"This is certainly queer," said Jack.
"Say, what"s the matter with opening one or two of the cases and seeing what"s in "em?" suggested Fred.
"Have we any right to do that?" asked Gif doubtfully.
"We"ll take the right," decided Jack. "I"m satisfied that those fellows are up to no good. You know what Tony Duval said when they asked him to do something."
Not far from the barn was a woodshed, and here the cadets procured an axe and a hammer. With these implements they managed to pry open one of the packing cases. Inside was what looked to be electrical machinery, but just what it was they could not make out.
"Looks like that telephone or telegraph line all right enough," remarked Randy. "But what are those fellows going to do with any such line as that away up here?"
"It"s a riddle, ain"t it?" remarked Jed Wallop. "Jest the same, that stuff looks mighty suspicious to me."
They continued their investigation, and behind the packing cases found some machinery. All of it was new and strange to them.
"If they"ve got so much queer stuff out here in the barn, how much more do you suppose they"ve got in the house?" questioned Fred.
"If I was sure no one was at home I"d be strongly tempted to find a way inside and take a look around," said Jack.
"Come ahead and do it!" burst out Randy. "I don"t believe there"s a soul around."
"I"ll tell you what I"ll do," said Jack finally. "You keep out of sight, and I"ll go out on the road and walk toward the house and knock on the door. Then, if anybody comes, I"ll say that I"m out hunting and would like to buy a bit to eat. They can"t refuse me a bite, and that will give me a little chance to look around while I"m inside."
"I don"t think you ought to go alone," said Gif. "They know there are a bunch of us at the Lodge and they would be rather suspicious if you were by yourself. Why not let me go with you?"
So it was arranged, and, leaving the others hidden in the barn, the two cadets started to walk through the woods to the road.
"Keep your guns with you," advised Jed Wallop. "And if you git into anything like a tight place, shoot off one of the guns as a signal and we"ll be to the rescue in no time."
The two boys were soon out on the lonely mountain road, and then they headed for the old house. Boldly mounting the main piazza, they knocked sharply on the door.
At first there was no response, and the lads were just congratulating themselves on the fact that the premises were deserted when they heard shuffling footsteps. Then came the tremulous voice of an elderly woman speaking in broken English.
"Who ist der? Vat you vants?"
"We are a couple of boys out hunting," answered Jack. "We would like to know if we can buy something to eat."
"I haf nodings for you. You besser go somevhere else."
"Can"t we come in and get warm?" asked Gif.
"_Nein._ You go avay."
"Who lives here?" questioned Jack loudly, for the woman had made no attempt to open the door.
"Dis ist Mister Bauermann"s house."
"Is he in? I"d like very much to speak to him. I am sure he would let us have something to eat," went on Jack in the smoothest tone he could command.
"Do you know Mister Bauermann?" questioned the woman cautiously.
"Isn"t he the gentleman who has been riding around here in his sleigh with two or three other men?" asked Gif. "If he is," he continued, "we have met him near my father"s place."
"I think you might at least let us have a little to eat. We"re willing to pay well for it," broke in Jack. "Just a little bread and b.u.t.ter, and maybe a cup of hot coffee or tea if you have it."
"I can"t open de door for you," said the woman firmly. "Mister Bauermann he gifs orders not to let anypody in de house. You haf to go avay unt get somedings to eat somevhere else."
"When do you expect Mr. Bauermann back?" asked Gif.
"Dot I can"t say. Maybe he was come back by dinner time, unt maybe not bis night."
"All right then, we"ll go. But I think you are rather mean not to sell us something to eat," said Jack.
To this the woman did not make any reply, but they heard her fumbling at the door, evidently making certain that the lock and bolt were secure.
As there seemed nothing else to do, the two cadets retired, and, feeling that the woman must be watching them from behind the tightly drawn curtains at the windows, walked on down the rough road until a bend hid the house from view. Then they came up through the woods again and rejoined those at the barn.
"Well, we found out one thing, anyway," declared Jack. "There is a woman keeping guard in the house, and the menfolks are all away and won"t be back until noon or to-night."
"Evidently those chaps are very secretive," said Gif. "I agree with Jack that the whole thing looks mighty suspicious."
"Do you intend to wait around here until those Germans come back?" asked Fred a bit impatiently.
"Why not go out on a hunt and come back later?" suggested Randy.
"That"s the talk!" broke in Andy. "I"m getting tired of hanging around here doing nothing." To him it had been a long wait while the others had gone to the house.
"I suppose we might as well go on a hunt," announced Gif. "Anyway, I"m willing to do whatever the others say."
So it was decided that they should go off on a hunt, to return to the house either later that day or else on the day following. This suited Jed Wallop, for the old hunter did not feel in the humor for investigating the old mansion or the Germans staying there.
"Come on, come on," said he, "and maybe we"ll git a chance at a fox or two."
"Now you"re saying something!" cried Fred.
Leaving the old Parkingham house and outbuildings behind, they struck off through the woods, crossed the mountain road and a small frozen-up watercourse, and then mounted one of the hills lying to the northwest of Cedar Lodge. Here they found traveling rather difficult, and more than once the old hunter said he wished they were on snowshoes.
"Purty hard to use "em at first," said he. "But after a while travelin"
that way gits to be as easy as the reg"lar way."
"Oh, we know something about snowshoes," said Jack. "But we didn"t think we"d need any on this trip."
They tramped around for the rest of the forenoon, managing to stir up several rabbits, and also a partridge, which Fred was fortunate enough to bring down. Then they built a small campfire and made themselves a pot of hot chocolate and had this with the lunch they had brought along.
The middle of the afternoon found them in the location Jed Wallop had had in mind when speaking of foxes. The old hunter told all of them to be on the alert.
"You know Mr. Fox ain"t goin" to stand still to be shot at," said he quizzically. "As soon as he spots you he"ll be off quicker than greased lightning."
They advanced with caution, and had hardly proceeded a hundred yards when Jed Wallop suddenly put up his hand for silence. They were coming to a series of rocks, and beyond this was a small clearing, backed up by brushwood still thickly covered with snow. They looked over toward this brushwood in the direction which Jed Wallop pointed out, and there saw a fox standing on a high rock, gazing expectantly at the woods beyond.