e said--this is the way it
sounded: "I--ooo--go--to--goo--to--are--" something like that, honest.

"Go in and wash your face," Doc said; "you look like a minstrel actor
in a rainstorm."

"Yu--sht--p--m--nd--r--n--business." Pee-wee blurted out. Crackey, I
thought I'd die.

Pretty soon Doc Carson (he's a Raven) threw a jaw-breaker out into the
water and Skinny got it before it went down.

"What do you know about that little water snake," El Sawyer said. Then
he shouted, "Bully for you, Skinny!"

I said, "You'd better look out, you'll get yourself in trouble."

"What do I care for the Elks?" he said.

"That's all right," I said; "Connie's got Skinny copyrighted, all
rights reserved."

Then, all of a sudden, Wig Weigand shouted, "Look at that, will you?
Look!"

We could just see Hunt Ward reach out of the skiff for Skinny, when all
of a sudden he disappeared and came up about twenty feet from the
skiff. Everybody began laughing and I guess the Elks were mad, because
they thought we were just sitting up there kidding them.

Right then I heard Mr. Ellsworth calling out from just in back of us,
"Take him in the skiff and bring him aboard, Huntley."

"Now--e--ng--t--gt--cld--down," Pee-wee said, munching away on a jaw
breaker.

"You look as if you'd been gargling a bottle of ink," I told him.
"Don't talk, you can't do two things at once."

Pretty soon Skinny came up the ladder to the cabin roof where we were
all sitting. His wet bathing suit stuck to him and it made him look
terribly thin, and his hair was all streaked and the water was dripping
from his face. But anyway, his eyes were bright and all excited--I
never saw another fellow that had eyes like that. He had the piece of
candy in his hand and it was all melting from the water and his hand
was black and sticky. Jiminy, he looked awful small and skinny
alongside of Mr. Ellsworth, and I had to feel sorry for him as soon as
Mr. Ellsworth began to speak.

Skinny looked up at him and said, "I got it--I dived and got it--see--I
saved it--I didn't eat it. I can swim under the water. Now can I have
the badge?" Cracky, the way he stared, if I'd had the badge, I'd have
torn it off my arm and handed it to him, honest I would.

Mr. Ellsworth just looked at him and said, "No, you may not have the
badge. Before you can have the badge for swimming you must be a better
scout. You must learn to be obedient. You heard one of your patrol tell
you not to go under water