Tom Slade on Mystery Trail | Page 6

I selected myself; angling, bugling, carpentry,
conservation or whatever you call it, and cycling and firemanship and
music hath charms, not, and seamanship and signaling. And two-thirds
of the stalking badge. I bet you'll say that's a good one."
"There's one good one that you left out," Tom said. "I thought you'd
think of it on account of that last one."
"You mean stalking?"
"I mean another that has something to do with that?"
"Now you've got me guessing," Hervey said.
"Well, how do you want me to help you?" Tom asked, thus stifling his
companion's inquisitiveness.
"Well," said Hervey, ready, even eager to adapt himself to Tom's mood,
"all I've got to do is to track an animal for a half a mile or so----"
"A quarter of a mile," Tom said.
"And then I'm an Eagle Scout," Hervey concluded. "But if I want to be
in on the hand-outs Saturday night, I've got to do it between now and
Saturday, and that's what has me worried. I want to go home from here
an Eagle Scout. Gee, I don't want all my work to go for nothing."
"You want what you want when you want it, don't you?" Tom said,
smiling a little.
"It's on account of my troop, too," Hervey said. "It isn't just myself that
I'm thinking about. Jiminies, maybe I didn't choose the best ones, you

know more about the handbook than I do, that's sure, and I suppose that
one badge was just as easy as another to you. Maybe you think I just
chose easy ones, hey?"
"Well, what's on your mind?" Tom said.
"Do you know where there are any wild animal tracks?" Hervey blurted
out with amusing simplicity. "I don't mean just exactly where, but do
you know a good place to hunt for any? A couple of fellows told me
you would know, because you know everything of that sort. So I
thought maybe you could give me a tip where to look. I found a
horseshoe last night so maybe I'll be lucky. All I want is to get started
on a trail."
"Sometimes there are different trails and they take you to the same
place," Tom said.
No doubt this was one of the sort of remarks that Tom was famous for
making which had either no particular meaning or a meaning poorly
expressed.
Hervey stared at him for a few seconds, then said, "I don't care whether
it's easy or hard, if that's what you mean. Is it true that there are wild
cats up in these mountains?"
"Some," Tom said.
"Well, if you were in my place, where would you go to look for a trail?
I mean a real trail, not a cow or a horse or Chocolate Drop's kitten.
[Chocolate Drop was the negro cook at Temple Camp.] If I can just dig
up the trail of a wild animal somewhere, right away quick, the Eagle
award is mine--ours. See? Can you give me a tip?"
Tom's answer was characteristic of him and it was not altogether
satisfactory.
"I'm not so stuck on eagles," he said.

CHAPTER V
WHAT'S IN A NAME?
"You're not?" Hervey asked in puzzled dismay. "You can bet that every
time I look at that little old gold eagle on top of the flag pole I say, 'Me
for you, kiddo.'"
"I like Star Scout better," Tom said, unmoved by his companion's
consternation.
"Why, that means only ten merit badges," Hervey said.
"It's fun studying the stars," Tom added.
"Oh, sure," Hervey agreed. "But star and eagle, they're just names.
What's in a name, hey? Is that the badge you meant that I forgot about?
The astronomy badge?"
"No, it isn't," Tom said. "You're too excitable to study the stars. It's got
to be something livelier."
"You've got me down pat, that's sure," Hervey laughed.
Tom smiled, too. "Well, you want the Eagle badge, do you?" he said.
"You seem to think it doesn't amount to much," Hervey complained.
"I think it amounts to a whole lot," Tom said.
"When I get my mind on a thing----" Hervey announced.
"That's the trouble with you," Tom said.
"There you go," Hervey shot back at him; "you've been through the
game and walked away with every honor in the book, and you know
the book by heart and you can track with your eyes shut and you've
been to France and all that and you think I'm just a kid, but it means
something to be an Eagle Scout, I can tell you."

Doubtless Tom Slade, scout, was gratified to receive this valuable
information. "And there's just the one way to get there, is that it?" he
answered quietly, but smiling a little. "I always heard that a scout was
resourceful and had two strings