TELLS HOW SKINNY AND I GOT TOGETHER
First I bored a hole in the coin and hung it around Skinny's neck. He
was all excited and said, "Now I've got a regular merit badge, ain't
I?"
I said, "No you haven't, but it's a good badge, all right" Then I said,
"Now I'm going to tell you some things about merit badges. You get
merit badge because you're able to do special things, see? You get them
for being able to do things that some other fellows can't do--kind of.
Not exactly that," I told him, "because most fellows can do the things
if they try hard enough. But, anyway, there isn't any merit badge for
keeping your eyes open. Mr. Ellsworth was only joking about that. And
especially you don't get any merit badge for being honest, because that
would be too easy. If you could get one for that, gee-whiz, all the
fellows would have them, that's sure."
He said, "Ain't it good to be honest?"
I told him sure it was, but it was too easy and that all the scouts
were honest anyway, even without badges. Then I said, "If you wore that
on account of being honest, that would insult all the other fellows,
wouldn't it?" He just stared at me, but didn't say anything. "So you
have to be careful," I told him, "not to be saying that you have a
reward for being honest, see?"
Then I told him about there not being any badge for keeping his eyes
open and finding things. "But there's a badge for something else like
that," I said, "only you can't get it yet, because you have to learn a
lot of things first, and it's a lot of fun learning them, too."
He said, "Can I learn them right now?"
I said, "No, but you'll learn a lot of them up in camp." Then I told
them that the one that had most to do with keeping his eyes open was
the stalking badge. So then I got out the Handbook and showed him the
picture of it and read him what it said. Gee williger, I don't see
where there was any harm in that, do you? I read him the three
conditions and the four sub-divisions.
"So you see, that means keeping your eyes open all right," I told him,
"because you have to be all the time watching for signs and tracks in
the snow or in the dirt, so as you can tell where a bird went, maybe,
and sneak up and watch him."
"That's one thing I can do," he said, "sneak. I'm a little sneak,
everybody said so."
Good night, that kid was the limit!
"I don't mean that way," I told him, "but you have to _stalk_. That
means to follow a bird or an animal and watch them without them knowing
anything about it--see?"
He said, all excited like, "I can sneak up on 'em, so then can I have
the badge--for sneaking--like you said?"
Gee whiz, I just sat back and laughed. Then I said, "_Stalking badge_;
not sneaking, but _stalking_. That's the badge you're after. So that's
the one you want to think about. Don't think about a whole lot of
things but just think about that."
He said, "I like you a whole lot, and that's the one I'm going to get,
because you say so."
Just then I noticed Stut Moran (we call him that because he stutters)
going past the window. Pretty soon I noticed him passing again and
walking very slow.
"You just keep your mind on that one badge and remember those letters,"
I said; "and for goodness' sake don't talk about badges for sneaking.
Because, you take a tip from me, you can only do one thing at a time."
He said, "The poultry badge is a good one. It's got a picture of a
rooster on it."
"You should worry about pictures of roosters," I said, "just keep
thinking about that one badge, you take my advice. Because you're good
on keeping your eyes open and that's the badge for you. And you're
small and kind of thin and that's good in stalking, too, because you
can hide behind trees and things." Then I said, "If you'll make me a
promise that you'll just think about that one badge and not about a lot
of others all at once, when we get up to camp, I'll make you a basket
out of a peach-pit to hang around your neck."
Just then the door of the galley opened and in came Connie Bennett.
Right behind him were Vic Norris and Stut Moran. Connie is leader of
the Elks and the other two fellows are Elks, too. Right away he began
and I saw he was mad.
"That's a good thing you're talking about--_sneaking_" he said.
I said, "What do you mean?"
"He's getting a good lesson in sneaking all right," he shot right back
at me.
"Gee whiz, I don't know what you're talking about," I said.
"Oh, no," he said, all the while sort of sneering at me; "I suppose you
didn't bring him in here so you could be where nobody else heard you.
Maybe you think you own the galley."
"Sure I brought him in here so we could be alone," I said.
"_Sure you did_," he said, "just so you could start him after the
stalker's badge. We heard you make him promise to go after that and not
think about anything else. He's easy, that kid is."
"Why should I--" I began.
"You know well enough why," he said; "who started the rule about not
having two of the same merit badges in a patrol?"
"I did," I told him.
"Yes," he said, "and now you're trying to rush this kid through just so
you can get even with Vic. What have _you_ got to do with our patrol
anyway? Don't you think we're old enough to take care of our new
members? All because you and Vic were on the outs last summer."
Jingo, that made me mad. "I forgot all about that," I said; "didn't Vic
treat me to a soda only last week? It wasn't a quarrel anyway. I should
worry about who has the stalker's badge in your patrol. I didn't even
know Vic was after it. You know yourself the kid hasn't begun his
second-class tests yet. What chance does _he_ stand if Vic is after it?
I only thought I'd try to do a good turn. Cracky, it's hard enough to
think up anything to do out here on a Sunday afternoon--you know that
yourself. I was waiting all day for somebody to fall overboard, so I
could jump in and save them. You're a lot of old grandmothers in your
patrol. If that's all you've got to complain about, you'd better go and
sweep the wind off the deck."
"You mean to tell me to go and sweep the wind off the deck?" Connie
said, coming right up close to me.
"Sure," I said, "and when you get through with that go and clean the
reflection out of the water. I should worry. Here, take your new
member. If I'd known Vic was after the badge, I wouldn't have said a
word about it, you can bet. You ought to know me well enough to know I
was just giving him a few tips. Did I have any quarrel with you, Vic?"
Honest, would you believe it, none of them said a word except, "Come
ahead, Skinny," and the poor kid followed them out, not knowing what to
think, I guess.
"End of a perfect day," I said.