Roy Blakeleys Adventures in Camp | Page 9

a mile south of Sea Gate, where they were fishing.
Their engine broke down and their small boat, beaten by the waves,
was leaking rapidly when they were picked up. One of the men was

unconscious from lack of nourishment and the other in a state of utter
exhaustion from bailing, in an all but futile effort to keep the frail little
craft above water. After being resuscitated, one of the men gave a
vague account of having encountered a waterlogged life-boat
containing several people who had perished from exposure, and of
certain papers and possessions found on one of them.
Later when a reporter made an effort to see the men for confirmation of
this statement, neither could be found. Both are said to have carried
considerable money on their persons, but this was explained by the
exceptionally large catches of fish which they sold, during their fishing
trip. No means of tracing them is known since the boat, in which one of
them resumed his journey home after repairs, had no license number.
Maybe you think I didn't read that article twice. And it made me
wonder a lot of things about that fishing trip. One thing, it looked as if
they might have had more adventures than Lieutenant Donnelle had
told me about, and maybe he didn't want to tell me everything--that's
what I thought. Anyway, he didn't say anything about a life-boat, that's
sure. But maybe he forgot to.
Just the same I wondered if maybe he had any other reason for being in
such a hurry and so excited, kind of. Then I remembered how he said
he would tell me all about it some day. Anyway, I said, he's had a lot of
adventures, that's sure. You bet I'd like to have a lot of adventures like
that.
CHAPTER V
TELLS ABOUT SKINNY'S MERIT BADGE
The next day was Sunday and two things happened, not counting
dinner. Early in the morning we drew lots to see who'd be deck steward
for the day, and Skinny was the one. That meant he'd have to sweep up
the deck and wipe the rail and do everything outside like that. Anyway,
there wasn't much to do.
At about twelve o'clock I went into the galley to cook dinner and

Charlie Seabury and Brick Warner went along to help me. While we
were peeling the potatoes, Skinny came in and showed me three or four
dimes and some pennies, and said he found them on the deck, when he
was sweeping. He said, "I've been to every fellow in the troop and
nobody lost any money. Are they yours?"
I told him no and so did Brick and Charlie and we said he had better
give them to Mr. Ellsworth. "One of them is a French coin," Brick said,
and he showed it to me and I saw that it was.
"I guess one of the fellows dropped some change climbing over the
rail," Charlie said, "and maybe didn't miss it on account of not losing
all he had, hey?"
"He'd know if he had a French coin and lost it," Brick said.
It made me feel kind of funny, because all the while I knew where
those coins came from. Anyway, Skinny went and gave them to Mr.
Ellsworth and when we were all together at dinner, Mr. Ellsworth asked
us if any fellow owned a French coin that was missing. Nobody said
yes, and then he said, kind of funny like, "Well, I suppose this is what
our young friend Mr. Walter Harris would call a mystery," and he said
we'd put the money in the troop treasury. Then he gave it to Will
Dawson (he's in my patrol), because Will is troop treasurer.
Somebody said, "How about the French coin? That's no use in the
treasury." And Mr. Ellsworth said we'd give that to Skinny, because he
found the money. He said it would be a kind of a merit badge to Skinny,
for keeping his eyes open.
I was mighty glad Mr. Ellsworth didn't ask us if anybody knew
anything about the money, because then--jiminy, I don't know what I
would have done. Maybe it would have been all right to keep still
because I wasn't dead sure whose it was. But all the while I knew I was
sure. Maybe I would have said I knew only I didn't want to tell, hey?
Anyway, he didn't ask and that was one good thing.
After dinner Skinny came to me all smiles and said, "I've got a merit

badge, it's for keeping my eyes open, and will you bore a hole in it so I
can wear it around my neck?" Oh, but that kid was happy.
I said, "Did you have a good dinner, kiddo?" And