When Columbus started to cross the
Delaware----"
"Listen, Hervey," Mr. Warren interrupted him; "suppose you and I walk
together, I want to talk with you."
So they strolled together in the direction of the mess boards.
"Now, Hervey, my boy," said Mr. Warren, "I don't want you to be angry at
what I say, but the boys are disgruntled and I think you can't blame
them. They set their hearts on having the Eagle award in the troop and
they elected you to bring it to them. I was the first to suggest you. I
think we were all agreed that you had the, what shall I say, the pep and
initiative to go out and get it. You won twenty badges with flying
colors, I don't know how you did it, and now you're falling down all on
account of _one single requirement_.
"Is that fair to the troop, Hervey? Is it fair to yourself? It isn't
lack of ability; if it was I wouldn't speak of it. But it's because you
tire of a thing before it's finished. Think of the things you learned
in winning those twenty badges--the Morse Code, life saving, carpentry
work. How many of those things do you remember now? You have forgotten
them all--lost interest in them all. I said nothing because I knew you
were after the Eagle badge with both hands and feet, but now you see you
have tired of that--right on the threshold of victory. You can't blame
the boys, Hervey, now can you?"
"Tracks are not so easy to find," Hervey said, somewhat subdued.
"They are certainly not easy to find if you don't look for them," Mr.
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