“Sure this is the right tent, are you?” he heard, in a low tone.
“Yes, this is the place,” was the reply, in the faintest of whispers. “Keep quiet now, and if there is any alarm, run for your life.”
On hearing these words, the young captain was puzzled for the time being. But then he realized that the voices had a familiar sound, and he smiled grimly to himself.
Slowly and cautiously Gabe Werner and Bill Glutts wormed their way into the tent by way of the opening in the rear. Gabe had the flashlight, and this he cast from one side to another, taking care, however, that the rays did not fall into the face of any of the officers.
Jack kept his eyes closed when the marauders looked at him. But as they turned around he eyed them sharply. A line had been strung from the front to the rear pole of the tent, and on this were a number of hangers containing the three officers’ uniforms and some of their other belongings. Stepping up to the uniforms, the two from outside looked them over quickly. Then Werner pointed to one uniform and to another, to signify that these belonged to Jack and Fred.
Not a word was spoken by those who had come in to play their mean trick on the Rovers. Silently each drew out his pocketknife and opened one of the blades.
Werner’s scheme, to which Glutts had agreed, was to cut all the buttons from both uniforms and then slit the garments so that they would be next to useless. Then they were going to take the other belongings of the young captain and the lieutenant and throw them into a muddy brook located in one corner of the pasture.
Watching the marauders as a cat might watch a mouse, Jack saw the pocketknives opened and saw the two rascally cadets take hold of his coat and that belonging to his cousin.
“No, you don’t, you rascals!” he cried loudly, as he bounced off the cot. “Leave those uniforms alone!”
The interruption came so unexpectedly that both Werner and Glutts were dumbfounded. As Jack pounced on Gabe from the rear, Glutts, muttering a cry of terror, plunged through the opening of the tent by which he had come and fled down past the other nearby shelters at top speed.