me up from the farm. Apple is romantic
and he wanted a string of stuff about the noble red man's noble
antecedents. I need you, all the time, to be the mainspring of this
business."

"Tell me what I can do and I'm only too glad to get at it."

"Well, for one thing you must mix with the boys. Be jolly with 'em.
'Laugh and the world laughs with you.' That's my motto. That's the way I
get along. Someone must be around with these boys to keep 'em going, or
their hunt won't last long. Get them interested in finding the location
of the springs. To-day they are all looking for big stones because of
what Joe said. There's enough big stones around here to keep them busy.
Tell them the fellow who finds the treasure may get some gold but the
boy who finds a spring gets twenty dollars sure. Get them to survey the
Hollow and search for marks to show where the old stream used to run in.
You ought to be up on your toes every minute. I'm sorry you aren't a
scout."

"Perhaps I could be," suggested Glen.

"Why not? Get Apple to teach you the knots and the scout law, and I'll
teach you the rest. I'll speak to the scout master and see if they won't
initiate you to-night."

The remainder of the day Glen was too busy to mope. When the camp fire
came he was at hand as a candidate for tenderfoot initiation which the
scout master had agreed to give. Mr. Newton had ideas of his own about
initiation ceremonies. He believed in making them interesting and
impressive to candidate and scouts alike, and he devised a new ceremony
of initiation for special occasions.

This occasion was unusual, for since none but scouts came to camp,
initiations were not needed. It was also unusual in being conducted in
the open, which was necessary because the camp had no assembly tent. Mr.
Newton was glad of the diversion, for the day had been very sultry, a
storm threatened, and many of the scouts were afflicted with that
uneasy, depressed feeling which seems to be absorbed from the atmosphere
at such times.

"All scouts on tent duty," he announced after supper. "Rain threatens.
See that trenches are clear. Slacken tent ropes a little, especially
where they are new. See that nothing in the tents touches the walls.
Have your beds all ready to turn in. You will then all assemble at the
camp-fire for initiation ceremonies."

The camp had lanterns and one or two oil torches but Mr. Newton
preferred to go back to nature for his light at this ceremony. The night