I don’t know how big the village was, because I didn’t have a ruler with me. I guess somebody must have dropped the village there and never noticed it. That night we slept just inside of a village named Slow. Anyway, that’s what it said on a sign alongside the road. Harry said it meant for autos to go slow. I made flapjacks that night.
In two days we came in sight of the Hudson. I knew it would be there. Oh boy, but we climbed some hills. Pretty soon we could see Haverstraw, but we didn’t go near it. We camped in a dandy place outside the town. And that’s the place where we had our big adventure. Maybe you’ll remember how I said our hike got tied in a knot in one place. Well, that was the place.
So now I’m going to tell you about that adventure. It has girls in it and everything. And it shows you how boy scouts can be heroes. It has two heroines, so maybe if you don’t like one, you’ll like the other. One’s an emergency heroine, that’s what Harry said.
Now maybe if you’ve read all about our adventures up at Temple Camp, you’ll remember that my sister Marjorie was going to have a birthday party. I told Mr. Ellsworth that I would like to go home for that party and go back to Temple Camp the next day. Maybe you will remember about it, on account of my saying that she was going to have cocoanut frosted cake.
Now on that night that we were camping near Haverstraw, I happened to think about it being my sister’s birthday. I just happened to think of it while we were sitting around our camp-fire.
I said, “This is my sister’s birthday and she’s going to have a party and cocoanut frosted cake and things, and I’d like to be there. I wish I had thought about it yesterday—I’d have sent her a postcard.” Because, one thing, I never forgot about my sister’s birthdays.
Harry said, “Why don’t you call her up?”
“Sure,” Westy said, “they’ll just about be having the eats now.”
I said, “What good will that do me?”
“Anyway, where’s the telephone?” Dorry said.