Jack and Bobolink shook their heads in disagreement with the statement. William, however, remarked, “I think Ken is right.”
Bluff nodded in agreement while Wallace was noncommital. Paul said, “The money belongs to all of us, the members of this Patrol. Furthermore, if there is any argument about it, Jack, Bobolink and I are agreed that we want the money to be shared by the eight of us. Now let’s discuss, orderly and intelligently, what we should do with the money.”
All the boys were silent, not knowing what to say or how to deal with the situation. Wallace, however, the sober and serious fellow of the group, remarked, “I’m sure all the boys agree with me when I say that we appreciate very much the gesture of Paul, Jack and Bobolink. Furthermore, it is my opinion that none of us should hesitate to accept their offer. Ever since I can remember, since the time we were kids, we have always lived together, played together, gone to school together and shared each other’s property. If a fellow had a dime, he bought candy and shared it with all of us. I cannot remember a single instance when a fellow refused to share anything he possessed with the rest of us. You’ll remember that when we first became Scouts, we pooled our money to buy uniforms for all of us. We’ve been doing that ever since and therefore I—”
That was quite a long speech and the boys would not permit him to continue. They applauded him to show their whole-hearted agreement. Even Ken now agreed and said, “I think we owe a vote of thanks to Wallace for explaining it to us and making it so clear that we cannot help but agree with him.”
Some of the boys nodded. William jumped up to offer a suggestion. He said, “All right, we all agree by now that the money is the property of all of us. Now what are we going to do with it? I propose that we use it to learn how to fly and—”
“R-r-righto!” exclaimed Bluff.
“I think that is a good idea and it suits me perfectly,” said Jack.
“Same here.” cried Nuthin’.
The others nodded their approval.