s, which happens to be me."

"That's five to begin with; and I might mention Billy Button; yes, and
Walter Douglass, though I guess he'd take the premium for a tenderfoot,
because he knows next to nothing about outdoor life."

"But he's willing to learn, because he told me so, Josh; and that
counts a lot, you know. That makes seven doesn't it? Well, to complete
the roster of the patrol we might coax Horace Herkimer Crapsey to cast
in his lot with us!"

The boy named Josh laughed uproariously at the suggestion, and his
merriment was shared to some extent by the other two, Carl Oskamp
and George Cooper. Felix shook his head at them disapprovingly.

"Just go slow there, fellows," he told them. "Because Horace has always
been so afraid of his soft white hands that he wears gloves most of the
time isn't any reason why he shouldn't be made to see the error of his
ways."

"Oh! Felix means that if only we can coax Horace to join, we _might_
reform him!" exclaimed Josh, who was a thin and tall boy, with what
might be called a hatchet face, typically Yankee.

"By the same token," chuckled Felix in turn, "a few of us might drop
some of our bad habits if once we subscribed to the rules of the
scouts, because I've read the same in a newspaper. They rub it into
fellows who find fault with things instead of being cheerful."

"Oh! is that so, Felix?" burst out George Cooper, who took that thrust
to himself. "How about others who are lazy, and always wanting to put
things off to another day? Do those same rules say 'procrastination is
the thief of time?'"

"Well boys," remarked Carl Oskamp, pouring oil on the troubled water as
was his habit, "we've all got our faults, and it might be a good thing
if joining the scouts made us change our ways more or less. There comes
Tom, now, let's get him to tell us something more about the chance for
starting a troop in Lenox right away."

"He said he believed he knew a young man who might consent to act as
scout master," observed Felix. "It's Mr. Robert Witherspoon, the civil
engineer and surveyor."

"Why, yes, I believe he used to be a scout master in the town he came
from!" declared Carl. "I hope Tom is bringing us some good news right
now."

"If that look on his face counts for anything, he's going to give us a
chance to let out a few cheers," asserted Felix, as the fifth boy drew
near.

It was a Friday afternoon near the close of winter when this
conversation took place. School w