body says so--and I know the short
cut--now can I have a badge--maybe--sometime? Maybe am I a scout now?",

I just looked at him and it gave me the creeps, because I knew what he
had done. And I remembered now how people called him a dirty swamp-rat.
Many a time I'd heard them call him that. Just a dirty little swamp-rat.
And now, he was sort of proud of it.

First, I couldn't move and I just couldn't speak. Then I went up to him
and I said--I didn't care for the doctor or anybody--I said, "Skinny,
there's one fellow here who knows what the marshes are and that's me.
Because I came near getting swallowed up by them."

"It's--it's--short-cut," he just panted out. "All I want to tell you is,"
I said, "there's not another scout in the whole troop could do it--do you
hear! You're not a swamp-rat, you're a swamp-scout," I said.

Then I was going to say more, only Skinny seemed as if he was going to
fall and the doctor kind of seemed to want me to move away. Anyway, I
went over and got Skinny's belt-axe to carry it home for him.

CHAPTER XXVI

IN MY OWN CAMP

As soon as the fellows knew for sure that there was nothing much the
matter with Westy, they scrambled out of the ditch and all stood
around Skinny, praising him up and he was so excited that he didn't
talk straight, but sort of yelled at them. The only ones with Westy
were the real doctor and Doc Carson, and Doc was helping him fix the
bandages better.

When I saw them down there it made me feel as if I'd like to go down and
say something to Westy. His face was all white and the bandage on his
head made him look--oh, I don't know--sort of as if he might die. And
then I'd be sorry I hadn't said something to him. Because I had known
Westy an awful long time.

So I went down and pretty soon the doctor went up to see Skinny and Doc
Carson went too. So I was alone with him down there, but his eyes were
shut on account of his being weak from losing so much blood, and he
didn't notice me.

Anyway, I slipped that two dollars into his shirt pocket because I didn't
want it anyway, and I thought maybe it would be a memorandum to him,
like I said. Besides I didn't have a right to keep money I got out of
another fellow's pocket.

I said, "It's me, Westy; the reason I didn't come around was because all
the other fellows were here. But now you're alone I want to tell you that
I'm glad you're not hurt bad."

He just looked at me and he said, "I went--I did it."