“It wasn’t a great deal,” said Jack. “And first of all I want to know what was done to Dan and the others.”
“Oh, Colonel Colby read us a little lecture, that’s all,” answered Walt Baxter, one of the cadets. “He told us we had no right to take any of the food without asking for it.”
“I offered to pay for it,” put in Ned Lowe, “and so did Dan. But the colonel said that wasn’t the point. That he wanted the discipline of the Hall maintained.”
“Did he say anything about Professor Duke?” questioned Fred.
“Not a word.”
“Well, he told us something,” continued the youngest Rover, and then related what had been said on the subject.
“Say, that squares with something I once heard,” cried Walt Baxter. “I met Professor Duke down at the barn one day where he was waiting to have Nixon drive him down to town. The professor was walking around, wringing his hands and muttering to himself. He looked all out of sorts, and he said something that sounded to me like ‘I don’t see how I can do it! I don’t see how I can really attempt it!’”
“And what do you suppose it was that bothered him, Walt?” questioned Jack curiously.
“I’m sure I don’t know. I watched him walk up and down and wring his hands. And then he took a notebook out of his pocket and began to study some of the figures in it. Then Nixon came along with the auto, and he jumped in and rode off.”
“Well, that sure is a mystery,” declared Randy.