CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
THE SCOUTS MEET JOHN DUNSTAN
The following day while the scouts were washing the dinner dishes, a young man came across the plateau. He was dressed in nice clothes and wore a straw sailor hat. As he neared the camp, he lifted his hat and smiled.
"Why--it's the hunter!" cried Julie, dropping the dish-mop and drying her hands on her apron.
"So it is--where is Verny!" added Joan.
"Didn't you know me, ladies?" asked the visitor.
"You looked so different the other day in your hunting clothes," said Julie, smiling graciously.
Ruth and Betty had gone to find the Captain, and now they came back with her.
"This is John Dunstan, Verny," said Betty, simply.
The young man was invited to sit down with them, and being a genuine son of Nature, he felt quite at ease anywhere, so he began to chat with Mrs. Vernon.
"Granny told me about the scouts calling on her," said he, showing how much he appreciated the visit.
"Yes, and we are going again, as we enjoyed our first one so much," said the Captain.
"She says you had a son in the aviation field 'over there,'" continued John.
"Yes, and I do so want to talk with you about that; but first, let me ask you if you knew of those convicts being at large in the woods the last time you were here to help the scouts finish the roof?"
"That was why I wanted to see you," said John. "I had reason to _believe_ that two tramps were somewhere about this mountain, and I feared they might start for the village. If they did, they would come across this camp, and I didn't like to think they might annoy the scouts."
"You didn't know they were convicts, then?" said Julie.
"If I had, do you suppose I would have allowed you girls to win the honor of catching them? I would have taken them myself."
"How could you--all alone?" said Joan.
"The same way I rounded up five Huns when they shot down my plane on their side of the battle-line. I managed to get them, too, and marched them across No Man's Land at night, and brought them in prisoners to our Captain."
"Oh, oh! tell us all about it?" entreated the girls.
"Some other time, scouts, but now I want to answer this lady's questions," said John, laughingly.
"Only tell us this much--is that what you got the medal for?" begged Julie.
"That, and one other trick I turned," said John, without any sign of self-importance.
"My boy enlisted before the United States entered the war," began Mrs. Vernon. "Because we had no air service, he entered the Royal Flying Corps in Canada. He was with them until we declared war on Germany, then he wanted to fight under his own Flag. It was in his first battle as an American Flyer that he was shot down."
"I was with the Royal Flying Corps, too, at first. But I didn't get your name, Captain, so I really do not know the name of your son," said John.
"Oh, don't you know my name--it is Vernon; and my boy's name was Myles Vernon. He was a Lieutenant in the Lafayette Escadrille."
"Why--Mrs. Vernon! Myles and I were flying and fighting together when he was shot down! That is the very battle I was just telling of, when I bluffed the Germans into such fear that they gave up and marched across to the American lines as my prisoners."
"Oh, oh, really! How happy I am to find some one who saw him at the last. Do tell me all you know, my boy, for we had very little information to console us."
John then told how bravely Myles fought and how he had shot down three planes of the enemy before they got him.
"I saw his plane burst into flames but he managed to get into his parachute and cut loose. Then as he dropped nearer the earth, a machine gun riddled the parachute and he fell.
"I know he met death instantaneously, for I fell very near the same place, and saw his body immediately afterwards. I was handed the personal effects he had with him, and had charge of them while I spoke to the interpreter who took down the name and address. Then I had to give them over to their authorities.
"Mrs. Vernon, I saw the Germans place his body on a bier and carry it away to a house removed from the line of battle. And some weeks later, I visited the lovely little farm where he is buried. It is cared for by a mother who lost three sons for France, and now she takes the greatest joy in caring for the flowers she has planted on American Boys' graves.
"I can tell you of many valiant battles Myles Vernon fought, before he was killed in that one. I saw several of these fights myself, and my friends told me of others--when they heard Myles was gone."
"Oh, I am so happy to hear this. I feel as if you are the direct answer to prayers. Long have I desired to hear about my boy from some one who knew the facts!" cried Mrs. Vernon, with eyes streaming.
"But were you not injured when your plane fell that day?" asked Julie, eagerly.
"By some strange freak, the wings caught in a giant tree and stuck there. The upper branches were broken and hung down from the impact, but the lower boughs and trunk stood up firmly beneath the terrific jar. I was so shaken up that they thought my neck was broken, and I pretended to be a great deal worse than I was, because I believed I could find a way to escape.
"They left me with the doctor and a few nurses, and when it was learned that I was partly recovered I had to help them. It was the freedom accorded any one who assists in looking after the sick prisoners that opened a way for my escape."
The scouts were so anxious to hear all about his experiences that he entertained them the greater part of the afternoon. When he finally stood up to go home, he was begged to come again very soon.
