WHYN DECIDES
There was considerable excitement among the Hillcrest troop when
Captain Josh and Rod returned home. The rest of the scouts were at the
wharf to meet them, and marched with them at once to Whyn's room. The
new scout suit was greatly admired, and the jealous ones had enough
sense to keep quiet. In fact, they were too much ashamed to say
anything, so they sat and listened to what was going on. Whyn was
delighted, and made Rod stand before her while she examined him with
critical eyes.
"My, I wish you all had suits like that," she sighed, "then you would
look something like a troop. Soldiers never seem of much account until
they get their uniforms on."
Captain Josh then told of the trouble they had had with Peter McDuff,
and how at last he had been compelled to pay what was right.
"Good for you!" Whyn exclaimed. "You're the right kind of a
scoutmaster to have. I shall tell that to Douglas when I write again."
When the captain told about the parade of the six hundred scouts, and
what the Lieutenant-Governor had said, the enthusiasm became very keen.
The scouts' eyes sparkled with interest, and all began to talk at once.
Yes, they would win the prize, they declared, and they would buy a
motorboat with the money they earned. Though they had spoken about
such a boat before, the captain had scoffed at the idea, saying that
the _Roaring Bess_ was good enough for him. But deep in his heart he
longed for a motor-boat even more than the boys. The yacht was all
right for pleasure, but it was hardly suited for business, such as
fishing, and carrying passengers over the river. If the scouts could
earn enough money to buy a motor-boat he could have the use of it.
How to earn the money was the important question, and many were the
ideas suggested. One boy thought they might catch rabbits next winter;
another wished to go over to the big island and dig for gold which
Captain Kidd was supposed to have buried there. All expressed their
views except Rod. He waited until the rest were through before
speaking.
"Let us leave it to Whyn," he at last suggested. "She always has some
plan, and will know what we might do first."
"That's good," the captain agreed. "We can't do better than that."
"Oh, I don't know," the girl laughingly replied. "You might make a
mistake if you let me choose."
"No, no," came in chorus. "You'll do all right."
"Very well, then, I'll do the best I can, though you'll have to give
until to-morrow to decide. I want to sleep on it to-night."
"But no lyin' awake, remember," the captain warned. "Ye're not to stay
awake thinkin' it all over. If ye do, I'll wash my hands of the whole
affair."
"No fear of that, captain," and Whyn smiled up into his face. Such a
smile as that was worth a great deal to the old man, though he never
spoke of it to any one. "There is one thing, however," the girl
continued, "which must be done before we begin to earn that money."
"And what's that?" the captain inquired.
"All the scouts must have their suits. It will be necessary if the
plan which has just come into my mind can be worked out."
"Hey, d'ye hear that?" the captain roared, as if he were giving orders
to a rebellious crew. "Ye must have yer suits, and then we'll git down
to work in dead earnest."
Rod was anxious to get home to show Mr. and Mrs. Royal his new suit.
They had been waiting for him for some time, and were quite anxious, as
the steamer had been up for over an hour. When he entered the
dining-room they thought that they had never beheld such a fine-looking
boy. Their hearts swelled with pride, and Mrs. Royal secretly brushed
away a tear with the corner of her apron.
Rod told them all about what they had done in the city, about Peter
McDuff, the parade, and how the Hillcrest troop was going to enter the
contest for the prize. This was of much interest to the Royals, and
they sat at the table later than usual discussing the whole matter.
"I have important news for you this evening, Rodney," Parson Dan after
a while informed him. "I had a letter from your mother to-day, and she
says that she hopes to pay us a visit sometime this summer."
"Oh!" It was all that the boy could say, but several anxious thoughts
surged through his mind. Was his mother coming to take him away? he
wondered. He did not wish to go, as all of his interests were centred
in Hillcrest.
Mr. and Mrs. Royal, too, looked grave. They had thought of the same
idea. Would Rod's mother ask them to give up the boy? How could they
part with him? they asked themselves.
"When is she coming, grandad?" Rod at last asked.
"She doesn't say, so we may expect her at almost anytime."
"I don't want to see her," the boy cried, while tears started in his
eyes.
"Don't want to see your mother, Rodney!" the clergyman exclaimed in
surprise.
"Yes, in a way I want to see her," was the faltering reply. "But if
she wants to take me away, I don't want her to come. Oh, don't let her
take me, grandad," and Rod sprang to his feet, and stood beseechingly
before the parson. "Why should she come for me now? If she wanted me
very much, why didn't she come before?"
"There, there, dear, don't worry," Mrs. Royal soothed. "It is hardly
likely that your mother will wish to take you away from us. It is only
natural that she should long to see you. There must be some good
reason why she could not come before. You had better go to bed now,
for you must be tired after your busy day."
The scouts were anxious to know what plan Whyn would suggest for
raising money, and so they were earlier than usual at her room on the
following afternoon. It was a beautiful day, and through the open
window drifted the scent of flowers, and new-mown hay. It was a cool
refreshing spot, this little room, where the bright-faced girl received
her visitors. Captain Josh was not present, as he had work to do in
his garden.
Whyn greeted the boys with a smile, and after they had seated
themselves upon chairs and the floor, she plunged at once into the
subject of special interest.
"Let's give a concert," she abruptly began.
"A what?" the boys exclaimed.
"A concert and a tea. Don't you understand? I have been talking it
over with the captain and Mrs. Britt, and they think it a good idea.
