Tireson."

_15. The Journey in the Night_

For a long minute Don stared at the piece of paper which he had in his

hand. The words were perfectly clear but he was not able to realize

immediately what they meant to him. Dennings was looking at him, and

when the man saw that Don was reading the letter a frown gathered

quickly on his forehead. With a single swoop of his hand he snapped the

sheet from the cadet's hand and hastily read the postscript.

Sudden vigor flashed in his eye and he raised his head to look at Don.

But by this time the boy was ready for action. Before Dennings could

move Don had stepped to the door leading into the other rooms. Seeing

that Don meant to flee Dennings took a step nearer to him.

"Here, you!" called the man. "Where are you going? Come back here!"

Don knew it would be useless to try and get out of the door back of

Dennings, and without answering the man he began to run down the dark

hall that led to the front of the farmhouse. Dennings sprang after him

in swift pursuit. When Don reached the hall which opened from the narrow

passage he found that he had no time to try and open a door. Dennings

was close behind him so the cadet turned at the foot of the stairs and

ran rapidly up them. His pursuer followed unhesitatingly, and Don rushed

into a bedroom in the center of the place and slammed the door. To his

joy he found a bolt on the inside and he shot it closed just as Dennings

threw his weight against the door.

"You open that door!" shouted the man, kicking savagely against the

lower part of the wooden barrier.

"Nothing doing!" Don panted, leaning against the door. "You can't come

in here, Mr. Dennings!"

There was a pause and then Dennings spoke up. "Well, never mind, kid. I

was told to keep you a prisoner until I heard from the major, and that's

what you are now. You saved me the trouble of locking you up myself."

"Seems to me like I did the locking," Don replied.

A key was thrust into the lock and to Don's dismay it was turned with a

sharp clicking noise. A chuckle came from the other side.

"Just doing a little locking of my own," Dennings informed him. "You'll

just stay where you are for some time, boy. Don't waste your time

calling or pounding. No one will hear you out here."

He walked away from the outside of the door and Don could hear him going

down the front stairs. He shook the door, after drawing his bolt, and

found that it was tightly locked. Then he turned to examine the room, a

task that did not take him long. It was unfurnished, and the two windows

were boarded up tightly. There was only the one door and a single deep

closet with a shelf. Otherwise there was not a single object in the

room.

"Well here's a pretty mess," reflected Don, in disgust. "Ran my head

right into a noose. So the major is deeply concerned in all of this

business, eh? Not a doubt in the world but what he knows very well where

the colonel is, too. If I get a chance I'll certainly ruin their little

game."

He set to work to find a way out of his prison, but after an hour of

searching he gave up. The door was solid and the windows were well

boarded. There were no other openings. He stopped and began to consider

seriously his position. As there was no fire any place in the house he

was beginning to feel chilled through, and he fell to rubbing his hands.

Three hours passed in this way and it grew darker in the room. The only

light which entered the place filtered in through cracks in the boards,

and it was not until some snow drifted in that Don realized what was

causing the darkness. The threatened snowstorm had arrived.

Once more he looked around the room and his eyes fell on the closet. He

opened the door and looked around the little compartment, but the walls

were as firmly built as the rest of the room, and he had no hope of

breaking through them. Then he looked at the ceiling above the shelf and

a new thought struck him.

"Perhaps the ceiling above the shelf is not so strong as the rest," he

thought. "Might as well give it a try."

The next problem was to climb upon the shelf. He tried the strength of

the boards by hanging on them with all his weight suspended and he found

that they would stand the strain. Using the door frame for his hands and

feet he scrambled up on the shelf and sat there panting for a moment, to

regain his breath. Then he reached up and pressed the ceiling with his

hands.

The plaster was soft and the ceiling springy. It was evident that a

layer of lath was the only covering, and he felt confident of breaking

through that. Sliding forward on his back he raised one foot and sent

his heel crashing against the ceiling of the closet. The heel broke

through the soft plaster and the wood above splintered loudly. A shower

of powdery plaster sprinkled over him, but he did not care for that.

Much encouraged he sent another kick and still another against the

ceiling, until his feet had crashed out a jagged hole in the plaster.

Now he sat up and carefully removed the fragments which hung around the

ragged hole. He had broken a place between two beams, an opening large

enough to admit his body, and when he had torn the splinters away he

stood up and thrust his head and shoulders through the opening. Although

he could see very little he realized that he was half way in an attic,

and it took him but a brief instant to raise his body and haul himself

to the level of the floor. He stood up and knew that he was free, for

the moment at least.

His next task was to find the stairs. This took him several minutes, for

the attic was dark by this time, and he had to proceed with caution. But

at length he located them and began a careful descent. A door stood at

the foot of the steps. He opened it and after a hasty look around,

stepped out into the upper hall.

There was no sound in the house and Don made his way to the head of the

stairs up which he had run a few hours ago. He looked over the railing

and peered into the darkness below, but there was no light to be seen

anywhere. Perhaps Dennings had gone away, and if such was the case he

was free to get out of the house and make for the lake. He had no future

plan in mind, but his sole idea was to get out of the farmhouse.

He made his way down the stairs with increasing boldness and arrived

safely at the lower landing. The windows in the downstairs floor were

unbroken and not all boarded up, and if he found that he could not raise

one he was planning to break his way out and to freedom. He tiptoed into

the living room and was making his way toward the nearest window when

hasty steps sounded on the front porch. Someone stamped the snow from

his feet and a key rattled in the lock. Waiting until the door was swung

inward Don smashed the glass with a single kick and jumped the sill,

landing on the porch with a bound. A startled cry sounded near him and

he turned to run.

But the new-fallen snow proved his undoing. It was slippery and he fell.

Scrambling desperately, he managed to get to his knees, but it was too

late. Someone loomed up in the darkness and grasped him by the collar.

"Got him, chief," cried a strange voice, and the grip on his collar

tightened. With the quickness of thought Don brought his fists up

against the chin of the man who had hold of him. The blow was a hard one

and the man grunted in anger, but did not loosen his grip. The man who

had entered the house ran up at that minute and Dennings grasped him by

the arm.

"Thought you'd get away, did you, sonny?" asked the man, pushing his

face close to Don's. "Well, we were too fast for you that time."

"You had better let me go," cried Don, struggling furiously. "This will

mean a lot of trouble for you if you don't."

"It would mean a lot more trouble if we did," returned Dennings. "March

him in the house, Dan."

Between them they pushed Don into the hall and out into the kitchen,

where the leader lighted a candle. Don discovered that the man who had

captured him was a powerfully built man, with a rough, hard face and

narrow eyes. He kept his grasp on the cadet's arm until Dennings ordered

him to let go.

"He won't get away again, Dan," Dennings promised, as he looked Don

over. "How did you manage to get out of that room?"

"I just walked out," Don replied, briefly.

"I see," nodded Dennings. "Won't talk, eh? Well, it is perfectly all

right, son. We were just coming to get you anyway, so you saved us the

trouble of going upstairs. I'll find out how you got out some other

time." He turned to Dan. "I guess it's safe to get him over now, isn't

it?"

"Yes," growled the man, rubbing his chin where Don had hit him.

"Then let's go," said Dennings. "Just keep a tight hold on him, and if

he tries to get away, you know what to do."

"You bet I do!" the man replied. "I hope he does try something. I'll pay

him back for that crack on the chin with interest."

Dennings lighted a lantern and led the way out of the house, Dan and the

unwilling Don following. It was snowing lightly at the time and Don

found that the ground was covered to a depth of two inches. The evening

was clear and cold, and a keen wind was blowing. Dennings ranged himself

beside Don and the three made their way through the woods side by side

in silence, going away from the house and parallel with the lake.

"The snow will cover up any footprints," observed Dan, as they went

along, and Dennings nodded.

"See here, where are you taking me?" demanded Don, as they plunged

deeper into the woods.

"You'll know soon enough," Dennings growled, swinging the lantern before

him. "Keep quiet and come along, or it will be the worse for you."

Seeing that obedience would be the best policy Don hurried along, glad

of the opportunity to walk briskly and keep his blood in circulation.

They skirted the shore for a distance of a mile or more and then the two

men turned abruptly toward the water. Just before they reached the edge

of the lake they came to a dense tangle of brush and creepers, and

cleverly concealed under this natural bower Don was astonished to find a

low boathouse.

Leaving him in charge of Dan, who kept an iron grip on his arm, Dennings

unlocked the door of the hidden boathouse and dragged out a

round-bottomed rowboat. Dan pushed the boy into it and followed, and

Dennings, after putting out the lantern, took his place at the oars.

Under Dennings' expert guidance, the boat headed for the opposite shore.

The snow continued to drift down over the boat and the three men in it.

They were at the lower end of the body of water, a part that Don was not

familiar with, and it took them less than a half hour to gain the shore

upon which the school stood. Don wondered if they were going to take him

directly to the school, but as he could see no reasonable excuse for

doing that he gave the problem up. When they had reached the other side

they got out and Dennings led the way along the shore in the direction

of the school.

They followed the shore for a distance of three quarters of a mile and

the outline of Clanhammer Hall loomed before them. They were making

straight for the old building. In an instant some inkling of the truth

came to him, and when at last they stood on the stone steps and Morton

Dennings took a key from his pocket, his guess became a certainty. They

were indeed going to enter Clanhammer Hall.

"Well," reflected Don grimly as the door was swung open. "We fellows

agreed to break into Clanhammer Hall tonight, but it looks as if I would

be the only one to get in, after all. All I hope is that I can break out

of it once I get in."

Dennings pushed him through the open doorway, into the blackness of the

school and stepped in himself, followed by Dan. The door was closed and

locked and then Dennings again took his arm.

"Now I guess we have you where you won't break out in a hurry," he said.

And then he turned and whistled loudly into the darkness.

_16. Vench Learns Something_

Jim and Terry noted with some astonishment that Don failed to attend any

of his classes that morning. They were aware of the fact that he

contemplated going to the major and asking for a change in his schedule,

but why he had not appeared during the course of the first class they

did not know. As the second and the third class came and Don had not

appeared, they found themselves growing anxious.

After the third period Jim ran up to their room, to see if Don had

become ill, but he was not there. His hat and overcoat were both gone, a

circumstance which caused some lively speculation. He was not there at

dinnertime, and after their last period Jim and Terry hunted up the

major and asked him about Don.

The major looked interested and tapped his glasses on his thumb. "He was

coming here to see me about a change in lessons, eh?" asked the major.

"But, gentlemen, he never did come here. I haven't seen him at all. You

say his overcoat and hat are gone?"

"Yes, sir," replied Jim.

"How very odd," commented the major. "He certainly wouldn't have left

the building without permission, and no one gave him that, I'm sure.

Wait until I call Captain Chalmers."

Captain Chalmers had not given Don permission to go anywhere, it

developed. The major was more puzzled than ever. He went to their room

with them and looked about carefully, but nothing was found.

"This is most unexpected and disturbing," declared the major. "We must

find out from town if any of the cadets were seen there."

A telephone call to town failed to lead to the discovery of the missing

boy. It was with anxious hearts that Jim and Terry went to the supper

table that night.

The news of Don's strange disappearance spread over the school like

wildfire and the cadets dropped in to see Jim and express their sympathy

and their determination to help if possible. It was on that evening that

one lone clue was discovered. A man who worked in the kitchen told

Chipps that he had seen Don go out the back door and head for the lake.

