ear room. Knowing that
someone must be inside, for the noise was not from where Billy had gone
down, Phil grasped his cane harder and dashed through the open door into
the back room where he had before seen the forge and the tools, which he
had not been able to understand at the time.

Right in front of him was another open door, beyond the hastily
constructed forge; and down what seemed to be a cellar stairway he could
see the head and shoulders of a man. The stranger was struggling upward,
impeded by some burden he was carrying with difficulty.

It was difficult in the half light that filtered through the overhanging
shade trees without to distinguish anything distinctly. All Phil could
see was that the man wore a slouch hat, combed with cobwebs from the
cellar region below. All at once came the conviction to the lad:

"This must be Dippy, whom the other was calling for so often."

With this came Phil's resolve to boldly move up and prevent this
mysterious fellow's escape. He dashed forward, calling out:

"Halt, you! Give an account of yourself! I--"

Here the stranger, dropping the bundle he was carrying, attempted to
spring up the last two steps, at the same time reaching behind and
pulling forth something small that glittered in the semi-twilight. What
could it be--a pistol? At the mere thought, Phil leaped nearer, struck
at the glittering toy, while the descending blow knocked the fellow's
hat off and, partially stunning him, sent him back down the gloomy
stairway. The lower end of this was shrouded in deeper gloom, though
some light from a cellar window shed a little pale glow from the outside
daylight.

Following closely, Phil began to stumble down the stairway, when he
heard another's unmistakable advance below. For Billy, still armed with
the rubber tube, had heard the mix-up going on above, together with
Phil's loud tones and the succeeding fracas; and he saw dimly the
tumbling of some bulky weight, followed by the heavier fall of a man's
body.

"Great goodness!" thought Worth. "Can that be Phil?"

With the thought he scrambled forward over heaps of loose earth to the
firmer floor of the main part of the cellar, until he stood over a
figure trying to rise. At the same time down stumbled his comrade,
saying:

"I'll get you yet--mind that!"

Satisfied now that it was not Phil at his feet, Billy brought down his
heavy rubber tube over the man's head, who sank back uttering a groan of
pain. At the s