didn't ask and that was one good thing.

After dinner Skinny came to me all smiles and said, "I've got a merit
badge, it's for keeping my eyes open, and will you bore a hole in it so
I can wear it around my neck?" Oh, but that kid was happy.

I said, "Did you have a good dinner, kiddo?" And he said, "Yes, but
will you bore a hole in it so I can wear it around my neck?" He looked
awful thin and his scout suit didn't fit him and his belt wasn't tight
enough and he didn't look anything like pictures you see of scouts--you
know what I mean. And when he smiled it made wrinkles in his cheeks.
One thing sure, he was different from all the rest of the fellows. Even
if it was only a little thing that he was interested in, he got all
excited about it, and his eyes got all bright and if he grabbed you by
the arm you could feel that his hand was trembling--he'd be so excited.
We made a lot of allowance for him, because he was sick and came out of
the slums, but anyway, one trouble with him was, that Mr. Ellsworth
couldn't make him study up scouting the way other fellows do. All of a
sudden he'd go crazy for the gold medal or the eagle badge and you
couldn't tell him that a fellow has to get to be a first class scout,
before he can be an eagle scout. "He wants what he wants when he wants
it," that's what Mr. Ellsworth said, and he only just laughed and said,
"He'll hammer into shape all right, let him enjoy the trip."

And it was just like him--I mean about that French coin. He was always
coming to me, too, as if I was scoutmaster and everything else. He
began clutching me by the arm and saying, "I got it for keeping my eyes
open, didn't I? I got it for being honest and asking all the scout
guys, didn't I?"