OFF FOR CAMP SHAWNEE
“Come in!” called the Chief, looking up from the papers on his desk.
“Oh, hello, Dirk! Sit down and tell me what’s on your mind.”
Dirk Van Horn carefully closed the door of the little office, and faced
the genial camp director.
“If you aren’t too busy, sir, I’d like to ask you something.”
“Never too busy to talk to campers! But it’s a fact that I haven’t seen
very much of you, Dirk, since your folks brought you up here to Lenape.
Of course”—the Chief smiled slightly—“I’ve heard reports of your doings,
now and then. How do you like Lenape so far?”
The boy looked at the man ruefully. “I’m beginning to wonder,” he said,
“if you shouldn’t ask how Lenape likes me!”
“You’ve learned a lot, if you know that, Dirk.”
“I have learned a lot. I’ve only been here a few days, Chief, but even I
can see that I have been an utter chump, all along. It’s taken me a long
time to get things straight, and I’m still pretty green, I guess. But
from now on, I want to tell you I’m trying to be a real camper!”
The Chief leaned back in his chair, and rubbed his chin reflectively.
“You seem to be in the right frame of mind to do it, Dirk. We leaders
can help some, but unless a boy learns these things from other boys and
by thinking about them himself, we can’t do very much. But I know,” he
went on, “that you didn’t come here this morning just to tell me you
want to be a true Lenape camper. What’s on your mind?”
Dirk gulped. “It’s a big thing to ask,” he blurted, “and maybe I
shouldn’t say it.”
“Come, out with it!”
“Well—well—Chief, I want to go on the Long Trail!”
For some space of time after this pronouncement, the man said nothing.
Dirk, searching his chief’s face for some sign, breathed a heavy sigh of
disappointment, and rose to go.
“Sit down, Dirk! The Long Trail, eh? I suppose you know what you’re
asking?”
Dirk, with new eagerness in his eyes, sank again into his chair. “Mr.
McNulty and some of the chaps have been talking about it, and Ryan, in
our tent, is going. It must be a splendid experience, sir, and I—I——
Yes, I know I’m not much as a woodsman—why, I got lost within a little
way from the camp!—and I guess I’d be a drag on the rest of the fellows
on a long trip like that. But, oh, sir, give me a chance!”
The Chief stared through the little window over his desk, a tiny square
through which came a glimpse of the pines and the rippling waters of
Lake Lenape.
“The boys that Mr. Carrigan has chosen are all picked campers,” he said
at last. “Most of them have spent three seasons here, and in that time
have learned the many things they must know to take care of themselves
on a long trip that would test the endurance of many grown men.
Moreover, these boys realize that in order to get through and plant our
banner on Mount Kinnecut, they must work together as one, must share
alike for the good of the tribe, as the old Indians and scouts used to
do. Out of the hundred boys here each summer, only six are ever chosen
to take this trail for the honor of Lenape. Now, knowing all this, do
you still want to go?”
Dirk nodded dully. “But I’m bigger and stronger than Ugly Brown, and
he’s going! And I’d do my best to learn everything, and try to keep up
with the rest of the party——”
“Brown is one of the best young campers we have,” observed the Chief,
“even if he is small. If you knew a tenth as much as he does about the
woods and the water, you might stand a chance. Come, now, Dirk, I know
how you feel. I’ve known your dad for years, and I can guess that if you
ever wanted anything, he would get it for you. But this thing you speak
of is different. You can only get it for yourself; and the harder you
work to earn it, the more you’ll value it. Learn as much as you can this
summer, and next year, we’ll see about letting you hit the trail for
Kinnecut! How about it?”
Dirk, not trusting himself to speak, shook his head dumbly, and looked
at the floor. He might have known the Chief would say no, but—but——
The director was watching him with new interest. “Well, you are
persistent!” he exclaimed. “That might count for something in your
favor. Now, let me ask you a question. You’ve been at Lenape for four
days. What have you learned that will stand you in good stead on a stiff
hike and canoe-trip through some of the wildest country in the state?”
“Nothing, I guess,” confessed Dirk humbly. “I haven’t even learned to
swim, and even the littlest fellows make fun of me wading around in the
shallow water. But I’ll try, Chief, I will! Only let me——”
“Your canoe is still on the dock, isn’t it?”
“Yes. Mr. Rawn said he wouldn’t let me take it out until I could swim
and learn how to handle a paddle. I—I haven’t bothered to learn. I can
see I’ve wasted my time fooling around with silly things, and loafing——”
“All right. That’s enough. Dirk, you have lots of stuff in you that, if
you want it badly enough, can help you become a first-rate camper.
You’ve shown it by getting out and chasing flies on the baseball team,
and that’s a fine start. If you really believe what you’ve told me just
now, your spirit in the future will be the finest thing that could come
to you. You can see that your chances of holding your own on the Long
Trail this year are pretty slim. But, since you’re so eager, I don’t
mind telling you that there is a chance!”
Dirk’s eyes widened, and he jumped up. “You mean—— What do you want me
to do, Chief?”
“I’ll make a bargain with you. Man to man. The Long Trailers will start
next Monday for the river. That gives us five days. If, during those
five days, you can pass all the requirements for the Lenape honor
emblem, I’ll ask Mr. Carrigan to take you along!”
“Do you really mean it? Why, Chief, that’s a wonderful offer! And I’ll
do it—I know I will!” Dirk cried.
