of starvation.
The prospect was not a very agreeable one.

So Paul determined to do his best to free himself of the coils that
bound him. He was a strong boy, and struggled might and main to loosen
them; but Zuker seemed to have tied them with devilish cunning. Struggle
as Paul would, he was unable to loosen them. And the more he struggled,
the more the rope cut into his flesh.

"My! The tightest knots I've ever struck," said Paul, as he lay back
gasping.

"Paul!"

What was that? An echo, or some one calling him by name?

"Paul!"

There it was again. Surely it was some one calling him. He tried to turn
his quivering limbs in the direction whence the voice came. Was he awake
or was he dreaming?

The figure of a boy was creeping towards him--creeping, as it seemed
to him, from the shadows in the tunnel. Who--who was it? Was it
really a being of flesh and blood? At first it seemed to him that
it must be the wraith of the little fellow about whom he had been
speaking--Hibbert--but even as the thought filtered through his mind the
boy was kneeling beside him, looking anxiously into his face.

It was Moncrief minor.

"Harry!" cried Paul in amazement.

"Are you all right?" came in a whisper from the boy.

[Illustration: "THE BOY WAS KNEELING BESIDE HIM,--IT WAS MONCRIEF
MINOR.... 'ARE YOU ALL RIGHT?' CAME IN A WHISPER FROM THE BOY."]

"Right enough, but not altogether comfortable. Where in the name of
wonder did you spring from?"

"Is there any chance of that man you called Zuker coming back?"

"No; you may be sure of that."

"Then, first, let me get that rope off."

Paul, as may be imagined, was by no means opposed to that proceeding. So
Harry drew out his pocket-knife and promptly severed his bonds.

"Ah, that's better," cried Paul, springing to his feet and stretching
his limbs. "It's worth while being tied up, so as to feel how nice it is
to be free again. Now perhaps you'll tell me how you got here?"

"There's really no fear of that man, Zuker, coming back?"

"No; I'm sure of it."

"Then I'll explain. First of all, I must tell you that I've done a mean
thing. You lost a letter when that scrimmage took place between you and
Stan in the Common Room. I found it, and seeing that it was from my
father, read it; then I was too ashamed to give it back to you, so I
kept it. Hearing that there'd been a meeting about you in the Forum, I
took the letter to Stan and showed it to him. As I came away from
int