Without a word having been spoken, Fred and John instantly departed from the old house. They did not even glance at each other as they did so, but moved by a common impulse both were apparently ready to seek a place of safety with all haste.
Fred’s bold declaration that now he had found an explanation for the strange occurrences in the Meeker House apparently had not held good. He was maintaining his place by the side of his tall friend when both were fleeing from the house.
The sun already had disappeared from sight and the shadows of the evening were lengthening.
Perhaps the hour increased their feeling of uncertainty. At all events the confidence they had possessed, when in broad daylight they had boldly entered the kitchen, manifestly now was gone. Each boy frequently glanced behind him in his flight, but neither spoke to the other until fifty yards intervened between them and the dwelling.
“What are we doing out here?” demanded Fred blankly.
“I don’t think you need very much of an explanation,” retorted John.
“That’s the way it seems to me, too,” responded Fred, striving to laugh lightly as he spoke.
“At all events we are making pretty good time.”
Indeed the smaller boy was able to maintain the pace at which his friend with the longer legs was moving over the field. Half the distance between the house and the road had been covered when John stopped and said, “Look ahead there, Fred. Isn’t that George and Grant waiting over yonder in the road?”
In response to the suggestion of his friend, Fred glanced quickly at the huge spreading oak tree that grew close to the fence. It was a magnificent tree, the pride of the country around about and the delight of many visitors. Beneath it an automobile was seen and then Fred exclaimed quickly, “You’re right, String, that’s George and Grant. Let’s slow up a little. We don’t want them to think we are in too much of a hurry.”
Accordingly the speed at which they were moving decreased and as they glanced behind them and saw that the conditions about the old Meeker House apparently were unchanged the boys ceased to run and began to walk.
“Don’t let them think we have been scared out,” again suggested Fred. “We’ll never hear the last of it if we don’t.”
Without replying John nodded his head and more slowly the boys walked across the intervening field and then climbed the fence and leaped lightly into the roadside when they drew near the place where the two boys were awaiting their coming.
“What’s your hurry?” demanded George, laughing as he spoke.
“We’re in no hurry,” responded Fred glibly.
“We’re hungry, that’s all,” said John. “We were afraid you would be keeping dinner for us.”
“That’s a mighty good excuse,” laughed Grant. “You didn’t act when we first saw you as if you were thinking of your dinner. I didn’t believe that either one of you could make such good time.”
“That’s all right,” said Fred sharply. “That’s all right, but it’s just exactly as I said.”
“What is?” inquired George.
“Why the tricks you have been trying to play on us in the old Meeker House.”
“Tricks? What tricks have I been trying to play?” replied George.
“Did you ever hear of chimney-swallows?” inquired Fred.
“Indeed I have,” said George, “and I have seen them lots of times.”
“Ever see any in the old Meeker House?”
“Yes,” replied George, laughing again as he spoke.
“Well, why didn’t you tell us that they were there? You let us go on and I think you helped us too to believe that the room was full of flying spooks.”
“I didn’t know that I was to blame,” laughed George, “if you didn’t know the difference between a spook and chimney-swallow.”
“You must have put in a lot of work in that old house, George,” broke in John.
“Work?” inquired George, staring blankly at his friend. “What do you mean? I never worked there in my life.”
“Who put in that speaking tube that runs from the kitchen to the front room?” demanded John.
“I didn’t,” George said quietly.
“You mean you didn’t do the work. I guess you knew it was put in and I guess too that you know who put it in.”
George laughed, but did not directly reply to the implied question.
“We have found out about your old speaking tube,” continued John. “That was a great trick for you to play on your old friends.”
Grant, who was listening intently to the conversation, in which up to this time he had taken no part, now said, “Then you two fellows think you have found out all about the strange things in the old Meeker House, do you?”
“We didn’t say that,” replied Fred. “All we say is that we have found out about the wings that we heard and the chattering in the chimney and the speaking tube that ran from the kitchen into the front room. My, but I was scared when I heard my name called there,” he added.
George laughed loudly as he said, “You don’t need to tell me that, Pyg. I wouldn’t have believed that any living creature could have made its legs fly as fast as yours did that night.”
“I was trying to keep up with the rest of the fellows,” retorted Fred. “I had to go some to do that.”
“Now that you have found out all these things you’re not afraid to go back there any time, are you?” inquired George.
“Yes, sir, I am,” said Fred.
“What?”
“Because we haven’t found out everything. There’s something strange about that place that I don’t understand yet.”
“Why, what happened?” inquired George quickly.
“We heard voices upstairs.”
“Was that the reason why you were moving so fast across the yard?” laughed George.
“Laugh all you want to,” said Fred, “but that’s what we heard.”
“Probably your tramp was talking to himself,” suggested Grant.
