Simms," said Pete, enthusiastically. "If all the bosses were like him,
we'd be all right."

"They're not, Pete, though I guess most of them try to do what's fair,
when they understand just how things are. But, anyhow, Mr. Simms thought
it was a fine idea, and he went around and helped Mr. Durland with the
other people, who weren't so ready to let off the Boy Scouts who
happened to be working for them. And I guess that this call means that
it's all fixed up, for if it hadn't been nothing would have been said
about it."

Pete and Jack, with the other members of the Troop, reported at Scout
headquarters that night, and gave Scout-Master Durland a noisy welcome
when he rose to address them.

"Now," he said, "I want you to be quiet and listen to me. A great honor
has been paid to the Troop. We have been invited to take part, as
Scouts, in the coming maneuvers of the National Guard. There is to be a
sham war, you know, and the militia of this State and the neighboring
State, with some help from the regular army, are to take part in it. A
troop of Boy Scouts has been selected from the other State, and after
the militia officers had inspected all the Troops in this State they
chose the Thirty-ninth."

He had to stop then for a minute to give the great cheer that greeted
his announcement time to die away.

"Gee, Jack, I guess we're all right, what?" asked Pete, happily.

"Be still a minute, Pete. Mr. Durland isn't through yet."

"Now, I have gone around and got permission for all of you to go on this
trip," the Scout-Master went on. "It's going to be different from
anything we've ever done before. It's a great big experiment, and we're
going to be watched by Boy Scouts and army and National Guard officers
all over the country. It means that the Boy Scouts are going to be
recognized, if we make good, as a sort of reserve supply for the
militia. But we are going, if we go, without thinking about that at all.
Forget the militia, and remember only that you will have a chance to do
real scouting, and to make real reports of a real enemy."

"Look here," cried Dick Crawford, the Assistant Scout-Master, suddenly,
"I want everyone to join in and give three cheers for Scout-Master
Durland. I know how hard he's worked to give every one of us a chance to
make this trip and get the experience of real scouting. And it's up to
every one of us to see that he doesn't have any reason to feel sorry
that he did it. He trusts us to make go