to supper, and he called to me, Fine, but he said it was nearly dark and I should take the flag in at sundown, so I took it down.

We read the newspaper report of the Scouts you sent. It was fine. It seems like six months since you started west, and it's only one-and not quite that.

I talked with Mother about mobolizing. She said she hoped they won't ask me and the other Scouts to go away to war. I told her I didn't think they would, because Mr. Buchanan and Mr. Judith said about helping our country at home.

I can tell her more about it after meeting tonight, and you too, maybe. Your loving boy,

ROBERT.

TUESDAY NIGHT.

Dear Father-I got to write you tonight because it was so fine about the mobolization meeting, only I can't tell you all of it. Fourteen of the fellows were there, and William was the only Rattlesnake who was not there. Carl had got all of his Beavers out by hustling, for he had to get Stony to come back to town. from his sister's for the meeting.

Mr. Judith was there, and there was another man, too, and he was the man who went out of Mr. Buchanan's house with Mr. Kistler and Mr. Judith so fast the other night. He was quite an old man, but slim and awful spry, and had a beard about an inch long right under his under lip, and long white mustache, and I saw a bronze button in his coat button-hole like Grandpa's, so I knew he was an old soldier.

Spike whispered to me and said he was on that this man was a big army officer, and the War Department had sent him here to mobolize our troop in the army and we might have to go way off and fight

in battles, and just then Mr. Judith got up and pointed to the flag he had brought down from the store and hung up and said, Scouts, you are all live American boys and you know, without my telling you, that our country has declared war against a foren foe, so our National Honor may be preserved. So this is a critikal time. Everybody in the United States must help our country. I can't do much, but you fellows can, and I want to help you. Let's sing America, and then I have a pleasant surprise for you.

Well, we sang America—and we were glad Mr. Buchanan had made us learn all four verses—and we sang them fine. And then Mr. Judith said we would pass the minutes and get to the surprise.

The surprise I have for you, Mr. Judith said, was found on the battlefield at Gettysburg on the evening of the second day of the wonderful battle fought there, and we didn't know what he meant. It was taken away in a wagon, and a kind woman took care of it for weeks, and out of that great care there came forth, hole again, a great man, and after three terrible years of fighting for the Union, and after that awful time of wounds at Gettysburg, he kept on serving his country in peace times for years and years-and now he has come here to honor Troop I tonight, because he knows what Peace Scouts can do in time of war.

You'll be glad to greet him and hear him-General Wallace Law, for 56 years in the patriotic service of our country; for three years a member of a Troop Committee there-a troop of which his own son is Scoutmaster-and now he has come to our town to live with his daughter, Mrs. Curtis, and he is going to be a member of the Troop Committee of Troop 1 of Amesty. Scouts, your greeting to General Law.

And then Carl was up quick, and every fellow knew what to do, for that was some more of Mr. Buchanan's teaching-and when Carl's arm swung down we let out our yell, which is a dandy, you know-and General Law stood there at salute while we gave it, and when we were through with the yell, Carl raised his arm again, and when it came down we all said, slowly, like Mr. Buchanan taught us—

On my honor I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law-to help other people at all times-to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight.

Then we gave a snappy salute, and all sat down together on the count. Well, General Law's little sharp blue eyes shined. He said, Scouts of Troop 1 of Amesty, I thank you, and then-oh, I wish you could have heard him, father. I can't tell you what he did say, but it was GREAT-about a battle he was in and a boy who fought with him and was killed, and his Cernel saw it, and General Law told what the Cernel said about his dead comrade, and he cried, and nobody laughed-not even Spike. When I looked at Spike his mouth was wide open. And then General Law just shut his eyes two or three times and turned and pointed to the flag and-oh, I wish I knew as much as HE does about the flag and when he got done we started cheering, and after we had cheered a long time, Mr. Judith raised his hand, and we stopped and he said, Don't raise the roof, fellows, or we'll freeze to death in here this cold night, and everybody laughed.

Now, he said, we have as our special subject for this special meeting, MOBOLIZATION. That's a name we give to getting together quick for special service.

The army is being mobolized-got together to protect our frontiers, and for battle if need be. The Scouts should be mobolized for anything that is to be done at home when the men go away to war. It might be anything-fire, or storm, or famine, or to help poor folks or sick people or-oh, anything.

You Scouts who have learned swimming and life-saving know when a fellow's drowning you want to get to him quick, because if you lose one minute he may lose his life. You all know that a bucket of water will put out a fire one minute, but three minutes later it would take a ton of water to put out. You first-aiders know that if you lose a few minutes a patient might bleed to death. I don't need to talk to you about such things.

But with joint service it's different. If Troop is going to be worth keeping alive, now that war has come to our country, it must learn to act as a unit—to act as one man. Here comes a call for something to do and (he cracked his hands together, sharp), here's the troop right on the job and prepared. Of course, if we had the whole town there and nobody knew what to do we couldn't get anywhere. But with a Scout Troop, as I understand it, it's different. We're going to know how.

