he torch of George being the only one aglow.

"It's a cornfield!" cried Tom, as he landed in it. "Look out, and
don't trample too much of it down."

"Oh, it's only late fodder corn, and I guess it won't matter much," was
Jack's opinion, as he floundered on through the field. They could hear
him crashing down the corn stalks, and being wet, tired and miserable,
and perhaps a little unthinking, the others did the same thing.

"Head for the light!" called George. "My torch is on the blink."

It went out a moment later, and in the darkness and rain the lads
stumbled on. The light grew plainer as they advanced toward it, and,
in a little while, trampling through the corn, they saw a farm house
just beyond the field through which they had come.

"That's not where the fellow lives who sent us wrong," asserted Jack,
and the others agreed with him.

"Now to see where we are," suggested Tom, as he vaulted another fence,
and found himself in the big front yard of a farmhouse. There was a
barking of dogs, and, as Tom's chums followed his lead, a door opened,
letting out a flood of light, and a rasping voice asked:

"Who's there? What d'ye want this time of night?"

"We're from Elmwood Hall," replied Tom. "We were out on a
cross-country run, and we lost our way. Can you direct us to the river
road?"

"Which way did you come," the rasping voice went on, and a man, with a
small bunch of whiskers on his chin, stood in the lamp-illuminated
doorway.

"Through the woods," said Tom. "We got lost there."

"And then we cut through a cornfield," went on Jack.

"Through a cornfield!" cried the farmer in accents of anger. "D'ye
mean t' say you tromped through my field of corn?"

"I--I'm afraid we did," answered Tom ruefully. "We couldn't see in the
dark, and it was the only way to come. I hope we didn't do much
damage."

"Well, if ye did ye'll pay for it!" snapped the man, as he came from
the doorway. "I don't allow nobody t' tromp through my prize corn.
I'll have th' law on ye fer this, that's what I will! Knocked down my
corn; did ye? Well, ye kin find th' road the best way ye like now.
I'll never tell ye. And I want t' see how much damage ye done. You
wait till I git a lantern. Tromped through my corn! That's jest like
you good-fer-nothin' school snips! I'll fix ye fer this all right, or
my name ain't Jed Appleby!"

CHAPTER X

A HAY STACK FIRE

Cold, wet and altogether miserable, Tom and his ch