“Here goes!” said Pepper and let himself down with care. As his feet touched the coal some of it slid away, making considerable noise. “Keep quiet!” whispered Andy. “The old man may be listening.” “I didn’t mean to make that noise,” was the reply. “Come on, quick!” Andy dropped down on the coal and both boys left the bin and came out into the cellar proper. It was quite dark and they stumbled over some ironware and crocks. The ironware made a crash that could be heard all through the mansion. “Hi! hi! Who is that?” they heard the old man yell, and then he came running across the floor overhead. “Quick, or we’ll be caught again!” exclaimed Pepper. “I see a way out!” He had espied a back entrance to the cellar. To this he ran, with Andy close behind him. They pushed open a door and ran up a flight of stone steps. Above was the back yard, close to the kitchen of the house. The cadets did not wait to look around them, but made a straight dash across the yard toward a barn. They skirted this building and as they did so Pepper gave a cry of wonder. “See, Andy!” he exclaimed. “What is it?” “That boy—running through the trees!” “Who is it?” “The boy Jack and I met at the church, Bert Field! He must have been spying around here!” “Perhaps he’s the one the old man said he saw this morning.” “More than likely.” They looked and saw the tall, thin youth disappear in a grove of trees lining the main road. Then, a few minutes later, they saw him walking down the road as fast as possible. “There is certainly something queer about that boy,” was Pepper’s comment. “And there is something queer about the old man, too,” was the reply. “But, come on, unless you want Jabez Trask to fill you full of shot.” The old man was now at the door of the mansion and he held his shotgun in his hands. The cadets darted out of sight and took good care to keep out of range of the weapon. “That’s an adventure for you,” said Pepper, after they had covered quite a distance. “I rather think I’ll keep away from strange houses after this.” “I wonder if the old man will come to Putnam Hall to make trouble?” “I hope not.” The rain had ceased and the sky was brightening. The cadets went on to a fork of the road and then reached a path they knew ran down to the lake front. “More than likely the _Alice_ had returned to the Hall,” said Andy. “I’d not blame Jack for doing it, in such a rain.” “Nor I, Andy. But let us look around a little and see. Maybe he tied up at some boathouse during the storm.” The two boys walked to the edge of the lake and looked up and down the shore. “There she is!” exclaimed Pepper, and pointed up the lake. “Sure that’s the _Alice_?” queried his chum. “Yes, I’d know her as far as I could see her.” Pepper raised his voice: “Sloop ahoy! On board the _Alice_!”