Danny had nothing to say, indeed, there was little he could say. He had been caught in the act.
The other boys slunk off, and Danny went into the house, his father following.
"Danny, I am very sorry to learn this," said Mr. Rugg. "I did not know that you smoked—a boy of your age!"
"Well, I never smoked much. Lots of the fellows smoke more than I do."
"That is no excuse. It is a bad habit for a boy. You may go to your room. I will consider your case later."
From then on Mr. Rugg did some hard thinking. He began "putting two and two together" as the old saying has it. He remembered the Bobbsey boathouse fire. On that occasion Danny had come in late, and there had been the smell of smoke on his clothes.
Mr. Rugg went to his son's room. A search showed a number of empty cigarette boxes, and cigarette pictures, and the boxes were all of the same kind—the kind that had been found in the half-burned boathouse.
Danny was accused by his father of having been smoking in the boathouse just before the
