"Bill's all right," said Hank. "We all know that he can do the stunt and that he will do it, but he hasn't done it yet." Then Benny spoke up. "Guess what!" said he. "Let's all wait until Bill gets well and does it, before getting our badges. Except Skinny; he's got his." "Bet your life I'll wait, too," said Skinny. He started to take the badge off, but we wouldn't let him. "Forget it," said Bill, "and go on with the story. You stopped in an interesting place. I don't believe much happened, anyhow, except the cow, and you've told us about that." "I don't like to tell the rest. It will make you walk in your sleep and that will hurt your foot. But I'm willing to risk it if you are." You see, when Skinny started toward home from Savoy, he made up his mind that he would lasso a deer, or know the reason why, because it would look fine to have one stuffed and standing in front of our cave at Peck's Falls. So, when he had found a place that looked wild and sort of scary, he left the road and, getting his rope in shape to throw, made his way in through the brush, as still as he could, so as not to frighten the deer away. He didn't see any deer, but after a while he found a big patch of wild strawberries, so thick he couldn't step without tramping on some. That made him forget all about his deer for 'most an hour. Then, all of a sudden, he heard a crackling in the bushes on the other side of a clearing, and he felt sure that his chance had come. Skinny dropped on his hands and knees and crawled toward the sound. It was slow work because he had to be careful not to make any noise, and he grew more excited every moment. At last he was crouching down behind some big bushes, and on the other side he could hear the deer real plain, tramping around like a horse. "Gee!" thought he. "It's a big one and will look great up by our cave." He didn't say it out loud because he knew that although the deer could not smell him on account of the wind blowing the other way, he would hear him, unless he was very careful. Then, getting the rope ready to throw, with the slip noose working easily, he parted the bushes gently and crept through. There was a great crashing as some big animal broke his way through the bushes in front of him. Then came a snarl and a growl that made Skinny's heart almost stop beating. And there he stood, paralyzed, looking straight into the eyes of a bear! It wasn't any Jake Yost with his boots on wrong, either. It was the real thing, looking as big as the Quaker Meeting House to Skinny, although it was really only a cub, about half grown. I guess the bear wasn't expecting anybody to call, for he stood there, sort of paralyzed himself, his eyes looking right into Skinny's and one big paw raised to take another step. Skinny gave a howl and started for the nearest tree, one that was too small for a bear to climb. Say, if tree climbing had been one of the Scout stunts, Skinny would have won two badges.