Robert Shaler

“ There was an element, however, as is always the case in every community, that looked upon these happenings with more or less angry mutterings and frowns, for with the change had passed their source of gain and livelihood. They knew better than to talk openly against the new order of things, but whenever and wherever the opportunity arose they would try to excite derision for the “uplift” movement.
It seemed as though these people who loved darkness rather than light felt especially sore toward Hugh Hardin and his scouts. ”

“ Just what it does, Tom, and some day before long I hope to see your brother wearing the honored khaki. It’s a proud family that can boast of two scouts, let me tell you. And once Benjy joins—no danger of his ever going back. A world will open up to his eyes that he never dreamed existed. Old things will have passed away and everything become new, once he has put on the magic spectacles of scoutcraft. ”

“ The smile that broke over the face of his mother at hearing him say this so modestly told of the pride she took in the fact that Hugh, as the assistant scout master, should be consulted at all when events of considerable magnitude connected with uplift movements were being discussed.
It certainly must make any mother’s heart beat with joy when realizing that her son, though only a boy in years, had become a factor in town, that he has to be consulted, and his aid asked whenever there is a movement on foot looking to bettering conditions of living in the community. ”

“ Truth to tell, the cowards who had been bullies knew that when they assailed the scout uniform they really went up against the entire vested authority of the town as represented by the mayor, the police, and the better element of the citizens.
Speedy retaliation had fallen upon those astonished offenders who had laughed at the warnings given by the Auxiliary Police. They realized that because a fellow is under a man’s size and wears a khaki uniform, it is no sign that he cannot enforce his authority. ”

“ Say what you will, the seed of adventure has always taken root deep down in the hearts of every healthy boy. The mere fact that they were scouts, and had promised to observe the rules of the organization whose badge they so proudly wore, did not mean that they must stifle this feeling, which, if directed along the right channels, does a boy ten times as much good as harm. ”

“ Why, I never dreamed so dreadful a thing would come slap up against us scouts. They want the people of Oakvale to suspect us of being common, every-day thieves.”
“Don’t worry, Ralph,” said Hugh, firmly. “I don’t believe the game could have been carried out successfully at any time, even if none of us so much as suspected a thing. Now that you’ve warned us, why, it’s bound to fall flat. Mayor Strunk and the women of this town know the scouts too well to ever believe they’d disgrace their uniforms and honor badges by stealing.” ”

“ People will begin by sneering at you, but if you do your duty faithfully they will soon come to respect your badge. Never forget that the best people of the community are behind you in all you may attempt. Hugh, we look to you to be a safe guide for your followers, and the mayor told me to inform you that he expects every scout to do his part manfully. That’s about all I have to say to you to-day, though from time to time I expect to confer with your leader, and lay out new plans. I salute you all again as members in full standing of the Police Force of Oakvale. ”

“ The scouts stand ready to do their part.”
“Every time!” added Billy, sonorously, as he whacked Buck Winter on his back, as if to emphasize his remark.
“There are heaps of things that ought to be bettered,” asserted Alec. “They never will be until the scouts and the women join hands with all the good people of Oakvale for a genuine old clean-up time. All they seem to want is a leader. Everybody is waiting for some one else to make the start. Hugh, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s going to be up to you.” ”

“ Hugh told him, “it’s always my principle, when I’ve got a disagreeable task to perform, to get at it right away. The longer you wait, Tom, the worse it gets for you. The only way is to shut your teeth hard together, and pitch in.” ”

“ Here then was the scheme which Hugh worked out. He had plenty of books that told of the doings of Boy Scouts. Besides, he had an old manual that he could easily spare. So he bribed the grocer’s boy, who daily visited the Griffin home, and admitted that he chatted with the hunchback frequently, to give Archibald the package of books on the sly, and tell him the leader of the Wolf Patrol had sent them with his compliments to help a “shut-in” realize what scout life meant. ”

“ Hugh, let me tell you again some of that bunch are the most desperate men going. Why, nobody would ever have believed we had such monsters here in little old Oakvale.”
“Whew! you’re going pretty strong when you use a word like that, Ralph!”
“They deserve it every time, I tell you,” persisted the other. “What else would you call men who even scheme to have a store in this town robbed, and then fix it so that marked bills or pieces of jewelry will be found in the pockets of certain scouts, you among the number?” ”

