"Here's to you, Carter!" said Sure Pop, with a hearty handshake. Again came that smile of satisfaction as he watched the boy hobble off on a slow "observation hike" of his own. In Carter's mind, too, the big idea was taking root.
Ten days later, Colonel Sure Pop was reviewing Dalton Patrol.
"Safety Scouts," he said, saluting the even ranks drawn up before him, "your Colonel is proud of the work you're doing. These 'observation hikes,' as your Scout Master calls them, show better than anything else how much more alert you are to danger signs than you were a month ago.
"Now, I've been sizing up these risks as covered by your patrol reports. They seem to be of three kinds—home, street, and railroad risks.
"Nobody can study these reports without seeing that our work is plainly cut out for us for the next few months. Charity and every other good work begin at home—though they end there only with the weak-minded! So our work in Safety patrolling will naturally begin in our homes and with ourselves, and will begin with the risks which these reports show to be most common. Let me read you a few of the common risks reported by the Scouts of this patrol:
Matches: left on floor where they may be stepped on; or where mice may nibble them; or next the stovepipe or chimney; or thrown down before the last spark is out.
Celluloid things: brushes and combs handled near the gas jet, where they may burst into flame.
Kerosene: poured on the fire to make it burn faster (three bad cases of burns reported from this cause alone).
Gasoline: left near a flame, or anywhere except clear outside the house.
Gas: lighting oven of gas stove without first opening oven door; leaving gas jet burning near window, where breeze may blow curtains across (five fires started that way during last month).