CHAPTER VII
A WHITE FACE IN THE MOONLIGHT
And meanwhile, what of Danny! Was he sharing in the pride and joy of the Pack, in its important work? No; Danny was not feeling very cheerful, for he was conscious that for the first time since he had been a Cub he was failing to do his duty. Why? Because he was giving in to himself, to his own pride and ambition, and thinking of his own glory before the safety of his country.
Here he was, knowing a large number of important particulars about a dangerous gang of spies. He knew their hiding-places; their footprints; the faces and appearance of several of them. He knew mysterious things about them that he did not understand. His country was in great peril; the Scouts were called out to try and catch these very Germans—while he kept his secret to himself. A voice inside him said:
“Danny, it’s your duty to go and report all you know to the police, at once.”
But Danny frowned, and answered: “I won’t. If I do that, the police and the soldiers and the Scouts will take all my clues that I’ve spent months in finding, and they will catch the spies, and have all the fun and get all the honour and glory. They are my spies—I will catch them myself. And all the beastly people who laughed at me and said I was telling lies will see I really am a detective. And p’raps the King will hear about me.”
But still the voice inside him said: “A Cub does not give in to himself. England is in danger—what does it matter if you get the glory or not, as long as her enemies are caught?” But Danny would not listen. He felt sure his great chance had come. To-night he would solve the mystery, and catch the spies red-handed. Once he had found them at it—then he would not mind calling the Scouts or police to his help. But he felt very unhappy inside, as people always do who do wrong with their eyes open, and on purpose.
Danny had meant to stay out all night looking for the spies. But, as luck would have it, his mother caught him as he was creeping out, at nine o’clock, and packed him off to bed, locking his bedroom door. He decided at once to get out of the window. But, oh, bother!—there was his mother talking over the garden gate to Mrs. Jones from next door.
He waited and waited, but they would not go away. Tired out, he decided to lie down on his bed for a little while, and get out as soon as he heard their voices stop and knew the coast was clear. But when you are very sleepy, and lie down on your bed, the chances are that you fall fast asleep. And this is exactly what Danny did.
The church clock was striking twelve when he awoke with a start and sat up. Why was he lying on his bed in uniform? Then he remembered. “Slack little beast,” he called himself. He had slept instead of going out spy-hunting! He jumped off his bed, feeling about for his cap.
Hark! What was that? A deep, distant humming. Was it a motor car on the road? No, it seemed to come from above! It must be an aeroplane. Softly Danny crept to the window. Yes, the whirring, humming sound certainly came down faintly from high, high up in the starry, purple sky. Perhaps it was a German aeroplane!