meeting Westy and I and Mr. Ellsworth took him home, and just
when we left him he asked us if maybe he'd live long enough to get the
pathfinder's badge. And oh, gee, it made me feel good the way Mr.
Ellsworth answered him.

He said, "Well, I can't exactly promise that because I don't know how
long it will take you to win that badge, but if you think you can win
it inside of forty or fifty years, I think you'll be there to grab it
when it comes." Oh, jingoes, but we've got one dandy scoutmaster. I
don't care what you say, he's the best one in America. And when he said
that, Skinny kind of smiled and then you could see how thin he was,
because the wrinkles came all around his mouth.

Well, on Saturday Westy and Dorry Benton and Ralph Warner (they're all
in my patrol) went into the city to get Skinny's outfit, so we could
give him a surprise at the meeting on Monday night. I didn't go because
I wanted Westy to have the say, and I didn't want him to think I was
butting in, because Skinny belonged to him, as you might say. Besides
I had to cut the grass to my sisters could play tennis with Johnny
Wade--honest, that fellow is there all the time. He's got a machine,
but I never saw it. I guess maybe it's a sewing machine, hey?

Now I didn't know how much money Mr. Bennett gave Mr. Ellsworth. All I
know is that when the fellows came back they had everything for Skinny,
or most everything. Because they came up to Camp Solitaire (that's the
tent I have on our lawn) and we opened the whole business. Pee-wee was
there and the first thing we knew he Was shouting that there wasn't any
beltaxe.

"We used all the money we had," Westy said "and it isn't worth while
asking Mr. Bennett for any more, even if there's one or two things
missing."

Oh, jiminy, Pee-wee went up in the air. "Why didn't you get a belt-axe,"
he shouted; "don't you know a belt-axe is the most important thing of
all? It's the sign of the scout! It's more important than the uniform."

"He'd look nice going down Main Street with a belt-axe and no uniform,"
I said; "you're crazy on the subject of belt-axes. What's the matter,
are you afraid Hindenberg is going to invade Bridgeboro? You should
worry about a belt-axe. Wait till he's a tenderfoot."

"That shows how much you know about scouting," he yelled; "the belt-axe
is the emblem of the woods."

"The which?', Westy said.

"The emblem of the woods," he hollered at the top of his voice. "You have
to have a be