place
was?" laughed Thad, who knew the weakness of Step-hen very well by this
time. "Now, what's that hanging from that little broken twig up there?"

"Well, I declare, I do remember putting it there!" cried the other, with
a wide grin, as he unhooked the handle of the tin cup, and took it
proudly down. "And after this, you fellows had better go easy with me.
I'm learning to keep my things where they won't get lost, understand
that?"

"Yes, but write it down each time, Step-hen," laughed Smithy.

Step-hen turned upon this new tormentor.

"Oh! Smithy," he remarked, pleasantly, "you're sure going to get another
new suit of clothes, because there's a measuring worm right now,
crawling up your back, with his tape line working over time."

Smithy writhed, and looked piteously at his nearest neighbor.

"Oh! please knock him off, Bumpus; and do be careful not to mash him,
because you know, it would make a nasty spot. Ugh! I detest worms, and
snakes, and all the things that crawl. Thank you, Bumpus; I'll do the
same for you some day."

Smithy was getting on very well, Thad thought, considering how much he
had to "unlearn" in order to make a good scout. That morning, after the
dip in the lake, the boys had had considerable fun with the tidy one.
They had watched him dress in his fastidious way, and before long
several of them were mocking him. He brushed his clothes with a lovely
brush he had brought along, and which was better fitted for a lady's
dressing table than a boys' camp. Then he adjusted his tie before a
little mirror he produced, spent a long time fixing his flaxen locks to
suit him, with another silver mounted brush; and finally dented in his
campaign hat with the greatest precision.

Then the boys burst out into a roar, and Smithy became aware that he had
been an object of great interest to his campmates for ten minutes. He
turned fiery red, looked confused for a brief time; and finally
snatching off his hat, gave it several careless blows, after which he
thrust it on his head in any old way.

At that a cheer had arisen from the other scouts. They seemed to
understand that in a short time Smithy would have learned his lesson.
The work which had taken his doting mother and maiden aunts years to
accomplish, would be thrown overboard in a week, and a new Smithy arise.

Each fellow having taken his tin cup, they sought an open spot where the
water boiling test could be carried out without one scout interferi