“You are cruelty incarnate!” exclaimed Jess, gravely. “I am horrified to find that we have a boy at Central High who would willingly destroy such a beautiful—Oh! oh!” shrieked Jess, who had been facing a thick path of woods below this open camping place. “What is that? It’s a bear!” she concluded, asking and answering the question herself.
She started in a very lively fashion for the boats. Some of the other girls were quite as agile. Like the word “mouse” in domestic scenes, the cry of “Bear!” in ruder surroundings “always gets a rise out of the girls,” as Chet Belding slangily expressed it.
But it was not a bear. Purt Sweet was stooping to aid in blowing up the flame of the campfire over which they proposed making Mrs. Morse a cup of tea. He did not see the “bear” coming.
But the other boys recognized the object that had so frightened Jess, and they burst into a roar of laughter. Out of the bushes and across the 83 opening in the wood came a half wet, bedraggled dog, which, with a joyful whine, leaped upon the individual who had so fatally attracted his doggish love and loyalty!
“The Barnacle!” yelled Chet. “What did I tell you? Talk about ‘the cat coming back?’ Crickey! the cat wasn’t in it with this mongrel of Purt’s.”
In the exuberance of his joy Barnacle fairly pitched Purt across the fire, and tipped over the pail of water that had been hung over it to boil. The dude seemed fated to fall into trouble on this first day of the outing.
But now Purt was mad! He scrambled up, found a club, and chased the barking Barnacle all about the camp. The dog would not be chased away. Perhaps he had observed Lizzie opening the lunch baskets. Besides, he seemed to take everything Purt tried to do to him as a game of play.
“Do leave the dog alone, Purt!” exclaimed Lil, at last. “You’re making yourself perfectly ridiculous.”
Lily Pendleton’s opinion had weight with Pretty Sweet. He sat down, gloomy and breathless, and tried to ignore the Barnacle.
The latter sat on his tail all through the alfresco meal, directly behind Purt. The dude gave 84 him no attention; but the other boys threw pieces of meat and sweet crackers into the air for the Barnacle to catch.