“Every time!” added Billy, sonorously, as he whacked Buck Winter on his back, as if to emphasize his remark.
“There are heaps of things that ought to be bettered,” asserted Alec. “They never will be until the scouts and the women join hands with all the good people of Oakvale for a genuine old clean-up time. All they seem to want is a leader. Everybody is waiting for some one else to make the start. Hugh, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s going to be up to you.”
“I was talking with Professor Marvin, the school principal, only yesterday,” said the scout master, “and he agreed with me that there was great need of all the moral forces in the community uniting for a big fight before things got too bad. He said he would see Mayor Strunk last night, and asked me, as acting in place of Lieutenant Denmead, who is away, to drop around to his house this evening, for he had invited the mayor, Mrs. Marsh and several of the leading ladies of the T. I. A., to take supper with him.”
“Good for that!” cried Billy. “Make sure you rub it in like everything, Hugh, once you get the chance. I hope to hear great news tomorrow morning, and I’ll be ready, for one, to take off my coat and get busy with a broom—of course, figuratively speaking, I mean.”
Alec nodded his head as if pleased.
“Something in the air tells me there are going to be warm doings in this town before a great while,” he asserted positively. “It’s always darkest before dawn, they say, and things have about reached their limit here. Once the new broom gets agoing it’ll sweep out a lot of nuisances that have been an eyesore to all decent people for a long while back. My folks get quite worked up every time they begin to talk about certain things that are objectionable.”
“I’m going to begin and make a list of nuisances right off,” said Buck Winter.
“Well, I don’t like the way you look at me when you say that, Buck,” complained Billy, in affected uneasiness. “I’m going to reform, sure I am. Gimme half a chance, and I’ll even try to reduce my weight, if that bothers you, though I’d hate to cut my rations down to half.”
“Now look at all those vehicles and cars coming along from four directions at once!” exclaimed Alec. “That bunch of kids on the curb has been waiting all of five minutes for a half-decent chance to cross, but do you see any driver holding up to let them go over? They’re a lot of selfish and reckless—— Say, hold on, kids, don’t you dare to try it! Oh! Hugh, look there, one of them has run out! Hi! hi! Hold your horses—stop that car!”