Tom Slade at Temple Camp

Tom Slade at Temple Camp, by
Percy K. Fitzhugh

The Project Gutenberg EBook of Tom Slade at Temple Camp, by Percy
K. Fitzhugh This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost
and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it
away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License
included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
Title: Tom Slade at Temple Camp
Author: Percy K. Fitzhugh
Release Date: October 10, 2006 [EBook #19522]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TOM
SLADE AT TEMPLE CAMP ***

Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed Proofreading
Team at http://www.pgdp.net

TOM SLADE AT TEMPLE CAMP
By PERCY K. FITZHUGH

Author of
THE TOM SLADE BOOKS
THE ROY BLAKELEY BOOKS
THE PEE-WEE HARRIS BOOKS
Published with the approval of THE BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA
WHITMAN PUBLISHING CO. RACINE, WISCONSIN
-----
Copyright, MCMXVII
GROSSET & DUNLAP
Printed in the United States of America
-----
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. ROY'S SACRIFICE 1
II. INDIAN SCOUT SIGN 10
III. PEE-WEE AND MARY TEMPLE 19
IV. TOM AND ROY 25
V. FIRST COUP OF THE MASCOT 32
VI. THE SHELTER 52
VII. THE "GOOD TURN" 70
VIII. BON VOYAGE! 79

IX. THE MYSTERY 94
X. PEE-WEE'S ADVENTURE 110
XI. TRACKS AND TRAILING 124
XII. THE LONG ARM OF THE SCOUT 136
XIII. TEMPLE CAMP 150
XIV. HERO CABIN 165
XV. COWARD 177
XVI. OSTRACIZED 188
XVII. THE WINNING OF THE GOLDEN CROSS 197
------
CHAPTER I
ROY'S SACRIFICE
"Rejected by a large majority--I mean, elected by a large majority."
Roy Blakeley gathered up the ballots in his two hands, dropped them
into the shoe box and pushed the box across the table to Mr. Ellsworth
as if the matter were finally settled.
"Honorable Roy Blakeley," he added, "didn't even carry his own
patrol."
This humiliating confession, offered in Roy's gayest manner, was true.
The Silver Foxes had turned from their leader and, to a scout, voted for
Tom Slade. It was hinted that Roy himself was responsible for this, but
he was a good politician and would not talk. There was also a dark
rumor that a certain young lady was mixed up in the matter and it is a
fact that only the night before Roy and Mary Temple had been seen in

earnest converse on the wide veranda at Grantley Square by Pee-wee
Harris, who believed that a scout should be observant.
Be this as it may, Tom had carried his own patrol, the Elks,
unanimously, and the Silver Foxes had voted for him like instructed
delegates, while among the proud and dignified Ravens there had been
but one dissenting vote. Someone had cast this for Pee-wee Harris, the
Silver Fox mascot and the troop's chief exhibit. But, of course, it was
only a joke. The idea of Pee-wee going away as assistant camp
manager was preposterous. Why, you could hardly see him without a
magnifying glass.
"If this particular majority had been much larger," announced Roy, "it
wouldn't have been a majority at all; it would have been a unanimity."
"A una what?" someone asked.
"A unanimity--that's Latin for home run. Seems a pity that the only
thing that prevented a clean sweep was a little three-foot pocket edition
of a boy scout----"
At this moment, Pee-wee, by a miracle of dexterity, landed a ball of
twine plunk in the middle of Roy's face.
"Roy," laughed Mr. Ellsworth, "you're a good campaign manager."
"He's a boss," shouted Pee-wee, "that's what he is. A boss is a feller that
has people elected and then makes them do what he says."
"Well, you were glad enough to vote for him with the rest, weren't
you?" laughed the scoutmaster.
And Pee-wee had to confess that he was.
But there was no doubt that Roy had managed the whole thing, and if
ever political boss saw his fondest wishes realized Roy did now.
"I think," said Mr. Ellsworth, "that it is up to Tom to deliver his speech
of acceptance."

"Sure it is," said Westy Martin (Silver Fox). "We want to know his
policies. Is he going to favor the Elks or is he going to be neutral?"
"Is he for troop first or camp first?" asked Doc. Carson (Raven and
First-aid scout).
"Is Roy Blakeley going to come in for three or four helpings at mess
because he ran the campaign?" asked Connie Bennett, of the new Elks.
"Speech, speech!" called Eddie Ingram, of the Silver Foxes.
Tom looked uneasily at Mr. Ellsworth and on the scoutmaster's
laughing nod of encouragement arose.
He was not at his best in a thing of this kind; he had always envied Roy
his easy, bantering manner, but he was not the one to shirk