ass and now realized something of the plot to bring him to
disgrace.

"Say, but that stuff makes me feel lightheaded," he said. "Wasn't so
bad, after all."

"Drink this, quick," cried Flapp, more eagerly than ever.

"All right," said Dick, and spilt a little out of the glass onto the
floor. "Wonder what makes my hand shake so?" he murmured.

"Take this and it will brace you up," put in Pender.

"Ha, look there!" yelled Dick, gazing fixedly at the rear of the den.
"See the three-headed owl!"

All looked in the direction and again he threw the contents of the
glass behind him. Then he pretended to drink, while glaring at the
cadets around him.

"Funny, I can't count you any more!" he muttered. "Six, seven, ten,
'leven, nine! Say, I'm all mixed up. Who put me on the merry-go-'round
anyway?" He began to stagger. "Guess I'm on a toboggan slide, ain't I?"
and he acted as if he could no longer stand up-right.

"Cut him loose, fellows!" cried Flapp, and this was done, and Dick
staggered to the table, clutched it, slid to the floor and acted as if
he had fallen into a deep sleep.

"Say, that was dead easy!" cried Pender gleefully. "Took the stuff
like a lamb."

"What's to do next, Flapp?" asked Jackson.

"Say, Jackson, don't speak my name, please," cried the tall boy in
alarm.

"Oh, what's the odds," put in Pender. "Rover is dead to the world.
Rockley knew just how to fix those doses."

"That's right, Gus," came from Rockley.

"We had better not lose time here," went on Flapp presently. "Let us
tell Captain Putnam without delay. He'll have Rover brought back to
camp just as he is, and that will disgrace him forever."

"Wait till I put the empty bottle near him," said Rockley, and this was
done.

Then the crowd of masked cadets left the den, leaving the door wide
open behind them.

CHAPTER XXVIII

DICK'S MIDNIGHT ADVENTURE

A minute after the last of Lew Flapp's crowd left the hermit's den Dick
leaped to his feet, went to the doorway, and listened intently. It was
quite dark, so he could see little or nothing.

At a distance he heard the masked cadets stealing swiftly along through
the woods. They had put out the lantern, knowing the road fairly well
through repeated excursions to the den. Soon the crowd was completely
out of hearing.

It must be confessed that Dick felt lonely, and almost the first thing
he did was to take a match from his pocket and strike it. Discovering a
bit of candle on