Betsy and the Boys (6 page)

After a while Billy began to mutter to himself.

"Dragons. Dragons. What kind of dragons?"

"Yeh! What kind of dragons?" asked Kenny.

"Purple dragons," said Eddie. "There's nothing fiercer than purple dragons."

"Purple dragons!" said Rudy. "Aw, who ever heard of purple dragons?"

"That's good," said Betsy. "The Purple Dragons. And you could have a purple dragon sewed on your football suit."

"Say, that's swell!" shouted Christopher.

"W-e-l-l, OK!" said Rudy. "All in favor of

calling the team the Purple Dragons, say 'Aye.'"

There was a chorus of "Aye" and Eddie yelled the loudest.

"Now for the next business," said Rudy. "About the football. I've found something wonderful. It's an advertisement in this magazine."

Rudy opened the magazine to the back section of advertisements. His finger ran down the page and stopped. "Here it is," he said. "It says, 'Boys, Win a Football! Finest quality football. Genuine pigskin. The same ball used by college teams. Yours for only a little effort.'"

"Gee! That's great!" said Billy.

"What do you do to get it?" asked Joe.

"Well, this is what it says," said Rudy. He read again from the magazine. "'Fill out the coupon below with your name and address and we will send you two dozen cakes of Surething Flea Soap, the soap that keeps dogs happy. Send no money.'" Here Rudy stopped and looked at the team. Their faces were pleased and their eyes were bright.

"Oh, boy! That's wonderful!" said Billy.

Rudy went on reading. "'Send no money,'" he repeated. "'Your expressman will deliver the soap upon payment of two dollars and forty cents.'"

The faces of the team grew more sober. Rudy cleared his throat and continued. "'Sell this soap to your friends for twenty cents a cake and send the money to Surething Flea Soap Company and you will receive the genuine pigskin football by return mail. Act quickly! Only a limited supply!'"

"Where are we going to get two dollars and forty cents?" asked Henry. "That's what I want to know."

"With our dues," said Rudy.

"Dues?" said Kenny.

"Sure," said Rudy. "We gotta have dues. Let's see, thirty cents apiece. That will make two dollars and forty cents."

"That's right," said Christopher. "And if we send for it today, it won't be here until some time next week and we'll all have time to pay our dues and raise the money."

"Oh, sure," said Rudy. "Come on, let's fill out the coupon. Where shall we have it sent?"

There was much chatter about whose name and address should be written on the coupon. Finally Rudy said, "Well, as long as we are at your house, Puff, suppose we have it delivered here."

"OK," said Billy.

Rudy filled out the coupon as the rest of the boys crowded around him. He wrote down after the word "Name"—Billy. When Billy saw his, he said, "Not Billy! Here! Let me do it."

Billy took the slip of paper from Rudy and erased the name Billy. Then he wrote down William Porter, Junior, and his address. When he finished, he went upstairs and got an envelope from his daddy's desk.

When the coupon was sealed in the envelope, Rudy said, "I'll mail it on the way home. I have three cents for a stamp."

As the days went by the boys forgot all about their dues to pay for the soap when it arrived. They were too busy thinking about the football.

Once Billy said to his father, "Daddy, our football team is going to get a football."

And Daddy said, "Is that so? Well, that's great."

A few days later Mr. Porter said to Susie who was doing the laundry: "I have ordered some tubes of paint and they should be here today. When the expressman brings the package, pay for it out of this five dollar bill."

"Yes, sir," said Susie.

That very afternoon the expressman rang the doorbell. Susie went to the door. When she opened it, the expressman said, "What's the name?"

"Porter," said Susie. "How much is it?"

"Two-forty," replied the expressman. "Sign here," he said, handing Susie a slip of paper. "Where do you want the box?"

"Set it right here in the hall closet," said Susie. The expressman carried the box into the house and placed it on the floor of the closet.

When Billy came home from school he settled down to a jigsaw puzzle.

Soon Mr. Porter returned.

Susie said, "Mr. Porter, your package came. It's in the hall closet and your change is on the hall table. It was two dollars and forty cents."

"Oh, thank you, Susie," said Mr. Porter.

Billy's daddy went to the hall closet and picked up the box. He carried it upstairs to his studio. Without examining the label, he pried off the lid. There, to his amazement, were two dozen cakes of Surething Flea Soap.

"What the mischief is this!" exclaimed Mr. Porter. "Who is sending me two dozen cakes of flea soap? Two dollars and forty cents' worth of flea soap!"

Then he remembered something that Billy had said about soap. Something about soap and a football. This was a pretty mess! The very idea! Two dollars and forty cents' worth of flea soap! What did Billy intend doing with the stuff?

