"
"The only thing we'll jump on will be _you_-if you talk like that," I said;
"Silver Foxes don't jump on trains. But how about the other fellows-the
Elks and the raving Ravens? United we stand, divided we sprawl."
He said, "Let them rave; I'm not going to head a whole kindergarten. Eight
of you are enough. Who do you think I am, General Pershing?" And then he
ruffled up my beautiful curly hair and he gave me a shove-same way as he
always did. "This is not a grand drive," he said, "it's a hike. Just a few
shock troops will do."
"We'll shock you all right," I said, "but first you'd better speak to Mr.
Ellsworth (he's our scoutmaster), and get the first shock out of the way."
"I think I have Mr. Ellsworth eating out of my hand," he said; "you leave
that to me. I just wanted to sound you and find out if you were game or
whether you're just tin horn scouts-parlor scouts."
"Well, do I sound all right?" I said. "Believe _me_, there are only two
things that keep us from hiking around the world, and those are the
Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean."
"Think you could climb over the Equator?" he said, laughing all the while.
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