A noise in the next room reached them. They looked in and saw a man kneeling on the floor, tying half a dozen small rugs into a bundle.
“Is this the man?” asked Andy, stepping back to Mumps.
“Ye—yes,” stammered the toady. “Do—don’t let him shoot you!”
“Mumps, you are the most cowardly fellow I ever saw in my life,” went on the acrobatic youth.
“I don’t care, some burglars are desperate characters,” whined Mumps. “I’ve read of them shooting people who tried to catch ’em.”
“This man isn’t a burglar.”
“How do you know?” and now the toady’s eyes opened widely.
“He is the man the captain hired to clean all the rugs and the carpets in the Hall. While we are in camp the school is to have a general cleaning.”
“Well, I never!” murmured Mumps.
“You’re a fine burglar hunter,” said Dale, and began to laugh. “Mumps, you ought to become a detective.”