LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

[Black Bill led the girl through the crowd to the big tent][Frontispiece]
FACE PAGE
[“Well,” said Bill, “is war declared?” “Yes,” came the determined reply][14]
[“Hush,” said David. “Squat down before he sees us”][23]
[Danny led the mysterious tramp to a deserted cottage][50]
[“All right, young scoundrel,” said Black Bill. “That’s your little game, is it?”][76]
[Unmistakably it was Black Bill and the stranger][97]
[Crawling through the narrow window, Danny stepped into the punt][118]
[The Cubs cheered and threw themselves upon Danny, like so many wild animals][121]

THE MYSTERIOUS TRAMP

CHAPTER I
BY FIRELIGHT

The night nursery was in darkness, save for the red glow of the fire, and the occasional flickering light of a little yellow flame that seemed to wake up every now and then and light up the room, casting strange black shadows on the ceiling. In three little white beds lay three boys. At least they should have been lying, but, as a matter of fact, two were sitting up, with expressions of sullen rage upon their tear-stained faces, and one was lying in a huddled heap beneath the bedclothes, sobbing.

“For goodness’ sake stop that beastly sniveling, you little cry-baby,” said David.

The sobbing ceased for a minute, then, from beneath the bedclothes, came the muffled voice of Nipper. “I—I’m not a cry-cry-cry baby.” The sobbing went on.

“Nipper,” said David sternly, “you have no reason to bleat like that. You only got four, an me and Bill got a dozen each.”

This brought Nipper from beneath the bedclothes.

“That’s ’cos I have more sense in my little finger than you two fat-heads have in the whole of your bodies. I trod hard on grandfather’s worst corn, and that made him drop the birch. I jolly soon picked it up, and threw it out of the window. And he couldn’t find nothing else to beat me with, so he let me go. It’s not for the beating I’m crying, it’s for something else. I was going to tell you about it, but as you’re both such beasts I shan’t now.”