is plans included such
surreptitious visits to the mine."

After making sure that the detective was not within sight or sound, Will
and George tapped softly at the little door and were admitted by the
caretaker. Five minutes later they were joined by Tommy and Sandy.

"Were you boys out there a few moments ago?" asked Canfield.

"Nix!" replied George. "That was Ventner. We saw him from the
weigh-house. He was trying to sneak his way into the mine!"

"But he has full permission to enter at any time he sees fit!" urged the
caretaker. "It doesn't seem as if he would attempt to steal his way in
during the night. You must be mistaken!"

"Yes, and perhaps we were mistaken about the sawing of the ladder, too!"
Tommy broke in.

"Yes, we may all be mistaken about that."

"Not so you could notice it!" declared Sandy. "If you look at the
thief's coat, you'll see that he didn't do all the sawing on the rungs
of the ladder. We've got him too dead to skin!"

Without any lights being shown on the surface, the boys were conducted
down the ladder to the first level. There they found a room very cosily
furnished, indeed. A lounge from the office, a couple of good sized
cupboards, and a large table had been brought down, together with a
serviceable rug and numerous chairs, and the apartment presented an
unexpectedly homelike appearance.

The current was on, and two electric lamps made the room as light as
day. The cooking was to be done over electric coils so that the presence
of the boys would not be disclosed by smoke. One of the ventilating
pipes which supplied the offices in the vicinity of the shaft with fresh
air passed through the room, so there was no lack of ozone.

"Have we got plenty of eatings?" asked Tommy.

"Plenty!" was the reply. "I have arranged for fresh meat, milk and
vegetables to be brought in every evening."

"Talk about your bull-headed, obstinate men!" exclaimed Tommy, as the
caretaker finally took his departure. "That fellow takes the cake! He
knows very well that we caught Ventner in the act of sawing on the
ladder, and he knows, too, that we heard Wolf calls while we were in the
mine. Still, he shakes his head and says that he don't know about the
boys being there, and don't know about that bum detective being crooked.
If you could get a saw and operate on his head, you'd find it solid
bone!"

"You'll feel better after you get supper!" Sandy declared.

"This isn't any grouch!" insisted Tommy. "T