But what Spider guessed he never told, for at that moment there was a rush of figures from the barn, and the two spies were surrounded. “We’ve caught ’em!” cried Cap Smith gleefully. “Who are they?” asked Bill. “I’ve got Beantoe Pudder,” announced Doc Lutken, making a grab for the stumbling lad. “And here’s Spider Langdon,” added Pete Smith, taking a tighter hold of the struggling youth. “What were they doing?” inquired Cap. “Following us, of course,” said Norton Tonkin. “We were not!” denied Beantoe, but the evidence was against him. “I wonder what they want?” asked Bill. “They must have known what we were going to do, and they want to squeal on us,” suggested Bateye. “What shall we do?” “Is it too late to stop it?” asked Bill, with a glance toward the barn. Inside could be seen several flickering lights. “Sure, it’s going hard,” answered Pete. “We can’t put it out.” “Then let’s make ’em stand for it,” suggested Bateye. “They’ll squeal anyhow, so let’s make ’em take their share of the blame. It won’t amount to much anyhow, for dad was going to have the place pulled down, and he won’t care what happens to it. We’ll tie Beantoe and Spider to the fence here, and run and give the alarm. The firemen will loosen ’em when they get here.” “Oh, don’t tie us up!” pleaded Beantoe in alarm. “No, don’t leave us here!” begged Spider. “We’ll never say a word about your secret society. Not a word, honest we won’t!” “Who said anything about a secret society?” demanded Bill. “Why, ain’t that what you came out to the barn for?” asked Beantoe. “And did you follow us to hear the secrets?” inquired Pete, beginning to understand something. Beantoe and Spider maintained a discreet silence. “By Jinks! that’s it, fellows!” cried Bill. “Say, this is rich! Tie ’em to the fence, and leave ’em. Then we’ll give the alarm! Say, this is great!” “Oh, don’t tie us! We won’t tell!” wailed Beantoe and Spider in a chorus. But their foes were relentless, and in a few minutes the two spies were secured to the fence across the road from the barn. Meanwhile the flickering lights in the old structure had increased. Smoke was pouring from the windows and doors. “There, you can tell any story you like now,” said Pete, as he fastened the last knot. “Maybe they’ll believe you and maybe they won’t.” “Oh, we Smith boys will be blamed anyhow,” was Bill’s grumbling opinion. “Then we might as well have the game as the name. Come on, it’s going good now. We’ll give the department something to do.” With a final look at the barn, and the lads who were tied to the fence, the Smith boys and their chums began to run down the road in the direction of the town. As they left, the whole interior of the rickety structure was lighted up, and the smoke poured out thicker than ever. “They’ve set the barn on fire!” yelled Beantoe, as he struggled to get loose. “And they’re going to put the blame on us,” added Spider, threshing about with his long legs.