Mr. Porter went to the head of the stairs.

"William!" he called.

"Yes, Daddy," replied Billy.

"Come up here," said Daddy.

Billy knew that something was the matter. Daddy hadn't called him William since the day last spring when he broke the bathroom window with his baseball. He wondered, as he climbed the two flights of stairs, what he had done that would make Daddy call him William.

As he entered his daddy's room, he saw him standing over a large box.

"William!" said Daddy in a very stern voice, "do you know anything about this soap?"

"Soap?" said Billy.

"Yes. Soap," said Mr. Porter, "Flea soap. In fact, twenty-four cakes of flea soap. Two dollars and forty cents' worth of flea soap. Plus the worst smell in forty-eight states."

"Oh!" said Billy. "Oh! That's our soap."

"Our soap!" exclaimed Daddy. "What are we going to do with it?"

"No, Daddy," said Billy. "You don't understand. It belongs to our football team."

"Well, what I do understand is that I paid two dollars and forty cents for it," said Daddy. "So if it belongs to your football team, I would like to have the money returned to me." And then he added, "Promptly."

"Oh, sure, Daddy. Sure!" said Billy. "I'll call a meeting of the team tomorrow. And I'll bring the money home with me."

And with this Billy dashed for the head of the stairs.

"Hold on a minute," said his daddy. "What in the name of all smells does the team intend doing with this flea soap?"

Billy came back. "Why, we're going to sell
it, Daddy, and get a football. We sell it for twenty cents a cake. Then we get the football."

"Well, get my two dollars and forty cents," said Mr. Porter. "And get rid of this soap as quickly as possible. I'll put it out in the garage. A gas mask should go with each cake."

The following day Billy met Betsy on the way to school.

"Hi, Betsy!" Billy called out. "Our soap has come."

"What soap?" said Betsy.

"Why, the flea soap that the team is going to sell to get the football," said Billy.

"Oh!" replied Betsy. "That soap!"

When the children reached the school, Billy sent word around that there would be a meeting of the football team at recess.

After the opening exercises Miss Pancake put some arithmetic problems on the blackboard and gave each child a piece of paper. Everyone set to work and the room was very quiet. In a few moments Sally, who sat across the aisle from Billy, looked up with a very strange expression on her face. She sniffed. And then she sniffed again.

In a few moments she tiptoed up to the front
of the room and spoke to Miss Pancake in a very low voice.

Miss Pancake said, "Just sit here, at this table by the door."

Sally returned to her seat and got her paper. In a moment she was quietly working at the table by the door.

Very shortly Mary Lou, who sat across the aisle on the other side of Billy, raised her hand.

"What is it, Mary Lou?" asked Miss Pancake.

"May I please sit by the window?" said Mary Lou. "I think I need a little more air."

"Certainly," replied Miss Pancake. And Mary Lou carried her paper over to the desk by the window.

In a few minutes Ellen, who was sitting behind Billy, raised her head from her work. She put her handkerchief to her nose and held it there while she did her problems.

When Miss Pancake looked at her, she said, "Is there anything the matter with your nose, Ellen?"

"I think maybe it would be better if I sat by the window too," replied Ellen.

"Very well," said Miss Pancake. And Ellen moved.

It wasn't long before Betty Jane, who sat in front of Billy, held up her hand.

"What is it, Betty Jane?" said Miss Pancake.

Betty Jane got up and walked up to the teacher's desk. She whispered something to Miss Pan-cake. Miss Pancake moved a chair over to the table beside Sally and Betty Jane sat down.

By this time Billy, who was busy working out his problems, looked like an island completely surrounded by empty seats.

Miss Pancake stood up and walked down the aisle. She stopped beside Billy's desk. She sniffed. Then she walked to the back of the room and up the other aisle. When she reached Billy's desk, she stopped again. Then she took out her handkerchief. She looked puzzled.

Just then Christopher looked up from his paper. He wrinkled up his nose and looked around. Then he said, "Gee, Miss Pancake! Something stinks!"

"Christopher!" said Miss Pancake. "I'm surprised at you. That is very vulgar."

"Well, it does, Miss Pancake," said Christopher. "It sure does st—I mean, smells awful. Worse than Limburger cheese."

By this time all of the children were sniffing. "Whew!" they exclaimed.

"Be quiet, children," said Miss Pancake. "Does anyone know what this strange odor is?"

"Oh!" cried Billy, his face as bright as a dollar. "Maybe it's my soap. It's a new kind of flea soap, Miss Pancake. The football team is selling it. Only twenty cents a cake. It makes dogs happy."