a
tearing sound and the cloth parted at the knee. Out leaped the mouse, to
disappear quickly under the bed.

Panting from his excitement, and muttering to himself, the sneak of the
school, making sure that the shoes were now both empty, slipped his feet
into them and then hurried toward the clothing closet located in a
corner. He intended to get a baseball bat with which to either kill the
mice or chase them out into the hallway.

"Now watch," whispered Randy. "Here is where he gets another surprise."

Stowell flung open the door of the closet in a hurry. As he did this he
found himself confronted by the figure of a Colby Hall cadet. The
intruder had a handkerchief tied over his face.

"Hi! what are you doing here?" cried Stowell in sudden surprise. "You're
the fellow who's playing the trick on me, eh? I'll fix you, you see if I
don't!" And then struck by a sudden idea, Stowell slammed shut the door
of the closet and locked it. "Now I've got you, and you'll suffer for
this nonsense--you see if you don't!" he shouted.

"Gee! this is the best yet!" burst out Andy in a low voice. "I didn't
think he'd lock that dummy in."

"We only put it there to scare him," explained Randy. "It's one of his
old suits stuffed out. We thought it might fall out on him when he
opened the door. But I guess it's better the way it is," he chuckled.

"Where did you get those mice?" Gif questioned.

"Oh, that was easy," answered Andy. "I met Pud Hicks, the janitor's
assistant, this noon and he was telling me of a whole lot of mice he had
caught down in the barn during the past week. He had the bunch in a box,
and he said he was going to take them down to the river and drown them.
I knew where the box was, and getting them was easy."

By this time Codfish had slipped into his trousers, and now he put on
his coat.

"He's going downstairs to tell Captain Dale or one of the professors!"
exclaimed Jack in a low voice. "We had better get out of here."

The young captain's advice was followed, and all lost no time in leaving
the fire escape and entering the school building. They were just in time
to see the door to Stowell's room flung open and the sneak hurry
downstairs.

"I must see what he does!" cried Randy, who could never let any portion
of a joke get away from him, and he hurried down the stairs after
Stowell.

Captain Mapes Dale was in the office of the school writing a letter when
Stowell burst in upon him with scant ceremony.