Chapter XXVI: Marooned

“All the things you said made me hungry,” Willie Rivers shyly confessed. “The way you talked made me hungry.”

“Me too,” said Howard.

The gallant bark _Hop-toad_ was now clear of the shore and sailing majestically.

“It’s going in a direction south by south!” shouted Pee-wee, frantically holding up his finger, as if to reprove the deceiving breeze. “I can tell because it’s going the other way from the way I thought it would go.”

“Won’t we get any dinner?” Willie asked.

“How am I to blame if the breeze doesn’t do like it says it’s going to do?” Pee-wee demanded. “If we held a rag up somebody might think it was a flag of truce.”

“We’re not having a war, are we?” Howard ventured to ask.

Pee-wee was too busy poling the float to answer. His scout staff touched bottom, and as the float moved the water became shallower, until soon there was a scraping sound beneath them and the float refused to be pushed any farther. Not only that, it refused to be pushed in any direction whatsoever. It did consent to turn a little like a merry-go-round, but thought better of it presently and became as motionless as a stubborn mule.

“It’s grounded,” Pee-wee said; “come on, push hard; push with all your might.”

The united strength of the three adventurers failed to budge the lumbering float. It sat securely on the gravelly bottom and all the king’s horses and all the king’s men couldn’t start it moving again.

“We’re marooned!” Pee-wee shouted. “That means kind of like being on a desert island only there isn’t any island; it’s a desert float, but it’s just as good. We’re on a reef; you can tell a reef by closing your eyes and opening them all of a sudden and looking very sudden at the water. It’ll seem kind of gray, like, where the reef is.”

Both of the younger scouts squinted their eyes, in accordance with this valuable bit of nautical lore, but saw nothing. Pee-wee had tried it on every lake and river he had ever seen but never had it revealed anything under the water. It was his choicest bit of scout knowledge with one exception. That was his device for getting a light without matches, only he had to light a match in order to see to work it.

The spot where they were now marooned was a shallow area of the lake near the scene of their sensational adventures. But a few yards of unfathomable depth (six feet deep at least) lay between them and the shore. As for the camp shore, that seemed miles upon miles away, but they could see the sportive smoke circling above the cooking shack, and they gazed wistfully at it, as they thought of the hot stew and boiled potatoes which were being served at the messboards.

In their minds’ eyes, they saw mounds of ice cream standing in saucers, surrounded by little lakes of melted cream. And on each luscious island a cherry, marooned. Not only one helping did their fancy picture forth, but three helpings.

That Pee-wee himself should have sung of these delights (or rather shouted) and that now they should escape him! That he should bellow forth the joys of ice cream and cake and then not have any!

“Let’s send them a signal that we’re starving,” Willie suggested.

“There are four crackers in that box, let’s eat them,” said Pee-wee.

“I guess they’re having roast beef,” said Howard; “they have it on Wednesdays.”

“I saw Chocolate Drop killing some chickens,” said Willie. “I like the part with the wishbone best.”

“I like roast beef because it’s got all brown gravy over it,” Howard observed; “I like dumplings, too.”

“Do you like apple dumplings?” Willie asked.

“Yes, but I like cottage pudding better. I like corn fritters, too.”

“_Will you shut up!_” screamed Pee-wee.

“Can’t we even talk about it?”

“No, you can’t talk about it,” Pee-wee said, pouring the last remaining crumbs out of a biscuit box into his hand and lapping them up with his tongue.

“I guess they’re just about starting with dessert now; hey?” said Willie.

“I can kind of smell cooking; anyway I _think_ I can,” said Howard.

“We’ve got six dollars anyway,” said Willie.

“We’re foiled!” Pee-wee shouted. “What good is six dollars? We promised we wouldn’t go in the water and we can’t get to camp. I know a way to cook moss if you’re starving, only I haven’t got any moss and if I did have, I haven’t got any matches.”

“I can see all those signs about desserts and things; look over there toward the cove,” said Willie. “Don’t you know you said the way to see was by taking off your jacket and holding up your sleeve so as to kind of make a telescope out of it--don’t you remember? Do you think we’ll be peruned long?”

“Now you’re talking about prunes!” Pee-wee fairly yelled in despair.

“Don’t you like prunes?” Willie asked innocently.