(Author Note: This is the eleventh episode in a series. The characters and situations were introduced in the story:
Camp Torowa Falls 1: Wet Sheets Lead to Sore Rumps.
Read that episode first! Then read episodes 2 through 10 before reading this one!)
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Corey checked the date with Eric first thing Friday morning. He was surprised to discover that it was already August 9th, which meant there were only eight more days before the end of the camping session. There was no time to lose if they were going to put his plan into action. At least the weather was looking good for the day.

Corey had slept on the problem of recovering Squirrel Cabin's Frisbee from the big jerks in Bear Cabin, and he had come up with a plan. On the way back from their morning showers Corey ran his plan past Jerry, Eric, Alan, Kyle and Paulie. It felt weird, including Kyle in the planning, but in fact Kyle was critical to the plan's success.

Corey laid out his plan as they walked, then said, "What do you think?"

"You're nuts!" said Paulie.

"You probably should be fitted for a straitjacket," said Alan.

"I agree it's crazy," said Kyle, "but I'm willing to try anything that might save my brother."

"Its one advantage is that nobody will ever expect it," said Jerry.

"It's just crazy enough that it might work," said Eric.

"So we're agreed, then?" said Corey.

"Yes!" came the resounding reply.

"Okay, Kyle," said Corey, as they entered Fox Cabin, "after breakfast you need to have a chat with Derek and your brother, to make sure the Squirrels are ready to do their part when the time comes."

"Will do," said Kyle.

"You realize you should only tell them what they need to know to do their part?" said Corey.

"Oh, yeah!" said Kyle, "I don't trust most of those Squirrels to keep a secret for more than five minutes. Derek and Timmy are the only ones who need to know the details anyway."

"Good," said Corey. "So everything is set." He stuck out his hand. The other five boys piled their hands on top of Corey's. "This afternoon we hunt bear."

At breakfast the Bears were being insufferably smug, as usual. Pete Carlisle, Steve Windom and Joey Graham were the main bullies and ringleaders. Noah Chapman was the brains of the Bears outfit, but Corey didn't think he was nearly as smart as Eric. And Alan Dunson was a lot smarter than Roland Bell, the second-smartest Bear.

Roland was the one person who gave Corey pause when considering his plan. His one friend in Bear Cabin, Roland was a very funny guy. Roland didn't really go in for bullying, and mostly confined his mischief to attempting to smoke whenever possible. In fact Corey heard rumors that Roland liked to smoke some stuff that was a lot stronger than tobacco.

Roland was part of a group of boys who had been strapped by Boss Lemmon for smoking while Fox Cabin had been camping out in the woods. That was the second time that Roland had been strapped for that offense this summer. Perhaps Roland wasn't all that smart after all. In any event, Corey would feel bad about his plan hurting Roland if it worked, but sometimes innocent people got hurt in a war.

After Kyle finished his breakfast he went over to have a chat with Timmy, which would seem perfectly normal to the casual onlooker. Kyle, Timmy and Derek huddled for a bit while Corey took Simon Leary aside and asked him a favor. Simon quickly agreed to Corey's request. "Should be a fun afternoon," said Simon, winking. While all this was going on Jerry visited with some of his friends from Coyote Cabin.

As they moved through the morning activities, Corey kept running the plan through his mind again and again. Was there anything they were missing? Eric reassured him that although it was crazy, the plan did have a good chance of success. With the good weather, the whole camp would be having lunch at the lakeside picnic ground again, which meant there could be an opportunity to execute the plan immediately after lunch.

If Jeff was aware that anything was afoot, he gave no outward sign. In fact Jeff had been quite subdued since they returned from the camping trip the day before. Corey remembered the look on Boss Lemmon's face when Panny had revealed the fact that the campers were all skinny dipping when she and Callie happened along. He hoped that Jeff wasn't in too much trouble.

The campers returned to Fox Cabin to change into swim suits for the last activity period before lunch. As they changed, the conspirators told the rest of their cabinmates enough about what was going to happen so that they wouldn't screw it up. Tony tried to protest about the risk they were taking with their own Frisbee, but he was quickly silenced after Lionel, Phil, and Willie agreed to cooperate.

As they headed for the lake, Corey carried the Fox Cabin Frisbee proudly. He hoped the conditions would be right for attempting to spring the trap at lunch time. Alan was keeping a close eye on Tony until showtime. They couldn't take the chance of the little traitor spilling the beans to the Bear Cabin idiots that something was planned.

As he participated in swimming, Corey couldn't help but think about the events of the previous Friday. It had been the worst day of his life. From his position in the lake he could see the spot on shore where he first wet himself on that awful day, and the lakeside bench where he got the first of many paddlings he would receive that day.

