The Firebug

Mystery Stories for BoysThe Firebug By ROY J. SNELL1. The Face at the Window2. A Thrilling Rescue3. The False Alarm4. Jerry to the Rescue5. A Shot from Ambush6. The Black Shack7. The Burning of the Zoo8. Mazie and the Tiger9. A Mysterious Island10. Ben Zook11. Johnny Gets a Tip12. The Mystery Man of the Marsh13. Johnny Reports to the Chief14. Johnny’s Dark Dreams15. Ben Zook’s Diamonds16. The Strange Black Cylinders17. The Unanswered Call18. The Return of Panther Eye19. A Den of the Underworld20. Johnny Strikes First21. A Trip to Forest City22. A Startling Discovery23. Forest City’s Doom24. Ferris Wheel and Fire25. The Human Spider26. Safe at Home27. The Contents of the Black Bag28. The Firebug’s Secret RevealedCHAPTER I. THE FACE AT THE WINDOWIt was midnight. The room in which Johnny Thompson sat was a place of odd noises and strange flashes of light. Here in the corner a tick-ticking was followed by a yellow light that curved upward over then down; upward over and down again. A gong sounded from overhead. A shadowy form moved across the floor. Instantly came the clatter of a score of instruments sounding as one and a score of yellow lights curved up over and down; up over and down again. After that a voice said:“Cross and Fifty-fifth Streets. The Arlington Flats. The Arlington Flats. Cross and Fifty-fifth Streets.�There followed twenty seconds of silence; then in a hollow tone as if coming from the heart of a tree there sounded the repeated words:“Cross and Fifty-fifth Streets. The Arlington Flats. Cross and Fifty-fifth Streets.� Then again there was silence.All this while on a great board above and before him Johnny saw a hundred and fifty glowing spots of light. The spots of light seemed like eyes—red white and green eyes that stared and blinked at him. Even as he looked two of them blinked out—a red one and a white one.As he read the meaning of those extinguished lights he again caught the click-click from the corner and saw again the yellow light shoot up and over and down.This time however he heard a voice from another corner say:“Johnny that’s one of yours. School at Fourteenth and Van Buren.�With one bound Johnny was out of his chair and across the room. The next second found him aboard an elevator dropping through space. Ten seconds from the time the alarm had sounded he was in a long low built powerful car speeding westward.fiction Adventure novel firebug rescue alarm mystery