"I will tell Granny that you expect to come up and call on her again?" said he, shaking hands with Mrs. Vernon.
"Yes, but be sure and come down to see us soon, won't you?" said she.
John left, and Mrs. Vernon excused herself for a time. She went in the old hut, and Julie leaned over to whisper: "Now she'll go and cry herself to pieces!"
"No, Julie, I think she is going to pray out her thanks to God for His mercy in sending her such glorious news of her boy," returned Betty, gently.
And Betty was right. For when the Captain returned to the scouts, her face was shining with a radiance that seldom was seen on her face.
"Girls, where shall we have the new members build their hut?" asked she, as if nothing had ever caused her to think of aught but the scouts and their work.
"Why not move Hepsy's shed along and have them use that site for their house?" suggested Joan.
After much planning and arguing, it was decided that the new members could choose their own site and choice of building. "They may prefer to live in a tent--for all we know," said Ruth.
The four scouts worked hard all that week to present as fine a camp as could be found to the new members, and when the five girls drove up in the car to taste the joys of a scout camp, they were duly impressed with the order and neatness of everything about the camp.
How these nine girls formed a Troop of splendid Girl Scouts, how they won badges for prowess in many tests and trials, and how they were the envy of all the school-girls in Elmertown, is too long a tale to tell here.
But this much can be said: The reward for the $1000 was paid over to the scouts, and the Captain placed it in the Bank of Freedom, to the account of "Girls of Dandelion Patrol." That was the beginning of their savings to pay expenses of a Camp in the Adirondacks the following season.
And how they finally went to the much-longed-for camp where Mr. Gilroy welcomed them for a whole summer's visit, is told in the second volume of the Girl Scouts Mountain series, called "Dandelion Troop in the Adirondacks."
_This Isn't All!_
Would you like to know what became of the good friends you have made in this book?
Would you like to read other stories continuing their adventures and experiences, or other books quite as entertaining by the same author?
On the _reverse side_ of the wrapper which comes with this book, you will find a wonderful list of stories which you can buy at the same store where you got this book.
_Don't throw away the Wrapper_
_Use it as a handy catalog of the books you want some day to have. But in case you do mislay it, write to the Publishers for a complete catalog._
GIRL SCOUTS SERIES
By LILLIAN ELIZABETH ROY
Author of the "Polly Brewster Books"
Handsomely Bound. Colored Wrappers. Illustrated Each Volume Complete in Itself.
Here is a series that holds the same position for girls that the Tom Slade and Roy Blakeley books hold for boys. They are delightful stories of Girl Scout camp life amid beautiful surroundings and are filled with stirring adventures.
GIRL SCOUTS AT DANDELION CAMP
This is a story which centers around the making and the enjoying of a mountain camp, spiced with the fun of a lively troop of Girl Scouts. The charm of living in the woods, of learning woodcraft of all sorts, of adventuring into the unknown, combine to make a busy and an exciting summer for the girls.
GIRL SCOUTS IN THE ADIRONDACKS
New scenery, new problems of camping, association with a neighboring camp of Boy Scouts, and a long canoe trip with them through the Fulton Chain, all in the setting of the marvelous Adirondacks, bring to the girls enlargement of horizon, new development, and new joys.
GIRL SCOUTS IN THE ROCKIES
On horseback from Denver through Estes Park as far as the Continental Divide, climbing peaks, riding wild trails, canoeing through canyons, shooting rapids, encountering a landslide, a summer blizzard, a sand storm, wild animals, and forest fires, the girls pack the days full with unforgettable experiences.
GIRL SCOUTS IN ARIZONA AND NEW MEXICO
The Girl Scouts visit the mountains and deserts of Arizona and New Mexico. They travel over the old Santa Fe Trail, cross the Painted Desert, and visit the Grand Canyon. Their exciting adventures form a most interesting story.
GROSSET & DUNLAP, PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK
THE LILIAN GARIS BOOKS
Attractively Bound. Illustrated. Individual Colored Wrappers. Every Volume Complete in Itself.
Lilian Garis is one of the writers who always wrote. She expressed herself in verse from early school days and it was then predicted that Lilian Mack would one day become a writer. Justifying this sentiment, while still at high school, she took charge of the woman's page for a city paper and her work there attracted such favorable attention that she left school to take entire charge of woman's work for the largest daily in an important Eastern city.
Mrs. Garis turned to girls' books directly after her marriage, and of these she has written many. She believes in girls, studies them and depicts them with pen both skilled and sympathetic.
