Garbage Juice for Breakfast

by Blanche Sims

  “What’s easy?” Jill asked.

  “What?” Then Dawn remembered. “The clue. The first clue. The hard horse.”

  “I bet it’s that black one,” said Jill.

  Dawn shook her head. “No, it’s Woodie. A hard horse. A wooden horse. Tomorrow we’ll look up. I’ll bet we’ll spot the arrow.”

  “Hey, that’s right,” someone said.

  It wasn’t Jill.

  “Is that you, Lizzie?” Dawn asked. Lizzie didn’t answer. Dawn gave her pillow a punch. She had just given a clue away to Lizzie Lee.

  CHAPTER SIX

  SOMETHING WAS AFTER HER.

  Something big.

  It had huge teeth.

  Dawn sat up in bed. It’s only a dream, she told herself. A dream about a horse.

  She opened her eyes.

  It was dark.

  Something was banging over her head.

  What was it?

  “Rain,” said Jill Simon. “It’s still pouring.”

  “Oh no,” Nellie said. “We were going to ride today.”

  Dawn took a deep breath. No horses today. No riding. Great.

  She stood up and looked through her suitcase.

  Her raincoat was there, but no boots.

  She remembered they were home . . . under her bed.

  She reached for her sneakers.

  Then she saw something yellow flash by.

  It was Lizzie Lee in a raincoat.

  “Where are you going?” Dawn asked.

  Lizzie didn’t answer. She raced out the door.

  A moment later. Dawn raced out too.

  She knew just where Lizzie Lee was going. Straight for the barn.

  Outside Dawn could hardly see.

  The rain was coming down hard.

  It was in her face, in her eyes.

  Her hair was soaked.

  She dashed into the barn.

  “Following me again?” Lizzie was grinning.

  Dawn made a face.

  It was a friendly one, though.

  She looked up . . . up over Woodie.

  A picture was tacked to the side of the wall. It was high, easy to miss.

  Dawn crossed her fingers. Maybe Lizzie wouldn’t spot it.

  “Hey.” Lizzie pointed.

  Dawn stared up at the picture.

  It was a woman.

  She was wearing a red skirt with ruffles.

  A big hoop earring hung from one ear.

  “It looks like a—” Dawn said. She covered her mouth. She didn’t want to give any clues away.

  “A lady pirate,” Lizzie said. Then she covered her mouth too.

  In back of them the barn door opened. It was Tex.

  “Good work,” he said. “You found the clue.”

  “Thanks,” said Lizzie.

  Dawn narrowed her eyes. “I thought of it last night.”

  Lizzie laughed. “Me too.”

  Outside there were voices. Dawn looked out the door.

  Everyone was coming.

  Miss Perry was first. She was wearing a yellow raincoat. She was carrying a paper bag.

  Then came the rest of the campers.

  Some of them had raincoats.

  Some had umbrellas. The umbrellas were bumping into each other.

  Last came Jill Simon. Water was streaming down her Western hat.

  “Whew,” said Miss Perry. “It’s good to get inside.”

  She pulled off her rain hat. She opened the bag. “Toast and oranges. You two forgot breakfast.”

  Miss Perry turned to Tex. “It’s too wet to ride. We’ll help in the barn instead.”

  Tex handed Dawn a broom.

  He gave Lizzie a pail. “Maybe you could get some water. Horses drink a lot.”

  Dawn stuffed most of the toast in her mouth.

  She put the orange in her pocket.

  She raced across the front of the barn with the broom.

  She wanted Tex to know she was a good worker.

  Lizzie was working fast too.

  She was running up and down with water for the horses.

  Jill worked slower. She was piling hay up in the corner.

  Hay was in her hat and in her braids. It was all over her shirt.

  She slid down on the pile. “I have the best job,” she said.

  Dawn swept down the aisle.

  The horses were poking their heads out of their stalls. They were watching her.

  Blackie showed his teeth.

  Dawn raced the broom in the other direction.

  The end stall was empty.

  There was just a pile of hay and a blanket on a hook.

