twice. And it made me wonder
a lot of things about that fishing trip. One thing, it looked as if
they might have had more adventures than Lieutenant Donnelle had told
me about, and maybe he didn't want to tell me everything--that's what I
thought. Anyway, he didn't say anything about a life-boat, that's sure.
But maybe he forgot to.

Just the same I wondered if maybe he had any other reason for being in
such a hurry and so excited, kind of. Then I remembered how he said he
would tell me all about it some day. Anyway, I said, he's had a lot of
adventures, that's sure. You bet I'd like to have a lot of adventures
like that.

CHAPTER V

TELLS ABOUT SKINNY'S MERIT BADGE

The next day was Sunday and two things happened, not counting dinner.
Early in the morning we drew lots to see who'd be deck steward for the
day, and Skinny was the one. That meant he'd have to sweep up the deck
and wipe the rail and do everything outside like that. Anyway, there
wasn't much to do.

At about twelve o'clock I went into the galley to cook dinner and
Charlie Seabury and Brick Warner went along to help me. While we were
peeling the potatoes, Skinny came in and showed me three or four dimes
and some pennies, and said he found them on the deck, when he was
sweeping. He said, "I've been to every fellow in the troop and nobody
lost any money. Are they yours?"

I told him no and so did Brick and Charlie and we said he had better
give them to Mr. Ellsworth. "One of them is a French coin," Brick said,
and he showed it to me and I saw that it was.

"I guess one of the fellows dropped some change climbing over the
rail," Charlie said, "and maybe didn't miss it on account of not losing
all he had, hey?"

"He'd know if he had a French coin and lost it," Brick said.

It made me feel kind of funny, because all the while I knew where those
coins came from. Anyway, Skinny went and gave them to Mr. Ellsworth and
when we were all together at dinner, Mr. Ellsworth asked us if any
fellow owned a French coin that was missing. Nobody said yes, and then
he said, kind of funny like, "Well, I suppose this is what our young
friend Mr. Walter Harris would call a mystery," and he said we'd put
the money in the troop treasury. Then he gave it to Will Dawson (he's
in my patrol), because Will is troop treasurer.

Somebody said, "How about the French coin? That's no use in the
treasury." And Mr. Ellsworth said we'd give that to Skinny, because he
found the