Howdy Doody

The Geppetto Project

Chapters 31-32

Chapter Thirty One

Afternoon General Swim saw the lake brimming with campers. With almost 10 dozen boats in the camps flotilla from canoe's to sailboats and rowboats, none were idle. Even the cove was stripped bare of boats by the other campers as the mafia held court on Turtle Rock daring other cabins to try to dislodge them from their perch on the massive boulder.

To an outsider, the scene could only be construed as a camp full of eight to 13 year old campers somewhere in a Swiss, German, or Croatian children's nudist camp. No where in America would you find a few hundred boys and girls in their Birthday suits more concerned with tacking to the wind, winning a canoe race, or jumping a greater distance on a ski jump, when their fellow campers were as naked as they were. Oblivious to their "Shame", as far as the outside world would have seen it, these campers were merely spending one more hot summer afternoon in their North Carolina home of Camp Green Tree.

"Hey Uncle Adam, you guys said you would come out and swim with us!" Sammy called out from Turtle Rock amid a chorus of "Yeah!" from the rest of the three dozen or so kid's that made up the three cabin group nicknamed the "Mafia" by the rest of their fellow campers and staff for their penchant for sticking together as a group. Adam sat on the porch of his cabin, "Beachview" with several other staff members and a very special visitor from the Institute.

Smiling and shaking his head a little, Adam stood up to address the hoard who was fully ready to pounce on him.

"My recollection is that the only one who mentioned he would join you was Doctor Lester. He did that because he foolishly assumed he was being invited out there to swim, not to get mauled by you heathen's the minute he approached the rock!" Adam told the boys. A discernible amount of giggling now drifted back from the rock.

"You're familiar with "King of the Mountain" Doctor?" Adam asked Dr. Lester quietly.

"Yes," the man replied.

"Well, unless we make the ground rules ahead of time, you go anywhere near that rock and you'll have ten kids on your back in a heartbeat," Adam replied.

"Come on Uncle Adam, we won't do nothin!" Michael said.

"Right! And how many of you are standing there with your fingers crossed in back of you?" Adam asked. Another wave of giggles crossed the lake.

"Declare the rock a Free Zone and maybe we'll come out!" Adam declared.

"OK" Sammy shouted back.

"OK my ass! Declare it!" Etienne replied.

"Free Zone!" a chorus of voices called out.

"Sneaky little bastards, they tried to pull one over on us." Etienne said as he dropped his shorts to the porch.

"Come on Greg,

if I'm getting wet, so are you." As both Junior Counselor's now walked into the water, Adam picked up the clothing on the porch they had abandoned and threw it inside.

"There's no telling how long Bert and Sid will be gone Dr. Lester, this may be the only chance until after dinner to get some swimming in," Adam said as he too got naked.

"Well I guess that's only fair since I was the one who opened my big mouth in the first place!" The Doctor said.

"Hey Uncle Adam, bring us something to drink when you come out!" Carla now called out from the rock.

"There are no boats!" Adam called back as the Doctor began shedding his clothing.

"So what! The coolers float don't they?" Jeannie replied. Now muttering to himself, Adam filled an ice chest with jugs of ice tea, lemonade and bug juice. Along with cups and beer, Adam filled the rest of the chest with ice as Bert pulled up in his golf cart.

"Did you find Jeanette? Adam asked the Camp Director.

"Yes, she was up at the pool. Sid's cart is at the Infirmary, so he must have Anthony in there with him," Bert said as he looked out on the lake scene.

"You coming in?" Adam asked. Bert shook his head.

"If Sid comes back, this might be a good time to talk to Anthony without a crowd around," he replied. Adam nodded his head. Anthony's problem was but one in a camp with almost 600 people in it, but regardless, camp life had to continue and the camps routine was never stopped for an individual unless something was very seriously wrong.

"I could make myself much more useful in the Music Room, but I guess you would rather have me out on the rock?" Kevin now asked Adam.

"12 of those little monsters are yours. If you think you're going to go hide in that Music Room while we get our asses kicked in, think again Rasputin," Adam told the Senior Counselor.

With a man on each end, the Ice Chest was floated out to the rock and placed on one of the three diving boards. Adam sat down next to Kevin and the Doctor as a never ending chorus of "Watch this" echoed in their ears. Walking over with a cup of bug juice in both hands, Christopher unceremoniously and unannounced sat down in Adam's lap.

"He's with you Uncle Adam, you watch him!" Jill said as she swam towards a raft in the middle of the cove.

"Me thinks you just got dumped on!" Kevin said to his Director. Adam shook his head and kissed the top of Christopher's head as the boy was downing the drink in one long gulp. With a burp, the boy handed Adam his cup and snuggled himself into Adam's chest. Adam found that a little unusual, the hyperactive boy rarely sat still while he was awake.

"He sick?" Kevin asked. Adam felt the boys forehead.

"Seems cool," Adam replied. Kevin shrugged his shoulders.

"Must be your magnetic personality," he told his boss as Adam chuckled a bit.

As the afternoon drew on, Bert waited for Sid to return from the Infirmary with Anthony. The Junior Counselor's emotional breakdown less than a half hour earlier ended, at least for the staff, the happy camp atmosphere that usually permeated the Director's day. He would have much preferred to be out on the rock with his ward Christopher and the rest of the campers, but things didn't always go his way. Retreating into the cabin, Bert made himself a Gin and Tonic as two Cocker Spaniels watched him intently looking for a possible snack. Finding two pieces of sliced ham in the refrigerator,

he led the dogs outside on the front porch as they danced around his feet. As the Director sat down and watched the meat disappearing, Sid pulled up in his cart.

"I'm sorry for behaving so badly in front of Doctor Lester Uncle Bert. I didn't mean to ." The Junior Counselor said as he mounted the steps.

"I'm sure Doctor Lester has heard the word "Bullshit" before Anthony. Would you like to sit down and talk with Uncle Sid and me?" Bert asked.

"I've given Anthony some homework to do first Bert. Maybe we can both sit down with you tomorrow after breakfast and have some Talk Time?" Sid now asked his Director.

"Absolutely!" Bert responded taking the hint from his Assistant Director.

"Where's Spencer?" Anthony now asked. Pointing, Bert showed the Junior Counselor a group of boys with snorkels and masks who were diving for fresh water shrimp.

"Do you want to join them?" Sid asked.

"Not unless you want me to, I'd rather lay down for awhile if it's all right." Anthony replied.

"Want company?" Sid asked his ward.

"That's OK Uncle Sid, I just want to rest." Anthony replied.

Even at 50 years old, Sid was a large man, just over six feet [1.80 m] and probably 225 pounds [102 kg] with no flab attached. If there were 10 men lined up in a bar, Sid would probably be one of the last of the group someone would decide to harass or tease. Sid was as large as a bear, and as gentle as a lamb, it really depended upon the circumstances. Now taking Anthony's face in his very large hands, He kissed the 20 year old boy on his forehead.

"This problem will be solved together, there's nobody in this entire camp that doesn't love you very much," he told Anthony.

"I know Uncle Sid." Anthony replied.

Sid's drink of choice 95% of the time was beer. He was a moderate drinker, and usually drank every day. He very rarely got drunk, and when he did, he was what you could call a "happy drunk". Sometimes when problems arose, he'd switch drinks and his drink of choice was then Scotch. Sid now sat down with a water glass full of Scotch on the Rocks.

Bert ignored the switch, but didn't fail to take notice.

"Homework?" Bert asked. Sid nodded.

"He's been telling us ever since he was five years old that he's gay," Sid told his boss.

"It's gone on for so long, even we've been telling ourselves he's gay. Do you know that he's never been to bed with one adult in this camp for the past five years? That's a very strange way for a gay man to demonstrate his homosexuality wouldn't you say?" Sid asked.

"You're sure?" Bert asked.

"He's not just protecting someone?" Sid shook his head.

"I never really questioned it before; I always considered it none of my fucking business. A man tells you he's gay; you don't go out and count his condom supply!" Sid said in his usual blunt manner.

"So what changed?" Bert asked.

"I just started thinking. If Anthony's gay and attracted to men, how come I'm not getting a rap on my door.?" Sid said.

"Haven't you assumed all these years that Anthony and I have been in the sack?" Sid asked his boss.

"I wasn't looking for it, but it wouldn't have surprised me," Bert replied.

"You assumed it was likely though didn't you?" Sid pressed.

"Yes, along with John or Dave," Bert replied. Sid shook his head.

"Nobody's been with him since he was 13. I specifically asked all of them," Sid replied.

"But he is sleeping with Spencer," Bert replied.

"Sure, but that don't make him a homosexual now does it?" Sid replied.

"No, certainly not," Bert said.

"And the homework?" Bert asked.

"I asked him to ask himself if he's attracted to men as strongly as he's attracted to boys. I think his history has already given us the answer, now a little light bulb needs to go off in his own head," Sid said.

"Lets put this on hold for now. Return to Quarters is about to blow and the kids will be returning. Me, you, Doctor Lester, Adam, and Jeanette after Taps at my place," Bert said.

With Gavin on one hip and Benji on the other, Dr. Lester left the water and put both boys down on the beach.

"Time for showers and to prepare for dinner. Is there something special you boys have planned for this evening?" The Doctor asked.

"Tonight is the snipe hunt Poppy, the other kids and us are going to find hundred's of snipes in the woods!" Gavin said excitedly.

"Snipe? What's a snipe?" The Doctor asked.

"It's a little furry animal like a fox that only walks around at night in the woods. The other kid's say that if we're lucky, we might get some!" Benji said.

"Sounds fascinating, I'm looking forward to seeing these animals." The Doctor said looking at Adam.

"You mean to tell me after all these years, they haven't outlawed snipe hunts by now?" The Doctor asked Adam as the two men walked up to the cabin with the twins already bounding up the stairs. Adam smiled as he shifted Christopher to his other shoulder.

"They not only haven't banned it, they've brought it to a whole new level. Every boy here from four to 14 believes in snipes. But that's not surprising, they believe in Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and the Great Pumpkin too!" Adam told the visitor.

"Santa?" Christopher now said as his head lifted of Adam's shoulder.

"Not yet Christopher, next month!" Adam told the boy as his head went back down. Doctor Lester smiled.

"What's the matter?" Bert asked as Adam mounted the stairs.

"Nothing. I think he's just running out of gas," Adam replied as he handed Christopher over to Bert. Bert took the boy and sat down as he looked at his face and felt his forehead.

"Christopher never runs out of gas. Something's wrong," Bert declared with a concerned look on his face. Adam looked at Sid who shrugged his shoulders.

"Where's Thomas?" Bert now asked.

"Last time I saw him was at Dave's meeting," Adam replied.

"Locate him. Tell him to meet me in the Infirmary," Bert replied as he stood up and called for Jill and Claire.

"It's probably nothing, but you know Bert," Sid said as he finished his drink. Like Bert,

Adam took notice of the drink Sid was now putting down.

"How's Anthony?" Adam asked.

"He's OK, he's laying down in his room unless Spencer's got him up already," Sid replied.

"Bert's called a meeting and wants you at his place after Taps Adam. Doctor Lester, he's asked for you to be there too," Sid said. Both men nodded.

"The kid's are very excited. They're looking forward to tonight's hunt," Adam now told Sid.

"What hunt?" Sid asked deep in thought.

"The snipe hunt Sid, you told them they could go on a snipe hunt tonight," Adam replied. Sid now shook his head.

"Fuck!, I need that like I need a hole in the head!" He said.

"Is Anthony in crisis?" Adam asked.

"No. He has a lot on his mind, but he's got himself under control," Sid replied.

"Then maybe it would be better to push him into the thick of the hunt. It'll take his mind off things for a few hours," Adam suggested.

"Why not postpone tonight's activities if it's not a good time?" Doctor Lester suggested. Sid shook his head.

"It can't be postponed. Snipe hunting season only lasts one night a year and the kids all know that tonight's the night," Sid replied.

"Guess who told them that!" Adam said to the Doctor. Sid smiled a bit which was a good sign as far as Adam was concerned.

"Well, so much for Chivas!" Sid said as he stood up and picked up his empty glass.

Bert arrived at the Infirmary with Martha on duty.

"Where's Thomas?" He asked as he walked in carrying Christopher.

"He's on his way down from the pool. Did he have an accident?" Martha asked as she took the boy and sat him down on an examining table.

"Not that we know of, he's just very quiet," Bert replied as both Jill and Claire stood by Christopher. Taking Christopher's temperature by ear, Martha began taking off Christopher's Life Preserver as she laid the boy down flat. Under normal circumstances,

that act would have taken several people to hold him down. Now, he merely laid there looking around curiously.

"That's a first!" Martha said as she watched the boy. Bert nodded his head.

With the arrival of Thomas and David, a full blown physical examination ensued for the next 15 minutes or so as first Helen and then Stephanie arrived.

"What's he been eating?"

Thomas finally asked as he inspected the boys mouth. Jill and Claire looked at each other. Since the girls had shadowed the boy all day, they would have known better than anyone.

"Since Breakfast?" Jill asked.

"Let's just go back until after lunch for now," Thomas replied.

"Banana's, apples, pears, celery, carrots, green peppers, orange juice, apple juice, pineapple juice, bug juice, lemonade, ice tea, raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, and an acorn we think." The girls ticked off on their fingers. Helen smiled a bit, but said nothing.

"So these purple gums and teeth come from the berries?" Thomas asked.

"I guess so, the bug juice was Tropical Mix." Claire reported.

"Where did the berries come from?" Thomas asked.

"We went on a nature hike this afternoon, Christopher picked them up along the way." Jill replied.

"Anybody else with you?" Bert asked.

"No, we just decided to take a walk and give Christopher some exercise." The girl said.

"Where?" Thomas asked. "On the Green Trail in front of Aunt Johanna's cabin." Jill said.

"Let's err on the safe side Martha, get some Ipecac." Thomas instructed the girl.

"Let's get hold of Dave. I think he's ingested some tainted berries. Find out if he sprayed the Green Trail, with what and when." Thomas instructed.

"I want the bottles of anything he sprayed brought here stat!" The Doctor ordered.

"Did either of you girls eat any berries?" Thomas asked. Both girls shook their heads.

"There were no little flags or signs anywhere mentioning spraying?" Bert now asked.

"No Uncle Bert." Both girls said in unison.

Getting Christopher to swallow a tablespoon full of Ipecac was a piece of cake. Getting him to swallow the second took a little more doing; three adults worth of doing. With Stephanie now bringing in towels and empty bowls, Thomas waited the very short period it would take to empty Christopher's stomach of the days catch.

"You think he's been poisoned?" Helen asked.

"Either that, or he's just got a pretty good stomach ache. Either way, we'll know once we get his stomach empty and I send a sample to the lab. Where's that helicopter the Doctor rode in on?" Thomas asked Bert. Bert shook his head.

"I'm not sure, I'll find out," Bert replied.

"If he's been poisoned, is it serious?" Bert asked.

"Depends on what it was he ingested. I can't imagine Dave would spray anything really toxic around," Thomas replied as the girls now got extremely uptight.

"Are you girls sure there were no signs or flags around anywhere?" Thomas asked again. Neither girl answered as they both now broke down crying.

As many people had learned more than a year earlier when Spencer was hurt on the mini-cycle that Anthony had purchased for him as a Christmas present, Thomas had little, if any, time for holding hands and presenting a positive bed-side manner in the midst of a medical situation. He wanted facts and information, not people falling apart around him.

"Girls! Nobody is blaming you for this. What we need to do now is to fix the situation and you can't help me fix it if you fall apart on me! If I thought Christopher were in any danger, I wouldn't be sitting around here waiting for him to barf up his snack, I'd be pumping his stomach. Falling apart does nothing but waste time, knock it off!" He ordered. "If he was in danger, I'd see it in his eyes, in his gums and in his tongue. I'm sitting here waiting for answers, not cutting him open so keep calm and help me or have your Aunt take you home," he told the girls.

"There were no warnings." Jill said as she wiped her tears away.

"Good, now you're being helpful." Thomas told the girl as he turned his attention back to Christopher.

"I gave him some medicine. In a very short time, he's going to be throwing up. Just because he's throwing up, it means nothing. If you can't hold yourselves together, now's the time to leave." The girls said nothing as Helen wrapped an arm around each one.

Instructing Stephanie to take three vials of blood and Martha to get two bottles of Pedialite from the refrigerator, Thomas waited for the inevitable as Christopher chewed on some ice chips. With a pale look on Christopher's face of "What's up?" his afternoon snack, half of lunch and a whole acorn appeared in three bowls like a fruit salad gone very wrong.

Dave came into the Infirmary with several of his crew along with the herbicides used to spray.

"We sprayed the borders of the Green Trail three days ago." Dave said as he handed Thomas the bottles of poison.

"What about warnings?" Bert asked.

"We put down warning flags Uncle Bert, we always do whenever we spray an area." a Senior boy insisted.

"Somebody must have removed them, the trail is clean." Dave told his boss.

"How toxic is this stuff?" Bert asked.

"It's kept under lock and key. In its concentrated form, you'd have to swallow a good amount straight from the bottle to be in serious trouble. Once it's diluted, and especially after three days outdoors, it won't kill you." Dave replied.

"Let's see if we can't figure out what happened to those flags. We also need to go back and inspect any other area's we already sprayed to see that those flags are still there" Bert instructed his Chief Engineer.

Assembly blew with Christopher returning to his bowl of chipped ice. He was ashen faced and a little confused, but hearing the bugle and knowing what it meant, he was now looking forward to dinner.

"Whoa tiger! We'll have Chef John bring you some nice food." Thomas told the boy as he struggled to get off the examining table.

Thomas sent all the sample's necessary to the FEMA Depot.

"We'll know from poison control at Duke in a few hours, but he's not showing any severe signs of poisoning, so he's probably not in any danger." Thomas told the assembled.

"Can he go back to the cabin?" Jill asked.

"No. He's under observation until the morning," Thomas replied.

Christopher would spend the Great Snipe Hunt of 2006 in the Infirmary with Jill and Claire where he would be fed a few quarts of mashed potato's to absorb any leftover toxic chemicals. Thomas would need to mend a few fences with both girls, but for now, he left the thoughts from both girls of being an unfeeling prick intact.

For the mafia, the end of General Swim was just one more period gone by in a very busy day. They were completely oblivious to the situation with Anthony or Christopher; they only knew that it was now time to romp, then go to Dinner and later that night, go on the annual Great Snipe Hunt. But first things first!

"Just how many do we have upstairs?" Adam asked as he returned from calling Thomas to the Infirmary.

"I'm guessing two dozen. six went to Coquina with Greg and around six left for Bay Watch with Etienne," Sid replied.

"The twins are upstairs?" Adam asked.

"Oh yeah! They were escorted in by Carla and Jeannie. If I had to guess, I'd say the boys are about to be inducted into the mafia," Sid replied.

