ad
counted on being the one to undertake the dangerous mission, but he
abided by the lot.

Leaving Phil on guard outside the door, Garry and Dick noiselessly
rolled back one of the folding doors just enough to allow them to slip
through.

The inside of the barn was as black as a pocket. Standing there for a
minute or two, the boys waited in silence. They could hear the uneasy
stamping of a horse, awakened probably by their entrance.

After what they judged to be a safe interval, Garry snapped on his
flashlight, and threw the beam of light playing about the floor,
keeping it on only long enough to get a general impression of the
interior, and being careful not to allow its rays to strike upward lest
it be seen through a window.

What they saw made it apparent that Mr. Everett's words about farming
playing a small part in Green's life proved true. There was a single
horse in the barn, and one good wagon. The farming implements appeared
to be suffering from long disuse.

Garry located at the end of the barn the feed box that marked the
passage entrance.

Hastening to it, they moved it forward, and there, as told them by
Ruth's grandfather, was the knot. Getting his knife out, Garry dug at
the knot which yielded to his efforts and came out.

The trap was lifted, and Garry, shaking hands with Dick, made ready to
enter. A musty odor emanated from the passage, making it evident that it
had not been used for a long time.

"Push the box back over the passage when I get in," he whispered to
Dick. "When I come to get out, I can tip it over when I push upward on
the trap. Now you hustle back out and rejoin Phil. Wait for me down the
road under that big elm tree that we passed on our way here. I noticed
that there was a field back of it, and in case you hear anyone coming
along, you can slip back into it and hide until he or they have passed
on. Now see you later," and snapping on his flashlight, went down the
crude ladder that gave entrance to the passageway.

He waited at the bottom of this ladder until he heard the crunching
sound of the feed box being pushed back over the trap door. Then the
light of the flashlamp ahead of him in a dancing beam, his heart beating
rapidly with excitement, he pushed on.

He was almost startled into an exclamation of dismay, as there came the
sound of a squeal, and a small form scurried across his feet. Then he
laughed with relief, for it was nothing more than a small rat.

After wal