Part 21 (1/2)
Take notice all you 'bossy' youths.”
”Isn't English the funny language?” demanded Chet, sitting up again. ”And spelling! My! Do you wonder foreigners find English so difficult? Here's one that I found in an almanac at the drug store,” and he fished out a clipping and read it to them:
”'A lady once purchased some myrrh Of a druggist who said unto hyrrh: ”For a dose, my dear Miss, Put a few drops of this In a gla.s.s with some water, and styrrh.”'”
”Do, do stop!” begged Laura.
”I promise not to offend again,” said Lance. ”Besides, I hope to taste some of the pie, and a pie-taster should not be a poetaster.”
”Oh! Oh! Awful!” Jess cried.
”I've run out of limericks myself,” confessed Chet.
”But one more!” Bobby hastened to say. Then dramatically she mouthed, with her black eyes fastened on Chet:
”'Said Chetwood to young Short and Long, ”Just list to my warning in song: If you know of the crime, For both reason and rhyme Betray it--and so ring the gong!”'”
The other girls burst out laughing at the expression on the boys' faces.
Chet and Lance looked much disturbed, and Chet finally scowled upon the teasing Bobby and shook his head.
”What do you know about that?” whispered Lance to his chum.
”You are altogether too smart, Bobby,” declared Chet. ”What do you mean?”
”We know you and Short and Long are trying to hide something from us,” said Jess quickly.
”You might as well tell us all about it,” Laura put in quietly. ”What has Billy really got against Purt Sweet?”
”I don't admit he has anything against Purt,” said Chet quickly.
”Nothing but suspicion,” muttered Lance, likewise shaking his head.
”Then there is something in it?” Laura said quickly. ”Can it be possible that Purt Sweet would do such an awful thing and not really betray himself before this?”
”There you've said it, Laura!” cried Lance. ”That is what I tell both Chet and Billy. If Pretty was guilty, he would be scared so that he would never dare go out again in his car.”
”Oh! Oh!” cried Bobby with dancing eyes. ”Then my rhyme is a true bill?”
”Aw, Lance would have to give it away!” growled Chet.
”Boys are as clannish as they can be!” said Jess severely. ”We are just as much interested as you are, Chet. What made Billy believe Pretty Sweet ran the man down?”
”Oh, well,” sighed Chet, ”we might as well give in to you girls, I suppose.”
”Besides,” laughed his sister, ”the pies are almost done, and both you and Lance will want to sample them.”
”Go on. Tell 'em, Chet,” said Lance.
”Why, Billy had been riding that day in the Sweets' car. You know Purt is too lazy to breathe sometimes, and he wouldn't get out his chains and put 'em on. Billy knew that the chains were not on at dinner time that evening, for he pa.s.sed the Sweet place and saw the car standing outside the garage with the radiator blanketed.