It had never occurred to any of the girls that they might actually receive their merit badges on the trip, and the surprise was delightful. For every Girl Scout knows what a thrill it brings to sew an additional badge on the sleeve of her uniform, particularly when there are not many there already.
The lucky ones therefore jumped up happily and rushed forward, almost forgetting, in their haste, to give the captain the customary salute.
After the installation of the new lieutenant, the meeting was dismissed, and the girls went to their tents. Ruth Henry alone was dissatisfied; it was not enough for her to win the badge—she could not bear to have Frieda’s and Marjorie’s names lead hers on the list. This, she thought, was probably part of Miss Phillips’s design.
She resolved to get even.
CHAPTER VIII
ADVENTURE ON AN ISLAND
“Our next camping spot,” said Miss Phillips as the party started out the next morning, “will be an island. Keep watch for it, on the right, I think, for I am not quite sure of its location.”
“A big island?” inquired Ruth. She had studied the map in detail, but she did not remember any large islands, or indeed any place where the stream would be wide enough to contain such a formation.
“Not very large,” replied Miss Phillips. “But plenty big enough for our camp. There is a stream branching out somewheres to the right, which joins this again farther on, and in the middle is an island about a quarter of a mile long, with lots of shade trees. A very attractive spot, I believe.”
“And do the Boy Scouts ever camp there?” asked Marjorie. It seemed to her that she could remember her brother Jack telling of such an experience.