It was nearly an hour later when the boys reappeared at the Shepherd’s Hotel, having washed off their make-ups and donned their usual attire.
They found the professor, looking pale and wan, pacing the floor of his room, which adjoined theirs. The old man noted their entrance, and paused to peer at them suspiciously.
“Where have you been, boys?” he asked.
“Oh, out for a little airing,” answered Dick, carelessly. “Did you enjoy the afternoon, professor?”
“Well—er—ah—I can’t truthfully say that I did,” confessed the old pedagogue.
“That was too bad. Why didn’t you enjoy it?”
“Ahem! I can’t explain, boys. Don’t ask foolish questions.”
“But didn’t you see that collection of old relics?”
“I did—I saw it!”
“And you were disappointed in it?”