Jim and Terry went to see this man, but he had no news but what he had

told Chipps.

"He had on his hat and his overcoat," the man told Jim. "And he went

down to the boathouse. That's all I saw of him. I only noticed it

because I thought it was funny he wasn't in class. I don't know if he

went into the boathouse or not."

The major dropped in to tell them that he had put off his business trip

until Don should be found. Jim thanked him for his interest and thought.

"Oh, nonsense," protested the major, waving his hand. "I'm deeply

interested in all of my boys, and of course I wouldn't rest easily until

he had been found."

The light fall of snow, which the boys had looked forward to with

eagerness, was disregarded in their new anxiety. It made the school and

its surrounding hills a picture of beauty, but the boys were not in a

mood to enjoy it. After a restless night Jim and Terry again attended

classes, but they did poorly and the instructors said nothing about it,

knowing the strain the young men were under. During noon recess Rhodes,

Jim and Terry decided to push a vigorous search as soon as classes were

over.

"It seems to me," argued the senior, "that we might be able to pick up

some tracks somewhere in this snow. We don't know how far he could have

gotten before the snow, but if he was traveling after it did begin to

come down there are tracks somewhere and we'll try to find 'em. They may

be across the lake."

"What would he be doing across the lake?" Jim asked.

Rhodes shrugged his Shoulders. "What did he go away for?" he asked. "No

one knows, but we do know that he went toward the lake, at least toward

the boathouse. The very first thing we'll find out after classes is

whether or not a boat was taken from the boathouse. I don't know what he

would cross the lake for but he may have and we can make a good attempt

to find out."

Every cadet in the school had Don's disappearance on his mind and no one

was more puzzled and interested than Cadet Vench. He turned the problem

over and over in his mind and he longed to be of service. Back in his

head the idea was firmly seated that he should be the one to find the

missing cadet. That would give him a chance to even his score with Jim

for his heroic act at Hill 31, and Vench decided to put his whole mind

and energy to the problem.

As soon as classes had ended that day Vench put on his overcoat and

walked swiftly to the lake. It had not occurred to him to check up on

the boats to see if one had been taken, but he planned to scour the edge

of the lakefront in both directions. He was now walking along the shore

away from the school, wholly absorbed in watching the snow-covered

ground, when he heard his name called. Even as he glanced up he knew

that the voice was unfamiliar and had a slight accent to it. Then, a few

yards before him he saw the man who had cut him dead in the drugstore,

Paul Morro.

Instinctively, Vench stiffened and grew cold. Morro had evidently been

taking a walk around the lake path and the meeting was quite accidental,

and Vench, who knew Morro's love for nature in all aspects, could

readily guess that the Frenchman was walking merely for the sheer

pleasure of the day and the prospect of the magnificent view. Comparing

the attitude of the man on the previous meeting to his friendly attitude

now, there was something to wonder about. Vench was astonished that his

friend of former days should so readily hail him. Vench bowed distantly.

Morro strode forward and held out his hand. "How do you do, Raoul?"

greeted Morro impulsively. Then, seeing that Vench had no intention of

taking his hand the artist hurried on, "My dear friend, forgive me for

not speaking to you the last time I saw you. It was so totally

unexpected, so much of a shock, that I could not speak or collect my

wits. Won't you forget my rudeness?"

"It struck me as being a bit queer to treat me like that after the type

of friend I have always been to you, Paul," answered Vench still aloof.

"I know, my dear friend, and I apologize. Won't you forgive me?"

He looked appealingly at Vench, and the cadet relented so far as to

shake hands briefly with him. Morro fell into step beside him and they

followed the edge of the water together.

"I had no idea that you were a student in this academy," Paul Morro said

to him. "I often wondered what had become of you after you returned from

Paris."

"I wrote to you several times," Vench retorted. "You did not answer."

Morro smiled, showing a set of unusually white teeth. "You must blame

that on my artistic temperament, my friend," he said. "I meant to, but

never got to it."

"I see," said Vench, evenly. "What are you doing here, Paul?"

The Frenchman hesitated. "I cannot tell you that, my friend," he

declared, at last. "I am employed by the man with whom you saw me, and I

am not at liberty to disclose his secrets."

"Very well," said Vench. "I don't want to know, if that is the case.

Would you like to go back and look around the academy?"

Morro smiled. "I have seen quite a bit of your academy, my friend. Your

headmaster is a most mysterious man."

"What do you mean?" asked Vench, stopping suddenly.

"What do you keep in that old building, that Clanhammer Hall?" Morro

countered.

"There is nothing in there," Vench declared. "That is, there is nothing

important. Some desks and old books and several portraits, that is all."

"Portraits!" cried Morro, eagerly. "Are there portraits in that old

place?"

"Yes, there are a few. Why do you ask?"

"It is nothing," hastily replied Morro. "But I will tell you why I say

your headmaster is a mysterious man. Almost every night he goes to

Clanhammer Hall and lets himself in with a key."

"Major Tireson goes into Clanhammer Hall every night?" Vench demanded,

now keenly interested.

"I have seen him go in several times," Morro insisted.

"How have you seen him?" Vench demanded. "What are you doing on the

school grounds at night?"

"That I cannot tell you yet," Paul Morro evaded. "I have a proposition

to make to you, and then perhaps I can tell you everything. But I have

been on your grounds several times and I have seen your Major Tireson

enter the building."

"How do you know it is Major Tireson?"

"My companion and I have made it our business to learn who all the

officials of your school are," his friend said.

"Look here," cried Vench. "What is going on around here? What kind of a

game are you playing, Paul?"

"I can't tell you that unless you agree to do certain things for us,"

Morro persisted.

"Okay. What do you want me to do? If I think it is straight, I'll

probably help you," Vench went on.

Morro smiled. "If it is straight? I think you are more particular about

'straightness' than you were in Paris, my friend."

A faint spot of red showed briefly in Vench's cheeks. "I am more

particular," he agreed firmly. "I was never dishonest, Paul, but I'm

more careful of what I do now than I was. I've learned a thing or two in

that school. What is your proposition?"

"My companion and I want you to open the doors for us and let us into

your school on any night we want to come in," Morro declared.

"Let you into the school!" cried Vench. "What for?"

"I can't tell you now. You'll have to have faith in us and do as we tell

you. Later on we'll explain all."

"You'd have to explain right now before I'd do a stunt like that,"

declared Vench with conviction. "I don't like the sound of that. Why

should you want to get into the school at night?"

"I will not tell you," affirmed Morro.

"Then you will not get into the school through my help," said Vench, as

firmly.

Morro's eyes flashed. "Do not be foolish, my friend. There is much in it

for you, if you do as we tell you and keep quiet. Come, say you will aid

us."

"Not in a game like that," Vench decided. "It doesn't look good to me,

and I won't have anything to do with it. No, Paul, you can count me out.

I'd do anything in reason to help a friend, but that hasn't a healthy

look, and I'd rather not be in on it."

"You'll regret it to the end of your days!" snapped Morro.

"I don't think so," Vench returned, smoothly. "If I can't know why I am

to play in a game like that I'd rather not play. That is final, Paul."

"Very well!" fairly shouted the Frenchman. "Then let me give you a

warning! Mind your own business! Don't attempt to put your nose into

anything you may see going on, or it shall be the worse for you!"

Without waiting for Vench to reply he turned and walked off, his eyes

snapping with rage. The little cadet made a move as though to follow him

and then stopped, lost in thought. Morro disappeared from view over a

low hill and Vench stood still, his mind occupied by this new problem.

Then he reached up, pulled his military hat more firmly over his eyes,

and started back for the school, a plan of action shaping in his active

mind.

_17. In Clanhammer Hall_

When Dennings whistled into the blackness of Clanhammer Hall there was a

moment's pause before there was any answer. At last a faint light showed

against the walls of the upper hall, and this gleam was soon followed by

an old man with a candle. He peered down at them over the banisters, and

after having satisfied himself that all was well and the parties known

to him, he descended slowly, picking his steps with care. From Terry's

and Vench's descriptions of the old man seen in Clanhammer Hall Don was

sure that it was the same man.

He flashed his light upon them and then, without speaking, looked

stolidly at Dennings. The leader pushed Don forward.

"Put this boy away for safekeeping," directed the leader. "Is everything

all right with the other?"

The old man nodded. Turning around he led the way up the stairs, Don

just back of him and the two men following. When they reached the broad

hall on the second floor the old man halted beside a heavy door and drew

a key from his pocket. He inserted it in the lock and opened the door,

holding the candle above his head. He turned his dull eyes upon the

cadet and motioned toward the room with his head.

"That room is all right, is it?" questioned Dennings. "This boy is a

slippery lad, Elmo."

"He won't get out of there," said the old man.

"All right," nodded Dennings. "Get in there, son, and if you're wise,

keep quiet. It won't do you any good to make a noise, but it might be

annoying, and if it gets too much so you're likely to receive a gentle

tap on the head to keep you quiet."

Realizing that all talk would be a waste of time Don walked into the

small room and the door was slammed after him. He heard the key turned

and then found himself in total darkness. The footsteps of the men

receded down the hall and a heavy silence closed around him.

When he was sure that they had all gone he felt his way around the room

but it was empty. Blank walls met his groping fingers and there was not

even a chair anywhere in the place. He gave up trying to find his way

out.

"Might as well wait until daybreak," he decided. "There may be some

light in here then, although I don't know where it will come from. Lucky

thing for me it isn't very cold in here."

Although there couldn't be a fire in Clanhammer Hall, the building

seemed warm, and Don was in no danger of being cold. He was hungry and

sleepy, and realizing that a good sleep would fit him for the problem of

the morrow he took off his hat and rolled his overcoat more closely

around him. The floor made a hard bed but he was not in a mood to

complain about that.

"I can't understand their game," he reflected, just before he fell

asleep. "Here they have me right under the noses of my friends and yet

there isn't a chance of my rescue unless the boys carry out their plan

and break in the place. That isn't likely now that they have discovered

my absence. Of all the high-handed games, this beats 'em all."

Don had no trouble sleeping. The events of the day had worn him out, and

he slept soundly. It was daylight when he awoke, and his first sensation

upon awakening was that of hunger.

A faint light entered the room from a very high and dirty skylight, and

Don saw at once that there was no use in looking in that direction for a

possible outlet. The skylight was too high for him to reach and there

was nothing to stand on. His impressions of the previous night were

confirmed, the room was empty and had no windows. It had evidently been

a small classroom at one time, for two sides of the wall were composed

of blackboards.

But Don was not discouraged by the outlook. He stooped down and examined

the board walls under the blackboards. Clanhammer Hall was a very old

building and the passing of the years had not improved it any. He noted

with interest that the walls close to the floor were made of light wood

and that the wood was dry and warped. It was with a thrill of hope that

he took his pocket knife out and without wasting a moment of time, began

a determined attack on the thin boards.

He was far luckier than he had dared to hope. The boarding had

originally been secured with light nails which had almost no heads at

all, and it was a simple job to spring them out and away from the

supporting beams, which ran vertically. In less than a half hour the

cadet had a dozen boards torn out of the wall, and an opening large

enough to admit his body had been made.

There were still the boards on the other side of the beams to be

reckoned with, but Don found that he had no trouble with them. By

pushing he forced them out into the adjoining room, taking care not to

make much noise, and before long he had opened a regular tunnel for

himself. Picking up his hat he forced his body through and stepped out

into a larger classroom, for the moment at least, free.

