Tim came to the meeting as clean as any scout in the troop. The patrol leader of the Foxes had left the key of his locker at home, and Fox patrol scouts who had expected to brush their shoes before the meeting was called found themselves face to face with a difficulty.
The "fall in" signal came all too soon for the flustered Foxes. Quietly
Mr. Wall walked down the line of stiff-backed, silent boys.
"A perfect score for the Wolves," he said. "Four points off the Foxes for untidiness. Two points from the Eagles for a scout absent."
Up went the new standing:
PATROL POINTS
Eagle 58-1/2
Fox 58
Wolf 57-1/2
"Gosh!" breathed Andy. "We're close now, aren't we?"
"It's all in sticking together," said Don. In spite of himself his voice trembled. He looked at Tim. The trouble-making scout was staring at the board with puckered eyes. Don would have given much to know of what he was thinking.
There was a lot of work that night—knot-tying, drowning grips and how to
break them, identifying leaves from trees and bushes, and map reading.
Finally that part of the meeting was over. A voice cried, "How about
Lonesome Woods?" There were cheers and shouts.
There wasn't much debate about the trip. There was, however, a hot wrangle about the day. Finally it went to a vote, and Thursday was selected.