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Mom,” he said softly.
    The jangling phone interrupted them. Buzz answered it.
    “Corky?” a voice asked.
    Buzz reflected on the name for a second. The voice sounded like Goose Marsh’s.
    He couldn’t say that Corky wasn’t home. As far as Goose knew, Corky had played football today and must be home.
    “Yes, this is Corky,” said Buzz.
    “Coming over?”
    Suddenly Buzz remembered Goose Marsh’s invitation to go over to his house for some of those cookies Corky was supposed to
     love so much.
    “Oh, that’s right,” he said. “I almost forgot. I’ll be over in a little while, Goose.”
    “Okay. I’ll see you, Cork.”
    “That was Goose Marsh,” Buzz said to his mother. “He invited me over for some cookies. He said that his mother had baked some
     of the ones Corky was so crazy about.”
    His mother’s brows arched a little. “Oh?” she said. Then a smile brushed across her lips and she turned back to her work.
     She was mixing up a salad for the evening’s supper. Buzz suspectedthat Mom was getting a kick out of something.
    “What’re you smiling like that for, Mom?” he asked.
    “Those cookies,” Mom confessed. Now she couldn’t contain herself from breaking out in a laugh. “If it’s the kind Corky’s crazy
     about, they’re raisin cookies!”
    “Raisin? Oh, no!” cried Buzz, and dropped helplessly into a chair. “I hope they’re not raisin!”
    But they were. Mrs. Marsh had made a whole panful of them. Her blue eyes twinkled merrily as she offered the cookies to Buzz.
    “Take several, Corky,” she said. “They’re free.”
    Buzz took one. “One’s enough. Thanks, Mrs. Marsh.”
    “Oh, now, Corky. What’s come over you? Why, you’ve never settled for less than four or five. Come on. Take some more.”
    Buzz looked up at Mrs. Marsh’s twinkling eyes, then reached up and took another one. “Thanks, Mrs. Marsh. Maybe I’ll have
     another after I finish these.”
    “Of course, you will,” she said. She put the plate on the dining room table and covered it. “Well, Jerry said that you boys
     had a close game today.”
    “We sure did,” said Buzz, and bit into the raisin cookie. He tried all he could not to show a face, because this raisin cookie
     tasted exactly the way he thought it would. Horrible.
    “Did I sweeten it too much?” asked Mrs. Marsh, the smile fading momentarily from her lips.

    “No. I think it’s just right,” said Buzz.
    “Well, I thought you squinched a little,” said Mrs. Marsh. “It could be a little sweeter than usual. Wait. I’ll bring you
     a glass of milk. You’ll want something to wash it down with, anyway.”
    “Oh, you needn’t bring me milk, Mrs. Marsh,” protested Buzz.
    Almost in the same breath he wanted to add,
But please do. Anything to wash away the horrible taste of these raisins!
    He didn’t know how he managed to eat four raisin cookies. It was a good thing that Mrs. Marsh had offered him milk. Buzz thanked
     God for cows.
    He left soon afterward, two cookies wrapped up in a piece of wax paper stuckinside his pocket. “Two for the road,” Mrs. Marsh had said they were.
    Buzz had a better idea.
Two for Corky
, he thought to himself.
    He was halfway home when he met Pete coming down the street.
    “Hi, Corky,” greeted Pete. “Stopped at your house, but you weren’t home.”
    “Naturally,” said Buzz. The remark came out gruffly, as if Buzz had spoken, not Corky. He quickly smiled. Pete was kind of
     on the dumb side, but so what? Everyone couldn’t be blessed with a lot of brains. “Where are you going, Pete?”
    A happy smile crossed Pete’s face. “How’d you like to have an ice cream sundae? Or a soda?”
    Buzz stared. “You mean you’ll… treat?”
    “’Course!”
    “Well…” Buzz laughed. “Why not?”
    It just proved how much Pete liked Corky. And I bet that Corky’s treated him lots of times, too, thought Buzz. I’m sure learning
     things. Not only about Corky, but myself, too.
    They entered the