Parson Dan and Mrs. Royal were much pleased at the part Rod had taken in the capture of the robbers.  They talked it all over with the captain when he came over to see them the very next day.

“The boys did fine,” the old man proudly remarked.  “They know how to hold their tongues and obey orders, which is more than many older people kin do.”

Rod fairly walked on air, and held his head very high.  The thrill of adventure now filled his soul, and he longed for something more to happen.  It was a long quaint letter he wrote to Anna Royanna in reply to the one she had sent him.  He told all about the adventure on the island, the capture of the robbers, and how he and Phil had gone to the city with the captain as witnesses.  He mentioned, also, that they had received the one hundred dollars’ reward, and had put it in the bank with the rest of the scout money.  It seemed so easy and natural for him to write to this woman.  He was sure that she was interested in everything that went on at Hillcrest.  “I hope you will come to see us again,” he wrote in conclusion.  “Whyn speaks about you every day, and so do all the rest of the scouts.”  Mrs. Royal smiled at these words when Rod showed her the letter he had written.  It was true in a way that Whyn was really a scout, in fact, a very vital part of the patrol.

The letter which Rod wrote to his mother was very different from that to the singer.  It was brief, and not bubbling over with information as was the other.  He found it hard to tell her about the things which interested him, and he did not ask her to come soon.  He was too much afraid that she would arrive and take him away.

A woman far away smiled sadly as she read these two letters, with different addresses on the envelopes.  She could see at a glance the boy’s interest in the singer, and what a pleasure it was for him to write that letter.  But the other, to his mother, was a task, a mere duty, the sooner done, the better.  But then, she knew that it was only natural, and she longed for the time to come when letters would not be needed, and Rod would know the truth.

No one in the whole parish of Hillcrest was more interested in what had taken place than Whyn.  She was never tired of talking about the capture, and the winning the reward.  It was a great letter which she wrote to Douglas, telling him all that had recently happened in the little Hillcrest world.  Whenever the scouts gathered in her room, she discussed plans with them, and listened to their various experiences.  These latter were now confined to drill, studying for the new badges, and sailing with the captain on the river.

By this time the scouts had one hundred and fifty dollars in the bank, which to them seemed a great sum.  Several were quite satisfied with the amount.  But Whyn was of a different opinion.  “We must make it two hundred, at least,” she told them.  “It is time to get to work and raise that other fifty, for it will not do to stop when we have made such a good start.”