"What's over there?" asked Charley, pausing and pointing to a patch of blackness.

"An old barn, that we used to use before we had our new one built,"

answered Bert. "Why?"

"Well, maybe they took the ice cream in there to eat it," went on Charley. "Is it open?"

"Yes, it's never locked. Say, we'll take a look in there, anyhow!"

exclaimed Bert "Come on, fellows!"

He led the way, the others following. As they approached the big, deserted barn Frank Black exclaimed in a whisper:

"I see a light!"

"So do I!" added Will Evans.

"And it's moving around," spoke Mason.

"It's them, all right," decided Bert. "The tramps who took our ice cream are in there, all right!"

"What makes you think they are tramps?" asked Will.

"Well, I'm not sure, of course," admitted Bert. "But we can soon tell. Come on!"

"Are you--are you going up there?" asked Charley.

"Sure! Why not? I think we can scare 'em away."

The other boys hesitated. Some of them were older than Bert, and when they saw that he was determined to go on, they made up their minds that they would not let him go alone.

"All right--go ahead--we're with you," said Charley.

Bert and the others advanced. As they walked on they could see the light in the barn more plainly. And, as they stopped for a moment they could hear voices talking in low tones.

"More than one," whispered Charley.

"Yes, three or four," said Bert.

They walked ahead again, when suddenly Charley stepped on a stick that broke with a loud snap. In an instant the light in the barn went out, and then could be heard the footsteps of several persons running away.

"There they are!" shouted Bert, dashing forward. "Come on, fellows!

We'll get 'em now!"

"That's right!" cried Charley. "Come on, surround 'em!"

Of course this was all said for effect, as the boys had no idea of trying to capture the tramps, or whoever it was that had taken the ice cream. But Bert thought that they could scare the thieves away, for the latter could not tell, in the darkness, how many, nor who were after them.

Flashing his light, Bert dashed ahead, followed by the others. Into the big barn they went, and, just as they entered the main part, they had a glimpse of someone running out of a side door.

"There they go!" cried Charley. "We can catch 'em!"

"No, let 'em go," advised Bert. "Here's our ice cream. Let's see if there's any left. If there is we'll take it back to the party.

We might get into trouble if we went after those fellows."

By the gleam of the electric light they could all see the freezer of cream in the middle of the barn floor, near some upturned boxes.

A hasty look showed that only a little had been taken out.

"There's plenty left!" said Bert. "We surprised 'em just in time.

Now let's get back to the house."

It was rather a triumphant procession that went back to the home of the Bobbsey twins, carrying the recovered ice cream freezer.

And such a shout of delight from Flossie, Freddie and the others as greeted the boys!

"Is there any left?" asked Freddie.

"Plenty," said Bert.

"And did you catch the bad tramps?" Flossie wanted to know.

"They got away," her brother said. "But never mind, we scared them before they had a chance to eat much."

"I 'clar t' goodness sakes alive!" gasped Dinah, when she saw the ice cream freezer carried into her kitchen, "yo' am suttinly a smart boy, Ma.s.sa Bert--dat's what yo' suah am!"

"Oh, well, the others helped me find it," said Bert, modestly.

As Dinah and Mrs. Bobbsey were dishing out the cream, the colored cook uttered a cry.

"Look out!" she exclaimed. "Dere's suffin black in dere, Mrs.

Bobbsey. Maybe it's a stone dem careless tramps put in. Wait 'till I gits it out."

With a long-handled spoon. Dinah fished for the black thing, and got it. She put it in a dish, with a small portion of the ice cream, and when the latter had melted, Bert, who was inspecting the object, gave a cry of surprise.

"Why, it's a b.u.t.ton--a coat b.u.t.ton!" he exclaimed.

"A b.u.t.ton? How in the world could that get in there?" asked his mother. "Unless you boys dropped it in when you were carrying the cream."

Bert and the other boys quickly looked at their coats. There were no b.u.t.tons missing.

"An' it suah wasn't in when de cream come heah," said Dinah. "I knows, fo I took off de kiver an' looked in t' see how hard it were froze. Dat b.u.t.ton got in since!"

"Yes, and I think I know how, too!" exclaimed Bert.

"How?" asked Freddie.

"It was dropped in by whoever took the freezer. They must have been eating the cream right out of the can, and maybe they dropped the b.u.t.ton in. I'll save it."

"What for?" asked Nan, wonderingly.

"I may be able to find out by it, who took the freezer," went on Bert. "I'm going to look at the coats of all the fellows in school next week, and if I find one with the b.u.t.ton like this missing, I'll know what to think."