"I kept the door open a little," began Pond, "so that I could hear any one who might come up the stairs. Most of the fellows were down on the ball-ground or had gone off on the hills, so there wasn't very much going on. I think I'd been waiting more than an hour before I heard a sound that was in any way suspicious, and I'll own up I began to be a little tired. I thought there wasn't any one going to come and I'd about made up my mind there wasn't any use in watching any longer, and I was just about to get a book and go to reading when I heard a step on the lower stairway. Of course there wasn't anything very bad in that, for I knew some of the fellows would be running in and out on a half-holiday, but there was something a little strange in this particular case. The fellow would come up two or three steps--and he didn't make very much noise about it either--and then he'd stop a minute before he came on."
"Was there only one?" inquired Ward, deeply interested in what Pond was relating.
"Only one then. Well, the fellow came up to the floor on which your room is and then he stopped. I couldn't see him of course, as he'd gone up to your door, I judged. I didn't just know what to do, and when I'd made up my mind to go out and take a peep over the railing, I heard the fellow come back to the head of the stairs and give a low whistle. You'd better believe I was excited about that time, but I managed somehow to keep quiet and wait. Pretty soon another fellow came up the stairs, and then I heard them go through the hall and stop, as I thought, before your door."
"Go on, go on," said Ward quickly, as Pond seemed to hesitate a moment.
"Well, I crept out of my room, and I wasn't making very much noise either, you can believe, and as I went down the stairway a few steps, trying hard all the time to keep perfectly quiet, I bent over and took a peep at your hall. There were two chaps right in front of your door."
"What were they doing?"
"They were working at the lock with a key which one of them took out of his pocket. Somehow the key didn't work very well, for I've a notion that Mike hadn't told them about the new locks he'd put on your door and mine."
"Too bad," said Ward. "Well, what did they do then?"
"One of them happened to look up and he saw me peeking at them. I tried to dodge back so that they couldn't see me, but I was too late; they'd spied me. They made a rush through the hall and up the stairs to my room, but I'd got inside before they'd come, and bolted the door. They coaxed and teased me to open up for 'em, but I wasn't to be caught by any such chaff as that, and then they began to threaten me with all sorts of terrible things. They tried too, to open my door with a key, but it wasn't of any use, and if they had had a key that would have fitted the lock it wouldn't have helped them any, for the door was bolted on the inside, you see."
"Who were the fellows?"