Boy Scouts of Bob's Hill

by G. Harvey Ralphson

  CHAPTER XIII

  EAGLE PATROL JOINS THE SCOUTS

  YOU must not think, when you read this history, that something all thetime was happening to us Scouts. I am only telling about what didhappen. Pa says that when it comes to starting things we have them allbeaten to a frazzle and Ma told us that it would be a mercy if we everlived to grow up, without losing any of our hands or feet. But we don'tthink so. Boys have to be doing something all the time, don't they? Ifthey didn't they would get into mischief.

  Anyhow, there didn't much of anything happen after Skinny lassoed thebear, for a long time, unless you count the Fourth of July. Nobody canhelp having the Fourth of July. It's part of the year. It is for ourcountry.

  One Fourth of July, long ago, even before Pa was born, they rang oldLiberty Bell in Philadelphia, to beat the band, and they fired offguns. 'Cause why? 'Cause there was a paper signed on that day, whichsaid that the United States of America should be free and independent.But England was like old Pharaoh, with the Hebrew children, that theBible tells about. They didn't want to let us go. I don't blame themmuch for it, either, but Skinny does.

  Anyhow, I guess God must have meant for us to go free, just as He didthe Children of Israel because, although England was the greatest Nationin the world and the best one, too, it seems to me, and we were only afew scattering colonies without much money or anything, we came outahead. That is why Skinny thinks that George Washington could havelicked Napoleon Bonaparte with one hand tied behind his back.

  So we have the Fourth of July, and we boys ring the church bells at fouro'clock in the morning, when they don't catch us at it, just like oldLiberty Bell was rung so many years ago.

  One of Skinny's ancestors was killed in the battle of Bunker Hill. Thatis what makes him so fierce against the Britishers. Every Fourth ofJuly he has us go up on Bob's Hill or somewhere and fight the battle allover again.

  The time I am telling about we built a fire on the hill and rang thechurch bells and fired off firecrackers until we were tired and halfstarved; then went home to breakfast. Everybody promised to meet againat my house about nine o'clock.

  Soon after nine we all were sitting on our side steps, talking overwhere we should go for our battle, when Skinny happened to stand up andlook down the street.

  We heard him make a noise like a snake and he dropped off the steps tothe ground so quickly that we thought at first he had a fit orsomething, until he made a motion for us to follow him and began tocrawl toward the fence.

  We didn't know what the matter was, but knew that it was somethingimportant, so we crawled along after him as fast as we could. When wereached the pickets he pointed and we peeped over the top, careful notto let more than our eyes be seen.

  What we saw was three members of the Gingham Ground Gang coming up thestreet, walking in the middle of the road and looking on both sides asthey came, as if they were expecting trouble and wanted to be ready forit.

  Two of them had red shirts, and that made Skinny mad because it made himthink of his ancestor who was killed at Bunker Hill.

  "The Redcoats are coming," said he in a hoarse whisper, so that theywouldn't hear, but fierce-like, just the same. "Wait until you can seethe whites of their eyes; then, 'charge, the ground's your own, mybraves. Will ye give it up to slaves? Hope ye mercy, still?'"

  It was a part of his last day piece at school and sounded fine.

  "Charge nothin'!" said Bill. "The Americans didn't do any charging atBunker Hill, I guess. The Britishers did the charging. The Americanswaited behind a fence until they got near enough and then let 'em haveit, until their ammunition gave out. Then they ran. That's what theydid."

  That was true, too, but, just the same, it was a victory to hold thehill as long as their powder lasted, and Bill knew it, but he liked toget Skinny mad.

  "Bill Wilson," said Skinny, "you are a nice patriot! You are a Scout anda half; that's what you are--not! So are we going to run but, bet yourlife, we're going to run toward the enemy. If you want to stay herebehind the fence you can do it. The rest of us are going to charge."

  Bill gave me a thump in the ribs and grinned, but didn't say anything. Isaw Benny whisper something, his eyes shining with excitement; thenSkinny motioned to us what to do.

  Each of us lighted a firecracker and held it with the fuse sputteringand sizzling, until they were almost opposite. Then we threw thecrackers under their feet. They went off like a volley of musketry. Atthe same time we gave a great caw and jumped the fence.

  "Give it to 'em, fellers," yelled Skinny. "These are the guys thatwanted to duck Benny in the mill pond."

  Say, it was great. The firecrackers surprised them, for they hadn'tseen us, and we were over the fence and upon them before they could run.Things were lively in Park Street for a few minutes. Then, all of asudden, we heard a man's voice say:

  "Scouts, attention!"

