"Are you quite sure you don't want to mention any names, Rover?" asked
Colonel Colby again.

"No, Colonel. And if you were in my position, I do not think you would
want to mention any of them either," added Jack, looking the master of
the Hall squarely in the eyes.

"We won't discuss that side of the question." Colonel Colby turned to
Walt Baxter. "How about you? Do you care to say who was mixed up in this
affair?"

"No, sir," was the prompt response.

"Make them tell! Make them tell!" exclaimed Asa Lemm. "Punish them
severely! Put them in the guardhouse on bread and water until they are
willing to divulge the names of all the rascals who were mixed up in
these outrageous proceedings."

"I am not going to make them tell if they won't do it on their own
account," was Colonel Colby's answer. As a cadet at Putnam Hall, he had
never had any use for a tale bearer.

"Then I'll take the law in my own hands!" cried Asa Lemm vindictively.
"I'll go down to Haven Point and make a complaint and have them both
arrested!"




CHAPTER XIII

ASA LEMM IS DISMISSED


While the examination of Jack and Walt was taking place in the office,
the other Rovers and their chums held a meeting in Randy's room.

"What do you suppose this means--calling Jack and Walt down to the
colonel's office?" remarked Fred anxiously. He had just been informed by
Dan Soppinger about Walt.

"It was Jack and Walt who took those goats back. Maybe somebody spotted
them," suggested Spouter.

The discussion lasted for some minutes and grew quite warm, and then
Andy leaped up.

"I know what I'm going to do!" he said. "I'm going below and try to find
out just what it means."

"And so am I," added Fred and Randy quickly.

"We'll all stand by him," announced Spouter. "Of course, you fellows
brought the goats here, but I think we had as much to do with the rest
of it as any of you."

Andy hurried off, and lost no time in making his way to the door of
Colonel Colby's private office. The door had been left slightly ajar, so
it was an easy matter for him to take in most of what was said.

"Gracious! this certainly is growing serious," he murmured to himself,
when Asa Lemm made the declaration that he would go down to Haven Point
and have Jack and Walt arrested. "I guess I had better let the others
know about it," and he scurried upstairs again.

"Oh, Andy! do you suppose old Lemon will really have them locked up?"
questioned Fred anxiously, after being told of what was taking place
below.

"I don't think he would dare to do it," announced Spouter.

"I move we all go down and take a hand in this!" cried Gif. "There is no
fairness in letting Jack and Walt suffer for what we did."

Several other cadets had drifted in, those who had either been on the
watch while the joke was being prepared or who had assisted in placing
the sheets of ice on the floor and in the bed, and all agreed that the
crowd had better stand together when it came to acknowledging what had
been done.

"Forward march!" cried Gif, who, as a leader in athletics, took it upon
himself to manage the affair. "Come on now--and no shirking!"

Braced up by numbers, all of the cadets fell in readily with this plan,
and as a consequence there were ten boys led by Gif and the Rovers who
marched down to the office.

"We'll enter by column of twos," announced Gif. "March in in regular
military fashion," he added, and then knocked upon the office door.

Colonel Colby was doing what he could to question Jack and Walt on one
hand, while trying to make Asa Lemm keep quiet on the other, when the
others arrived. The master of the Hall was having no easy time of it,
because Professor Lemm seemed to be growing more and more excited.

"I'll have the law on them, I tell you!" he cried. "They ought to go to
state's prison for this!"

"Please be quiet just a minute, Professor," remonstrated Colonel Colby.
Then came the knock on the door, and the colonel flung it open, not at
all pleased over the interruption.

"Wha--what does this mean?" gasped Asa Lemm, as he saw the double row of
cadets filing in.

"Colonel Colby, we have come to report," announced Gif, saluting.

"Please allow me to be the spokesman, Gif," pleaded Randy, stepping to
the front. And then, before his school chum could speak, he continued:
"Colonel Colby, we have come to give ourselves up."

"Give yourselves up! What do you mean, Rover?"

"We were all in this lark together, sir."

"And if there is to be any punishment we want to stand for our share of
it," added Andy.

"I think we Rover boys were more to blame than the others," put in Fred.

"You see, Professor Lemm is down on us, and we thought we had to do
something to get square," Andy endeavored to explain.

"He doesn't treat us fairly in the classroom!" cried Spouter.

"If he wasn't here we'd get along without any trouble whatever," piped
up a voice in the rear.

It must be confessed that the sudden entrance of the ten cadets, and
what they had to say concerning the joke that had been played, somewhat
stumped the master of the Hall. As for Asa Lemm, for the moment he was
dumbfounded; but then his natural antipathy to boys asserted itself, and
he glared at them viciously.

"So you were all in it, eh?" he snarled. "I might have known as much.
You are all a pack of rowdies! You are not fit to associate with
respectable people!"

"Professor Lemm, I do not wish you to address our cadets in such a
manner," said Colonel Colby sternly. "These young gentlemen are not
rowdies, even though they have played a joke which was not particularly
nice. I do not uphold them in the least in what they have done, but, at
the same time, I cannot help but remember that they are only boys, and
that boys are sometimes very thoughtless."

"Thoughtless! They think too much! I tell you, sir, they are a pack of
rowdies, and unless you punish them, and punish them severely, I shall
take the matter in my own hands and have them arrested."

"If you do anything of that sort, Professor Lemm, we will have to
dispense with your services in this school," announced Colonel Colby
flatly. He was growing weary of the irate teacher's manner.

