Who does not attend Palmer's tenth birthday party and why? What do the boys want to talk to Mr. LaRue about? How does Mr. LaRue respond?

Neither Dorothy nor Mrs. LaRue attend the party. Palmer's mother says she would leave his father to deal with his "hoodlum friends" this year. Dorothy, Palmer guesses, does not attend so as not to embarrass him. The boys all want to talk to Palmer's dad about the Sharpshooter Award in the den. They ask him excitedly if he hates pigeons like they do and he replies no, he never did hate pigeons. They also ask him about Palmer being a wringer this summer, to which Mr. LaRue responds Palmer will have to make his own decisions.