"Look out where you're going!" yelled Jack.

"I told you to be careful----" commenced Fatty, and then clutched at the
high seat of the box-sled.

There was a wild scream of alarm and a general confusion among all the
young people as the back end of the box-sled slewed around. One corner
went down into the gully, and an instant later the box-sled stood up on
its side, and girls and cadets went floundering forth into the snow.




CHAPTER IX

A MISHAP ON THE ROAD


"Gracious! where are we going?"

"Get off my head, Randy!"

"Say, Spouter, don't sit down on Ruth that way!"

"Hi! stop the horses, somebody!" screamed Fred, and then he leaped up
and clung to the partly overturned box-sled, while Gif and another cadet
did the same.

The driver had sensed the coming of the accident, and when the box-sled
went over to one side, he had leaped to the other. Now he was standing
in the snow with the reins still in his hands and doing his best to
quiet the somewhat frightened steeds, which were plunging into each
other in anything but an orderly fashion.

Down in the gully the girls and the cadets were having an exciting time
of it. Some of the party had plunged almost head first into the snow.

"Come on, boys, help the girls all you can!" came from Jack, as he
managed, though not without considerable effort, to bring Ruth to her
feet.

Fred and Randy were already assisting May to arise, and soon the other
girls and boys were doing what they could to scramble through the deep
snow toward the highway. Here there was a slippery slope of several
feet.

Jack was the first boy up, and Randy came behind him. Then, while the
two Rovers, assisted by Spouter, held fast to each other, they pulled up
one girl after another. In the meanwhile, the other cadets made
something of a chain, and soon all stood at the spot where the box-sled
had overturned.

"All here?" queried Gif.

"I guess so," answered Spouter, knocking some snow from his cap.

The driver of the box-sled, assisted by several of the cadets, had
managed to quiet the horses, some of which were inclined to bolt. The
box-sled was all right, and the boys picked up what they could of the
dry straw, and also shook out and replaced the robes.

"Oh, my, what a dreadful experience!" remarked Annie Larkins.

"Oh, I don't know that it was so very dreadful," returned Ruth. "No one
was hurt."

"But we might have been," added Jennie Mason.

"Oh, I thought it was fun," laughed Ruth.

"It was the fault of that auto," grumbled the liveryman, thinking he had
to defend himself. "He crowded me too close to the edge of the gully."

"That's just what he did!" cried Fatty. "The fellow who was driving that
car ought to be arrested."

"Did you get his number, Fatty?" questioned Fred.

"Get his number? I didn't have time to get anything. He just slid by,
and the next thing I knew, I was turning a somersault in the air and
diving right down into the bottom of that hole;" and at this remark the
other cadets had to smile.

The cadets assisted the girls back into the box-sled, and then they
moved off once more, Jack and Gif both cautioning the driver to be
careful.

Now that the danger was past, the young folks soon recovered from their
scare, and then, to put all in a better humor, Andy started another
school song, in which all joined lustily. Thus they soon rolled into
town, and a little later came up to the entrance of the Clearwater
grounds.

"I've had a perfectly splendid time, in spite of that little mishap,"
declared Ruth, as she bid Jack good-bye.

"We couldn't have had a nicer afternoon," said May. "You can come
around with your box-sled just as often as you please;" and she smiled
mischievously, in a way that set Fred's heart to bounding.

As it was growing late, the boys had scant time in which to bid the
girls good-bye. Soon they were on the way to Colby Hall, and they told
the driver to hurry as much as possible.

"If we're late and Asa Lemm finds it out, he'll certainly punish us in
some way," was Randy's comment.

"Well, we're in luck for once," announced Gif. "I heard old Lemon say
that he was going away right after lunch and wouldn't be back until
to-morrow."

"It seems to me he has been spending quite some time away lately,"
remarked Spouter. "Not but what I'm perfectly willing that he should
absent himself at every possible opportunity. The institution of
learning can very well dispense with the services of such an individual
as Professor Asa Lemm."

"A little long-winded, Spouter, but you hit the nail on the head,"
answered Fred. "Old Lemon could quit for good, and I doubt if any of us
would shed a tear."

Although the cadets were half an hour late, neither Colonel Colby nor
any of the professors who saw them found any fault, and for this they
were thankful.

As soon as he had an opportunity to do so, Jack told his cousins about
what Ruth had said regarding old Barney Stevenson. They listened to his
recital with keen interest.

"He certainly must be a queer stick," was Randy's comment. "Just the
same, I'd like to go to Snowshoe Island and visit him."

"Yes, and try the hunting around that neighborhood," added Fred.
"According to what that Bill Hobson said, Uncle Barney, as they call
him, must be quite a hunter, as well as a lumberman."

"I'd like to have the chance to talk with him," resumed Jack. "From the
way Ruth spoke, I'm quite sure her folks are very much put out over the
way he is acting."

"I'll tell you what!" put in Andy, "we're going to have an extra long
Christmas holiday, and we might get a chance to go over to Snowshoe
Island hunting at that time."

"How do you know the holiday is going to be extra long?" queried Fred.

"I heard Professor Brice saying so. It seems they have got to fix some
part of the heating plant, which is pretty well worn out, and the
furnace man said it would take longer than at first expected. So,
instead of closing up for ten days or two weeks at Christmas, they are
going to shut down for about three weeks."

"Three weeks! That will give us a nice holiday at home and give us a
chance for an outing in the bargain," cried Jack.

