"Why, look at the camps at Bear Mountain," Connie argued. "They bust up troops and patrols just like with dynamite up there. It's all like big families in a lot of those camps. Then when they go home they get together again. You're having a dickens of a good time over there in Tent Village. Where Bently is, that would be good enough for me. _Jimmy crinkums_, I don't know how you got next to that fellow, kid. White Scarf, that's what everybody's calling him." Skinny was proud, elated, to hear these comments on his hero. He was too guileless to see that what these Elks wanted was an Eagle Scout. He honestly believed, in his stout little heart, that they were keen for a grand good turn. Moreover he did not aspire, he did not dare, to confer on equal terms with these colleagues of his. Yet some little quiver of pride caused him to say: "It isn't like as if I was expelled is it--so people will think you threw me out?" "_Threw you out?_" gasped Vic. "Say, how do you get that way! Let any scout say that in my presence--just let me hear him. _Threw you out_--good night! No, but we thought you'd like the idea. We thought we were giving you a big chance. Can't you see it?" "Y--yes," said Skinny. "And you'll be up here all the time, won't you?" "Yes, if you want me to." "_Want him to_, did you hear that?" said Connie. Skinny's simple honesty caused them some embarrassment. They were doing this thing artistically, lulling their own consciences, and loading their act onto the back of that willing beast of burden, the good turn. They did not expect anything quite so logical and pathetic as what Skinny now did. He pulled up from under his torn white shirt a piece of string that hung round his neck, detached his locker key from it and handed it to Connie. He was quite too guileless to do this for effect, but it was a little masterpiece and it made Connie feel mean. He was jarred by this perfectly honest response to all he had been saying. "Oh, you needn't give us that," he said with brusque good-humor. "You're not exactly what you might say getting out." "Holly Hollis will have to have a locker," said Skinny. "Anyway, I haven't got anything in it much." It is rather to the credit of Bert McAlpin that he turned away, rather ashamed, and pretended to be busy as Connie hesitatingly accepted the key. The deed was done. It was not as good a piece of work as Skinny had done that day. But of course, nobody knew about that. CHAPTER XXX FIXED Skinny did not understand, but Danville Bently did. Still the little outcast Elk had a certain feeling of humiliation. He knew he had not been "let out," but it might look that way, and he was afraid that Danville would think so. What Danville really did think, Skinny never knew.