“I’ve wondered, Dan. My mind is not at rest with regard to that boy. Obviously he was a Cub, yet I’ve been unable to find any Den or Pack in which he ever was registered. Of course, he could have given us a fictitious first name.”
“It was miserable luck losing the coded message last night,” Dan complained. “I’d just figured out the first word—‘Coming’—when whiff went the light.”
“The paper may be here. Let’s make a thorough search.”
Mr. Hatfield swept the cave floor while Dan searched every possible cranny. The missing paper was not found.
“Well, at least nothing else appears to be missing,” the Cub leader said after he had checked all the camping equipment. “It seems that whoever came here last night must have been after that coded message. Dan, if I’d known this earlier—”
“You’d have called off the camping trip,” Dan completed, guessing at his thought.
“Yes, Jacques must have had a connection with Skeleton Island or the name wouldn’t have appeared on the paper. I have an uneasy feeling about going there.”
“The camp will be well guarded with so many of the fathers going along.”
“I realize that, Dan, but even so—”
“The Cubs would be terribly disappointed if you called off the trip now,” Dan interposed. “Oh, heck, Mr. Hatfield, I shouldn’t have told you about losing that paper!”