by Ross Kay
CHAPTER XXV--A TALK WITH THE TRAMP
Following the fall of the walls of the old house, the fire blazed upanew and a fresh shower of sparks fell far from the blazing building.The crowd was helpless. The only water to be had was from the old wellwhich now had caved in and the small amount which could be secured hadbeen exhausted in the early part of the fire. The timbers were old anddry, and blazed almost like burning paper. The faces and forms of thespectators seemed to be ghostly in the light against the dark backgroundof the night.
For an hour the blaze still continued, but the flames were graduallybecoming lower. No longer were there showers of blazing sparks that fellupon the ground far away.
There was only a dim glow when at last Mr. Sanders led the way back tothe automobile. The excitement of the boys, however, still continued andwhen their car started they were all looking back at the spot where thecrowd, fantastic in its appearance in the dim light and the glow of thedying fire, were still to be seen.
"Well, there's one thing I feel almost as badly about as I do the lossof the old building," said John thoughtfully, as the car sped homeward.
"What is that?" inquired George.
"Now we shall never know about the mysteries of the old place."
"There aren't very many mysteries left," suggested Fred. "We have foundout about the speaking tube and the chimney-swallows."
"Yes," said Grant, "but how about that blaze?"
"I suspect," joined in Mr. Sanders, "that the blaze you speak of hadsomething to do with the burning of the old house."
"What do you mean?" inquired George quickly.
"That's just what I mean," replied Mr. Sanders. "Somebody had aflash-light over there and probably set fire to the building. I haven'tany idea who could have done it."
"I guess the tramp might tell us something," suggested Grant.
"The tramp?" inquired Mr. Sanders. "What tramp?"
In response to his questions the boys related all their experiences withthe strange man whom they had found in the old Meeker House. The partwhich he had taken in the return of the lost automobile was alsoexplained and in response to George's suggestion that his father shouldreward the man for the return of the car his father quickly inquired,"But what was he doing away up beyond Tuxedo? I thought you said he madehis headquarters here in the old Meeker House."
"He does, part of the time," explained John.
"But what was he doing up there so far away?" inquired Mr. Sanderssharply. "You know I sent you word that there was a possibility that acar which had been located in a garage at Newburgh might be the onewhich we had lost. What was he doing up there? How did he travel so farand so fast?"
"He explained to us," said John, "that he had got a ride most of theway. In fact I think he said that he didn't have to walk over half amile. He stole a ride on the cars and then somebody took him in hisautomobile and brought him farther."
"Did he say what he was doing up there?" inquired Mr. Sanders.
"No, sir," replied George.
"But you say he was a very skillful driver?"
"Yes, sir," spoke up John promptly. "I never saw a man that could handlea car better."
"I think we must look into this more fully," said Mr. Sanders, "but itmay be that he is the one who may know more about the loss of our carthan we think and I'm sure he could explain a part at least of theorigin of the fire at the old Meeker House."
"Do you think he set it on fire?" demanded Fred.
"Probably not, at least intentionally," replied Mr. Sanders, "but it maybe that he was the one who had the flash-light and he may have set fireto the old building without intending to do so."
"Well," spoke up John, "I'm sorry we shan't ever find out about thattooting of the automobile horn that we heard in the old building and theflash that we saw. Why, the fire seemed to be all over the building atonce and then die out in every room just as quickly as it came."
"I think we shall know more about it," said Mr. Sanders quietly."Meanwhile the best thing for us to do is not to do anything to-night."
After the arrival of the boys at George's home the excitement stillcontinued and for two hours the boys remained on the piazza talking overthe experiences of the night. Much of the mystery of the old house wasstill unexplained.
"Well, all I can say is," declared Fred, as the boys at last arose to goto their rooms, "that if the old cowboys and skinners came back to theold Meeker House to carry on their pranks they'll have to seek otherquarters now."
"I think you will find that your cowboys and skinners are pretty well upto date," laughed Mr. Sanders. "And you'll find too that they areclothed in very substantial flesh. I have been suspicious for a longtime that the tramps were using the old house for a sort ofheadquarters, but I was not sure of it until you told me the story ofthe man with whom you had had some dealings. We'll all go over there thefirst thing to-morrow morning and perhaps we shall find some things thatwill help us to make the others clear."
Accordingly, soon after breakfast the following day, the four Go Aheadboys, together with Mr. Sanders, departed for the place where the firehad occurred the preceding evening.
When they arrived, smoke was still rising from the ashes, but the flameshad long since died away. No one was near the spot and as the boysapproached the ruins, Mr. Sanders said, "I wish our friend, the tramp,would come."
