Page:Bedford-Jones--Boy Scouts of the Air at Cape Peril.djvu/257

 was a baby and kept on calling him that till he was about seven, and then they christened him Alonzo. Wouldn't that jar you? So when Cat tries any monkey business on me, I just buzz 'Buttercup' in his ear, and he shuts up like a clam. 'Course I'm not going to squeal on him, but it don't hurt to have some ammunition handy to make your friends behave, does it?"

"You're sure right," laughed Turner. "Buttercup! If that ain't a rich one! Butternut, I'll say. It sure is one rich handle to a modest mug. Don't worry, I'll keep it tight."

He went off chuckling to himself, and, for the next week every time Cat's face rose in his mind and he thought of the endearing name, he chuckled again.

A few minutes later when Cat and Legs came bounding down the stairway swinging their knapsacks, they found Jimmy still engaged with the paper.

"All ready for the home run," shouted Cat, grabbing at the writer's collar. "Come on, Jimmy! Eh, what you doing there? Writing a letter to the shark's grandma to tell her about her grandson's funeral?"