Boy Scouts of Bob's Hill

  CHAPTER XIV

  PLANNING A CAMPING TRIP

  WE boys often think of what a fisherman told us one summer day, out onIllinois River, at the foot of Buffalo Rock.

  "IT GIVES ME PAIN," SHE SAID, "TO INFORM YOU THAT THEWOODBOX IS EMPTY."]

  "Play," said he, "is work that you want to do and don't have to do," orsomething like that.

  Ma often says, when she sees us playing, that if she should make me workthat hard I would think I was abused.

  I guess, maybe, that is so. It surely is some work to chase uphill andaround, play ball, and do all kinds of stunts, and sometimes when nightcomes we feel tired.

  I went home to supper one day, all fagged out, so tired I hardly coulddrag one foot after the other, and flopped down in the nearest chair.

  Ma heard me and put her head in at the door.

  "It gives me pain," she said, "to inform you that the woodbox isempty and I need a hotter fire to bake those biscuits that you like sowell."

  "Oh, Ma!" I exclaimed. "Can't you get along until morning. I'm all in."

  "Why, you haven't done a thing to-day!" she told me.

  I had climbed up and down Bob's Hill six times; been up to Peck's Fallsand the cave once; followed the brook over rocks and fallen trees towhere it tumbles out of a sunshiny pasture into the shade of the woodsin a great watery sheet; been swimming in the Basin, on the other sideof the valley; played a match game of baseball at the Eagle ground;played Indian in Plunkett's woods, tracking the enemy through theforest; played foot-and-a-half, until I thought my back would break, andwrestled with Skinny, until he fell on me like a thousand of brick. ButI hadn't done anything all day! Oh, no!

  "You don't want me to do it, do you?" she said.

  Of course, I didn't want that; so, tired as I was, I dragged out to theshed and brought in an armful of wood.

  Just then I heard a whistle, followed by the caw of a crow from in frontof the house, and I chased out to see what was doing.

  It was Benny. He had come over to tell me that there would be a Scoutmeeting at his house that night.

  "John's too tired," Ma told him. "He hardly was able to bring in foursticks of wood."

  "I feel better now," I hurried to say. "The exercise did me good. AfterI have had some of your delicious biscuits and some honey, I'll be allright again. Besides, I'd hate to miss a Scout meeting; I learn so muchthere. Will the wood I brought in last until morning?"

  "I thought Mr. Norton was away?" she said.

  "He is; but they are going to have a meeting, anyhow."

  "Oh, please let him go, Mrs. Smith," put in Benny. "Pedro is oursecretary. We can't have the meeting without him."

  Ma likes Benny so well I just knew she would have to give in. She knewit, too, I guess, for she looked at us a minute, sort of smiling toherself; then she said:

  "Well, if he will come home at nine o'clock and promise to take a napto-morrow afternoon, I'll let him go. He has been losing too much sleeplately."

  I didn't think much of that nap business. Daytime wasn't made to sleepin, except, maybe, the early morning hours when you first wake up.

  "I'll promise to lie down and shut my eyes," I told her, "but I can'tpromise to take a nap, can I? The sleep may not come."

  That is true. I've laid awake a lot of times fifteen or twenty minutesand maybe more, at night, trying hard to go to sleep and not feeling abit sleepy.

  That is why I was in bed when Skinny came around the next afternoon. Heknew that I would be, and instead of coming into the back yard and up onthe stoop, as he usually does, he went up the drive between our houseand Phillips' and whistled softly under my window.

  With one bound I was out of bed and looking down at him. He had on hisScout uniform, and his rope was wound around his shoulders.

  I was just going to tell him to wait until I could come downstairs, whenhe put one finger to his lips, then looked up and down the drive to seewho was watching. There was nobody in sight. Ma was taking a nap in herroom and I guess Mrs. Phillips was, too, across the way.

  "S-s-t!" he hissed. "Are you alone?"

  I nodded. It didn't seem safe to say anything.

  "You ain't chained to the bed, or nothin', are you?"

  "Nary a chain," I told him. "We are all out of chains."

  "'Tis well!" said he, coiling up the rope in one hand and getting readyto throw. "Quick, now, and mum's the word!"

  I caught the rope as it came in through the window and fastened one endto the bed. Then I threw out the other end, climbed out myself, andshinned down.

  "What's the matter?" I asked, as soon as I had reached the ground.

  "Let's go around and untie the rope; then I'll tell you."

  A few minutes later he was showing me a letter which he had from Mr.Norton, who was away on business. This is what the letter said:

  "DEAR FELLOWS:--I shall be at home in a few days and should like to have a meeting of Raven Patrol to talk up our camping trip. Are you thinking about it and planning where to go? The pasture above Peck's Falls would make an ideal camp. There is water and sunshine and shade and old Greylock. That would suit me pretty well, but it is so near home it might not suit you. If not, I have a regular trip over the mountain in mind, one that will take a hike of several days to get us there. Talk it over among yourselves and ask your folks about it. Then meet at my house next Saturday night. We'll decide the matter and begin to get ready. Yours sincerely,

  "CHARLES NORTON, Scoutmaster."

  "Ain't he a brick?" said Skinny, when he had finished reading. "What doyou say, old Scout?"