The director was amused. “Don’t be too sure, Dirk. You don’t know what
you are up against.” He opened the drawer of his desk and drew out a
printed card. “Here is a list of the things you will have to do. It’s a
long list, and four days is a short time. Remember, too, that you must
not neglect your regular camp duties to work on any of the tests. One of
the requirements, and the biggest, is that you must show a fine,
all-around camp spirit; and that means you will have to think of the
honor of your tent and the welfare of everybody and everything in camp.
But if you do a good job out there in left field tomorrow at Shawnee,
I’ll sign this card in this space calling for participation in an
inter-camp athletic contest, and that will be one less test for you to
do before Sunday night.”
Dirk took the card, and glanced at the rows of print upon it. “It’s a
bargain!” he cried. “And I’ll start working on the tests this very
minute!”
“Hold on! There’s one thing more I want to say before you rush out and
start your job. Remember what I’ve told you—your chance of fitting
yourself for the Long Trail is a very slim one indeed. Promise me that,
in the event you don’t come through with your part of our bargain, you
will take it like a sportsman, and even though you miss out this season,
you will continue in the same spirit that you are starting now. It may
be bitter medicine to take, but take it like a man!”
“I—I promise, Chief.”
Dirk fumbled for the doorknob, his heart full of gratitude and a
determination that was new to him. He found himself outside the office,
standing on the porch with a cool wind about his hot forehead. Through
blurred eyes he scanned the printed card in his hand, reading the list
of things that he must do within the coming days, if he was to join
Brick Ryan and the rest on the Long Trail:
REQUIREMENTS FOR LENAPE HONOR EMBLEM
1. Know the North Star and five constellations.
2. Collect fifteen wild flowers.
3. Identify fifteen trees.
4. Collect and identify five kinds of rocks.
5. Know ten birds.
6. Handle a rowboat and name ten parts of a boat.
7. Swim 100 yards.
8. Make a permanent woodcraft exhibit, or build some camp improvement.
9. Build a good cooking fire and cook potatoes, rice pudding, twist
biscuit, and broiled meat.
10. Play on an athletic team in an inter-camp contest.
11. Take a part in a camp show.
12. Act as a tent aide for one day.
13. Show at all times the finest spirit as an all-round Lenape camper.
Dirk whistled as his eye ran down the list. No wonder Brick and Lefty
and the others wore their green L badges with pride! And now, in the few
days remaining before the canoes cut the water on the first leg of the
journey to Kinnecut, he must do all these things, or stay behind. But,
although he had never in all his life faced such a task as this, he did
not admit even to himself that he might fail.
He buttoned the card carefully in his breast pocket. Then, with a new
light in his eyes, he ran down the steep path toward the lake shore. Mr.
Wally Rawn, on duty at the dock before morning swim period, was startled
by the tall figure of a boy who clutched his arm, and gasped
breathlessly: “Wally, sir! Do you think you could teach me to swim a
hundred yards today? I want to learn to swim, and I want to learn now!”
By nightfall, Dirk had not learned all that there is to know about
swimming, but Wally’s first lesson had given some confidence in handling
himself in the water, as well as a hope that diligent practice should
enable him to swim the required number of yards at no distant date.
Moreover, the boy’s lips tilted in a satisfied smile as he glanced at
the spaces on the requirement card in his hand. Three items were already
initialed. Wally Rawn had found time to teach him the rudiments of
managing a rowboat. Lefty Reardon, a bit doubtful of this sudden
interest in campcraft by the new boy but unaware of its cause, had been
persuaded to coach him upon trees and rocks, and Van Horn’s collection
and identification were vouched for by the initials of Mr. Jim Avery.
“Only ten more to go!” Dirk breathed to himself. “I’ll get somebody to
show me the stars tonight, and in the morning——” He caught his breath.
“Why, how could I forget? Tomorrow is the day of the big game with
Shawnee!”
In the morning Sax McNulty looked over at him curiously.
“What’s come over you, young lad?” the leader asked. “I didn’t know you
loved to chase flies so much that you’re bubbling with boyish glee.”
“I love to chase flies, Sax.”
“But not that much. There’s something else. I never saw anybody in such
a burning hurry to have an honor emblem pinned on his shirt. I’m
suspicious.”
“I can’t tell you now, Sax. But will you help me?”
McNulty snorted. “Do you have to ask? Now, hop into your bathrobes, you
birds—What will become of Camp Shawnee if you sleep all day?”
“Shawnee” was the word that rose oftenest in the babel at the breakfast
table. All the boys were in hiking clothes, ready for the ten-mile trail
that fringed the mountains running north. Within a few minutes after the
meal was over, Dirk had seen disappear into the woods all his tent-mates
with the exception of Lefty and Brick, who, with the rest of the Lenape
nine, were to ride to Shawnee and thus keep fresh for the big contest of
the afternoon.
Dirk fingered his glove nervously, and wondered what sort of ball field
the Shawnee campus would provide. Somebody slapped him on the back. It
was Spaghetti Megaro, second baseman, and a gay light shone in the
Italian boy’s eyes.
“You’re worried, huh? Well, forget it! If we don’t win, we lose. But I
think we win! Come, the truck is loaded—pile on and hang tight. If you
can ride this flivver, the bucking broncho is nothing!”
“Sure, Spaghett.” Dirk joined the crowding band that jostled each other
laughingly as they sought places in the body of the camp truck. Stirring
up a cyclone of dust, the car left Lenape deserted, and rattled off up
the rutted lane. Dirk Van Horn, clinging to the dashboard with both
hands, stared into the distance.
“I think we win!” he repeated softly. “And I—I must do a good job, the
Chief said. Well, in just a few hours I’ll have my chance!”