He broke off suddenly and together they turned toward the door which was squeaking back on its rusty hinges. In the opening there appeared a dark form which, while they stared blankly upon it, shuffled into the shed and closed the door behind it. CHAPTER XX—WHEREIN TOM APPEARS AND THE LAUNCH DISAPPEARS It was a strange, uncanny form which stood for a moment in the heavy shadows beside the door ere, with slow and shuffling footsteps, it advanced toward them. Some dark covering fell straight from head to feet, and of the face nothing was visible save the eyes which seemed to gleam balefully from the depths of a hood. At the throat the dancing light fell upon the fingers of one hand which clasped the edges of the garment together. Nelson and Bob found themselves on their feet behind the anvil, although they afterwards had no recollection of having risen. Nelson edged slowly toward the forge, one hand unconsciously reaching backward for a section of the soap box. Bob held his ground and tried to find his voice, but his mouth opened twice before any words issued. And all the while the mysterious, fearsome figure in the dark drapery moved slowly, inexorably toward them across the floor, its shadow gigantically grotesque and horrible, dancing behind it against the farther wall. “Wh-wh-who—wh-wh-what—?” stammered Bob nervously. The figure paused, the eyes glittering menacingly in the light from the leaping flames. “I come,” said a deep voice, “I come——!” Nelson seized the stick of wood and held it above his head. “You come any nearer and you’ll get this in the head!” he cried. The dark-robed figure seemed to pause, and Bob found his courage. “Who in thunder are you?” he asked angrily. “What do you want here?” “I come,” began the deep voice again, “I come in three-pound, five-pound, and ten-pound packages; also in glass jars. A rubber band——” “_Tommy!_” cried Nelson. “_Tommy!_” growled Bob. The robe, which suddenly turned out to be a much-bedraggled gray blanket, dropped to the floor and Tom’s grinning face confronted them. “Hello, you fellows,” said Tom. “What you scared of?” “You, you little knock-kneed, bandy-legged, cross-eyed runt!” answered Bob angrily. “And for two cents I’d——!” “Hold up, Bob,” interposed Nelson. “It’s only Tommy, and he isn’t accountable for what he does, you know. Where the dickens have you been, Tommy, and what are you doing here? How did you happen to find us?” “I’ll tell you all about it in a minute,” answered Tom. “But I’ve got to get warm first. I’m wet through and beastly cold. If you think Bob isn’t dangerous I’d like to get to that fire.” “Oh, Bob won’t eat you,” answered Nelson. “Come on and get dry. Great Scott, Tommy, I should say you were wet! Give me that blanket and I’ll hang it up here over the bellows. You’d better take those shoes off, too; if they are shoes, that is; they look like gobs of mud.” Tom backed up to the fire and beamed humorously at Bob.