Once at the top, they squatted down on their sleds and held a council of war.
“Now, fellows,” said Bobby, “we’ve got to get to the bottom of this thing somehow. The ashes didn’t come there of themselves. Somebody put them there, and whoever it was knew that we were out for a grand coasting bee to-night. So it must have been some fellow in the school.”
“I hate to think that there’s any fellow at Rockledge who could do such a dirty trick,” remarked Howell. “If we can find out who it was we ought to tell Doctor Raymond about it and have the fellow sent away from school.”
“No,” objected Bobby. “This is our affair and we oughtn’t to bring the teachers into it at all.”
“The question is who could have done it,” put in Skeets.
“Whoever did it is mean enough to steal sheep,” growled Fred.
“Or take the pennies from a dead man’s eyes,” added Mouser.
“I can figure out just three fellows in the school who could do a thing like that,” said Howell.
“Bill Bronson.”
“Jack Jinks.”