Part 7 (1/2)
But he grinned, and yawned, and said: ”You kids get up awful early. What time is it?”
”Six o'clock.”
He-haw! And he yawned some more. Then he sat up and let his blanket go and kicked Bat. ”Breakfast!” he shouted.
That made Bat grunt and grumble and wriggle; and finally uncover, too.
They acted as if their mouths might taste bad, after the pipes.
We hadn't made a big fire, of course; but breakfast was about ready, on the little fire, and Fitz our cook sang out, according to our regulations: ”Chuck!”
That was the camp's signal call.
”If you fellows want to eat with us, draw up and help yourselves,”
invited General Ashley.
”Sure,” they answered; and they crawled out of their blankets, and got their pieces of bark, and opened their knives, and without was.h.i.+ng their faces or combing their hair they fished into the dishes, for bacon and bread and sorghum and beans.
That was messy; but we wanted to be hospitable, so we didn't say anything.
”Where are you kids bound for, anyway?” asked Bat.
”Over the Divide,” told General Ashley.
”Why can't we go along?”
That staggered us. They weren't our kind; and besides, we were all Boy Scouts, and our party was big enough as it was. So for a moment n.o.body answered. And then Walt spoke up.
”Aw, we won't hurt you any. What you afraid of? We aren't tenderfeet, and we'll do our share. We'll throw in our grub and we won't use your dishes. We've got our own outfit.”
”I don't know. We'll have to vote on that,” said General Ashley. ”We're a Patrol of Boy Scouts, traveling on business.”
”What's that--Boy Scouts?” demanded Bat.
We explained, a little.
”Take us in, then,” said Walt. ”We're good scouts--ain't we, Bat?”
But they weren't. They didn't know anything about Scouts and Scouts'
work.
”We could admit you as recruits, on the march,” said General Ashley.
”But we can't swear you in.”
”Aw, we'll join the gang now and you can swear us in afterwards,” said Bat.
”Well,” said General Ashley, doubtfully, ”we'll take a vote.”
We all drew off to one side, and sat in council. It seemed to me that we might as well let them in. That would be doing them a good turn, and we might help them to be clean and straight and obey the laws. Boys who seem mean as dirt, to begin with, often are turned into fine Scouts.