A strenuous half hour followed, everybody present forgetting all about
roll call and breakfast. Colonel Colby did what he could in questioning
all of the cadets regarding the occurrences of the night before, but was
continually interrupted by the unreasonable teacher. Finally he could
stand it no longer, and turned to the professor with all the dignity he
could command.

"Professor Lemm, I have stood enough," he said in a cold, hard voice,
which instantly commanded attention. "I want no more such language from
you. You may go to your breakfast, and I will conduct this examination
alone, and will see you about it before we begin the day's session in
the school. And, in the meantime, allow me to impress upon you that it
is all nonsense to talk about having any of these boys arrested. They
have done nothing that warrants arrest, and if you attempt anything of
that sort, you will not only make yourself ridiculous, but you might
place yourself open to a suit for damages. Now, please leave this
office."

"I'll see about this! I'll see about this!" snapped the unreasonable
teacher, and left the office in anything but a dignified fashion.

As soon as Professor Lemm had gone, the master of the Hall questioned
the boys closely concerning, not only the affair of the night before,
but also about the troubles they had had with the teacher, both in the
classroom and elsewhere. This was the first time the boys had had a
chance to "get one in on old Lemon," as Andy afterwards declared, and
they did not mince matters in telling of the many trials and
tribulations which Asa Lemm had caused them. It is barely possible that
some of the complaints were overdrawn, yet there was such a unanimity of
opinion concerning Professor Lemm's harshness that Colonel Colby was
quite impressed.

"Now I want to ask you boys a question, and I want you to answer it
honestly," said Colonel Colby toward the close of the examination.
"Would you have played such a trick as this upon any of the other
professors?"

"I wouldn't," answered Randy quickly.

"Nor I," came from Fred and Andy.

"I'd never dream of playing such a trick on anybody but a man like
Professor Lemm," announced Jack. The others also agreed that it was not
likely any such joke would have been played on anybody else in the Hall.

"Then, evidently, none of you likes Professor Lemm," said Colonel Colby
slowly.

To this there was no reply, but the look on the faces of the various
cadets showed the master of the Hall that he had struck the truth.

"Now I'm going to ask you boys another question," he went on, after a
pause, and there was a faint smile on his face when he spoke. "Don't you
think you ought to be punished for what you have done?"

For a moment there was another silence. Then Jack spoke up.

"In one way, yes, sir; but in another, no," he replied. "Professor Lemm
treated us very unjustly in the classroom in making us stay in and
making us do extra lessons, and we didn't know of any other way to get
square with him."

"Looks to me as if we got our punishment before we played the joke,"
said Andy, and this reply made some of the cadets grin.

Colonel Colby looked out of the window, which faced the snow-covered
campus. Although the boys did not know it, he hardly knew what to say or
do. He realized that he could not pass over the occurrence without
punishing the lads, and yet he could see their point of view--that Asa
Lemm had been the first at fault in not treating them fairly during
classes.

"Order has got to be maintained in this school," he said finally, as he
faced them. "If we did not have order, the whole institution would go to
pieces. That is my first point. My second is that two Wrongs have never
yet made a Right, and instead of taking matters into your own hands, as
you did, after having trouble with Professor Lemm, you should have come
to me and told me what was wrong.

"I shall take this matter up later, after I have had an opportunity to
make further inquiries concerning your conduct. In the meantime, you
may go to breakfast, and then to your classes;" and thus he dismissed
them.

Of course, as soon as the boys were by themselves, they began to discuss
the situation from every possible angle. Several wanted to know how it
was that the master of the Hall had learned that Jack and Walt were
guilty.

"Somebody sent Colonel Colby a note about us. I saw it on his desk,"
answered Jack.

"Yes, and Asa Lemm had another note just like it," added Walt. "Some
sneak in this school must have watched us, and then sent the notes."

Much to the cadets' relief, they did not see Asa Lemm in the messroom.
Nor did the language teacher show himself during the morning session.

"Perhaps he's having another talk with Colonel Colby," suggested Fred.

The youngest Rover was right. The unreasonable teacher was closeted with
the master of the Hall for over an hour, and during that time much of
what had been told by the cadets was threshed over. Asa Lemm was as
unreasonable as ever, and finally Colonel Colby lost all patience with
him.

"I am afraid, Professor Lemm, that you are not suited to be a teacher in
this institution," he said. "Your actions here show that you are very
irritable and unreasonable. After you left this office, I questioned all
of those cadets closely, and all had practically the same story to tell;
namely, that you had required more than was fair of them in your
classes, and that, on the slightest pretext, you had punished them by
making them stay in and do extra lessons. I went into many of the
details, and I am convinced that in a good proportion of the cases the
students were right and you were wrong. Now, I regret this very much,
because I realize that----"

"Sir, I don't want to be talked to in this fashion!" cried Asa Lemm,
bridling up. "I was not in the wrong at all. Those boys are regular
imps! They don't know how to treat a teacher decently! I won't stand for
their nonsense! I want them severely punished, or else----"

"Wait a moment, Professor Lemm," interrupted the colonel, rising and
facing him sternly. "I said I was sorry, and I am; but I feel that you
are not the man to teach in this institution, and consequently I must
ask you for your resignation. I will pay you your salary up to the first
of next month, and you can leave this school just as soon as you
desire."

"Wha--what? This! to me?" ejaculated the professor in consternation.

"Yes, sir. You can draw your pay, and, if you wish, you can leave this
morning."

"But--but--this is outrageous! I won't stand it! I was hired for the
school year!"

