Pretty soon we could see a brown hat in among the trees. “It’s a scout,” Bert said. “He must be a tenderfoot to be lost five or six miles from camp,” Hervey said. “All he had to do was to climb a tree.” “I know who he is!” Pee-wee started shouting; “it’s Willie Cook. He’s the new member of my patrol. He comes from East Bridgeboro.” “You ought to tie a cow-bell around his neck the next time you let him roam around in the woods,” Bert said. I said, “Sure. Why don’t you make him play in the backyard? Safety first. He’s a raving Raven, all right; he’s lost and he can _prove _it.” “He isn’t trusting to witnesses,” Bert said; “he’s lost and he knows it.” I said, “That’s one thing I like about the raving Ravens; they’re always sure of themselves. When one of them gets lost he knows it.” “You make me tired!” Pee-wee yelled. “He’s a tenderfoot. He’s going to be the best scout in my patrol——” “That’s easy,” I said. “Maybe he isn’t the best scout in camp, I’m not saying, but he’s the best scout that’s lost in the woods. A scout is thorough. He’s some scout all right; when he gets lost he gets good and lost.” Then I shouted, “What’s the matter, Kid? Lost, strayed or stolen?” The poor kid just stared at us and smiled as if he thought we had saved his life. “I’m—I’m mixed up,” he said; “I started and I came back to the same place and I don’t know where I am. Are you—did you come from camp?” I said, “No, we’re on our way there. Calm down, you’re all right. The camp is about six miles west. What are you doing here, anyway?” “I’m—I’m doing a—a test,” he said. Hervey Willetts just rolled on the ground and screamed. All the rest of us started to laugh except Pee-wee. “These fellows are crazy,” the kid said; “don’t you mind them.” “I’ve—I’ve got to cook some food,” the little fellow said, all kind of confused. “What? Where?” I shouted. “Lead us to it!” Bert yelled. “What do you mean—_food_?” Garry said. “I—I come first!” Pee-wee shouted, all excited. “He’s in my patrol! Where’s the food?” “I’ve got to cook it and take it home for a proof,” the kid said. Just then we all fell on the ground. I guess he thought we were dead. CHAPTER XXV WE PROVE IT When I recovered from winning the laughing badge I said, “What’s the idea, Kiddo? Did you think you could win the forestry badge by being lost in the forest?” “Don’t listen to him, he’s crazy,” Pee-wee shouted at Willie Cook. I said, “The next thing you’ll be trying to win the electricity badge by being struck by lightning.” Our young tenderfoot hero, Scout Cook, said, “If I can do Tests Five and Eight I’ll be a second-class scout. It’s all right if you give them good measure, isn’t it?” I said, “Sure, but I wouldn’t give them a whole world tour for a two mile hike in these days of the high cost of hiking. Test Five says you must hike a mile and back. You must have hiked about a dozen miles. What are you going to do now?”