."

"He'd furnish some fun--he always does."

"He'd furnish a lot of trouble and responsibility! Why can't he wait and
come up with the rest? Makes me sick!" Roy added, as he hurled the
aluminum coffee-pot out of a chair and sat down disgustedly.

"_Now_, you see, you dented that," said Tom.

"A lot _I_ care. Gee, I'd like to call the whole thing off--that's what
I'd like to do. I'd do it for two cents."

"Well, I've got two cents," said Tom, "but I'm not going to offer it.
_I_ say, let's make the best of it. I've seen you holding your sides
laughing at Pee-wee. You said yourself he was a five-reel photoplay all
by himself."

Roy drew a long breath and said nothing. He was plainly in his very
worst humor. He did not want Pee-wee to go. He, too, wanted to be alone
with Tom. There were plenty of good turns to be done without bothering
with this particular one. Besides, it was not a good turn, he told
himself. It would expose Walter Harris to perils---- Oh, Roy was very
generous and considerate of Walter Harris----

"If it's a question of good turns," he said, "it would be a better turn
to leave him home, where he'll be safe and happy. It's no good turn to
him, dragging him up and down mountains till he's so dog-tired he falls
all over himself--is it?"

Tom smiled a little, but said nothing.

"Oh, well, if that's the way you feel," said Roy, pulling the cord of
his duffel bag so tight that it snapped, "you and Pee-wee had better go
and I'll back out."

"It ain't the way I feel," said Tom, in his slow way. "I'd rather go
alone with you. Didn't I say so? I guess Pee-wee thinks he's stronger
than he is. _I_ think he'd better be at home too and I'd rather he'd
stay home, though it's mostly just because I want to be alone with you.
Maybe it's selfish, but if it is I can't help it. I think sometimes a
feller might do something selfish and make up for it some other
way--maybe. But I don't think any feller's got a right to do something
selfish and then call it a good turn. I don't believe a long hike would
hurt Pee-wee. He's the best scout-pacer in your patrol. But I want to go
alone with you and I'd just as soon tell Mary so. I suppose it would be
selfish, but we'd just try to make up----"

"Oh, shut up, will you!" snapped Roy. "You get on my nerves, dragging
along with your theories and things. _I_ don't care who goes or if
anybody goes. And you can go home and sleep for all I care."

"All right," said Tom, rising