must have worked on some springs and levers to slide back the hidden door. "Say, this is great!" cried Sammy, delighted at his discovery. "It sure is," agreed Bob. "How'd you come to do it?" "I just happened to," answered Sammy. "I saw that carved wood bulging out, and it looked as though it was meant to press on. So I did." "You're a great one!" cried Frank. "You're all the time talking about finding something mysterious, but it never before amounted to anything. This time you did hit it, Sammy Brown!" "And I guess you fellows won't laugh at me any more; will you?" "I won't," said Bob, with a sigh, wishing he had discovered the secret room. [Pg 78] [Pg 78] "And look what's in there, fellows!" went on Sammy. "Maybe now we can find out how and who has been taking Mr. Jessup's stuff!" There was indeed an odd collection of things in the secret room. Besides a bed, table and some chairs, there was on the floor, and on the wall-shelves, some tubes, with shining pieces of glass in the ends. There were tin boxes, springs, long pieces of wire, black wooden boxes, and many other strange things. One of the tubes, with a glass in the end, seemed to be pointed directly at the boys, like some strange gun. "Come on, let's go in!" urged Sammy. "Let's see what those things are." For a moment his two chums looked at him, and then Frank said: "Do you think it's safe to go in?" "Why not?" asked Sammy. "Well, that door might suddenly slide shut while we were in there, or there might be a false bottom to the floor, and we'd drop through, or something like that," suggested Bob. "Huh! You're as bad as you say I am, in thinking up things!" cried Sammy. "I say let's go in. We can put a stick, or something, across the sliding door, so that can't go shut on us." "Well, maybe that's all right," agreed Bob. "But it sure would be hard luck if we got
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