said Mrs. Bobbsey. "Bert, be careful," she called to her
son, who set off in the darkness with his chums, flashing his electric
light from time to time.

"I'll look out!" he called back.

For some distance it was easy to see which way the ice cream freezer
had been carried, for there were the marks of the dripping water. Then
these stopped about the middle of the sidewalk, and seemed to go over
in the grass.

"We can't see 'em now," spoke Charley. "That's too bad."

"Well, we'll keep on this way in a straight line," suggested Bert.
"Maybe they took the freezer down back of our berry bushes to eat the
cream."

"I hope they left some," said John Anderson, in a mournful sort of
voice.

Hurrying on after Bert, the boys looked eagerly about in the darkness
for a sign of the missing ice cream. There were not many chances of
them finding it, for though Bert's electric torch gave a brilliant
light for a short distance, it was not very large.

"What's over there?" asked Charley, pausing and pointing to a patch of
blackness.

"An old barn, that we used to use before we had our new one built,"
answered Bert. "Why?"

"Well, maybe they took the ice cream in there to eat it," went on
Charley. "Is it open?"

"Yes, it's never locked. Say, we'll take a look in there, anyhow!"
exclaimed Bert. "Come on, fellows!"

He led the way, the others following. As they approached the big,
deserted barn Frank Black exclaimed in a whisper:

"I see a light!"

"So do I!" added Will Evans.

"And it's moving around," spoke Charley Mason.

"It's them, all right," decided Bert. "The tramps who took our ice
cream are in there, all right!"

"What makes you think they are tramps?" asked Will.

"Well, I'm not sure, of course," admitted Bert. "But we can soon tell.
Come on!"

"Are you--are you going up there?" asked Charley.

"Sure! Why not? I think we can scare em away."

The other boys hesitated. Some of them were older than Bert, and when
they saw that he was determined to go on, they made up their minds that
they would not let him go alone.

"All right--go ahead--we're with you," said Charley.

Bert and the others advanced. As they walked on they could see the
light in the barn more plainly. And, as they stopped for a moment they
could hear voices talking in low tones.

"More than one," whispered Charley.

"Yes, three or four," said Bert.

They walked ahead again, when suddenly Charley stepped on a stick th