“No, sir,” spoke up John promptly. “That wasn’t it at all. Besides there was more than one voice.”
“You didn’t hear the automobile-horn, did you?” inquired George.
“No, we didn’t. We heard all I wanted to without hearing that. It just made my flesh creep to hear those voices upstairs and coming down the stairway.”
“Was there anything strange about the voices?” asked George.
“Yes, sir, there was.”
“Well, I tell you what I’ll do,” said Grant promptly. “I’ll dare both of you to come back here to the old Meeker House after dinner to-night.”
“I’ll do it,” said Fred promptly.
“I’ll give you another dare better than that,” said John. “I’ll dare you and George to go back there right now.”
“Will you come too?” demanded George.
“We have just come from there,” said John. “We know what there is there and you don’t. Now we dare you both to go back right now.”
George glanced a moment questioningly at Grant and then without a word being spoken promptly turned the car and started back toward the mysterious old house.
Apparently all thoughts of dinner had been forgotten or ignored. Fred and John looked at each other and laughed derisively, but neither spoke until at last the car was halted under the old oak tree.
Quickly George and Grant leaped out and started across the intervening field.
Fred and John left to themselves waited until their friends had gone to the rear of the building and then the former said quickly, “Let’s take the car and go back home. It will serve those fellows just right to leave them there.”
John laughed as he agreed to the suggestion.
Avoiding all possible noise they turned the car about and started down the road. They had gone only a short distance, however, before Fred suddenly clutched the arm of his companion who was driving and said, “Listen, String! Wasn’t that a call or a shout?”
As he spoke, Fred in great excitement looked behind him in the direction of the mysterious old dwelling house. Without a word, John turned the car about and started swiftly on his way back to the old tree.
When the boys arrived at the familiar place in the road they were startled by a renewal of the shouts from the house. It was the faint sound of these calls which had alarmed them and caused them to turn back on their way.
Even while they were hesitating as to whether or not they should leave the car and run to the house to aid their friends, who apparently were in dire trouble, they saw two forms emerge from the front door. They instantly recognized George and Grant, for the light was still sufficient to enable them to see quite plainly across the fields. Both boys were running at their highest speed.
Blowing the horn of the automobile and shouting, both John and Fred did their utmost to call the attention of their friends to the fact that they were awaiting their coming. That their calls were heard was speedily manifest when both George and Grant, turning slightly in the direction in which they were speeding, ran toward the great tree.
At that moment George stumbled over some unseen object and fell headlong upon the ground. His companion stopped a moment and Fred and John watched him as he lifted George to his feet and then both boys renewed their flight.
In a brief time they had arrived at the fence and in their haste both fell when they tried to climb over it.
“What’s wrong? What’s wrong?” demanded Fred excitedly, as his friends approached the car.
“Never mind what’s wrong,” said George brusquely. “Let me get into the car and give me that wheel.”
No further words were spoken while George and his companions entered the car and in a brief time the automobile was again speeding down the road. Several times Grant glanced apprehensively behind him, but the increasing distance evidently gave him renewed courage, for when a quarter of a mile had been covered he said, “I suppose you fellows are both wondering what the trouble is.”
“Yes, we are,” said John quickly. “What is it?”
“It’s the same thing that scared you, only worse. We heard sounds upstairs that showed that some men up there were fighting, then there was a pistol-shot and we heard some one fall. After that there were groans and cries galore, and we thought it was time for us to start for home.”
“You were brave boys to leave that other fellow!” said Fred tartly. “If there was some one shot, it was time for you to help him.”
“We couldn’t help him very much if we went upstairs only to be shot ourselves,” said George sharply.
“You don’t know what you could have done,” retorted Fred.
“No, I didn’t know, but I’ll tell you what I’ll do. If you want to go back there right now, I’ll take you back.”
“I don’t want to go,” said Fred quietly. “It’s time for somebody besides boys like us to step in. I think the best thing for us to do will be to find some man and take him back there. We can go in with him then and help if we have to.”
“I guess that’s a good suggestion, all right,” said George quickly. “Grant and I were so scared that we couldn’t think of anything except getting out of the horrible old house in the best possible time. My, think how Grant loped along, taking about six feet at a jump.”
“I noticed that I wasn’t alone,” said Grant, dryly. “Whoever it was with me wasn’t very far behind.”
“I guess you’re right,” acknowledged George. “Now I’ll own up, fellows, about the speaking tube and the swallows. I knew the birds were in the chimney and I knew too that you didn’t know much about such things, so I thought I would let you work it out. Then I put in that speaking tube and added to the fun, but I tell you right now that I have had my lesson. I’m not afraid of all the ghosts in Jersey, but I don’t like the sounds that came from that upper room in the old Meeker House. I don’t mind saying so to any one. I guess my father is at the house by this time, for he said he might come out to-night. If he is, we’ll tell him all about it and let him take charge. It’s time for the Go Ahead boys to go ahead all right, but I think they had better follow somebody who is older, all the same.”
