Six figures surrounded Stowell, each pointing a menacing finger at him. Each figure had a white sheet draped around it and a white towel pinned fantastically around the head and face with just a small slit for the eyes.
While Codfish stared in alarm at the figures, the fingers were slowly elevated until they pointed at something suspended from the ceiling; and it was then that the sneak of the school began to squirm in terror. A cord ran from a ring in the ceiling, one end of which was held in the hand of one of the masked figures. The other end of the cord hung down directly over the bed upon which Stowell had been pushed. The end of the string was wound around the tail of a green snake all of three feet long, a snake that wiggled from side to side as it dangled in mid-air.
Codfish would have screamed in terror had not the gag prevented him. He attempted to leap from the bed, but the masked figures were too quick for him. Two held his hands on one side of the bed while two more held his feet on the other. The figure having hold of the string gently lowered it until the head of the wiggling reptile was less than a foot away from Stowell.
“Lie still!” was the stern command to the hapless youth. “Lie still, or we’ll lower the snake upon you! Lie still, and you shall not be harmed.”
At these words Stowell for a few seconds longer continued to struggle, but then suddenly grew quiet, although still shaking with fright.
“The snake is deadly poisonous,” said another one of the masked figures in a voice that was hoarse and low. “Beware! Move, and one sting from the snake will finish you! Beware!”
At this Stowell began to mumble something, his face working convulsively. At once one of the masked figures whispered in the ear of another.
“Maybe he can’t breathe with that gag. We don’t want to smother him.”
“Ask him if he’ll keep quiet if we remove the gag,” was the low reply.
Thereupon one of the figures came a bit closer and, pointing a finger at the gag, spoke again.
“Henry Stowell,” it said solemnly, “listen! If we remove the gag from your mouth do you promise faithfully that you will not cry out? If so, nod your head.”
There was a second of silence and then Codfish nodded his head vigorously.
“If you cry out do you give us full permission to give you a licking for so doing?” asked another one of the masked figures in a deep bass voice which, however, sounded remarkably like the tones generally used by Andy Rover.
Again there was a second of silence, and then Stowell nodded once more, but this time not so vigorously as before.
“It is well!” came from another of the masked figures. “Remember your promise, Stowell! Remember!” Thereupon the gag was removed from the sneak’s mouth, but his hands were still kept tied behind him.
“Take that snake away! Please take that snake away!” were Codfish’s first words as soon as he could catch his breath. “Don’t let it bite me!”
“Remain on the bed, Codfish,” was the stern reply. “Remain on the bed if you want to keep away from the snake.”
“It is the wonderful noobokoliki snake,” came in weird tones from one of the masked figures. “The educated snake belonging to the secret order of the Kalipops. He’ll not harm our members, but he will strike at an outsider and strike to kill. Beware!”
Perhaps Stowell did not believe what was said, but he saw that he was in the hands of the masked cadets and he saw the wriggling snake tied to the end of the suspended string, and he did not feel that he could take any chances.
“Please let me go! Please!” he muttered in a half sob. “I haven’t done anything! Please take that snake away!”
Thereupon the six figures ranged themselves in a circle around the cadet on the bed, and each once more pointed a menacing finger at him.
“Henry Stowell, you are a sneak!” came from one of the figures.
“Henry Stowell, you are a sneak!” came from another of the figures. And thus the accusation went around the entire circle.
“I—I—don’t—know what you mean,” stammered Codfish. And now he grew pale and red by turns, his eyes shifting from the masked figures to the wriggling snake and then back again to the accusing cadets.
“You do know!” came simultaneously from all the others in the room. “You are a sneak!”
“You are a disgrace to Colby Hall!”
“We ought to give you the licking of your life!”
“Stop! Stop! Please stop!” pleaded Codfish. He was growing more and more alarmed. “Let me tell you something. I wasn’t going to say anything about it until the end of the term, but I might as well tell you. I’m going to leave this school. Next term I’m going to Longley Academy.”
“Thank fortune for that!” came in a murmur from one of the masked figures. It was Andy who spoke.
“The best news I’ve heard in a year of Sundays,” murmured his twin in return.
The news that Codfish was going to leave Colby Hall came as something of a surprise to all of the masked figures, and at a signal from one of them they moved to a corner of the room for a whispered conversation.
“The poor little beggar is scared stiff,” came in low tones from Dan Soppinger. “We might as well let him go.”
“I’d like to pay him back for the time he reported me to Captain Dale,” put in Ned Lowe.
“Yes, and he ought to be made to suffer for reporting me to Professor Duke,” put in Fatty Hendry.
“Yes, and for the things he did for Gabe Werner against us,” added Walt Baxter. “If ever a sneak deserved a sound licking, it’s Codfish.”
“Well, we might let up on some of the things we were going to do,” whispered Randy.
“Just the same, I think he ought to be labeled for what he is,” came quickly from Andy.
“Oh, yes, we can label him all right enough,” said several of the others quickly.
With one eye on the dangling snake, Codfish had watched the masked figures with the other, and now, seeing himself unnoticed for the instant, the sneak slipped from the bed and started in a wild dash for the door, the key to which was still in the lock.
“No, you don’t!” cried Randy, and caught Codfish just as he was in the act of backing up to the door to unlock it with one of his tied hands. “Not just yet!” And thereupon all the lads pounced upon the sneak and threw him on the floor.