"Why do you want him?" inquired George.
"I think he is the man who can give us the information we most want justnow. I do not recall that I ever saw him."
"He's a strange man," said George quickly. "He looks like a tramp andyet he uses good English and he shows that he has been used to betterthings some time in his life."
"Did he tell you that?" laughed Mr. Sanders.
"I don't know that he said that exactly, but that's what he made methink."
"Quite likely."
"Well, it's true," maintained George stoutly. "All you have to do is tolook into his face and hear him talk and you know that he isn't just acommon tramp."
"Strange how the mysteries about the old Meeker House keep up," laughedMr. Sanders. "First you have the cowboys and skinners meeting there andthen you have men who may be modern cowboys and skinners in flesh andblood who make it their headquarters. The twittering of thechimney-swallows drives all four of the Go Ahead boys out of thebuilding."
"But we went back," spoke up Fred quickly. "We didn't give up. Besides,Mr. Sanders, I noticed last night when we came down the stairway thatall four of us had all we could do to keep up with you."
"So you did. So you did," admitted Mr. Sanders laughingly. "But I didnot run because I was afraid of spooks."
"Neither did we," said Fred. "We thought when we had a man along with usthat we would be protected and everything would be safe. But when we sawhim leaving the old Meeker House, faster than any of us boys could go,we thought our safest plan was to try to keep up with him. Somethingmight happen to him, you know. If he was in trouble he might need ourhelp."
Mr. Sanders laughed heartily at Fred's assertions and then said quickly,"Who is that man coming across the field?"
All the boys looked quickly in the direction in which Mr. Sanderspointed and a moment later George said in a low voice, "That's ourtramp."
"I thought he would be here," said Mr. Sanders. "Now perhaps we can findout a little more than we knew before."
All five awaited the approach of the man who indeed proved to be the oneabout whom they had been talking.
As the tramp came near, his face lighted up with a smile as he cordiallysaid, "Good morning. Good morning. You're early on the scene of ourdisaster last night."
"Yes," responded George. "We saw you last night and then we lost sightof you in the crowd and couldn't find you again."
"Well, here I am," said the tramp, smiling. "If you still want to see meall you have to do is to look at me. I never thought before that I wasvery much to look at."
"We want to talk to you," said Mr. Sanders more seriously. "You told theboys, d
id you not, that you and your friends had been making the oldhouse your headquarters?"
"Not exactly 'headquarters,'" replied the tramp. "We used to stay somenights there."
"And you used the ghosts to scare people off or keep them away from theold house?"
"That's what we did," admitted the tramp, laughing loudly as he spoke."It would do your heart good if you could only have seen some of themleave."
"What were those groans that we heard?" spoke up Fred. "I never quiteunderstood them. We found out about the birds in the chimney and thespeaking tube that ran from the kitchen to the front room, but how aboutthose groans?"
"Why, there were usually two or three of us, and when we had visitors wetook our stand in different rooms and one answered the groan of theothers. Sometimes we groaned all together. Usually, though, we did nothave very much to do, because after one or two groans we usually foundthe old house deserted."
"What about that automobile horn?" inquired George.
"Oh, that was another way we had of scaring people, that was all."
"Where did you get the horn?" inquired Mr. Sanders.
"I can't just say. We had it a long time."
"It sounded, the boys tell me, very like the horn of the car that we hadtaken from our garage."
The tramp looked into the face of Mr. Sanders a moment before he said,"And you suspect, do you, that I took your car and left the horn here?"
"Do you know where our car is?" inquired Mr. Sanders abruptly. "I toldmy son to give you ten dollars for returning the old car. Here is themoney," Mr. Sanders added, as he held forth a bill.
"Thank you, sir," said the tramp, as he took the money and thrust itinto his pocket. "I told the boys that I could be persuaded to acceptthe reward; but about your other car, all I can say is that I don't knowwhere it is now."
"Do you know who took it?"
"I do not."
"Do you know how the fire started in the old house last night?"
"No, sir. I don't."
"But you had some flash-light powder and you set it off here. The housemay have caught fire from it."
"I don't think it could possibly have got on fire that way. You see weused that powder in pans and we set it off in two or three rooms at thesame time, just as we used to answer one another's cries or groantogether. The fire couldn't spread. The powder just flashed up and thenthe fire was all out in a minute. Besides, the old house was no goodanyway. No one could live in it and my friends and I thought that if weslept there occasionally no one would be any the worse for it. Of courseif there had been any objections made we should have been glad to payattention to them."
"I wish you would come back to the car with me, I want to speak to youalone."
