Now as long as you couldn’t be there to have any of the eats there’s no use telling you about it. Because a scout is supposed to be kind. Anyway, I wouldn’t want you to buy this story just because refreshments go with it. Because actions speak louder than frankfurters and pie and things, but, anyway, Tony came across just as I said he would. And that was when the plot began to get thicker.
We had running matches and jumping matches and sulphur matches and all kinds of games, and a lot of girls came and watched us, and Main Street was full of people watching us.
But nobody went over to Tony’s. Sometimes scouts would kind of stroll over that way and look at the list of things pasted on the door and sort of jingle their money and then stroll back again. The field was all full of people just like at a carnival, and we put boards on grocery boxes for the girls to sit on and watch the big events. Pee-wee went over and told the girls about how he was a martyr like Nathan Hale because he couldn’t eat any frankfurters and things—I mean Pee-wee. And they said he was noble and that they were all on our side.
Pretty soon, good night, over came Fritzie from Bennett’s with popcorn and ice cream cones and things, and everybody began buying them, and that was too much for Tony. He wasn’t going to stand there and see Germany conquer the world. So just then, oh, boy, Italy began getting ready to come into the war.
I called all the scouts together and I said, “Sh-h! We’ve won the day, only we have to beware of strategy. Tony is coming over here with a lot of sandwiches and things in a basket. Don’t buy anything. Stand firm. Leave him to me.”
Pretty soon over he came with a big basket under his arm, shouting, “All-a hotta, all-a hotta, fiver de cents, all-a hotta.”
I went up to him and I said, “Have you got any soup?”
He said, “Buy-a de frank; all-a hotta.”
Everybody began crowding around and asking for soup. I said, “You haven’t got any counter for us to eat at. Some of us want soup. Others want soup. Still others prefer soup. Nothing doing.”
He said, “All-a fresh-a.”