The Rover Boys on the Farm | Page 6

that accounts for Jerry Burden's losses," suggested Tom. "He said he lost a lamb last spring, and two pigs."
"Yes, and old Richard Feltham lost a pig and some chickens," added Dick. "Maybe this has been a hangout for tramps."
"Do you think they are here still?" questioned Sam. "We don't want to have any trouble."
"I am sure I don't know, Sam. But this proves one thing."
"That we can get out of the cave?"
"Exactly. See, here is an old coat and a pair of old shoes. Somebody has been in the habit of coming here--and he wasn't in the habit of getting in the way we got in."
They moved on, and soon reached a larger opening. Here they found a bit of old harness and, further on, where the ground was soft, the tracks of wagon wheels.
"Somebody has been in the habit of driving right in here!" exclaimed Tom. "We are sure to get out!" and his face showed his relief.
"Hark! what's that?" cried Sam, and shrank back as a strange rumbling was heard. "Is it an earthquake, or a landslide?"
"It's thunder, that's all," said Dick, a minute later, as they listened.
"To be sure--the storm was on us when we fell into the first hole," answered the youngest Rover.
"Perhaps we can be glad we are under shelter--if the storm is going to be a bad one," came from Tom. "But, come on, I want to see daylight again."
He moved on and then gave a cry of astonishment.
"Look!"
His brothers did so. On one side of the cave were piled thirty or forty packing cases. The majority of them were empty, but three, directed to one Jackson Dwight, Carwell, were full and nailed up.
"Well, I never!" murmured Sam. "Dick----"
"The freight thieves!" ejaculated the eldest Rover. "Don't you remember what was in the paper before we went south, and what was in again only yesterday? They have been missing freight from Carwell and Boxton and half a dozen other stations for over a year. The thieves must have brought their stuff here and then taken some of it from the packing cases and carted it away again."
"It certainly looks like it," answered Tom. "Only three full cases left. I wonder when these were taken?"
"Most likely only a short time ago," said Dick. "The cases look new."
"Do you suppose any of the freight thieves are around? If they are we want to keep out of their way--if they are desperate characters."
They moved on, and then Dick called a sudden halt.
"I can see daylight ahead," he said. "And somebody is moving around. Let us put out the torches."
His suggestion was speedily followed, and the three Rover boys advanced with caution. At its outer end the cave became broader while the roof was only about ten feet high.
"Hullo, here's another surprise," whispered Dick, as they came closer to the opening. "Look at that!"
He pointed to one side of the cave and there the others saw an automobile runabout standing and on the seat two men dressed for a tour. They were talking to a third man, who was lounging against a front wheel, smoking a brier-root pipe.
"Maybe they are the freight thieves," whispered Tom. "Let us get out of sight and listen to what they have to say."
It was an easy matter to keep out of sight, for the walls of the cave were very uneven at this point. They got behind a projection, and by crawling up a rocky ledge managed to reach a point above and to one side of the runabout and not over a dozen feet from it.
"Then you weren't going to stop here, Merrick?" asked the man leaning against the wheel.
"Not now, Dangler," was the reply of the man with the pipe. "The storm drove us in here."
"When do you expect to meet this Randolph Rover?"
"Very soon."
"He ought to be easy--he is so simple minded."
"Oh, I think we can work him right enough," put in the third man, who was tall and thin-cheeked.
"Well, if you do, don't forget that I get my share, Pike," said the man called Dangler.
"Haven't you always gotten your share?" demanded Pike.
"I suppose I have."
"And haven't we given you the information whenever any valuable freight was coming this way?" put in the man called Merrick.
"Yes, and got your full share of the proceeds, while I ran the risk," growled Dangler. "It's getting dangerous--I'm going to quit--after the next big haul," went on the man with the pipe.
"All right--as you wish," answered Merrick. "I wish this storm would let up. The road will be something fierce for our runabout."
"And bad for my wagon," growled Dangler in return.
The boys listened to the conversation with deep interest. The reference to their uncle amazed them, and they wondered what the two men in the runabout had in mind to do. By their talk