“Who told you you had tuberculosis?” he finally said.
“Dr. Meyer,” Joe replied.
“What Dr. Meyer—not Julius Meyer?”
“Yes, sir, in Southmead.”
“Well, if he said you had, then I suppose you did have,” Dr. Kent replied. “But, frankly, I can’t find any trace of it in your lungs now.”
“But ought he to do hard work?” Tom asked.
“I wouldn’t let him over-strain,” the doctor said, “and if he climbs, make him climb rather slowly. But out here in this wonderful land I don’t believe he need worry much any more. If you can keep him here for a few months more, living this outdoor life, and then if he is careful when he gets back, I think he’ll be a well man by the time he gets his full growth.”
“But we have to get back to go to school,” Joe said. “I couldn’t let old Spider lose out on school, even if I did.”
“What are you planning to become? What are you studying to be?” the man asked.
“We want to go into the forest service,” both scouts answered.