The plan is this: We shall invite all the people in the place to come
early before it gets dark. They can gather in front of the house so I
can see what is going on. We will ask Parson Dan to give a speech, and
then you scouts will show what you can do. You will give a talk on the
flag, tie the knots, say the scout law, and do some signalling. After
that the captain will march you up and down before the people, and you
will do the staff-drill which he is going to teach you. Then you will
sell ice-cream and candy. Each scout is to bring something, and Mrs.
Britt will make the candy. Perhaps other people will assist, too. Oh,
it will be grand!"
"How much do you think we will make, Whyn?" one of the boys asked.
"Can't we have something bigger than that? It will take a long time to
earn much money that way."
"It will be a beginning, though," was the quiet reply. "We must not
expect to raise all the money at once. After we are through with this
we can try something else. We might get fifty people to come, and if
we sell tickets at ten cents each that will bring us in five dollars.
I am sure the summer people will come, and we may have more than fifty.
Then, we should make five dollars from the refreshments, and that will
be ten dollars in all, which will not be too bad for a start."
The scouts finally agreed to what Whyn said, and they spent
considerable time talking over the whole affair, and arranging their
plans. The interest now became very keen, and when the tickets had
been made each boy undertook to sell as many as he could. In a week's
time all the tickets were sold, and more had to be made by Mrs. Britt
and Whyn.
The scouts practised hard for the important event, and Captain Josh
spared no pains in his efforts to drill them as thoroughly as possible.
Each one had now passed the tenderfoot tests, and were ready for their
badges. They had also earned the money for their suits, and it was a
great day when all appeared before Whyn dressed in their complete
uniforms. The girl was delighted, and her eyes sparkled with joy as
the captain marched them up and down outside her window.
The big affair was to take place Thursday evening, and when the scouts
visited Whyn on Monday afternoon they were in fine spirits. Everything
had been arranged, many tickets had been sold, and it looked as if the
concert would be a great success. They found the invalid girl quieter
than they had ever seen her before, though she greeted them with her
usual smile and listened to them for several minutes as they talked
about scout matters.
"There is something which troubles me," Whyn at length remarked.
"Every concert should have singing, or music of some kind. Now, we
have not arranged for one song, and I am sure the people who come will
be disappointed. I am so fond of singing myself that I know how much
it will be missed. But I suppose it can't be helped. I wish you boys
could sing."
"Maybe some of the choir members would come," Rod suggested.
"Oh, do you think they would?" Whyn eagerly asked.
"I am not quite sure that they will. But I will speak to grandad about
it. I know he will do all he can to help."
"I hope they will come," and Whyn gave a tired sigh. "I haven't heard
any singing for such a long time, that I am hungry for it. I had such
a wonderful letter from Douglas to-day," she continued, after a slight
pause. "He says that Anna Royanna, the great new American singer, has
been in Ottawa, and he heard her one night. She is quite young, so he
writes, very beautiful, and with such a sad sweet face. The people
went fairly wild over her voice, and she had to sing one piece twice
before they would let her stop. And do you know, she is coming to St.
John, and will be at the Opera House on Wednesday night. Just think of
it!" and Whyn's eyes glowed with enthusiasm, while she clasped her thin
white hands together. "She will be there, so near, and yet I won't be
able to hear her. But mamma will tell me about it, and that will be
something."
The scouts did not remain long in Whyn's room that afternoon. They
knew that she was tired, and so when they left her they made their way
to the shore, and sat down upon the sand under the shade of a large
willow tree. They were unusually silent now, for all were thinking of
what Whyn had told them about the wonderful singer.
"Isn't it too bad," Rod suddenly began, "that Whyn can't hear her sing?"
"She can't go to the city, that's sure," Phil Dexter replied, giving
the stick he was holding a savage thrust into the yielding sand.
"Maybe she'd come here," Billy Potter suggested.
This was a brilliant idea, and the scouts looked at one another, while
the light of hope brightened their faces.
"Would she come?" that was the question each asked himself. These boys
knew nothing about the ways of the great world beyond their own parish.
If they did they would have known how utterly ridiculous was the
thought of a famous singer coming all the way to such an unknown place
as Hillcrest to sing to an invalid girl. But to them their little
circle was everything, and the idea of such a noted person coming was
nothing out of the ordinary.
"How much do you think she'd want?" Tommy Bunker queried.
"Let's give her half what we make," Rod suggested. "And look," he
continued, "we mustn't say a word to Captain Josh or Whyn, or to
anybody else. Let it be a big surprise to all. If she comes we can
keep her hid until the very last, and then she can come out and sing
just like people do in story-books. Wouldn't Whyn be surprised and
delighted?"
"But who's going to ask her?" Phil enquired. "Father's going to the
city on Wednesday, for I heard him say so this morning. Maybe he would
see her."
"But we mustn't let him know anything about it," Rod warned. "Why
couldn't you go with him, Phil?"
"I wouldn't like to go alone," was the reply. "She'd scare me, and I
wouldn't know what to say. I'll go, for one, if dad'll let me, and I
guess he will. Then, if you'll come, too, Rod, I'll go with you to see
her. You can do the talking, and I'll back you up."
"Mighty poor backing, I should say," Joe Martin retorted, with a grin.
"Better take some one with more spunk, Rod. I think you should go,
though, as patrol-leader."
"I guess Phil will do all right," Rod replied. "We could go to hear
her sing, that's if I can go. I will find out about it and let you
know."