Knights of the Round Table
In the Cubs’ meeting room at the church, parents had gathered to witness
a knighting ceremony of the entire Pack.
The room had been gaily decorated with colorful banners made by the boys
of Den 2. Chairs had been arranged in a perfect circle to represent the
Round Table.
Earlier in the evening Den 1 already had offered its ceremonial
performance. Now it was time for Den 2 to show what it could do.
From the ante-room where the Cubs were scrambling into their suits of
armor, a buzz of conversation issued forth.
“Hurry up, fellows!” Dan urged the others. “We’re three minutes past
starting time now. Everyone all set?”
“I can’t get this flashlight to work,” complained Red. As a torch bearer,
he was assigned to hold a long pole with a flashlight attached to the
end.
“You’ve been playing with it too much,” Brad told him. “Luckily, I
brought some extra batteries. Here, put this in, and we’ll be ready to
start.”
“I’m going to forget my lines,” Babe mumbled, repeating them over and
over.
“You’ll do fine,” Brad encouraged him. “All ready, fellows? Dan, you’re
to do the knighting honors. So get in there!”
A trumpet, slightly off-key, blared a triumphal salute.
Pulling his armor into place, Dan marched into the ceremonial hall to
take his position in front of a torch bearer. Addressing the onlooking
parents, he said clearly:
“Among us tonight there are a few who have not yet joined the Knights of
the Round Table. Although these newcomers have no armor of steel, they
are equipped with armor of good will, squareness and honor. So we are
gathered here to welcome them into our circle. Bring the first man
forward!”
Brad, holding a torch high, led Jack Phillips from the sidelines. At a
signal, the boy knelt on his left knee in front of Dan, who said:
“As a knight of the Cub Scout organization, you must promise always to do
your part. You must follow our leader, obey his orders and give good
will.”
“I promise always to do my best,” slowly repeated Jack, who had been
coached in his lines.
With his wooden sword, Dan tapped the boy lightly on the shoulder.
“I dub thee a Knight of the Round Table,” he said. “As a knight and
member of Den 2, you are expected to help with all our crusades. Arise!”
As Jack scrambled up, everyone cheered and clapped. The ceremony however,
was not over.
“We welcome you, Sir Jack!” Dan continued. “Don your armor!”
A suit fashioned from cardboard, burlap and roofing discs had been
prepared for the boy. Babe and Midge helped him get into the costume.
Then as Jack reappeared all decked out as a knight, the other boys formed
a double column, facing each other. Swords were raised above their heads
to form a long archway. Jack walked through to take his place at the end
of the line.
Next, Babe, who was only a Bobcat, received the Order of the Wolf. Other
promotions and achievement awards were given out.
As a climax to the knighting ceremony, Dan was promoted from Wolf to Bear
rank. The boy had worked hard to win the honor, learning rules of safety,
making many handicraft articles and learning how to tie difficult knots.
His most appreciated task however, had been the making of a fifty-page
Den scrapbook.
In the book the boy had included press notices of Den meetings and
activities. Ten of the pages were devoted to snapshots of the Cubs and to
published accounts concerning the missing money box and its recovery.
“This scrapbook will be one of the Den’s most treasured possessions,” Mr.
Hatfield assured him at conclusion of the knighting ceremony. “It will
serve always as a nice reminder of our little adventure.”
Before the evening was over, the Cubs were to have another very pleasant
surprise. Soon the Cub Master made the announcement for which everyone
had been waiting. Den 2 had won first prize in the knighting ceremony,
with Brad and Dan being awarded individual honors for having the most
original suits of armor.
After congratulations were over, Dan thought to ask Mr. Hatfield if he
had heard what was to become of the tramp, Carl Blakemore.
“He was in jail the last I heard,” the Cub leader replied. “I was told
though that Mr. Merrimac offered to go his bail. He investigated and
found that the fellow had told the truth about being his nephew.”
“Queer that he didn’t know him by sight.”
“He’d never seen him—not even as a boy,” Mr. Hatfield explained. “It was
quite humiliating for Mr. Merrimac to find out about Carl. However, he’s
making the best of a bad situation, and I understand, wants to help him
if he can.”
