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possible."
"Oh yeah, sure! For what purpose? To ask the government for sidewalks?"
"Quit squabbling," said the leader. "This could be something cooked up by
another museum to throw us off the track. But maybe by going we'll find out
something to put us on the track. We're going."
"That's insane."
"Well," said the third, "we shouldn't really worry about being put off the
track, because we don't actually know what we're looking for anyway. We have
nothing to lose."
* * *
The inhabitants of Lake Naka-mee-chee turned out in full force for the
founding meeting of the Greater Lake Naka-mee-chee Tentowners' Association.
Curiosity had won out over mistrust, and every camper was there, gathered
around the broom Mrs. Vedda had stuck in the ground. A purple polka-dot silk
scarf flew from it. Under the flag stood a small folding table at which Mrs.
Vedda sat, a serene expression on her face.
Lesage was most dismayed. He had expected that he and Benny would be the only
ones there. Now it would be impossible for him to get very close to Elizabeth.
In the crowd Johnson kept a sharp eye on Davis, Davis kept a sharp eye on
Johnson, and all the recently-arrived anthropologists looked around nervously,
keeping sharp eyes on each other.
Near the front Frank Potter stirred restlessly. "I can't believe the
stupidity of all this!" he growled. "How could I allow this to happen?"
Elizabeth looked around uncomfortably. Her mother had insisted that she wear
her own clothes rather than her father's, and she had succeeded in finding a
shapeless track suit. So far no one was staring at her. Soon night would fall
and she could melt into the shadows. She sighed. What a horrible experience it
was to have to sit and watch one's mother make a fool of herself!
Bugs, too, was restless. All he wanted to do was get away from camp and be
with Gus and Roger. There didn't seem to be much of a chance to escape at the
moment, as he was under his mother's watchful eye.
As Mrs. Vedda rapped for silence Dr. Ramsay snaked his way out of the woods
and hid behind the Veddas' tent. It was important to overhear what was said at
this gathering.
"Good evening, neighbours," Mrs. Vedda began. "I'm Regina Vedda. Welcome to
the founding meeting of the Greater Lake Naka-mee-chee Tentowners'
Association. I've been here for over a week now, and it has become
increasingly clear to me that we need some good community involvement."
There was dead silence.
Mrs. Vedda beamed. "Before we start with the business, let me introduce my
party. The gentleman with the gray shirt and the bandaged nose is my husband,
John. The little boy beside him is my son, Peter. And the young lady in the
track suit is my daughter, Elizabeth."
All eyes turned to Elizabeth, and an enormous cheer rose from the crowd.
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Mrs. Vedda was smiling. This was going even better than she'd hoped. "And
that lovely family over there are our friends, the Potters." She waited for
the cheer, but none came so she went on. "The first item on the agenda is to
select the association officers. First we need a president. Are there any
nominations from the floor?"
There was an embarrassed murmur, then a voice from the back piped up, "You do
it, lady!"
"Oh, me? How flattering. Any other nominations? No? Well, that's wonderful,
then. I seem to be acclaimed. How nice. All right, now we need a
vice-president. Nominations?"
There was complete silence, then the same voice from the back called out,
"You do it, lady!"
"Oh, well," said Mrs. Vedda. "I suppose I could handle the president's and
the vice-president's positions. But we do need a secretary."
This time a chorus of voices: "You do it, lady!"
"Oh, well, I guess I can be secretary too," said Mrs. Vedda, secretly
delighted to have been given this vote of confidence. "And finally we'll need
a social director."
Now almost everyone chorused, "You do it, lady!
"Oh, very well," said Mrs. Vedda. "And as social director I declare our first
social event of the season." There was an uncomfortable stir. "Tomorrow
evening at exactly seven o'clock, right here under the polka-dot tentowners'
flag, there will be a big fish fry and bonfire. It promises to be a most
successful event and a wonderful time for all. And don't forget, it's
B.Y.O.F."
"What's B.Y.O.F. lady?" called the voice.
"Bring Your Own Fish." She beamed. "So we'll all see each other out on the
lake tomorrow. Now, could I have an idea of how many of you are planning to
attend?"
Mr. Vedda put his hand up, followed by Peter and Mrs. Potter, who nudged her
husband, causing him to raise his. Bugs, who had not been paying attention,
put up his hand because everyone else did so. When Davis raised his hand,
Johnson did too. Then Mrs. Vedda glared at her daughter and Elizabeth finally
raised her hand. Instantly everyone else jumped on the bandwagon.
Mrs. Vedda counted hands. "One hundred percent attendance! That's wonderful.
And by tomorrow we may even have some new members. Now I'm leaving the floor
open to any other business. Does anyone have anything to say?"
"Something to say!" shouted the voice at the back. "We want shorter
meetings!"
"All right, then," said Mrs. Vedda. "This meeting is adjourned. But you don't
have to go now. Elizabeth is serving tea."
The tea table was mobbed.
***
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Dr. Ramsay walked into his camp, his eyes wide, his face registering deep
shock.
Hyde was alarmed. "Are you all right? What happened?"
"I I don't know," replied Ramsay, shaking his head. "It looked to me like all
those anthropologists  each one of them after our discovery were banding
together and forming they formed a tentown-ers' association!"
Hyde stared at him. "A what?"
"A tentowners' association! This lady, Mrs. Vedda, one of the women in the
first group of campers, came out and ran the whole thing. She organized a fish
fry!"
"A fish fry?"
"Yes. And we're going to it tomorrow night to keep an eye on things."
"But we'll be seen!" Hyde protested. "We could be recognized!"
"We'll disguise ourselves and we won't slip in until it starts to get dark.
You know, Hyde, I'm not sure about this, but I think it's possible that this
Mrs. Vedda could deserve a medal. She's got all those anthropologists so
confused that they don't know what to do except participate in her social
events. They'll be fishing all day and partying all night, and that keeps them
out of the woods and away from our Indians. Hyde, we may just pull this off
after all!"
"So why do you look so worried?"
"It's not worry so much as shock. Frankly, Hyde, I'm not sure I can believe [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]