. He was going to stay to supper at my house. My mother likes him a lot. But that night we didn’t feel much like supper. While I was lying there an automobile passed along the road and stopped right in front of the house and somebody got out. I thought whoever it was was coming up to the house when I saw that person get in the car and ride away again. Just then Westy came out and I said, “Somebody got out of a car down at the road.”