The Boy Scouts First Camp Fire

Boy Scouts' First Camp Fire, by
Herbert Carter

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Title: The Boy Scouts' First Camp Fire or, Scouting with the Silver Fox
Patrol
Author: Herbert Carter
Release Date: January 24, 2007 [EBook #20434]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ASCII
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The Boy Scouts' First Camp Fire
OR

Scouting with the Silver Fox Patrol.
BY HERBERT CARTER
Author of "The Boy Scouts In the Blue Ridge," "The Boy Scouts On
the Trail," "The Boy Scouts In the Maine Woods," "The Boy Scouts
Through the Big Timber," "The Boy Scouts In the Rockies."
[Illustration: A. L. BURT COMPANY
NEW YORK]
Copyright 1913
BY A. L. BURT COMPANY
* * * * *
THE BOY SCOUTS' FIRST CAMP FIRE.
[Illustration: The announcement of the bear by Davy Jones was
succeeded by a mad scramble of every boy to reach a place of safety.
Page 48.
The Boy Scouts' First Camp Fire.]

THE BOY SCOUTS' FIRST CAMP-FIRE.
CHAPTER I.
A HALT BY THE ROADSIDE.
"Tara--tara!"
Loud and clear sounded the notes of a bugle, blown by a very stout lad,
clad in a new suit of khaki; and who was one of a bunch of Boy Scouts
tramping wearily along a dusty road.

"Good for you, Bumpus! Can't he just make that horn talk, though?"
cried one.
"Sounds as sweet as the church bell at home, fellows!" declared a
second.
"Say, Mr. Scout-Master, does that mean a halt for grub?" a third called
out.
"Sure, Giraffe. Brace up old fellow. You'll have your jaws working
right soon, now. And here's a dandy little spring, right among the trees!
How shady and cool it looks, Thad."
"That's why we kept on for an hour after noon," remarked the boy
called Thad, and who seemed to be a person of some authority; "when
all you scouts wanted to stop and rest. You see Davy, Allan here, and
myself made a note of that same spring the other day, when we came
along on horseback, spying out the lay of the land."
"Well, now," remarked the boy called Davy, as he threw himself down
to stretch; "that's what our instruction book says,--a true scout always
has his eyes and ears open to see and hear everything. The more things
you can remember in a store window, after only a minute to look, the
further up you are, see?"
The boy called Thad not only wore a rather seedy and faded scout
khaki uniform; while those of all his comrades were almost brand new;
but he had several merit badges fastened on the left side of his soft
shirt.
These things would indicate that Thad Brewster must have been
connected with some patrol, or troop of Boy Scouts, in the town where
he formerly lived before his father, dying, left him in charge of the
queer old bachelor uncle who was known far and wide among the boys
of Scranton as plain "Daddy Brewster"--nobody ever understood why,
save that he just loved all manner of young people.
In fact, it was a memory of the good times which he had enjoyed in the

past that influenced Thad to start the ball rolling for a troop of scouts in
Scranton. In this endeavor he had found energetic backing; and the
Silver Fox Patrol of the troop was now starting out upon its first hike,
to be gone several days.
Several of the eight boys forming this patrol were lagging more or less
along the dusty road; for the brisk walk on this summer day had tired
them considerably.
At the cheery notes of the bugle, blown by "Bumpus" Hawtree, the
stray ones in uniform quickened their pace, so as to close up. Of course
the stout youth had another name, and a very good one too, having
been christened Cornelius Jasper. But his chums had long ago almost
forgotten it, and as Bumpus he was known far and wide.
He was a good-natured chap, clumsy in his way, but always willing to
oblige, and exceedingly curious. Indeed, his mates in the patrol
declared Bumpus ought to have been born a girl, as he always wanted
to "poke his nose into anything queer that happened to attract his
attention." And this failing, of course, was going to get Bumpus into a
lot of trouble, sooner or later.