“ There was indeed what might be called a healthy rivalry among the scouts, to see who could command the highest number of clean scores; for Hugh had arranged matters in the shape of a contest, to make it more interesting.
The opposition had not yet died out, for when men have fallen into certain bad habits that become as second nature, it is most difficult to break the bonds binding them.
True, the drivers and chauffeurs in and about Oakvale had by degrees become accustomed to the new order of things, which was moving along as smoothly as clockwork. ”

“ As the days went by, they became more and more proficient in their tasks, earning hearty praise from all those who were so deeply interested in the work. After a few drivers and chauffeurs had been fined, and some of them locked up for a spell, they began to realize that the scouts were not to be reckoned with as a big joke. When a boy, in the now respected khaki, standing in the middle of the street at that dangerous crossing, held up his white-gloved hand, traffic came to a sudden stop, and there was safe passage across for the groups of small children on the way to and from school. ”

“ It is human nature to want to be on the winning side. Hugh believed there would be comparatively little trouble ahead for himself and comrades. The rapidity with which the men who had been taken to the lockup were brought to trial and punished for their misdeeds was going to deter others from attempting opposition.
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In the midst of all this excitement, together with so much cause for congratulation, Hugh did not forget Tom Sherwood, and what had happened to brighten his life. The next time he met Tom he found his face radiant with the joy of living. ”

“ Griffin, now mingling more than in the past with his neighbors, secretly amused, told it himself. At any rate it served to add to the laurels Hugh had already won as a diplomat, as well as a scout leader.
So the good work went on. This incident connected with Mr. Griffin and his pests of barking dogs was only one example of how the scouts managed to accomplish their ends. It is not by mere promises of prosecution alone that nuisances can be abated, for sometimes reason goes a great ways toward effecting a cure. ”

“ He offered his hand to Hugh, something no boy in Oakvale had ever known Mr. Griffin to do in all the years past. Hugh flushed with a sense of satisfaction upon realizing that he was on the road to success, and that his diagnosis of the stern old gentleman’s real nature had not been amiss.
“I am glad you do not think I was playing a mean part in getting those books to Archibald,” he said, simply. “We scouts feel for any chap who is deprived of the glorious chances we have to spend many good times in the open. ”

“ Still, Hugh felt that he had gained a point in arousing the interest of the head of the police. It was better to have a combined force working against the evils than a divided one. If the officer realized that his retention in office depended on his active co-operation with the ladies’ league, and the various associations connected with the town churches, he would work like a beaver to do his duty.
After leaving Police Headquarters, Hugh started for his home. ”

“ It was true that the politicians and their votes had put him in his present comfortable berth, but the Chief was a married man, and he realized from experience that the home “influence” could be counted on to sway elections when once the people were thoroughly aroused.
“There’s just this about it, Hugh,” he said, impressively. “If the women want a clean town, they’re going to have it, and nothing can stop them. If they get this movement started they can count on the police backing ’em up. All we want is to know just where we stand.” ”

“ Hugh liked to hear the old minister talk like that, for he understood that Mr. Dobbs was really a Civil War veteran, and in the old days had once been known as the “Fighting Parson.” If those unruly men fancied that because he was a shepherd of a flock he would not fight to save his pet lambs from the devouring wolves they made the greatest mistake of their whole lives.
So Mr. Dobbs quickly got the mayor on the wire and asked him to come over to the parsonage without a moment’s delay; also to fetch Doctor Kane along with him if he could possibly do so. ”

“ Some of the church people have even contemplated holding prayer meetings after the Council adjourns, if everything seems favorable, for their hearts are right in this uplift movement. It wouldn’t seem just the right thing for scouts to be seen running like wild Indians all over town, and shouting their lungs out. We’ll just go home in a quiet way, and get ready to commence business on Monday. Time enough for a jubilee when the ladies appoint a day for celebrating the victory. Just now we’ve got work, and plenty of it, ahead of us.”
“Hugh, you’re right!” ”

“ Those boys who read that story will not soon forget how Hugh and his mates acted their part against heavy odds, and how splendidly they convinced a doubter that scout activities always made a boy more manly, as well as rendered him a far better citizen, of which any community might well be proud. ”

