Camp Ghost-Away (4 page)

Mrs. Peters went up the hill to the campground office to use the telephone. When she came back Sonny was still sobbing.

“Is she coming? Is she coming?” he asked.

“Yes,” said Mrs. Peters. “She is leaving right away.”

No one could sleep because of all the excitement. “Sonny’s mama has to rescue him!” sang Roger.

“Mama’s boy, mama’s boy,” sang Rachel.

“Rat’s knees!” said Molly.

*   *   *

At last Sonny’s mother came. Sonny leaped into the car and hugged her. “Take me home!” he cried.

Mrs. Betz put her arms around Sonny and hugged him.

The Scouts giggled. Mrs. Betz drank a cup of coffee and then they left.

Finally the camp was settled down for the night.

Molly was almost asleep, when she heard a sound. What was it? She listened closely. Someone else was crying. It was Rachel!

Molly crept over to her cot. “What is the matter with you?”

“I’m homesick too.” She sniffed. “I want my mother!”

Suddenly Molly heard something else. It was Mary Beth! She was crying into
her pillow too. And so was Lisa! Even though her mother was close by.

“Rat’s knees!” said Molly. “I’m the only one here who isn’t homesick!”

T
he Pee Wee Scouts slept late. When they got up for breakfast they found out that lots of them had been homesick. Tim and Roger had been crying. And two girls in the tent next to Molly’s had cried too.

“I guess Molly is the brave one.” said Mrs. Peters. “The only one who didn’t get homesick!”

“It’s not my fault,” grumbled Rachel. “My mom said Pee Wee Scouts are pretty young to be gone overnight.”

“Homesickness is an awful thing,” said Mrs. Peters. “It feels like real sickness. It is nothing to be ashamed of.”

“See?” said Rachel to Molly, making a face. Molly made a face back. Molly was still the bravest! She was still the only one who was not homesick. That meant she acted older than six. It meant she was more grown up than the other Pee Wee Scouts.

Molly the brave. Rat’s knees! That sounded good.

Rick came to get the Scouts for swimming. Molly still could not float. But when they went rowing, she did not drop the oar in the water. She rowed a little way by herself. But the boat kept turning around in a circle. Rick helped her. He showed her which oar to pull.

*   *   *

After lunch the Scouts took naps. Then Mrs. Peters showed them how to weave baskets out of straw. They took their baskets down the road to pick some wild berries. Mrs. Ronning went too.

Rachel had another new camp outfit on. It was bright pink.

Rat’s knees! thought Molly. Rachel must be rich. Rachel’s gold bracelet sparkled in the sun. Mary Beth’s ring sparkled too.

“Is this a berry?” called Roger, holding up something red.

“No, Roger, that isn’t a berry we can eat. Be careful to pick only the kind I showed you,” said Mrs. Peters.

“What about this?” said Rachel, waving something blue in her hand.

“That is a grape,” said Mrs. Peters. “That is all right to pick.”

“Don’t you know what a
grape
is, dummy?” said Roger.

Rachel made a face. She didn’t like to crawl on the ground to get berries. Berries stained. Her new outfit would get dirty. And her hair got all messed up on the twigs and low branches.

Molly had a lot of berries in her basket. She found a patch of red, red strawberries. And a patch of blue, blue blueberries. She would have more berries than anyone!

“I hate these bugs!” shouted Rachel. “They’re flying in my eyes!” She waved her arms at the bugs.

“Put some of this on, Rachel,” called Mrs. Peters. She handed her a can of bug spray.

“Yuck!” said Rachel. “That makes me smell! It makes my hair ishy! My mom doesn’t like me to use that.”

“You’ll be scratching tonight,” said Mrs. Peters. “Mosquitoes bite.”

Rat’s knees! Rachel should have stayed home, thought Molly. She didn’t like the camp food. She didn’t like bug spray. She didn’t like tents. She was homesick. Rachel Myers was a big baby.

Soon most of the troop’s baskets were filled. “Let’s start back to camp now,” said Mrs. Peters, counting noses.

The Pee Wee Scouts followed Mrs. Peters. They were all scratching. They had berry juice on their arms. They were sunburned too.

When they got back to camp, Mary Beth said, “My ring is lost!”

She held up her hand. Sure enough, the little gold ring was not on her finger.
She had it on when they left to pick berries. Molly had seen it.

