y keep my eyeth open, but the
minute I begin to pull the twigger my eyeth go shut, and I can't help
it."

They had turned round and were retracing their way toward Merriwell and
his friends without noticing it. Suddenly Lew Veazie jumped straight up
into the air, clapped a hand smartly against one of his legs, and began
to dance a hornpipe. At almost the same moment a shot was fired by some
one.

"Thay, fellowth, I'm thyot!" he gasped, turning deathly pale. "Honeth,
thith ithn't a joke! I'm thyot! Ow! It burnth like fire!"

"Where?" Ollie anxiously asked, staring at the dancing youth, and
looking quickly about to make sure that no loaded gun was pointed in his
direction. The others looked about, too.

"This reckless shooting ought to be forbidden!" declared Skelding,
regardless of the fact that the shooting he and his friends had been
doing was of the most reckless character. Veazie dropped down on the
ground, and began to pull up one leg of his trousers.

"It stwuck me wight here!" he gasped. "I think it must have gone thwough
my leg. I can feel the blood twickling down."

Ollie went down on his knees and began to help him, and together they
soon had the injured spot revealed to their anxious eyes. They beheld a
reddish place, with a center like a pin jab, but not a drop of blood.

"It was a spent shot!" said Rupert wisely. "It came from a distance. But
it was a very reckless thing to do to fire at all in this direction."

"Let me take a look at it!" said Julian Ives, crowding forward and
stooping to inspect it. As he did so, he straightened up with a little
screech, and clapped a hand to his hips.

"Wow!" he howled, dancing round as Veazie had done. "I'm shot, too!
Fellows, this is awful! I believe I'm killed! Who is doing this?"

"Thuch weckleth thyoothing I never thaw!" groaned Veazie, though he was
much relieved to discover that he had not received a deadly hurt.
"Thomebody mutht be awwested for thith. I thouldn't be thurpwithed if it
ith one of Merriwell's fwiendth!"

"Wow!" howled Julian, falling to the ground, and writhing about in his
agony. "I'm dead! I never had anything hurt me so! Wow-ow-ow!"

Ollie Lord clapped a hand to his head and executed a quickstep. He
pulled off his cap and rubbed furiously, expecting to feel the blood
come away on his fingers, for he also fancied he had been shot.

"Goodness!" he gasped. "Whoever is shooting this way ought to be jailed.
We will all be killed in five