Joe and his followers will be at loss to know where the annoyance comes from. We mustn't forget to speak to the fellows about that to-morrow."
Unfortunately an incident happened that very afternoon which made it comparatively easy for the three schemers to carry out the plans they proposed. It was, in fact, a fight between a squatter and the Mount Airy authorities, to whom he had made himself obnoxious. Tom and his cousins were witnesses of the preliminary skirmish, that is, the serving of the notice of ejectment, and when they heard a full report of the matter from one of the boys to whom Prime introduced them, their delight was almost unbounded. Tom danced a horn-pipe in the excess of his joy, and repeatedly declared that nothing could have happened that was so well calculated to further their designs. It came about in this way:
Mr. Wayring's summer cottages were all located on the opposite shore of the lake. The road that led to them ran down the hill, around the foot of the lake, and through a
