give us
more chances to call here," remarked Jack to Ruth.

"Last week I met Cousin Dick in town," said May, "and he was telling me
how that Slugger Brown and Nappy Martell had left the Hall. He said the
pair were terribly down on all you Rovers."

"Yes, they were very much enraged over the way we exposed them,"
answered Fred.

"They deserved to be exposed!" cried Ruth. "The idea of their shooting
two of Mr. Lacy's valuable cows and then trying to prove that you did
it! It was shameful!"

"Well, their folks had to pay Lacy for the cows," answered Jack.

"And then to think how they tampered with the chains on that lumber
raft so that the raft went to pieces in that storm on the lake!" added
May. "Oh, I think they must be very wicked boys!"

"They are certainly no angels."

"Jack, if they should come back to Colby Hall, won't you be afraid that
they will try to do something more to get you into trouble?"

"More than likely they will; but I am not afraid of them."

"We intend to keep our eyes wide open, and if Slugger or Nappy try any
funny work, we'll jump on 'em like a ton of bricks," added Fred.

Then the subject was changed, and a few minutes later the cadets bid the
girls good-bye, promising to see them again if possible in the near
future.

"I'll tell you what, Jack, they are a pair of mighty fine girls," was
Fred's comment, as he and his cousin skated back in the direction of the
military academy.

"I agree with you, Fred."

"I wish we could persuade Martha and Mary to go to Clearwater Hall,"
went on the youngest Rover boy, wistfully. "I'd like first rate to have
'em get better acquainted with May and get acquainted with the other
girls there."

"We'll have to be careful how we write home about it," cautioned his
cousin. "If we aren't, they'll think we want them to come just on
account of Ruth and May, and then they'll tease the life out of us."

"Oh, sure, we'll be careful! Just the same, it would be a fine boarding
school for them. I don't think much of that fashionable private school
where they are now going. Most of the girls there think more of how they
are dressed and what dances they are learning than anything else."

"By the way, do you think Spouter knows more about what Slugger and
Nappy intend to do than he told?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why, perhaps he heard something, but didn't want to tell all of it for
fear of alarming us."

"I don't think Spouter would do that. He knows well