no sooner were the lights out and the house quiet than the piano
started again.

"Hush! keep quiet!" whispered Uncle Daniel. "I'll get it this time,
whatever it is!"

With matches in one hand and a candle in the other he started
downstairs in the dark without making a sound, while the piano kept on
playing in "chunks" as Harry said, same as it did before.

Once in the parlor Uncle Daniel struck a match and put it to the
candle, and then the music ceased.

"There he is!" he called, and Flossie thought she surely would die.
Slam! went the music-book at something, and Sandy almost choked with
fear.

Bang! went something else, that brought Bert and Harry downstairs to
help catch the burglar.

"There he is in the corner!" called Uncle Daniel to the boys, and then
began such a slam banging time that the people upstairs were in terror
that the burglar would kill Harry and Bert and Uncle Daniel.

"We've got him' We've got him!" declared Harry, while Bert lighted the
lamp.

"Is he dead?" screamed Aunt Sarah from the stairs.

"As a door-nail!" answered Harry.

"What is it?" asked Mrs. Bobbsey, hardly able to speak.

"A big gray rat," replied Uncle Daniel, and everybody had a good laugh.

"I thought it might be that," said Mrs. Bobbsey.

"So did I," declared Nan. "But I wasn't sure."

"I thought it was a big black burglar," Flossie said, her voice still
shaking from the fright.

"I thought it was a policeman," faltered Sandy. "'Cause they always
bang things like that."

"And I thought, sure's yo' life, it was a real ghost," laughed Dinah.
"'Cause de clock jest struck fer de ghost hour. Ha! ha! dat was suah a
musicanious rat."

"He must have come in from the fields where John has been plowing. Like
a cat in a strange garret, he didn't know what to do in a parlor," said
Uncle Daniel.

Harry took the candle and looked carefully over the keys.

"Why, there's something like seeds on the keys!" he said.

"Oh, I have it!" exclaimed Bert. "Nan left her hat on the piano last
night, and it has those funny straw flowers on it. See, the rat got
some of them off and they dropped on the keys."

"And the other time he came for the cake," said Aunt Sarah.

"That's it," declared Uncle Daniel, "and each time we scared him off he
came back again to finish his meal. But I guess he is through now," and
so saying he took the dead rodent and raising the side window tossed
him out.

It was some time before everybody got qu