Had it not been for the shotgun the boys would have taken to their heels; but with the old man thus armed none of them wanted to take any chances. But then came a lucky interruption. From back on the farm came a wild bellowing as if a cow was in trouble. This was followed by the squealing of a number of pigs.
"Hello! Those town boys must have come over after your cattle after all!" cried Jack, struck by a sudden idea.
"My cattle! What do you know about my cattle?" questioned Elias Lacy, quickly.
"That's it! The town boys are after the cows and pigs!" broke in Fred, quick to catch Jack's idea.
"You'll lose them all if you don't look out, Mr. Lacy!" put in Randy.
"They sha'n't tech my cows, nor my pigs neither!" snarled the old farmer; and, taking up his lantern, he left the cadets and ran off towards the rear of the premises. Fortunately, nothing serious had happened to his stock.
"Now's the time to skip out!" cried Jack, and led the way, and the others lost no time in following. The cadets had to hold their skirts high to keep from tripping as they sped along. They reached Colby Hall in safety, and lost no time in rejoining their friends. A little later the Hallowe'en celebration came to an end.
"Old Lacy will remember us," was Andy's comment, in speaking of the affair the next day. "He'll have it in for us."
"I'm afraid so," replied Jack, seriously.
The main topic of conversation at the school now was the football game which was to take place with the eleven of the Clearwater Country Club on the following Saturday. This was another gala occasion for the school, and once more the boys had the pleasure of escorting the girls to and from the conflict.