  Exact substring matching is a common task in many software applications.
Despite the existence of several algorithms for finding whether or not a
pattern string is present in a target string, the most common implementation is
a na\"ive, brute force approach. Alternative approaches either do not provide
enough of a benefit for the added complexity, or are impractical for modern
character sets, e.g., Unicode. We present a new algorithm, Scout, that is
straightforward, quick and appropriate for all applications. We also compare
the performance characteristics of the Scout algorithm with several others.
