Lew Hunter stood up by the organ bench. “I am sorry,” he says, “very sorry. I didn’t want to hurt anybody’s feelings. I think Jerry’s all right, but I ain’t been used to them rough ways of his; outside of that, I like him as well as anybody, but there’s one thing I don’t like, and I don’t care if I say it right here, and that is, any fella what goes around and makes other fellas promise him their votes in an election like we are gonna have, he don’t just seem to be my idea of a fine fella.”
Lew ain’t no more than said it when Hal and Tom and Frankie and Clarence and Oscar all jumped up to say something. But Jerry raised his hand and waved ’em all down in their seats.
“Be quiet,” says Jerry, “keep still for my sake, boys. I am gonna answer this kid. Maybe he won’t like it, then maybe he will; who knows, here goes.”
Then he walked up to the organ bench where Lew was standing. I saw Lew bite his lip and spread his feet and double his fists. But a look of surprise come on his face when Jerry stretched out his hand.
“Shake, Lew Hunter,” says Jerry, smiling.
Lew undoubled one fist and took Jerry’s hand. Jerry shook it.
“Fine fella,” says Jerry, “you got spunk. I like you.”
They both looked at each other. Jerry was smiling. But Lew had a hard look.
Then Jerry went on: “You think I’m a roughneck; you think I ain’t got no heart because I don’t talk such smooth words as you do; you think I am a selfish old fella for making some fellas promise me votes; but you can’t see under this old raggedy coat of mine; you don’t know what feelings I got in my heart. I wouldn’t hurt the feelings of any of the fellas in this houseboat, not even you, Lew, and you know you made me purty sore sometimes. Maybe I hurt your feelings sometimes, but I never meant to do it; it was just my way of doing things. I ain’t got no education like you, but you will know a whole lot before very long, and I know you will change your mind.”
Jerry shook Lew’s hand and turned around and grabbed his hat off the table. Me and Bill Darby and our capt. and Lew stood there, by ourself, while the other fellas got up and cheered for Jerry like he was a regular politician.
But Jerry says, “Stay here. I don’t want nobody with me. I gotta do some thinking.”
He walked out of the houseboat slow. We all watched through the window as he made his way up to the main road. Lew stood there like he was made of stone. I went over and took his hand.
Lew looked at me. “Hawkins,” he says, “that boy is made of sound stuff.”
“I know it,” I says. “In fact I knew it long before you did, Lew.”
The other fellas couldn’t hold it in no longer. They gave a long, loud shout. The next minit they was out the door and up the path following Jerry. Bill and me and Lew and our capt. stood looking at ’em through the window.
Our capt. says, “Seems like Jerry is gonna be our next captain.”
Lew turned around to our capt. and said, “He is as good as elected already.”
FRIDAY.—Today we had a meeting, but only Bill and Lew and our capt. and me showed up. I says, “I guess we might as well go ahead with the meeting; looks like them fellas don’t care to be at any more meetings till they got a new capt.”
Johnny laughed like he enjoyed the joke, but it was a funny laugh; it had a kind of brassy sound to it. “I’m glad,” he says. “I’m awful glad that I won’t have to be capt. no more.”
I looked at him and says, “I’d like to believe that, Johnny.”
“Why?” he says, looking hard at me. “Why?” he asks again. “Wasn’t I good captain for two years, and didn’t I git you fellas outta lots of scrapes and tell you what to do when you didn’t know how to git out?”
“Yes,” I says, “I give you credit for that, Johnny. You was a good capt. while you lasted.”
Bill Darby says, “Sure he was.”
Lew says, “It would be better for the whole bunch if we elected Johnny again. I am afraid Jerry’s harsh ways will make much trouble.”
“Oh, never mind” says Bill, “we will have Johnny here to give us advice when it’s necessary.”
“Sure,” says Johnny, “and Seckatary Hawkins can help out.”
Just then we heard someone coming. We all turned to the door. There stood Dick Ferris. He looked at us like a scared rabbit, and nobody said a word for a minit.
Then he says, in a low voice, “’Lo fellas, I just was a’passing by, thought I’d come in and say howdy.”
