CHAPTER V

A TEN THOUSAND DOLLAR ORDER


"What's happened?" cried Hiram, rolling over and over on the gravel
walk to which he had tumbled.

"Stop that man!" shouted Dave.

In a flash the young aviator took in the meaning of the situation.
The fugitive, for such he now was, made a quick move the instant he
gained his feet. Not waiting to see who had obstructed his
progress, and probably deciding that it was the police, he bounded
in among some bushes.

Dave, running after him, made out his form dimly, swiftly scaling a
rear brick wall.

"Why, what is all this?" demanded Hiram, staring at the litter on
the steps.

"That man was a thief," explained Dave.

"It looks that way, doesn't it? Hello!"

Both boys stepped back and stared upwards. Over the porch was a
second railed-in veranda. A night-robed figure had crossed it from