A flash of interest illuminated Jack’s face. But it was gone in an instant, to be replaced by a look of suspicion.
“Say, what you handing me?” he demanded. “And who are all these kids?”
“Cub Scouts,” explained Dan. At the other’s blank expression, he explained: “It’s an organization for boys who aren’t quite old enough to be Boy Scouts. We have a lot of fun while we’re doing helpful things.”
“Our motto is: ‘Always Do Your Best,’” Mr. Hatfield supplied. “Most of the boys do exactly that.”
“Sounds sort of sappy to me,” Jack said with a half-sneer. “Who wants to go around with a halo, always looking for good things to do?”
“It’s more than that,” Dan defended the organization. “We have a lot of secret codes and things. Right now we’re getting ready to have a big Pack gathering based on the Knights of the Round Table. We’re making coats of armor.”
Despite himself, Jack was interested. But he tried not to show it.
“Kid stuff,” he scoffed. “You wouldn’t catch me being a Cub Scout. Every time you turn around, I bet someone tells you what you have to do.”
“That isn’t so,” Dan denied. “Mr. Hatfield is our leader. Brad is the Den Chief, and I’m the Denner. Naturally, we make suggestions sometimes that the other fellows carry out. But we aren’t bossy about it.”
“Cubs nevertheless are required to obey orders and follow the rules,” Mr. Hatfield said quietly. “Society is built upon regulations. Otherwise one would have chaos.”
“When one person defies or disregards rules, it means hardship for someone else,” added Burton Holloway, driving home the point.
“To heck with the rules!” laughed Jack. “That’s my motto.”
“I fear such an attitude may bring you to serious trouble one of these days,” Mr. Holloway remarked with concern. “Better get on the beam, my boy.”
“Say, I don’t like these sweetness and light lectures,” Jack said, his suspicions reviving. “Why’d you pick me up anyhow? You ain’t a plainclothes detective?”
“Yes, Jack, we do. You’re a runaway from the Child Study Institute.”
Mr. Holloway now felt fairly safe in revealing his knowledge, for the station wagon approached the Institute.
As he pulled alongside the gray stone building, his young passenger recognized the familiar structure.
His elbow gouging Dan, he tried to push open the car door.