"I'll take the eleven up to Lemington in my motor-boat," said Nat to the
manager. "It will be a fine sail, if the weather is good." And so it was
arranged.

As the weather remained warm, Dave and his chums often went out on the
river for a row, and one afternoon they rowed as far as Bush Island,
about two miles away. On the island were some chestnut trees, and the
boys walked over to see if the nuts were fit to gather.

"I see some other fellows here!" cried Roger, and pointed to some boys
in military uniforms some distance away.

"They must be fellows from Rockville Academy," answered Dave. "I didn't
think they'd come as far as this after school hours."

"Well, I suppose they have as much right here as we have," was Phil's
comment.

They passed on, and presently lost sight of the other crowd. Then,
quarter of an hour later, they came out on the island shore, to see the
other lads in a rowboat, just getting ready to leave the place.

"Why, there are Link Merwell and Nick Jasniff!" exclaimed Roger.

"Right you are," answered Dave. Then he gave another look. "Where is our
boat?" he questioned, quickly.

All looked around and saw that their rowboat was missing.

"They must have taken it," cried Phil. He raised his voice: "I say,
Merwell! Jasniff! Stop, I want to talk to you!"

"Not much!" called back Nick Jasniff.

"We don't want to talk to you," answered Link Merwell.

"What have you done with out boat?" questioned Roger.

"That's for you to find out!" returned Nick Jasniff. "Ta ta! Hope you
have a nice time getting back to Oak Hall!"

And then he and Link Merwell and their companions took up their oars and
rowed swiftly away from Bush Island.




CHAPTER X

LOOKING FOR A MISSING ROWBOAT


"We are certainly in a pickle," remarked Roger, as the Rockville cadets
rounded a point of the island and disappeared from view.

"I wonder what they did with our boat," said Phil. "I don't see it
anywhere on the water."

"Perhaps they took it to the other side of the island," suggested Dave.

"Would they have time to do that?"

"I don't know. This is a total surprise to me, Phil."

"They did the trick on the impulse of the moment," went on Roger. "For
they didn't know we were coming here."

"And we didn't know they were here," added Dave. "Let us take a look
around and see if we can spot the boat."

"All right, I'll go down the shore and you can go up," cried Phil, and
set off at as rapid a gait as the nature of the ground permitted.

A hasty search did not bring the rowboat to light. The boys met on the
other side of the island, and stared wonderingly at each other.

"See anything?"

"Not a thing."

"The boat must be somewhere."

"Maybe they sunk her!" cried the senator's son. "Merwell and Jasniff are
just unprincipled enough to do it."

"If they did that, they must have done it close to where we tied her up.
They wouldn't have time to take her away," returned Dave. "Let us go
back and see if we can find any trail in the mud and sand."

They crossed the island, passing the chestnut trees as they did so.
Under one of the trees Dave picked up a letter. It was addressed to
Nicholas Jasniff, General Delivery, Rockville.

"Jasniff must have dropped this when he was nutting," said Dave, as he
and the others looked at the address.

"What is in it?" asked Phil. "It's open; read it."

"Would that be fair, Phil?"

"I think so. Jasniff is an enemy, not a friend. It may contain some clew
to his doings, and if there is anything underhanded going on we can let
the authorities know."

Dave took out the single sheet that the envelope contained. On it was
written, in a sprawling, heavy hand, the following:

     "MY DEAR JASNIFF:

     "I got your leter and I wil do all I can to help you pervided you
     wil help me on that bussines I meantioned to you. I know we both
     can make money and hardly anny risks. Beter not come to the office
     but meet me at Dunns on the River.

     "Yours afectenately,
     "DR. H. MONTGOMERY."

"Why, this letter was written by that Doctor Hooker Montgomery, the man
whose silk hat we knocked off!" cried Dave.

"His education seems to be extremely limited," observed Phil. "He'd
never stand at the top of the spelling class, would he?"

"I was asking about him, and he's a regular fakir," said Roger. "He
isn't a doctor at all, although he calls himself one. He puts up a
number of medicines and calls them 'Montgomery's Wonderful Cures.' I was
told that he used to do quite a business among the ignorant country
folks, but lately hardly anybody patronizes him."

"And that is why he is willing to aid Jasniff in some scheme, I
suppose," said Phil. "I'll wager it is something underhanded. When are
they to meet?"

"It doesn't say," answered Dave. "But the postmark is a week old, so I
presume the meeting is a thing of the past. I guess I'll not keep the
letter," he concluded, and cast it on the ground where he had found it.

Arriving at where the rowboat had been tied up, the three chums looked
around carefully, and soon saw footprints leading to a little cove,
shaded by tall elderberry bushes. Pushing some of the bushes aside, Dave
looked into the water and gave a cry:

"Here she is, fellows!"

"Have you really found the boat, Dave?" questioned Phil.

"Yes. She's at the bottom of the cove. They piled her full of stones and
sunk her. They must have had quite a job doing it."

"And here are the oars!" exclaimed Roger, dragging them from the bushes.
"Say, it's going to be cold work getting that boat into shape for use,"
he added, for the sun was going down and the air was keen.

"I'll do it, if you don't care to," answered Dave. "A cold plunge will
do me good."

"I'll help, if you say so?" volunteered Phil.

"Never mind, Phil; I think I can do it alone. No use in more than one
undressing."

The rowboat had been sunk in water three feet deep. Taking off most of
his clothing, and also his shoes and socks, Dave waded into the cove and
set to work taking the stones out of the craft. It was certainly cold,
and only the heavy labor served to keep his blood in circulation.

"They didn't pound a hole in her, did they?" asked the senator's son,
anxiously.

"I don't see any hole," answered Dave. "I'll soon know. There aren't
many more stones left."

