initial commit of ebook 10316HEADmain

2 files changed, 5954 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/old/10316.txt b/old/10316.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a1a9aa5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/10316.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,5954 @@
+The Project Gutenberg eBook, Roy Blakeley's Adventures in Camp, by Percy
+Keese Fitzhugh
+
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+
+
+
+Title: Roy Blakeley's Adventures in Camp
+
+Author: Percy Keese Fitzhugh
+
+Release Date: November 26, 2003  [eBook #10316]
+
+Language: English
+
+Chatacter set encoding: US-ASCII
+
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ROY BLAKELEY'S ADVENTURES IN
+CAMP***
+
+
+E-text prepared by Juliet Sutherland, Carol David, and the Project
+Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team 
+
+
+
+ROY BLAKELEY'S ADVENTURES IN CAMP
+
+BY
+
+PERCY KEESE FITZHUGH
+
+AUTHOR OF
+ROY BLAKELY, TOM SLADE, BOY SCOUT,
+TOM SLADE AT TEMPLE CAMP, TOM SLADE WITH THE COLORS, ETC.
+
+ILLUSTRATED BY HOWARD L. HASTINGS
+
+1920
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+TABLE OF CONTENTS
+
+
+CHAPTER
+
+      I. TELLS YOU HOW WE GOT STARTED
+
+     II. TELLS YOU HOW I HAD A VISITOR
+
+    III. TELLS HOW I MADE A PROMISE
+
+     IV. TELLS ABOUT THE PAPER I FOUND
+
+      V. TELLS ABOUT SKINNY'S MERIT BADGE
+
+     VI. TELLS HOW SKINNY AND I GOT TOGETHER
+
+    VII. TELLS ABOUT MY MERIT BADGE
+
+   VIII. TELLS ABOUT OUR TRIP UP THE HUDSON
+
+     IX. TELLS ABOUT SKINNY'S SWIMMING LESSON
+
+      X. TELLS ABOUT SKINNY AND THE ELKS
+
+     XI. TELLS YOU HOW TO GET TO TEMPLE CAMP
+
+    XII. TELLS ALL ABOUT OUR ROW ON BLACK LAKE
+
+   XIII. TELLS ABOUT THE STRANGE CAMPERS
+
+    XIV. TELLS ABOUT THE STORM ON BLACK LAKE
+
+     XV. TELLS ABOUT AN ACCIDENT
+
+    XVI. TELLS ABOUT SKINNY'S ABSENCE
+
+   XVII. TELLS ABOUT CAMP-FIRE AND SKINNY
+
+  XVIII. TELLS ABOUT MY TALK WITH BERT WINTON
+
+    XIX. TELLS ABOUT A VISIT FROM ACROSS THE LAKE
+
+     XX. TELLS ABOUT THE LOSS OF SOME MONEY
+
+    XXI. TELLS ABOUT MY TALK WITH MR. ELLSWORTH
+
+   XXII. TELLS ABOUT HOW I VISITED THE OHIO TROOP CABIN
+
+  XXIII. TELLS ABOUT HOW I DID A GOOD TURN
+
+   XXIV. TELLS ABOUT HOW I TOLD A SECRET
+
+    XXV. TELLS ABOUT THE LETTER WE WROTE
+
+   XXVI. TELLS ABOUT GEOGRAPHY AND ALL THAT KIND OF STUFF
+
+  XXVII. TELLS ABOUT HOW WE TRIED TO STOP IT RAINING
+
+ XXVIII. TELLS ABOUT HOW DAME NATURE CHANGED HER MIND
+
+   XXIX. TELLS ABOUT HOW WE LOOKED INTO THE PIT
+
+    XXX. TELLS ABOUT HOW TIGERS LEAP
+
+   XXXI. TELLS ABOUT THE OLD PASSAGEWAY
+
+  XXXII. TELLS ABOUT WHAT I DISCOVERED IN REBEL'S CAVE
+
+ XXXIII. TELLS ABOUT HOW WESTY AND I WAITED
+
+  XXXIV. TELLS ABOUT THE STRANGE FIGURE
+
+   XXXV. TELLS ABOUT A NEW CAMP
+
+  XXXVI. TELLS ABOUT WHAT BERT TOLD ME
+
+ XXXVII. TELLS ABOUT HOW I VISITED CAMP McCORD
+
+XXXVIII. TELLS ABOUT THE SCOUT PACE
+
+  XXXIX. TELLS ABOUT HOW CAMP McCORD DIDN'T STRIKE ITS COLORS
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+TELLS YOU HOW WE GOT STARTED
+
+Maybe you fellows will remember about how I was telling you that our
+troop had a house-boat that was loaned to us for the summer, by a man
+that lives out our way. He said we could fix it up and use it to go to
+Temple Camp in. It was a peach of a boat and took the hills fine--
+that's what we said just to jolly Pee-wee Harris, who is in our troop.
+He's awfully easy to jolly, but he doesn't stay mad long, that's one
+good thing about him.
+
+But one trouble, that boat didn't have any power, and it wouldn't even
+drift right on account of being almost square. Westy Martin said it was
+on the square, all right. He's a crazy kid, that fellow is. Anyway, the
+boat didn't have any power. Our scoutmaster, Mr. Ellsworth, said it
+didn't even have any will power. We couldn't even pole it.
+
+When we first got it, it was way up a creek in the marshes and Mr.
+Donnelle (he's the man that owned it) took us there and showed it to
+us. Just as we were coming near it, a fellow jumped out of it and ran
+away through the marshes. We said he must be a tramp, because he was
+all ragged. Anyway, he acted as if he was scared, that was one sure
+thing.
+
+"We should worry about him, anyway," I said; and Mr. Donnelle said he
+was gone and that was the end of him.
+
+But, believe me, that wasn't the end of him. That was only the
+beginning of him. I didn't say anything more about him before, because
+I didn't know, but believe me, that fellow was--what do you call it--
+you know--_destined_--to cause a lot of trouble in our young lives.
+That sounds like a regular author, hey? _Destined_.
+
+When we began fixing the boat up, we found that one of the lockers was
+locked with a padlock and as long as the boat didn't belong to us, we
+didn't break it open, especially because there were plenty of lockers
+besides that one. I bet you'd like to know what was in that locker. But
+you're not going to find that out yet, so there's no use asking. All
+the time we thought Mr. Donnelle had the key to it. But, oh, just you
+wait.
+
+Well, after we got it all fixed up, we couldn't decide how we'd get it
+down into the bay and then up the Hudson to Catskill Landing. That's
+where you have to go to get to Temple Camp. Temple Camp is a great big
+scout camp and it's right on the shore of Black Lake--oh, it's peachy.
+You'll see it, all right, and you'll see Jeb Rushmore--he's camp
+manager. He used to be a trapper out west. You'll see us all around
+camp-fire--you wait. Mr. Ellsworth says this story is all right so far,
+only to go on about the boat. Gee, I'll go faster than the boat did,
+that's one sure thing, leave it to me. But after we got down into the
+Hudson we went fast, all right. Let's see where was I?
+
+Oh, yes, we were wondering how we'd get to camp in it because we didn't
+have much money in our troop, on account of being broke. Poor, but
+honest, hey? And it costs a lot of money to be towed and an engine
+would cost a hundred and fifty dollars. Nix on the engine, you can bet.
+But, oh, boy, there's one thing Mr. Ellsworth said and it's true, I've
+got to admit that. He said that good turns are good investments--he
+says they pay a hundred percent. That's even better than Liberty Bonds.
+You don't get it back in money, but you get it back in fun--what's the
+difference?
+
+Well, we did a good turn, and oh, believe me, there was _some_ come
+back!
+
+One day a tug came up our river on its way up to North Bridgeboro.
+That's where the mill is. And there wasn't anybody there to open the
+bridge so it could get through. Oh, wasn't that old tug captain mad! He
+kept whistling and whistling and saying things about the river being an
+old mud hole, and how he'd never get down the bay again, unless he
+could get through and come down on the full tide. Oh, boy, but he was
+wild.
+
+When we told him that old Uncle Jimmy, the bridge tender, had sneaked
+away to a Grand Army Convention, he kind of cooled down on account of
+being an old veteran himself, and then some of us fellows fished up an
+old key-bar that had been lost in the river and opened the bridge with
+it. That's what they call the thing you open the bridge with--a
+key-bar. It's like a crow-bar only different.
+
+I'm not saying that was so much of a good turn, except it was turning
+the bridge around and Connie Bennett said that was a good turn. He's
+the troop cut-up. Anyway, old Captain Savage took me up to North
+Bridgeboro with him and first I was kind of scared of him, because he
+had a big red face and he was awful gruff. But wait till you hear about
+the fun we had with him when we landed and took a peek at Peekskill.
+Oh, boy!
+
+Then he said how he liked the way we stood up for Uncle Jimmy, and I
+guess besides he was glad about me diving and getting the key-bar, but
+anyway, that was easy. So he said he was going to tow us up as far as
+Poughkeepsie the next Saturday, and that if we refused on account of
+scouts not being willing to accept anything for a service, he'd make a
+lot of trouble for Uncle Jimmy, because he was away. He was only
+fooling when he said that. Maybe you won't like him in the beginning,
+but you'll get to like him pretty soon.
+
+So that's how we got it all fixed to go to camp, or part of the way
+anyway, in the house-boat. And believe me, we had some trip, and that's
+mostly what I'm going to tell you all about. Talk about fun!
+
+On Saturday morning all of the troop came down to the house-boat ready
+for the trip, and oh, you ought to have seen Skinny McCord. He's a
+little fellow that lives down in the poor part of town, and he was a
+new member. His mother is poor and she goes out washing, and Skinny was
+sick and his clothes were all in rags, and even he didn't have any
+shoes and stockings. But, anyway, he did me a good turn and so Westy
+Martin and I got him into the troop, and we presented him to the Elk
+Patrol, because they had a vacant place on account of Tom Slade being
+away in France. So now you know about Skinny and you'll find out a lot
+more about him, too.
+
+Before Saturday came, Mr. Ellsworth made a bargain with Sandy Grober to
+tow us down into the Kill Von Kull--that's near Staten Island, you
+know. Sandy has a boat with a heavy duty motor in it, and he said he'd
+do the job for ten dollars, because, anyway, he'd go to Princess Bay
+fishing. Our troop was broke and we couldn't spare the money, because
+we needed all we had for eats and things. So this is the way we fixed
+it.
+
+Mr. Ellsworth gave Sandy the ten dollars and then each one of the
+patrol leaders gave Mr. Ellsworth a note saying his patrol would pay
+back two dollars and a half as soon as they earned it. That would make
+seven dollars and a half, and Mr. Ellsworth said he would pay the other
+two fifty himself, so you see it was all divided up even between the
+patrols and the scoutmaster.
+
+Believe me, we had some fun earning that money, especially the Raving
+Ravens--that's the Raven Patrol, you know.
+
+We started early Saturday morning, and we knew just where we had to go,
+because we had a letter from Captain Savage, saying that we should wait
+in the anchorage off St. George at Staten Island, until he came and got
+us. He said maybe it would be Sunday night or maybe Monday morning, but
+anyway, just to ride on our anchor till he came.
+
+We didn't have any adventures going down our river and I won't bother
+telling you about it, because it would only be slow. Gee, williger, a
+story that's being towed against the tide wouldn't have much action,
+would it? I bet you'd skip. So it's better for _me_ to skip than for
+_you_, hey?
+
+But anyway, on the way down we got the boat all straightened out inside
+and decided just how we'd sleep. Two patrols would sleep in the two
+rooms and one patrol on deck under the awning, and we decided we'd take
+turns that way, so each patrol would get some sleeping outdoors.
+
+We didn't get to the Kill Von Kull till about five o'clock and I guess
+it was about six o'clock when we got to St. George. Oh, but there are
+some peachy boats in the anchorage there--regular yachts and big cabin
+cruisers. And that's where our adventures began, you can bet. Do you
+like mysteries? Gee, that's one thing I'm crazy about--mysteries--
+mysteries and pineapple sodas. Oh, Oh!
+
+Then Sandy left us and went off to catch cash-on-delivery fish--that's
+COD fish. Oh, boy, but it was fine rocking away out there. Pretty soon
+I got supper because I'm cook. I know how to make flapjacks and
+hunters' stew, and a lot of things. After supper the fellows decided to
+go ashore to St. George and get some sodas and take in a movie show. I
+said I'd stay on the houseboat because I had to write up the
+troop-book. Maybe I forgot to tell you that I'm troop historian. Most of
+the things in this story are out of our troop book.
+
+You'd better not skip the next chapter, because something is going to
+happen.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+TELLS YOU HOW I HAD A VISITOR
+
+We weren't anchored very far from shore, so it didn't take long for all
+the troop to row over, even though we only had one small boat. Mr.
+Ellsworth went with them so he could look after Skinny.
+
+As soon as I had finished clearing up after supper, I got out the troop
+book and began writing it up. I was behind about two weeks with it and
+so I had about ten pages to do. Oh, but it was dandy sitting there on
+the deck with my feet up on the railing, writing. I mean I was writing
+with my hand. Pretty soon it began getting dark and I could see the
+lights coming out on all the different boats just like stars. It's kind
+of fun being alone sometimes. I could see all the lights in the town,
+too, but what did I care? I said I'd rather be alone where I was.
+Pretty soon it was too dark to write and so I just sat there thinking.
+Maybe you think it's no fun just thinking. But I was thinking how
+pretty soon we'd be hiking up from Catskill Landing to Black Lake, and
+how I'd see Jeb Rushmore, and how I'd take a hike and find out if the
+robin's nest was just where it was last year. That robin is a member of
+our patrol--he's an honorary member.
+
+All of a sudden I saw it was pitch dark and I couldn't see any boats at
+all, only lights, moving a little on account of the boats rocking.
+
+In a little while I heard oars splashing and the sound seemed to be
+coming nearer and nearer, so I knew it was the first boat-load of
+fellows coming back. I thought it was awful soon for them to be getting
+back. It seemed funny that they weren't talking, especially if it was
+the Raving Ravens (that's what we call the Raven Patrol) because
+Pee-wee Harris would be sure to be running on high. That's the way he
+always does, especially coming home from the movies. And if it was the
+Elk Patrol I'd be sure to hear Bert McAlpin because he's a human
+victrola record.
+
+Pretty soon I could make out a black spot coming nearer and then I knew
+for sure it was headed for the house-boat. But there wasn't any sound
+except the splashing of the oars and I thought that was mighty funny.
+In a couple of minutes the boat came alongside and I heard someone say,
+"_Pst_" very quiet like. I went and looked over the rail and there I
+saw a fellow all alone in a rowboat. I couldn't see him very well, but
+I could see he had on an old hat and was pretty shabby.
+
+Then he sort of whispered, "Anybody up there, Skeezeks?"
+
+I told him no, and asked him who he was and what he wanted, but he
+didn't say anything, only tied his boat, and climbed up over the rail.
+Then I could see him better by the light shining through the cabin
+window, and his clothes were all ragged and greasy. He looked pretty
+tough, but one thing, anyway, he smiled an awful nice kind of a smile
+and hit me a whack on the shoulder and said: "Don't get excited,
+Skeezeks; you're all right and I won't hurt you. How are you, anyway?"
+
+I told him I was very well, but I'd like for him please to tell me who
+he was, so I'd know.
+
+Then he gave me another push, and I don't know, there was something
+about him that kind of made me like him, and I wasn't scared of him at
+all.
+
+"Don't you know who I am?" he said.
+
+"I kind of think maybe you're the fellow that jumped out of this boat
+and ran away, when it was up the creek near Little Valley. You look
+kind of like him."
+
+"Right the first time," he said, "and I bet you're a bully little
+scout. What do you say?" Then he looked out over the water to be sure
+nobody was coming.
+
+"I'm a first class scout, and I've got nine merit badges, and I'm a
+patrol leader," I told him. "Anyway I'd like to know what you want
+here."
+
+"_Patrol leader! No!_" he said, and I could see he was only trying to
+get on the right side of me, and that he didn't know what a patrol
+leader is at all.
+
+"Can patrol leaders keep secrets?" he said.
+
+I told him if it was a good secret, they could. Then he hit me a good
+whack on the shoulder and he winked at me awful funny and said:
+
+    They are fools who go and tell
+      Wisely has the poet sung.
+    Man may hold all sorts of jobs
+      If he'll only hold his tongue.
+
+"Are you a tramp?" I asked him.
+
+"_A tramp!_" he said, "that's pretty good. I dare say I look like one."
+
+Then he jumped up on the railing and began laughing so hard I was
+afraid he'd fall backwards into the water. I told him he'd better look
+out, but he only laughed more, and said I was a great kid. Then all of
+a sudden he happened to think and he looked around to see if anyone was
+coming. Then he said,
+
+"Are you game to help me in a dark plot?"
+
+Gee, I didn't know what to tell him. "It depends upon how dark it is,"
+I said. Because, jiminy, I wanted to be careful and watch my step. But
+that only made him laugh a lot. Then he said,
+
+"Well, it isn't exactly a black plot, but it's a kind of a dark brown."
+
+"One thing sure," I said, "you're not a tramp, I know that--I can
+tell."
+
+"You're a wise little gazabo," he said. "Would you really like to know
+who I am?"
+
+I told him sure I would.
+
+"Do you think I look like a tramp?" he asked me.
+
+"I think you kind of look like one," I said; "but you don't act like
+one, and you don't laugh like one."
+
+"I've got blamed little reason to laugh," he said, "because I'm in
+Dutch, and you've got to do me a good turn. Will you?"
+
+"Good turns are our middle names," I told him, "but anyway, I'd like to
+know who you are--that's sure."
+
+Then he said, "I'm Lieutenant Donnelle, Mr. Donnelle's son. And I guess
+I had a right to run away from the boat, didn't I?"
+
+"G-o-o-d night!" I said.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+TELLS HOW I MADE A PROMISE
+
+Then he said, "Were you one of the kids who were coming along with my
+father when I jumped out of the boat?" And I told him yes. Then he
+said, "You don't think he saw me, do you?" I said, "Yes, he saw you,
+but I guess he didn't know who you were, he didn't see your face,
+that's sure."
+
+"Thank goodness for that," he said, "because I've caused the old gent a
+lot of trouble."
+
+"Anyway," I told him, "I don't see why you don't wear your uniform.
+Gee, if I had a lieutenant's uniform you bet I'd wear it."
+
+"Would you?" he said, and he began to laugh. Then he said, "Well, now,
+let's sit down here on this bench and I'll tell you what _you're_ going
+to do, and then I'll tell you what _I'm_ going to do, and we'll have to
+be quick about it." Then he looked out over the water and listened and
+as soon as he was sure nobody was coming, he put his arm over my
+shoulder and made me sit down on the bench beside him. I have to admit
+I kind of liked that fellow, even though I kind of thought he was, you
+know, wild, sort of. It seemed as if he was the kind of a fellow to
+have a lot of adventures and to be reckless and all that.
+
+"Maybe you can tell me what you're going to do," I told him, "but you
+can't tell me what _I'm_ going to do--that's one sure thing."
+
+"Oh, yes I can," he said, "because you're a bully kid and you're an A-1
+sport, and you and I are going to be pals. What do you say?"
+
+"I can't deny that I like you," I said, "and I bet you've been to a lot
+of places."
+
+"France, Russia, South America, Panama and Montclair, New Jersey," he
+said, "and Bronx Park." Gee, I didn't know how to take him, he was so
+funny.
+
+"Ever been up in an airplane?" he said.
+
+"Cracky, I'd like to," I told him.
+
+"I went from Paris to the Channel in an airplane," he said.
+
+Then he gave me a crack on the back and he put his arm around my
+shoulder awful nice and friendly like, and it made me kind of proud
+because I knew him.
+
+"Now, you listen here," he said, "I'm in a dickens of a fix. You live
+in Bridgeboro; do you know Jake Holden?"
+
+"Sure I know him, he's a fisherman," I said; "the very same night your
+father told us we could use this boat I saw him, and the next day I
+went to try to find him for a certain reason, and he was gone away down
+the bay after fish. He taught me how to fry eels."
+
+"Get out," he said, "really?"
+
+"Honest, he did," I told him.
+
+"Well, some day I'll show you how to cook bear's meat. There's
+something you don't know."
+
+"Did you ever cook bear's meat?" I asked him.
+
+"Surest thing you know," he said; "black bears, gray bears, grisly
+bears--"
+
+"Jiminy," I said.
+
+Then he went on and this is what he told me, keeping his arm around my
+shoulder and every minute or so listening and looking out over the
+water. "Here's something you didn't know," he said. Gee, I can remember
+every word almost, because you bet I listened. A fellow couldn't help
+listening to him. He said, "When Jake Holden went down the bay, your
+Uncle Dudley was with him."
+
+I said, "You mean you?"
+
+"I mean _me_," he said. "I was home from Camp Dix on a short leave and
+was on my way to see the old gent and the rest of the folks, when who
+should I run plunk into but that old water rat. It was five o'clock in
+the morning, and I was just taking a hop, skip and a jump off the
+train. 'Come on down the bay fishing,' he says. 'What, in these togs?'
+I told him. 'I'll get 'em all greased up and what'll Uncle Sam say?'
+'Go home and get some old ones,' he said. ''Gainst the rules,' I said,
+'can't be running around in civilized clothes.' 'You should worry about
+civilized clothes,' he said. 'Go up to your dad's old house-boat in the
+marshes and get some fishin' duds on--the locker's full of 'em.' 'Thou
+hast said something,' I told him; 'go and get your old scow ready and
+I'm with you.'"
+
+Then he hit me a good rap on the shoulder and said, "So you see how it
+was, kiddo? Instead of going home to hear how handsome I looked, I just
+beat it up that creek and fished this suit of greasy rags out of one of
+the lockers. There was a key in the padlock and I just took off my
+uniform and stuffed it in the locker and beat it over to Little Landing
+in Bridgeboro."
+
+"You locked the padlock and took the key, didn't you?" I said.
+
+"Righto," he said, "and I thought I'd be back that same night and down
+to Dix again by morning. See? But instead of that, here I am and blamed
+near a week gone by and Uncle Sam on the hunt for me. A nice pickle I'm
+in. What do you say?"
+
+"Gee, I wouldn't want to be you," I said; "anyway, I'm sorry for you.
+But I don't see why you didn't go back like you said." Then he went
+over to the railing and looked all around in a hurry.
+
+"I guess they won't be back for an hour yet," I told him; "they went to
+the movies."
+
+So he came back and sat down beside me again and began talking very
+excited, as if I was kind of a friend of his, the way he talked. You
+know what I mean. And, cracky, any fellow would be glad to be a friend
+of his, that's sure, even if he _was_ kind of reckless and--you know.
+
+He said, "I had so many adventures, old top, that I couldn't tell 'em
+to you. Jakey and I have Robinson Crusoe tearing his hair from
+jealousy. Kiddo, this last week has been a whole sea story; in itself--
+just one hair's-breadth escape after another. Ever read _Treasure
+Island?_"
+
+"_Did I!_" I said.
+
+Then he said, "Well _Treasure Island_ is like a church social compared
+to what I've been through. Some day I'm going to tell you about it."
+
+I said, "I wish you'd tell me now."
+
+"Some night around the camp-fire I'll tell you," he said. "We were
+fishing off Sea Gate and the fish just stood on line waiting for a
+chance to bite. We sold three boatfuls in the one day and whacked up
+about seventy dollars--what do you think of that? Then we chugged
+around into Coney for gas and on the way back we got mussed up with the
+tide and were carried out to sea--banged around for three days, bailing
+and trying to fry fish on the muffler. On the fourth day we were picked
+up by a fishing schooner about fifty miles off Rockaway and towed in. I
+said to Jakey, I'm Mike Corby, remember that, and if you give your
+right name I'll kill you--you've got to protect me,' I said, 'because
+I'm in bad.' You see how it was, kiddo? I was three days overdue at
+camp and didn't even have my uniform. I was so tired bailing and
+standing lookout that when they set us down on the wharf at Rockaway, I
+could have slept standing on my head. And I've gone without sleep fifty
+hours at a stretch on the West Front in France--would you believe it?"
+
+"Sure, I believe it," I told him.
+
+"I'll tell you the whole business some day when you and I are on the
+hike."
+
+I said, "Cracky, you can bet I'd like to go on a hike with you."
+
+"That's what we will," he said, "and we'll swap adventures."
+
+I told him I didn't have any good ones like he had to swap, but anyway,
+I was glad he got home all right.
+
+"_All right!_" he said, "you mean all _wrong_. Maybe you saw the
+accounts in the papers of the two fishermen who were picked up after a
+_harrowing experience_--Mike Corby and Dan McCann. That was us. I left
+Jakey down at Rockaway to wait for his engine to be fixed and beat it
+out to Jersey. _No house-boat_! Was I up in the air? Didn't even dare
+to go up to the house and ask about it. That rotten little newspaper in
+Bridgeboro had a big headliner about me disappearing--'_never seen
+after leaving Camp Dix; whereabouts a mystery_'--that's what it said,
+'_son of Professor Donnelle_.' What'd you think of that?"
+
+I told him I was mighty sorry for him, and I was, too.
+
+Then he said how he went to New York in those old rags, and tried not
+to see anybody he knew and even he hid his face when he saw Mr. Cooper
+on the train. And then he telephoned out to Bridgeboro and Little
+Valley and made believe he was somebody else, and said he heard the
+houseboat was for sale and in that way he found out about his father
+loaning it to our troop, and how we were probably anchored near St.
+George at Staten Island. Oh, boy, didn't he hurry up to get there,
+because he was afraid we might be gone.
+
+So then he waited till night and he was just wondering whether it would
+be safe to wait till we were all asleep and then sneak onto the boat,
+when all of a sudden he saw the fellows coming ashore and he got near
+and listened and he heard them speak about going to the movies, and he
+heard one fellow say something about how Roy would be sorry he didn't
+come. And do you want to know what he told me? This is just what he
+said; he said, "When I heard your name was Roy, I knew you'd be all
+right--see? Because look at Rob Roy," he said; "wasn't he a bully hero
+and a good scout and a fellow you could trust with a secret--wasn't
+he?" That's just what he said. "You take a fellow named Roy," he said,
+"and you'll always find him true and loyal." He said there was a fellow
+named Roy on the West Front and he gave up his life before he'd tell on
+a comrade.
+
+Then he said, "You see how it is with me, Skeezeks, I'm in a peck of
+trouble and I've got to get those army duds on and toddle back to camp
+as soon as I can get there and face the music. I've got to make an
+excuse--I've got to get that blamed uniform pressed somehow--I suppose
+it's creased from the dampness in that locker. I've got to straighten
+matters out if I can. I just managed to save my life, and by heck, I'll
+be lucky if I can just save my honor and that's the plain truth."
+
+"So you see I've got a lot to do," he said, "and you've got just the
+one thing to do, and that's a cinch. It's to keep your mouth shut--see?
+Suppose the old gent knew about this. Suppose my sister knew I was
+within a quarter of a mile of the house and didn't go to see them. You
+know what girls are."
+
+I told him, "Sure, because I've got two sisters. And I bet they'd like
+you, too. I bet they'd say you were good looking." Then he began to
+laugh and he said, "Well, I bet I'd like them too, if they're anything
+like you. So now will you keep your mouth shut? Ever hear of the
+scouts' oath? The Indian scouts' oath, I mean--loyalty for better or
+worser? Don't say I was here. Don't say you know anything about me.
+Keep your mouth shut. If my name should be mentioned, keep still. You
+don't know anything. Nobody was here, see?"
+
+I said, "Suppose Mr. Ellsworth or somebody should ask me?"
+
+"Who's going to ask you?" he said; "you say nothing and they'll say
+nothing. I fought for my country, kiddo, and I've got two wounds. You
+don't want to spoil it all for me now, do you?"
+
+I said, "I bet you're brave, anyhow."
+
+"I'd rather face two German divisions than what I've got to face
+to-morrow," he said; "but if I know it's all right at this end, I won't
+worry. Are you straight?"
+
+"I wouldn't tell," I told him; "cracky, why should _I_ tell? And I can
+see you've got a lot of trouble and you're not exactly all to blame,
+anyway. Only I hope I'll see you again sometime because, anyway,
+whatever you did I kind of like you. It's one of our laws that a fellow
+has to be loyal. Only sometime will you tell me some of the things you
+did--I mean your adventures?"
+
+"I'll tell you all about the jungles and the man-eating apes down in
+Central America," he said.
+
+So then he went into the cabin in a big hurry and he took the key out
+of his pocket and he opened the locker and took out his uniform. It was
+all wrinkled and damp, but anyway, he looked fine in it, you can bet.
+After he got it all on and fixed right, he stuffed his old clothes into
+the place and locked it up again. I bet any girl would say he looked
+fine, that's one thing sure.
+
+Just before he climbed over the railing he put his hand in his pocket
+and took out some change and he was in such a hurry that he dropped
+some of it and it went all over the deck. I started to pick it up for
+him, but he only said, "Never mind, let it go, you can have all you
+find, and here's a quarter to get a couple of sodas."
