end of it."

"I wish we could have caught them at it," said Fred savagely. "If they'd
only been working when we came past last night."

"What time last night?" asked Cy, pricking up his ears.

"About eleven o'clock, I guess," answered Fred. "Teddy and I had been
over to Tom Barrett's house. He's just got a new phonograph, and we went
over to hear him try it out. He had a lot of records, and it was pretty
late when we came away."

"And yer didn't see anything out of the way when you come past?" went on
Cy.

"Not a thing. We didn't meet a soul on the way home."

Just then there was a stir inside the store, and the constable, Hi
Vickers, came to the door.

"Come here a minute, Cy," he said. "I bet I've found out how those
fellers got into the store."

As many as could crowded in after him as he led the way to a little side
window.

"They got in here," he said triumphantly.

"But that's locked," said Cy.

"Sure it is," explained Hi, "but they could have locked it again after
they got in, couldn't they? One thing certain, they've unlocked it first
from the outside. See here," and the constable showed where the blade of
a heavy knife had left marks on the frame. It had evidently been thrust
between the two halves of the window to push back the fastening.

"There you are," he said. "You see, they clum that apple tree right
alongside the winder and----"

"Say!" broke in Fred, as a thought came to him like a flash of
lightning, "I bet I know who the robbers were."

All eyes were turned on him in surprise.

"It was two tramps that I saw round here a few days ago," continued
Fred. "A lot of us fellows were in Sam Perkins' barn, and we heard the
tramps talking. They didn't see us, but we saw them. We couldn't hear
all they said, but I did hear them say something about an 'apple tree'
and 'side window' and something being 'dead easy.' I'd forgotten all
about it till just now. But there's the apple tree and the side window,
and that must have been what they were talking about."

"By gum, it wuz!" assented Hi. "Tell us what the fellers looked like."

"One of them was a good deal taller than the other," said Fred, trying
to recall their appearance. "They were both ragged and dirty. And, oh,
yes! the tall one had a scar up near his temple, as if he had been
stabbed there some time."

"Well," commented Hi, "that may help a lot. We know now what we've got
to look for. I'll telephone all along the line to the other