"Gee! it's rather cold around here," remarked Fred, as they walked up and down in the big barn to keep warm.
"I'm going to cover myself in the hay if you fellows are going to stay here any length of time," cried Andy, and in a playful mood he and his twin made a dash for what looked to be a large quantity of hay at one side of the barn. Both burrowed down in this, and then Randy set up a cry of surprise.
"Hello! this isn't a pile of hay at all. It's bundles of wire!"
"Bundles of wire?" queried Jack.
"What kind of wire?" asked Gif.
"Looks like fence wire, or telegraph wire, to me," said Andy, who was holding some of the hay to one side so that he might get a better look at what was underneath. "It looks brand new, too."
There were numerous coils of the wire, and these the cadets and Jed Wallop looked at with interest. Then they found several packing cases, all nailed up tightly and marked in English and in German.
"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.