the call came to appear on the parade ground.

As captain and lieutenant, Jack and Fred were in rather a delicate
position when it came to quarreling with the other cadets. In the past
Colonel Colby had laid down the rule that there should be no fighting at
the Hall, and this rule was particularly enforced when it came to
officers. Now that the master of the military academy had joined the
army and gone with the older Rovers to Europe, Captain Dale, who was in
general command, was enforcing this rule with more strictness than ever
before.

The afternoon spent coasting had given the Rovers and their chums good
appetites, and they fell to with gusto over the ample supper provided
for them. Unlike many boarding schools, the table at Colby Hall was
always a bountiful one, and it is needless to say that the growing
cadets always did full justice to everything that was set before them.

"What are you going to do about Bill Glutts, Jack?" questioned Fred,
after the meal was over and the two were on their way to get several
reference books from the school library.

"I don't know yet," was the young captain's answer. "He ought to have a
thrashing, but you know how matters stand."

"Of course. And Jack, we can't think of that with the end of the term so
near. You don't want to spoil your record, and neither do I."

"It's a confounded shame that Glutts didn't leave when Gabe Werner
went," continued the oldest Rover boy. "They were two of a kind."

"Did you hear what Andy said--that he thought Glutts had a lot of German
blood in him?"

"That might be. His face looks it, and the name sounds a little that way
too."

"Andy and Randy both want to pitch into him," continued the young
lieutenant.

"You warn them not to do it--at least, not until this term comes to an
end," warned Jack. "They have been cutting up so much since last
September that their averages are none too high as it is. They'd be
mighty sorry if Captain Dale sent home a bad report about them. It would
just about break Aunt Nellie's heart, I'm sure."

Having procured the reference books, the two made their way upstairs to
the rooms occupied by them. The Rovers had a suite of four rooms, one of
which was used as a sitting room and for studying. As they walked
through the upper hallway they passed Nick Carncross and Bill Glutts.
Glutts looked sourly at them but did not say a word, and they refused to
notice the pair.

"I guess you've got their goat, Bill,"