“But for their prompt aid,” he said finally, “there is not the least doubt in my mind that I should have lost my life. There were many photographs taken which go to prove every step in this wonderful rescue; and the committee, I am pleased to say, unanimously agree that these gallant members of the Wolf patrol, under the guidance of their leader, Hugh Hardin, saved a human life at peril to themselves, and are therefore awarded the highest number of points possible under this agreement. So that I have the pleasure of adding two hundred and fifty honor marks to the score of the Wolf patrol; and the beautiful banner will——”
The deafening applause, that made the rafters of that big town hall quiver, drowned whatever else the gentleman meant to say; but while the tumult was still going on, the banner was placed in the hands of the happy leader of the Wolf patrol; and after that, there was no getting the meeting under control again.
So ended the exciting competition for the lead among the four patrols of the troop. There were heart burnings, of course, for boys can feel bitter disappointment as well as any one; but as scouts, they were bound to banish all envy and try to rejoice with the fortunate ones.
That other and even more exciting times lay ahead for some of the scouts may be incidentally mentioned here. We can also assure those readers who have become interested in the doings of Hugh, Billy, Alec and the rest, that they may find their further adventures related in the next book of this series, entitled: “The Boy Scouts of the Naval Reserve.”
THE END.
Transcriber’s Notes
- Copyright notice provided as in the original—this e-text is public domain in the country of publication.
- Silently corrected palpable typos (including once exchanging the order of two entire lines); left non-standard spellings and dialect unchanged.
- In the text versions, delimited italics text in _underscores_ (the HTML version reproduces the font form of the printed book.)