Late that evening Slugger Brown and Nappy Martell put in an appearance
and were closeted with Colonel Colby for the best part of half an hour.
What was said by the master of Colby Hall the other cadets did not
learn, but the two new arrivals looked exceedingly meek when they went
up to their former rooms. On the following day they met the Rovers, but
paid no attention whatever to them.

"Maybe they are going to give us the cold shoulder," remarked Fred.

"Well, that won't hurt me," answered Jack.

Several days went by, and the Rover boys applied themselves closely to
their studies, realizing that before long the examinations previous, to
the Christmas holidays would take place. They did very well in their
recitations, and got along nicely with all the professors except Asa
Lemm.

"There is no use of talking--I can't get along with that man!" said Andy
one afternoon. He was almost in despair. "If I hadn't just shut my mouth
hard when old Lemon lectured me, there would have been an explosion, and
I'd have told him just exactly what I think of him--and it wouldn't
have been anything that he would want to hear."

"Gif was telling me that Lemm is getting more and more anxious about
some of that money he lost years ago."

"Maybe he thought he saw a chance of getting it back, and now it is
slipping away from him again, and that is making him more sour than
ever," suggested Randy.

"I don't care what is making him so sour--he needn't take it out of me,"
retorted his twin.

There had been another slight fall of snow, and on Thursday afternoon
the cadets of Colby Hall organized a grand snowball match. A fort was
built on the top of a little hill in the vicinity, and one crowd of
cadets defended this, while the others made an attack. The school flag
was hoisted over the fort, and the battle raged furiously for over an
hour. Major Ralph Mason was in charge of the fort defenders, while the
Rover boys, along with half of the school cadets, composed the attacking
party. The fort was captured only after a terrific bombardment with
snowballs, and it was Jack who had the pleasure of hauling down the
flag.

"Some fight that!" remarked Fred, after the contest was over.

"Almost like a real battle," said Randy. "Just look at my left ear, will
you?" and he pointed to that member, which was much swollen. "Got hit
there twice--with regular soakers, too."

"Well, that's part of the game, Randy," remarked Jack. He had been hit
half a dozen times, but had not minded it in the least.

On the following afternoon the Rover boys visited a long hill in that
vicinity, which a number of the cadets were using for coasting purposes.
With money sent to them by Jack's father, they had purchased a fine
bobsled, and on this they took numerous rides, along with several of
their chums.

There were two ways of going down the hill. One was in the direction of
Haven Point, and the other wound around a second smaller hill and ended
in the pasture lot of an old farmer. This farmer was an Irishman named
Mike O'Toole, a pleasant enough individual, who had often given the boys
rides on his farm wagon, and who was not averse to selling them fruit,
and also milk, when they desired it. He was such a good-natured old man
that very few of the cadets ever thought to molest his orchard.

"Say, I've got an idea!" cried Andy suddenly, when he and the other
Rovers were riding down into O'Toole's pasture. "Let's go down and have
a look at the old man's goats," and he winked knowingly at his twin.

O'Toole had once lived in the city, and there had been the proud
possessor of several goats, which he had used in one of the public
parks, where they were attached to little wagons in which the children
could ride for ten cents per person. O'Toole had brought his goats to
the farm with him, and treated them with as much affection as if they
were members of his family.

"What have you go up your sleeve, Andy?" questioned Fred, as they got
off the bobsled and dragged it behind them toward Mike O'Toole's house.
The old Irish farmer and his wife lived alone, having no children and no
hired help.

"Oh, I thought we might hire a goat or two to pull the bobsled," was the
easy answer.

"To pull the bobsled?"

"To be sure. If those goats can pull wagons, they can certainly pull
sleds, too. Then, I thought if we could get the goats to pull us all the
way to Colby Hall, it wouldn't be any more than fair to take the goats
in out of the cold and treat 'em nicely."

"Oh, I see!" cried Randy, who was listening to his twin's talk. "For
instance, we might take the goats into the Hall and up to Professor
Lemm's room, eh?"

"You've caught the idea, Randy. What do you think of it?"

"Fine! Couldn't be better!" chuckled the other.

"What's this talk about taking O'Toole's goats to Colby Hall?" demanded
Jack.

"Oh, we were thinking Professor Lemm would like to see the goats."

The oldest Rover boy looked stern for an instant, but then his mouth
relaxed and he broke into a broad grin.

"Of course, we'll have to be careful how we get the goats into the
Hall," he began.

"Hurrah! I knew it would hit you just right, Jack!" cried Andy, slapping
his cousin on the shoulder. "Just you wait--we'll make old Lemon sit up
and take notice this time!"

"But mum's the word--remember that," cautioned Randy. "If he ever caught
us, well--good-night!"




CHAPTER X

SOMETHING ABOUT TWO GOATS


The four Rover boys were almost up to Mike O'Toole's place when suddenly
Jack caught Andy by the shoulder.

"Wait a minute!" he exclaimed.

"What's wrong now?" demanded the fun-loving youth.

"I've just been thinking, Andy. If we take those goats into the Hall and
get into any kind of trouble, Professor Lemm will find it an easy matter
to learn who got the goats from O'Toole."

"That's right, too!" broke in Fred, in dismay.

"Maybe we can get the goats on the sly," suggested Randy.

"I think that would be the better way to do it," answered Jack. "We can
leave a note behind, stating that the goats will be returned, and we can
also pay O'Toole something for using his animals."

The boys talked the matter over for several minutes, and then it was
decided that Andy and Randy should go ahead and reconnoitre. This they
did, and were gone for about ten minutes.

"The coast is clear so far as we can see," announced Randy. "Mike
O'Toole and his wife are both in the kitchen of the farmhouse preparing
supper.