It was all still so clear in his mind that he shivered in the cool water, and hot air, at the thought. Still, so much had happened since then that it now seemed like a horrible, but far off memory. He had wondered if any of the others still thought about it, but was too ashamed of the whole affair to bring it up in conversation. It was probably best just to forget it altogether if he could.

All the cabins showed up for the Friday picnic lunch at the lakeside. The only meals served picnic style each week - weather permitting - were Friday lunch for all eight cabins, and the Sunday lunch for the entire camp community. Even the Sunday community picnics used less than half of the picnic ground.

Although Camp Torowa Falls was most intensely used during the summer, by the two 30-day sessions of boy campers there from mid-June through mid-August, the camp grounds and picnic area were actually in use from April through October each year. The picnic area and lake front, with its wonderful view of Torowa Falls, was the most heavily used part of the camp grounds the rest of the year. The picnic grounds could accommodate up to 550 people.

The only time Corey ever saw the picnic ground anywhere near filled to capacity was for the large full-community picnic held the final day of each camping session. All the camper's parents, siblings, grandparents, etc. (whomever the family brought with them) joined the campers and the community members and their families for a huge final picnic lunch before the families took the campers home. Corey realized that it would happen again next Saturday.

Eric once told them about adult camping sessions he had heard about, where adults stayed in the actual cabins during the off-season. Corey had assumed Eric was talking about some sort of youth hostel arrangement, like they had in Europe. But Eric had assured him that these were proper adults, old people in their 30s and 40s, not college-aged guys like Jeff and the other counselors.

Corey had asked if these adults wore uniforms. Eric wasn't sure, but thought that they probably didn't. Corey had snorted with laughter as the image of his father dressed in full camp uniform of khaki shorts and light blue t-shirt sprang to mind. Then he imagined his father bending over the foot of a small camp bed with his briefs pulled down below his knees, waiting for his counselor to paddle his bare ass for some infraction.

At that point Corey had been forced to curb what his mother called his "overactive imagination". It was either that, or risk seriously soiling his own briefs and earning two more whacks from Miss Bertha's laundry brush the following Thursday. Corey was so confused. Why the hell did the mental image of his father waiting to be spanked like a little boy make him so excited that he was ready to squirt in his pants without even touching himself? Life was just too weird sometimes.

Corey cleared his mind of the recollection of that strange event, and began to concentrate on the matter at hand. They were eating lunch, and it would soon be time to see if his plan would work.

Sure enough, after lunch ended the Bears broke out two Frisbees, their own and the captured Squirrel Cabin Frisbee. They strutted around like they owned the whole camp, especially Pete Carlisle and Steve Windom, the main ringleaders. From what Corey had heard, the Bears had stopped even trying to capture other Frisbees during the past week, satisfied to play with their own and the Squirrel Frisbee, at least until they got to spank the Squirrels on Sunday. Let 'em strut. Their overconfidence may well be their undoing.

Corey just hoped that he wasn't being overconfident. Well, too late for all that nonsense. Time to act. Jerry and Corey casually wandered over to the Coyote Cabin group, the other 11 and 12 year old cabin. After a couple minutes Josh Freeman, who looked a bit like Jerry, and Jere Casey, who looked somewhat like Corey, at least from a distance, left the Coyote group and joined the Fox Cabin crew as they prepared to play with their Frisbee. It didn't look like the Bears had spotted the switch.

Corey got a strange look from Steve Turner, the Coyote Cabin counselor, who obviously had noticed the switch. But almost anything that didn't involve actual violence (or trespassing in another cabin) was considered fair during the Frisbee Wars, so Steve didn't say or do anything about it.

Fox Cabin set up next to the Bears, away from the lake and closer to the cabin area. The Coyotes started playing right next to the Bears too, but on the other side of them, closer to the lake. Jerry, trying to be Josh, and Corey, trying his best to resemble Jere Casey, took up positions closest to the Bears.

Corey had to split his attention between playing Frisbee with the Coyotes and keeping an eye on both the Bears and on the Fox Cabin crew in the distance. The forlorn little Squirrels were mostly clustered in the area around the Bears, looking for a way to get their Frisbee back. Derek and Timmy were right smack between Bear Cabin and Fox Cabin. The Bears taunted the little Squirrels unmercifully as they played with both Frisbees.

Occasionally one of the Squirrels would dart in and try to grab their own Frisbee, only to be foiled, and then taunted by the bigger Bears. The Bears seemed to be totally ignoring the Coyotes, who were not one of the stronger frisbee playing cabins this year. So far, so good.