  Dawn looked more closely.

  Then she turned around.

  Lizzie Lee was carrying water at the other end of the barn.

  Good.

  Dawn tiptoed into the stall.

  She had to get a good look at something.

  Something important.

  On the blanket was a picture.

  It was the same as the clue.

  A lady pirate.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  “WILL YOU CARRY THE sandwiches?” Miss Perry asked Dawn. She looked around. “Maybe Jill can take the drinks.”

  Dawn put her book under her arm.

  She reached for the bag.

  Everyone had something to carry.

  The campers from Cobra Cabin were going on a picnic.

  It was a reading picnic.

  Dawn had never heard of that before. But Miss Perry said it was a great day for it. It was sunny and not too hot.

  Dawn had worried all morning. She thought they’d have to go to the barn.

  But today Tex was busy . . . too busy to help them ride.

  The campers started to march.

  “Are you sure there aren’t any mosquitoes?” Lizzie asked. “Or any of those creepy, crawly things?”

  Miss Perry laughed. “Don’t worry.”

  They walked along a dirt road.

  Then they crossed a field and stopped at a bridge.

  For a while they watched the water below. It bubbled along, over the rocks, and into little pools.

  Miss Perry pointed to a shady spot across the way.

  “Right there,” she said. “It’s cool under the trees.”

  The campers spread out blankets.

  Dawn looked at the sandwiches.

  It was hard to tell what they were. Tuna fish maybe, or chicken salad.

  She fished through.

  At the bottom was a peanut butter sandwich.

  She kept that for herself.

  She gave the rest away.

  At the same time, Jill was giving out the drinks. “Old G.J.,” she said. “Garbage juice.”

  “Oh no,” said Dawn.

  “Oh no,” said Miss Perry too. She sat back against a tree. She put her glasses on her nose. She opened her book. “This is the life,” she said.

  Jill pushed her hat back. “I think I’ll walk on the rocks.”

  Miss Perry nodded. She started to read.

  Dawn started to read too.

  Her book was terrible, though.

  It was a mystery, a mystery about a dog and a cat.

  Miss Perry had lent it to her. “Daisy Perry,” it said on the inside cover.

  Dawn had read it before.

  She knew what happened in the end.

  She took a bite of her sandwich.

  Maybe she should walk on the rocks with Jill.

  She looked over at Lizzie. Lizzie’s book looked good. It had a girl on the cover.

  She was wearing long earrings and a frilly skirt.

  Dawn leaned over a little. The name of the book was Barbara the Ballerina.

  Lizzie Lee was sounding out the words.

  Dawn lay back. She looked up at the sky.

  One of the clouds looked like an angel. Another looked like a horse.

  Dawn closed her eyes.

  She didn’t want to think about horses . . . especially big ones with lots of teeth.

&
nbsp; Next to her, Lizzie was laughing. “This book is a riot,” she said. “It’s about a girl who wants to dance. She keeps making mistakes.”

  Dawn nodded. “Lend it to me when you’re finished.”

  She stood up. She started toward the water.

  Then she stopped.

  She thought about the first clue. The pirate lady in the picture.

  Then she thought about the one in the horse stall.

  It wasn’t a pirate at all.

  It was a dancing girl.

  She scrambled back to the blanket.

  Where was her treasure paper?

  She slapped at her pockets.

  Not there.

  She turned her book upside down.

  The paper fluttered out.

  Lizzie looked up from her book. “What’s going on?”

  Dawn shook her head. She tried not to smile.

  Here was one clue that Lizzie didn’t know about.

  Dawn walked slowly to the water. She held the paper in her hand. She read past the clue about the trail. She’d think about that part later.

  The next clue said:

  Look sharp and quick.

  Use both your eyes.

  The dancer is gone,

  and she’s hiding our prize.

  Dawn closed her eyes.

  She tried to think.

  Why was there a picture of a dancer in the horse stall?

  Who was the dancer?

  What prize had she stolen?

  There was something else too. It was something about Miss Perry’s book.

