st a lift to his shoulder. This
brought the boy's eyes about five inches above the partition. Ernest
waved the tiny lantern about distractedly in an effort to pierce the
gloom about him.

"Hold the lantern still and just look. Your eyes will grow accustomed to
the dimness pretty soon and then you can see if there's anything there."

Ernest obeyed and in a few moments was able to see across to the
slanting roof opposite.

"Not a thing but rafters and cobwebs," he reported at last in disgust.

"Shift your lantern and look again carefully--we don't want to miss
anything. You don't see any old boxes or piles of papers do you?"

"Nope."

"Nothing that looks like a bundle of old letters? Take the lantern in
the other hand and hold it out as far as you can."

"Not a blamed thing but a piece of old board and it's sticking up so
there's nothing under it."

"Well, I really didn't suppose there would be. It would be too difficult
a place to reach, but I wanted to be sure," returned Dick. "How many
more closets are there?"

"Three."

"It's my turn next--and Gertie's!" declared Chicken Little.

"All right, crawl along. Perhaps you won't mind it if I follow, too,"
Dick replied, smiling.

They took Ernest's room next. Chicken Little slid past the coats and
trousers and much accumulated junk which untidy Ernest had piled in on
the closet floor. She knocked over a baseball bat in her haste and
disappeared in under the eaves so promptly that Gertie felt quite
deserted and decided she didn't want to go into that nasty dark place.

It was all Dick could do to follow. In fact he was afraid he was going
to stick, the passage was so narrow. His overalls were run through with
slivers from the rough boards. Fortunately, only one penetrated his
skin.

Chicken Little cheered him on by calling back.

"I've found some newspapers. Hurry up with the lantern."

It was a triangular space made by the gable. Chicken Little couldn't
quite stand up and Dick could get no further than his knees. A big pile
of dusty newspapers lay on the rafters. They had apparently been shoved
carelessly in.

"Let's get them out to the light. I'll back out and you pass them
through to me."

Jane did as she was bid, handing out a few at a time but just as she
lifted the last layer, gave a squeal.

"There's something alive here!"

Dick started in again.

"Look out, Jane, it might be a house snake, though I didn't know we ever
had them here."

"'T