XXIII A BRAVE RESCUE

XXIV AN ENCOUNTER WITH MUCHMORE

XXV THE MYSTERY SOLVED--CONCLUSION




CHAPTER I

A MIDNIGHT ALARM


"Fire! Fire! Turn out, everybody! Fire! Fire!"

This cry, coming like a clarion call, at midnight, awoke the
inhabitants of the peaceful little New England village of Lakeville.

"Fire! Fire!"

Heads were thrust out of hastily-raised windows. Men and women looked
up and down the street, and then glanced around to detect the
reddening in the sky that would indicate where the blaze was. Timid
women began sniffing suspiciously, to learn if it was their own homes
which, unsuspectingly, had become ignited.

"Fire! Fire! Stimson's barn is burning! Fire! Fire!"

A man ran down the principal village street, shouting as he ran. At