“But _you_ knew, Hugh!” declared Billy. “I can remember you saying that ever so long ago, when I was calling Lige all sorts of names on account of his mean ways. I guess you saw deeper than any of the rest of us. And for one, I give you my promise that after this I’m going to cut out all remembrance of what they were in the past, and treat them as I would the best fellows on earth.”
Among boys an example is as contagious as the measles, and when Billy thus gave utterance to his intentions, the balance of the group hastened to chime in. After that, the scouts belonging to the new Owl Patrol had no reason to feel that they were treated as an alien camp; indeed, warm-hearted Billy Worth, Alec, Dale Evans and a lot more of the others often went far out of their way to extend the hand of good fellowship. So they made Lige and his friends feel that they had really been accepted on an equal footing when taken into the troop.
Things were prospering splendidly these days. Not only had the scouts won the admiration and backing of the ladies of the town, but the men had come to feel a confidence in them that manifested itself in various ways. During that winter, things fairly hummed among juvenile circles. All the better class of sports took on new life, and no longer were wearers of the khaki jeered at as they passed through the streets. Hugh and his comrades had proved their worth to the citizens of their home town, and to be a scout nowadays stamped a boy as deserving both respect and confidence.
While they were of course debarred from any extended trips during the cold weather season and school sessions, they naturally laid out many glorious hikes for the coming summer. It might be the last winter some of these tall boys would spend in the home town, for they anticipated graduating at the June commencement and already had selected the favorite colleges which they hoped to attend in the fall.
On this account, Hugh meant that the coming summer should be a memorable one, crowded with enjoyment and productive of many educational results.
He had every fellow interested in plans along the particular line in which his fancy seemed to run. The season promised to be a notable one in Boy Scout annals, so far as the local troop was concerned.