Ten o'clock soon came, and with it out went the lights in Bancroft Hall and a perfect stillness broken only by the tread of midshipmen making taps inspection. Soon this measured tread ceased and complete silence reigned.
And then out of this profound stillness came again that terrible cry, shrieked out in affright, startling every midshipman in the armory wing of Bancroft Hall. "Help! Help!" Far away it first seemed, and yet it was plainly heard.
With lightning speed Stonewell leaped from his bed and jumped into his clothes.
"Turn out, Bob," he cried. "I've a job to do, and won't be with you; turn out everybody in armory wing; tell Farnum to have everybody fall in by companies on the ground and first floors," and Stonewell dashed from the room.
Again the weird shriek sounded, now heard much plainer. Robert had followed Stonewell out of the room, and ran down the corridor shouting: "Turn out, everybody! Company officers, get your companies together!"
Midshipmen from all the rooms poured into the corridors.
"Help, help, save me, save me!" in agonized fearful tones were resounding throughout the building. And these cries became clearer on the lower floors. They seemed to have started from above and to have come down gradually.
"Help, help," rang out the cry, now apparently on the first floor; it seemed to come right from the midst of a throng of midshipmen falling into their places in company formation; these were entirely mystified. And then the cry descended and was heard on the floor below, the ground floor.
"Where is Stone?" asked Robert of Farnum; "do you know where he went? He said he had a job to do."