"And I always will be, Dora, always!" he whispered, and pressed her hand so tightly that she blushed like a peony. Tom had passed into the kitchen and was looking around to see what damage his struggle with Crabtree had done. Nothing was injured. Under the kitchen table lay a letter and a small vial. He picked up both. "Chloroform!" he cried, as he smelt of the contents of the vial, just as the others came in. "Where did you get that?" asked Dora. "Found it under the table, along with this letter. Crabtree must have dropped both." "Let me see the letter!" cried Dick. Tom passed it over, and all three read the communication with interest. It had been sent to Josiah Crabtree while the latter had been stopping in New York, and was post-marked Albany. "It's from Dan Baxter," said Dick. The letter ran as follows: "Dear Mr. Crabtree: "I drop you a few lines as promised. I have seen my father and his plans are about completed. The Rovers think they have the upper hand, but when he gets out of jail he will be able to show them a thing or two and surprise them. If you go to Cedarville I will meet you there on the 5th of next month--at the old meeting place. We won't have Mumps, the turncoat, to bother us, and maybe we can lay plans for a fat deal all around. Anyway, we ought to square accounts with those Rover boys. They treated both of us outrageously and they ought to suffer for it. "Yours as faithfully as ever, "D.B." "Won't Crabtree be mad when he finds out that he lost this?" grinned Tom. "He may not know that he dropped it here." "Well, it clears up one point. Baxter and he are both around, and intent on mischief." "True enough." "What shall you do next?" put in Dora anxiously. "I hardly know. 'Forwarned is forearmed,' they say, but Baxter and Crabtree are such underhanded rascals one never knows what to expect of them next." "Of course you will tell the Cedarville police--or I shall." "I'll do that. But you know what they did before. Never helped us a bit, but let both slip through their fingers." "Perhaps they will be on their mettle now." The situation was talked over for half an hour, and then it was decided that Tom should return to Putnam Hall to explain to Captain Putnam and to Sam, while Dick should remain with the Stanhopes. This agreed upon, Tom took his departure immediately, as it was now midnight, and he did not wish to be locked out for the night. "And now you had better return to bed, Dora," said Dick, after his brother had departed. "I will remain downstairs, on the sofa, and I don't believe anybody will disturb me." "All right, if you wish it that way," replied the girl. "But you can have one of the bedrooms if you wish." "No, I'll stay here, and keep my clothes on." Dora went upstairs, but soon came back, carrying a pillow and a quilt.