"You were--on condition that your services were entirely satisfactory to
me. They are not satisfactory, and consequently I am giving you this
opportunity to resign."

"If I have to leave, I'll have those boys arrested!" stormed Asa Lemm.

"I don't think I'd be so foolish, if I were in your place, Professor.
What they did was nothing but a foolish schoolboy joke, and they did
that simply to get square with you for your unreasonable conduct toward
them. I think the best you can do is to drop the matter. If you insist
on dragging this affair before the public, perhaps the boys, and I,
myself, will have something to say that you will not care to hear."

"We'll see--we'll see!" cried Asa Lemm, shaking his head and with his
eyes blazing wrathfully. "We'll see about this!" and thus speaking, he
stamped away.




CHAPTER XIV

OVERHEARING A PLOT


"Professor Lemm has left Colby Hall!"

"What do you mean, Jack? Left the Hall for good?"

"Yes, Randy."

"Who told you that?" questioned Fred eagerly.

"I just got it from Professor Brice. He said that old Lemon resigned,
took his pay, and left yesterday afternoon while we were in classes."

"Hurrah! that's the best news I've heard in a year of Sundays!" cried
Andy. "Gone for good! Just think of it!" and, in high spirits, he began
to do a jig, and ended with a handspring across the room, landing with a
violent thump on the bed.

"Hi, you, Andy!" remonstrated Jack. "Just because you are happy is no
reason you should bust up my sleeping place."

"Wow! I feel fine enough to do almost anything," returned the fun-loving
Rover. "Just to think of it! We won't be worried by Asa Lemm any more!"

"Don't you be too sure of that," went on his cousin. "Asa Lemm is gone,
it is true; but we may hear from him, nevertheless. When he went away he
was an angry as ever, so Professor Brice said."

As was usual, the Rovers had congregated in their rooms, along with
several of their chums. Outside it was snowing once again, the soft
particles whirling in all directions and clinging fast to the window
panes. It was the off hour of the afternoon, but none of the lads had
cared to go outside, or even visit the school library.

The news that Asa Lemm had left the Hall was true. Following his heated
interview with Colonel Colby, he had written out his resignation,
accepted his pay for the month, packed his baggage, and left the school,
never to return. Only several of the teachers and the man who had driven
him away had seen him go; and this was as Colonel Colby wished it, for
he was afraid that if the cadets were present at the disliked teacher's
departure, they would make some sort of demonstration against him.

Strange as it may seem, Colonel Colby had said nothing further about
punishing the cadets. Evidently he had taken their word for it that
they would not have played the trick on any other teacher in the
school, and possibly he remembered what Andy had said to the effect that
the boys had been punished beforehand for what had been done. A few of
the lads were afraid that the matter might be taken up later, but the
majority had reached the conclusion that they would hear no more
concerning it.

"It's too bad it's snowing," said Jack, after he and the others had
tired of speaking about the departed teacher. "I had an idea we would be
able to get in some fine skating before we left for the Christmas
holidays."

The Rover boys had not forgotten the fact that both Asa Lemm and Colonel
Colby had received notes concerning the joke that had been played. They
remembered well how Slugger Brown, as related in a previous volume, had
sent an anonymous communication to Elias Lacy, accusing them of having
shot the old farmer's cows.

"If Slugger was mean enough to send that letter, he'd be mean enough to
send these notes," was the way Jack put it.

"I wish we could see one or both of the letters," remarked Randy. "We
could very quickly tell if they were in Slugger's handwriting, or
Nappy's either."

"Oh, you can bet they'd disguise their handwriting as much as possible,"
said Fred.

The snow continued the next day, and it was so windy and unpleasant
outdoors that the battalion had to dispense with its outdoor parade and
spend that time in a drill in the gymnasium. After this was over the
Rovers and some of their chums amused themselves on the bars, swinging
rings, and with the exercising machines the gymnasium afforded.

The boys were doing all sorts of stunts, when suddenly Fred called Randy
to one side.

"Come on with me," he said in a low voice. "I think I've discovered
something."

His manner showed that he had something unusual on his mind, and Randy
lost no time in doing as was bidden. The two cousins hurried to a corner
of the gymnasium, and then Fred led the way up a narrow stairway, which
opened up on the second floor of the building, a place which was heated,
but seldom used by the majority of the cadets. It was used more as a
storeroom, and contained a lot of disused gymnasium paraphernalia and
boxes and barrels.

"What's going on up here?" questioned Randy, when his cousin placed a
hand over his mouth.

"I just saw Slugger and Nappy come up here with Codfish," whispered
Fred. "And those three wouldn't come to such an out-of-the-way place if
there wasn't something in the wind."

"You're right there, Fred," was the equally low reply. "When those three
get together on the sly there is generally something brewing."

Before emerging on the second floor of the gymnasium, they looked around
cautiously. At the far end, near a steam radiator, they saw Slugger and
Nappy seated on a couple of boxes, while Codfish rested on the top of an
old nail keg. The two older boys were puffing away at cigarettes,
something that was against the school rules.

"Might as well have a cigarette, Henry," Slugger was saying
good-naturedly, and, at the same time, holding out a box.

"I--I don't think I will," answered Codfish.

"Oh, go ahead. It will make a man of you," put in Nappy; and, somewhat
against his will, the small cadet took a cigarette and lit it.

While this was going on, Fred and Randy had managed to step from the top
of the stairs to where a number of boxes were piled up. They moved along
cautiously, and soon got to within a few feet of where the other three
cadets were seated, without being noticed.