"All right, sir, just as you say," responded the tramp, quicklyadvancing and accompanying Mr. Sanders as he led the way across thefields after he had bidden the boys remain where they then were.
CHAPTER XXVI--CONCLUSION
Mr. Sanders and the tramp remained in the car a long time. Indeed, asthe minutes passed the boys became somewhat impatient. Frequently theyglanced toward the scene in the road in which Mr. Sanders and hisstrange companion were evidently holding a very interestingconversation.
When an hour had elapsed the desire of the boys to depart became morepronounced. A few of the country people meanwhile had come to view theruins of the famous old house, but they had little to say to the boysand after they had inspected the ruins the most of them slowly departed.
At last Fred said impatiently, "Look yonder! Mr. Sanders is taking thatman away in the car."
"I wonder where he is going?" said George, as he glanced at thedeparting automobile.
"Probably taking him to the lock-up," suggested Fred.
"If he's taking the man to the lock-up I know some more that he oughtnot to forget," said George soberly.
"So do I," spoke up Fred, "and some of them aren't more than a thousandmiles from here either."
However, after the departure of Mr. Sanders in the car, the boys becamemore thoughtful. They had not received any word to remain where theywere, but George decided that it would not be wise for them to departuntil they had received some further instructions. Doubtless, heexplained, his father would return for them in a little while.
Another hour had elapsed before Mr. Sanders came back. As soon as he wasdiscovered approaching, all the Go Ahead boys ran quickly across thefield and when they were informed, in response to their inquiries, thatMr. Sanders was ready to take them home they all quickly climbed intothe automobile.
"What did you do with the tramp?" inquired George as soon as the carstarted.
"I took him to the railroad station."
"Is he going to leave?"
"He says he is."
"You seemed to have had a mighty interesting conversation. Did he tellyou all the sad, sweet story of his life?"
"I knew much of it."
"You did?" demanded George in astonishment. "You did! Who is he? What ishe? How did you know him? Where did he come from? What is his name?"
"Hold on," interrupted Mr. Sanders with a laugh. "I can answer yourquestions one at a time, but I cannot find any answer that might fitthem all alike. Let me tell you first of all that he didn't explaineverything as fully as I wish he had, but he did tell me a few things."
"What were they?" demanded George impatiently.
"Let me tell you first a little about himself," said Mr. Sanders,smiling at the interest of his young companions. "That tramp is theyounger brother of a great friend of mine. Indeed, his brother and Iwere together almost all the time when we were boys. If I was not in hishouse then he was in mine, or we were fishing in these brooks or nuttingin the woods or coasting on the hills. We very seldom were separated.This younger brother--"
"What is his name?" interrupted George.
"I shan't tell you his name now. Perhaps I will some other time, but hewas one of the most attractive boys I ever knew. He was very quiet inhis manner, and had the greatest faculty of making friends I ever knewany one to have. His mother almost idolized him and she never held himup to any task. If he got into mischief it was always the fault of theother boys, she said. If he was kept after school or had any troublewith the teachers she always told him that it was the teacher's fault.Whatever he did, to her was right. You boys want to be thankful that youhave mothers that hold you up to some things instead of upholding you ineverything you do.
"Well, this man when he was a boy was too lazy to have any share in thefamily life. Pleasant, good-natured, popular with the boys and girls, henever did anything for any one else. If his mother wanted a pail ofwater drawn from the old well behind the farmhouse--and they lived rightstraight across the field in that house over yonder," explained Mr.Sanders, pointing as he spoke to a house that could be seen in thedistance, "he always had some excuse. If his mother had simply told himto bring in a pail of water instead of trying to smooth the way for himand said that he was too tired or not strong enough, if she had donethat and some other things like it I don't believe this man to-day wouldbe tramping around the country. He has been a complete failure. He hasnever learned to do anything well. He used to be the best baseballplayer we had in all this part of the country. There wasn't a fellowthat could catch him when we were in swimming in the old pond. He couldmake a boat and sail a boat, but he just simply drifted on. By the way,boys, did any of you ever stop to think of the fact that a boat neverdrifts but in one direction?"
"What's that?" inquired John.
"Why, down the stream," replied Mr. Sanders quietly. "This boy grew upto be a man and drifted into all kinds of bad ways. You see he had neverlearned to work and besides there are two words in the English languagethat he never could pronounce. One word has three letters in it and theother has two, but little words though they are, he never seemed to beable to pronounce them."
"I can't think what the words are," said George.
"I know what they are," broke in John. "They are 'yes' and 'no.'"
