Ivy Cottage.
This was a dwelling which caused the careful housewife to gasp when fist her eye fell upon it. The chairs were broken; the windows smashed, the gas mantles damaged, the electric wires fused, the window sashes would not work, the blinds had gone wrong, the crockery was broken, the door-lock was out of order, and nothing was right that could be wrong!
But at a signal a Patrol of Scouts were turned loose into the cottage.
It was wonderful what a change came over the scene. The Patrol Leader took a glance round and told off each of his Scouts for a definite job.
- One mended the chairs;
- Another, with glass-cutter and putty knife, glazed the broken window;
- A third set to work with screw-driver and pliers and repaired the damaged lock;
and so on.
They hammered and screwed, twisted and glued, until, in about half-an-hour, the whole place was ship-shape.
'How was it these boys could do all these things?
The secret lay in the little round badge on their arm depicting a hammer and paint-brush crossed—the "Handyman's Badge."
To earn this a Scout must be able to paint a door or bath, whitewash a ceiling, repair gas fittings, ball cocks, tap washers, sash lines, window and door fastenings, replace gas mantles and electric light bulbs, hang pictures and curtains,
23
