"Sure I brought him in here so we could be alone," I said.
"Sure you did," he said, "just so you could start him after the stalker's badge. We heard you make him promise to go after that and not think about anything else. He's easy, that kid is."
"Why should I—" I began.
"You know well enough why," he said; "who started the rule about not having two of the same merit badges in a patrol?"
"I did," I told him.
"Yes," he said, "and now you're trying to rush this kid through just so you can get even with Vic. What have you got to do with our patrol anyway? Don't you think we're old enough to take care of our new members? All because you and Vic were on the outs last summer."
Jingo, that made me mad. "I forgot all about that," I said; "didn't Vic treat me to a soda only last week? It wasn't a quarrel anyway. I should worry about who has the stalker's badge in your patrol. I didn't even know Vic was after it. You know yourself the kid hasn't begun his second-class tests yet. What chance does he stand if Vic is after it? I only thought I'd try to do a good turn. Cracky, it's hard enough to think up anything to do out here on a Sunday afternoon—you know that yourself. I was waiting all day for somebody to fall overboard, so I could jump in and save them. You're a lot of old grandmothers in your patrol. If that's all you've got to complain about, you'd better go and sweep the wind off the deck."
"You mean to tell me to go and sweep the wind off the deck?" Connie said, coming right up close to me.
"Sure," I said, "and when you get through with that go and clean the reflection out of the water. I should worry. Here, take your new member. If I'd known Vic was after the badge, I wouldn't have said a word about it, you can bet. You ought to know me well enough to know I was just giving him a few tips. Did I have any quarrel with you, Vic?"
Honest, would you believe it, none of them said a word except, "Come ahead, Skinny," and the poor kid followed them out, not knowing what to think, I guess.