VICTORY WELL WON.
As early as seven o’clock that evening there was a decided movement
toward the big town hall, where all the important gatherings were held,
although it was generally known that the doors would not be opened until
half an hour later. It was guessed that there would be a crush, and
consequently word had been quietly circulated among the families
connected with the scouts, so that most of them might come early and get
seats.
As this was a meeting of particular interest to boys, as many would be
admitted as could be accommodated. Others might be expected to climb to
the outside of the windows and perch there like so many monkeys, eager
to hear and see what wonderful things were done.
Like magic the hall began to fill after the doors had once been opened,
and by a quarter to eight chairs were being placed cautiously along the
aisles. There had really been no such excitement in town since it was
falsely reported that the big-top circus tent had collapsed, and the
wild animals were loose; and that had been a night of storm and anxiety
few persons would ever forget.
Places had been reserved on the stage back of the committee of leading
citizens for the entire membership of the Boy Scout Troop; and when they
came marching down the aisle, two and two, in their neat khaki uniforms,
with the glorious Stars and Stripes at the head and a bugler and drummer
following, the entire assemblage broke out into a roar of applause that
must have been very gratifying to the hearts of those lads.
Besides the members in uniform, there were a number of other fellows who
were the latest additions, forming the new Owl patrol. None of them had
as yet received his suit, and therefore could not quite feel the same
sensation of importance that entered into the hearts of the older
members, whose exploits were already very well known throughout the
town.
As each patrol was grouped under its totem flag, this brought Billy, Bud
and Arthur close together, an arrangement that was very satisfactory to
the first named, as he could turn from one to the other of his chums and
whisper. Billy would have been an unhappy boy if compelled to remain
mute for any great length of time.
When the meeting was opened in the customary way, it was a most
impressive sight as seen from the stage. And the first speaker, in
telling a few reasons why this magnificent movement had been started by
public spirited men, called attention to this fact. Anything that could
create such widespread interest as the scout movement, and was for the
upbuilding of boys in the best sense, should have the unqualified
backing of every thinking man and woman in the whole United States, he
declared. Such cheering following this statement, that the speaker had
to wait a full minute before he could proceed.
The next to address that fine audience was a leading citizen whose heart
and soul had always been with the rising generation, so that he had
taken part in many movements that were calculated to benefit the coming
men of the country.
He assured those who were eagerly listening to all he said that never
yet had anything been started that gave one-tenth the promise of
glorious success this Boy Scout organization did. Then he went on fully
to explain the duties of those who belonged, what they vowed to do when
they took the oath, and what splendid results had already been recorded.
“I hope that the time is near at hand,” he continued, “when every boy in
all these United States may, upon arriving at the proper age, be given
the chance to enlist in a Boy Scout patrol. Through means of its
privileges he will be trained to know, to discover, and to _live_ in a
new and glorious realm of Nature, a life of well-directed freedom.”
There was a flutter throughout the big hall when the next speaker arose,
for every boy knew that the Judge had been selected for the principal
event of the occasion. He began by telling of the healthful competition
that had been arranged between the four patrols by the prize offer of
the beautiful banner which the audience could see in plain sight upon
the stage.
This had been contributed by a generous citizen who wished his name to
remain unknown. It bore an inscription in letters of gold, with a blank
space to be filled in later with the name of the successful patrol. Then
he told just how the committee had wrestled with the matter and finally
arranged a schedule to show what points were to be awarded for each of
scores of things successfully accomplished to the satisfaction of the
governing board.
The field competition had already been carried to a splendid finish, and
those who had watched the busy scouts had been ten times repaid for
their attendance. After announcing the results that had been awarded the
several patrols on the strength of their showing, he expected to take up
the many claims settled by the committee. These would be shown in
“points” upon the large blackboard by his assistant, as he called them
off, and in some cases he would enter into explanations that might be
found more or less interesting.
Every scout drew a long breath. He knew that at last the final score was
about to be settled. Even Alec had a serious look on his face as he sat
there at the head of the Otters. Boasting was all very well, but since
no one might wholly know what the rival patrols had been doing during
these weeks of endeavor in order to gain merit points, it was impossible
to predict successfully the result until the last name had been called.
As it happened, the speaker took up the Fox patrol first of all. They
had not succeeded in doing a great deal, though there were several
ripples of applause over certain accounts that showed how the boys had
occasionally awakened to their opportunities, and had a brief spell of
working like beavers. They had relapsed frequently, however, Don Miller
not being fully qualified to keep the enthusiasm at boiling pitch.
Next came the Hawks, who made a little better showing, though truth to
tell it was pretty much the labor of the leader, Walter Osborne, that
counted; and then the speaker called attention to the fact that they
were being pleasantly entertained between speeches with camp songs by a
member of this patrol, Blake Merton.
