"Ripley and his crew went around that cottage to the door side,"
Dick whispered.
"Are they in the cottage?" Dave demanded.
"I don't know. They went around to the other side. Let's wait
and see if we can guess what's up."
So, forgetful of their suppers for the time being, Dick & Co.
waited, screened by the bushes.
"There's smoke coming up out of the chimney," whispered Tom Reade.
"Yes," nodded Dick. "I had just noticed that. I'm wondering
what it can mean. No one has any right to break into the cottage."
"Fred Ripley and Bert Dodge, because they have a lawyer and a
bank officer for fathers, don't feel that they need any rights
when they want to do a thing," muttered Darrin resent fully.
It was impossible to see what might be going on inside the cottage,
for the simple reason that all of the windows were shuttered tightly.
"Let's go ahead," begged Dave, after a few more moments spent
in idle watching. "I want to know why that crowd has broken into
the cottage."
Truth to tell, even the leader of Dick & Co., usually very discreet,
felt himself a victim of curiosity.
"Shall we try to find out the secret, fellows?" Prescott inquired.
"That's just what we ought to do," responded Greg. "Especially
as Ripley and Dodge have always been so mean to us.
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