"Now, then, let's come to business!" remarked Slugger, after puffing
away at a cigarette for a moment. He blew a cloud of smoke to the
ceiling. "I think now is a dandy time to get square with those Rovers."

"But you want to be careful--they are awful sly," said Codfish.

"I think you are mistaken, Henry. They didn't find out about those
notes," and the bully chuckled.

"Just the same, Slug, I think we ought to take Cod's advice and be
careful," broke in Nappy, lighting a fresh cigarette. "I have a hunch
that the Rovers are watching us like a cat watches mice."

"Maybe they are. But I guess we know how to fool them," went on the
bully swaggeringly. "And now is just our chance to get them into a
hole."

"Explain, please."

"It's just like this, Nappy. Of course, they haven't admitted it, but
you know just as well as I do that Colonel Colby must have punished them
pretty severely for the trick they played on Lemm. What he did to them,
we don't know, but probably he has given 'em some extra lessons to do,
and maybe he's punished 'em in other ways."

"Oh, sure! he must have punished them somehow."

"I haven't seen any of them going down to town since it happened," put
in Codfish. "Maybe Colonel Colby made them promise to stay within
bounds."

"Perhaps. Well, as I was saying, being punished, they, of course, are
pretty sore on the colonel. Now then, if we can only play some dirty
trick on Colonel Colby and make it appear as if the Rovers and their
crowd did it, they'll sure get into hot water over it."

"I'm willing to do anything to square up with those fellows," grumbled
Nappy. He paused for a moment to puff away at his cigarette. "What do
you propose doing?"

"That, of course, is something we'll have to figure out. We'll want to
be careful, so as not to get our own fingers burnt."

"I'll tell you what you might do!" broke in Codfish eagerly. "You might
drop ashes all over Colonel Colby's office and his bedroom, and then
leave some of the ashes in a box in the Rovers' rooms, and somebody
might say something about having seen Jack Rover getting the ashes from
the boiler-room."

"That's good as far as it goes, Henry, but it isn't quite strong
enough," returned Slugger. "We ought to do something that will make
Colonel Colby hopping mad."

"I'll tell you what let's do!" broke out Nappy. "We'll use the ashes,
and we'll use some other things too. I was down past the kitchen a while
ago, and I heard one of the cooks complaining about some of the canned
tomatoes which were all spoiled and he was going to throw out. Now,
suppose we use some of those spoiled tomatoes with the ashes, and maybe
a quart or two of ink. How about it?"

"Great!" exclaimed Slugger. "Ashes, ink and decayed tomatoes will make
one fine combination, believe me!"

"Oh, you want to be very careful," remarked Codfish, his voice shaking a
little. "The ink will be sure to spoil some things, not to mention the
bad tomatoes."

"Well, we want to spoil something," returned Slugger. "We want to get
Colonel Colby real mad. Maybe then he'll send the Rovers home."

"How soon do you suppose we can play this joke?" questioned Nappy, while
Slugger lit a fresh cigarette.

"Perhaps we can play it very soon. We'll have to watch our chance," was
the answer. Slugger held out his box of cigarettes to Codfish. "Here,
Henry, have another."

"N-n-no, th-thank you," stammered the sneak. "I--I do--don't care to
smoke any more. It--it makes my head dizzy."

"Oh, you'll soon get over that. Come on, be a real man and smoke up!"
urged Slugger; and much against his will poor Codfish lit a second
cigarette, he having dropped the other behind the nail keg.

This talk was followed by an animated discussion between Slugger and
Nappy as to just how the proposed trick might be played. Codfish said
but little. He was growing pale, and at the first chance threw away the
second cigarette.

Of course Fred and Randy had listened to every word that was said.
Ordinarily, the Rovers did not favor playing the part of eavesdroppers,
but just now they thought they were amply justified in listening to
everything that their enemies might have to say.

"They are a fine bunch if ever there was one!" whispered Randy.

"Come on away; I guess we've heard enough," answered his cousin. "The
best thing we can do is to report to Jack and Andy, and then make up our
minds what we are going to do next."




CHAPTER XV

AN ALARM OF FIRE


With great care, so as not to make any noise, the two Rover boys tiptoed
their way back behind the boxes and barrels until they reached the
narrow stairway.

"Come on! But don't make a bit of noise," said Randy quickly, and went
down the stairs as rapidly as possible, with Fred at his heels. Reaching
the lower floor of the gymnasium, they shut the door, and then lost no
time in mixing with the other Rovers and their chums at the far end of
the building.

"Where have you fellows been?" questioned Jack, who had suddenly noticed
their absence.

"I'll tell you later," said Fred.

"Now, don't say a word more about our being away--especially if Slugger
and Nappy and Codfish come this way. Act just as if we had been here
right along."

"I get you, Randy," said Jack; and a minute later, as the others who had
been mentioned came into sight, he continued in a loud voice: "Go
ahead, Randy, it's your turn. Have you been asleep?"

"No; I'm not asleep," answered Randy, and caught a ball which was being
pitched around.

Fred began to practise on an exercising machine, and acted as if he had
been at it for some time.

Soon Slugger, Nappy and Codfish came down and passed the crowd, eyeing
all of them closely. Then Slugger winked to the others, and the three
made their way slowly from the gymnasium building.

"Now then, I'll tell you fellows something," announced Fred; and
thereupon he and his cousin related to the others what they had
overheard in the upper room of the building.

