enry. They didn't find out about those
notes," and the bully chuckled.

"Just the same, Slug, I think we ought to take Cod's advice and be
careful," broke in Nappy, lighting a fresh cigarette. "I have a hunch
that the Rovers are watching us like a cat watches mice."

"Maybe they are. But I guess we know how to fool them," went on the
bully swaggeringly. "And now is just our chance to get them into a
hole."

"Explain, please."

"It's just like this, Nappy. Of course, they haven't admitted it, but
you know just as well as I do that Colonel Colby must have punished them
pretty severely for the trick they played on Lemm. What he did to them,
we don't know, but probably he has given 'em some extra lessons to do,
and maybe he's punished 'em in other ways."

"Oh, sure! he must have punished them somehow."

"I haven't seen any of them going down to town since it happened," put
in Codfish. "Maybe Colonel Colby made them promise to stay within
bounds."

"Perhaps. Well, as I was saying, being punished, they, of course, are
pretty sore on the colonel. Now then, if we can only play some dirty
trick on Colonel Colby and make it appear as if the Rovers and their
crowd did it, they'll sure get into hot water over it."

"I'm willing to do anything to square up with those fellows," grumbled
Nappy. He paused for a moment to puff away at his cigarette. "What do
you propose doing?"

"That, of course, is something we'll have to figure out. We'll want to
be careful, so as not to get our own fingers burnt."

"I'll tell you what you might do!" broke in Codfish eagerly. "You might
drop ashes all over Colonel Colby's office and his bedroom, and then
leave some of the ashes in a box in the Rovers' rooms, and somebody
might say something about having seen Jack Rover getting the ashes from
the boiler-room."

"That's good as far as it goes, Henry, but it isn't quite strong
enough," returned Slugger. "We ought to do something that will make
Colonel Colby hopping mad."

"I'll tell you what let's do!" broke out Nappy. "We'll use the ashes,
and we'll use some other things too. I was down past the kitchen a while
ago, and I heard one of the cooks complaining about some of the canned
tomatoes which were all spoiled and he was going to throw out. Now,
suppose we use some of those spoiled tomatoes with the ashes, and maybe
a quart or two of ink. How about it?"

"Great!" exclaimed Slugger. "Ashes, ink and decayed tomatoes will make
one fine