of them bore it silently to the street and turned up the walk.

They passed the electric light at the corner in safety, went one more block, and then turned into a side street. It was very dark here. From two or three upper windows there were gleams of faint light, otherwise the darkness was impenetrable. Jim Perry lived midway of this block, but to locate his house in this kind of a night was next to impossible. It was not until one of the members of the group, known as Billy, whose home was just across the street, had gone back to the corner and counted the houses, that the boys felt at all sure of their exact location. But, having satisfied themselves that their selection of a resting-place for the "stone cupid" was fully justified, they lost no time in carrying their burden up the steps and depositing it on the Perry porch, much to the relief of Hal, who had been in constant fear lest some accident should happen to it.

And, having thus performed their duties and finished their night's adventures, the Hallowe'en marauders decided to disband and seek their respective homes.

66

Remember," warned Slicker, "mum's the word. No fellow's got a right to squeal if they skin him alive."

"I won't peach," replied one. "Nor I," "Nor I," added others. But Hal said:

"I'll tell on myself if I want to, but wild horses. won't drag out of me anything about the rest of you."

"All right! That's fair!"

So, by ones and twos, they slipped away into the thick mist, leaving the marble figure of a kneeling boy reposing quietly on Jim Perry's front porch, and peering silently into a crack in the floor, as he had peered for many years at his own image mirrored in the water of the fountain on the Barriscale lawn.

A half hour later another group of boys, marching up the main residence street of the city, reached the mansion of Benjamin Barriscale. And in this group was Benjamin Barriscale, Jr. They were returning from an evening of Hallowe'en adventures not dissimilar to the adventures of the company that had preceded them. At the entrance to the grounds they stopped to say good-night to Ben, for they too had finished their evening of sport and were on their way home.

In the mist and darkness no one saw the sign with which the big gate-post at the left had been ornamented. That work of skill and art was destined not to be discovered until the light of morning should disclose its beauty and appropriateness to the passer-by.

The splashing of the water in the fountain on the lawn came musically to the ears of the tired strollers,

but no one of them dreamed that the kneeling watersprite was no longer peering from the rim of the basin into the liquid depth beneath him.

"Well, boys," said Ben, "I want the rest of you to do just as I'm going to do."

A shrill voice piped up:

"Do you know what you're goin' to do?"

"Sure I do," replied Ben; "I'm going up to the house and turn in so quick you can't see me do it." 'No, you're not. You're goin' with us."

66

"Where?"

"Well, you see, we haven't taken anything off of Jim Perry's porch yet. We always do that, every Hallowe'en, and if we pass him by this year he'd feel hurt."

“That's right!" added another boy. "We've got to do it. He'd never get over it if we didn't. Come on!"

But Ben hung back. "I'm too tired," he said. 66 You go ahead and swipe what you want to, but count me out."

Again the shrill, piping voice broke in: "Oh, don't spoil the fun, Ben.

You're the captain of the crew.

along to give orders. Come on!"

Don't be a piker.

You've got to go

Thus adjured, Ben's resolution wavered. He was fond of being considered the leader of his

group. He felt that he

"All right," he said.

was born to command.
"I'll
"I'll go this once if you

insist on it. But this is the last prank for to-night, you understand."

"Sure we understand."

Silently the boys left the stately entrance to the Barriscale mansion and moved up the street and around the corner, following unwittingly in the footsteps of those boys who had taken the same journey so short a time before.

This group also found it difficult to locate the Perry house in the thick mist and deep darkness that shrouded the side street. But, having at last satisfied themselves that they were on the right spot, they selected two of their number to mount the porch and seek for booty while the rest stood guard below.

The reconnoitering squad at once entered upon the performance of the duties assigned to them, but it was no easy task to find their way about in the pitch darkness that surrounded the Perry house.

Those who were waiting on the pavement heard a noise as of some one stumbling, and a smothered exclamation of surprise.

"What's the matter?" asked Ben, mounting halfway up the steps leading to the porch. "What

is it?"

"Don't know," was the whispered reply. "Feels like stone. Heavy as the dickens!"

"Can you lift it?"

"Sure! The two of us have it now.'

"Then bring it along."

Bearing the burden between them, and slowly feeling their way, the committee of search descended to the sidewalk and halted.

"What is it, anyway?" asked one. "Let's feel of it," said another.

So the investigation began, but it resulted in no definite knowledge concerning the character of the prize. Eyes were of course useless, and fingers were of little less avail.

"It feels something like the boy on the rim of our fountain basin," said Ben after passing his hand carefully over the object from end to end. “But of course it can't be that. Anyway, now we've got it what are we going to do with it?"

66

Carry it to Hal McCormack's and leave it on his porch," said the boy with the shrill voice. "Let him find out what it is, an' whose it is, an' carry it home to-morrow morning. I bet he's had plenty of fun to-night at somebody else's expense; now let's have a little fun at his expense.

Well, don't waste time," cautioned Ben. "If you're going to take it to McCormack's, come along!"

But the boy who was bearing the heavy end of the burden hesitated.

"Say," he whispered, "can't one o' you fellows take my end? I barked my shin on the blamed thing up there, and it hurts."