bright stars shone overhead, and the air was laden with the pungent
scent of autumn. It seemed as if all Nature, solemn and companionable,
was there to greet the little mascot of the Raven Patrol, First
Bridgeboro Troop, B.S.A.

The car of a thousand delights had so far afforded very few delights to
Pee-wee Harris.




CHAPTER XI

A RURAL PARADISE


Pee-wee looked about him at an enchanted scene. He seemed to have been
transported to a region made to order for the Boy Scouts of America.
That a pair of auto thieves should have brought him to this rural
Paradise seemed odd enough.

As he gazed about and looked up at the quiet star-studded sky his fears
were all but dispelled. For were not the friendly woods and water near
him? They seemed like rescuing allies now. In the soft, enveloping arms
of those silent woods he would find safety and shelter, and so he should
find his way home through their dim concealment.

The building in which the car had been left was an old weather-beaten
shack, which, judging from the sawdust all about, might once have been
used as an ice-house. This seemed likely, for it stood near the shore of