Runaway Ralph (10 page)

“He's so
little
!” said one of the girls, marveling.

“Aunt Jill, he looks an awful lot like Garf's mouse,” said Karen. “You don't suppose—”

“One mouse looks pretty much like another,” said Aunt Jill briskly. “Now girls, back to your bunks. I'll take the mouse to Garf.” Darkness fell on Ralph as she replaced the hat over the basin.

Ralph felt himself being carried out of the girls' lodge and past the craft shop, where he could hear Chum gnawing at the bars of his cage. Poor old Chum. He heard the door of Garf's lodge being opened. “Garf,” whispered Aunt Jill. “Wake up. Wake up! I have something for you.”

“Huh?” said Garf sleepily. Waking a sleeping boy on a hot summer afternoon is not easy.

“I have a mouse for you,” said Aunt Jill.

“A mouse!” Ralph could tell Garf was wide awake now. “Let me see.”

Ralph sat quietly in the basin while the hat was cautiously lifted. He could see the other boys and their counselor sprawled in
sleep on their bunks, and on a ledge over Garf's lower bunk he saw his crash helmet. “Karen found him in a hole in her sleeping bag,” Aunt Jill explained. “And it was the strangest thing. She found her missing watch inside the hole.” Ralph saw that Aunt Jill was studying him thoughtfully.

“No kidding!” exclaimed Garf, forgetting to keep his voice down.

“Yes,” whispered Aunt Jill, “and the girls thought you might like to have the mouse.”

“I sure would!” whispered Garf.

“I think we can bend the cage back into shape,” said Aunt Jill.

“Can't I keep him here in the basin?” asked Garf.

“He might escape,” said Aunt Jill, “but he's your mouse.” She smiled and slipped quietly out of the lodge.

“You did it!” whispered Garf.

“Sure I did it,” said Ralph, “but do I have to sit here in this basin?”

“Of course not,” answered Garf, holding out his hand.

Ralph leaped into Garf's palm, and Garf gently moved his hand down close to his pocket, and there, as he hoped, was his motorcycle. In the warm and cozy darkness he ran his paws over the handlebars, the plastic seat,
the wheels, the exhaust pipe. The motorcycle was intact, and it was his once more. He had earned it.

Ralph popped back out of the pocket. “You aren't going to make me go back into that cage, are you?” he asked.

“Not if you promise not to run away. I'm taking you back to the inn tomorrow. Remember?”

“You haven't forgotten your promise about the motorcycle, have you?” asked Ralph just to be sure.

“Nope,” answered Garf.

“I won't run away,” promised Ralph. “But there's one more thing. Before you leave camp, do you suppose you could give Chum a piece of wood to gnaw, so he won't have to gnaw his cage to keep his teeth worn down?”

“Why, sure,” whispered Garf. “Right after rest time.”

That need taken care of made Ralph feel better about Chum alone in the craft shop. He was about to climb back into the pocket when Garf whispered, “Do me a favor, will you? Let me see you ride the motorcycle before everybody wakes up.”

“Sure!” Ralph was happy to agree to this request.

Gently Garf lifted Ralph and the motorcycle to the floor. Then he handed down the crash helmet, which Ralph set on his head and secured by snapping the rubber band under his chin. Expertly he grasped the handle grips, threw his leg over the plastic seat, and, taking care to keep his tail out of the spokes, inhaled.

Pb-pb-b-b-b
. Ralph took off across the concrete floor while Garf leaned over the edge of his bunk to watch. Ralph bent low over his handlebars and increased his speed.
Pb-pbb-b-b
. Filled with the joy and excitement of
speed, he rode in a figure eight around Garf's cowboy boots, which were lying on the floor. Garf's counselor moved in his sleep, and Ralph shot out of sight under Garf's bunk until the counselor lay still. He rode until he was breathless, and then he coasted to a stop in front of Garf, where he sat panting with his crash helmet pushed
back on his head.

“Boy!” whispered Garf. “Was that ever great!”

Ralph silently agreed.

“I sure wish I could do that.” Garf picked up Ralph and the motorcycle and put them gently in his pocket.

After all the excitement of the morning, Ralph was ready for a nap, but first he popped his head out of Garf's pocket. “Thanks, friend,” he said. “And by the way, don't roll over on me during rest time.”

“Don't worry,” whispered Garf. “I'll get you back to the inn in one piece. And your motorcycle, too.”