"So that's their game, is it?" cried Jack wrathfully. "That's the way
they are going to pay us back for agreeing to give them another chance
at this school!"

"You ought to tell Colonel Colby about this at once," put in Spouter,
who had listened to what was being said. "Then he can have those rascals
watched."

"I don't like the idea of going to Colonel Colby," Jack answered. "I
feel more like taking the matter in my own hands."

"Don't you do it, Jack," advised Gif. "Your idea would be all well
enough if they were ordinary cadets. But they are not. They should have
been dismissed from this school long ago. If I were you, I wouldn't
dirty my hands on them. Report the matter to the colonel, and let him
take charge of it."

"What is this you are saying, Garrison?" demanded a voice from close
behind the cadets, and Professor Brice appeared in the doorway of the
washroom of the gymnasium. "What is this you just said about Brown and
Martell?"

"I said they were not fit to be cadets in this institution," answered
Gif flatly.

"From what you young gentlemen have been saying, I should judge that you
know something concerning Brown and Martell," went on the young teacher,
with a glance around the crowd.

"We do know something," answered Walt, after a somewhat painful silence.
"That is, two of the crowd here know. We have been urging them to speak
to Colonel Colby about it."

"Who are the two, and what do you know?"

Again there was a silence, and then Spouter came to the front.

"Professor Brice, I'd like to ask a question," he said. "Two of the
cadets here overheard a talk between Brown, Martell and Stowell. Those
three proposed to play a most outrageous trick on Colonel Colby, and
then make it appear as if that trick had been played by some other
cadets. In fact, they were going to make all the evidence point to those
other cadets. Now, do you think those cadets ought to defend themselves
by telling Colonel Colby all they know? They feel that they don't want
to be tale bearers."

"If the trick was to be played solely to injure their reputation, they
certainly ought to expose it," was the teacher's quick response. "It is
one thing to tell on another person just for the sake of telling, and it
is quite a different thing to defend one's own reputation."

Following this there was quite a discussion, but in the end Professor
Brice convinced the Rovers that they had better tell the particulars of
what they had overheard. He listened to their story with close
attention.

"This is certainly worthy of an investigation," he said, after they had
finished. "I'll tell Colonel Colby about it, and maybe he will send for
you. If he does so, kindly take my advice and see to it that when you
come to the colonel's office you are not watched by Brown, Martell and
Stowell, or that may spoil everything. I think that the colonel will
agree with me that the thing to do is to catch those fellows
red-handed."

"All right, Professor, we'll leave everything in your hands," answered
Fred. Even yet he did not feel just right over what had been done. He
still felt that he and his cousins should have settled affairs privately
with Slugger Brown and his cronies, even if it had been a matter of fist
fights.

The young professor lost no time in going to Colonel Colby. He found the
master of the Hall in his study looking over the questions which were to
be used in the coming examination.

"I am sorry to report more trouble, sir," he announced, and, sitting
down, he gave Colonel Colby a rapid sketch of what had taken place at
the gymnasium.

"Too bad! too bad!" and the master of the Hall showed his
disappointment. He heaved a sigh. "It looks to me, Brice, as if I had
made a mistake in giving Brown and Martell another chance."

"Just what I was thinking, sir," returned the young teacher.

"You say the Rovers did not wish to report the matter?"

"That's it, sir. I had to fairly drag the story but of them. They did
not want to have the reputation of tale bearers."

"I think I understand their view of it, Brice. At the same time, this is
too serious a matter to allow them to settle it between themselves. I
think the best thing we can do is to have those three cadets watched
closely, to see if they really intend to carry out their nefarious
plot."

"Exactly what I was thinking, Colonel Colby."

"First, however, you may send Randy Rover and his Cousin Fred to me. I
want to question them, so as to make sure of my ground."

Expecting this call, Randy and Fred kept themselves in readiness, and as
soon as Professor Brice came for them they hurried off to the office,
taking care that none of their enemies should see them. Slugger, Nappy
and Codfish, however, were out of sight, having gone upstairs to their
rooms.

"Now, I want you to tell me exactly what was said," announced Colonel
Colby, as soon as the two cadets appeared.

They had their story well in mind, and it did not take long to give the
master of the Hall all of the details. In the midst of the conversation,
Fred let drop accidentally that the three unworthy cadets had been
smoking.

"They were smoking?" interrupted the colonel.

"Yes, sir. But--I--I--didn't mean to mention that," stammered Fred.

"What were they smoking, Rover?"

"Cigarettes."

"All of them?"

"Yes, sir. Although, to tell the truth, Codfish--I mean Stowell--didn't
seem to want to smoke, but Slugger--that is, Brown--urged him, so that
he didn't know how to get out of it. I guess the cigarette made him
sick."

"I see." Colonel Colby nodded his head slowly. "Now go on;" and then the
story of what had been overheard in the upper room of the gymnasium was
finished.

"It's an outrage! an outrage! if what you say is true; and I have no
reason to doubt your word," went on the master of the Hall, after the
cadets had finished. "I am sorry now that I gave Brown and Martell this
chance to return to our school."

To this neither of the Rovers made any reply. For an instant both of
them thought of the trick they had played on Asa Lemm. Colonel Colby
seemed to follow their thought.

"Your trick and this thing are two entirely different affairs,"
continued the colonel. "In the one case, you, in your boyish fashion,
tried to square up for the way you had been mistreated. In this case,
however, these cadets are trying to get you into trouble, and if this
trick had succeeded, it is just possible that I might have been angry
enough to send you and the rest of your family home."