  "I say hike," I told him. "That pasture above Peck's Falls is where TomChapin tried to paralyze a bull by the power of the human eye, like theschool reader says, and got thrown over the stone wall by the critter.No more of that for muh!"

  "We'd have a rope along, you know."

  "Yes, and who'd tie it and what would the bull be doing all that time?"

  "I'd rather go over the mountain on a hike, myself," he said. "Come on,let's ask the other boys."

  "Wait a minute while I fill the woodbox," I told him.

  Skinny helped me do that and we were soon on our way.

  The other boys felt just as we did about it. Of course, it is always funto be near our cave and it is a fine place to get into when it rains,but we could go there any old time.

  The folks seemed to think near home would be better, until we told themabout the bull and how near we all came to getting killed. They hadforgotten about that and so had we, almost.

  Finally Pa settled it for me.

  "I am willing to leave it to Mr. Norton," he said. "As long as he goeswith you I don't care much where you go, for I know that he will take asgood care of you as I could myself. His hold on you boys is remarkableand I am willing to back him in anything that he wants to do. I'll saythis much, however. He is going to have his hands full when heundertakes to look after you boys for a week or two at a time."

  We hardly could wait until Saturday night to hear Mr. Norton's plan anddecide what to do.

  He seemed glad to see us when the time came, only he wouldn't hurry themeeting or leave anything out. Skinny, being patrol leader, always actedas chairman and pounded the table, when he could find one to pound.

  "The meetin' will come to order," said he, looking around for somethingto thump and not finding anything but Bill Wilson, who dodged out of theway.

  "The secretary will call the roll."

  I called the names of the boys, and each one in turn arose and gave theScout salute, first to Mr. Norton, then to Skinny.

  "Is there any business to come before this 'ere meetin'?" he asked.

  "Mr. President," I said, jumping up.

  "The gentleman from Park Street," said Skinny, as big as life, just asPa had taught us to do at meetings in our barn.

  "We have with us this evening our Scout
master, who, I think, hassomething to say."

  "'Tis well," said Skinny. "We'll harken unto his words of wisdom."

  "Before I speak the words of wisdom which our patrol leader has sokindly mentioned," laughed Mr. Norton, "I will ask Mrs. Norton torefresh and fortify us with some lemonade."

  Benny reached the door almost as soon as she did.

  "Let me do it, Mrs. Norton," he said.

  He grabbed the pitcher and tray and poured out a glass for her; thenwent around the circle. It tasted fine on a warm night.

  "Mr. Chairman," said Mr. Norton, after we had emptied the pitcher. "Iwant to call up the question of our camping trip. Have you boys thoughtabout the matter?"

  "We haven't thought of much else," Hank told him.

  "Well, how about it? Shall we camp out above Peck's Falls? What do yousay, William?"

  "It's too near home," said Bill. "Ma would get scared the first nightand call me back."

  "That certainly would be serious. What do you say, Mr. Secretary?"

  "I say so, too," I told him. "It's fine up there and wild and all that,but let's go where we never have been before."

  "How about it, Mr. President?"

  "It's me for the hike," said Skinny.

  The other boys all said the same.

  "It seems to be unanimous," said Mr. Norton. "I thought that probablyyou would feel that way. Well, this is what I have in mind, in case youdecide to take the trip, instead of remaining near home. What do you sayto hiking straight east over Florida Mountain, as far as Deerfield andthe Connecticut River? We can get a horse and carry our camping outfitand supplies in a wagon. We can take turns driving. It will rest us, andif anybody should give out the wagon will come in handy. We can take aslong a time as we want on the way, camping out each night."

  Mr. Norton stopped and looked at us to see how we liked the plan. Say,it didn't take him long to find out. Every boy jumped to his feet andshouted. Skinny forgot that he was chairman and started to march aroundthe room, shooting and striking at the enemy, and we all fell in lineafter him except Bill. He stood on his hands, kicked his feet in theair, and whistled through his teeth.

  Mr. Norton looked pleased.

  "Mr. Chairman," he said, as soon as we had taken our places again. "Ihardly think it necessary to put that to a vote except, perhaps, as amatter of form. The next question is, will your folks let you go?Sometimes fathers and mothers have very decided notions about what theywant their boys to do and more especially what they don't want them todo."

  I told him what Pa had said about being willing to have us go anywherewith him, and the other boys said that their folks felt the same way.

  "Good! We'll consider that settled and get down to details as quickly aspossible. I should like to get started in about two weeks, which will beearly in August. We'll call another meeting in a few days and I'll havea list of the articles needed and their cost ready to submit to you. Iknow where we can get tents, but there are a whole lot of things weshall need in the woods, besides things to eat. Is there any morebusiness to come before the meeting, Mr. Chairman?"

  "There is," said Skinny, who had been scribbling something on a piece ofpaper. He handed it to me to read, and this is what it said:

  "Resolved, that Mr. Norton is great stuff."

  "All that are in favor of the motion salute the Scoutmaster."

  That ended the meeting. We had to have several more like it before wecould get everything ready for the trip.

  "It is early yet," said Mr. Norton. "If you would like to have me, I'lltell you a story about what I think was one of the greatest scoutingtrips ever undertaken."