Lew Hunter jumped at him like he was a lost brother. “Dick,” he hollers, “where you been all the time? Never could find you anywhere.”
Dick shook his head. “It would be hard to tell you,” he says, “but I got some news for you—that Stoner’s Boy—”
All us fellas was on our feet at once.
“What!” hollers our capt. “Stoner’s Boy here again?”
Dick waved his hand and shook his head. “Give me a seat,” he says.
We pushed a chair out for him. He sat down. “Now,” he says, “I’m tired. I tell you that. I been watching that Stoner’s Boy fella all week, and I’m tired.”
“Watching him?” I says. “Have you been up to Watertown?”
“No,” says Dick, “no, I been right here, and Stoner’s Boy been right here too all week; he would come down in the morning. I seen him sneaking from tree to tree in the woods one morning. I followed him. He tried a lot of tricks on you fellas, but I always saw what he did, and I got there before you fellas and spoiled all his plans. He is gone now; he went back to Watertown a few minutes ago, and gee, I am tired. One of you fellas got to take my place next week.”
Dick stopped talking, and us fellas didn’t say a word. We heard some footsteps outside. In come Jerry Moore and Oscar Koven and Little Frankie.
“Here’s Dick, Jerry,” says our capt.
“Oh,” says Jerry, “poor fella.” He went over to him. “Did he hurt you much, Dick?”
Dick looked up at Jerry. “What do you mean?” he asks.
Jerry put his hand on Dick’s shoulder. “I seen it, boy,” he says to Dick. “I seen it fall on you.”
Dick stood up. “Oh,” he says. “I didn’t know you were near there. I seen him watching you and the other boy, and seen him run ahead through the woods and fix the rotten limb so you would loosen it as you walked under it, but I forgot to watch out it didn’t—”
But Jerry nodded his head and said, “Yeah, I saw it, I know you done it to try to save me from gittin’ what Stoner’s Boy laid for me, and you got it yourself. I sure do thank you for it. I ain’t able to tell you how sorry I felt for you; we searched the woods, but there ain’t no Stoner’s Boy around here.”
“No,” says Dick, “he went back. I watched him till I seen his ice boat disappear around the bend going up to Watertown.”
Jerry came over to me. “Hawkins,” he says, “we gotta be careful. That Stoner fella is sneaking around here every day watching us.”
I says, “No, Jerry, I think he is after the Pelhams.”
“Well,” says Jerry, “you don’t think I look like a Pelham, do you?”
I didn’t answer. I was going over to talk to Dick. But Dick was gone.
“There he goes,” said Lew. “The poor kid don’t feel like he is welcome here no more.”
We watched Dick till he run across the ice to Pelham.
SATURDAY.—Everybody was down bright and early. The election box was standing on top of the safe, in the corner. I got it down and dusted it off and printed a sign, which said,
DROP YOUR VOTES HERE
“Today is the day,” says our capt. to me.
“Yeah,” says Bill Darby butting in. “It’s the last day you will be captain of this bunch.”
“Ah, well,” says Johnny. “I been capt. for two years. I would be an ornery cuss to kick because I can’t be capt. no longer.”
Bill Darby says, “Do you guys remember how the Skinny Guy stole our election box last year and changed all the votes?”
But nobody cared to talk about the Skinny Guy; we hate to think he is gone now. We all liked poor old Link, purty much, dern if he wasn’t a fine fella.
We all went down to the riverbank to play because it is the rules that nobody must hang around the election box.
After supper we all came down to count the votes. I opened the box and begun to count. “One for Johnny McLaren,” I says. It was Bill Darby’s vote.
“One for Lew Hunter,” I says. It was my own vote; I liked Lew.
“One for Bill Darby,” I says. It was our captain’s vote; he wouldn’t vote for himself.
Then come a surprise. “One for Dick Ferris,” I says. It was Jerry Moore’s vote. Everybody hollered hurray. I kept on pulling ’em out. I kept on saying, “One for Dick Ferris, one for Dick Ferris”—Oh, boy! all the others was for Dick Ferris.
At last we counted ’em up. Nine for Dick, and he was elected. But Dick wasn’t around.
I says to Jerry, “You showed what a fine fella you are, Jerry, to vote for Dick. I was so supprised. I nearly fell over.”