+
+I said, "We don't take anything for a service, scouts don't."
+
+"Well, you can have a soda on me, can't you?" he said, trying to make
+me take the quarter.
+
+"If you want me to be loyal to you, I have to be loyal if I make a
+promise, don't I?" I said.
+
+He said, "What promise?"
+
+And I said, "I can't take anything for a service."
+
+Then he hit me a rap on the shoulder and laughed and he punched me in
+the chest, not hard, only kind of as if to show me that he liked me.
+Then he said, "Bully for you, kiddo, you're one little trump." Then,
+all of a sudden he was gone.
+
+Sometimes you can't tell just why you like a fellow, but, anyway, I
+liked him just the same.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+TELLS ABOUT THE PAPER I FOUND
+
+One thing, I bet it was Pee-wee Harris that the lieutenant heard
+talking, while he was hiding on shore. Anyway, it was Pee-wee that I
+heard first when they were on their way back--that's sure. You know how
+plain you can hear voices on the water. And believe me, before those
+fellows were half way out I knew all about the bandit of Red Hallow.
+That was the fellow in the movies, I suppose, and he must have been
+some bandit, because he saved a school teacher from about twenty other
+bandits, and shot them all. I guess everybody was shooting pistols at
+everybody else, like they mostly do in the movies. Pee-wee was sticking
+up for the poor school teacher, and it made me laugh because he hasn't
+got much use for school teachers on account of they're always keeping
+him in for talking. Anyway, what fun is there in everybody shooting
+pistols at each other. Me for stalking, that's what _I_ say.
+
+When Mr. Ellsworth came on board he said, "Well, Roy, alone in your
+glory, eh?" I didn't say anything and I hoped he wouldn't ask me any
+questions, because anyway, I wasn't going to lie, that's one sure
+thing. I asked him how the fellows liked the movies and he said,
+everybody got shot so they were all satisfied. He was just joking. He
+asked the fellows if they'd like to meet a lot of bandits in real life,
+and they said, "_Good night_, no." And then he said it was funny how
+they liked to meet them in the movies and all the fellows had to admit
+it was crazy. You wouldn't catch Mr. Ellsworth stopping us from going
+to the movies, but he always makes us feel silly afterward.
+
+Pretty soon Grove Bronson, who is one of the Raving Ravens, came up to
+me and gave me a newspaper with a whole lot of ears of corn in it, and
+said we were going to have it for Sunday dinner.
+
+Pee-wee said, "They're dandy big ears all right, and here's some cans
+of tongue."
+
+"Good night," I told him, "I thought we had tongue enough with you
+here." Oh, you ought to have seen little Skinny McCord laugh. His face
+was all thin on account of his not being very strong and he never had
+much food until he got in with us, either. But it was fun to see him
+laugh whenever we got back at Pee-wee.
+
+"There's some heads of cabbage, too," he said; "Doc's got them."
+
+"Heads and ears and tongues," I said; "you ought to have brought some
+potatoes, so we'd have eyes." He thinks I'm funny, but I just say those
+things to make him laugh, so as he'll feel good.
+
+Then I took all the stuff into the galley and put it in the food
+locker. I was just crunching up the newspaper that they brought the
+corn in, and was going to throw it out of the window, when I saw a
+heading that read: _Fishermen Have Harrowing Adventure_. Oh, boy,
+didn't I sit down on the barrel and read that article through! First, I
+looked to see the date of the paper and I saw it was a couple of days
+old. After I read that article I cut it out, because I knew I was going
+to tell you about all these things. So here it is now for you to read:
+
+    FISHERMEN HAVE HARROWING ADVENTURE
+
+    The fishing schooner Stella B arrived in
+    port to-day with two castaways, who had
+    drifted for three days in an open boat in the
+    stormy waters off Rockaway. The two
+    men, Mike Corby and Dan McCann, hail
+    from Jersey, and were carried out to sea in
+    their twenty-two foot launch from about
+    a mile south of Sea Gate, where they were
+    fishing.
+
+    Their engine broke down and their small
+    boat, beaten by the waves, was leaking
+    rapidly when they were picked up. One of
+    the men was unconscious from lack of
+    nourishment and the other in a state of
+    utter exhaustion from bailing, in an all but
+    futile effort to keep the frail little craft
+    above water. After being resuscitated, one
+    of the men gave a vague account of having
+    encountered a waterlogged life-boat containing
+    several people who had perished
+    from exposure, and of certain papers and
+    possessions found on one of them.
+
+    Later when a reporter made an effort to
+    see the men for confirmation of this statement,
+    neither could be found. Both are
+    said to have carried considerable money on
+    their persons, but this was explained by the
+    exceptionally large catches of fish which
+    they sold, during their fishing trip. No
+    means of tracing them is known since the
+    boat, in which one of them resumed his
+    journey home after repairs, had no license
+    number.
+
+Maybe you think I didn't read that article twice. And it made me wonder
+a lot of things about that fishing trip. One thing, it looked as if
+they might have had more adventures than Lieutenant Donnelle had told
+me about, and maybe he didn't want to tell me everything--that's what I
+thought. Anyway, he didn't say anything about a life-boat, that's sure.
+But maybe he forgot to.
+
+Just the same I wondered if maybe he had any other reason for being in
+such a hurry and so excited, kind of. Then I remembered how he said he
+would tell me all about it some day. Anyway, I said, he's had a lot of
+adventures, that's sure. You bet I'd like to have a lot of adventures
+like that.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+TELLS ABOUT SKINNY'S MERIT BADGE
+
+The next day was Sunday and two things happened, not counting dinner.
+Early in the morning we drew lots to see who'd be deck steward for the
+day, and Skinny was the one. That meant he'd have to sweep up the deck
+and wipe the rail and do everything outside like that. Anyway, there
+wasn't much to do.
+
+At about twelve o'clock I went into the galley to cook dinner and
+Charlie Seabury and Brick Warner went along to help me. While we were
+peeling the potatoes, Skinny came in and showed me three or four dimes
+and some pennies, and said he found them on the deck, when he was
+sweeping. He said, "I've been to every fellow in the troop and nobody
+lost any money. Are they yours?"
+
+I told him no and so did Brick and Charlie and we said he had better
+give them to Mr. Ellsworth. "One of them is a French coin," Brick said,
+and he showed it to me and I saw that it was.
+
+"I guess one of the fellows dropped some change climbing over the
+rail," Charlie said, "and maybe didn't miss it on account of not losing
+all he had, hey?"
+
+"He'd know if he had a French coin and lost it," Brick said.
+
+It made me feel kind of funny, because all the while I knew where those
+coins came from. Anyway, Skinny went and gave them to Mr. Ellsworth and
+when we were all together at dinner, Mr. Ellsworth asked us if any
+fellow owned a French coin that was missing. Nobody said yes, and then
+he said, kind of funny like, "Well, I suppose this is what our young
+friend Mr. Walter Harris would call a mystery," and he said we'd put
+the money in the troop treasury. Then he gave it to Will Dawson (he's
+in my patrol), because Will is troop treasurer.
+
+Somebody said, "How about the French coin? That's no use in the
+treasury." And Mr. Ellsworth said we'd give that to Skinny, because he
+found the money. He said it would be a kind of a merit badge to Skinny,
+for keeping his eyes open.
+
+I was mighty glad Mr. Ellsworth didn't ask us if anybody knew anything
+about the money, because then--jiminy, I don't know what I would have
+done. Maybe it would have been all right to keep still because I wasn't
+_dead_ sure whose it was. But all the while I knew I _was_ sure. Maybe
+I would have said I knew only I didn't want to tell, hey? Anyway, he
+didn't ask and that was one good thing.
+
+After dinner Skinny came to me all smiles and said, "I've got a merit
+badge, it's for keeping my eyes open, and will you bore a hole in it so
+I can wear it around my neck?" Oh, but that kid was happy.
+
+I said, "Did you have a good dinner, kiddo?" And he said, "Yes, but
+will you bore a hole in it so I can wear it around my neck?" He looked
+awful thin and his scout suit didn't fit him and his belt wasn't tight
+enough and he didn't look anything like pictures you see of scouts--you
+know what I mean. And when he smiled it made wrinkles in his cheeks.
+One thing sure, he was different from all the rest of the fellows. Even
+if it was only a little thing that he was interested in, he got all
+excited about it, and his eyes got all bright and if he grabbed you by
+the arm you could feel that his hand was trembling--he'd be so excited.
+We made a lot of allowance for him, because he was sick and came out of
+the slums, but anyway, one trouble with him was, that Mr. Ellsworth
+couldn't make him study up scouting the way other fellows do. All of a
+sudden he'd go crazy for the gold medal or the eagle badge and you
+couldn't tell him that a fellow has to get to be a first class scout,
+before he can be an eagle scout. "He wants what he wants when he wants
+it," that's what Mr. Ellsworth said, and he only just laughed and said,
+"He'll hammer into shape all right, let him enjoy the trip."
+
+And it was just like him--I mean about that French coin. He was always
+coming to me, too, as if I was scoutmaster and everything else. He
+began clutching me by the arm and saying, "I got it for keeping my eyes
+open, didn't I? I got it for being honest and asking all the scout
+guys, didn't I?"
+
+I had to just pull his hand off my arm, he was holding so fast to it.
+Cracky, I didn't know what to tell him. Then I said, "I tell you what
+you do Alf." (I wasn't going to be calling him Skinny,) I said, "You go
+and ask Vic Norris if he's got an awl or a small gimlet--see? Then I'll
+fix it for you." Vic had charge of the locker where we kept the lights
+and oil and tools and all that kind of stuff.
+
+Pretty soon he came back with an awning needle and asked me if it would
+do. I think he would have gone crazy if I had told him no.
+
+I said, "Yes, I guess so. Come ahead, and let go my arm, do you hear?
+I'm not going to run away."
+
+Then he said, "I like you better than any of the scout guys."
+
+"We're not guys, we're just scouts," I told him; "you can cut out the
+guys. Didn't Mr. Ellsworth tell you that?"
+
+The fellows were sitting around on the deck, reading. Some of them were
+sprawling around on the cabin roof, killing time and jollying Pee-wee.
+I don't know where Mr. Ellsworth was, but I guess he was inside writing
+letters. Anyway, it was nice and sunny and you could see the sun in the
+water. Over on shore, in St. George, I could hear a church bell and it
+sounded clear. There weren't many boats out, except sometimes the boats
+to Coney Island went by and we could hear the music. I thought I'd
+rather be where I was, anyway. Maybe it was because it was Sunday and
+because it was so still all around that I had a good idea. Anyway, I
+thought it was a good idea, but _good night_, it got me into a kind of
+a scrape.
+
+That's one thing about me, I'm always getting in scrapes.
+
+So then I took Skinny and we climbed in through the galley window. I
+guess nobody noticed us; nobody said anything except El Sawyer. He
+asked me if I was going to get supper.
+
+"Supper!" I said. "Didn't you just have dinner?" Honest, that fellow
+never thinks of anything except eats.
+
+When we got into the galley, I said to Skinny, "Let's sit up on the
+board so we can look out and see the bay." So we sat on the board that
+was on two barrels. I used it to open cans on and slice bread and all
+that. And I always washed it good and clean, you can bet. Oh, but it
+was nice sitting there and it was just as quiet as it is in the woods.
+Sometimes a motor boat would go by and we could hear it chugging.
+
+"One thing, nobody'll bother us here," I said, "some fellows don't like
+Sunday, but I do."
+
+Skinny said, "I like Christmas best, because rich people bring baskets
+of food."
+
+Cracky, I felt awful sorry for him.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+TELLS HOW SKINNY AND I GOT TOGETHER
+
+First I bored a hole in the coin and hung it around Skinny's neck. He
+was all excited and said, "Now I've got a regular merit badge, ain't
+I?"
+
+I said, "No you haven't, but it's a good badge, all right" Then I said,
+"Now I'm going to tell you some things about merit badges. You get
+merit badge because you're able to do special things, see? You get them
+for being able to do things that some other fellows can't do--kind of.
+Not exactly that," I told him, "because most fellows can do the things
+if they try hard enough. But, anyway, there isn't any merit badge for
+keeping your eyes open. Mr. Ellsworth was only joking about that. And
+especially you don't get any merit badge for being honest, because that
+would be too easy. If you could get one for that, gee-whiz, all the
+fellows would have them, that's sure."
+
+He said, "Ain't it good to be honest?"
+
+I told him sure it was, but it was too easy and that all the scouts
+were honest anyway, even without badges. Then I said, "If you wore that
+on account of being honest, that would insult all the other fellows,
+wouldn't it?" He just stared at me, but didn't say anything. "So you
+have to be careful," I told him, "not to be saying that you have a
+reward for being honest, see?"
+
+Then I told him about there not being any badge for keeping his eyes
+open and finding things. "But there's a badge for something else like
+that," I said, "only you can't get it yet, because you have to learn a
+lot of things first, and it's a lot of fun learning them, too."
+
+He said, "Can I learn them right now?"
+
+I said, "No, but you'll learn a lot of them up in camp." Then I told
+them that the one that had most to do with keeping his eyes open was
+the stalking badge. So then I got out the Handbook and showed him the
+picture of it and read him what it said. Gee williger, I don't see
+where there was any harm in that, do you? I read him the three
+conditions and the four sub-divisions.
+
+"So you see, that means keeping your eyes open all right," I told him,
+"because you have to be all the time watching for signs and tracks in
+the snow or in the dirt, so as you can tell where a bird went, maybe,
+and sneak up and watch him."
+
+"That's one thing I can do," he said, "sneak. I'm a little sneak,
+everybody said so."
+
+Good night, that kid was the limit!
+
+"I don't mean that way," I told him, "but you have to _stalk_. That
+means to follow a bird or an animal and watch them without them knowing
+anything about it--see?"
+
+He said, all excited like, "I can sneak up on 'em, so then can I have
+the badge--for sneaking--like you said?"
+
+Gee whiz, I just sat back and laughed. Then I said, "_Stalking badge_;
+not sneaking, but _stalking_. That's the badge you're after. So that's
+the one you want to think about. Don't think about a whole lot of
+things but just think about that."
+
+He said, "I like you a whole lot, and that's the one I'm going to get,
+because you say so."
+
+Just then I noticed Stut Moran (we call him that because he stutters)
+going past the window. Pretty soon I noticed him passing again and
+walking very slow.
+
+"You just keep your mind on that one badge and remember those letters,"
+I said; "and for goodness' sake don't talk about badges for sneaking.
+Because, you take a tip from me, you can only do one thing at a time."
+
+He said, "The poultry badge is a good one. It's got a picture of a
+rooster on it."
+
+"You should worry about pictures of roosters," I said, "just keep
+thinking about that one badge, you take my advice. Because you're good
+on keeping your eyes open and that's the badge for you. And you're
+small and kind of thin and that's good in stalking, too, because you
+can hide behind trees and things." Then I said, "If you'll make me a
+promise that you'll just think about that one badge and not about a lot
+of others all at once, when we get up to camp, I'll make you a basket
+out of a peach-pit to hang around your neck."
+
+Just then the door of the galley opened and in came Connie Bennett.
+Right behind him were Vic Norris and Stut Moran. Connie is leader of
+the Elks and the other two fellows are Elks, too. Right away he began
+and I saw he was mad.
+
+"That's a good thing you're talking about--_sneaking_" he said.
+
+I said, "What do you mean?"
+
+"He's getting a good lesson in sneaking all right," he shot right back
+at me.
+
+"Gee whiz, I don't know what you're talking about," I said.
+
+"Oh, no," he said, all the while sort of sneering at me; "I suppose you
+didn't bring him in here so you could be where nobody else heard you.
+Maybe you think you own the galley."
+
+"Sure I brought him in here so we could be alone," I said.
+
+"_Sure you did_," he said, "just so you could start him after the
+stalker's badge. We heard you make him promise to go after that and not
+think about anything else. He's easy, that kid is."
+
+"Why should I--" I began.
+
+"You know well enough why," he said; "who started the rule about not
+having two of the same merit badges in a patrol?"
+
+"I did," I told him.
+
+"Yes," he said, "and now you're trying to rush this kid through just so
+you can get even with Vic. What have _you_ got to do with our patrol
+anyway? Don't you think we're old enough to take care of our new
+members? All because you and Vic were on the outs last summer."
+
+Jingo, that made me mad. "I forgot all about that," I said; "didn't Vic
+treat me to a soda only last week? It wasn't a quarrel anyway. I should
+worry about who has the stalker's badge in your patrol. I didn't even
+know Vic was after it. You know yourself the kid hasn't begun his
+second-class tests yet. What chance does _he_ stand if Vic is after it?
+I only thought I'd try to do a good turn. Cracky, it's hard enough to
+think up anything to do out here on a Sunday afternoon--you know that
+yourself. I was waiting all day for somebody to fall overboard, so I
+could jump in and save them. You're a lot of old grandmothers in your
+patrol. If that's all you've got to complain about, you'd better go and
+sweep the wind off the deck."
+
+"You mean to tell me to go and sweep the wind off the deck?" Connie
+said, coming right up close to me.
+
+"Sure," I said, "and when you get through with that go and clean the
+reflection out of the water. I should worry. Here, take your new
+member. If I'd known Vic was after the badge, I wouldn't have said a
+word about it, you can bet. You ought to know me well enough to know I
+was just giving him a few tips. Did I have any quarrel with you, Vic?"
+
+Honest, would you believe it, none of them said a word except, "Come
+ahead, Skinny," and the poor kid followed them out, not knowing what to
+think, I guess.
+
+"End of a perfect day," I said.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+TELLS ABOUT MY MERIT BADGE
+
+Wasn't that a crazy thing? Just because last summer I put a stalking
+sign on one of Vic's trees. How did I know it was his? As soon as he
+told me, I marked off my claim the same as any scout would. Maybe I
+ought to have remembered that he was out for the stalker's badge, but
+believe me, I have enough to remember with the Silver Fox patrol.
+
+Gee whiz, nobody can say that I ever butt in when a patrol is breaking
+in a tenderfoot. That's one thing I wouldn't do. I wouldn't even have
+bothered to tell you about it at all, except that it had _momentous
+consequences_--that's what Pee-wee said.
+
+At supper there was a big round flat piece of wood tied with a rope at
+my place and on it was printed "_Sneaker's Badge_." It must have been
+cut out of a piece of wood from a grocery box, because I noticed on the
+other side of it, it said "_Honey Boy_" I suppose it meant some kind of
+cookies or crackers or soap maybe. So just for the fun of it I stood up
+and said.
+
+"Friends and enemies: Ever since about five o'clock this afternoon I've
+been hunting for a chance to do a good turn. The first one I tried to
+do didn't pan out. So here's my chance to do a good turn and I have to
+thank the honorable Elk Patrol for giving me the chance." Then I turned
+the big wooden medal over so the other side showed and everybody read
+"_Honey Boy_" and began to laugh. Even Vie Norris had to laugh. "If it
+wasn't for the Elks I'd have to go to bed without doing a good turn."
+
+Crinkums, you ought to have seen Mr. Ellsworth laugh. All the time he
+knew something was wrong, I guess, but he never bothered with things
+like that. "Settle your own disputes," that's what he always said. The
+only fellow that didn't take it as a joke was Connie Bennett and just
+for that reason you'll have to hear more about it.
+
+One thing more happened that day. When it was nearly dark Westy Martin
+(he's my special chum) came to me and said, "There's a boat coming this
+way and I think it's coming here." I went over to the rail where all of
+the fellows were watching and there was a rowboat with two men in it,
+headed straight for us. Pretty soon they came alongside and, oh, boy, I
+was so shaky that I just held onto the rail with my hand trembling.
+Because they had badges on and I knew they were men belonging to the
+government.
+
+Good night, I said to myself, it's all up now; they're after Lieutenant
+Donnelle. They're going to search the house-boat and ask a lot of
+questions and I'll have to tell.
+
+When they got on board one of them said, "We just want to give you the
+once over, mate."
+
+Oh, didn't my heart go down to my feet. I thought it would be all right
+if I didn't stay around because they couldn't ask me any questions if I
+wasn't there. And I was on the side of Lieutenant Donnelle, I didn't
+care what. So I went into the galley and began straightening things out
+there. After a little while Westy came and stuck his head in through
+the window.
+
+"Are they gone?" I asked him.
+
+"Sure," he said.
+
+Then I said, "What did they want?"
+
+"They were only just inspectors," he said; "and they wanted to know if
+we had power."
+
+"You mean an engine?" I asked him. "Sure," he said, "because if a boat
+has a _fixed engine_, it has to have a license and a certain kind of
+whistle and bell and lights and all that."
+
+"A fixed engine?" I said, "if we had one it probably wouldn't be
+fixed."
+
+"They meant a stationary engine," he said, "you crazy Indian."
+
+"What else did they say?" I asked, because I was still kind of nervous.
+
+"They told us we should have a life preserver for everybody on board
+and a fog horn."
+
+Cracky, wasn't I relieved. "Isn't Pee-wee fog horn enough?" I said.
+
+Just the same it started me thinking about Lieutenant Donnelle again,
+and after I went to bed I kept on thinking about him, so I couldn't get
+to sleep. One thing, I knew I liked him a lot, that was sure. But now
+since I knew about the new law, that a motor boat has to have a
+license, I wondered why Jake Holden didn't have one and have the number
+on his boat, like everybody has to. Anyway, it was lucky for him that
+he didn't have any number on, because now they'd have a hard job
+finding him, especially because I knew he didn't give his right name.
+And then I began wondering about the adventure that Jake and Lieutenant
+Donnelle had. One thing sure, it must be pretty bad to be out on the
+ocean like that in a little boat and be almost dead. I was wondering if
+there was any more to it than Lieutenant Donnelle told me, maybe.
+Anyway, he'd had lots of adventures in his life, that was sure. I was
+glad he said we'd go on a hike some day.
+
+After a while, when I couldn't get to sleep, I got up and went out on
+the deck and sat in one of the big steamer chairs. Oh, it was fine. It
+was all pitch dark and all you could see were the lights on the boats.
+All of a sudden I heard a sound and saw a face and the hair round the
+face was all hanging down and it gave me a scare, kind of.
+
+Then I saw it was Skinny. He said, "Can I sit down alongside of you?"
+
+I said, "You ought to be in bed," and he said, "I can't go to sleep
+because I keep thinking and I want to stay right near you. I ain't mad
+at you, anyway. Were you thinking about how they got mad at you?"
+
+All the while he came closer and he took hold of my arm with his hand
+and his hand was hot--even through my khaki shirt I could feel it. And
+his eyes didn't look like the other fellows' eyes.
+
+I said, "I couldn't sleep because I was thinking about a fellow that's
+a hero. He's a big fellow. You know what a hero is?" I said.
+
+"Are you a hero?" that's what he said. That's just what he said.
+
+Anyway, one thing I didn't know then, and that was that Skinny was
+going to have more to do with Lieutenant Donnelle than I was. Poor
+little kid, he didn't know it either. That was one good thing.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+TELLS ABOUT OUR TRIP UP THE HUDSON
+
+He said, "If they get mad when I talk to you, I'll talk to you on the
+sly. It's all right to like a fellow that isn't in your patrol, isn't
+it?"
+
+"Sure it is," I told him, "you have to like everybody. But you do what
+they tell you and then nobody'll get mad."
+
+He said, "The swimming badge is a good one, isn't it?"
+
+"It's a dandy one," I said. Then he told me that was the one they
+wanted him to try for. He said, "Can I try for it now?"
+
+I thought I'd better watch my step--safety first, hey? So I said, "You
+ask Connie. I shouldn't think there'd be any objection to trying now;
+then after you've passed your first class tests you could just scoop
+the badge right up, see?"
+
+"I looked at all the pictures of the badges," he said, "and I like the
+one with the picture of a rooster best. Is the swimming one better than
+that?"
+
+I said, "Yes, because every scout has got to know how to swim. Anyway,
+Connie knows best; and he's your patrol leader, so you do whatever he
+tells you to."
+
+"Will I be able to beat everybody swimming?" he said.
+
+I told him maybe, if he tried hard, and then I told him he'd better go
+to bed. He said he wouldn't be able to sleep now, on account of
+thinking about the swimming badge. Anyway, he went and I noticed how
+skinny his legs were. It made me feel awful sorry for him, because his
+suit didn't fit him and looked kind of funny. His eyes were funny,
+anyway, and gave me the fidgets, but in the dark you could just see
+them shine. I told him to go inside and go to sleep and not think about
+the swimming badge.
+
+One thing about Skinny, I knew he'd never make a good all-around scout,
+like some fellows. You know what I mean. Now you take Artie Van Arlen--
+he's got eleven merit badges and he's got the bronze medal. Maybe you'd
+say photography was his bug, but he never went crazy about it, that's
+one sure thing. Take _me_, I've got nine merit badges--the more the
+merrier, I don't care.
+
+But Skinny could only think about one thing and he'd go clean crazy
+about it. Mr. Ellsworth says he's _intense_--hanged if I know what that
+is. All I know is that he couldn't think about a lot of things. He just
+couldn't read the Handbook through. All of a sudden, when he'd be
+reading it, he'd see something that he liked, and good night, he'd
+forget everything else. Mr. Ellsworth said Skinny would never do
+anything except _one_ thing, and most likely that would be a big stunt
+and if he failed, it would kill him. I guess he was a kind of a genius,
+like--you know what I mean. Either that or he was half crazy. I could
+never make him out, I know that.
+
+One thing, I was mighty glad he was going in for the swimming badge and
+I hoped the Elks would help him. He'd sure have the best swimmer in the
+troop to help him and that was Hunt Ward; he can swim better than any
+Raven, or Silver Fox, either--I have to admit that. Especially it's
+good to go in for the swimming badge right away as soon as you join a
+troop, even though you can't get your award till you pass your first
+class tests, because, gee, every fellow ought to know how to swim,
+that's one sure thing.
+
+The next morning good and early we could see the _General Grant_
+(that's Captain Savage's tug), heading across the bay straight for us
+and as soon as it got close enough, we gave Captain Savage a good
+cheer. Captain Savage was standing up in the little house smoking his
+pipe, and he shouted to us and said he was delayed on account of
+getting his propeller wet. That was just like him, he was always
+joking.
+
+Then he shouted to us. "It's a wonder you wouldn't get into shallow
+water; do you know how many feet you've got?" Pee-wee shouted back,
+"Two; what do you think we are, quadrupeds?" Laugh! Honest, that kid is
+a scream.
+
+I guess we must have been in pretty shallow water, because Captain
+Savage made us all hustle throwing ropes and winding them around
+thing-um-bobs--you know what I mean. And he was in such a hurry that he
+didn't come on the house-boat at all. But he said we had a mighty neat,
+comfortable craft, and that it looked as if it might have slid off some
+street or other into the water. He was awful funny.
+
+Pretty soon we were sailing up the Hudson alongside of the _General
+Grant_. The day before I thought that when the tug came it would tow us
+behind with a long rope and it seemed funny like, to be tied fast
+alongside the tug. It seemed kind of as if the house-boat was being
+arrested--you know how I mean.
+
+Anyway, I liked that way best because we could be always climbing back
+and forth, and believe me, most of us were on the tug all the time. I
+guess maybe Captain Savage liked Pee-wee. Anyway, he called for Pee-wee
+and me to go up in the pilot house, and it was fine to watch him steer
+and pull the rope that made the whistle blow, Jiminety, didn't we jump
+the first time we heard it!
+
+Captain Savage said, "Yer see it don't cost me nuthin' fur a blow-out,
+as you might say. Now, if this here old craft was an automobile, how
+much would I have to pay for tires with a blow-out every minute, huh?"
+Then he'd look awful funny like, at Pee-wee.
+
+You can bet Captain Savage was nice to us fellows and we all liked him.
+He had to stop at Peekskill and he took us all ashore for a peek--
+that's what he said. And he treated us all to sodas. You get dandy
+raspberry sodas in Peekskill.
+
+After that we started for Poughkeepsie and that was as far as he was
+going to tow us, because he had to tow a barge down to New York. But,
+any way, we should worry, there isn't any tide above Poughkeepsie and
+any dinky little kicker could tow us up to Catskill Landing from there.
+"Believe me," I said, "if there are any ways around here, we'll find
+them." Finding ways to do things is our middle name.
+
+We had Captain Savage on the house-boat to lunch with us and Mr.
+Ellsworth made a speech and said we were all much obliged to him and,
+oh, boy, when that tug started down the river again, didn't we stand on
+the cabin roof of the house-boat and cheer Captain Savage. He had about
+six blow-outs before he got very far--just answering our cheers.
+
+Oh, cracky, but he was one fine man.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+TELLS ABOUT SKINNY'S SWIMMING LESSON
+
+I don't know what to call this chapter. Maybe it will come without
+calling, hey? Anyway, I should worry. Maybe I'll think of a name when
+I'm finished with it. It will be mostly about Skinny.