"And where are the goats?" questioned Fred quickly.

"He keeps them in a little shed off of his barn. Come on, I'll show
you," returned Randy.

The other cadets followed him, and they soon reached the place he had
mentioned. Here O'Toole kept six goats, and they were found finishing up
some food he had evidently given them a short while before.

Two of the billy goats were quite large, one possessing a very fine pair
of horns. This one, the boys knew, was called Patrick. The other large
goat went by the name of Dan.

"Here is the harness," said Andy, bringing it from some pegs on which it
was hanging. "We'll have to do the best we can about hitching 'em up."

While the others were doing this, Jack tore a page from a notebook he
carried, and on this, in a large, disguised hand, he wrote the
following:

     "DEAR MR O'TOOLE:

     "We have taken the privilege of using two of your goats until
     to-morrow. They will be safely returned to you."

"I think we ought to pay him for the use of the animals," said Jack. "A
little money will make him feel a great deal better."

"Let's pin two dollars to the note," suggested Fred, and this was done
by Jack and the note placed where the Irish farmer would be sure to find
it when he came again to tend to his animals.

It was an easy matter for the four boys to get the goats out of the
shed, and then they led them to a spot behind some trees where the
animals were hitched to the bobsled. Soon they started on the way to
Colby Hall.

"Now that we've got possession of the goats, how do you fellows expect
to work this stunt?" demanded Fred, as they brought the two goats down
to a walk.

"I'll tell you one thing," declared Jack. "If you want to play this
trick without the whole school knowing it, you had better reach Colby
Hall by the lane that comes up behind the barn."

"Just what I was thinking of doing," answered Andy. "I thought maybe we
could stable them in that little toolhouse in the cornfield until we
had a chance to get 'em into the Hall."

"That's the talk!" cried Randy. "Of course, we'll have to watch our
chance, and not make a mess of it."

The two billy goats had often been harnessed together, so they got along
quite amiably on the trip to the Military Academy. They were strong
animals, and consequently the boys reached the field behind the barn in
ample time to unhitch the goats and place them in the toolhouse that had
been mentioned. Then they hurried around to the garage, where they were
allowed to store their bobsled, and after that lost no time in getting
ready for the evening parade and drill.

Directly after supper was over, the Rovers took Spouter, Gif and Fatty
Hendry aside and told them of what was in the wind.

"Oh, say! that's great!" cried Fatty. "Let me have a hand in it, won't
you?" He had had a quarrel with Asa Lemm a few days before, and was as
sore as any of the other cadets.

"You ought to let us all have a hand in that, Andy," put in Spouter. "I
believe every one of us feels the same way when it comes to old Lemon.
He may have a vast amount of learning stored in his cranium, but his
font of the milk of human kindness is completely dried up. Were he to
realize, or have the least conception----"

"Cut it, Spouter!" interposed Gif. "We agree with you--Asa Lemm is the
lemon of all lemons, and I for one would like to teach him some kind of
lesson."

The matter was talked over for some time, and, as a result, a number of
other cadets, including Walt Baxter, Ned Lowe and Dan Soppinger, were
let into the secret.

"Some of you will have to keep tab on Lemm while others see if the coast
is clear during the time we are trying to get the goats upstairs,"
announced Randy.

"I don't think we'll have an easy time getting two animals to old
Lemon's room," remarked Fred. "However, we'll get 'em up there somehow!"

Dan Soppinger was detailed to locate and watch Asa Lemm, and he soon
came back and reported that the professor was sitting in a corner of the
school library, making notes from several volumes.

"Well, you watch him, Dan," said Jack, "and if he starts to come
upstairs, you let us know at once;" and to this Soppinger agreed.

After the supper hour, the cadets had their usual studying to do, and
then came another hour for recreation previous to retiring.

"Now is our time," said Andy, as he threw aside his books and leaped to
his feet. "Come on! Everybody on the job!"

The lads had already figured out how they expected to get the goats up
to Asa Lemm's room. In the extreme rear of the school building was
located an outside fire-escape leading from the third and second floors
to the ground. At each floor there was a large doorway with a bolt on
the inside. In order to induce the goats to mount the steps of the
fire-escape, the boys had provided themselves with some vegetables
purloined from the kitchen storeroom. Leaving the others to watch on the
fire-escape and in the upper hallway of the school, the Rovers went out
to the toolhouse and released the two goats.

"Now then, Patrick and Dan, be good!" said Randy, patting the animals on
the neck. And then he handed each of them a small carrot.

With more vegetables displayed close in front of them, the two billy
goats mounted the fire-escape quite nimbly, being rewarded with
something more to eat when they stood on the landing in front of the
door leading into the upper hallway.

"Now if they only don't take it into their heads to let out a loud 'ba'
when they get into the hall!" said Fred anxiously.

"We'll feed them something," returned Jack. "That will be sure to keep
them quiet," and he passed over some bits of celery he had in his
pocket.

A cautious rap on the iron door, and it was unbolted by Walt Baxter, who
had been assigned to that duty.

"How about it--is the coast clear?" whispered Andy anxiously.

"I think so; but wait a minute and I'll make sure," whispered Walt in
return.

Soon he came back with word from Fatty and Ned that the rear hall of the
school was practically deserted. Ned had already tried several keys in
the door to Asa Lemm's apartment, and unlocked it.

It was by sheer good luck that the boys managed unobserved to get the
two goats into the school through two hallways and at last into the room
of the hated professor.

On one side of the professor's bedroom there was a large clothing
closet, and in this the two goats were placed.

