CHAPTER XI.
THE SCOUT WHO USED HIS EYES.
"Hold on," called out Step-hen, "let's start even all around. Hasanybody seen my tin cup? Funny how _my_ things are always the ones totake to hiding. Now I give you my word, fellows, I laid that cup in asafe place after we washed up the breakfast dishes this morning. And Ijust can't run across it anywhere. If we're all going to take part inthat water-boiling, fire-making test I can't enter unless I have my cup,can I? So if anybody's trying to play a joke at my expense, call it off,won't you, please?"
"You put it in a safe place, did you, and then forgot where that placewas?" laughed Thad, who knew the weakness of Step-hen very well by thistime. "Now, what's that hanging from that little broken twig up there?"
"Well, I declare, I do remember putting it there!" cried the other, witha wide grin, as he unhooked the handle of the tin cup, and took itproudly down. "And after this, you fellows had better go easy with me.I'm learning to keep my things where they won't get lost, understandthat?"
"Yes, but write it down each time, Step-hen," laughed Smithy.
Step-hen turned upon this new tormentor.
"Oh! Smithy," he remarked, pleasantly, "you're sure going to get anothernew suit of clothes, because there's a measuring worm right now,crawling up your back, with his tape line working over time."
Smithy writhed, and looked piteously at his nearest neighbor.
"Oh! please knock him off, Bumpus; and do be careful not to mash him,because you know, it would make a nasty spot. Ugh! I detest worms, andsnakes, and all the things that crawl. Thank you, Bumpus; I'll do thesame for you some day."
Smithy was getting on very well, Thad thought, considering how much hehad to "unlearn" in order to make a good scout. That morning, after thedip in the lake, the boys had had considerable fun with the tidy one.They had watched him dress in his fastidious way, and before longseveral of them were mocking him. He brushed his clothes with a lovelybrush he had brought along, and which was better fitted for a lady'sdressing table than a boys' camp. Then he adjusted his tie before alittle mirror he produced, spent a long time fixing his flaxen locks tosuit him, with another silver mounted brush; and finally dented in hiscampaign hat with the greatest precision.
Then the boys burst out into a roar, and Smithy became aware that he hadbeen an object of great interest to his campmates for ten minutes. Heturned fiery red, looked confused for a brief time; and finallysnatching off his hat, gave it several careless blows, after which hethrust it on his head in any old way.
At that a cheer had arisen from the other scouts. They seemed tounderstand that in a short time Smithy would have learned his lesson.The work which had taken his doting mother and maiden aunts years toaccomplish, would be thrown overboard in a week, and a new Smithy arise.
Each fellow having taken his tin cup, they sought an open spot where thewater boiling test could be carried out without one scout interferingwith the work of the others.
Then the acting scout-master mentioned the rules governing the sport.
"I'm going to give each scout just three matches," he remarked, "and heis put on his honor not to have another one about him. Then you willline up here, after you have each selected a spot inside the boundarieswhere you mean to conduct your experiment in quick-fire making. For fiveminutes you can look around, so as to get your mind fixed on just whereyou will get your kindling, and water. Then at the word you start. Now,line up here, and get your supply of fire sticks."
After the time limit had expired the word was given. All of the patrolsave the scout-master started to get busy; and it was a comical sight tosee some of them running around in a haphazard way, having lost theirbearings in the sudden excitement.
Bumpus was early out of the game. He did succeed in getting his cupfilled with water at the lake some little distance away, but of coursein his clumsy fashion he had to stumble, and spill most of it on the wayto his chosen station. And as one of the rules insisted that each cupshould be at least three-quarters full of water, Bumpus gave up the gamein abject despair, contenting himself with watching his more agilecompanions, and cheering them on.
Smithy also had his troubles. He took so long to get his cup filled,actually washing it out because he discovered a few coffee grounds inthe bottom, that the others were building their fires before he awoke tothe fact that again had his love for neatness lost him all chance ofmaking a favorable showing. So he too threw up the job as hopeless; butfrom his determined looks Thad knew Smithy would do better the nexttime.
This left but five competitors at work. Step-hen was doing very well,and Allan knew just how to get tinder with which to start a quick fire;but even these two could not be said to be in the same class withGiraffe.
Fires had ever been his hobby, and what he did not know about starting ablaze could be put in a very small compass. More than that, Thad noticedthat Giraffe certainly had good powers of observation. During thatperiod of five minutes when those who had entered the contest were givenan opportunity to look around, Giraffe had certainly used his eyes toadvantage.
