CHAPTER X

OFF FOR CAMP SHAWNEE

“Come in!” called the Chief, looking up from the papers on his desk. “Oh, hello, Dirk! Sit down and tell me what’s on your mind.”

Dirk Van Horn carefully closed the door of the little office, and faced the genial camp director.

“If you aren’t too busy, sir, I’d like to ask you something.”

“Never too busy to talk to campers! But it’s a fact that I haven’t seen very much of you, Dirk, since your folks brought you up here to Lenape. Of course”—the Chief smiled slightly—“I’ve heard reports of your doings, now and then. How do you like Lenape so far?”

The boy looked at the man ruefully. “I’m beginning to wonder,” he said, “if you shouldn’t ask how Lenape likes me!”

“You’ve learned a lot, if you know that, Dirk.”

“I have learned a lot. I’ve only been here a few days, Chief, but even I can see that I have been an utter chump, all along. It’s taken me a long time to get things straight, and I’m still pretty green, I guess. But from now on, I want to tell you I’m trying to be a real camper!”

The Chief leaned back in his chair, and rubbed his chin reflectively. “You seem to be in the right frame of mind to do it, Dirk. We leaders can help some, but unless a boy learns these things from other boys and by thinking about them himself, we can’t do very much. But I know,” he went on, “that you didn’t come here this morning just to tell me you want to be a true Lenape camper. What’s on your mind?”

Dirk gulped. “It’s a big thing to ask,” he blurted, “and maybe I shouldn’t say it.”

“Come, out with it!”

“Well—well—Chief, I want to go on the Long Trail!”

For some space of time after this pronouncement, the man said nothing. Dirk, searching his chief’s face for some sign, breathed a heavy sigh of disappointment, and rose to go.

“Sit down, Dirk! The Long Trail, eh? I suppose you know what you’re asking?”

Dirk, with new eagerness in his eyes, sank again into his chair. “Mr. McNulty and some of the chaps have been talking about it, and Ryan, in our tent, is going. It must be a splendid experience, sir, and I—I—— Yes, I know I’m not much as a woodsman—why, I got lost within a little way from the camp!—and I guess I’d be a drag on the rest of the fellows on a long trip like that. But, oh, sir, give me a chance!”

The Chief stared through the little window over his desk, a tiny square through which came a glimpse of the pines and the rippling waters of Lake Lenape.

“The boys that Mr. Carrigan has chosen are all picked campers,” he said at last. “Most of them have spent three seasons here, and in that time have learned the many things they must know to take care of themselves on a long trip that would test the endurance of many grown men. Moreover, these boys realize that in order to get through and plant our banner on Mount Kinnecut, they must work together as one, must share alike for the good of the tribe, as the old Indians and scouts used to do. Out of the hundred boys here each summer, only six are ever chosen to take this trail for the honor of Lenape. Now, knowing all this, do you still want to go?”

Dirk nodded dully. “But I’m bigger and stronger than Ugly Brown, and he’s going! And I’d do my best to learn everything, and try to keep up with the rest of the party——”

“Brown is one of the best young campers we have,” observed the Chief, “even if he is small. If you knew a tenth as much as he does about the woods and the water, you might stand a chance. Come, now, Dirk, I know how you feel. I’ve known your dad for years, and I can guess that if you ever wanted anything, he would get it for you. But this thing you speak of is different. You can only get it for yourself; and the harder you work to earn it, the more you’ll value it. Learn as much as you can this summer, and next year, we’ll see about letting you hit the trail for Kinnecut! How about it?”

Dirk, not trusting himself to speak, shook his head dumbly, and looked at the floor. He might have known the Chief would say no, but—but——

The director was watching him with new interest. “Well, you are persistent!” he exclaimed. “That might count for something in your favor. Now, let me ask you a question. You’ve been at Lenape for four days. What have you learned that will stand you in good stead on a stiff hike and canoe-trip through some of the wildest country in the state?”

“Nothing, I guess,” confessed Dirk humbly. “I haven’t even learned to swim, and even the littlest fellows make fun of me wading around in the shallow water. But I’ll try, Chief, I will! Only let me——”

“Your canoe is still on the dock, isn’t it?”

“Yes. Mr. Rawn said he wouldn’t let me take it out until I could swim and learn how to handle a paddle. I—I haven’t bothered to learn. I can see I’ve wasted my time fooling around with silly things, and loafing——”

“All right. That’s enough. Dirk, you have lots of stuff in you that, if you want it badly enough, can help you become a first-rate camper. You’ve shown it by getting out and chasing flies on the baseball team, and that’s a fine start. If you really believe what you’ve told me just now, your spirit in the future will be the finest thing that could come to you. You can see that your chances of holding your own on the Long Trail this year are pretty slim. But, since you’re so eager, I don’t mind telling you that there is a chance!”

Dirk’s eyes widened, and he jumped up. “You mean—— What do you want me to do, Chief?”

“I’ll make a bargain with you. Man to man. The Long Trailers will start next Monday for the river. That gives us five days. If, during those five days, you can pass all the requirements for the Lenape honor emblem, I’ll ask Mr. Carrigan to take you along!”

“Do you really mean it? Why, Chief, that’s a wonderful offer! And I’ll do it—I know I will!” Dirk cried.

