Tom Slade on Mystery Trail

Tom Slade on Mystery Trail

Project Gutenberg's Tom Slade on Mystery Trail, by Percy Keese 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 on Mystery Trail
Author: Percy Keese Fitzhugh
Release Date: April 15, 2006 [EBook #18180]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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TOM SLADE
ON MYSTERY TRAIL
BY
PERCY KEESE FITZHUGH
Author of
TOM SLADE, BOY SCOUT, TOM SLADE AT TEMPLE CAMP, ROY BLAKELEY, ETC.
ILLUSTRATED BY
R. EMMETT OWEN
Published with the approval of
THE BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA
GROSSET & DUNLAP
PUBLISHERS :: NEW YORK
Made in the United States of America
* * * * *
COPYRIGHT, 1921, BY
GROSSET & DUNLAP
* * * * *
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I THE THREE SCOUTS 1
II ANOTHER SCOUT 4
III THE "ALL BUT" SCOUT 10
IV HERVEY LEARNS SOMETHING 15
V WHAT'S IN A NAME? 26
VI THE EAGLE AND THE SCOUT 31
VII THE STREAK OF RED 35
VIII EAGLE AND SCOUT 38
IX TO INTRODUCE ORESTES 44
X OFF WITH THE OLD LOVE, ON WITH THE NEW 48
XI OFF ON A NEW TACK 57
XII AS LUCK WOULD HAVE IT 62
XIII THE STRANGE TRACKS 67
XIV HERVEY'S TRIUMPH 72
XV SKINNY'S TRIUMPH 77
XVI IN DUTCH 83
XVII HERVEY GOES HIS WAY 91
XVIII THE DAY BEFORE 96
XIX THE GALA DAY 102
XX UNCLE JEB 109
XXI THE FULL SALUTE 113
XXII TOM RUNS THE SHOW 119
XXIII PEE-WEE SETTLES IT 123
XXIV THE RED STREAK 132
XXV THE PATH OF GLORY 141
XXVI MYSTERIOUS MARKS 147
XXVII THE GREATER MYSTERY 152
XXVIII WATCHFUL WAITING 156
XXIX THE WANDERING MINSTREL 161
XXX HERVEY MAKES A PROMISE 169
XXXI SHERLOCK NOBODY HOLMES 175
XXXII THE BEGINNING OF THE JOURNEY 179
XXXIII THE CLIMB 185
XXXIV THE RESCUE 188
CHAPTER THE
LAST. Y-EXTRA! Y-EXTRA! Y-EXTRA! 194
* * * * *
TOM SLADE
ON MYSTERY TRAIL
CHAPTER I
THE THREE SCOUTS
At Temple Camp you may hear the story told of how Llewellyn, scout of the first class, and Orestes, winner of the merit badges for architecture and for music, were by their scouting skill and lore instrumental in solving a mystery and performing a great good turn.
You may hear how these deft and cunning masters of the wood and the water circumvented the well laid plans of evil men and co?perated with their brother scouts in a good scout stunt, which brought fame to the quiet camp community in its secluded hills.
For one, as you shall see, is the bulliest tracker that ever picked his way down out of a tangled wilderness and through field and over hill straight to his goal.
And the other is a famous gatherer of clews, losing sight of no significant trifle, as the scout saying is, and a star scout into the bargain, if we are to believe Pee-wee Harris. I am not so sure that the ten merit badges of bugling, craftsmanship, architecture, aviation, carpentry, camping, forestry, music, pioneering and signaling should be awarded this sprightly scout (for Pee-wee is as liberal with awards as he is with gum-drops). But there can be no question as to the propriety of the music and architecture awards, and I think that the aviation award would be quite appropriate also.
Yet if you should ask old Uncle Jeb Rushmore, beloved manager of the big scout camp, about these two scout heroes, a shrewd twinkle would appear in his eye and he would refer you to the boys, who would probably only laugh at you, for they are a bantering set at Temple Camp and would jolly the life out of Daniel Boone himself if that redoubtable woodsman were there.
Listen then while I tell you of how Tom Slade, friend and brother of these two scouts, as he is of all scouts, assisted them, and of how they assisted him; and of how, out of these reciprocal good turns, there came true peace and happiness, which is the aim and end of all scouting.
CHAPTER II
ANOTHER SCOUT
It was characteristic of Tom Slade that he liked to go off alone occasionally for a ramble in the woods. It was not that he liked the scouts less, but rather that he liked the woods more. It was his wont to stroll off when his camp duties for the day were over and poke around in the adjacent woods.
The scouts knew and respected his peculiarities and preferences, particularly those who were regular summer visitors at the big camp, and few ever followed him into his chosen haunts. Occasionally some new scout, tempted by the pervading reputation and unique negligee of Uncle Jeb's young assistant, ventured to follow him and avail himself of the tips and woods lore with which the more experienced scout's conversation abounded when he was in a talking mood. But Tom was a sort of creature