"For cryin' in the mud, BT! What about now?" Petey hollered through the closed door.
"Noooot yeeeeet. Quit askin', Petey!"
"Well, hurry it up! Or take another swig o' that oil. But shake a leg, will ya?"
"Petey," BT sighed. "These things take time! And you're not the one that's gonna need to go fishin fer it! So quit yer belly-achin'!"
Tannie giggled at the thought. She didn't envy BT's position. Not now, not before, and not in the near future. He sure had saved the day, but at what expense? She giggled again, thinking back to earlier that afternoon. If they had kept their celebrating down to a dim roar, they would have skated with the loot. Now, their hootin' and hollerin' had got them in a real pickle.
"What are you three dimwits doing, huh?" The meanest, surliest boy had just crossed paths with the trio.
Tannie and Petey stilled like statues. BT thought fast and quickly covered his mouth to cough. Astonished, the other two noticed his empty hand afterwards, and went bug-eyed.
Petey spoke up to draw attention to himself. "Don't pay us any nevermind, Chucky. We're just being silly, is all. You know how it is. Summer's got us losin' our marbles and we just had to get out to the creek to have us some fun." Petey quickly explained, shuffling his feet to try to slide the panning tools into the tall grass. They had been playing "Gold Miner" all summer long, and they would be damned before they gave up their treasure the first time they actually found some!
Chucky walked up to the three, sneering and looking for trouble. Digging his fat finger into Petey's chest, he emphasized his threat with multiple jabs. "I told you before. You call me Chucky one more time and you'll be spittin' out teeth. It's Charles, Four Eyes." Chucky slapped Petey's forehead with the flat side of his palm, pushing Petey's glasses askew.
"Alright, alright. Sorry Chuc- Charles! I forgot."
"And what about you, Fanny?"
"Hey! My name is Tannie!"
"Yeah, that's what I said, Fanny. You stickin' to that story? Or should I start lookin' around for something suppicious?"
"It's SUSpicious, genius! And you better leave us alone or I'll be fixin to run and tell my Pa!"
Chucky's eyes flickered a moment of fear before he covered it with bravado and continued his bullying. "Yeah, yeah. If you actually made it to your Pa without wettin' your pants in fear again, FANNY."
"That's IT, YUCKY. I'm telling!" Tannie bolted up the hillside, hell-bent on bringing her father down with his switch. She might not be able to put the fear of God into Chucky, but her Pa surely would.
Chucky's face paled quickly, watching Tannie and her determination. He better high-tail it back through the woods if he didn't want to meet up with the preacher's wrath. To save face, he had figured he'd better swing his weight around one last time.
"What about you, mush-mouth? You 'fraid I'll whoop you too?"
"MM-mm!" BT shook his head back and forth quickly, mouth pursed shut.
"Yeah, well you oughta be! Next time I see you three, you better steer clear, or I'll squash you!" With that, he pushed past Petey and gave a whallop to the BT's back. A loud gulp emerged from BT as his eyes went round as saucers.
Petey looked over at his friend and gasped. BT shook his head fiercely and put his finger to his mouth, to silence Petey.
And well, that was four hours ago.
Two cups of castor oil later, they were all waiting around the bathroom door, where "digging for gold" took on a whole new meaning for the three unlucky miners.
Sometimes, I wonder where these ideas come from. I can't be held accountable for it, so please don't try to pin it on me. Let's just blame it on @theinkwell and their 50 Imagination Ticklers! This was Suggestion #47: What happens when three kids pretend to pan for gold and actually find some? I hope your imagination was tickled. Mine was 馃槄