All the boys agreed that George’s suggestion was the best that could be made. The speed of the automobile increased and not many minutes had elapsed when the Go Ahead boys arrived at George’s home.
They were all delighted when they found that Mr. Sanders was there. He listened to the story of the excited boys and then quietly said, “I think we’ll have dinner first and then I’ll go with you over to the old Meeker House. You have been stirring up the spooks, have you?” and Mr. Sanders laughed as he spoke. “There were spooks there when I was a boy, and I remember how we used to steer clear of the corner when we were coming home evenings. When we were a little older we began to make investigations and found there wasn’t anything unusual or that couldn’t be explained about the old place. But the stories of the spooks have kept up just the same. I don’t know why, unless it is that there are some people that believe such things just because they want to believe them.”
“That’s what Cæsar says,” spoke up Grant. “I remember in his Commentaries he wrote that ‘men believe that which they wish to believe.’ But, Mr. Sanders, don’t you think there’s something very strange about what George and I heard there to-night?”
“There may be,” admitted Mr. Sanders, “but there have been so many stories told about the old house that I do not know whether you boys thought you heard something or really did hear it.”
“You would have known if you had been with us,” spoke up George quickly.
“Well, I shall be with you soon and then we will try to find out. I cannot believe there is anything wrong there, so we might as well have our dinner and then we will start.”
The plan of Mr. Sanders was followed, and directly after dinner the Go Ahead boys, together with George’s father, started once more for the place which had been the scene of so much excitement throughout their summer vacation.
Upon the suggestion of Mr. Sanders a lantern was taken with them. When they arrived at the familiar spot beneath the old oak tree the lantern was lighted and all five started across the fields toward the Meeker House.
No one spoke until they arrived at the front door, which now had become a familiar spot to all four boys. Without a word Mr. Sanders pushed open the door and stepped within the room. Instantly there was a great fluttering of wings, for the chimney-swallows, startled by the light as well as by the unexpected entrance of the visitors, were displaying their alarm by their frantic cries and swift flight. No other sounds, however, were heard when the birds at last became more quiet.
“Where did you say the trouble was?” inquired Mr. Sanders.
“In the room upstairs,” answered George.
“The one directly over this?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Well, then the only thing for us to do is to go up there and see what has happened.”
The boys agreed to the suggestion and although no one spoke every one was aware that his companions were as excited as he when slowly they began to mount the rickety stairway. The boards creaked and groaned beneath their feet, increasing the excitement of all.
When they had arrived at the platform about midway on the stairway, all stopped and listened. The screeching sounds of the excited birds still continued, but otherwise the silence was unbroken.
“Is there anybody here?” called Mr. Sanders loudly. As no reply was made to his inquiry he turned to the boys and said, “There doesn’t appear to be anybody here. Well go on up and continue our investigations.”
Once more leading the way, Mr. Sanders noiselessly mounted the steps, the boys keeping closely together and not far behind the leader. Holding his lantern before him Mr. Sanders stopped when he arrived at the head of the stairway and examined the rooms that opened before him.
Suddenly a sound very like laughter was heard in the old building, but it quickly ceased and in place of it the faint tooting of an automobile horn was heard.
The boys now were staring about them and had it not been for the presence of George’s father it is doubtful if any one would have remained.
As it was, a startling event occurred which instantly cause all five to turn quickly about and run swiftly down the stairway.
Even Mr. Sanders appeared to be as alarmed as his younger companions. At all events he was swiftly leading the way, and as the boys were running down the stairway two or three steps at a time it was necessary for him to move rapidly in order to keep his place at the head of the line.
There had been a sudden flash of light that apparently had filled the building. No sound had accompanied the strange sight although the air was heavy with the suffocating odor of burning powder. The light apparently had been flashed in every room at the same moment. The twittering of the chimney-swallows abruptly ceased after one shrill outburst of alarm.
Before the party arrived at the foot of the stairway the blinding flash was repeated. The house now seemed to be filled with the penetrating odor and even the lantern did not fully serve to light their way.
“Keep together, boys,” called Mr. Sanders in a low voice. “We must all make for the front door and get out of this place as soon as possible.”
In spite of their alarm, Fred in his own mind was questioning whether it was the heavy odor in the room or the desire of Mr. Sanders to gain a place of safety outside the building that had caused such a precipitate flight. At all events no one delayed, and in a brief time all five were running rapidly across the field, Mr. Sanders still holding the lantern and leading the retreating party.
