f a back porch, with a trellis reaching to the ground.

"There he goes!" exclaimed Jack, pointing down among the trees.

"Stop! stop!" came in a cry from the side of the mansion, and a moment
later Andy appeared, followed by Fred.

"Stop the rascal!" shouted Jack, and bounced out on the porch with all
speed. Down the trellis he came, with Pepper following.

By this time the fleeing individual had gained the shelter of a number
of trees. Beyond these was a hedge, and he dove through this and then
into some brushwood that lined the highway.

"Can you catch him, Andy?" asked Jack.

"I can try!" was the answer.

"Keep back, unless you want to get shot!" roared the man, and he raised
something he held in his hand. It was too dark to see if it was a
pistol.

Andy came to a halt, and in a few moments his companions joined him. By
this time the fellow was out of sight. The cadets strained their ears,
but in the snow no sounds of footsteps reached them.

"I guess we have lost him," murmured Fred.

"Sorry I didn't keep after him," grumbled Andy.

"He might have shot you."

"Come on, let us make a hunt for him!" cried Jack, and this was done.
But though they searched the vicinity for the best part of half an hour
they failed to locate the man who had fled.

"Jack, who do you think it was?" questioned Pepper, as the four boys
gathered in the mansion and lit one of the lamps, for it was now quite
dark.

"I may be mistaken, but to me his voice sounded like that of the man
Reff Ritter met in Cedarville, Cameron Smith."

"Just what I think!" cried The Imp. "Did you get a look at his face?"

"Not a close look, and it was too dark to see much. But that Smith had a
queer catch in his voice and this fellow had the same thing."

"Yes, I remember that."

"Was that the fellow Reff met?" demanded Andy.

"We are not sure, Andy, but we think so."

"What was he doing here?" asked Fred.

"That remains for us to find out," answered Pepper. "Certainly the man
had no right here, otherwise he wouldn't have run away as he did."

"Let us take a look through the house," suggested Pepper.

A hand-lamp was lit and the boys began a systematic inspection of the
Lodge. They found nothing disturbed in most of the rooms, but when they
inspected the library all set up a shout.

"The safe!"

"It has been blown open!"

"Yes, and look, the contents are scattered all over the floor!"

It was true, the small safe that was located und