+
+There isn't much more to tell about our trip to Catskill Landing, but
+you just wait, and there'll be a lot to tell you about our cruise down
+again. Don't be in a hurry--just you wait. More haste, less speed. But
+take it from me, you don't get much speed out of a house-boat. A
+house-boat belongs to the merry-go-round family, that's what Mr. Ellsworth
+says.
+
+That night we kept the boat tied up to the dock in Poughkeepsie and
+took a hike around the town, while Mr. Ellsworth tried to find somebody
+who would tow us up to Catskill Landing. When we got back, he said he
+had been talking with a man who had a little steam yacht and would tow
+us as far as Catskill Landing. He said it wouldn't cost anything,
+because anyway he was going up through Lake Champlain and Lake George
+and he was strong for the Boy Scouts. You hear lots of men say that.
+But, one thing, he wasn't going for two days and so we'd have to stay
+tied up in Poughkeepsie waiting for him. You see we were a kind of a
+tramp boat, but what did we care as long as we got to camp some time or
+other. Scouts are tramps anyway, hey?
+
+So now I have to tell you about that two days we spent in Poughkeepsie
+and most of the time we spent in teaching Skinny to swim. Of course,
+that was up to the Elks and you can bet I didn't interfere, nor any of
+my patrol either, but I was mighty glad to see how easy it was for him
+to learn.
+
+[Illustration: MOST OF THE TIME WAS SPENT IN TEACHING SKINNY TO SWIM.]
+
+"That kid is half fish," Doc Carson said to me.
+
+"No wonder," I said, "most all his life has been spent in the marshes.
+He's going to be a cracker-jack, you see."
+
+"He'll walk away with that badge when he once gets started," Westy
+said.
+
+"You mean he'll swim away with it," I said; "gee-williger, look how
+that little codger can dive."
+
+One thing, there was a dandy place for learning, that's sure.
+
+We put the skiff into the water and a couple of the Elks rowed around
+near the house-boat, keeping near, while Hunt Ward showed Skinny the
+strokes. The rest of us sat along the cabin roof, cheering just so's
+the kid would be encouraged. He looked awfully thin and little in his
+bathing suit and whenever he climbed up to the deck of the house-boat
+the wet cloth stuck tight to him and made him look, oh, I don't know,
+kind of like a marsh rat, as you may say. That's what he always said
+people called him, a _swamp rat_, and I guess he was even kind of proud
+of it.
+
+One sure thing, he was game. And he was just the same in learning to
+swim as he was in everything else; he got all excited and wanted to go
+too fast. As soon as he got the hang of it and could manage a few
+strokes, _good night_, he wanted to swim across the river. He started
+right off before the fellows in the boat noticed him and was heading
+across stream. Two or three times we heard him sputtering and shouting,
+"_Now can I have that badge?_"
+
+Late that afternoon they let him dive off the deck. It was low and it
+didn't make much of a dive. Of course, he didn't dive right, he only
+just jumped and went kerflop into the water, and he had us all
+laughing. As soon as he found out how much fun it was, he kept climbing
+up and splashing into the water again; oh, boy, it was as good as a
+circus to see him. Then he'd go swimming to the skiff and climb in just
+like a little eel, and sit there shivering.
+
+You can bet that kid is going to have the swimming badge all right, we
+all said; the trouble is going to be to hold him back. And we were
+right, too, because when he came up on the cabin roof to get dry, all
+of a sudden, before any of us knew it, he was over at the edge and
+dived off before Mr. Ellsworth had a chance to call to him. That was
+sure too much of a dive for a beginner, for if he hit the water face
+down and flat, _good night_, that might have been the end of him. The
+skiff was hauled up then so Hunt Ward dived in after him, but he had to
+swim some to catch him and it was mighty funny to see them.
+
+That night Mr. Ellsworth gave Skinny a good lecture and told him he
+mustn't do things like that until he was told to, but I guess Skinny
+didn't understand. When I saw Mr, Ellsworth sitting alone on the deck
+after dark, I went up and sat down and began talking to him. I often do
+that.
+
+I said, "I guess Skinny's going to get the swimming badge, all right."
+
+"Yes, I guess he is," that's what Mr. Ellsworth said, "Skinny's too
+much for me. If the boys would only teach him a little scouting, I'd be
+better pleased. He wants to be a swimmer now; he's not thinking about
+being a scout. He thinks of the badge only as something to wear."
+
+"I tried to teach him some things out of the Handbook," I said, "but
+the Elks didn't like it. I tried to tell him some things about scouting
+and all I got was a good lecture from Connie. Nix on teaching fellows
+in other patrols."
+
+Mr. Ellsworth seemed awfully worried, kind of; he just sat thinking a
+minute. Then he said, "I'm afraid Skinny is going to be hard to tame.
+He'll make a fine swimmer and a fine stalker--"
+
+I said, "He calls that sneaking."
+
+Mr. Ellsworth laughed and said, "But the principal thing is to make him
+a good scout. Has he done any good turns?"
+
+I said, "The only good turns I know about, are the good turns he made
+in diving; he turns every which way."
+
+"Well, I hope he can forget about swimming long enough to eat his
+supper," Mr. Ellsworth said.
+
+But just the same Skinny didn't.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+TELLS ABOUT SKINNY AND THE ELKS
+
+Well, that was the way it was with Skinny and I could see that the Elks
+were rushing him through, so that he'd get the badge. That used to be
+one trouble with the Elks and I don't care if they do know I said it.
+They got one good lesson to cure them, that's sure. The trouble with
+them was they were making a collection of badges and when you're out
+for badges, you skip at lot of pages in the Handbook, that's sure.
+
+The next day I said to Connie Bennett--this is just what I said; I
+said, "I hope you won't get mad at me again if I say something about
+Skinny, because, anyway, it's none of _my_ business, that's sure. But
+as long as you fellows are busy teaching him stunts and things, I don't
+see that there would be any harm in it, if I read some things in the
+Handbook to him--some other kind of things, I mean."
+
+He said, "What kind of things?"
+
+"Oh, just about the laws and things like that, like about being honest
+and obedient--you know."
+
+"You keep your hands off my patrol," that's just what he said; "and you
+needn't start hinting that the Elks are dishonest--"
+
+"Who's hinting that?" I said, kind of mad; "you remind me of an
+airplane, you're always going up in the air."
+
+"If any of my patrol are dishonest, they'll be thrown out," he said,
+"and maybe they'll be welcome in the Silver Foxes."
+
+"Sure," I said, "we make a specialty of burglars and pickpockets; we
+eat 'em alive. All I was asking you was that you let me teach Skinny
+some of the 'idea' stuff--you know what I mean."
+
+"You're jealous because he's a genius," Connie said; "and you want to
+fill him up with grandmother stuff. Why don't you let the kid alone?
+We'll take care of him."
+
+"All right," I said; "I should worry. Only there's no use getting mad;
+we're all one troop."
+
+"Yes, but we're three separate patrols," he said.
+
+"United we stand, divided we sprawl," I said. Then he walked away.
+That was the second day at Poughkeepsie and most all day the Elks were
+busy turning Skinny into a fish. Some of the rest of us went up to
+Metzger's Candy Store to get some jaw-breakers. Did you ever eat those?
+Pee-wee was quiet for an hour munching one. The licorice ones are best.
+In the afternoon we sat along the cabin roof watching Skinny and the
+Elks. Good night, you should have seen that kid! Every time the fellows
+in the boat had to row after him, because he'd go swimming away on his
+own hook. He never paid any attention to what they told him.
+
+"Throw him a jaw-breaker," Grove Bronson said; "just for fun."
+
+"Nix," I said; "you don't catch me interfering with the buzz-saw. Twice
+was enough. When I try any polishing, I'll polish up the Silver Foxes."
+
+"Go ahead, throw him one," Grove said to Pee-wee. But I guess Pee-wee
+didn't have any jawbreakers to spare. His cheeks were sticking out and
+there was licorice all over his lips, and he said--this is the way it
+sounded: "I--ooo--go--to--goo--to--are--" something like that, honest.
+
+"Go in and wash your face," Doc said; "you look like a minstrel actor
+in a rainstorm."
+
+"Yu--sht--p--m--nd--r--n--business." Pee-wee blurted out. Crackey, I
+thought I'd die.
+
+Pretty soon Doc Carson (he's a Raven) threw a jaw-breaker out into the
+water and Skinny got it before it went down.
+
+"What do you know about that little water snake," El Sawyer said. Then
+he shouted, "Bully for you, Skinny!"
+
+I said, "You'd better look out, you'll get yourself in trouble."
+
+"What do I care for the Elks?" he said.
+
+"That's all right," I said; "Connie's got Skinny copyrighted, all
+rights reserved."
+
+Then, all of a sudden, Wig Weigand shouted, "Look at that, will you?
+Look!"
+
+We could just see Hunt Ward reach out of the skiff for Skinny, when all
+of a sudden he disappeared and came up about twenty feet from the
+skiff. Everybody began laughing and I guess the Elks were mad, because
+they thought we were just sitting up there kidding them.
+
+Right then I heard Mr. Ellsworth calling out from just in back of us,
+"Take him in the skiff and bring him aboard, Huntley."
+
+"Now--e--ng--t--gt--cld--down," Pee-wee said, munching away on a jaw
+breaker.
+
+"You look as if you'd been gargling a bottle of ink," I told him.
+"Don't talk, you can't do two things at once."
+
+Pretty soon Skinny came up the ladder to the cabin roof where we were
+all sitting. His wet bathing suit stuck to him and it made him look
+terribly thin, and his hair was all streaked and the water was dripping
+from his face. But anyway, his eyes were bright and all excited--I
+never saw another fellow that had eyes like that. He had the piece of
+candy in his hand and it was all melting from the water and his hand
+was black and sticky. Jiminy, he looked awful small and skinny
+alongside of Mr. Ellsworth, and I had to feel sorry for him as soon as
+Mr. Ellsworth began to speak.
+
+Skinny looked up at him and said, "I got it--I dived and got it--see--I
+saved it--I didn't eat it. I can swim under the water. Now can I have
+the badge?" Cracky, the way he stared, if I'd had the badge, I'd have
+torn it off my arm and handed it to him, honest I would.
+
+Mr. Ellsworth just looked at him and said, "No, you may not have the
+badge. Before you can have the badge for swimming you must be a better
+scout. You must learn to be obedient. You heard one of your patrol tell
+you not to go under water. You heard your patrol leader tell you to get
+into the skiff. Do you think you know better than they do, what is best
+for you?"
+
+Even still he didn't pay any attention, he was so excited. "Now am I a
+hero?" he said.
+
+"No, you are not a hero," Mr. Ellsworth told him; "and you will go
+inside and get your uniform on. The first duty of a scout is to obey
+his leader, and you have failed to do that. You are very much mistaken
+as to the meaning of heroism, and it wasn't necessary to bring us any
+proof that you got the candy or whatever that is. Scouts are not in the
+habit of lying and deceiving. We expect always to believe you without
+proof. Throw that away and go inside and get your clothes on."
+
+Gee, maybe he was right, but anyway, I felt mighty sorry for Skinny.
+His eyes were all full of tears and he went over to the rail and threw
+the sticky jaw-breaker out into the water. I I could see by his neck
+that he was gulping and trying not to cry and, oh, boy, it made me feel
+bad. It seemed as if it was always that way with him--that he had to be
+disappointed and that things never came out right with him. Anyway, I
+said to myself, it's Connie's fault, and all the rest of the Elks are
+to blame, too. Why didn't they tell him in the beginning about those
+other things. All they cared about was showing their new member off to
+the rest of the troop, and you see how it ended.
+
+First I thought I'd go in and talk to Skinny and tell him he was a
+wonder, for that was just what he was, and Mr. Ellsworth knew it, too.
+Then I decided that I'd better not on account of Connie. And anyway, I
+wouldn't have any right to go in and spoil what our scoutmaster said,
+would I?
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+TELLS YOU HOW TO GET TO TEMPLE CAMP
+
+Gee whiz, I wouldn't say anything against the Elks, that's sure,
+because they're all peachy scouts when you come right down to it, but I
+have to admit that they're crazy about stunts. They have more merit
+badges in their patrol than there are in the Ravens and Silver Foxes
+put together. Hunt Ward's sleeve looks like one of those Indian totem
+poles, there are so many badges on it. Anyway, I should worry, we have
+twenty-two badges in our patrol, and more good turns in the troop book
+than either of the other patrols. That's what counts, too--good turns.
+
+The trouble with the Elks was that every time they got a new fellow, he
+must take a header for some badge or other and most always he would
+have two or three stunt badges (that's merit badges, you know) waiting
+for him when he passed his first class tests. "Begin at the beginning,"
+that's what Mr. Ellsworth always said, and he says it's more important
+to know the scout oath and follow it, than it is to get the eagle,
+award. Connie's a good patrol leader all right; gee, nobody can say he
+isn't, but he's crazy about stunts and merit badges. He always seemed
+to think that that was all there was to scouting. But believe me,
+there's many a girl wears a sailor hat who screams when she gets in a
+boat. Anyway, I'm not going to be knocking anybody.
+
+Well, the next day in the middle of the night--I mean the next night
+early in the morning--I mean when it was just getting light, after the
+night after the next day--we got to Catskill Landing, and oh, boy!
+wasn't I glad! We tied the houseboat to an old pier maybe a couple of
+hundred yards above the regular landing, and had a good swim and then
+breakfast before we started up to camp. Mr. Ellsworth let Skinny go in,
+but he told him to be careful not to disobey his leaders or he'd have
+to come out.
+
+Jimmy, it was funny to see that kid. I don't know how to tell you about
+it, but he seemed to kind of swim different from the other fellows, and
+he couldn't help getting excited. They threw pieces of stick for him to
+get, and he would swim out and bring them in in his mouth just like a
+dog, and then wait for more, all anxious like. One thing about Skinny I
+noticed, and that was that all the fellows, even in his own patrol, got
+a lot of fun out of him, making him do things, but nobody exactly
+seemed to make friends with him. Anyway, I guess he didn't care, he was
+always so crazy about what he was doing. Even a lot of summer people
+stood around on the shore, watching him in the water and saying he was
+a wonder. I guess they didn't know what to do with themselves, hey?
+Mostly that's the way it is with summer people.
+
+I flopped some flapjacks for breakfast and El Sawyer (he's a Raven)
+hung one of them around his neck for a souvenir. He's a fresh kid.
+Maybe you think it's easy to flop flapjacks--I should worry.
+
+Oh, boy, now comes the best part of this whole story. As soon as we
+could get our stuff into the duffel bags and the boat all tied fast, we
+started out on our hike for Temple Camp. You can bet I always like to
+hike, but early in the morning, oh, it's simply great. Some fellows can
+drink sodas early in the morning but I can't, but anyway, early hikes
+are my middle name. You know, just when the sun is coming up, all red
+like, and peeking over the hill, just as if it was stalking.
+
+Oh, boy, if scouts could only sneak up as quiet as all that!
+
+Now the way you get to Temple Camp is to hike up through Catskill
+village till you get to the old turnpike road, and then go straight
+along that till you come to a big boarding house, where there are a lot
+of people sitting on the porch waiting for breakfast or dinner or
+supper, or time to go to bed. Then you hit the road up through the
+woods till you come to a turtle. I guess he isn't there now, but
+anyway, he was there last year. Then you cut up through the woods and
+follow the scouts' signs, and you'll come out at Leeds--that's a
+village. You'll see all the summer people waiting for their mail at the
+post office. Some of them will say, "Oh, there go some boy scouts,
+aren't they cute?" They always say that. There's a stationery store
+there too, where you can buy fishhooks and marshmallows, and other
+things to eat. I don't mean you eat fishhooks.
+
+Anyway, you go down Main Street till you come to a smell like rotten
+wood and then you turn in where the willow trees are and you come to an
+old sawmill. If you holloa from there, they can hear you at camp. Then
+you cut through the woods and follow the trail till all of a sudden you
+come plunk out on the edge of the lake and it's all surrounded by
+woods. That's Black Lake, and believe me, black is my favorite color
+when it comes to lakes. Then you go across in the boats to Temple Camp.
+
+Mr. John Temple started Temple Camp. He's rich and owns a lot of
+railroads and things. He used to be mad at the scouts, but after a
+while when he saw what kind of fellows scouts are, he got glad at them
+and started Temple Camp. He's awful grouchy when you first see him, but
+you should worry about that. Once, when he was out west about some
+railroads, he saw Jeb Rushmore, who was a trapper and all that, and he
+was getting old, so Mr. Temple made him come to Temple Camp to be camp
+manager and live there. Oh, boy, you're going to see him in just a
+minute and I can hardly wait.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+TELLS ALL ABOUT OUR ROW ON BLACK LAKE
+
+So that's the way we went to Temple Camp, but there are short cuts to
+the Hudson besides that When we got near to the lake we all got
+anxious--you know how a fellow is when he's almost to a place he's been
+thinking about a lot.
+
+Doc Carson said, "I see the water is still wet." That was just to jolly
+Pee-wee.
+
+"That's because of the recent rains," I said.
+
+"The which?" Artie asked me.
+
+"You think you're smart talking about _recent rains,_ don't you?"
+Pee-wee shouted. "You got that out of a book."
+
+"I bet there'll be a lot of troops there this summer," El Sawyer said.
+
+Pretty soon I saw he was right, too, because five boats came across to
+get us and there was a strange scout in every single one of them. Uncle
+Jeb was waiting at the landing on the other side to meet us, and oh,
+cracky, didn't it look good to see the big pavilion and the tents and
+patrol cabins upside down in the water. There were a lot of scouts
+waiting too, and I could see the camp was pretty full.
+
+Uncle Jeb said, "Wall, Roay"--that's just the way he talks, slow like;
+"haow's all the boys from Bridgeboro? I reckon little Pee-wee ain't
+growed at all. Hain't you never goin' ter grow, Pee-wee? And Artie and
+Grovey, and El, and Hunter Ward and, let's see, Vic Norris--every
+plaguy one of yer here. Ain't none of yer died or gone off ter war,
+hey? And there's Connover Bennett, too, large as life, and still crazy
+about raisin cake, I reckon. Wall, wall, it's good ter see ye all."
+
+I said, "It's good to see you, too, Uncle Jeb, gee, all the fellows
+were crazy to see you, that's one sure thing."
+
+"And still making them flapjacks, hey?" he said; "I remember when one
+uv them New Hampshire scouts scaled one uv them flapjacks uv your'n
+across the lake. I reckon you're the same old Roay that put the
+mosquito dope in the biscuits. Yer remember that?" Cracky, I'm not
+going to tell you anything about my past life, but summer before last
+up there--_oh, boy!_
+
+Most of the morning we rested up and got our patrol cabins cleaned out
+and all fixed up, and in the afternoon we banged around and got
+acquainted with some of the new troops.
+
+Just before supper, Westy and I went down for a swim and there were
+Connie Bennett and two or three of the Elks diving with Skinny. A whole
+lot of fellows were standing around watching. Most of them laughed at
+Skinny, but they all had to admit he was a crackerjack. I knew the Elks
+were just kind of showing him off and putting him through a lot of
+freak stunts just to get their name up around the camp.
+
+After supper, Westy and I and a new fellow in an Ohio troop were rowing
+around near the shore. He was an awful nice fellow--quiet like--just
+like me, only different. All of a sudden we noticed Skinny standing on
+the shore and he called out and asked us if we'd take him in.
+
+"Better watch your step," Westy said; "safety first."
+
+"Where's your patrol?" I called to him.
+
+"They went on a hike," he called back; "can I go with you?"
+
+"You go and ask Mr. Ellsworth," I said; "and if he says it's all right,
+come ahead."
+
+We could see him scooting pell mell around the edge of the cooking
+shack, his spindle legs as thin as sticks. Bert Winton (that was the
+new fellow) watched him, kind of laughing, and then he said, "Queer
+little codger, isn't he?"
+
+I said, "Yes, he's new and he came out of the slums. I guess he'll
+never work in harness; that's what our scoutmaster says."
+
+"Swims like an eel," Winton said; "why didn't they take him hiking, I
+wonder?"
+
+"Hanged if _I_ know," Westy said; "he's going to win them the swimming
+badge, all right. But he doesn't seem to be friends with them exactly.
+They make good use of him, anyway."
+
+"Kind of a performing bear, hey?" Bert said.
+
+"Something like that," I told him; "I wish I had him in my patrol, I
+know that."
+
+"Guess he wouldn't fit into any patrol," Winton said; "he seems to be a
+kind of an odd number."
+
+Pretty soon Skinny came running back shouting for all he was worth, and
+believe me, he did look like an odd number. His streaky hair was all
+down over his forehead and his eyes were like a couple of camp fires.
+He was shouting: "_Don't go, don't go! I can go with you"_
+
+We rowed over to shore and as he climbed in I could see that he was
+trembling all over, just for fear we wouldn't wait for him, I suppose.
+"I was going to swim out to you, I was," he said; "if you didn't wait."
+
+"You wouldn't want your scout suit to get all wet, would you?" I said.
+"Sit down and don't be so excited."
+
+"I like the water better than hiking, anyway," he said; "and I like
+_you_ best of all."
+
+I said, "The pleasure is mine," and then we all laughed.
+
+"You can make fun of me all you want," he said; "I don't care. I told
+them they could make fun of me all they want if they'd let me go with
+them, but they wouldn't let me go."
+
+"They wouldn't, huh?" Bert Winton said, and he studied Skinny awful
+funny like.
+
+"When I win them the badge, then they'll take me, won't they?" he said.
+
+"I guess so," I told him.
+
+"I'm going to win the cup for them in the contest, too," he said; "I'm
+going to win it for them before I go home. Then I'll be friends with
+them. I told them I'd win it if _you_ didn't try for it."
+
+"You should worry about me," I said, "I can swim, but _good night_, I'm
+not in the contest class. And maybe you're not either, so don't be too
+sure."
+
+He said, "I'm going to win them the cup, and I'm going to win them the
+badge. But I don't have to get to be a first class scout guy to win the
+cup, I don't. It's made of silver. Once my father stole a lot of
+silver. It's all fancy, that cup."
+
+"I know all about the cup, Alf," I said; (because, gee, I didn't like
+to be calling him Skinny) "but don't call the fellows scout guys. Just
+scouts--that's enough." He just looked at me kind of wild, as if he
+didn't understand, the same as he always did when anybody called him
+down, or tried to tell him something.
+
+For a few minutes nobody spoke and we just rowed around. Then Westy
+said, "So that's their game, is it?"
+
+I knew well enough what he meant. Every season Mr. Temple offers a
+silver cup to the best swimmer at Temple Camp. Once Mr. Temple had a
+son who got drowned because he couldn't swim, and that's why he's so
+interested in fellows being good swimmers. That silver cup hasn't got
+anything to do with the scout swimming badge. You can't win that
+(anyway they won't give it to you) till you've passed your first class
+tests. But anybody can try for the silver cup, and you can bet it's a
+big honor for any troop or patrol to have that. Most always they have
+the contest on Labor Day.
+
+I said, "Alf, you can bet I'd be glad to see you win that cup, but
+don't forget that there are more than a hundred fellows at the camp.
+Some of the troops come from the seashore--you know that, and they're
+all crackerjack swimmers. It comes mighty hard to be disappointed, so
+don't you stay awake at night thinking about it." I said that because I
+could just see that poor kid dreaming about handing that cup over to
+his patrol leader, and honestly, I didn't think there was much chance
+for him.
+
+Pretty soon Bert Winton leaned over and said to me, "Do you suppose
+that's true about his father?"
+
+"Guess so," I told him.
+
+"He doesn't seem to be very much ashamed of it," he said.
+
+All I could say was, "He's a queer kid; he's all the time blurting out
+things like that."
+
+"Maybe it's because he's just plain honest," Winton said.
+
+"But you'd think he'd be ashamed," I told him.
+
+He just shrugged his shoulders and looked kind of funny at Skinny. I
+had a kind of a hunch that he liked him and believed in him. Anyway, I
+remembered those words, "_just plain honest_."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+TELLS ABOUT THE STRANGE CAMPERS
+
+It was nice rowing around there in the dark. It wasn't so very dark,
+though, because the moon was out and you could see it in the water just
+as plain as if it had fallen kerflop out of the sky and was laying in
+the bottom of the lake. Over on shore we could see the camp-fire
+getting started and black figures going toward it, and the blaze was
+upside down in the water.
+
+"How about camp-fire?" Westy said.
+
+"We should worry about camp-fire," I told him; "there's plenty of time.
+Wait till it gets to blazing up good and high."
+
+"It's fine out here," Bert Winton said; "I always take a row before
+going in to camp-fire."
+
+"We should worry about you, too," I heard somebody say, and then a lot
+of fellows began laughing. By that I knew they had heard everything we
+said.
+
+Winton said, "Funny how clear you can people talk when they're on the
+water."
+
+Pretty soon we were away over at the other side of the lake and it was
+awfully still, and even our oars seemed to make a lot of noise dripping
+the water.
+
+All of a sudden Westy said, "There's a canoe."
+
+We could only just see it as it went gliding by us, but I noticed there
+were two dark figures in it.
+
+Winton said, "Shh, wait till they pass us, then I'll tell you about
+them."
+
+"I bet they're evil cronies," I said; "like they usually have in
+books," Because you know how it is in books; there are always a couple
+of bad fellows that won't join the good ones, but go camping right near
+them and make a lot of trouble for them. Hanged if I see why they don't
+join in with them and be done with it, hey?
+
+Pretty soon Winton said very low, "They're a couple of millionaire
+campers--young fellows. Their people are staying near Leeds and those
+fellows have got a tent right across there in the woods near the shore.
+They're having the time of their lives with an up-to-date oil stove and
+a couple of fireless cookers and some thermos bottles and things.
+They've got cushions with buckskin fringe--presents from Dearie and
+Sweetie, I suppose, and they've got a cedar chest with brass hinges.
+Regular modern Daniel Boones, they are."
+
+"Oh, me, oh, my!" Westy whispered; "have they got jackknives hanging
+from their belts?"
+
+"Right the first time," Bert Winton said.
+
+"And leather cases of writing paper?" I said, just for fun.
+
+"Everything except a burglar alarm and a telephone," Bert said; "but
+they're not half bad chaps. We'll row over and see them some day. They
+have wild times around their camp-fire, telling yarns and watching the
+roaring blaze in their oil stove. They've got a fancy Indian blanket,
+you ought to see it. One of them paddled over to camp one day and
+wanted to buy a fishing rod. He had about a hundred dollars with him.
+He couldn't even swim."
+
+"_Good night!"_ I said.
+
+Then, all of a sudden Skinny piped up, "If I had a hundred dollars I'd
+buy a canoe, I would. I'd have it painted red. I'd have a sail for it,
+too. Then all the fellows would like me, wouldn't they?"
+
+I said, "Shh, don't shout like that; people can hear you all over. The
+fellows like you now, don't you worry."
+
+"I don't care if they hear me," he said.
+
+Pretty soon we rowed over and went up and sprawled around camp-fire.
+Gee, whiz, I guess the whole camp was there. One of the scouts in a
+Virginia troop was telling a yarn about somebody who had an adventure
+at sea. It was mighty interesting, you can bet, and it kind of started
+me thinking about Lieutenant Donnelle. Little I knew of the terrible
+thing that was going to happen at camp the very next day. Right across
+from me I could see Skinny sitting near Mr. Ellsworth, but the rest of
+the Elks were sprawling around with the Ravens. One thing, my patrol
+always sticks together. Skinny's eyes looked awful big and wild, kind
+of, with the fire shining right in his face and it made me feel kind of
+spooky to look at him. Poor kid, little he knew what he was going to go
+through. Anyway, I wished that the Elks would call him over to them.
+Probably he was thinking about how he was going to win them the silver
+cup, hey?
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+TELLS ABOUT THE STORM ON BLACK LAKE
+
+One thing I have to admit, and that is that Mr. Ellsworth helped me a
+lot with this chapter and the next one too. But just the same both of
+them are by me, all right.
+
+It's a funny thing, but all that night I was dreaming about that canoe
+with the two fellows in it. I could hear them paddling just as clear as
+could be, only when I woke up before daylight, I knew it was just the
+sound of rain on the roof of our patrol cabin. It was dripping into the
+rain ditch, I guess.
+
+Pretty soon I went to sleep again, and I could see Skinny standing in
+front of me and his eyes were staring and his face was all white and
+there was some blood on it and he said, "I want to be a Silver Fox,
+because my father stole a lot of silver; so haven't I got a right to
+be?" I tried to answer him, but there was a loud noise and he couldn't
+hear and then, all of a sudden, I woke up and I knew the noise was
+thunder and Skinny wasn't there at all. Anyway, it made me feel kind of
+creepy and I was glad when I saw him at breakfast.
+
+All that morning it rained and most of the scouts stayed in their tents
+and cabins. Some of them played basketball in the pavilion. Three
+fellows from the Boston troop went out fishing, but they had to come in
+it was raining so hard.
+
+Before dinnertime, Uncle Jeb called some of us to move the mess boards
+into the pavilion, because it was beginning to blow from the east and
+the awnings and thatch roofs over the mess boards didn't keep the rain
+off, because it blew sideways. Out on the lake the water was churning
+up rough with little white caps. Jiminy, I never saw it like that
+before.
