Indeed if I could not show you that, then all of those eight stores of his adventures would have been told to little purpose. The chief matter of interest about a trail is where it leads to. It may be an easy trail or a hard trail, but the question is, where does it go to?

It would be a fine piece of business, I think, to leave Tom sitting on a rock near the end of the trail without giving you so much as a glimpse of what is at the end of it.

So you may tell your parents and your teachers and your uncles and your aunts not to worry about Tom Slade never growing up. He is just a trifle over eighteen years old and very strong and husky. Confidentially, I look upon him as nothing but a kid. I keep tabs on his age and when he has to go on crutches and is of no more interest to you, I shall be the first to know it. He is likely to have no end of adventures between eighteen and twenty.

Meanwhile, don't worry about him. He's just a big overgrown kid and the best Scout this side of Mars.

P. K. F.

I	TOM LOOKS AT THE MAP	[1]
II	HE SENDS A LETTER	[5]
III	THE NEW STRUGGLE	[10]
IV	"LUCKY LUKE"	[16]
V	ABOUT SEEING A THING THROUGH	[24]
VI	"THE WOODS PROPERTY"	[29]
VII	JUST NONSENSE	[35]
VIII	FIVE, SIX, AND SEVEN	[44]
IX	ROY'S NATURE	[52]
X	TOM RECEIVES A SURPRISE	[55]
XI	TOM AND ROY	[59]
XII	THE LONG TRAIL	[66]
XIII	ROY'S TRAIL	[73]
XIV	THE REALLY HARD PART	[76]
XV	A LETTER FROM BARNARD	[80]
XVI	THE EPISODE IN FRANCE	[86]
XVII	ON THE LONG TRAIL	[94]
XVIII	TOM LETS THE CAT OUT OF THE BAG	[101]
XIX	THE SPECTRE OF DEFEAT	[106]
XX	THE FRIEND IN NEED	[110]
XXI	TOM'S GUEST	[117]
XXII	AN ACCIDENT	[122]
XXIII	FRIENDS	[132]
XXIV	TOM GOES ON AN ERRAND	[138]
XXV	TWO LETTERS	[147]
XXVI	LUCKY LUKE'S FRIEND	[152]
XXVII	THORNTON'S STORY	[158]
XXVIII	RED THORNTON LEARNS SOMETHING ABOUT SCOUTS	[170]
XXIX	TOM STARTS FOR HOME	[176]
XXX	THE TROOP ARRIVES	[182]
XXXI	ARCHER	[193]
XXXII	TOM LOSES	[196]

Contents

TOM SLADE AT BLACK LAKE