was coming on.

"Don't croak, profissor," advised Barney. "You're th' firrust mon Oi
iver saw thot wuz bound ter drown himsilf in thray fate av wather. Ha!
ha! ha!"

"Oh, laugh, laugh," snapped the little man, fiercely. "I'll get even
with you for that some time! What fools boys are!"

After supper they lay around and took things easy. Barney and Frank told
stories till it was time to go to bed, and they finally turned in, first
having barred the door and made sure the windows were securely fastened.

They soon slept, but they were not to rest quietly through the night.
Other mysterious things were soon to follow those of the day.

CHAPTER XXIX.

A WILD NIGHT IN THE SWAMP.

Clang! clang! clang!

"Fire!"

"Turn out!"

The boys leaped to their feet, and the professor came tearing out of the
bedroom, ran into the table, which he overturned with a great clatter of
dishes, reeled backward, and sat down heavily on the floor, where he
rubbed his eyes, and muttered:

"I thought that fire engine was going to run me down before I could get
out of the way."

"Fire engine!" cried Frank Merriwell. "Who ever heard of a fire engine
in the heart of the Florida Everglades?"

"Oi herrud th' gong," declared Barney.

"So did I," asserted the professor.

"I heard something that sounded like a fire gong," admitted Frank.

"Pwhat was it, Oi dunno?"

"It seemed to come from beneath the head of the bed in there," said
Scotch.

"An' Oi thought I herrud it under me couch out here," gurgled Barney.

"We will light a candle, and look around," said Frank.

A candle was lighted, and they looked for the cause of the midnight
alarm, but they found nothing that explained the mystery.

"Whist!" hissed the Irish boy. "It's afther gettin' away from here we'd
better be, mark me worrud."

"What makes you think that?" demanded Frank, sharply.

"It's spooks there be around this place, ur Oi'm mistaken!"

"Oh, I've heard enough about spooks! It's getting tiresome."

The professor was silent, but he shook his head in a very mysterious
manner, as if he thought a great many things he did not care to speak
about.

They had been thoroughly awakened, but, after a time, failing to
discover what had aroused them, they decided to return to bed.

Five minutes after they lay down, Frank and the professor were brought
to their feet by a wild howl and a thud. They rushed out of the bedroom,
and nearly fell over Barney, who was ly