It was either that, or take a ducking every time he felt one of those
spells coming on; so Davy always declared the camp air had effected a
miracle in his case, and that he owed a great deal to his having joined
the scouts.

"Too bad, boys," said Dr. Hobbs, who was a mighty fine young man, and
well liked by all the scouts in Cranford Troop, although they saw so
little of him because his pressing duties called him away so often; "but
I've got to go home on the first train. Doctor Green has a broken leg,
and there's nobody to make the rounds among our sick people in Cranford.
I never was more disappointed in my life, because we've fixed things for
a glorious cruise up here on Old Superior."

The boys assured him that they deeply sympathized with him, because they
knew it would break their hearts to be deprived of their outing, now
that they had come so far.

"Fortunately," continued Dr. Hobbs, with a twinkle in his kindly eyes,
"that isn't at all necessary; because all arrangements have been made,
the boat is waiting only a few miles away, and you have an efficient
assistant scout-master in this fine chap here, Thad Brewster, who will
take charge while I'm away, as he has done on numerous other sad
occasions."

"Hurrah!" burst from Bumpus; "that's the kind of stuff we like to hear.
Not that we won't miss you, Doctor, because you know boys from the
ground up, and we all feel like you're an older brother to us; but we've
been out with Thad so much, we're kinder used to his ways."

"Well," continued the scout-master, with a long sigh, "I've got to hurry