We drew cuts to see who should be the first four to go. Skinny, Harry, Wallie, and Bill won the first chance. They were to start the next morning at seven o'clock sharp from the bridge, two going north and two south. Hank, Benny, Chuck, and myself were to wait until seven o'clock, the second day, and then start. When we all had come back, we planned to meet Mr. Norton and tell him about where we had been and what we had seen and done. Benny and I live nearest to the bridge. My house is only a stone's throw north of it; Benny's is a little north of mine and on the other side of Park Street. That made it easy for us to get to the bridge first, but pretty soon the others began to come. "Has anybody seen Skinny?" I asked, looking at Mr. Norton. Skinny's house is near Mr. Norton's, and we had thought that maybe they would come together. "I stopped in as I passed," said he. "Mrs. Miller told me that he had started." Just then we heard a caw, sounding from over toward Plunkett's woods somewhere. It didn't take us long to answer. Then we watched down the railroad track, where it curves into town between the wooded hillside and the river. We didn't have long to wait. In a few minutes we saw Skinny put his head out between the trees which line a high bank, fifteen or twenty feet above the track. He looked carefully in every direction; waved one arm, when he saw that we were watching, and then dodged back again out of sight. "He's surrounding something," said Bill, giving a caw so loud it must have almost scared the crows up in the Bellows Pipe. "There are only four minutes left before leaving time." Mr. Norton was looking at his watch. He had hardly spoken, when, with a whoop and yell, Skinny slid down the embankment and was running like mad up the track toward us, waving his hatchet in one hand and swinging a rope around his head with the other. "One minute to spare," said Mr. Norton, smiling as he put his watch back into his pocket. "That's the way to do it. Be prompt. If you say that you'll be somewhere at a certain time, be there." "Say, Skinny," said Bill, winking at me and giving the Scout salute, "did you get 'em surrounded?" Skinny wouldn't answer, or even look at him except to return the salute. He pulled out his own watch, held it a moment; then pounded on the bridge with his hatchet. "The meetin' will come to order?" said he. As he spoke, the bell on the woolen mill began to ring and we knew that it was seven o'clock and time to start. Quite a little crowd had gathered by that time and there was a cheer when the boys started, Skinny and Harry marching south on Center Street, side by side, and Bill and Wallie, north on Park Street. Pretty soon their ways branched off. They turned and waved to us; then were gone. Once after that we heard some crows cawing in the distance, and a little later I heard Bill yell from somewhere down the river. I knew that he was doing his best, but I hardly could hear him.