em he may
have gone a long distance. Remember, he carried those postage stamps
away up the river, and used a rowboat to do it. Maybe he rowed off with
our foot coverings."

"He doesn't act as if he was tired--and he would be tired if he went
very far with the shoes. Why, we didn't get to sleep until about one
o'clock or half-past."

"I know that. It certainly is a mystery."

With several of the boys appearing at breakfast wearing slippers the
secret of what had happened could not very well be kept, and it soon was
whispered around that NOS. 11 and 12 had been cleaned out of shoes,
boots, and slippers during the night, and that Shadow was suspected of
having walked again in his sleep. His chums tried to hush the matter up,
yet enough was said to make the story-teller of the school thoroughly
uncomfortable.

"I'd give ten dollars to locate those shoes!" said Shadow to Dave, later
on.

"So would I," answered Dave. "We can make a hunt after school."

Half a dozen of the students joined in the search for the missing foot
coverings, and the lads looked high and low, but without success.

"Only one place more that I know of," said Dave. "That is the old
granary."

"I don't think they can be there, but we can look," said Shadow.

The old granary was a building located behind some of the carriage
sheds. It had once held grain, but was now used for the storage of
garden implements. The lads found the door unlocked, and pushing it open
they entered and gazed around in the semi-darkness.

"I don't see much that looks like shoes," remarked Roger.

"I'll strike a light," said Dave, and did so. The match flared up, and
as it did so, several uttered cries.

"There they are, over in the corner!"

"We have found them at last!"

"Light a lantern and see," said Phil, and a stable lantern was quickly
procured and lit. Then the boys worked their way around a mower and a
harrow and some other farming implements to where they had seen the
shoes.

"Sold!"

"These are a lot of old stuff thrown away long ago!"

It was true--the shoes they had located were worn out and covered with
mildew. Shadow kicked them savagely.

"What a sell--and just after I was sure we had found them," he muttered.

Heavy at heart the students left the granary and put away the lantern.
They had exhausted their resources, and walked back to the school in a
decidedly sober mood.

"Well, all I can offer is this:" said Shadow, at last. "Each of you