"Inducted?" Doctor Lester asked.

"The fewer details you know Doctor Lester, the better you'll sleep tonight," Adam replied. Sid nodded.

As most grown men know, "Boys will be boys." Very few grow up without first joining a club, a gang, a pac, a troop, a fraternity. All have either secret handshake's, code words, special signs, certain rituals, recognition signals and sometimes even wear the same clothing. Geppetto boys (And girls) are no different.

For the Intermediate's (Those aged eight to 13), the only one true way to prove that you were "One of them" was to become a "Blood Brother". However this presented them with a small problem; they were forbidden by Bert and all staff to cut or pierce themselves. Another bodily fluid would be needed, and at their age, most were still shooting blanks. It narrowed the field down considerably.

"You all done this before?" Gavin asked as he stood on the toilet top.

"Sure! That's why we're gonna do it first to you to prove it." Trevor replied.

"Suppose I run out?" He asked.

"You won't run out, ya just gotta let a little go each time." Joey told him.

"Just pinch it shut!" Sammy advised the twin. Drinking down the last of three glasses of water, both twins now looked slightly pregnant, and more than slightly full. The dastardly deed took about 10 minutes, for Gavin and about the same for Benji.

With half the process over, it was now time to recharge the twins' bladder's which took a little less time. The only roadblock was a small one; the lack of a penis on Carla and Jeannie. After a small anatomy class, the problem was resolved and the mafia was now back up to full strength. Standing straight and tall at Flagpole next to Doctor Lester, both boys looked extremely proud to be the newest members of the mafia. Adam hoped they all did a thorough job at brushing their teeth, especially Sammy.

Since Bert was absent in the Mess Hall, the duty of Administrator in Charge fell to Sid.

The campers all knew who was in charge by who sat in Bert's chair. The head table was now a great deal smaller, with Bert, Helen and all four of the girls now at the Infirmary with Christopher for the night.

"What's going on?" Dan now wanted to know as he looked around the Mess Hall.

"We're not sure yet. Bert took Christopher to the Infirmary about an hour ago, we're still waiting to find out what's going on," Adam told the Waterfront Director.

"Somethings up, a mother of a helicopter was landing at the Depot when I was coming off the hill," Dan reported.

"Bert's gone, Helen's, gone, Thomas is gone, Stephanie, Martha and Dave," Dan said as he looked around.

"Did he fall or something?" Dan asked.

"No, he was just a little too quiet and Bert thinks something's wrong," Dan shook his head.

"Let's hope he doesn't skin his knee or fall off his bike," Dan replied.

With a tap on his shoulder, a Senior boy handed Adam a note.

"From Uncle Sid," the boy told Adam. Reading the note, he passed it to Dan who then passed it on to all staff at the mafia's tables. Once the Senior boy left for the next table, Adam spoke first.

"Who can tell me why Uncle Dave is putting up those little red flags in the woods?" Adam asked.

"Cus he's sprayin poison on the leaves to get rid of the ticks and the poison Ivy!" Michael replied.

"And what are we supposed to do about those flags?" Adam asked.

"Leave em alone!" Sammy replied. Adam nodded.

"Has anybody in the mafia taken any of those flags?" Adam asked the boys. To a chorus of "No" and a great deal of shaking heads, Adam looked at Dan.

"It's extremely important to leave those flags alone and to stay away from them if you see them," Adam told his boys To a chorus of "Yes Uncle Adam" the counselor went back to eating.

"How soon before the shit hit's the fan?" Adam asked.

"My guess would be breakfast," Dan replied.

Once hearing from Bert who was staying in the Infirmary, Sid distributed his note and waited for the Senior boy to return. Towards the end of the meal Sid stood on his chair and folded his arms which automatically signaled quiet in the Dining Hall.

"There has been an accident, and until you are told by your counselor that it is OK, no one will eat any berries or fruit from outside. That includes the apples and the pears and the peaches.

Uncle Dave and his crew are spraying the woods, and nothing from the woods is safe to eat until he tells us it is OK. Uncle Dave also says that the little flags he puts down in the ground are being removed. These flags are not to be touched for any reason. If you have any of those flags, give them to your counselor before bedtime and they will be returned to Uncle Dave." Now stepping down, Sid began circulating among the tables. By desert, he made his way to the mafia.

"Heard anything more?" Adam asked Sid.

"The chopper is on it's way to Duke with some samples, but Christopher is already climbing walls for dinner so he can't be too bad off," Sid replied.

"How's Bert taking it?" Dan asked.

"Reasonably. A couple of cabins from Camp Kenny decided the flags were nice collectable items and made a game out of seeing who could gather the most. Bert's not going to chew the ass off of four to seven year olds," Sid replied.

"This is more of a mistake on our parts for not monitoring the flags once they were put down," he said.

"Oh, so we get blamed?" Dan asked.

"What's new?" Sid replied. "What about tonight's meeting?" Adam now asked Sid.

"It's on," Sid replied.

Following Evening Boating, the Camp Kenny children returned to their campus to prepare for bed. On the lower campus, the activity was just beginning as the boys began assembling at the flagpole with pillow cases, flashlights and canteens slung across their chest's. The Great Snipe Hunt of 2006 was about to get underway.

"What's a snipe?" the twins now wanted to know.

"It's a little furry brown animal that only comes out at night and they are endangered, so you can only hunt them one night a year," Jesse told them.

"Jesse caught one last year. Didn't you Jesse?" Sammy asked his friend. Jesse nodded his head quite proudly.

"What did you do with it?" Benji asked.

"You can keep them for a day, but you have to let them go back into the woods the next night, or they don't make new snipe for the next year." Trevor replied.

"Jesse caught one last year?" Doctor Lester now asked Adam as the two men listened to the boys as they waited for Sid to arrive and the hunt to begin.

"Yes, he was one of only two boys in the mafia who did. They're really very rare," Adam replied with a straight face.

"And what do the North Carolina snipe look like?" The Doctor asked.

"They have a very strong resemblance to a hamster I think," Adam replied as a group of boys listened.

"Did you ever catch one Poppy?" Bruce now asked the Doctor.

"No, but I think a good friend of mine did back at camp when I was a little boy." He responded. With the boys now moving off back to their friends to relate this latest news, Adam and Dr. Lester looked at each other.

"Gentlemen, as you know, hunting season lasts for one hour. If you're going to be successful, you need to keep your pillow cases close to the ground and as wide open as you can. It's really important to keep your flashlight pointed towards the back of your pillow case and keep watching for a snipe to ran into it. Once he does, you have to close the pillow case up and carefully return to the flagpole to verify a successful hunt," Sid told the assembled campers.

"They're only attracted to the light if they hear their name being called, so it's really important to keep calling "Here snipe, here snipe, here snipe."

That will get their attention," Sid said.

"It wouldn't hurt to practice," he told the boys as he sat down on the table.

"Doesn't it make you feel like a heel?" Dan asked Sid as about 150 boys crawled around on the lawn.

"Fuck no! Our counselors did it to us didn't they?" Sid replied as he drank his beer.

"So how is the success of this hunt assured?" Doctor Lester asked.

"The boys know that snipe are extremely rare. I think if they caught 20 it would be considered a good hunt. Besides, that was all they had in Asheville!" Sid replied. Along with the rest of the staff, Doctor Lester chuckled.

"It seems to me that we never caught any," Sid nodded.

"That wouldn't work with our boys, year after year of coming up dry might not keep their enthusiasm up," Sid said.

"Well Jesse's certainly keeping the ball rolling." Doctor Lester replied.

"That's because Jesse still thinks he caught a snipe. He won't know any different until next year," Sid said with a grin. Doctor Lester now looked at Adam.

"Devious, ain't we?" Adam said.

Along with Santa, the Easter Bunny and The Great Pumpkin, snipe were a part of camp lore through a boy's 14th year. Even if a very clever 12, 13 or 14 year old thought differently, he had to keep his thoughts to himself or lose the respect of his Uncle Sid. There were years a person had to be grown up and live in a grown up world, to take a child's fantasies away from him risked estrangement from Sid. That was something very few boys were willing to do.

Twelve senior boys aged 15 to 16 now had the honor of carrying on camp tradition and toss an unsuspecting and very surprised hamster into a pillow case when nobody was looking. By 9:00 the last lucky boy came triumphantly out of the woods with his sack held tightly closed as the bugler blew Return to Quarters which also signaled the end of hunting season.

In the mafia, Chris, Bruce, and Billy each caught a snipe, with Sammy and the rest of the boys dragging their pillow cases behind them.

"There's always next year guys, remember; snipe hunting takes experience," Sid told the boys after every years hunt. Naturally, the boys automatically accepted this reasoning, didn't the oldest boys, those aged 12 or 13 usually catch the snipe every year?

Of the 20 snipes caught this season, 16 went to the oldest boys, after years and years of trying.

"Persistence pays off!" Sid reminded them as the looked at the nights catch in one of Chef John's cooking pots. After putting each snipe in its own cage, the boys now followed the proud successful hunter in a cluster back to their cabins.

Opting to stop at the Infirmary before proceeding to the cove, Adam and Doctor Lester rode alone as the boys escorted the mafia's catch of the day back to the cabins.

"How are the winners chosen?" Dr. Lester now asked Adam.

"Usually by size, the biggest boys are unlikely to get a turn next year, so they get first dibs. I don't know why Sid chose to give the younger boys a snipe, Chris and Billy still have a few years of hunting before they're too old," Adam told the Doctor. Doctor Lester shook his head.

"Once they get older and realize they've been had, don't they get a little angry?" The Doctor asked.

"I asked the same question of Sid two years ago. He asked me if I got pissed off at my parents for telling me the story of Santa Claus," Adam told the man.

"Good point." The Doctor replied.

First stopping at Bert's office to grab a bottle of Gin and some Tonic water, Adam pulled up to the Infirmary with Sid's cart already there.

"I'm beginning to think you guys think I'm an alcoholic. That's the third bottle somebody dropped off!" Bert said as Adam walked in the door.

"I guess we just didn't want you to get lonely," Sid replied with a grin.

"How's Christopher?" Adam now asked.

"Sound asleep. He'll be checked by Thomas and Martha every half hour for any signs of trouble, but Thomas doesn't expect to see any problems," Bert replied.

"I'm sleeping here with Helen and the girls. I want a meeting of the Safety Committee first thing after breakfast Sid. Make sure they're all notified at breakfast," Bert ordered.

Sid remained behind with Bert as Adam and Doctor Lester returned to the cove.

"It's going to be an interesting day around here tomorrow Doctor, probably a real good time for you to take the twins out fishing or on a nice long hike," Adam suggested.

"People seem to be steeling themselves for something. Is that my imagination?" The Doctor replied. Adam chuckled as he shook his head.

"No, that's not your imagination, you have excellent intuition," Adam said.

"Whenever there's an accident or some kind of incident, Bert turns the place upside down with inspections, meetings and instituting corrective measures to prevent a recurrence. Life won't be normal around here for a few days," Adam said.

Once evening showers were out of the way, a gathering began on the bedroom porch with all the kid's from Beachview, the Cocker Spaniels and Chris's snipe. Adam now sat with Anthony on the back porch brushing out Carla and Jeannie's hair as the two girls watched the snipe like two hawks watching a mouse. While the meeting with Bert that evening had nothing to do with Christopher, it was now a very convenient cover for Adam. Anthony was already paranoid that people were secretly looking for ways to separate him and Spencer as it was, with Christopher now in the Infirmary, Anthony assumed the meeting was about him and not Spencer. Adam really didn't feel the need to correct Anthony's thinking.

"Uncle Bert is already calling for a Safety meeting tomorrow morning. I don't expect the meeting tonight to be too long Anthony, I should be back right around 10:00" Adam told the Junior Counselor.

"Are we all going to be in trouble?" Anthony asked.

"No, I don't think so. Your Uncle Bert knows that it was the Camp Kenny campers who pulled the flags, so he's not likely to blow his stack at them. If it were our kid's, it would be a completely different story," Adam told him. Anthony nodded his head.

Taps came way before any of the children wanted it to. Reluctantly, Chris put his snipe back in its cage and placed it on the table. At about the time Doctor Lester returned from Coquina after tucking the twins into bed, Adam was ready to leave. This was now the 3rd night the Doctor was present and to the boys, he was now one more staff member as far as they were concerned. After receiving a good night kiss from Anthony and Adam, Matty started the ball rolling by going over to Doctor Lester and Giving the psychiatrist a hug and kiss. Carla was last on the list as the girl was picked up by the doctor and wrapped her arms around the man's neck.

"Good night Uncle Poppy," she said as she kissed the man.

"It would appear that you've been accepted Doctor Lester," Adam said to the man as the two rode to Bert's for the meeting. Doctor Lester smiled.

"I've always enjoyed visiting the boys at The New Hampshire School, but those boys are a bit older and the setting is a lot more formal than it is here at Green Tree." The Doctor told Adam.

"Sort of like visiting Choate?" Adam asked.

"Precisely! You've been there?" Dr. Lester now asked.

"Class of 1998," Adam replied. Dr. Lester nodded his head and smiled.

"Andover, but I'm not telling you the year, it dates me," he replied. Adam now giggled.

"It's been a very interesting three days for me, I've known the names, read the files and even made some recommendations, but putting live bodies to words in a file is a whole different matter. I've known Anthony now for 15 years; he's nothing like I envisioned him." The Dr. said.

"For that matter, Green Tree is nothing I had envisioned it was. I actually envy these boys and girls for having the staff that they do. Except for Geppetto, Green Tree is probably as close to a school that was operating in England in the 1960s called Summerhill.

The Owner and Director was a man who was way ahead of his time when it came to raising children. I believe the time will come one day when he'll be recognized for his brilliance, but that time won't come until we rid ourselves of hundred's of years of indoctrination of shame, guilt, and ignorance concerning human sexuality," he said.

Adam had never heard of Summerhill, but he couldn't agree more.

"The one thing that surprises me is Carla's choosing to remain clothed while everyone around her, including her best friend, has opted to go naked." Doctor Lester said as the two men wound their way up towards the Infirmary.

"She must have a very strong sense of modesty." he concluded. Adam deeply smiled.

"Carla doesn't have a modest bone in her body. She's only wearing underpants because she's menstruating. Once her period ends, she won't see another pair of pants covering her body unless she has to!" Adam told the Doctor.

"How silly of me!" Dr. Lester noted.

"According to the lab at Duke, they found some trace amounts of clorpyrifos in Christopher's blood screening. We've already taken the necessary actions to cleanse his system of any toxins and he's in no danger," Thomas reported to the group.

"Poison Control at Duke was a little surprised we had spotted the problem so quickly, they told me that a normal parent wouldn't have seen any noticeable difference in their child with this amount ingested. Usually by the time a parent notices something, the child is in very serious trouble." The Doctor said. Those attending now looked at Bert.

"I know what you're all thinking and you're all full of shit! You all know very well that Christopher sits still for nobody unless there's something very wrong; it has nothing to do with me babying him," Bert told the assembled. Doctor Lester now watched in amusement as Bert's staff ribbed him unmercifully.

"So where did this stuff come from?" Jeanette asked once the group settled back down.

"Dave says it came from a tick spray called Dursban that he used. It can be some nasty ass shit in concentrated form, but not even the Senior boys handle it that way. Dave mixes all the sprays himself," Sid reported. "We'll deal with the spraying tomorrow at the Safety Meeting, we need to figure out where we're headed with Anthony and Spencer," Bert now said.

"As far as Anthony is concerned, I think we created the problem ourselves to a very large degree," Sid began as he sat down with a beer.

"He told us as a child he was gay, and we all boarded the train. If he's gay, he's the fist gay celibate in town," Sid said.

"Sid and I have discussed this, we suggest that we talk to Anthony tomorrow morning, and that we have Doctor Lester speak with him as well," Bert said.

"And what about Spencer?" Jeanette now asked.

"We need to back off concerning Spencer. He may end up being gay, he may not. We need to let him figure things out at his own speed," Bert said.

"In the past, we've all automatically assumed that Spencer and Anthony would be kept together. I think we need to expect Spencer to move on to senior boy life just as we would any other boy in the Intermediate camp. If Spencer wants it differently, he'll let us know," Bert said.

"How do we explain that to Anthony?" Adam asked.

"We can't keep Spencer a little boy forever any more than we can keep Kenny, or Timmy, Joshua or Sidney Bertram little forever. They'll grow up, and their Primary Caretaker's will have to watch them walked away. Anthony is Spencer's parent. He's never going to see Spencer as his adult lover any more than the girls would see their kids as their adult lovers. With our help, it's a process Anthony will have to accept. The alternative is to maintain the status quo and see Spencer devastated by Anthony's rejection of him once he's no longer a cute cuddly little boy," Bert said.

"let's move on to the subject of Spencer's scars," Bert now told the group.

"Doctor Lester is quite correct; the time for plastic surgery for Spencer is now while he's still young. Jeanette is his Primary Aunt. I recommend she approach the subject with him, and if Spencer agrees, it's approved by Thomas on Medical Grounds. That will prevent Anthony or anybody else from black balling the procedure.

"You think he would try to do that?" Jeanette asked.

"Anthony desperately loves Spencer; he's terrified we're trying to take him away from him," Sid said.

"It's going to take a ton of work to convince him otherwise," Sid concluded.

"Well that's what they pay us the big bucks for," Bert replied.

With the lake shimmering in the moonlight, Adam was in no particular hurry on the way home. Since Bert had opted to stay in the Infirmary overnight, Doctor Lester accepted Kevin's invitation to stay at Coquina and wake up with the twins. Now riding with Adam, the Doctor watched the scenery go by.

"The peace and calm tranquility of this place belies the activity just under the surface. For the boys, catching a snipe, winning a baseball game or riding a certain horse is the most important thing in their lives. Yet right under their noses, decisions are made that could transform their lives. It's an awesome responsibility." The Doctor said.

"I didn't get the feeling that Jeanette was very concerned with Anthony," he said.

"No, that's not the case at all Doctor. When Anthony was hurt two years ago in the automobile accident, she was deeply upset by it. But as Spencer's Primary Aunt, her full allegiance goes to Spencer and what's right for him. Whether it's Anthony or anybody else, Spencer comes first and that's how the system is supposed to work," Adam told the Doctor.

"Jeanette is Spencer's advocate, God help the dummy who would harm him or hold him back." "And who speaks for Anthony?" The Doctor asked.

"Anthony is far from defenseless, his Primary Uncle is Sid," Adam replied.

"Interesting concept." Doctor Lester replied.

"It leaves none of the boys voiceless; somebody's always looking out for them," Adam said.

"And what about the girls, Carla and Jeannie? Are you their Primary Uncle?" Dr. Lester asked.

"No, I can't be their Primary Uncle, they live with me. Their Primary Aunt or Uncle has to be someone they don't live with on a daily basis. That way, if a problem comes up, there's no conflict of interest. Beth is Carla's Primary Aunt, Martha is Jeannie's," Adam replied.

