ight! But I reckon that somethin' happened here while I
was gone! Must have or Henry wouldn't have quit his post! Probably he's
out chasin' 'em now! Wait till we hear from Henry--wait till we hear
from Henry."

The elder went home with menacing mutterings and noisy cane-rappings on
the sidewalk; but the officers were more fortunate. They met Henry
Morley on the street within fifteen minutes after they left the elder.
Henry was in a very communicative mood, but the officers considered
that he was more illuminated than illuminating.

"I most believe ol' Hank rung that there bell himself," allowed Dan
Lannon. "I don't know as I ever saw him so lit up before."

"Likely he did," replied his brother sleuth. "More'n likely he did. When
a feller gets so that he's seein' sperits floatin' round in the air,
he's likely to ring anything."

Next morning when Henry Morley tendered his resignation and went to live
with his daughter on a farm in the country, the officers felt that their
deductions of the evening before had been amply verified.

But among those whose opinion really amounted to anything Sube and
Gizzard were heroes.

CHAPTER XV

BISCUIT LEARNS TO SWIM

Biscuit Westfall's mother was a prudent woman; she had laid down the law
that Biscuit could not go in swimming until after he had learned to
swim. But when Biscuit tried to explain this to his friends, he
succeeded only in raising a shout of tantalizing laughter. And although
Biscuit knew that it was wicked to allow his angry passions to arise, he
seemed to be unable to control them. To stoop to the inelegant, the
ridicule "got his goat."

"You ack like a lot of boneheads!" he burst out finally. "What's the
matter of you, anyway?"

No words were said in reply, but the tantalizing laughter increased in
volume.

"Go on, laugh!" he cried angrily. "And when you get through, laugh some
more. What do _I_ care?"

Another outburst was the only response.

"What do I care how much you fools laugh?" he sneered, when once more he
could make himself heard.

At this his tormenters began to roll about on the grass apparently quite
helpless, and Biscuit, thoroughly disgusted, started for home.

"Hey, Biscuit!" Sube called after him teasingly. "Don't go home mad!
Come on down 'in'; and we'll teach you how to swim on the way down!"

But Biscuit did not so much as glance back.

"Learnin' to swim 'fore he could go in the water!" howled Gizzard
derisively.

"Th