"Now we'll take off their harness," said Jack. "There is no use in
getting that snarled up or damaged."

"I'm going to fix up some new harness for them," announced Randy. "Come
on, Andy."

His twin understood, and while the others remained on guard in the
hallway, Randy and Andy lost no time in decorating the two goats with
various articles of Professor Lemm's wearing apparel. They buttoned a
coat around each goat like a blanket, and got a bright green sweater
over one goat's head and around his neck. Then they found a number of
used neckties in a chiffonier, and these were tied on the goat's legs
and horns.

"They sure do look like some goats now!" cried Andy gaily. Then the
animals were shoved back into the closet and the door closed.

"Is the coast still clear?" asked Randy, as they came out of the
bedroom.

"It is. But I don't think Lemm will stay downstairs much longer,"
answered Jack.

"Will you fellows come down again? I've got another idea!" burst out
Randy. "Come on--quick!"

Not knowing what was in the wind, the others followed him through the
hallway and down the fire-escape once more. Then he led them to a place
behind the garage. Here were a number of flat boxes, which, in the
springtime, had been used for raising plants. These boxes had had a
small amount of water in them, and were now filled with thin sheets of
ice.

"Let's take a few of those sheets of ice upstairs," said Randy. "They'll
fit in very nicely between the sheets on old Lemon's bed."

All of the others caught at the suggestion with avidity, and in a very
few minutes each of the boys was mounting the fire-escape once again,
this time with a large sheet of ice, not unlike a heavy pane of glass,
under his arm.

"I've got a scheme," suggested Andy, with a broad grin. "We'll place
three of the sheets of ice in his bed under the sheet, and the others on
the floor here right in front of the door. Then he'll have a chance to
slide into the room."

"Wow! and maybe it won't be some slide!" chuckled Walt Baxter.

The sheets of ice were soon placed in the bed and covered with some of
the bedspreads, and the others were disposed on the hardwood floor
directly in front of the door inside the room. Then the cadets turned
out the lights, locked the door as before, and hurried away.

It was less than five minutes later when Dan Soppinger came rushing
upstairs, whistling in a peculiar manner. This was a signal that danger
was at hand.

"He just put the books away, and he's gathering up his papers,"
announced Dan. "I think he'll be upstairs in a few minutes more."

"All right, Dan, we're ready for him," announced Randy. "Now then,
fellows, if there isn't some fun when Asa Lemm enters his room, then I
miss my guess."

The joke that was to come off seemed to be too good to keep, and as a
consequence, after a hurried consultation, about a dozen other cadets
were let into the secret. All watched eagerly for the coming of
Professor Lemm, and there was a low whistle of warning went from room to
room when the hated teacher was seen to be mounting the stairs.

As was quite usual with him, Asa Lemm was not in good humor. He had been
hunting up a number of references in the library without his usual
success.

"This job of teaching is getting worse and worse," he grumbled to
himself. "It's too bad that I've got to waste my time on these boys. If
I could only get back some of that money I lost, I wouldn't spend
another hour over this tiresome task," and he heaved a deep sigh. The
loss of his little fortune was the one great sore spot with him.

He came swinging through the hall with long, rapid strides, and as he
did so the Rovers and their friends watched him from various doorways
and side halls. They saw him unlock his door and throw it open. The
next instant came a sudden yell of alarm, and then a tremendous bump.
Asa Lemm's feet had struck the sheets of ice on the floor, and they had
gone out from under him very suddenly, letting him down flat on his
back.

"Hi! hi! what's the meaning of this?" spluttered the teacher; and then,
as his hand struck the icy coldness of what was beneath him, he gave
another cry. "Ice! What does this mean? Can the water pipes have burst
and flooded the room?"

Not without difficulty he managed to regain his feet, and then started
to walk to where he could turn on the lights. But again he slipped, and
this time he came up against a small table piled high with books and
sent this over with a crash.

"Gee! he's sure enjoying himself!" chuckled Andy.

"Come on, fellows, let's see what all the noise is about!" exclaimed
Jack in a loud voice. "Something dreadful must be going on in Professor
Lemm's room."

"What's the matter--is somebody getting killed?" called out Randy.

"It isn't a fire, is it?" broke in Walt Baxter, catching the cue.

"Sounds to me as if somebody was pulling the school down," was Spouter's
contribution.

"Everybody to the rescue!" yelled Ned Lowe.

These cries, combined with the noise which was coming from Asa Lemm's
apartment, caused such a commotion that soon fully a score of other
cadets showed themselves in the hallway.

"What's the matter?" questioned Slugger Brown, who had just been on the
point of retiring, and who was in his pajamas and slippers.

"Something going on in Professor Lemm's room," answered Nappy Martell,
who had been with him, and who was similarly attired.

By this time Professor Lemm had managed to regain his feet a second
time, but the broken sheets of ice were now all over the floor of his
room, and just as he managed to turn on the lights he slipped once more,
this time sending a chair spinning against the closet door.

"It's ice--it's ice, and nothing else!" he ejaculated, as he gazed in
wonder at the floor. "Now, how did that come here? I don't see any
broken water pipe." Then, of a sudden, his face took on a dark look.
"It's those boys--confound them! If I can catch them, I'll make them
suffer for this!"




CHAPTER XI

THE JOKE ON ASA LEMM


"Let's go in and see what's the matter with the poor man," suggested
Andy.

"That's right--maybe he's got a fit."

"Something has happened to Professor Lemm!" yelled one of the other
cadets.

