Lieutenant Denmead paused and glanced at the group of faces steadily
turned toward him. Then he resumed:

"'The habit of mind thus cultivated continued through life; so that,
however complicated his tasks and overwhelming his cares, he found
time to do everything, and to do it well. He had acquired
the magic of method, which of itself works wonders.'"

"'When about sixteen years old, George Washington was asked by his
friend, Lord Fairfax, to make a survey of the latter's extensive
lands, a vast territory lying between the Potomac and Rappahannock
Rivers. He undertook the commission in the early spring, when the
mountains were still white with snow and the streams had swollen
into torrents. He was clad in a buckskin hunting shirt, with
leggings and moccasins of the same material, the simple garb of
a backwoodsman, in perfect keeping with the wildness of the scenes
he had to encounter. In his broad leathern belt were stuck a
long hunting-knife and an Indian tomahawk. As he rode his horse,
he frequently carried in his left hand his useful compassstaff.'"

"'The enterprise upon which Washington had entered was one of
romance, toil, and peril. It required the exercise of constant
vigilance and sagacity. Here and there in the wilds ran narrow
trails through dense thickets, over craggy hills, and along the
banks of streams; but when they might lead the young surveyor
into the camps of squatters or Indians, no one could tell.'"

As the Scout Master stopped again, he found the boys listening
with breathless interest, and he guessed that many of them were