“Fix him up so we can label him!” cried Andy. “He deserves it! Hurry up before someone comes!”
In a twinkling Codfish found his hands untied. Then his coat was taken from him, followed by his shirt. Four of the boys held him down face front while two others approached with a can of red paint and a small brush.
“A sneak you are, a sneak you have always been and a sneak we are going to label you,” were the words uttered, and in a few seconds more the word SNEAK was painted across Codfish’s shoulders. Then he was turned over and the same word, SNEAK, was painted across his breast.
“Now then, into the clothes closet with him,” was the next order. “And remember, Codfish, if you tell a word of this to any of the professors we’ll lick you within an inch of your life,” was the caution given to the frightened cadet.
“I—I won’t say a word,” blubbered the sneak. “Please let me alone!”
“We’re going to put you in the closet and keep you there,” said one of the masked figures. Then the figure turned to the others. “We’ll take turns at watching him, fifteen minutes each. Here is a club I brought along. If he attempts to open the door of the closet and come out, knock him in the head.”
“Right, Most Honorable Ruler!” came from the other masked figures, with a profound bow.
“How long must I stay in the closet?” blubbered Codfish.
“We’ll let you know when to come out,” was the short reply; and thereupon he was shoved back into his own clothes closet and the door was closed upon him.
“Number Three, you are to stay here for fifteen minutes,” was the loud command. “Then Number Six will relieve you, and after that Number Two.”
“It is well, Most Exalted Ruler!” answered several of the other cadets. Then the door to the corridor was unlocked and one of them peered out cautiously.
“The coast is clear,” whispered Randy. “Come on! Let’s cut for it!”
“What are you going to do with that paper snake, Andy?” questioned Dan Soppinger, with a chuckle.
“We’ll leave that here for Codfish to play with after he gets over his fright,” answered the fun-loving Rover. And then he went on in a loud voice: “Now then, Number Three, be on guard and have your club ready!” And thereupon one after another all of the masked figures stole softly from the room, closing the door behind them. They sped to the rooms occupied by the Rovers where they lost no time in getting rid of the sheets and the towels.
“I’ll bet he won’t dare come out of that clothes closet for a long time,” was Ned Lowe’s comment.
“Well, let him take his time,” chuckled Randy. “It will give that red paint a chance to dry.”
“I hope the lesson will do some good,” answered Walt Baxter. “He’s about the worst sneak I ever heard of.”
“It’s too bad we didn’t have a chance to try those other stunts on him,” came from Dan Soppinger. “Having his head shaved would have done him good.”
“Well, we’re better off as it is,” answered Randy. “If we had shaved him maybe it might have gotten us into trouble. As it is, I don’t believe he’ll dare say a word about it.”
“We didn’t treat him half as badly as he treated us,” answered Andy, who could not forget the throwing of the bag of soot.
The boys had come up from the campus by way of the fire-escape on the back of the building, and now they lost no time in going below by the same means. They mingled with their fellow cadets, who were doing a war dance around the various bonfires.
“How about it? Did you see Codfish?” questioned Fred, as he caught sight of the twins.
“We did!” was the quick reply. “And we’ve got news,” and thereupon they related as briefly as they could what had happened in Stowell’s room and what the sneak had said.
“He can’t leave Colby Hall any too quick for me,” answered the young captain of Company C. “Halliday, Sands and that bunch are welcome to him.”
The festivities along the Rick Rack continued until after ten o’clock. Then, however, the bonfires gradually died down and one after another the cadets entered the Hall and went up to their various rooms.
In the meantime Codfish, half scared to death, remained in the clothes closet for the best part of half an hour. Then, finding he could get no reply from the person supposed to be outside on guard, he timidly ventured to open the door and peer out. Then he came forth into the bedroom, to find the lights still turned on but the apartment vacant save for the snake, which now rested on the bed.
“Ugh! What am I going to do with that thing?” the sneak murmured in new fright. Then he ran to the doorway and, donning his coat, rushed down the stairs. In the lower corridor he ran into Snopper Duke.
“Oh, Professor! Professor! There is a snake on my bed!” he wailed. “What shall I do about it? I don’t want to be bit!”
“A snake!” repeated the professor. “How extraordinary! How did it get there, Stowell?”
“I—I—some—boys— That is, I can’t really tell you, sir,” said the sneak, with a shiver. He had been about to explain, but suddenly remembered the whipping that had been promised to him if he played the sneak again. “But the snake is there, sir, and I don’t know what to do!”
“I’ll investigate,” said Snopper Duke, and marched up the stairs and into the room, followed by the sneak.
Professor Duke was by no means a timid man, and he approached the bed boldly. A book was handy, and this he hurled at the reptile. The snake did not move. Then the professor came closer.
“Why, it’s only a make-believe snake! It’s made of paper!” he declared, holding it up in his fingers.
“A—a—paper snake?” faltered Stowell.
“Yes. Someone has been playing a trick on you, Stowell. The next time you are frightened you had better make an investigation before you report.” And with this rather sarcastic remark Professor Duke strode from the room and down the stairs.
“A paper snake! Oh, what a sell!” Stowell murmured. “How they’ll laugh at me when they hear of this!”