‘Tonight, Doug?’
‘Tomorrow …’
‘No, tonight! Do or die. You be captain.’
‘General!’
‘Sure, sure. I’ll get the others. So they can hear it from the horse’s mouth! Meet at the ravine bridge, eight o’clock! Boy!’
‘Don’t yell in the windows at those guys,’ said Doug. ‘Leave secret notes on their porches. That’s an order!’
‘Yeah!’
Charlie sped off, yelling. Douglas felt his heart drown in a fresh new summer. He felt the power growing in his head and arms and fists. All this in a day! From plain old C–minus student to full general!
Now, whose legs should be cracked next? Whose metronome stopped? He sucked in a trembling breath.
All the fiery–pink windows of the dying day shone upon this arch–criminal who walked in their brilliant gaze, half smile–scowling toward destiny, toward eight o’clock, toward the camptown gathering of the great Green Town Confederacy and everyone sitting by firelight singing, ‘Tenting tonight, tenting tonight, tenting on the old camp grounds …‘
We’ll sing that one, he thought, three times.
CHAPTER NINE
Up in the attic, Doug and Tom set up headquarters. A turned–over box became the general’s desk; his aide–de–camp stood by, awaiting orders.
‘Get out your pad, Tom.’
‘It’s out.’
‘Ticonderoga pencil?’
‘Ready.’
‘I got a list, Tom, for the Great Army of the Republic. Write this down. There’s Will and Sam and Charlie and Bo and Pete and Henry and Ralph. Oh, and you, Tom.’
‘How do we use the list, Doug?’
‘We gotta find things for them to do. Time’s running out. Right now we’ve gotta figure how many captains, how many lieutenants. One general. That’s me.’
‘Make it good, Doug. Keep ’em busy.’
‘First three names, captains. The next three, lieutenants. Everybody else, spies.’
‘Spies, Doug?’
‘I think that’s the greatest thing. Guys like to creep around, watch things, and then come back and tell.’
‘Heck, I want to be one of those.’
‘Hold on. We’ll make them all captains and lieutenants, make everyone happy, or we’ll lose the war before it gets started. Some will do double-duty as spies.’
‘Okay, Doug, here’s the list.’
Doug scanned it. ‘Now we gotta figure the first sock-dolager thing to do.’
‘Get the spies to tell you.’
‘Okay, Tom. But you’re the most important spy. After the ravine meeting tonight …’ Tom frowned, shook his head. ‘What?’