“There’s Hugh calling to us, so come along, Billy. The trackers are getting busy with their work, I guess.”
Although this part of the competition was of the deepest interest to the scouts themselves and to many of the men present, the girls cared little for it. They did not seem to be able to understand what could be so intensely exciting about a few “scratches” on the ground, a clip of fur, and other similar things. Then the full story followed of how a rabbit had ventured out, been chased by some enemy, as was evidenced by its way of running and dodging, and finally met with a sudden end, marked by blood spots and fur again. And after all others had given the puzzle up in despair, it was Hugh who proved to the committee what sort of enemy it had actually been, through whom poor bunny had come to his untimely end:
A hungry owl, he said, had been foraging for his supper, and in the darkness the unlucky rabbit had been readily discovered by the yellow eyes of the big bird. Then had begun that chase. Hugh easily showed the committee where he had found a mark of the bird’s wing-tips in the soft mud at the time it made an unsuccessful swoop down with the intention of securing its prey with its curved claws.
He also gave them a feather he had picked up near where the tragedy had happened, which a number of the other scouts admitted had certainly fallen from the plumage of a Virginia horned owl, such as usually hunts at night time for its food and destroys many pests like field mice.
By degrees the series of contests simmered down until finally the end came. The vigilant committee had kept accurate tally, and after summing up, it was formally announced that the Otters had come out ahead by a score of points.
Of course there was a tremendous amount of cheering by the adherents of that lively bunch of fellows, headed by Alec Sands. Don Miller and his Foxes, as well generous Walter Osborne with the Hawk boys, swung their hats and joined in the racket, because after all it was a family affair. And people said that Hugh Hardin, with the members of the Wolf patrol, which had given the Otters the hardest rub of all, certainly cheered as loud as anybody could, as they congratulated the winners of the open air contests.
“But this doesn’t mean that that banner is already yours, remember, Alec,” warned Billy Worth, as he came upon the excited leader of the Otters, moving up and down and starting new salvos of cheering, which was of course sweet music in his ears. “To-night comes the gathering at the hall, where in the presence of all the scouts, and as many outsiders as can crowd in, the head of the committee will announce what things the several patrols have been doing these weeks past to merit points, according to the schedule laid out.”
“Yes,” added “Spike” Welling, one of the Foxes, “and Blake Merton has promised to sing several of his best songs between the readings, so as to sort of break up the monotony.”
“Which is about the only prime thing the poor Hawks will show up in this trip,” remarked Cooper Fennimore, his chum; “but I hear they’ve determined to wake up and do better next time. Better bottle up some of that enthusiasm, Alec, till you hear what the returns to-night tell. Then if you win you’ll have breath to shout; and if you get left at the stake, you’ll be glad you didn’t count your chickens before they were hatched.”
“Oh! I’m not worrying about that,” came the quick answer from the confident Alec. “We’ve got it all cut and dried long ago. Wait till you hear how we picked up points by fives and tens here and there, doing lots of wonderful things that count. You’ll be willing to give me credit for being a good general; and perhaps you’ll wish a certain election had gone differently.”
Spike and Cooper, getting the wink from Billy, and seeing how Alec frowned as he followed Hugh’s form around, seemed to understand how the matter lay. They knew Alec’s failing of old, and saw that envy was again torturing him.
“One thing has been settled,” observed Billy just then. “You know that there’s a chance for eight scouts to be allowed to accompany the members of the Naval Reserve aboard the vessel that the U. S. Government puts at their disposal for practice week after next. And one of the rewards given by the committee is that the highest individual marks, two to each patrol, are going to entitle those lucky fellows to the great honor of going to sea with our Coast Guard. If I strike that prize I’ll be the happiest boy in seven counties, you hear me mention it; but I’ve got little hope myself even before the individual records are made up.”
Alec walked away with his head held high in the air, looking very important; but all the same he cast many uneasy glances in the direction of his rival leader.
As early as seven o’clock that evening there was a decided movement toward the big town hall, where all the important gatherings were held, although it was generally known that the doors would not be opened until half an hour later. It was guessed that there would be a crush, and consequently word had been quietly circulated among the families connected with the scouts, so that most of them might come early and get seats.
