“And,” continued Thad, “you can see that even in trying to do what he promises, a boy is bound to stop telling lies, taking things that belong to others, talking meanly about his companions and all such things.”
“Especially that last!” broke in Bumpus, giving Davy and Giraffe an eloquent glance as he spoke.
“Say, seems tuh me as how they might be a heap o’ good in this heah scout bizness,” Tom Smith remarked. “But how about fightin’, son; yuh didn’t say anything on thet line.”
“There’s nothing said about it, except that a scout must keep the peace under all circumstances, unless as a last resort,” Thad told him.
“Go on an’ explain her some more, please; I don’t jest ketch on tuh thet,” the guide admitted.
“Why,” said Thad, “there may be occasions when a scout could hardly be expected to keep the peace, because he’s a real flesh and blood boy, you know, and not a saint.”
“Sure thing,” Alligator Smith remarked, with a grin, as he swept his eyes around at the circle of eager boyish faces.
“If he should be set on by a superior force he would not be expected to stand and turn the other cheek, and be mauled,” Giraffe broke in with.
“Thet is, he kin defend hisself, yuh mean?” Tom Smith asked.
“Yes, in an emergency,” Thad told him. “Then again, if he happened to see a big bully picking on a poor little chap, or a girl it might be, why, he’d be doing the right thing if he interfered.”