went on the fun-loving Rover, rapidly.

"Ach, yah, I understand now, ain't it! I like dem feasts. Ve haf him in
von of der pedrooms alretty yet, hey?"

"If the crowd is willing," said Sam. "For one, I vote in favor of it."

"Second the nomination," put in Tom, promptly. "It is elected by a
unanimous vote we have a feast at the school, some night in the near
future, at eleven o'clock, G. M."

The idea of a feast pleased all the boys. They always got enough to eat
during regular meal hours at the Hall, but there was something enticing
in the idea of having a feast on the sly some night in one of the
dormitories. They had had a number of such in the past and these had
been productive of a good deal of sport.

"Let us go down to the steamboat landing and see if we can see anything
of Pell and Sobber," suggested Dick. "If Sobber is going to Ithaca he'll
most likely go by the _Golden Star_."

They were walking along the main street of Cedarville when they chanced
to look into the principal candy store. There, in front of the soda
fountain, were the bully of the Hall and his crony. They were drinking
soda and talking to a young girl who had served them.

"Hullo, here they are!" cried Sam, and came to a halt.

As they looked into the place they saw Tad Sobber reach over the counter
and catch the girl clerk by her curls. He held fast, grinning into her
face, while she tried to pull away from him.

"The mean wretch!" cried Dick. "He tries to make himself as obnoxious as
he can to everybody he meets."

"Oh, please let go!" came in the girl's voice through the open doorway.
"You hurt me!"

"Don't worry, I won't hurt you," replied Sobber, still grinning.

"But I--I don't want my curls pulled," pleaded the frightened girl. "Oh,
please let go, won't you?"

"I want you----" began the bully, but did not finish, for at that moment
he felt Dick's hand on his ear. Then he received a yank that pained him
exceedingly.

"Ouch!" he yelled, and dropped his hold of the girl. "Oh, my ear! Dick
Rover, what did you do that for?"

"I did it to make you behave yourself," answered Dick, sternly. "Sobber,
I didn't really think you could be so mean," he went on.

"I--I wasn't hurting the girl," grumbled the bully. "And it's none of
your business anyway," he added, suddenly, in a blaze of passion.

"After this, you leave her alone."

Tad Sobber glared at Dick for an instant. Then he raised his glass of
soda and attempted to dash it