rom him,
hastily dressed and joined their two chums on the deck.

"I couldn't miss a yard of this scenery," said Jack, "and we've a few
things in that line, along our native Hudson, to brag about, too."

The steamer was treading her way through straits and channels among
hundreds of islands that fenced these almost lake-like waters from the
long swells of the North Pacific. Although it was the latter part of
April, early in the year for these latitudes, the influence of the warm
waters of the Japanese Gulf Stream could be seen in the bright green of
the islands.

On the other side of the ship, the dark green forests that clothed the
mountains of British Columbia came down to the very water's edge, and
swept by in one majestic panorama.

"There's certainly lots of scenery to the mile," said Rand, drawing a long
breath, as he gazed in admiration.

"My grandfather said that is what makes Scotland such a great country,"
remarked Don, catching at Rand's half-humorous comment, "standing the land
up on end."

"Let's give it the Scout's salute," suggested Pepper, with enthusiasm as
the laugh over Don's serious remark died away. "There ought to be a great
echo in those hills."

"Hold on," cried Jack, catching Pepper's arm as he unshipped his bugle. "I
had a talk with the purser last night, and I'm afraid we'll have to 'cut
out' the bugle calls on this trip. He says they have an official bugler
aboard, for the call to meals and for the salute at landings, and we would
interfere with him and perhaps affect the comfort of other passengers who
may not be so keen on the early morning hunt for scenery as we."

The Scout discipline and what might be called the Scout ritual, to which
the boys had been subjecting themselves for several years, was immediately
apparent in the murmurs of approval which greeted Jack's suggestion. To
those who have followed the career of the Boy Scouts of Creston on the
Hudson, in the preceding volumes of this series, it is scarcely necessary
to introduce the young men with whom this narrative starts.

The formation of the Patrol of Boy Scouts, at the suggestion of Colonel
Snow, a retired officer of the United States army; a mysterious robbery,
and a gallant rescue from the waters of the Hudson, are told in the first
volume, "Boy Scouts' Patrol." The second volume leads them into adventures
and difficulties incident to an excursion on motor cycles that have come
to each of them as a reward for their