By this time the commotion had attracted the attention of nearly
everybody in the school, and teachers and cadets came running from all
directions, and even some of the hired help from the kitchen came up the
back stairs, wondering what had gone wrong. Then the bunch of boys, led
by the Rovers, suddenly threw open the door which led to Asa Lemm's
room. It was at this instant that the astonished and bewildered
professor was making his way toward the closet door. A strange thumping
had reached his ears.

"I knew it--it's some of those boys, and more than likely one of them
got locked into the closet by his fellows. I'll soon find out who he is
and make him tell me who is responsible for this outrage!"

The door had been locked by Randy, but the key was in it, and readily
turned. Then Professor Lemm flung the door open viciously.

"You rascals, I'll teach you to play tricks on me!" he began, as in the
somewhat dim light he made out what he thought were the forms of two
crouching boys. Then he let out a sudden yell of alarm as one of the
crouching figures launched itself forward at him. The figure was that of
Patrick, the larger of the goats.

Bewildered by the confinement, and not at all liking the way in which he
had been dressed up, the big billy goat hurled himself straight at the
teacher. He struck Asa Lemm fairly and squarely in the stomach, bowling
him over as if he were a tenpin. Then he made another leap, and landed
on the top of the bed, where he gazed around, not knowing which way to
turn next.

"Oh my! look at what Professor Lemm has in his room!" piped up Andy.

Asa Lemm had rolled over and was now trying to get up, but just as he
raised himself on his hands and knees, he struck some of the sliding
sheets of ice, and down he went once more, this time directly in front
of the other goat, which promptly proceeded to leap on top of him.

"Hi! get off of me, you rascal!" spluttered the professor, and thrashed
around wildly. "Get off of me! Who are you, anyway?" and then, as he got
a better sight of the animal, which at that moment leaped up on the bed
beside his mate, he turned and sat up in amazement.

"A goat! Two goats! How did they get here?"

"What do you know about this? Professor Lemm is keeping goats in his
room!" cried Jack.

These and a score of other cries rent the air, while all the cadets
crowded into the doorway of the room to see what was going on. In the
bunch of boys were Slugger Brown and Nappy Martell, and it must be
confessed that these two unworthies were enjoying the scene quite as
much as anybody.

"I'll fix some of you for this!" roared Asa Lemm, as he struggled to his
feet, slipping around and clutching the end of his bed as he did so.
"I'll have some of you suspended! Where is Colonel Colby? Send for
Colonel Colby at once!"

Evidently Patrick, the larger goat, did not like the looks of the irate
teacher, who was now shaking his fists at the grinning cadets. Suddenly
the goat made another leap, this time striking Asa Lemm in the shoulder,
and once more the professor went down, this time with his feet sliding
directly under the bed, so that he became somewhat wedged in from his
waist down. Then the goat made another leap and charged toward the door
to the hallway.

"Look out!" warned Jack, and was just in time to push Fred out of
danger. Then the goat made a rush, and the next minute came full tilt
into Slugger Brown, sending the bully crashing into those behind him.
The second goat also leaped from the bed, and made for the doorway,
hitting Martell as he passed.

"Look out for the battering-ram!"

"This is only a battering goat--but it's just as bad!" yelled Andy. "Go
it, goat! Go it!" he added gleefully.

Both goats did "go it." They raced through the hallway, knocking down
cadets right and left. One younger boy, named Stowell, but who was
always called Codfish by the others because of his unusually broad
mouth, was attacked at the head of the stairs and sent hurtling down to
the bottom.

"Oh! oh! I'm killed! He has knocked me to pieces!" yelled Codfish.

With the two goats racing around the school, the excitement increased.
But gradually the goats were driven by the Rovers to a lower hallway,
and then toward a side door, which Jack and Fred lost no time in
opening.

"Get them out of here as quick as you can. We don't want them to be
captured," whispered Jack to his cousins. "We don't want old Lemon to
know they are Mike O'Toole's animals."

"Stop those goats! I don't want them to get away!" yelled Asa Lemm, from
the upper hallway. But the goats were already outside.

"Oh gee! we forgot one thing--I mean several things!" gasped Andy. "The
goats are dressed up in old Lemon's clothes!"

"Gracious! why didn't we think of that?" gasped Randy. "We can't let 'em
run away with all that stuff!"

"I'll go after them and see if I can stop them," said Jack.

"Want me to go with you?" questioned Walt.

"If you will, Walt. Maybe it will take two of us to manage the goats."
And then Jack and Walt hurried off and the others returned to see what
would happen next.

Fortunately for the boys who had gone after them, the goats did not run
very far. Jack had a few more vegetables left in his pocket, and with
these in his hand he walked cautiously up to the animals, which had run
down to a corner of the campus.

"Hurrah! I've got one of them!" cried the Rover boy presently, as he
caught Patrick by the horns. "Now, Walt, see if you can hold the other,
and we'll take these things off of them."

Now that they were once more in the open air, the goats appeared to be
quite docile, and consequently the two cadets had little difficulty in
disrobing them.

"Why don't you return the goats to O'Toole while you are at it?"
suggested Walt, after the wearing apparel had been placed in a small
bundle.

"I'd do it if I had their harness, Walt."

"Want me to go back for it?"

"If you will."

"All right, I'll do it. And give me that bundle. I'll smuggle it into
the school somehow and watch my chance to leave it in old Lemon's room."
Evidently the son of Dan Baxter was as bold as his father had ever been
before him.

So it was arranged, and a minute later Walt disappeared into the school
building. He was gone the best part of five minutes, and then came
running across the school campus, carrying the goats' harness under his
sweater.

