ny standing on
the shore and he called out and asked us if we'd take him in.

"Better watch your step," Westy said; "safety first."

"Where's your patrol?" I called to him.

"They went on a hike," he called back; "can I go with you?"

"You go and ask Mr. Ellsworth," I said; "and if he says it's all right,
come ahead."

We could see him scooting pell mell around the edge of the cooking
shack, his spindle legs as thin as sticks. Bert Winton (that was the
new fellow) watched him, kind of laughing, and then he said, "Queer
little codger, isn't he?"

I said, "Yes, he's new and he came out of the slums. I guess he'll
never work in harness; that's what our scoutmaster says."

"Swims like an eel," Winton said; "why didn't they take him hiking, I
wonder?"

"Hanged if _I_ know," Westy said; "he's going to win them the swimming
badge, all right. But he doesn't seem to be friends with them exactly.
They make good use of him, anyway."

"Kind of a performing bear, hey?" Bert said.

"Something like that," I told him; "I wish I had him in my patrol, I
know that."

"Guess he wouldn't fit into any patrol," Winton said; "he seems to be a
kind of an odd number."

Pretty soon Skinny came running back shouting for all he was worth, and
believe me, he did look like an odd number. His streaky hair was all
down over his forehead and his eyes were like a couple of camp fires.
He was shouting: "_Don't go, don't go! I can go with you"_

We rowed over to shore and as he climbed in I could see that he was
trembling all over, just for fear we wouldn't wait for him, I suppose.
"I was going to swim out to you, I was," he said; "if you didn't wait."

"You wouldn't want your scout suit to get all wet, would you?" I said.
"Sit down and don't be so excited."

"I like the water better than hiking, anyway," he said; "and I like
_you_ best of all."

I said, "The pleasure is mine," and then we all laughed.

"You can make fun of me all you want," he said; "I don't care. I told
them they could make fun of me all they want if they'd let me go with
them, but they wouldn't let me go."

"They wouldn't, huh?" Bert Winton said, and he studied Skinny awful
funny like.

"When I win them the badge, then they'll take me, won't they?" he said.

"I guess so," I told him.

"I'm going to win the cup for them in the contest, too," he said; "I'm
going to win it for them before I go home. Then I'll be friends with
them. I told them I'd win it if _you_