"Why don't they both have the same Primary Aunt?" Dr. Lester asked. Adam shook his head.

"Suppose a problem came up between the two girls? How would a single Aunt be able to decide the matter?" Adam asked. Dr. Lester nodded his head.

"Who developed this system?" He now asked.

"Bert and Sid in the very beginning. I'm told it was Sid's Uncle Kenny that came up with the original concept, those two just refined it," Adam replied.

"Who are the twins' Primary Uncle's?" The Dr. Asked.

"They don't have one yet. Usually the child himself decides who's going to represent them and it could be an Uncle, but it's probably going to be an Aunt like most of the boys have."

Adam replied.

"Most of the Intermediate boys were raised by the Green Tree girls, they're more like their Mother's than their real Mother's are." Adam said.

"Now that the Pine Ridge girls are here, we'll probably be seeing a whole lot of the Camp Kenny children taking them as their Primary Aunts." He concluded.

Dropping off the Doctor at Coquina, Adam returned to Beachview in the quiet of the night. After looking in on his brood who were by now fast asleep, Adam picked up a comforter in his room and sat down on the front porch of the cabin. Adam looked out on the cove and the lake beyond which had a mirror smooth surface. The only thing lacking for the man would have been Sammy sleeping peacefully across his lap, and as Adam snuggled into the comforter, he knew full well why Anthony was fighting so hard to hold onto Spencer for as long as he possibly could. At 10 year's of age, Adam had another three years or so to be with Sammy and the last thing Adam wanted to even think about was Sammy's 13th Birthday, but he also knew it was inevitable.

On a typical morning, Adam awoke to the sound of Reveille being blown. Having fallen asleep on the front porch listening to owls hooting, he was now rudely awakened by the splatter of rain drops falling on his face.

"Figure's" Adam grumbled to himself as he got out of the chair still wrapped in his comforter and walked into the cabin. Grabbing a bottle of water out of the refrigerator, Adam stumbled up the winding staircase only to be greeted by Spencer's Cocker Spaniel's at the top. With tails wagging, the two dogs followed Adam into the bathroom and dutifully watched as Adam went to the bathroom.

Going into his room, Adam took an inventory of his bed. Three bodies and one gigantic wet stain greeted him as he lifted the covers. Reaching for another comforter, Adam slid Jeannie next to Carla and settled down in not only a dry, but a very warm spot on the end of the bed as both dogs now rooted around the bed for their own little spot to curl up in. With the rain now coming down off the window shutters at a pretty good pace, Adam looked forward to finishing his night's sleep in cozy comfort.

Reveille blew just before Adam fell back to sleep.

"Whatch doin down here Uncle Adam?" Jeannie asked as she slid down and now pulled herself on top of Adam's chest.

"Oh, just trying to keep my underwear dry," Adam replied as he moved Jeannie's hair out of the girls face. Jeannie now giggled as she gave Adam an extended good morning kiss and laid her head back down on his chest.

"let's see, it's not your Birthday until March, Christmas is still five months away, I didn't hear anything being broken in the cabin and you already own most of the jewelry Marshall Fields carry's, so what was the purpose of that kiss?" Adam asked the girl. Jeannie again giggled.

"You're silly Uncle Adam. I just gave you a kiss to tell you I love you, that's all." The 11 year old replied.

"Rosalie says when you really like a boy, you give them long kisses. If you really like them and you want to do it with them, you stick your tongue in their mouth," she said.

"And who exactly is this "Rosalie?" Adam asked the girl.

"She's a big girl in Aunt Jane's cabin. She teaches all of us how to get a boy to fuck you." Jeannie replied.

"I wasn't aware that that was a particular problem around here," Adam said. Jeannie again giggled.

"Not the boys here silly, the boys on the outside when we leave here," Jeannie replied. Adam shook his head.

"Sweetheart, boys are boys are boys. There's very little difference between them. The only thing different about Geppetto boys is their ability to make love to a girl more often than other boys. You don't need any lesson's on getting a boy to make love to you, they'll line up around the block once you're ready to let them," Adam told her. Jeannie again giggled.

"And me too?" Carla now asked as she turned over "Yes, and you too!" Adam replied.

With Sammy now beginning his regular morning stretch, Carla and Jeannie were ready to hit the showers as the noise level from the bathroom told Adam that the greater majority of the cabin was now up and awake. As Jeannie scooted off the bed, Carla reached over and gave Adam his good morning kiss. With a small slap on her ass from Adam, Carla broke the kiss as she giggled her way off the bed.

"You're supposed to open your teeth Uncle Adam." Carla said.

"Never mind, little girls French kiss little boys, not grown men!" Adam replied. As both girls exited giggling followed by the dogs.

"Guess I'll have a little talk with Aunt Jane," Adam said to himself as he slipped in next to Sammy and drew the boy against him as Sammy yawned deeply.

"Did Uncle Bert call off school today?" Sammy asked sleepily as he turned around and climbed up onto Adam's chest.

"Not that I'm aware of. Why, are you afraid of getting wet?" Adam asked as he cupped two very cold and clammy buns in his hands to warm them up. Sammy now giggled as he settled himself down and waited for the message that was sure to follow.

"No fair Uncle Adam. We ain't had a day off from school in a long time!" Sammy told his teacher.

"Well, look on the bright side pookey, your English is improving," Adam replied as he patted Sammy's ass.

"Geez Uncle Adam, you're worser than Uncle Leo!" Sammy said. Adam smiled as he began massaging Sammy's back which guaranteed to freeze the boy in place.

"I'm not sure that's possible my little rabbit. I'm thinking of switching my class from Math to English to give Uncle Leo a hand. I think he need's the help, don't you?" Adam asked the boy.

"No!" Sammy replied as he raised his head off Adam's shoulder and looked the man in the face. Adam again smiled as he kissed Sammy's nose.

"Just a thought I had Sammy, but it's always a possibility," Sammy laid his head back down "You're just foolin with us Uncle Adam, you ain't gonna be our English teacher!" Sammy said. Adam patted Sammy's buttocks once more which had warmed up considerably. The day had begun once again, but first, Sammy had a need that would not be denied and Adam felt the need from Sammy that was already rising on his abdomen.

Christopher's day began close to an hour earlier. Through the night the boy had been checked every half hour for any signs of poisoning from eating the tainted berries. Bert agreed to lay down for a nap by midnight, and by 4:00 he was back up for the day. Now relieving Martha, Bert monitored the boy. During the 6:00 inspection, Christopher awake ready to eat. After being given the Ipecac to make the boy regurgitate, and an enema to clean out his intestine's, his diet until he fell asleep was plain mashed potato's and pedialite. Fortunately for all involved, Christopher would eat just about anything, but after almost two quarts of mashed potato's he had had enough. Now, it was a new day, and after a four diaper night, he was ready to eat and he was ready to drink.

"Rink! Rink Burd." Christopher said and signed as Bert changed him out of diaper number four.

"I've ordered in food for him, keep him on juices and milk for the day, keep him off meats and anything greasy," Thomas said.

"Well take another blood sample and send it to Duke, but I don't think we have a problem anymore," he told Bert.

After putting a very serious dent in a quart of pineapple juice, Christopher sat down to a large bowl of Oatmeal, a small mountain of pancakes and four soft boiled eggs. With a very big hug, and a very healthy burp, Christopher said goodbye to Martha, as he waddled out of the Infirmary with a belly back to its usual bulge. He would spend a very quiet day playing in his cabin with Helen and the four girls who took turns watching over him. For Bert, it would be a very busy day, and he was already emotionally drained by the event.

While Christopher's poisoning was accidental, it almost mirrored the suicidal poisoning death of his own 12 year old son Robby some 18 years earlier. This event hit Bert very close to home, and Sid knew it.

As the Father of three now grown children, Doctor Lester was well versed in children's antics, but the 12 boys of Coquina were a tad spicier than his children, or his Grandchildren for that matter. Before Reveille blew, the Good Doctor awake to something furry between his legs somewhere near his knee's and headed for his groin.

Doctor Lester usually awoke slow and deliberately, taking about two minutes or so to finally throw off the covers and slip into his slippers that sat alongside his bed at home. This morning, he shot out of bed like a cannon.

"Wow Poppy, you sure are funny!" Gavin said to the man as ten naked little urchin's stood at the foot of his bed laughing and giggling. Doctor Lester looked at the bed that now had the "Snipe" rooting around on the sheet. His first inclination was to strangle the nearest snipe. Successfully suppressing that desire took a few seconds as the giggling continued and the boys now converged on the bed.

"I'm happy to hear that I amuse you," the Doctor replied once his blood pressure subsided.

Now jumping from the bed into the Doctor's arms, Benji wrapped his arms around the man's neck and his legs around his stomach like a Rhesus monkey attached to its Mother.

"I love you Poppy!" the boy said. Except for the unmistakable smell of fresh urine, Doctor Lester had heard the exact same phrase from his own Grandchildren which was fairly impossible to ignore as the Doctor wrapped his arms around the boy cradling him in his arms and kissing him on his neck very tenderly.

"I love you too!" the Doctor replied.

Both Kevin and Greg now appeared in the room along with Michael and Bruce. As the two boys somehow managed to join the rest of the cabin on Doctor Lester's bed, Kevin suggested coffee for the Doctor and showers for the boys.

"Do snipe's swim?" Bruce now asked as he cupped his snipe in his hands. Kevin looked at Doctor Lester with a questioning look on his face. Since neither man knew the bathing habits of Hamsters, neither man knew the answer to Bruce's question as Doctor Lester shrugged his shoulder's. To play it safe, Kevin took the safest route for the animal.

"I think his mother cleans him, so let's not get him wet. OK?" Kevin asked the boy.

"OK," Bruce said as he turned and left the room with the rest of the cabin following. Patting Benji on his bottom,

Dr. Lester put the boy down on the floor and with a kiss to the forehead, sent him scampering to catch up with his new found friend's.

"They're about as addictive as cocaine!" Greg said as he left to follow the boys to the showers.

"I wonder if Gregory knows he's in the same boat?" Kevin asked the Doctor. Dr. Lester smiled.

"I've found that that boat knows no age limit," he said as the two men walked downstairs.

The Team meeting for Anthony and Spencer immediately after breakfast found Bert, Sid, Adam, Thomas, Doctor Lester and Jeanette sitting in Sid's cabin due to Christopher's presence in Bert's Cabin. As Spencer's Primary Aunt, Jeanette requested and received the teams approval to talk with Spencer to get his approval to commence Plastic Surgery. If Spencer agreed, Doctor Lester, Thomas and Jeanette would then explain the procedure to Spencer later that morning.

Concerning Anthony, Sid and Bert would have talk time with him, and if he agreed, with Doctor Lester.

"There isn't going to be any light bulbs going off in Anthony's head, we need some time," Sid told the Team.

"Unless Spencer objects, We hold him back in The Intermediates, until next Spring. If he insists on going, he can do that, but he cannot bring Anthony along with him, he'll have to choose," Sid recommended.

"I'm not sure Anthony's ready to accept that at all!" Adam told the group.

"I don't think that will come to pass because I don't think Spencer's ready to give Anthony up. But if he doe's, Spencer's needs trump Anthony's and he goes," Bert replied. Adam shook his head.

"If we rip Spencer away from him, he's going to end up with bracelet's on. He's not psychologically ready to give up Spencer!" Adam replied.

"Right now, I don't disagree with you, but we have another six weeks before the question even comes up. We've also got a staff of the very best manipulators on the planet! If we're worth a damn, we can keep Anthony in one piece!" Sid replied.

"I also had a good long talk with Barry last night who's no slouch when it comes to this stuff. He suggested we intensify Anthony's school load and get him into Early Childhood Education. Barry suggests we make Anthony a pre-school teacher and freeze him in place," Sid said.

"We don't have a pre-school program in Camp Kenny," Jeanette said.

"So what's to stop us from making one?" Sid replied.

"That exposes some very young children." Doctor Lester said.

"Anthony's not dominate, he's submissive. He has been all his life," Sid replied.

"Have you ever feared for Kenny around Anthony?" Sid asked Jeanette.

"No. I've never considered him a sexual threat, but he hasn't lived in Camp Kenny either. The girls have always raised Camp Kenny boys and there was always a taboo in place until they reached the Intermediate boys campus. If Anthony is living with us, doesn't that give him license?" Jeanette asked. Sid nodded.

"We're giving him license to Mother the boys. Remember, he's submissive," Sid said.

"The I.S.P. could always be written for Anthony with certain restrictions restraining his behavior with the boys," Bert concluded.

"Depending upon the wording in the I.S.P., I'd agree to it," Jeanette replied. The meeting broke up with Jeanette heading to Spencer's class to pick him up for "Talk Time", while Bert and Sid headed for Beachview where Anthony waited for their meeting.

Spencer didn't have a clue why he was taken out of class, but he had no objections whatsoever, especially once Jeanette allowed Spencer to drive them up to the stable and take out a horse. Jeanette opted to take out Maria, the huge Belgian mare, who never went anywhere without her colt Baron following dutifully alongside its mother hoping for a quick drink. With classes in progress, no one was on the trail to Lookout Point, and that was a favorite spot for a quiet talk. With her arms now wrapped around Spencer as the two went though the woods on top of the horse that needed no bridle and no direction to find her way. Spencer listened for a very long time to the girl who had first taken care of him eight years earlier when he first came to Green Tree with still fresh cigarette burns on his back, legs and buttocks. Deep welts from razor straps stood out scarlet red from the beatings he had endured in a children's home from the females who ran the place, and Spencer had neither forgotten nor forgiven women for his pain and suffering. The lone exceptions were the girls of Green Tree, specifically Gloria, Sarah, Martha, Johanna and most especially, Jeanette. It took close to two years, but eventually the boy would learn to trust a female and even allowed them to both nurse and touch him.

Bringing up the subject of the scars was Jeanette's first hurdle, more than a few boys had learned the hard way to ignore them as Spencer himself did. Spencer's initial reaction once the topic became clear was to stiffen his body up. He was laid back on Jeanette and relaxed in the very beginning, but once it became clear that the scarring was going to be talked about, his body was ridged and he sat up creating distance between himself and the girl.

"There comes a point in time Spencer when the door of opportunity is closed. You still have two or three year's before your skin losses a lot of its elasticity, but once you reach your late teens the likelihood that the surgeon's can erase all traces of the scarring drastically reduces. Older people just don't heal as well as children," she said.

"I don't care." Spencer replied.

"Yes, you do care, if you didn't care, you would have the surgery because it would be no big deal. But it is a big deal because every time you see those scars, or somebody touches them, you're reminded of them.

You have the chance to erase them from your body. I love you enough Spencer to have to tell you that. I know how painful it is for you to even think about them, if they're gone, it's one more way to bury the past in the gutter where it belongs," she advised the boy.

Spencer was silent for a long time and Jeanette was smart enough to know when to talk and when to keep her mouth shut. Eventually Spencer sat back and the tension in his body relaxed. Again wrapping her arms around him, Jeanette kissed the back of Spencer's head.

"You have heard about Uncle Thomas's Brother's up in Martha's Vineyard, two of them are plastic surgeons. They would like to see you and show you what they could do for you. You don't have to say "Yes" to any surgery if you really don't want it, but I really think you owe it to yourself to at least hear what they have to say and then you could make a decision that is at least based on some knowledge and not on fear," she said.

"I ain't afraid!" Spencer replied defensively.

"Then do it for me because I love you very much Spencer," she replied as she again kissed his head.

"You've heard David talk so much about Martha's Vineyard, if nothing else, it's a plane ride in a jet and a Holiday on the ocean," she told him.

"Would you go?" Spencer asked.

"If that's the only way you would agree to go, then yes, I would go with you," Jeanette replied.

"When?" Spencer asked.

"David leaves with Uncle Thomas next week. We could go up with them," she said.

"And Anthony?" Spencer asked.

"If necessary," Jeanette replied.

"There's another thing I'd like to talk to you about Spencer. Uncle Sid and Uncle Bert think it would e a good idea if you moved to the Senior boys compound in the Spring, not this Fall. What do you think about that?" She asked.

"How come?" Spencer asked.

"Because it gives you a little more time to get ready, like Jesse did, and because Anthony needs to spend a lot more time on his schooling. Education is a lot like your skin; a person learns better and quicker when his brain is still young. Adults don't do as well as children and teenagers when it comes to classroom learning," she said.

"Anthony has lost a lot of valuable time in the past two years, and he's running out of time too," she said.

"He's not going back to Boston!" Spencer declared.

"No, but he is going to be spending a great deal of time studying. Uncle Bert wants him to be a teacher, and he's going to be teaching the Camp Kenny children," Jeanette told the boy.

"But they don't go to school!" Spencer replied.

"They didn't in the past, but the six and seven year olds are going to be going to pre-school now," she said.

"How come?" Spencer asked.

"Uncle Bert wants them to get a jump-start on their education," she replied.

"I'm glad I didn't have to go to school when I was in Camp Kenny!" Spencer said. Jeanette smiled as she once again kissed Spencer.

"So you'll speak to Uncle Thomas's Brother's?" She asked as she hugged the boy. Spencer nodded his head.

"But I don't gotta do nothin if I don't want to!" He replied.

"No. Except maybe to spend some more time in Uncle Leo's class," Jeanette said.

Bert and Sid arrived at Beachview as Anthony was finishing loading the laundry bags into the laundry carts. With the housekeeping staff now cleaning the Cabin, the trio opted to take a walk around the lake the long way where they were much less likely to draw a crowd. It was also better than sitting down, where Anthony would be much more prone to break down emotionally. Anthony knew the topic would be Spencer and that was always a highly emotionally charged situation where Anthony was concerned. While Sid was there to support Anthony as his Primary Uncle, Bert had to walk on eggshells to avoid a flood of tears that was never that far away from the surface.

Foregoing for the time being having Anthony answer Sid's questions of the previous day, Bert took an end run to open the dialogue. He also did a bit of lying.

"We've had some discussion concerning Camp Kenny. Doctor Lester thinks it would be a good idea for us to start pre-schooling the six and 7s to give them some basics before moving them up to the Intermediate boys. What do you think about that suggestion?" Bert asked Anthony.

"What does Jeanette think about it?" Anthony asked.

"I'm not asking Jeanette, I'm asking Anthony," Bert said "I guess it's a good idea. I'm not sure the kid's will like it so much though." Anthony replied.

"We all agree, so does Jeanette," Bert told the man.

"There are three teachers who now qualify to teach pre school, we need a fourth and the Team feels that you would make a good teacher," Bert now told him.

"Me?, I'm not a teacher!" Anthony replied.

"Not today you aren't, but with some classes in Early Childhood Education, you could be by next Spring when we want to start up the new program," Bert said.

"You would have to do some cramming, but with some tutoring by me and Adam, we think you could do it," Sid now said. Anthony shrugged his shoulders.