Suddenly it began, and for Corey it was almost like the world had gone into slow motion again. Derek and Timmy, who had been feigning interest in the Bears all along, suddenly dashed into the Fox Cabin game, snatched the Fox Cabin Frisbee out of the air, and took off like scalded rabbits for Squirrel Cabin.

The Fox campers were stunned, and let the little thieves get more than fifty feet away before all ten Foxes took off in hot pursuit. The Bears laughed uproariously at this happenstance, and continued playing, a bit more sloppily, still eyeing the remaining Squirrels, but largely following the progress of the Foxes as they chased the fleeing Squirrels into the woods towards the cabins.

Corey spotted his chance and moved quickly past Don Harding, the Squirrel closest to him, and into the Bear game, angling for one of the Frisbees in play. He sensed, rather than saw, Jerry start moving at about the same time. They were going for the double snatch. Corey ran, leaped, snatched a Frisbee out of the air just a yard before Steve Windom could catch it, and took off running like he had never run before.

There were confused shouts all around, and Corey ran right past Roland Bell, the final Bear between himself and the woods. Roland looked more than a little confused, and Corey heard him say, "Corey?" after he had run past. But Corey didn't have time to stop and chat, and he ran like the hounds of hell were after him.

Corey ran with the Frisbee gripped tightly in his left hand, his arm curled around the plastic disc, holding on for dear life. If he dropped the Frisbee, this would all have been for nothing. Corey had no idea if Jerry had grabbed the other Frisbee, or if he had even gotten away. Corey did know he was being pursued, but only by three Bears.

Roland was back there, and he thought Steve Windom might be, too. Corey had no idea who the third pursuer might be. Corey was in the woods now, angling towards the bath house, which stood at the center of the cabin cluster. One of the advantages Corey had hoped to enjoy was that the Bears would think he was a Coyote and would be heading for Coyote Cabin. Thus if the Bears tried to head him off, those pursuers would be in the wrong place when he cut to the right and headed for Fox Cabin instead of to the left to head for Coyote Cabin. But it was clear that Roland had recognized Corey, so that advantage was gone.

One thing was for certain, Roland was gaining on him, but not quickly enough. Corey was almost at the proper spot - yep, there they were! Eric, Phil, Kyle and Paulie stepped out of the trees and moved to block the pursuing Bears. The rest of the Fox Cabin campers had broken off the pursuit of the Squirrels as soon as they reached the cover of the woods. They had quickly moved to cover the pre-arranged routes that Jerry and Corey planned to take through the woods back to the cabin.

Steve started fighting with the Fox campers, and Corey could hear him screaming, "Cheaters!" at the top of his lungs. He hoped that nobody got hurt in the fight. Corey looked back as the sounds of fighting faded, and found that Roland was the only Bear still in pursuit. Roland had been forced to lose ground by going around Eric and company, but his long legs were helping him make up ground again.

Corey had given up the Bath House ruse, since Roland obviously wouldn't have been fooled by it, and he was making a bee-line for Fox Cabin. As Corey began the final up hill leg of the race Fox Cabin came into view in the distance. He felt a wave of relief as he saw Jerry approaching the cabin too - his friend had snatched the other Frisbee and got away.

In fact Jerry raced up the front steps past Simon Leary, the Asscon who just happened to be lounging there, and entered Fox Cabin, effectively capturing one of the Frisbees. Joey Graham, the Bear who had been pursuing Jerry, screamed his frustration, then turned to face the oncoming Corey. Uh, oh.

This was a slight fly in the ointment. For some reason Corey had always imagined the two runners arriving simultaneously. He hadn't envisioned a latecomer being squeezed between two angry Bears. Think, Corey, think! But he was running out of time and distance. Roland was almost on his heels and Joey was blocking the way to the cabin, ready to pounce.

His cause looked hopeless. Then seizing on a last-second inspiration, Corey took a desperate gamble. Just as he was about to crash into Joey's waiting arms, Corey leapt to his right, clearing a line of fire. Before he could be wrestled to the ground by the two bigger boys, Corey grabbed the Frisbee with his right hand and smoothly flicked his wrist, sending the plastic disc sailing through the air towards the porch of Fox Cabin.

As Joey slammed him to the ground Corey closed his eyes. When he opened them again Corey saw Roland futily running to catch up with the Frisbee as it flew through the air. He saw Jerry calmly walk out on the porch, snag the Frisbee out of the air, and walk back into the cabin. They had done it! "Hooray!" yelled Corey, a second before Joey Graham's fist connected sharply with his nose, causing him to see nothing but stars. He didn't know how many other punches he took, but everything quickly went black.

