"Vell, you may sday till der cows come home!" gurgled Hans; "but I don'd peen caught in here any more bretty soon righd avay, you pet!" and he made a break for the door.
The others quickly extinguished the light, and followed him.
There would be no more gatherings in that room.
CHAPTER IX.
IN THE MESHES.
Frank Merriwell fancied he had hit upon a scheme to stop the card games from which he could not remain away. Being a skilled ventriloquist, he was the author of the dismal groans and the mysterious voice that had so alarmed the boys.
Bart was not in the secret, and so he wondered, when he heard Frank chuckling to himself, after they had safely reached their room and were getting into bed.
For several days the "gang" was disconsolate, having no place in which they could play a game of cards without fear of detection at any instant.
Frank Merriwell seemed restored to his usual jolly self. He laughed and joked, and did not seem worried over anything.