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just stay in his tent in the event of a shower.
    Back downstairs, he was headed for the scale again when his mother said, as only a mother can, “Teddy, dear, do you really think you’re going to be safe out there?”
    His father said, “Come on, Marcella, we’ve already had this conversation.”
    Theo knew his mother was not about to veto his weekend, that she was just going through the motions of being a concerned mother, but he politely said, “Sure, Mom. This is no big deal. We’re all experienced Scouts and you trust the Major, don’t you?”
    “I suppose,” she said.
    “He’ll be fine,” his father said. Theo suspected they were secretly planning a quiet weekend without him. He wouldn’t be missed.
    The second weigh-in was at thirty-and-a-half pounds. Theo decided to leave things alone. Surely the Major would bend on half a pound.

Chapter 7
    F riday morning, the last day of the dreadful tests. The ordeal was almost over, and Theo was so excited about the weekend he demolished his Cheerios and left home ten minutes early.
    The mood was considerably lighter as the eighth graders gathered in the auditorium. Pete had a smile on his face, the first of the week. April smiled and nodded at Theo from across the room. The teachers passed out the exams, and at precisely nine o’clock they began. Theo attacked the test as never before, as if the clock would move faster if he kicked into high gear. It did not, but for the first time all week he felt comfortable with the material. The morning session was all about history, an easy subject for Theo. He nailed one question after another.
    At 12:30, it was over. The proctor called “Time,” thanked the students for their hard work and diligent efforts and on and on, and told them to go have lunch. At 1:30, they were dismissed early, and fifteen minutes later, Theo was at the VFW with the other Scouts, all chatty and excited and ready to go. His father had delivered his backpack and a change of clothes. The Major was barking orders here and there, going through his usual drill sergeant routine, but he, too, was eager to hit the road. He weighed each backpack—Theo’s came in at thirty pounds, two ounces—and growled at Woody and Hardie who were two pounds over. They quickly unpacked, discarded a few items, and made the limit. All in all, the Major was pleased that his boys had packed so carefully. He went through a checklist to make sure each had included the essentials—primarily food and toilet paper—and told them to load up. They piled everything into the Troop 1440 bus, one bought from the school district and painted Army green, and by 2:30 they were leaving Strattenburg with the Major at the wheel and the fifteen Scouts whooping and hollering. They settled down once the town was behind them and most fell asleep.
    Two hours later they rolled into the Sassaqua National Park. A ranger directed the Major to a spot to leave the bus, checked the boys into the register, showed them where the new trail began, and suggested a camping spot five miles in. The first stretch was easy and he was certain they could make it before dark. “Good luck,” he said as they slung their backpacks onto their shoulders. As they hurried away, he said, “Watch out for the bears. They’re everywhere.”
    The Major took the lead and set a furious pace. He was sixty years old, exercised every day, and could do more push-ups and sit-ups nonstop than any of his Scouts. Within twenty minutes, they were sweating and breathing heavy. But they pressed on as the shadows grew longer. Things were darker in the dense woods. The trail was narrow, in many places less than two feet wide, with gullies and ravines on both sides. They began a gradual incline that seemed to go on for miles, and when they reached the top the Sassaqua River could be seen in the distance. “We need to hurry,” the Major said after a quick rest. The trail curled through the woods and went downhill. A few rays of fading