“Well, which game offers the best prizes?” Doug asked the group in general.
“None of them, if you ask me,” Clarice replied in disgusted tones.
“That’s not so,” Martha objected, and then leaning toward Doug, she said in a low voice that only he could hear, “I think Emma likes that big tiger at the shooting gallery.”
Doug nodded his understanding and then said out loud, “The dart game has a Swiss Army knife I wouldn’t mind having.”
“I saw a flashlight keychain that would come in handy,” Reggie put in.
“What do you like, Martha?” Sebastian asked.
“Oh, I’m like Emma. I like the stuffed animals. The ring toss has the cutest little teddy bear,” Martha said longingly. “What about you, Sebastian?”
“Well, I haven’t really had a chance to look around, but I definitely don’t want anything fuzzy,” Sebastian answered.
Susie, who’d been quiet up to this point, suddenly blurted out, “The ring toss has the most gorgeous bracelet. I’d like to win that.” Clarice gave her a disapproving look.
“You know all that stuff is just costume jewelry. It would probably turn your wrist green.”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake, Clarice, lighten up. The purpose of the games is to raise money for charity. They couldn’t do that if they gave away expensive stuff,” Martha said with exasperation.
“Yeah, Clarice,” Reggie chimed in.
Emma held her breath, waiting for Clarice to jump down Reggie’s throat. It seemed that boy still hadn’t learned when to keep his mouth shut. But much to her surprise, Clarice simply sighed and said, “Well, I guess you’re right.”
Emma’s mouth fell open. She looked at Martha and saw she was having a similar reaction. Obviously, sometime in the last few weeks Clarice and Reggie had come to an understanding. Clarice tolerated Reggie better than she did anyone else, even Susie. Emma didn’t know if it was because he was so rich, or if Clarice had developed a genuine fondness for him. Emma hoped it was the latter. Reggie was a nice kid and deserved to be liked for himself and not for his money. It was true that he was a bit of a know-it-all, but Emma had a feeling someday soon Reggie’s intelligence would get them all out of trouble.
They continued to wander around the booths a little while longer; it seemed the entire student body was out on the front lawn. Shortly before ten o’clock, Dean Harwood addressed the students from the terrace. A microphone had been set up so that everyone could hear him.
“As you know, the carnival games will be starting shortly. The game prizes were donated by the local businesses, and we are asking that you pay a small fee to play. The money that we raise today will be given to the children’s hospital in Benton, so you’ll be playing for a worthy cause. You may play the games as many times as you want, and then at twelve o’clock we will have lunch set up on the terrace for you. After everyone has eaten, we’ll start the relay races, so you’ll need to get your teams together. I know you’ve all been working hard this last couple of weeks to prepare for your exams, so I hope you will use this time to have fun and relax.” Dean Harwood paused for a moment and then in a loud voice he said, “Let the games begin!”
A cheer went up from the assembled students, and then there was a mad rush as everyone hurried to game booths.
“Well, where should we go first?” Martha asked. Surprisingly it was Clarice that decided it for them.
“Let’s go do the ring toss first, so Susie can win her bracelet.”
For the second time that morning, Emma was rendered speechless. Clarice had made a totally unselfish gesture and was actually being nice to Susie. Maybe Reverend Palmer’s sermons were beginning to get through to her. Either that, or Reggie was exerting a positive influence. Emma looked over at Reggie and saw that he was beaming with a smile reminiscent of a proud father watching his child walk for the first time. She didn’t know how he was doing it, but it was obvious Clarice’s attitudes were changing. Just then, Emma’s musings were interrupted by Sebastian.
“Yeah, and Martha, maybe you can win your teddy bear.”
This time it was Martha’s turn to be surprised. Instead of making fun of her for wanting a stuffed animal, Sebastian was encouraging her to try and win it. She was equally amazed that he had remembered which prize she wanted. Unable to hide her surprise, wide-eyed, she looked at Sebastian and finally managed, “Uh, okay, the ring toss game it is.”