The Den Mother and her helpers had prepared a fine supper for all the
Cubs. Dan and Mr. Hatfield were starting toward the table, when at the
same moment they saw a newcomer enter the church meeting room.
“Why, it’s Mr. Merrimac himself!” Dan exclaimed.
The elderly man never before had attended a Cub meeting, and in fact,
derived little enjoyment from social affairs.
Now his gaze wandered from Cub to Cub until he had picked out Dan and
Brad from the group. Made aware that he seemed to be looking for them,
they went over to speak to him.
“Well, boys,” he said heartily, “I believe I made you a little promise
several days ago. And according to the code of the Cubs, a promise always
must be kept. Right?”
“Right,” agreed Brad, smiling broadly. Already he had a notion as to what
had brought Mr. Merrimac to the Cub meeting.
“You boys did me a big favor,” the man continued. “I never expected to
see the color of my money again, but thanks to your fine organization I
got nearly every penny of it back.”
“Jack Phillips had a hand in it too,” Dan reminded him.
“I am fully aware of that,” Mr. Merrimac nodded. “Fact is, I’ve talked to
court officials about the lad. I mean to help him if I can.”
“He has a good home with Mrs. Jones,” Brad said hastily. “What’s more, he
likes it there.”
“Oh, I have no intention of taking the boy away from her. That thought
never entered my head. I did think that later on, the lad may want a
little special schooling that Mrs. Jones may not be able to provide.
That’s where I aim to step into the picture.”
“Why, that’s fine!” Brad exclaimed, while Dan echoed the sentiment.
“To get back to the purpose of my call here tonight,” Mr. Merrimac
resumed. “You’ll remember I promised that if my money were recovered I’d
not forget the church fund?”
“Yes, but we wouldn’t hold you to it,” Brad said generously.
“Tut! I always intended to give to the building fund. I was a bit testy
about it because of my loss. Well, I can see you’re in a hurry to get
started on those victuals, so I’ll cut it short. Here’s my donation.”
He handed Dan a check. The boy read the figure $1,500.00 and whistled
softly.
“Wow! This is more than generous, Mr. Merrimac! It’s magnificent.”
“Your contribution will put the Cubs over the top!” added Brad.
“That’s all I have to say,” Mr. Merrimac declared. “I have to get back
home now.”
“Stay for supper, Mr. Merrimac,” Dan urged.
“No, I want to be home,” the old man replied. “My nephew is there now,
you know. Came this afternoon.”
The information was new to the boys, but they tried not to show
curiosity.
“Carl will stay with me for a while,” Mr. Merrimac explained. “I was able
to get him off on probation. If he leads a straight life, as I think he
will, he’ll be assured of a good home with me.”
“Your heart’s in the right spot, Mr. Merrimac,” Dan declared warmly.
“Tut!” the old man chuckled, embarrassed by the praise. “Well, good-bye
boys, or should I say, Sir Knights!”
A delightful social hour followed for the Cubs, their parents and
friends. Among those present was Mrs. Jones, who seemed as proud of Jack
as if he were her own son.
All too soon to please the Cubs, it was time for the meeting to break up.
Brad began to put away the swords and other items used during the
ceremony.
Coming upon the scrapbook which Dan had made, he fingered through it.
“You did a bang-up job recording the history of the Cubs,” he praised.
“But why all the blank pages at the end?”
“They represent the future,” Dan laughed, stepping out of his armor. “And
boy! Judging from the past, what a future we’ll have. How about it,
fellows?”
“We’ll do our best to make ’er glow!” shouted Chips.
The other Cubs, gathering up their belongings, signified agreement, by
giving a long and lusty wolf wail.
“A-h-h-kay Iaa!” they shouted. “W-e-e-l d-o-o-o-o our Best!”
On that note, the Cubs in a burst of enthusiasm, grabbed Dan and tossed
him a little way into the air. Then, like a pack of healthy young wolves,
they raced out of the meeting hall.
Transcriber’s Notes
--Silently corrected a few typos (but left nonstandard spelling and
dialect as is).
--Rearranged front matter to a more-logical streaming order.
End of Project Gutenberg's Dan Carter and the Money Box, by Mildred A. Wirt