"Without letting the other boys know, McKenzie told me to follow Danny in case his courage should give out completely. But he gave me my orders to keep well in the rear. He wanted Dan to go to the haunted tree by himself, if he would--to win his spurs, you see." "Did you follow Harding all the way?" someone interrupted. "All the way to the haunted tree? Yes, sir, and he _did_ go! He went right up to it and circled all about it. Then the earth seemed to open and swallow him up. I looked and looked for him. Then I ran back for help. I found McKenzie and Mr. Gordon, and we all three started out after Dan. You have heard the rest." This seemed satisfactory, and the judge turned to Danny. "Come here, Daniel," he said, "and tell the court now how you captured your wireless operator." Danny started. "I didn't do it, sir," he said in embarrassment. "Mr. Gordon and Willard McKenzie captured the man. I only showed them where he was." The men exchanged glances. "Well," said the judge, again, "come here and tell us what you _did do_." Danny came forward. "Salute!" he heard Biddie whisper. Danny saluted. "Now," said the judge, "tell these gentlemen here what--what you told _your mother_ when you got back from the mountains last night." Danny looked at his mother. Her eyes were misty again, but she was nodding to him to do as the judge directed. The tenderfoot stood embarrassed before them and told the story exactly as he had related it to his mother. He didn't like to do this, for he was very much ashamed of having to tell how frightened he had been, and how he had had to force himself to go forward. The men listened intently. Once in a while one would interrupt to ask a question. When Danny got to the point in his story of his acceptance of McKenzie's commission to cover old Death Head, a dark-eyed, quiet man on the judge's right leaned forward. "One moment, Harding," he said. "McKenzie told us before you entered that you were afraid to go when the boys dared you, but that when he told you to go on the scouting trip, you said, 'this is different.' What did you mean by its being 'different'?" Danny looked up from his nervous fingering of the judge's paper-weight. "I meant that it was for my country," he answered simply. The dark-eyed man glanced at the others. "_Beat that_," he said in a low tone to them. Judge Sledge took down his spectacles from his bald head, adjusted them on his nose, and looked hard at the boy. "Proceed," he commanded, after a moment. Danny proceeded. "Weren't you afraid to crawl into that cave?" one of them asked in the course of the story. "Yes, sir," said Danny. Later, another interrupted with: "But if your arm was broken and paining you, why didn't you stay with Burton, there, and let the others go by the way of Death Head, and take up the clue you had followed?" "Why, you see," answered Danny, "we had to get to the man quickly to stop his telegraphing. I knew a short route to him."