“Oh, has he turned up again?” asked the girls, with interest.
“Twice—yesterday morning and this morning,” said Buster.
“He didn’t turn up at all, Buster,” interposed Shadow. “When you start to tell a story, why don’t you tell it straight?”
“Oh, you tell it,” grumbled the fat boy. “You have that sort of thing down to a science.”
“There isn’t very much to tell,” went on Shadow Hamilton. “He left his mark, that’s all.”
“Left his mark?” queried Dave.
“That’s it—wide, blue marks. He must have about a ton of blue chalk.”
“Say, Shadow, you are talking in riddles,” burst out the shipowner’s son. “Give it to us in plain United States, can’t you?”
“Sure I can. Well, this wild man visited the school yesterday morning and this morning, before anybody was up. The first time he went into the big classroom and took some books, and the next time he visited the kitchen and pantry and took some grub—I beg the ladies’ pardon—I should have said food—a ham, a chicken, and some doughnuts.” 45
“And the blue chalk––?” queried Mr. Porter.