"I guess you're just the man I want to see," cried Dave, quickly. And then, as the farmer looked at him in increasing wonder, he added: "Did a young man who looks very much like me go past here to-day?" "Look like you?" queried the farmer. "Why, it was you, wasn't it?" "No. It must have been a fellow who resembles me very closely. I am trying to catch him." "Well, I swan!" murmured the farmer, looking at Dave critically. "That other feller looked as much like you as could be. Wot is he--your twin brother?" "I am thankful to say he is no relative of mine. He is a swindler, and that is why I would like to catch him. He has been getting goods in my name. If he went past here perhaps you can tell me where he has gone?" "He walked past here less than fifteen minutes ago. He went down that lane, which is a short cut to the road to Barnett." "Barnett!" cried our hero. "That's the railroad station up this way, isn't it?" "Yes." "Then he must be heading for a railroad train!" exclaimed Dave, quickly. "How far is it from here?" "Barnett is three miles by the road, but it's less than a mile and a quarter by that short cut through Gerry's Woods." "Then I'll go after him by that short cut," answered Dave. He thought for a moment. To hunt up Roger and get him to go along might take too long. He looked at the farmer. "Would you like to go with me? I'll make it worth your while," he continued. "Sorry, but I can't do it," was the reply. "I've got to meet the man who buys my milk down town in about fifteen minutes. He's a very particular customer, and if I should fail him he might get mad. So I can't go." "All right, I'll go after him alone," answered our hero; and then continued: "If you are going down town, and you chance to see a friend of mine with my black horse and cutter, will you kindly tell him where I have gone?" "Sure, I will;" and with this promise from the farmer Dave started on a swift walk along the short cut to Barnett which the other had pointed out. Fortunately for the youth, to keep his feet warm while riding he had donned a heavy pair of rubbers, so that walking through the rather deep snow of the path leading through the back farms and through Gerry's Woods was not as uncomfortable as it might otherwise have been. To be sure, he occasionally found himself floundering in snow that was over his shoetops, but when this happened he simply smiled grimly and made the best of it. When at Oak Hall he had often taken part in track athletics, cross-country running, and occasionally in a game of hare and hounds, and consequently his wind was good and he made rapid progress without becoming too much exhausted. He was in the depth of the woods when, at a turn in the path, he saw a figure ahead of him. The individual wore a heavy overcoat and had a cap pulled well down over his ears and the back of his head.