Before they arrived at the road, however, they stopped and looked behind them. The old house now was wrapped in darkness. Not a sound came from the mysterious dwelling. The blinding flashes of light that had been seen apparently were ended and only the reflection of the moonlight from the few windows that still were left in the house produced an unusual sight.
In silence the Go Ahead boys and Mr. Sanders waited for a repetition of the sight which had startled them. Not a sound came from the place, and although the boys waited several minutes the strange lights were not repeated.
“I’m inclined to think,” said Mr. Sanders thoughtfully, “that it will be better for us to go back and continue our investigations. What do you say, boys?”
“We agree,” spoke up Fred glibly. “We might as well run this matter down now as at any time. What do you think those flashes were, Mr. Sanders?”
“From the odor I think likely they were made by setting off the powder which is lighted when a flash-light picture is taken.”
“It does seem so, doesn’t it?” said John quickly. “But where did such powder come from? Who lighted it?”
“That’s what we must find out,” said Mr. Sanders dryly.
Meanwhile the party was returning to the building and had covered half the distance when they all stopped abruptly as George exclaimed, “There’s a light there now! Can’t you see it? It’s up in the corner of the eaves.”
A moment later all declared that they could see the flames to which George had referred, but as they resumed their walk John said abruptly, “That’s more than a flash-light, that’s a fire! I tell you, fellows, the old Meeker House is on fire!”
Instantly every one stopped but only a brief delay was required to confirm the startling statement. The flames by this time had burst through the roof and it was evident that unless help speedily was obtained the house which had stood nearly two centuries was doomed.
There was no further waiting now and quickly all five were running toward the blazing building. This time, however, Mr. Sanders was not leading the party. The boys speedily outdistanced him and as soon as they arrived within the yard they discovered that two other men were already on the ground.
By this time the fire was under strong headway. The timbers of the dwelling house, old and dry, were burning almost like tinder. Sparks were flying from the blazing roof and the flames were steadily mounting higher and higher.
Across the field from the opposite road forms of men approaching the building could be seen, and the wild cry “Fire!” “Fire!” was heard on every side.
There were no buckets or pails to be found in the dwelling, as was speedily discovered when the doors were burst open. Near the kitchen door was the old well, which had been used in former generations. A well-sweep was there, but the heavy weight which had been used to balance the bucket was gone and it had been long since the water in the depths below had been disturbed. In desperation, however, the entire party sought to find some means of stopping the fire.
Some of the men who now had arrived started swiftly across the fields toward houses that could be seen in the distance. There was a vague thought that they might obtain pails and ropes that would enable them to quench the flames. By the time the men returned, however, the house was doomed.
Fascinated by the sight, the boys withdrew from the spot and watched the blazing dwelling as the flames leaped and roared and crackled.
“There goes the chimney!” exclaimed Fred in a low voice, as a pile of bricks fell crashing into the depths.
“I wonder what became of those chimney-swallows,” suggested John.
“I guess those that could fly are gone and those that were too young to fly are already burned,” said Grant.
“How do you suppose that fire started?” inquired George.
As no one had a ready solution his question remained unanswered. The boys now, however, were rejoined by Mr. Sanders, who explained that it was perilous as well as useless to attempt to fight the flames longer. The most that could be expected was to prevent the flying embers from setting fire to fences or to buildings that were not far away.
“It’s a pity,” said Mr. Sanders slowly, “that the old house had to go in this way.”
“And it never gave up all its secrets either,” added Fred. “We were just on the point of finding out, when the whole thing goes up in smoke.”
“I fancy that what you call ‘secrets’ will all be explained. My thought is that the two men, whom we found here when we came back across the fields, can tell more about the origin of the fire than we think.”
“Who were the men?” inquired George.
“I don’t know either of them,” answered Mr. Sanders. “To me they looked like tramps.”
Startled by the unexpected statement the boys stared blankly at one another and then as if moved by a common impulse they turned and advanced among the spectators who now numbered at least three score.
“Isn’t it wonderful,” suggested Grant, “what a crowd you can get and in such a little while even out in the country, if anything unusual is going on? I wouldn’t have believed that a blast on Gabriel’s trumpet could have brought twenty people here in an hour and yet in less than twenty minutes there’s a crowd. Where do you suppose they came from?”
“That fire can be seen a long distance,” explained George, “and there’s nothing like a fire to get a crowd. There’s the tramp!” he abruptly added, nodding, as he spoke, toward a man who could be seen on the outskirts of the assembly.
By common consent all four boys instantly ran to the place where the man was seen.
As they approached, however, the tramp, for George’s statement proved to be correct, apparently became aware of their coming and instantly departed.
To the boys it seemed that he had moved around to the other side of the burning building but when they sought him there he was not to be found.
