king
for the Government."

"What d'ye reckon they find to do?" asked Tubby, deeply interested.

"They act as dispatch bearers," replied Rob, "ambulance orderlies, and
aids to the police. They told me that in Brussels, now held by the
Germans, some scouts daily herded the women who came for their regular
ration issued by the Government, and kept order, too. Everybody takes
them seriously. This is no time for play among the Boy Scouts of
Belgium, when war has gripped their native land."

"When we were over in England," Merritt related, "I made it a point to
find out how all the scouts there were being made use of. It gave me a
mighty proud feeling to know that I was authorized to wear the uniform
of the Eagle Patrol; for there never was a time in the history of the
world when boys were of as much use as now."

"But there have been no battles on English soil, up to now, Merritt;
tell me how the Boy Scouts of Great Britain could do things, then?"
asked Tubby, who it seems could not have been bothering himself very
much when his chums were making all these observations.

Merritt took a slip of paper from his pocket. They were riding slowly at
the time, indeed at all times, for the horses did not seem desirous of
making any particular speed.

"Here's an account I clipped from an English paper while we were in
London," he told Tubby. "It tells a lot of things the scouts have taken
to doing in order to assist; for, during the war, school duties have
been mostly dropped."

"Oh! what joy!" cried Tubby; "but go and read it out to us, Merritt."

"Here's what the account says, then," Merritt told them, as he managed
to read from the slip: "'Acting as guides to troops. Forwarding
dispatches dropped from air craft. Coastguard work, such as watching
estuaries, guiding vessels in unbuoyed channels, and showing lights to
friendly vessels!'"

"Whew!" remarked Tubby; "that sounds fine to me, Merritt. For once I
almost wish I happened to be a Johnny Bull boy instead of an Uncle Sam.
Is that all?"

"It's only the beginning," he was told. "Listen to some more work a
scout can do for his country over there. 'Collecting information as to
available supplies and transports. Helping the families of men at the
front. First aid; fitting up nursing stations, refuges, dispensaries,
and kitchens in their own club rooms. Carrying on organized relief of
the destitute. Guarding and patrolling bridges, culverts, telegraph
lines, and water supp