because he knows we're all crazy. He said, "Well, what's
on your mind now? You want to be arrested, huh?"

"We didn't say that," the kid spoke up.

Mr. Pinchem just stepped out of the boat and gave him a shove and said,
"You've been stealing somebody's phonograph, huh? I'll have to look into
that."

I said, "Good night, go ahead and look into it. All you'll see is a lot
of junk."

Mr. Pinchem and that other man just stood there laughing and he said,
"Well, what's on your minds? You want to get across, do you?"

I said, "We want to get across in a bee-line. Do you see that tree just
across the river? The one near the shore. That's in a bee-line with that
big tree away up there on west ridge. So if you'd be willing to take the
end of this rope across and fasten it to that tree, then maybe you can
row us over without drifting with the tide. We have to go in a
bee-line."

He said, "Oh, that's it, is it? Well, now, suppose that bee-line takes
you right through the County Jail. What then?"

Pee-wee looked kind of frightened.

"That's up to the County Jail," I said. "If the County Jail doesn't get
out of the way, we go through it. Didn't you ever hear that boy scouts
are _invincible_?"

Pee-wee said, "They're not--exactly--they're not always so very
invincible. See? They have to be courteous. If you asked us not to go
through the jail, we wouldn't. See?"

Westy said, "We've even been through public school, we're so smart."

Mr. Pinchem said, "I'd say you've been through an ice house, you're so
fresh. Well, I'll see what we can do for you. I hope you'll always keep
as straight as you're going now."

I said, "We always go straight; we don't go around much. We're always
wide awake except when we're asleep."

He said, "Well, you're so wide awake, you didn't happen to see anything
of a man around here? A man with a cap and a brown sweater?"

"He may be a colored man," the other man said.

"What color?" Pee-wee said, all excited.

"Why, black, maybe," Mr. Pinchem said; "or maybe not. A pretty rough
looking customer. Didn't happen to notice any one around here, huh?"

"Is he a murderer?" Pee-wee asked.

"Well, I guess he'd be willing to be," Mr. Pinchem said. "He stole a
skiff from the boat club in Northvale and it was found empty down below
here in the marshes."

"Do you want me to help you find him?" the kid piped up.

Mr. Pinchem's friend said, "He held up an auto on the state road above
Northvale last ni