iremen's Field, do you realize that? We'll
be mighty busy for a while--hello, look who's inspecting our
motorcycles."

Bud and Romper looked up in time to see Dick Austin, the boy from
Arizona, scrutinizing the three machines that were lined up at the curb.

"Howdy," he said as they came up. "I was just eyeing these here
critters. Look blamed ferocious, they do."

"Would you like to ride on the tandem behind me?" asked Bruce.

"Who, me?" exclaimed Dick. "No, sirree, yo' cain't git me to straddle
that there animal. Ef 'twas a hoss I'd be tickled to death, but you
cain't git a snorting machine under me."

"Huh," said Bud, contemptuously, when Dick was out of earshot, "that
sounds like a bluff to me. Bet he's afraid of a horse, too."

"Oh, I don't know," said Bruce, as he started his engine, "he has the
legs of a horseman and he comes from Arizona, you know."

"Yes, but he's a scared cat," asserted Romper as the trip got under way.

CHAPTER XI

THE COURAGE OF A COWARD

Woodbridge was a profusion of bunting and streamers on Independence Day.
Almost every building, from the meanest little stores on Stone Street to
the big business blocks on Willow and State Streets, was gay with flags
and emblems. The thoroughfares were thronged with people, too. Summer
folk from the cities, mingled with the easily distinguished farmers who
had come to town for the celebration, and these with the residents made
the population of the town almost double its normal size.

Soon after the dinner hour the crowd all began to move in one direction,
for everybody was headed for the exhibition grounds.

Firemen's Field was an ideal place for the celebration. It was in a
broad unfenced stretch of valley bottom on the outskirts of town and a
grandstand had been erected there for the Firemen's Tournament in the
spring, so well remembered by the "smoke-eaters" of Quarry Troop. A deep
woods stretched along the west side of the field and Otter Creek formed
the southern boundary, while the highway to St. Cloud ran across its
northern extreme. There were several acres of broad green lawn in front
of the grandstand, and the only obstructions in the whole area were the
tall and short poles the scouts had erected. These, however, had been
placed so as not to interfere with the dancing and other events scheduled
for the day.

The grandstand was filled to capacity long before the hour set for the
beginning of the ceremonies, and