"Well, don't send Brown and Martell home on our account," announced
Randy. "We are not afraid of them."

"That may be, Rover. But I cannot have such underhand work at this
school. Now I want you cadets to do me a favor. I want you to act
exactly as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred. I want you to
tell all of the others to keep quiet about this. I want to set a trap,
and if possible catch those rascals in the midst of their work. Do you
understand?"

"Yes, sir," came from both of the cadets.

"Then that is all."

Allowed to leave the office, Randy and Fred lost no time in hunting up
the others, who had gone upstairs to the Rover boys' rooms. On the way,
they met Walt, Spouter and Gif, and told these cadets to come along.
Then they closed the door to the hallway.

"It's to be kept a secret," announced Randy.

In subdued voices, so that no one passing in the hallway might hear
them, the Rovers and their chums discussed the situation. They were in
the midst of this when they suddenly heard a wild cry of alarm. Then
came a rush of footsteps, and less than a minute later the loud clanging
of a bell.

"Hello! what's that?" exclaimed Jack.

"Something is wrong--that's sure!" announced Randy.

"What's the bell ringing for?" queried Fred. "It isn't time for parade
yet."

"That isn't the parade bell!" ejaculated Gif. "That's the fire bell!
There must be a fire!"

The boys flung open the doors, and ran hastily into the hallway. Cadets
were pouring forth from every quarter, and there was a tremendous
excitement.

"Is the building on fire?"

"Take it easy, boys! Take it easy!" yelled Major Ralph Mason, as he
appeared at the head of one of the stairways. "There is no fire in this
building. Don't get excited."

"Where is the fire?" queried a dozen voices in chorus.

"It's down at the gym! The upper floor is in flames!"




CHAPTER XVI

PUTTING OUT THE FLAMES


"What do you know about that! The gym is on fire!" gasped Fred, and
clutched Randy by the arm. He looked at his cousin knowingly.

"I know what you're thinking, Fred. Those cigarettes that Slugger, Nappy
and Codfish were smoking----"

"That's it! They threw them down recklessly, and also threw down the
matches they had lighted."

"If the gym burns down Colonel Colby will hold them responsible for the
loss," put in Jack, who had heard what was said.

While this talk was taking place, all of the cadets were rushing down
the stairs. Soon they were out on the campus and headed through the
fast-falling snow in the direction of the gymnasium building.

A heavy smoke was pouring from a broken-out upper window, and also from
the edges of a scuttle on the roof. As the cadets hurried closer, they
saw a thin flame show itself for a moment just inside the window.

"It's on fire all right enough, but maybe they can get it under
control," announced Jack. "Come on, fellows! Do your duty!"

Warned by the fate which had overtaken Putnam Hall, Colonel Colby had
taken every possible precaution against fire. There were several large
water towers erected in and near the school buildings, and these were
connected with various fire plugs. There were also numerous lengths of
hose, with nozzles attached, hung up in the several buildings, and both
the cadets and the teachers had been instructed in a fire drill.

Some of the cadets, who had been in the gymnasium when the fire was
discovered, had already brought out the hose in that building and
attached it to one of the plugs. Now this water was turned on, and a
stream of fair size began to play upon the flames, the cadets, aided by
one of the teachers, dragging the hose up the narrow stairway for that
purpose.

"Get out hose number three and number eight!" directed Colonel Colby,
who was on the scene; and the cadets went to work with a will, and soon
had two more streams in action.

Despite the thickness of the smoke, two of the teachers and several of
the cadets had gone up into the second floor of the building and
located the fire.

"It's up near the steam radiator, just between the two windows,"
announced one of the teachers. "It's in some boxes and barrels that
contain straw and excelsior."

"Isn't the building on fire?" queried one cadet.

"The flames are going up to the roof, but so far they haven't broken
through."

The announcement that the fire so far was confined to some boxes and
barrels, nerved the cadets and the others to make a greater effort to
get it under control, and some began to fill buckets with water in the
washroom below, and these were passed up the narrow stairway and the
water thrown where it was apparently most needed.

Randy and Andy were in this bucket brigade, while Fred and Jack worked
with one of the hose gangs. It was exciting labor for all of the boys,
but this they did not mind.

"Hurrah! we're getting it under control!" shouted Major Mason presently.
"Keep it up, boys, and we'll save the whole building!"

In the crowd were, of course, Slugger, Nappy and Codfish. At the first
alarm they had run forth from the school and gazed in amazement at the
smoke pouring from the gymnasium.

"Oh, look! It's the gym that's on fire!" Codfish had burst out; and then
the little sneak had suddenly turned deadly pale, and would have sunk
down in the snow had not Slugger caught him.

"See here, Codfish!" hissed the bully, shaking him. "Don't you say a
word about this, do you understand? Not a word!"

"Don't you dare to admit to anybody that you were upstairs in the
gymnasium," added Nappy.

"I--I ain't going to say nothing!" sniveled Codfish, and then, of a
sudden, burst out crying. "You fellows let me alone! I didn't want to
smoke anyhow!" he wailed.

"Shut up! Don't you mention smoking to anybody, or I'll just about half
kill you!" hissed Slugger. "Now mind! not a word, if you know when you
are best off!" and then he gave Codfish's arm such a twist that the
little cadet screamed with pain.

Not to be suspected of what they had done, Slugger and Nappy mingled
with the other cadets and did their full share in working on the lines
of hose; but there were really more cadets than were needed for this
labor, so they had little to do. Codfish also tried to take hold, but he
trembled so that he soon had to give up, and then he ran back into the
Hall, where he sat on the stairs, half sobbing.

