THE BOY SCOUTS OF LENOX
CHAPTER I
WHEN THE SEED TOOK ROOT
"I move we go into it, fellows!"
"It strikes me as a cracking good idea, all right, and I'm glad Tomstirred us up after he came back from visiting his cousins over inFreeport!"
"He says they've got a dandy troop, with three full patrols, overthere."
"No reason, Felix, why Lenox should be left out in the cold when itcomes to Boy Scout activities. Let's keep the ball rolling until it'sa sure thing."
"I say the same, Josh. Why, we can count about enough noses for a fullpatrol right among ourselves. There's Tom Chesney to begin with; GeorgeCooper here, who ought to make a pretty fair scout even if he is alwaysfinding fault; Carl Oskamp, also present, if we can only tear him awayfrom his hobby of raising homing pigeons long enough to study up whatscouts have to know; yourself, Josh Kingsley; and a fellow by the nameof Felix Robbins, which happens to be me."
"That's five to begin with; and I might mention Billy Button; yes, andWalter Douglass, though I guess he'd take the premium for a tenderfoot,because he knows next to nothing about outdoor life."
"But he's willing to learn, because he told me so, Josh; and thatcounts a lot, you know. That makes seven doesn't it? Well, to completethe roster of the patrol we might coax Horace Herkimer Crapsey to castin his lot with us!"
The boy named Josh laughed uproariously at the suggestion, and hismerriment was shared to some extent by the other two, Carl Oskampand George Cooper. Felix shook his head at them disapprovingly.
"Just go slow there, fellows," he told them. "Because Horace has alwaysbeen so afraid of his soft white hands that he wears gloves most of thetime isn't any reason why he shouldn't be made to see the error of hisways."
"Oh! Felix means that if only we can coax Horace to join, we _might_reform him!" exclaimed Josh, who was a thin and tall boy, with whatmight be called a hatchet face, typically Yankee.
"By the same token," chuckled Felix in turn, "a few of us might dropsome of our bad habits if once we subscribed to the rules of thescouts, because I've read the same in a newspaper. They rub it intofellows who find fault with things instead of being cheerful."
"Oh! is that so, Felix?" burst out George Cooper, who took that thrustto himself. "How about others who are lazy, and always wanting to putthings off to another day? Do those same rules say 'procrastination isthe thief of time?'"
"Well boys," remarked Carl Oskamp, pouring oil on the troubled water aswas his habit, "we've all got our faults, and it might be a good thingif joining the scouts made us change our ways more or less. There comesTom, now, let's get him to tell us something more about the chance forstarting a troop in Lenox right away."
"He said he believed he knew a young man who might consent to act asscout master," observed Felix. "It's Mr. Robert Witherspoon, the civilengineer and surveyor."
"Why, yes, I believe he used to be a scout master in the town he camefrom!" declared Carl. "I hope Tom is bringing us some good news rightnow."
"If that look on his face counts for anything, he's going to give us achance to let out a few cheers," asserted Felix, as the fifth boy drewnear.
It was a Friday afternoon near the close of winter when thisconversation took place. School was over for the week, and asthere was an unmistakable feeling of coming spring in the airthe snow on the ground seemed to be in haste to melt anddisappear.
Every now and then one of the boys would be overcome by an irresistibletemptation to stoop, gather up enough of the soft clinging snow to makea hard ball, which was thrown with more or less success at some tree orother object.
The town of Lenox was just one of many in the eastern section of thegreat United States, and boasted a few thousand inhabitants, someindustries, a high school, and various churches. In Lenox the boyswere no different from those to be found in every like community.They had a baseball club that vied with rival schools in spiritedcontests, a football organization, and in fact almost every elementthat might be expected to thrive in the midst of a lively community.
There was, however, one thing in which the boys of Lenox seemed to havebeen lacking, and this had been brought home to them when Tom Chesneycame back from his recent visit to Freeport, some twenty miles away.
Somehow the growing fever among boys to organize scout troops had notbroken out very early in Lenox; but if late in coming it bade fair tomake up for lost time by its fierce burning.
The boy who now joined the four whose chatter we have just recorded wasa healthy looking chap. There was something positive about Tom Chesneythat had always made him a leader with his comrades. At the same timehe was never known to assume any airs or to dictate; which was all themore reason why his chums loved him.
"What luck, Tom?" demanded Josh, as soon as the newcomer joined theothers.
"It's all fixed," was the quick answer given by Tom, who evidently didnot believe in beating about the bush.
"Good for you!" cried Felix. "Then Mr. Witherspoon is willing toorganize the Lenox Troop of Boy Scouts, is he, Tom?"
"He said he would be glad to have a hand in it," replied the other,"his only regret being that as he is often called out of town he mightnot be able to give the matter all the attention he would like."