He listened intently, but there was no sound in the building and he made

his way into the hall. He was undecided as to whether to try to sneak

down and gain his liberty or to make a dash for it. Perhaps Dennings was

still in the place, and if so he stood in grave danger. He had no fear

of overcoming the old man if need be, but he was sure that Dennings

would not leave the old man alone, and Don was not disposed to run any

risks.

He decided to steal quietly out of the place and make his way on tiptoe

to the head of the stairs. No sooner had he poked his head over the

railing than he drew back in swift alarm. The old man was in the lower

hall, seated at an old desk, deeply engrossed in a newspaper spread out

before him. It was useless to think of getting out that way, and Don was

sure that there were no other stairs in the building. Although it looked

as though there was no one with the old man he felt that such was not

the case, and he was puzzled as to what course to pursue now.

It came to him that perhaps he could drop out of some window onto a roof

or even into the snow, and so get a running start. Perhaps there was

some rain pipe that he could climb down and reach the ground without

injury. The windows in the hall were pretty high, he noted, and would be

hard to raise without making some kind of a noise. There was nothing

left to do but to try it and trust to luck.

He made his way to the windows and looked out of them. They were all

high above the ground and it was useless to risk a bad fall that way.

Moving by inches he went down the back part of the hall, in hopes of

finding something more promising there, but he was disappointed. The

windows were all so high above the ground that a drop would almost

certainly injure him.

He was now in a state of anxious perplexity. It would be possible to

hide somewhere and wait for a more opportune moment, but he hated to

lose time and it was a risk in itself. No doubt the old man knew every

nook and corner in Clanhammer Hall, and his hiding place, wherever he

might find one, would not serve him at all. It was while he was puzzling

over his problem that he thought of the third floor and a possible

escape along the roof.

There must be a third floor of some sort in the building and he turned

his attention to finding stairs. After a time he located a door in the

rear of the hall and when he had opened it a flight of abrupt steps was

disclosed to him. He listened for a moment before ascending, not wishing

to walk straight into someone on the third floor, but there was no sound

from above, and after closing the door carefully behind him he began to

climb, listening intently. He gained the top of the boxed-in flight and

looked around him.

He was in a general hall which ran the length of the building and from

which doors opened on either side. It occurred to him that when

Clanhammer Hall was the main and only building of Woodcrest School some

of the students boarded at the school and some of them down in the town.

The first floor must of necessity have been given over to the dining

room, kitchen and offices, the second floor to the classrooms and this

third floor to the few dormitory rooms which the old school boasted.

There were at least twenty small rooms opening off the hall in which he

stood, and it was in these rooms that the few fortunate students lived.

No doubt the seniors or third class men slept there and the lower class

men were compelled to put up at friendly boardinghouses near by. The

doors were warped and initial-scarred, and faint yellow numbers still

showed on them.

At each end of the hall two windows allowed light to enter, and they

were the only openings with the exception of a rusted skylight directly

overhead. He walked to the windows facing the new buildings of the

school and looked out, to find that no shed or roof was underneath.

Nothing but a sheer drop was before him, and help from that source was

out of the question. There was a new possibility which entered his head

as he looked out on Clinton Hall and a corner of Locke. If the worst

came to pass he would try to signal to some of the cadets, none of whom

seemed to be around at the present moment. Glancing at his watch Don saw

that it was yet too early for them to be stirring, and no signals were

likely to be seen for some time.

He then made his way to the windows at the opposite end, stopping at the

stairs to listen, but no sound broke the stillness and he went on. Those

two windows overlooked a portion of the lake and the gate at the end of

the school grounds and the deserted edges of the woods. There would be

no help in that direction, either.

"Looks like I'd have to set the place on fire to get out," he grumbled.

"Now I'll look into some of these old dormitories."

He began to try the knobs on the doors but to his disappointment every

door was tightly locked. This puzzled him. All of the rooms on the

second floor were unlocked and open, but these rooms had been carefully

closed up. He felt sure that there was nothing in them, and why anyone

should be particular enough to lock them he could not see. He had tried

them all and in haste, so that one feature of a certain room escaped his

attention. In the center of the hall was one room which, judging by the

distance between doors, was larger than others, and this door, he

subsequently discovered, was locked with a special lock on the outside.

The other and smaller rooms had been locked with a key in the ordinary

manner, but the large dormitory room had been fitted with a padlock on

the outside and was locked in that manner. He stopped and looked through

the keyhole, but his vision was limited to a blank wall on the other

side of the room. Then he sniffed, his attention growing as he did so.

After a time he realized someone in that room was smoking tobacco. He

could smell it plainly.

His first impulse was to flee and then he stopped to consider, his gaze

fixed on the lock. Whoever was in that room was a prisoner. It was plain

that the padlock was meant for business. He tried it, pulling at it with

all his strength, but it was tightly locked and his efforts were

useless. Bending down, he once more examined it, and then, satisfied

that he could remove it with his knife, began to work at it.

There was a sudden movement in the room as he started to work, but Don

paid no attention, and as no one spoke he did not waste his time in

speech. The lock itself was screwed into the door, and the screws were

so placed that his knife blade, blunted by much use, formed a screw

driver that was effective. He did not have any unusual difficulty and

the screws came out readily enough under his urging. With patience and

speed he extracted four of the screws and the lock hung open, the

portion on the post being freed. Hoping that the lock under the knob had

not also been turned Don tried the door handle. To his relief it turned

and the door opened.

Pushing it open wide before him Don stepped into the large dormitory.

_18. Don Meets the Colonel_

Don stepped into the room, his eyes and nerves alert for whatever

emergency which might arise. He found himself facing a short and

slightly stout man, who was standing beside an easy chair, a newspaper

in his hand and a curved pipe in his mouth. The pipe seemed to have gone

out and the man was staring toward Don intently.

The room was furnished with a bed, a table upon which rested a few

books, and a large armchair. An iron stove took up one corner of the

room, and a fire had been lighted and was crackling in it. Two small

high windows gave light in the room, and the windows had been heavily

barred. Don took in the room in a sweeping glance and looked once more

at the man.

An expression of mingled relief and anxiety was on the man's face and he

stepped forward, dropping his paper.

"Who are you, boy?" he asked, his voice slightly hoarse. "What are you

doing here?"

"Are--are you Colonel Morrell?" gasped Don, a flash of inspiration

sweeping over him.

"Yes!" replied the man, eagerly. "Have you come to rescue me at last? Is

the story out?"

"I'm sorry to say that I may not be able to help you much, colonel,"

returned Don, closing the door behind him. He looked searchingly at the

colonel, the subject of so much thought and conjecture for the last two

months. "I'm a prisoner here myself, and I just escaped from a room on

the second floor. I guess I stumbled on their game and they took me in,

too."

"Just the same, I'm very glad to see you," cried the colonel, seizing

his hands. "What is your name, my boy?"

"Don Mercer, sir. I'm a fourth class man, and we've been greatly

concerned about your absence at the school. Have you been right here all

along, Colonel Morrell?"

"Every bit of the time," nodded the stout colonel. "Clever piece of

business, wasn't it, that of hiding me where no one would have thought

of looking for me?"

"It certainly was," Don agreed. "Shall we try and make a dash for it,

Colonel Morrell?"

But the colonel shook his head, running his hand through his thick gray

hair. "I'm afraid it is no use, my boy. That old man's never left alone,

and we would waste time by trying it. Let's think up a better plan. Have

you had anything to eat?"

"No," said Don.

The colonel hurried to the center table and opened a drawer, from which

he took a sandwich wrapped in paper. "Here is a sandwich that was left

over from my supper," he said, handing it to Don. "Sit down here and eat

it while I talk to you."

Don sat down in the arm chair and gratefully ate the sandwich. The

colonel seated himself on the arm of the chair.

"Of course all you boys wondered what had become of me," he began. "I'll

tell you the whole story. Some years ago I was in business with Major

Tireson and a man named Morton Dennings. I never cared for Dennings, who

was a close friend of the major's, but we got along fairly well and

things went smoothly. We all bought shares in some mines in the west in

those early days, but they turned out to be worthless and I filed my

papers away. I didn't think anything more about them until this summer,

when Major Tireson called on me and asked me to sell him my share in the

mine.

"As I had thought the mine absolutely worthless I naturally wanted to

know why he was so anxious to buy, and he told me that he and his

partner wanted to hold the land for future speculation. I knew that

there was some flaw in the story somewhere and refused to sell to him,

although he did get pretty warm about it. I determined to have the place

looked up and reported upon, but I let the summer slip by without

attending to it, and so I lost a valuable opportunity.

"I had wired Tireson the date of my arrival here and he put his plans

together well, the scoundrel! I was just about to board a train at my

home town when a messenger boy ran up to me and gave me a brief note. It

was from Tireson, asking me to stop off at Spotville Point and see this

man Dennings, who lives there. So I dropped off the train at that town

and went up to the home of Morton Dennings. He entertained me all

evening, and just before I was ready to go to bed late in the night I

heard an automobile drive alongside the house. Dennings and two men

promptly seized me and told me that I would be kept a prisoner until I

turned over my share in the mine to Tireson and himself. I told him that

I would be a prisoner forever before I would do that. They took me out

of the house and to my surprise brought me here, where I found these

quarters fitted up for me."

"And you have been here, right under our noses, while detectives have

hunted for you all over the country!" said Don.

"Oh, yes, that was the point of their idea. No one would think of

looking for me right at my own school. Tireson has been here time after

time, trying to make me reveal the hiding place of my papers, but he

hasn't arrived any place yet. He isn't going to, either. But they are

both getting tired of the game, and I'm afraid they are planning some

new move with me."

"But what can they do?" inquired Don, anxiously. "They can't turn you

loose and they can't keep you a prisoner forever."

"No," said the colonel, getting up and pacing the floor. "But there is

always violence and the possibility of dragging me off on some ship and

dropping me in some Far Eastern port!"

"They won't dare resort to violence!" flashed Don.

The colonel shrugged his shoulders. "We don't know what they will do.

Remember, they are pretty deep in this thing right now. To allow me to

get loose and tell a few things would ruin them both. They can't afford

to mince matters."

"I must get out of here somehow and get help," cried Don.

"We'll see about that," returned the colonel, returning to his seat on

the arm of the chair. He dropped one arm around Don's shoulder. "Let me

hear how you came to be mixed up in this business, Mercer."

Don related everything from the beginning and the colonel was an

interested listener. He was able to explain something that had puzzled

the boys.

"Dennings didn't come here himself, as a regular thing," he said. "He

made the old farmhouse his headquarters and waited there for news. I

guess one of the men used a mirror to flash his 'No progress.' There

never was any progress. Major Tireson has pleaded and coaxed and

threatened, and he finally did admit that the mine had turned out to be

one of the best of its kind and that he and his partner were determined

to get my share of it. That time we had the fire was when the cook, the

old man, left a lid off the stove and a curtain brushed over it. I

thought something might come of that, but they had someone watching me

all the time and I couldn't make any signals."

"Was there no way of signalling out of that window?" asked Don, nodding

to one of the two in the room.

"They are all too high," answered the colonel. "I would have tried

if--Listen!"

Footsteps were heard on the floor below and then a shrill whistle rang

out. Someone shouted something. The colonel jumped up.