"Gee, but they are having a peach of a time in the school," he
announced. "Asa Lemm is quarreling with Colonel Colby, who came over
from his rooms. He wants to have half the school arrested on account of
the goats and the ice."

"What did you do with the bundle?"

"Oh, say--that was easy! All the crowd were around old Lemon and the
colonel discussing the matter, so I slipped behind them and threw the
bundle in the corner of Lemon's room."

The two Rovers lost no time in placing a little of the harness on the
goats--just sufficient to drive them.

"Now, you needn't go with me, Walt, unless you want to. I can get these
goats to O'Toole's alone."

"Oh, I'd just as lief keep you company," answered the other cheerfully.

Urging the two goats before them, the pair made off down the hill in the
direction of the O'Toole farm. The animals seemed to know the way home,
and kept up a brisk pace.

"Now then, we had better go a bit slow," announced Jack, when they came
in sight of the buildings. "Maybe O'Toole has discovered the absence of
the goats, and is on the watch for us."

This warning, however, was unnecessary, for the old Irish farmer and his
wife had retired for the night, doing this without being aware of what
had taken place among their live stock.

[Illustration: THE GOAT CAME FULL TILT INTO SLUGGER BROWN.

_Page 111_]

Cautiously the two cadets opened the goat stable and led the animals
inside. Then, while Walt lit a couple of matches, Jack managed to place
the goats where they had been before, and also put the harness away.

"I don't think I'll leave that note, or the money either," he said.
"Maybe it will be as well if O'Toole never knows that the goats were
out. I don't think the experience did them any harm. If it did, we can
settle with O'Toole later;" and he pocketed the note he had previously
written, and also the money. Then the two cadets lost no time in
hurrying back to Colby Hall.

In the meantime, what Walt had said about the commotion going on at the
school was true.

"I tell you, sir, it's a perfect outrage!" bawled Asa Lemm at the top of
his lungs. "An outrage, sir, and I demand satisfaction!"

"Please do not become so excited, Professor," responded Colonel Colby.
"We must try to get at the bottom of this matter. You say there is ice
on the floor of your room?"

"Yes, sir; a perfect pond of ice!"

"Did somebody flood your floor and then freeze it?" questioned the
master of the Hall in wonder.

"I don't know how it was done. But it was done, and I nearly broke my
neck the minute I entered the room. It was disgraceful! I never saw
anything to equal it!" and Asa Lemm's face was fairly purple with rage.

"And what about those goats?"

"They were locked up in my closet and dressed up in some clothing--my
clothing, I suppose."

"Then, when they ran out of the building, they must have taken your
clothing with them."

"More than likely. Oh, it's shameful!" and the irate professor shook his
fists in his rage.

"Where are the goats now?"

"I don't know, and I don't care."

"One of those goats knocked me flat," growled Slugger Brown.

"Yes, and he biffed me one, too," came from Nappy Martell.

"Let us go and make an investigation, Professor Lemm," remarked Colonel
Colby. "I will accompany you to your room," for they were now near the
stairway which the goats had descended.

The pair proceeded to the apartment, followed by some of the other
teachers and nearly all of the cadets. By this time much of the ice on
the floor had melted, forming little pools of muddy water.

"We had better have this cleaned up at once," said Colonel Colby, and
turned to one of the teachers. "Order some of the hired help up here,
please;" and the teacher hurried off to execute the errand.

While Colonel Colby was looking at the ice and the water, Asa Lemm
chanced to glance in a corner. Then he strode forward and caught up the
bundle Walt Baxter had flung there.

"What is that?" questioned the master of the Hall. And then, as the
professor undid the bundle, he continued: "Is that your clothing?"

"I--I think it is," faltered Asa Lemm. "Yes, sir."

"Did they undress the animals before they let them go?" queried the
master of the school, and, if the truth must be told, he had all he
could do to keep a straight face. He could not help but remember some of
the pranks he had played himself while a cadet at Putnam Hall.

"I don't know anything about this, Colonel Colby. But these are my
things," and, catching up the bundle, Asa Lemm flung it into the
clothing closet. He continued to storm around, demanding that some of
the boys be punished for what had occurred. While this was going on, two
of the hired help came up from the kitchen with pails and mops, and
presently succeeded in cleaning up the floor. Two rugs which had been
lying there were taken away to be dried.

"I think we had better let this matter rest until morning," said
Colonel Colby finally. "It is too late to start an investigation now. I
wish all of you to retire at once," he commanded, to the amused cadets.

"Some one is going to suffer for this," growled Asa Lemm.

"I shall do what I can for you, Professor," announced the master of the
Hall, and then he moved away, scattering the cadets before him.

Most of the boys retired to their rooms smiling broadly to themselves,
for nearly all of them had enjoyed the joke greatly.

"But it isn't over yet," whispered Andy to his immediate friends. "There
is more to come. Just watch and see!"




CHAPTER XII

IN COLONEL COLBY'S OFFICE


As soon as Jack and Walt returned to Colby Hall, they hurried up to the
rooms occupied by the Rover boys. They found Jack's cousins present, and
also Gif, Spouter and several others.

"We had the best luck ever!" declared Jack, and related how they had
managed to get the goats back to Mike O'Toole's stable without the Irish
farmer being aware of what had happened.

"Say, that's fine!" burst out Andy.

"We want to be on the watch," remarked Randy. "Old Lemon will be going
to bed pretty soon, and we want to find out just how comfortable he
finds his bed," and he grinned.

