"I don't see why Colonel Colby took on such a man as Snopper Duke,"
declared Spouter. "He's every bit as bad as Asa Lemm was."

"But you've got to hand it to him for being a very well educated man,"
said Jack. "And he certainly knows how to teach when he's in the humor
for it."

"I don't think a man who is as harsh-minded as he is ought to be a
teacher," was Gif's comment. "He can't get a cadet to do his best if he's
forever nagging at him. Now, if I was a teacher, I'd do my best to gain
my pupils' confidence."

There was a pause, and presently Andy began to chuckle.

"Say, he certainly did look funny when that big snowball hit him in the
stomach and nearly knocked him over," he cried.

"How could you see that when you were on your back?" questioned Fred.

"Oh, I managed to flop over and look down the stairs just in time. He was
some sight, believe me. It's a wonder he didn't go over backward to the
floor below. I don't know what saved him. He must have grabbed the
banisters just in time."

"You can't really blame him for being mad. I think maybe I'd be mad
myself," said Gif. "However, let's drop that. What are we going to do? Go
to bed?"

"I don't see that there is anything else to do," answered Jack.

"I've got to do something to keep warm," declared Andy, and suddenly
turned a somersault over one of the beds. Then he began to box with his
brother, and the two spun around from one end of the room to the other.

"Here! you stop that," warned Fred. "You know what Duke said. You keep on
and he'll put us down in the cellar or some other worse place."

After this the seven cadets became more quiet, and, sitting as close as
possible to the little radiator which gave forth only a mite of warmth,
they discussed the situation for half an hour longer.

"That's another one against Codfish," declared Randy. "I'm sure he's
guilty."

"Well, he had some reason for saying what he did," said Jack. "He had to
clear his own skirts after they found those two big snowballs in his
room."

"Just the same, Jack, you know well enough hardly any other fellow in the
school would have squealed," cried Randy. "Codfish always was a sneak,
and I guess he always will be, no matter what some of the other fellows
do for him."

"Say, look here! I thought you fellows told me that Captain Dale was in
charge of this school whenever Colonel Colby was absent," burst out Phil
suddenly.

"That's true," answered Jack. "He was in charge