The Go Ahead Boys and the Mysterious Old House Part 31

"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 with the strange man whom they had found in the old Meeker House. The part which he had taken in the return of the lost automobile was also explained and in response to George's suggestion that his father should reward 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 made his 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. Sanders sharply. "You know I sent you word that there was a possibility that a car which had been located in a garage at Newburgh might be the one which we had lost. What was he doing up there? How did he travel so far and so fast?"

"He explained to us," said John, "that he had got a ride most of the way. In fact I think he said that he didn't have to walk over half a mile. He stole a ride on the cars and then somebody took him in his automobile 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 handle a car better."

"I think we must look into this more fully," said Mr. Sanders, "but it may be that he is the one who may know more about the loss of our car than we think and I'm sure he could explain a part at least of the origin 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 may be that he was the one who had the flash-light and he may have set fire to the old building without intending to do so."

"Well," spoke up John, "I'm sorry we shan't ever find out about that tooting of the automobile horn that we heard in the old building and the flash that we saw. Why, the fire seemed to be all over the building at once 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 still continued and for two hours the boys remained on the piazza talking over the experiences of the night. Much of the mystery of the old house was still unexplained.

"Well, all I can say is," declared Fred, as the boys at last arose to go to their rooms, "that if the old cowboys and skinners came back to the old Meeker House to carry on their pranks they'll have to seek other quarters now."

"I think you will find that your cowboys and skinners are pretty well up to date," laughed Mr. Sanders. "And you'll find too that they are clothed in very substantial flesh. I have been suspicious for a long time that the tramps were using the old house for a sort of headquarters, but I was not sure of it until you told me the story of the man with whom you had had some dealings. We'll all go over there the first thing to-morrow morning and perhaps we shall find some things that will help us to make the others clear."

Accordingly, soon after breakfast the following day, the four Go Ahead boys, together with Mr. Sanders, departed for the place where the fire had occurred the preceding evening.

When they arrived, smoke was still rising from the ashes, but the flames had long since died away. No one was near the spot and as the boys approached 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 just now. I do not recall that I ever saw him."

"He's a strange man," said George quickly. "He looks like a tramp and yet he uses good English and he shows that he has been used to better things 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 me think."

"Quite likely."

"Well, it's true," maintained George stoutly. "All you have to do is to look into his face and hear him talk and you know that he isn't just a common tramp."

"Strange how the mysteries about the old Meeker House keep up," laughed Mr. Sanders. "First you have the cowboys and skinners meeting there and then you have men who may be modern cowboys and skinners in flesh and blood who make it their headquarters. The twittering of the chimney-swallows drives all four of the Go Ahead boys out of the building."

"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 that all 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 did not run because I was afraid of spooks."

"Neither did we," said Fred. "We thought when we had a man along with us that we would be protected and everything would be safe. But when we saw him 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. Something might happen to him, you know. If he was in trouble he might need our help."

Mr. Sanders laughed heartily at Fred's a.s.sertions and then said quickly, "Who is that man coming across the field?"

All the boys looked quickly in the direction in which Mr. Sanders pointed and a moment later George said in a low voice, "That's our tramp."

"I thought he would be here," said Mr. Sanders. "Now perhaps we can find out a little more than we knew before."

All five awaited the approach of the man who indeed proved to be the one about whom they had been talking.

As the tramp came near, his face lighted up with a smile as he cordially said, "Good morning. Good morning. You're early on the scene of our disaster last night."

"Yes," responded George. "We saw you last night and then we lost sight of you in the crowd and couldn't find you again."

"Well, here I am," said the tramp, smiling. "If you still want to see me all you have to do is to look at me. I never thought before that I was very much to look at."

"We want to talk to you," said Mr. Sanders more seriously. "You told the boys, did you not, that you and your friends had been making the old house your headquarters?"

"Not exactly 'headquarters,'" replied the tramp. "We used to stay some nights there."

"And you used the ghosts to scare people off or keep them away from the old 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 them leave."

"What were those groans that we heard?" spoke up Fred. "I never quite understood them. We found out about the birds in the chimney and the speaking tube that ran from the kitchen to the front room, but how about those groans?"

"Why, there were usually two or three of us, and when we had visitors we took our stand in different rooms and one answered the groan of the others. Sometimes we groaned all together. Usually, though, we did not have very much to do, because after one or two groans we usually found the 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 had taken from our garage."