Word had been passed around to about a dozen of the cadets, and as soon
as the school had quieted down and the others had retired to their
rooms, these cadets came forth into the halls on tiptoes and made their
way noiselessly in the direction of the apartment occupied by Asa Lemm.

"He's arranging that clothing in his closet," announced Andy, after
peering through the keyhole in the door. "He's partly undressed, so I
guess he'll go to bed pretty soon."

There was a short silence, and then the boys heard the bed creak as
Professor Lemm got into it. An instant later came a cry of rage.

"What's this? More ice, I declare! The bed is sopping wet! Oh, those
young rascals!" for Asa Lemm had thrown himself down beneath the spread
under which had been placed several sheets of thin ice. A large portion
of the ice had melted, and the sheets were as wet as they were cold. As
a consequence, his pajamas were pretty well soaked, and he shivered as
he threw the covers back and bounced to his feet.

"He's enjoying it all right enough," whispered Andy.

"Hang those boys!" roared the irate teacher. "Oh, what I wouldn't do to
them if I had them here!" He hopped around the room first on one foot
and then on the other, shivering as he did so. As was usual, the steam
throughout the building had been turned off some time before, so that
the apartment was quite cold.

"We had better scatter," warned Jack. "He may open the door at any
instant and find us here."

"Right you are!" answered Randy, and then, unable to resist the
temptation, he bent down and shouted through the keyhole: "Pleasant
dreams, Professor! I hope you enjoyed the ice-water!"

Then all of the cadets fled to their rooms, and in less than five
minutes each of them was undressed and safe in bed.

If ever there was an angry man, it was Asa Lemm at that particular
moment. He had to change all his night clothing, and then don a bathrobe
and slippers and go down below once more and get some of the hired help
to clean up his room and take away the wet mattress of his bed. A dry
mattress was substituted from a vacant bedroom, but it was all of half
an hour before this work was accomplished; and in the meantime the
professor stormed around, threatening about everything he could imagine.

"I'll have the law on them! I'll have every one of them locked up!" he
said to Colonel Colby. "It's an outrage that I should be treated in this
fashion."

"It is certainly a most unpleasant occurrence, Professor," agreed the
master of the Hall. "But boys will be boys--you know that as well as I
do. I can remember when I went to school, I loved to play practical
jokes, and they were not always kindly jokes, either. But as for having
these boys arrested, or anything of that sort, that, I think, would be
going too far. We can punish them enough right here--that is, provided
we can find out who they are."

"I don't believe in such jokes!"

"Neither do I--now that I have grown older. But I did believe in them
when I was a boy."

"The trouble with this school is, the discipline is not strict enough,"
snapped Asa Lemm. "If we are not more strict, the cadets will degenerate
into nothing but rowdies and hoodlums."

"I think I am the best judge of how discipline should be maintained in
this institution," responded Colonel Colby, with dignity. "I will take
this matter up in the morning and do my best to sift it to the bottom.
Now I think we had better retire, as it is growing late," and thereupon
he returned to his own rooms.

"I think that was the best joke we ever played," remarked Andy, when he
and the other Rovers were dressing on the following morning.

"It sure did count one against old Lemon," chuckled Randy.

"Yes. And to think the way Slugger and Nappy were knocked over by the
goats too!" broke in Fred.

"I'll bet they're mad over that," observed Jack. "More than likely, it
will make them take a hand in assisting Lemm to find out who was
guilty. We'll have to be on our guard against them."

"Did anybody see you making off with the goats?" queried Randy suddenly.

"I don't think so," answered Jack. But in this surmise he was mistaken;
one cadet had seen Walt Baxter hurrying from the school with goats'
harness under his sweater, and this youth had, from a safe distance,
watched Jack and Walt place some of the harness on the goats and drive
them off in the direction of Mike O'Toole's farm.

This cadet was Codfish, who was always sneaking around, trying to pick
up information that did not rightly belong to him.

"Ha, ha!" said the little sneak to himself, after Walt and Jack had
disappeared. "Now I know who was responsible for bringing those goats
into the school."

At first the sneak thought he would report the matter to either Asa Lemm
or Colonel Colby, but as he was not in particularly good favor with the
professor on whom the joke had been played, he thought it might be as
well for him to wait and think the matter over.

"Maybe I had better tell Slugger and Nappy first and see what they've
got to say about it," he reasoned. He went to the bully and his crony
with everything.

He dressed early, and then went over to Nappy's room, where he found the
cronies together, just as he had surmised. They were talking over the
affair of the night before and wondering who could be guilty.

"I've got some news," announced Codfish.

"What news?" demanded Nappy.

"It's very important," went on the little cadet. "If I tell you will you
promise not to give me away?"

"Is it about last night's affair, Cod?" demanded Slugger quickly.

"Now look here, Slugger! You promised not to call me Cod any more,"
pleaded the sneak.

"All right, Henry. That was merely a slip of the tongue," returned the
bully good-naturedly. He knew exactly how to handle such a fellow as
Stowell. "Now tell us what you've got on your mind."

"Will you promise not to give me away?"

"Sure!" came from both of the others promptly.

"Well then, I know who brought those two goats into the school last
night," announced Codfish proudly; and thereupon, being urged to do so
by the others, he told of what he had seen.

"I knew the Rovers were mixed up in that!" cried Slugger.

"And I've noticed that Walt Baxter has been training with them. More
than likely it was the work of the whole Rover crowd," announced Nappy.

"Don't you think we ought to let Colonel Colby know about this?"
questioned Codfish anxiously. It was his delight to get other cadets
into trouble and see them suffer, but he always wanted to keep his own
actions dark for fear his schoolmates might turn on him and start in to
"square up."

