wo finest bass he and Bluff had taken. It
was as though he meant to show that they were engaged in legitimate
sport, such as boys in a summer camp were supposed to follow.

"Here they are, the young rascals, Mr. Jeems. Now do your duty!"
exclaimed Aaron Dennison, harshly.

Bluff managed to catch the eye of the constable whose acquaintance he
and Jerry had made when in the lake village. Perhaps he gave him a
humorous wink. At any rate, the tall lanky man shrugged his shoulders
and immediately remarked:

"I guess that you'd better tell the boys what you be suspectin' them
of, Squire. I don't know nothing about the same, and I'm only here to
do what I believes to be my bounden duty as an officer of the law."

"But I explained to you," expostulated the old man, "that my treasured
cup disappeared mysteriously, and also that yesterday I came upon
these four boys acting in a suspicious manner close to my enclosed
grounds."

"_Outside_ your grounds, you said, Mr. Dennison," urged the constable.

"That is very true, Constable. But I chance to know that on two
different occasions some of their number actually had the brazen
audacity to push their way through a gap in the fence."

"You don't tell me!" exclaimed the other, trying to look very fierce;
but when he saw that whimsical grin on the features of Bluff the
attempt was not much of a success.

"Worse than that even," continued Mr. Dennison, whipping himself into
higher rage. "That boy with the angel face had the nerve to take a
picture of my house. I caught him in the very act. Think of that, Mr.
Jeems, will you?"

Frank could have laughed if the situation had not been so very
serious. It seemed as though Mr. Dennison looked on such a thing as
any one's taking a picture of his hidden home as a capital offence;
hanging would about fit such a terrible crime, according to his
opinion. And Will's "angel face" vastly amused them all.

Desirous of finding out what all the trouble was about, Frank now
turned his attention to the irate old gentleman. When he spoke his
voice was as soothing and respectful as he could make it; for Frank
believed in pouring oil on troubled waters.

"Mr. Dennison, you surely are very much mistaken if you think for a
minute that either I or any of my chums would ever steal anything. We
are proud of the reputations we have in our home town of Centerville.
None of us can understand what you are accusing us of doing, just
because we happened to