nch,"
I said to Warde. "They're dead and they don't know it."

"They died laughing at P. Harris," Westy said.

"You think you're so smart, don't you?" the kid shouted. "One of our
patrol is camp librarian at Temple Camp."

"They're all highbrows," Westy said. "They think Scott's Emulsion is by
Sir Walter Scott. They're all busy studying monotony in that patrol."

"Do you mean to tell me that--that--that Ravens----" the kid began
yelling.

"You see how ravens can go up in the air," I said to Warde. "Now you
know why they're called the Raving Ravens. They're all right as long as
you don't feed them meat. They think you can do good turns riding on a
merry-go-round."

"What's the second-hand scout?" Warde wanted to know.

"Good night," I said, "don't make me laugh. You mean a second-_class_
scout. Of course there are slightly used scouts, 1915 models, but you
wouldn't call them exactly second-hand. First comes the tenderfoot, then
the second-class scout and then the first-class scout--and above that
are the Silver Foxes in a class by themselves."

"That's because they can't get anybody to go in the class with them,"
Pee-wee shouted.

Westy said, "Well, here we are talking about classes in vacation time.
In a minute we'll be talking about arithmetic. Let's talk of something
pleasant while we're eating."

I said, "Sure, let's talk of something pleasant. I didn't start talking
about the Ravens. The question is how are we going to follow a bee-line
across the river? I wish the equator went across the river and we could
walk on that."

CHAPTER XII

BLACK OR WHITE

We knew it would be pretty easy going after we got across the river. But
getting across the river, that was the question. We knew well enough
that we couldn't swim straight across on account of the tide running
out. It would have carried us downstream. The river isn't very wide
there and it isn't much of a swim across, only if we tried it we'd land
east of our course.

Westy said, "We're up against it now. What are we going to do?"

"If we wait till the tide is full," Hunt said, "we'll have to sit around
here till about eleven o'clock to-night."

I said, "Do you suppose the rope would reach across?"

"Sure it would," Dorry answered, "only how are we going to get it
across?"

"Throw it," Pee-wee said.

"And what will hold it there?" I asked him. "Besides, what good is the
rope as long as we haven't got our bathing suits? You don't expec