Now and then they found parties who believed with all their heart and soul in the movement, because they had seen the wonderful change it made in certain boys—possibly of their own family circle. It was certainly a great pleasure for Hugh and his comrades to chat with these friends, and give them further information in connection with a few things they had enjoyed or endured in the past.
The afternoon was almost half over, and at three o’clock the racing would begin; after which the most exciting event of the day, the aëroplane exhibition, was to be witnessed.
Hugh and Arthur stood by the camp, as their duties lay in that quarter. Others of the boys came and went as the whim seized them, or they thought of some way in which they could make themselves particularly useful.
Several crying children had already been restored to their almost distracted parents or guardians, since there was a squad of scouts detailed for this purpose. Two unruly horses had been taken in hand before they got fairly started at running away, when the passing band suddenly began to play some lively air. Strangers without number had been supplied with information, or taken from one part of the grounds to another. It would really be difficult to enumerate one-quarter of the methods by which the scouts filled in their time. They were almost constantly on the move, flitting here and there, stopping to answer questions, and being looked upon as real necessities, so that the sight of a khaki uniform was presently hailed as a sure means for dissipating doubt and perplexity.
About this time Billy Worth made his appearance again at headquarters, for he had been scurrying around taking a look at the various attractions, from the building devoted to women’s home work, to the fat hogs and the fancy fowls.
Possibly Billy had also strayed into the amusement zone, where there were a few concessions allowed to showmen, with various tents in which freaks held forth; for Billy had a weakness in the way of such things. The smart patter of fakirs who had Brazilian diamonds or patent kindling wood for sale interested him, and whenever one of this type of gentry came to town of a Saturday night, to hold forth on some street corner under a blazing gasoline torch, Billy Worth could be counted on to make one of the spellbound audience.
Billy always explained that he was “taking stock of human nature,” and that those glib-tongued spell-binders were worth studying.
He now came up to Hugh with a decided frown visible on his round face. It was an unusual thing for good-natured Billy to appear discontented, or even serious for that matter; so that Hugh immediately asked:
“What ails you, Billy? Something gone wrong, or are you bothering because supper time is so far off?”
“Oh, gee! it isn’t anything that concerns me, Hugh,” the other replied.