[Illustration: TONY’S OLD LUNCH WAGON CAME LUMBERING OVER TOWARD US.]
ROY BLAKELEY
LOST, STRAYED OR STOLEN
BY
PERCY KEESE FITZHUGH
Author of
TOM SLADE, BOY SCOUT, TOM
SLADE AT BLACK LAKE,
ROY BLAKELEY, ETC.
ILLUSTRATED BY
HOWARD L. HASTINGS
PUBLISHED WITH THE APPROVAL OF
THE BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA
GROSSET & DUNLAP
PUBLISHERS : : NEW YORK
Made in the United States of America
COPYRIGHT, 1921, BY
GROSSET & DUNLAP
Table of Contents
LAW AND THINGS
MORE THINGS (I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO CALL IT)
PEE-WEE STARTS THE BALL ROLLING
WE TRY DIPLOMACY
WE GO OVER THE GROUND
SCOUT STRATEGY
THE INVITATION
RECONNOITERING
NAPOLEON AND WATERLOO
MINERVA SKYBROW TAKES COMMAND
WE FIND A WAY
THE GRAND DRIVE BEGINS
AFTER THE BATTLE
SOMETHING MISSING
A SCOUT
TWO—SEVEN!
SUSPENSE
MR. ELLSWORTH CALLS
SERVICE
A PROMISE
FOOTPRINTS
IN THE SHACK
ADVENTURES OF CIGARETTE SAM
THE THREE OF US
THE TALK OF THE TOWN
IN THE DARK
ON OUR WAY
“FINDINGS, KEEPINGS”
THE STANDING ARMY SITTING DOWN
PEE-WEE IN ACTION
SLIGHT MOMENTUM
BZZZZZZ
WE SEPARATE
ONE ENDING
CEDAR
THE OTHER ENDING
ROY BLAKELEY, LOST, STRAYED OR STOLEN
CHAPTER I—LAW AND THINGS
One thing, anyway, I wouldn’t say anything against the scout laws
because they are good laws, that’s one sure thing. Even fellows that
disobey them have to admit that they are good. If there weren’t any we
couldn’t even disobey them, so gee whiz, I’m glad they are in the
Handbook. That’s what they are for.
I don’t mean we want to disobey them. But anyway, this is what I mean,
that even fellows that disobey them ought to be glad they are there,
because if they weren’t there they couldn’t disobey them. That’s what
Pee-wee Harris calls logic. He says he knows a lot about logic, because
his uncle has a friend whose brother is a lawyer.
There are twelve of those laws, and the one I like best is law number
eight, because it says a scout has to be cheerful and smile a lot. I
always smile except when I’m asleep, and I’m not asleep much, because a
scout is supposed to be wide awake. When I’m asleep I never disobey any
of those laws.
I’ll tell you some more about the scout laws, too, only this isn’t going
to be a law book, you can bet. A scout is always supposed to do a given
task. His dinner is a given task. He’s supposed to do a good turn every
day. Maybe you think those are hard, but they are easy. If a scout in my
patrol had some gumdrops and I ate half of them so he wouldn’t get sick,
that would be a good turn. See?
A scout is supposed to save life, too. Once I saved Wig Weigand’s life.
He nearly died laughing at Pee-wee Harris, and I got there just in time
to push the kid off the springboard into the water so he had to stop
talking. That’s one thing I’m crazy about. I don’t mean talking, I mean
swimming.
Especially a scout is supposed to be observant. That’s one thing about
the scouts my sister doesn’t like. She’s crazy about tennis, my sister
is; tennis and strawberries. She’s crazy about Harry Donnelle, too; he’s
a big fellow. That’s why she doesn’t like it about scouts being
observant—I should worry.
But anyway, you needn’t think that scouts are always smiling. Lots of
times I laugh, _he he_, but I’m not happy. That’s because we have a lot
of trouble on account of not being able to keep our meeting place in one
spot very long. Gee williger, Washington had a lot of headquarters and
we only have one headquarters, but we have our headquarters in as many
places as he did. Gee, there are a lot of people that have to move these
days, but they don’t have to move the houses they live in, that’s one
good thing. When you have to take your house with you, that’s no fun.
Housing problems are bad enough, and transportation problems are bad
enough. And besides, I hate problems anyway, especially in arithmetic.
But, gee whiz, when you get a housing problem and a transportation
problem all rolled into one-_good night!_