Peww, that stinks! Corey couldn't believe the smell. He opened his eyes and saw Doc Moseley, who was holding a vial of smelling salts under his nose. "Ohhh, that's enough, Doc," gasped Corey. "Peww, that stinks!"

"It woke you up, though," said Doc, chuckling, as he capped the vial and put it away. They were in the Nurse's Hut. How did he get there?

Once the horrible smell was gone, all of Corey's aches and pains started to register with his brain. Initial damage control reports indicated a probable broken nose and at least one black eye. "Is my nose broken?" he asked.

"I'm afraid so," said Doc. "But the good news is that's not a bad break. You probably won't look like a boxer with a losing record once it heals up."

"I guess that's good," said Corey. "Anybody else hurt?"

"Nothing major," said Jerry.

Corey turned to see his friend sitting nearby. "You okay?" he asked.

"Sure," said Jerry. "Roland kept me from attacking Joey while Simon pried Joey off of you. Eric and some of the other guys have a few slight bruises from scuffling with the Bears they blocked. But all in all the plan worked perfectly."

"We have both Frisbees?" asked Corey.

"We have the Squirrel and Bear Frisbees," said Jerry, "and the Squirrels have ours. Simon reported Joey Graham for assaulting you. He'll probably get the strap from Boss Lemmon after dinner tonight."

"Cool," said Corey.

"Very cool," said Jerry.

"I don't know," said Doc, shaking his head. "The way you boys carry on about those Frisbees, anyone would think they were actually important or somethin'.

"They're important to us, Doc," said Jerry.

"It's a tradition," said Corey.

"Traditions can get people killed," said Doc. "Particularly when they're stupid traditions. When you're children you fight over frisbees, marbles, or any old junk. Then when you become adults you fight over flags, or a piece of land, or the wording in some holy book, or which holy book is the right one. It never ends, and it's just plain dumb." Corey and Jerry looked at each other and shrugged.

Doc Moseley shook his head and said, "Guess I'm wasting my breath. Alright, Corey, let's see if you can stand up." Corey got up on his feet, swayed a bit unsteadily, then felt alright. "You okay?"

"Sure, Doc. I'm fine!"

"Okay, Corey, you'll live...this time," said Doc. "Jerry, take him on back to your cabin."

"Thanks, Doc!" said the two boys.

"You're welcome," said Doc. "Will you two do me a big favor and at least try to stay out of trouble for the next week?"

"Sure thing, Doc!" said both boys as they left the Nurse's Hut.

"Don't we have activities to go to?" asked Corey, as they walked back to their cabin.

"Nope," said Jerry. "Fox and Bear Cabins are confined to quarters the rest of the day. We can't go anywhere until dinner tonight."

"Is it my scrambled brains," said Corey, "or does that sound just a bit ominous? Are we in trouble?"

"Probably," said Jerry. "At least some of us are. I don't think the two of us have anything to worry about, at least personally. But some of our guys were fighting."

"Great!" said Corey. Now he had probably gotten more of his friends in trouble.

"Hey," said Jerry. "Let's just see what happens, okay?"

"Okay."

When they got back to the cabin, Corey was swarmed with questions about his nose, and his health in general. He quickly assured everyone that he was gonna be just fine.

Corey immediately noticed the bruises on his friends, for he was not the only one injured. Eric and Lionel were sporting black eyes, and Phil looked like he had a bloody nose, but he had apparently been able to stop the bleeding without treatment from Doc Moseley. Clearly the other campers had stories to tell, as well.

Eric told Corey what happened after he passed the blockers. "Steve Windom and George Healy decided to fight us, leaving Roland as the only person following you," said Eric. "We tried to keep out of their way, while keeping them too busy to chase you. But Phil wound up tangling with Steve and I ended up scrapping with George. I think Phil and I are both gonna get it for fighting."

"Not from Boss Lemmon?" asked Corey, horrified at the very thought.

"I hope not," said Eric. "The counselors are discussing the situation with Boss Lemmon right now. I'm guessing that we'll get paddled tonight, if not before."

Corey glanced at Simon Leary, who was keeping an eye on them while Jeff was at the meeting. "I'm really sorry!" said Corey.

"Don't sweat it," said Phil, surprising everyone because he rarely spoke. "That was the most fun I've had since arriving in this dump."

"Yeah, it's not your fault," said Eric. "You couldn't have guessed that they'd turn violent like that. It's just a stupid Frisbee, and they're almost certain to get it back sometime in the next week, so why risk a strapping?"

Corey actually had an idea about preventing the Bears from getting their Frisbee back, but wanted to think about it for a while before telling anyone about it.