He had great difficulty in budging the bottom stone, the largest of the
lot. But, once this was removed, the boat was quite buoyant and came
close to the surface. Then Dave shoved the craft close to shore, and
turned it over to empty it.

"As good as ever!" cried Roger, and his tones showed his relief. "Now,
Dave, get into your clothes again, and Phil and I will row you back to
the Hall. We'll be late--and you know what that means, if Job Haskers
catches us."

"We've got a good excuse," said Phil. "But maybe Haskers won't accept
it," he added, remembering only too well how harsh and unreasonable the
second assistant teacher could be at times.

"I think I'll do some of the rowing myself, just to get warm," said
Dave, when they got into the craft, and he took an oar; and soon Bush
Island was left behind.

"This is another mark against Merwell and Jasniff," said the shipowner's
son, as they pulled in the direction of the school. "I suppose they
thought we'd have to stay on the island all night."

"Yes, and maybe longer," said Dave. "I fancy they wouldn't care if we
had to remain there until we were almost starved."

"We'll have to get back at them somehow," came from Roger.

It was quite dark when they reached the boathouse at Oak Hall. No
students were in sight, all having gone in to supper. Dave looked at his
watch.

"Supper is almost over!" he cried. "We had better hurry if we want
anything to eat!"

"Eat? Rather! I am as hungry as a bear!" cried Phil.

"So am I," added the senator's son.

Putting the rowboat away, the three boys started in the direction of the
big school building. As they did this they saw somebody approaching them
from an angle of the east wing.

"It's Haskers!" whispered Phil. "He is coming this way!"

"Let's run for it!" cried Roger. "We can get in on the other side!
Quick!"

"Boys! boys! Stop!" called out Job Haskers, as they started to run. "I
know you, Porter! Morr! Lawrence! Stop, I say!" And he came running
after them.

"It's no use, he recognizes us!" groaned Phil, and came to a halt, and
so did the others.

"What is the meaning of this? I demand to know where you have been?"
cried Job Haskers, sourly, as he came up, puffing from his unusual
exertions.

"We are sorry, Mr. Haskers, but we were out rowing, and we were detained
at Bush Island," explained Dave.

"Did you have permission to stay away during the supper hour?"

"No, sir. We didn't intend to do so. We were----"

"Humph! that is no excuse, young man, no excuse whatever! You know the
rule. Go to your rooms at once--and stay there until to-morrow morning."
And Job Haskers glared coldly at the three students. He seemed always to
take special delight in catching a student at some infringement of the
rules, and in meting out punishment.

"We haven't had any supper yet," said Roger.

"That is not my fault, Morr. The dining-room is now about to close, and
you cannot go in. It will be a lesson to you to be on hand promptly in
the future."

"We have got to have something to eat!" declared Phil, stubbornly.

"Ha! don't you dare to talk back to me, Lawrence! If you do it again,
I'll give you some extra lessons to learn."

"Mr. Haskers, won't you listen to us?" asked Dave, in a steady voice.
"We have a good excuse to offer for being late."

"I don't want any excuses. It was your duty to return to the Hall in
time for supper."

"We simply couldn't get here. We were on Bush Island, and our boat was
taken away from us."

"I saw you come back here in a boat."

"We found our boat after a while,--after we had lost a good hour looking
for it. Then we rowed back as fast as we could."

"Pooh! The usual story! I want no such lame excuses! Some teachers might
accept them, but not I! Go to your rooms, and at once,--and don't dare
to come downstairs until to-morrow morning--or I'll cut off all your
holidays until Christmas!" And Job Haskers folded his arms and stood
like a judge before the boys.

An angry remark arose to Dave's lips. But he checked it and turned
toward the school building, and Roger and Phil followed. Job Haskers
marched after them.

"Go upstairs at once!" he ordered. "No lingering in the lower hall!" For
he was afraid the lads might slip him and try to get something to eat on
the sly.

"Mr. Haskers, I wish to talk to Doctor Clay," said Dave.

"Doctor Clay has nothing to do with this affair! I am in charge here for
the present."

"Do you mean to say that I can't see the doctor?"

"Doctor Clay is away on business. You may see him in the morning if you
wish."

"I don't think he'd send us to bed supperless."

"It is your own fault. You boys have got to learn to obey the rules of
this institution. Perhaps it will be a lesson well learned."

"I think it's an outrage!" muttered Phil.

"What is that, Lawrence?" cried the teacher, harshly. But Phil did not
repeat his statement.

There seemed to be no help for it, and slowly the three students passed
up the stairs and entered their dormitory. Job Haskers watched them out
of sight, and then stalked away, his face as grim and hard as ever.

"Well, doesn't this beat the nation!" groaned Roger, as he plumped down
on one of the beds.

"Evidently old Haskers hasn't forgotten what happened last term," was
Phil's comment. "He is going to make it just as hard as he can for us."

"I'm as hungry as can be. I didn't have much dinner. Dave, are you going
to stand for this?"

"What do you mean, Roger--staying in the room until to-morrow?"

"That and going without supper."

"I don't care so much about staying in the room," was the reply. "But I
can assure you of one thing,--I am not going without my supper."

"How are you going to get it?"

"I don't know yet. But I am going to get it somehow," replied Dave, and
his tone of voice showed that he meant what he said.




CHAPTER XI

A MIDNIGHT FEAST


While the three students were discussing the situation the door of the
dormitory opened, and Sam Day and Shadow Hamilton entered.

"Hello, why weren't you down to supper?" asked Sam.

"We didn't get here in time," answered Roger. And then he related what
had occurred on Bush Island.

"It was just like Jasniff and Merwell," said Shadow. "And like old
Haskers, too! I suppose he is laughing to himself now because he made
you go without your supper."