"That's right," replied Mr. Sanders with a smile. "They are the hardestwords in the language for a good many people to use. When they say 'yes'they don't say it in a way that means much, and when they say 'no' itdoesn't mean much more.
"His mother died years ago and I have always thought that this son wasthe cause of her death. At one time, as I told you, he was just asstraight and attractive a boy as any of you."
"I guess the trouble with him was that he wasn't a Go Ahead boy,"suggested Fred.
"That was one trouble," replied Mr. Sanders with a smile, "and anotherwas that after he began to drift he couldn't stop. You see if he hadn'tbegun he never could have come to the end to which he has. That's astrange thing to me that more people do not realize that if they don'tbegin, they never will come to the end."
"Did he explain to you," inquired Fred, "why he shut me in the cellar ofthe old Meeker House?"
"No," replied Mr. Sanders, "I didn't know that you were shut in there."
"Well, I was. He caught me in the cellar and bolted the door on me. Imust have been in there an hour and a half."
"How did you get out? Did he let you out?"
"No, sir, I went and pushed up the outside door."
"Well, why did you wait an hour and a half before you did that?"responded Mr. Sanders with a laugh.
"I'm sure I don't know," said Fred blankly. "I guess it was because Ididn't think of it or try it."
"Very likely he meant it for a joke. Now, when I had my talk with him herecognized me, although at first I didn't recognize him. He did say somethings about scaring you boys away from the old place."
"Did he say anything about the way we left last night?" inquired Georgemischievously.
"Why, how did you leave last night?" inquired Mr. Sanders.
"We left in a big hurry," declared George.
"What made you in such a hurry?"
"We were trying to keep up with the man who was with us and was leadingthe way," said George demurely.
Mr. Sanders joined in the laugh that followed and then said quickly,"Our lost car will be brought back to-day."
"How do you know?" demanded George quickly.
"I don't think I shall explain all of that to you, my boy," said Mr.Sanders quietly. "It ought to be enough to know that it will be there."
"But suppose the tramp doesn't bring it back?" suggested Grant.
"I am not supposing anything about the tramp, or about any failure,"replied Mr. Sanders, again smiling quietly. "All I say to you is that Iam confident that the car will be brought back."
"Did you find out who stole the car?" inquired John.
"I don't think it was 'stolen.' You might call it 'borrowed.'"
"Well, did you find out who 'borrowed' it then?" demanded John.
"Yes."
"Who did?" said George eagerly.
"There are several reasons why I shall not go farther into details,"said Mr. Sanders. "You may draw such conclusions as you please. Verylikely they will not be incorrect. You have followed the events of thesummer more closely than I and I have no doubt can connect one withanother."
"Well, I think," said George positively, "that the tramp took our car.He's a mighty good driver and knows all about a car. He didn't intend tosell it perhaps, but he wanted to use it for a few days."
"Are you sure he used it in the daytime?" inquired Mr. Sanders quietly.
"Why, yes. When would he use it?" demanded George.
"Let me suppose a case," explained his father. "Just suppose a man andhis friends made it a practice to come to your garage nights and takeout your car after you had gone to bed. Suppose on one of these longrides the car met with a bad accident. It was impossible to bring thecar back that night, so it was taken to a garage where it was said thatat least a week would be required to repair it. At the end of the weekthe car is not repaired. Naturally the people whose automobile ismissing are sure the car has been stolen and they are sending word allover the country for the police to be on the lookout for it. Meanwhilethe car is safe in a little town not more than ten miles distant fromthe place where it belonged. Finally there comes a day when the car isready, but the man who took it and who had the accident has not moneyenough to pay for the repairs. He doesn't intend to steal the car, buthe is not able to bring it back to its owner. If the owner telephones tothe garage for a man to bring it to his home it is quite likely he maysee it soon."
"And did you let the tramp get away?"
"I not only let him get away, but I gave him money to leave. I don'tsuppose he will use the money as I told him, but I am going to give hima chance. I would rather help two men who do not deserve it than to letone go who does. Besides," Mr. Sanders added thoughtfully, "I thought ofhis father and mother and how good they had been to me when I was a boy.There," he added, "I have told you more than I expected."
"Will the tramp come back?" inquired Grant.
"I hope not. I doubt if he does, because the old Meeker House has nowgone and he has no place hereabout in which he can stay."
"Well, we found out what the spooks in the old house were," said Fred."I guess that's the way with most of such things."
"We certainly had a good time finding out," said John laughingly. "I'mglad we didn't give up."
"So am I," said Fred. "But then," he added, "we are the Go Ahead boysand have not learned how to do anything else."