The director was amused. “Don’t be too sure, Dirk. You don’t know what you are up against.” He opened the drawer of his desk and drew out a printed card. “Here is a list of the things you will have to do. It’s a long list, and four days is a short time. Remember, too, that you must not neglect your regular camp duties to work on any of the tests. One of the requirements, and the biggest, is that you must show a fine, all-around camp spirit; and that means you will have to think of the honor of your tent and the welfare of everybody and everything in camp. But if you do a good job out there in left field tomorrow at Shawnee, I’ll sign this card in this space calling for participation in an inter-camp athletic contest, and that will be one less test for you to do before Sunday night.”

Dirk took the card, and glanced at the rows of print upon it. “It’s a bargain!” he cried. “And I’ll start working on the tests this very minute!”

“Hold on! There’s one thing more I want to say before you rush out and start your job. Remember what I’ve told you—your chance of fitting yourself for the Long Trail is a very slim one indeed. Promise me that, in the event you don’t come through with your part of our bargain, you will take it like a sportsman, and even though you miss out this season, you will continue in the same spirit that you are starting now. It may be bitter medicine to take, but take it like a man!”

“I—I promise, Chief.”

Dirk fumbled for the doorknob, his heart full of gratitude and a determination that was new to him. He found himself outside the office, standing on the porch with a cool wind about his hot forehead. Through blurred eyes he scanned the printed card in his hand, reading the list of things that he must do within the coming days, if he was to join Brick Ryan and the rest on the Long Trail:

REQUIREMENTS FOR LENAPE HONOR EMBLEM

1. Know the North Star and five constellations. 2. Collect fifteen wild flowers. 3. Identify fifteen trees. 4. Collect and identify five kinds of rocks. 5. Know ten birds. 6. Handle a rowboat and name ten parts of a boat. 7. Swim 100 yards. 8. Make a permanent woodcraft exhibit, or build some camp improvement. 9. Build a good cooking fire and cook potatoes, rice pudding, twist biscuit, and broiled meat. 10. Play on an athletic team in an inter-camp contest. 11. Take a part in a camp show. 12. Act as a tent aide for one day. 13. Show at all times the finest spirit as an all-round Lenape camper.

Dirk whistled as his eye ran down the list. No wonder Brick and Lefty and the others wore their green L badges with pride! And now, in the few days remaining before the canoes cut the water on the first leg of the journey to Kinnecut, he must do all these things, or stay behind. But, although he had never in all his life faced such a task as this, he did not admit even to himself that he might fail.

He buttoned the card carefully in his breast pocket. Then, with a new light in his eyes, he ran down the steep path toward the lake shore. Mr. Wally Rawn, on duty at the dock before morning swim period, was startled by the tall figure of a boy who clutched his arm, and gasped breathlessly: “Wally, sir! Do you think you could teach me to swim a hundred yards today? I want to learn to swim, and I want to learn now!”

By nightfall, Dirk had not learned all that there is to know about swimming, but Wally’s first lesson had given some confidence in handling himself in the water, as well as a hope that diligent practice should enable him to swim the required number of yards at no distant date. Moreover, the boy’s lips tilted in a satisfied smile as he glanced at the spaces on the requirement card in his hand. Three items were already initialed. Wally Rawn had found time to teach him the rudiments of managing a rowboat. Lefty Reardon, a bit doubtful of this sudden interest in campcraft by the new boy but unaware of its cause, had been persuaded to coach him upon trees and rocks, and Van Horn’s collection and identification were vouched for by the initials of Mr. Jim Avery.

“Only ten more to go!” Dirk breathed to himself. “I’ll get somebody to show me the stars tonight, and in the morning——” He caught his breath. “Why, how could I forget? Tomorrow is the day of the big game with Shawnee!”

In the morning Sax McNulty looked over at him curiously.

“What’s come over you, young lad?” the leader asked. “I didn’t know you loved to chase flies so much that you’re bubbling with boyish glee.”

“I love to chase flies, Sax.”

“But not that much. There’s something else. I never saw anybody in such a burning hurry to have an honor emblem pinned on his shirt. I’m suspicious.”

“I can’t tell you now, Sax. But will you help me?”

McNulty snorted. “Do you have to ask? Now, hop into your bathrobes, you birds—What will become of Camp Shawnee if you sleep all day?”

“Shawnee” was the word that rose oftenest in the babel at the breakfast table. All the boys were in hiking clothes, ready for the ten-mile trail that fringed the mountains running north. Within a few minutes after the meal was over, Dirk had seen disappear into the woods all his tent-mates with the exception of Lefty and Brick, who, with the rest of the Lenape nine, were to ride to Shawnee and thus keep fresh for the big contest of the afternoon.

Dirk fingered his glove nervously, and wondered what sort of ball field the Shawnee campus would provide. Somebody slapped him on the back. It was Spaghetti Megaro, second baseman, and a gay light shone in the Italian boy’s eyes.

“You’re worried, huh? Well, forget it! If we don’t win, we lose. But I think we win! Come, the truck is loaded—pile on and hang tight. If you can ride this flivver, the bucking broncho is nothing!”

“Sure, Spaghett.” Dirk joined the crowding band that jostled each other laughingly as they sought places in the body of the camp truck. Stirring up a cyclone of dust, the car left Lenape deserted, and rattled off up the rutted lane. Dirk Van Horn, clinging to the dashboard with both hands, stared into the distance.

“I think we win!” he repeated softly. “And I—I must do a good job, the Chief said. Well, in just a few hours I’ll have my chance!”