“What do you suppose it all means?” inquired John blankly. “He acted as if he didn’t want to see us.”
“Probably he didn’t,” suggested George. “That’s his right.”
“It may be and it may not be,” retorted John. “I don’t believe he will stand very long on the order of his departure.”
“Why not?”
“Probably he could tell more about how the fire started than any one in the crowd.”
“What do you mean?” demanded George as the three boys stopped and stared into the face of their friend.
“I don’t know just how much I do mean, but we all know that the tramp used the old Meeker House as a sort of headquarters, or at least that he used to stop there nights, and it may be that he was here when the fire first started.”
“Of course he was,” spoke up John. “Don’t you remember that he told me that if we would come over to the house after dinner, we would see something interesting?”
“Well, all I can say is that we came and that we certainly found something interesting,” said George dryly, as the falling timbers crashed into the fire and great showers of sparks fell all about the waiting boys.
Following the fall of the walls of the old house, the fire blazed up anew and a fresh shower of sparks fell far from the blazing building. The crowd was helpless. The only water to be had was from the old well which now had caved in and the small amount which could be secured had been exhausted in the early part of the fire. The timbers were old and dry, and blazed almost like burning paper. The faces and forms of the spectators seemed to be ghostly in the light against the dark background of the night.
For an hour the blaze still continued, but the flames were gradually becoming lower. No longer were there showers of blazing sparks that fell upon the ground far away.
There was only a dim glow when at last Mr. Sanders led the way back to the automobile. The excitement of the boys, however, still continued and when their car started they were all looking back at the spot where the crowd, fantastic in its appearance in the dim light and the glow of the dying fire, were still to be seen.
“Well, there’s one thing I feel almost as badly about as I do the loss of the old building,” said John thoughtfully, as the car sped homeward.
“What is that?” inquired George.
“Now we shall never know about the mysteries of the old place.”
“There aren’t very many mysteries left,” suggested Fred. “We have found out about the speaking tube and the chimney-swallows.”
“Yes,” said Grant, “but how about that blaze?”
“I suspect,” joined in Mr. Sanders, “that the blaze you speak of had something to do with the burning of the old house.”
“What do you mean?” inquired George quickly.
“That’s just what I mean,” replied Mr. Sanders. “Somebody had a flash-light over there and probably set fire to the building. I haven’t any idea who could have done it.”
“I guess the tramp might tell us something,” suggested Grant.
“The tramp?” inquired Mr. Sanders. “What tramp?”
In response to his questions the boys related all their experiences with the strange man whom they had found in the old Meeker House. The part which he had taken in the return of the lost automobile was also explained and in response to George’s suggestion that his father should reward the man for the return of the car his father quickly inquired, “But what was he doing away up beyond Tuxedo? I thought you said he made his headquarters here in the old Meeker House.”
“He does, part of the time,” explained John.
“But what was he doing up there so far away?” inquired Mr. Sanders sharply. “You know I sent you word that there was a possibility that a car which had been located in a garage at Newburgh might be the one which we had lost. What was he doing up there? How did he travel so far and so fast?”
“He explained to us,” said John, “that he had got a ride most of the way. In fact I think he said that he didn’t have to walk over half a mile. He stole a ride on the cars and then somebody took him in his automobile and brought him farther.”
“Did he say what he was doing up there?” inquired Mr. Sanders.
“No, sir,” replied George.
“But you say he was a very skillful driver?”
“Yes, sir,” spoke up John promptly. “I never saw a man that could handle a car better.”
“I think we must look into this more fully,” said Mr. Sanders, “but it may be that he is the one who may know more about the loss of our car than we think and I’m sure he could explain a part at least of the origin of the fire at the old Meeker House.”
“Do you think he set it on fire?” demanded Fred.
“Probably not, at least intentionally,” replied Mr. Sanders, “but it may be that he was the one who had the flash-light and he may have set fire to the old building without intending to do so.”
“Well,” spoke up John, “I’m sorry we shan’t ever find out about that tooting of the automobile horn that we heard in the old building and the flash that we saw. Why, the fire seemed to be all over the building at once and then die out in every room just as quickly as it came.”
“I think we shall know more about it,” said Mr. Sanders quietly. “Meanwhile the best thing for us to do is not to do anything to-night.”
After the arrival of the boys at George’s home the excitement still continued and for two hours the boys remained on the piazza talking over the experiences of the night. Much of the mystery of the old house was still unexplained.
“Well, all I can say is,” declared Fred, as the boys at last arose to go to their rooms, “that if the old cowboys and skinners came back to the old Meeker House to carry on their pranks they’ll have to seek other quarters now.”
