“May I join you ladies and gentlemen on the platform?” he asked.
“You bet you may,” came the genial response from Mr. Atwater. “If we had known you were there, Mr.——”
“It’s Mr. Temple! It’s Mr. Temple!” whispered Pee-wee excitedly. “Oh, boy, it’s Mr. Temple! Now there’s going to be something doing—shhh!”
“Listen to who’s saying shhh!” whispered Roy.
“Shhhh, there’s going to be something doing, there’s going to be something doing,” said Pee-wee.
“There is,” said Roy grimly. “You’re going to be thrown out if you don’t shut up.”
CHAPTER XXXIII
MR. TEMPLE’S LUCKY NUMBER
Mr. John Temple, philanthropist, founder of Temple Camp and friend of scouting, had evidently sensed a delicate and perhaps difficult situation, and had gone to the rescue. He was given a fine welcome on the stage and the burst of applause by the audience showed that his public spirit and generosity were well known.
Every town has its wealthy and distinguished citizen; the good work of such men lives after them in libraries and hospitals. Mr. Temple was Bridgeboro’s most distinguished character—next to Pee-wee. And even Pee-wee paid him the compliment of declaring, “He buys more railroads every day than I do ice cream cones.” If he did, he must have owned practically all the roads in the country.
After an interval of suspense, which was seen in an acute stage among the scouts, Mr. Atwater turned to the audience and said, “Stand up again, Edwin Carlisle.”