the others of the gang are in the old mansion,
and, if they are, to see if dad's model and papers are there. Then
the next thing to do will be to get our things away, and I fancy
I'll have no easy job."
Well might Tom think this, for the men with whom he had to deal were
desperate characters, who had already dared much to accomplish their
ends, and who would do more before they would suffer defeat. Still,
they under-estimated the pluck of the lad who was pitted against
them.
"I might as well proceed on a certain plan, and have some system
about this affair," reasoned the lad. "Dad is a great believer in
system, so I'll lay out a plan and see how nearly I can follow it.
Let's see--what is the first thing to do?"
Tom considered a moment, going over the whole situation in his mind.
Then he went on, talking to himself alone there in the woods:
"It seems to me the first thing to do is to find out if the men are
in the house. To do that I've got to get closer and look in through
a window. Now, how to get closer?"
He considered that problem from all sides.
"It will hardly do to approach from the lake shore," he reasoned,
"for if they have a motor-boat and a dock, there must be a path from
the house to the water. If there is a path people are likely to walk
up or down it at any minute. The man in the boat might come back
unexpectedly and catch me. No, I can't risk approaching from the
lake shore. I've got to work my way up to the house by going through
the woods. That much is settled. Now to approach the house, and when
I get within seeing distance I'll settle the next point. One thing
at a time is a good rule, as dad used to say. Poor dad! I do hope I
can get his model and papers back for him."
Tom, who had been sitting on a log under a bush, staring at the
lake, arose. He was feeling rather weak and faint, and was at a loss
to account for it, until he remembered that he had had no dinner.
"And I'm not likely to get any," he remarked. "I'm not going to eat
until I see who's in that house. Maybe I won't then, and where
supper is coming from I don't know. But this is too important to be
considered in the same breath with a meal. Here goes."
Cautiously Tom made his way forward, taking care not to make too
much disturbance in the bushes. He had been on hunting trips, and
knew the value of silence in the woods. He had no paths to follow,
but he had noted the position of the sun, and though that luminary
was now
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