"All right, Mr. Crabtree; sorry I spoke," answered The Imp, cheerfully.
"Then remember to keep your mouth closed after this."
"Ahem! how am I to eat if I keep my mouth closed?" asked Pepper, innocently.
"Ha! I want none of your jokes, Ditmore! Leave the table!" thundered Josiah Crabtree.
"I'm not through yet."
"Never mind, leave the table at once!" And the teacher glared at Pepper as if to eat him up.
"Just my luck!" muttered The Imp, and got up.
"Here's a sandwich for you," whispered Dale, who sat near, and he passed over two slices of bread with some cold meat between.
"And here's a piece of cake," added Jack, and slid it along, under the edge of the table. Then Pepper got up and left the room. He did not know where to go and so walked slowly in the direction of the boathouse.
As he neared the building, he saw a boy come out of the structure and hurry across the float to where the Alice and the Ajax were tied up. The boy was Reff Ritter.