+
+It was so dark and rainy that a fellow couldn't read even; anyway _I_
+couldn't because, oh, I don't know, I felt queer kind of. A lot of us
+sat on the wide porch of the pavilion--the side facing the lake. It was
+wide enough so the rain didn't come in and wet us as long as we stayed
+way back near the windows. We sat in a long row with our chairs tilted
+back. It was nice there.
+
+Somebody said, "That spring-board looks lonely sticking out into the
+lake; look how the drops jump off it, just like fellows diving."
+
+"Not much of a day for the race," Doc Carson said.
+
+"What race?" Pee-wee shouted.
+
+"The human race," Doc said; "no sooner said than stung."
+
+We were just starting to jolly Pee-wee, because that's our favorite
+indoor sport, when somebody said, "There's one of the gold dust twins
+out; he must be crazy."
+
+"He comes from Maine," another fellow said; "I guess he's a maniac."
+
+But anyway, it was no joke, that was sure. Away over near the other
+side of the lake we could see the canoe bobbing up and down and it
+seemed to be coming toward us.
+
+"Only one of them is in it," I said.
+
+"And that's one too much on a day like this; that pair are sure nutty,"
+Doc said.
+
+But just the same the canoe came along and one of those campers was
+sitting in the stern paddling it. He was having a pretty hard job, I
+could see that, but maybe it wasn't as dangerous as it looked, because
+if you know how to manage a canoe it's better than an old tub of a boat
+in bad weather.
+
+"He's making it all right," one of the fellows said; "he's game, that's
+sure."
+
+Pretty soon he came alongside the landing and turned his canoe over to
+let the water out, and then came up to the pavilion.
+
+"Pretty wet," he said.
+
+"You said something," Westy answered him; "you took a big chance coming
+over."
+
+"I'd sure have been drowned if I _hadn't_ come," he laughed; "I wonder
+if you fellows can sell us a shovel? Our tent is floating."
+
+I had to laugh, because that's always the one thing that most campers
+who aren't used to it forget about--I mean digging a drain ditch
+outside their tent. And the first time it rains, _good night,_ they get
+drowned out like rats. I thought he was a pretty nice kind of a fellow,
+only he was one tenderfoot, that was sure. He had a swell bathing suit
+on with one of those waterproof mackinaw jackets over it. I guess his
+people were rich all right, and I suppose that's why the fellows at
+camp called the pair the gold dust twins. He took some bills out of his
+pocket and said, "We want to buy a shovel; you can't dig a trench with
+a canoe paddle. There's fine swimming in our tent."
+
+Then Bert Winton said, kind of quiet in that way he had, "I don't think
+you'll need any money here. I'll get hold of one of the scoutmasters,"
+and he started down the steps. Just then I noticed Skinny standing on
+the steps and Bert Winton gave him a push, just for fun, as he went by.
+
+"Come on in out of the rain, Alf," I said; because I knew he was just
+hanging there, because he was afraid to come up where the rest of us
+were. I asked him where his patrol was, and he said, "In the cabin,
+playing checkers." I said, "Don't _you_ know how to play checkers," and
+he said, "No." After that I didn't notice him.
+
+Pretty soon the gold dust twin came back with a shovel and Mr. Elting,
+who is resident trustee, was with him, telling him he'd better not go
+back across the lake on account of its blowing up harder.
+
+"I could never get around through the woods," he said; "because I tried
+it."
+
+"Some of these boys will show you the trail," Mr. Elting said.
+
+But he said, "No," and that as long as he came he was going to go back.
+He said he didn't want any escort. He was pretty game, that was one
+sure thing. I guess maybe he felt sort of ashamed to have boy scouts
+show him the way, because he was older than most of us. Anyway, he
+started back and we sat there watching him, and pretty soon it seemed
+as if a kind of a screen was behind him, the rain was so thick and
+there was so much mist. It made him look sort of like a ghost or a--you
+know--a spectre.
+
+Then, all of a sudden Artie Van Arlen's hat blew off and I heard a
+branch of a tree crack.
+
+"Where is the canoe?" Doc said, all excited; "do you see it?"
+
+We looked all over, but couldn't see him anywhere. That was just how
+quickly it happened. Then, all of a sudden I could hear a voice, but I
+couldn't hear it plain, because the wind was blowing the other way and
+the rain was making such a racket on the porch roof. The voice was all
+mixed up with the wind and it sounded spooky and gave me the creeps.
+
+For a couple of seconds nobody said anything.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+TELLS ABOUT AN ACCIDENT
+
+The next thing I knew there was a loud splash and I heard the
+spring-board down on the shore crack, and when I looked there I could see
+it jumping up and down.
+
+I knew what that meant.
+
+"Who dived?" Westy shouted; "he must be crazy! He can't make it. Hurry
+up, let's get a boat out! Do you hear the voice now?"
+
+After that everything seemed to happen all in a jumble. Westy and Doc
+and I ran to the landing and got one of the boats off, while the
+fellows up on the porch shouted to the fellow who had dived to come
+back, because he couldn't make it. I heard one fellow yell, "You're
+crazy; come back while you can! They're getting a boat out!"
+
+I was so busy helping to push the boat into deep water that I didn't
+think any more about the fellow who dived, only I supposed he must have
+turned back. I heard the fellows shouting, but I didn't pay any
+attention. Out on the lake I could hear the voice now calling help, and
+it sounded creepy, like a person trying to call while he's gargling.
+
+Doc said, "It's all up with him; hurry, anyway."
+
+It was pretty hard getting the boat started, because the wind kept
+blowing it ashore, and we had to pull and tug for all we were worth. I
+got in back of it and shoved out till I was beyond my depth, then
+jumped in while Dock and Westy pulled for all they were worth, trying
+to get her ahead.
+
+I guess most everybody at the camp was up on the porch by now, and
+there were a lot crowding on the spring-board.
+
+"Pull hard," Doc said; "the next cry will be the last one; I know the
+sound."
+
+Just then we heard a long cry, but it didn't say any word, just h--e--
+e--
+
+And then it stopped.
+
+Doc said, "Pull hard anyway; you steer her, Roy. Right over there--a
+little to the left--you can see the canoe."
+
+I looked over there and saw it upset and no one was near it.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+I can't tell you all about what happened. I tried and tore up three
+pages. Because it makes me all excited myself, as you might say. I can
+hear that crowd on the porch shouting just as plain as on that very day
+it happened. And every time it rains and it's dark and windy, it
+reminds me of it too. The next thing I knew we were right close beside
+two fellows and Westy was holding them and shouting, "_Let go, I've got
+him!_"
+
+The fellow who wouldn't let go was Skinny.
+
+I can't tell you about how he looked--honest, I just can't tell you.
+But there was blood on his face just the same as I saw in the dream--as
+sure as I'm sitting here, there was. He had hold of the camping
+fellow's mackinaw jacket with his teeth and the fellow's mouth was
+stretched wide open and Skinny's hand was clutching his teeth and chin
+and holding his head above water that way. It wasn't like any rule for
+holding a drowning fellow, anyway, no rule _I_ ever heard of. Even now
+I can see that skinny little white hand straining to hold that mouth
+and chin, and afterward I saw how there was a cut across Skinny's
+fingers where the fellow's teeth had pressed. Skinny's arm was shaking
+just like a rope shakes when it's pulled too tight and his eyes were
+staring crazy.
+
+While I kept the boat steady, Doc leaned out and pressed Skinny's jaws
+so as to make his teeth let go. And even then when we dragged him in
+over the stern, he had a piece of mackinaw jacket in his mouth.
+
+I said, "Skinny, don't act crazy, he's saved," but he only sat on the
+back seat trembling all over as if he had a fit. It wasn't because he
+was cold, it was just because he was excited and crazy like.
+
+I didn't notice the camping fellow much after I saw that he was alive
+and that Doc had him breathing all right. Westy took the oars but I
+couldn't help him on account of Skinny. And I couldn't do much for
+Skinny either. He was gone clean out of his head and started screaming,
+"_I did it; I did it!_"
+
+I said, "Yes, you did it; try to be quiet and get rested now. Can't you
+see he's all right?"
+
+"I held him up till you came," he panted; "I'm a hero. I want to go and
+be all by myself, I do."
+
+I said, "Hsh, Skinny, listen--"
+
+"He called me!" Skinny shouted; "_he called me_ out loud!"
+
+"I know," I said, "and you went. Sure, you're a hero." But of course, I
+knew the fellow never called him at all. Anyway, maybe the wind made it
+sound that way to him. He just sat there shaking all over and staring
+wild, "Three times," he panted out, "and that's the last--I--I got my
+hand in his mouth before--before--he said it--I did. That's the way
+murderers do--it is. I did it. Even I know how to strangle--I do. I'm a
+hero!"
+
+I said, "Listen here, Alf, you're a wonder--"
+
+"I--I--I--could _kill_ you if I wanted to!" he screamed; "I can do
+anything--I can sneak--stalk--I can take things out of your pocket--I
+can choke people--I--"
+
+That's just the way he went on and I saw he had gone all to pieces,
+maybe from the strain, and didn't know what he was saying. I just put
+my arm around him and I could feel that he was shaking all over, but it
+wasn't anything like a chill.
+
+He kept saying, "I want to be alone by myself now."
+
+I said, "Alf, listen a minute--_please_. You can go and be alone by
+yourself. You can go in our patrol cabin and I'll chase all the fellows
+out. I know how you feel. It was wonderful, Alf. Try to get quieted
+down now. You saved him."
+
+"I--I can _bite_," he said.
+
+I said, "Yes, I know; but try to take it easy now, because we're coming
+to shore. You have to act like a real hero."
+
+But as soon as we came into shallow water he jumped out of the boat and
+scooted around the edge of the pavilion, like a wild animal. In a
+couple of seconds everybody in camp was around the boat, waiting to
+hear what the camp doctor said. As soon as I knew that the fellow was
+going to be all right, I went away to find Skinny. No one else seemed
+to miss him.
+
+Pretty soon I heard a voice calling, "What's your hurry, Blakeley?" and
+I turned around and saw Bert Winton hurrying to catch up to me.
+
+"I'm going to look for that kid," I said.
+
+For about half a minute we walked along together, and then he said kind
+of quiet, sort of, "Do you think he's crazy?"
+
+"I don't think he's exactly crazy," I said; "but he's all gone to
+pieces."
+
+"He sounded crazy from the shore," he said.
+
+"He didn't know what he was saying, anybody could tell that," I
+answered him.
+
+"What did he do?" Winton asked me.
+
+"Oh, he just nearly killed him trying to save him," I said.
+
+"Hmph," Winton said.
+
+"He'll be all right," I told him.
+
+"Most of the fellows here think he's crazy," he said. "Last night they
+could hear him way out on the lake, boasting about his father stealing
+silver. 'Better keep your watch under your pillow and let Uncle Jeb
+take care of your coin,' that's what all the fellows are saying."
+
+"Is that what _you're_ saying?" I said.
+
+"I'm not saying anything," he shot back.
+
+"You saw what he just did," I told him.
+
+"I saw what he just did," he said.
+
+"You don't seem to be very excited about it," I shot back at him again.
+
+"What's the good of getting excited?" he said.
+
+"Do _you_ think he's crazy and a thief?" I asked him.
+
+"I think he may be a little crazy--at times," he said. "As to being a
+thief--" And then he screwed his mouth up, but didn't say anything
+more.
+
+"A hero-thief," I said, kind of sarcastic, for the way he talked made
+me mad.
+
+"He's sure a hero," he said.
+
+"I'm glad you think so," I told him. "Heroes aren't usually thieves,
+are they?"
+
+"Not as a rule," he said, kind of quiet and all the while kicking a
+stone.
+
+"Well then," I said.
+
+"Well then," he said too.
+
+"Well then, there you are," I spoke up.
+
+"Well then, here we are," he said, with an awful funny smile, "and the
+question is, where is the little skinny fellow?"
+
+"I guess I can find him without any help from you," I said.
+
+Then he walked away. Cracky, maybe I couldn't understand Skinny very
+well, but I sure couldn't understand Bert Winton at all.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+TELLS ABOUT SKINNY'S ABSENCE
+
+I hunted for Skinny for a couple of hours, but I couldn't find him. I
+went all the way into Leeds for I couldn't think where else he'd be, if
+he wasn't around camp. But he wasn't in the village, that was sure, and
+I began to get kind of anxious, because I knew the crazy state he was
+in, and besides he was soaked from being in the lake.
+
+It cleared up nice and sunny while I was gone and when I got back to
+camp, everybody was getting ready for supper. I had to change my
+clothes, they were so wet, and while I was doing it Mr. Ellsworth came
+into our cabin and asked me if I knew where Skinny was.
+
+I said, "No, I don't; I hiked all over looking for him, but I couldn't
+find him. That's how I got so wet I should think Connie would have his
+patrol out hunting for him."
+
+Mr. Ellsworth and I walked over to supper together, and he seemed kind
+of worried. "I'm afraid this thing has jarred his balance a little,"
+that's what he said.
+
+"One reason he wants to be alone," I said, "is because he hasn't got
+any friends."
+
+"I think his patrol is very proud of him," he said; "the whole camp is
+proud of him."
+
+"They're proud of what he _did_; they couldn't help being proud of it,"
+I said. "But they're not proud of _him_. Why don't they take him in and
+make friends with him? He's won the gold cross for them; gee, the least
+they can do is to show some interest in him. Are they ashamed of him?
+They don't even trust him, that's what _I_ think."
+
+Mr. Ellsworth said, "Yes, he's won the gold cross for them; no doubt of
+that."
+
+"Yes," I said, "and where is he now? He's gone off so's he can be
+alone. One fellow around here says everybody in camp thinks he's a
+thief."
+
+"Oh, I guess he didn't say just that, Roy," Mr. Ellsworth said, very
+nice like, "but we've got to have a little talk with Skinny about the
+way he talks--the things he says. He's a very queer youngster. They see
+he's different from the rest of us, that he's out of the slums and,
+well, they don't understand him, that's all."
+
+"He just blurts everything out," I said, "that's all."
+
+"Well, he _mustn't_," Mr. Ellsworth laughed, "especially when he's out
+on the lake. His tirade to-day, after the rescue, sounded very strange.
+The boys are not used to hearing talk about picking pockets and
+stealing silverware. They don't understand it."
+
+"I should worry about them," I said; "Skinny's just a kind of a freak.
+Look at the way he wanted to go away and be alone by himself. Doesn't
+that prove it?"
+
+"Well," Mr. Ellsworth said, "it will be more to the point if he comes
+back all right."
+
+"It would be more to the point if the Elks were out hunting for him," I
+said. You can bet I wasn't afraid to say it--to Mr. Ellsworth or
+anybody else.
+
+"I think we'll have to organize a search if he doesn't show up soon,"
+Mr. Ellsworth said. Then neither of us said anything for a few seconds.
+
+"How about the camping fellow?" I asked him.
+
+"They took him home in a skiff," Mr. Ellsworth said; "he wanted to go,
+so three of the boys rowed him across after the weather cleared."
+
+"I don't see how Skinny held him up--I just don't," I told Mr.
+Ellsworth.
+
+Mr. Ellsworth said, "No, it was marvelous any way you look at it. I
+think Skinny nearly broke the poor fellow's jaw. There is wonderful
+power in frantic desperation."
+
+Anyway, at supper all the fellows were shouting about Skinny. Everybody
+said he'd have the gold cross--even Uncle Jeb and Mr. Elting. And you
+never hear Mr. Elting saying much about those things till he's sure.
+All the Elks were shouting about the gold cross and where they'd keep
+it, just as if it was theirs. Hardly any of them said anything about
+Skinny.
+
+At camp-fire it was just the same only more so, and I noticed across
+the fire that Mr. Ellsworth and a couple of the scoutmasters were
+talking together and I guessed they were deciding about getting a
+searching party started.
+
+Pretty soon Bert Winton came over and squatted down alongside of me.
+"Kind of hot on the other side," he said, "flame blows right in your
+face. These fellows all in your patrol?"
+
+I told him, "Yes," and then I said, "mostly we hang together."
+
+"Good idea," he said; "any news of the little codger?"
+
+"_I_ couldn't find him," I said, kind of mad like.
+
+"Guess he didn't go far," he said; "just wanted to get off by himself
+and think it over. Natural enough. Didn't hit his tracks, did you?"
+
+I said, "Nope."
+
+"Stole a march on you," he said.
+
+"Oh, sure, he stole a couple of marches," I said; "maybe he even stole
+a look."
+
+"Well, he stole away," Winton said; "he'll be back."
+
+Cracky, I couldn't make heads or tails of that fellow. Somehow I kind
+of liked him--I couldn't help it.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+TELLS ABOUT CAMP-FIRE AND SKINNY
+
+All of a sudden I heard a fellow shout, "There he is!" And then
+everbody around the camp-fire set up a howl.
+
+Skinny was standing in the dark away from the fire, just as if he was
+afraid to come in among the fellows. His uniform was all wrinkled and
+stained and he looked even worse than he did other times. There was a
+long mark on his cheek where I guess the gold dust twin had scratched
+him, and he didn't have his hat or his shoes. _Good night_, he didn't
+look much like pictures you see of heroes. But he was all quieted down,
+that was one thing. I guess he was played out.
+
+"There he is, the crazy little Indian!" a fellow shouted; "come in
+here, Skinny, till we get our fists on you. You've won the gold cross,
+you little spindle shanks!"
+
+Then a lot of fellows shouted, "Hurrah for Skinny! Come here, Skinny,
+till we pat you on the back--you little water snake!" They didn't even
+seem to know his last name or his front name either, and it made me
+mad.
+
+"You trot right over here to mamma, Skinny," Vic Norris of the Elks
+shouted; "we'll take care of _you_."
+
+The kid was smiling, all confused, as if he didn't know _what_ to do.
+
+"Come ahead over; don't be scared," Connie Bennett shouted. So then
+Skinny went over, kind of bashful and staring all around him, and sat
+down with the Elk patrol.
+
+Westy leaned over and whispered to me, "_Can you beat that?_ His own
+patrol leader telling him not to be afraid to go and sit down with his
+own patrol! I'll fix that bunch," he said.
+
+Then he stood right up and shouted--oh, boy, you ought to have heard
+him. He said, "Let's give three cheers for Alfred McCord, of the 1st
+Bridgeboro Troop, B.S.A., the second fellow to win the gold cross in
+his troop and the first one to win it in his patrol--the _only_ one in
+his patrol that _could_ win it!"
+
+Oh, boy, that was some whack.
+
+Well, you should have heard the fellows shout for Skinny. Merry
+Christmas! but that was some noise. They all stood up, the Elks too,
+and gave him the biggest send-off _I_ ever heard at Temple Camp. Even
+the scoutmasters and the trustees joined in and old Uncle Jeb kept
+shouting, "_Hooo--ray! Hooo--ray!_" Cracky, you would have laughed if
+you'd heard him. Oh, bibbie! when Temple Camp once gets started, the
+west front in France is Sleepy Hollow compared to it.
+
+And oh, didn't it make me feel good to see Skinny. He looked as if he
+was going to start to run away, but Connie had him by the collar, and
+all the Elks were laughing, and now I could see they were proud of him,
+anyway.
+
+Then Mr. Ellsworth held up his hand and as soon as the racket died
+down, he began to speak. This is what he said, because Mr. Barrows
+(he's a trustee) knows shorthand, and afterwards he gave it to me all
+written out to copy in our troop book. He said:
+
+"Scouts, you have heard that speech is silver and silence is golden. I
+think this kind of shouting is highest grade sterling silver. It is
+chunks of silver, as one might say. But since this is a matter of the
+gold cross, I ask for just a moment or two of golden silence, while I
+speak to you. I see about me, scouts from Ohio, and Michigan, and New
+Hampshire--"
+
+"And Hoboken!" Pee-wee piped out. Jiminy, that kid is the limit.
+
+"Yes, and Hoboken," Mr. Ellsworth said, trying not to laugh. "I speak
+to all of you from north, south, east and west--"
+
+"One of them has been up in an airplane, too!" Pee-wee yelled.
+
+"I speak to all scouts here," Mr. Ellsworth said, "whether they come
+from the heavens above or from the earth beneath or from the waters
+under the earth. That will include any scout who may happen to have
+been in a submarine. Will that do?" And he gave Pee-wee an awful funny
+look.
+
+Then he said, "I want to thank you all for the tribute you have paid
+our troop in its moment of pride and honor. This little scout is brand
+new, he is not even out of the tenderfoot class, and the gold cross
+award for heroism will be his. I think that every scout of his patrol
+should thrill with pride at this thought. I dare say we all find him a
+little strange, _we_ as well as _you_, and I'm afraid he is a kind of
+law unto himself--if you understand what I mean. But this beautiful
+cross which will soon be his will bring him closer to us all, I am
+sure. It is said in our Handbook that a scout is a brother to every
+other scout, so he has many thousands of brothers all over this broad
+land. The gold cross is very bright. Look in it and you will see your
+face reflected. You will see the scout smile, and that is brighter than
+any gold.
+
+"The best of all, it reflects honor--honor on him who wears it, honor
+on his patrol, on his troop and on every troop and scout in this whole
+great camp. And Alfred McCord has brought us this honor. Come here,
+Alf, my boy, and let me shake your hand."
+
+Wasn't that a peach of an address?
+
+But I noticed that Skinny didn't move. He just stood there close to
+Connie Bennett He was shaking all over and he was smiling and he was
+crying. I saw Hunt Ward jump up and give him a rap on the back and he
+was so little and so thin, that it kind of made him stagger.
+
+Then he said, "Can't I stay here with them?"
+
+Oh, boy, wasn't I glad!
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+TELLS ABOUT MY TALK WITH BERT WINTON
+
+Believe _me_, that was _some_ night. I guess I knew how Skinny felt
+when he scooted off, because after camp-fire I felt just that same way
+myself. Christmas! I don't know how it feels to win the gold cross, and
+I guess I never will either, but just the same, after camp-fire that
+night, I just felt as if I wanted to go and be by myself--I can't tell
+you why.
+
+It's fine hanging around the camp-fire after it's died down, but
+they're pretty sure to chase you off to bed if you do that. It's a
+danger zone, believe _me_. Anyway, I know a peach of a place on a big
+rock near the shore. You just go along under the spring-board and pass
+the boat landing and follow the path. So I went there and pretty soon
+Hunt Ward came along on his way to the Elk cabin, and he stopped a
+couple of minutes and talked to me.
+
+"Well," he said, "we've got that little old medal in our patrol."
+
+"You've got Alf in your patrol, you mean," I said.
+
+"I don't know whether you could exactly say he _earned_ it," he said;
+"because he was crazy and didn't know what he was doing."
+
+"I wish I knew some more fellows who were crazy like that," I told him.
+
+"You seem to be kind of sore at us, Foxy," he said. Most of them called
+me Foxy, because I'm leader of the Silver Foxes.
+
+"There's a difference between a mascot and a regular friend," I told
+him. "You fellows treat Skinny just as if he was a sort of a mascot.
+Why don't you take him in with you, just like you would any other
+fellow?"
+
+"He's a queer little duck," Hunt said.
+
+"That isn't any reason why you shouldn't take him in. I'm not saying
+you haven't--_now_. And I'm glad if you have, that's sure. You ought to
+read him the Handbook and teach him some of the other stuff--the laws
+and all that. Gee, that's the least you could do, now he's won the
+cross for you."
+
+"Grandpa Foxy," he said, and then he went along toward the Elk cabin.
+
+I was just going to start off to our own cabin when I heard footsteps.
+It seemed as if someone might be stealing along, and first I thought it
+might be Skinny. I was glad it wasn't, because I wanted him to stay in
+with his own fellows now and not bother with me.
+
+It was Bert Winton.
+
+"H'lo, Blakeley," he said, in that quiet kind of a way he has; "I
+thought everybody was in bed."
+
+"I see _you're_ not in bed," I told him, kind of grouchy.
+
+He said, "Me? Oh, no, I always prowl around after fox trails and
+things. I got on one fox trail, didn't I? Bet the kid won't sleep
+to-night, hey?"
+
+"I bet I won't sleep either," I said; "and that's why I'm here."
+
+"Kind of like the kid, don't you?" he said.
+
+I said, "Yes, and that's more than _you_ can say."
+
+He just looked at me a minute and then he sat down on the stone
+alongside of me, and he broke a stick off a bush and began marking on
+the ground with it. Then he said, kind of as if he didn't take much
+interest--he said, "Actions speak louder than words; did you ever hear
+that?"
+
+"Sure," I said, "but I'd like to know what that has to do with Skinny."
+
+He just kept pushing the stick around, then he said, "If you're such a
+good friend of his, instead of trotting all around and sticking your
+face into every cabin like an old maid hunting for a thimble, why
+didn't you find his trail and follow it?"
+
+I said, "I don't know why I didn't"
+
+"If you thought he just went off to be by himself, why didn't you trail
+him and make sure?" he asked me, all the while very friendly and quiet
+like.
+
+"Well, if he wanted to be by himself," I said, "why should I track
+him?"
+
+"Why should you hunt for him at all, then?" he said.
+
+"Just because I choose to," I told him.
+
+"That's a good reason," he said.
+
+"It's all the reason you'll get," I blurted out.
+
+"All right," he said, very nice and polite, "only then don't go around
+thinking you're a better friend to him than I am. I know this camp and
+I know those fellows across the lake and I know page fifty-one of the
+Handbook, and I've seen the kid once or twice."
+
+"I suppose you think I don't know what's on page fifty-one of the
+Handbook," I said, getting mad; "it's the tracking badge--pathfinding--
+so there. And I see you have it on your sleeve, too."
+
+"That's where it belongs," he said.
+
+"Well, then, if you think it was so important to track him, why didn't
+you track him?" I blurted at him, for I was good and mad.
+
+"I did," he said.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+
+TELLS ABOUT A VISIT FROM ACROSS THE LAKE
+
+Now at last I knew for sure that I hated that fellow. And I said to
+myself, "You can bet I'll never have anything more to do with _him_."
+
+When I got to our cabin all the fellows were asleep, except Westy, and
+I said to him, "Do you know that scout who's patrol leader in the Ohio
+troop?"
+
+He said, "You mean Winton?"
+
+"That's him," I said; "I hate him so much that it makes me hate the
+whole state of Ohio. I wouldn't even go canoeing on the Ohio River."
+
+He didn't say anything--I guess he was sleepy. "I even hate the
+Baltimore and Ohio railroad," I said.
+
+The next morning just as we were going in for a swim, we saw the canoe
+coming across the lake again. When it got near enough, we could see
+that another fellow was in it. We all went over to the landing to ask
+him how his pal was getting along. Right away he asked if he could see
+Mr. Ellsworth.
+
+I said, "Sure you can; I guess he's in the tepee, writing."
+
+I felt sort of glad, because I thought probably it meant something good
+for Skinny. All morning he was sure one hero, and at the time the
+camper came he was off with the Elks somewhere, stalking I guess, and I
+was mighty glad of it.
+
+The tepee is a little tent where the scoutmasters always go when they
+want to be alone, so as to write up troop stuff. Nobody ever bothers
+them in there unless it's important, and even then only one fellow
+goes.
+
+I said, "Sure, come ahead, I'll find him for you."
+
+He was a pretty nice fellow, I could see that, even if he _was_ a
+tenderfoot, and he spoke mighty friendly, sort of, to me.
+
+He said, "You have a wonderful little life saver here--with a bull dog
+grip."
+
+"It's more than a grip," I said, "it's a regular suitcase. He's going
+to get the highest award we have, too."
+
+"Bully for him," he said, "we're going to let him know what we think
+about it, too."
+
+"Scouts aren't allowed to take anything for things like that," I told
+him.
+
+"Well," he said, "we heard him shouting on the lake the other night
+that he'd like to own a canoe, so we're going to give him ours when we
+go away next week."
+
+"Oh, boy!" I said. Then I just happened to think to say, "Did you hear
+all he shouted out on the lake? Because," I said, "he's kind of--kind
+of freakish, sometimes."
+
+"He's a little wonder, that's what he is," he said.
+
+When we got to the tepee, Mr. Ellsworth jumped up and shook hands with
+him and said, "Glad to see you, sit down. Sit down too, Roy."
+
+So we both sat down on the bench, and I don't know, it seemed to me as
+if the fellow was sort of uncomfortable, as if he'd rather I wouldn't
+be there. But he didn't say anything about it.
+
+Mr. Ellsworth said, "Your friend had a very narrow escape. Canoes are
+bad things in storms. You should be careful." And then he gave him some
+mighty good advice in that nice way he has.
+
+The camping fellow said he'd come to thank the little fellow, that's
+what he called him, and to tell Mr. Ellsworth how they both felt about
+it. He said they'd never forget about it, and he wanted to know if
+there was anything they could do.
+
+"Absolutely nothing," Mr. Ellsworth said. "All awards and tokens of
+recognition are attended to right here among ourselves."
