“Hear any sounds from within?”

“Thought I did several times, but I couldn’t be sure.  Thought I heard a shot once.”

“Well, we had better go and have a look.  I don’t believe they will harm Uncle John, but he probably is beginning to be worried by this time.”

He led the way and Chester followed him.  Hal mounted the steps without hesitancy and turned the knob of the door.  The door opened and the lad stepped inside, where he halted with a cry of surprise.  Chester peered over his shoulder.

“Looks like a cyclone had struck this place,” Hal ejaculated.

It did indeed.  Robard was lying upon the floor, with a man on either side of him, and a fourth lay some distance away, his skull crushed in.

“Uncle John probably was the cyclone,” said Chester briefly.  “I have heard that he used to be considerable of a fighter in his younger days.”

“And still he could hardly have done all this,” said Hal.

“Remember Alexis,” said Chester sententiously.

“That’s different,” replied Hal.

“Well, maybe so, but—­”

Chester broke off and grabbed Hal by the arm.

“Sh-h-h,” he whispered.

Hal listened attentively for a few seconds.  The faint sound of footsteps could be heard approaching from further back in the house.  At the same moment Robard groaned, moved about and sat up.  The hands of the two lads dropped to their pockets.

But before they could draw their weapons, they were startled by a voice behind them.

“Hands up!” it said.

There was no mistaking the menace in the quiet tones and Hal and Chester realized that the owner of the voice meant business.

“Good work, Fritz,” came the voice of Robard, and he pulled himself to his feet with some difficulty and advanced toward the boys.  “I’ll thank you for your guns,” he said.  “No, I’ll get them myself,” he added as both boys moved their hands toward the weapons.

He suited the action to the word and relieved the lads of their automatics.

“Now stand back there against the wall,” he commanded.

The boys obeyed.

Robard now gave his attention to the injured men on the floor.  Two of them showed signs of returning consciousness and soon were able to get to their feet.  The other could not be revived, and at a command from Robard, he was carried to another room.

“Well, I’ve got you this time,” said Robard to Hal and Chester, “and this time I’ll guarantee you don’t get away.”

“I wouldn’t be too sure of that,” said Hal with a smile.  “We are pretty hard to hold on to.”

“I’ll hold on to you, never fear,” was the response.  “I’d like to get my hands on the other.”

“Then he has gotten away?” queried Chester.

“Oh, yes, he got away all right,” said Robard with a frown.  “He’s as strong as an ox, and a real fighter.”

“Then he was responsible for all this human wreckage we found when we came in?” demanded Hal.