spite of his fatigue.

"Confound it! why can't I go to sleep?" he murmured to himself. Then,
punching his pillow to freshen it up, he turned over and tried his
best to drop off.

He was just on the edge of dreamland when a sound from outside the
tent attracted his attention. At first he thought some night bird or a
bat might be flying around. But then came a low murmur of voices.

"Somebody is up," he thought. "Perhaps it is Professor Grawson taking
a walk around. He said he was going to keep an eye on things until
morning."

Jack lay perfectly still, and presently saw a ray of light shoot into
the tent from the rear. It was the gleam of a small pocket flashlight.
A thin silk handkerchief was over the end, so that the light was quite
dim.

"Sure this is the right tent, are you?" he heard, in a low tone.

"Yes, this is the place," was the reply, in the faintest of whispers.
"Keep quiet now, and if there is any alarm, run for your life."

On hearing these words, the young captain was puzzled for the time
being. But then he realized that the voices had a familiar sound, and
he smiled grimly to himself.

Slowly and cautiously Gabe Werner and Bill Glutts wormed their way
into the tent by way of the opening in the rear. Gabe had the
flashlight, and this he cast from one side to another, taking care,
however, that the rays did not fall into the face of any of the
officers.

Jack kept his eyes closed when the marauders looked at him. But as
they turned around he eyed them sharply. A line had been strung from
the front to the rear pole of the tent, and on this were a number of
hangers containing the three officers' uniforms and some of their
other belongings. Stepping up to the uniforms, the two from outside
looked them over quickly. Then Werner pointed to one uniform and to
another, to signify that these belonged to Jack and Fred.

Not a word was spoken by those who had come in to play their mean
trick on the Rovers. Silently each drew out his pocketknife and opened
one of the blades.

Werner's scheme, to which Glutts had agreed, was to cut all the
buttons from both uniforms and then slit the garments so that they
would be next to useless. Then they were going to take the other
belongings of the young captain and the lieutenant and throw them into
a muddy brook located in one corner of the pasture.

Watching the marauders as a cat might watch a mouse, Jack saw the
pocketknives opened and saw the two rascally c