"Never mind who says so. You did it, and it is useless for you to deny it. Here are the two guns you took from the gun rack and afterwards hid in your beds. And here is the despicable note you, Brown, wrote and mailed to Mr. Lacy," and the colonel held out the communication.
"Oh, Colonel Colby, I di—di—didn't do it!" faltered Slugger Brown. His face had suddenly gone white, and he could scarcely speak.
"Do you deny that this is your handwriting?"
"I—I——Oh, is——I—I—didn't——That is——" and here Slugger Brown broke down absolutely, not knowing what to say.
"Did you mail that letter or did Brown do it?" questioned the colonel, quickly turning to Martell.
"He did it! I didn't have anything to do with it!" burst out Nappy, breaking down completely.
"It ain't so!" cried Slugger. "He was with me, and he dropped the letter in the post-office!"
"And so you killed the cows to get the Rovers into trouble?" said Colonel Colby; and now his eyes glittered like steel. "A fine thing to do, truly! I did not think any of our cadets would stoop to such a base action."
"It was a—er—a joke," gasped Nappy.
"A joke! To kill two valuable cows? Martell, if you talk that way, I'll be inclined to think you are losing your senses. But evidently there is something radically wrong with both you and Brown," went on the master of the Hall. "This case of the cows and the plot against the Rovers is bad enough, but I have another matter against you which may prove even worse."