Lew jumped up when he heard that. “What?” he hollers. “Did Jerry git all those votes for Dick?”
“That’s what he did,” says Little Frankie Kane. “He made me promise.”
“Me, too,” says Hal Rice, and all the rest in Jerry’s group.
But the door suddenly opened and in come Clarence Wilks, pulling Dick Ferris in. Johnny walked up to him.
“Come on, Dick,” says our old captain, “you beat me in a fair election. I am glad to turn over to you my captain job; you sure are the fella to have it.”
“—AND HOLLER THREE CHEERS FOR YOUR NEW CAPTAIN, WHICH THEY DID.”
Dick looked backward. “I am sorry,” he says. “I wish you would of picked out a fella what can do things better than I can.”
But Jerry Moore wouldn’t listen to that. He walked over to Dick and lifted him up as if Dick was a little baby and put him on the table and says, “Take off your hats and holler three cheers for your new captain.”
Which we did.
CHAPTER 4
Stoner’s Boy Hard to Catch
MONDAY.—Us boys made up our minds that we would do all we could to help our new captain, Dick Ferris. I asked Jerry yesterday how he thought Dick was going to do.
“Don’t ask me no riddles, Hawkins,” he says. “I was the one what got Dick elected. Now it’s up to him to make good.”
I knew Jerry felt like Dick was going to be a pretty hard fella to get along with for one reason, and that is because Dick is too friendly with the Pelhams.
Today we all come down to our houseboat for our regular meeting. Johnny McLaren was sitting by Lew Hunter on the organ bench. When he sees me come in, Johnny got up and says, “Well, Hawkins, it feels kinda funny for me to sit down here now! I’m so used to being up at the head of the table in the captain’s chair.”
I says, “Well, Johnny, I gotta say one thing; you sure did make a fine captain for this bunch for two years.”
Johnny says, “Thanks.” Then he turned and went back to his seat on the organ bench. Lew stood by me, and we kept on talking.
Lew says, “Lookit, Hawkins, see how all the fellas stick around Dick Ferris now, and nobody pays any attention to poor Johnny.”
I says, “That’s the way it always goes, Lew. When a fella’s a captain everybody is glad to see him, but just as soon as he is only a common fella again they don’t care much about him.”
Lew says, “Well, I only hope Dick makes as good a captain as Johnny was.”
“So do I,” said I.
Then Dick hit the table with the wooden hammer. “Order!” he hollers, and everybody sits down. We all sat down but Jerry. He kept standing with his hands in his pockets. “Sit down,” says Dick.
Jerry says, “Go slow, little boy, don’t try to act fresh because you are the new captain.”
Dick just kept on looking at Jerry. “I’m gonna have order first,” he says, and he just kept on looking at Jerry. “Sit down,” he says once more.
Jerry looked him in the eye. But none of us says a word. Jerry kinda looked around and seen all of us fellas sitting, so he don’t say another word but sits down slow.
“Now,” says Dick, “I don’t want any fella to think I’m gonna be boss or anything like that, but us boys must have rules and live up to ’em, because I know we got lots of things to think of, and we gotta do our best.”
“What you mean?” asked Jerry.
Dick looked down at where Jerry was sitting.
“Mean?” he says. “I mean that every one of us fellas has gotta look out for trouble around here, and that trouble is Stoner’s Boy.”
Jerry jumped up quick. “Where is he?” he asked. “Tell me where to find him.”
“Sit down,” says Dick. “You wouldn’t have no more chanst with that gray ghost than I had, and goodness knows I didn’t have any chanst at all.”
Then he looked around at all the fellas for a while without saying a word. Then he says, “Listen, I been following that gray coat, or, at least, I been trying to follow him, for a week, and I seen him work and I know what a dangerous fella he is, and I want to say this—that every one of you boys must keep his eyes open all the time because Stoner’s Boy is coming back. You can bet your life he won’t rest till he gets even with us.”
Jerry jumped up again. “What did we do to him?” hollers Jerry. “What’s he after us for?”
“Sit down,” says Dick, and Jerry sat.
