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  OTHER YEARLING BOOKS YOU WILL ENJOY:

  A GIFT FOR TÍA ROSA, Karen T. Taha

  A GRAIN OF RICE, Helena Clare Pittman

  MOLLY’S PILGRIM, Barbara Cohen

  MAKE A WISH, MOLLY, Barbara Cohen

  WRITE UP A STORM WITH THE POLK STREET SCHOOL, Patricia Reilly Giff

  COUNT YOUR MONEY WITH THE POLK STREET SCHOOL, Patricia Reilly Giff

  THE POSTCARD PEST, Patricia Reilly Giff

  TURKEY TROUBLE, Patricia Reilly Giff

  SHOW TIME AT THE POLK STREET SCHOOL, Patricia Reilly Giff

  LOOK OUT, WASHINGTON, D.C.!, Patricia Reilly Giff

  NEXT STOP, NEW YORK CITY!, Patricia Reilly Giff

  LET’S GO, PHILADELPHIA!, Patricia Reilly Giff

  OH BOY, BOSTON!, Patricia Reilly Giff

  Published by

  Bantam Doubleday Dell Books for Young Readers

  a division of

  Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc.

  1540 Broadway

  New York, New York 10036

  Text copyright © 1998 by Judy Delton

  Illustrations copyright © 1998 by Alan Tiegreen

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law.

  The trademarks Yearling® and Dell® are registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and in other countries.

  Visit us on the Web! www.bdd.com

  Educators and librarians, visit the BDD Teacher’s Resource Center at www.bdd.com/teachers

  eISBN: 978-0-307-80007-7

  v3.1

  For Kim French, who dedicates so much to the Pee Wees

  Contents

  Cover

  Other Yearling Books You Will Enjoy

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  1 Geronimo!

  2 Emergency!

  3 Heroes and Hospitals

  4 A New Badge

  5 Signs and Signals

  6 Molly’s Favorite Fast Recipe

  7 Roger’s Return

  8 Scrambled Eggs

  9 Ready, Set, Ride!

  10 Roger to the Rescue

  CHAPTER 1

  Geronimo!

  “Hey, get out of the way, you guys! I’m coming down that slide backward!” yelled Roger White. He and some of the other Pee Wee Scouts were playing in the park.

  “Not on your bike, you’re not!” shouted Rachel Meyers.

  But Roger was hauling his bike up the steps of the slide, dragging and banging it all the way.

  “Is he crazy?” asked Molly Duff. “This is even dumber than the stuff he usually does!”

  Mary Beth Kelly groaned. She was Molly’s best friend. All of the thirteen Pee Wee Scouts were friends. At least most of the time. And of course not always with Roger. They were in second grade, and every Tuesday afternoon after school they met in Mrs. Peters’s basement for their Scout meeting. They told about their good deeds and played games and had treats. They earned new badges by learning something new or doing something good for others.

  “Mrs. Peters should see him,” said Mary Beth. “He’d be kicked out of Scouts for good!”

  “I feel like going over to her house and getting her!” said Patty Baker, who had a twin brother in Scouts named Kenny. “She should see this for herself. She doesn’t know how crazy Roger really is!”

  But no one wanted to leave. They wanted to see what Roger would do. No one ever had ridden a bike down the slide—backward or forward. Was it possible? It would take someone like Roger to find out.

  Roger turned the bike around at the top of the slide. Then he climbed onto the seat, holding on to the handrails on the slide at the same time.

  “Geronimo!” he shouted. “Here I go!”

  But he didn’t let go of the handrails.

  “Scaredy-cat!” called Tim Noon. “I dare you! I double-dare you!”

  “Roger,” said Ashley Baker, who was the twins’ cousin from California and a temporary Scout when she was visiting them. “Listen to me! Come down from there this minute. You’re going to break all your bones, and your bike is going to be smashed to pieces!”

  Roger looked at his bike. He did not seem worried about his bones.

  “Sometimes it’s braver to back down than it is to go ahead,” Ashley went on.

