The Boy Scouts of Bob's Hill Part 7

He was quiet for a minute; then went on:

"I can't think of a worse prison for a human soul than a human body that does mean things, lies and steals or is vile in any way."

A few days later when Skinny and I went to the post-office together the postmaster handed him a letter.

"I say," said he, "you have been promoted, haven't you?"

On the envelope was written, "Captain Gabriel Miller, Patrol Leader, Raven Patrol, Boy Scouts of America."

It made us both excited.

"It's for the whole patrol," said Skinny, trying to look through it. "I don't think I ought to open it until we are all together, and I hardly can wait."

He rushed to the door as he spoke and whistled through his teeth, for he saw Bill and Hank pa.s.sing on the other side of the street, going to my house.

"I could have cawed," he explained when they had come across, "but I didn't think that I ought to when folks were looking."

We went over to Benny's and found him piling wood and glad enough to quit.

"Never mind about the other boys," I told them. "They will be along pretty soon. Whatever it is, we'll want to read it twice, anyhow."

Skinny opened the letter and looked at the writing.

"Jee-rusalem, fellers!" he shouted. Then he commenced to caw like some crow that was crazy with the heat.

Bill cawed, too, but he didn't know what for. Then he tried to s.n.a.t.c.h the letter out of Skinny's hand.

"Aw, cut it out, can't you?" said he, when Skinny dodged out of the way.

"Read it."

"I am readin' it," said Skinny. "It's great."

"Well, read it out loud."

Then Skinny started to read, and this is what the letter said, only it doesn't tell how Skinny's eyes shone, nor how he stopped every few lines to punch the enemy.

"_To the Boy Scouts of Bob's Hill:_

"I want to thank every boy in Raven Patrol, and especially Henry Bates, for the recovery of my property. But for you I should never have seen it again and the burglars would still be at large. I offered a reward for the capture of the thieves and it rightfully belongs to you, but the marshal has told me that, being Boy Scouts, you do not want to be rewarded for good deeds. What I wish to say is this: I like the Boy Scout idea and want to help it along. Not as a reward but just because I like boys, will you let me buy uniforms for your patrol?

"Sincerely your friend, "ROBERT GREEN."

That is how we happen to have such fine uniforms that make folks turn around and look every time we pa.s.s.

On the day we first wore the uniforms we were made real Scouts; not First cla.s.s ones but Second cla.s.s. You see, there are three kinds. First you have to be a Tenderfoot. That doesn't mean that your feet are tender, but that you are new to the business. To get to be a Second Cla.s.s Scout, you have to do all kinds of stunts and you have to be a Tenderfoot at least a month.

We knew how to build fires and cook things out in the woods and things like that, which Scouts have to do, and the way we tracked the burglars showed that we knew something about that.

The hardest things we had to do were to learn the Morse alphabet of dots and dashes for signaling and to learn what to do when folks get hurt, how to put on bandages and things like that and how to bring folks back to life when they are nearly drowned. We learned them all right, and it is a good thing we did.

Signaling was the most fun of all. We could do it with flags like they do in the army; by waving our arms like a semaph.o.r.e, and by smoke from fires like the Indians do. We also could spell out things with smoke in the Morse alphabet, which was something the Indians couldn't do, by making the smoke go up in puffs like dots and dashes.

Part of us would go up on Bob's Hill and part on the hill opposite, beyond the Basin where we go swimming, build fires, and signal to each other. It was hard at first, but after a while we could spell out 'most anything and understand some of it.

It came in handy, too, because one afternoon, after we had been playing in our yard, we decided to practise our signaling. Just after all the boys had started for the east hill, except Skinny and me, who were going up on Bob's Hill, Ma came out and wanted to know where the other boys were.

"It is too bad that they have gone," said she. "I was going to ask them to stay to supper."

"Maybe they'll come back," said Skinny, winking at me.

"We are not going to have much, but I thought you boys would enjoy eating together and we should like it, too. We do not often have the honor of sitting down to the table with young gentlemen who have uniforms on."

"We'll stay," said Skinny, "if you will let us do something to help.

According to Scout law, a Scout must try his best to do somebody a good turn every day. I haven't done it now for 'most two days."

"If that is the case," Ma told him, "my woodbox seems to be getting empty."

That is the greatest woodbox I ever saw for getting empty. We filled it so full that the wood fell off all over the floor; then started for the hill.

"Now is our chance," said Skinny. "We've just got to make them understand this time. We never have had anything much to tell the boys before, but this is important."

We climbed to the very top of Bob's Hill and soon had a fire going. When it was well started we threw on some green stuff that made a big smoke.

Pretty soon we saw smoke going up across the valley and knew that the other boys were ready.

"They are there," I said. "Now we'll tell them."

"Wait," said Skinny. "First let's give the danger signal. That'll fetch 'em."

"But there ain't any danger," I told him. "What's the use of lying, even with smoke?"

"You bet there's danger," said he. "There's danger of losing your mother's supper, ain't there?"

So I gave him one end of a wet blanket which I was carrying, and I grabbed hold of the other end. We covered the fire with it, stopping all of the smoke; then took it off and let a big puff go up; then covered it again and sent up a little puff, and kept doing that until I was sure the boys would be most crazy, for that sign means danger.

After we had done it a while, we spelled out the word "come." We did that by using the blanket to make a short puff of smoke for a dot and a long puff for a dash, like this:

... C .. O -- M . E

We waited and spelled it out twice more to make sure, and then went down the hill to the house.

"Shall I set the table for the others?" Ma asked, when she saw us coming.

"They will be here in a few minutes," said Skinny, looking at his watch.

We were not sure of it, but we hoped they would and, as Skinny said, it wouldn't do any hurt to get the table ready.

We were beginning to be afraid that they had not understood and were not coming, when we heard a faint cawing, a long way off somewhere. It seemed from beyond Summer Street.