The Boy Scouts Patrol | Page 6

in the matter," remarked Rand; "one
place is probably as good as another."
"Only some of them are better," put in Jack.
"And this is one of them," asserted Pepper, "and there is a nice green
place over there on the shore where we can put in and cook some fish
for dinner."
"If we have any to cook," suggested Donald. "You know you have first
to catch your fish before you can cook them."
"We'll do that, too, old Solomon the Second," returned Jack, who was
in the bow. "That's what we came out for. Shall I let go the anchor,
Rand?"
"All right, let it go," ordered Rand. "Easy now, if you don't want to
scare all the fish away. What are you trying to do?" as Jack gave the
anchor a swing and, failing to let go of the painter, promptly went
overboard with it.
"I just went down to see if the anchor got to the bottom," explained
Jack a moment later, as he scrambled over the side.
"We thought you were going to dive for the fish," said Pepper, "like the
hawks do."

"Maybe I will try that later," replied Jack, shaking himself like a dog to
get rid of some of the water. "Now, then, who is going to get the first
bite."
For the next few moments the boys were busy getting their tackle in
order and into the water, after which they settled down to await results.
"I had almost forgotten," broke in Jack after a pause, as the fish did not
seem eager to be caught. "I met Colonel Snow this morning--"
"Indeed," said Rand sarcastically, "that's news."
"Now you needn't go off at half-cock," retorted Jack, "wait until I get
through."
"Well, what about it?" asked Donald.
"Why, he said--Hurrah, I've got a bite!" cried Jack, pulling in his line.
"He did!" exclaimed Rand. "That was a queer thing for him to say."
"No, the colonel didn't say that," explained Jack, as he landed a
good-sized perch in the bottom of the boat, "there's one for luck. That
was a comment of my own. Wait until I put a fresh bait on and I will
tell you what he did say. He said--"
"Hurrah, I've got one!" interjected Pepper, pulling in his line and
landing another fish.
"Why, that's the same thing he didn't say before," commented Donald,
referring to the colonel.
"He said--" began Jack again, but the fish were now biting freely and
the boys were so busy pulling them in that, for a time, they quite forgot
the colonel and what it was that he said.
"If you haven't forgotten," began Donald, a little later, when there came
a lull in the biting, "I would like to know just what it was that the
colonel did say."

"Why, he said," resumed Jack, "that he wanted us to form a patrol."
"A patrol!" repeated Donald. "For what? Ain't there enough police?"
"This isn't a police patrol," laughed Jack, "this is a patrol in the Boy
Scouts. It's a company of from six to eight boys. Two or more patrols
form a troop under a scoutmaster who teaches them a lot of things."
"What kind of things?" asked Pepper.
"All kinds of things about woodcraft and how to hunt and fish and
follow trails and camp out and--and--all the rest of it."
"That's a pretty comprehensive programme," said Rand. "We were
talking about that very thing this morning."
"Gee!" cried Pepper. "T-t-that would be fine. Let's do it--"
"There's quite a lot of things we have to do first," went on Jack.
"Maybe Rand can tell you more about that part than I can."
"For the first thing," said Rand, "we have to get at least six boys to start
with."
"That's two more than us," interjected Pepper; "that's easy."
"And form a tenderfoot patrol," went on Rand.
"Why tenderfoot?" put in Donald.
"Because we are all tenderfeet until we learn to be scouts," continued
Rand. "Then if we pass the examinations we become second-class
scouts."
"Second class!" objected Pepper. "Why can't we be first class?"
"We can," replied Rand, "if we keep on and pass the examinations."
"Examinations!" cried Pepper, "why that sounds like school."

"What do we have to be examined in?" asked Donald.
"On joining," went on Rand, reading from a pamphlet he had in his
hand, "a boy must pass a test on the following points: Know the scout
law and signs and salute."
"The scout law!" said Pepper, "what's that?"
"The scout law," read Rand, "is: "1. A Scout's honor is to be trusted.
"2. A Scout is loyal to his country, his officers, his parents and his
employers."
"Wait a minute," interposed Jack, "until I land this fellow," and another
fish was added to their mess.