Page:Dave Porter at Oak Hall.djvu/159

Rh "Please set me free first, and give me a chance to get back to my room."

"Very well," and Job Haskers began to work over the dog chain with which the sneak was fastened to the iron pipe.

In the meantime Dave and Phil had heard enough. Noiselessly they withdrew to the upper hall once more. This done, they skipped upstairs two steps at a time and rushed into the dormitory.

"The jig is up, fellows," cried Dave. "Out of sight with everything, and get to bed just as fast as you can!"

"What have you learned?" asked Roger.

"Job Haskers is back, and somehow he heard Macklin in the cellar and went to him," answered Phil. "Macklin just told him that we were having a spread."

Very rapidly all the evidences of the feast were shoved out of sight. What to do with the box of root-beer bottles nobody at first knew.

"Here, tie them to this," said Dave, producing a bit of fishing line, and by this means the box was suspended from the catch of one of the window blinds. The rubbish was cast out of the window and the breeze that was blowing soon carried it from sight. Then the students undressed, rearranged their beds, turned out the light, and crawled under the covers.

Scarcely had the boys settled themselves than