下载辰思小说免费APP
Billycaughtthecoldrollandbegantorubitagainstthetreeexcitedly。
"Howareyougoingtogetitgreasedtothetop?"inquiredTerry。
Billy\'sfacelengthened。"That\'sso!"hesaid。"Thethingistobeginatthetopandgreasedown。I\'llshowyou!"
Billyputthebutterinhishandkerchiefandtookthecornersbetweenhisteeth。Heclimbedthepole，greasingitashesliddown。
"Now，Igottotryfirst，"hesaid，"becauseI\'mthebiggestandsoIhavethebestchance；onlytheonethatgoesfirsthasn\'thardlyanychanceatall，becausehehastowipeoffthegreaseonhimself，sotheotherscangetupatlast。See?"
"Allright!"saidTerry。"YougofirstandthenIwillandthenAlice。Phew!It\'sslick。He\'llnevergetup。"
Billywrestledmanfully，andwhenhewasexhaustedheboostedTerry，andthenbothofthemhelpedAlice，towhomtheyawardedaprizeofherowndoll。AstheyrestedBillyremembered。
"Doyourfolkskeepcows?"heasked。
"No，webuymilk，"saidTerry。
"Gee!Thenwhataboutthebutter?Maybeyourmaneedsitfordinner!"
"No，shedoesn\'t!"criedAlice。"There\'sstacksofit!
IcanhaveallthebutterIwant。"
"Well，I\'mmightygladofit!"saidBilly。"Ididn\'tjustthink。I\'mafraidwe\'vegreasedourclothes，too。"
"That\'snodifference，"saidTerry。"Wecanplaywhatwepleaseinthesethings。"
"Well，weoughttobealldirty，andbloody，andhavefeathersonustoberealIndians，"saidBilly。
Alicetriedahandfulofdirtonhersleeveanditstreakedbeautifully。Instantlyallofthembegansmearingthemselves。
"Ifweonlyhadfeathers，"lamentedBilly。
Terrydisappearedandshortlyreturnedfromthegaragewithafeatherduster。Billyfellonitwithashriek。
Aroundeachone\'sheadhefirmlytiedatwistedhandkerchief，andstuckinsideitarowofstifflyupstandingfeathers。
"Now，ifwejustonlyhadsomepokeberriestopaintusred，we\'dbereal，forsureenoughIndians，andwecouldgoonthewarpathandfightalltheothertribesandburnalotofthematthestake。"
Alicesidleduptohim。"Wouldhuckleberriesdo?"
sheaskedsoftly。
"Yes!"shoutedTerry，wildwithexcitement。"Anythingthat\'sacolour。"
Alicemadeanothertriptotherefrigerator。Billycrushedtheberriesinhishandsandsmearedandstreakedalltheirfacesliberally。
"Nowareweready?"askedAlice。
Billycollapsed。"Iforgottheponies!Yougottorideponiestogoonthewarpath!"
"Youain\'tneither!"contradictedTerry。"It\'stheverylateststyletogoonthewarpathinamotor。
Everybodydoes!Theygoeverywhereinthem。Theyaremuchfasterandbetterthananyoldponies。"
Billygaveonegenuinewhoop。"Canwetakeyourmotor?"
Terryhesitated。
"Isupposeyouaretoolittletorunit?"saidBilly。
"Iamnot!"flashedTerry。"Iknowhowtostartandstopit，andIdrivelotsforStephens。Itishardtoturnovertheenginewhenyoustart。"
"I\'llturnit，"volunteeredBilly。"I\'mstrongasanything。"
"Maybeitwillstartwithout。IfStephenshasjustbeenrunningit，sometimesitwill。Comeon，let\'stry。"
Billystraightenedup，liftedhischinandcried:"Houpe!
Houpe!Houpe!"
ThelittleO\'Moresstaredinamazement。
"Whydon\'tyoucomeonandwhoop?"demandedBilly。
"Don\'tyouknowhow?YouaregreatIndians!
Yougottowhoopbeforeyougoonthewarpath。
Yououghttokillabat，too，andseeifthewindisright。Butmaybetheenginewon\'trunifwewaittodothat。Youcanwhoop，anyway。Alltogethernow!"
Theydidwhoop，andafterseveraleffortsthecrysatisfiedBilly，soheledthewaytothebigmotor，andtookthefrontseatwithTerry。AliceandLittleBrotherclimbedintotheback。
"Willitgo?"askedBilly，"ordowehavetoturnit?"