+
+For about half a minute the fellow didn't say anything and I thought he
+was thinking about how to spring that about the canoe. Because it
+wasn't easy after what Mr. Ellsworth said. Then he said--I can tell you
+almost just the very words--because Mr. Ellsworth helped me with this
+part. He said:
+
+"There's a little matter I want to speak about, Mr. Ellsworth, and it
+isn't easy. My friend didn't want me to speak about it at all, for he
+was afraid you might misunderstand us."
+
+Mr. Ellsworth said, awful friendly like, "I will try not to."
+
+Then he said, kind of smiling, "I suppose we can trust this good little
+scout not to repeat out talk to anyone."
+
+Mr. Ellsworth began to laugh, then he said, "Oh, yes, indeed; all good
+little scouts are to be trusted. That's what Roy, here, would say is
+their middle name. Am I right, Roy?"
+
+I guess that made it kind of easy for the fellow, for he started right
+in, though I could see it was hard for him to say it. He said, "My pal
+had quite a little sum of money in his jacket, which we can't seem to
+find now. It was buttoned into a flap pocket. He thought, or rather _I_
+thought, that perhaps it had been taken from him and laid away for safe
+keeping. Or perhaps it may have fallen into the water and gone down.
+There's a lot of valuable stuff under the water these days." I think he
+said that just so's to kind of make a joke about what he was saying, so
+as maybe it wouldn't seem so serious like. Anyway, he was awfully
+trice. "It seems pretty contemptible to be talking about money," he
+said, "after my pal's life was saved by you folks, but it's just
+because the money has to be paid out pretty soon that he's worrying
+about it. He didn't want me to come over and ask, but I told him I was
+going to, anyway. No harm in that, I guess."
+
+"None whatever," Mr. Ellsworth said; "how much money was there?"
+
+The fellow said a little over two hundred, but they weren't sure
+exactly how much.
+
+Mr. Ellsworth raised his eyebrows in that way he has and said, "Isn't
+that a good deal of money for two young fellows to take camping?"
+
+The camper said, "Yes, I guess it is, but we're pretty punk campers, I
+suppose, any way you look at it."
+
+Mr. Ellsworth said, "Just wait a minute," and he went away.
+
+The camping fellow started to say how it made him feel mean and
+contemptible to come over and ask about the money, and he guessed it
+was probably in Davy Jones' locker, anyway.
+
+Pretty soon Mr. Ellsworth came back and said, "I'm very sorry, my young
+friend, but no sum of money was found on your companion. If it had
+been, it would either have been restored to him or held by the camp
+authorities through oversight. I have just made inquiries of them. The
+boy who saved your friend is not in camp at present, but I think I can
+answer for him, that he did not find it. To make sure, I will ask him
+when he returns and one of the boys will row over and let you know."
+
+I could see the fellow seemed kind of disappointed, but anyway, he was
+mighty nice about it.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX
+
+TELLS ABOUT THE LOSS OF SOME MONEY
+
+Mr. Ellsworth asked me to come back and get some letters to put in the
+mail box, so after I saw the gold dust twin start off I went back to
+the tepee, and just as I was going inside I saw Connie Bennett and Bert
+McAlpin and Hunt Ward and Stut Moran and Skinny coming down the hill in
+back of the tepee. Skinny was smiling all over and I could see the
+wrinkles at the ends of his mouth like I always could when he smiled.
+That's when you could see how thin he was. I shouted that I thought Mr.
+Ellsworth wanted to see him and he started to run, only Connie grabbed
+him by the collar, just for fun, and held him back. I heard him say,
+"Take your time, we're all in on this."
+
+By that I knew that Skinny expected Mr. Ellsworth was going to give him
+the gold cross. I didn't blame _him_ for thinking so, but the others
+might have had better sense, because it's usually a week, anyway,
+before an honor medal comes.
+
+Anyway, they all came down into the tepee and stood looking around as
+if they expected to see the gold cross on the table. Hanged if I don't
+think Connie had n idea that Mr. Ellsworth would hand it to _him_, he
+looked so important like.
+
+Mr. Ellsworth just went on and finished the letter he was writing, then
+he said, "Alfred, our rescued mariner from across the lake can't find a
+roll of money he had in his mackinaw. He thinks it may have gone down
+in the lake. Don't happen to know anything about it, do you?"
+
+I have to admit that I felt sort of funny and I looked pretty close at
+Skinny. He just stood there staring and I could see by his neck that he
+was breathing hard and all nervous sort of. Then Mr. Ellsworth asked
+him again, very pleasant like he always spoke to him. But Skinny didn't
+say a word, only stood there staring and he gulped as if he was trying
+to swallow something. Gee, I was all kind of shaky myself now, because
+I saw Mr. Ellsworth looked at him in a funny way--like a fellow looks
+at the sun--kind of. As if he was studying him--_you_ know.
+
+Then Connie said, "Why in the dickens don't you speak up, Skinny? If
+you know anything about it, why don't you say so? Do you want to get us
+all in Dutch?"
+
+I could see that Skinny was just trying as hard as he could to speak,
+but couldn't on account of that lump in his throat. I know it was none
+of my business, but I just couldn't keep still any longer, so I said
+right out:
+
+"The reason he doesn't speak is because he _can't_. Haven't you got
+sense enough to see that? He thought Mr. Ellsworth was going to hand
+him the medal and you were crazy enough to let him think so. That's one
+reason he's all rattled. So I'll answer for him and I hope that'll
+satisfy you. He hasn't got the money and he never saw it and he never
+heard of it. It's down at the bottom of Black Lake, that's where it is.
+Don't you suppose he had something better to do with himself when he
+was saving that gold dust twin, than to be going through his pockets?"
+
+"I'm sure I would," Vic Norris said.
+
+"_You!_" I said, "you couldn't even have held him up in the water and
+you know plaguy well you couldn't--there's not one of you that could.
+If you thought more about what he was doing out there in all that storm
+with his teeth in that fellow's sweater and his hand being blamed near
+bitten off, it would be better for _you_. All _you're_ thinking about
+is getting the gold cross into your patrol. What do you suppose _he_
+cares about money--a fellow that can do things like that? It's these
+jelly-fish that go camping with a whole savings bank in their pockets
+and no shovel to dig a drain ditch with--that's the kind that think
+about money! You make me sick. Turn your pockets inside out, Alf, and
+let them see what you've got--go ahead!"
+
+All the while Mr. Ellsworth kept saying, "Shh, shh, Roy," but what did
+I care? Even he couldn't stop me.
+
+"What's _he_ got to do with it, anyway?" Connie said to Mr. Ellsworth,
+"I don't see as it's any of _his_ business."
+
+"Well," I said, "I'll _make_ it my business. You've got the kid so
+nervous and scared, that he can't even find his pockets, he--"
+
+"Just a moment, Roy," Mr. Ellsworth said. "You mustn't forget yourself.
+You have done our friends across the lake an injustice."
+
+"When I get through doing Skinny _justice_, it will be time enough to
+think of _them_," I said. Oh, boy, I was mad.
+
+Mr. Ellsworth said, "We have no wish to search Alfred, Roy. Why all
+this anger?"
+
+"Because I've heard enough hints and insinuations around this camp,
+that's why!" I said. Jiminy, I could just feel my voice tremble.
+
+Poor Skinny was fumbling at one of his pockets and he was so scared and
+nervous, that he couldn't get his hand in even. So I just stepped over
+and pulled his pocket inside out.
+
+[Illustration: I STEPPED OVER AND PULLED HIS POCKETS INSIDE OUT.]
+
+"Four pennies," I said, "see? Poor but honest, hey, Alf?" And I gave
+him a good rap on the shoulder. I guess it made him feel good, because
+he smiled at me even though he did look scared.
+
+Then one after another I pulled all his other pockets inside out, and
+last I turned out the flap pockets in his khaki shirt. Just as I did
+that, a key fell out.
+
+"Four cents and a key," I said; "now are you satisfied?"
+
+"We never said he had it," Hunt Ward spoke up.
+
+"Well, now you can see he hasn't anyway," I said.
+
+All the while Mr. Ellsworth waited just as if he didn't have much use
+for all this business, but just the same wouldn't interfere. That's
+always the way he is. So now he said, very pleasant:
+
+"I think we're having a sort of tempest in a teapot, Roy. No one has
+made any accusations. Suppose you let me say a word. It wasn't at all
+necessary to perform this operation on Alfred. Let me see this key,
+Alf, my boy."
+
+Skinny handed the key to Mr. Ellsworth and he screwed up his face, sort
+of funny, and looked at it. Then he said, "Hmph, it's a Yale key,
+belonging to a padlock, eh? What key is it, my boy?"
+
+Skinny could hardly speak he was so scared. Even I felt sort of shaky--
+I don't know why.
+
+Skinny just said, "I found it."
+
+"Here in camp, you mean?" Mr. Ellsworth said, just as nice as I ever
+heard him talk--awful pleasant and easy, like.
+
+"On the boat," Skinny said, "the day I found the money. It was right on
+the deck."
+
+"That was the money he gave you," I said. I just couldn't help saying
+it.
+
+Mr. Ellsworth said, "Now, Roy, you must let me do the talking. Just be
+quiet a minute."
+
+I said, "Excuse me."
+
+"Now, Alf," Mr. Ellsworth said, "why didn't you give me this key, eh?"
+
+Skinny kept breathing, but could hardly speak.
+
+Then he said, "I put it in the other pocket. I forgot. Mostly I don't
+put things there."
+
+"I see," Mr. Ellsworth said, just as if he believed every word. "You
+don't know what key it is, I suppose, Alf?"
+
+"No, sir," he said. And then he gulped and seemed terribly scared and
+excited.
+
+"All right," Mr. Ellsworth said, "just leave it with me. I expect I
+shall be able to pin the cross on you in a few days, Alf. Have a little
+patience."
+
+Then, all of a sudden Skinny blurted out, "Am I a hero?"
+
+"Yes, indeed," Mr. Ellsworth said, and he smiled at him and patted his
+shoulder.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI
+
+TELLS ABOUT MY TALK WITH MR. ELLSWORTH
+
+After they were gone, Mr. Ellsworth told me that I shouldn't get so
+excited about nothing. I have to admit that's the way I often do.
+
+I said, "Do you know what that's a key to?"
+
+He said, "It's a key to a padlock. I have an idea that perhaps it fits
+the padlock on that locker in the house-boat--the one that was always
+locked."
+
+Jiminy, I never thought of that until just then when he spoke about it.
+It made me feel awfully queer. Anyhow, I guessed right off that he was
+right, because probably it fell out of Lieutenant Donnelle's pocket
+along with the change that he spilled all over the deck. There was a
+kind of a lump in _my_ throat now.
+
+I said, "Skinny gave you the money so we ought to believe him when he
+says he just put the key in another pocket and forgot about it."
+
+"Why, surely," he said, "I'm not suspecting him of anything. Neither is
+anyone else. The only thing that puzzles me is, how the key happened to
+be on the deck where he found it. We swabbed the decks so thoroughly
+before leaving Bridgeboro. One of our boys might have dropped some
+change and never known it But how did the key happen to be there? We
+know how it happened in Alfred's pocket, but how did it happen on the
+deck? We scouts claim to be observant, and yet that key was right on
+the deck from Bridgeboro all the way down to St. George. That's the
+queer thing."
+
+Oh, boy, didn't I feel guilty. Especially I felt guilty because Mr.
+Ellsworth was so nice and pleasant about it. Because all the while I
+knew where that key came from, and it seemed just like lying not to
+tell. Gee, I was kind of sorry now that I promised Lieutenant Donnelle
+that I would never tell about him coming there. I couldn't say
+anything, so I just kept still.
+
+All the while Mr. Ellsworth kept looking at the key and thinking and
+humming a tune to himself. Pretty soon he said, "You don't happen to
+know where Alfred went when he disappeared, do you, Roy?"
+
+I said, "No, I don't; all I know is I couldn't find him."
+
+"He was gone for four or five hours," he said, very slow, as if he was
+sort of thinking.
+
+I guess I felt just about the same as Skinny did now. Anyway, I was all
+shaky and it was hard for me to get started saying anything.
+
+Then I said, "Mr. Ellsworth, Skinny went off because he was all scared
+and excited, and he wanted to be all alone by himself. Often I've felt
+that same way. I felt that way after I passed my second class tests. I
+don't deny he's kind of freaky. I think he just went off in the woods.
+You know yourself it's in the Handbook that trees are good companions.
+He just wanted to be alone. I bet he wasn't a hundred yards from camp.
+Skinny's kind of queer, you know that."
+
+Then Mr. Ellsworth just laid down the key and put stamps on two or
+three letters and said "All right, Roy, just see that these get mailed,
+will you?"
+
+He didn't say what he was going to do and I guessed he wasn't going to
+do anything. And even suppose he did, what was the harm?
+
+But just the same I felt awful queer and shaky. I guess maybe it was
+because I couldn't come right out and tell him the plain truth about
+that key.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII
+
+TELLS ABOUT HOW I VISITED THE OHIO TROOP'S CABIN
+
+One thing I was sure of, and that was that Skinny went away into the
+woods just to be alone by himself, like he said. I knew it was just
+like him to do that. Maybe you'll think it was funny for him to do that
+when it was raining, but already he was good and wet; you have to
+remember that. I said to myself, "I should worry about the key, because
+anyway, that had nothing to do with Skinny." But just the same I kept
+worrying about something, I don't know just what.
+
+Pretty soon I made up my mind to do something that I didn't want to do.
+I went up the hill to where the Ohio troop bunked. They had one of the
+big troop cabins that holds two patrols. I guess they were a pretty
+fine troop, because they had everything fixed up dandy. One patrol was
+called the Royal Bengal Tigers, and the other was called the African
+Tigers, and both patrols wore yellow scarfs with black stripes, and all
+their scout staffs had tigers' heads on them. Even when they dived from
+the spring-board they had a certain kind of a way of jumping, they
+called it the tiger spring, and nobody could get the hang of it. Some
+organization they had, that's what Mr. Ellsworth said. Every one of
+those fellows had a tiger claw hung around his neck. Oh, boy, that was
+some troop for you.
+
+I asked one of the fellows for Bert Winton, and he came around from
+behind the cabin where he was spearing papers and leaves. I said,
+"_You_ fellows ought to be called the gold dust twins, your two patrols
+I mean, because you're so plaguy particular--picking up leaves and
+everything. You'll be dusting the roof next."
+
+He said, "We're a lot of old maids up here."
+
+Then he climbed up on the cabin roof and sat on the peak and I
+scrambled up too, and sat down alongside of him. Honest, that fellow
+would squat in the funniest places. And always he had a stick with him.
+
+"Nice and breezy up here," he said, in that quiet, easy sort of way he
+had, "and we can scan the horizon. Anything particular?"
+
+I don't know, but I seemed to sort of feel that he knew what I was
+going to talk about, and I guess he just scrambled up there so the
+other fellows wouldn't hear. Cracky, that fellow always had his wits
+about him, that's one sure thing.
+
+I said, "I don't deny that I was kind of sore at you when you spoke to
+me down at the lake, and I can't tell whether I like you or not,
+because I can never make out what you really think. You've got to know
+what a fellow thinks before you know whether you like him or not, don't
+you?"
+
+He said you sure did, and then he said, "Well, I know whether I like
+_you_ or not, so it's all right."
+
+"I don't care much whether you like _me_" I said, "it's Skinny I'm
+thinking about. I know I like _him_, you can bet."
+
+"And that's one reason I like you," he said; "because you like _him_.
+Ever notice how the cedar shingles shrink in a dry spell?"
+
+I said I didn't know they were cedar.
+
+"You can always tell cedar by the smell," he said, "and the S warp."
+Gee, I didn't even know what an S warp was.
+
+Then I said right out--I said, "You told me that you tracked Skinny.
+Would you mind telling me where he went?"
+
+For a minute he just kept moving the stick around and then he said,
+"What would be the use of telling you?"
+
+"Because I've got a reason and I want to know," I said. Then all of a
+sudden I knew why he climbed up there. It was partly so he could see
+all around and be sure no one was coming.
+
+"Well, why do you want to know?" he said.
+
+"Because I'm a friend of Skinny's, that's why," I said. Then I just
+blurted out, "I might as well tell you because, anyway, you're smarter
+than I am. They found a key on Skinny."
+
+He just said, "When?"
+
+"To-day," I said, "and it's probably a key to one of the lockers in our
+house-boat. Besides, that fellow who nearly got drowned had about a
+couple of hundred dollars on him."
+
+"Humph, I thought so," Winton said.
+
+I said, "Why?"
+
+"Oh, just because," he said. "The day he came over to try to buy a
+fishing-pole he had a roll as big as a cobblestone with him. I
+suspected he'd lose it some day and that somebody would get blamed."
+
+"Nobody is getting blamed," I said.
+
+"No, but somebody is being suspected," he shot back.
+
+"Well, he _did_ lose it, I have to admit that much," I said.
+
+"And that's all you're ever going to admit, hey?" he said, all the
+while moving the stick around on the roof.
+
+"_You_--_bet_--_your_--_sweet_--_life_, that's all I'm ever going to
+admit," I said.
+
+"Bully for you," he said; "you're about the best little scout I ever
+knew--next to Skinny."
+
+"I can stick up for a friend, that's one thing," I said.
+
+"Through thick and thin?" he asked me; "in spite of circumstantial
+evidence?"
+
+"I should worry about circumstantial evidence," I told him. "Why should
+I care about circumstantial evidence? What did circumstantial evidence
+ever do for _me_, I'd like to know?"
+
+Then he began to laugh. Gee, _I_ didn't know what he was laughing at.
+
+"Nothing would shake you, huh?" he said.
+
+"Believe me, it would take an earthquake," I told him.
+
+He looked all around and moved the stick around on the shingles, as if
+he was thinking.
+
+Then he said, "Well, Skinny went over to the Hudson to that house-boat
+you fellows came up on. He followed the old bed of Bowl Valley creek.
+Now don't get excited. He had as much right to go there as you have. He
+was all worked up, and he isn't just exactly right in his head, you
+know that. He just wanted to go home and be all alone by himself. The
+house-boat was the only home he knew. I didn't go on the boat, because
+I had no right to, and because there was no need to. I didn't know he
+had any key. I don't believe he hid anything, if that's what you're
+thinking about. I tracked him because I wanted to make sure he was safe
+and know what he was doing. As soon as I saw where he was headed for, I
+just beat it back. Nothing to it, Blakeley; don't worry."
+
+"But now you know he had a key to a locker," I said.
+
+He just said, "Well, what of it? I believe in him and there you are. I
+wouldn't care if he had keys to all the banks and safe deposit vaults
+in the United States."
+
+Gee, it just kind of gave me a thrill, the way he spoke. I said,
+"Anyway, now I know that I like you. I ought to have had sense enough
+to know before."
+
+Then he said, "You see, Blakeley, Skinny's a mighty queer little
+proposition. If it wasn't for that scoutmaster you fellows have, I'd
+say he would never make a regular tip-top scout. But I think that Mr.
+What's-his-name--Ellsworth--is a wonder."
+
+"Believe me, you said something," I told him.
+
+"You know yourself," he said, "how that kid talks--shouts, I mean.
+Stealing silver, picking pockets! What are all these fellows to think?
+Most of the fellows here come from good folks. They don't understand a
+poor little codger like Skinny who is half crazy, because he's been
+half starved. You know yourself that he doesn't fit in here. I don't
+say he isn't going to. But I'm good at arithmetic, Blakeley--"
+
+"Gee, you're a peach on tracking, too," I said.
+
+"Well, and I know how to put two and two together," he said. "I knew, I
+just felt it in my bones, that that gold dust twin with his swell
+bathing suit and his waterproof mackinaw was going to lose his roll in
+the water. He carried it loose in his mackinaw pocket--a camper, mind
+you. He had a wad big enough to pay off the national debt, and I knew
+it would tumble out and it did. Skinny's one of those poor little
+codgers that's always unlucky. He happened to be there. He happened to
+have a key. He happened to go to the house-boat. I got hold of his
+tracks just because I didn't want him to come to any harm while he was
+all worked up. The reason I didn't say anything about where he went
+was, because there are a whole lot of fellows in this camp that would
+put two and two together and get five. Understand? They'd say he went
+to hide Goldie's freight shipment of dollar bills. So I kept still. No
+harm in keeping still."
+
+"Oh, cracky," I said, "but I like you. _I'm_ keeping still about
+something too and you can bet I know how to keep my mouth shut. You can
+just bet I'd do anything for a friend, I would."
+
+"Well, Skinny's got a good friend," he said.
+
+"I didn't mean Skinny," I told him; "but he has got two good friends,
+anyway, and that's us, hey?"
+
+He just said, "That's us," and then he slid right down the roof and
+jumped off the edge, awful funny like.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII
+
+TELLS ABOUT HOW I DID A GOOD TURN
+
+That night Mr. Ellsworth wasn't at camp-fire and nobody knew where he
+was. All the time I had a funny feeling and I kept looking away from
+the fire and up the dark path to see if he was coming. I wasn't
+listening to the yarns at all.
+
+And that night I didn't sleep--I just kind of felt that something was
+wrong. You know what I mean--I could just feel it in the air. The next
+morning was nice and bright and sunny and it seemed good, because there
+had been such a lot of rain lately. On my way over to breakfast, I
+stopped outside of Council Shack to read the bulletin board and see
+what was on for the day. I saw that the Elks were going stalking, and I
+was glad of that, because I knew Skinny liked stalking and I was glad
+he was with them at last. But just the same I felt kind of funny all
+the while I was having eats.
+
+Afterward Artie Van Arlen (he's head of the Ravens) came and told me
+that Mr. Ellsworth wanted to see me. I felt awful shaky. When I went
+into Council Shack he was sitting there all alone, and on the table
+right in front of him were the key and a lot of money all crunched up.
+Oh, but didn't Mr. Ellsworth look sober and serious.
+
+He said very low as if he was all discouraged sort of, "Roy," he said,
+"you said something about going home for your sister's birthday?"
+
+I said, "Yes, sir, I'd like to go down Friday and come back Monday.
+I'll go both ways by train, because that's quicker. I won't go if it
+isn't all right, but Marjorie is going to have a graduation party and
+they're going to have cocoanut cake, but anyway, I don't care so much
+about that." But, oh, boy, cocoanut cake is my middle name.
+
+He said kind of slow, sort of, as if he was trying to make up his mind,
+"Well, Roy, I have an idea I'll let you take little McCord home. I
+don't know what else to do with him. I'm afraid he's too much for me.
+You see there are a good many boys who have to be considered. This
+isn't much of a place for a campaign of reformation," that's just what
+he said.
+
+I said, "Are you mad at Skinny?"
+
+He said, "I'm not mad, Roy, but I'm disheartened--a little hopeless,
+I'm afraid. I'm willing to believe that he isn't just right in his
+head, but you see I can't help him; I'm not a doctor. His heroism is
+just a phase of his condition--he gets excited." That's just exactly
+what Mr. Ellsworth said, because I remember. Then he just lifted the
+money and dropped it again. It was all crunched up and damp sort of.
+Even where I stood near him I could smell how it was damp--you know,
+kind of mildewed.
+
+"Alfred went down to the house-boat and hid this in the locker," Mr.
+Ellsworth said. "The key he had fitted the padlock and he must have
+known that. It's the right sum, as nearly as our friend across the lake
+remembered what he had; a little over two hundred dollars--seven
+dollars over. It's a miserable piece of business, Roy. I've been lying
+awake thinking it over all night, and I guess the best thing is to send
+the poor little wretch home. I'll send a letter to Mr. Benton about
+him. He'll get him into some institution. Maybe we can help him later.
+He's a little young for us." Then he began whistling to himself and
+drumming on the table.
+
+Gee, I just stood there watching him and I didn't know what to say. I
+wondered what Bert Winton would say if he were there in my place.
+
+Pretty soon I said, "Maybe I won't go home to my sister's birthday
+after all. Gee, I don't care so much about cocoanut cake anyway." He
+just didn't say anything, only kept drumming and whistling.
+
+Then I said, "Did you say anything to Connie and the Elks?"
+
+"No," he said, "but I shall; they'll have to know why I take him out of
+their patrol. They'll have to know what he did."
+
+For a couple of minutes I couldn't say anything at all, and I just
+stood there gulping. One thing, no fellow can stand up and say that I
+ever talked back to Mr. Ellsworth--no, siree, no fellow can say that.
+But I just happened to think of something I wanted to say and so as
+soon as I could get started, I said it right out. This is what I said:
+
+"Mr. Ellsworth, you always said a scout ought to stand up for a fellow
+through thick and thin--no matter what, because we're all brothers. And
+that's what Bert Winton thinks too. You know it says in the Handbook
+how we're all brothers. So Skinny is my brother and I should worry
+about my sister's racket. I've got a week's extra time due me at the
+camp, on account of twelve snapshots last season. [Footnote: It was the
+rule at Temple Camp that any scout obtaining twelve good snapshots of
+birds, should have a week at camp in addition to his regular time, and
+this he could transfer to another scout as a good turn.--EDITOR.] So
+I've decided I'll give that to Skinny. I suppose that if the trustees
+say he's a thief they can send him away, no matter what. But the
+trustees don't have any meeting till next Wednesday. Maybe you'll be
+willing to tell me how I can go and register Skinny for that week of
+mine, because I don't know how to do it. If they want to say he's a
+thief let them go ahead and do it, but anyway, I should worry, they
+can't do it before next Wednesday and his week will be up then. And
+that will give me a chance to prove he didn't do it."
+
+Mr. Ellsworth smiled, kind of, and shook his head, then he just sat
+looking at me. He said, "Roy, you ought to make a good lawyer when you
+grow up. You have put one over on your scoutmaster." I guess he wasn't
+mad. Anyway he said, awful nice like, "Go over to the Administration
+rooms in the Pavilion and see the record clerk. I won't interfere, my
+boy."
+
+Gee, I was afraid I had made him sore, kind of, but when I was going
+out I could see that he was just sitting there smiling at me.
+
+Anyway, I bet you'd have done the same thing, if you'd been me.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV
+
+TELLS ABOUT HOW I TOLD A SECRET
+
+I don't know how it got out, but inside of an hour every fellow in that
+camp knew. I bet Mr. Ellsworth never said anything. Maybe somebody went
+with him to the house-boat, or maybe somebody followed him, hey? But
+that's always the way it is at Temple Camp. Things get out.
+
+The first thing I did was to go straight to see Bert Winton. I said,
+"I've got something to tell you. Can you come out alone?" Because,
+honest, that fellow was so popular he could never get away from his
+troop.
+
+He said, "Come on out on the lake for a row."
+
+So we went down to the landing and on the way a couple of fellows asked
+us if we'd heard about little Skinny. Anyway, we didn't pay any
+attention to them. One fellow who belonged in a troop from Boston,
+said, "I hear his patrol isn't going to bother with him any more."
+
+I said to Bert--that's what I called him now--I said, "If that was
+true about the money, he wouldn't get the gold cross, would he?"
+
+He said, "Nope, I guess not. Bravery doesn't count for much if a fellow
+is crooked. A highwayman is brave if it comes to that."
+
+By that I knew that there's a lot to being a hero besides just being
+brave. Crinkums, I learned a lot of things from that fellow.
+
+"But as long as he didn't do it, we should worry," I told him.
+
+"That's us," he said
+
+When we got in the boat he took the oars and I sat in the stern and we
+just flopped around. There aren't many fellows out rowing mornings,
+because they're either tracking or stalking or cleaning up or maybe in
+for a dip. We could see the fellows busy about the cabins and hear them
+shouting and it made me feel awful sorry for Skinny, somehow. I didn't
+see him anywheres and I wondered where he was.
+
+"Well, kid," Bert said (most always he called me that), "things get
+worser and worser, hey?"
+
+"Do you still say he didn't do it?" I asked him; "I don't know _what_
+to think--look at that money."
+
+"Ever take a good look at Skinny?" he said.
+
+"Yes, but look at the money," I said.
+
+"What do I want to look at it for?" he said; "it ought to be hung out
+on the clothesline from all I've heard," he said.
+
+Oh, boy, I was glad to hear him say that. "I wouldn't let any fellow in
+this camp except you call me 'kid,'" that's what I told him.
+
+He just rowed around a little while, making dandy feather strokes, and
+then he said,
+
+"Mr. Ellsworth didn't send that money over to Daniel Boone and Buffalo
+Bill yet, did he?"
+
+I said, "You mean the gold dust twins? No, I don't think he did."
+
+He said, "Well then, we've got to fix _that_ and We can't ask Mr. E.
+not to do it The tide's against us, kid; nobody's going to listen to
+us--not yet."
+
+Then all of a sudden he sat up, got his oars set right, and oh, bibbie,
+you should have seen that fellow row. Every stroke he took he almost
+lay down flat, and oh, Christmas, couldn't he feather! Pretty soon we
+were over near the shore where the campers were. You could see their
+tent in among the trees.
+
+"You're not going to tell _them_, are you?" I said.
+
+But he didn't answer me, only just called out, "Hey, there, you wild
+Indians!"