“Oh, dear!” said Mrs. Peters. She frowned.

“I’ll bet someone stole it,” said Rachel.

“No one took it,” said Mrs. Peters. “It must have fallen off when we were picking berries.”

Mary Beth looked as if she wanted to cry. “It was real gold,” she said. “My aunt gave it to me.”

“It is best to leave jewelry at home when we camp,” said Mrs. Peters. She looked at Rachel’s gold bracelet. Rachel put her arm behind her back.

“Don’t worry, Mary Beth,” said Mrs. Peters. “We will find your ring.” Everyone set their baskets down on a camp table and went back to look for Mary Beth’s ring. Even Rachel.

*   *   *

“Rat’s knees!” said Molly. “It could be buried in all this grass.”

The Scouts looked everywhere Mary
Beth had been. They looked under leaves. They looked on low branches. They looked in the ditches beside the road. No ring.

Then it began to get dark. They would have to leave it. The Pee Wees were going home tonight.

“Someone will have to drive out and look tomorrow, when it is light,” said Mrs. Peters.

Mary Beth was very brave. She looked as if she might cry, but she didn’t. She began to sort the berries with the other Scouts.

Suddenly Molly had an idea. She went over to the basket that Mary Beth had used. Molly shook the basket. Sure enough, it made a noise. A noise that berries did not make. Clink, clink, clink!

Molly tipped the basket and reached her hand down to the bottom. There was something hard there. Something hard and round and shiny. It was a ring!

“Look!” shouted Molly, running over to Mary Beth. “I found it!”

Now Mary Beth was crying. But they were tears of happiness. She threw her arms around Molly and hugged her.

“It must have slipped off my finger when I put berries in the basket,” she said. “It is a little bit too big for me.”

All the Scouts clapped for Molly. Rat’s knees! This was the second fun thing that happened to her at camp! And now it was time to leave. Just when things were getting good.

T
he Pee Wee Scouts fell asleep on the way back to town. They were too tired to sing. They were too tired to talk. Camp had worn them out.

“The park will be boring now,” said Lisa.

“But we have Scouts on Tuesday,” said Mary Beth. “The day after tomorrow.”

Everyone was eager for Tuesday to come. On Tuesday they would get their badges. The donut badges. The swimming
badges. The rowing badges. The nature badges. All the camp badges!

But Molly had no badge to wait for. She had not sold one hundred donuts. She could not float. She could not row. She did not find a rock or a wildflower.

When Tuesday came around, the Pee Wees met at Mrs. Peters’s house. It will be boring to watch the others get badges, thought Molly. She sat on the floor and pretended to be snoring. Boring, boring, boring. Snoring boring.

“Now!” said Mrs. Peters loudly. “What did you like best about camp?”

“Swimming!” said Rachel.

“Rowing!” said Lisa.

“Being a ghost!” said Roger.

“Finding my ring,” said Mary Beth.

Molly wished Mrs. Peters would give out the badges. She wanted to get it over with. Finally Mrs. Peters held up a pile of badges. All the Scouts cheered. Except Molly.

“The first badge,” said Mrs. Peters, “is for selling the most donuts. We all know who gets that badge! Rachel and Sonny are tied for first place, and Roger comes in second.”

Rachel and Sonny went up to get their badges. Then Roger went up. Everyone clapped. A hex on them, thought Molly. And a hex on donuts.

Sonny’s mother clapped loudly. She was the only mother at the meeting. Baby Sonny. Homesick Sonny. Rat’s knees!

Mrs. Peters called Tim Noon for the nature badge. She called Rachel and Mary Beth for the swimming badge. And Roger got a badge for rowing.

Soon almost everyone had a badge. Or two or three. Molly was not bored anymore. She was hurt. She felt left out. She was the only one who did not get any badge at all.

Molly felt a tear start to roll down her cheek. Oh, no, she thought, I don’t want to cry.

“Molly Duff!” called Mrs. Peters.

Molly sat up.

“Come up,” said Mrs. Peters. “I have a badge for you.”

Molly wondered what badge she could
get. She had not earned any. But she got up and walked to the front of the room.

“This is a new badge,” Mrs. Peters said. “Just for Molly. I made it up specially for her. It’s the ‘I didn’t get homesick’ badge!”

Mrs. Peters pinned the badge on Molly’s blouse. Everyone clapped. Molly grinned. She wasn’t bored now. Or hurt.