"If that's what you want," he replied.

"It's not a question of what we want Anthony, it also has to be something you want to do. Can you see yourself teaching six and 7s and is it something you would enjoy?" Bert asked.

"Sure, I guess so." Anthony replied. Knowing that was going to be the firmest commitment he was going to get from the 20 year old, Bert now changed direction.

"Doctor Lester also suggested that Spencer consider having the scars removed by plastic surgery. Thomas's Brother's are cracker jack surgeon's and they've agreed to evaluate him. We need you to help us to get Spencer's cooperation, he's running out of time to have the procedure done," Bert now said.

"He won't allow that Uncle Bert, he gets violent even if I bring up the subject." Anthony said.

"Then you'll have to deal with his violence or step aside and let us deal with it. He needs to make a decision, and it needs to be brought up," Bert replied.

"He knows I can black ball it, he'll make me do it!" Anthony replied now getting extremely upset.

"It's a Medical Decision Anthony, it can't be black balled by any Team member, not even me," Bert told him.

"He's going to be furious with me Uncle Bert, you don't understand how angry he can get!" Anthony said now visibly shaking.

"Anthony, he's a 13 year old boy and you're a 20 year old man. You've got to put things back in proper prospective. You do him no favors by allowing him to rule your life!"

What Bert wanted desperately to avoid now followed as Anthony broke down in tears.

"We need you to listen to Uncle Sid, Anthony. We want you to discuss this relationship with Doctor Lester. I know and Uncle Sid knows that Doctor Lester can help you, you need to sit down and tell him exactly how you feel," Bert said.

"I have to go and check on Christopher," Bert said as he motioned for Sid to take over. Walking back to his cart at Beachview, Bert didn't envy Sid, he was going to have his hands full for a good long time.

Walking back into his office, Bert was met by Christopher and Sarah's entire cabin of 6 children. With Sarah's two Senior girls and Helen's four Senior girls, Bert's office and cabin was transformed into a kiddies playland. After the obligatory hugs and kisses, Bert made his way though a maze of toys and stepped into his office.

"Poison Control called, Thomas say's that Christopher's blood is toxin free." Helen said as Bert sat down.

"What about Dave?" Bert asked.

"He's reflagging all the area's that were sprayed and having his crew check on the flags every three hours." Helen replied.

"How's Anthony?" Helen now asked.

"He's a fucking basket case. Spencer's running his life and he's allowing it to happen. I think he's encouraging it," Bert replied.

"What are you going to do?" Helen asked.

"We're trying to get him to sit down with Doctor Lester. Maybe we're too close to the situation. Maybe we need an outsider to look at this thing," Bert replied.

"The fact is, we're dealing with two children. One just happens to be 20 years old!" Bert told his girl friend. Helen nodded in agreement.

"How has Christopher's morning been?" Bert now asked.

"Fairly normal, he's been to the bathroom now three times, 1 for a bowel movement and two for a pretty hefty flood. That doesn't include the bath on the back porch!" Helen replied.

"Bath?" Bert asked.

"Apparently, Caleb and Scotty figured it was time to give Goldie a bath, and they encouraged Christopher to add his water to the effort." Helen replied with a smile.

Bert looked down at his Golden Retriever who was stretched out on an oval rug alongside Bert's desk. Obviously recently wet, Bert questioned the source of the moisture.

"The girls washed him down with the hose downstairs." Helen told a relieved Director.

As Helen retreated to the kitchen to refill the pitchers of lemonade, bug juice and ice tea, Bert picked up the phone as four year old Catherine decided that Bert's lap was a great place to grab a quick nap. Curled up in a ball, the girl stuck a thumb in her mouth as her eyes slowly closed without saying a word.

"I hope you're not calling me to tell me that the Doctor's travel plans have changed again!" Bert smiled a bit as he laid back in his chair slowly rocking.

"No Harry, he's still planning on leaving tomorrow. Is there a set schedule for the aircraft?" Bert asked the Colonel.

"No, the plane comes in from Alabama at 8:00 am. It's only carrying cargo up to this point, and there's no hurry to get it to Boston." The Colonel said.

"But it has to be in Boston tomorrow night, it leaves for San Antonio first thing in the morning," he said.

"Understood," Bert said.

"Are you finished playing tag with that Sikorsky?" The Colonel now asked.

"I think things are back to normal, unless Thomas wants more blood work done," Bert replied.

"You do understand that that aircraft costs $3,500.00 an hour to keep in the air right?" The Colonel asked. Bert shook his head.

"Is it my imagination Harry, or are you being harassed by the bean counters?" Bert asked.

"We don't have any bean counters Bert, we don't exist!" The Colonel replied.

"But some folks are wondering why the Farm Subsidy Program needs hundred's of millions of dollars when farms are disappearing from the landscape like the Spring snow." Harry replied. Bert chuckled a bit.

"It sounds like an issue of "National Security" to me," Bert said.

"We don't want to beat that tired old horse; people are beginning to think they're being bullshitted." The Colonel replied.

"The chopper's on standby in Winston-Salem, but try not to make it fly for a loaf of bread and a gallon [4 l] of milk. OK?" Harry asked.

"OK," Bert replied.

"As a Head's Up Harry, we may be adding a few passengers to next weeks flight to Martha's Vineyard," Bert advised the man.

"That jet doesn't fly into Martha's Vineyard anymore Bert. She draws too much attention." The Colonel responded.

"Understood Harry, I'm talking about the people, not the plane," Bert corrected himself.

"Who and what for?" Harry asked. "Martha's Vineyard has agreed to look into plastic surgery for one of our boys. He may be traveling there with some staff if he goes," Bert replied.

"Where would they stay?" Harry asked.

"We haven't gotten that far yet, we don't even know if the boy would agree to it yet. If he doe's, they'd stay at the Estate or we would rent a place for our people," Bert replied.

"Rent a place with a weeks notice on Martha's Vineyard in the middle of High Season? Are you guys down there smoking the funny stuff?" The Colonel asked. Bert smiled and chuckled.

"If necessary, I'm sure Matthew would put them up in New Hampshire," Bert replied.

"Why is surgery needed?" Harry asked.

"Foster care," Bert replied.

"Keep me informed." Harry said.

"One more Head's Up Harry. The Institute is probably going to recommend we re-activate Florida for a limited amount of students for Vocational Training in Culinary Arts. It's a program we really need and there's going to be a strong voice in the Institute pushing for it," Bert advised his friend.

"I'm already aware of your strong voice. He needs to be reminded that calls made on the Schools communications apparatus automatically gets routed through Alexandria," Bert nodded his head.

"Does that mean the idea is already dead?" Bert asked.

"My job is to maintain security for The Project. If it were a security issue, I'd pass it on to those who would make that decision. I don't become involved unless it's decided to re-open Florida. If they did open it, I'm sure I wouldn't have folks in North Carolina screaming at me to get them out of a hurricane's way." Harry said. Bert smiled remembering the threat of Hurricane Isabel the year before.

"We're looking at a plan to put the school in operation from January to July. They won't even be there during hurricane season," Bert replied.

"Good. So I won't have to come down there and kick your ass in!" The Colonel replied.

Doctor Lester's early morning was spent watching the twins from a distance. Still not assigned to classes, the twins, along with their senior boy chaperones had elected to go fishing along the lake. Begging some corn from the kitchen, the boys set out with bamboo poles slung over their shoulders.

The boys had awoken for the first time to the sound of Reveille. During their first week, they were wide awake before the bugler took his position. After a week of activity from sun up to sun down, they now needed every minute of the 10 hours of sleep available to them.

Like probably 20% of the boys of Green Tree, their mornings always began with them "Rocking" themselves awake. In Adam's cabin, Matty and Chris were rockers, and in Coquina, Peter and Nicky awoke by rocking themselves. It was against the rules laid down by staff to interfere with rockers, they had learned long ago that to interrupt a boy before he was fully awake made for a very moody and uncooperative child until all biological needs were met. It was not officially recognized as a form of masturbation, but the results were identical. Dr. Lester was already fully aware of the boys habits, and since they were now roomed with Peter and Nicky, none of their days began until their door opened and they were ready to face the world.

Hurricane Isabel had blown over a huge maple tree that stood by the lake in a far corner and Dave had opted to trim the tree to make it safe for both fishing and diving from rather than to cut the entire tree up, and what the twins now had was a jungle gym to climb on and fish from with the Senior boys who chaperoned them. Dr. Lester joined the boys fishing, but his main goal was to observe the boys who once again wore their Max pants as well as their swimming vests with no outward signs of objection from either boy.

It didn't take very long on the day earlier to discover that a sitting position or a discreet crossing of the legs accomplished Max's goal even faster, and a swing set that was never very far away either on the upper or the lower campus was the preferred way to enjoy Max to the fullest.

As Doctor Lester monitored the twins regarding the use of Max, Gloria was in charge of her ward, Timmy. Ideally, the four year old would not associate the use of Max with his Primary Caretaker as Dr. Lester had emphasized at the Team meeting for the boy, but nobody had explained that to Timmy as he stayed glued to Gloria during the first crucial days of Max's use. Either at the pool, or during play activities, when Max automatically went off, Timmy would find Gloria's lap and insist on being hugged as Max did its job with or without the boy's cooperation.

Both Beth and Johanna normally took their boys to morning swim at around 10:00 after they awoke from their morning nap. After changing both babies into their pool pants, Meagan took Sidney Bertram while Rachael took Joshua over to the water fountain and sat both boys down under a flowing shower of water. Within seconds, a small gaggle of toddlers joined the 9 and 10 month olds including Kenny and Timmy.

"How's it going?" Johanna asked Gloria as the three girls now sat side by side watching over the flock.

"It still startles him when it first goes off, but he seems to be getting use to it." Gloria responded somewhat sadly.

"I'm not supposed to be holding him, but he always climbs into someone's arms, even if I make myself scarce," she said to her friends.

"I watched the twins yesterday morning, they usually hop on a swing or just cross their legs when it goes off, maybe Timmy will do the same thing eventually." Beth now said.

"The problem is, Timmy depends upon somebody else to turn it off. The twins turn it off themselves, Timmy just panics." Gloria replied.

"What did Doctor Lester say about it?" Johanna asked.

"He said that Timmy would learn to turn it off himself very quickly, but he's never introduced it to a boy as young as Timmy, so how would he know?" Gloria replied.

"Why does it have to come on automatically? Why can't it be turned on manually when Timmy's ready for it?" Johanna asked. Gloria shrugged her shoulders.

"If it was Sidney,

I'd have him come to me or one of the girls and let us know he needed it turned on, and then we'd be there to show him how to turn it on and off." Johanna suggested.

"He has his rocking horse, teach him to ride the horse when he needs to go," she said. Gloria nodded.

"Where is Doctor Lester?" She now asked.

"When we came up the hill, he was with the twins headed for the lake with fishing poles." Beth replied.

"I think you're right." Gloria said as she called for Judy to bring Timmy to her.

"What are you going to do?" Johanna asked her friend.

"I'll talk to Doctor Lester. If he doesn't agree, I'll talk to Uncle Bert." Gloria replied.

"Why wouldn't he agree?" Johanna asked. Again, Gloria shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know that he won't, but you can never tell with these guys. I don't really know him, and he doesn't know Timmy. If I'm going to trust someone with Timmy, it's going to be Uncle Bert or Uncle Sid." Gloria responded.

"Then I'd suggest it to Uncle Bert first, and then go to the Doctor with Uncle Bert on your side." Johanna suggested.

Gloria thanked both girls with a kiss on the lips. For Johanna the kiss was fairly routine but for Beth, it was the first time that Gloria had kissed her, at least on the lips. Beth was well aware that the Green Tree girls were a very tight community and they took each others well-being very seriously. Between these girls, a kiss to the lips had no sexual connotations, but the emotional ties were formidable. Beth now knew; she was one of them.

Like most schedules at Green Tree, Dave's plan to begin construction on the new building went up in smoke while he had his entire crew of Senior boys map the flagged area's of the property and set a schedule of regular inspections to ensure that they stayed in place. A camp wide ban on picking or eating any fruit's or vegetables found in the woods was in effect, and the Camp Kenny campers were discouraged from playing or hiking in the woods for the time being.

"What about my horses?" Sid asked the Chief Engineer.

"They're not going to go anywhere near the berries, most of them have thorn involvement. We don't spray the grasslands or the meadows and they won't even try to eat the Ivy, sumac or poison oak. The horses are in no danger." Dave told Sid.

"Chiggers and ticks are your biggest problem; keep their lower legs wrapped in socks wetted down in peroxide." Dave suggested.

Jeanette now appeared on the path with a laundry basket full of warning flags.

"This is all we could find," she said as she passed the basket over to Dave.

"I'm going to go and see Uncle Bert, you wanna come along Uncle Sid?" The girl now asked.

"What's up?" Sid asked.

"Spencer has agreed to talk to Thomas's Brother's, I think the faster we get him there, the better," Jeanette told the Assistant Director.

"I'll follow you," Sid replied.

"We have a plane going up tomorrow, but I think it would be better if we waited until next week when Thomas and David go up. It gives Spencer a lot more support on the Vineyards," Bert suggested.

"Has he talked to Doctor Lester?" Bert asked the girl. Jeanette shook her head.

"He's made the decision to talk, is it really necessary to?" She asked.

"I guess not, Sid and I can pick his brain if need be," Bert replied.

"Anthony will want to go with him. What about Adam?" Sid now asked. Bert shook his head.

"You're gone, Thomas is gone, I imagine you're going to insist on going?" He said to Jeanette.

"Absolutely!" Jeanette responded. Bert shook his head.

"I'm already loosing three key Administrator's. I can't afford to have Adam gone too," Bert told them.

"Alexandria is already worried about security, I'll speak to Thomas about his house or a rental on the Island, but if not, they want you based out of The New Hampshire school."

Bert now told Sid and Jeanette. Sid nodded.

"What about Anthony, has he agreed to speak to Dr. Lester?" Bert asked. Sid again nodded.

"After lunch," he told his Director.

"How is he?" Bert asked.

"Confused, conflicted, somewhat depressed, but he's maintaining. I assured him nobody was scheming to remove Spencer from his care," Sid replied.

"Where is Spencer?" Bert now asked Jeanette.

"I brought him back to school, he's in music class with Kevin," she replied.

"Good. Sid, it would be very wise for you to be there when Spencer returns to the cabin," Bert told him. Sid nodded.

"Let's get the both of them back into a routine; I don't want to be sitting on pins and needles for the next week with either of them," Bert told his staff.

"You'll be leaving Kenny back here at school when you go with Spencer to Massachusetts's?" Bert asked Jeanette.

"Get fucked Uncle Bert!" Jeanette replied as the screen door slammed shut.

"That's what I like, full staff cooperation," Bert said as he picked up the phone.

Adam's morning at school went fairly routinely. He had three classes to teach and Math wasn't the favorite subject of the boys. The girls seemed to take to it a little better, but he had only a dozen girls out of 60 students assigned to him. Long before the girls arrived, Adam had developed a curriculum based more on money and every day math reality rather than rote learning. A banking system complete with real money and interest calculation taught the boys money management, while hands on construction and planning taught the boys everything from fractions to algebra without the dreaded word being mentioned.

Classes were 45 minutes long with a 15 minute break in between for those boys who felt the need to relieve stress, and as Adam sat at his desk helping Carla with a calculation,

the mafia's English teacher appeared in the doorway.

"I hear you're thinking about changing your vocation and becoming an English teacher." The teacher said.

"Well Leo, somebody around here has to teach these kid's proper English," Adam replied. The English teacher smiled.

"Knowing how to speak properly and choosing not to do it just to yank certain people's crank is what's going on. The mafia knows how to speak perfect English; they also know the King's English and how to speak ghetto.

That little angel standing next to you never comes up with a phrase like "I ain't gotta" or "I bin doin good." in class. Like all her sneaky little friends, she saves it up for the gullible folk. Right sweetie pie?" Leo asked the girl. Carla now giggled.

"Yes, Uncle Leo," she said.

"Don't feel bad Adam, when they come to my class, they can't seem to add two and 2, so you're not alone. Is he Carla?" Leo again asked the girl. Again Carla giggled.

"No Uncle Leo," she replied.

"So all this time when I've been telling you what a no good rotten English teacher you have, I've been wrong?" Adam now asked the girl.

"Sure, but Uncle Leo says the same stuff about you." Carla giggled.

"Divide and Conquer!" Leo said to Adam. Adam sat back in his chair and nodded.

"Well schnitzel, the cat's out of the bag now. You can let the mafia know that from now on, it's going to cost you guys a quarter every time you come up with improper English," Adam told the girl as he pinched her gently on the bottom.

"No fair Uncle Adam, does that mean every time you use curse words, we get a quarter?" Carla asked.

"Hell no!" Adam replied. Carla once more giggled as she wrapped her arms around Adam's neck and gave the man a kiss.

"You're funny Uncle Adam," she declared as Leo returned to his classroom with a wave.

"I guess we know which teacher these little monsters have wrapped around their little fingers!" he said as the door closed behind him.

Chapter Thirty Two

Anyone doubting Christopher's recovery from eating the tainted berries the afternoon before needed to only watch the boy now as he played in the cabin with Sarah's cabin of six toddlers and the six senior girls who watched over the children every day.

Christopher's home doubled as the Schools Office which now looked more like a kindergarten class gone amuck. His rocking horse stood in one corner of the living room and rarely sat idle without at least one, if not three toddlers gleefully rocking back and forth. At 12 years of age, Christopher had the physical body of a six to seven year old, and now surrounded in Sarah's group of campers that ranged from four to seven years old, he fit right in. Mentally as well as physically challenged, the boy who could not speak still made his needs and wants known to those around him by a combination of sign language and rudimentary verbal communication. Born with undecended testicles, the boy would never father children since no one ever bothered to correct the problem and they were now useless.

Christopher's life for his first five years of life were happy one's, he was raised by a loving Father. At 6, his Father felt Christopher and his older Brother needed more than he could give the boys, and he gave them up to be raised by the State. He lived in hell for the next five years until he was identified as a Geppetto boy through dna testing. Now at Green Tree, the boy lived with Bert and Helen and four senior girl monitors who cared for him during the day. Christopher's new life once more was surrounded in love along with food, shelter and people that both loved and cared for him.

"Eee Burd? Eee?" The little boy said as he signed that he was hungry. Bert looked at the clock on the mantle over the fireplace.

"Lunch is in about 20 minute's pal. Uncle John has some special lunch made up just for you!" The Director said as Christopher climbed up into his lap. Now sitting in Bert's lap with his legs draped over Bert's legs and hanging down to towards the floor, the boy took Bert's face in both his hands.

"Cookie Burd?" He implored. Bert smiled and kissed him as he arose from the chair and held him in his arms.