  And there was Mr. Norton, looking surprised and sorry!

  We all stood up with a jerk and saluted, and the Gingham Ground boysstarted to run. They only went a few steps, however, and then waited tosee what was going to happen.

  "Scouts," said Mr. Norton, sternly, "what sort of brawl is this, on theFourth of July?"

  He was looking at Skinny, he being Scout leader.

  "'Tain't a brawl," said Skinny. "It's the battle of Bunker Hill; that'swhat it is."

  "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 handfulof Americans faced the British soldiers and held them back until theirpowder gave out. And here the American army seems to be attacking ahandful of British."

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

  "Anyhow," said Skinny, "those guys tried to duck Benny that time when hewas coming home from his long hike. So we thought that we would duckthem 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 toanimals."

  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 letBenny 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 toheap '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 hotcoals."

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

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

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

  "Boys," said he, turning to the Gingham Ground bunch just as they werestarting away. "I have organized these eight village lads into a patrolof the Boy Scouts of America and we have planned to have a campfire thisevening on Bob's Hill. These Scouts of mine mean all right. They aresimply 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 doit?"

  They didn't want to at first.

  "There are Boy Scouts," he went on, "in all parts of the civilizedworld; in England, too, Gabriel, as well as in this country, and the Lawsays that all Scouts are brothers to every other Scout. There are a halfmillion in the United States alone. I have been appointed Scoutmasterfor this district and I want to organize one or two more patrols so thatI can have a tr
oop. I have had you boys in mind ever since you so noblyturned out to help find William, the time he was hurt on Greylock. Itwill be much the same as the Gang, only better. You can keep the sameleader 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 stoodthere grinning and not knowing what to do.

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

  "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 cameacross lots from the Quaker Meeting House, soon after we had gatheredaround the big stone where we have our fires, just as they had come twoyears 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 grass aroundthe fire. "You are a pretty husky bunch of fellows, and Raven Patrolwill have to go some to keep up, after you get started. Skinny--I meanGabriel--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 arelike an army. We are one company, you will be another. I'm the same ascaptain, only they call me patrol leader. Mr. Norton is Scoutmaster, andthere are officers above him, only we never saw them. We learn all aboutwoodcraft and signs and signaling and how to do a lot of things, and werescue people and do all kinds of stunts and get badges. The Ravens aregoing across the mountain on an exploring trip. I am going to look for acave 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 RavenRocks."

  Skinny had run down by this time, although Bill was winding him up likea 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 biffyou 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, andabout 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 asScoutmaster. Raven Patrol is now in pretty good shape. We are going on acamping expedition in a few weeks and we'll have a good chance topractise up on signaling, swimming, following trails through the woods,and things like that. Next year I should like to take a whole troopalong. What do you say? Suppose you go over by that other stone and talkabout it among yourselves."

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

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

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

  "Everybody makes mistakes," Mr. Norton told him, "but the boy or the manwho 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 fewdays 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 shakinghands with him.

  "Speech!" yelled Hank.

  "Ladies and gentlemen," said Benny, getting up on his feet and bowingright 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.

  "I never made a speech in my life," said he, "and I ain't going to makeone now, but you will find the Gang true blue. We ain't much on clothes,and our folks haven't got much money, but we'll do the best we can, ifyou will tell us how. And we are much obliged for taking us in."

  "Three cheers for Captain Donavan and Eagle Patrol," shouted Mr. Norton,waving his hat. "Now!"

  I'll bet they heard us down in the village. After it was quiet again Isaw Skinny whispering something to Bill. Bill nodded his head and passedit on to Hank, and finally it came to Benny and me, who sat at the endof the line. We nodded and began to creep nearer the fire while waitingfor the signal.

  "Caw!" yelled Skinny, all of a sudden, like you sometimes hear a bigcrow in the Bellows Pipe.

  As he yelled, he grabbed a burning brand out of the fire, and the restof us did the same. Then we formed a circle and danced a war dancearound the Gang, whirling our brands in the air until the sparks flewin the growing darkness and there seemed to be a ring of fire.

  "Shall we eat 'em alive, my braves?" chanted Skinny.

  "No," we shouted. "They are brothers."

  "Shall we mop the earth with 'em?"

  "No," we yelled. "They are Scouts."

  "What shall we do?" asked Skinny, stopping in front of Jim, who was toosurprised to say anything.

  "Give them the glad hand," we answered.

  "'Tis well," said he, grabbing Jim by the hand, while we did the same tothe others.

  "I'll tell you what," said Mr. Norton, a little later. "I feel so goodover this that I'll buy. Lead me to a soda fountain."