“Fourteen, which, with my own, covers every Lawrence scout present. That makes it unanimous. I therefore introduce Hugh Hardin to the boys of this town as the temporary scout master of the troop. And now, Hugh, you take things in hand. No yelling, fellows; we’ve got too serious business in hand to waste our breath that way. Set your jaws together like you meant to ride roughshod over every obstacle. That’s the way things are done, I take it.”
Hugh was entirely satisfied. All preliminaries having now been arranged, he felt that they could “get down to brass tacks,” as Billy called it, without further delay.
“I’ve noticed, to begin with,” he remarked to the eager scouts who clustered around him, “that the lower part of the town is already being submerged. There are poor people there who will lose everything unless some one helps them ferry their bedding and clothes and such things as the water would ruin to higher ground. Now, I’m going to lay you all off in batches so you can work better in company.”
He thereupon picked out three boys who were to be in charge of Wash Bradford, and another lot whom Teddy McQuade would boss.
“Get hold of any rowboats you can,” Hugh told them. “If that’s impossible make a strong raft that can be pushed with poles. Then go down in the part of town that is under water and do all you can to rescue people and save their stuff for them. In that way there will be many to look upon the garb of a scout as a badge of honor, and always to be considered a mark for their respect. And keep working as long as you can stand it. There’ll be plenty for all of us to do, never fear.”
That took about half of their number, or eight in all. The two detachments hurried away, conferring as to the best means for carrying out the part of Hugh’s scheme entrusted to their charge.
One of the parties managed to get hold of a large rowboat in some fashion. It may have leaked to some extent, but scouts would know how to make temporary repairs, and with this boat they were in a position to move around and do considerable in the way of helping those who had been caught by the rising waters in the homes they had hesitated about deserting to the mercy of the flood.
The other boys were compelled to resort to a raft; but Teddy McQuade proved to be a clever manager, once his energies had been fully aroused; and he remembered where there would be plenty of just the kind of pine boards they would need for a dandy raft. Nails and a hatchet were procured, also some stout clothes lines to serve as a check should the current prove too strong for their clumsy means of passage along the main street that was now five feet deep in water.
Of course, Hugh did not intend to waste any time in seeing how these two detachments carried out their orders. He had other work to do. There were still nine of them remaining. These he divided up into three groups consisting of the same number of members. Tip Lange and Billy he kept along with him; for he had a plan in his mind that he meant to try and put into execution later on.
When the other six had also been dispatched to start on the work of accomplishing such things as they could find to do for the unfortunates, Hugh turned to Tip.