CHAPTER VIII
TELLS ABOUT OUR TRIP UP THE HUDSON
He said, "If they get mad when I talk to you, I'll talk to you on the sly. It's all right to like a fellow that isn't in your patrol, isn't it?"
"Sure it is," I told him, "you have to like everybody. But you do what they tell you and then nobody'll get mad."
He said, "The swimming badge is a good one, isn't it?"
"It's a dandy one," I said. Then he told me that was the one they wanted him to try for. He said, "Can I try for it now?"
I thought I'd better watch my step—safety first, hey? So I said, "You ask Connie. I shouldn't think there'd be any objection to trying now; then after you've passed your first class tests you could just scoop the badge right up, see?"
"I looked at all the pictures of the badges," he said, "and I like the one with the picture of a rooster best. Is the swimming one better than that?"
I said, "Yes, because every scout has got to know how to swim. Anyway, Connie knows best; and he's your patrol leader, so you do whatever he tells you to."
"Will I be able to beat everybody swimming?" he said.