"They have discovered that you are gone!" he cried. "I must hide you at

once, and I have just the place. I'm sure these fellows don't know of

it, and I'll risk it. Come here."

He led the way to the other side of the room to where a dusty map hung.

Brushing this to one side he disclosed the opening of a ventilator with

a black iron frame. He thrust his fingers into the openings in the frame

and pulled the iron work out.

"Here," gasped the colonel. "Get into that hole. It doesn't go very far,

but it will hold you all right. Don't make a sound."

The opening was large enough for Don to get his body into, an awkward

job, as he went in backward. The passage of what had once been an

air-shaft extended back for a distance of about seven feet, and he lay

flat on his stomach, finding plenty of room in the shaft. The colonel

replaced the grating, dropped the map into place and hurried back to the

center of the room, where he picked up his paper and sat down,

pretending to read.

The noise downstairs continued and in a few minutes someone could be

heard running up the stairs. A shout was raised outside the colonel's

door.

"The boy is in with the colonel!" Dan's voice shouted.

Others ran up the stairs and the old man, Dan and Major Tireson rushed

into the room. The colonel jumped to his feet, the picture of alarm as

he faced his captors.

"What's the matter?" he cried. "Are you going to hurt me, Tireson?"

"I'm not going to touch you," shouted the major, in disgust. "We want

that boy. Where is he?"

"What boy?" asked the colonel, blankly.

"You know very well what boy!" snorted the major. "We found the lock on

your door open when we came in, and we know he is in here!"

"Oh, I see!" cried the colonel, as though a light had suddenly appeared

to him.

"What do you see?" snapped Tireson, halted by the colonel's tone.

"Somebody was working at my lock up until the time you started to run

around and yell downstairs," related the colonel. "I thought it was one

of you trying to get the padlock unlocked so I didn't pay any attention.

Who was this boy you are talking about? What is he doing here? Why----"

"Never mind all that," Major Tireson cut him short. "Dan, go out in the

hall and see if you can find that boy. He must not get out of the

place!"

The major then made a thorough inspection of the room, even going so far

as to hastily brush aside the map, but did not find Don and he began to

believe seriously that the boy had not entered the colonel's room. The

old man had hurried out of the room and the major was now alone with

Colonel Morrell.

"Look here, Elmer," said the major, sharply. "I'm going to give you one

last chance to speak up and tell us where your papers are. You have

until tomorrow night. If you haven't spoken by then you will have to

suffer the consequences. Dennings is more than tired of your

stubbornness, and we won't stand for any more of it. You will be moved

tomorrow night, so you had better come across with the papers before

then, or you will probably go for a long sea voyage."

"Going to kidnap me and take me for a sail, eh?" inquired the colonel.

"As far as kidnapping is concerned I think that has happened already. I

can't help it about the sea voyage. You must realize that we can't let

you loose and if you won't talk you can take what is coming to you."

"You'll suffer for this, you scoundrel!" roared the colonel.

"Maybe," the major shrugged. "We will if you ever get loose, and we are

going to see that you don't. There is only one sensible thing to do,

Morrell, and you know what that is."

"You'll never get those papers," affirmed the headmaster.

"Then you may take what is coming to you, you stubborn old idiot!"

shouted the major, leaving the room. He closed the door after him and

turned a key in the lock. His footsteps were heard going down the stairs

a few minutes later.

When the colonel thought that it was safe he let Don out of the

ventilator and brushed him off. The cadet's uniform was covered with

dust from the shaft.

"Too bad that shaft was ever boarded up," remarked Don.

"Yes, but it was. Well, you heard what our friend the major said. I am

to be carted off tomorrow night and bundled to sea."

"I heard it all right," said Don. "We must find out some way to prevent

it. But if we can't do that I might lie in the ventilator, find out

where they are taking you, and as soon as they are gone. I can probably

get help before you have been carried very far."

"That is true," agreed the colonel. "That may be the best thing to do. I

presume we had better be ready to hide you at a moment's notice. You can

share my food with me today and at night we'll sleep together. The bed

is wide enough for both of us. We'll play the game of hide and seek

tomorrow and when they come to take me away at night you can carry out

your plan."

Twice again through the day Don was forced to take to the ventilator and

hide, once when food was brought to the colonel and once when the major

paid a visit to the room. It was evident that Tireson was worried, and

the colonel asked if the boy had been found. The major refused to answer

but it was evident from his manner that he had not been. Finding all in

order in the room the major retired, and late in the afternoon the

padlock was repaired and snapped in place.

Don and the colonel spent a contented day, during which they became well

acquainted. Don told his superior of the events of the past three months

and the colonel talked to him of a variety of subjects. When night came

on the colonel lighted a lamp he had and they talked again.

"No one will be here again," observed the colonel. "We'll turn in soon

and get some sleep. I'm a very light sleeper and if anyone comes to the

door I'll hustle you into the ventilator. Lucky thing they gave us a lot

of food."

The colonel explained that the men generally gave him enough food for

three meals and left him alone until the following day. Then the colonel

brought out a checker board and some checkers and he and Don had some

good games. The colonel won them all and was in high spirits.

"Well, I guess we had better turn in," the headmaster decided, after he

had won the fourth game. He swept the checkers toward him.

Then both of them started and turned. The padlock opened with a snap,

and before they could move the door was flung open.

_19. Vench Is Mysterious_

The three boys had scoured the entire lake front without obtaining any

clues as to the whereabouts of the missing cadet. On the way back a

sudden thought occurred to Terry.

"Look here," said the red-headed boy. "Don was seen to be going in the

direction of the boathouse. Perhaps he took out a boat. Hadn't we better

go back there and find out?"

"That's a good idea," Rhodes agreed. "I don't see why he would take a

boat ride, but we had better look into it."

When they arrived at the boathouse they found the keeper of the boats

there. Jim asked him if Don had come to him the day before to request

the use of a boat.

"No, he didn't," answered Ryan, the keeper. "I wasn't around the

boathouse until late in the afternoon. But one of the boats is gone. The

one that was in that rack."

He pointed to the empty rack and went on: "When I got down here

yesterday I noticed that boat was gone and I looked around the lake for

it. It wasn't until this morning that I heard Mr. Mercer was missing,

and even then I didn't think that he might have crossed the lake in my

boat."

"I suppose it is useless to think of crossing the lake and making a

search in the dark?" Jim advanced.

Rhodes looked out of the boathouse window. "I'm very much afraid that it

would be out of the question," he answered gravely. "It is growing quite

dark and it has begun to snow again. But in the morning we'll ask for

permission to cross the lake and search the woods and that old farmhouse

over there."

"That's so!" exclaimed Terry. "I never thought of that old place.

Perhaps it has something to do with the whole thing."

"It's possible," agreed Jim. "What if Major Tireson will not give us

permission to skip classes in the morning?"

"If he doesn't," said Rhodes, grimly, "we'll just wire your father to

come down here and take charge of things. Then I think he won't refuse

your request."

Jim chafed against the falling darkness and the snow which had begun to

fall. The snow itself would not hold up his search, but the darkness

delayed everything in a way that was maddening. There was nothing left

to do, however, but to wait until another day.

At supper time Cadet Vench signalled him to wait for him after the meal,

and when it was all over the little cadet walked to his room with him.

Rhodes was in the room talking with Terry as they went in.

"What did you want to see me about?" asked Jim.

"I wanted to see all of you," Vench replied. "Look here, Rhodes, can you

sleep in Don's bed tonight?"

"Here, in this room?" asked Rhodes, astonished.

"Yes. I want you three to sleep together tonight and to be right where I

can get ahold of you. You don't need to ask permission to do it. Just

wait until the Officer of the Day passes by on his rounds and then come

in here, with your clothes. You can get out early in the morning. I want

you all together, because I may have some work for you all before

morning."

"What is up, Vench?" inquired Terry.

"Well, I'm not even certain enough to tell you what I have in mind,"

confessed the little cadet. "I think I have run across a valuable tip

and I'm going to look it up alone. Not because I want to be selfish or

anything like that, but it will mean some cold and dangerous work, and

as it may be a wild goose chase I want to saddle no one but myself with

it. You'll sleep here tonight, won't you, Rhodes?"

"Why, yes, I'll do it," nodded the cadet captain. "I suppose you must

have some very good reason for asking it and I'll try to help out."

"Thanks," said Vench.

"Has all this business got anything to do with Don?" asked Jim, eagerly.

"I think that it has, but I'm not dead sure. As I told you, I received a

valuable tip and I want to work on it. Now, we must arrange some kind of

a signal. I may be out most of the night, and I want to signal you

fellows to join me outside. If I do I don't want to have to come back

inside the building to get you."

"You may be outside most of the night!" cried Rhodes. "You'll freeze,

Vench."

"I may be too active to freeze," grinned the cadet. "Has anyone of you

fellows got a long cord?"

"I have a ball of string in my trunk," Terry offered.

"Fine. Let's have it."

Terry procured the ball of string and handed it to Vench. The little

cadet looked from one to the other.

"Which of you is the lightest sleeper?" he asked.

"I'm a fairly light sleeper," said Rhodes.

"All right." Vench tied the string to the end of Don's bed and then hid

the ball under the mattress. "Now, as soon as the Officer of the Day has

made his inspection you drop that ball of cord out of the window and let

it hang there. If I want you guys during the night I'll yank that cord

and wake you up by shaking the bed. If I don't pull it at all during the

night pull it up again in the morning. Is that understood?"

"Yes," the boys nodded, completely mystified.

"All right. Now, if I do pull the cord, you three fellows dress and slip

out of the side door and join me there. Is all that clear?"

"Almost," laughed Terry. "Be a sport, Vench, and tell us what is up?"

"Nothing doing," Vench returned, firmly. "This may all be a false alarm,

and if it is I don't intend that anyone but myself shall pay the penalty

for it."

"But if it has anything to do with Don we ought to have some hand in

it," urged Jim.

"If it turns out as I expect and Don is concerned in it, you will have a

hand, maybe both hands in it," countered Vench. "Now, I must get back to

my room. Don't forget to drop that string out of the window, and

whatever you do don't keep on sleeping if I pull it. So long."

"So long," they returned, and Rhodes added, "And good luck to you in

whatever it is you are doing."

Vench went out of the room, chuckling at Rhodes' parting shot. Terry

looked at his companions.

"Mr. Vench is getting very mysterious!" he said.

"He certainly doesn't mean to bother anyone else with his ideas,"

commented Rhodes.

Mr. Vench returned to his own room and picked up a book. After a few

moments he put it down and turned to his roommate, who was studying at

the same table.

"I want you to help me out," he said. "After the Officer of the Day

comes around I'm going out of the building on some very special

business, something which may keep me out all night. I'll tell you what

it is when it is all over. What I want you to do is simply not to worry

your head if I seem to be a bit unusual in my movements tonight."

"All right," agreed his roommate in some astonishment.

Before long the warning bell sounded and Vench and his roommate

undressed and got into bed. The Officer of the Day visited the room and

made his inspection. Then the lights went out and the dormitory became

still. In another fifteen minutes the footsteps of the Officer of the

Day sounded on his return trip. And when Vench was sure that the

temporary officer had gone to bed he got up quietly and dressed.

His roommate heard him but made no comment, and Vench finished his

dressing and put on his overcoat. Very carefully he opened the door and

looked out into the hall. It was totally deserted and the little cadet

left his room and walked quietly down the corridor, down the stairs, and

soundlessly let himself out into the cold night. He had no hat on, but

Vench was used to going without one and did not mind in the least.

