“But this is an emergency,” Chips argued. “If Jacques is being held a prisoner, we ought to get him out!”
“And maybe get ourselves into a peck of trouble. Nope! Dan must have seen that boy too or he wouldn’t have left the note. We’re hiking back to camp. It’s up to Mr. Hatfield to decide what to do.”
Turning deaf ears upon all protests, Brad led the Cubs back the way they had come. Suddenly, a figure loomed up ahead of the boys. It was Jabowski who confronted them. From where he had come or how long he had been secreted in the bushes, they could not guess.
The caretaker’s voice was hard and unfriendly as he demanded:
“What d’you think you’re doing here?”
“Why, we’re playing ‘follow the trail’,” Brad said as the other Cubs were too abashed to reply.
“You were spying on the house!”
“Spying?” Brad asked innocently. “Why, what is there to see?”
“Nothing. Not a thing,” Jabowski retorted, made uncomfortable by the manner in which the boy had turned the accusation. “I just don’t like kids swarming over the place. See?”
“Mr. Manheim gave us permission to camp on the island.”