“Won’t you tell us about camping?” asked Frances. “What do we have to take with us, and about how much does it cost?”
John hesitated. “It would be easier to show you, Miss Wright, when you come out to our cabin for a visit. We’ll fix a date for a party, as soon as your troop is established.”
The girls exclaimed enthusiastically over the plan, and asked more questions about the cabin.
“Do you have qualifications to join your troop like we do?” inquired Lily.
“We certainly do!” said John emphatically; “but they’re a little different from yours; every three months we have what we call a B. S. Candidate test. To pass this a fellow has to make flower and leaf collections, and know how to identify a certain number of birds, and answer all sorts of questions besides. Then if he passes that test, he has to spend a night alone in the cabin. He’s allowed a gun, and as there really aren’t any tramps around to be afraid of, it’s pretty safe.”
“Except for the ghosts,” interrupted David. “Most all the boys report that they saw something mysterious.”
At this point, Miss Phillips invited the boys to inspect the swimming pool, and the conversation lost its general tone.
“It must be terribly exciting to stay all night alone in that cabin,” she said, “but I’m afraid I’d be too scared to try it.”
“Oh, I guess most girls would!”