He stood for an instant in the gloom of the building and looked out over

the campus. Clinton Hall was the last of the dormitories and he was in

no danger of being seen from Locke, where the major had his rooms. The

night was cloudy and quite dark, with occasional flurries of snow. The

air was slightly damp and very cold. Vench thrust his hands into his

pockets and looked from right to left.

A short distance before him, directly across the campus, was a fringe of

trees and snow-covered bushes behind which lay Clanhammer Hall. It was

to this thicket that Vench now directed his attention, and he made his

way toward it, keeping as much as possible in the shadows. It was a

lucky thing, he reflected, that it was not a moonlight night, for that

would have made his already difficult job more dangerous, since he was

compelled to cross open ground to gain the woods just before the old

hall. To be seen by anyone as he flitted across the snowy campus would

have seriously hindered his objective, and he was more than thankful for

the obscurity of the stormy night.

He gained the fringe of trees and undergrowth and concealed himself in

it. Right in front of him, and at a distance of forty yards, was the

main door of Clanhammer Hall. There was no light in the place and the

dirty windows stared at him like dead eyes.

Vench looked at his watch and saw that it was barely a quarter after

ten. "I've got three-quarters of an hour yet," he murmured. "Hope it

shows up on time."

Fifteen minutes dragged by and Vench grew cold. He moved his arms back

and forth to keep up the circulation of his blood, being careful to keep

from making any noise while doing so. There was plenty of space in the

thicket in which to walk up and down and he began to do so, wearing a

path in the snow. This helped him to keep warm and made the time pass a

little more quickly. When he looked at his watch it was a quarter of

eleven.

And at that moment there was a step on the snow close by. Quick as

lightning Vench crouched down behind the nearest bush and looked out.

The major was coming up the driveway toward the old school, muffled in

his overcoat, his head sunk forward in his collar. It was evident that

he had no fear of detection, for he glanced neither to the right nor to

the left, but walked confidently up to the door, inserted a key in the

lock and opened the barrier. He went in and closed it back of him.

There was no light in the place and no light showed after the major

closed the door. It was evident that the major was very familiar with

the place, and after watching for at least ten minutes Vench

straightened out and once more began his pacing. But a few minutes later

he stopped and listened eagerly.

The soft chug of a car was approaching, and in a short time it drew

nearer until it was in sight. It had approached by way of the east gate

and stood just outside the hall and across from Vench. It was a long

black car.

A driver sat at the wheel, a short fat man who looked to be quite old,

although there was not much to be seen of him, for he was bundled up in

a huge fur coat that made him shapeless, and a fur cap was on his head.

As soon as the car had come to a halt he leaned over the wheel and

appeared to go to sleep. The door of the car opened and two men got out.

Both of them were plainly dressed and looked to be ordinary businessmen.

They closed the door of the car, and just before the door shut Vench

could see that there was no one else in it.

One of the men opened the front door of the car and shook the driver.

"Wake up, Garry," he said, impatiently. "We're going inside. As soon as

we come down you be ready to go. Get me?"

"All right," growled the driver, and slumped over the wheel again.

The two men made their way up the steps and entered the building. The

major had evidently expected them and had left the door open. When they

had gone inside there was no sound, and the man on the wheel did not

move.

Vench considered, his pulses pounding rapidly as a sudden thought struck

him. Things were working out as he had planned, but he was now

considering something which had not occurred to him before. Swiftly he

shed his overcoat, dropped it in the bushes, and rubbed his hands

together.

Then, his eyes concentrated on the figure over the wheel, Cadet Vench

moved swiftly. From the back of the car, his footsteps noiseless in the

light snow, he drew nearer to the unheeding driver. Then, with a single

bound Cadet Vench leaped to the car and threw himself upon the man at

the wheel.

The man was taken completely by surprise and for a second he offered no

resistance. In that precious second Vench slipped one hand over his

mouth and kept it there. That left him just one hand to fight with, but

it was vital that he keep the man from crying out, so he kept his hand

glued to the mouth of the driver. For a brief second the man was

motionless with surprise and fear, and then he began to struggle

furiously.

Vench gripped his throat determinedly, realizing that the struggle must

not take much time. He drew the man toward him as he saw that he

intended to blow the horn and bring the men in Clanhammer Hall to the

spot. The driver fell from the seat and they both rolled to the ground,

Vench's hand still clenched over his mouth. With the other he still

choked the man.

The struggle did not take long in actual time but it seemed to Vench

that it did. The man was old and stout, not in any kind of physical

condition, and he was handicapped by the heavy coat which he wore. Vench

felt his struggles grow weaker and weaker, and at last they stopped

altogether. When the cadet felt that it was safe he released his hold on

the man's throat but not on his mouth. The man lay still and Vench was

satisfied that he was unconscious.

Then Vench released his hold on his mouth and looked around him. The

snow was badly kicked up where they had struggled, but there were no

other signs. He stripped the big fur coat and the cap from the man's

person and then pulled off his belt. With this he secured the driver's

hands behind his back and then considered.

"I can't leave him here to freeze in the bushes," Vench reflected. "But

where will I put him?" Then it flashed over him that there was a tool

house not far away, the door of which was always unlocked, and he

determined to take the man there. But when he tried to lift him he found

it a task beyond his strength.

"Nothing left but to drag him," decided the cadet, and he took the man

by the feet and started. Finding this inconvenient he placed his hands

beneath the man's shoulders and dragged him through the thicket and over

the campus to the tool house. The door was open and he tumbled the man

in.

The driver had regained consciousness but contented himself with

groaning. Knowing that if his hands were left tied they might become

frost bitten Vench took off the belt and went out, dropping a wooden bar

across the holders as he did so. He knew that the man might work his way

out, but it would take him several hours to do so.

Then Vench sped back to the car before Clanhammer Hall. No one had come

out yet and his way was clear. He put on the fur coat and the cap,

slumped down in them and hung over the wheel, waiting for the next move

in the game that he had decided to play.

_20. The Major Makes a Move_

When Don and the colonel swung around in consternation at the sound of

the door opening they faced Major Tireson and the old man. There was a

look of triumph on the face of the major, and the old man, standing just

back of him with a candle in his hand had a slight smile on his

otherwise expressionless face.

"So!" cried the major, as they jumped to their feet. "You two are

together, it seems."

The colonel recovered his presence of mind instantly. "Why, yes, we do

seem to be together," he remarked.

"And that boy was with you all day, eh?" questioned the major. "Where

did you hide him?"

"I don't remember, major," said the colonel. "That happened this

morning, and I can't remember that far back."

The major's face darkened. "Trying to be funny, aren't you, Elmer? It

won't do you any good. We knew that this boy did not get out of the

building, and my keeper suspected that you had him with you. He crept up

here and heard you talking, and then he told me just now that you were

together. But you won't be for long!"

"No, I suppose not," the colonel retorted, bitterly.

The major strode up to Don. "I've had a lot of trouble with you, young

man," he snarled. "But I'm not going to have any more. Just as soon as

we get through with the colonel we'll take care of you."

"Just as you please," returned Don. "But I warn you that it will go hard

with you if I once get away."

"You won't get away," assured the major. He turned to the colonel. "You

are going away, colonel."

"Humph," snorted the colonel. "I thought it was to be tomorrow night."

"You are going tonight," the major said. "We've had enough out of you,

and we don't propose to take any more. If you feel like telling us where

those papers are on the way, all well and good, but if you don't you'll

start on a long trip."

"I prefer travelling to talking," the colonel retorted briefly.

At that moment there came the sound of steps on the stairs and as the

major and the old man did not turn with any degree of surprise the

colonel and Don knew that enemies and not friends were approaching. This

proved to be the case when two men entered the room and nodded to the

major.

"Is the car here?" asked the major.

"Yes," said one man. "It is waiting at the door. Are you ready to go?"

"Yes, he is ready," nodded the major, pointing toward Morrell. "Take him

down, and if he makes any noise just put him to sleep. We can't afford

to have anything happen now."

"What about the boy?" asked the second man.

"We'll leave him here for the time being. I haven't decided yet what

disposition will be made of him, but I'll figure that out later. In the

meantime, take the colonel to the place I told you about, and when I

give you further orders he is to be taken out of the country."

"All right, chief," answered the first man, and he took the colonel by

the arm. His companion took the colonel's other arm.

"Goodbye, Mercer," said the colonel. "We'll get the best of these

scoundrels yet."

"I'm sure of it, colonel," returned Don. "Take good care of yourself,

sir."

"You two have become very friendly in a short time, haven't you?"

sneered the major.

"Well, that's bound to happen, major," said Morrell slowly. "When two

men get together they feel some sort of natural ties. Some day, if you

ever become a man, you'll know what I mean!"

The major raised his fist in a threatening attitude and Don sprang

forward to the colonel's defense. But the man who held the colonel's

right arm interposed.

"Here, cut that out! If you want to get this man away tonight, you had

better start and fight later."

Grumbling to himself the major left the room, followed by the colonel

and his guards. Last of all went the old man, casting over his shoulder

at Don a triumphant grin. Then he locked the door and Don was left

alone, standing in the center of the floor in the circle of lamp light.

"They certainly put one over on us that time," he muttered. "I never

heard them come up the stairs. Now I wonder what the major will try and

do with me?"

In the meantime the colonel was escorted down the stairs to the front

door, where the big car stood in the drive, with the driver apparently

asleep over the wheel. The door of the car was opened and the colonel

was thrust inside, the men watching him closely to see that he did not

raise any outcry. When he had been safely installed the major walked

around to speak to the driver.

The man at the wheel had awakened and was now sitting and staring

straight ahead, more than ever sunk in the fur of his coat and hat, his

face in the shadows. He did not bother to turn when the major approached

him.

"Drive with your lights off when you go out of here, Garry," he said.

"When they get the colonel at Denning's place, you put your car up and

go home. Do you understand?"

"Right!" growled the driver, his face in the fur.

The major walked back to the car door and spoke to the men inside. The

driver looked right and left and then straight ahead. The door was

slammed and the major stepped away from the car.

"Go ahead," he commanded, in a low voice.

Vench reached down, released the brake and started the engine. He backed

the car around in the driveway and sent it out of the school yard in low

speed, keeping his lights low. It was not until he had rolled out onto

the main highway that he switched them on again and picked up speed.

Inwardly, he thanked his lucky stars even while he wondered. He was glad

that he had run with the hares on that day, and that he had run with his

partner through Spotville Point. The other boys had told him of Dennings

and his home at Spotville Point, and Vench knew that this place was to

be his destination. He did not know where the house itself was but he

did know where the town was. The location of the house would come later.

But what puzzled the cadet was the man who had come out of Clanhammer

Hall. Vench had fully expected to see Don brought out, and the sight of

the portly colonel astonished him. He quickly arrived at the correct

answer, although he had no means of knowing how the colonel had come to

be in Clanhammer Hall or why he was being taken away.

The drive to Spotville Point took longer than Vench had thought, for he

was only vaguely familiar with the roads and was following a general

sense of direction more than anything else. He was worried for fear that

some happening might come up which would spoil his game, in which case

he planned to make a sudden and savage attack on the two men, counting

on the colonel to come to his aid. But at the end of half an hour he had

arrived safely at Spotville Point, and now his only difficulty lay in

not giving away the fact that he did not know where Denning's house was.

