Read Online The Adventures of Jack and Billy Joe by A. Jeff Tisdale - Free Book Online Page A

was an evil glare. When the light turned red, Jack moved on but Lige’s eyes followed him until the bike procession was out of sight.
    Outside of town, Jack started to pick up the pace a little at a time. For a while, all the riders were able to keep up, but when they hit the slow rolling hills outside of town, some started to drop back. Jack knew that Mr. Jackson couldn’t pump his pedals fast enough or long enough to catch him to slow him down.
    The bicycle ride to Leaf River was something that Jack and Billy Joe had done many times. They both could go twice as fast as the other riders with little strain.
    “Mr. Jackson’s gonna chew you out when he gets here,” Billy Joe warned Jack.
    “I don’t think he will.” Jack smiled. “What’s he gonna say, ‘You pumped too fast for me to keep up’? Not that marine. He’ll never admit that I put him under any kinda strain.”
    Jack and Billy Joe arrived at the scout camp on Leaf River with the next nearest bicycler not in sight.
    The main structure of the camp was a very well-built shelter with a roof and open sides on three walls and a very large fireplace in the end wall. The roof was held up by twelve-inch-by-twelve-inch wooden rough sawn posts firmly implanted in a concrete floor. There were six large plank tables with seats built onto their sides placed around the big room. No trees that didn’t actually stand where a building was to be placed were cut. The camp was very well built.
    The lumber had been donated and specially cut by the Jones Lumber Company. All nails and other hardware were donated by Will Smith’s Hardware Store. The county road supervisor, who was also a building contractor, supervised the county road gang—prisoners—in building the camp.
    Within forty-five minutes, the first bicyclers started to come in but it was a full two hours before Mr. Jackson appeared. Mr. Ward kidded him a little but not too much.
    “You did a good job in the lead, Jack,” Mr. Jackson said. “I didn’t think you could keep up that pace. Sometime you and I will have to go on a bike trip, just the two of us. Riding behind the other boys, I couldn’t go any faster than the slowest ones.”
    “Yes, sir,” Jack said.
    “Okay, boys,” Mr. Ward said, “pick out your sleeping place and pile your gear there. I want you all outside and not under the shelter to sleep unless it rains. Let’s build a big bonfire in the center of the opening where there are no trees. To do that, we can dig a fire pit and clean off the ground of all plants, leaves and twigs for fifteen feet all the way around it. There will be details of boys to take care of all our chores. The water truck will come out every day to fill the water tank but we still need to conserve water. Bathing and washing will be done in the river. The tank water is only for drinking. Any questions?”
    “Yes, sir,” one boy said, holding up his hand. “How do we know what detail we are on?”
    “I’m gonna sit down at this table”—he pointed toward one of the tables under the shelter—“and you’ll form a line. As it is your turn, I will assign you to a detail. Whatever that detail is, you will be stuck with it for that day. Each day, I will post a new detail list beside the fireplace in the shelter. Each of you will check it each morning and be on that detail for that day.”
    “What are the details?” another boy asked.
    “The fire pit detail I have already mentioned,” Mr. Ward said. “We have the firewood detail, the generator detail, the police-up detail and the lifeguard detail. The duties of each one will also be posted with the detail list. Each detail should elect a captain who will be in charge.” He paused, looked around the boys and asked, “Any other questions?”
    There were none, so he took his place at the table to make the list and the boys lined up.
    “Let’s go to the river,” Jack said after they had both signed up and were on the generator detail. “We’ve got an hour