ROY BLAKELEY'S ADVENTURES IN CAMP
BY
PERCY KEESE FITZHUGH
AUTHOR OF
ROY BLAKELY, TOM SLADE, BOY SCOUT,
TOM SLADE AT TEMPLE CAMP, TOM SLADE WITH THE COLORS, ETC.
ILLUSTRATED BY HOWARD L. HASTINGS
1920
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER
I. TELLS YOU HOW WE GOT STARTED
II. TELLS YOU HOW I HAD A VISITOR
III. TELLS HOW I MADE A PROMISE
IV. TELLS ABOUT THE PAPER I FOUND
V. TELLS ABOUT SKINNY'S MERIT BADGE
VI. TELLS HOW SKINNY AND I GOT TOGETHER
VII. TELLS ABOUT MY MERIT BADGE
VIII. TELLS ABOUT OUR TRIP UP THE HUDSON
IX. TELLS ABOUT SKINNY'S SWIMMING LESSON
X. TELLS ABOUT SKINNY AND THE ELKS
XI. TELLS YOU HOW TO GET TO TEMPLE CAMP
XII. TELLS ALL ABOUT OUR ROW ON BLACK LAKE
XIII. TELLS ABOUT THE STRANGE CAMPERS
XIV. TELLS ABOUT THE STORM ON BLACK LAKE
XV. TELLS ABOUT AN ACCIDENT
XVI. TELLS ABOUT SKINNY'S ABSENCE
XVII. TELLS ABOUT CAMP-FIRE AND SKINNY
XVIII. TELLS ABOUT MY TALK WITH BERT WINTON
XIX. TELLS ABOUT A VISIT FROM ACROSS THE LAKE
XX. TELLS ABOUT THE LOSS OF SOME MONEY
XXI. TELLS ABOUT MY TALK WITH MR. ELLSWORTH
XXII. TELLS ABOUT HOW I VISITED THE OHIO TROOP CABIN
XXIII. TELLS ABOUT HOW I DID A GOOD TURN
XXIV. TELLS ABOUT HOW I TOLD A SECRET
XXV. TELLS ABOUT THE LETTER WE WROTE
XXVI. TELLS ABOUT GEOGRAPHY AND ALL THAT KIND OF STUFF
XXVII. TELLS ABOUT HOW WE TRIED TO STOP IT RAINING
XXVIII. TELLS ABOUT HOW DAME NATURE CHANGED HER MIND
XXIX. TELLS ABOUT HOW WE LOOKED INTO THE PIT
XXX. TELLS ABOUT HOW TIGERS LEAP
XXXI. TELLS ABOUT THE OLD PASSAGEWAY
XXXII. TELLS ABOUT WHAT I DISCOVERED IN REBEL'S CAVE
XXXIII. TELLS ABOUT HOW WESTY AND I WAITED
XXXIV. TELLS ABOUT THE STRANGE FIGURE
XXXV. TELLS ABOUT A NEW CAMP
XXXVI. TELLS ABOUT WHAT BERT TOLD ME
XXXVII. TELLS ABOUT HOW I VISITED CAMP McCORD
XXXVIII. TELLS ABOUT THE SCOUT PACE
XXXIX. TELLS ABOUT HOW CAMP McCORD DIDN'T STRIKE ITS COLORS
CHAPTER I
TELLS YOU HOW WE GOT STARTED
Maybe you fellows will remember about how I was telling you that our
troop had a house-boat that was loaned to us for the summer, by a man
that lives out our way. He said we could fix it up and use it to go to
Temple Camp in. It was a peach of a boat and took the hills fine--
that's what we said just to jolly Pee-wee Harris, who is in our troop.
He's awfully easy to jolly, but he doesn't stay mad long, that's one
good thing about him.
But one trouble, that boat didn't have any power, and it wouldn't even
drift right on account of being almost square. Westy Martin said it was
on the square, all right. He's a crazy kid, that fellow is. Anyway, the
boat didn't have any power. Our scoutmaster, Mr. Ellsworth, said it
didn't even have any will power. We couldn't even pole it.
When we first got it, it was way up a creek in the marshes and Mr.
Donnelle (he's the man that owned it) took us there and showed it to
us. Just as we were coming near it, a fellow jumped out of it and ran
away through the marshes. We said he must be a tramp, because he was
all ragged. Anyway, he acted as if he was scared, that was one sure
thing.
"We should worry about him, anyway," I said; and Mr. Donnelle said he
was gone and that was the end of him.
But, believe me, that wasn't the end of him. That was only the
beginning of him. I didn't say anything more about him before, because
I didn't know, but believe me, that fellow was--what do you call it--
you know--_destined_--to cause a lot of trouble in our young lives.
That sounds like a regular author, hey? _Destined_.
When we began fixing the boat up, we found that one of the lockers was
locked with a padlock and as long as the boat didn't belong to us, we
didn't break it open, especially because there were plenty of lockers
besides that one. I bet you'd like to know what was in that locker. But
you're not going to find that out yet, so there's no use asking. All
the time we thought Mr. Donnelle had the key to it. But, oh, just you
wait.
Well, after we got it all fixed up, we couldn't decide how we'd get it
down into the bay and then up the Hudson to Catskill Landing. That's
where you have to go to get to Temple Camp. Temple Camp is a great big
scout camp and it's right on the shore of Black Lake--oh, it's peachy.
You'll see it, all right, and you'll see Jeb Rushmore--he's camp
manager. He used to be a trapper out west. You'll see us all around
camp-fire--you wait. Mr. Ellsworth says this story is all right so far,
only to go on about the boat. Gee, I'll go faster than the boat did,
that's one sure thing, leave it to me. But after we got down into the
Hudson we went fast, all right. Let's see where was I?
