elley to visit our farm
and get some things belonging to my father."

"Why, you're crazy! My uncle hardly knows Cuffer--and I never heard of
a man named Shelley."

"I am not crazy, and you know I am speaking the truth," answered Tom,
calmly. "Now you tell me where your uncle is or I'll have you
arrested."

"You'll not arrest me!" exclaimed Tad Sobber, and with a sudden
movement he twisted himself free from Tom's grasp. "You follow me and
you'll get the worst of it!" he added, and darted across the park at
top speed.

[Illustration: HE TWISTED HIMSELF FREE FROM TOM'S GRASP AND RAN.]

Tom made after the bully, but as luck would have it a nurse girl with
a baby carriage got between them and before Tom could clear himself
of the carriage Sobber was a good distance away. He turned to the
eastward, down a side street where a large building was in the course
of erection. He looked back and then skipped into the unfinished
building.

"He shan't catch me," he muttered to himself, and ran to the rear of
the building, amid piles of bricks and concrete blocks. A number of
workmen were present, but nobody noticed him.

Reaching the building Tom peered inside, but saw nothing of the bully.
He was about to go in when a warning cry reached him from overhead.

"Get back there, unless you want to be hurt!"

Tom looked up and saw a workman in the act of throwing down a mass of
rubbish, broken bricks, sticks and old mortar. He leaped back and the
stuff descended in front of him and raised a cloud of dust.

"What do you want here, young man?" demanded the superintendent of the
building as he came forward.

"I am after a boy who just ran in here."

"Nobody here that I saw."

"He just came in."

"We don't allow skylarking around here. You make yourself scarce," and
the superintendent waved Tom away.

"I want to have that fellow arrested--that is why he ran away from me."

"Oh, that's a different thing. Go find him, if you can."

The superintendent stepped aside and Tom entered the building. But the
delay had cost him dear, for in the meanwhile Tad Sobber had made good
his escape by running back to the next street. Tom looked around for
over quarter of an hour and then gave up the chase.

"It's too bad, but it can't be helped," he mused. "I may as well go
back to the park and wait for Dick and Sam. I hope they caught that
Cuffer."

While Tom was talking to Sobber the other Rover boys had followed
Cuffer to the elevate