As this was a meeting of particular interest to boys, as many would be admitted as could be accommodated. Others might be expected to climb to the outside of the windows and perch there like so many monkeys, eager to hear and see what wonderful things were done.
Like magic the hall began to fill after the doors had once been opened, and by a quarter to eight chairs were being placed cautiously along the aisles. There had really been no such excitement in town since it was falsely reported that the big-top circus tent had collapsed, and the wild animals were loose; and that had been a night of storm and anxiety few persons would ever forget.
Places had been reserved on the stage back of the committee of leading citizens for the entire membership of the Boy Scout Troop; and when they came marching down the aisle, two and two, in their neat khaki uniforms, with the glorious Stars and Stripes at the head and a bugler and drummer following, the entire assemblage broke out into a roar of applause that must have been very gratifying to the hearts of those lads.
Besides the members in uniform, there were a number of other fellows who were the latest additions, forming the new Owl patrol. None of them had as yet received his suit, and therefore could not quite feel the same sensation of importance that entered into the hearts of the older members, whose exploits were already very well known throughout the town.
As each patrol was grouped under its totem flag, this brought Billy, Bud and Arthur close together, an arrangement that was very satisfactory to the first named, as he could turn from one to the other of his chums and whisper. Billy would have been an unhappy boy if compelled to remain mute for any great length of time.
When the meeting was opened in the customary way, it was a most impressive sight as seen from the stage. And the first speaker, in telling a few reasons why this magnificent movement had been started by public spirited men, called attention to this fact. Anything that could create such widespread interest as the scout movement, and was for the upbuilding of boys in the best sense, should have the unqualified backing of every thinking man and woman in the whole United States, he declared. Such cheering following this statement, that the speaker had to wait a full minute before he could proceed.
The next to address that fine audience was a leading citizen whose heart and soul had always been with the rising generation, so that he had taken part in many movements that were calculated to benefit the coming men of the country.
He assured those who were eagerly listening to all he said that never yet had anything been started that gave one-tenth the promise of glorious success this Boy Scout organization did. Then he went on fully to explain the duties of those who belonged, what they vowed to do when they took the oath, and what splendid results had already been recorded.
“I hope that the time is near at hand,” he continued, “when every boy in all these United States may, upon arriving at the proper age, be given the chance to enlist in a Boy Scout patrol. Through means of its privileges he will be trained to know, to discover, and tolivein a new and glorious realm of Nature, a life of well-directed freedom.”
There was a flutter throughout the big hall when the next speaker arose, for every boy knew that the Judge had been selected for the principal event of the occasion. He began by telling of the healthful competition that had been arranged between the four patrols by the prize offer of the beautiful banner which the audience could see in plain sight upon the stage.
This had been contributed by a generous citizen who wished his name to remain unknown. It bore an inscription in letters of gold, with a blank space to be filled in later with the name of the successful patrol. Then he told just how the committee had wrestled with the matter and finally arranged a schedule to show what points were to be awarded for each of scores of things successfully accomplished to the satisfaction of the governing board.
The field competition had already been carried to a splendid finish, and those who had watched the busy scouts had been ten times repaid for their attendance. After announcing the results that had been awarded the several patrols on the strength of their showing, he expected to take up the many claims settled by the committee. These would be shown in “points” upon the large blackboard by his assistant, as he called them off, and in some cases he would enter into explanations that might be found more or less interesting.
Every scout drew a long breath. He knew that at last the final score was about to be settled. Even Alec had a serious look on his face as he sat there at the head of the Otters. Boasting was all very well, but since no one might wholly know what the rival patrols had been doing during these weeks of endeavor in order to gain merit points, it was impossible to predict successfully the result until the last name had been called.
As it happened, the speaker took up the Fox patrol first of all. They had not succeeded in doing a great deal, though there were several ripples of applause over certain accounts that showed how the boys had occasionally awakened to their opportunities, and had a brief spell of working like beavers. They had relapsed frequently, however, Don Miller not being fully qualified to keep the enthusiasm at boiling pitch.
Next came the Hawks, who made a little better showing, though truth to tell it was pretty much the labor of the leader, Walter Osborne, that counted; and then the speaker called attention to the fact that they were being pleasantly entertained between speeches with camp songs by a member of this patrol, Blake Merton.
