Elephant Bangs Train Read Online Free PDF

him.
    'Mister Snow was in the trenches,' said Crutch, pointing to a medal hung on the dashboard. 'Ever hear 'im talk?'
    'No,' said Twiller. Mister Snow was drill master of the troop. Twiller loved to drill and occasionally he won the weekly drill match, but Mister Snow never remembered his name.
    'You hafta get 'im going,' said Crutch.
    The front door opened and Spider Pronko crawled in, carrying his paper bag. 'We're shovin' out.'
    'Hey, Spider, gimme the old Boy Scout Handshake,' said Crutch enthusiastically, holding out three fingers.
    'Here, man.' Spider gave him one finger.
    Mister Snow climbed into the other side of the car and slipped behind the wheel. He put his hat on the seat and started the motor. 'Very well, men, we're off.'
    With green flags waving from their car aerials, Troop 7 pulled on to the road and drove from the city into the wooded hills. The sun was rising over the mountain tops. A deer darted across the highway and stared at them from the trees.
    Spider Pronko whispered into the back seat, 'I shoulda brought the rod.'
    'Look,' said Mister Snow, pointing out the window, 'there's a red-hatted nuthatch.'
    Twiller looked. The trees went by in a blur. Beside the highway ran a sparkling river. Twiller watched the flashing water and thought about Tootsie Rayder. He'd never held a girl, except once when the troop gave a signalling demonstration at the Deaf and Dumb School and he'd danced with a girl who couldn't talk.
    'Hey, Mister Snow,' asked Crutch, 'you were in the trenches, right?'
    'That's right.'
    Spider sat up. 'What kinda rod'ja have?'
    'A revolver.'
    'Ever shoot anybody?'
    'Listen,' said Mister Snow. 'That's a purple-throated gee-gaw. He says geeble, geeble, geeble. '
    The river disappeared in the lowland as they climbed higher up the mountain. They rode for an hour, then turned off the highway and bounced down a dirt road into the forest. Scouts waved and cheered. Crutch shouted, 'O.K., fellas!' and gave the Boy Scout Oath sign out the window. Twiller saw a lake gleaming through the trees.
    'Here we are,' said Mister Snow. They drove into a field, and parked alongside a large stone lodge in the trees. Twiller and Spider opened the doors and jumped out. Crutch followed and fell down.
    'Careful, men,' said Mister Snow.
    'My knee fell asleep,' said Crutch, crawling to his feet and saluting a tree.
    Scoutmaster Ramsey blew his whistle.
    'Lone Wolf Patrol, fall in!' said Twiller. Crutch Kane fell in. Spider Pronko was gone.
    'Fellows,' said Scoutmaster Ramsey, 'we're here as guests of the lodge and I want a good clean camp.'
    Twiller saw an old woman in an apron standing on the front porch of the lodge. Behind a sunlit window on the second floor, he saw a face. It was Spider Pronko. Spider saluted the assembled troop with his middle finger and disappeared from the window.
    'There's going to be a hike,' said Scoutmaster Ramsey. 'All those going on it meet at the footbridge behind the lodge. The rest of us will work on merit badges—cooking, signalling, and so forth. Choose your campsites carefully and don't set the woods on fire. Here are your bunk designations.'
    The Lone Wolf Patrol was assigned to the front porch. Twiller and Crutch carried their gear to the porch. Spider Pronko's paper bag was already there.
    They stowed their gear and went into the lodge. Mister Snow was standing in front of a large stone fireplace, looking at the stuffed head of a doe.
    'I smell food,' said Crutch. They looked through a doorway, into a large kitchen. In front of the stove stood the old woman. Alongside her was a girl in tight blouse and faded blue jeans.
    Crutch stuck his head through the doorway.
    'Hubba, hubba.'
    'Let's not collect around the kitchen, men,' said Mister Snow.
    Twiller and Crutch went out the back door of the lodge and caught sight of the girl through the kitchen window. 'Boy,' said Crutch, 'I'd like to get her in my sleeping bag.'
    'Forget it,' said Twiller. 'One of the Eagle Scouts will get