+
+One of them came through the woods and stopped and looked at us.
+
+"Aren't you fellows going to the boat races down at Catskill?" Winton
+shouted. "You're going to miss the time of your lives if you don't.
+Better get a hustle."
+
+"What time are they?" the camper shouted.
+
+"Just about now," Bert shouted; "follow the old Bowl Creek bed and
+you'll get there quicker." Then he rowed away again. "That'll fix 'em
+for to-day," he said. "More than one way to kill a cat, hey?"
+
+"There _are_ some races, aren't there?" I asked him.
+
+"Sure there are. That pair won't get back till midnight if they once
+hit Catskill."
+
+I said, "You think of everything, don't you?"
+
+"Now, Blakeley," he said, kind of more serious like, while he rowed
+around; "what are we going to do about it? Skinny didn't take the
+money, that's settled. All right then, who did? Nobody. Correct, be
+seated. All right then, what became of it? Mr. David Jones has it--our
+old college chum, Davy. It's at the bottom of Black Lake. How do I know
+all this? Because I know young mackinaw jacket and because I know
+Skinny--see? Simple as eating pie."
+
+"Gee, I've got to admit that eating pie is easy--especially mince," I
+told him.
+
+He said, "All right, now I'm going to ask you a question and if you
+want to, you can say 'none of your business.' You told me you were
+keeping still about something. Has it anything to do with Skinny?"
+
+"No, siree, it has not," I told him.
+
+"All right, has it anything to do with the key?"
+
+He shot it out just like that and oh, boy, wasn't I up in the air.
+
+I said, "Maybe, kind of; yes, it has."
+
+"Well then, you'd better tell me all about it," he said.
+
+"I can't," I told him.
+
+He said, "Oh, yes, you can."
+
+"I promised I wouldn't," I said.
+
+"Well then," he said, "we're all up in the air and I guess I can't help
+you much. I just thought that maybe two heads would be better than one,
+that's all. The money came out of the locker, that's sure. Any idea who
+it belongs to?"
+
+For a minute I just sat there thinking, watching him dip his oars. He
+lifted them up and I could hear the water drip from them, and then it
+would be all quiet till he did it again.
+
+"I couldn't row ashore with one oar," he said; "I'd just have to scull.
+Two oars are better than one. Same with heads, Blakeley. Skinny's got
+till Wednesday. You've done a good job so far. I dare say the cross
+will be here by Wednesday. Ever try to row feather-stroke, Blakeley?"
+
+Gee, I just couldn't help what I did--I just couldn't resist that
+fellow. I said, "Bert, you've got more brains than I have, that's one
+sure thing, and I can't help doing just what you say. I have to admit
+you're a wonder. I can't do any more alone, I can't. We have to be
+partners, kind of. Do you believe that about the Elks throwing him
+down? Bert, there was a fellow, a big fellow, and he's a son of the man
+that owns this boat, and he's a lieutenant." This is just what I told
+him. I said, "He's had a whole lot of dandy adventures and he took his
+uniform off to go fishing and hid it in the house-boat. And then when
+he came to get it, the boat was gone, because his father told our troop
+that we could use it. And after we got way down as far as Staten Island
+he sneaked on board one night and put his old clothes in the locker and
+took his uniform, and afterwards he dropped the key when he tried to
+give me some money and Skinny found it. He found the money, too, and he
+gave it to Mr. Ellsworth, but he forgot about the key."
+
+"He gave it to Mr. Ellsworth, huh?" Bert said.
+
+"Yes, he did," I told him, "and that's why I'm going to stick to him
+through thick and thin, I am, I don't care what. So now I told and I
+have to be to blame."
+
+"I'll be to blame," Bert said.
+
+"But anyway, it's on account of Skinny," I said, "and a fellow doesn't
+know what to do all alone and I like you--gee, I like you a lot," I
+said it right out to him, just like that. He looked at me steady, but
+didn't say a word. And then I could feel my eyes all glistening and
+everything looked funny and all of a sudden I didn't know what I was
+saying at all. "You have to help me," I said, "because you're a regular
+scout, I can see that, and you bet I'd like to be just like you if I
+only could--I would--you can bet--that fellow had lots of adventures
+and he called me 'Skeezeks' and kind of laughed at me and kidded me
+along--but, anyway, maybe he's all right, hey? I guess it's his money,
+but anyway, you've got to help me--you have.
+
+"That's one sure thing, because Skinny's more important. Maybe he'll
+think that a little fellow like Skinny isn't important, and that's the
+trouble, hey? Because he kind of punched me in the chest and laughed
+and said I was a good little sport. He said fellows by the name of Roy
+are all right."
+
+All the while Bert Winton just sat there holding his oars out of the
+water and watching me steady, like a fellow watching a bird that he's
+been stalking.
+
+Then he just said, "Well, I guess the big fellow was right."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV
+
+TELLS ABOUT THE LETTER WE WROTE
+
+Anyway, I don't care. Maybe you'll think I was wrong, but I don't care.
+I just had to tell that fellow. There was something about that
+fellow--I just can't tell you what it was.
+
+So then we fixed everything all up while we were rowing around. What
+did I care about going tracking or stalking with my patrol? I should
+worry, they could get along one day without me, all right We decided
+we'd write two letters to Lieutenant Donnelle and send one to his house
+and the other to Camp Dix in Wrightstown. We decided we'd write them
+that very day and hike into Catskill to mail them, so he'd be sure to
+get one wherever he was, in time for us to get an answer before next
+Wednesday.
+
+Mr. Ellsworth went to Albany that day, because he had some business to
+attend to, but I knew he wouldn't do anything more about Skinny till he
+got back and that was one good thing. This was the letter that we
+decided to send because I kept the first copy we made. We wrote it as
+if it came from me, but Bert Winton helped me.
+
+Dear Lieutenant Donnelle:--
+
+I hope you got back to camp all right and that Uncle Sam didn't get mad
+about it. I hope you're there now, so you'll surely get this. Anyway, I
+hope you'll admit that two heads are better than one, because I had to
+tell a fellow about you. That was because I guess he's the only one
+here who would help me.
+
+There's a little fellow named Skinny McCord here, and he came from
+Bridgeboro with us. His name isn't really Skinny, but they call him
+that because he's that way, and one thing, you'd be sorry for him if
+you saw him. He talks kind of crazy sometimes, but that's because he
+lived in a tenement house and didn't have enough to eat. You know it's
+bad when you don't have enough to eat.
+
+He swam out and saved a fellow's life and then there was a lot of money
+missing out of the fellow's pocket, and the fellows here think Skinny
+stole it.
+
+The reason they think that is, because he found the key to your locker
+and he went to the house-boat. After that our scoutmaster went there
+with the key and found about two hundred dollars in your locker. I
+don't know whether it was in the old clothes you took off or not. But
+anyway, the fellow who's a good friend of mine, says that maybe you'll
+send a letter right away as quick as you can and say that that money
+belongs to you. So will you please do that? I send you a stamped
+envelope so you'll be sure to do it.
+
+Maybe a big fellow that has had a lot of adventures like you, and
+nearly lost his life a lot of times and did other dandy things,
+wouldn't think it was so much to save a fellow from drowning. But
+anyway, there's a medal called the gold cross that we have, and only a
+fellow can win it that has saved somebody's life. Maybe it isn't as
+much as the Distinguished Service Cross or that French Cross either,
+but anyway, its a big honor, that's sure, and we want Skinny to get it.
+So will you please answer this letter right away? Maybe you won't
+remember, because you have so many adventures, but I'm the fellow you
+met on the house-boat. So please answer so we will get it before next
+Wednesday. Maybe you've got a lot of important things to do, but if you
+could just see Skinny you'd answer quick. Because anyway, you were nice
+to me and you said I was a bully little pal. Maybe you won't remember
+it, but you did. Anyway, you bet I'll do something for you if I ever
+get a chance.
+
+Your friend,
+
+Roy Blakeley.
+
+P.S. Be sure to send the answer as soon as you can.
+
+We wrote the letter up on sunset rock near the camp and as soon as we
+got it finished we started off to Catskill, because it would go sooner
+than if we mailed it in Leeds. Just as we were passing the pavilion, we
+met Connie Bennett and Hunt Ward and Vic Norris.
+
+Connie said, "Well, I suppose you know what your little birthday
+present put over on us." He called Skinny a birthday present, because
+Westy Martin and I gave Skinny to the Elks when we first found him. "I
+suppose you think we were after that two hundred, too. Well, you can
+take your little birthday present back. It was a lemon. We got stung."
+
+"If you got what you deserved," I said, "you'd get more than stung."
+
+He said, "Yes?"
+
+"Yes," I said--"Y--e--s--yes! I never said you wanted the money. I know
+every one of you is square--Skinny too. Did I ever say you were not? I
+said you wanted the cross--that's what I said. And so you did. And I
+tell you now that you're going to get it and Skinny's going to bring it
+to you. Chuck him out if you want to--he should worry. If he isn't good
+enough for you, he's good enough--do you see that cabin up on the hill?
+Do you see this fellow that's with me? He belongs to the Royal Bengal
+Tigers, if anybody should ask you, and Skinny's good enough for _him_.
+He can sleep up there--he should worry. They've got three extra cots.
+
+"They'd better keep their watches near them," Vic Norris said. "Take
+him, you're welcome to him. Nobody ever said we were crooks in our
+patrol."
+
+"Nobody said you were," I shouted, and Bert Winton just had to hold me
+back, "but you wouldn't talk like that if Mr. Ellsworth was here, and
+you know you wouldn't. Do you suppose I'd let anybody say you weren't
+on the square? We're all in the one troop. But you boosted Skinny--you
+used him. And in a crazy fit he went out and blamed near gave his life
+for you. He doesn't know two of the laws. He can't say the oath
+straight, because you had his head filled with awards and medals and
+things. You wanted the gold cross and now, by Christopher, I'm going to
+see that you get it. You'll have nothing to say about it. Skinny McCord
+is going to bring you the gold cross just as you wanted, and you're
+going to shout and cheer till you can't speak."
+
+"Who'll make us?" Connie said.
+
+"_I will_," I told him.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI
+
+TELLS ABOUT GEOGRAPHY AND ALL THAT KIND OF STUFF
+
+First we tried to find Skinny to take him with us, but he wasn't
+anywhere around. Somebody told us they thought he was off somewhere
+with Uncle Jeb. I guess maybe Uncle Jeb didn't know anything about all
+the talk, because that was often the way it was with him. And even if
+he did know, maybe he took Skinny anyway. One thing sure, I hoped it
+was true, because whenever a fellow goes off with Uncle Jeb, he tells
+him all about the trees and things like that. Trees can be friends to
+you and they never go back on you, that's one thing.
+
+I said, "He'll be all right as long as he's with Uncle Jeb."
+
+Bert said, "Yes, but we'll have to get back before camp-fire. He'll be
+wandering around alone. I'll take him up to our cabin. Guess he'll be
+all right till we get back. Temple Camp can be a mighty lonely place
+sometimes, Blakeley."
+
+Just the same, all the way over to the Hudson I kept thinking about
+Skinny and hoping he wasn't hiding away from the fellows or off all
+alone somewhere. I knew they wouldn't bother with him, especially now,
+and I kept thinking that maybe he'd go away by himself and get into
+some harm. I kept thinking about how he said, "I want to be alone by
+myself," and he'd feel that way even more now, on account of the
+disgrace.
+
+I said, "Poor little Skinny, I wish we had him along."
+
+"He's with Uncle Jeb most likely," Bert said. "Wonder what the old man
+thinks about it? Ever look into those gray eyes of his?"
+
+"You never catch Uncle Jeb saying anything till he's sure," I said,
+"and even then, it takes him a couple of minutes to get his pipe out of
+his mouth. He says when you aim always aim as if you had only one
+bullet and it was the last one in the world."
+
+"That's him all right," Bert said.
+
+"Well, there's no good worrying," I told him; "we'll just get back as
+soon as we can."
+
+"What do you say we row across and cut through Nick's Valley?" Bert
+asked, "It's shorter."
+
+"I'm game," I said, "the quicker the sooner."
+
+"We can follow the old creek bed," he said. "Know where that is, don't
+you?"
+
+I said, "Believe me, the only bed I know anything about is the one I
+sleep in. I don't see how you find out so many things, especially as
+you were never here before."
+
+"Oh, I like to just prowl around," he said, "that's the way with
+tigers."
+
+"I notice you always have a stick, too," I said.
+
+He said, "Sure a stick's good company. I just root around with it."
+
+"This is my third season here," I said, "and I never even heard about
+any old creek bed. I never heard about Nick's Valley either."
+
+"Guess you never talked much with the old farmers, hey?" he asked.
+
+We rowed across the lake to Nick's Cove (I knew all about that, because
+it was where the campers were and besides I knew about it anyway). If
+you will look on the map you'll see it and you'll notice how there are
+mountains there--kind of two sets of mountains with a space between. I
+made that map so you could see just how everything happened, because,
+believe me, we were going to have _some_ adventure. Only we didn't know
+it.
+
+We rowed way up into the end of Nick's Cove and pulled the skiff part
+way up on shore. One thing I noticed and that was that some of the
+trees around there stood in the water. I knew that was on account of
+the lake being swollen, because there had been so much rain lately.
+Even over at Temple Camp the water was up to the spring-board, so that
+when we jumped on it, it splashed right into the lake.
+
+"Cove is pretty big after all the rain," Bert said. And then, sure
+enough, he looked around and broke a branch off a tree and pulled the
+twigs off it. "That'll do to poke around with," he said, "now come
+ahead."
+
+"You and your stick are like Uncle Jeb and his pipe," I told him.
+
+He said, "Now we'll wend our way through old Nick's Valley. It'll bring
+us right out near the old creek bed. Then we can follow that right down
+to the river. That's the way Skinny did, but I guess he just stumbled
+through that way. Ever hear of old Nick?"
+
+"Only on account of the name, Nick's Cove," I said; "is he dead?"
+
+"Oh, very much dead," he said; "he died about a hundred years ago.
+Didn't you know he was dead?"
+
+"Believe _me_, I never even knew he was sick," I told him.
+
+Then he said, "Well, from all I can learn, old Nick owned all the land
+for miles around here, and he lived at the bottom of Black Lake."
+
+"Good night," I said, "if I owned as much land as that, I wouldn't live
+at the bottom of a lake."
+
+"Kind of damp, huh?" he asked; "but you see Black Lake wasn't here
+then."
+
+"Where was it?" I asked him.
+
+"Well it just wasn't," he said; "it was dry land. The way I make it
+out, it was Bowl Valley, and old Nick lived right down in the bottom of
+Bowl Valley. There's an old woman on the Berry Creek road who smokes a
+clay pipe. She's about a hundred years old. She told me all about it.
+People around here can't even tell you where Bowl Valley was. They
+don't know what you're talking about when you mention such a place. I
+dug up a whole lot of stuff about it. Old Nick's got descendants living
+around here now, and they don't even know about it."
+
+"But you found out," I said.
+
+"That's because I'm an old tramp," he said, laughing sort of; "I like
+to sit up on barnyard fences and chin with old wives--whenever I can
+manage to get away from my patrol."
+
+"Gee, I don't blame them for not letting you get away from them," I
+said.
+
+All the while we were hiking it along between the mountains and it was
+pretty wet in some places, because it was a low valley we were in.
+
+"Now this is Nick's Valley," Bert said; "it's all full of puddles, hey?
+Look out for your feet. This will bring us out at the old creek bed and
+we can follow that down to the Hudson. Look at that fish, will you? A
+killie, huh? Washed away in here. Some rains!" He poked a little killie
+out from under some grass with his stick--honest, that fellow never
+missed anything. "Sometimes I root out the funniest kinds of insects
+you ever saw with a stick," he said; "it's a kind of a magic wand. Ever
+talk with a civil engineer?"
+
+"Believe me," I said, "the only civil engineer I ever talked with, did
+most of the talking. He wouldn't let us play ball in his lot. He was an
+uncivil engineer, that's what _he_ was."
+
+Bert said, "Well, there was a civil engineer here with a troop from out
+west somewhere. He was a scoutmaster. He took me on a couple of good
+hikes. We found some turtle shells over through there, a little farther
+along, and when he took a squint at the land he saw how a little
+valley, all grown up with weeds and brush, ran along east and west. He
+said that was where the creek once flowed and it didn't come within a
+mile of the lake. Savvy? The place where the lake is now used to be
+Bowl Valley. When the creek changed its bed and cut through a couple of
+miles south, it just filled up Bowl Valley and there you are--Black
+Lake. Presto chango! Funny how old Dame Nature changes her mind now and
+then."
+
+"That's just the way it is with girls," I said.
+
+Bert said, "Well, and that scoutmaster said she'd be changing her mind
+again some day, too. He said the topography around here is pretty
+shaky--whatever that means."
+
+"Oh, boy," I said, "break it to me gently. Do you mean that some fine
+day we'll wake up and find Black Lake has sneaked off?"
+
+"That's just about it," he said.
+
+"Do you call that fair and square?" I asked; "after Mr. Temple bought
+the lake and gave it to Temple Camp. Believe me, it _ought_ to be
+called Black Lake; it isn't very white, that's one sure thing."
+
+"That may not happen for a thousand years," Bert said.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII
+
+TELLS ABOUT HOW WE TRIED TO STOP IT RAINING
+
+Jumping jiminy! That was a new one on _me_. Lakes moving around like
+people that live in flats--_good night_! And where would Temple Camp
+be, I'd like to know? And just after we paid four dollars and eighteen
+cents to put up a springboard.
+
+"If you wouldn't mind," I said, "I'd like to know how that could
+happen. Because if it's going away I'm going to stalk it."
+
+"Do you know what erosion is?" he said.
+
+"Not guilty," I told him.
+
+"Well," he said, "it's earth being eaten away, kind of."
+
+"By who?" I asked, "he must have some appetite."
+
+"By the water," he said; "that's what causes changes in topography."
+
+"All right," I said, "I'll take your word for it. But will the lake be
+there when we get back, because I've got some eel lines out?"
+
+He said, "Oh, yes, it won't move till May first." "Thank goodness for
+that," I told him.
+
+I guess maybe you'd better look at the map now, hey? It isn't much of a
+map, but you should worry. If you don't take a good look at it, pretty
+soon you won't know where you're at. I guess you can squint out the
+valley between the mountains. That's Nick's Valley, everything around
+there belonged to old Nick. If he didn't own the moon, it was because
+he couldn't reach it.
+
+Now, that's just where we went through, see? And it was all full of
+puddles--young lakes. I couldn't draw them with a pencil, but they were
+there. I can prove it, because I got my feet wet. Pretty soon Bert
+said, "Here's where you ought to have your scout staff with you," and
+just then I stumbled down among a lot of brush.
+
+"Now you're in it," he said.
+
+"In what?" I asked him.
+
+"In the bed," he said.
+
+"You call this a bed?" I asked him, "I like a brass bed better."
+
+"If you'd only had your staff, you could have felt ahead."
+
+"I can feel a head now," I told him, "and it's got a good bump on it."
+
+"Well," he said, "you're right in the hollow where the old creek used
+to flow. Let's push along through it a little ways and see what we can
+dig up."
+
+You couldn't see that it was a hollow just looking at it, but you had
+to go down into it and then you knew. It was all grown up with bushes
+and we just went along through it, the same as if we were pushing
+through a jungle. All of a sudden I felt something crunch under my
+foot, and when I picked it up, I saw it was a fish's backbone.
+
+"See," Bert said, "what did I tell you?"
+
+It seemed funny to be squirming our way along where a creek used to
+flow before it changed its mind and decided to flow into Bowl Valley.
+"Maybe it changed its mind and made the lake because it knew the scouts
+were coming, hey?" I asked. "That was a good turn."
+
+"It was a good _long_ turn," he said. "And nobody around here seems to
+know anything about this old creek bottom. We just stumbled into it the
+same as you did. That's some bump you've got."
+
+"Sure, my topography is changed," I told him.
+
+He said, "Old Nick fought in the Revolutionary War. He owned all this
+land around here right through to the lake--I mean Bowl Valley. His
+house was at the bottom of Bowl Valley."
+
+"What do you say we fish it up some day?" I asked him.
+
+"All this was his farm," Bert said. "See that old silo there? I guess
+that's what it was, or something like it."
+
+"Maybe he hid muskets or powder from the redcoats there, hey?" I said.
+
+Now if you'll look at the map, you'll see just where we were. I was
+right on the edge of that ring I made. Do you see the ring? Well, that
+ring was really a round hole in the ground just beside the old creek
+bottom. Gee, I wish you could have seen that hole. Because you can't
+make a hole on a map.
+
+It was about fifty feet deep and about thirty feet wide, I guess, and
+it was all walled in with masonry. It looked like a great well. Bert
+thought it had something to do with the farm that used to be there,
+because quite near it, there was an old foundation. Maybe it was some
+kind of a silo, I don't know.
+
+I said, "I'd like to get down in that."
+
+"What for?" Bert said; "there's nothing but puddles at the bottom. How
+would you ever get out?"
+
+"Couldn't we drop one of those saplings into it and I could shin up
+that?" I said. Because I saw two or three saplings lying around. I
+suppose they blew down in the storms lately.
+
+"What would be the use?" he asked; "you can see what's down there. If
+we're going to get those letters onto a mail train, we've got to
+hustle."
+
+That was enough for me, because I cared more about Skinny than I did
+about all the old creek bottoms and holes in the ground this side of
+Jericho. So I just said, "Righto," and we started following the old
+creek bed, till pretty soon the bushes were so thick that we hit up
+north of it a little ways and hiked straight over to the houseboat.
+
+When we got to the house-boat we lowered the skiff and rowed across to
+Catskill and mailed the letters. Then we went up the street for a
+couple of sodas. Bert bought some peanut brittle, too--I'm crazy about
+that. Then we went to another store and got some post cards. Some of
+them had pictures of Temple Camp on them. I sent home about six. All
+the while it was getting dark and pretty soon it began to rain, so I
+said, "Let's go and get a couple more sodas till it holds up." We drank
+two sodas each, but even still it didn't hold up.
+
+"We can't make it hold up that way," Bert said; "I don't believe twenty
+sodas would do it, the way it's raining now."
+
+"I guess you're right," I said, "but, anyway, I'm willing to try
+twenty, if you say so."
+
+No fellow could ever say _I_ was a quitter.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII
+
+TELLS ABOUT HOW DAME NATURE CHANGED HER MIND
+
+Maybe you'll laugh at that stopping a shower with sodas. But once on my
+way home from school I stopped in Vander's Drug Store to get a soda,
+and wait for the rain to stop. When I was finished it hadn't stopped,
+so I got another soda--a strawberry. Even after that the rain didn't
+stop and I was just going to start out anyway, when a man who was in
+there said, "Why don't you try one more?" So I did--a pineapple--and by
+the time I had finished that, the rain had stopped. So that proves it.
+
+But that day I'm telling you about, I guess it wouldn't have stopped
+even if we had stayed in Catskill a couple of hours drinking sodas. We
+sat on one of the benches in the waiting room of the wharf where the
+Albany boats stop, and watched it rain. It was so thick that we could
+hardly see across the river. Merry Christmas, didn't it come down! We
+saw the big day boat go up and all her lights were burning, it was so
+dark on the river. I guess we waited a couple of hours.
+
+"It's all on account of the old what's-his-name, St. Swithin," I said.
+"I bet he was the head of an umbrella trust."
+
+Bert said, "Oh, I don't know, I kind of like rain. It's all part of the
+scout game." That was just like him, he had some use for everything.
+
+I guess it must have been about supper time when it held up enough for
+us to start across. Anyway, I know I was hungry. But that was no proof
+it was supper time. Sometimes I've been hungry in the middle of the
+night. I guess St. Swithin stopped to have his supper; anyway, it began
+pouring again as soon as we got across.
+
+"Anyway, we got the letters mailed," I said; "what do I care? Let it
+rain."
+
+"I'm willing," Bert said, "as long as we can't stop it." We were both
+feeling good, even if we were wet.
+
+"Suppose Lieutenant Donnelle writes and says he doesn't know anything
+about the money?" I said. Because now the excitement of getting the
+letters ready and all that was over, I began to feel a little shaky.
+
+Bert said, "Well, if it's a case of _supposing_, suppose we start
+home."
+
+We hiked it back the same way we had come, all the way in a pelting
+rain. It came down in sheets--and pillowcases. When we hit into the old
+creek bed, the water was running through it just the same as if it was
+a regular creek. It was right up to the top of the bushes that grew
+there and dragging them sideways, as it rushed along.
+
+"Well, what do you know about that?" I said.
+
+Bert just stood looking at it and then he said, "That's no rain water."
+
+"Sure it is," I said; "what else do you suppose it is?" "Something's
+wrong," he said.
+
+All of a sudden he reached in through the wet bushes and pulled
+something out. "Look at that," he said.
+
+It was a sort of a little college pennant on a stick.
+
+"Those fellows went to Catskill didn't they?" Bert asked me, kind of
+quick.
+
+I told him, "Yes, I thought so."
+
+"Lucky for them," he said, "that's off their tent. Come on, hurry up."
+
+We didn't try to go through the old creek bottom, but even alongside it
+we began coming to big puddles, and pretty soon we were wading through
+water up to our waists. Even a hundred feet away from it, the land was
+like a lake and we just plodded and stumbled through water. I knew now
+that the rain itself could never have done that. Pretty soon we must
+have got over into the old creek bed, because we stumbled and went
+kerflop in, and the next thing we knew, we were swimming.
+
+"Let's get out of this, but try to keep near it," Bert said, "so we'll
+know where we're going. This has got me rattled. I don't know what's
+happened or where we're at. I don't even know if we're north or south
+of the creek bed."
+
+It was pretty hard keeping near the hollow, because all the land was
+flooded and we had to feel each step. But if we got away from it, _good
+night,_ we didn't know where we might end. Only the trouble was, it
+kept getting worse and worse the farther we went, and it nearly toppled
+us over backwards, it was flowing so strong.
+
+Pretty soon Bert stopped and said, "Listen."
+
+We were both standing in the water up to our waists, and I was
+shivering, it was so cold.
+
+"Do you hear the sound of water rushing?" he asked me.
+
+I listened and heard a sound far off like a water fall.
+
+"What is it?" I asked.
+
+"Search _me_," Bert answered, "but we're in bad here. Let's head for
+the mountains."
+
+Now I didn't know what had happened, except that the whole country was
+under water. When it comes to the lay of the land I can usually tell
+where I'm at, but when it comes to the lay of the water, _good night_.
+And believe me, there's nothing that changes the looks of things like
+water.
+
+"I think those are the mountains that make Nick's Valley," I said;
+"let's try to get over that way."
+
+"There's a waterfall coming down out of a crevice between them," Bert
+said; "I know what's happened, the valley is flooded."
+
+You see we were in the low fields west of those mountains. I can't tell
+you just where, but somewhere. There were hollows in the fields so
+sometimes we were walking and sometimes we were swimming. It was the
+outside of the mountains that we saw, as you might say; I mean the side
+away from the valley, so the water coming out through a cleft proved
+that the water must be pretty high inside--I mean in Nick's Valley. I
+guess you'll see what I mean if you'll look at the map.
+
+But, believe me, it wasn't easy to get to those mountains. Seeing them
+was one thing and getting to them was another. We just plodded around,
+stumbling off little hills that were under water and we didn't seem to
+get anywhere. After a while we came out on higher land where there
+wasn't much water except puddles.
+
+"Some cruise, hey?" I said.
+
+"Shh, listen!" Bert said. "You can hear it plainer now. Look over
+there."
+
+Now as near as I can tell you we must have been standing near the north
+side of the old creek bottom and we must have been pretty close to the
+old silo, or whatever you call it, but we didn't know that then.
+Believe _me_, we didn't know anything, except that we were wet. We were
+standing on a little sort of a hill and the water was washing up almost
+to our feet. Besides it was getting dark.
+
+But anyway, this is what we saw, and if you just make believe that
+you're standing on a little hill near that old pit and looking south
+toward Black Lake, you'll see just what we saw--as you might say. We
+saw the water just pouring through Nick's Valley and coming toward us
+and going pell-mell into the old creek bed. Now that's the best way I
+can tell it to you. I guess the little hill we were on acted kind of
+like a back stop maybe (anyway, that's what Bert said) because the
+water only beat against it and then went tumbling back into the creek
+bed and down toward the Hudson. It was down that way that it overflowed
+mostly and flooded the fields we had been plodding through.
+
+"One thing, we had a grandstand view," I said.
+
+And believe me, that was true. The water just came pouring and rushing
+between those mountains, and sometimes we could see trees, and things
+we thought might be parts of houses coming along. One big white thing
+we saw, and we knew it was a tent. Black Lake was coming out to meet us
+through Nick's Valley.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX
+
+TELLS ABOUT HOW WE LOOKED INTO THE PIT
+
+I never saw anything like that before and it--it didn't exactly scare
+me--but it made me feel sort of funny. It gave me the creeps to see
+right in front of me like that, how lakes and valleys and all the land
+could be changed and me standing there watching it. It seemed as if the
+earth was being made all over again, as you might say.
