In his astonishment he glanced at Tom's arm as if he expected to see upon it the tangible evidences of his companion's feats and accomplishments.

But the only signs of scouting which he saw there were the brown skin and the firm muscles.
"They change that book every now and then," Tom said.
Still Hervey continued to look.

"What's that belt made out of ?" he asked.
"It's fiber from a string tree," Tom said; "they grow in Lorraine in France." "Were you in France ?" "Two years," Tom said.
"How many merit badges have you got, anyway, Mr .-- Slady ?" "Oh, I don't know," Tom said; "about thirty or thirty-five, I guess." "You _guess ?_ I bet you've got the Gold Cross.

Where is it ?" Hervey made a quick inspection of Tom's pongee shirt, but all he saw there was the front with buttons gone and the brown chest showing.
"I couldn't pin it on there very well, could I ?" Tom said, lured by his companion's eagerness into a little show of amusement.
"Where is it ?" Hervey demanded.
"I'm letting a girl wear it," Tom said.
"Oh, what I know about _you!_" Hervey said, teasingly.

"You can bet if I ever get the Gold Cross or the Eagle Badge (which I won't this trip) no girl will ever wear them." "You can't be so sure about that," said Tom, out of his larger worldly experience, "sometimes they take them away from you." "You're a funny fellow," Hervey said, while his gaze still expressed his generous impulse of hero-worship.