Choosing a shadowy spot beneath a tree, Harry sat down, and listened. A few minutes went by; he began to be doubtful. Then he was sure that he had heard a slight sound on the lake.
He listened, and the noise occurred again. Some one was coming in a canoe. Despite the paddler’s care, slight splashes had been made.
The sound was not repeated, and Harry fancied that he had been mistaken. Then came a grating sound, not more than a few rods distant. The canoe had been beached on the pebbled water front; but it was invisible in the darkness.
Harry waited expectantly. At last he detected a light footfall; and in another moment, a figure was silhouetted against the clearing toward the dock.
Before Harry had time to observe it carefully, the person was gone. Then came slight sounds from the path. Harry rose, and followed softly.
It was a tense experience, in the darkness of the path. Harry knew that he was following some one who was not more than twenty feet in advance. Yet that person was moving stealthily, and he was forced to do likewise. At times he sensed that the other had stopped to listen. He did the same.
They were nearing the house now. The slope of the path had ended. Harry had neared a very slight bend, and he was sure that the other person would have stopped because of the proximity of the house.
Abandoning caution, he leaped forward, and came upon a person in the darkness. His approach had been heard; his enemy had tried to slip away from the path, but too late. Harry seized the person quickly, fearing a revolver shot.
To his surprise, there was no resistance. His opponent collapsed, and was instantly overpowered.
He thought for a second that he was being duped; that the other was pretending unconsciousness. He drew his flashlight from his pocket, and turned the light on the form that lay helpless before him.