As he mentioned that next on the list came the Otters, there was tremendous applause; and while the hand-clapping was going on, with Alec smiling and the rest of the patrol trying to look unconscious of their extreme popularity, Billy leaned over and said in Bud’s ear:
“Don’t you see he’s climbing up step by step, Bud? First the lowly Foxes, then the more wideawake Hawks; after them the hustling Otters; and after that, the deluge,—which means the Wolf patrol. He’s saving the best till the last, I tell you!”
Whereupon Bud took heart of grace and breathed freely once more, for he had almost felt as though that wild applause foretold the end, with Alec and his seven Otters carrying off the banner.
The list of wonderful things those eight boys had managed to accomplish certainly interested the audience, to judge from the frequent clapping of hands when incident after incident was narrated, as proven and accepted by the committee. It was early apparent that Alec had closely studied the possibilities offered by the program set forth by those in charge of the competition, and devoted the whole energies of himself and comrades to doing only those things that offered the best results in points.
It seemed as though the narrator would never get through telling what they had carried out. Billy fidgeted in his seat, and every time a new exploit was described he would feverishly count up the points in that long string seen upon the elevated blackboard, holding tight to his chair and struggling between hope and fear.
Finally the last of the doings of that gallant band of Otters had been told, and it was to be noted that it had taken place only that afternoon, showing how brimful of determination to excel Alec and his chums had been.
Then came the last patrol on the list. Every one knew how there had been constant rivalry between the Otters and the Wolves, although usually carried on in the friendly way scout competitions should be. They also knew what a clever leader Hugh Hardin had proven himself in times past, for the town had cheered the boy’s name on more than a few occasions.
It was also pretty generally understood that Alec had felt terribly hurt when, at the choice of a new assistant scout master from among the thirty-two boys constituting the troop at the time, he had received just seven votes, and these his own faithful Otters. This would in a measure account for his feverish desire to win out in this contest, and carry off the prize banner. It would in some sense show that the boys had made a terrible blunder when they had failed to put him in the position of assistant scout master.
As the committeeman told of the numerous ingenious ways in which the boys of the Wolf patrol had won their points, there were just as many bursts of applause as before. And when after a time the gentleman announced that he was all through except a single mention, a hush fell on the audience, for most of those present had counted up, and knew that the Otters were stillseventy pointsin the lead.
Then a call was made for Professor Perkins, who, with the air of a man accustomed to addressing audiences, mounted the platform. He began by telling who he was, and what he had attempted to accomplish. Then, amidst a great silence, he gave a thrilling account of his accident; how he had signaled to a party of boys in the khaki he had now come to love; how he was thrown out of the basket of the balloon and held fast in the treetop; how the lads had rescued him; how Hugh had set his broken arm, and after that, with the help of his chums, saved his valuable effects from the escaped convicts.
“But for their prompt aid,” he said finally, “there is not the least doubt in my mind that I should have lost my life. There were many photographs taken which go to prove every step in this wonderful rescue; and the committee, I am pleased to say,unanimouslyagree that these gallant members of the Wolf patrol, under the guidance of their leader, Hugh Hardin, saved a human life at peril to themselves, and are therefore awarded the highest number of points possible under this agreement. So that I have the pleasure of addingtwo hundred and fiftyhonor marks to the score of the Wolf patrol; and the beautiful banner will——”
The deafening applause, that made the rafters of that big town hall quiver, drowned whatever else the gentleman meant to say; but while the tumult was still going on, the banner was placed in the hands of the happy leader of the Wolf patrol; and after that, there was no getting the meeting under control again.
So ended the exciting competition for the lead among the four patrols of the troop. There were heart burnings, of course, for boys can feel bitter disappointment as well as any one; but as scouts, they were bound to banish all envy and try to rejoice with the fortunate ones.
That other and even more exciting times lay ahead for some of the scouts may be incidentally mentioned here. We can also assure those readers who have become interested in the doings of Hugh, Billy, Alec and the rest, that they may find their further adventures related in the next book of this series, entitled: “The Boy Scouts of the Naval Reserve.”
THE END.