“You get three jawbreakers for a cent,” Pee-wee said. “Lots of times I bought them three for a cent, and I bought peanut bars three for a cent too, and I never died inside of a year, you can ask anybody.”
“I don’t care, I want to have it all alone with you,” she sobbed.
“If we count Wiggle in that will make four,” Pee-wee said, “and none of us will die. If the customers die that doesn’t count, does it?”
Pepsy did not hear this rather ominous prediction about those who would eat the waffles and the taffy. Her hate and her tears were her only arguments, but they won the day.
“He’s got a Ford,” Pee-wee said in scornful final plea, “and he can put up money enough for us to buy lots of sundries and pretty soon we’ll have money enough to start other refreshment places and he can be the one to ride around—he’ll be kind of field manager. It shows how much girls know about business,” he added disgustedly. “I bet you don’t even know what capital means.”
“It means what you begin a sentence with,” Pepsy sobbed.
“You don’t want it to be a success,” he charged scornfully.
“You’re a mean thing to say that,” she sobbed, “and I do—I do—I do want it to be a success—and—and—even if it isn’t we’ll have lots of fun if it’s just us two. Because anyway we can make believe, and that’s fun.”
“What do you mean, make believe?” Pee-wee demanded. “Aren’t we going to make enough to buy the tents? That shows how much you know about scouts. If scouts make up their minds to do things they do them—and they don’t make believe. I’ll give in to you about that feller but you have to say we’re not going to just make believe and play store, because that’s the way girls do. You have to say you’re in earnest and cross your heart and say we’ll make a lot of money—sure.”
Pepsy just sobbed. Her staunch little heart (when she would listen to it) told her how forlorn was the hope of “really and truly” success along that by-road through the wilderness. But the imagination which could be terrified by the rattle of that planking on the old bridge was quite equal to finding satisfaction in “playing store” and in seeing customers where there were none. Pee-wee believed that anything could be done by power of will. She could find the utmost joy in pretending. No, not the utmost joy, for the utmost joy would be to buy the tents....