ll me, but afterward he said there was some
funny business going on the night before, and he thought that
Herring and Merritt were in it, but he could not tell what it was."

"Well?" asked Percival.

"Then he told me that he had gone to the doctor's cottage, and that
some one got out the window, fell over him and gave him a black eye.
Herring, as he thinks, said that he would fix somebody and keep him
from getting the prize. He told me not to say anything, but-----"

"That's all right, J.W., it's as well you did, for now I think we
will get at the bottom of this affair," said Percival in decided tones.

CHAPTER XVII

A PUZZLING MATTER SETTLED

At the same time that Jack Sheldon, Dick Percival and young Smith
were on the river together, Billy Manners, Arthur Warren and Harry
Dickson were going up the road leading to the Van der Donk house,
although they had no idea of going there.

When they were well away from the camp and there were no other boys
in sight, Billy stopped short suddenly, and said:

"Funny thing about Herring's recognizing that girl's poem in Jack's
verses, wasn't it?"

"Why, I saw those verses two weeks ago, and knew they were Jack's,"
replied Harry.

"Funny about my getting that black eye the other night, too, wasn't
it?" Billy went on.

"Yes, but what has that got to do with-----"

"I'll tell you. That night I woke up and heard some one say in the
next tent to ours: 'it's all right, I've got it,' and somebody else
asked, 'can you fix `t?' and the first fellow answered, 'fix it?
Of course I can fix it, and fix his winning the prize, too.' That's
all I heard then."

"In the next tent?" said Arthur. "Who is in the next tent?"

"Herring and Merritt on one side and Seymour and Blaisdell on the
other. It was not them I heard. It was Herring and Merritt. I was
not sure of it at the time, being half asleep, but from what has
happened since-----"

"Hello!" exclaimed Arthur. "This is getting interesting. Go on to
how you got the black eye, Billy."

"Well, I knew that there was mischief of some sort going on, but
I did not bear any more and fell asleep. Later I woke up again
and heard one of the fellows say, 'That will do first rate,' and
the other one asked, 'They, won't notice the difference?' and the
first one, Herring I am sure, said: 'No, and now to put it back.'
Then they said something about the doctor being surprised, and I
knew that there was some mischief on foot