"Let's see if Aunt Helen has a little something for you in the kitchen," he told the boy as he slid his arm under the boys bare bottom.

"He's been eating none stop since he woke up. Wouldn't it be nice if he could be convinced to wait another 20 minute's?" Helen asked as she handed Christopher some Oreo's and a small gaggle of toddler's now began to circle around her feet. Bert smiled but didn't answer his girl friend as half a dozen pairs of hands now reached up to the woman.

"Now see what you've started?" she said as she handed out cookies.

"Don't blame me, blame Christopher," Bert replied.

"Mee?" Christopher chirped.

"Yeah, that does a whole lot of good!" Helen said as Gloria walked into the cabin.

"Don't you guys know it's almost lunchtime?" Gloria said as she put Timmy down.

"Tell that to Mr. Softee!" Helen said as Timmy now reached up for his share.

"What's up?" Bert asked the girl.

"Talk Time Uncle Bert." Gloria responded as she gave the camp Director a kiss. With a cookie in each hand, four year old Timmy now waddled off to play in Christopher's sand box on the back porch.

Returning to his office, Bert sat down at his desk as Gloria remained standing looking out the bay windows towards the lake.

"Johanna made a suggestion, and I think it was a good one Uncle Bert. I want to take Timmy off automatic and make it manual. I can teach him to turn it on and off when he needs to go." Gloria stated.

"There are problems with Max on Automatic?" Bert asked the girl.

"It startles him when it first comes on, and then he panics to find someone to hold him," she responded.

"Doctor Lester recommended that he not be held when Max is on," Bert said.

"That might work with an older boy who knows what's going on, but Timmy is just a baby, Doctor Lester admitted himself that Timmy is the youngest boy he's ever had to wear Max." Gloria replied.

"Johanna has seen the twins out on the campus. She say's when Max goes off on them, they usually sit down on the swings or even a tree. I could teach Timmy to sit down on a rocking horse or maybe even put up a swing on the porch of the cabin," she suggested.

"And what about when he's outside, or at some activity?" Bert asked.

"You can't follow him around with a rocking horse wherever he goes," he said.

"He can be picked up." Gloria replied.

"Do we really want him to start associating Max with the person who's holding him? He's being induced to climax; sooner or later he's going to link the two in his mind," Bert replied.

"Uncle Bert, when boys jerk off they're not exactly thinking about the multiplication tables are they?" Gloria replied.

"No, but lets hope they're not fantasizing about their Mothers either!" Bert said.

"In Timmy's mind, you are his Mother. It's one thing for you to be in the room when he's masturbating and quite another to be masturbating him," Bert counseled the girl.

"I know that, but he still isn't old enough yet to deal with Max on automatic. He has to first learn how to control it, especially to turn it off." Gloria replied. Bert nodded as the bugler blew Return to Quarters.

"We'll talk to Doctor Lester after lunch and let him know of your decision. I'm sure he won't object if this is the route you want to take with Timmy," Bert told the girl.

"Do you agree with it?" Gloria asked.

"I agree that you would make decisions based upon Timmy's best interest. How Timmy's going to react to that decision is something we'll have to wait and see, but I'm sure you'd be the first to alter the arrangement if the need warrants it," Bert said. Gloria smiled a bit.

"I'll be the first to tell you if Timmy decides to take me to bed," she replied.

It was now Bert's time to smile.

"I'm not too concerned about Timmy making a move on you, I think the incest taboo would kick in before he did that, but there is no taboo as far as Judy and Caroline are concerned, so if he starts getting a little too frisky with them, he might not be looking for a cookie or a toy to play with," Bert replied. Gloria smiled again thinking about Timmy's two Senior girls. They now both sat out on the porch as their charge played in the sandbox. Both girls now helped the other Senior girls put clothing on their charges in preparation for lunch. Cooperation from the toddlers was the usual minimum; clothing was on their bodies only when absolutely necessary.

"If they can handle the Senior boys, I think they can handle a four year old!" she said.

"OK, so we talk to Doctor Lester after lunch," Bert replied. Gloria now shook her head.

"You talk to him Uncle Bert. You know what to tell him, I don't need to be there," she now said.

"You don't want to be there?" Bert asked.

Gloria shook her head once again.

"I don't know him Uncle Bert, I know you. I don't like talking to shrinks," she said. Bert smiled.

"Sweetheart, I'm a shrink, your Uncle Sid is a shrink. You talk to shrinks constantly!" Bert told the girl.

"I don't talk about sex with somebody I don't know. I know you and I know Uncle Sid. I don't know him!" she replied adamantly.

"Fair enough, I'll let him know what the Team has decided, but let's keep the stranger part between you and I. I think Doctor Lester is going to be a lot more involved with us in the future than he has been in the past and I don't want him to think our staff is afraid of him," Bert told the girl.

"I'm not afraid of him. I just don't like the idea of having every word spoken psychoanalyzed to death!" Gloria replied defensively.

"Want to lay down on the coach and discuss it?" Bert said with a smile.

"Fuck you Uncle Bert." Gloria replied.

"That's the second time today I heard those word's. It must be that new after shave I put on," Bert said as the bugler now blew Mess Call.

Sid arrived at Beachview less than five minutes before the boys arrived back in the cabin to prepare for lunch. School was now over for the day, and the campers actually appeared to be awake for the first time since breakfast. Headed for an afternoon of horseback riding, swimming, go carts and no less than 15 other activities, the last thing any staff member with brains would do was stand anywhere near the doorway as the boys came charging through the door to change into as few clothing as possible. A pair of shorts and maybe a tee shirt was routine, and the trail of school clothing would soon go from the bottom of the cabins steps up to the loft bedrooms.

Sid reached in the fridge for the first beer of the day, it was real close to noon.

"How's it going?" The Assistant Director asked his ward.

"OK I guess Uncle Sid, Spencer hasn't come back from classes yet." The Counselor replied as he put away food that had been delivered from the supply room.

"Are you going to stay here when he comes?" Anthony asked.

"Yes, but I don't think it's a big deal, he's agreed to go to Martha's Vineyard, it's nothing more than a vacation at this point," Sid replied. The Junior Counselor shook his head.

"He doesn't get angry with you or with Uncle Bert Uncle Sid, he gets mad at me!

Even if he agreed to go, if he's mad about it, he'll take it out on me!" Anthony declared.

"Then it's time for you to grow some ball's Anthony. He's a 13 year old boy and you're a 20 year old man. Nobody in this school doesn't love Spencer including me, but that doesn't mean he's permitted to run your life with or without your full permission!" Sid said.

"You think I like this?" Anthony asked his mentor.

"I think you love Spencer and I think you're afraid to lose him, so you allow him to run your life. That's not healthy for him, and it's not healthy for you," Sid replied. "You have to have enough faith in us to know that we're going to take care of the both of you. We have no intentions of splitting you two up, that's a decision you will make and Spencer will make." He counseled his ward.

"Jeanette agrees with that?" Anthony asked.

"Jeanette will agree to whatever decision Spencer makes unless it's a decision she knows will harm him. She has never suggested that the Team keep the two of you separated," Sid replied.

"Right now, we need to support Spencer in his decision to have surgery. Jeanette expects you to support his decision just as we all do," Sid concluded as the noise level outside told both men that the mafia was on its way.

"Are you gonna come with us to the build Uncle Sid?" Sammy asked as the screen door flew open and a dozen or so boys and girls came parading through the living room headed for the upstairs bedrooms.

"Uncle Dave has had to cancel the build plans until tomorrow afternoon guys," Sid notified the disappointed group.

"How come?" Trevor asked as his shorts and underpants hit the floor and he kicked them away.

"Uncle Dave and his crew have been replacing the poison flags all over the campus; they won't be done until late this afternoon," Sid told the group who by now were basically naked after shedding their school clothes.

"Does that mean we can go horseback riding instead?" Carla asked with a smile, two dimples and a pair of underpants halfway to her ankles.

"Aren't we forgetting about our period?" Sid asked the girl.

"I ain't bleedin no more Uncle Sid, Look!" She said as she showed Sid her panty liner.

"Marvelous!" Sid said as he shook his head and took a sip of his beer as a small giggle arose from the group who now made their way upstairs.

"Can we?' Spencer asked.

"We'll have to ask Aunt Patty. I've been very busy in meetings all morning, and she's the one who's been setting the trail ride schedules," Sid reported.

"It might be a very good idea, if we can't go on a trail ride, a nature hike would be a good idea," Sid recommended.

"Did ya hear Uncle Sid? Spencer's going to go on a jet plane with David next week!" Chris now told Sid. Sid looked at Anthony and nodded his head.

"I heard about that. You must be excited about flying Spencer. You haven't been on a plane for almost two years now," Sid said to Spencer. Basically, Spencer ignored the question.

"Aunt Jeanette said you could go too Anthony. Did you know we were going?" He asked.

"Uncle Sid mentioned it to me. I think it's a great idea if you do," he told the boy.

"She want's me to talk to Uncle Thomas's Brothers. They want me to get a operation. I don't know if I want to do that." Spencer told his Junior Counselor." "That's a decision for you to make Spencer. We will support whatever decision you make, but we do think it's a very good idea," Sid now told the boy. Once again, Spencer heard Sid, but didn't respond directly to him.

"Do you think it's a good idea too?" Spencer asked Anthony. Sid now hoped for a very simple "Yes" from Anthony.

"If that's what you want to do." Anthony replied sheepishly. Sid closed his eyes and breathed deeply.

"The final decision is yours to make Spencer, it's your body, and it's your opportunity to wipe out something that never should have happened to you in the first place. If it were my body, I would have the operation," Sid told the boy.

"Are you going to be there?" Spencer asked.

"I'm flying up tomorrow with Barry and Doctor Lester. If you need me, I will be there for you," Sid replied. Spencer nodded as he took Anthony by the hand and went into their room.

"Why do you look so mad Uncle Sid?" Matty now asked.

"I'm not angry little buddy, I'm just thinking," Sid replied wanting to give Anthony a kick in the ass.

"Let's get ready for lunch, we're running out of time," Sid now told the remaining boys.

Lunch normally took roughly a half hour to eat but on this particular afternoon, it took almost an hour as the Camp Kenny children inspected the previous night's catch of snipe.

The mafia had caught three snipe altogether and with the bulk of Sarah's cottage now standing on benches and sitting on the tables, each child wouldn't be happy until they actually held one in their hands. Caleb, Scotty, Caroline and Samantha all waited their turn patiently as grilled cheese sandwiches grew colder by the minute. Doctor Lester watched as the children delicately handed the animals off to one another like they were holding a dozen eggs with a look on their faces like they were opening Christmas morning presents.

The man could only imagine what memories of their childhood were right now being stored in their minds. For that matter, what memories were being stored in his own mind of the past four days? He had come for a planned one day visit, in and out and back to Boston. Now, the place was growing on him and drawing the man into its raw beauty like a panoramic view on top of the Green Mountains of Vermont. Whether it was Beth nursing Joshua and humming to the baby, or a four year old being fed while sitting on a counselor's lap, or even four or five very nervous boys watching over Christopher as the boy was handed a Hamster to hold and pet, the Doctor was being drawn into Green Tree like a butterfly to a flower.

"From the look's of things, the mafia is going on a Trail Ride this afternoon after lunch Doc, want to join us?" Sid now asked the Psychiatrist as he approached with two four year olds attached to his hips.

"Who do we have here?" The Doctor asked.

"These are two of Martha's little rug rats.

"This is Chip, and this is Madeleine," Sid replied as he stood both children on the bench.

Polite smiles, with no words, greeted the Doctor as Chip's thumb instantly went to his mouth and Doctor Lester said hello as the boy clung to Sid protectively.

As Sid poured two glasses of milk, the two now paid more attention to the hamsters around them than the Doctor.

"What about Anthony? Is he willing to talk to me?" the Doctor asked.

"He would probably rather walk across some hot coals, but I told him it would be a good idea and he usually follows my advice," Sid replied. Doctor Lester smiled a bit.

"Hot coals huh? As bad as that?" the Doctor replied.

"Don't fret; when folks find out for the first time that Bert and I have Psychiatric backgrounds, they usually stop associating with us for awhile too," Sid said. Doctor Lester's smile increased.

"Yes, we do have that effect on people don't we!" He said as he tickled Chip on his side. Now giggling slightly, the boy smiled at the Doctor.

"We live in Yosemite Sam!" The boy told the Doctor.

"Yosemite Sam?" the Doctor asked Sid.

"Short little guy, red hair and the broad rimmed hat," Sid replied as he pointed up to the rafters in the Mess Hall at the Cabin flag that housed Martha and her brood.

"Oh yes!" the Doctor replied as he remembered the cartoon character.

"My little boy always liked Yosemite Sam too," the Doctor replied as the boy smiled again and then turned his attention back to the hamster.

"The Ride would be a very good opportunity to talk with Anthony, but you may find that Spencer will insist upon being there too. It's up to you if you want to speak to them separately, but if they're together, it might give you a better insight into their relationship," Sid recommended.

"Let's see how it progresses," the Doctor replied.

"Uncle Sid, Aunt Martha wants Chip and Madeleine back to their table. They haven't finished their lunch yet," the children's 16 year old senior girl named Carrie now said as she stood by the children. Reluctantly, the boy and girl attached themselves to the girls hips as she presented each one to Sid for a goodbye kiss. Doctor Lester smiled once again as Sid wiped off the milk on his face as Carrie walked back to her table.

"So, I'm being told you promised the mafia they could go on a trail ride this afternoon after rest period?" Patty said as she walked over to the mafia's tables. Sid glanced at several boys close to him that very quickly busied themselves eating lunch and avoiding eye contact.

"What I told the boys to do was to ask their Aunt Patty what the schedule was because their good old Uncle Sid was in meetings all morning. Ain't that right guys!"

Sid said in a louder voice than normal. A few giggles arose from the table, but none that you could pinpoint exactly where they came from. Patty nodded her head.

"I suspected something was amiss when they all gathered around me looking like perfect little angels."

Patty said to the tables of boys.

"The cruncher was when you two looked the same!" Patty said to Carla and Jeannie.

"Who, us?" Carla said with a very bewildered look on her face.

"So can we Aunt Patty?" Chris now asked with two dimples you could hide a peanut in. Patty shook her head.

"This time, yes. The next time you bullshit me, the answer is no," she told the group.

As Patty returned to the Head Table, lunch once more took a back seat as the boys congratulated each other over their most recent coup.

"I told you if we got Chris to ask her she wouldn't say no," Michael told his friends.

"She never says no to him!"

Sid looked at Adam as both now shook their heads.

"We're raising a bunch of connivers and schemers!" Adam said as he went back to his food.

"That's because Uncle Sid is our role model." Said Greg, Kevin's Junior Counselor.

Normal rest period after lunch was about a half hour, but with the extended lunch time the boys were lucky to have five minutes before the bugle blew for 4th period activity. Like a bolt of lightening, once the bugle blew, feet hit the ground running off the porches of the mafia's cabins as close to three dozen campers now split for the stables on the upper campus.

With the staff heading around the lake and climbing the hill on the cart path, the boys climbed through the woods on foot in back of the cabins. Once at the top of the hill, a quick jog across the baseball fields found most of them already at the stable's sitting on the corral fence waiting to mount up as the staff's cart's pulled up.

Along with the 36 campers that made up the mafia, Adam, Sid, Barry, Dr. Lester, Etienne, Greg and Anthony would join the group as staff. Knowing in advance that Dr. Lester would be there primarily to have a talk with Anthony, and that Barry was unfamiliar with either the boys or the terrain, Sid and Patty had six senior boys accompany the group, including David and Jesse. Halfway through tacking up, Bert arrived at the stables with the mafia hoping he was just coming to wish them a happy sendoff. No such luck!

"Christopher overheard the boys talk to Patty at lunch about going horseback riding, and he'd like to join along" Bert told Sid and Adam.

"I guess I could take him on my horse," Sid volunteered as the mute child practically jumped out of his bib overalls.

"Hey!" he exclaimed as he stood in the cart with a smile from ear to ear holding both hands together in a ball. This posture was now known by all staff to be usually accompanied by the boy loosing bladder control. He was happy, he was excited and the first indication of both was flowing urine much like a puppy happy to see it's owner.

"Easy Christopher!" Bert told the boy who was ready to fly on top of a horse.

"Jill and Claire will accompany him; can they all go on Maria?" Bert now asked David as the boy sat on top of his huge Belgian Mare.

"Sure Uncle Bert!" David said as he lifted his leg over the mares back and slid down her stomach to the ground.

"Uncle Bert! He's peeing!" Jill told the Director.

Bert looked at the wet spot on Christopher's overalls that now led down towards the boys bare feet as the wet stain made its way down the pants leg's.

"Look on the bright side girls; he might not pee on the horse's blanket," Bert told the girls as he unhooked the straps on the overalls and let them fall to the seat cushion.

After exchanging the wet underoo's with a clean, dry pair, Christopher was lifted up on top of the mare and the boy nestled himself into the lambs wool blanket. Handed the reign's to the horse, which were merely two leather straps that were attached to a leather noose around the mares neck, Christopher looked like he was about to take off for the moon on a rocket. His hands trembled with excitement as first Jill, and then Claire mounted the horse. Jill now pulled Christopher into her chest.

"I've got nothing to hold onto except for his underpants if he starts to fall off." The girl now complained.

As the remaining boys were mounted, Patty returned to the stable and came back with a piece of equipment.

"Normally, we would attach a belt around the camper which is then attached to the blanket to prevent fall-off's," Sid advised Doctor Lester.

"But Christopher won't tolerate belts or harness, so we've had to devise other ways of keeping him on top of the horse," Sid said as the Doctor nodded. Placing a belt around Jill, two straps attached to the belt came around Christopher and were snapped into place on a ring attached to the blanket.

"If she wraps her arms around Christopher and leans back, it's impossible for him to fall off" Patty told the Doctor.

"What about the reigns, the horse has no bit on." The Doctor asked.

"None of our horses wear bits; they wear halters sometimes, but no bits." Patty replied.

"Then how do you control the horse?" the Doctor asked.

"Basically, the horses control themselves. They know the trails, and they follow the leader. If a camper falls off or gets off the horse voluntarily, the horses are trained to stop in place until they receive the signal to move again. We have a stable that we get the horses from who trains them. It takes two years of training before we receive the horses."

she said. Doctor Lester looked around at the other horses, most of which had no halters on.

"If I were a horse, this would be the place I'd want to work at!" Patty said with a grin.

Once a pack horse was loaded with drinks and an emergency kit, the lead horse, ridden by one of Sid's stable boys, headed out of the corral and was automatically followed by the other horses. Doctor Lester watched as three dozen horses now slowly made their way towards the bridle trails.

"How do they decide who to follow?" Doctor Lester asked Sid as the two men waited to take up the rear of the group.

"Horses have their own pecking order, they decide who's in front of who, and if one of them gets ahead of the wrong one, a nip on their ass sets things straight real fast," Sid said.

