Sleeping Pirate

Have you played the game called " Sleeping Pirate " in your clubroom? The " pirate " sits, blindfolded, in the middle of the room with an open knife or sheath knife stuck in the floor in front of him.

The others try to creep or walk up to him and remove the knife. He points towards any sound he hears, and if he is right the boy pointed at must go back and start again. This is good practice in listening for the " pirate," and good practice in silent walking or stalking for the others. All should have a turn at being " pirate."

Listening Post

Here is another Night Scouting game which you can play indoors in the autumn. Collect a good lot of dry leaves, or branches with leaves on, that have been blown off the trees; you can find them in plenty on the pavements of a town, provided the weather has been dry for a spell.

Spread them on the floor near one end of the room but with gaps among them, and put one or two sentries, blindfolded, and armed with an electric torch, behind the barricade of leaves. Then turn out the lights, having lined up the other players at the far end of the room.

These players then have to try to pass through the barrier of crackly leaves without being heard by a sentry.

If a sentry hears a leaf or twig trodden on, he shines his torch in that direction; the player on whom the torch shines (if any) retires to the starting line, and begins again, "scoring " one point against himself.

An umpire can also note down one point to his sentry's credit, if there are two or more sentries. This game is really excellent practice for Night Scouting out-of-doors, when you may have to creep through a wood full of fallen leaves and bits of dead wood to capture a flag or get up to an animal.

It can also be played outdoors as a game, for practice. Litter a stretch of ground with obstacles, twigs, dixies, etc., and practice walking among them in the dark silently.

Clock Tick

Borrow a clock with a loud tick, and call into the room one Scout from each competing Patrol, all blindfolded. Each boy has to find and touch the clock, whereupon he may remove his bandage and silently watch the others. Then move the clock to another spot in the room, and call in the next lot of players, and so on. Give points for first, second and third, and credit the total, or the average, to the Patrol. Vary this by admitting all the blindfolded patrol at once; points for the first to find the clock.