“Listen,” says Dick. “Ever since we found that dog Louisiana Lou in our snow fort and took it away, Stoner’s Boy has got it in for us. You know I know, ’cause I seen him everyday; that is, I seen his gray overcoat, but I never seen his face. I wish to goodness I had, so I could reckanize him, but I wouldn’t know him if I saw him.” Dick stopped talking and motioned Bill Darby and Lew Hunter to come up.
I could see that all the boys in the houseboat were scared, that they had that kinda look on their faces. Dick talked to Lew and Bill in whispers, and us fellas all gathered around the stove and begun to talk about what a fine captain Dick was. Purty soon Bill and Lew slipped out the door without saying a word. After they went Dick says to me, “Hawkins, is there anything for us to talk about?”
I says, “No, there ain’t no more business today.”
“All right,” says Dick, “the meeting is over, and you fellas can go out and have some fun; but mind your business and keep your eye open for a gray coat.” The fellas all went out one by one, and some of ’em were tiptoeing.
I locked the houseboat after Dick come out, and I says, “Dick, is there any danger of that Stoner fella trying any of his tricks tonight?”
Dick says, “Hawkins, he is libel to try ’em any time. Lock that door good.”
Which I did.
TUESDAY.—When we had our regular meeting today only five of us fellas was there. Dick and Lew and Jerry and Bill and me. Jerry says, “Dick, seems to me you are scaring all our fellas so bad they don’t want to even come down here no more.”
Dick says, “Well, that may be best, after all. They won’t get hurt if they don’t come down.”
We had a little quiet meeting, and then Lew played the organ, and we sung some songs. From the way Dick sung you would not think he was worrying about Stoner’s Boy. And I don’t think he does worry about it.
WEDNESDAY.—Today when I come down in our houseboat I was supprised to see Doc Waters and the sheriff and Judge Granbery there. Dick was in the captain’s seat, and Jerry, Bill Darby, Clarence Wilks, and Lew Hunter was sitting around the table. The judge was standing by the stove, and Doc was on the organ bench, while the sheriff was standing back of the door.
“We were waiting for you, Hawkins,” says Doc with a smile.
“Yeah,” I says, “I kinda thought you was. What is the trouble now?”
Judge Granbery folded his hands behind him and coughed. “Why, it’s this,” says the judge. “I understand you boys have been meddling with some boys
from Watertown, and now you are being hounded by a bad youngster from that town who is known to be a bad boy.”
I says, “As usual, somebody been giving you the wrong information.”
Dick says, “I told ’em, Hawkins, but they won’t listen to me.”
Doc Waters says, “Judge, we will have to listen to Hawkins. What he says will be purty close to the truth.”
I says, “That’s nice of you, Doc. Leastways, I ain’t altogether a liar if I come close to the truth.”
Doc laughed. “Don’t git peevish, Hawkins,” he says. “You know me, and you know what I mean.”
“All right,” I says, “that fella called Stoner’s Boy is after us because we saved a dog. You know about that because the Judge give the dog back to the fellas what owned him, and we got a ten-dollar bill for it.”
The judge nodded his head. “Yes, yes,” he says. “I know that, well enough. Go on.”
“Well,” I says, “we must of made Stoner’s Boy mad with that, because ever since he has been trying to knock down our houseboat and things and hurt us by laying traps.”
“Well,” says the judge, “I don’t want any trouble with you boys. The best thing is to keep away from this strange boy, and if you should ever see him around here, come up and inform the sheriff or me or Doctor Waters.”
“All right,” I says, “I promise that.”
The three men went out. Doc give me a wink and a smile as he closed the door behind them. Dick says, “Now we are in it both ways. If we don’t fight back Stoner’s Boy will get us; and if we do fight back the judge will give it to us. What are we gonna do?”
I says, “Go right ahead as if the judge never said a word.”
Bill Darby says, “But it we ever do see Stoner’s Boy it will be best to run right up and tell the sheriff.”
“You’ll never see him,” says Dick. “I been on his track fifty times, and I ain’t never seen his face yet, and every time I thought I was close enough to him to lay my hands on him, I found out that he wasn’t there. He is the slickest fella I ever seen, and I don’t ever expect to see him face to face.”
Stoner's Boy Page 4
