“A guard is coming this way—lay low!”
The three boys threw themselves flat on the ground and remained there, scarcely daring to breathe. It was the corporal of the guard who was approaching, and he had another cadet with him.
“You say you saw somebody sneaking around here?” asked the corporal.
“I did,” answered the guard.
“Who was it?”
“I don’t know.”
“Well, I’ll take a walk through the whole camp,” said the corporal. “You can go back to your post.”
The guard left, and the corporal walked off in the direction of the tent occupied by Captain Putnam. Then he went down one of the company streets, and at last disappeared into his own quarters.
“Say, that was a close shave!” muttered Coulter.
“Well, a miss is as good as a mile,” answered Ritter, coolly. “Come on, if we want to get some sleep to-night.”