"You want to be an Eagle Scout," Tom concluded; "and you've got your
mind set on it. That it?"

"That's it; but it's for the sake of my troop, too."

Still again, they strolled on in silence. A little twig cracked under
Tom's foot, the crackle sounding clear in the solemn stillness. Some
feathered creature chirped complainingly at the rude intrusion of its
domain by these strangers. And, almost under their very feet, a tiny
snake wriggled across the trail and was gone. The shadows were gathering
now, and the fragrance of evening was beginning to permeate the dim
woods. And all the respectable home-loving birds were seeking their
nests.

And so these two strolled on, and for a few minutes neither spoke.

"Well then, suppose I give you a tip," Tom said. "Will you promise that
you'll make good? You claim to be a scout. You say that when you get
your mind set on a thing, nothing can stop you. That the idea?"

"That's it," Hervey answered.

"You wouldn't drop a trail after you once picked it up, would you? Some
animals take you pretty far."

"You bet nothing would stop _me_ if I once got the tracks," Hervey said.
"I wouldn't care if they took me across the Desert of Sahara or over the
Rocky Mountains."

"Hang on like a bulldog, hey?" Tom said.