"But I am not going without it," said Dave. "That is, not if you fellows
will do me a favor."

"Want me to get something from the pantry for you?" queried Sam,
quickly. "I'll do it--if it can be done."

"You can't get in the pantry any more," said Phil, with a wry face.
"Since Dave and I did the trick some time ago they keep the doors
locked."

"And that puts me in mind of a story!" cried Shadow. "Once a little
boy----"

"Quit it, Shadow!" interrupted Sam. "You don't expect Dave and Roger and
Phil to listen to your yarns when they are starving, do you? Tell the
story after they have filled up."

"Well, it was only a short yarn," pleaded the story-teller of the
school. "But, of course, if we can do anything----"

"You can--I think," said Dave. "But you must act quickly."

"What's to be done?"

"Since I have been here I have noticed a wagon going through on the main
road every evening about this time. It belongs to Rousmann, the
delicatessen man of Rockville. I wish you'd stop him and see what you
can buy for us." And as he finished Dave took a two-dollar bill from his
pocket and held it out.

"By hookey! I'll do it!" cried Sam, readily. "Come on, Shadow! Maybe we
can get enough to have a little feast to-night!"

"Not on two dollars," answered Phil. "Here's another fifty cents."

"Oh, I've got a little money of my own," returned Sam.

"So have I--thirty-five cents," added Shadow. "My allowance is behind
time. And that puts me in mind of another story. Two men were----Oh, but
I forgot, you are too hungry to listen to yarns. Well, I'll tell it some
other time," and away he went after Sam, out into the hallway and down
the broad stairs.

"If only they get there before that wagon passes!" sighed the senator's
son.

"Maybe the driver won't have anything to sell. He may be sold out," came
from Phil.

"Let us hope for the best," answered Dave, cheerfully. "He can't be sold
out of everything. Even a loaf of bread and some sardines wouldn't go
bad."

"Or some frankfurters," added Roger.

A few minutes passed, and Ben came up to the room, and the story of the
adventure on the island and with Job Haskers had to be told again. Ben
was as indignant as Sam and Shadow had been.

"I wouldn't stand for it!" he cried. "Why don't you report to Doctor
Clay?"

"Because he is away," answered Dave. "But I may report to him
to-morrow," he continued, thoughtfully.

A half-hour passed--to the hungry boys it seemed a long time--and then
came a clatter of footsteps in the hallway. The door was banged open,
and in came Sam and Shadow, followed by Gus Plum and Luke Watson, and
each carrying a fair-sized bundle under his coat.

"We got there just in the nick of time!" panted Sam, for he was somewhat
out of breath. "Fact is, I had to run after the wagon to stop it."

"And we got a dandy lot of stuff," continued Shadow. "Gus and Luke
helped us to buy it."

"We are in for a spread to-night," explained Gus Plum. "But you fellows
can eat all you wish right now."

The door was closed and locked, and one after another the bundles were
opened. The boys who had done the purchasing had certainly "spread
themselves," as Dave said. They had obtained some fresh rolls and cake,
an apple and a pumpkin pie, some cheese, and some cold ham and tongue, a
bottle of pickles, and five different kinds of crackers in boxes.

"This is certainly a spread and no mistake," said Dave, as he and Phil
and Roger viewed the eatables with keen satisfaction.

"Chip Macklin has gone off to a farmer's house for two quarts of milk,"
said Shadow. "And I told him to bring some apples, too,--if he could get
them."

"We'll have more than if we had been downstairs to supper," said the
shipowner's son.

"Whatever is left will do for our spread later," explained Sam.

"Whatever is left," repeated Shadow. "Say, that puts me in mind of a
story--and I'm going to tell this one," he added, as several of those
present gave a groan. "A little boy was looking for his shoes. He found
one and looked at it thoughtfully, and then said: 'I dess you is the
right one, and your brovver is the left one, but you is the left one,
and your brovver ain't left 'tall, 'cause he's gone.'" And the story
produced a smile all around.

In a few minutes came a triple rap on the door--a well-known signal--and
Sam opened the portal, to admit Chip Macklin. The small student carried
two bottles of milk under his coat, and his pockets were bulging with
apples and pears.

"Hurrah! Now we can have a square meal and no mistake!" cried Dave, as
glasses were produced, and the milk was poured out. "Chip, we owe you
one for this."

"You're welcome," answered the little lad, with a smile. He was glad to
be of service, in return for all Dave had done for him in the past.

The eatables were spread out on a studying table, and Dave and his chums
proceeded to "fill up," as Phil expressed it. They made a hearty meal,
and yet, when they had finished, there was a considerable portion of the
food left.

"We'll not touch the pies or the fruit," said Dave. "Those can be saved
for the spread later."

The boys were just clearing away the crumbs of the meal when there came
a hasty knock on the door.

"Who is there?" asked Roger, going to the door, but not opening it.

"It is I, Murphy," came in the husky tones of big Jim, the monitor. "If
anything is going on in there, I want to warn you that Mr. Haskers is
coming up--I heard him tell an under teacher."

"Thanks, Jim--we'll be ready for him," answered the senator's son, and
passed out a pear and an apple, and then the kind-hearted monitor walked
away again on his rounds.

The students worked hastily and noiselessly, and in less than three
minutes the remainder of the food was stowed away in a closet out of
sight, and everything about the dormitory was cleaned up. Then the lads
got out their books and writing materials.

"Come in!" cried Dave, when a knock sounded sharply, and the door was
opened, and Job Haskers presented himself. His face showed his
disappointment at finding everything as it should be.

"Oh, Mr. Haskers, you are just in time!" cried Phil, innocently. "Will
you kindly show me how to do this example in algebra?"

"And will you please show me how to translate this Latin?" asked Roger,
catching his cue from Phil.