  But Roger didn’t like the sound of the words back down. The only way he would back down would be on his bike, down the slide. Tim and Sonny Stone (whose mother was the assistant Scout leader) were calling him names like “yellow” and “baby,” so he let go of one handrail.

  “I’m warning you!” said Ashley. “You’ll be sorry!”

  That was the last straw for Roger. It sounded like something his teacher would say. Or his parents. So Roger let go of the other handrail. Everyone screamed as Roger’s bike, with Roger on it, plummeted backward down the slide and over the edge. Roger fell to the ground with a crash. Clouds of dust and dirt rose up around him. His bike was dented. Roger didn’t move. Nothing moved. The Pee Wees stared.

  “He’s dead!” yelled Sonny. “Roger’s dead!”

  Even Rachel, who was usually very calm, looked shocked.

  Molly wondered what to do. They shouldn’t just stand around in an emergency! They were trained to be helpers. If Jody George and Kevin Moe were here, she thought, they would know what to do. They were smarter than the others and always did the right thing.

  What if Roger is dead? Molly thought. No Pee Wee had ever died before. Would they have to wear black clothes and go to his funeral? Would people cry? Roger’s father certainly would. Roger had no mother. If he had one, she would probably cry too.

  Well, someone had to do something. Who would it be? Finally Kenny walked up to what was left of Roger and his bike. Kenny bent over and gave Roger a kick. “Get up! We know you’re just kidding. You’re not really dead.”

  But Roger didn’t move. “I don’t think he’s breathing!” said Kenny, who looked scared now.

  Rachel walked over and joined him. She bent down and lifted a handlebar.

  “He’s bleeding!” she screamed. “Call 911!”

  CHAPTER 2

  Emergency!

  “Get someone!” shouted Rachel. “Hurry! Call 911!”

  Molly grabbed Mary Beth and the two girls ran out of the park to the first house they saw. They pounded on the door and shouted, “Emergency!” to the woman who opened it. “Call 911,” they said. “Our … friend isn’t breathing!”

  The woman looked out into the park and saw the crowd gathered around Roger. She dialed the number. “They’re sending someone right away,” she said.

  The woman ran back to the park with the girls. She brought a blanket and laid it over Roger and his bike. “It’s best not to move anything,” she said.

  Before long, everyone could hear sirens.

  “You know,” said Mary Beth thoughtfully, “if Roger isn’t dead, he still might be in the hospital a long time. He’d miss our Pee Wee meetings.”

  Molly thought of Pee Wee Scouts without Roger. No fighting. No throwing food. No smart remarks and insults. It would be easy not to miss Roger.

  The sirens got closer. A fire engine, a police car, and an ambulance pulled up. Two policemen jumped out, followed by two women with a stretcher.

  “They don’t need that fire engine,” said Sonny. “Roger’s dead, he’s not on fire!”

  “I’m a paramedic,” said one of the women. “Clear the way!” Everyone stepped back, and the emergency team gathered around Roger. They pulled medical-looking things out of their first-aid box.

  T
he medic shook her head.

  “Uh-oh,” said Ashley. “That doesn’t look good.”

  “It could just mean she thinks Roger was really dumb to go down the slide on his bike,” said Patty.

  Soon Roger was on the stretcher and being wheeled into the ambulance.

  “Don’t worry about your friend,” said a policeman to the Pee Wees. “They’ll take good care of him. You can help us by answering a few questions.”

  The police asked for Roger’s name and address. Then they said, “Did someone push him over the edge?”

  The Pee Wees told them the whole story. Rachel added, “Sometimes I’d like to push him over the edge, but I’d never really do it.”

  After the police had left, Ashley said, “They were trying to see whether we murdered Roger. They must think his accident looks suspicious.”

  “They don’t know we’re Pee Wee Scouts,” said Mary Beth. “Scouts don’t hurt anyone. They help people.”

  “If we had murdered him we wouldn’t call 911,” said Tracy.

  “We might,” said Kenny. “I saw a mystery on TV where the murderer called the police so they wouldn’t think it was him.”

