g it wasn't there?"

"But it is there!" cried Harry. "I know it is!"

"Wish I did," grunted Roy.

"Well, we'll just have to think of a way," said Harry presently,
arousing herself from her reverie. "And now I must go on, because I
promised to play tennis with Jack Rogers. I'm sorry."

"That's all right," answered Roy. "I--I've got some studying to do,
anyhow."

Harry turned upon him with alarm in her face.

"Now don't you go doing anything desperate, Roy Porter!" she commanded.
"You just sit still and hold tight and--and it'll come out all right.
You leave it to me!"

CHAPTER XXIV

SID'S "POPULAR PROTEST"--AND WHAT FOLLOWED

Harry and Jack played one set of tennis, which resulted, owing largely
to Harry's evident preoccupation, in an easy win for Jack, 6--3.

"Look here, Harry, you don't really want to play tennis, do you?" asked
Jack.

Harry started and flushed guiltily.

"Do you mind?" she asked.

"Not a bit," he answered. "What's bothering you? Methuselah got a
headache? Or has Lady Grey eaten one of the white mice?"

Harry shook her head.

"I wish I could tell you, Jack, but it's not my secret," she answered
regretfully and a trifle importantly. "Do you--would you mind taking a
walk?"

"No; where to?"

"Over to the Mercers'."

Jack thought he could guess then what Harry was troubled about, but he
said nothing, and they cut across the orchard, in which a few trees of
early apples were already beginning to ripen their fruit, and headed for
Farmer Mercer's.

Harry was a great favorite with Mrs. Mercer and was cordially greeted.
They had root beer and vanilla cookies on the front porch, and then,
leaving Jack and Mrs. Mercer to entertain each other, Harry ran off to
the barn to find the farmer. She was back again in a few minutes and she
and Jack took their leave.

"Well, did you discover anything?" asked Jack when they were once more
on the road hurrying homeward. Harry shot a startled glance at him. Jack
was smiling.

"No," she answered disappointedly. "How'd you know?"

"Oh, I just guessed."

"He insists that it was Roy, but he didn't see him near to at all, so I
don't see how he can tell."

"Don't you think it was Roy?" asked Jack.

Harry's indignant look was eloquent.

"Of course it wasn't! He says so!"

There was a mysterious exodus of Middle and Junior Class boys from the
campus to the boat-house that evening after supper. And, when, an hour
later, they came straggli