"When we receive the horses, we're told which one's are the leaders and which one's are the followers, and all we have to do is send out one leader with each group, and it avoids somebody's feelings from getting hurt," he told the Doctor.

"The easiest way to figure out which one is a leader is by the bridle. A leader always wears a bridle," Sid said.

"There are four trails that all lead out to Lookout Point, if you take the Orange trail, it splits off for about two miles [3 km] from the other trails and brings you to the point at about the same time as the rest of the trails. If I wanted to speak to Anthony alone, that's the way I would go," Sid said.

"What about Spencer?" Doctor Lester asked.

"Spencer's riding with Michael right now, but that could change. If he's adamant about going with you, I'd take him along, but I'll try to keep him busy," Sid replied.

The last group of twelve horses entered the trials with Doctor Lester as Sid now rode ahead to catch up with the front of the pack. Anthony smiled slightly as the Doctor pulled up alongside him.

"Uncle Sid told me that he wanted me to talk with you. I guess he wants me to do it now." Anthony told the man.

"Let's do what Anthony wants to do." Dr. Lester replied. Anthony again smiled and hung his head a little shaking it.

"That's not the way things really are around here. I don't want anything to change from the way it is now and neither does Spencer. But that's not what Jeanette and Uncle Bert want." Anthony replied.

"The problem the both of them have, the problem the whole team has Anthony is that they can't figure out how to stop the clock. How do they freeze both you and Spencer in time? Spencer will never grow older and you will never grow older. Do you know how to do that?" The Dr. asked.

"Nobody's looking to do that!" The Junior Counselor replied.

"OK, so we're all planning for the future. What's the future look like for you five years from now?" the Dr. asked.

"You are a twenty five year old man and Spencer is an eighteen year old man. He's shaving, is probably a little over six feet [1.80 m] tall, has plenty of muscles if today's body on him is any guide and he may, or may not, be dating girls. Do you see yourself being a full part of his life regardless of the path he chooses for himself?" the Dr. asked. Anthony again smiled but saw nothing funny.

"You're asking me if I'm going to be taking Spencer to bed when he's an adult just like Uncle Sid did aren't you!" he exclaimed.

"If that's the path he chooses, don't you think he'd expect to be sleeping with you?" the Dr. asked.

"So you think I'd throw him away too?" Doctor Lester shook his head.

"Not for one single minute. A man who loves a boy loves him enough to know when it's time to let him find his own way, to grow both physically and emotionally. A man who keeps a boy tied to him longer than necessary like an over protective mother is no better than the woman is. Jeanette wants to see Spencer grow to his fullest potential, and Sid wants the exact same for you. She can't freeze Spencer at 13 and you can't freeze yourself at 20." he counseled Anthony.

"I think the key to what's upsetting you is a feeling that you're abandoning Spencer. I would suggest you think back to the relationship you had with Sid and your other counselor's here at Green Tree when you were growing up. Do you think today that any one of them abandoned you or left you simply because you were getting a little too old for them or that you developed a scratchy beard?

Do you believe that Uncle Sid loves you as much today as he did 10 years ago Anthony?" the Doctor asked.

"Yes, of course he does!" Anthony replied. Doctor Lester nodded.

"And I believe that 10 year's down the road, if someone asked Spencer the same exact question about you, the answer would be identical." he counseled the boy.

"You are not Spencer's lover Anthony, you're his teacher and his parent just like Uncle Sid was your teacher and parent. Uncle Adam isn't Sammy's lover; he is his teacher and his parent. It isn't going to happen tomorrow, but the time is going to come when you have new students and new children to look after."

"I can't just tell Spencer I don't want to live with him anymore!" Anthony replied.

Doctor Lester smiled.

"Is that the way Uncle Sid told you?" he asked.

"No, of course not." Anthony said.

"I think the best thing to do is to put on my thinking cap and go back seven or eight years. If that fails or is a little cloudy, sit down with your Uncle Sid or Uncle Bert and get some pointers just as I'm sure they did when it came time for them to separate certain parts of their relationship with you," the Doctor recommended.

"Think back Anthony, was your Uncle Sid happy to see you move on to the senior boy's campus?" the Dr. asked.

"Sure, I guess so. I didn't give it that much thought." Anthony replied.

"I will tell you a little secret, and you cannot divulge it beyond the two of us.

Letting you go was no easier for Uncle Sid than it is for you to let Spencer go. I read the reports, I spent many night's on the phone with Uncle Bert concerning your Uncle Sid. He doesn't give his love and trust lightly, he went through too much hell in his own childhood to do that. Your Uncle Sid made it look easy for you because that's the kind of man he is, but it was anything but easy for him, no easier than it was for him to give up Jesse this spring," the Dr. said.

"You know about that?" Anthony questioned.

"My job is to be there to help when I have to. I can't do my job if I don't know what's going on." Dr. Lester concluded. Anthony nodded his head.

"Uncle Sid wants me to teach." Anthony now said.

"We all do," the Doctor replied.

While Doctor Lester talked with Anthony, it took Sid a good 15 minutes to make his way to the head of the trail ride. Once there he slowly made is way back again along the three dozen or so horses that were bunched in groups of 12 to avoid disagreements between lead and following horses. While the horses were specially trained to deal with children,

their own personal standing in horse society was not to be ignored either by a fellow horse or it's riders. The lone exception was the Belgian mare and her newborn colt. Whether it was the immensity of her size compared to the other horses, or the fact that she was still sexually viable, she went where she wanted to, when she wanted to and no other horse invaded "Her space" or chased her colt away like they sometimes did to each other.

For the colts part, he had never had a halter or bridle on, and at four months old, was still as spry as a jack rabbit which would be impossible once he matured and tipped the scales at close to two tons. His Mother, just shy of a ton and a half, came from Champion Stock and her golden tail and mane along with a milky brown coat glistened in the sun that broke between the tree branches along the trail. Now dutifully following alongside his Mother, the colt pranced over to Sid looking to secure a treat from the new arrival.

"Hello Moochie, how's it going?" Sid said to the colt as the horse sniffed Sid's pocket.

Sid took three pieces of apple out of a pouch and handed them over to the girls who were looking after Christopher. Christopher promptly ate his piece as Sid instructed the girls to feed the apples to the colt.

"Palm flat girls. You don't want him to become a meat eater," Sid told the girls as David giggled a little.

"Come on Davey, let's see how the rest of the boys are getting along," Sid said to the boy. David turned his horse around and followed after Sid who now wound his way through the woods just off the trail.

"How's Baron doing?" Sid asked the boy.

"He's pretty funny Uncle Sid. When he sees a stick on the ground, he tries to jump over it like a rabbit." David replied with a grin as a never ending chorus of "Hello Uncle Sid!" arose from each horse they passed. With a wave to each group, Sid smiled as he continued his conversation with David.

"He better enjoy the feeling of jumping now, before long he'll weigh much too much to consider doing that," Sid told the boy. David smiled at the answer but also had a question for the stablemaster.

"What's his life gonna be like once he goes back to New Hampshire Uncle Sid?" he asked.

"Well for one, he'll have many, many feet of snow to romp around in, something that Belgian's really love. He'll also be taught to pull special sleighs that test how strong he is. Most of the time he'll be at horse show's to show people how beautiful he is, and hopefully, he'll win Championships. Once he gets older, he'll spend his days with a few girlfriends romping around fields in New England making new Champions. From a horse's view of the world, Baron's a mighty lucky little fellow," Sid concluded. The 13 year old giggled once again.

"Will he ever get to see his Mother again?" The boy now asked.

"Well, let's see. Maria is now 12 years old. I guess it's possible. Once you graduate from Green Tree, if you took her back to New England you could arrange for the two of them to meet up, but it's not the same with horses as it is with people. Once they separate, they don't really recognize each other as relatives anymore," Sid told the boy.

"That's not so different from people," David said innocently.

"No, maybe you're right," Sid replied.

The arrival at Lookout Point by the group was probably the fiftieth of that year by the mafia and their main goal was to get a snack and a drink, take a piss off the cliff, and get back to riding as soon as possible.

"Let's take the Blue Trail home Uncle Sid!" Bruce now implored the stablemaster. Sid shook his head as he re-mounted his horse.

"I was thinking more along the lines of the Yellow Trail," Sid now said to the group.

"No fair Uncle Sid, the Yellow Trail is for a bunch of girls!" Carla protested to a chorus of "Yeah!" from the peanut gallery.

"Heaven forbid any of us act like girls!" Sid replied as the staff chuckled.

"Stay on the lower meadow. The upper meadow has some gopher holes on it that Uncle Dave has to fill in and we don't want Baron up there!" Sid told the group to another chorus of "Yes Uncle Sid!"

Doctor Lester now shadowed the twin's as the yellow trail wound its way through a birch tree strand. Sid followed alongside Maria as Adam pulled alongside.

"Once we reach the meadow, I'll keep Maria to the right. Hopefully, Baron will stick with her, but if he goes trotting off, bribe him back to his mother," Sid said as he handed Adam the pouch of snacks. Adam nodded.

Once past the ravine with its freshwater creek to give the horses some water, the boys began the climb up the trail that wound its way back and forth though the tall pine trees and to the meadows beyond. Once the boys reached the open meadows, the horses earned their oats as the walk became more of a fast sprint. For the senior boys whose mounts had bridles on, it became more of a gallop as the boys lost some steam at the horse's expense.

Sid and the staff watched along with Maria to what they all knew the boys lived for all afternoon; the opportunity to run.

"Come on butterball, I know you want to get your kicks too!" Sid said to Christopher as he pulled alongside the Belgian. Doctor Lester smiled as Sid took off across the meadow with Christopher sitting in front of Sid with a grin from ear to ear.

"I sure am glad Uncle Bert ain't here right now." Jill said as she watched the boys hair flying in the wind.

Doctor Lester turned around and looked at the scene to the south that now greeted him. The ribbon of highway that was Interstate 77 was now invisible through the trees as was any hint of civilization except for the contrails of aircraft across the sky. Other than the green of the trees and an occasional small body of water, there was nothing that told the Doctor that he wasn't completely alone except for the people on that meadow.

"One of these days, Sammy and I are going to take a two man hike and wake up here once things quiet down and we get the time" Adam said as he pulled up alongside the Doctor.

"We've been planning that trip now for two years." He said with a small smile.

Doctor Lester now smiled.

"My Son and I had a spot we planned to do the same thing on when he was a boy. We never found the time. My advice is to set a firm date before the summer ends and go. Before you know it they're walking in the door with an armful of kids of their own," the Doctor said. Adam nodded his head.

"How did it go with Anthony?" Adam now asked.

"Quite well, I think Anthony will be just fine. He has Sid on his side." Doctor Lester said.

"Gentlemen, the bar isn't getting any closer. Let's get these heathen's back to camp" Sid said as he passed Christopher back over to Jill. Doctor Lester took another look in back of himself. A trip up here with the twin's, or better yet, with his Grandson, wasn't a bad idea. He would be back he decided.

Adam watched as Sid and Barry galloped back to the lead boys who were approaching the woods line. Yelling and laughing with each other along the way, Adam felt a twinge of jealously towards Barry, it was a small reminder to Adam just how closely he now regarded Sid's friendship and his place in the social order of things. Sid had long since ceased to be a mere friend or even a co worker, Barry's physical presence now brought that realization home to Adam. It wasn't just Adam and Sammy. It was Adam and Green Tree.

Since Doctor Lester was now spending his last night, it was Chef John's last opportunity to ensure that when the Doctor returned to Boston, he kept the camp deeply rooted in his mind and very little showcased the camps spirit more than a lakeside bivouac and campfire.

"You need to relax John, I think we already have someone who's going to return to The Institute and fight for what we want," Bert told his Chef.

"Who's not relaxed? I just think it would be nice to send him off with a few good memories in his memory banks." John told his Director. Bert smiled.

"He's been here now for four days. If he hasn't figured out what we're about by now, he never will," Bert said.

"Humor me!" John replied. Bert smiled.

"Knock yourself out," he said.

The decision to have Bivouac instead of the regular meal came just after 2:30 which had to be relayed to the entire camp. For the Camp Kenny children, it meant that their counselors would have all evening activities canceled and that basically, the campers would be brought to dinner and not leave until they were sound asleep or ready for bed.

It was an easier situation for the Intermediate boys, but still, all evening activities were canceled and if a cabin or two had canteen that night, or an over night horseback trip scheduled, Bert could expect more than a little flack for the sudden change in schedule.

"It's easy for you to sit back and nonchalantly decide to have a bivouac at the last second Uncle Bert, but you turn the place upside down when you do that!" Jeanette now complained as she mounted the Office steps with Kenny attached to her hip. After hello kisses and Bert now being presented with a soggy three year old, Bert laid the boy down on his desk and began to pull his carters off.

"I'm sorry sweetheart, but your Uncle John sprang it on me at the last minute. It's for a good cause," Bert said as Jeanette tossed him a wet washcloth.

Once Kenny was stuffed back into a dry pair of pants, Bert placed the boy on Christopher's rocking horse and prepared a drink for himself and the Camp Kenny Director.

"Where's Timmy? Don't those two usually spend the afternoon in the Kiddie Pool?" Bert asked as he sat down at his desk.

"Gloria has him. She's trying to get Timmy into a routine as far as Max is concerned," Bert looked at the girl.

"She has Timmy wearing Max in the afternoon too?" Bert asked.

"Yes, she wants him to wear it from after breakfast until just before dinner. She thinks that if Timmy gets use to wearing Max during the day and runs free at night, he'll start differentiating between the two and realize there is a difference between just climaxing and making love," Jeanette said.

"Did she talk with Doctor Lester?" Bert asked.

"No, and she's not going to. She doesn't know him Uncle Bert, none of us do. If we have a problem, we'll speak to you or Uncle Sid or even Thomas, but he doesn't know the boys, and he doesn't know us," Jeanette replied. Bert shook his head.

"He may not know each and every one of us personally Jeanette, but I can assure you, he's well acquainted with everyone's file. He has surprised even me by what he knows about certain individual's," Bert told her.

"I'm sure he does Uncle Bert, and if he has recommendations or suggestions, you know we'll take them into consideration. But what he knows comes from pieces of paper. If I'm going to lay Kenny at somebody's feet, it's going to be somebody who knows him, and not a stranger," she replied adamantly.

"Fair enough, but don't be surprised if the good Doctor is seen around here a lot more often in the future," Bert replied.

The news of the sudden change in dinner plans went over like a lead balloon in the kitchen where the menu had been set months before and the kitchen staff wasn't use to any monkey wrenches being thrown into the gears. It took the staff a few hours to figure it out, but normally a sudden change like the one they were now faced with would have had pots, pans, dishes and knives flying around the kitchen from their Chef himself.

"Let's take this negative and turn it into a positive" John told his stunned crew.

"There are going to be times when things like this happen to you on the outside, and you've got to learn to be flexible," he told his staff who stole glances towards each other and the bottle of scotch the Chef always kept on a shelf over his desk.

"We've got 250 pounds [110 kg] of Roast Pork that's half cooked. Another 150 pounds [70 kg] of Roast Potato's in the oven's and 75 pounds [35 kg] of corn in pots. We're geared to serve a sit-down meal, not an outdoor Buffet!" John's Head Cook told his boss.

"We refrigerate the corn now, put the potato's in water and stick them in the cooler, and cook the pork rare today. Tomorrow, we finish roasting it." John replied.

"I'm baking bread and dinner rolls for a pork dinner. I don't have steak, hamburger and hot dog rolls for a cook-out. Who's nutty idea was this?" The Baker now added. John shrugged his shoulders.

"It doesn't matter. Bert made the decision and we have to move with it," he replied.

"I can get the steak unfrozen in time if we thaw it out in warm marinade, but there's no way we're going to get the chicken thawed enough to cut it up." John's Broiler Cook reported.

"Nothing's unfrozen?" John asked.

"Maybe 50 or 75 pounds [20-35 kg] worth, but it's not enough to go around. We usually go through 100 pounds [45 kg] of chicken," he replied.

"Roast two pans of chicken for medical orders. Anybody eating chicken is eating it for dietary reasons." John ordered. What about the bread?" The Baker asked.

"The rolls aren't getting baked with you standing here!" John replied.

"And tonight's bread? The Baker asked.

"Whatever doesn't get used tonight goes to bread pudding or stuffing mix." John replied. With the Baker and his crew shaking their heads as they walked back into the bakery, John himself now looked at his bottle of scotch as he reached for the weeks menu ahead.

Sammy and the mafia knew nothing of John blindsiding his crew, they only knew that they were now back on the trail towards camp. This would automatically take the Intermediate boys within sight of the Senior girls camp on Pine Ridge. For a little over a year now, that meant that the eight to 13 year old boys could not only relieve themselves, but they could show off a bit of their horsemanship at the same time to the "Snobby" girls who lived in the cabins just off the trail. In winter, the cabins were clearly visible, but in summer, you had to look very closely through the branches to make out the buildings.

Any "Snobby" girls who had a mind to hardly noticed the boys passing by on the trails, but if they really wanted to "Get outraged" by the boys "Disgusting" behavior, they could always climb up large maple trees to get a better vantage point. After over a year, this was now almost exclusively done by the 13 to 15 year old girls who were not yet interested in the senior boys.

It was no fun if the girls were not hiding in the bushes or the trees, therefore, maximum noise was necessary to give the Pine Ridge girls time to hear the boys coming. Rarely did the boys sing camp songs on the trails while riding, but about ¾ of a mile [1200 m] away from Pine Ridge always seemed to be a good time to start.

For the twins, this was their first trip through "The gauntlet" as the senior boys had dubbed the stretch of trail past Pine Ridge and the boys were now warned of the possibilities; flying marshmallows, water balloons, camera's taking pictures, water pistol's and toilet paper "Bombs".

The horses had long since grown accustomed to the war going on around them and as they approached the narrow gauntlet, their ears perked up and their nostrils flared a little in anticipation as the Senior boys took positions with the lead horse preventing the rest of the horses from bolting.

Taking up position in the rear of the group with Maria and her colt, both the twins and Doctor Lester watched as cupfuls of water rained down on the boys who now stood pissing on top of their horses towards Pine Ridge. Passing by the big old maple trees, Doctor Lester had to smile as the girls observed the white flag held by a Senior boy as they scurried down the trees limbs and waved hello.

"That seemed a little tame of the girls; pouring water on the boys." Doctor Lester told a senior boy once they were out of danger.

"That wasn't exactly water they were throwing Doctor," Jesse replied with a grin.

It was close to 5:00 by the time the boys returned to the stable's and stood under the shower heads mounted on the side of the barn. Despite all the begging and pleading they could conjure up, Adam put his foot down regarding taking the horses for a lake dip, and in large and small groups, they all disappeared down the foot path leading back to the cove. With Etienne, Greg and Anthony scurrying after them, Adam looked around at three dozen horses and lambs wool blankets that needed a wash down very badly.

