hat was very nearly as impossible. Still, the hasty
glimpse he had secured told him that it was at least larger than a
raccoon or a 'possum, animals frequently seen in the vicinity of
Stanhope.

Well, what was to hinder a _boy_ from coming into competition with other
things, when an explanation of the mystery was sought? Some boys can
climb like monkeys; and he knew of several who would think little or
nothing of making their way from one tree to another, when the great
limbs interlocked.

There, the flame again began to show up, and dispell the gloom. Eagerly
did Paul make use of his eyes; nor was he disappointed this time.

There _was_ a swinging object dangling from the limb on which he had
fastened his gaze. Even though the light proved so deceptive Paul knew
that he was looking at a hanging boy, caught in the act of changing his
location by the sudden return of the light, and meaning to remain still
in the hope of escaping discovery.

Were there others also in the oak? Could it be that the entire Slavin
crowd had managed to elude their vigilance, and was now hovering over
the camp, ready to carry out some dark plot?

Paul did not believe this possible. Only an expert climber might succeed
in accomplishing such a clever feat. He considered a minute, and then
felt certain that he could give a guess concerning the identity of the
one aloft.

Among the partisans of Ted was a fellow named Eggleston, who was
usually known among his fellows as "Monkey." This because of his
fondness for doing all manner of wonderful tricks on a trapese or the
parallel bars. He could hang by his toes from the limb of a tree, and
never seemed alarmed in the slightest degree because twenty or more feet
lay between his dangling figure and the earth below.

Of course, then, this was Monkey Eggleston. He had received his orders
from Ted, and was carrying them out with more or less delight. Paul
calculated that he intended to drop down into the centre of the camp,
unseen, his presence unsuspected by the sentries, who would be looking
the other way for signs of trouble.

Then what?

A vicious boy let loose in a camp for half an hour, with a good sharp
knife in his possession, can do a tremendous amount of destruction. Why,
he might begin by cutting the bags that held their sugar, so that every
bit of it mixed with the soil and was lost. Half a dozen other things
seemed to flash through Paul's mind as he crouched there and watched the
d