Frank lived with his uncle, Abner Dent, about a mile out of town. Mr. Dent was a rich farmer, and Frank had resided with him as long as he could remember. He could not recall his father or mother, and his uncle seldom mentioned them. Frank was rather a strange sort of boy. His chums were very fond of him, but they could not quite make out the curious air of mystery about him. Frank seemed to have some secret, but his chums never asked him what it was, though of late years his odd ways, at times, had attracted their attention. Ned Wilding was an impulsive, lively chap, full of fun, and given to playing tricks, which sometimes got him into mischief. He was rather thoughtless, but never mean, and when his actions did result in trouble for others Ned was always ready and anxious to make reparation. Ned's mother was dead and he lived with his father who was cashier of the Darewell bank. As for Bart, he was so fond of sports, from baseball and swimming to snowballing and skating, that he was seldom still long enough to study his lessons. Fenn, or Stumpy Masterson, had only one failing as far as his chums were concerned. He was "sweet" on the girls, as they called it. Fenn would go to considerable trouble to walk home with a girl. His chums made all sorts of fun of him, but he did not seem to mind much. His especial favorite was Jennie Smith, who was quite fond of poetry and who liked to recite and act. As told in the first volume, the boys, during the summer preceding the winter in which this story opens, had taken part in some strange adventures. They discovered that some men in the neighborhood of the town were acting very queerly, and they resolved to find what it meant. One day they went up in a captive balloon at a fair, and the restraining cable broke. The four chums were carried off in the airship high above the clouds. The boys were detained as prisoners aboard a barge on the river, because it was learned they knew something of the mystery the strangely acting men were trying to keep hidden. By dint of much pluck and hard work the boys managed to solve the affair, and, in order to avoid a law-suit, the men involved offered the boys one thousand dollars each, in valuable oil stock. This they accepted and their parents and relatives did not prosecute the men, as they originally intended, for detaining the boys on the barge. "Here's the lemonade!" cried Ned, as Alice came in with a big pitcherful while the chums were examining Bart's gun. He took it from the girl, as it was quite heavy. "Now I'll get the cakes and glasses," Alice said. "Let me help you," begged Fenn. "Here, you quit that!" called Ned. "Quit what?" "Walking downstairs with Alice. I'll tell Jennie on you, Stumpy!" "Oh, you dry up!" cried Fenn, and, despite the boys' laughter Fenn accompanied Bart's sister to the next floor, where he got the cake and glasses. "Stumpy's as bad as ever," commented Frank. "He reminds me of--" Frank did not finish his sentence.