“Since I been assistant to Uncle Jeb—­that’s two years—­I saw the
    Eagle award given out twice——­”

“You won it yourself, Tomasso!”

“I saw it given to a scout from Virginia and one from New York.  You always hear a lot of talk about the Eagle award here in camp.  Lots of scouts start out big and don’t get away with it.  I guess everybody knows it isn’t easy.  If you’re an Eagle Scout you’re everything else.  You got to be.

“I’ve seen scouts get it.  But in the last couple of days I saw one chuck it in the dirt and trample on it.  That’s because when a fellow gets so far that he’s really an Eagle Scout, he doesn’t care so much about it.  A fellow’s got to be a scout to win the Eagle badge.  And if he’s enough of a scout for that, he’s enough of a scout to give it up if there’s any reason.  What does he care?  If he’s scout enough to be an Eagle Scout, and gives it up, he doesn’t even bother to tell anybody.  Being willing to give it up is part of winning it, as you might say.

“Maybe you people didn’t know who you were cheering when you cheered Alfred McCord.  But I’ll tell you who you were cheering.  You were cheering the only Eagle Scout in Temple Camp.  And he doesn’t care any more about the Eagle badge than he does about what every little tin scout in his own troop thinks of him, either.  And I’m standing here to tell you that.  I saw that scout give up one badge and win another at the same time.  I saw him lose the stalking badge and win the animal first aid badge all inside of an hour.  He thought he lost out by giving up his tracks to Alfred McCord, when he might have scared the life out of the little fellow and chased him back to camp.

“But all the time he had an extra badge and he didn’t know it.  That’s because he doesn’t bother about the handbook and because he wins badges so fast he can’t keep track of them.  He’s an Eagle Scout and he doesn’t know it.  He threw one badge away and caught another and he’s coming up here now to stand still for two minutes if he can and listen to the paper that Mr. Temple is going to read to him.  Come ahead up, Hervey Willetts, or I’ll come down there and pull you out of that tree and drag you up by the collar!”

CHAPTER XXIII

PEE-WEE SETTLES IT

For half a minute there was no response, and the people, somewhat bewildered, stared here and there, applauding fitfully.

“Come ahead, I know where you are,” Tom pronounced grimly; “I’ll give you ten seconds.”

The victim knew that voice; perhaps it was the only voice at camp which he would have obeyed.  There was the sound of a cracking branch, followed by a frightened cry of “Look out!” Some one called, “He’ll kill himself!” Then a rustling of leaves was heard, and down out of the tree he came and scrambled to his feet, amid cries of astonishment, Hervey Willetts was running true to form and the moment of his triumph was celebrated by a new stunt.