The Boy Scouts of Bob's Hill Part 24

"Oh, it is, is it? On which side are you Scouts fighting?"

"We are Americans, of course."

"Well, if I remember my history right, in that battle a little handful of Americans faced the British soldiers and held them back until their powder gave out. And here the American army seems to be attacking a handful of British."

"That's what I told him," said Bill.

"Anyhow," said Skinny, "those guys tried to duck Benny that time when he was coming home from his long hike. So we thought that we would duck them in the race. Didn't they try to duck you, Benny?"

Benny nodded.

"How about Scout law?" asked Mr. Norton.

"Scout law doesn't say we mustn't duck our enemies."

"It does, too," Bill told him. "It says that we must be kind to animals."

That was a hot one and it made us all laugh.

"How much more should we be kind one to another," said Mr. Norton.

"Well, it wasn't very kind to duck Benny," insisted Skinny.

"No, and they didn't do it. If I have been correctly informed, they let Benny go because John here was kind to a dumb animal."

That was true and I said so.

"Even if they had ducked him, don't you think that it would be better to heap 'coals of fire' upon their heads?"

It surprised Benny to hear Mr. Norton talk like that.

"We wouldn't do such a thing," said he. "Besides, we haven't got any hot coals."

"Yes, you have," laughed Mr. Norton. "The 'hot coals' I mean are kind words and kind actions. What I meant to say was that you should return good for evil and then your kind words would make those boys feel as if you were putting coals of fire on their heads."

"I don't believe we ought to do it," Skinny told him, "if it is going to hurt that bad."

"Suppose we try it and see. I think perhaps it will not be quite so painful."

"Boys," said he, turning to the Gingham Ground bunch just as they were starting away. "I have organized these eight village lads into a patrol of the Boy Scouts of America and we have planned to have a campfire this evening on Bob's Hill. These Scouts of mine mean all right. They are simply working off a little misdirected patriotism. Now, what we want, is for you to meet with us, you and the rest of the Gang. Will you do it?"

They didn't want to at first.

"There are Boy Scouts," he went on, "in all parts of the civilized world; in England, too, Gabriel, as well as in this country, and the Law says that all Scouts are brothers to every other Scout. There are a half million in the United States alone. I have been appointed Scoutmaster for this district and I want to organize one or two more patrols so that I can have a troop. I have had you boys in mind ever since you so n.o.bly turned out to help find William, the time he was hurt on Greylock. It will be much the same as the Gang, only better. You can keep the same leader if you wish, and I know a man who will buy uniforms for you all.

Will you come to-night so that we can talk it over? What do you say?"

The uniform business settled it.

"We'll come, if the rest of the Gang will," they told him.

"Good! Shake hands on it."

"Attention, Scouts!" shouted Mr. Norton, after he had shaken hands.

"Salute enemy!"

We gave the Scout salute to the Gingham Ground boys, while they stood there grinning and not knowing what to do.

Then, after whispering together, they gave us the Gang yell. It was great.

"We'll be there," they called, as they started up the street.

They were, too, ten of them, with Jim Donavan at their head. They came across lots from the Quaker Meeting House, soon after we had gathered around the big stone where we have our fires, just as they had come two years before, the time we had our big fight and came to know Jim.

Mr. Norton saw them coming and went to meet them.

"This is fine," said he, after we all had sat down on the gra.s.s around the fire. "You are a pretty husky bunch of fellows, and Raven Patrol will have to go some to keep up, after you get started. Skinny--I mean Gabriel--suppose you tell our visitors something about the Scouts."

"It's great," began Skinny. "We've been bandits and we've been Injuns, but Scouts beat 'em all. The woods are full of 'em all over the country, and they go about with uniforms on, doing good and having fun. They are like an army. We are one company, you will be another. I'm the same as captain, only they call me patrol leader. Mr. Norton is Scoutmaster, and there are officers above him, only we never saw them. We learn all about woodcraft and signs and signaling and how to do a lot of things, and we rescue people and do all kinds of stunts and get badges. The Ravens are going across the mountain on an exploring trip. I am going to look for a cave and maybe there is treasure in it. Our patrol animal is the crow, and it 'most ought to be yours because you live so near the Raven Rocks."

Skinny had run down by this time, although Bill was winding him up like a clock behind his back and making a clicking noise with his tongue.

"G'wan!" said he, turning around and catching him at it, "or I'll biff you one."

"Perhaps I'd better add a little to that explanation," said Mr. Norton.

Then he told all about it, much as he had told us that first time, and about Scout law; what it meant to be a Scout; how it made boys manly, and how much fun they would have.

"What I want is a troop," said he, when he had finished the story.

"Several patrols together are called a troop. I would be in charge as Scoutmaster. Raven Patrol is now in pretty good shape. We are going on a camping expedition in a few weeks and we'll have a good chance to practise up on signaling, swimming, following trails through the woods, and things like that. Next year I should like to take a whole troop along. What do you say? Suppose you go over by that other stone and talk about it among yourselves."

"I know what I'll say, right now," said Jim, "but perhaps we'd better talk it over just the same."

We saw them whispering together for about five minutes. Then they came back.

"We'll do it," said Jim. "And we'll do the best we can, only we may make mistakes at first. We are going to take the American eagle for our patrol animal on account of this being the Fourth of July."

"Everybody makes mistakes," Mr. Norton told him, "but the boy or the man who has the right stuff in him never makes the same mistake twice.

Suppose that you elect a patrol leader to-night before we separate, because we shall want to consult together a great deal in the next few days and I shall be too busy to see you all."

"Jim," they began to yell, all keeping time. "Jim! Jim! Jim!"

"Jim, you seem to be elected," said Mr. Norton, reaching out and shaking hands with him.

"Speech!" yelled Hank.

"Ladies and gentlemen," said Benny, getting up on his feet and bowing right and left, "the Honorable James Donavan will now say a few words, if he dast."

Jim looked as if he wanted to run, but in a minute he braced up.