“I think you will find that your cowboys and skinners are pretty well up to date,” laughed Mr. Sanders. “And you’ll find too that they are clothed in very substantial flesh. I have been suspicious for a long time that the tramps were using the old house for a sort of headquarters, but I was not sure of it until you told me the story of the man with whom you had had some dealings. We’ll all go over there the first thing to-morrow morning and perhaps we shall find some things that will help us to make the others clear.”
Accordingly, soon after breakfast the following day, the four Go Ahead boys, together with Mr. Sanders, departed for the place where the fire had occurred the preceding evening.
When they arrived, smoke was still rising from the ashes, but the flames had long since died away. No one was near the spot and as the boys approached the ruins, Mr. Sanders said, “I wish our friend, the tramp, would come.”
“Why do you want him?” inquired George.
“I think he is the man who can give us the information we most want just now. I do not recall that I ever saw him.”
“He’s a strange man,” said George quickly. “He looks like a tramp and yet he uses good English and he shows that he has been used to better things some time in his life.”
“Did he tell you that?” laughed Mr. Sanders.
“I don’t know that he said that exactly, but that’s what he made me think.”
“Quite likely.”
“Well, it’s true,” maintained George stoutly. “All you have to do is to look into his face and hear him talk and you know that he isn’t just a common tramp.”
“Strange how the mysteries about the old Meeker House keep up,” laughed Mr. Sanders. “First you have the cowboys and skinners meeting there and then you have men who may be modern cowboys and skinners in flesh and blood who make it their headquarters. The twittering of the chimney-swallows drives all four of the Go Ahead boys out of the building.”
“But we went back,” spoke up Fred quickly. “We didn’t give up. Besides, Mr. Sanders, I noticed last night when we came down the stairway that all four of us had all we could do to keep up with you.”
“So you did. So you did,” admitted Mr. Sanders laughingly. “But I did not run because I was afraid of spooks.”
“Neither did we,” said Fred. “We thought when we had a man along with us that we would be protected and everything would be safe. But when we saw him leaving the old Meeker House, faster than any of us boys could go, we thought our safest plan was to try to keep up with him. Something might happen to him, you know. If he was in trouble he might need our help.”
Mr. Sanders laughed heartily at Fred’s assertions and then said quickly, “Who is that man coming across the field?”
All the boys looked quickly in the direction in which Mr. Sanders pointed and a moment later George said in a low voice, “That’s our tramp.”
“I thought he would be here,” said Mr. Sanders. “Now perhaps we can find out a little more than we knew before.”
All five awaited the approach of the man who indeed proved to be the one about whom they had been talking.
As the tramp came near, his face lighted up with a smile as he cordially said, “Good morning. Good morning. You’re early on the scene of our disaster last night.”
“Yes,” responded George. “We saw you last night and then we lost sight of you in the crowd and couldn’t find you again.”
“Well, here I am,” said the tramp, smiling. “If you still want to see me all you have to do is to look at me. I never thought before that I was very much to look at.”
“We want to talk to you,” said Mr. Sanders more seriously. “You told the boys, did you not, that you and your friends had been making the old house your headquarters?”
“Not exactly ‘headquarters,’” replied the tramp. “We used to stay some nights there.”
“And you used the ghosts to scare people off or keep them away from the old house?”
“That’s what we did,” admitted the tramp, laughing loudly as he spoke. “It would do your heart good if you could only have seen some of them leave.”
“What were those groans that we heard?” spoke up Fred. “I never quite understood them. We found out about the birds in the chimney and the speaking tube that ran from the kitchen to the front room, but how about those groans?”
“Why, there were usually two or three of us, and when we had visitors we took our stand in different rooms and one answered the groan of the others. Sometimes we groaned all together. Usually, though, we did not have very much to do, because after one or two groans we usually found the old house deserted.”
“What about that automobile horn?” inquired George.
“Oh, that was another way we had of scaring people, that was all.”
“Where did you get the horn?” inquired Mr. Sanders.
“I can’t just say. We had it a long time.”
“It sounded, the boys tell me, very like the horn of the car that we had taken from our garage.”
The tramp looked into the face of Mr. Sanders a moment before he said, “And you suspect, do you, that I took your car and left the horn here?”
“Do you know where our car is?” inquired Mr. Sanders abruptly. “I told my son to give you ten dollars for returning the old car. Here is the money,” Mr. Sanders added, as he held forth a bill.
“Thank you, sir,” said the tramp, as he took the money and thrust it into his pocket. “I told the boys that I could be persuaded to accept the reward; but about your other car, all I can say is that I don’t know where it is now.”
“Do you know who took it?”
“I do not.”
“Do you know how the fire started in the old house last night?”
“No, sir. I don’t.”
“But you had some flash-light powder and you set it off here. The house may have caught fire from it.”
