The command was such a pre-emptory one that the cadets obeyed. Andy opened the door. Beyond was a small storeroom, having a narrow window which was barred from the outside.
“In you go, you young villains!” cried Jabez Trask, and held the muzzle of the shotgun on a line with their breasts. Fearing that in his excitement he would pull the trigger, the two cadets stepped back into the room.
“Now kick the door shut with your foot, and be quick about it,” went on the old man, to Pepper, and aimed the weapon straight at The Imp.
The door was closed as the man desired, and in a twinkling Jabez Trask stepped up close and turned the key in the lock. It was a heavy door, with an equally effective lock, and the cadets knew that they were prisoners.
“Ha! ha! very well done, I do declare!” chuckled the old man, after the door was fastened. “A neat trick, if I do say it myself, a clever trick! It takes a smart man to get the best of Jabez Trask. You thought I’d shoot you, didn’t you? Well, let me tell you that the shotgun isn’t loaded and hasn’t been for a month! But now I am going to load it, and load it well. If you try to break out—well, your blood will be on your head!”
Andy and Pepper did not reply. In the dim light of the little storeroom they looked at each other questioningly. They were in a serious predicament. What would be the outcome of this remarkable adventure?
CHAPTER IX
A SEND-OFF FOR JOSIAH CRABTREE
Andy and Pepper heard the old man leave the dining room and then, excepting for the occasional rumble of thunder in the distance, all became quiet around them. The sudden shower was passing away to the eastward, and soon the rain ceased.
“Well, if this isn’t the worst yet!” exclaimed the acrobatic youth, after looking at the narrow window with its iron bars. “Pep, this is as bad as the lock-up at the school!”
“Right you are, Andy. We are certainly prisoners.”