“It’s a pretty good scheme, isn’t it?” said Jones.
“I never heard of such a thing,” said Cony. “I know every boy who has been graduated at this academy during the last half century, and although there were some daring ones among them, there were none who had the hardihood to do a thing like this. I have about half made up my mind that if Captain Mack comes here, I will report the last one of you.”
“Well, so long as you don’t wholly make up your mind to it, we don’t care,” replied Jones, who knew their host too well to be alarmed by any such threats as this. “I’ll take one basket, Brigham, and you can take the other. Cony, you keep your eyes open and give us the signal at the very first sign of danger.”
“Where are you going?” inquired Lester, as Jones, with one of the baskets on his arm, led the way out of the door toward a grove that stood a little distance off on the shore of the big pond.
“To find Enoch,” answered Jones. “I know right where he is. I say, Lester, you did something to be proud of when you got up this scheme. When Cony Ryan praises a fellow, the praise is well deserved.”
“I am very well satisfied with it,” said Lester, complacently. “You said something about a signal of danger; what is it?”
“Did you ever hear Cony’s greyhound sing?” asked Jones in reply. “Well, if Cony sees any of Mack’s men approaching his house, he’ll tell his hound to ‘sing,’ and the animal will set up the most dismal howling you ever heard. If Enoch hears that, you will see him dig out for dear life.”
After walking a short distance into the grove, the two boys came to a little creek, whose banks were thickly lined with bushes. Here Jones stopped and put down his basket, and hardly had he done so when Enoch Williams made his appearance. He had been concealed in the bushes, awaiting their arrival. This was the first time Lester had seen the deserter that day, and one would have thought by the way he complimented Enoch, that the latter, when he ran by the guard, had performed an exploit that no other boy in the academy dare attempt.
“I am glad to see you two,” said Enoch, nodding his head toward the baskets, “for I am hungry.”