The Boy Scouts of Woodcraft Camp

as saluted in return. It was a point of etiquette which he learned was never omitted, and which did much to maintain discipline and to instil the principles of respect for superio

s in the social scale. A few were from homes of extreme wealth and one, according to Billy, was a Boston newsboy in whom the doctor [57] took a personal interest. But in acc

he principles of which are, in fact, the very ones he had been seeking to inculcate in his unique school. This year the camp had been placed under Scout regulations, and i

Walter heard his own name and paused, uncertain whether to go on or not. Billy was regaling

he talkative Billy. Then he added [58] as an aftert

allow it to show outwardly, he was inwardly not a little perturbed by the thought of the initiatory ordeal he felt sure he must undergo. Chief Woodhull's hint, together

settled down for the night. Walter lay listening in suspense for some sound which would indicate that secret designs concerning himself were afoot, but nothing but the regular br

ket, picked up bodily and carried forth into the night. In absolute silence his captors bore him along what appeared to be a rough, little used trail. Occasionally a dew-damp twig brushed his face. Through the tangle of interlacing branches overh

which the victim could catch only a word here and there. After what seemed like an interminable length of time Walter heard in th

eady?" asked a subdued

ief," was the

m be manned,"

ile, to judge by the sounds, the other canoes were hastily put in the water. Presently, at a low command f

ht the shadowy outline of the bow man's back, but the second time he tried it he was warned to desist. Out of the tail of his left eye he sometimes caught the arm and paddle of the stern m

t mysterious night ride on that lonely lake in the heart of the great north woods. His gag had been removed and, but for inability to move hand or foot, he w

humping fiercely until he rightly surmised that it was made by a startled muskrat, surprised at his nocturnal feast of mussels. Again, as they slipped through the heavy shadows close along shore, there w

gh-pitched, maniacal laugh that rolled across the water and was flung back in crazy echoes from the shores. In a flash it came to Walter that this must be the cry of the loon, the Great Northern Diver, of which he had often read. This time it was answered

the faint light could make out little. Apparently they were in the middle of a small opening in the forest. On all sides a seemi

ian. A single feather in his scalp lock was silhouetted against the sky. A blanket was loosely but gracefully draped about his figure. Standing in

ire to become a child of the Lenape, whose totem is the tortoise, to be adopted by the Delawares, the tribe of Uncas and Chingachgook; that you long to follow the tra

onquins. Our young men have had their ears to the [64] ground; they have followed your trail, and they yearn to make a place for you at their council fire. But, lest th

the red hand of his slayer,-here alone you shall keep watch through the black hours of the night. Thus shall we know if your heart be indeed the heart of the Lenape; if you

, then will the Delawares receive you with open arms, no longer a paleface, but a true son

oup squatting in silence he th

pe, do I speak tr

ified assent. Turning once more

you prepared to

ite of himself a shiver of something very like fear swept over him, for the mystery of the night was upon him. But he had firmly resolved not to show the white feather. Then again he was possessed of a large bump of sound common sense, and he felt certain tha

m re

t clatter of paddles carelessly dropped in canoes, and surmised that his late companions were embarking for camp. A few minutes later the hoot of a horned owl came from the direction

they had entered a building. He suspected that this was the haunted cabin. He was deposited on a rough board floor with what appeared to be a roll of old burlap beneath

d don't sit up suddenly,"

to himself he renewed his vow that, come what might, he would not show the w

in on one side, but on the other as far as he could reach was open space. Feeling above he found tha

are of a feeling that he was not the only tenant of the cabin. Once he heard something that sounded very like a long drawn sigh. He held his breath and listened, but there was not another sound. [68]

asserting herself. There had been little sleep for more than twenty-four hours, and now even the uncertainty of his posi

off. For a few minutes he blinked stupidly while

ior, trie

by welc

e your

e your

e you'

n our

n your fe

a Del-

and, to his amazement, Walter found he was not in the haunted cabin but in his own wigwam, where he had spent the night on the floor underneath his own bunk. The boys, noting

o an opening near, but out of sight of the camp, and there Woodhull, in the character of the Indian chief, had delivered the harangue. At its conclusion all but the guard had gone to the wigwam and at once turned in, one of them first slipping down to the la

say, wasn't Louis a lulu?" c

rry crew of sun-browned youngsters amongst whom he had come a total stranger less than twenty-four hours