“Late again,” drawled Chips. “You know Red. He never can make a meeting on time.”
“I thought he’d be here tonight,” said Brad. “He had something special on his mind. Fact is, I’m a little bothered about it—”
“Someone’s coming down the hill now,” cut in Dan. He directed attention toward a shadowy, hurrying figure.
A moment later, Red, who had acquired the nickname because of his fiery hair, breathlessly joined the group. He carried a bulky object concealed in a large paper bag.
“Time you’re getting here!” Chips scolded him. “What you got in that sack?”
Carefully holding together the top edges of the bag so that none of the Cubs could see what it held, he took his place in the circle.
Mr. Hatfield stirred the log with a stick, sending up a shower of sparks.
“I’m about to spin a few Indian stories,” he remarked. “But first, now that we’re all here, I’ll tell you about next month’s den project. Ever hear of the Navajos?”
“Sure!” chirped Chips, proud of his knowledge. “Blankets! We’ve got some at home.”
“The Navajos are Indians,” corrected Dan. “They live on a large New Mexico reservation.”
“That’s right,” agreed Mr. Hatfield. “The Navajos are very skillful at weaving blankets and making silver ornaments, so Chips wasn’t too far off.”
“What do the Navajos have to do with our project?” asked Mack Tibbets curiously.
“A lot, I hope. I thought we might adopt a Navajo Pack.”
“Do the Navajos have Cub Scout organizations?” demanded Red. In his surprise, he nearly dropped the paper bag which he had kept so carefully tucked under his arm.
“Why should we adopt an Indian Pack?” questioned Midge Holloway.
“Because the Navajo youngsters need our help,” Mr. Hatfield explained. “The government has aided the Indians by setting up schools and providing many necessities. But while some of the Navajos are well off, others are very poor, depending almost entirely upon sheep raising for a living. Their dwellings are _hogans_ or houses built of sticks, rock and mud. Few have adequate clothing or shoes.”
“What do the Navajo Cubs need?” asked Brad.
“All sorts of things. Books, uniforms, craft articles and especially money.”
Mr. Hatfield went on to say that if the Cubs decided to adopt a Navajo Pack, cash might be raised by various projects, including an Indian pow-wow.