"Dick, can you tell me of any concession made to you that allows you to start two fires and then go away and leave them to work their will in these forests? If we had not found the fires you left, what might have resulted to this area of mountain land?"
The girls and Dick stood amazed, for they had forgotten all about the fires started as smoke signals.
"When I broke through the underbrush into this clearing, the fires were blazing away like fury. They had encroached upon all the brush and handy leaves, and were eating a way to the timber-line. In half an hour more those same little fires would be raging over the crest and destroying acres and acres of forest-trees, to say nothing of causing the work all the farmers and forest-rangers would have in trying to control it. Just because a brainless scout forgot his duty!" The scorn in Alec's last words was cutting.
Dick began to apologize, but Alec held up a hand. "No apology will answer for such a thing." Then he turned to Ned and said: "Put Dick down for penance at camp."
"We ought to be punished as well as Dick," said Julie. "We never remembered the fires, either."
"That's up to your Captain, I am merely doing my duty to my Troop," returned Alec.
"Had anything to eat?" asked Anne, who always felt sorry for any one who was hungry.
"We ate the mushrooms we found," meekly replied Joan.
"Then come back and eat what we left for you. We had fish and greens and biscuit," said Hester.
While they were munching the cold food, Alec questioned them further. "Why didn't you use what scout-sense you had? You know you could have found the way you came through those woods by looking for broken cobwebs across the bushes; by overturned stones with the damp under side showing; or by broken twigs and crushed blades of grass; and last, but hardest, you might have looked to see where leaves on trees and bushes were turned awry from your brushing against them. They do not right themselves immediately, you know."
"We never heard of that before," admitted Julie.
"But Dick has, even though he has forgotten it," said Alec. "He had to learn it from the Manual what he would do in case of being lost in a forest."
"But even if you knew nothing about that, you all knew it would simplify things for us if you were to blaze a way to guide us the way you went. You could easily have broken twigs and left them hanging, or piled little heaps of stones along the trail you took."
"Oh, for goodness sake! Let up on us now, and wait until you are lost, will you?" cried Julie, placing her palms over her ears.
"Yes, it's so easy to tell the other feller what to do!" was all the retort Dick made.
"Well,
children, after all I have my inning!" declared Mr. Gilroy, chuckling.
"What's that?" demanded every one.
"I wanted you to come home and dine with me, but no! you must stop to cook in the woods. Now you'll all be glad enough to hurry home and come to my party. And the dinner won't be slighted, either, from so much overeating up here!"
CHAPTER SEVEN A LITTLE BUSINESS
"We have been keeping house in a haphazard way, with no responsibility attached to any one but Julie and me. Now, each day there must be some sort of regulations and punishments, if duties are neglected. The fire yesterday showed me that that system was good."
"Your idea is all right, Verny, but what will the rules cover, and why have punishments?" asked Julie.
"Because every day will probably bring new problems to us, so that set rules will not do, but each day must have added rules. If these rules are not obeyed, the scout who is negligent ought to be made to pay for her lack of obedience."
"Have you formulated any plan to begin with?" asked Joan.
"I thought that Julie, as Scout Leader, could consult with me about that. Although I think we ought to select a new orderly for each day, to see that the other scouts do what is required of them. If we begin with Ruth, Betty next day, and so on through the new membership, one each day, it brings us to the eighth day. Of course Julie, Joan and I will not be orderlies. But the Leader and Corporal are over the Orderly, and the Captain over all of you."
"What do you expect the Orderly to do, Verny?" asked Joan.
"She will read the rules for the day immediately after breakfast. Every scout must take turns in being cook for camp one day. One must be wood-gatherer, one must see that food supplies are on hand, some must do the fishing, and so on through the entire housekeeping list. This trains every one alike, and no partiality will be shown one who is a fine cook or one who is an awful one!"
The girls laughed, and the Captain continued: "Then, we don't expect one to do all the heavy work while another goes free, and by partitioning the work and control each one does her bit. In case of any gross negligence or breaking of rules, the Officer of the Day, the Corporal and the Leader will decide the punishment. Should need arise, the whole Troop may act as a jury to judge the matter."