He was turning over in his mind the advisability of pretending that his

engine was breaking down and stopping somewhere when one of the men

pulled down a sliding glass window back of him and spoke into his ear.

"Take the back road, Garry," he said. "We don't want to go up the main

street. Slow down, or you'll miss it."

Vench obediently slowed down, and the man ducked back, closing the

slide. To his right was a lane, and Vench turned the car into it.

"You'll never know how much I thank you for that one, mister!" he

thought.

The car lurched for a short distance down this lane and then two houses

loomed up out of the blackness. Vench was not sure which one was

Denning's but noting that one was not in as good a state of repair as

the other one he took a desperate chance and drove into the yard. It was

evidently all right, for nothing was said, and he brought the car to a

stop before the front steps.

The men immediately jumped out and helped the colonel after them.

Without paying any attention to Vench they took the colonel up on the

porch, and one man produced a key from his pocket and unlocked the front

door. All three of them walked in, the door was closed and Vench was

left alone.

Without showing undue haste he turned the car around and rolled out of

the yard. When once he gained the highway he turned on speed and fairly

tore back for the school. He was amazed at his luck. No one had looked

closely at him and his deception was unknown and unsuspected. His

colonel was in a place where he could be reached easily, and although

his investigations had not brought Don back he had at least fallen on a

trail rich in promise. Vench drove the big car rapidly back to the

school and jumped from it at the east gate.

He made his way around Clinton Hall and into the shadows of Locke. He

was reasonably sure that Major Tireson was in bed by this time, but he

wished to take no chances and so he proceeded with the utmost caution.

When he got under the window of the room occupied by the three boys his

groping fingers encountered the hanging cord and he pulled it sharply

and continuously, so as to shake vigorously the bed in which Rhodes was

sleeping. After a few moments there was an answering pull on the cord,

and he made his way around to the side door and waited.

It seemed an age before the door back of him was pulled open and Rhodes,

Terry and Jim appeared, wrapped in their uniform overcoats. He motioned

to them to be quiet and led them to the big car, which he had halted

beyond Clanhammer Hall. They all crowded into the broad front seat, and

before driving out of the yard Vench threw off the fur coat, which was

cumbersome, and donned his cold overcoat, which he found lying in the

bushes where he had left it.

Then Vench drove the car out of the drive and once more headed for

Spotville Point. The cadets, who had kept silent up until now, could

contain their curiosity no longer.

"For the love of Mike, Vench, what is up?" inquired Rhodes.

"Have you found Don?" asked Jim.

"I'm sorry to say that I haven't," returned the cadet at the wheel. "But

unless I am greatly mistaken I have found Colonel Morrell!"

"What!" cried the cadets.

"Yes," nodded Vench. He told them the story of the events of the night

and then went on: "This is what gave me the idea. While I was walking

around this afternoon looking for clues along the lake front I ran

across my friend Paul Morro, the man who cut me dead down at the

drugstore. Among other things he told me that Major Tireson went to

Clanhammer Hall every night and entered with his own key. As soon as I

heard that I made up my mind to find out once and for all and right away

why he should care to go into that old building so often. I returned to

the school and immediately ran into astonishing luck.

"No one was in the central hall of Locke when I entered, and I was

walking along on my way to hunt up you fellows, when I passed the

office. I had on rubbers and consequently made no noise, and it was

owing to this fact that I stumbled across unexpected information. The

major was at his desk, telephoning, and he was directing that a closed

car be sent to the door of Clanhammer Hall that very night. That was all

I heard, but it was enough to make me go out there and look in on the

mysterious doings. I expected that he was going to move Don, but not

being sure I didn't want to ask you fellows to spend several cold hours

out there for what might prove to be a goose chase. I am disappointed

that it didn't turn out to be Don, but we can rescue the colonel, unless

some unexpected hitch turns up."

"You've done a good piece of work, Vench," complimented Rhodes, warmly.

"I think I can see the whole thing," struck in Terry.

"What do you mean?" asked Jim.

"Why, it is perfectly plain. The major has somehow or other removed Don,

who may have stumbled onto something just as Vench did. If we can bring

the colonel back he will have Tireson arrested and we ought to have

plain sailing."

"We're going to get our colonel back, all right," affirmed Rhodes, his

tone grim.

In a short time they reached Spotville Point and Vench once more ran the

big car down the back lane. At a point some hundred yards from the dark

house he brought the car to a stop and got out.

"Let's go, fellows," urged Vench, slipping off his overcoat. "And quiet

is the word!"

_21. The Surprise Attack_

Under cover of the thick darkness the cadets crept forward and

approached the back of the house. There was no light to be seen, and

Vench was worried for fear that they had suddenly decided to move the

captive. But when they had ranged themselves alongside the building they

found a faint light escaping beneath the black shades.

"They're still here," whispered Vench. "What shall we do, rush them?"

"It looks as though we will have to," returned the senior captain

guardedly. "We don't know how many are in there, but we will have to

take a chance on it."

"There's no use breaking the windows," said Jim. "Before we could climb

in they would have the light out and disappear. Can we get in from the

front porch?"

Vench nodded and they made their way quietly around to the front,

stepping with painful care. Once on the porch they cautiously looked in

and saw that the light was in an inner room.

"We'll have to smash the window completely with one blow," decided

Terry. "We can't waste time by pulling out broken glass, and we don't

want to cut ourselves. Suppose two of us kick this glass through on a

given signal, and two kick out the second window? We'll jam through and

go for 'em!"

"Suppose the light goes out?" asked Jim.

"We mustn't allow it to go out," returned Rhodes. "Let's get ready to

board ship."

Rhodes and Vench took up their place near one window and Terry and Jim

took up a position at the other. At a whisper the four boys raised their

feet, heels poised near the glass. There was no movement.

"Go!" whispered Rhodes.

Four heels struck the panes of glass with a shattering crash and a

tinkling sound echoed through the house. Carried forward by the momentum

Jim and Vench hurtled right on through. The leg of Jim's trousers was

cut. Vench was luckier and landed in the room without mishap. He

sprinted madly for the door from which the light had come, with Jim a

foot behind him.

Rhodes and Terry flung themselves after the first two, with no personal

danger, for the bulk of the glass had been carried out by the kicks. By

the time they reached the lighted room they found their two comrades

busily engaged.

Vench had entered first, his eyes sweeping the room. The colonel sat in

a chair, tightly bound, and near him were two men. One of them had been

stretched on the couch in the room and the other was standing before a

small stove. At the startling sound of breaking glass they had been

paralyzed with astonishment, and before any movement could be made Vench

was at the door and Jim was just behind him. The man on the couch leaped

to his feet and reached for a heavy cane nearby, but the man near the

stove leaped for the electric light button.

Vench saw him and jumped. Just as the man's hand was closing over the

button the little cadet bore down on him like a wildcat. His hands

closed over the man's shoulders and he spun him around. Before he could

recover his balance Cadet Vench hit him a well-timed blow on the jaw.

The man went down and Vench promptly threw himself upon him with

enthusiasm.

Jim jumped for the second man, who, club upraised, bore down on Vench.

Seeing Jim close to him the man whirled and struck at him with all his

strength. Had the blow landed fully it would have ended Jim's

effectiveness that night. But Jim pulled his head to one side just in

time. The blow landed on his shoulder near the neck. It caused him

intense agony, and he faltered.

Rhodes tore into the room and at sight of him the colonel uttered a cry

of delight. Terry followed and they bore down on the man with the cane.

The colonel had been bewildered at the sight of the boys, for Vench, Jim

and Terry were unknown to him, and only Rhodes was familiar. Seeing that

his day had dawned the colonel became impatient and tugged at his bonds,

eager to strike a blow in the fight for his liberty. But he was unable

to pull himself loose and had to content himself with watching.

The man with the cane had thought Jim and Vench alone, but when he saw

the other two cadets drawing near his tactics abruptly changed. He

dropped his weapon and reached into his back pocket. It was then that

Jim had his opportunity. Although his shoulder pained him greatly he

threw himself forward, gripping the man's arm. Then, while Terry and

Rhodes knocked the man down, Jim twisted a revolver from his grasp.

Cadet Vench was having a tough time of it. The man beneath him was

powerfully built, and with a single heave he sent the little cadet

floundering to one side. From that position the man succeeded in

twisting one leg around Vench's body, cutting off his breath as he

pressed his body to the wall. Vench's eyes bulged and the perspiration

stood out on his head, but he was far too plucky to call out. Now safely

astride the small cadet the man raised his fist to deal him a savage

blow.

Jim saved Vench. Seeing that Rhodes and Terry had the other man quiet he

turned to see how Vench was making out. The peril that his friend was in

struck him at once, and he dived forward. Fairly and squarely he struck

the man, bowling him over like a log, and when Jim raised himself the

man lay still, his head against the base of the wall.

Vench rolled over, panting. "Get something and tie these guys up," he

directed.

While Rhodes kneeled on the chest of the man whom they had overcome,

Terry ruthlessly tore a window curtain into strips and proceeded to bind

the hands of each man behind him. Little or nothing had been said, and

except for a few grunts and an oath from one of the men, the struggle

had taken place in a silence that proclaimed the grimness and purpose of

it. Now that the men were securely tied Rhodes ran to his colonel and

began to untie knots.

"Well, we're here, Colonel Morrell," he sang out, cheerfully. "I hope

you'll pardon our unceremonious way of coming in, but nobody answered my

knock!"

"Pardon it!" roared the colonel, beaming with excitement and delight.

"I--I--I don't know what I will do! That was the best A number One fight

I ever saw in my life! I'm terribly proud of you boys!"

The ropes released, the colonel sprang up and threw himself on Rhodes in

an outburst of admiration and thankfulness, pounding him familiarly on

the back and very nearly shaking his hand off. With a single glance at

the bound men to see that they were safe Rhodes introduced the others

and lavishly praised the ingenuity and courage of Cadet Vench. The

colonel was tremendously pleased with his new fourth class men.

"By George, I must have the best fourth class in the history of the

school, if I may judge by you three boys and Don Mercer," he exclaimed.

He turned to Jim and told him about Don, adding. "So you see, there is

nothing to worry about. As soon as we have locked these two scoundrels

up and have captured Tireson we'll liberate Don. If that happens

sometime tomorrow we'll have to keep a watchful eye on Clanhammer Hall

and see that they don't move him."

"Shall we get these men out of here, colonel?" asked Rhodes. "There is

no knowing who may come along and we wouldn't want our game spoiled

now."

"No, that is so," the colonel agreed. "Though the enemy would have to

bring an army along to overcome you boys! We'll get these men to the

nearest police station and then have someone posted here to take

Dennings if he comes, which I suppose he will."

After making sure that the fire would go out and not set the place on

fire, the boys once more examined the bonds of the prisoners and then

pushed them out of the house and into the back of the car. The colonel

sat guard with Rhodes and Terry. Jim, who had turned the revolver over

to the colonel, rode in the front seat with Vench. At the colonel's

suggestion they drove five miles to Arrington, where, after some

difficulty, the sheriff was aroused from his comfortable bed and came

down to hear their story. He was interested and astonished, and when he

had dressed he led them to the county jail, where the two men, still

sullenly silent, were locked up. Then, after the officer of the law had

agreed to send a special man to watch Dennings' house, the boys drove

the colonel to Portville.

