HAPTER II.

THE OLD HOUSE.

"Did you hear a scream, Garry?" asked Dick, as he stopped in his tracks.

"I am sure I did, Dick," answered the leader, "but I was wondering
whether it meant anything. You know this isn't the quietest and most
lamb-like part of the city, it is probably only some carousing
lumberjacks."

"Let's wait a minute or two and see if we can hear anything more,"
suggested Phil.

They waited a short time, and were about to move on, when the scream was
repeated, and the boys distinctly heard a call for help.

"All set, boys, let's see what this is all about," cried Dick, who
though fat, and sometimes inclined to take things easily, was not a bit
of a coward.

"Wait a minute, fellows, let's see what our plan is," said Garry,
hurriedly. "Remember we have no weapons, so every move must be made
carefully. There are three floors. Dick, take the top, Phil you search
the second, I'll take the ground floor. Go through the halls, listen
carefully, and at the first sign of anything, whistle three times and
the others will join whoever gives the whistle. Now, let's go!"

"One more thing," said Garry; "when you climb the stairs, step on the
end either near the wall or the balustrade, then the steps won't be so
apt to creak."

They found the front door open and made their way inside. The interior
of the house was in inky blackness.

"Careful, now," warned Garry. "Whistle at the first sign of trouble, no
matter how slight it is."

Phil and Dick sprang up the stairs, noiselessly, yet speedily. There was
not a sign of noise, all was as quiet as a cemetery at midnight.

Left alone, Garry went along the hall, stopping at each door and
listening intently. He was unrewarded until he came to the end door.

Here he thought he heard a sound of scuffling and squealing. Cautiously
he tried the door, holding a flashlight ready in his hand. As he opened
the door and stepped into the darkness, he saw the gleam of two small
eyes, then heard a frightened scampering across the floor.

Garry snapped on his flashlight and then gave a relieved laugh. The
noise had been caused by nothing more than a pair of rats, who had been
feasting on the remains of a supper on a rickety old table.

The broken bits of food, the unwashed dishes, and the empty cans showed
that someone evidently lived in the house, and only recently and
probably surrepticiously as the thick dust that lay everywhere seemed to
indicate that the house ha