  Dawn put one foot in the water.

  A tiny fish came close. It bumped into her toe.

  Dawn smiled and wiggled her foot a little.

  Yes. She had a feeling Miss Perry’s book was important.

  If only she knew why.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  “IT’S A PERFECT DAY to ride,” said Miss Perry.

  Jill Simon reached for her Western hat.

  “Ya-hoo,” yelled Nellie.

  Dawn sighed. If only it had rained today.

  “Maybe I should stay here,” she told Miss Perry. “I could work on the mystery.”

  Miss Perry shook her head. “I don’t want you to miss the fun.”

  “Right.” Dawn swallowed.

  “Which horse do you want?” Lizzie asked her.

  Dawn tried to think.

  She remembered Flash.

  Flash was always half asleep.

  He was so old, he probably didn’t have any teeth.

  “I’ll bet she wants Blackie,” said Jill. “He’s the tough-looking one.”

  Dawn swallowed. “I guess I’ll take Flash.”

  “Flash?” said Jill.

  “Flash?” said Lizzie.

  Dawn crossed her fingers. “I feel sorry for him. No one else wants him.”

  Lizzie looked at her. “Are you afraid?”

  “I’m not afraid of anything,” Dawn said. “I’m the Polka Dot Private Eye.”

  “Me neither,” said Lizzie Lee. “I’ll take Blackie.”

  Tex was waiting in front of the barn.

  The horses were waiting too.

  “Today we’ll walk in a circle,” said Tex.

  “Can I have Blackie?” Lizzie asked.

  “Sure,” Tex said. He helped her up on Blackie.

  Miss Perry helped Jill.

  Nellie climbed up by herself.

  Dawn took a breath.

  She looked at Flash.

  Flash opened one eye.

  He looked at her.

  Then he closed his eye again.

  Tex came over. “Let me help you up,” he said.

  “Poor Flash,” said Dawn. “I think he’s tired.”

  “That horse is always tired,” said Tex. “He likes to nap.”

  “Maybe I’ll stand here with him.” Dawn thought about giving the horse a pat.

  She reached up.

  Flash turned around to look at her.

  She pulled her hand back.

  “Just walk him around the circle,” Tex said. “Hold on to the reins.”

  Dawn took the reins slowly.

  Tex smiled at her. “Tomorrow we’ll ride one of the trails. It’ll be different then. Flash loves to do that.”

  Dawn gulped. She walked to one side of Flash. She didn’t want him to step on her.

  Next to her, Lizzie was sitting high up on Blackie. “I can’t wait to ride a trail,” she told Tex. “Which one will it be?”

  Tex looked up in the air. “Meadow Walk, I guess.” He turned to Miss Perry. “What do you think, Daisy?”

  Miss Perry nodded. “Good.”

  “Daisy?” Jill asked.

  Miss Perry grinned. “Just like Donald Duck’s girlfriend.”

  Dawn stopped walking. Daisy.

  “Hey,” Lizzie said. She was frowning. “Daisy.”

  Dawn thought hard. That’s why the book was important. It had the name Daisy inside.

  She thought about the treasure sheet. Take the right trail . . . the one for Donald and me.

  Donald Duck. Donald and Daisy.

  She tried to remember the trails she had seen. There was that funny one . . . Mouse House. Then there was Stone Trail.

  She squeezed her eyes tight.

  Duck Pond Trail.

  Of course. Donald Duck and Daisy would take Duck Pond Trail.

  Lizzie’s head was turned to one side.

  Dawn could see she was trying to figure it out.

  She crossed her fingers.

  She had to get to Duck Pond Trail before Lizzie Lee. She’d go as soon as she could.

  CHAPTER NINE

  DAWN SLAPPED ON HER Polka Dot Private Eye hat.

  Out of the corner of her eye she could see Lizzie.

  Lizzie was spraying Bug-A-Way over the top of her head.

  Dawn ducked out of Cobra Cabin first.

  She went past the barn . . . toward the trails.

  She looked back.

  Lizzie was coming out the cabin door.

