The men reached the house and tried the kitchen door, but it withstood their most vigorous blows.

"I don't understand this," remarked the man with the lantern. "You could get in easily enough when I was over here early in the spring."

"Perhaps some one is living here now," suggested one of his companions, cautiously. "There is a wood-pile just beyond the corner."

"So there is," a.s.sented the first speaker, holding up his lantern so that its rays fell on the heap; "but if there is anyone here, I should have thought our knocking would have aroused him."

"It may be some fisherman who has not yet come home," remarked the third man.

"We'll try a window," said the leader; and he stepped to the one just at the left of the door.

"It is also fastened," he added, after trying it, "but it is with a stick just above it. Tom, hand me your cutter, and I'll take out a gla.s.s and remove the stick."

The man addressed opened his gripsack. For a moment the listening lads heard the ring of metallic tools striking together; then the searcher seemed to find what he wanted, and handed his companion the instrument he had asked for.

There was now heard for an instant a sharp scratching sound, followed by a jingle of gla.s.s, and then the window was raised up.

"We can get in now," remarked the one who had opened the window; and tossing in his gripsack, he sprung in after it, followed by his companions.

Budd and his partner rose and crept under the window, listening eagerly yet apprehensively for the next words the men should speak, for they now suspected the character of their visitors, and knew it would go hard with them if they were discovered.

"Some one does live here, boys, sure enough. These things weren't here at all a few months ago," said the leader, a moment later.

"Well, whoever they are, evidently they are not here just now, and we'll look around. Perhaps we'll find something worth taking, even if we have to leave," said the man who had been called Tom.

As his voice reached the listening boys, Budd caught Judd's arm convulsively.

"I believe I know that man," he whispered into his astonished comrade's ear.

"All right," was the response of the other men to Tom's suggestion, and they pa.s.sed on into the sitting-room.

Budd nudged his chum, crept around to the east end of the house, and stood up by the sitting room window. The curtain was lowered, but not quite far enough to reach the sill, and through this narrow opening he gave a quick look at the three men. Then he pulled Judd, who had followed him, back into the shadow of the building and said, hoa.r.s.ely:

"It is as I thought. The man they call Tom is Thomas H. Bagsley, who worked in the same office with my father for several years, and he is as big a rascal as there is outside of prison-walls. If I only had him in my power I'd wring a confession out of him that would change my whole future life;" and there was a bitterness in the lad's words that was akin to hatred.

As though to substantiate Budd's declaration, a singular thing happened within the house. There came a sharp exclamation that led the boys to again look through the window into the room. The man called Tom stood by the center-table, with Budd's Bible open in his hand, staring at the fly-leaf, and it was he from whom the exclamation had come.

"What's the matter?" asked his companions.

"I want you to read that name," he said savagely to them; and looking over his shoulder they read:

"Budd Boyd. From his mother, Mary Boyd."

"Well, what of it?" asked one of the men.

"He's the son of Henry Boyd," answered Tom, shrilly. "I knew he'd left Boston, but didn't suppose he had come down this way. We'd better leave before he gets his eyes on me."

"Why?" asked the same man who had spoken before.

"Because," answered the leader of the trio, "Tom played a little trick that sent the father to prison, where he is to-day, and he is afraid the son will take revenge on him should he catch sight of him."

Tom swore a fearful oath.

"Not if I know myself," he replied, fiercely. "Let me see the son, and I'll serve him worse than the father. All I fear is he may see me and recognize me; then the little job we contemplate will have to be given over. He'd set the authorities to watching us, and the sooner we got out the neighborhood the better."

"Hadn't we better keep watch here till the lad returns, and then drop him off the island?" suggested the leader, coolly.

"Yes, if we were sure he was alone," answered Tom, readily. "But I don't believe he is. Likely as not there is a family living here, and they may have gone over to one of the villages for something, and when the moon is up will return. Before that time we must be gone."

"Well, perhaps you are right," the leader answered. "We can row over to Hope Island and make a stay there over Sunday, or until we have formed our plans. I believe there is no one there as yet."

"That is old Johnson's summer residence, isn't it?" asked Tom.

"Yes. Are you afraid of him, too?"

"No more than I am of the boy. In fact, I'd like to ransack the house over there, if the way is clear to do so."

"All right; we'll go over there pretty soon, then. But let us first see what there is for us here. Jed had better run down by the boat, however, and keep watch, while you and I pick up the things."

Jed departed, at his leader's suggestion, and the two lads deemed it wise for them to keep out of his way, and so worked cautiously back to the west side of the island, where they could embark upon their boat at the first evidence of their being discovered by the intruders.

As they sat down near the wharf Judd said, in low tones:

"I wish we had some way to scare those fellows off before they make a very extended search of the house. I'm afraid they may find our money."

Before Budd could answer there was a sound of steps coming down the path toward the wharf. It was evidently one of the robbers, but he came only a short distance.

"Jed! Jed!" he called in low but distinct tones. "We have found just the jolliest supper! Come on up and help us eat it."

Jed, who was down by his boat, immediately joined the speaker, and the two went hurriedly back to the house.

"I wish we had something to eat, too," commented Judd, as the two men disappeared. "I confess, after working as we did this afternoon, I'm hungry."

"We'll have something in a few minutes, and those fellows will leave the house a good deal quicker than they got into it--see if they don't,"

answered Budd. "You just stay right here a few minutes;" and then he ran down the wharf, jumped into the yawl, and sculled quietly over to the sloop.

It was not over five minutes before he returned with an old gun, that had belonged to Judd's father, and which the boys kept on the sloop, having an occasional use for it, as they went about the bay, to shoot sea-fowl with, or the more voracious denizens of the sea.

"Come on!" he said to Judd; and again the boys approached the house.

Taking their station once more behind the wood-pile, Budd called out, in stern tones:

"h.e.l.lo, Judd! There is some one in the house! Hurry up with the gun!"

A great commotion in the house instantly followed his words. The robbers evidently were at the kitchen-table eating when he cried out, and each grabbing up his gripsack, sprung for the window. As they tumbled, one over the other, out onto the ground, Budd raised the gun and fired one barrel into the air.

Not a sound save that of running followed the report, and it was apparent that the intruders were making the best time possible for their boat. The two boys followed them to the sh.o.r.e, and Budd again fired into the air as the light craft swiftly disappeared in the darkness--not, however, until there had been two or three quick flashes from the boat, followed by sharp reports, and some pistol-b.a.l.l.s had whistled harmlessly above the lads' heads.

Hurrying back to the house, the boys made a careful examination of their rooms. In the bedroom and sitting-room nothing had been disturbed; and in the kitchen the broken window, the lighted lantern, and the partially-eaten food upon the table, were the only evidences of the robbers' visit.