though it should be added that in the way of firearms
there was only the single worthless Springfield rifle in the house. It
was mother and daughter who held the three lads supine. Had they been
left free they would have acted immediately on first learning of the
presence of the criminals.

Chester had spoken the word "dynamite," and it was that terrific
explosive which he and his companions dreaded unspeakably. If the charge
were fired, it would not only blow the massive safe apart, but was likely
to wreck the building itself and probably inflict death to more than one
in the dwelling.

Mike Murphy chafed more than his comrades. Reflecting on the exasperating
state of affairs, he determined to do something despite the opposition of
the mother and daughter. A few minutes' thought suggested a plan. He
would have revealed it to Alvin and Chester, but feared they would
prevent action or that his whispering in the darkness of the room would
awaken the suspicion of the other two.

Only when near the front windows could the members of the party dimly see
one another. They had withdrawn so far at sight of the approach of the
man on guard that the light ill served them. Mike stealthily retreated to
the open door leading into the hall. Neither of his comrades heard him,
and he groped along the passage, with hands outstretched on each side to
guide him. The feet were lifted and set down without noise, and by and by
he came to the opening leading to the bedroom. Across this he made his
way with the same noiseless stealth, until the groping hand touched the
battered rifle, which he lifted from its resting place. Back into the
hall again, and then through the dining room, inch by inch, to where he
remembered seeing the head of the stairs, though he knew nothing beyond
that. He would have struck a match but for fear of attracting the notice
of those below.

"I've only to feel each step," he reflected, "and I'll soon arrive, and
then won't fur of the spalpeens fly?"

His unfamiliarity with the stairs made him think they were not so nearly
perpendicular as was the fact. While the thought was in his mind, he made
a misstep and, unable to check himself, went bumping all the way to the
bottom.

CHAPTER XVII

"TALL OAKS FROM LITTLE ACORNS GROW"

If you wish an illustration of how great events often flow from trifling
causes read what follows. It is one of the many events which prove that
"tall oaks from little acorns grow