taying leave."

The car crossed the railroad track and presently pulled up quietly in
the gloom of the trees along the road and the four boys noiselessly
descended, shook hands, promised to pay a visit some day to Cedar Ridge
and stole off to the right through the darkness. A moment later the tiny
red light of the automobile vanished from sight. Tim called a halt at
the wall. "You'd better bunk out with us tonight, Clint," he whispered.
"We'll beat it around back of the gym and get in the shadows of the
buildings. Say, Don, you're sure we left that window unlatched?"

"Of course we did! It hasn't been closed for a week."

"Then forward, my brave comrades! If anyone sees us we'd better scatter
and hide out for awhile."

They climbed over a stone wall and made their way through a grove
adjoining the school grounds, keeping close to the boundary fence. It
was as dark as pitch in the woods and every now and then one or another
would walk into a tree or fall over a root. Don's teeth were chattering
like castanets, for the night had grown cooler and a little breeze was
blowing from the west, and his clothing was still far from dry. They
crept past the back of the Cottage very cautiously, for there were
lights upstairs and down, and breathed easier when the black bulk of the
gymnasium loomed before them and they could crawl over the fence and
drop back into school ground. From the corner of the gymnasium to
Billings was a long distance, and looked just now longer than it ever
had before. Also, in spite of the fact that there was no moon, the night
was surprisingly light and Tim scowled disapprovingly at the stars as
they paused for an instant at the corner of the building to get their
breaths.

"Keep low," advised Tim, "and make for Torrence. Then we'll stay close
to the walls of the buildings. You want to see if there's a window open
in Torrence, Clint?"

"No, I'll stay with you fellows. I'd probably walk into a chair or a
table and someone would take me for a burglar."

"Come on, then. Haste to yon enfolding darkness!"

They "hasted," and a second or two after were creeping, doubled up lest
their heads show above the darkened windows and arouse unwelcome
curiosity, along the rear of Torrence. Then they raced across the space
dividing Torrence from Main Hall and repeated the proceedings until,
finally, they were under the windows of Number 6 Billings. Both were
open at the bottom and their doubts and tribulations wer