As he mentioned that next on the list came the Otters, there was
tremendous applause; and while the hand-clapping was going on, with Alec
smiling and the rest of the patrol trying to look unconscious of their
extreme popularity, Billy leaned over and said in Bud’s ear:
“Don’t you see he’s climbing up step by step, Bud? First the lowly
Foxes, then the more wideawake Hawks; after them the hustling Otters;
and after that, the deluge,—which means the Wolf patrol. He’s saving the
best till the last, I tell you!”
Whereupon Bud took heart of grace and breathed freely once more, for he
had almost felt as though that wild applause foretold the end, with Alec
and his seven Otters carrying off the banner.
The list of wonderful things those eight boys had managed to accomplish
certainly interested the audience, to judge from the frequent clapping
of hands when incident after incident was narrated, as proven and
accepted by the committee. It was early apparent that Alec had closely
studied the possibilities offered by the program set forth by those in
charge of the competition, and devoted the whole energies of himself and
comrades to doing only those things that offered the best results in
points.
It seemed as though the narrator would never get through telling what
they had carried out. Billy fidgeted in his seat, and every time a new
exploit was described he would feverishly count up the points in that
long string seen upon the elevated blackboard, holding tight to his
chair and struggling between hope and fear.
Finally the last of the doings of that gallant band of Otters had been
told, and it was to be noted that it had taken place only that
afternoon, showing how brimful of determination to excel Alec and his
chums had been.
Then came the last patrol on the list. Every one knew how there had been
constant rivalry between the Otters and the Wolves, although usually
carried on in the friendly way scout competitions should be. They also
knew what a clever leader Hugh Hardin had proven himself in times past,
for the town had cheered the boy’s name on more than a few occasions.
It was also pretty generally understood that Alec had felt terribly hurt
when, at the choice of a new assistant scout master from among the
thirty-two boys constituting the troop at the time, he had received just
seven votes, and these his own faithful Otters. This would in a measure
account for his feverish desire to win out in this contest, and carry
off the prize banner. It would in some sense show that the boys had made
a terrible blunder when they had failed to put him in the position of
assistant scout master.
As the committeeman told of the numerous ingenious ways in which the
boys of the Wolf patrol had won their points, there were just as many
bursts of applause as before. And when after a time the gentleman
announced that he was all through except a single mention, a hush fell
on the audience, for most of those present had counted up, and knew that
the Otters were still _seventy points_ in the lead.
Then a call was made for Professor Perkins, who, with the air of a man
accustomed to addressing audiences, mounted the platform. He began by
telling who he was, and what he had attempted to accomplish. Then,
amidst a great silence, he gave a thrilling account of his accident; how
he had signaled to a party of boys in the khaki he had now come to love;
how he was thrown out of the basket of the balloon and held fast in the
treetop; how the lads had rescued him; how Hugh had set his broken arm,
and after that, with the help of his chums, saved his valuable effects
from the escaped convicts.
“But for their prompt aid,” he said finally, “there is not the least
doubt in my mind that I should have lost my life. There were many
photographs taken which go to prove every step in this wonderful rescue;
and the committee, I am pleased to say, _unanimously_ agree that these
gallant members of the Wolf patrol, under the guidance of their leader,
Hugh Hardin, saved a human life at peril to themselves, and are
therefore awarded the highest number of points possible under this
agreement. So that I have the pleasure of adding _two hundred and fifty_
honor marks to the score of the Wolf patrol; and the beautiful banner
will——”
The deafening applause, that made the rafters of that big town hall
quiver, drowned whatever else the gentleman meant to say; but while the
tumult was still going on, the banner was placed in the hands of the
happy leader of the Wolf patrol; and after that, there was no getting
the meeting under control again.
So ended the exciting competition for the lead among the four patrols of
the troop. There were heart burnings, of course, for boys can feel
bitter disappointment as well as any one; but as scouts, they were bound
to banish all envy and try to rejoice with the fortunate ones.
That other and even more exciting times lay ahead for some of the scouts
may be incidentally mentioned here. We can also assure those readers who
have become interested in the doings of Hugh, Billy, Alec and the rest,
that they may find their further adventures related in the next book of
this series, entitled: “The Boy Scouts of the Naval Reserve.”
THE END.
Transcriber’s Notes
--Copyright notice provided as in the original—this e-text is public
domain in the country of publication.
--Silently corrected palpable typos (including once exchanging the order
of two entire lines); left non-standard spellings and dialect
unchanged.
--In the text versions, delimited italics text in _underscores_ (the
HTML version reproduces the font form of the printed book.)