There was already quite a crowd in line for the game, so they had to wait for their turn. The teachers were the ones running the games, and it just so happened that Miss Grimstock was in charge of the ring toss. While they were waiting in line, the subject of Miss Grimstock’s final came up. It had been the most difficult of all the exams Emma had taken. Everyone agreed they had no idea how they’d done on the test, but they hoped Grim was in a good mood when she graded the exams. Finally, it was their turn at the ring toss. It turned out to be a lot harder than it looked, although Susie tried several times, she was unable to ring even one of the bottles. The rings were very small and just barely fit over the bottle tops. The toss had to be precise, or the ring just glanced off the top. Martha’s luck wasn’t any better. After a while, they decided to give up on that game for the moment and try their luck at one of the others.
“Let’s try the dart game,” Reggie suggested. “I’d like to try to win that keychain with the flashlight, and they’ve got that Swiss Army knife you wanted, Doug.”
Needing no further prompting, they made their way over to the dart game. Again, they had to wait in line. Judging from the lack of success of those in front of them, this game was harder than it looked also. Reggie hypothesized that perhaps the balloons hadn’t been inflated enough to pop easily, or maybe the darts weren’t sharp enough; but whatever the reason, by the time they reached the front of the line, there had been no winners. Doug let Reggie go first and waited patiently while Reggie examined the darts he’d been given to verify their sharpness. Experimentally poking his finger with the dart, Reggie let out a yelp when the dart turned out to be as sharp as it looked. Sucking on his finger, Reggie next asked Mr. Godfrey, who was running the game, for one of the balloons from the board. With a frown and a shrug of his shoulders, Mr. Godfrey complied. Reggie poked the balloon with the dart and it promptly broke.
“There’s nothing wrong with the game, Mr. Wentworth,” Mr. Godfrey said frowning. “You kids just need to work on your aim. The balloons won’t pop unless you hit them with the darts. Now are you going to play or not?”
Satisfied that there was nothing amiss with either the darts or the balloons, Reggie paid for three darts. Taking careful aim, he threw the first dart and popped a blue balloon. Emma was just thinking it was dumb luck when Reggie fired his second dart and broke another balloon. She held her breath as he let the third dart fly. All she heard was a popping sound as another balloon burst. As crazy as it seemed, Reggie had won. Pushing his glasses back up on his nose, Reggie calmly asked for the keychain. Mr. Godfrey blinked in amazement, and shaking his head, went over to the shelves holding the prizes. Grabbing the combination flashlight and keychain off the top shelf, he handed it to the small boy with the surefire aim.
“Great job, Reggie!” Clarice said, taking his arm. Reggie blushed with pleasure and explained that it was all in the wrist.
Next it was Doug’s turn. After Reggie’s performance, Doug seemed a little nervous. Stepping up to the counter, he paid for his darts and then took a deep breath. His first dart found its target. Taking aim, he fired his second dart and another balloon was destroyed. Doug knew, however, that he had to pop three balloons to win a prize. After pausing a moment to choose his target, Doug threw his final dart. Everyone sighed in disappointment when it just barely missed a yellow balloon.
“Good try, Doug,” Sebastian said, slapping Doug on the back. “That was really close. You’ll get it next time.”
“Yeah, maybe,” Doug said, shrugging his shoulders. “I’ll try again later. Let’s go over to the
shooting gallery. I’m in the mood to knock over some ducks.”
Doug was fairly confident that he would do well at the shooting gallery. His dad had taught him how to fire a gun a couple of years ago, and every summer since, they had taken a hunting trip together. Without waiting for the others, Doug headed over to the booth with the shooting gallery.
The rest of the group followed with Reggie proudly swinging his keychain. Clarice and Susie walked beside Reggie, giggling at something he’d said. Emma had to admit that Reggie was certainly enjoying all the attention. Martha looked over at Emma with raised eyebrows. Apparently, in addition to being good at darts, Reggie was also funny. The day had been just full of surprises, and it wasn’t even half over.
The line at the shooting gallery wasn’t as long as the others had been, so they only had a short wait before it was Doug’s turn. To win a big prize, the shooter had to knock over five ducks in a row; the smaller prizes required only three ducks. Doug paid for five shots. Pulling the rifle up snuggly against his shoulder, he took sight along the barrel and pulled the trigger. Pausing just long enough to sight each new target, he fired four more shots. When he was finished, five of the little ducks lay on their sides. He’d done it! He’d won one of the big prizes. Emma looked over at the shelves holding the prizes, curious to see what he would choose. He had wanted a Swiss Army knife, but this game didn’t have that particular prize. She was still trying to figure out the most likely choice for a boy Doug’s age when she heard him asking for the big stuffed tiger.