  The Pee Wees didn’t know what to do. This was a brand-new experience for them. It wasn’t one they could get a badge for, but it was new just the same. And Mrs. Peters wasn’t even there.

  Molly thought it was strangely quiet in the park without Roger. The Pee Wees just stood around looking at his dented bike. Molly felt a little bit shaky, the way she had when she was in the Pee Wee talent show.

  After a few minutes of silence, Tim said, “Well, I have to go home.”

  Slowly the others left as well. What else can we do? thought Molly.

  “I think we should tell Mrs. Peters,” said Mary Beth on the way home.

  “And Roger’s dad,” said Ashley. “His dad should know he’s … hurt.”

  “The police will tell him,” said Kenny.

  “Mrs. Peters might get too excited,” said Molly. “She might blame us for not stopping him. I’m going to tell my mom when I get home, and she can call Mrs. Peters.”

  Everyone agreed that was a good idea.

  “There you are!” said Mrs. Duff when Molly came in the door. “Your dad and I were beginning to wonder where you’d run off to. I told him you were probably just in the park having fun with your friends. Wash up for supper now, it’s time to eat.”

  Molly went into the bathroom and washed her hands and face. She would save the bad news until later. It would ruin a perfectly good supper to report a dead Pee Wee.

  At the table, Molly’s dad ruffled her hair. Then he gave her a hug and said, “So what were you doing this afternoon—looking for trouble around town?”

  Molly’s dad liked to kid, but this time he was a little too close to the truth. Molly felt horrible. She couldn’t keep quiet about Roger’s accident any longer. She’d have to ruin the dinner, even though there were mashed potatoes and gravy. She loved mashed potatoes and gravy.

  “Roger might be dead,” she said. She was surprised to find tears running down her face.

  Molly’s parents stared at her. Her father’s fork stopped in midair, and her mother held on, without moving, to the plate of pork chops she was passing. It’s like a game of Statue Maker, thought Molly.

  “He rode his bike down the slide in the park and went over the edge and crashed to the ground and there was some blood on him and he wasn’t moving,” Molly said in one big breath. “We called 911 and they took him away on a stretcher in an ambulance.”

  “Oh my,” said Mrs. Duff, looking white. She set down the pork chops. Molly knew the food was getting cold, but she didn’t care. She felt too sad to be hungry. Emergencies took a lot of energy.

  “I’m sure he’s okay,” said Molly’s dad.

  “He didn’t move and his eyes were closed,” said Molly.

  Mr. Duff stood up and walked toward the phone.

  “Why don’t you go to your room, Molly, while I make a few phone calls.”

  Just as Molly started upstairs, the phone rang. It was for Molly.

  “He’s okay,” said Rachel in a disgusted voice. “He’s just got a minor concussion. He’s in the hospital.”

  “Oh. Thanks for letting me know,” said Molly. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Molly felt relieved to hear the news. No matter how she felt about Roger, he was a Pee Wee Scout. He had done a dumb thing, but he didn’t deserve to die for it.

  “Roger isn’t dead,” reported Molly to her parents. “He has a concussion.”

  “Thank goodness,” said Mr. Duff. “I think I’ll give his dad a call and see if there’s anything we can do to help.”

  “Well, that is good news,” said Molly’s mother. “Let’s finish our dinner while your dad gets the details.”

  Molly was glad to do that. Now that Roger was going to live, she could stop worrying. She put a large helping of potatoes and gravy on her plate, and two pork chops.

  When her dad had finished his phone calls, he came to the table and said, “Well, it seems we have some heroes on our hands! The Pee Wees’ fast thinking and calling 911 saved Roger’s life.”

  CHAPTER 3

  Heroes and Hospitals

  The next day Mrs. Peters held an emergency Pee Wee meeting, even though it was only Monday.

  “You can’t imagine how pleased I was to find out that two of our own Pee Wees reacted promptly yesterday and saved Roger’s life.”

  Rachel rolled her eyes at Molly.

  “That’s what being a Scout is all about: helping others,” Mrs. Peters added. “And this was a life-or-death situation. I’m very proud. The police said if they hadn’t been called so fast, Roger could have died.”