"And I've got a problem in geometry that is bothering me," said Dave,
smoothly.

"I have no time for lessons now," answered the teacher, harshly. "I have
other duties to perform. If you will attend to the explanations given in
the classrooms you will need no extra aid," and thus delivering himself,
Job Haskers backed out of the dormitory as speedily as he had entered
it.

"Stung that time!" murmured Ben, as he closed the door once more. "I'll
wager an apple against a peanut that he thought he would catch Dave,
Roger, and Phil eating on the sly."

"Or off the table," added Sam, and then Ben shied a book at his head.

For over an hour the lads in the dormitory turned their attention to
their lessons. During that time some other occupants of Nos. 11 and 12
came in, and all were informed of the spread to be given at midnight. To
make things more lively, some boys from No. 10 were also asked to
participate.

"Of course you are going to ask Nat Poole and Guy Frapley," said Roger,
with a grin.

"Not on your collar-button!" replied Sam. "They can furnish their own
spreads--they and the whole crowd with 'em."

"We want to look out that they don't get wise to what we are doing,"
said Plum. "It would be just like Nat to give us away, if he knew."

"If he did that he ought to have his head punched," murmured Luke.

"Say, Luke, give us a little music, before it gets past hours,"
suggested Dave, and willingly enough Luke got out a banjo, tuned up, and
rendered several favorites. While the playing was going on, the door was
left open, and a small crowd congregated in the hallway to listen, for
Luke was really a skillful performer. All too soon the playing had to
come to an end, as the time for "lights out" arrived.

It was exactly twelve o'clock when Sam arose from where he had been
resting and made a light. At once the others also got up. All were
dressed, and it did not take long to bring the eatables from the closet
and push two studying tables together for a "banquet board," as Roger
dubbed it. He and Dave and Phil were not particularly hungry, yet they
entered with vim into the proceedings. The door between Nos. 11 and 12
was open, and those invited from No. 10 came in as silently as shadows.

Soon the feast was in full swing. The pies were large, and were cut into
just enough pieces to go around. The fancy crackers were passed around
in their boxes, and the apples and pears were placed on a tennis racket
and handed around, "like an old-fashioned contribution box," according
to Plum's way of describing it.

"We ought to have a speech!" cried Ben. "I move Dave Porter be called
upon to speak."

"Second the motion!" cried several others.

"Give us something on 'How to Learn Without Studying,'" suggested
Shadow.

"Or 'How to Do Algebra While You Sleep,'" said Ben.

"Or 'How to Make Haskers Reform,'" suggested Luke.

"Don't ask him to speak on the impossible," broke in Plum. "You'll never
get Jobey to reform--it isn't in him."

"I'm too full to make a speech," said Dave, with a smile. "Besides, we
don't want any noise up here, or we'll be spotted sure."

"I know what we ought to do!" cried Phil.

"What?" asked a chorus.

"Pay old Haskers back for the mean way he treated us. Can't we do
something to him while he is asleep?"

"We sure can!" answered Roger. He looked at Dave. "What shall it be?"

Dave thought for a moment, and then a broad grin overspread his
features.

"I wonder if we can manage it," he said, half to himself.

"Manage what, Dave?" asked several, eagerly.

"I think we can do it--if some of you fellows will furnish a stout
line. Several fishing lines twisted together will do."

"But what do you intend to do, Dave?"

"Make Job Haskers think there is an earthquake,--that is, if he is in
bed and asleep, and we can get into his room."

"Oh, he must be asleep by this time," said Sam.

"And here is a stout cord. I used it for flying my big kite," added Ben.

"Then, come on, and we'll give Job Haskers a surprise. But don't make
any noise, or we may get caught."




CHAPTER XII

AN EARTHQUAKE FOR JOB HASKERS


The door to the hall was cautiously opened, and the boys looked out. The
coast appeared to be clear, and Dave tiptoed his way out, followed by
his chums. A faint light was burning, as required by the school
regulations, and this kept the students from bumping into anything.

All knew the location of the apartment occupied by Job Haskers, and it
did not take them long to reach the door to it. Here they paused to
listen intently.

"He is in there and asleep," whispered Dave.

"Yes, and snoring," added Roger. "That shows he won't wake up very
easily."

"We'll wake him up, don't fear--if my plan works," replied Dave, with
grim humor.

With great caution the door was tried and found to be unlocked. Then,
scarcely daring to breathe, Dave stepped into the apartment, with Roger
and Phil behind him, clutching at his arms. The light in the hallway was
near by, and Dave motioned for it to be turned up, so that he could see
around the room.

Job Haskers's bed had been turned around for this term, so that the head
was next to the wall beside the doorway. It was a new brass bedstead,
ornamental but light.

With deft fingers, Dave doubled the cord provided by Ben, and tied one
end to the head railing of the brass bedstead. The other end of the cord
he carried to the doorway, and threw up through the transom, which swung
upon side pivots.

"Good, I see your plan now!" murmured Phil. "I reckon we'll give him an
awakening all right enough!"

As soon as the boys in the hallway had secured the outer end of the
doubled cord, Dave stepped out of the room again, followed by Roger and
Phil.

"Why not lock the door?" whispered the senator's son. "The key is here."

"Just what I intended to do," answered Dave, in an equally low voice.

The door was closed and locked, and the students all gathered in front
of the portal, each with his hand on the cord.

"I wish we could dump him out of bed," muttered Plum.

"We'll give him a little quiver first," said Dave. "He won't know what
to make of it. I don't think he'll notice the cord. It is just the color
of the wall."

They pulled the cord taut, and then raised the head of the bed an inch
or two. Then they let it drop.

