t dropping a hint to the other fellows, as you asked me;
and I've also hidden this print away from them. What does it mean,
Frank?"

"Of course you must remember that I'm only guessing," replied his
chum. "In the first place then, it seems that old Aaron is keeping
some one a prisoner up there!"

"Whew! is it as bad as that?" gasped Will.

"It's impossible to make out whether the owner of that white face is a
man, a woman or a child," continued Frank, slowly; "but I'm pretty
sure the window has bars across it. The person saw us, and tried to
attract our attention, but made no sound just then, you remember.
Afterwards we heard that cry."

Will was plainly much exercised. He seemed to shiver as though he felt
a chill creep over him.

"But Frank, what would old Aaron keep any one shut up in his place
for?" he demanded. "Why, it would be against the law, you know, to
deprive any one of his liberty."

"Not under certain conditions, Will," he was told; "and perhaps Mr.
Dennison has the backing of the law in what he's doing."

Will stared hard at the speaker.

"Oh! do you mean, Frank, that the person behind that barred window
might be a madman?"

"That's the only reasonable explanation I'm able to scare up, Will.
Suppose, now, his wife went out of her mind years ago. He cared so
much for her that the thought of having her confined in any ordinary
insane asylum was repulsive to him. What would he do then, having
plenty of money?"

"It sounds reasonable to me, for a fact. Who could blame him if he
built this house, and surrounded it with a high fence that would keep
the inmate from escaping when allowed in the grounds with an
attendant? Yes, I shouldn't wonder but that you've guessed the truth,
Frank. Everything seems to go to prove it. And then, after all, can
you blame him for getting so huffy when he believed we were trying to
pry into his terrible secret?"

"I don't think he acted queerly, if what we suspect is true," ventured
Frank.

"On my part I'm inclined to feel sorry for old Aaron," declared Will,
who had a tender heart. "He looks like a man who has suffered heaps.
And then, you know, he's interested in the same things I am, which
ought to make me think of him as a fellow artist."

After more talk Will hastily hid the tell-tale print as Jerry was seen
approaching. The other looked a little suspiciously at them as though
he wondered why Will secreted something so hurriedly at his coming;
but other mat