As the twins now perched themselves on the top rail of the fence, Sid and Patty directed the rest of the staff available to hose down the horses and dunk the blankets in a wash bin and hang them to dry.

"It doesn't bother you to be left cleaning up after them instead of them taking the responsibility?" Doctor Lester asked as he held the mare in place while she was hosed down.

"Not really Doctor, all the boys have to spend 10 hours a week mucking out stalls, feeding, watering and brushing out the horses, so it's kind of like them having their chore time stored in the bank so to speak," Sid replied.

"Trust me, they earn their time on horseback, there are no free rides and they know it."

Once the mare was spotlessly clean, she was led out of the corral and met by her colt who was determined to get a quick snack as she walked over to a bare patch of ground and promptly rolled in the dirt. Standing up, she shook as a small cloud of dust rose from her back and the colt went back to his search.

"That did a lot of good." The Doctor now said.

"Beats the hell out of dried piss," Sid responded as he hosed down the next horse.

Once the horses were all washed down and fed, Adam, Sid, Barry,Patty and the twin's along with Doctor Lester rode down to the lower campus and circled around the lake headed for the cove. With a stiff breeze now blowing, the lake was awash in multi colored sails from the Sailfish and Sunfish that tacked back and forth. Long before Adam rounded the small bend on the cart path that lead into the cove, the noise level from within foretold the adults that a new game of King of the Rock was about to get underway.

"Uncle Greg says that you guy's will play!" Sammy told Adam as the counselor pulled up to the front of Beachview Cabin. Adam now looked at the Junior Counselor.

"If Gregory is that anxious to get mauled, I think we would be perfectly happy sitting here on the porch and watching," Adam told his ward.

"Sounds like a good plan to me!" Sid said as he climbed the stairs.

"No fair Uncle Sid, we can't have a game with just Uncle Anthony, Greg and Etienne," Bruce replied.

"Why not? That's why we have Junior Counselor's around; to get slam dunked!" Sid replied.

"You're just foolin us Uncle Sid.

" Carla now said.

"OK, tell you what, since Jesse and David are senior boys, we get them on our side against all of you," Sid said.

"That's no fair, there's 12 of you!" Michael now told Sid.

"That gives you a three to one advantage, just how big of an advantage do you consider fair?" Adam asked. After a small huddle, the agreement was made.

"So who's your King?" Sid asked.

"We ain't tellin you, you gotta find out for yourself!" Jeannie replied with a small grin.

Once the campers left for the Rock in the middle of the cove, Adam watched as the boys stood guard around it and watched the adults intently.

"The main group makes a frontal assault while Patty, Jesse and David swim underwater to the diving boards," Sid now said laying out the plan.

"Once we engage them from the front, you three get up on the rock and take the King into the water with you. We don't know if the have one or two Kings, so whoever remains on the Rock sits down," Sid told Patty and the two senior boys.

"Just remember, that's not a piece of Styrofoam, its an eight ton piece of granite, so be careful with them and lets make sure nobody gets hurt," Sid said.

"Except us," Kevin said as he shed his shorts and shook his head.

"This plan ain't gonna work Uncle Sid. They always have spotters counting you guys. They know we're 12 and they're going to be looking for 12," Jesse now said.

"Crafty little devils!" Adam replied.

"When we're out there, keep diving and popping up in a different location if you're in the back of the pack. Maybe by the time they figure it out, Patty and the boys will have taken out the King," Sid now suggested.

"Let's make sure, Barry and Doc, you stay in the back and keep popping up all over the place," Adam suggested.

With an attack plan in place, the adults entered the water in a tight group with Patty and the boys in the rear. Once they got within 50 feet [15 m] or so, they all started swimming as Patty and the boys dove for the opposite side of Turtle Rock that held the three diving boards.

Shielded from view by a ledge, all three made it to their positions under the diving boards as the main party kept ducking under the water to prevent a count.

With only two ways to get onto the rock, the chore for the boys was to keep the adults from getting onto the rock was made simpler. A three to 1 difference made it a lot simpler, and the mafia had long since perfected strategies to prevent a foe from gaining a foothold. The older larger boys always stood in the front, backed up by the eight to 10 year olds who were more than willing to "Pile on" an invader. With six boys now protecting access from the diving boards, the job for the adults was to get as many boys as possible off the rock and into the water. Within a minute or two, any count was impossible, with almost 30 people in the water.

By the shadow of the boys standing watch over the diving boards, Patty waited until three boys remained on that end of the rock protecting it before she was ready to let her presence with Jesse and David be known. Climbing up the diving ladders all at once, it was a very short battle as Jesse and David took the Twin's into the water with them as Patty sat down. For only the third time that entire season, the Counselor's had become "King of the Rock" to very shrill cries of "No fair!" as the bugle blew Return to Quarters.

"Beach Dinner tonight guys. Uncle Bert thinks it would be a nice idea if you could find something more than just a pair of underpants to wear to Dinner," Sid now shouted up the stairs as afternoon showers went into full volume.

As Adam handed Doctor Lester a large glass of ice tea and sat himself down, Sid returned to the front porch with a stack of towels.

"That's probably the magic number; I don't think we're going to take the rock with anything less than an even dozen," Sid said as he sat down with a beer.

"I don't think I've had quite this much exercise in many a year!" Dr. Lester said.

"At one time, I think they were trying to drown me. I had five of them on me," he said.

"John has called for a 6:30 Dinner, so we've got plenty of time. I also spoke to Bert. Since Christopher is back up to par, he'll be back to his regular schedule tomorrow.

The Infirmary says that their dealing with more ticks, so Doc Thomas wants everybody to maintain close skinny inspections of the kids, especially their heads, groins and under the arms. Ticks like cool dark places to hide, we ain't gonna find them sitting on their noses," Sid told the group.

"Bert also needs a heads up on our plans Doc, when do you think you're ready to leave tomorrow?" He asked.

"Anytime after lunch, I guess 1:00 would be good for me," the Doctor replied looking at Barry who nodded his head.

"Suits me, Patty can hold down the fort while I'm gone," Sid told the group.

"How long do you think you'll be?" Patty now asked.

"I promised Anthony I'd be there for him if he needed me, I'm hoping I can be back here next week if everything goes smoothly. Jeanette's going for Spencer, so unless he balks and decides to come home, the both of them should be covered between her and Thomas," Sid replied.

"I'll be close to the two of them also, so I think we can get you back here in a week." Dr. Lester said.

As was the routine every day, both Carla and Jeannie appeared on the porch which signaled the end of business talk between the staff as both girls sat down on Adam's and Sid's lap and presented each man with a hair brush.

"Watcha lookin for Uncle Adam , I ain't got no bugs!" Carla asked as Adam looked through the girls hair.

"That's OK dear, you don't have any English either," Adam replied as he continued to search.

"Uncle Adam!" Carla replied somewhat exasperated. With broad smiles on both the faces, the twins now appeared on the porch as they both handed the Doctor their gym suits.

"No underpants?" Doctor Lester asked as Benji stepped into his shorts.

"We don't need them Poppy, we're only going to go swimming after dinner anyway." Once both boys were zipped into the one piece suits, Dr. Lester brushed their hair.

"Tomorrow afternoon after lunch, I'll be going back to Boston boys." The Dr. now said to the twins as they each sat on a leg of the man.

"When are you comin back? You are comin back ain't you Poppy?" Gavin asked with more than a little concern in his voice. Giving both boys a kiss on their temples, Doctor Lester assured both of them he would return.

"Just as soon as I can arrange it, I'll be coming down to Green Tree regularly to see you two and all your friends here," he told the boys.

"What I wanted to do was to come down here and to make sure you were safe and happy for myself and I think that you are. What do you think?" he asked the boys.

"Oh yes Poppy, we like this place a lot more than New Hampshire. We got boats and horses now." Benji said.

"And girls." Gavin added as he looked towards Carla and Jeannie. Adam looked at Carla.

"Am I mistaken or is that a blush I see?" He asked the girl as she squirmed a little in his lap and giggled.

"I ain't blushin Uncle Adam, it's just hot out," she told her counselor to another chorus of chuckles from the adults.

The Flagpole ceremony ended with the usual tug of war over the lowered flags between Christopher and the Honor Cabin boys who wanted to fold them up and put them away.

After the evenings activities announcements were made, the short journey to the lawn and picnic area took place as the Camp Kenny campers took up the bulk of the lawn area while the Intermediate's and seniors gathered in groups along the beach and on the playground apparatus while they waited for Mess Call to blow. Doctor Lester surveyed the scene which was a picture of peace and tranquility. An hour before, most of these same campers romped extremely happy and naked around the lake either swimming, boating, or flying on the trapeze. Now, they had at least a minimum of clothing on for the time being, even down to the babies which was highly unusual.

"I've let Alexandria know that you're ready tomorrow after lunch Doctor, the chopper will be available anytime after noon to take you back to the airport," Bert told Doctor Lester as the two men sat with a group of staff waiting for the bugle to sound. Thanking Bert, Doctor Lester watched the twins as the boys ran barefooted along the beach playing a game of tag.

"Not so very long ago, I worked very hard at staying in Boston and making sure I didn't find myself out in the field visiting Geppetto Schools." The Doctor said as he watched the twins.

"Two months ago, I visited Alabama to check on some boys I knew. Now, here I am at Green Tree. One wonders if things can get any better out there, I thought Alabama was a boy's paradise," he told Bert.

Bert smiled a little at the Doctors words.

"I've never been to Alabama, but I do know their Director as a friend and colleague. The New Hampshire School is where I first began my career, so I'm well aware of its attributes. I'm sure that the other schools around the country are serving their children well, but when it comes to Green Tree, I naturally believe we're the best of the lot," Bert said.

"In fairness, we all have very different populations. To the best of my knowledge, Green Tree has the youngest children and is the only school with a mixed population. I think the age of our kids alone gives us a leg up on popular approval," Bert said. Doctor Lester nodded.

"Even the cuteness factor not withstanding, Green Tree has the Organization and the Staff that makes this engine run very smoothly. Tomorrow you lose three key Administrator's in a system that only has seven to begin with and I haven't seen anybody panic yet. It takes a great deal of confidence in your people to allow that to occur." Doctor Lester said.

Bert now looked around the table at the staff present.

"Let's hope I'm not giving any of them swelled heads or a feeling of over confidence in themselves, but my staff have always been put into positions of authority that would allow them to move up to the next level of responsibility in their duties. In back of each of our Administrators stands a staff member capable of taking their place when necessary. When Sid leaves tomorrow, Adam will take his place and Kevin will replace Adam until Sid returns. In Thomas's case, he cannot be replaced by another physician, but Martha and Josephine will monitor the clinic until he returns. Jeanette will be replaced by Sarah until she returns. Administratively, the loss will be seamless, the loss of the individuals is something all together different; we all want them back as soon as possible," Bert said "Didn't I tell you he was as soft as a fucking marshmallow?" Sid now told Barry as he finished his beer.

"Here, throw this away will you, I gotta go put some music on," Sid now said to Bert as he handed the Director his empty bottle. Bert shook his head as the rest of the group now laughed.

"I knew that son of a bitch would think I was talking about him!" Bert said as the campers assembled to find out what the joke was about.

The Doctor had never been exposed to Sid's music before and as the opening refrains of a piece of music that was extremely familiar to the man came from five towers of speakers that ringed the picnic area, he tried to remember the name, but the steel band sound confused the issue for him.

"You look a little troubled Doctor," Bert said to the man as he listened.

"I know it's calypso, but that tune is so familiar," the Doctor said. Bert along with the rest of the staff all smiled.

"Sid would be upset if we told you what it was, but he doesn't mind if one of the kid's tells you," Bert now explained as he called over Chris, the nearest boy to him.

"Doctor Lester would like to know what Uncle Sid is now playing." he asked the boy.

"The Pan American Steel Band." Chris replied instantly. Bert nodded.

"And what's the name of the music?" he asked Chris.

"That's the Skaters Waltz by Waldteufel." Chris told the Doctor in perfect French pronunciation.

By the look on Doctor Lester's face as Chris gave the Doctor a dimpled smile and returned to his friends, the entire group chuckled.

"They are quite capable of slaughtering the English language, but ask them about Strauss, Beethoven or Bach and they'll tell you the music and the man," Bert told his guest. Doctor Lester now looked at Kevin.

"I didn't have anything to do with it; they knew it all before I came. They also know everything from Bill Haley and the Comets to ZZ Top." The music teacher said.

"Sid teaches History, and he considers music a part of history."

"Kevin is very modest Doctor. He has tapes of what he has taught the boys and girls here, perhaps he can be persuaded to share them with you before you leave tomorrow," Bert now told the man.

"I'd love to see them." The Doctor replied. Kevin smiled, but he wasn't overjoyed by the offer with Spencer's cracked singing voice still haunting him.

The Beach Dinner that followed was in the Doctor's honor even though he didn't know about it. John the Chef wanted to send the man off with a very good taste in his mouth as far as Green Tree was concerned, and especially concerning the food since the Chef's goal was to start a new program for the older boys in the old school in Florida.

"We're still gonna have a Bivouac on Saturday, right Uncle Adam?" Carla asked Adam as a small group of the mafia now approached Adam sitting with Dan, Kevin and Johanna as both Sidney Bertram and Joshua played together on the blanket spread out on the lawn.

"As far as I know sweetheart, but Uncle John or one of his Cooks would be able to give you a better answer," Adam replied.

"Why do you ask?"

"Cus we're going out on a overnight remember? If we still gots a Bivouac on Saturday, we ain't gotta be back until almost dinnertime!" Sammy now replied with a big smile on his face. Adam shook his head and pulled the boy into himself. Wanting to very badly, he stifled the urge to either correct the English or tan Sammy's hide as he wrapped the boy up in his arms and kissed him on his neck.

"You will still need to return to camp in enough time to shower up and stand for skinny inspection. Sleeping in the woods means that the possibility of ticks only increases," he told the group.

"No fair Uncle Adam!" Jeannie now declared.

"No problem dear, we can always stay nice and cozy at home sleeping in our nice safe cabins instead of out in the wilds of the mountains. Of course that means we won't get the opportunity to see your cute little asses, but we can make that sacrifice," Adam told the group.

To a collective stare, Adam didn't think the idea of staying home instead of going on a hike was taking root.

"Nice try Uncle Adam, but we gotta stand for skinny whether we go campin or not!" Sammy now declared. Adam now nodded his head.

"I didn't think about that," he said.

"I don't think they bought your argument," Kevin said as the group now trooped off looking for John. Adam smiled as he laid down on the blanket and both toddlers now headed for the man on all 4s. With Joshua using Adam's upper chest as a small hill to overcome, and Sidney Bertram looking down on Adam and digging his fingers into Adam's face to get a grab hold, Beth reappeared just before a fairly large drool dropped from Sidney Bertram's mouth as she picked the boy up and sat him down in front of a plateful of minced up chicken and vegetable pieces.

"Whole food already?" Adam asked as Johanna sat Joshua down next to Sidney Bertram.

"This is just the beginning. It gives them a taste of the food, but they don't really eat enough of it to fill their tummy's." Johanna replied. Adam and the men watched as the boys reached into the plate and each grabbed a fistful of food and brought their fists to their mouths. With the food inside and them sucking on the back of their wrist's, it was apparent that not much food was reaching their stomach's.

"So this is more like finger or body painting?" Dan asked the girls. Both girls giggled as the toddler's proceeded to get much more food in their hair, eyes, ears, noses, stomachs and chest's than in their mouth's.

"It's teaching them hand, eye, mouth coordination more than anything, it has very little to do with eating right now." Johanna replied as Sidney Bertram wiped an open hand on Adam's lower arm.

"I notice that they seem to prefer smearing the food on others rather than you girls. Is there a trick to that magic?" Adam now asked.

"Sure, when they smear use, we clean them off with a washcloth. They're already smart enough to know guys don't have washcloths on them." Beth replied as Johanna giggled.

By 7:30, enough steak, hamburgers, hot dogs, corn on the cob and watermelon had been eaten to feed a small army. As was always anticipated by the Camp Kenny campers, the senior boys and girls would now be expected to take them out on the boats for a sail, a canoe ride or a row around the lake before they had to return to their cabins for bedtime.

With a reasonable wind still blowing, one by one both Johanna and Beth's senior girls were picked off by senior boys to go for a ride, while the women nursed the boys to sleep.

As the Father of three now grown children, Doctor Lester had spent many, many hours watching his wife nurse his own children. His wife was always very careful to never nurse the children except at home and in private, and not even the older siblings had seen their brother or sister breast fed once they were weaned.

Now, not only was the nursing done openly and outdoors, but it wasn't unusual at all for a camper to come up to either Joshua or Sidney Bertram and either tug on his bare foot or give the baby a kiss on his cheek as the baby suckled on contentedly. Of the two babies, Joshua was only slightly larger by about two pounds [1 kg], and as Beth loosened a tab on his diaper, his tummy was allowed to expand as the boys suckling temporarily increased until he fell back to a light sleep as the girl combed his large black curls back behind his ear with her fingers.

"They're both completely different from the time when I first saw them at their birth." Doctor Lester told both girls.

"You were there?" Johanna asked.

"Yes, I attended in case the birth mother's needed any help. I wasn't allowed anywhere near Sidney Bertram's birth mother because her mother forbid it, but I did get to speak with Joshua's birth mother who was a pretty frightened little girl herself." Doctor Lester replied.

"Have you done any follow-up with them?" Johanna asked. Doctor Lester shook his head.

"Since neither girl was a Geppetto girl, the Institute didn't become involved, I understand that the county was going to do some follow-up, but I got the feeling that Joshua's mother just wants to put it all behind her and continue on with her life," he told the girls. Beth smiled as she listened but said nothing as she turned her face to Joshua's and studied the child's face in great detail for probably the five thousandth time since the boy was handed to her a little over 9 months earlier. Along with Johanna, she couldn't possibly imagine giving such a treasure away, whatever the reason.

"Do you personally know their father?" Johanna now asked.

"Personally? I'm not sure I would call it personally. I've had more physical contact with these two than I've had with him, but I know who he is and we've spoken. I monitor his progress at The New Hampshire School, but to no less or greater detail than any other student there," he replied.

"Does he know about Sidney Bertram and Joshua?" Johanna asked.

Doctor Lester again shook his head.

"He knows he had sexual intercourse with six girls at a party. That's not all that significant to him they were just six of hindreds of girls and women he had sex with. He hasn't been given any other information, and he never will be given any," he said.

"What's he like?" Beth asked.

"He's a very bright student. He likes sports and car racing,

he's well mannered, well liked by his teachers and peers, and he's quite handsome." The Doctor replied.

"What's his Scale?" Johanna asked.

"He's a 2." The Doctor said.

"And what was his fathers Scale?" Beth asked.

