them gave a shout it would tell that we had a
guard in here."

Paul, while saying this, started to crawl to where Number Three was
enjoying a nap. He shook him gently, and when that failed to arouse
Bobolink, the motion was increased.

"Hey! what are you----" but further sound was instantly cut off by
Paul's clapping his hand over Bobolink's mouth.

"Keep still! They're at the door right now!" he breathed into the ear of
the struggling one.

That seemed to tell Bobolink what it all meant. No doubt his first
impression had been that the enemy had stolen a march on them, and meant
to make them prisoners in their own quarters.

He ceased to squirm, and encouraged by this Paul by degrees removed his
muffling hand, so that Bobolink could breathe freely again.

The sounds had commenced once more. William was also sitting up by now,
and fairly quivering with eagerness, as he fondled the extra large club
he had selected for his individual use.

Voices, too, reached their ears, as though the unknown parties without,
finding themselves balked by the fact that the door was locked, were
conferring as to how they might gain entrance.

"Maybe they've gone and made a duplicate key," suggested William, as he
and the other three scouts put their heads close together.

No one thought it at all out of the question. They had run up against
these energetic plotters so often in the past, that they were well
acquainted with their ways; and nothing surprised them in connection
with Ted Slavin's crowd.

"Perhaps we'd better move closer to the door, so as to be ready in case
they do push in," Paul said, leading the way.

Creeping across the floor of the gymnasium, they hovered close to the
entrance. All of them gripped their novel weapons of offense and defense
with a grim determination to give a good account of themselves when the
chance arrived.

As for William, he was fairly shivering with impatience. Several times
he swished his club through the air, as though eager to test its
qualities on an unlucky intruder; so that Paul had finally to warn him
against such indiscreet action.

The voices without came more plainly now. Evidently the plotters were
disputing as to their best course under the circumstances, some being
for one thing, and the balance for another.

"Oh! rats!" came a voice that Paul easily recognized as belonging to Ted
Slavin himself; "Who's afraid? Go get the old gravestone, boys, and
we'll ram her through t