THE THEATRE PARTY.
It was a gay party that left South Middle that evening and started for the theatre. Merriwell had not said a word to Rattleton concerning the receipt of the second warning. A spirit of sheer reckless defiance led him to accept the invitation to the theatre, even though he had not wished to spend his time that evening in such a manner.
"This may be a jolly," he told himself; "if I were to stay away the fellows would have a horse on me sure."
Creighton had a beautiful tenor voice, and as they started out beneath the elms, he sang:
"I shot an arrow into the air,
It fell to earth—I know not where——"
Danny Griswold seemed to take a fiendish delight in giving a humorous twist to anything sentimental, and so he interrupted with:
"The next day a man came around
And sold me dead dog at a dollar a pound."
"If that were original I wouldn't mind," said Creighton; "but you got it from some star vaudeville performance, you little runt."
"That's where I get all my gags," frankly confessed Griswold. "I store them up for use, and they come in handy some time."