a suit for damages. Now, please leave this
office."

"I'll see about this! I'll see about this!" snapped the unreasonable
teacher, and left the office in anything but a dignified fashion.

As soon as Professor Lemm had gone, the master of the Hall questioned
the boys closely concerning, not only the affair of the night before,
but also about the troubles they had had with the teacher, both in the
classroom and elsewhere. This was the first time the boys had had a
chance to "get one in on old Lemon," as Andy afterwards declared, and
they did not mince matters in telling of the many trials and
tribulations which Asa Lemm had caused them. It is barely possible that
some of the complaints were overdrawn, yet there was such a unanimity of
opinion concerning Professor Lemm's harshness that Colonel Colby was
quite impressed.

"Now I want to ask you boys a question, and I want you to answer it
honestly," said Colonel Colby toward the close of the examination.
"Would you have played such a trick as this upon any of the other
professors?"

"I wouldn't," answered Randy quickly.

"Nor I," came from Fred and Andy.

"I'd never dream of playing such a trick on anybody but a man like
Professor Lemm," announced Jack. The others also agreed that it was not
likely any such joke would have been played on anybody else in the Hall.

"Then, evidently, none of you likes Professor Lemm," said Colonel Colby
slowly.

To this there was no reply, but the look on the faces of the various
cadets showed the master of the Hall that he had struck the truth.

"Now I'm going to ask you boys another question," he went on, after a
pause, and there was a faint smile on his face when he spoke. "Don't you
think you ought to be punished for what you have done?"

For a moment there was another silence. Then Jack spoke up.

"In one way, yes, sir; but in another, no," he replied. "Professor Lemm
treated us very unjustly in the classroom in making us stay in and
making us do extra lessons, and we didn't know of any other way to get
square with him."

"Looks to me as if we got our punishment before we played the joke,"
said Andy, and this reply made some of the cadets grin.

Colonel Colby looked out of the window, which faced the snow-covered
campus. Although the boys did not know it, he hardly knew what to say or
do. He realized that he could not pass over the occurrence without
punishing the lads, and yet he could see their point of view--that Asa