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Show 62 "Do Dangerous Dan McGrew!" someone called out. "Go on up there, Whitzel!" others began to insist. Apparently the old folks had heard him before, but the kids in the class hadn't. Though Mr. Whitzel protested, Derek and Greg, in a mild strong-arm action, soon had him on his feet and breathing into the mike. "Don't you think it's too long?" he asked. "I know every bloomin' verse." "Take it away!" Derek cracked as he backed off. Mr. Whitzel was right* It was long, and he did know every verse, but the performance was first-rate. When he got to the end, where Dan McGrew and the dog-dirty stranger got theirs, Mr. Whitzel received a standing ovation from the students. Once again, the hall rang with hand claps and a polite version of Kevin Obermeyer's dog whistle. At that point no one wanted to quit. "And we came here to entertain you!" Dyna quipped at the mike. "We could take this show on the road!" A snappy drum roll from the back of the room startled them all into laughing again. A man who appeared to be in his eighties raised his hand timidly. Though he looked awful frail, his hair being as white as his cable-stitch cardigan, he spoke right up when Dyna called on him. "I know a song I could teach everyone-" "You do?" Dyna gave him the eye. "Is it clean?" "Oh, that girl!" Grandmother Suggs muttered, loud enough that Parker heard. ed Dyna didn't care. Happily, she adjust/the mike for the old guy. Stepping aside, she sat on the floor next to Parker. "It's an oldie, but a goodie," he began in a cracked voice, "and according to what I hear, this song goes back to Civil War days. I sang it to every one of my grandchildren." He cleared his throat and began. Pony boy, pony boy, Won't you be my pony boy? Don't say no, here we go, Far across the plain- By that time, Jan had started chording on her guitar. He turned |