Sunk in gloom, the two boys left the residential property, and with no destination in mind, went on down the street. The gardener’s words, together with Mr. Silverton’s accusations, now made everything plain.
The entire Cub organization had been incriminated on the basis of two pieces of evidence—the finding of the Wolf Cub badge near the dead pheasants, and the thoughtless display of the Indian headdress by Chips and Red.
“I knew those feathers would get us into trouble,” Brad remarked glumly. “And believe me, we’re really in the soup!”
“Brad, you don’t think—”
“That Chips or Red killed those birds for the feathers? No, I don’t, Dan. But Silverton’s accusation is serious. We’ve got to see Mr. Hatfield about this right away!”
The two boys, anxious to unburden themselves, sought Mr. Hatfield at Scout Headquarters. He listened attentively to the entire report, and then surprised them by saying:
“To tell you the truth, I’ve been a little afraid something like this would develop.”
“Then you knew about the dead pheasants?” Brad asked in amazement.
“No, but I noticed a few things at the pheasant farm which bothered me. By the way, you told Mr. Silverton about the log jam in the creek?”
Brad and Dan gazed at each other in disgust.