Jerry then told the tale of how he grabbed the Squirrel's Frisbee from under Joey Graham's nose and kept running. Corey realized that he must have snatched the Bear Cabin Frisbee himself - he had never even bothered to look and see which one he had. Jerry managed to lose all but one of his pursuers at the road block set up by Alan, Lionel, Tony, and Willie. Corey had witnessed his successful entry into the cabin, of course, so he already knew that part.

Alan then told the tale of their blocking for Jerry. Vince Palmer and Rob Anderson had decided to scrap with the blockers, who also tried to keep them busy without fighting. They were successful in this effort with Vince, but Lionel had ended up trading punches with Rob, so he was likely to be facing the paddle as well.

All in all, the Fox Cabin crew decided that it had gone fairly well. They had grabbed both Frisbees, and theirs was safely in the hands of the Squirrels. The two cabins would trade back their Frisbees, even up, tomorrow. This would leave Bear Cabin in disgrace and all at the cost of just a few paddlings.

Eventually the excitement wound down a bit, and everyone was faced with the wait before they found out who would be punished, and how. The clean laundry had been delivered, so the campers all put theirs away.

Corey took a look at himself in the cabin's single full-length mirror. His left eye was blackened, and there was a padded bandage across the bridge of his nose. These were wounds received in noble combat, defending the smaller campers from bullies. Corey decided that he could live with whatever the consequences were of this actions today. He hoped that his friends could too.

Yikes! Corey had mail again, letters from Becky and from mom. And he just remembered that he forgot to write last week. He had to write two letters by tonight and get them in the mail tomorrow. Otherwise his whole family would clobber him when they came to pick him up next Saturday.

Jeff arrived back at the cabin shortly after 3 PM. Corey put away the letter he was writing to his sister and watched as Jeff went into his office and brought out one of the chairs and his paddle. Uh, oh. Eric was right, somebody was gonna get it. Jeff set the chair down just outside his office door and sat down on it, facing the cabin. He waved in a 'come here' manner and said, "Gather around guys, we need to talk." All ten campers gathered at the rear of the cabin, facing Jeff. Some sat crosslegged on the floor, while others sat on the edges of the closest beds. The counselor waited until everyone had settled.

"You guys really stirred up a hornet's nest with that little stunt of yours today," said Jeff. "And I'm afraid that a some of you are gonna get stung because of it." He waved the paddle meaningfully. Corey looked around and noticed Eric licking his lips apprehensively at that statement.

"Personally, I'd like to say 'good job' on getting both those Frisbees. Nobody has ever seen anything like it around here before. Needless to say you drove the Bears wild. In fact Pete Carlisle and Brian Walker were so furious with the Coyotes, whom they thought had snatched the Frisbees, that they attacked the Coyotes right there in front of the rest of the camp." This news brought whistles and murmured comments from the assembled campers.

"So Pete, Brian, and Joey Graham are all gonna get a dose of Boss Lemmon's strap after dinner tonight," said Jeff. This news was also met with appreciative murmurs.

"So much for the good news," said Jeff. "Now I have get official on you and remind you that fighting is strictly forbidden, no matter what the provocation. You're all aware of that rule." It wasn't really a question, but all the campers nodded in response anyway.

"According to the evidence we've been able to gather, only five campers out of twenty in the two cabins did not get involved in the fighting. The three from Bear Cabin were Roland Bell, Noah Chapman and Eddie Gray. You already know about Jerry and Corey from Fox Cabin. All of the other fifteen of you are going to be paddled for fighting."

This immediately created a whirlwind of protest from several campers. Eric finally shouted the rest down and said, "Jeff, some of us did actually fight, but only about three of us. The rest only ducked the punches the Bears were throwing at them. Surely that can't be considered fighting?"

"Well, Eric," said Jeff. "I'm afraid that's not the way independent witnesses saw the situation. So I'm afraid that all eight of you will have to..."

"If eight of us get it, we all get it!" said Jerry.

Corey looked at his friend for a moment, stunned. Then he recovered and said, "That's right, Jeff. We did this together, so we should all get punished the same."

"Do you want me to break the other nine guys' noses, Corey?" asked Jeff, grinning slyly.

"Well, no," said Corey. "That's not...really...what I..."

"Look," said Jeff, rubbing his temple. "I already have a headache and it's only mid-afternoon. I'm not in the mood for any of this 'I am Spartacus!' bullshit. I have to paddle seven guys and I'm really too tired to argue about it."

"Wait a minute," said Alan, "you said eight of us would get paddled."

"That's correct, Alan," said Jeff. "But I'm not gonna paddle you clowns. Marty Herman will have that honor. I'm gonna have to paddle those thugs from Bear Cabin. Seven of 'em, anyway."

"Wait," said Eric, "I thought Pete, Brian and Joey were gonna get strapped tonight? Are they still getting paddled by you?"

