One of these missives had been addressed to _Mister John Temple_
and must have been a refreshing variation from the routine mail which
awaited Mr. Temple each morning at the big granite bank. It read:
"Thar's a crittur come here to paint names o' animiles on the cabin
doors. I told him friendly sich wuzn't wanted, likewise no numbers.
He see it were best ter go. Bein' you put up th' money I would say
polite and likewise explain ez how the skins uv animiles is propper
fur signs an' not numbers bein' ez cabins is not railroad cars."
This is a fair sample of the letters which were received by Mr. Temple,
by Mr. Ellsworth, and even at National Scout Headquarters, which Jeb
Rushmore called "the main ranch."
The idea of putting the skin of a silver fox, for instance, on the
patrol's cabin instead of a painted caricature of that animal, took the
boys by storm, and to them at least Jeb Rushmore became a very real
character long before they ever met him. They felt that Jeb Rushmore had
the right idea and they were thrilled at the tragic possibilities of
that ominous sentence, "He see it were best to go."
The whole troop was down at the boathouse to see the boys off. Tom and
Roy wore old khaki trousers and faded shirts which had seen service in
many a rough hike; their scarred duffel bags bore unmistakable signs of
hard usage, but Pee-wee was resplendent in his full regalia, with his
monogram burned in a complicated design into the polished leather of his
brand new duffel bag.
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