In talking it over, just before they left Arrington, the colonel decided

that he would return to Portville and remain in hiding, there to plan a

trap which would take in both the major and Dennings. The major was easy

to reach, but Dennings was not. He had business in many places, and had

a habit of slipping from place to place, and the colonel was

particularly anxious to catch him.

Vench drove to Portville and the colonel engaged a room at the main

hotel. The boys followed him to his room and they had a final council of

war.

"I want you boys to return and go on with things just as if nothing had

happened," directed the colonel. "Of course, the major may find out that

the game has been spoiled, and then he'll try to escape. If possible,

keep your eyes on him. Watch Clanhammer Hall, too. We mustn't allow

anything to happen to Don."

"What shall I do with that driver in the tool house?" asked Vench. "If

we leave him there all night he will freeze, because I took his fur coat

off."

"I'll take care of him," promised the colonel. "The first thing in the

morning I am going to report everything to the chief of police here, who

is a personal friend of mine, and I'll have a man sent up to bring him

to the jail, to be kept there until we have arrested the others. He'll

be all right until morning. Now, you boys had better be getting back to

school. Whatever you do, don't let the major catch you!"

Colonel Morrell then shook hands cordially with the boys, expressing

once more his satisfaction and gratitude, and the boys left him. Vench

left the car at a public garage, with orders not to allow anyone to

touch it without his consent. Then the four boys walked back to school.

"No use talking," said Rhodes, enthusiastically. "Mr. Vench will be

nothing less than a general!"

"I'll be lucky if I'm ever a good bellboy!" grinned Vench. "Fate was

good to me. I was looking for Don, and eventually I found him, through

the colonel."

"I guess we'll always stand well with our headmaster!" chuckled Terry.

When they got back to the school the boys used the utmost caution and

got back to their rooms in safety. The night was nearly gone, and when

the bugle blew early next morning Messrs. Rhodes, Mercer, Mackson and

Vench groaned aloud as they reluctantly left their beds.

_22. The Man on the Ice_

That day was cold and clear, with a still, penetrating cold that sent a

tingle through the veins of the cadets. For hours the ice had been

forming on Lake Blair. One or two cadets had been hardy enough to test

it and found that it was about ready to bear weight, and by nightfall it

had frozen to a depth of several inches. It was the first real ice of

the season and the students hailed it with shouts of delight. Closets

and trunks were hastily ransacked, and some of the new cadets went to

town and bought skates. Others went to the cellars under the barn and

brought out stored barrels, breaking them up and distributing the wood

at various points along the lake for their fires.

In the afternoon Rhodes went to the major and asked for permission to go

to town. He found the headmaster in a suspicious and angry mood, caused

probably by the things which were weighing on his mind. When the senior

cadet asked for leave the major swung around.

"What for?" he snapped.

Rhodes looked surprised. "I want to have my skates ground," he returned.

"And I have other errands."

"Very well, go ahead," grumbled the major. "There is too much of this

running to town."

Rhodes saluted and left the office, not even taking the trouble to thank

the major because of his ungracious tone. He got his skates and put on

his overcoat. Then he hurried off to town.

"Wonder if Major Tireson really suspects anything or if he is just

cranky today?" he wondered.

True to his statement Rhodes left his skates to be ground and purchased

some necessities. Then, after making sure that no one was around who

looked suspicious, he went to the main hotel in Portville and asked for

the colonel's room. The clerk called the colonel on the telephone,

allowed Rhodes to talk to him, and when the colonel was satisfied that

it was his senior cadet captain, he told him to come up.

The colonel greeted Rhodes warmly and they discussed plans. Rhodes told

him of the major's harshness, but the colonel was inclined to put it

down to nervousness.

"He has a lot on his mind," said the colonel. "But even so, I guess it's

about time to close in on this bunch. I'm afraid the major might slip

through our fingers, so I've decided to trap him tomorrow morning. Just

as soon as he gets teaching his classes the police chief and I will

swoop down on the school and take him in. We'll just have to hope that

somehow or other we'll run across Dennings. There are men out looking

for him now, and they may run him down. I'm afraid to fool around too

long, for fear that the major may move Don or skip himself."

"If you are going to wait until tomorrow we will have to see to it that

Don is not spirited away tonight," said Rhodes.

"Yes, and a pretty close watch on the major will do that. Is anyone

watching Clanhammer Hall now?"

"Terry is prowling around there," replied Rhodes.

"Very good. The driver was taken out of the tool house early this

morning and locked up, protesting that he had been kidnapped and abused

by a big bully, that meaning Mr. Vench. I guess he was pretty cold, too.

So you are having your skates ground, eh? The lake frozen over?"

"Yes, sir. All of the cadets are going skating tonight and we four

planned to skate down near Clanhammer Hall, so as to keep an eye on the

place."

"A good idea," nodded the colonel. "Is Jim keeping up an appearance of

anxiety?"

"Yes, he is. He went to the major this morning and asked if any word had

been received of his brother. The major assured him that all steps had

been taken to find Don and told him to keep up his good spirits."

"Oh, sure!" grinned the colonel. "Fine old scoundrel that major is!

Well, tomorrow morning, with as little fuss as possible, we'll just

scoop up that arch plotter."

Agreeing to call the colonel immediately if anything came up Rhodes left

him, and after getting his skates, went back to school. After a good

supper the cadets studied for an hour and then rushed with whoops to the

lake, where a half dozen big fires blazed along the edge of the sheet of

ice. In a short time the runners of scores of skates were ringing with

sharp, crisp sounds over the hard surface.

A dozen games were immediately started, games of snap the whip, hockey

and races, but the four friends carefully avoided these and kept to

themselves. Those who were not in the mood for playing, but who wanted

to skate more calmly, moved toward the lower end of the lake, and the

boys were in this company. Most of the fires were near the school, and

only a few scattered ones extended down the lake.

"Let's take a long trip down to the end of the lake," suggested Vench,

and they started off, side by side, their skates ringing on the frozen

surface. They passed Clanhammer Hall, turning to watch it as they went

by, but there was no light in it. They passed the last skaters and

plunged on in the half gloom of the winter night toward the place where

the lake narrowed down to a mere brook.

"Poor old Don must think we have deserted him," said Jim.

"I guess he does," cried Terry. "But we'll haul him out tomorrow morning

as soon as the colonel returns."

"Tomorrow will be a big day," smiled Rhodes. "The older class men will

be wild to have the colonel back, and it is a pretty safe bet that we

won't do much in the way of routine when he does get back. The colonel

is a good joe, and it is ten to one that he'll give us the whole day

off, to skate and fool around, in celebration of his return."

They skated to the end of the lake and turned and started back. They

were now in darkness, with the fires in front of them as they began the

return trip. Consequently, they could see far up the lake, to where

several dark figures skated about, outlines against the distant fires.

None of them was below Clanhammer Hall at the time.

"Somebody coming across the ice from the opposite side of the lake,"

called Jim.

Rhodes spun in a half circle and stopped, screening himself behind some

bushes that grew near the shore, the others following his example. They

watched the man who was crossing.

"He is walking," decided Terry, after they had watched him for a time.

"Yes, it isn't one of the cadets," said Vench. "He keeps looking up the

lake and watching the boys. Wonder who it is?"

The man walked swiftly across the ice, his head bent over his shoulder

to watch the boys who skated further up near the school. He was tall and

wore a heavy overcoat and a cap. Rhodes eyed him keenly.

"Isn't he heading for Clanhammer Hall?" he asked.

"He certainly is!" cried Jim. "And do you know, I think it's Dennings!"

"There is no doubt of that," said Terry. "He is certainly going toward

the hall, too. Maybe they are going to move Don right away. What shall

we do?"

Rhodes swiftly unbuckled the strap on his skates, kicking them off and

stowing them in the bushes. "We'll follow him and see what he is up to.

If a move is afoot to carry Don off we want to break it up in short

order."

"You're right," agreed Jim. "Good thing we were at this end of the

lake."

The others took off their skates, and following Rhodes' example, placed

them in the near-by bushes. When they looked again the man was leaving

the ice and just entering the tangle of snow-covered bushes that fringed

the lake back of Clanhammer Hall.

"Well, let's go," ordered Rhodes. "We must keep that fellow in sight and

somehow get in the hall. By hurrying along the shore we can soon make

the place. On your toes, and don't make a sound!"

Leaping up the bank the four boys broke into a trot, heading for the old

building which stood in darkness some quarter of a mile down the lake.

_23. The End of the Mystery_

When they finally came in sight of the building Dennings was nowhere to

be seen, and the boys came to a halt. When they were reasonably sure

that he was not lurking somewhere about they made their way to the

school and found that he had gone around to the front door. Not wishing

to try the door they walked around to the back, keeping in the shadow.

Vench went to the cellar window and pushed it open.

"Still able to get in here," he whispered. "I'll go first, because I

know the way."

Vench lowered himself through the window and dropped with a dull thud

into the musty cellar. The other boys followed, Terry taking the

precaution to close the window after him. For a moment they stood there,

listening.

There was no sound from above, and Vench began to move away in the

direction in which he remembered the stairs to be. Guided by the sound

of his footsteps the cadets followed him, feeling their way gingerly.

Vench struck his foot against the flight of wooden steps and began to

ascend, and the others came after him.

At the top of the flight Cadet Vench stopped, feeling the door before

him. He felt some anxiety that it might be locked, but it was not and he

pushed it open. It swung back slowly and without sound, and they looked

into the hall of the old school. It was black there, but to their

surprise they heard voices in a side room.

Following Vench they tiptoed along the hall, prepared to fight things

out if they were discovered. Opposite the room from which the faint

light was streaming and from which the voices came was another room, and

the four boys had no difficulty in slipping into it. And from this

vantage point, safe in the darkness, they looked straight across the

hall into a large room.

Dennings was in the room, with his back to them, a revolver in his hand.

He was pointing it at two very frightened men, who cowered in a far

corner near some dusty old portraits which hung on the wall. Vench

started in surprise. One of the men was Paul Morro and the other was his

companion.

The men had a single candle by which to work, and they had been engaged

in cutting the canvas out of a picture when Dennings had surprised them.

Morro had a sharp knife in his hand. A long bench had been placed under

the picture, and the men were standing in front of it. As they listened

Dennings was speaking, his revolver still pointed at the men.

"That's a pretty queer story," the man was saying. "I wonder if I am

supposed to believe it?"

"Sir," answered Paul Morro, "I am telling you the truth. My companion

and I are French collectors, and we were tipped off that a valuable

painting, stolen from France years ago, had been brought to this country

and later had been given to this school as a present. We heard that the

original canvas had been concealed under the canvas of a common picture,

and acting on the hint we came to America to rescue the portrait and

return it to its rightful home. Sometime ago we entered Locke Hall and

slashed a picture that we suspected there, but it did not prove to be

the one that we wanted."

"I heard about that," nodded Dennings, half convinced. "How did you

fellows come to get in here?"

"We made inquiries about the school in town," said Morro, "and we

learned that this old building, which we had thought empty, had some

furniture and paintings in it. A man who had repaired the roof a few

years ago told us, and we decided that the portrait might be in here. So

we forced a window and got into the place tonight. We were examining

these pictures when you came in."

"So I noticed," said Dennings grimly.

"That is all there is to it, sir. We did not intend to steal anything

except the portrait, and that is ours anyway. We'll promise to leave and

never come back if you will let us off."