"We don't know, he wasn't diagnosed until he was 14." Doctor Lester said. Both girls now looked down upon their babies in silence.

"A Scale four would be nice; a Scale 1 will be dealt with. In any regard, they are what they are; nobody's throwing out the baby with the bathwater," Sid now said as he reached for another beer.

"When do you think old butterball here is going to be topped off?" He asked with a grin as he bent over and gave Beth a kiss on her forehead. Beth smiled and shook her head.

"Ya better lose that "Butterball' stuff by the time he begins to understand your jabbering," she said as she laid the baby down on his stomach on the blanket. Doctor Lester smiled during the brief exchange between Beth and Sid, but he understood well the intention of Sid to alleviate both Johanna's and Beth's apprehension over their babies futures.

"You're still planning on going on an overnight tomorrow night?" Johanna asked Adam.

"I promised them I would, so I guess I'm trapped into it. Dan has agreed to be On Call for me and Charley will take Kevin's place for the night," Adam told the girl.

"We're pretty much staying very close to the Camp Kenny kid's until Jeanette returns, but if you need us, just let us know." Johanna told Adam who nodded.

With the bugle blowing Return to Quarters, the boats on the lake began returning to the beach with their cargo of Camp Kenny's little one's. The older they were, the more reluctant to give up the day, but their reluctance was tempered somewhat by the knowledge that they would now be able to be driven up the hill in a staff's golf cart, and if they were lucky and quick, maybe even get to steer it.

As Caleb jumped out of a row boat with his ever-present sidekick, Scotty, the two cherubs made a very strategic move to head directly for Sid before anybody else found the man.

"Can I drive? Can I drive?" Scotty screeched as the two boys ran across the blanket and leaped into Sid's lap.

"Drive? Who said I was going anywhere? I'm sitting here with my friends enjoying a nice cold brewsky. Why would I want to leave?" Sid asked as Scotty's arms wrapped around Sid's neck.

"You're just foolin us Uncle Sid. We wanna go back up to the cabin with you!" the boy said as he hugged the man.

"I'd love to guys, but I'm outta gas!" Sid told the boys. Both boys instantly giggled.

"You're silly Uncle Sid, everybody knows the carts is lectric" Caleb replied. Sid now nodded his head.

"Oh yeah, I forgot that!" he told the boys as he wrapped both arms around the two boys and stood up.

"Excuse me friends, I gotta go up to Tweetty and put my little pals here back in their cage," Sid said as he stepped over the sleeping baby's.

"Are you sure you don't need another Administrator up in New Hampshire Uncle Barry?

We could loan you one of ours for a very cheap price." Johanna now kidded the man. Barry smiled as the rest of the staff chuckled, but having the girl call him "Uncle" was a very pleasant surprise to the man. During the past four days since arriving, more than a few of the children had called him Uncle, but Barry chalked that off to habit. Every adult to them was either an Aunt or an Uncle, with the exception of Thomas, and even he was often referred to as Uncle Thomas as opposed to Doctor Thomas. However, the staff referred to each other by first name. The only exceptions were the original Green Tree girls like Gloria, Jeanette, Johanna, Sarah, Martha and now Beth who had been fully accepted by the girls as a peer. Even then, they invoked the Surname only towards Bert or Sid, the two men that had raised the girls from their early teens. Those two were not looked upon by the girls as peers, they were parental figures, particularly when any problems arose. Barry recognized that the girls had fully accepted him because of the nexus between himself and Sid, and it gave him a very warm feeling.

"I don't think you girls have enough money to pay Matthew to take Sid back, you need to keep in mind that it took Matthew year's to get Sid on the plane to Florida." He kidded back.

"Let that be a lesson to the two of you," Sid said as he put Caleb and Scotty in his golf cart.

"Them Northern folks is all scoundrel's and thieves'" he said as he slid into the seat. With Sid piling as many children into his cart as it would hold, the ice cream bells never stopped ringing as the cart pulled away with Caleb steering.

"Remind me to counsel Caleb and Scotty tomorrow that their Uncle Sid was born in Connecticut and he was only kidding them." Johanna told Beth as she shook her head.

As tradition had it, once the Camp Kenny children went back to their camp, the Intermediate boys took over the boats and the lake. Sailboats and canoes were always manned by the children themselves, but the rowboats need an engine and that engine was preferably an Uncle or a very strong Senior boy. With three or four boys in a boat, it took some strength to row around the lake for the next hour, especially if a breeze was blowing.

"Come on Uncle Adam, we got a race with Uncle Etienne and you can beat him." Carla and Sammy said as they tugged at Adam's arms to get him to stand up.

"A race? How about just a nice little easy trip around the lake?" Adam asked as he stood up.

"Naw, that ain't no fun! We bet Bay Watch a box of jelly doughnuts we could beat them!" Sammy said. Adam now looked down by the beach as two rowboats sat waiting. Both boats had four boys already in them.

"You're going too?" Adam asked as he surveyed the two boats.

"Sure! We made the bet." Carla replied.

"Why am I looking at four of the youngest boys in Bay watch, and six of the oldest kid's in Beachview?" Adam now asked. Carla shrugged her shoulders.

"That's who we made the bet with," she replied with a dimpled smile.

"I'm guessing that our boat is carrying almost twice the weight Uncle Etienne is carrying. That doesn't bother you any?" Adam asked. Both Sammy and Carla vigorously shook their heads as the remaining staff chuckled.

"Who's your Physics teacher?" Adam asked.

"What's Physics?" Sammy asked.

"That's not until eighth grade Adam." Johanna now said.

"Great, I'm doomed to tow the Titanic around the lake for the next four years!" Adam replied.

Adam's humiliating loss of the race was assured before he reached the ¼ mark. It was compounded by the fact that four of the six campers in his boat insisted upon sitting up near the bow as he plowed through the water like a fully loaded barge.

"Four years my ass! I'm going to start teaching them Physics tomorrow or they're going to kill me!" Adam exclaimed as he collapsed back on the blanket. Handed a beer by Johanna, Sammy and Carla now approached somewhat glum.

"Ya didn't try very hard Uncle Adam." Carla said as she searched through the cooler for a soda. Adam said nothing as he shook his head and looked at Johanna. His first thought was to haul the little girl across his lap and tan her bare bottom pink, but he didn't think she'd find that very therapeutic. Adam thought it would be extremely therapeutic, but only for himself.

"Your Uncle Adam is getting old guy's, if you had chosen your Uncle Sid, I'd bet he would have won the race." Beth now said.

"But he wasn't here," Sammy replied.

"Well, the next time you have a race, make sure your Uncle Sid is around" Beth replied with a smile.

"Yeah, good idea!" Carla said as she handed Sammy a soda and the two raced back down to the beach.

"Keep that in mind guys, never call her kid Butterball!" Adam told his friends as Beth and Johanna now giggled.

Not unexpectedly, many of the mafia opted to return to the cove by boat. As Return to Quarters blew for The Intermediate Camp, the beach was largely deserted as almost all of the boats ended up on the beach in front of the Cabins that lined the lake. After packing up Johanna and Beth's carts for the return to their cabins. Sid's return to the lake came as the last of the bugle's notes floated across the lake and the very distinctive sound of campers in the showers emanated from every cabin. With 130 boys and 20 girls now making up the Intermediate camp, one would never guess that it wasn't a camp made up entirely of girls by the sound now reverberating off the hill's and trees on the hillsides surrounding the lake.

"It sounds like it could be Thermopoly in the heat of battle."

Sid said as he opened a beer.

"Or the magical sound of children who are extremely happy in their surroundings." Doctor Lester replied.

"And if we don't hustle our asses back to the cabins, we're going to have waterfalls flowing down the stairs," Adam said as he mounted his cart.

Christopher's evening began as planned diet wise, he was served a plate of cooked vegetables and broiled chicken along with a small mountain of mashed potatoes.

Once dinner was over, it was time to roam, and with the girls in tow, he roamed far and wide. By the time he returned to Bert's table, the juice from the pieces of beef filet he had quietly filched from campers and staff's plates ran from his chin to his umbilical cord.

Helen opted to keep Christopher's dietary infractions to herself as she unsnapped the straps on his bib overalls and they fell to his feet. Stepping out of them Christopher stood on the table as Helen washed the boy down with a washcloth.

"Eee?" Christopher asked as he signed for food. Helen looked down to the boys stomach which protruded out far enough to hide his genitals unless Helen stepped back away from him. Helen guessed he could hold a small watermelon in his abdomen.

Knowing the boy was very capable of eating until he literally threw up, Helen was leery of giving him more food. At the same time, the boy equated love, caring and happiness with food, so it was never withheld from him if at all possible.

"How about some nice cold watermelon?" Helen asked the boy. Christopher shook his head "No".

"Chef John has made a very nice fruit salad, how about a bowl of that?" Helen asked. Again, Christopher shook his head.

"Tell me what you would like." Helen asked. Christopher now signed for an ice cream cone.

"You want a bowl of ice cream?" Helen asked. Christopher shook his head and signed again.

"He wants a cone Aunt Helen, he likes the Mr. Big's at the Feed Bag." Jill now informed Helen.

"Christopher, do want a Mr. Big?" Jill asked the boy.

"Hey!" Christopher excitedly said as he put both hands together and went for his groin area with a large dimpled grin on his face. "The Feed Bag is closed; they're the only one's that have them." Helen told the girl. Jill shook her head and whispered into Helen's ear as Christopher watched very intently.

"OK Christopher Jill will go to the Feed Bag and get you one, but you have to wait here with me. OK?" she asked the boy.

"Hey!" Christopher replied. Returning to Bert's Office, Jill retrieved a cone from the secret stash Bert had in his office freezer. Just because the boy couldn't reached the freezer door didn't mean he couldn't figure out how to get at his favorite treat if he knew they were contained within, so Bert made sure the boy was completely unaware of their presence. Returning to the beach and pulling off the wrapper, the girl now handed Christopher the cone as the boy stared at it like he was looking at a Christmas tree surrounded in toys on Christmas morning.

"He's drooling!" Jill said as she withdrew her hand and wiped it off. Helen giggled a bit "Swallow Christopher!" the woman told the boy "Hey!" Christopher chirped.

"Jeez Aunt Helen, we gotta tell him to go pee, now we gotta tell him to swallow too?" Jill asked. Christopher now looked towards the girl.

"Pee pee?" he asked as his free hand went to his penis and he put a choke hold on it. Helen looked at the girl.

"You opened up your big mouth, you deal with it!" Helen said as she stepped back away from Christopher with a small smile.

"No, no Christopher, wait!" Jill said as she approached the boy.

Once Christopher's bladder was empty, the girl picked him up and shaking her head, walked into the water to wash off the urine on her lower legs and feet. Mentioning an activity in Christopher's presence usually came with an immediate response from the boy. Jill needed to remember that in the future she said to herself as Christopher wrapped his arms around the girl and gave her a chocolate covered kiss.

"I,eee?" Christopher asked in his usual high pitched chirp.

"Yes Christopher, I love you too," she said carefully choosing her words.

For the mafia as well as the entire Intermediate Camp, bedtime showers, as opposed to morning and afternoon showers, was pure bedlam. Unless you were screaming and squealing at the top of your lungs with soap and shampoo flying in every direction, you weren't getting very clean, so needless to say, they were immaculate. The same couldn't be said for the tile floors which now contained soaking wet towels, washcloth's, underpants, socks, and the usual water guns, balloons and toys that had to be included for a successful washing to occur.

Adam pulled up to the front of Beachview Cabin and surveyed the scene along the lake shore as Sid, Kevin, Barry and Doctor Lester pulled up in their carts. Seeing most of the boats pulled up on shore in front of Adam's cabin, the man didn't have to be hit over the head to realize that he had the majority of the mafia now destroying his nice and neat and tidy cabin. Sid looked at his friend as he rang his ice cream bells to notify the boys inside he had arrived. Seeing Adam staring at the lake, Sid turned around as well.

"Look on the bright side Adam; you're a really popular guy!" Sid said as he turned back to his friend and grinned.

While the rest of the staff took seats on the front porch, Adam opened the screen door and looked in. A trail of water and sand led to the circular stairway that went up to the bedroom loft. Another trail of water led to the kitchen, where a wide open refrigerator door told Adam he probably needed more ice tea, lemonade and bug juice. Shaking his head, he closed the cabin door and took a beer out of the cooler on the front porch.

"I'm guessing 30, maybe even 36," Adam said as he sat down. As the rest of the staff chuckled, Bert now arrived in his cart with Helen, all four Senior girls and Christopher in tow. Honking his vintage car horn, Bert exited the cart as he carried Christopher on his hip.

"Slumming it boss?" Sid asked as Helen sat down. Adam now watched as Bert put Christopher down on the porch and the boy immediately headed for the cabin door.

"There goes the neighborhood; I'm never going to win Cabin Inspection Honors if this keeps up," Adam said to nobody in particular as Christopher disappeared inside.

After the laughter died down, Claire asked Helen if the girls should watch after Christopher. Adam again shook his head.

"Christopher will be perfectly fine in with the mafia, but if any of you four girls are dumb enough to step into that loft, I'm not willing to guarantee your virginity beyond this evening," he said with a very straight face. Sid nodded his head.

"Good call!" he said. With a slightly pink face, Claire looked at Helen.

"It would probably be best if you stayed out of the loft, unless you want to take a cart back to the cabin." Helen advised the girls.

"We'll stay." Jill said after a short pow wow.

"Good, you girls can make the drinks." Burt said as he settled in.

"Everything set for tomorrow?" Bert asked Dr. Lester as the girls now entered the cabin.

"It appears to be, we should be leaving right after lunch. Has anybody heard differently from Anthony or Spencer?" the Doctor asked. With shaking heads all around, Bert nodded. Now looking around, Bert asked where Etienne and Greg were.

"They left with the boys, so they have to be upstairs," Adam replied.

"Thomas wants to remind everybody to keep alert for ticks," Bert told Adam and Kevin.

"I'll see to it," Kevin said as he stood up and went inside.

As the girls now returned outside, one whispered into Helen's ear as the other's passed out the drinks. With Helen standing up Bert looked at the woman.

"Where too?" He asked.

"Adam's ice box is all over the kitchen floor," she replied as she went inside with the four girls. Adam closed his eyes and took a long sip of his beer.

"You need to consider putting on a child latch on the fridge Adam, we don't have that problem at home," Bert said as Kevin reappeared.

"How's everything upstairs?" Sid asked.

"Fine except for the large box of chocolate covered donuts Christopher took into the shower with him," Kevin replied as he sat back down.

Christopher's arrival in the shower room was a surprise for the 15 or so members of the mafia who didn't hear Bert's arrival. Carrying a large box of donuts under his arm and two in his fist, the perpetually smiling boy walked in and looked around. Sammy, Carla, Jeannie, Joey and the twin's all shook their heads no as the boy offered a bite of his rapidly crumbling stash of donuts.

"No thank you Christopher, you eat it." Carla said as the boy pressed his hand to the girls chest leaving chocolate on her sternum.

"Hey!" the boy replied with a grin as he chomped down on the soggy mess. Now spying a water pistol, Christopher reached for it which promptly dumped the box of donuts around the shower as they rolled around and began disintegrating under the force of the water. With the gun empty, Christopher presented it to Benji.

"I-eee?" he asked.

"He wants you to fill it up. When he says "Hey" he means yes. When he says "I-eee" it means he's trying to tell you something. Usually you'll know what he's trying to tell you by what's going on. But we can also talk to him in sign language." Carla explained to the twin.

"But I don't know how to speak sign language!" Benji replied.

"That's OK we'll teach you," Sammy replied. With the water pistol refilled, Christopher sat down on the floor completely happy as 15 or so children washed, played or continued to squeal around him in a sea of flesh as both twin's continued to observe the boy who they both recognized was very different from any other child in camp.

"Is he an Intermediate boy?" Gavin asked Sammy after a few minutes.

"No, he lives with Uncle Bert. He ain't a Intermediate boy, and we ain't allowed to play with him," Sammy told the twin's.

"But ain't he playing with us right now?" Benji asked.

"Not that kind of play, fuck play." Carla replied.

"He don't fuck and we can't ask him to or Uncle Bert and all the staff would get mad," she said.

"How come, ain't he a Geppetto boy like the rest of us?" Gavin asked. Sammy shook his head.

"He ain't got no balls, see?" Sammy said as he lifted up a leg on Christopher "What did he do with them?" Gavin asked as he looked at Christopher's empty scrotum.

"We don't know. Uncle Bert say's he was born like that." Jeannie replied. Both twins's now reached for their testicles just to make sure they hadn't disappeared.

"Don't worry, you got your balls, we already know that." Carla said with a giggle. The twin's looked at each other with a slight smile on both their faces.

While most of their fellow campers had no experience with females, the twin's were fully acquainted with girls from ages three to well past 45. Like their fellow campers, they liked to play with their male friends, but they also knew the joy that went along with girls as well.

Even at 11 years of age, Carla and Jeannie were well on their way developmentally, and as Benji studied both girls who now stood naked inches away from him and his brother, their budding breasts that would barely fill a teenagers training bra and vagina's that would require a twins' hand on each lobe to cover were enough to have his penis raising in appreciation and anticipation.

"Want to go play?" Benji asked as he took Carla's hand.

Both girls had many attributes, too many to list here, but one of them was not bashfulness, especially when it came to romping. Now looking down at the eight year old standing beside her, Carla would have had to have been Helen Keller to misunderstand Benji's intentions. Taking his penis in her free hand that was by now staring directly at the girls kneecaps, she felt the boys pulse surging through his stiffie as she kneaded her fingers from front to back as it caused it to flexed involuntarily. With his head getting "Light" and "fuzzy" as it usually did when somebody else, even his brother, played with him, Benji was fully prepared right there and then to drop to the floor and begin the romp, crowd or no crowd.

"In the bedroom, Uncle Bert doesn't want us playing in front of Christopher." Carla said to the twin as the girl retained her hand on Benji's penis and led him out of the showers while motioning for Jeannie to follow her with Gavin.

For the girls, the disadvantage of romping with the eight year olds was their puny two inch [5 cm] penises. The advantage was the fact that they had instructions to remain virgins and that could be accomplished with boys who had a two to three inch [7½ cm] penis but no larger lest it reach their hymens. The girls measuring stick was foolproof; a penis that stayed within the bounds of their four fingers except for the foreskin was OK. The twins were a perfect fit as Carla's thumb made its way slowly and gently towards Benji's crown jewel.

Laying down flat on her back, Carla put her legs into a perfect split as the boy rested his penis against her vagina and peeled back his foreskin revealing a cherry red head that glistened in his white creamy smegma. Using Max in the mornings was easier, faster and used much less energy, but for whatever reason, Benji and Gavin preferred the "Do it yourself" method as his penis became enveloped in a cocoon of heat and passion as it slid in up to both children's groins.

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