“I don’t hear them,” came softly in Dan Baxter’s voice.
The door was tried and Dan Baxter looked into the room. He could see next to nothing in the almost total darkness.
“Who—who’s there?” asked Andy, sleepily. “Is it time to—to get up?”
A grunt from Dan Baxter was the only response, and then the door was closed again, and they heard Baxter and some others moving away.
“Say, Andy, that was rich!” whispered Pepper, and gave a low laugh.
“Don’t stir too much yet,” cautioned Jack. “They may come back.”
“I am going to the door to watch,” answered Pepper. “If they come this way again I can crawl back to bed in a jiffy.”
Standing at the door, which he held on a crack, the Imp saw Baxter and several others move from one dormitory to another, listening and spying at every door.
“Cheese it, here comes Mr. Strong!” he heard Coulter say, a short while later, and off the bully’s crowd scampered to their rooms. Then the second assistant teacher came up the stairs and Pepper hurried back to his bed. George Strong looked around the hallway and walked to several dormitories, and then passed on to the third floor of the building.
“Will they come back again?” asked Andy, after a long spell of silence.
“Better wait a while longer and see,” said Hogan.
“I’m itching to get at that stuff,” came, with a sigh, from Stuffer.
“Did you ever know a time that you wasn’t hungry, Stuffer?” asked Andy.
“Humph! I guess you’ll get away with your full share, Andy,” was the retort.
At last the boys considered themselves safe and crawled from their beds once more. A dim light was made, and sitting in a circle, they divided the good things on hand and devoured them with a keen relish. The turkey proved to be of the best, and the pie was “prime,” as Andy expressed it.
“Oh, if Baxter could only see us now,” whispered Pepper, with a mouth half full of turkey.
“It would make him dance with joy, I don’t think,” answered Jack.
The little feast kept up the best part of half an hour.
“Here goes the last of the pie!” cried Stuffer.
“Baxter, we thank thee for this feast!” added Pepper.
“Just you fellows wait, that’s all!” came an unexpected voice from the doorway, and turning swiftly, they saw Dan Baxter standing there. He was shaking his fist at the crowd.