It was late in the morning when Scott finally awoke. He glanced at Mr. Graham’s bed. It was empty. He listened for quite a while, but there was not a sound in the house. When he glanced at his watch he understood why it was. On the table he found a characteristic note from Mr. Graham. “Sleep your head off if you want to and catch up. I’ll be back this evening.”

Scott felt as though he had earned a rest and when he had washed the breakfast dishes he stretched out in a steamer-chair on the little front porch for a good loaf.

The waves were lapping soothingly on the beach, the line of islands still shimmered in the sunshine on the opposite side of the lagoon, and a little oyster schooner glided lazily across the picture. It was almost the identical picture at which Scott had looked with impatient eyes just nine days before. Just nine days! That was all it was and yet how much had happened since then and how different everything looked now.

Then he had been a stranger in a strange land, very much at sea, and wondering what he had to do. Now it seemed as though he was an old inhabitant thoroughly familiar with the country and the ways of the people. And yet how very little he had really seen. Most of his time had been spent in the swamp and there were hundreds of things outside he wanted to know about. Probably the Washington office would get Mr. Graham’s report in another day or two and would wire him to return at once to his station in the Southwest. He wanted to go back there eventually, but he did wish that they would give him a few weeks longer there in the South to look about him.

All afternoon he just sat there on the porch and dreamed.

About supper time Mr. Graham returned in a high good humor. He shouted to Scott merrily as he rode into the yard and strode up the little oyster-shell walk with buoyant step.

“Well, Burton,” he exclaimed, clapping Scott on the knee with friendly hand, “I’ve just done something which pleases me mightily, but it may not be such good news to you. Maybe you have had enough of the sunny South and are longing to be back in the clear atmosphere of your Arizona desert, but I wanted to see a little more of you and I have been exchanging telegrams with Washington most of the afternoon. Finally persuaded them that it was absolutely necessary for you to stay right here with me till the trial was over and those scoundrels were tight in the pen where they will surely go. What do you think of it?”

Scott jumped from his chair and grasped Mr. Graham’s hand, his face beaming with happiness. “The very thing I have been wishing for all afternoon. It seemed a shame to come away down here for such a short time and have to go back again without seeing much of the country outside of the swamps, but I did not suppose it could be managed. You have certainly been kind to me and I appreciate it.”

“Kind, fiddlesticks,” Mr. Graham exclaimed brusquely. “You’ve gotten me out of a tangle with which I have been vainly struggling for over two years, and I have only just begun to pay you back.”

And so it was that Scott spent three very pleasant months in the little cabin with Mr. Graham and learned how gentle, how courteous, and how thoughtful a really big man could be without in any way detracting from his strength. It was a lesson he never forgot and it stood him in good stead in the future.

Before he left he had the satisfaction of seeing the whole gang of thieves on their way to the penitentiary under a fifteen-year sentence and had received a personal letter of thanks from the chief forester of the United States.

THE BOY SCOUTS YEAR BOOK

The biggest book for boys! Contains stories by favorite authors, articles by experts, messages from famous men on all subjects nearest a boy’s heart.

SCOTT BURTON ON THE RANGE

A tale of the western forests, full of exciting happenings and much real woodcraft.

THE RING-NECKED GRIZZLY

A big game hunter reveals the mysteries of the trail in this story of two boys’ visit to the Rockies.

DICK ARNOLD OF RARITAN COLLEGE

A splendid football story, by a man who knows the game and who shows college life as it really is.

DICK ARNOLD PLAYS THE GAME

Dick Arnold shows his metal in basketball. Another college story that knows what it is talking about.

THE SILVER PRINCE

The old Wild West is the scene of Terry’s thrilling struggle to keep possession of his dead father’s silver mine.

Two boys, Henry Ware and Paul Cotter, and three scouts are the chief characters in these books dealing with frontier life and adventures with the Indians about the time of the Revolutionary War. Each story is complete in itself, full of excitement, and historically accurate.

The Young Trailers

Two boys and their families arrive in Kentucky and build a settlement. The settlers begin to have trouble with the Indians.

The Forest Runners

The two boys set out to carry powder from one settlement to another. The Indians get word of it.

The Eyes of the Woods

The Indians at length determine to destroy the boys and their friends. In the struggle the boys call into play all their lore of the woods.

The Keepers of the Trail

In this book the boys and their comrades defeat a great Indian army and save Kentucky from invasion.

The Free Rangers

Five of the settlers journey down the Mississippi to urge the Spanish Governor-General not to join the Indians in fighting.

The Riflemen of the Ohio

The band of five settlers act as scouts for a great fleet coming up the Mississippi with supplies for the Revolutionists at Pittsburg.

The Scouts of the Valley

The two boys go into Pennsylvania to help the settlers there fight the Iroquois. They are active in several battles.

The Border Watch

Learning that another expedition against the settlers in Kentucky is being prepared, the boys join the famous fighters under George Rogers Clark.

Young People’s History of the American Revolution

No one knows Revolutionary history better than Dr. Tomlinson. This history is unique, for in it he emphasizes the part played by the citizens during the Revolution. Illustrated.

Places Young Americans Want to Know

In this book Dr. Tomlinson has presented thrilling descriptions of the most notable places in the history of our country.

Fighters Young Americans Want to Know

A set of little known yet thrilling stories of boys who never became famous but did their bit manfully and passed on. The stories are all true.

The Story of General Pershing

This is the first authentic account of General Pershing’s career.

The Mysterious Rifleman

A story of the revolution that makes exciting reading. A brave, high-hearted hero figures in the vivid scenes.

The Pursuit of the Apache Chief

A thrilling tale of adventure, fighting and pursuit. How two young men battle with an Apache tribe among the Arizona canyons.

Scouting on the Border

A story of U. S. Army life on the borderland of Mexico, abounding in excitement, gun-play and heroism.

The Trail of the Mohawk Chief

Here the white man is on the trail of Joseph Brant, that famous Mohawk chieftain. It is a splendid tale of our ancestors and the men they fought.