“Any idea who it was, Mr. Innes?” the colonel whispered.
“No, sir. A man all in black jumped me and did it in a hurry. Muzzled me with one hand and took away my gun with the other. It happened before the Officer of the Guard got around, in fact he is due here now.”
“You say the man went toward the camp?” was the colonel’s next question.
“Yes, sir, and he carried a can of kerosene with him,” was the startling reply. The others wasted not another minute, but jumped to their feet.
“Be very quiet as you approach the camp,” ordered the colonel, leading the way through the bushes toward the camp.
They approached silently and looked at the camp. It seemed deserted. Three fires showed up red before the tents, but the cadets were in their beds. On the other side of the camp the Officers of the Guard could be heard as he spoke shortly to a sentry. Otherwise there seemed to be no movement or life in the place.
Don reached over and pulled the colonel’s arm. Close to the supply wagons a darker shadow showed, and the faint sound of liquid bubbling out of a can could be heard. All of the hidden watchers caught the significance of it at once and crouched down to wait until the man should have come nearer them.
Then, something happened that changed their plans abruptly.
A match was struck. The flare of the tiny blaze showed a set, stern face. The man at the supply wagon bent forward with the match.
Cadet Vench was little. He was also fast and happened to be the nearest one to the stooping man. In three strides Vench left the shelter of the trees, sprang into the air, and landed like a monkey on the back of the man, who had started to straighten up at the sound of Vench’s steps. They both went down, the match dropped on some oil-soaked cloth, and a fierce blaze jumped up in a twinkling.