+
+"That's where we came through only a little while ago," I said, "how
+will it be inside where the lake was--is?"
+
+Especially it seemed queer like, because it was getting dark fast and
+the sound of the water rushing and the sky all black made everything
+seem awful gloomy.
+
+"Is Temple Camp all right, do you suppose?" I asked Bert.
+
+"Guess so," he said, "that's over on the south shore. But hanged if I
+know how we're going to get there or anywhere else. Guess we'll just
+have to stand here like the Statue of Liberty."
+
+I said, "Listen to the water."
+
+"It isn't so high in the valley," Bert said; "it must have been worse a
+couple of hours ago." Then all of a sudden he said.
+
+"Shh--listen!"
+
+"I hear it," I said.
+
+"No, not the water," he said; "listen. Do you hear a sound like
+groaning?"
+
+I listened, and as sure as I was standing there, I heard a low sound,
+as if someone was groaning far away.
+
+"That isn't the water, is it?" Bert asked
+
+"Sure it isn't," I told him, "and it isn't from up through Nick's
+Valley, because, look, the wind is blowing from us that way."
+
+I held up my scout scarf to show him how it blew toward the valley. And
+again we heard the groans, long and low, sort of.
+
+"It's somewhere right around here," Bert said; then all of a sudden he
+said, "Look!"
+
+Just in back of us, not more than twenty or thirty feet off, was the
+pit I could see it plain, because the stone work came up a couple of
+feet or so above the ground. Right close to it was a canoe all smashed
+in. I could see now that a couple of hours or so earlier, the water
+must have poured through there when it first overflowed the creek.
+
+We listened again and could hear the groaning plain.
+
+"I don't know who it is," Bert said, "but that's the Gold Dust Twins'
+canoe. Come on."
+
+We plodded over through the mud and water to the pit and looked over
+the edge. It was pretty dark down there, but I could see that there was
+only a little water in the bottom of it--not much more than before.
+
+"That's funny," Bert said; "it must have overflowed in there when it
+first splashed down into the creek bed."
+
+He felt in his pocket and took out a flashlight and held it down the
+hole, but it was wet and wouldn't light.
+
+"Look down at the bottom, over at the left side," he said; "do you see
+something?"
+
+At first it looked like a bundle all covered with mud. Then I saw
+something white on it. It was a face. It didn't budge, just lay there;
+and it seemed awful white on account of the bottom being almost dark.
+
+"It's Skinny," Bert said, in a kind of whisper.
+
+I just said, "Yes."
+
+I couldn't say anything more, because I was all trembling.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX
+
+TELLS ABOUT HOW TIGERS LEAP
+
+Of course, we didn't stop to think about it then, but I knew that when
+the water first came rushing through Nick's Valley, it must have been
+dashed right into the pit. There was Skinny's body to prove it.
+Afterward, when it got flowing into the creek bottom and spreading out
+over the fields below, I could see how it wouldn't flow into that hole.
+But you can see for yourself, if you look at the map, that in the first
+rush it _must_ have done that. Gee, I'm no civil engineer, but anyway,
+I could see that. Anyway, we didn't stop to think about that, or the
+canoe either, but only just Skinny.
+
+"See if the paddle's anywhere around," Bert said. His voice was awful
+funny--sharp kind of, as if he meant business.
+
+"What do you want that for?" I asked him, all excited.
+
+"Look and see--do as I tell you," he just said.
+
+It was in the smashed canoe and I just stood there holding it.
+
+"What'll I do with it?" I asked him.
+
+"Just hold it," he said. Then he said, "Now, Blakeley, there's only one
+way to get down there and that's to jump. It's pretty deep, but the
+main question is, 'is it wide enough?' If it is--well, I'm a tiger and
+I ought to manage it."
+
+I didn't know then, but I found out afterward that when a tiger makes a
+leap out of a tree he rolls over when he hits ground and turns a sort
+of summersault, so as to break the shock. There's a certain way to do
+it, that's all I know. But I knew when he said it, that the Royal
+Bengal Tigers from Ohio were like the others away out in India, in more
+ways than I ever thought about.
+
+I said, "Bert, you can't do it--tigers are--"
+
+"Shut up," he said, "and listen--"
+
+"Even if you did," I said--"No, I _won't_ shut up--_you_ listen. Even
+if you did, how could you get out? Have some sense. I've followed you
+all the time, but now you've got to listen. I like you better than any
+fellow--even Westy--and--_please_ wait a minute--even Skinny. It's too
+late--Bert."
+
+He said, "Blakeley, we have two chances--just two. You know the third
+law. I don't tell you what you've got to do, Blakeley. That's your
+business--but listen." He put his hand on my shoulder and his voice
+was all husky. He said, "Blakeley, if I don't make it, you'll have my
+body to ease the shock for you. People--people will be here to-morrow--
+you'll get out. It's getting _in_ we have to think about. If I don't
+make it, try to land on your feet--a little forward--like this--see?
+And duck your head and do a summersault forward--see? If you don't want
+to, it's none of my business. Only I'm telling you how. Here," he said,
+and he threw a lot of things out of his pockets; "you give them to my
+patrol."
+
+"Keep them," I said, "I'll get them when I come down, if that's
+necessary. It's--it's you and I and Skinny, Bert--sink or swim--live
+or die--it's the three of us. I'm ready."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXI
+
+TELLS ABOUT THE OLD PASSAGEWAY
+
+Honest, as sure as I'm sitting here, I would have gone down first--
+after the way that fellow spoke to me. It just sent thrills through me.
+And only a couple of days before, I didn't like him and I thought he
+didn't trust Skinny.
+
+I grabbed hold of him and I said, "Bert, I--just a second--_please_--I
+have to tell you--if I don't see you again--I mean so I can speak to
+you--I have to tell you, you're a hero--"
+
+But he jerked my hand off his sleeve. He didn't say anything, but just
+jerked my hand off his sleeve. And I stood there holding the paddle,
+and I could hear the water rushing in the valley, and I was breathing
+hard and all trembling.
+
+I called, "Bert! Are you all right, Bert?" But he didn't answer. Then I
+went to the edge and I was all shaking from head to foot. But I was
+ready. It was all dark down there and I couldn't see. Anyway, I was
+ready.
+
+"Bert!" I called, and I just waited. I could hear the water rushing
+through the valley and sometimes sounds like trees breaking. And I
+heard a tree-toad moaning--it seemed funny to hear that.
+
+"Bert!" I called. I felt cold, and my wrists were all tingling. "Bert!"
+
+Then I stuck the paddle in the mud and hung my hat on the end of it.
+Just then I heard a voice. It sounded strained and not like Bert's, as
+if it couldn't speak on account of pain.
+
+"Don't--jump--stay--"
+
+I waited a few seconds and then called, "If _you're_ hurt, I'm coming
+anyway."
+
+"Don't--jump," he kind of groaned; "I'm all right. Just a strain. Don't
+jump."
+
+I sat on the edge waiting. I was just counting the seconds. I was
+afraid he'd never speak again.
+
+Then he said, "All right, kiddo--just strained my wrist."
+
+"Are you _sure_?" I called down; "dip it in the water; slap some mud on
+it. Is he dead?"
+
+I knew now that he must be all right, because I heard him move. For
+about half a minute he didn't answer. Then he called up:
+
+"He's alive, but he isn't conscious."
+
+"How about _you_?" I said.
+
+"Alive and conscious," he said; "don't worry."
+
+Then for about a minute he didn't speak.
+
+"Do you want the paddle?" I called.
+
+"Nope--chuck it," he said. "This is a place of mystery. Know where the
+water went? There's a passageway down here; it's big enough to crawl
+through. Ouch!"
+
+"Tell me the truth," I said, "you're hurt."
+
+"I'm in a very critical condition from a swollen wrist," he said; "shut
+up, will you! There's a secret passageway or something or other down
+here. Where do you suppose it goes?"
+
+"Hanged if _I_ know," I said; "what about Skinny?"
+
+"He's breathing, that's all _I_ know," he said.
+
+For a couple of minutes I sat on the edge thinking and I could hear him
+down there. I didn't know what he was doing.
+
+Then I called, "You know Rebel's Cave, don't you? Above the shore south
+of Nick's Cove--near the outlet? Maybe it comes out there--the passage,
+I mean."
+
+"What makes you think so?" he called.
+
+"I don't say I think so," I said; "only there's a kind of a passageway
+that goes into the hills there. It starts in the cave. None of us ever
+followed it, because it's so dark and wet. A fellow found an old musket
+stock there once."
+
+"What do you say?" he called; "there's no time to lose, that's sure.
+Shall I try it? It would take an hour to flood this pesky old hole,
+even if I could stop up the passage."
+
+Then all of a sudden I knew why he had told me to be ready with the
+paddle. It was so I could open a little trench through the muddy land
+and start the water flowing into the pit. That way he'd get to the top
+with Skinny.
+
+"But you can't stop up the passageway," I said. "The water flowed
+through it and went out somewhere--maybe through the cave and back
+into the lake. If it's big enough you could do the same. Both of us--"
+
+"Stay where you are," he shouted, "and don't be a fool. Do you suppose
+I want to carry two fellows through there? One's enough. By heck, I'm
+going to try it--it's the only thing to do."
+
+"Suppose it shouldn't bring you out anywhere?" I said.
+
+"Suppose it should," he fired back at me.
+
+Then he said, "Now, Blakeley, I'll tell you what to do. I'm going to
+start through this place with the kid--he's alive, that's the most I
+can tell you. It must come out somewhere and I'll bank on its coming
+out where you say. If it doesn't and--"
+
+"Don't talk like that, Bert," I said; "it's _got_ to, if _you_ want it
+to. What is it you want me to do?"
+
+He said, "I want you to beat it up through the mountains that close in
+Nick's Valley. That way you'll get to the lake. Don't expect to see
+Nick's Cove, because it's off the map. When you get to the lake, find
+somebody. Get over to camp if you can--I don't care how. Maybe the boat
+we left in the cove is cast up there--you can't tell. Anyway, keep your
+head and don't get excited. The lake is there. It'll be lower than it
+was, but all the water below the valley level will be there. Get some
+people and take them to Rebels' Cave or whatever you call it and just
+wait."
+
+"Is that all I shall do?" I asked him.
+
+"What else can you do? Just wait there; or two or three of you might
+come in with lanterns to meet me."
+
+"Suppose you're not there?" I said, all trembling.
+
+"Well, if I'm not there, you'll know I'm with Skinny anyway, and if
+anybody ever digs up our bones, they won't know who's who. Hurry up
+now. Beat it. And remember you're a scout"
+
+"But suppose--"
+
+"You leave that to me," he said.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXII
+
+TELLS ABOUT WHAT I DISCOVERED IN REBELS' CAVE
+
+"All righto, so long," I heard him say.
+
+After a few seconds I called, "Are you all right?"
+
+And I heard him say, as if his voice was muffled and far away, "All
+right, so far."
+
+I said to myself, "Poor little kid, he isn't very heavy, that's one
+thing." Then I started off.
+
+It wasn't hard to swim across the old creek bed, because the water was
+flowing easier now, and pretty soon I was hiking it up through the
+mountains. Now, the way I went was through those mountains west of
+Nick's Valley. And I went south toward the lake. You look at the map
+and you'll see just the way I went.
+
+The woods are pretty thick up in those mountains and a couple of times
+I got rattled about which way to go. But most of the time I could look
+down and see the valley and the water in the bottom of it, just like a
+river. It wasn't rushing any more and I guessed that whatever happened,
+the worst of it was over.
+
+Pretty soon I came out where I could look down and see the lake all
+spread out before me. It was there all right But first I didn't get the
+hang of things, because Nick's Cove wasn't there at all. There was just
+a kind of a river flowing from where Nick's Cove used to be, right
+through the valley. There were lots of trees, all uprooted, down there,
+too, and the place was so different that I couldn't even tell where the
+Gold Dust Twins' tent had been. Anyhow, it wasn't there any more, that
+was sure. All around the lake was a kind of gray border and I guess it
+showed how much the water had gone down. But, gee, there was enough
+lake left to satisfy anybody. A scout that wouldn't be satisfied with
+what was left must be a hog. But, oh, boy, when that flood started, it
+must have piled up in Nick's Valley. Anyway, I could see Temple Camp
+all safe across the water, but the spring-board was way up in the air--
+gee, it looked awful funny.
+
+There were half a dozen or so of the Temple Camp boats with fellows in
+them, flopping around near the old cove. It was almost dark, but I
+could see them plain. I guess they had rowed across just to look around
+and see how things looked there. A couple of hours before they would
+have been carried right through on the flood, but when I looked down it
+was pretty calm there.
+
+I shouted to them and started down the mountainside for the shore. I
+could see Westy and Pee-wee and a couple of Portland scouts in one of
+the boats. All the while I was coming down I kept shouting and when I
+got to the shore, there were half a dozen boats to meet me. Mr. Elting
+and Uncle Jeb were in one of them. Besides, I could see half a dozen
+fellows plodding around on shore. I knew they were looking for Gold
+Dust Camp.
+
+"Don't bother hunting for those fellows," I shouted, all out of breath;
+"they're all right; they're down at Catskill or somewhere. Bert Winton
+started through the passageway from an old pit--he's got Skinny--take
+me in and row down to Rebels' Cave. Anybody got a lantern?"
+
+I guess they thought I was crazy, appearing from up in the mountains
+like that and shouting about pits and passageways and Rebels' Cave. But
+as soon as Mr. Elting and Uncle Jeb took me into their boat, I told
+them about all that happened.
+
+Uncle Jeb just looked at Mr. Elting and Mr, Elting looked awful
+serious. Then Uncle Jeb shook his head and said, "It daon't come out
+through Rebels' Cave, I reckon. I ain't never _explored_ Rebel's Cave,
+but it daon't come out thar, nohow."
+
+I was just trembling all over when I heard him say that.
+
+"It was the only way he could do, anyway," I said. "It must come out
+somewhere."
+
+Mr. Elting said, "We're not blaming you, my boy, nor Winton, either."
+Then he said, kind of serious, "Let me go ashore, Uncle Jeb. Some of
+you row over to the cave. Here, some of you boys, come along with me.
+Who wants to volunteer to go back through the mountains? George," he
+said (he's in a Boston troop, that fellow George), "you row across and
+get some lanterns--quick. You go with him, Harry; get your fists on
+those oars--hurry up. Bring some rope and an aid kit. You stay with
+Uncle Jeb, Roy."
+
+Gee, I can hardly tell you how things happened. The next second fellows
+were hurrying back and forth, getting in and out of boats, while the
+one boat skimmed across to the camp landing.
+
+In a half a minute Mr. Elting and about a dozen scouts were standing on
+the cove shore, waiting for the boat to come back, and meanwhile we
+rowed down along the south shore to where the cave is. It's about half
+way down to the outlet. You can see about where it is. Several other
+boats went down there with us. Westy was in one of them and I made him
+come in our boat, because now that Bert was gone, maybe dead, and
+Skinny, too, I just felt as if I'd like to have one of my patrol near
+me--I just felt that way. Besides, Westy was my special chum and after
+all I liked him best of any. When you're feeling kind of shaky, that's
+the time you like to have one of your own patrol with you--you bet.
+
+Soon we heard the boat coming back and could see the lanterns bobbing.
+"Pull hard," I heard Mr. Elting call from the shore. It sounded awful
+clear in the night. The fellows in the boat rowed straight for us and
+gave us an aid kit and a couple of lanterns.
+
+"That you, Blakeley?" I heard a fellow say. It was young Mr. Winter;
+he's Mr. Temple's secretary, and he always spends his vacations at
+Temple Camp. "Who's there?" he asked.
+
+"Uncle Jeb and Westy and I," I said; "I don't know who's in the other
+boats; everybody, I guess."
+
+They didn't stop but a second and they pulled for where Mr. Elting and
+the fellows were waiting. I could hear their voices and see the
+lanterns rocking, as they hiked up the side of the mountains.
+
+"Maybe I ought to have gone with them," I said.
+
+"They'll find the place, I reckon," Uncle Jeb said. "Naow let's pull
+ashore and root around."
+
+The fellows in the other boats waited, just rowing around close to
+shore, while Uncle Jeb and Westy and I climbed up to the cave. It was
+higher above the lake than it was before, on account of the water
+escaping and we had to scramble up through a lot of mud.
+
+I was so excited I couldn't keep still and I just stumbled into the
+cave and stood there for a couple of seconds, holding the lantern. It
+was as dark as pitch and smelled like earth. I kind of had a feeling
+that it was a grave. I was sorry I had ever shouted down to Bert Winton
+that maybe the passageway came out there. Anyway, I held the lantern
+into the passage way. It was a sort of an opening between two big rocks
+inside. Then I squeezed myself in and went ahead about thirty or forty
+feet, I guess. And that was every bit as far as I could go. The
+passageway just fizzled out against a great big rock. It didn't lead
+anywhere at all.
+
+Then, all of a sudden, a cold feeling came over me and my fingers just
+loosened and I dropped the lantern. It sort of scared me when I heard
+the glass crash on the ground. For about half a minute I couldn't
+budge; I just couldn't go out and tell Westy and Uncle Jeb that it was
+all up with Bert Winton--I just couldn't do it. Because I knew I was to
+blame for shouting that down to him like a fool.
+
+If I had been a good scout I would have _known_ that passage didn't
+lead anywhere. Look how Bert was always finding things out and how he
+knew all about the country around there. I could just kind of see him
+poking around with his stick. And I just couldn't call and I felt sick,
+as if I was going to fall right down.
+
+"It was me that killed him," I cried, and I heard a voice say, "_killed
+him_."
+
+It was just an echo, I guess.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIII
+
+TELLS ABOUT HOW WESTY AND I WAITED
+
+Uncle Jeb and Westy came in and saw how it was and there wasn't
+anything more to do, so we went back to the boat. The fellows who were
+waiting around in the other boats said it wasn't my fault, but anyway,
+I knew it was.
+
+Uncle Jeb said, "Wall, naow, you take it kinder hard, Roay. Remember
+thars two strings ter this here bow, as the feller says. We got another
+party uv good scouts ter hear frum yet. You jest come over ter camp 'n
+get a cup uv hot coffee."
+
+I said I didn't want any hot coffee and that I was just going to wait
+around with Westy. I just wanted to be with Westy. So Uncle Jeb went
+back in one of the other boats and Westy and I just rowed around
+together. At the spot where the others had started up the mountain, a
+couple of boats were pulled up so that the fellows could cross when
+they got back. It was pitch dark up the mountainside and I looked up to
+see if I could see any lights that might be their lanterns.
+
+"They can't get back for an hour yet," Westy said; "don't let's get too
+close to the new outlet. It may be running pretty strong, even yet."
+
+I said, "I don't care a lot what happens to me now."
+
+"Well, _I_ do," Westy said.
+
+"I know I haven't seen much of you in the last couple of days," I told
+him; "but I don't want you to think it's because I don't care any more.
+It was mostly because I was trying to help Skinny. Anyway, it's all
+over now. How did the fellows treat him to-day? If they'd known it was
+his last day, they'd have treated him decent, I bet."
+
+"I didn't see him," Westy said; "I was hunting for you most all the
+afternoon."
+
+"I'm going to stick by you closer after this," I said. "It was only
+because Bert Winton was, sort of--you know--"
+
+"I know," Westy said, "everybody fell for him. I'm not blaming you."
+
+"But anyway, I'm glad I've got you now," I told him; "we were always
+good friends, that's one sure thing. I'd feel mighty lonesome if I
+didn't have you."
+
+"I never got jealous," Westy said; "I always knew how it was with us. I
+just went stalking with the Ravens--it was so kind of slow."
+
+"It won't be that way any more," I told him; and I just almost had to
+gulp--gee, I don't know why. "Only a couple of nights ago I was
+flopping around like this with Bert Winton and now he's gone--he was a
+hero, that's sure--and you and I are together again."
+
+"We heard you while we were at camp-fire," Westy said.
+
+"Did you mind?" I asked.
+
+"No, I didn't mind," he said.
+
+"It's funny how two fellows get to be chums," I said.
+
+Westy didn't say anything, only just rowed around. After a while he
+said, "He knew how to feather, that fellow did. I guess his troop will
+go home now, hey?"
+
+"Maybe he turned and went back through the passage and they'll find him
+all safe in the pit," Westy said.
+
+"Nope," I told him; "the lake's different--everything is changed.
+Skinny won the cross and he's dead. And Bert is dead. It doesn't make
+any difference what the camp thinks about Skinny now, because he won't
+know it. And even if they're sore still, Bert won't know it. They won't
+be back. Everything is changed."
+
+"You just said you and I are not changed," Westy said.
+
+Then we just rowed around and neither one of us said anything. It was
+awful dark and still.
+
+"How do you suppose Skinny happened to get there?" I asked Westy.
+
+"The flood carried him through," he said.
+
+"But how did he happen to be in the cove? It couldn't have carried him
+through if he hadn't been in the cove," I said.
+
+"Guess we'll never know that," I told him.
+
+Then we rowed around some more and neither of us said anything.
+
+"Look up there and see if you think that's a lantern," Westy said,
+after a while.
+
+"Yes, it is," I said, "they're coming back." And then my heart began to
+thump.
+
+"I bet they've got them and that everything's all right," Westy said;
+"I kind of think so by the way the lantern is swinging."
+
+Pretty soon we saw another light and then another one; and then I could
+hear some of the fellows talking and hear twigs crunch under their feet
+as they scrambled down. I didn't dare to call them, but Westy called.
+
+"Any news? Are they all right?"
+
+"Who's there?" a fellow called.
+
+"Two fellows from Bridgeboro troop," Westy shouted. "Have you got them?
+Any news?"
+
+Just then a fellow came scrambling down and stood on the shore. "The
+whole blamed pit has fallen in," he said; "it's just a pile of rocks
+and mud. It's filled up to within six or eight feet of the surface.
+Just collapsed. Must have been some flood over that way."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIV
+
+TELLS ABOUT THE STRANGE FIGURE
+
+I didn't want to see them and I didn't want to hear anything more. I
+just said, "I knew it," to Westy, but all the while I knew I had been
+hoping all to myself. And now I couldn't even do that.
+
+"I don't want to talk to them," I said; "Let's row along the north
+shore and go home the long way. I don't want to go back yet. I just
+want to stay on the lake with _you_!"
+
+Westy said, "Just as you say."
+
+"Row along the north shore," I said, "I'd rather be here in the dark."
+
+"Just as you say," he said, awful nice and friendly like.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+We could hear them rowing across and talking. The lanterns looked like
+two little stars. One fellow said it would take a week to clear out the
+pit. I heard Mr. Elting say, "It must have happened as soon as he
+crawled into that passage, because the passage surely didn't go far."
+
+"Now are you satisfied?" I said to Westy; "you see how I'm to blame. I
+though it could be a mile long."
+
+"Winton thought so too," Westy said.
+
+"I wouldn't listen to anything against him--not now," I said. Anyway, I
+knew he couldn't be saved--I just did. Then I said, "Westy, Bert and I
+were going to square Skinny. We were going to prove he didn't take the
+money. And we were going to see he got the cross. I never heard you say
+what you thought. All I know is what everyone in camp thinks. But
+listen. If a fellow is willing to give up his life, as Bert did, trying
+to prove a fellow innocent--if he's just willing to give up doing
+everything else--he sat on the top of his troop cabin--he did--and said
+to me--"
+
+"Don talk," Westy said; "just sit still and let me row you around. Hear
+that night hawk?"
+
+"Then doesn't that prove that he's innocent?" I asked him. "Any fellow
+with any sense can see that. You needn't tell me what you think--but
+the--the gold cross isn't dead--it isn't--and a fellow can--he can win
+it after he's dead--and those Elks--"
+
+"Listen," Westy said; "there's somebody on shore."
+
+"What do I care?" I said.
+
+He said, "I know, but maybe it's the Gold Dust Twins. If they came home
+through the open country, they'd be sure to hit the lake at the wrong
+spot. Maybe they're looking for their camp. Let's get closer in,
+anyway."
+
+I didn't care much what he did. If it hadn't been for the Gold Dust
+Twins there would never have been any trouble, I knew that.
+
+"I don't care where you go," I said.
+
+"A good turn is a good turn," Westy said. "Maybe everything has
+changed, but good turns haven't changed. Their own tent is gone, their
+canoe is smashed--you said so yourself--and they're on the opposite
+side from Temple Camp. You know our signboard over there, '_Welcome to
+friend or stranger!_'"
+
+"Come on in and get them," I said, "I don't care. I don't care about
+anything. Why did he ever try to paddle across in all that rain? That
+was the beginning of all the trouble. A couple of bungling tenderfeet--"
+
+As we rowed in and skirted the shore, I could see a dark figure
+following along at the edge.
+
+"Who are you? What are you doing there?" Westy asked.
+
+"Want to get across," the person said and his voice sounded kind of
+husky.
+
+"What for?" Westy asked him.
+
+I guess he didn't answer; anyway, I didn't hear him, because I wasn't
+paying much attention. Westy rowed in and the fellow stepped out on a
+rock in the water and waited.
+
+I saw he had a stick in his hand.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXV
+
+TELLS ABOUT A NEW CAMP
+
+"That you, kiddo?" he called.
+
+"Bert!" I said.
+
+"Give us a lift over, will you?"
+
+I just said, "What--is it you--Bert? Say yes, Say it's you."
+
+"Well, then, it's me," he said; "hold her steady, my leg is stiff. All
+right, shall I push off?"
+
+He stood there in the boat and he was lame and his left hand was
+hanging in his scout scarf that was made into a sling. In the lantern
+light I could see the yellow and black stripes. And he pushed against
+the stone with the stick that he had in his free hand, and started the
+boat off.
+
+All I could say was just "Bert!" And I held the lantern close to him as
+he sat down. There was a long cut on his face and he didn't have any
+hat or jacket on and his trousers were all torn and dirty.
+
+"Where--did--you--where is Skinny?" I asked him.
+
+"Ever see a tiger use a crutch before?" he said. "I'm a punk tiger--
+what d'ye say."
+
+"Royal--Royal Bengal," Westy said.
+
+"The kid is down near the Hudson shore," Bert said, in that easy way he
+had; "he's at Camp McCord. He's come up in the world since you saw
+him."
+
+"Bert," I said, "tell me--tell us--quick."
+
+"Not much to tell," he said, "except Skinny and I are both on the job.
+We're in the hands of the Gold Dust Twins."
+
+"The which?" I blurted out.
+
+"That's them," he said, "and if you ever want to guy those fellows
+you'd better not do it when I'm around. They're fourteen karat gold
+dust, that's what. Skinny walked around to their camp this morning, to
+ask them not to believe that he took the money."
+
+"Poor little codger," Westy said.
+
+"Oh, he isn't so poor," Bert said. "He's in soft with that pair. He
+went around and asked them _please_ not to believe it--_please_. Do you
+get that? _Please_. He asked them not to take the money if anyone gave
+it to them, because it _really wasn't theirs_. That's him. They kept
+him to lunch and told him they believed him and that nobody could cram
+any money down their throats with a ramrod. Hey? What do you think of
+that?"
+
+"They may be green campers, but they're the whitest green campers I
+ever heard of," I said.
+
+"You said it," Bert shouted. "They told Skinny to stay right there with
+them and never mind about the fellows over at camp. They told him he
+could have the tent and the flag and the canoe instead of the cross,
+and to just stay and make himself at home. When they started for the
+races down below Catskill, they left him sitting in the canoe--happy--
+with a capital H.
+
+"After that you know what happened. Skinny and the canoe and the whole
+shebang went pell-mell through the valley. Lucky the twins weren't
+there. When I got to Catskill with Skinny, who should we meet but the
+twins and I told them everything that happened--how you and I rescued
+Skinny and all that."
+
+I said, "How on earth did you get to Catskill with him?"
+
+"Well, what do you think those twins did? You have three guesses. They
+bought a tent in Catskill and a lot of canned stuff. One of them
+telegraphed his father for more stuff--and money, I guess. And we're
+camping out in a nice little grove right near the Hudson. Good fishing
+and a row across whenever you want an ice cream soda. Ought to appeal
+to _you_, hey? You notice I say we? That's us. Camp McCord is the name
+of the place and--"
+
+"But how about rescuing Skinny?" I asked him; "how did you get him to
+Catskill? How about--"
+
+"Shut up!" he said. "Camp McCord is the name of the place and there
+Skinny's going to stay till the Elk Patrol of the Bridgeboro Troop
+marches down in a body and hands him the gold cross. Those are the Gold
+Dust Twins' orders."
+
+"But Bert," I said, "that isn't the way they present the cross. You
+have to have a special meeting and the scoutmaster--"
+
+"Scoutmaster be hanged," he said; "the Elk Patrol is going to march
+down to Camp McCord and hand the gold cross to Skinny. We're just
+waiting for a letter. Scout Bennett is going to do the handing. We
+haven't made up our minds yet whether we'll have him kneel down or
+not."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVI
+
+TELLS ABOUT WHAT BERT TOLD ME
+
+He seemed different from the way he was before. He was all excited when
+he talked, and I could see he was just crazy about those new plans.
