than hurt."

The sneak of the school was so frightened that he did not dare to take
hold of the snapping turtle. He held the creature out at arm's length
and continued to dance around, asking the others to take it off.

"He'll eat my finger!"

"Put it in some water and it will let go quick enough," suggested Fred
presently.

"Yes, give him a chance to swim around in a bathtub," added Randy
quickly, when he saw Stowell make a move toward the washbowl in one
corner of the room. "That isn't big enough for a good healthy turtle."

"Oh, oh! I'll have the law on you for this!" yelled the sneak, and
then bolted for the door and ran down the corridor in the direction of
the nearest bathroom.

As it happened, at that moment Job Plunger, the school janitor, was
coming along the corridor carrying an armful of old magazines which he
had been ordered to store away in the attic. As my old readers know,
Plunger, who had been nicknamed "Shout," was quite deaf, and with eyes
in another direction he did not see Codfish coming. The two collided
violently, and the janitor was sent over backward, scattering the
magazines in all directions, while Codfish came down on top of him.

"Hi you! what you mean by knockin' me down that way?" shrilled the
janitor, when he could regain his breath.

"I--I didn't mean to do it," stammered the sneak, as he arose to his
feet. "I was in a hurry."

"You ain't got no right to race through these halls like a crazy
horse," went on Plunger. "I ought to report you."

"I told you I was in a hurry," explained Codfish.

"Worry?" queried Plunger, not hearing aright. "Ain't I got a right to
worry if a feller like you sends me sprawlin'?"

"I didn't say worry--I said I was in a hurry. A snapping turtle had me
by the finger, and I wanted to get rid of it."

"Rappin'! Well, you ain't goin' to rap me. I'll let you know that!"
growled the deaf janitor.

"I said snapping--not rapping--a snapping turtle!" Codfish put his
mouth close to the janitor's ear. "_A snapping turtle!_"

"What's that? No, I ain't got no snappin' turtle. What would I be
doin' with a snappin' turtle?" queried Plunger blankly.

"I said I had one here--on my thumb!" cried Codfish. "It's gone now. I
guess my fall knocked it off," and he looked around in the rather dim
corridor to see what had become of the turtle, but without locating
the creature.

"I'm off, am I?" snarled Plunger, who had been asked that day to do a
large amount of