It happened several things came up to delay him. First a report was brought in by a member of the troop that was of sufficient importance to merit immediate attention. So Hugh had to talk with Chief Wallis over the wire. Then something else arose that took another half-hour of his precious time.
When finally the decks were cleared it was almost half-past seven, and the meeting had been called for eight.
“I must hustle if I mean to have a talk with Tom before we both go over to the meeting room,” was what Hugh told himself, as he snatched up his cap and made for the door.
He had hardly gained the street before he ran across two of the boys heading in the direction of the church, where a room had been placed at the disposal of the troop, together with the free use of electric light, and heat in winter time.
At the next corner, however, Hugh stopped short.
“Sorry I can’t go all the way with you, Chester and Dale, but I’ve got an errand over at Tom Sherwood’s house. I’ll be with you later on, and will fetch Tom with me. My lips are sealed about the object of this special meeting until then, so there’s no use trying to coax me to speak. Those who are selected will be told everything, and the rest put on their honor not to say a word about anything they suspect to-night.”
“Wow! you certainly have got us all guessing good and hard, Hugh,” laughed Dale Evans, who belonged to the Otter Patrol. “I sure hope I’ll be one of those lucky chosen ones, so I can know what all this mystery means.”
“Oh! any old thing is liable to happen in such exciting times as these,” said Chester Brownell, who was one of the best athletes in the troop, and would assuredly be picked out by Hugh as one of the guards of the night; though Chester, being in complete ignorance concerning matters, could not know this.
Hugh hurried as best he could toward the Sherwood home, which was some distance away from the corner where he parted company with the other scouts. There was little chance that Tom might have already started for the rendezvous, but somehow Hugh suspected the other was feeling too anxious to take any pleasure in going to a called meeting, when he could just as well stay at home and worry his mind with those questions that would not down.
Tom himself came to the door in answer to his knock, and seemed to be a little surprised to find who was there. Hugh thought he looked more gloomy than ever, though possibly that had been a faint gleam of revived hope that flittered athwart Tom’s long face at seeing the scout master.