He saw Pelter and Japson seated at a table, going over some legal papers. Nobody else was visible.
"Perhaps Crabtree took father to some other place, after the chauffeur left!" thought the youth, in dismay.
The window was closed, so the boys could not hear what was being said. They consulted among themselves, and walked around the house, being careful to keep well under the windows, which were rather high.
"Here is a cellar door, let us try that," said Tom, and he raised it up, and almost before they knew it, they were in the cellar under the building.
Above them they could hear footsteps and a murmur of voices. Evidently Josiah Crabtree had joined the brokers.
"You stay here and I'll investigate further," said Dick, after a pause, during which he had espied a stairs leading upward to the rear of the house.
He mounted the stairs and came out into a wide kitchen. No one was present, nor did any fire burn in the big stove. From the kitchen a door led to a dining room, which, in turn, led to a sitting room. In the last-named room were the three men.