"I don't know about that," said Dennings thoughtfully, lowering the

revolver. "Look here, I can use you two. I have a prisoner up on the

third floor, and I'm going to take him out of here tonight. I want to

get him across the lake and into my car, which is on the other side. If

you two will help me get him out of here I don't care if you cut up

every picture in the school! What do you say?"

Morro glanced at his companion, who shrugged his shoulders. Morro then

turned back to the man who was facing them.

"We will help you," he promised.

Dennings thrust the revolver into a back pocket. "All right, come along.

Bring your coats and the candle with you."

Morro and his companion put on their coats, and Morro picked up the

candle. Dennings took it from him and walked to the stairs, the men

following. They tramped heavily up to the second floor, and the faint

beam of the flickering candle disappeared from sight.

"Now we can go," whispered Rhodes, when the sound of their footsteps

died out. "But be careful and remember that Dennings has a gun. Wonder

where that old man is?"

With Vench in the lead the four cadets climbed the stairs and found

themselves in the hallway of the second floor. They had no difficulty in

finding the stairs to the third floor, as Dennings had left the door

open. It was with painful care that they ascended and stopped just

outside the room into which Dennings had gone.

A single lamp burned in this room and they could see Don standing beside

the table, facing Dennings. Back of the man stood the two Frenchmen,

obviously ill at ease. Dennings, firmly believing that he was safe, was

speaking to Don.

"Get your coat and hat on, Mercer," he was saying. "We're going to take

you away from here. It's getting a bit too hot for comfort."

"Where am I going?" asked Don without moving.

"Never mind that," snapped Dennings. "We took your friend the colonel

for a long ride and we are going to take you on one. Don't waste time;

hurry up."

Rhodes gripped the arms of the cadets in quick succession. "Let's go!"

he hissed, and darted into the room.

At the sound of his footsteps Dennings swung around, his hand sliding

toward his rear pocket. But Rhodes was upon him before he could reach

it, and Terry was with him. Each of them grasped the arms of the man and

Jim threw one arm around his throat. Don uttered a cry at seeing them

and rushed to their aid.

Vench had paused to speak to the astonished Frenchmen. His eyes

glittering, he thrust his determined chin close to Morro's face.

"Beat it, Paul," he warned. "You and your friend get out of here, and

don't come near this school again! I know enough about you now to put

you in prison for a long time, so get a move on and get out. And keep

your mouth closed!"

Morro looked just once to where Rhodes was taking the revolver from the

man they had overpowered and then moved. He seized the arm of his

companion and pulled him after him. They found the stairs and ran down

them.

Vench turned his attention to Dennings, but that was not necessary. The

man had been overpowered and his revolver taken away from him. He had

offered a brief and savage struggle, but the suddenness of the attack

had proved his undoing, and he was powerless. Glaring and cursing he lay

on his back, looking with blazing eyes at his young captors.

"Well, Mr. Dennings," said Don. "I guess that I am not going on a trip

after all. You will take the only trip."

"I'll fix you kids for this!" roared Dennings.

"What shall we do now?" asked Jim disregarding Dennings.

"You fellows tie him up and bring him over to the school," suggested

Rhodes. "I'll go back, find out where the major is, and call up the

colonel and tell him to get up here, that we have them both."

"Oh, have you got the colonel?" cried Don. Dennings' eyes bulged in

astonishment.

"Yes," said Vench, as Rhodes took up the candle and went out. "We

rescued him and he is now down in the hotel. Well, let's get busy on

this fellow. If we can't find any rope we'll use our belts and take him

over to the school. I guess this will break up their precious ring."

While the boys were strapping Dennings' hands back of him with their

belts Rhodes was hurrying across the campus in the direction of Locke

Hall. The cadets were still skating on the lake and the whole school had

the look of regularity about it. No one was near Clanhammer Hall and he

reached Locke in safety.

Rhodes hurried to the office, keeping a sharp lookout for the major. He

was not in the office, but Captain Chalmers was there. Rhodes

considered, and then determined to enlist the aid of the teacher in

capturing the major. But first he asked a question.

"Where is Major Tireson, sir?"

Chalmers answered without hesitation. "He just left for the station," he

said. "He said that he had to go away on business for a short time, and

he left here in civilian clothes, to be gone for a week. I am in charge

now. Is there anything I can do for you, Captain Rhodes?"

"Yes, sir!" exploded Rhodes. "How long ago did he leave?"

"About ten minutes ago. Is there anything wrong? Can----"

Without a word Rhodes scooped up the telephone and pressed the receiver

to his ear, leaving the instructor lost in astonishment. It seemed an

age before an answer came, but finally the night operator broke in.

"I want the Portville Hotel, operator," called Rhodes. "This is an

emergency call, so please rush it."

Captain Chalmers refrained from saying anything while Rhodes waited.

When the hotel answered, Rhodes gave the number of the colonel's room,

and a moment later the headmaster answered.

"Hello, Colonel Morrell?" called Rhodes. Chalmers jumped to his feet

with a sharp exclamation, but Rhodes went on: "This is Rhodes, colonel.

Major Tireson left the school a few minutes ago to go to the station. I

think he is running away. We have just captured Dennings and released

Don. See if you can capture him, colonel."

The colonel hung up with a sharp click and Rhodes turned to Chalmers. "I

know you are astonished, Captain Chalmers, but we have found the

colonel. I'll tell you about it later. Here is a more pressing matter."

The other boys had entered with the prisoner and they brought him to the

office. In a few words matters were explained to Chalmers, and the man

was securely locked in a strong room from which there was no escape.

Then they waited for the colonel, sitting in the office and talking

things over with the man who was destined to succeed Major Tireson as

assistant headmaster.

To the astonishment of the cadet body there was no call of taps that

night. They returned from skating and to study, but the lights did not

go out. No Officer of the Day patrolled the halls, and finally sheer

curiosity drove them from their rooms to see what the trouble was. It

was then that word spread like wildfire that the colonel had returned.

It was some hours after the telephone call that Colonel Morrell, with

springy step and wide smile, burst into the office and shook hands all

around. To their anxious questions he replied that Major Tireson had

been arrested with the old man of Clanhammer Hall just as he was about

to step on a train for New York City. The major had decided that the

game was getting much too warm, and he planned to go to Spotville Point,

see to it that the colonel was carried off on a long sea voyage, and

then disappear. A sense of uneasiness had come over him, and he had

decided to clear out, to communicate with Dennings later and decide on

the fate of Don.

When the cadets learned that their beloved colonel had returned there

was an end, for that night at least, of discipline. The older cadets who

knew him well thronged around him, shaking hands and greeting him, and

the colonel fairly beamed his pleasure. The story was soon out, and the

cadet body heaped warm praise on the boys who had solved the mystery of

Clanhammer Hall.

Very much later the bugler made a poor attempt to sound taps, and the

cadets went to bed, to lie awake for the most part and talk across beds

of the unexpected developments in their school life. There was a general

feeling that not much work would be done on the following day, and in

this they were not mistaken. The colonel granted them a full holiday,

which they spent on the lake, enjoying the splendid ice and healthy

weather. To the colonel it was an enjoyable holiday also, and he

appeared on the ice to skate for a brief time with his boys. The fourth

class men, just making the acquaintance of their real headmaster, were

more than pleased with him.

Captain Chalmers was made assistant headmaster in Tireson's place. In

due time the major and Dennings, with three hangers-on, were all given

prison terms on various charges. School life settled down to a regular

run of routine that was now thoroughly enjoyable, and the boys began to

find the days slipping by rapidly and pleasurably.

Clanhammer Hall was in time turned into an alumni hall, and the former

graduates of Woodcrest held many a stirring rally within its walls.

There was no longer any mystery about the old hall, and clean windows

and walls gave it new appearance.

On one evening just before Christmas the five boys, Vench, Rhodes,

Terry, Jim and Don gathered in the Mercer boys' room to discuss the

reward. There had been offered the sum of five hundred dollars to the

one who should discover information leading to the discovery of the

whereabouts of the colonel. This reward had been turned over to them

that morning, and they sat around the dormitory to discuss it.

Don told them of the card and the old station master. "This is the way I

look at it, fellows," he said earnestly. "Each of us would get a hundred

dollars out of it by splitting, and no doubt a hundred dollars would

come in handy in one way or another. But Jim and I don't actually need

ours. Perhaps some of the rest of you do. That old station agent is

pretty well along in life, and some of that money would make the rest of

his days a whole lot easier for him. If he hadn't furnished us with the

card we would have been in the dark on several points. Jim and I have

agreed to turn over our money to him."

"You may turn mine over, too," said Vench. "I have all the money I need,

and I'd gladly see him get it."

"That goes for me, too," nodded Captain Rhodes. "I am not rolling in

wealth, but my father takes excellent care of me. The old man is welcome

to my share."

"Look here," said Terry. "I'm perhaps the least well-to-do of all, but

I'm not going to touch my share of it, either. The reward was for

information leading to the discovery of clues that would be helpful, and

the agent certainly deserves it under those circumstances. Give him the

whole thing and make his Christmas a happy one."

This was done. Just before Christmas the boys went home, and Don, Jim

and Terry got off the train at Spotville Point, where, Don learned, the

train would stop for ten minutes. They approached the ticket window and

found the old agent seated before his desk.

"How do you do," greeted Don. "How are you today?"

"Oh, so-so," returned the agent, staring at them without recognition.

"Got a bad spell of pain in my back and I ain't just in position to call

in a doctor. But no use kickin', I suppose."

"Do you remember us?" inquired Don.

The agent looked closely, and then shook his head.

"No, I don't think--You ain't them soldier boys, are you?"

"Yes, we are the two who came here to ask you about an old gentleman who

got off here in October. This is my brother and this is a friend. We are

on our way home and just got off the train."

"Hum, I suppose nothin' come out of that post card, did it? I knew it

wouldn't, told my wife so. I sez 'Catch us ever havin' good luck,' I

sez. What's that?"

Don thrust a long envelope under the small opening. "That is something

to convince you that for once you guessed wrong," he smiled. "Something

did come of that post card, and here is your reward. We all wish you a

very Merry Christmas."

The three boys went away, leaving the agent staring at the envelope in

his hand. Finally he opened it and found the check. He shook like a

leaf.

"Oh, my good golly!" he said over and over again.

The boys once more seated themselves on the train and soon left

Spotville Point far behind them. Terry laughed as he thought of the

agent.

"This Christmas will be quite a shock to him," he said.

"I'm glad of it," replied Jim. "Well, I wonder what is in store for us

in the future?"

"Oh, nothing much, I guess," laughed Don. "I guess we'll study through

the spring, play a little baseball, and then go home for a summer

vacation. You know, we have a plain vacation, while the first and second

class go to camp."

"Just the same," maintained Jim, stoutly. "I'll bet we'll have some more

adventures. We just can't seem to keep out of things."

"Perhaps you'll go sailing again," suggested Terry.

"Maybe," said Don. "I don't really know. But I guess nothing exciting

will happen to us."

But Don was wrong. During the summer vacation a great many dangers and

adventures fell to the lot of the three boys. Their wanderings carried

them far afield and they found even more stirring adventures than they

had yet encountered. What happened to them will be related in the third

volume of the Mercer Boys Series entitled: _The Mercer Boys on a

Treasure Hunt_.