"That is correct," said Jeff. "Boss Lemmon is so thrilled with those idiots that he's ordered a double dose for all three of them." This announcement was met with sounds of amazement.

Jeff looked at his watch. "It is now 3:20 PM. The paddlings will be given at the Slider Tree starting at 3:30 sharp. Anybody who needs to relieve themselves first, Simon will escort you to the bath house immediately. The rest of you eight pugilists, you'll need to remove your shorts and undies. You won't be needing them for a while."

The doomed campers all left with Simon, leaving Corey and Jerry alone with Jeff. Jerry winked at Corey, then started to take off his shorts. Corey began to follow suit.

"Oh, no!" said Jeff. "You two can stop that right now." Both boys continued to remove their shorts, staring at Jeff steadily, but respectfully (at least that was the look Corey was going for).

"Freeze!" shouted Jeff. Jerry dutifully froze, as did Corey. "You have two choices, guys. You can either behave yourselves and watch the other guys get paddled while wearing your clothes. Or you can watch the other guys get paddled while not wearing clothes, but you won't get paddled anyway. What you will get in that case is reported to Boss Lemmon for gross insubordination. You both will then get to join those three jerks from Bear Cabin in getting a dose of Boss Lemmon's strap after dinner tonight. How does that grab you?"

Corey and Jerry looked at Jeff, looked at each other, then began pulling their shorts back up and fastening them. "Good choice," said Jeff. "You guys have already been brave enough for today, okay?" Both boys nodded their agreement.

Corey and Jerry sat on their beds while Jeff returned the chair to his room. There wasn't really too much to say. Soon the campers and Simon returned. The eight doomed campers removed their shorts and underpants, placing them on their beds. Then the ten boys lined up with Corey and Jerry in front, marching behind Jeff. Simon brought up the rear, marching behind Willie.

Jeff led them to the Slider Tree, one of the most unique features of Camp Torowa Falls. A few years before a windstorm had knocked a tree down, and as it fell over, the top lodged in the notch where the two halves of a much larger, taller tree separated about 35 feet from the ground. This left the fallen tree lying at about a 40 degree angle to the surrounding ground.

The fallen trunk was nearly a foot in diameter at the base, and had not started any serious rotting as yet. Campers sometimes ran right up the trunk and into the standing tree in which it had lodged. Corey didn't know where the name "Slider Tree" came from, because to the best of his knowledge nobody ever slid down the trunk.

Another use the Slider Tree saw on occasion was the one it was about to be used for. The Bear Cabin crew was already lined up on one side of the tree at a distance of about six feet, starting about even with where the angled trunk met the ground. Roland, Noah, and Eddie were wearing their full uniforms, and the other seven Bears were indeed bare, at least below the waist.

Corey stopped about even with the base of the angled trunk of the Slider Tree, and Jerry was to his left. The other Foxes lined up facing the bears. The two groups of boys scowled at each other from a distance of about a dozen feet. Marty Herman, the Bear Cabin counselor, and Jeff met at the base of the tree. They each unfolded a towel and placed them over the trunk of the tree, starting about three feet from the base.

Marty was the senior counselor, so he ran the show. "All right, campers," he began officiously, "you all know why you're here. Fighting will not be tolerated. You fought with each other, so now you will be punished with each other. I will be paddling the boys from Fox Cabin, and Jeff will be paddling the boys from Bear Cabin. I believe you'll find that we are both capable of getting the message across."

Marty chuckled at his own little joke, and Corey was forced to suppress a groan. He hated it when people tried to be funny before and during a whacking, and he wasn't even getting it today. Corey could only imagine how the bare-bottomed boys felt about it. He did notice that the scowls on the faces of the Bears had mostly been replaced with concerned looks, at least for the boys without pants.

"We will take a boy from each cabin in turn," said Marty, finally getting on with it. "Starting with Fox Cabin, since they have eight offenders. You will each get six whacks. Eric Linsey! Get out here and hug the tree!"

Eric walked steadily, but stiffly over to the tree. He lifted his right leg and straddled the tree, laying down on the inclined trunk, his hips laying over the towels. He twined his arms around the trunk and clasped his hands together beneath it.

As Marty moved into position, it was obvious that Eric's bare backside was presented perfectly for the paddle. Marty touched the presented bottom lightly with the paddle, then came the backswing and... Craaccck! Eric clasped his hands tighter, but otherwise displayed no reaction. Craaccck! Craaccck! Craaccck! Craaccck! Craaccck! Eric wriggled a bit towards the end and kicked his left leg once, but remained silent throughout the paddling.