“Why do you want a stupid stuffed animal?” Sebastian asked with disgust.
“It’s for Emma, you idiot,” Martha said with equal disgust.
“I’m not an idiot!” Sebastian responded angrily.
“Yes, you are!”
Sebastian and Martha continued to argue, but Emma was barely listening. Mr. Dorfman, who was running the shooting gallery, was handing an enormous orange and black striped stuffed tiger over the counter to Doug. It was the most gorgeous thing she’d ever seen, and she couldn’t believe it when Doug held it out to her.
“This is for you, Emma,” Doug said with a grin.
At a loss for words, Emma just stared at Doug. Finally, it dawned on her that he was waiting for her to take the tiger. She held out her arms and let Doug place the tiger in them. Most stuffed animals were stiff, but this one felt more like a pillow. Emma gave it a squeeze and ran her hand over the silky, soft fur. An elbow from Martha made her remember her manners. Suddenly shy, she looked up at Doug and said with sincerity, “I love it! Thank you.”
Suddenly feeling a little awkward himself, Doug cleared his throat and said, “No problem. They didn’t really have anything I wanted.”
The truth was Doug had gotten exactly what he had wanted. It would be a long time before he would forget the look on Emma’s face when he’d handed her the tiger. Her smile had been worth more than even the finest Swiss Army knife.
Emma wasn’t fooled by Doug’s casualness. The shooting gallery offered plenty of prizes that would have appealed to Doug. It had been his intention from the start to try and win the tiger for her. A simple thank you didn’t begin to express how she felt. One thing was certain; she would not soon forget his kindness. Hugging the tiger close, she followed the others as they made their way to the coin toss game.
They continued to wander around the booths a while longer, and while they tried their luck at each game, they didn’t win any more prizes. Emma had already gotten the only prize she’d wanted, but she was disappointed for the others, particularly Martha. The teddy bear at the ring toss was really cute, and she just wished one of them had been able to win it for Martha. A little before noon, they made their way to the front terrace where lunch was being set out for the students. Emma decided it would be best to take the tiger to her room before lunch and the relay games that were to follow. When she told Martha what she intended to do, Martha said she’d come with her. They left the others to save them a spot to eat at one of the tables that had been moved out onto the terrace and headed to their room.
“Gosh, Emma, you’re so lucky. I think Doug really likes you,” Martha said when they were out of earshot of the others.
“He’s just a really nice guy,” Emma denied and then at Martha’s raised eyebrow she added, “No really, we’re just friends.”
“Uh-huh, yeah, whatever you say,” Martha said dryly and deciding not to press the point, she changed the subject. “What about that Reggie? That guy is just full of surprises. I couldn’t believe it when he won at the dart game.”
“Yeah, and what about Clarice? Hanging around Reggie has certainly been good for her. A few weeks ago, she’d have come unglued if somebody disagreed with her,” Emma said, glad to be on a different topic.
“I’d say Reggie is the only one who could get away with it now, but that’s still an improvement. Who knows, by the end of the year Clarice may be practically normal,” Martha said, laughing.
Emma laughed too. It had been a great day so far, and there was more to come. They had the relay races and a dance to look forward to. Emma wondered if Doug would ask her to dance. She hadn’t wanted to admit to Martha that she liked Doug. Her feelings were so fresh and new, she just wanted to keep them to herself for a while longer. Besides, maybe Doug was just being nice and thought of her only as a friend. Although Martha obviously thought otherwise, the only person who could possibly know how Doug felt was Doug. Yes, all things considered, it would be best if she just thought of Doug as a friend for now. That was what her mind was telling her, but her heart was telling her something else. When they got to their room, Emma gently laid the beautiful tiger on the end of her bed and waited while Martha ran a comb through her hair. As soon as Martha was through primping, they went outside to look for the others.
