ded and
entered his room across the hall, leaving Tom a trifle more sympathetic
toward Roy's estimation of him. Walton certainly did have a disagreeable
manner, he reflected.

As a matter of fact, Harry hadn't been calling on anyone in Number 6 for
the simple reason that he had found no one at home. Moreover, he had
expected to find no one, for he had left Tim at the gymnasium and seen
Don and Harry Westcott sitting in the window of the latter's room in
Torrence as he passed. What he had done was leave a hastily scrawled
note for Don on the table in there, a note which Don discovered an hour
later and which at once puzzled and disturbed him.

"Come up and see me after supper will you," the note read, with a superb
disdain of punctuation, "I want to see you. Important. H. Walton."

"What's he want to see you about?" asked Tim when Don tossed the note to
him to read.

"I don't know." Don frowned thoughtfully.

"I hope he isn't going to make trouble about that old business."

"What old business?" asked Tim carelessly, more interested in a set of
bruised knuckles than anything else just then.

"Why, you know Harry saw us climbing in the window that night."

"Saw us climb--Well, what of it? That was years ago. Why should he want
to make trouble about that? And how could he do it? I'd like to see him
start anything with me."

"Oh, well, I just happened to think of that."

"More likely he's going to ask you to break a leg or something so he can
get your place," chuckled Tim. "Don't you do it, Don, if he does. It
doesn't pay to be too obliging. Ready for eats?"

"In a minute." Don dropped the note and began his toilet, but he didn't
speak again until they were on their way down the stairs. Then: "If it
should be that," he remarked, "I wouldn't know whether to punch his head
or laugh at him."

"Don't take any chances," advised Tim grimly. "Punch his head. Better
still, bring the glad tidings to me and let me do it. Why, if that idiot
threatened to open his face about us I'd give him such a walloping that
his own folks wouldn't recognise the remnants! Gee, but I'm hungry
tonight! Toddle along faster and let's get there before Rollins and Holt
and the rest swipe all the grub."

CHAPTER XV

A PROPOSITION

DON sought Harry Walton's room soon after supper was over and found
neither Harry nor his room-mate, Jim Rose, at home. He lighted the
droplight, found a magazine several months old and sat down to wait.