Eric pushed himself up off the trunk and marched, even more stiffly, back to the Fox Cabin line. Jeff said, "Peter Carlisle! Get in position!" Pete was soon in position, hugging the tree, and Jeff immediately began whacking the presented posterior. Craaccck! Craaccck! Craaccck! Craaccck! Craaccck! Craaccck!

Corey noticed that the paddle sounded different when administered outdoors in heavy woods. He was used to hearing (and feeling) it applied indoors. Granted, Corey had heard the paddle applied outdoors a week ago, but that was in more open areas, and he had been distracted by his own problems that day. In this heavily wooded area, the sounds of the board hitting flesh echoed strangely from the trees.

Marty called out Alan Dunson next. Corey hoped the future doctor could remain silent. It was a matter of pride that a Bear be the first one to make a sound when being paddled. Craaccck! Craaccck! Craaccck! Craaccck! Craaccck! Craaccck! Alan managed to stay quiet, but had been shaking his head and kicking a bit towards the end.

Steve Windom and Phil Lundon both managed to get through their paddlings without making a sound. Corey was starting to get worried. Lionel, Kyle and Paulie were next for Fox Cabin, and he didn't think all three of them could get through their paddlings silently.

But next came Joey Graham, the fellow who mistook Corey's head for a punching bag a couple of hours ago. It would be really nice if he was the first... Craaccck! Craaccck! Craaccck! Craaccck! "Sss." Craaccck! Craaccck! "Oww!"

Yes! Joey cracked first, and the Fox Cabin honor was saved, no matter what the rest of the Fox boys did. The Bears were all 13 or 14 years old, whereas the Foxes were all 11 or 12 years old. Amazingly Lionel got through it silently, although there were tears standing in his eyes as he trudged back to the Fox line afterwards.

Kyle Garlin was the first one from Fox Cabin to yelp. Corey could hardly blame him, since it was just two days ago that Kyle had two switches worn out on his bare bottom in the cherry bomb fiasco. Corey was amazed to find himself actually rooting for Kyle. Okay, he was a self-righteous little twerp. But he was kind of okay anyway. Three weeks at Camp Torowa Falls really seemed to have changed Kyle for the better.

The paddlings seemed to take a long time, but soon enough Willie Strand was howling as Marty's paddle seared his rump. Then the unlucky boy staggered back to the Fox Cabin line. Fifteen red-faced and red-rumped boys stood in the two lines. Marty gave a long-winded speech on inter-cabin cooperation and friendship and then they were finally dismissed.

When the group returned to Fox Cabin, the eight paddled boys all chose to lay face down on their beds for a rest. Corey went back to writing his letters, and Jerry went back to reading a UFO book that Alan had lent him. Corey had wondered why his friend showed an interest in that topic all of a sudden. Jerry had called it "a bunch of hooey" just a few nights ago. Corey wondered about it right up until he found out that the book in question had been written by a former Marine. Jerry would read anything about the Marines, or that had been written by a Marine.

About an hour before dinner time Jeff asked Paulie and Corey to come into his office. Paulie had been chosen to be the helper for the strappings after dinner that evening. Jeff and Corey explained to Paulie what his duties would be. "You mean I really get to hold the chamber pot while those guys....?" asked Paulie.

"Yes," said Jeff. "Don't worry, Paulie. I'll be there to tell you what to do."

"I'm not worried," said Paulie. "But I thought that Corey was yankin' our chains about all that chamber pot stuff."

"Nope," said Corey.

"Wow!" said Paulie.

Corey throughly enjoyed dinner that evening - spaghetti and meatballs, another meal popular with most campers. Three of the diners were having trouble enjoying the meal. Joey Graham, Brian Walker and Pete Carlisle were wearing only briefs, and were picking at their food. The whole Bear Cabin table was down in the dumps, shamed at having been hoodwinked by a bunch of younger kids.

For Corey and the rest of the Fox Cabin crew, life was good. A lot of people had been fed up with the Bear's bullying, and Jerry and Corey were bona fide heroes. It was Corey's first experience as a real hero and he basked in the glow. For some reason Eric insisted on whispering complete nonsense in Corey's ear, "All glory is fleeting." He kept at it, over and over with the same four words until Corey pinched Eric's thigh so hard that he yelped. At least he stayed quiet after that, and allowed Corey to enjoy the evening.

Boss Lemmon began the evening assembly with prayers, as usual. Then there were a few general announcements, including a reminder about Roland Bell's fourteenth birthday on Saturday. Wow! Corey had totally forgotten about that! He really needed to find out who was going into town from Fox Cabin tomorrow. He should get Roland something nice.

