n,
after touching Allan on the arm, and beckoning.

"What are you going to do about it?" asked the latter, when they had
reached a safe position, where their voices might not be heard by the
object of their attention.

"Why, nothing, I suppose," replied Thad, smiling. "Did you ever see such
a fellow in all your life? He's a regular fire worshipper. I think he
must have come down from the old Aztecs in Mexico. He's never happy
without his little blaze."

"But he might get fire after all?" protested Allan.

"Between you and me, my boy, I don't think he will this time. Evidently
he's never tried that game before; and no fellow ever succeeds at it the
first time. It's harder than it seems. Let Giraffe work away; he'll have
his fingers sore with the business before he gives up."

"But what do you think makes him experiment that way right now, when he
knows you're trying to put a curb on his weakness for building fires?"
the other demanded.

"Well, in the first place, I suppose he feels like starting _something_;
and then again, Allan, it's a part of a boy's nature, you know, to
always want to do that very thing he's been told he musn't do. Now,
Giraffe wants to show me that even keeping matches away from him won't
prevent a really smart scout from making a fire, in case he feels like
it. My praise of this morning must have spurred him on to let us see
just what he can do."

"But if the bow and spindle way turns out bad, there's an easier chance
for him, if he only thinks of it," said the Maine boy.

"What's that?" asked Thad, smiling calmly.

"Why, all he's got to do is to take one of the lens out of the field
glasses we have along with us; and as the sun is hot enough, he could
set fire to some tinder in three shakes of a lamb's tail. Why, I've
started fires that way dozens of times myself, when matches were scare
with us in the pine woods."

Thereupon Thad quietly drew something, from each pocket in his khaki
trousers.

"Well, I declare, you thought of that same thing, didn't you?" exclaimed
the astonished Allan; "and took the trouble to remove both lens, so as
to upset his calculations if he started to try the dodge. Giraffe has to
be pretty cunning to get ahead of you, all right, Thad."

"But I never imagined he'd be trying that saw method," admitted the
scout-master. "There, he's given it up and thrown his bow away. Next
time he'll like as not make some improvement on that outfit. It must
have been fault