Dick led the way and crossed to where an enclosed
stairs ran to the floor below. On tiptoes he went down, not trusting a
step until he was sure of his footing. It was well he did this, for
two of the steps were entirely rotted away, and he had to warn his
brothers, otherwise one or another might have had a fall.
Standing in the wheel room of the old mill the boys saw another streak
of light, coming from the room which Dick had suggested. The door to
this was closed, a bolt on the inner side holding it in place. There
was another bolt on the outside, which Dick remembered having seen on
a previous visit.
"We can lock them in if we wish," he whispered.
"Do it," answered his brothers promptly.
The bolt was large and old fashioned, and Dick had considerable
trouble in moving it into its socket. It made a rasping sound, but
this was not noticed by the two men, who were conversing earnestly.
"Well, we made a mess of it," growled the man called Shelley.
"So we did. But I didn't think that hired man would wake up. Neither
of us made a bit of noise. He must be a light sleeper."
"I only hope they think we were after chickens, Cuffer. If they knew
the truth--" The man named Shelley broke off with a coarse laugh.
Pages:
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50