" he added, glaring at them.

"I want to say right now, Professor Duke, that that big snowball went
downstairs by accident," answered Andy, feeling that there was no help
for it and that he must make a clean breast of the matter. "We were
rolling it down the corridor when all at once I slipped in a puddle of
water and both my feet struck the snowball and sent it on its way down
the stairs. But we didn't mean to send it down; I can give you my word on
that."

"I don't believe it," stormed Snopper Duke.

"I'm telling you the truth, sir."

"Perhaps Rover didn't mean to send the snowball downstairs," put in
Professor Grawson mildly. As a general thing he sided with the cadets and
they had little difficulty in getting along with him.

"Mr. Grawson, I was the one to suffer through this outrageous trick,"
fumed Snopper Duke. "And you will kindly permit me to handle the affair.
These four cadets are guilty and must be punished."

"I agree it is more your affair than mine, Mr. Duke," returned the other
teacher. "But don't you think it would be wise to let the matter rest
until Colonel Colby comes back from the city?"

"Not at all! Not at all! These young rascals must be taken in hand, and
at once. Otherwise our authority in this institution will go to pieces."

At this moment there was a movement among the students who had collected
in the corridor, and Gif and Spouter stepped forward.

"Excuse me, Professor Duke," said Gif. "But I had as much to do with
bringing those snowballs upstairs as anybody."

"And so did I," added Spouter.

"And I was in on the deal, too," came from Phil Franklin, as he too
stepped forward.

"What? All of you?" demanded Snopper Duke, eyeing them coldly.

"I can assure you we meant no great harm," continued Spouter. "We were
only going to have a little fun among ourselves and with our
fellow-cadets--that is, mostly," he added somewhat lamely, as he
remembered what had been said about placing some of the snowballs in the
teacher's room.

"Were any others implicated in this despicable piece of business?"
demanded Professor Duke, looking around at the assembled cadets. "Answer
me at once!"

There was no reply to this, the cadets simply looking at each other
questioningly.

"We're all here, sir," said Jack. "There were no others." And he and his
cousins gave their chums a warm look to show they appreciated their
coming forward to take a share of the blame.

"Seven of you, eh?" was the t