Tom.

"Oh! she says she'll have told Mr. Culpepper before then she doesn't
want him to call again," explained Carl; "either that or else she'll
have to keep all the rest of the children up, and get them to romping
like wild Indians. You know Amasa is nervous, and can't stand noise."

Tom laughed at the picture thus drawn of three boisterous youngsters
employed in causing an ardent wooer to take his departure.

"It's only a few days now before we can get started, you know, Carl.
Nearly all the preparations have been made. Each scout will have his
new uniform on, with a few extra clothes in his pack."

"We won't try to carry any tent, will we, Tom?"

"That's been settled," came the ready answer. "At the meeting when I
was elected patrol leader we discussed this trip, and it took like
wildfire. In the first place we haven't a tent worth carrying; and then
again it would make too heavy a load. All of us have been studying up
on how to make brush shelters when in the woods, and even if it rains I
think we'll get on fairly well."

"Each scout has a rubber poncho, which can be made mighty useful in a
pinch, I should think," said Carl. "Then besides our clothes and a
blanket, we'll have to carry a cooking outfit, as light as it can be
made, and what grub we expect to eat up."

"Oh! most of that we'll rustle for on the way," the patrol leader told
him. "We'll find farms scattered along our route, and it'll be easy
enough to buy eggs, milk, perhaps a home-cured ham, some chickens, and
other things like bread and butter."

"That's a great scheme, Tom, and it makes my mouth fairly water just to
talk about it. Sounds like an army foraging, only instead of taking
things we'll expect to pay cash for them. How many are going along on
the hike?"

"I have yet to hear of any member of the Black Bear Patrol who dreams
of backing out; and there are several others who've told me they hope
to join us. The way it looks now only a bad case of sickness would be
able to keep any scout from being in line on that wonderful morning
when Lenox Troop marches out of town headed for Big Bear Mountain."

"One good thing, we don't have to pack any heavy guns along with us,"
declared Carl.

"No, that's absolutely forbidden," the patrol leader declared; "we can
take a fishing rod if we feel like it, because there's a chance to pick
up some trout or bass before we come back on the down-river boat ten
days later."

"I like that idea of making