"Oh--er--who is that?" they heard Job Haskers murmur. "Is it time to get
up, Swingly?" He mentioned the name of the school janitor, who had
orders to rouse him when he was over-sleeping.

Of course there was no answer to the teacher's question. He waited for a
moment, and then turned over in bed, as if for another snooze.

"Now we'll give him a sharp jerk," whispered Dave, and the students
caught hold of the cord with vigor. Up came the head of the bed about a
foot and swayed violently towards the door.

"Hi! hi! What's this?" roared Job Haskers, sitting bolt upright, and
gazing about in bewilderment.

"It's the end of the world!" came, in a hollow voice, through the
keyhole. "The end of the world!"

"Mercy on me! It's an earthquake, that's what it is!" burst from the
befuddled teacher, and then as the bed was jerked high in the air once
more, he rolled over in the blankets and slid down to the lower end,
where one foot got caught between the brass bars.

"Get out of the building, Mr. Haskers!" came a cry through the keyhole.
"It is going to shake to the ground!"

"Yes! yes! It must be an earthquake!" groaned the bewildered pedagogue.
"Oh, will I ever get out alive, I wonder!"

The top of the bedstead was bobbing up and down, like a ship on an angry
ocean. In the darkness Job Haskers was completely bewildered, and he
firmly believed that an earthquake had struck Oak Hall and that the
building was in danger of collapsing. With a cry of fright he tumbled
out on the floor, and threw the covers, in which he was wound up, aside.
He tried to find the door, but the top of the bedstead was now in the
way.

"The fire escape--it is the only way out!" he muttered to himself, and
as the boys continued to jerk the bedstead around, he ran to the window
and threw out a rope, fastened to a ring in the floor. Then out of the
window he bounced and slid down the rope with a speed that blistered his
hands.

"He has gone out of the window!" cried Roger, who had his eye glued to
the keyhole. "Wait a minute, fellows!"

"Quick! We must take away the cord," said Dave, and in a trice the door
of the bedroom was unlocked, the bed shoved into place, and the cord
removed. Then the students scampered away, turning down the light as
before.

Once on the ground Job Haskers lost no time in getting away from the
building. Each instant he expected another quake that would bring that
noble pile of bricks, stone, and mortar to the ground. But the quake did
not come.

"Queer!" he murmured, presently. "Didn't anybody else feel that awful
shock?"

"Hi, you, throw up your hands, or I'll fill ye full o' buckshot!"

The cry came from behind him, and it caused Job Haskers to leap with a
new fear. He turned, and in the gloom of the night saw a man approaching
with a gun pointed full at him.

"Don't--don't sho--shoot me!" he gasped.

"Up with yer hands!" came from the man. "I cotches ye that time, didn't
I? Now, wot are ye, a ghost, a burglar, or a student on a lark?"

"Wh--who are yo--you?" stammered Job Haskers. "Did you--er--feel the
earthquake?"

Instead of answering the questions, the man came closer, until the
barrel of his shotgun was within a foot of the teacher's head. Then he
gave a cry of astonishment.

"Why, if it ain't Mr. Haskers! Wot in the world are you a-doin' out this
time o' night, sir?"

"Lemond!" faltered the teacher, as he recognized the driver for the
Hall. "Did you--er--did you feel the earthquake?"

"Earthquake? No, sir."

"It is strange."

"Did you feel any of 'em, sir?" Horsehair had lowered his gun and was
gazing fixedly at the teacher. "Say, you ain't walking in your sleep,
are ye?" he questioned, abruptly.

"No, no--I--er--I am sure I am not," stammered Job Haskers, yet in
secret he pinched himself to make certain. "I was--er--in bed, and I
thought I felt an earthquake--the bed swayed, and I heard a cry----" The
teacher stopped suddenly. "Perhaps it was those rascally boys!" he
cried, abruptly.

"Boys! Did they play a joke on yer? They wouldn't be above it, sir--they
are as full of 'em this term as ever, sir. How did you git out o' the
building--down that rope?"

"Ye-as. You see, the bed moved--or I thought it did--and blocked the
doorway, and I----But never mind, Lemond, don't say anything about this.
I'll go in." And the teacher started rapidly across the campus. He was,
of course, in his bare feet, and was finding his pajamas anything but
warm in this frosty fall air.

"You can't get in that way, 'less you have a key!" called out
Horsehair.

"I have no key," and Job Haskers stopped abruptly.

"I can let ye in the back way."

"That will do. Come, let us hurry--I am getting cold."

The back door was gained, and Job Haskers entered and felt his way up
the semi-dark stairs. As he reached the upper hallway he found himself
confronted by Doctor Clay, who had come in rather late, and who had been
on the point of retiring when certain strange sounds had disturbed him
and caused him to start an investigation.

"Why, Mr. Haskers, where have you been?" asked the doctor in
astonishment. "I heard a noise, but I did not know you were stirring."

"I--er--I imagined some of the students were skylarking," faltered the
assistant.

"Did you catch anybody?"

"No, sir,--they were too slick for me."

"This skylarking after hours must cease. Have you any idea who they
were?"

"Not--er--exactly. I had some trouble early in the evening with Porter,
Lawrence, and Morr, and they may be the ones. If you please, I'll take a
look in their room."

"Do so, and if anything is wrong, have them report to me in the
morning," said Doctor Clay, and retired once more to his room.

Moving swiftly through the hallway, Job Haskers reached his own room
and threw open the door. He made a light, and gazed around in great
perplexity. Everything was in perfect order excepting the bedclothes,
which were just as he had left them. He walked slowly to the window and
drew in the rope that was used for a fire escape.

"Strange! Strange!" he murmured to himself, as he scratched his head. "I
was sure the bed moved. Can I have been dreaming after all? I ate a
rather heavy supper, and my digestion is not as good as it used to be."

