"Yes, I know them, but not very well. Some of them are German-Americans, like me, but they are not my friends. I would advise you to stay away from them. The hunting, anyway, is better elsewhere. Now good-bye and good luck." And thus speaking, Herman Crouse urged forward his team and continued on his way.

"I'll bet a new hat against a lemon that he is bound for the old Parkingham house!" exclaimed Randy, when the German was out of earshot.

"Let us follow him and make sure," returned his twin.

"All right," said Jack. "But we had better keep out of sight among the trees."

With so much timber standing around, this was an easy matter. Following Crouse, they saw the man at last turn in at the old house and drive around to where the barn was located. Then he got out of the boxsled and walked to a back door of the residence.

"Now I guess we'll find out if those Germans are back or not," announced Gif.

They waited for several minutes, and then the door was again opened and Herman Crouse came out, followed by two of the men the boys had previously seen. All three hurried down to the barn and there began to unload the boxsled. Then the boys saw the unknown Germans give Crouse some money. The three talked together for a few minutes in German, and then the owner of the boxsled drove away and the other Germans returned to the house.

"This is getting interesting," remarked Jack. "Of course, that hay was meant for the horses, but what do you suppose can be in those packing cases?"

"Come on around to the back of the barn, and maybe we can learn something further," said Fred.

"It's gettin' purty late, boys," announced Jed Wallop.

"If you want to go home, don't let us keep you," returned Gif, quickly.

"Well, I don't want to see any of you lads git into trouble," answered Wallop. "At the same time, I hate to leave my family alone after dark."

"Well, you go on, then," put in Jack quickly. "There are five of us, and I guess we can take care of ourselves, especially as we have our guns with us."

"O' course, everything may be perfectly reg'lar here," continued Jed Wallop. "Although, like you, I have my doubts. But unless you want me to stay, I'll git home." And a little later he took his departure.

Left to themselves, the Rovers and Gif watched their chance, and, un.o.bserved, entered the big barn. Here they found that all of the packing cases which had been brought in by Herman Crouse had been placed out of sight under the hay.

"One thing is certain--they don't want any outsiders to know about these cases," remarked Jack.

Suddenly Fred, who was looking out of the doorway toward the house, uttered a low cry of alarm.

"Get under cover, fellows, just as quick as you can!" he said. "Three of those Germans are coming down here!"

CHAPTER XXVII

THE COMING OF THE WOLVES

Fred's announcement came as a surprise. The Germans were coming from the house so rapidly that there was no time to leave the barn, the back door being closed and having some packing cases and hay against it.

"Come on up in the loft!" cried Jack. "Be quick now!"

"Why not hide down here in the hay?" suggested Andy.

"Because they may try to get at those packing cases, and then they would probably discover us," was the reply. "Quick! This way!"

Gif was already acting on the oldest Rover boy's suggestion and going up a ladder nailed to one side of the barn. Randy and the others followed, Fred being the last.

At the top of the ladder was an opening to a large loft. Here there was more hay, and also some old farm implements which had evidently been hoisted there by means of a block and tackle.

"Hush now," warned Gif, and the five cadets tiptoed their way toward the hay, bent upon secreting themselves should it become necessary to do so.

The Germans carried two lanterns, for it was now quite dark in the barn.

They were talking volubly in their native tongue, so that the cadets could understand very little of what was said. One man, a tall, burly individual, who was evidently more prosperous than the others, was addressed as Herr Bauermann, and he was the man mentioned by the woman who had refused to open the door and let Jack and Gif in.

Herr Bauermann had come out to inspect the contents of the packing cases brought in by Herman Crouse. He had the two other men open the cases and take out layers of excelsior so that he might look at what was underneath. He gave a grunt of satisfaction and nodded his head approvingly, at the same time continuing to speak in German.

All of the cadets were anxious to see what the boxes contained, and looked cautiously down the ladder opening and through some cracks in the loft flooring. All they could make out was some machinery, apparently electrical and similar to that in the other cases. There was also a large round package covered with heavy bagging, and this was found to contain more coils of wire of various sizes.

While the men were looking around one of them suddenly stooped and picked up something from the floor. He pa.s.sed this to the others, at the same time making some remark which, of course, the lads could not understand.

"He's got a glove," whispered Jack.

"It's one of my gloves! I dropped it when we climbed the ladder,"

returned Randy in sudden alarm.

The finding of the glove interested the Germans very much. They looked all around the barn, and for a few minutes the cadets were fearful that they would come up in the loft. But then they evidently concluded that the glove had been dropped by Herman Crouse, and placed it on a shelf.

It was a good half hour before the Germans left the barn and returned to the house, and by that time the five cadets in the loft were almost frozen. They had been unable to move around and thus keep warm, and with the coming of night the thermometer was going down steadily.

"Come on! let us get out of here," said Fred, his teeth chattering. "If we don't move soon I'll be frozen stiff."

The boys came cautiously out of the barn and looked toward the house.

Every curtain was tightly drawn, and lights shown only from the kitchen and the dining room of the old dwelling.

"Those fellows are going to get supper," said Randy, "and I move we go home and do likewise. We can't learn anything more standing here, and if we went to the door and showed ourselves those men might get very suspicious."

"All right! let's go back to the Lodge then," announced Jack. "Just the same, I'm going to investigate this matter further, and I'm not going to wait so very long either."

"Oh, I guess we all want to investigate these Germans," said Fred quickly. "Don't you remember how we helped to round up those submarine rascals?" he added, referring to an affair which has been related in detail in the volume ent.i.tled, "The Rover Boys Under Canvas."

Losing no more time, the five cadets hurried down the rough mountain road, and then struck off through the woods on a bee line for Cedar Lodge. This time Gif took good care that they should not become lost.

But it was a long wearisome journey, and before the Lodge was reached every one of the lads was almost ready to drop from exhaustion. They were bitterly cold, and some of them thought their ears or noses must be frozen.

"There's the light!" cried Fred at last, and he pointed to a candle which Spouter had had Stowell place in one of the windows.

"Spouter must have done that to help us to find the way," said Jack.

"Very thoughtful of him."

As soon as they were a little closer they set up a ringing shout, and at once Henry Stowell came to the door and flung it open. All were glad enough to troop in and throw themselves down in comfortable seats before the blazing fire.

"Me for a big hot supper!" announced Randy. "And I can't get it inside of me any too quick!"

"Ditto right here," added Fred.