Scout

“ When the scout had crept up within hearing distance of the encampment, he redoubled his caution. Advancing like a serpent, he felt well around before he drew his body forward, fearful that something might lie in his path, which, giving forth a sound, might herald his approach. ”

“ Heads were down and heels up, as the red-skins leaped from the backs of their animals and charged in upon the scout, who, as cool as when partaking of a leisurely meal, allowed every one to come just within reach of his iron knuckles, when he let drive like a cannon shot. ”

“ Although, now surrounded by friends, and in the house of an old comrade, the scout, as was natural with him from long custom, still held grasped in his ready hand the barrel of his trusty rifle, from which he never parted, not even when he slept, and, at the same time, kept his ears wide awake to all suspicious sounds, as if yet in the land of the enemy, and momentarily expecting the wild yell of his accustomed foe. ”

“ This little scout is brand new, he is not even out of the tenderfoot class, and the gold cross award for heroism will be his. I think that every scout of his patrol should thrill with pride at this thought. I dare say we all find him a little strange, we as well as you, and I'm afraid he is a kind of law unto himself—if you understand what I mean. But this beautiful cross which will soon be his will bring him closer to us all, I am sure. It is said in our Handbook that a scout is a brother to every other scout, so he has many thousands of brothers all over this broad land. ”

“ They learn to be ready to resist an enemy of their homeland. A good scout becomes a good volunteer soldier, a good route marcher. But scout and sokol are transitional. The Scout movement is like a tug to take an ocean-going ship out of harbor. There comes a point when the ship can make its destiny under its own steam. The Scout and Guide movement helps boys and girls out of the rut of home and village, starts them moving, and once set going, many of them keep moving all their lives and never once stagnate. ”

“ It is not always the tallest nor the most comely men who are selected. The unerring judgment of the scout, trained in Indian warfare, tells him who may be relied upon and who are untrustworthy. A face arrests his attention—with a motion of his hand he indicates the brave whom he has selected; another wave of the hand and the fate of a second warrior is settled. Hardly a word is spoken, and it is only a matter of a few moments' time before he is ready to step down from his exalted position and walk off with his full contingent of warriors following happily in his wake. ”

“ It is not worth while to follow the wonderful scout, step by step, in his approach to the camp of the hostiles. It may be described as the absolute perfection of woodcraft—noiseless, unerring, and as direct as that of the bloodhound on the trail of the fugitive. ”

“ A scout may, in a single two hours of his life, be a sniper, an observer, and the old-fashioned scout who has to go out to find out things at close range. He has to be essentially an individualist capable of seeing and seizing his opportunity. He must be a man of instant decision, who understands the value of cover and background, who possesses that quality which is very often born in men, a sense of direction. ”

“ I suppose you all know the scout law."
"Not yet," replied Jack. "Rand read it to us, but we haven't learned it yet."
"Let me see," continued the colonel musingly, "how does number four go?"
"It says," read Rand, "a scout is a friend to all and a brother to every other scout, no matter to what social class the other belongs. A scout accepts the other man as he finds him, and makes the best of him."
The colonel made no comment, and the boys walked on in silence.
"I was wrong," acknowledged Rand after a little hesitation. "I have no objection to Gerald." ”

“ In open or semi-open warfare a scout may still be ordered to go by day or night, and find out if this or that village is occupied by the enemy, but once trench warfare sets in, and the battle fronts of the opposing armies stretch193 from the sea to Switzerland, the work of the scout undergoes great changes. His theatre of action is No Man’s Land, which comprises all the area between the two armies which are drawn up one against the other. ”

“ Another course of instruction which carries with it a certain amount of exemption from duty in the infantry is that of scout. The practised scout is capable of plotting a way across country at night, marching by the compass or by the stars, making a watch serve as a compass, military map-reading—which is not as simple a matter as might be supposed—and of making sketches in conventional military signs of areas of ground, natural defensive positions, and all points likely to be of interest and advantage from a military point of view. ”

“ One of the essentials of a good scout, both in civilized and savage warfare, is a patience that can bear the test of hours. The Esquimaux, who sits by the air-hole in the ice without stirring a muscle, even if the seal does not thrust out his nose, is the beau ideal of a patient scout, although he is too much of a porpoise himself to get impatient.
Young as was Little Rifle, he was the possessor of this quality, and had displayed it to a remarkable degree on more than one occasion ”

“ Little Jack Baldwin, gazing at his rescuers, Scouts Warren and Chase, Marcoo and Colin Estey, marching two and two at the head of the leading patrol, clapped his hands and almost burst his heart in wishing that he could be twelve years old to-morrow so that he might enlist as a tenderfoot scout. ”

“ Scouts ain't the only ones that ought to do that same; for if anybody ever needed to be ready, the air pilot does. He never knows what's going to happen to him next."
"Well," the scout master remarked, "let's hope that's plenty for you to-day, Toby. We've stood and watched you make a record drop, and you came through in pretty decent shape; but enough's as good as a feast. The next time things mightn't turn out as nice for you; and we don't want to carry a scout with a broken leg home in our wagon to-day." ”

“ No scout may ever use the call of another patrol. The second law binds you to be loyal, kind, obedient, and cheerful. Most of your work then consists in playing scouting games and practices by which you gain experience as scouts. When you have learned sufficient to pass the test you can win the badge of either a first class or second class scout.
That of the first class scout consists of a brass arrow head with the motto on it "Be Prepared." ”

“ From the outset, the scout master must have the interest of each boy at heart. He must not play favourites with any of the boys in his patrol or troop. While there are sure to be boys in the group who will develop more rapidly than others, and whose keenness will be sure to call forth the admiration of the scout master, he should not permit himself to be “carried away” by the achievements of these “star boys” to such an extent that he will neglect the less aggressive boy. ”

