Page:Rover Boys on the Farm.djvu/206

188 under the table and saw something which looked like a trap door.

"He must have gone into the cellar," said he to the others, and made a movement forward.

"Stop, do not touch that table!" cried the old man, in alarm.

"Mr. Derringham, listen to me," said the eldest Rover boy firmly. "We are after a criminal—a man who for years robbed the railroad company of valuable freight. We know he is somewhere around your place. If you shield this criminal, or aid him in getting away, you will be guilty of a crime."

At this strong assertion the old man began to tremble, and he looked from one to another of those before him in alarm.

"I—I Bill Dangler said it was not true—that it was a plot against him," he murmured.

"It is true, and there is no plot against him, excepting to make him pay the penalty of his crimes," put in Tom. "If you have hidden him you had better give him up."

"I know you," said old Derringham, turning to Jack Ness. "You used to pay me good prices for what you bought of me. Can I trust you?" he went on, pleadingly.

"Certainly you can, and you can trust these boys, too," was the hired man's reply. "If you