“I don’t think it could possibly have got on fire that way. You see we used that powder in pans and we set it off in two or three rooms at the same time, just as we used to answer one another’s cries or groan together. The fire couldn’t spread. The powder just flashed up and then the fire was all out in a minute. Besides, the old house was no good anyway. No one could live in it and my friends and I thought that if we slept there occasionally no one would be any the worse for it. Of course if there had been any objections made we should have been glad to pay attention to them.”
“I wish you would come back to the car with me, I want to speak to you alone.”
“All right, sir, just as you say,” responded the tramp, quickly advancing and accompanying Mr. Sanders as he led the way across the fields after he had bidden the boys remain where they then were.
Mr. Sanders and the tramp remained in the car a long time. Indeed, as the minutes passed the boys became somewhat impatient. Frequently they glanced toward the scene in the road in which Mr. Sanders and his strange companion were evidently holding a very interesting conversation.
When an hour had elapsed the desire of the boys to depart became more pronounced. A few of the country people meanwhile had come to view the ruins of the famous old house, but they had little to say to the boys and after they had inspected the ruins the most of them slowly departed.
At last Fred said impatiently, “Look yonder! Mr. Sanders is taking that man away in the car.”
“I wonder where he is going?” said George, as he glanced at the departing automobile.
“Probably taking him to the lock-up,” suggested Fred.
“If he’s taking the man to the lock-up I know some more that he ought not to forget,” said George soberly.
“So do I,” spoke up Fred, “and some of them aren’t more than a thousand miles from here either.”
However, after the departure of Mr. Sanders in the car, the boys became more thoughtful. They had not received any word to remain where they were, but George decided that it would not be wise for them to depart until they had received some further instructions. Doubtless, he explained, his father would return for them in a little while.
Another hour had elapsed before Mr. Sanders came back. As soon as he was discovered approaching, all the Go Ahead boys ran quickly across the field and when they were informed, in response to their inquiries, that Mr. Sanders was ready to take them home they all quickly climbed into the automobile.
“What did you do with the tramp?” inquired George as soon as the car started.
“I took him to the railroad station.”
“Is he going to leave?”
“He says he is.”
“You seemed to have had a mighty interesting conversation. Did he tell you all the sad, sweet story of his life?”
“I knew much of it.”
“You did?” demanded George in astonishment. “You did! Who is he? What is he? How did you know him? Where did he come from? What is his name?”
“Hold on,” interrupted Mr. Sanders with a laugh. “I can answer your questions one at a time, but I cannot find any answer that might fit them all alike. Let me tell you first of all that he didn’t explain everything as fully as I wish he had, but he did tell me a few things.”
“What were they?” demanded George impatiently.
“Let me tell you first a little about himself,” said Mr. Sanders, smiling at the interest of his young companions. “That tramp is the younger brother of a great friend of mine. Indeed, his brother and I were together almost all the time when we were boys. If I was not in his house then he was in mine, or we were fishing in these brooks or nutting in the woods or coasting on the hills. We very seldom were separated. This younger brother—”
“What is his name?” interrupted George.
“I shan’t tell you his name now. Perhaps I will some other time, but he was one of the most attractive boys I ever knew. He was very quiet in his manner, and had the greatest faculty of making friends I ever knew any one to have. His mother almost idolized him and she never held him up to any task. If he got into mischief it was always the fault of the other boys, she said. If he was kept after school or had any trouble with the teachers she always told him that it was the teacher’s fault. Whatever he did, to her was right. You boys want to be thankful that you have mothers that hold you up to some things instead of upholding you in everything you do.
“Well, this man when he was a boy was too lazy to have any share in the family life. Pleasant, good-natured, popular with the boys and girls, he never did anything for any one else. If his mother wanted a pail of water drawn from the old well behind the farmhouse—and they lived right straight across the field in that house over yonder,” explained Mr. Sanders, pointing as he spoke to a house that could be seen in the distance, “he always had some excuse. If his mother had simply told him to bring in a pail of water instead of trying to smooth the way for him and said that he was too tired or not strong enough, if she had done that and some other things like it I don’t believe this man to-day would be tramping around the country. He has been a complete failure. He has never learned to do anything well. He used to be the best baseball player we had in all this part of the country. There wasn’t a fellow that could catch him when we were in swimming in the old pond. He could make a boat and sail a boat, but he just simply drifted on. By the way, boys, did any of you ever stop to think of the fact that a boat never drifts but in one direction?”
“What’s that?” inquired John.
“Why, down the stream,” replied Mr. Sanders quietly. “This boy grew up to be a man and drifted into all kinds of bad ways. You see he had never learned to work and besides there are two words in the English language that he never could pronounce. One word has three letters in it and the other has two, but little words though they are, he never seemed to be able to pronounce them.”
“I can’t think what the words are,” said George.
