own whistle
of a quail; and he always responded.

There was a very tall fellow, with a remarkably long neck. "Giraffe" he
had become when years younger, and the name was likely to stick to him
even after he got into college. When his attention was called to
anything, Conrad Stedman usually stretched his neck in a way that gave
him a great advantage over his fellows. He was sometimes a little
touchy; but gave promise of proving himself a good scout, being willing
to learn, faithful, and obliging.

Another of the patrol had a rather melancholy look. This was Stephen
Bingham. He might have gone to the end of the chapter as plain Steve;
but when a little fellow at school, upon being asked his name, he had
pronounced it as if a compound word; and ever since he was known as
Step-hen Bingham. Whenever he felt like sending his companions into fits
of laughter Step-hen would show the whites of his eyes, and look
frightened. He could never find his things, and was forever appealing to
the others to know whether they had seen some article he had misplaced.
Step-hen evidently had much to learn before he could qualify for the
degree of a first-class scout.

The one who seemed to be second in Command of the little detachment was
a quiet looking boy. Allan Hollister had been raised after a fashion
that as he said "gave him the bumps of experience." Part of his life had
been spent in the Adirondacks and in Maine; so that he really knew by
actual participation in the work what the other lads were learning from
the books they read.

He lived with his mother, said to be a widow. They seemed to have
plenty of money; but Allan was often sighing, as though somehow his
thoughts turned back to former scenes, and he longed to return to Maine
again.

Here then was the complete roster of the Silver Fox Patrol of Cranford
Troop, as called by the secretary, Bob White, at each and every meeting.

1. Thad Brewster, Patrol Leader, and Assistant Scout-Master.

2. Allan Hollister, upon whom the responsibility rested after Thad.

3. Cornelius Hawtree.

4. Robert Quail White.

5. Edmund Maurice Travers Smith.

6. Conrad Stedman.

7. Davy Jones.

8. Stephen Bingham.

Of course, as the rules of the organization provided, there was a
genuine scout-master to accompany the boys when possible, and look after
their moral welfare; as well as act as a brake upon the natural
exuberance of their spirits. This was a young man who was studying
medi