By this time there was little more than smoke to be seen in the upper
part of the gymnasium. The teachers and the cadets still continued to
play water into the building. Some now began to open all the windows,
realizing that a draft could not do much harm. Then, as the smoke began
to clear away, they began an investigation, so that the last spark of
the fire might be extinguished.

"I guess it's about out," announced Professor Brice presently. He had
worked hard, and his face and hands were streaked with black.

"I think you are right, Brice," answered Colonel Colby, who had also
mounted to the upper floor. "We may as well bring up a few buckets of
water, and then turn off all the hose. There is no use of flooding the
building, especially in this cold weather. As it is, I think the boys
will have a skating pond below by morning," and he smiled faintly.

"Do you suppose this started from the heating plant?" questioned the
teacher.

"Not at all!" was the low reply. "But we won't speak about that now,
Brice," added Colonel Colby significantly; and thereupon the young
teacher understood and said no more about the matter.

The cadets were sent below, and Colonel Colby and Professor Brice,
aided by a couple of the hired men, made a close examination of the spot
where the fire had taken place. It had been confined almost wholly to
three boxes, loosely filled with excelsior, and two barrels containing
straw and waste paper.

"It was a mistake to put such inflammable material up here," said
Colonel Colby to Mr. Crews, the gymnasium instructor.

"I realize that now, Colonel Colby," answered Silas Crews, and his
manner showed how much the fire had upset him. "But, you see, it was
this way. We got some of that new gymnasium material in only a couple of
weeks ago, and we weren't altogether satisfied with it--if you will
remember. I said something about sending it back. Well, it came in those
boxes and barrels, and so I just put them up here, thinking that maybe
we'd want to use them in sending the stuff back. If it hadn't been for
that, I'd have cleaned the boxes and barrels out and burnt the stuff
up."

"I see, Crews. Well, after this, I want you to be careful and not do
anything like that again."

"But I don't see how the boxes and barrels caught fire, sir," went on
the gymnasium instructor perplexedly. "We had no light up here, and I
don't see how they could catch from that little steam radiator over
there. Why, that radiator hardly gets warm!" It may be mentioned here
that the radiator had been placed on the upper floor of the gymnasium
because there had once been talk of partitioning this part of the floor
from the rest and making of it a meeting room for one of the cadet
clubs.

"I'll make an investigation later," answered Colonel Colby. "For the
present, as the steam heating plant seems to be in perfect order, you
had better start the fire up well, so that we can dry things out here.
Otherwise, all the pipes may freeze up, and that might give us more
trouble than this fire."

"Yes, sir. I'll see to it, sir," said Silas Crews hastily. "And I'll
have this whole place cleaned up the first thing in the morning. And
I'll also have the broken windows fixed."

As soon as he returned to the school, Colonel Colby sent for Randy and
Fred. He questioned them closely about the cigarette smoking indulged in
by Slugger, Nappy and Codfish.

"You two are quite sure that you were not smoking yourselves?" he
demanded sternly.

"We don't smoke, sir," answered Randy promptly.

"Did you light any matches while you were upstairs in the gymnasium?"

"No, sir. We had no need for a light," returned Fred.

"Have you any idea how this fire started?"

"I don't see how it could start unless it was from the cigarettes and
the matches those fellows used," answered Randy bluntly. "I hate to make
that statement, but the truth is the truth."

"I believe you are right, Rover. Now then, I wish you to do me a favor.
I want you to keep as quiet about this as you are to keep quiet about
that joke those cadets proposed to play. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir," answered both the Rovers.

"Then that is all for the present;" and, so speaking, Colonel Colby
dismissed the boys.

"I guess he's going to save this fire affair until he catches them
trying to play the joke," was Fred's comment, as they hurried away to
join the others.

"That's it, Fred." Randy looked at his cousin knowingly. "There is
certainly something coming to Slugger, Nappy and Codfish, isn't there?"




CHAPTER XVII

CAUGHT IN THE ACT


The news that there had been a fire at Colby Hall soon spread to the
town and to Clearwater Hall, and there were many anxious inquiries over
the telephone and otherwise as to whether anybody had been hurt.

"No, nobody was hurt, and the fire didn't amount to much," said Spouter,
when called up by his Cousin May. "Perhaps, when we see you girls
personally, we'll have something to tell you that will be a surprise."

In the middle of the afternoon of the day following the fire, a number
of letters were brought in by one of the hired men from the Haven Point
post-office.

"Here's a drop letter for you, Jack," remarked Gif, who was distributing
some of the mail. "Most likely from your best girl," and he smiled
good-naturedly.

"Doesn't look much like a girl's handwriting," answered the oldest Rover
boy, as he inspected the envelope. Wondering what the letter might
contain, he tore open the envelope and was considerably surprised to
read the following, written on a raggedly-torn half sheet of note paper:

     "You Rovers think yourselves smart, but do not forget that I am not
     done with you. You have been the means of my losing a very
     lucrative position. I will not have you arrested, for it would be a
     hard matter for me to obtain justice in this neighborhood; but I
     will remember you, and some day I will bring you to book for what
     you have done. You are nothing but a set of imps and hoodlums, and
     sooner or later Colby will learn the truth."

"This is undoubtedly from Professor Lemm," announced Jack, as he allowed
his cousins and their chums to read the letter.

