"Let's start a good big fire," I said, "so our folks will know we're all right. Then we'll start home." So we started a fire and sat around it and jollied each other and especially Pee-wee--you know how we're always doing. And we roasted the potatoes that we had with us and they tasted good, kind of like smoke. After a while Westy said, "Well, here's the end of our bee-line hike and I bet we didn't go more than about ten or twenty feet out of our path all the way." "That's the only way to get any fun out of a bee-line hike," I said. "Either do it right or not at all." After we were all rested and had eaten all our potatoes we trampled the fire out and went up to the stateroad about a quarter of a mile away to wait for the jitney. I was good and tired, I know that. Warde said, "I've been sitting on the porch all summer reading adventures, but this beats them all. And the best part is it was all real." "Believe me," I told him, "a real agate is an imitation compared to us." "I'm glad I'm in the scouts," he said. "The worst is yet to come," I told him. He said, "I'm game." "_You bet you are!_" all the fellows shouted. We all looked back and said, "Good night, old tree, see you later." It seemed as if that big tree had been with us all day and we had come to be friends, sort of. Maybe it saw everything from up there and was laughing to itself at all the crazy things we did, hey? As we went along toward the stateroad Dorry said, "Let's take a hike straight north to-morrow." "Sure, for the North Pole," Hunt said. "You can count me out," I told them. "I'm going over to Little Valley to-morrow to play tennis if anybody should ask you." Right away that crazy kid started jumping up and down, shouting, "_What I know about you! What I know about you!_" I should worry about that bunch. Believe me, I was glad to think of getting rid of them for a day. So long, I'll see you later. THE END * * * * * THE ROY BLAKELEY BOOKS By PERCY KEESE FITZHUGH Author of "Tom Slade," "Pee-wee Harris," "Westy Martin," Etc. Illustrated. Individual Picture Wrappers in Color. Every Volume Complete in Itself. In the character and adventures of Roy Blakeley are typified the very essence of Boy life. He is a real boy, as real as Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer. He is the moving spirit of the troop of Scouts of which he is a member, and the average boy has to go only a little way in the first book before Roy is the best friend he ever had, and he is willing to part with his best treasure to get the next book in the series.