英语小说网

Stanley raised and lowered one shoulder.

"Okay," said Stanley.

"I got allergies, okay?" Squid said.

"You okay?" Stanley whispered.

Squid was crying.

"What are you, my mother?" asked Squid.

He was awakened one night by a strange noise. At first he thought it might have been some kind of animal, and it frightened him. But as the sleep cleared from his head, he realized that the noise was coming from the cot next to him.

In the morning Stanley asked Squid if he was feeling better.

"You open your mouth again, and I'll break your jaw."

Squid's head jerked around. He sniffed and caught his breath. "Yeah, I just… I'm fine," he whispered, and sniffed again.

Stanley was thankful that there were no racial problems. X-Ray, Armpit, and Zero were black. He, Squid, and Zigzag were white. Magnet was Hispanic. On the lake they were all the same reddish brown color -- the color of dirt.

Stanley kept his mouth shut most of the time. He didn't talk too much to any of the boys, afraid that he might say the wrong thing. They called him Caveman and all that, but he couldn't forget that they were dangerous, too. They were all here for a reason. As Mr. Sir would say, this wasn't a Girl Scout camp.

The sack looked to be about half full. Magnet rolled up the top, then tossed it to X-Ray.

Magnet was standing at ground level, holding a sack of seeds. He popped a handful into his mouth, chewed, and swallowed, shells and all.

"Over here," called X-Ray.

"It's sure good to eat something that doesn't come from a can," said Armpit.

Mr. Sir filled their canteens.

He looked up from his hole to see the water truck and its trailing dust cloud. His canteen was still almost a quarter full. He quickly drank it down, then took his place in line, behind Magnet and in front of Zero. The air was thick with heat, dust, and exhaust fumes.

"I can't help it," Magnet said. He held both hands up, wiggled his fingers, and laughed. "My fingers are like little magnets."

The sack went from X-Ray to Armpit to Squid.

"How'd you get them without Mr. Sir seeing you?" asked Armpit.

Squid tossed the sack to Zigzag.

The truck pulled away. Stanley was back in his hole, shovel in hand, when he heard Magnet call out. "Anybody want some sunflower seeds?"

"Coming your way, Caveman," said Zigzag. "Airmail and special delivery…"

Stanley knew it would come to him next. He didn't even want it. From the moment Magnet shouted, "Anybody want some sunflower seeds," he knew there would be trouble. Mr. Sir was sure to come back. And anyway, the salted shells would only make him thirsty.

It's unclear whether the seeds spilled before they got to Stanley or after he dropped the bag. It seemed to him that Zigzag hadn't rolled up the top before throwing it, and that was the reason he didn't catch it.

But it all happened very fast. One moment the sack was flying through the air, and the next thing Stanley knew the sack was in his hole and the seeds were spilled across the dirt.

"Oh, man!" said Magnet.

"Sorry," Stanley said as he tried to sweep the seeds back into the sack.

"I don't want to eat dirt," said X-Ray.

Stanley looked up at the approaching dust cloud, then back down at the spilled seeds. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"The truck's coming!" shouted Zigzag.

Stanley didn't know what to do.

"It's not anything," Stanley muttered.

"Dig it out," Mr. Sir said. "We'll take it to the Warden. Maybe she'll give you the rest of the day off."

Stanley didn't know what to do.

Stanley could see two seeds at the bottom of his hole. As he tried to cover them up, he unearthed a corner of the sack.

"Time flies when you're having fun," said Magnet.

"Hello, Mr. Sir," said X-Ray. "Back so soon?"

What else is new?

"Well, what do you know, Caveman?" said Mr. Sir, standing over him. "It looks like you found something."

He dug his shovel into his hole, and tried to turn over the dirt and bury the seeds.

"You Girl Scouts having a good time?" asked Mr. Sir. He moved from one hole to another. He kicked a dirt pile by Magnet's hole, then he moved toward Stanley.

"It seems like you were just here," said Armpit.

What he should have done, he realized later, was knock one of his dirt piles back into his hole. But the idea of putting dirt into his hole was unthinkable.

Stanley continued to turn the dirt over in his hole.

"I thought you were our friend," said Magnet.

It felt good to sit inside the truck, out of the direct rays of the sun. Stanley was surprised he could feel good about anything at the moment, but he did. It felt good to sit down on a comfortable seat for a change. And as the truck bounced along the dirt, he was able to appreciate the air blowing through the open window onto his hot and sweaty face.

Mr. Sir looked around from one boy to another, then back to Stanley. "We'll see what the Warden has to say about this. Let's go."

"So, tell me, Caveman," said Mr. Sir. "How did my sack of sunflower seeds get in your hole?"

"You did?"

"Yes, Mr. Sir."

Stanley reached down and pulled up the empty burlap sack. He tried to hand it to Mr. Sir, but he wouldn't take it.

"Let me be the judge of that," said Mr. Sir.

"I ate them."

"What happened to all the sunflower seeds?"

"Hey, Caveman!" shouted Armpit. "How come you didn't share any with us?"

"Yes, Mr. Sir."

"That's cold, man," said X-Ray.

"I stole it from your truck."

Stanley climbed up out of his hole and followed Mr. Sir to the truck. He still held the empty sack.

"By yourself."