While the others had hastened to the border of the lake to fill theircups with water, the shrewd Giraffe had simply stepped over to a tinylittle spring which he had noticed not ten feet away, and there managedto get all he needed.
And the way he shaved that fine kindling was a caution. Giraffe was aborn Yankee in that he always carried a keen-edged jack-knife, and couldbe seen cutting every enticing piece of soft pine he came across. Why,he had applied his match to the tinder before the others returned fromthe lake; and the smoke of his fire blew in their faces most enticingly.
Then he added just the right sort of bits of wood, not too much at atime, until he had coaxed his fire into doing the very best it knew how.
His four rivals were bending every energy to heat up the water in theircups, testing it now and then with disappointed grunts, as it failed toscald their fingers, when a shout from Giraffe announced that he neededthe attention of the judge, as his cup of water had commenced to bubble.
"Giraffe has won, hands down," Thad said, "but the rest of you go righton, and see how long it takes each one. Then another time you will learnto use the faculties that every fellow has just as well as Giraffe."
When the last one had finally succeeded in coaxing his fire to get upsufficient heat to cause the water in the cup to bubble, the competitionwas declared closed, with Giraffe an easy winner, and Allan a fairsecond.
"Huh!" said Step-hen, "he got the bulge on us right in the beginning byfilling his old cup, at that little spring right here, instead ofrunning to the lake like all the rest of us did. Don't seem fair to me,Mr. Scout-Master."
"Why not?" demanded Thad, while the victor smiled serenely, knowing whatwas coming. "You all had the same chance to look around that Giraffe wasgiven. If he was smart enough to notice that he could save time byfilling his cup at the spring rather than run away over to the lake, somuch the more to his credit. A first-class scout will always discovermeans for saving time. He will keep his eyes and wits about him to seeand hear things that an ordinary person might pass right by. That's oneof the first things he's got to learn. 'Be prepared' is the slogan ofthe Boy Scouts; but in order to get the best out of anything, a fellowhas to keep awake all the time."
"I guess that's so," admitted Step-hen, rather sheepishly. "Giraffe issmart, and if anybody thinks to get ahead of him he must wake up earlyin the morning. Just wait till we try this game a second time, and see."
Thad was more than satisfied. He believed the lesson would not be wastedon the ambitious scouts. Even Bumpus would use more care in makinghaste, and look for treacherous roots that always lay in wait for hisclumsy feet. While Smithy, it might be understood, would either have hiscup thoroughly clean to start with, or let a few innocent grains ofcoffee go unnoticed.
"I don't know why," remarked Allan, as they were cooking a little lunchthat noon; "but somehow that island over there looks mighty inviting tome."
"Do you know," Thad rem
arked, "I've thought the same myself, and some ofthe other fellows have their minds set on it. If we only had some way ofgetting over, I might think of changing our camp, and going across. Ofcourse I could swim over and see what the island is like, but thatwouldn't do us any good without a boat."
"A boat up here is something nobody ever saw, I reckon, suh," said BobWhite.
"It certainly does look cool and fine across the water there; and Isuppose the bear could swim it if we chose to go; unless we made up ourminds to turn the old rascal loose," Step-hen put in.
"Say, I think myself he'd follow us, we've fed him so well since he camein on us," Giraffe grumbled; for it certainly did provoke him to see ashaggy beast devouring good food that human beings could make use of."Why, I had to get up from breakfast hungry because of him. The islandfor mine, if it's going to help us get rid of our star boarder anyquicker."
"Star boarder!" mimicked Step-hen; "well, that's a joke I take it;because all of us have got our minds made up who fills that bill, allright."
But Giraffe pretended not to notice what was said. He did not like tohave his comrades pay too much attention to his little weakness in thefood line.
"How about my being rewarded for coming in first in the water boilingtest, Mr. Scout-Master?" he called out. "Wasn't there something held outas an inducement, a sort of prize, so to speak? Seems to me you said thefeller that won might have the privilege of making the big camp-firethis evening; and that would be reward enough for me, I tell you."
"That was the offer, Giraffe," replied Thad; "and I'm going to give youthat chance, on one condition only. It is that you promise not to carrya single match around with you this blessed day."
Giraffe knew only too well what that meant, for he understood how Thadworried over his propensity for starting fires at any time the notioncame upon him. He gave a big sigh, shook his head, and then handed overhis matchsafe, remarking:
"Well, I reckon I'll just have to comply with the rules; but it's prettyhard on a feller, not to have just _one_ match along, in case he needsit right bad. But anyhow, it's me to build that big blaze to-night,remember, boys, and I'm going to make your eyes shine, the way I do it,too."