"Itwillgo，"saidTerryasthemachinegentlyslidoutintotheavenueandstartedunderhisguidance。
"Thisisnowarpath!"scoffedBilly。"Wegottogoalotfasterthanthis，andwegottowhoop。Alice，whydon\'tyouwhoop?
Alicearose，tookholdoftheseatinfrontandwhooped。
"IfIopenthethrottle，Ican\'tsqueezethebulbtoscarepeopleoutofourway，"saidTerry。"Ican\'tsteerandsqueeze，too。"
"We\'llwhoopenoughtogetthemoutoftheway。Gofaster!"
urgedBilly。
Billyalsostood，liftedhischinandwhoopedlikethewildestlittlesavagethatevercameoutoftheWest。
AliceandLittleBrotheraddedtheirvoices，andwhenhewasnotabsorbedwiththesteeringgear，Terryjoinedin。
"Faster!"shoutedBilly。
Intoxicatedwiththespeedandexcitement，Terrythrewthethrottlewiderandthebigcarleapedforwardandspeddowntheavenue。Initfourblack，feather-
bedeckedchildrenwhoopedinwildgleeuntilsuddenlyTerry\'swarcrychangedtoascreamofpanic。
"Thelakeiscoming!"
"Stop!"criedBilly。"Stop!Whydon\'tyoustop?"
ParalyzedwithfearTerryclungtothesteeringgearandthecarspedonward。
"Youlittlefool!Whydon\'tyoustop?"screamedBilly，catchingTerry\'sarm。"Tellmehowtostop!"
AbicycleshotbesidethemandFrecklesstandingonthepedalsshouted:"Pulloutthepininthatlittlecircleatyourfeet!"
Billyfellonhiskneesandtuggedandthepinyieldedatlast。Justasthewheelsstruckthewhitesandthebicyclesheeredclose，Frecklescaughttheleverandwithonestrongshovesetthebrake。ThewaterflewasthecarstruckHuron，butluckilyitwasshallowandthebeachsmooth。HubdeepthebigmotorstoodquiveringasFrecklesclimbedinandbackedittodrysand。
Thenhedrewadeepbreathandstaredathisbrood。
"Terence，wouldyoukindlybeexplaining?"hesaidatlast。
BillylookedatthepantinglittlefigureofTerry。
"IguessIbetter，"hesaid。"WewereplayingIndiansonthewarpath，andwehadn\'tanyponies，andTerrysaiditwasallthestyletogoinautomobilesnow，sowe——"
Freckles\'sheadwentback，andbedidsomewhoopinghimself。
"Iwonderifyourealizehownearlyyoucametobeingfourdrownedchildren?"hesaidgravely，afteratime。
"Oh，IthinkIcouldswimenoughtogetmostofusout，"
saidBilly。"Anyway，weneedwashing。"
"Youdoindeed，"saidFreckles。"Iwillheadthisprocessiontothegarage，andtherewewillremovethefirstcoat。"FortheremainderofBilly\'svisitthenurse，chauffeur，andeveryservantoftheO\'Morehouseholdhadsomethingofimportanceontheirminds，andBilly\'severystepwasshadowed。
"IhaveBilly\'sconsent，"saidPhiliptoElnora，"andalltheotherconsentyouhavestipulated。Beforeyouthinkofsomethingmore，givemeyourlefthand，please。"
Elnoragaveitgladly，andtheemeraldslippedonherfinger。
Thentheywenttogetherintotheforesttotelleachotherallaboutit，andtalkitover。
"HaveyouseenEdith?"askedPhilip。
"No，"answeredElnora。"Butshemustbehere，orshemayhaveseenmewhenwewenttoPetoskeyafewdaysago。
Herpeoplehaveacottageoveronthebluff，buttheAngelnevertoldmeuntilto-day。Ididn\'twanttomakethattrip，butthefolksweresoanxioustoentertainme，anditwasonlyafewdaysuntilIintendedtoletyouknowmyselfwhereIwas。"
"AndIwasgoingtowaitjustthatlong，andifIdidn\'thearthenIwasgettingreadytoturnoverthecountry。
IcanscarcelyrealizeyetthatEdithsentmethattelegram。"
"Nowonder!It\'sadifficultthi
