Each carried a bundle, though Hal could not make out the size or shape of either very distinctly.
"The burglars—at their tricks!" flashed Hal exultantly.
But he wasted no time thinking. In a twinkling he slipped a cartridge into his rifle, bringing the piece to his shoulder.
"Halt!" he challenged. "Who's there?"
The two figures, crouching low, made a bolt for the tall corn in a vegetable garden at the rear of the grounds.
"As fast as he could shout the words Private Hal Overton shouted:
"Halt! Who's there? Halt! Who's there?"
Having obeyed a sentry's instructions to challenge three times, and receiving no answer, Hal pressed the trigger.
A flash of flame lit the darkness around the rifle. It leaped straight from the muzzle.
Bang! The bullet sped in among the corn stalks.