e girls said.

"Can't you wait a little while?" Pee-wee shouted. "Wasn't the world war
four years long? That shows what you know about history."

One of the girls said, "Do you still claim to be invincible?"

"Sure we do," Pee-wee said. "But of course everybody--a lot of people
know that women helped in the war a lot--everybody knows that. We
wouldn't be mad if you made a suggestion."

That Daring girl said, "Oh, I haven't a _single thing_ to suggest. We
believe in action. Actions speak louder than suggestions. If you're
really ready to admit that you're defeated I'll make a proposal. It
isn't a suggestion, it's a proposal."

"Proposals are just as good as suggestions," Pee-wee said.

She said, "Well, if you're ready to admit that you're balked----"

"Even--even--even the Germans were balked on the Marne, weren't they?"
our young hero shouted.

I said, "Well, it doesn't look as if that giant with the brass buttons
is going to surrender. If we could get some propaganda past him to the
people in the house----"

"Like they did with airplanes," Pee-wee said.

"Yes, but you see the shutters are closed," she said. "Girl scouts are
_observant_. It _looks_ as if there were no one in the house but that
horrid big giant."

I said, "What do you propose?"

Then Dora Dane Daring said, "I propose to lead you to victory if you
will print it up on your banner that you were saved from disaster by the
Girl Scouts of America, and keep that on your banner till you get home."

"I'd like to see you do it first," I said.

"You mean to tell me you're not afraid of that man?" Pee-wee said. "Do
you think I'd let you--a scout has to be chivalrous. He has to protect
women----"

"Give me your hatchet," she said, and she jerked it out of his belt.

"You better look out what you're doing," the kid said. "Do you want to
get arrested?"

She swung Pee-wee's belt-axe in the air just like Carrie Nation or Joan
of Arc and she said, "Follow me!"

Pee-wee said, "Dora Dane Daring, you'd better look out what you're
doing."

She said, "Private Canary Bird Harris, you're a coward. Fall in line,
everybody!"

Gee whiz, I thought that girl was crazy. Up she marched, right onto the
porch, with all the rest of us after her. Pee-wee kind of hung
back--safety first for him. I was ready to run any minute. We went
across that porch as if we were stalking a bird.

But she didn't care. She just hit the door a good rap with the hatchet
and kept p