+
+I said, "But tell us how you rescued Skinny."
+
+"Don't bother your head about trifles," he said. "The passage came out
+in the old creek bed in the high land east of the flood; I'll tell you
+about it later. Listen, do you know what those fellows were doing? They
+may be rotten scouts, Blakeley, but they're A-1 sports. They're having
+a pennant made in Catskill. They're going to fly it over the tent. It
+says Camp McCord."
+
+"I don't see how you did all this so soon," I told him; "I wish you'd
+tell me about the rescue."
+
+"Row quicker," he said, "I've got to see my patrol and get some duds
+and beat it back by the road. They'll understand. It'll only be a few
+days."
+
+"Bert," I said, "I'm going with you; Westy and I are--"
+
+He said, "Now don't begin that. We've had one flood already; isn't that
+enough? Do you want everybody leaving camp? The trustees won't stand
+for that. I can speak to my scoutmaster, but _you_ can't because yours
+is away. Now don't spoil everything, _please_. Come down and see us
+to-morrow, both of you, and we'll give you a couple of home-made
+doughnuts."
+
+"Will the twins make them?"
+
+"Never you mind. Come down to-morrow and give us the once over. Just
+follow the shore up from Pike's Landing; you'll see a khaki colored
+tent in among the trees. That's us. They're putting up the tent now."
+
+"Have you got drainage?" Westy asked him, kind of funny.
+
+"They're digging a regular Panama Canal around that tent," he said.
+
+"Bert," I told him, "you know the rule--"
+
+"Now don't begin about rules. Listen. Your scoutmaster is away. About
+every fellow in Temple Camp thinks Skinny is just a miserable little
+thief. He went over to see those fellows because--well you know why.
+They took him in. And, by jinks, he's going to stay there and so am I--
+till this thing is fixed up. Blakeley and Westy," he said, and I could
+see he was pretty serious now; "I went into that passageway with that
+kid on my back. I was ready to crawl a mile and drag him along if I had
+to. As it turned out, the passage was about a couple of hundred feet
+long and came out in the old creek bed, like I said--up above the flood
+area. Blakeley, when I saw the light of day--or the light of night
+rather, because anything was lighter than that black hole--and when I
+laid that skinny little kid down--he doesn't weigh fifty pounds,
+Blakeley--I just said to myself, '_By the great Eternal, I'm going to
+stick to him like glue!_' That's what I said. Even then I didn't know
+he had been over to plead with those fellows and ask them _please_ not
+to believe he was a thief. When I heard that--"
+
+[Illustration: I WENT INTO THAT PASSAGEWAY WITH THAT KID ON MY BACK.]
+
+"I know, Bert," I told him, "you're right"
+
+"I'm not thinking about myself," he said; "my troop understands me; and
+they understand Skinny. He could bunk with us, or with you fellows. But
+this is better."
+
+"I hope nobody'll raise a kick," Westy said.
+
+Bert said, "A kick? We're the ones to raise a kick. Haven't I got
+anything to say about it? I _couldn't_ bring the kid here--I'm not a
+horse. So I did the next best thing; I carried him down the old creek
+bed a ways, to where the water flowed into it. It was flowing easy
+then. I laced a couple of broken off branches together and made the
+craziest raft _you_ ever saw. Then I laid the kid on it and held his
+head and poled with the other hand and that way we got down to the
+Hudson. I intended to get him to some house down there and then notify
+camp. He was a little better by then and a fellow stayed with him near
+the shore, while I rowed over to Catskill for some iodine and stuff.
+Would you believe it? I ran plunk into the Gold Dust Twins in the drug
+store; they were drinking sodas. They've got you beaten seven ways at
+that game. Well, I told them all about the flood and how I found Skinny
+and how their camp was carried away, and they didn't seem to take it
+hard at all, they just laughed and said it was part of the game.
+
+"Oh, Blakeley," he said, "then was when the fun started--telegrams! One
+of them had to buy out a peanut stand for Skinny--and then for a tent.
+We rooted out that old sail maker from bed, and made him sell us a
+tent. They gave him an order for a flag--_CAMP McCORD_--mind you.
+Laugh! I just followed them around. They're two of the gamest sports
+you ever saw. We went back to the landing in a taxi with cans of food
+rolling all over the floor. _'Go faster_,' one of them shouted to the
+taxi man, 'or I'll fire a can of pickled beets at your head.' We hired
+a motor-boat to take us over and then they retired from the game. Some
+whirligig, take it from me!
+
+[Illustration: map: "This map shows you how the water broke through
+Frick's Cove and flowed into the old creek bed."]
+
+"But they wouldn't pick out the place for a camp," Bert said; "they
+made me do that. 'We don't want to be drowned out again,' they said.
+Honest, Westy, those two fellows are down there now, digging a drain
+ditch and carrying it way over to the Hudson. '_Safety First_--that's
+what they said. And Skinny's sitting there with a bandage around his
+head, eating peanuts."
+
+As soon as Bert got out of the boat, he started right off up the hill
+for Tigers' Den, as they called it. We could see him stumbling up the
+path, limping to favor his leg.
+
+"He'll go back by the road, I suppose," I said.
+
+Westy and I just sat in the boat watching until we couldn't see him any
+more. Then he said:
+
+"_Some_ scout, hey?"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVII
+
+TELLS ABOUT HOW I VISITED CAMP MC CORD
+
+Of course, everybody in camp said that Bert Winton was a wonder; they
+couldn't help saying that. His own troop didn't seem to think so much
+about it. One of them said to me that he guessed Bert was having the
+time of his life. They were funny in that way--those tigers. They
+didn't seem to get excited over him at all. None of them went around
+shouting.
+
+The next morning everybody was talking about Bert. All the time fellows
+kept going over in boats to see the remains of Nick's Cove, and most
+all they talked about was Bert. Some of them said, Skinny wasn't worth
+it--they meant being rescued like that. I could see they all thought
+that he took the money. Some said he was crazy. Some of them thought he
+knew about the money and just swam out for that.
+
+The Elks didn't seem to care much. Connie told a fellow that he thought
+they had a peach, but it turned out to be a lemon. I guess he thought
+that was funny. I told Vic Norris about how Bert held Skinny tight and
+he said Bert was some lemon squeezer. It made me mad and I just walked
+away.
+
+I don't know what would have happened if Mr. Ellsworth had been there.
+I guessed he had the money still, because I knew he was called away in
+a hurry. I didn't know whether he had sent for the cross or not.
+
+I don't know what the directors thought. I guessed maybe they decided
+not to do anything till Mr. Ellsworth got back. Anyway, Skinny stayed
+where he was. George Bent--he's in a troop from Washington--told me
+that Mr. Storer went down to the Hudson early in the morning to see how
+everything was. I guess maybe he did, because Temple Camp would be
+responsible for Skinny until he was sent away. George said they gave
+Mr. Storer a doughnut down there, and that it hurt him. I don't know
+whether they threw it at him or gave it to him to eat. Either way it
+might have hurt him. Anyway, I was glad Skinny was away on account of
+the way the fellows felt about him.
+
+The next afternoon Westy and I hiked down to see the new camp. I have
+to admit they had everything fine. Those Gold Dust Twins were older
+than most of the fellows at camp and now that they had something
+special to be interested in, I could see that they were pretty game.
+
+"We're going to fight it out on these lines if it takes all summer,"
+that's what one of them said.
+
+And the other one said, "That's us. _Skinny forever!"_
+
+They seemed to be getting a lot of fun out of it anyway. I don't
+believe either one of them knew much about the gold cross, but they
+were going to see Skinny win. It was funny to hear them talk about
+scouting. The big one--the one called Reggie--asked me if we had a
+badge for dancing. Can you beat that? He said he thought he might make
+a stab for it. The other one thought that stalking meant picking corn
+off the stalk. _Good night_!
+
+They seemed to like Bert a lot, but I guess it was Skinny's going over
+to see them that got them interested. When he asked them _please_ to
+believe in him and not take the money, that was what clinched it--
+that's what _I_ think. Anyway, that's what Bert told me. He said that
+was what started Camp McCord.
+
+Skinny was all bunged up but, oh, boy, you should have seen the scout
+smile when he saw me. If that smile had been any longer it would have
+cut his head off. He said he was a hero, and that he had a camp of his
+own now. Poor little duffer, he didn't mean to be boasting; it was only
+that funny way he had.
+
+Westy and Bert and I took a little walk and I said, "The only trouble
+is, suppose we shouldn't get the letter. Maybe the money doesn't belong
+to the lieutenant. Then what?"
+
+"Well then, we'll find out who it does belong to, that's what," Bert
+said. "Camp McCord doesn't strike its colors as easily as all that. Mr.
+What's-his-name back?"
+
+I told him no, Mr. Ellsworth wasn't back yet. Then I said, "Maybe
+Lieutenant Donnelle was sent away; maybe he had to go to South Africa
+on account of the League of Nations. I read that the Zulu's were having
+a war."
+
+"You're a regular Calamity Jane," Bert said; "can't you think of
+something better than that to worry about?"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVIII
+
+TELLS ABOUT THE SCOUT PACE
+
+We had it fixed that as soon as I got a letter I would start right down
+to Camp McCord with it. And, oh, boy, didn't I hang around
+Administration Shack, where the camp mail was sorted. I guess my patrol
+thought I was crazy and I bet that robin in the maple tree wondered
+what had become of me. Gee, you can say I was a Calamity Jane if you
+want to, but honest, I had Lieutenant Donnelle sent all over the world.
+One minute I was saying he was dead, and the next minute I was saying
+he had gone to Russia, and the next minute I was saying the money
+wasn't his at all. Then I was saying that he'd be mad, because I told
+Bert about him and wouldn't send any answer at all. Then I'd get to
+thinking about Bert and that would kind of cheer me up; because he was
+so sure.
+
+Three days went by and no letter came. Every time they handed me a
+letter I'd be shaky all over till I saw who it was from, and then I'd
+just be all down and out when I'd see it was from my mother or my
+father. Even the letters with my allowance in didn't make me feel good,
+so you can see from that how anxious I was.
+
+All the fellows around camp didn't say much about Skinny. They thought
+he was just a little thief, but anyway, they weren't the kind of
+fellows to be always talking about it. They had something else to do.
+They talked a lot about Bert though, and said he was a kind of a crank
+about Skinny. But anyway, they admitted that he was a hero. Gee, they
+_had_ to do that.
+
+All the while I didn't go down to see Bert, and he didn't come up to
+camp. I just didn't want to go unless I had the letter. Reggie hiked up
+one day and wanted to know if he could borrow a pair of smoked glasses.
+"The fellows here don't smoke," Doc Carson told him. It was a shame to
+guy him, he was such a nice fellow, but oh, boy, I had to laugh to see
+him start back with that pair of big auto goggles on. But anyhow, all
+the fellows admitted that the Gold Dust Twins were all right. They were
+terrible bunglers when it came to scouting, and they even laughed at
+themselves; that was the best part of it. But you know what a tin horn
+sport is. Well, they weren't that, anyway. They had one of those long
+fancy brass things with a wax taper to light their camp-fire with;
+honest, it was a scream. I guess it was used in the parlor at home, to
+reach the chandelier with.
+
+Well, it got to be Tuesday and no letter came. Oh, wasn't I
+discouraged. I just started out through the woods, because I didn't
+want to see anybody. All of a sudden, who should I meet but Pee-wee. He
+motioned to me to keep still, because he was stalking a hop-toad. Even
+though I didn't feel much like laughing, I had to laugh.
+
+"Why don't you track an angleworm some day?" I said.
+
+He said, "What's the matter with you lately?"
+
+"Nothing much," I told him.
+
+"You don't hang out with the fellows at all," he said; "we're having a
+lot of thrilling adventures."
+
+"Thrilling, hey?" I said; and I just had to laugh, because it was the
+same old Pee-wee with his hair's-breadth escapes and thrilling
+adventures, and all that stuff.
+
+"Well," I said, "you want to be careful; it's pretty dangerous business
+stalking hop-toads."
+
+"I came all the way from Catskill scout pace," he said.
+
+I said, "Bully for you."
+
+"I did it in fifty-two minutes," he said; "scout pace is my middle
+name. Are you worrying about anything?"
+
+"I'm worrying because I don't get a letter, kid," I said; "if it
+doesn't come to-morrow--"
+
+"Don't you worry," he said; "it'll come to-morrow. I'll fix it for
+you."
+
+"You're one bully little fixer," I said (because he was always talking
+about fixing things), "but if Uncle Sam doesn't bring it, _you_ can't.
+But, anyway, you and I are going to have a good hike, you little raving
+Raven," I said; "just as soon as we can. I know I haven't seen much of
+you, Pee-wee, but it isn't because I don't like you."
+
+He just said, "_Hsh_" and went off on tiptoe through the woods,
+stalking his hop-toad. He's a mighty nice little fellow, Pee-wee is.
+And he's a bully little scout. Scout pace and good turns, those are his
+specialties. He just stalks hop-toads on the side.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Late that night Mr. Ellsworth came back. The bus brought him up from
+Catskill. I didn't see him, but early in the morning on my way over to
+wait for the mail, I met Vic Norris and Hunt Ward of the Elks.
+
+Vic Norris said, "This'll be the end of Camp McCord. Mr. E. is going to
+take Skinny to Bridgeboro this morning."
+
+"Oh, is that so?" I said; "Skinny is with the Gold Dust Twins, and they
+have nothing to do with Temple Camp."
+
+"Skinny is in Mr. Ellsworth's care," Hunt Ward said.
+
+"Pretty soon he'll be in the Reformatory's care," Vic blurted out.
+
+"Yes," I said, "and all because you had his head all turned with
+swimming, before he's even passed his second class tests. You were glad
+enough to use him. You were glad enough to see his poor little skinny
+legs kicking in the water, just so as you could get something out of
+it. Now you throw him down. Those Gold Dust Twins are better scouts
+than you are--they are. You're not fit to stay in the same camp with
+Bert Winton; you're in my own troop, but I tell you that. You leave Mr.
+Ellsworth out of it."
+
+"Who says so?" Vic shouted.
+
+"I say so," I told him. "You don't hear Mr. Ellsworth around saying
+mean things about Skinny, do you? You leave Mr. Ellsworth out of it
+It's none of your business what he does. Even if Skinny does go back,
+the least you can do is keep still about it. You don't hear those
+tigers around talking, do you? I guess not. Or my patrol either. You
+keep your mouths shut about Skinny!"
+
+Then I went over to Administration Shack to wait for the mail to be
+sorted. The reason I didn't say more to Vic and Hunt was just because I
+was getting discouraged, and in my heart I thought maybe Skinny would
+have to go. I knew that Camp McCord was no use if Mr. Ellsworth said he
+must go back.
+
+I was glad I didn't say any more, because anyway, there was no letter
+there.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIX
+
+TELLS ABOUT HOW CAMP MC CORD DIDN'T STRIKE ITS COLORS
+
+There were a lot of us hanging around Administration Shack, and I heard
+a couple of fellows say that Mr. Ellsworth was going down in the bus to
+catch the eleven-ten train. They said he was going to stop at Camp
+McCord for Skinny. "He's likely to get a home-made doughnut thrown at
+his head," one of them said, and they all laughed. I just couldn't
+listen to them.
+
+After the mail was distributed and I saw there wasn't anything for me,
+I just went in and said to Slaty, I said, "Are you _sure_ there isn't
+anything? Would you mind looking again?" I knew it wasn't any use and I
+guess he did too, but anyway, he looked and said no.
+
+Then I started back to Silver Fox Cabin. I guess I never felt worse
+than I did then. First I thought I'd just go and beg Mr. Ellsworth not
+to take Skinny away from Camp McCord, anyway, even if he couldn't have
+the cross. I was hanging my head and just kind of wandering along and
+wondering what I'd say to Bert and the twins. I could just sort of see
+that new flag with Camp McCord on it, and I could hear Bert saying,
+"Camp McCord doesn't strike its colors as easily as all that." Anyway,
+what more could I do. I knew Mr. Ellsworth would be nice to me, but
+that he wouldn't do anything just because _I_ wanted him to. I said to
+myself, "It's all up; nobody can do anything now. Skinny was born
+unlucky--poor little kid--"
+
+All of a sudden I stumbled plunk into Pee-wee as he came pell-mell
+around the corner of the big pavilion.
+
+"What in--" I began.
+
+"_I've got it for you! I've got it for you!_" he shouted; "forty-nine
+minutes, scout pace! _I beat my record!_ I thought maybe it wouldn't
+come in the reg--in the reg--in the reg--" He was so out of breath he
+couldn't talk.
+
+"There's a sec--there's a sec--there's a second train; here--"
+
+And then he handed me a letter.
+
+"There--there are--two," he said; "this--one's--for you."
+
+My hand trembled so I could hardly open the envelope. And, honest, I
+could hardly speak to him. I just blurted out, "Pee-wee, you're the
+bulliest little scout in this camp--you and your scout pacing! You're
+just the best little scout that ever was. Give me your hand, you bully
+little raving Raven. Talk about good turns! Oh, Pee-wee, you're just--"
+
+Honest, I couldn't finish. And I stood there with my eyes all sort of
+wet, and watched him start up again scout pace.
+
+"See you later," he called back; "I want to make Administration Shack
+in fifty minutes."
+
+That was him all over.
+
+This was the letter and, oh, boy, you bet I'll always keep it, because
+that was my lucky day. Even since then, Wednesday has been my lucky
+day. When I get a good stalking snapshot it's always on a Wednesday.
+
+Skeezeks, old Pal:
+
+Yours received. Have sent letter to your superior officer or whatever
+you call him. Will be up after my two hundred buckarinos next week.
+Could you put me up for a couple of nights? I'll show you how to roast
+potatoes French style, and we'll have a hike.
+
+Everything O.K., so don't worry. You're a little brick.
+
+In a hurry,
+
+H.D.
+
+Believe me, I read that letter about seven times, But even then I
+wouldn't go to see Mr. Ellsworth, because I wanted to wait till the
+other letter was sent over to him from the shack. I guess I waited
+about half an hour, because I wanted to give him a chance to read his
+seven times too. Then I went to his tent where I knew he'd be getting
+ready to start away.
+
+I just said kind of sober like, "Can I take your grip over to the bus
+for you, Mr. Ellsworth?"
+
+Oh, boy, you ought to have seen him.
+
+"Guess you'll have to root around and find another good turn for
+to-day, Roy," he said; "something has happened."
+
+I just said very sober like (because I'm not afraid of him), "Did
+Skinny take any more money?" He said, "Here, read this, you little
+Silver Fox, and then clear out and give me a chance to get my wits
+together. You're right and I'm wrong as you usually are--I mean as I
+usually am--I don't know what I mean. Here, read this and then let's
+see your scout smile--you little rascal!"
+
+This is how the letter read:
+
+Mr. E. C Ellsworth, Temple Camp.
+
+Dear Sir:--
+
+May I ask you to go to the trouble of forcing open the second locker in
+my father's house-boat and rescuing a sum of money which I carelessly
+left there? I think you will find it in an old pair of trousers
+belonging to me. The amount is a little over two hundred dollars. I
+would greatly appreciate it if you will hold this in safe keeping till
+I have a chance to visit your camp. I hope you will not consider that I
+am presuming upon a very slight acquaintance, in asking you to do me
+this service.
+
+Sincerely yours,
+
+Lieutenant Harry C. Donnelle. Stationed at Camp Dix, Wrightstown, N. J.
+
+Oh, boy, I wish I could tell you about everything. I don't know what
+Mr. Ellsworth told the Elks. I should worry about that. He knew how to
+handle them, you can bet. Oh, bibbie, but he's one peachy scoutmaster!
+Pretty soon everybody in camp was talking, but I didn't pay any
+attention. A fellow from Virginia came up and told me they were going
+to have the spring-board fixed. What do you know about that? I said,
+"Get out from under and don't bother me; I have something else to think
+about."
+
+I didn't eat much dinner; maybe you won't believe it, but I didn't.
+Right afterward I started down to the Hudson. I saw a woodchuck's
+tracks, but I didn't bother with them. I should worry about woodchucks.
+I didn't even stop in the village to have a soda. I got some ice cream
+in a paper, so I could eat it going along. And, oh, boy, when I saw
+that new flag in among the trees, didn't I just shout! _Camp McCord_,
+it said, in big red letters. Oh, they were dandy fellows, those Gold
+Dust Twins. Then I thought of what Bert said about Camp McCord not
+striking its colors. I noticed they didn't have their door to the
+south, but anyway, that didn't matter. The north is all right--
+sometimes.
+
+I just went running in there pell mell.
+
+"Hurrah for Camp McCord," I shouted. "You were right about not striking
+your colors, but I'll strike you, all right, you old Bengal Tiger!" And
+I gave Bert Winton a thump that nearly knocked him over. Good night!
+
+"Don't you know enough to have your door open to the south or east or
+west--what's the difference?" I just yelled. "Hurrah! Lieutenant
+Donnelle is coming to get his two hundred and I'm going to make him
+stay till Skin--I mean Alfred--gets the cross. Three cheers for the
+Gold Dust Twins! And anybody who says--"
+
+"Just a minute," Bert said; "calm down. You're talking in chunks."
+
+"Why shouldn't I talk in chunks, I'd like to know?" I said.
+
+Then I told them all about it.
+
+"It's going to be just as you said," I told them; "we're going to make
+the Elks come down here and give him the cross--when it comes. Mr.
+Ellsworth says all right. Oh, but he was fine about it He said it's
+only fair. Isn't he some scoutmaster? But you don't have to be in the
+scouts--"
+
+The fellow they called Reggie just came over and put his hand over my
+shoulder, awful nice. "Yes, you do," he said; "you have to be in the
+scouts. We won't hear any talk against the scouts here."
+
+Oh, but he was one fine fellow; I don't care if he didn't know anything
+about digging a drain ditch and all that. But anyway, I just can't tell
+you all we said.
+
+And one thing, you should have seen Skinny. That's all I've got to
+say--you ought to have seen him.
+
+After a little while, when the rumpus was over, Bert and I walked over
+to the shore of the river and sat down and just looked across at
+Catskill and the big hills in back. I kind of felt as if I'd like to be
+alone with him a little while.
+
+I said, "You did it all, Bert. The whole camp is crazy about you."
+
+"Those campers are bully scouts," he said.
+
+I said, "Yes, but _you_--if it wasn't for _you_--"
+
+"If it wasn't for Pee-wee, Skinny would be on that train," he said.
+
+We listened and could hear the West Shore train coming along and could
+see the smoke blowing away into the mountains. It seemed as if that
+train didn't care for anything or anybody. Pretty soon it would be in
+the hot city and the people on it would go through big gates and across
+in ferries and up the streets all filled with people. And everything
+would be hot and stuffy.
+
+But Skinny wouldn't be on it.
+
+We saw it stop at the station in Catskill and we heard the bell ring
+and saw it start again and go scooting along the shore and far away,
+till we couldn't see it any more. Only the smoke.
+
+But anyway, Skinny wasn't on it.
+
+"Kind of, as you might say, Pee-wee can even beat a train--going scout
+pace," I said.
+
+"It'll go winding and turning in and out along the shore," Bert said;
+"but Pee-wee can beat it on good turns."
+
+"Yop," I said.
+
+After that we didn't say anything for about five minutes.
+
+Then I said, "One thing sure; _you_ ought to get the gold cross."
+
+He didn't say anything, only broke a stick off a bush and began marking
+on the grass with it.
+
+"What do I want with the cross?" he said.
+
+"It's a big honor," I told him.
+
+"Sure," he said.
+
+"You deserve it for what you did," I told him; "you ought to _want_
+it--you ought to want to have it--on account of your patrol."
+
+"Nice fellows, eh?" he said.
+
+"Well then, why don't you take more interest in it for _their_ sake?"
+
+"Ever notice how blue the Hudson is above Poughkeepsie?" he said.
+
+I didn't say anything, just looked at the river. Then all of a sudden a
+thought came to me.
+
+I said, "Bert, you've got the cross already--haven't you? Why didn't
+you tell me?"
+
+"Dunno--didn't think of it, I guess," he said.
+
+"Tell me how you won it, Bert," I said; "_please_ tell me."
+
+But he just kept poking around with the stick and wouldn't tell me.
+
+"Look at that worm," he said; and he held one up on his stick. "Good
+fishing bait around here, hey? What d'ye say we go back?"
+
+That was just like him--_just exactly like him_.
+
+
+[Illustration: "LET GO, I'VE GOT HIM!"]
+
+
+
+***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ROY BLAKELEY'S ADVENTURES IN CAMP***
+
+
+******* This file should be named 10316.txt or 10316.zip *******
+
+
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
+https://www.gutenberg.org/1/0/3/1/10316
+
+
+Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
+will be renamed.
+
+Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
+one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
+(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
+permission and without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules,
+set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
+copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
+protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
+Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
+charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
+do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
+rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
+such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
+research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
+practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
+subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
+redistribution.
+
+
+
+*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
+
+THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
+PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
+
+To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
+https://gutenberg.org/license).
+
+
+Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works
+
+1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
+all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
+If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
+terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
+entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
+
+1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
+paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
+and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.  See paragraph 1.E below.
+
+1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
+or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
+collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
+individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
+located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
+copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
+works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
+are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
+Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
+freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
+this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
+the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
+keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
+
+1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
+a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
+the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
+before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
+creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
+Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
+the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
+States.
+
+1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+
+1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
+access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
+whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
+phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
+copied or distributed:
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
+from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
+posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
+and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
+or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
+with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
+work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
+through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
+Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
+1.E.9.
+
+1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
+terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
+to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
+permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
+
+1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
+
+1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm License.
+
+1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
+word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
+distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
+"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
+posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
+you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
+copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
+request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
+form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+
+1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
+that
+
+- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
+     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
+     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
+     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
+     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
+     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
+     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
+     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
+     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
+     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
+     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
+
+- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+     License.  You must require such a user to return or
+     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
+     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
+     Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
+     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
+     of receipt of the work.
+
+- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
+forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
+both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
+Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
+Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
+
+1.F.
+
+1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
+collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
+"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
+corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
+property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
+computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
+your equipment.
+
+1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
+of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+
+1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
+your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
+the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
+refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
+providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
+receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
+is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
+opportunities to fix the problem.
+
+1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS," WITH NO OTHER
+WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
+WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+
+1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
+If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
+law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
+interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
+the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
+provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
+
+1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
+with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
+promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
+harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
+that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
+or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
+work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
+Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
+
+
+Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
+including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
+because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
+people in all walks of life.
+
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
+To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
+and the Foundation web page at https://www.pglaf.org.
+
+
+Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
+Foundation
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541.  Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
+https://pglaf.org/fundraising.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
+permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
+
+The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
+Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
+throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at
+809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
+business@pglaf.org.  Email contact links and up to date contact
+information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
+page at https://pglaf.org
+
+For additional contact information:
+     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
+     Chief Executive and Director
+     gbnewby@pglaf.org
+
+Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
+spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
+SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
+particular state visit https://pglaf.org
+
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+
+Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including including checks, online payments and credit card
+donations.  To donate, please visit: https://pglaf.org/donate
+
+
+Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.
+
+Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
+concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
+with anyone.  For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
+Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
+unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
+keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
+
+Each eBook is in a subdirectory of the same number as the eBook's
+eBook number, often in several formats including plain vanilla ASCII,
+compressed (zipped), HTML and others.
+
+Corrected EDITIONS of our eBooks replace the old file and take over
+the old filename and etext number.  The replaced older file is renamed.
+VERSIONS based on separate sources are treated as new eBooks receiving
+new filenames and etext numbers.
+
+Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
+
+https://www.gutenberg.org
+
+This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
+
+EBooks posted prior to November 2003, with eBook numbers BELOW #10000,
+are filed in directories based on their release date.  If you want to
+download any of these eBooks directly, rather than using the regular
+search system you may utilize the following addresses and just
+download by the etext year.
+
+http://www.ibiblio.org/gutenberg/etext06
+
+    (Or /etext 05, 04, 03, 02, 01, 00, 99,
+     98, 97, 96, 95, 94, 93, 92, 92, 91 or 90)
+
+EBooks posted since November 2003, with etext numbers OVER #10000, are
+filed in a different way.  The year of a release date is no longer part
+of the directory path.  The path is based on the etext number (which is
+identical to the filename).  The path to the file is made up of single
+digits corresponding to all but the last digit in the filename.  For
+example an eBook of filename 10234 would be found at:
+
+https://www.gutenberg.org/1/0/2/3/10234
+
+or filename 24689 would be found at:
+https://www.gutenberg.org/2/4/6/8/24689
+
+An alternative method of locating eBooks:
+https://www.gutenberg.org/GUTINDEX.ALL
+
+*** END: FULL LICENSE ***
diff --git a/old/10316.zip b/old/10316.zip
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f1f7687
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/10316.zip