me
to his senses the food had to be pushed aside. This happened just as
Professor Snopper Duke was passing, and the new teacher eyed the young
cadet suspiciously.

"What is the matter with that omelet, Rover?" he demanded, in his
high-pitched, nervous tone of voice.

"Nothing the matter with it, sir," answered Andy. "Only I somehow forgot
and salted it too much."

"Really!" returned Snopper Duke sarcastically. "Is that the way you waste
food?"

"No, sir. It was only a mistake," answered Andy meekly.

"You ought to be made to eat that omelet," continued the professor
severely. "Don't let such a thing happen again." And then, with his eyes
rolling around among the other cadets to see if anything else might be
wrong, he passed slowly down among the tables of the mess hall.

"Oh, isn't he a perfect little lamb!" murmured Randy. "So awfully
tender-hearted!"

"Somebody ought to wring his neck," grumbled his twin.

"Just the same, Andy, you'd better be careful how you handle the
salt-shaker after this," put in Jack.

After the meal the Rovers and their chums mingled with the other cadets
and informed two or three of what was in the wind, and as a consequence
there was quite some excitement noticeable when a little later the crowd,
with the exception of Randy, slipped out of the school building by a side
door. Randy ran upstairs, to appear presently on the lower landing of the
fire-escape. Here was suspended a heavy iron ladder in such a fashion
that it could be easily shoved out so that one end would drop to the
ground.

Soon the crowd of cadets appeared in the snow below him, and then, with a
warning to them to get out of the way, Randy let down the ladder and then
came down himself.

"All clear upstairs," he announced. "Not a soul in sight."

"One of us ought to stay on guard up there to give warning in case it's
necessary," announced Spouter.

"Well, suppose you go up," returned Jack.

"I'd just as soon help with the snowballs," returned Spouter. "But if you
want me to go I'll do so." And a moment later he disappeared up the
ladder and into the school building through a window which had been
thrown open.

The cadets on the ground found it no easy task to raise the big snowballs
up the ladder. They tried it first with nothing but their hands, but soon
found they could do much better by dumping a snowball into a big overcoat
and then hauling it up by the sleeves and the tail of the garment. They
worked as