He put on his slippers and donned a dressing gown, and thus arrayed
sallied forth once more, this time in the direction of the dormitory
occupied by Dave and his chums. He approached on tip-toe and opened the
door quickly and noiselessly.

But the students had had ample time in which to get to bed, and every
one was under covers and apparently sleeping soundly. To make sure they
were not shamming, the teacher came in and gazed at one after another
closely. Then, with a face that was a study, he left the dormitory again
and walked slowly to his own room.

"Is he gone?" asked a voice in the dormitory, after a full minute of
silence.

"Yes, Phil," answered Dave. "But don't make any noise--he may come
back."

"Say, that was the richest joke yet!" chuckled Ben.

"How he must have looked, sliding down that rope in his pajamas!"
exclaimed Sam.

"If I dared, I'd really send in a theme to-morrow on 'Earthquakes,'"
piped up Polly Vane.

"Do it, Polly; I dare you!" cried Macklin.

"I will--if you'll let me sign your name to it," answered the girlish
student, but at this Chip shook his head vigorously.

"I'll bet old Haskers is as mad as a hornet," was Phil's comment. "Well,
it served him right, for the way he treated us," he added.

"I guess we needn't go to the doctor to-morrow with any complaint," said
the senator's son. "We have squared up."

"I'd like to know what Haskers really thinks of the shaking up," said
Dave. And then he turned over to go to sleep, and the others did
likewise.

The feast and the fun had tired the boys out, and the majority of them
slept soundly until the rising bell rang out. Dave was the first to kick
the covers aside and get up, but Ben followed immediately.

"Grand day, Dave!" cried Ben, running to the window to gaze out. "What a
fine day to go nutting, if we could get away."

"Nothing but lessons to-day, Ben," answered Dave. He was bending down,
looking under the bed. "Has anybody seen my shoes?" he continued,
looking from one to another.

"I haven't seen them," answered Roger. He bent down to get out his own
foot coverings. "Hello, my shoes are gone, too!" he cried.

"So are mine!" exclaimed Plum.

"And mine!" came quickly from several of the other boys.

"Did anybody put them in the closets?" asked Dave.

"If they did, they are not here now," answered Ben, who had entered one
of the closets to look.

A hasty search was made, the boys looking into every place they could
think of,--but all to no purpose. Every shoe, every boot, and every
slipper belonging to them had disappeared.




CHAPTER XIII

IN WHICH SOME SHOES ARE MISSING


"What do you think of it?"

"Who took them?"

"We can't go downstairs in our bare feet."

Such were some of the remarks made, as the lads of dormitories Nos. 11
and 12 looked at each other. The closets had been searched thoroughly
but without success.

"See here, if anybody in these rooms hid those shoes, I want to know
it!" demanded Sam, gazing around sharply.

"I hardly think a fellow would hide his own shoes, too," answered Luke.

"He might,--just to hide his own guilt."

"I believe this is the work of some outsider," declared Dave. "Most
likely Nat Poole and his crowd."

"By Jove, Dave, I believe you are right!" exclaimed Phil. "It would be
just like them to do it, if they got the chance."

"Did you say Nat Poole?" queried Shadow, scratching his head
thoughtfully.

"I did. Most likely Nat heard of our feast, and it made him extra sore
to think we were having a good time and he wasn't invited."

"That is true, and I guess----" Shadow stopped short, and a curious look
crossed his face.

"What is it, Shadow? Do you know anything of this?" asked Roger.

"Why, I--er--that is, I had a dream last night," stammered the
story-teller of the school. "Or, maybe it wasn't a dream after all," he
went on, in confusion.

"See here, Shadow, have you been sleep-walking again, and did you make
off with our shoes?" demanded Phil. He remembered only too well how poor
Shadow was addicted to walking in his sleep, and how he had once walked
off with a valuable collection of rare postage stamps belonging to
Doctor Clay.

"I--I don't think so," stammered Shadow, and got as red as a beet. "But
I had a queer dream. I forgot about it at first, but now it comes back
to me. I somehow dreamed that somebody came into this room and bent over
me while I was in bed, and then picked up something. I started to stop
him--and then I went sound asleep again."

"Who was the person?" questioned Polly Vane.

"I don't know."

"See here, Shadow, I'll wager a new necktie that you walked off with our
shoes!" declared Sam. "And if you did, please be kind enough to tell us
where you put them."

"Oh, Sam! I really--I don't think I did!" stammered the sleep-walker, in
much confusion.

"The feast must have been too much for you, and it set you to
sleep-walking," said Roger. "Now just see if you can't remember where
you went with the shoes."

"The whole bunch must have made quite a load--all one fellow could
carry," said Luke.

"Yes, and he'd have to put them in a box or a sheet at that," added
Plum.

"Try to think real hard," suggested Roger.

"If he did it, it is funny that he took his own shoes, too," remarked
Dave.

Poor Shadow was so confused he did not know what to say or do. He sat on
the edge of the bed the picture of despair.

"I--I thought I was all over sleep-walking," he murmured. "The doctor at
home was treating me all summer."

"One thing is certain--we can't stay up here all morning," burst out the
senator's son. "I'm going to borrow a pair of shoes somewhere."

"So am I," added Dave. "We'll hunt for the missing shoes later on."

"Say!" burst out Shadow, half desperately. "You--you won't tell Doctor
Clay about this, will you?"

"Not if you did it without knowing it, Shadow," answered Dave, promptly.

"I won't say a word," answered Plum.

"I--I don't know if I did it or not," went on Shadow, his face as red as
ever. "I didn't know I took those postage stamps and those class pins
that time. But if I did take 'em,--and we don't find 'em--I'll buy new
shoes for all hands, if it takes every dollar I can scrape up."

