Don Strong, Patrol Leader | Page 9

good. What was past was past. It
was the future that troubled him the most.
Tim, he was sure, would now carry a chip on his shoulder. And if he
tried to make him keep step with the other scouts of the patrol, and if
Tim did not want to keep step--
"You're not eating, Don," said Barbara.
He came to himself with a start, smiled sheepishly, and gave thought to
his supper. But for the rest of the meal he could see Barbara watching
him. There was also a concerned look in the eyes of his sister Beth.
Why had he gone back that time? And having gone back, why had he
not told Tim, bluntly and plainly, that he would have to let Bobbie
alone? Had there been a clash of wills, it would all be over with now.
Instead, the time of decision had been put off. It might come any day.
And because he had hesitated to meet it once, it would be all the harder
to meet it in the future.
"I don't think Don is hungry," said Beth.
He came to himself with a start and found that he was again staring
fixedly at his plate. He was glad when the meal came to an end.

He went up to his room. There were two letters he ought to write to
Audubon societies that had ordered bird-houses. But, though he drew
out paper and ink and envelopes, he could not concentrate his thoughts
on what he had to say. At last he went downstairs and sat on the porch.
He was discouraged. Under Phil Morris, the Wolf patrol had been
strong and vigorous. Phil had refused to stand for any nonsense.
"I guess--I guess I haven't the spunk Phil had," Don told himself.
In the kitchen the sounds of dish-washing ceased. Presently Barbara
came out on the porch. The chair in which he sat was wide. She
touched his arm.
"Push over, Don."
He made room for her.
"Well," she asked, "what's the scout trouble now?"
He could always talk to Barbara as though she were an older brother.
Now he told her about his meeting with Tim, and of the sorry way he
had handled himself.
"And now," he ended, "Tim will think I'm scared of him and that he can
do just as he pleases."
"Will he think that?" Barbara asked.
"Well, won't he?"
The girl did not answer. After a moment she asked:
"How about good turns, Don? Does Tim do any?"
"Of course he does. Isn't he a scout?"
"What kind of good turns?"

"Well--" Don thought. "Remember last winter when Mr. Blair was
sick?"
"Yes."
"Tim looked after their furnace three times a day."
"Don," Barbara said, "don't you think he's all right at heart if he does
acts like that?"
Don stared. This was putting things in a new light. Then he thought of
Tim riding rough-shod, and tormenting Bobbie, and wanting his own
way in everything.
"Maybe Tim's all right at heart," he said dubiously, "but he's always
making trouble just the same. I'm not going to let him stew up my
patrol. I'll go to Mr. Wall--"
"Don!"
The sharp note of disappointment in Barbara's voice sent the blood into
his cheeks.
"Stand on your own feet," she said. "What would Mr. Wall think of you?
Did the old-time scouts like Daniel Boone go running for help every
time they found themselves in trouble?"
The boy did not answer. There was a long silence. Barbara touched his
arm.
"Angry, Don?"
"No. I--I guess I'll fight my own way," he said.
Somehow, that determination seemed to lighten his worries. He went
upstairs and wrote his letters. Afterward he picked up his Handbook
and idly turned the pages. Presently his eyes fell on the tenth law:
"He has the courage to face danger in spite of fear ... and defeat does

not down him." Next he read the fourth law, "He is a friend to all and a
brother to every other scout." And then he closed the book and for a
long time stared straight ahead.
Friday brought a busy day--bird-houses all morning, baseball practice
in the afternoon, and a troop meeting at night.
During the morning, as Don planed, and sawed, and hammered, he
whistled a gay air. But after dinner, as the time for baseball practice
approached, the whistle became subdued and at last stopped.
Up to now he had pitched against high-school boys, lads of his own age.
Tomorrow, though, he was to face a town team with its older, more
experienced players. He wondered if he would be able to make good.
And he wondered, just a little, how he and Tim would work together.
He might have saved himself the worry of wondering about Tim,