"Of course we ought to let Colonel Colby know about this--and Professor
Lemm too," answered Nappy. "The question is, how can we do it without
getting mixed up in it ourselves?"

"We might send a note to Colonel Colby," suggested the sneak.

The matter was talked over for several minutes, and then it was decided
that two notes should be written and one delivered to Colonel Colby and
the other to Asa Lemm.

"Who is going to write the notes?" questioned Codfish.

"You can do that, Henry," said the bully quickly. He had not forgotten
how the anonymous letter he had once sent out had been traced back to
him, in spite of the disguised handwriting.

"Oh, I couldn't do that!" answered Stowell in alarm. And he shook his
head vigorously.

"Yes, you can!" broke in Nappy. And thereupon, somewhat against his
will, Codfish penned the two notes in as much of a disguised hand as was
possible for him.

"But I'm not going to deliver the notes," he warned feebly. "You two
have got to do that much."

"All right, we will," answered Slugger. He turned to his crony. "You
slip one of them under Professor Lemm's door, and I'll place the other
on Colonel Colby's desk."

"All right, but be careful."

"Bet your life!"

Asa Lemm was just finishing his morning toilet and grumbling over the
happenings of the night, when he chanced to glance toward the door of
his room, and at that moment saw a letter thrust under it. He stared for
an instant in amazement, and then rushed forward and threw the door wide
open. But his movement, quick as it was, came too late, for Nappy
Martell had already slipped around a corner and made his escape. Taking
up the letter, the professor read the contents with great interest. The
communication ran as follows:

     "DEAR PROFESSOR LEMM:

     "If you want to know more about the trouble last night, ask John
     Rover and Walter Baxter. They had the two billy goats. I think you
     will find that all of the Rovers and the boys who go with them were
     in this joke.

     "Yours respectfully,

     _"One Who Knows."_

"So that's who is guilty!" muttered the teacher, after reading the
letter a second time. "The Rovers, eh? I might have known it because of
the trouble I have had with them in the classroom. And I remember now
that I have also had trouble with that Baxter boy. I must see Colonel
Colby about this at once."

The professor hurried downstairs, and found that Colonel Colby had
entered his office but a few minutes before, and was perusing the
communication left there secretly by Slugger Brown.

"I have found out who was guilty last night," snapped Asa Lemm, as he
flourished the letter in his hand.

"Did you receive an anonymous communication?" demanded the master of the
Hall.

"I did, sir. But what makes you ask that question?"

"I have such a communication myself," and Colonel Colby indicated the
epistle.

"We must punish those rascals, sir!"

"First I want to find out if there is any truth in these letters,"
answered Colonel Colby. "Very frequently anonymous communications cannot
be relied upon."

"Oh, I haven't the least doubt but what Rover and Baxter are guilty!"
exclaimed Asa Lemm quickly. "I've had trouble in the classroom with
them, and also with the other Rovers. I should not be surprised if the
whole crowd had something to do with it."

"I will send for Rover and Baxter."

It must be confessed that Jack was somewhat surprised when one of the
assistants came to him and told him he was wanted immediately in the
office.

"Gee! this looks bad!" cried Randy.

"Want any of us to go with you?" questioned Fred quickly.

"No; I can face the music alone," answered the oldest Rover boy.

He arrived at the office just as another assistant was bringing in Walt
Baxter. The two exchanged glances, but said nothing. But the glance
given Walt meant, "Keep mum," and the other understood and nodded
slightly.

"So here you are, eh?" cried Asa Lemm, before Colonel Colby had a chance
to say a word. "I thought I'd catch you!"

"Excuse me, Professor Lemm, but I wish you would allow me to conduct
this examination," put in Colonel Colby a trifle stiffly. If the truth
must be told, the overbearing manner of the teacher was not any more to
the liking of the master of the Hall than it was to the cadets. Yet, Asa
Lemm had come well recommended, and Colonel Colby did not wish to pass
hasty judgment on him.

"Yes, sir," returned the professor. "But please remember I have suffered
greatly, and I demand satisfaction."

"I have sent for you cadets in order to clear up the affair that
happened last night," began Colonel Colby, ignoring Asa Lemm's last
remark. "I have been given to understand that you were the two to bring
those goats into the Hall. Am I right?"

"I did not bring the goats into the Hall," returned Walt Baxter
promptly. "Just the same, I guess I'm as guilty as anybody," he added
quickly, not wishing to shirk responsibility.

"I was one of the cadets who brought the goats into the Hall, Colonel
Colby," answered Jack promptly.

"Baxter did not assist in bringing them into the Hall?"

"No, sir."

"But you were not alone, Rover?"

"No, sir."

"Who was with you in this escapade?"

"I prefer not to answer that question, Colonel Colby."

"Make him answer! Make him answer!" stormed Asa Lemm. "You young rascal!
I'll teach you to play tricks on me!" and he shook his fist in Jack's
face.

"Professor Lemm, I'll thank you to be less violent," interrupted Colonel
Colby. "This examination must be held in an orderly fashion. You say you
were not alone, Rover. Will you tell me how many were mixed up in this
affair?"

Jack thought for a moment. "Do you mean the whole happening in Professor
Lemm's room?"

"Yes."

"Oh, there were eight or ten of us--maybe more. Of course, some had more
to do with it than others," responded Jack.

"Eight or ten of you!" gasped Asa Lemm. "As many as that?" And his face
showed his surprise. He had imagined that possibly only the Rover boys
and Walt Baxter were guilty.