“I know what they are,” broke in John. “They are ‘yes’ and ‘no.’”
“That’s right,” replied Mr. Sanders with a smile. “They are the hardest words in the language for a good many people to use. When they say ‘yes’ they don’t say it in a way that means much, and when they say ‘no’ it doesn’t mean much more.
“His mother died years ago and I have always thought that this son was the cause of her death. At one time, as I told you, he was just as straight and attractive a boy as any of you.”
“I guess the trouble with him was that he wasn’t a Go Ahead boy,” suggested Fred.
“That was one trouble,” replied Mr. Sanders with a smile, “and another was that after he began to drift he couldn’t stop. You see if he hadn’t begun he never could have come to the end to which he has. That’s a strange thing to me that more people do not realize that if they don’t begin, they never will come to the end.”
“Did he explain to you,” inquired Fred, “why he shut me in the cellar of the old Meeker House?”
“No,” replied Mr. Sanders, “I didn’t know that you were shut in there.”
“Well, I was. He caught me in the cellar and bolted the door on me. I must have been in there an hour and a half.”
“How did you get out? Did he let you out?”
“No, sir, I went and pushed up the outside door.”
“Well, why did you wait an hour and a half before you did that?” responded Mr. Sanders with a laugh.
“I’m sure I don’t know,” said Fred blankly. “I guess it was because I didn’t think of it or try it.”
“Very likely he meant it for a joke. Now, when I had my talk with him he recognized me, although at first I didn’t recognize him. He did say some things about scaring you boys away from the old place.”
“Did he say anything about the way we left last night?” inquired George mischievously.
“Why, how did you leave last night?” inquired Mr. Sanders.
“We left in a big hurry,” declared George.
“What made you in such a hurry?”
“We were trying to keep up with the man who was with us and was leading the way,” said George demurely.
Mr. Sanders joined in the laugh that followed and then said quickly, “Our lost car will be brought back to-day.”
“How do you know?” demanded George quickly.
“I don’t think I shall explain all of that to you, my boy,” said Mr. Sanders quietly. “It ought to be enough to know that it will be there.”
“But suppose the tramp doesn’t bring it back?” suggested Grant.
“I am not supposing anything about the tramp, or about any failure,” replied Mr. Sanders, again smiling quietly. “All I say to you is that I am confident that the car will be brought back.”
“Did you find out who stole the car?” inquired John.
“I don’t think it was ‘stolen.’ You might call it ‘borrowed.’”
“Well, did you find out who ‘borrowed’ it then?” demanded John.
“Yes.”
“Who did?” said George eagerly.
“There are several reasons why I shall not go farther into details,” said Mr. Sanders. “You may draw such conclusions as you please. Very likely they will not be incorrect. You have followed the events of the summer more closely than I and I have no doubt can connect one with another.”
“Well, I think,” said George positively, “that the tramp took our car. He’s a mighty good driver and knows all about a car. He didn’t intend to sell it perhaps, but he wanted to use it for a few days.”
“Are you sure he used it in the daytime?” inquired Mr. Sanders quietly.
“Why, yes. When would he use it?” demanded George.
“Let me suppose a case,” explained his father. “Just suppose a man and his friends made it a practice to come to your garage nights and take out your car after you had gone to bed. Suppose on one of these long rides the car met with a bad accident. It was impossible to bring the car back that night, so it was taken to a garage where it was said that at least a week would be required to repair it. At the end of the week the car is not repaired. Naturally the people whose automobile is missing are sure the car has been stolen and they are sending word all over the country for the police to be on the lookout for it. Meanwhile the car is safe in a little town not more than ten miles distant from the place where it belonged. Finally there comes a day when the car is ready, but the man who took it and who had the accident has not money enough to pay for the repairs. He doesn’t intend to steal the car, but he is not able to bring it back to its owner. If the owner telephones to the garage for a man to bring it to his home it is quite likely he may see it soon.”
“And did you let the tramp get away?”
“I not only let him get away, but I gave him money to leave. I don’t suppose he will use the money as I told him, but I am going to give him a chance. I would rather help two men who do not deserve it than to let one go who does. Besides,” Mr. Sanders added thoughtfully, “I thought of his father and mother and how good they had been to me when I was a boy. There,” he added, “I have told you more than I expected.”
“Will the tramp come back?” inquired Grant.
“I hope not. I doubt if he does, because the old Meeker House has now gone and he has no place hereabout in which he can stay.”
“Well, we found out what the spooks in the old house were,” said Fred. “I guess that’s the way with most of such things.”
“We certainly had a good time finding out,” said John laughingly. “I’m glad we didn’t give up.”
“So am I,” said Fred. “But then,” he added, “we are the Go Ahead boys and have not learned how to do anything else.”