Summer According to Humphrey by Betty G. Birney Page B

him. “Noah, you can see how dangerous it can be for a pet to be out of his cage.”
    “He was in his hamster ball,” he said. “But I bet he wishes he could have just kept going.”
    “That’s not for you to decide,” Ms. Mac said firmly.
    “Right!” I agreed.
    In a few seconds, I was safe and secure in my cage. I was glad to be back. And when I rested up, I’d tell Og what happened.
    For the moment, I crawled into my sleeping hut for a nice doze. In the background, Ms. Mac was talking about how everybody—even she—was responsible for what had happened.
    When I closed my eyes, all I could see was Goldenrod’s face. As I drifted off to sleep, the words “I won’t forget you, Humphrey” repeated over and over in my mind.
    NOTE TO SELF: Even a creature who is a lot like you can have very different opinions!

14
    Problems, Problems and More Problems
    T hat night, the Chickadees had me back again. The boys were annoyed because the girls had hosted me more than they had. But I had to admit, lately the girls’ cabins were just a little neater than the boys’.
    While the girls were doing well in winning me for sleepovers, the boys—particularly the Bobwhites—were ahead in everything else. Everywhere I went, I heard kids buzzing about the activities outside of the Nature Center.
    “Sam hit a home run, bases loaded—he’s awesome!” I heard Garth say that morning.
    Later, I heard that Sam broke the camp record for swimming laps. And that he’d scored the highest number of points in the volleyball game.
    Wow, it was true. Sam really was super, which made Garth and the other Bobwhites unsqueakably happy.
    Still, the Chickadees were far from giving up. Instead of chatting and relaxing before bed the way most of the campers did, Abby had the girls study their trail skills right there in the cabin.
    I have to say, Abby sure wasn’t lazy. She’d made a big chart showing the signs they’d have to read out on the trail. The counselors would mark the trail, and to score points, the campers would have to follow the markings correctly and reach the end. Whichever group made the best time won.
    It was actually quite interesting. There were arrows and warning signs and even left and right turn signs, all made out of rocks, sticks and leaves. I secretly thought that I would be good at following a trail like that.
    The Chickadees seemed tired from a day of swimming-canoeing-hiking-volleyball, but they tried hard to pay attention. Even so, could anyone beat Super-Sam?
    Just before lights-out, I overheard Abby take Sayeh aside.
    “Listen,” she said. “Listen.”
    I was sure Sayeh was listening, but Abby wanted to make her point.
    “I saw you hanging out with Miranda in arts and crafts. If you spill the beans about any of our plans, you’ll be betraying the Chickadees and all the work we’ve put in. Are you with us?” she asked.
    “Of course,” Sayeh said. “But that doesn’t mean I’m not Miranda’s friend.”
    “Fine,” Abby added. “But right now, being a Chickadee comes first.”

    “Did you hear that, Humphrey?” Sayeh asked me the next morning as she took me back to the rec room. “Abby would probably even be mad at me for talking to you.”
    “I’m sorry, Sayeh,” I answered. “I’d never tell a soul.”
    Sayeh sighed a huge sigh. “I am not a tattler,” she said.
    “Of course not,” I agreed.
    “I’d love to be Miranda’s canoeing partner. I’d love to practice volleyball with her.” Sayeh looked very sad. Which made me feel VERY-VERY-VERY sad indeed.
    But I had more than Sayeh on my mind because I’d just seen Brad come into the Nature Center. In the past, Brad looked down at his feet most of the time. But today, he was looking at people. He wasn’t exactly smiling, but he acted more like he was part of the group.
    Gail came in a little later and luckily took the seat next to his, although she didn’t seem to notice he was there.
    I was staring at the two of them and didn’t