  She was wearing boots and gloves.

  She had a net over her Cool Cat hat.

  Dawn ran fast.

  Branches scratched her arm.

  Roots pulled at her feet.

  Mosquitoes were flying all over the place.

  At last she reached the butterfly tree.

  At least she thought it was the butterfly tree.

  In back of her, Lizzie was crashing through the leaves.

  “Yeow,” she yelled.

  Mosquitoes, thought Dawn.

  Then she stopped.

  Lizzie was afraid.

  Afraid of bugs.

  That’s why she was yelling.

  That’s why she was wearing all that stuff.

  Some detective. Afraid of a tiny little . . .

  Dawn took a couple of steps.

  She thought about Flash . . . and Blackie . . . and being afraid.

  She took one more step. Then she sighed.

  She cupped her hands around her mouth. “I’ll wait for you, Lizzie,” she yelled.

  A moment later Lizzie appeared. “I’m not afraid,” she said. “Not one bit.”

  Dawn grinned. “I’m not afraid of horses either.”

  Lizzie opened her mouth. “You are so—” she began. Then she shut her mouth. She grinned too.

  They went down the path and turned onto Duck Pond Trail.

  The trail was wide and even.

  The trees were spread apart.

  “What do we look for?” asked Lizzie.

  Dawn raised one shoulder. “Who knows?”

  In front of them the road stopped.

  A white fence ran around a field.

  “Hey,” yelled Dawn.

  A picture of the dancer was painted on the fence.

  There was another picture too.

  One with a smaller dancer.

  “Look,” said Lizzie.

  They scrambled to the top of the fence.

  “I think that’s the tr
easure,” Lizzie said.

  “You’re right,” said Dawn. “Absolutely right.”

  CHAPTER TEN

  EVERYONE WAS IN the Devil’s Den Dining Room.

  It was time for the treasure party.

  Dawn stuffed some peanuts in her mouth.

  She took a sip of soda.

  “Are you sure you don’t want garbage juice?” Miss Perry asked.

  Dawn smiled. “I’m not afraid of horses anymore,” she said as soon as she could talk. “I’m really not.”

  Lizzie nodded.

  “All because of the treasure,” said Dawn. “The most beautiful . . . wonderful . . .”

  “How did you figure the whole thing out?” Jill said.

  Dawn looked at Lizzie.

  Lizzie’s mouth was filled with potato chips.

  They both tried to talk at once.

  “We took Duck Pond Trail,” said Lizzie. “And then we saw the Dancer in the field.”

  “Dancer is the name of the horse,” said Dawn.

  “The mother horse,” said Lizzie.

  “And the baby—” Dawn began.

  “We call the baby a colt,” said Tex.

  Dawn nodded. “The colt was the treasure.”

  “Beautiful,” said Lizzie, “with a star on his forehead.”

  Miss Perry came by with a plate of cookies. She put one in Dawn’s mouth. “Great detective work, girls,” she said.

  “Is there a prize?” Jill asked.

  Miss Perry smiled. She put the plate of cookies on the table. “The real prize—” she began.

  “Is figuring the whole thing out,” said Jill.

  Dawn nodded. “That’s true.”

  There was another prize, she thought. She had patted the colt. She had even rubbed the mother’s long, smooth side. She had stopped being afraid.

  “The real prize,” Lizzie said now, “is that I’m not afraid of creepy, crawly things.”

  “Really?” Jill asked.

  Lizzie crossed her fingers. “Almost.”

  “The real prize,” Miss Perry began again, “is that the winners get to name the colt.”

  Lizzie and Dawn looked at each other.

  “Brownie?” asked Lizzie.

  “Yucks,” said Jill.

  “Star?” asked Dawn.

  “A little better,” said Nellie.

  “Think hard,” said Miss Perry.

  Dawn and Lizzie looked at each other. “I know,” said Dawn.

  Lizzie nodded. “Me too.”

  “Treasure,” they said together.

  “Best name I ever heard,” said Miss Perry.

  “Me too,” said Jill.