indignantly that he would do nothing of the kind. The scouts would meet,
she announced, in the cool dining-room.

Monday, as soon as supper was over, she began to prepare for the coming
of the patrol. Don wanted to help, but she routed him from the place. He
went out to the porch and sat there in the gathering darkness. A vague
sense of uneasiness stole over him.

Presently Bobbie Brown rode up and left his bicycle inside the gate. Soon
he was followed by Alex Davidson and Andy Ford. Then came a long wait. At
length two figures loomed in the dusk.

"Who's there?" Don called eagerly.

"Ritter and Woods," came the answer.

Don suddenly knew the cause of that vague uneasiness. The meeting had
been called for eight o'clock, and it was now five minutes after, and
there was no sign of Tim.

But none of the others seemed to think of the missing scout. Alex was
bubbling over with the wonder of his first day in business. He told of
how many orders he had delivered, and how much money he had collected,
and how careful he had to be in making change. Don listened nervously. By
and by he struck a match and glanced at his watch.

"Quarter past eight," he said.

"How about starting?" said Andy.