“ The trio of prisoners were marched through the now deserted streets to the lockup, where Chief Wallis would see to it that there was no chance for a getaway. The seven scouts, who accompanied Hugh and the little group of officers surrounding the prisoners, would never be able to forget the exciting experiences of that night. It would have to go down upon the annals of scout achievements, and serve to add one more glorious event to the string of exploits carried to a successful conclusion by the boys of the Oakvale Troop. ”

“ Hugh admitted. “All the same he’ll be pleased to find Oakvale so changed. The ladies say it must never go back again to where it was before. We scouts are of the same mind. Homes are going to be protected against those whose evil influence is all for pulling them down. That’s going to be the slogan of the scouts from now on. Tom, every new member we take in means one more timber in the structure we’re building on this safe foundation. Work all you can to spread the gospel of scout activities. ”

“ One thing must not be forgotten. Hugh—believing that Tom, in his spirit of brotherly love, might hasten to buy back those Belgian hares for Benjy, and thus in a measure weaken the spirit of sacrifice, that had made the other sell his pets—went around to the bird store early on the next morning, and purchased the pair of long-eared animals. ”

“ Confidence in their leader is one of the highest attributes of praise scouts can show; and the members of Oakvale Troop felt this to the limit in the boy who had been elected to serve them in that capacity. So often had Hugh Hardin proved his ability to fill his exalted position that no one ever dreamed nowadays of contesting the leadership with him. ”

“ You can govern yourself as you think best, Hugh, when you’re talking with him.”
“He’ll never learn a single thing from me about your worrying, Tom. Although you haven’t said so, I imagine he’s coming to make some inquiries about joining the scouts?”
“Yes, that’s what he’s got in mind now, Hugh. He’s found himself interested in a lot of things we’ve been doing the last year or so. Somehow, they seem to look different from what they used to. Benjy has waked up, you see, and once a fellow gets to feel an interest in scout doings he’s bound to go on wanting to know more. ”

“ Griffin, “I’ve had my eyes opened to the fact that it is a bad thing for any man to allow himself to remain in ignorance with what is going on around him as the years progress. I am ashamed to admit that I never dreamed there had been such a vast revolution in the training of boys during the years I’ve kept aloof from the world. I’ve seen mention of the scouts many times in my papers, but never took the trouble to investigate—in fact, treated the whole matter as somewhat of a military movement copied after the Old World methods. ”

“ Since the preceding fall, Hugh had been trying to figure out how things could be brought to a focus, for they seemed to gradually get worse.
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He was in sight of the white picket fence enclosing the Hardin grounds when he heard his name called in a boy’s voice. Turning around, he discovered that it was Tom Sherwood, one of the members of the Otter Patrol, who came hurrying along in his wake.
Tom had long been known as an exponent of water athletics and surveying. He meant to become a civil engineer when he left school, and anything connected with this work always interested the boy greatly. ”

“ So Hugh, using considerable diplomacy, began talking about other things, and after he managed to get the chief in good humor, he introduced the subject that was nearest his heart.
“The women are bound to have the town cleaned up, Chief,” he went on to say, “and you know that when they once set their minds on anything it’s got to happen. They expect to have all sorts of help from you and your men; and the scouts mean to offer their services as they did once before. ”

“ He was every day hoping to hear that the elements they had cause to fear were commencing to leave town. As long as they continued to abide in Oakvale the danger was that of a snake “scotched, not killed,” and liable to come to life again at any time.
All this while he had not found a good chance to keep his promise to Tom Sherwood, mostly on account of the press of business. With so many things depending on him while acting in the place of Lieutenant Denmead, still absent from home, as well as his studying for the spring examinations, Hugh certainly had his hands full. ”

“ They must be asleep, and only some terrible accident will startle them to action.”
“Some of the boys have told me in secret about a blind tiger that is being operated since the saloons were shut out of Oakvale,” declared Hugh. “Then I’ve also learned that some of the mill hands get together and gamble, which is against the law. The police, thinking of the votes those fellows can control, seem to wink at such things. There’s no use talking, the women of Oakvale have got to be roused, and join hands with every church in town to clean up the place again, this time for good. ”