culation and bolted for the nearest tree.

His hat flew off, his glasses dangled at the end of their cord and
thrashed around like mad and the colonel's short, fat legs ate up space
in a most remarkable manner.

There was a tree in the way which the colonel had not noticed and he
ran into it with considerable force, knocking off his wig which the
boys, up to that time, had never seen except upon his head.

He got up in great haste, grabbed his wig from the ground, clapped it on
his head hind side before and at once started to climb the tree.

The sight of the short, fat, bald drillmaster, with his wig awry,
endeavoring to climb a little tree was too much for the dignity of the
boys and they burst into a roar of laughter.

They had no thought of consequences, no fear of future punishment, but
just laughed as hard as they could.

Then there was a sudden cry of alarm around a turn in the road.

"Hallo! what's that?" cried Arthur.

"Great Scott! there is a mad dog after all!" gasped Harry.

A number of the smaller boys of the Academy suddenly appeared in full
flight pursued by a panting, yelping, foam-covered dog whose every look
showed that he was mad.

"H'm! the alarm was not given for nothing after all," muttered Billy,
looking for a place of safety.

Harry and Arthur turned toward the Academy and ran as fast as they
could, thinking nothing of fun now.

"Here, here, I must do something for those kids!" cried Billy, pausing
in his flight.

There was some one else ready to do something for them, however.

The dog had almost reached the hindmost and smallest of the boys when
Jack Sheldon suddenly came out of one of the cottages.

He saw the danger of the boys in an instant and plunged forward as if
making a tackle in a game of football.

The dog was right in front of him at this moment and six feet away.

Suddenly the weight of a boy of a hundred and twenty-five pounds was
dropped upon the dog's back with a force that laid him flat and gave him
a start for which he was not looking.

In an instant he was flat on his belly on the ground with all the breath
and the greater part of his desire to injure some one knocked out of
him.

He was able to give one yelp and then Jack suddenly sprang off his back,
gave him a contemptuous shove with his foot and said:

"Get out of here and go about your business!"

With his tail between his legs and a yelp of fright the dog suddenly
turned and went down the road a