"He's certainly a sweet-natured man," was Andy's comment. "He's real
charitable and kind, isn't he?" and this brought forth a smile from the
others.

"What do you think he'll do?" questioned Fred.

"I don't believe he'll do anything," answered Jack. "Fellows who write
such anonymous communications are usually cowards. Old Lemon belongs in
the class with Slugger, Nappy & Company."

The heavy snowstorm cleared away as rapidly as it had come, and the wind
blew the snow from large sections of the lake, so that the cadets could
once more enjoy themselves skating.

"Let's skate up to Clearwater Hall and see the girls," suggested Jack at
the first opportunity; and this was agreed to readily by all of the
crowd.

They found the girls of Clearwater Hall on the ice, watching out for
them, and soon the cadets and the girls were enjoying themselves
thoroughly.

"You must tell me all about the fire and about how Professor Lemm
happened to leave the Hall," said Ruth, as she skated away with Jack.

"I'll do that," he answered. "But you must keep a good part of what I'm
going to tell you a secret--at least for the present," he added, and
then gave the particulars of the joke which had been played on the
disliked teacher. Then he told of what had occurred at the gymnasium.

"Oh, Jack! do you really think Slugger and Nappy and that little Codfish
set the gymnasium on fire?" cried the girl.

"I think they did, Ruth--although, of course, it was by accident."

"What dreadful boys they must be getting to be," sighed the girl.

She had quite a few things to tell about happenings at the Hall, and
also mentioned what she intended to do during the Christmas holidays.

"I wish you were coming down to New York," said Jack. "I'd like first
rate to have you meet my Sister Martha and my Cousin Mary."

"Perhaps I shall get down there some time, Jack. Are you going to stay
at home during all of the holidays?"

"No. We have been planning to stay at home about a week, and then, if we
can arrange it, we want to visit Snowshoe Island and do a little hunting
before school opens again."

"Then you're going to accept old Uncle Barney's invitation!"

"That's the idea, Ruth. You don't mind, do you?" and the oldest Rover
boy looked anxiously at his companion.

"Not at all. In fact, I'm rather glad to hear of your going to the
island. It may give you a chance to talk to old Uncle Barney about my
folks. And if you get any such chance, I hope you'll impress it upon him
that we want to be friends."

When the cadets returned to Colby Hall, both Jack and Fred were in
unusual good humor, for, not only had Ruth said she would try to get
down to New York during the holidays, but May had told Fred that if
Spouter came down to the metropolis she would try to accompany her
cousin.

Several days slipped by, and the Rover boys applied themselves closely
to their lessons, for they wished to make as good a showing as possible
during the coming examinations. During that time, they saw Slugger,
Nappy and Codfish a number of times, but all of those unworthies seemed
to give them a wide berth.

Although Colonel Colby had not given the Rovers any of the particulars
of what he proposed to do, he had not forgotten what Randy and Fred had
told him. He had had a conference on the subject with Professor Brice,
Silas Crews, and Bob Nixon, the chauffeur, and Nixon and Crews were
detailed to watch every movement made by the bully and his cronies.

It was on the following Tuesday, the day previous to the examinations,
that Silas Crews came hurrying to the master of the Hall, who had just
entered the school library in search of a certain book.

"I think Brown and Martell are at it," he announced in a low tone of
voice. "Martell just sneaked a quart bottle of ink from the storeroom,
while Brown picked up some of the cans of vegetables which were cast
aside by the cook as unfit to eat. Now they have both gone down into the
boiler-room, evidently after those ashes."

"Continue to watch them, Crews, and tell Nixon to watch them, too. I
will notify Professor Brice, and also Captain Dale." Captain Dale was
the military instructor of the Academy.

Silas Crews hurried off, and Colonel Colby lost no time in notifying the
others of what was taking place. As a result, a guard was established,
which took cognizance of every move made by Slugger and Nappy. Why it
was that Codfish was not with them, nobody knew. The fact was, the poor
little sneak had been so terrified at the mere mention of doing anything
further that he had burst out crying and locked himself in his room,
stating that he was too sick to act.

Having obtained the bottle of ink and several cans of spoiled tomatoes,
Slugger and Nappy watched their chance and visited the boiler-room under
the school. Here they found a dozen large cans of ashes, and also an old
empty soap-box.

"We'll fill the soap box half full of ashes," said Slugger, "and then we
can place the opened-up cans of tomatoes and the opened-up bottle of ink
on top. When we get the stuff over to Colonel Colby's rooms, we can
spread half of everything around where it will make the best showing,
then we can skip over to the offices and do the same thing, and after
that we'll rush back and leave a little trail of ashes and some ink
leading into the Rovers' rooms, and place the empty ink bottle and the
empty cans in their closets and put the ash-box under one of the beds."

"Dandy!" replied Nappy. "Come on!"

Not knowing that Bob Nixon was watching them from a corner of the
boiler-room, they soon had the box of ashes and other stuff ready. Then,
watching their chance to see that the coast was clear, they sneaked up
out of the boiler-room and then out of the school by a side door. Here a
path led to the nearby building where Colonel Colby had his private
suite of rooms.

"Now then, hurry up!" cried Nappy, who was beginning to show signs of
nervousness.

They found the door to the main room unlocked, and both entered and set
the box of stuff on one of the easy chairs. Then one took up the ink and
the other an opened can of the decayed tomatoes.

"Now make a fine job of it," whispered Slugger.

Both took a step forward to start their nefarious work, when each was
almost paralyzed by hearing Colonel Colby's voice.