Corey felt kind of bad about shaming Roland along with the more deserving Bears. For about the hundredth that summer, Corey felt sorry that Roland was in Bear Cabin, instead of in Wolf Cabin with Danny Myers and his pals.

Suddenly Corey realized that he had been daydreaming while the upcoming thrashings were being announced. How many lashes were they getting? Twelve? Wow! Boss Lemmon must really be pissed!

The three forlorn boys followed Boss Lemmon into the store room, where Jeff and Paulie were waiting for them. Corey hoped that Paulie was enjoying his role in throughly humiliating the big bullies. The little guy's eyes sure had lit up when he found out about it.

Corey realized that his initial assessment of Paulie may have been wrong. Though Paulie was never likely to be a leader, in summer camp or anywhere else, he really was a pretty good team player when you came down to it. Paulie wasn't a good athlete but he always gave it his best effort, which Corey knew counted for a lot.

Soon Boss Lemmon led the culprits back out of the storeroom to face the camp completely nude. All three boys were red-faced with embarrassment. Corey chuckled quietly at the thought that theirs asses would soon be a matching shade. The culprits lined up facing the hall, hands laced behind their heads.

As Boss Lemmon lectured the culprits and the assembled campers on the evils of fighting and cabin rivalries, Jeff came out of the store room and stood to one side of the room. Paulie stood next to Jeff, holding the culprits' discarded briefs in his hand.

Pete Carlisle was the first Bear invited to bend over the bench. Corey was a bit surprised that his butt was still red from Jeff's paddle. He really shouldn't have been. Corey had plenty of personal experience in how long the effects of that paddle lasted.

Boss Lemmon wasted no time, but immediately layed into the bottom presented before him with the razor strap. Thwwwaaacckk! Thwwwaaacckk! Thwwwaaacckk! Thwwwaaacckk! Boss Lemmon was back into his wood chopping motion that Corey found so fascinating. Pete was screaming and sobbing by the time it was over, and he pried himself up off the bench quite stiffly.

Brian Walker lowered himself on to the bench very reluctantly. It was possible that Brian had never had any kind of serious whipping before. It was certain that he tried to get up after the eighth lash, and Boss Lemmon had to order him back into position. Corey was happy when Boss Lemmon awarded Brian an extra lash for cowardice. The recipient's howls indicated that he was less than pleased with the award.

Soon the extra lash had been delivered and Brian had sprang to his feet, red-faced, bawling, dancing, and furiously rubbing his scorched backside, looking every inch the well-whipped and throughly penitent boy he was. Only a threat from Boss Lemmon of more of the same got Brian calmed down and back in line facing the hall, his hands clasped behind his head.

"Graham!" called Boss Lemmon, beginning what Corey considered to be the main event of the evening. As Joey Graham advanced he had a look of dread on his face, having just witnessed his two friends soundly thrashed at close range, and now having to submit himself to the same agony. As Joey lowered himself into place rather gingerly, Corey thought about how different he looked compared to when he was sitting on Corey's chest that afternoon, pounding on a smaller boy's face.

As Boss Lemmon took his first backswing, Corey was painfully aware of the tenting in the front of his pants. He wondered how many of the witnesses in the room, men and boys, were sporting erections brought on by the show so kindly provided by the three Bears, and of course, Boss Lemmon's strap.

Thwwwaaacckk! Thwwwaaacckk! Thwwwaaacckk! Joey was already writhing on the bench a bit. Thwwwaaacckk! Thwwwaaacckk! "Oww!" Thwwwaaacckk! "OOwww!" Thwwwaaacckk! "Owww..NOoo!" Thwwwaaacckk! "Oooowww!" The dam broke and Joey started sobbing in earnest, and he kicked a bit with each lash.

Corey liked to watch any and all spankings, but he took particular delight as the heavy leather strap lashed into the buttocks belonging to Joey Graham. The big bully's howls and sobs were music to Corey's ears, and even caused his damaged nose to throb a little less. Thwwwaaacckk! "Eeeee!" Thwwwaaacckk! "Yeeoowwl!" Thwwwaaacckk! Joey was howling and kicking for all he was worth, but at least he didn't try to get up.

Thwwwaaacckk! As the echo of the last lash and Joey's answering howl died, the only sound left in the room was the broken sobbing of the freshly and thoroughly whipped boy.

After the offenders had been "hooded" and left to stand at the front of the hall in shame, Corey strolled up there with Jerry, Eric and Alan to have a closer look at the three well-leathered backsides - raw, swollen backsides that occasionally still twitched in pain as the four fascinated boys watched.

This had been a historic day in the annals of Camp Torowa Falls and one the best days of Corey's life, despite the broken nose. The four friends walked back to their cabin in the moonlight, feeling on top of the world.