had been so kind to him. He was
sure the oldest Kenway girl would never perpetrate such a joke.

"Of course, Aggie didn't mean to be unkind," he thought, at last, his
good judgment coming to his rescue. "I--I'd like to pay her back. I--I
will!"

He jumped up and went to the door, carrying the bag of crackers with
him. He opened the door and listened. Somewhere, far away, was the sound
of muffled laughter.

"I bet that's that Aggie girl!" he muttered, "and she's laughing at me."

CHAPTER V

CRACKERS--AND A TOOTHACHE

The arc light at the corner of Main Street vied with a faint moon in
illuminating the passages and corridors of the old Corner House. Deep
shadows lay in certain corners and at turns in the halls and staircases;
but Neale O'Neil was not afraid of the dark.

The distant laughter spurred him to find the girls' room. He wanted to
get square with Agnes, whom he believed had put the bag of crackers
beside his bed.

But suddenly a door slammed, and then there was a great silence over the
house. From the outside Neale could easily have identified the girls'
room. He had seen Aggie climb out of one of the windows of the chamber
in question that very morning.

But in a couple of minutes he had to acknowledge that he was completely
turned about in this house. He did not know that he had been put to
sleep in another wing from that in which the girls' rooms were situated.
Only Uncle Rufus slept in this wing besides himself, and he in another
story higher.

The white-haired boy came finally to the corridor leading to the main
staircase. This was more brilliantly lighted by the electric lamp on the
street. He stepped lightly forward and saw a faint light from a transom
over one of the front room doors.

"That's where those girls sleep, I bet!" whispered Neale to himself.

The transom was open. There was a little rustling sound within. Then the
light went out.

Neale broke the string and opened the bag of crackers. They were of the
thick, hard variety known in New England as "Boston" crackers. He took
out one and weighed it in his hand. It made a very proper missile.

With a single jerk of his arm he scaled the cracker through the open
transom. There was a slight scuffle within, following the cracker's
fall.

He paused a moment and then threw a second and a third. Each time the
rustling was repeated, and Neale kept up the bombardment believing that,
although the girls did not speak, the shower o