No sooner had they stepped out onto the terrace than they heard Reggie calling. “Over here,” he yelled loudly, waving his arms to get their attention.
Clarice, Susie, and Doug were already seated at the table with Reggie, but Sebastian was absent. When they got over to the table, Martha asked Doug where Sebastian was.
“Dunno,” Doug said, shrugging his shoulders. “He said he had something to do, and he’d be right back.”
“Well, I hope he hurries up,” Clarice said, pursing her lips in dissatisfaction. “I’m famished.”
Emma was just thinking how that had sounded more like the old Clarice when Reggie said, “Here he comes.”
Everyone turned to look. Sebastian was indeed coming up the stairs with a big smile on his face and holding something behind his back. Without hesitation he walked right over to where Martha was sitting, and with a grand flourish, produced what he had been hiding. It was the teddy bear Martha had wanted at the ring toss game.
For a moment Martha was speechless, but at a nudge from Emma, she began stammering, “H-h-how did you d-do it?”
“I knew I was getting the hang of that game the last time I played it, so I decided to go back and give it one more try, and I won. They didn’t have anything I really wanted, and I remembered you liked this silly bear, so I got it for you.” With that he handed it to Martha, whose mouth was still open, and sat down saying loudly, “Boy am I hungry!”
Martha didn’t know what to make of it. Sebastian, that incredibly annoying boy, had just done something nice for her. Earlier that day she had been calling him an idiot, but at that moment, she could have hugged him. Deciding it would be better just to thank him, that’s what she did.
“No problem,” he answered casually. “Let’s eat.”
Needing no further prompting, they filed over to the east end of the terrace where lunch had been set up buffet fashion on long tables. Lunch would be eaten picnic style and that meant paper plates and plastic forks and spoons. Grabbing a plate from the end of one of the tables, they moved down the sides of the table making their selections. For the main course they could either have fried chicken or a sandwich. A large platter of various lunchmeats and chee
ses, as well as loaves of wheat and white bread had been provided for the sandwiches. Big bowls of potato salad, baked beans, and chips were the next things they encountered on the table. Dessert consisted of fruit salad and different kinds of cookies including chocolate chip, oatmeal, and peanut butter. When they came to the cookie platter, Sebastian informed them proudly that his hobby class had baked all of the cookies the day before. Everything looked delicious, and as they were all famished, they loaded their plates. Plastics cups filled with lemonade, iced tea, and soda were available on a nearby table. Choosing a beverage, they carefully threaded their way amongst the other diners and back to their table.
Martha had left her teddy bear sitting in her chair and was relieved to see that it was still there when they returned with their lunches. She would take it up to her room after lunch. As soon as everyone was seated, they dug into their food with gusto. All was quiet as they concentrated on filling their stomachs. They would need all the energy they could get for the relay races and tug-of-war. When they got around to dessert, everyone complimented Sebastian on the cookies. They really were good. Sebastian grinned proudly with each compliment and munched contentedly on his own cookies.
When they’d eaten their fill, they disposed of their empty plates, and Martha made a quick dash up to her room with her teddy bear. When Martha returned a few minutes later, the group went over to the area where the relay races would be held. As Reggie, Clarice, and Susie were not participating on a team, they found a comfortable spot on a nearby bench from which they could observe the proceedings. Clarice reminded Emma of a queen, regally presiding over a jousting match held in her honor. Reggie, however, reminded Emma more of a court jester than a king. Susie would have made a perfect lady-in-waiting. Emma was rewarded with a laugh when she shared her thoughts with Martha.
Soon they were joined by Phil and Tom, the other two members of their six-man team. By one o’clock, everyone had eaten, and all of the teams were assembled on the front lawn. The booths had all been removed during lunch to make room for the relays and the bonfire that would be lit later that evening. Dean Harwood, dressed casually in jeans and a sweatshirt, was in charge of leading the relay races. The first race was going to be a three-legged race. Each team would send three pairs down to the designated oak tree and back. The first team to get their last pair across the finish line would be declared the winner. Although the winning teams would not receive any prizes, their names would be displayed on the bulletin board in the main hall until the races were held again next year. Bragging rights for a whole year were almost as powerful a motivator as an Olympic medal.
The Secret of Dinswood Page 11