en
they arrived at the old DeBost estate. It had stopped snowing, but the
drifts were deep in spots, and Frank soon found that the car could not
be driven through the winding path from the road to the house. So
they left it half buried in a drift and proceeded on foot.

It was a laborious task they had undertaken, and, by the time they set
foot on the dilapidated porch, even Frank, husky and athletic as was
his build, was puffing and snorting from his exertions. Little Tommy,
who tipped the scales at less than a hundred and twenty, could hardly
speak. They both were wet to the waist and in none too good humor.

"Holy smoke!" gasped Tommy, stamping the clinging snow from his sodden
trouser legs and shoes, "if it snows any more, how in Sam Hill are we
going to get out of this place?"

"Rotten trip I let you in for Tommy," growled Frank, "and I hope
Leland's worth it. But, darn it all, I just had to come."

"It's all right with me, Frank. And maybe it'll be worth it yet.
Look--the front door's open."

* * * * *

He pointed to the huge oaken door and Frank saw that it was ajar. The
snow on the porch was not deep and they saw that footprints led from
the open door to a corner of the porch. At that point the snow on the
railing was disturbed, as if a hurrying man had clung to it a moment
before jumping over and into the drifts below. But the tracks led no
further, for the drifting snow had covered all excepting a hollow
where some body had landed.

"Thomas!" exclaimed Frank. "And he was in a hustle, by the looks of
the tracks. Bet he was frightened while at the telephone and beat it."

They entered the house and closed the door behind them. It was growing
quite dark and Frank searched for the light switch. This was near the
door, and, at pressure on the upper button, the spacious old hall with
its open staircase was revealed dimly by the single remaining bulb in
a cluster set in the center of the high ceiling. The hall was
unfurnished, excepting for a telephone table and chair, the chair
having fallen to the floor and the receiver of the telephone dangling
from the edge of the table by its cord.

"You must have heard the chair fall," commented Tommy, "and it sure
does look as if Thomas left in a hurry. Wonder what it was that
frightened him?"

The house was eerily silent and the words echoed awesomely through the
adjoining rooms which connected with the hall through large open
doorw