Oh, yes, we were wondering how we'd get to camp in it because we didn't
have much money in our troop, on account of being broke. Poor, but
honest, hey? And it costs a lot of money to be towed and an engine
would cost a hundred and fifty dollars. Nix on the engine, you can bet.
But, oh, boy, there's one thing Mr. Ellsworth said and it's true, I've
got to admit that. He said that good turns are good investments--he
says they pay a hundred percent. That's even better than Liberty Bonds.
You don't get it back in money, but you get it back in fun--what's the
difference?
Well, we did a good turn, and oh, believe me, there was _some_ come
back!
One day a tug came up our river on its way up to North Bridgeboro.
That's where the mill is. And there wasn't anybody there to open the
bridge so it could get through. Oh, wasn't that old tug captain mad! He
kept whistling and whistling and saying things about the river being an
old mud hole, and how he'd never get down the bay again, unless he
could get through and come down on the full tide. Oh, boy, but he was
wild.
When we told him that old Uncle Jimmy, the bridge tender, had sneaked
away to a Grand Army Convention, he kind of cooled down on account of
being an old veteran himself, and then some of us fellows fished up an
old key-bar that had been lost in the river and opened the bridge with
it. That's what they call the thing you open the bridge with--a
key-bar. It's like a crow-bar only different.
I'm not saying that was so much of a good turn, except it was turning
the bridge around and Connie Bennett said that was a good turn. He's
the troop cut-up. Anyway, old Captain Savage took me up to North
Bridgeboro with him and first I was kind of scared of him, because he
had a big red face and he was awful gruff. But wait till you hear about
the fun we had with him when we landed and took a peek at Peekskill.
Oh, boy!
Then he said how he liked the way we stood up for Uncle Jimmy, and I
guess besides he was glad about me diving and getting the key-bar, but
anyway, that was easy. So he said he was going to tow us up as far as
Poughkeepsie the next Saturday, and that if we refused on account of
scouts not being willing to accept anything for a service, he'd make a
lot of trouble for Uncle Jimmy, because he was away. He was only
fooling when he said that. Maybe you won't like him in the beginning,
but you'll get to like him pretty soon.
So that's how we got it all fixed to go to camp, or part of the way
anyway, in the house-boat. And believe me, we had some trip, and that's
mostly what I'm going to tell you all about. Talk about fun!
On Saturday morning all of the troop came down to the house-boat ready
for the trip, and oh, you ought to have seen Skinny McCord. He's a
little fellow that lives down in the poor part of town, and he was a
new member. His mother is poor and she goes out washing, and Skinny was
sick and his clothes were all in rags, and even he didn't have any
shoes and stockings. But, anyway, he did me a good turn and so Westy
Martin and I got him into the troop, and we presented him to the Elk
Patrol, because they had a vacant place on account of Tom Slade being
away in France. So now you know about Skinny and you'll find out a lot
more about him, too.
Before Saturday came, Mr. Ellsworth made a bargain with Sandy Grober to
tow us down into the Kill Von Kull--that's near Staten Island, you
know. Sandy has a boat with a heavy duty motor in it, and he said he'd
do the job for ten dollars, because, anyway, he'd go to Princess Bay
fishing. Our troop was broke and we couldn't spare the money, because
we needed all we had for eats and things. So this is the way we fixed
it.
Mr. Ellsworth gave Sandy the ten dollars and then each one of the
patrol leaders gave Mr. Ellsworth a note saying his patrol would pay
back two dollars and a half as soon as they earned it. That would make
seven dollars and a half, and Mr. Ellsworth said he would pay the other
two fifty himself, so you see it was all divided up even between the
patrols and the scoutmaster.
Believe me, we had some fun earning that money, especially the Raving
Ravens--that's the Raven Patrol, you know.
We started early Saturday morning, and we knew just where we had to go,
because we had a letter from Captain Savage, saying that we should wait
in the anchorage off St. George at Staten Island, until he came and got
us. He said maybe it would be Sunday night or maybe Monday morning, but
anyway, just to ride on our anchor till he came.
We didn't have any adventures going down our river and I won't bother
telling you about it, because it would only be slow. Gee, williger, a
story that's being towed against the tide wouldn't have much action,
would it? I bet you'd skip. So it's better for _me_ to skip than for
_you_, hey?
But anyway, on the way down we got the boat all straightened out inside
and decided just how we'd sleep. Two patrols would sleep in the two
rooms and one patrol on deck under the awning, and we decided we'd take
turns that way, so each patrol would get some sleeping outdoors.
We didn't get to the Kill Von Kull till about five o'clock and I guess
it was about six o'clock when we got to St. George. Oh, but there are
some peachy boats in the anchorage there--regular yachts and big cabin
cruisers. And that's where our adventures began, you can bet. Do you
like mysteries? Gee, that's one thing I'm crazy about--mysteries--
mysteries and pineapple sodas. Oh, Oh!
Then Sandy left us and went off to catch cash-on-delivery fish--that's
COD fish. Oh, boy, but it was fine rocking away out there. Pretty soon
I got supper because I'm cook. I know how to make flapjacks and
hunters' stew, and a lot of things. After supper the fellows decided to
go ashore to St. George and get some sodas and take in a movie show. I
said I'd stay on the houseboat because I had to write up the
troop-book. Maybe I forgot to tell you that I'm troop historian. Most of
the things in this story are out of our troop book.
You'd better not skip the next chapter, because something is going to
happen.