while the boys are finishing their breakfast it may be well to introduce them to the reader. the four, who were known among their acquaintances as the "inseparables," had been classmates for several terms at school no. i, of creston, from which they had graduated the previous year and were now students of the hilltop academy, where they were preparing for college.

rand--randolph in full, surname peyton--who was slightly the eldest of the four, was the nephew of mr. scott, president of the creston national bank. he was a native of virginia, having come to creston after the death of his father some two years before this time, with his mother and sister. he was bright, but inclined to be indolent, except when aroused, when his energy knew no limit. he was slow in speech, having the soft southern drawl with a tendency to slur his r's, and was a natural leader among his companions, both in their sports and their studies.

donald graeme, sometimes nicknamed old solomon, was the son of the chief engineer of the creston paper mills, and one of a considerable family of boys and girls. he was of scotch descent and inherited many of the characteristics of his ancestry as well as many of their superstitions. something of the burr clung to his tongue, and he was given to the occasional use of a scotch word or phrase. he had also the scotch canniness and never committed himself by a positive opinion. although not as quick as rand, he was more persistent and usually carried out, to the end, anything that he entered upon.

jack blake was the oldest son of mr. blake, editor and publisher of the crest, the newspaper of the town. brought up in the newspaper atmosphere, jack had early developed a nose for news and was the best reporter, although unofficial, on the paper. he was always on the lookout for items and always putting two and two together, sometimes with most surprising results.

lastly, pepper blake, jack's younger brother, who was of a quicker, more nervous, disposition than the others and given to stammering when excited. impetuous and quick-tempered, he was always getting into difficulties, but always finding a way out. romantic and imaginative, but with a streak of hard horse-sense beneath.

"well," observed rand, when jack at last rose from his box with a sigh of satisfaction, "what is the exciting thing you have got to tell us this morning? whose barn is being painted now?"

"judge taylor's office was robbed last night," replied jack laconically.

"what's that!" cried rand.

"judge taylor's office was robbed last night," repeated jack, enjoying the sensation his news had made.

"w-w-what!" stammered pepper. "who did it?"

"that's what we all want to know," answered jack.

"what did they get?" asked donald.

"how did they get in?" went on pepper.

"one at a time, boys," put in rand. "come, jack, tell us the whole story."

"well, all i know is, officer dugan found a window open this morning and the place all upside down. the judge hadn't come down yet, so they don't know what's missing. from the tracks around it looks as if some boys were mixed up in it."

"that's queer," commented rand. "i wonder who it could have been, and what they were after?"

"money, of course," said pepper.

"i don't think so," returned jack. "if it was money i think they would have picked out a more likely place. i guess it must have been papers, or something like that."

"pooh!" criticized donald, "what would anybody in their senses want to steal papers for?"

"there are more unlikely things than that," replied jack. "i have read of such things."

"pshaw!" retorted donald, "that's nothing. i've read of robbers' caves and all that sort of thing, but i've never seen any."

"which proves there never were any," retorted jack sarcastically.

"have you got any dues, sherlock?" asked rand laughingly.

"not yet," replied jack seriously, "but i am looking for them. they sometimes turn up in the most unexpected places."

"huh!" sniffed donald, "your turnips run mostly to tops."

while talking thus, the boys had been putting their supplies and tackle into the boat which they had run out into the river.

"which way do you want to go?" asked rand when they were ready to start.

"up," said pepper.

"down," said jack.

"what do you say, don?" continued rand. "either way," replied donald. "let them toss up for it."

taking the coin he had picked up in the road from his pocket rand tossed it into the air. "what do you say, jack?" he asked.

"heads!" responded jack.

"tails it is," announced rand as he picked it up. "pepper wins. up, we go."

"what have you got there, rand?" asked jack, who had been eying the coin rand had tossed; "something new?"

"it's something that i found in the road this morning," replied rand, handing the coin over to jack. "pepper found one, too."

"found it in the road!" cried jack, instantly on the alert. "that's serious. tell me about it."

"there isn't much to tell," replied rand. "monkey rae tried to run us down this morning and we had a near-fight and after he had gone we found them."

"well?" questioned jack.

"that's all," replied rand.

"now i wonder," mused jack, when the story of the encounter with monkey rae and his companions had been gone over in detail for his benefit, "what monkey rae has to do with these things," jingling the coins in his hand.

"not as much as you or i have," announced donald. "i can no see any connection between the two."

"of course you can't, old wisdom," returned jack. "you lack imagination, but i think it is there just the same. whose horse and wagon was it?"

"that's another strange part of it," replied rand. "i never saw them before. i was wondering whose they were, and where he got them."

"that's so," agreed pepper. "i never thought of that; the truth is, i was so busy with monkey that i didn't look at them."

"well," broke in don, "if you ask my opinion i think it would be more to the purpose if we went on our own business instead of wasting time in speculating on what is no concern of ours."

"all right, solomon-donald," said rand; "it sounds wise."

"even if it is mostly sound," growled jack.