GLORIA: A GIRL AND HER DAD GLORIA AT BOARDING SCHOOL JOAN: JUST GIRL JOAN'S GARDEN OF ADVENTURE CONNIE LORING'S AMBITION CONNIE LORING'S DILEMMA
GROSSET & DUNLAP, PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK
AMY BELL MARLOWE'S BOOKS FOR GIRLS
Charming, Fresh and Original Stories
Illustrated. Wrappers printed in colors with individual design for each story
Miss Marlowe's books for girls are somewhat of the type of Miss Alcott and also Mrs. Meade; but all are thoroughly up-to-date and wholly American in scene and action. Good, clean absorbing tales that all girls thoroughly enjoy.
THE OLDEST OF FOUR; Or, Natalie's Way Out.
A sweet story of the struggles of a live girl to keep a family from want.
THE GIRLS AT HILLCREST FARM; Or, The Secret of the Rocks.
Relating the trials of two girls who take boarders on an old farm.
A LITTLE MISS NOBODY; Or, With the Girls of Pinewood Hall.
Tells of a school girl who was literally a nobody until she solved the mystery of her identity.
THE GIRL FROM SUNSET RANCH; Or, Alone in a Great City.
A ranch girl comes to New York to meet relatives she has never seen. Her adventures make unusually good reading.
WYN'S CAMPING DAYS; Or, The Outing of the GO-AHEAD CLUB.
A tale of happy days on the water and under canvas, with a touch of mystery and considerable excitement.
FRANCES OF THE RANGES; Or, The Old Ranchman's Treasure.
A vivid picture of life on the great cattle ranges of the West.
THE GIRLS OF RIVERCLIFF SCHOOL; Or, Beth Baldwin's Resolve.
This is one of the most entertaining stories centering about a girls' school that has ever been written.
WHEN ORIOLE CAME TO HARBOR LIGHT.
The story of a young girl, cast up by the sea, and rescued by an old lighthouse keeper.
WHEN ORIOLE TRAVELED WESTWARD.
Oriole visits the family of a rich ranchman and enjoys herself immensely.
GROSSET & DUNLAP, PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK
THE BLYTHE GIRLS BOOKS
By LAURA LEE HOPE
Individual Colored Wrappers
Text Illustrations by THELMA GOOCH
Every Volume Complete in Itself
The Blythe girls, three in number, were left alone in New York City. Helen, who went in for art and music, kept the little flat uptown, while Margy just out of a business school, obtained a position as a private secretary and Rose, plain-spoken and business-like, took what she called a "job" in a department store.
THE BLYTHE GIRLS: HELEN, MARGY AND ROSE; Or, Facing the Great World.
A fascinating tale of real happenings in the great metropolis.
THE BLYTHE GIRLS: MARGY'S QUEER INHERITANCE; Or, The Worth of a Name.
The girls had a peculiar old aunt and when she died she left an unusual inheritance. This tale continues the struggle of all the girls for existence.
THE BLYTHE GIRLS: ROSE'S GREAT PROBLEM; Or, Face to Face With a Crisis.
Rose still at work in the big department store, is one day faced with the greatest problem of her life. A tale of mystery as well as exciting girlish happenings.
THE BLYTHE GIRLS: HELEN'S STRANGE BOARDER; Or, The Girl From Bronx Park.
Helen, out sketching, goes to the assistance of a strange girl, whose real identity is a puzzle to all the Blythe girls. Who the girl really was comes as a tremendous surprise.
THE BLYTHE GIRLS: THREE ON A VACATION; Or, The Mystery at Peach Farm.
The girls close their flat and go to the country for two weeks--and fall in with all sorts of curious and exciting happenings. How they came to the assistance of Joe Morris, and solved a queer mystery, is well related.
GROSSET & DUNLAP, PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK
THE POLLY BREWSTER SERIES
By LILLIAN ELIZABETH ROY
Durably Bound. Illustrated. Colored Wrappers. Every Volume Complete in Itself.
A delightful series for girls in which they will follow Polly and Eleanor through many interesting adventures and enjoyable trips.
POLLY OF PEBBLY PIT
Tells about a Rocky Mountain ranch girl and her many adventures.
POLLY AND ELEANOR
Eleanor Maynard visits Polly at the Ranch and they have lively times.
POLLY IN NEW YORK
Polly and Eleanor visit New York and have a number of very interesting experiences.
POLLY AND HER FRIENDS ABROAD
The girls go abroad and spend most of their time with other American travelers.
POLLY'S BUSINESS VENTURE
Polly and Eleanor take up interior decorating. They attend sales of antiques and incidentally fall in love.
POLLY'S SOUTHERN CRUISE
A hurricane and cloud-burst threatens to swamp the vessel in which Polly and her friends take this trip.
POLLY IN SOUTH AMERICA
Polly and her friends land at many funny old towns and have several exciting adventures not altogether pleasant.
GROSSET & DUNLAP, PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK