earing on the back
porch, while Mary put her red head out of the kitchen window, and both
of them waved admonitory hands at Bobby to still her shrieks. "What is
the matter with that girl of Tom Hargrew's?" demanded the old
housekeeper.

The twins came flying. Fortunately Aunt Dora was asleep, but they all
feared Bobby's calliope-like voice would awaken the patient.

"Listen here! Listen here!" cried Bobby, smothering some of the upper
register, but still quite "squally" enough, in all conscience, as Mrs.
Betsey said.

"We're listening, Bobby! Do tell us what it is," cried the twins in
unison.

"The shell is gone!" cried Bobby.

"Gone where?"

"What shell?"

"Our new shell. And if I knew where it was gone I wouldn't be telling
you about how it was stolen, for it would be an old story then," said
Bobby, panting.

"You don't mean to say that the new shell has been taken out of the
boathouse--and a watchman there?"

"That's what I mean. It's gone," said Bobby, solemnly. "Mike, the
watchman, doesn't know when it was taken. One of the big doors was
forced open and our beautiful shell has disappeared. There are two
launches out searching the lake for it."

"But who would have done such a thing?" cried Dorothy.

"And what could be their object?" demanded her sister.

"Ask me an easier one," said the grocery-man's daughter. "I only know
it's gone, and the intention evidently is to make us Central High girls
lose the race."

"Oh, who would be so mean?" gasped one of the twins.

"There are four other contestants in the eight-oared class," said Bobby,
grimly.

"You don't believe any of the other girls have stolen the shell?" cried
Dora, in horror.

"Why, Bobby! how could they do it? And in the night, too?" demanded
Dorothy.

"I don't say who did it. But it may have been somebody hired to do it by
some other crew."

"Keyport?" suggested Dora, doubtfully.

"They're the very best crew on the lake--next to ours," added Dorothy.

"And they probably think themselves the better of the two," said the
shrewd Bobby. "I'd suspect either of the other three first."

"But it's just awful to suspect any of the other Highs. What a mean,
mean trick!"

"If they'd only taken the old shell," wailed Dorothy.

"That's it. They knew we had little chance to beat them in the old
shell. But some spy must have watched us and timed us in the new boat,"
said Bobby with decision. "And so--it went!"

"I can scarcely believe it,