passed on for Saturday night. I'm disappointed with you, Hervey, and so
are the boys. We all expected to see Mr. Temple hand you the Eagle badge
on Saturday night. I expected to send your father a wire. Walley has
been planning to take our picture as an Eagle troop."

"Well, and you'll all be disappointed," said Hervey with a kind of
heedlessness that nettled his scoutmaster. "And if anybody should ask
you about it, any of the troop, you can just say that I found out
something and that I'm not so stuck on the Eagle award, after all.
That's what you can tell them."

"Well, I will tell them no such thing, for I would be ashamed to tell
them that. I think we all know what the highest honor is. Perhaps the
boys are not such reckless young adventurers as you, but they know what
the highest scout honor is. And I think if you will be perfectly honest
with me, Hervey, you'll acknowledge that something new has caught your
fancy. Come now, isn't that right?"

"Right the first time," said Hervey with a gayety that quite disgusted
his scoutmaster.

"Well, go your way, Hervey," he said coldly.




CHAPTER XVII

HERVEY GOES HIS WAY