oy on the ear, causing him to fall back in fright.

"Stop that!" he cried.

"What was it?" queried Tom, while the others came running to the spot.

"Something hit me on the ear!"

"Anybody in there?"

"There must be."

"Come out of that, whoever you are!" yelled Fred, while Dick pointed his
shotgun at the door.

There was no answer, but a second later came the whirring again, and
then a big bat flew into the light, just grazing Tom's face.

"A bat!"

"Let it go!" said Songbird, and then the bat flew out of a window and
disappeared.

"Oh!" murmured Sam, and breathed a sigh of relief. "I--I thought
somebody struck at me!"

"I've got one of those electric pocket lights along," said Tom. "Let me
use that."

He turned on the little electric lamp, and by its rays they inspected
the apartment. It was a bedroom, and in one corner was an old bedstead
and on it a musty straw mattress. In another corner was a closet
containing several shelves.

"Here is an old inkwell," said Dick, and brought it forth. "And here are
the remains of a box of writing paper and envelopes."

"Any letters?" asked Fred.

They looked around, but at first could find no writings of any kind. But
behind one of the shelves, in a crack, they discovered several sheets of
paper and took these to the light to read.

"They are parts of letters from Mr. Sobber to his wife," said Dick.
"They must have been written by Tad's father."

"He speaks here of Merrick," added Tom, who was scanning a blurred page.
"Merrick is Mrs. Sobber's brother beyond a doubt."

"From these letters I should say Mr. Sobber had been off on a sea trip,"
continued the eldest Rover boy. "And it looks to me as if he had been an
honest man, for he tells his wife that he hopes Merrick will give up his
gambling habits."

From the bedroom the boys entered what had been the parlor of the house.
This was almost bare. To one side of the parlor was an entry-way, and
here was a stairs leading to the second story and another leading to the
cellar.

"Well, shall we go up or down?" queried Dick.

"Let us see what the cellar looks like first," answered Sam. "Perhaps
we'll find a pot of gold there."

"Or a few skeletons," put in Tom.

"Ugh! don't say skeletons," cried Songbird, with a shiver. "I've got the
creeps already!"

"Look out that you don't break your neck on the stairs," warned Larry,
and then Dick led the way down, holding the light before him.

If it was damp abov