It must be confessed that the sudden entrance of the ten cadets, and what they had to say concerning the joke that had been played, somewhat stumped the master of the Hall. As for Asa Lemm, for the moment he was dumbfounded; but then his natural antipathy to boys asserted itself, and he glared at them viciously.
"So you were all in it, eh?" he snarled. "I might have known as much. You are all a pack of rowdies! You are not fit to associate with respectable people!"
"Professor Lemm, I do not wish you to address our cadets in such a manner," said Colonel Colby sternly. "These young gentlemen are not rowdies, even though they have played a joke which was not particularly nice. I do not uphold them in the least in what they have done, but, at the same time, I cannot help but remember that they are only boys, and that boys are sometimes very thoughtless."
"Thoughtless! They think too much! I tell you, sir, they are a pack of rowdies, and unless you punish them, and punish them severely, I shall take the matter in my own hands and have them arrested."
"If you do anything of that sort, Professor Lemm, we will have to dispense with your services in this school," announced Colonel Colby flatly. He was growing weary of the irate teacher's manner.
A strenuous half hour followed, everybody present forgetting all about roll call and breakfast. Colonel Colby did what he could in questioning all of the cadets regarding the occurrences of the night before, but was continually interrupted by the unreasonable teacher. Finally he could stand it no longer, and turned to the professor with all the dignity he could command.
"Professor Lemm, I have stood enough," he said in a cold, hard voice, which instantly commanded attention. "I want no more such language from you. You may go to your breakfast, and I will conduct this examination alone, and will see you about it before we begin the day's session in the school. And, in the meantime, allow me to impress upon you that it is all nonsense to talk about having any of these boys arrested. They have done nothing that warrants arrest, and if you attempt anything of that sort, you will not only make yourself ridiculous, but you might place yourself open to a suit for damages. Now, please leave this office."
"I'll see about this! I'll see about this!" snapped the unreasonable teacher, and left the office in anything but a dignified fashion.
As soon as Professor Lemm had gone, the master of the Hall questioned the boys closely concerning, not only the affair of the night before, but also about the troubles they had had with the teacher, both in the classroom and elsewhere. This was the first time the boys had had a chance to "get one in on old Lemon," as Andy afterwards declared, and they did not mince matters in telling of the many trials and tribulations which Asa Lemm had caused them. It is barely possible that some of the complaints were overdrawn, yet there was such a unanimity of opinion concerning Professor Lemm's harshness that Colonel Colby was quite impressed.
"Now I want to ask you boys a question, and I want you to answer it honestly," said Colonel Colby toward the close of the examination. "Would you have played such a trick as this upon any of the other professors?"