The boys donned their clothing and then went on a tour of some of the
other dormitories. Thus several borrowed shoes, while the others had to
be content with slippers and foot coverings usually worn on the athletic
field.

"Not very elegant," remarked Phil, as he gazed at the slippers he had
borrowed, "but 'any port in a storm,' as the sailors say. I hope we get
our shoes back."

"So do I, Phil," returned Dave. "But if Shadow went off with them he may
have gone a long distance. Remember, he carried those postage stamps
away up the river, and used a rowboat to do it. Maybe he rowed off with
our foot coverings."

"He doesn't act as if he was tired--and he would be tired if he went
very far with the shoes. Why, we didn't get to sleep until about one
o'clock or half-past."

"I know that. It certainly is a mystery."

With several of the boys appearing at breakfast wearing slippers the
secret of what had happened could not very well be kept, and it soon was
whispered around that NOS. 11 and 12 had been cleaned out of shoes,
boots, and slippers during the night, and that Shadow was suspected of
having walked again in his sleep. His chums tried to hush the matter up,
yet enough was said to make the story-teller of the school thoroughly
uncomfortable.

"I'd give ten dollars to locate those shoes!" said Shadow to Dave, later
on.

"So would I," answered Dave. "We can make a hunt after school."

Half a dozen of the students joined in the search for the missing foot
coverings, and the lads looked high and low, but without success.

"Only one place more that I know of," said Dave. "That is the old
granary."

"I don't think they can be there, but we can look," said Shadow.

The old granary was a building located behind some of the carriage
sheds. It had once held grain, but was now used for the storage of
garden implements. The lads found the door unlocked, and pushing it open
they entered and gazed around in the semi-darkness.

"I don't see much that looks like shoes," remarked Roger.

"I'll strike a light," said Dave, and did so. The match flared up, and
as it did so, several uttered cries.

"There they are, over in the corner!"

"We have found them at last!"

"Light a lantern and see," said Phil, and a stable lantern was quickly
procured and lit. Then the boys worked their way around a mower and a
harrow and some other farming implements to where they had seen the
shoes.

"Sold!"

"These are a lot of old stuff thrown away long ago!"

It was true--the shoes they had located were worn out and covered with
mildew. Shadow kicked them savagely.

"What a sell--and just after I was sure we had found them," he muttered.

Heavy at heart the students left the granary and put away the lantern.
They had exhausted their resources, and walked back to the school in a
decidedly sober mood.

"Well, all I can offer is this:" said Shadow, at last. "Each of you buy
new shoes and slippers, and turn the bills over to me--and I'll pay them
as quickly as I can."

"Don't you bother about my shoes, Shadow," said Dave, kindly. "I can get
others easily enough."

"So can I," added Roger and Phil.

"But I would like to really know whether you walked off with them in
your sleep, or if this is some trick of our rivals," continued Dave.

"You don't want to know any more than I do," declared the sleep-walker.

There seemed no help for it, and the next day all the boys paid a visit
to Oakdale and purchased new shoes. They did not bother with slippers or
boots, thinking that sooner or later the missing foot coverings would
turn up. The shoe dealer was all attention, for never before had he had
such a rush of trade.

Dave, Phil, and Roger got fitted first, and with their purchases under
their arms, they quitted the shoe shop and strolled up the main street
of the town.

"There are some girls we know!" cried the senator's son, presently, and
pointed across the way. Coming in their direction were Mary Feversham
and Vera Rockwell, two girls who lived in that vicinity, and who had
come to the lads' school entertainment the year before. Vera had a
brother with whom the senator's son was well acquainted.

"Why, how do you do!" cried Mary, as the boys crossed the street and
tipped their caps. "So you are all back at school, eh?"

"I thought you must be back," added Vera, giving all a warm smile.

"Yes, we are back," answered Dave. "How have you been since we saw you
last?"

"Very well indeed," answered Vera. "And how did you like it on the
ranch? We heard you had turned into regular cowboys."

"Hardly that," said Dave. "But we went in for bronco-busting, and
rounding-up, and all that."

"Somebody said you had some trouble with cattle thieves," went on Vera.

"Oh, Vera, don't mention that!" cried Mary, and blushed a little.

"Why shouldn't we?" demanded the other girl. "I don't believe those
stories, and I think Mr. Porter and his friends ought to know what is
being said."

"What is being said?" repeated Roger.

"Yes."

"Who is talking about us?" demanded Phil.

"Mr. Merwell,--the young man who used to go to Oak Hall. He goes to
Rockville Military Academy now."

"And what did he say?" questioned Dave.

"Oh, he said a great many things--not to me but to some girls I know. He
said all of you had gotten mixed up with some cattle thieves, and had
tried to get out of the trouble by blaming him, but that he and his
father had made you stop talking about him."

"Well, if that doesn't take the cake!" exclaimed Phil. "Isn't that
Merwell to a T?"

"The shoe was on the other foot," explained Roger. "Merwell was the one
who was mixed up in the affair, and he and his father had to pay for a
lot of horses that--well, disappeared. We exposed him, and that is what
made him mad."

"Did Mr. Merwell steal some horses?" asked Vera, in alarm.

"Not exactly--according to his story," answered Dave. "He says he took
them in fun. Then the regular cattle thieves took them from him--and let
him have some money. He claimed that he was going to return the horses,
but didn't get the chance."

"And he and his father had to pay for the horses in the end?"

"Yes,--they paid Mr. Endicott, the owner of the ranch at which we were
stopping."

"Then I guess Link Merwell was guilty," said Mary. "And after this I
don't want him to even speak to me--he or that friend of his, Mr. Nick
Jasniff."

"You'll do well to steer clear of the pair," warned Roger.