"That's great news anyhow, Tom!" declared Josh, beaming withsatisfaction. "We've just been figuring things out, and believewe can find eight fellows who would be willing to make up thefirst patrol."
"We would need that many for a starter," commented Tom; "becauseaccording to the rules he tells me there must be at least one fullpatrol before a troop can be started. And I'm glad you can figure onenough. It's going to make it a success from the start."
"There's yourself to begin with," remarked Josh, counting with hisfingers; "Felix, Walter Douglass, George here, Billy Button, HoraceCrapsey, Carl and myself, making the eight we need for a patrol."
"I'm glad you're all anxious to join," said Tom, glancing from oneeager face to the other, as they walked slowly down the street in agroup.
"Why, so far as that goes, Tom," ventured Felix Robbins, "most of usare counting the days before we can be wearing our khaki suits andclimbing up out of the tenderfoot bunch to that of second-class scout.Only Carl here seems to be kind of holding back; though none of us cansee why he should want to go and leave his old chums in the lurch."
At that Tom gave Carl another look a little more searching than hisfirst. He was immediately struck by the fact that Carl did not seem ashappy as usual. He and Tom had been close chums for years. That factmade Tom wonder why the other had not taken him into his confidence, ifthere was anything wrong.
Carl must have known that the eyes of his chum were upon him for heflushed, and then looked hastily up.
"Oh! it isn't that I wouldn't be mighty glad of the chance to go intothis thing with the rest of you," he hastened to say; "don't believethat I'm getting tired of my old chums. It isn't that at all. Butsomething has happened to make me think I may be kept so busy that I'dhave no time to give to studying up scout laws and attending meetings."
"Oh! forget it all, Carl, and come in with us," urged Josh, laying ahand affectionately on the other's shoulder. "If it's anything where wecan help, you know as well as you do your own name that there isn't afellow but would lay himself out to stand back of you. Isn't that so,boys?"
Three other voices instantly joined in to declare that they would onlybe glad of the opportunity to show Carl how much they appreciated him.It always touches a boy to find out how much his chums think of him.There was a suspicious moisture about Carl's eyes as he smiled andnodded his head when replying.
"That's nice of you, fellows. But after all perhaps I may see my wayclear to joining the troop. I hope so, anyway, and I'll try my bestto make the riffle. Now Tom, tell us all Mr. Witherspoon said."
"Yes, we want to know what we'd have to do the first thing," addedJosh, who was about as quick to start things as Felix Robbins wasslow. "I sent off and got a scout manual. It came last
night, andI'm soaking up the contents at a great rate."
"That was why I saw a light over in your room late last night, was it?"George Cooper demanded. "Burning the midnight oil. Must have beeninteresting reading, seems to me, Josh."
"I could hardly tear myself away from the book," responded the otherboy. "After to-night I'll loan it to the rest of you, though I guessTom must have got one from Mr. Witherspoon, for I see something bulgingin his pocket."
Tom laughed at that.
"Josh," he said, "it's very plain to me that you will make a prettyclever scout, because you've got the habit of observing things down toa fine point. And if you've read as much as you say, of course you knowthat one of the first things a tenderfoot has to do is to remember tokeep his eyes about him, and see things."
"Yes," added Josh, eagerly, "one test is for each boy to stand in frontof a store window for just two minutes, making a mental map of thesame, and then go off to jot down as many objects as he can rememberto have seen there."
"That's quite a stunt," remarked Felix thoughtfully; "and I reckon theone who can figure out the biggest number of articles goes up head inthe class. I must remember and practice that game. It strikes me asworth while."
"Listen to the row up there, will you?" burst out George Cooper justthen. "Why, that lot of boys seems to be having a snowball fight, don'tthey? Hello! it isn't a battle after all, but they're pelting somebodyor other. See how the balls fly like a flock of pigeons from Carl'scoop!"
"It looks like a man they're bombarding!" ejaculated Felix.
"You're right about that, and an old man in the bargain," added Tomas he quickened his steps involuntarily; "I can see that bully TonyPollock leading the lot; yes, and the other fellows must be hiscronies, Wedge McGuffey and Asa Green."
"See the poor old fellow try to dodge the balls!" exclaimed Josh."They're making them like ice too, and I wouldn't put it past that lotto pack a stone in each snowball in the bargain. They'd be equal toanything."
"Are we going to stand by and see that sport go on, boys?" asked Carlas he shut his jaws tight together, and the light of indignation shonein his eyes.
"We wouldn't be fit to wear the khaki of scouts if we did, fellows!"cried Tom Chesney. "Come on, and let's give them a taste of their ownmedicine," and with loud shouts the five comrades started to gather upthe snow as they chased pell-mell toward the scene of excitement.
Boy Scouts of Lenox; Or, The Hike Over Big Bear Mountain Page 2