“ A scout is always supposed to do a given task. His dinner is a given task. He’s supposed to do a good turn every day. Maybe you think those are hard, but they are easy. If a scout in my patrol had some gumdrops and I ate half of them so he wouldn’t get sick, that would be a good turn. See?
A scout is supposed to save life, too. Once I saved Wig Weigand’s life. He nearly died laughing at Pee-wee Harris, and I got there just in time to push the kid off the springboard into the water so he had to stop talking. ”

“ When a leader is shouting an order or message to a scout who is some way off, the scout, if he hears what is being said, should hold up his hand level with his head all the time. If he cannot hear he should stand still making no sign. The leader will then repeat louder or beckon to the scout to come in nearer.
The following signals are made by a scout with his staff when he is sent out to reconnoitre within sight of his patrol, and they have the following meanings: Staff held up horizontally, that is flat with both hands above the head, means "a few enemy in sight." ”

“ The man who has had to turn his hand to many things, as the scout does in camp, finds that when he comes into civilisation he is more easily able to obtain employment, because he is ready to turn his hand to whatever kind of work may turn up.
EXPLORATION. A good form of scout work can be got in Great Britain by scouts going about either as patrols on an exploring expedition, or in pairs like knight-errants of old on a pilgrimage through the country to find people wanting help and to help them. ”

“ It was all up now about the job, and he was still ten cents short on his Christmas fund, for he could not take a tip from the lady—a scout may never accept pay for a good turn. A chill wind was coming up, and it was growing darker and darker on the lonely corner. Davy stood up and stamped his feet to get out the numbness. But a scout has to be cheerful, no matter what, and he tried to whistle. ”

“ Enter advanced scout, left, finding his way by the map, noticing landmarks, and looking for sign. He crosses the arena and disappears, right, unless it is a wide, outdoor space, when he remains at a distance, squatting, on the look-out.
Enter scouts, left, in patrol formation, followed by second patrol in close formation. Scoutmaster halts them. One scout semaphores to advanced scout, "We camp here. Keep good look-out." Patrol leaders drill their patrols at quick, smart drill for about three minutes by whistle or hand signal, etc. ”

“ Yet that same boy was afraid of his own shadow up to the time he became a scout.”
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“I never heard theh like o’ thet, son,” declared the deeply interested guide.
“’Pears like they hain’t nawthin’ a scout ain’t ekal tuh.”
“Nothing that’s worth while, and that’s the truth,” Thad told him. “They can win merit badges by excelling in certain lines. If you look around right now, you’ll perceive that every boy in this Silver Fox Patrol of Cranford Troop wears at least one medal or badge. And let me tell you, sir, a scout is as proud of his badge as anybody could be.” ”

“ And I understand now why they elected you assistant scout master of the troop. You’re Johnny-on-the-spot for the job, all right, Hugh Hardin. Excuse me if I ask all sorts of foolish questions about the way scouts manage. I’m getting up to my ears interested in this game. I never dreamed it could be so fascinating. And the more you hear, the more you want to know.”
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“That’s the secret of the rapid growth of the scout movement,” Hugh told him. “As soon as you get the average boy interested he asks questions, and once that happens, he learns things that set him agoing. ”

“ But a scout is another matter. He knows all the posts in our line ; he knows something of the system by which the various offshoots of Intelligence work are being operated, and as he has been trained to observation of detail and deduction, he is a man who, if he can be got to speak, will reveal things of great value to the enemy.
The only two questions that a prisoner need answer are his name and regiment, but many and sinister are the tricks by which he may be beguiled.
A British officer who is supposed to have special knowledge is, let us imagine, captured by the Germans. ”

“ I'm going to a lot of trouble telling you all this, Rufus; but if ever you do get lost in the woods, and keep wandering around for hours, and then have to make a lonely camp, and sit up most of the night listening to the owls and foxes and such things, why, you'll understand why it's so important a thing in the education of a scout."
Meanwhile Lil Artha and Alec were trying their hands at the woodpile; for as the elongated scout explained to the Scotch lad, they would have need of considerable fuel during the long evening, as they sat by their fire and talked. ”

“ If he can't, then some other of the clan may; and if all else fails, they'll have some boy or girl make it out. How's that, Thad?"
"Splendid, I should say," replied the scoutmaster, smiling. "Here, Bumpus, turn around, and bend over."
"What you goin' to do to me?" demanded the short scout, suspiciously, as he hesitated before complying.
"Is that the way you obey orders?" scoffed Giraffe. "A true scout should never ask questions. ”

“ The equipment of the Boy Scout on billeting duty consists of a piece of white chalk and a menacing demeanour. Thus armed, he knocks at every likely door, wishes the householder a good morning and registers on the door-frame the number of men that may be left till called for within, even while the policeman is still endeavouring to explain the international situation and the military exigencies to the slow-thinking rustic. Many formidable obstacles lie in our path, we know, but we are comforted by the thought that the Boy Scout isn't one of them. ”

“ When working singly the scout's staff is most useful for feeling the way in the dark, and pushing aside dry branches, etc.
Scouts working apart from each other in the dark keep up communication by occasionally giving the call of their patrol-animal. Any enemy would thus not be made suspicious.
All scouts have to guide themselves very much by the stars at night.
WEATHER WISDOM. Weather.—Every scout ought to be able to read signs of the weather, especially when going mountaineering or cruising, and to read a barometer. ”

“ Scout patrols are named after animals; there’s a patrol at Temple Camp named the Robins, see? My new patrol is going to be named the Hop-toads, because they’re all going to be good at scout pace, see? Gee whiz, you don’t care if we make fellers hold sticks in their mouths, do you? Because they can run better that way. A hop-toad means a—a scout. I’m a hop-toad. ”