"It is a shame that they are allowed to talk about you as they do," said
Vera. "If they keep on, they will give you a very bad name."

"I don't believe folks in Rockville will believe much of what Jasniff
says," said Phil. "They'll remember his evil-doings of the past."

"He and Merwell seem to have made themselves popular at the Academy,"
was Mary's reply. "How they have done it I don't know. But perhaps they
have money, or else----"

The girl did not finish, for just then an automobile swung around the
corner and came to a halt in front of a store near which the young
people had halted. The automobile contained Merwell, Jasniff, and two
other students of the Academy, all attired in the cadet uniforms of that
institution.




CHAPTER XIV

WHAT THE GIRLS HAD TO TELL


One of the strange cadets was driving the automobile, and hardly had it
come to a stop when Merwell and Jasniff bounded out on the sidewalk,
directly in front of Dave and his friends.

"Why--er--hello!" stammered Jasniff, and then, recognizing the girls, he
grinned broadly, and tipped his cap.

"How do you do?" said Merwell, to Mary and Vera, and at the same time
ignoring Dave and his chums.

The two girls stared in astonishment, for they had not expected to see
the very lads about whom they had been conversing. But they quickly
recovered and turned their backs on the newcomers.

"What's the matter--don't you want to speak to me?" demanded Jasniff, a
sickly look overspreading his face.

"I assuredly do not, Mr. Jasniff," answered Vera, stiffly.

"And I suppose you don't want to speak to me either," came sourly from
Link Merwell.

"You are right, Mr. Merwell--I do not."

"After this you will please us best by not recognizing us," added Mary,
coldly.

"Oh, I see how it is--these chaps have been filling you up with stories
about us!" cried Merwell, roughly. "Well, if you want to believe them
you can do it. I don't care!" And he turned on his heel and entered a
nearby store.

"Some day you'll wish you hadn't made such friends of Porter & Company,"
said Jasniff, and he glared defiantly at Dave and his chums. "Maybe
you'll find that they are not just what you thought they were," and
having thus delivered himself, he, too, entered the store. In the
meantime the automobile had gone on along the street to the post-office,
where the two strange cadets went in to see about mail.

"Say, I think I'll lay for Merwell and Jasniff and----" began Phil, when
a warning pinch on his arm from Dave caused him to break off.

There was an awkward pause, neither the boys nor the girls knowing
exactly what to say or do.

"Well, we must be going," said Vera. "I promised to be home by dark."

"And I have some errands to do before I go back," added Mary. "So we'll
say good-by."

"I hope we meet again," remarked Phil.

"Maybe we'll come to some of your football games," ventured Vera. "I
did so enjoy some of those other games."

"We are not playing on the eleven this season," answered Dave. It gave
him a little pang to make the admission.

"Oh, is that so!" Both of the girls gave the boys a studied look. "Well,
we must be going." And then they hurried down the street, around a
corner, and out of sight.

"Fellows, we ought to lay for those chaps!" cried Roger, as soon as the
chums were alone.

"Just what I was going to suggest," broke in Phil.

"What good will it do?" asked Dave. "We can't make anything out of
Merwell and Jasniff by talking, and we don't want to start a fight."

"I'd like to duck 'em in a mud pond!" muttered the shipowner's son. "It
is what they deserve."

"They deserve tar and feathers!" was Roger's comment. "Why, in some
places they'd be run out of town. How they ever got into Rockville
Academy I can't understand."

"Money sometimes goes a great way," said Dave. "They may have literally
bought their way in--that is, their parents may have done it for them."

The three students had passed to the other side of the street. Now they
looked down the highway and saw the automobile go around a corner in
the direction of Rockville. But the machine soon came to a halt again,
although they did not know it.

"Well, I am going to lay them out for taking that boat, anyway," said
the senator's son.

"Ditto here," added Phil.

"Physically or mentally?" queried Dave, with something of a smile.

"Both--if it's necessary," returned the shipowner's son, promptly. It
was easy to see he was spoiling for a fight.

"I am going to see what they are doing," said Roger, after another
minute had passed. "Maybe they won't come out until they think we have
gone away."

He recrossed the street, and peered through one of the show windows of
the store. Then, of a sudden, he made a rapid motion for his chums to
join him.

"They are going out by a back way!" he cried. "The sneaks! They intend
to give us the slip!"

"They shan't do it!" exclaimed Phil. "Come on!" And he set off on a run,
with the others at his heels. They turned one corner and then another,
and soon reached an alleyway between two houses located on a street
behind the store. Here they plumped squarely into Merwell and Jasniff,
each with a bundle under his arm.

"So this is the way you sneak away, eh?" demanded Phil.

"Sneak away!" blustered Merwell. "Not at all--we were only taking a
short cut; ain't that so, Nick?"

"Sure," answered Jasniff, loudly. "We don't have to sneak away from
anybody."

"We've a good mind to give you both a sound thrashing," cried Phil,
angrily. "You had no business to touch our boat."

"And you had no business to talk about us to Miss Feversham and Miss
Rockwell," added the senator's son.

"See here, you let us pass!" muttered Merwell. "Don't you dare to lay
your fingers on us!" And he tried to edge to one side.

"See here, both of you," said Dave, sternly. "I want to give you a final
warning. You have been talking about us; I know it, and it is useless
for you to deny it. Now I want you to understand this: If you say
another word against me, or against Phil or Roger, I'll see to it that
you are exposed to every student at Rockville Academy."

"You won't dare!" cried Jasniff. His voice trembled a little as he
spoke.

"I will dare, Nick Jasniff. I know what you are--and I know what Link
Merwell is--and I don't propose to stand any more of your underhanded
work. Now you have your last warning,--and if you are wise you'll heed
it."