So, he said, we have two things to learn -getting together and knowing what to do when we get together. It's getting late, and I'm going to work out a plan with the Patrol Leaders and we'll have it all ready to practice at the regular meeting next Friday night, if that's all right with the troop, and everybody yelled, Sure and Of course, and then Mr. Judith sat down. We started to hurray and Carl got up and held up his hand and said, serious-like, I just want to ask the Troop one question, if it's all right with the Scoutmaster, and Mr.

1

Judith nodded and said, Go ahead, and Carl yelled-What's the matter with Mr. George Judith, our new Scoutmaster? And you can guess what we said and how loud we yelled, but Mr. Judith was helping General Law on with his coat then and acted like he didn't hear at all, but, of course, he did. And then Carl asked, What's the matter with General Law, and we did it again. Then Carl made an O with his thumb and finger and let his arm fall, and we gave the Scout Oath again and then we quit.

Spike, who always wants to do something, said, Let's go and meet the old soldier, and Carl said, Come along, and Mr. Judith introduced us and we shook hands, and I noticed Mr. Judith just yelled our last names into General Law's ear, close, and the General gave a strong grip and said he was glad to meet us, but he didn't seem to hear our names, and I knew that maybe he was another man whose ears had been hurt in a war, so he couldn't hear even a dandy speech about him like Mr. Judith made, or maybe couldn't hear any music for years and years, or hear any birds sing, and I thought of the men drilling and drilling down in the Town Hall to go to a war, and Mr. Buchanan already gone, and—say, father, I wish you were home now.

But I'm all right-don't you worryand Buck is all right, too, now, and I'm going to be busy on the mobilization work with Carl and Mr. Judith this week, but I'll write you about all things. I wish I knew where you are tonight, because your last letter did not say for sure.

Your dear son,

Robert.

THURSDAY. Dear Father-Carl and I went to Mr. Judith's store last night, like he said, to

talk about the mobilization plan. It was chilly and raining, an awful dark night when we went down, and the wind was blowing and whistled awful in those big elm trees by Spong's house, and I grabbed my hat when it nearly blew off, and Carl said, Let's run, and we ran and the rain stung our faces. When we got to the store Mr. Judith was out in front trying to brace up his sign and keep himself from blowing away, and we helped him. In a minute, though, he yelled, Come on in, Scouts-we could hardly hear him-but we followed him in and we all had to push the door shut-the wind was that hard.

Fine night, said Mr. Judith, shaking the rain off his coat. Come on back by the stove and listen to the heat whistle up the flue when it ought to be staying in the

store. He put some more coal in, and Curly curled up under my chair and Carl sat on a box, and then Mr. Judith said— This big blow reminds me of a time I had out in Kansas once upon a time-out there they have BIG blows, not little breezes like this one. Well, he said (calling Curly out and taking off his collar and rubbing his neck), about that time-I was riding on a bicycle with a friend out in the country on the Kansas prairie, which is as flat as that counter, and a big cloud came up in the west. We watched it and saw it twisting itself into the shape of a funnel and we knew it was a tornado coming, so we took refuge in a farmhouse. The house began to shake worse than this store does now lots worse-and we ran down in the cellar, and just then the house blew (Continued on page 172)

O

F all craft the open cruising canoe probably gives the most sport, the most change of scene, and the greatest ease of woods travel with the least effort. Compared with rowing a boat, riding horseback and back-packing through the forest trails, the canoe is paradise, as the work of paddling is so divided among the muscles of the whole body as to make none of them ache, and one sits down comfortably and not with bumping seat and strained knees as on horseback. A down-stream canoe trip, particularly on a wild river where there is plenty of fish and game and one camps nightly along the banks, is one of the most enjoyable outings a boy can take, and none of it is too hard. work for the unformed muscles of youth.

Wherefore, owning a canoe is the ambition of every boy living within reach of lake, stream or bay. Nowadays they are very cheap, as boats go, a good canvas canoe, staunchly built, canvas covered over wooden sheathing being had for around $20. One of the best canoes in the world is only $28, and extra-well built canoes cost around $40, so the boy from twelve to twenty has a wide range of choice in the quality purchasable. I should not advise trying to build such a canoe.

A Keel-or Not?

In choosing a canoe the first question comes up, Shall we have a keel or not?

This has been argued pro and con by many an experienced woods voyageur. The keel adds staunchness, but increases her bottom, most of them being on the stick in getting over a ledge or down a tree, while the other canoe would slip over. On the other hand, the keelless canoe will get her canvas badly scraped if the ledge is sharp and she touches, and in lifting over trees when heavily loaded is apt to buckle or hog-back amidships. My own, which has done over a thousand miles of wilderness river travel, has a keel an inch deep and she bears few scars on her bottom, most of them being on the turn over the bilge, yet going over dams and down trees is her specialty-I should say at least four thousand of them have passed under her keel first and last! A compromise measure, adopted by recent canoeists and suggested by the writer, has been to put on a flat strip of keel of hard maple about three-eighths of an inch thick and three inches wide, which will protect her from scraping, yet only increase her draft a tiny bit.

Safest and Fastest Model

In picking a canoe, the safest and fastest model is with flat bottom and sharp round to the bilge. The tippy ones are those deep and round on the bottom, having no more stability than a barrel. The flat bottom draws but little water, slides over the stream like a duck, and is a prime