, though, come to think
of it."

"He wanted you to come over, you say?" continued Colon, as he threw one
of his long legs across the top rail, and prepared to follow Fred, who
had already dropped down on the other side of the fence, and was in the
field that was to be crossed first of all, in following the short-cut to
the Carpenter home.

"Yes, that was why he called me up," replied Fred. "And he kept urging
me not to hold off a minute, because he said what he had to tell was so
important he'd just burst if he held in much longer. And then he wanted
to make sure I'd take this path across lots."

"But why would he say that, Fred?" continued the tall boy, as side by
side they started off, with Fred keeping on the path, which could be seen
readily enough in the starlight, once his eyes had become accustomed to
the night.

"He said, Colon, he was afraid I might try to kill two birds with one
stone, and go down-town first, to do some errand, and he just couldn't
wait a minute longer than was necessary."

"Huh! that's funny," grunted Colon, as though he failed to understand
exactly why the said Bristles should have been so very particular.

They walked along, with Colon clutching the left arm of his chum, for he
depended upon Fred to show the way, not being very familiar with the
crooked path himself.

They kept on talking as they walked, for there were any amount of things
that interested them jointly, from the mystery concerning the actions of
Corny Ludson, to the plans they had in mind concerning the winning of the
glorious Marathon.

Here and there clumps of bushes caused them to turn aside, but that was
the way the trail ran, very much like what Fred called a "cow-path."
Indeed, it meandered along in a zigzag fashion, though always heading for
the opposite side of the field.

The two boys were just in the act of passing the densest patch of bushes
that the cow-pasture boasted, when without the slightest warning three
figures suddenly confronted them. They leaped from the covert where they
had been lying concealed, and, as though all their plans had been
arranged beforehand, two of the figures instantly sprang past, so that
from all sides of a triangle Fred and Colon found themselves furiously
assailed.

CHAPTER XIV

A PLOT THAT FAILED

Although taken completely by surprise Fred and Colon were not the kind of
boys to flinch, or run from sudden danger.

They could see that the three fellows wh