  Molly and Mary Beth turned bright red. The other Pee Wees clapped.

  “Rachel thought of calling 911,” said Molly. The Pee Wees clapped some more.

  Mrs. Peters held up the morning paper. The headline said, “Scouts save local boy’s life.” The story that followed told how the two girls had run for help, and how the police and paramedics had come just in time.

  “Hey, they should get a great big badge for saving my best friend’s life,” said Sonny. “Or maybe a medal.”

  “Saving his life is reward enough, I’m sure,” said Mrs. Peters.

  “As you all know,” she went on, “Roger is in the hospital recovering from his accident. I thought we should all go and visit him. The doctor says he can have company for a short time.”

  “Mrs. Peters,” said Ashley, “Roger’s accident wasn’t exactly an accident. He was fooling around with his bike on the slide.”

  Rachel and Molly and Mary Beth all nodded.

  “My mom said he brought it on himself,” said Mary Beth.

  Mrs. Peters frowned. “Yes, I heard about that,” she said. “And that’s why tomorrow I’m going to tell you about our new badge. It’s a badge that we all need to earn, and one that could save everyone’s life. But right now it’s time to go and cheer up Roger.”

  Mrs. Peters brought the van, and the Pee Wees piled in. When they got to the hospital they took the elevator to the third floor.

  “It smells like medicine,” said Sonny, holding his nose.

  They did not have to look for Roger’s room. They could hear him from all the way down the hall.

  “I don’t want soup!” Roger was shouting. “I want ice cream! The doctor told me I could have ice cream!”

  A nurse came out of his room carrying a bowl of soup. She looked worn out. Her hair was all messed up and she was not smiling.

  “I guess Roger hasn’t changed any, even though he almost died,” said Rachel.

  “I thought he’d be nice now,” said Mary Beth. “He should be grateful not to be dead.”

  When they went into Roger’s room, Roger was acting far from dead. He was jumping up and down on the bed, demanding ice cream. He did not look happy to see the Pee Wees. He just yelled, “Hey you guys, what did you bring me?”

&nb
sp; Mrs. Peters looked as if she would like to yell at Roger. But all she said was “You’d better lie down and cover up. You could fall again, and this time you might not be so lucky.”

  The frazzled nurse returned with some ice cream in a dish.

  Roger looked at it and shouted, “I want chocolate sauce on it!”

  “If I was that nurse I’d throw it at him,” said Mary Beth.

  “She’d lose her job if she did that,” said Tracy. “Nurses have to be nice to their patients.”

  When the nurse came back with the chocolate sauce, Roger screamed, “I want some nuts on it! Get me some nuts!”

  This time Mrs. Peters walked up to Roger and talked to him in a low, stern voice. The Pee Wees heard her say the words rude and unmannerly. Roger frowned and ate the ice cream. He made loud smacking noises with his lips.

  Mrs. Peters stepped out into the hall to talk to the nurse. Roger said, “Hey, Stone, press that button on the end of the bed!”

  Sonny, who was glad to see his best friend again, pressed the button. The bed flew up on one end and down on the other. Sonny pressed it again, and the other end went up. All the boys wanted a turn pushing the button. All except Jody, who usually stayed clear of trouble. Besides, he couldn’t reach the button from his wheelchair.

  “Roger should be in jail instead of in the hospital,” said Lisa.

  “He’s having so much fun, it’s like he gets rewarded for doing dumb stuff,” said Kevin.

  “Mrs. Peters was wrong about us having to cheer Roger up,” said Lisa.

  “He’s not even glad to see us,” said Mary Beth. “And he didn’t thank us for saving his life.”

  “I wouldn’t be glad to see us either,” said Ashley, “if I’d made such a fool of myself.”

  “Hey, Roger,” said Jody. “You know what? In China, if someone saves your life you have to return the favor by taking care of them. If you were Chinese, you’d have to wait on Molly and Mary Beth all your life.”

  “Hey, I saw a movie about that on TV!” said Tim.

  The boys started teasing Roger about waiting on Molly and Mary Beth.