"Not adjustable--_combination_," Pee-wee corrected. "Do you like
roasted potatoes? I know how to roast them. And I'll get some bacon,
too; shall I?"

"Suppose you should be captured by your parents while you're on the
mainland," Townsend inquired.

"Then I'll send you a smoke signal," Pee-wee said, "and you can come
and talk to my mother, because she'll be sure to listen to you because,
anyway, you've got a lot of sense."

"And several of us will canoe up to North Bridgeboro and get some stuff
and tell our folks and we'll be back in an hour because the tide's
starting to run up," said a boy they called Billy.

"If you have any trouble with the folks just give me a smoke signal and
I'll canoe up," drawled Townsend.

"Good old Rip," chorused half a dozen voices.

The boy they called Billy turned to Pee-wee and whispered, "Don't worry
about your folks. Old Rip makes a specialty of parents; they all eat
out of his hands, fathers especially. As soon as they see him they
surrender."

"I make a specialty of cooks," Pee-wee said. "Our cook gives me
everything I want. And anyway we couldn't starve because scouts can't
starve; they can eat roots and herbs and things; I'll show you. Do you
like chocolate marshmallows? Even scouts can eat moss to keep from