“Yes, I do, Mr. Danforth, it’s part of the law.”
“Well, see how lawyers differ about the law,” he went on cheerfully, “and besides, you can’t have a law that isn’t constitutional—you must know that. Now here’s a rule which infringes on personal liberty, which forbids me to dispose of a boat that I don’t want. That isn’t fair, now, is it?”
“That’s right, Harry,” broke in Gordon, “we have no right to interfere with personal liberty—no one would say that was right. We’d have no right to even if we wanted to, Harry.”
Harry laughed in spite of himself.
“Last year,” Mr. Danforth went on, “I gave a thousand dollars to the library out in the little Western town where I was born. They didn’t refuse it. This year I gave five thousand dollars to help start a hospital. They took it all right.”
“Well,” said Harry, “if you wanted to do something for the Scout organization, I couldn’t stop you, but—”
Mr. Danforth seemed about to speak, then suddenly changed his mind, studying Harry closely. The boy was not aware of the scrutiny, for his eyes were on the ground. Neither did he know that he had put an idea into this kindly gentleman’s shrewd mind.
“What, for instance?” Mr. Danforth asked.
“Oh, I don’t know; I didn’t just mean to say that.”
“Is there any reward, or honor, as you call it, for doing a service to the Boy Scouts?”