Spark smiled widely.
"That's a fantastic idea, Kloppman. Basket, let's go upstairs to plan. Oh, and Kloppman?"
"Yes? What is it?"
"Don't tell the guys about this yet, ok?"
Kloppman nodded, and Basket picked up Spark and headed upstairs. Once they reached the room, they found Pillow lying on her bed.
"Pillow! Get up! Something important has happened!" Basket poked Pillow with the handle of a broom. Slowly, Pillow turned over, looking confused. "Spark got turned into a cheeseburger! We're going to use her to spy on Pulitzer! Isn't that a great idea?" Comprehension slowly dawned on Pillow's face.
"Yeah, yeah that IS great! And she can attack him and lead our cavalry!"
Spark and Basket stared.
"Pillow… We don't have a cavalry… We were just going to spy and be sneaky."
At this, Pillow's face fell, and she turned towards the wall and pouted. Basket and Spark looked at each other and shrugged. They went into the far corner of the room; if Pillow was going to be a wet blanket, then they wouldn't include her in their secret plans, so there. Basket leaned in.
"So, when do you think we should tell the guys about you?" she whispered.
"Not yet, but soon. I have an idea…"
Spark whispered very softly into Basket's ear, and Basket straightened up, grinning wickedly.
"Yeah, that sounds great…"
A few hours later, the boys began to make their way back to the lodging house. The passed Basket leaving as they came in.
"Heya, Basket. How's it going?" asked Jack. Basket just nodded and smiled.
"Basket, I've been doing some thinking and I'm sorry I tried to eat your cheeseburger." said Mush. Basket nodded and smiled.
"So, did you eat that cheeseburger? Because I'm really hungry and if you aren't going to eat it…" Dutchy started. Basket scowled and shook her head, then walked out the front door, nodding to Kloppman.
All the boys went upstairs, many slightly confused. Jack stepped towards the middle of the room.
"All right, boys, we did good today. No one sold any papers. Now, let's relax."
Immediately, they all cheered and began stripping. It was a huge display of manly love. No one noticed a small, slightly dry cheeseburger sitting on the windowsill…