He leaped up with a howl, and held his hand to the fleshy part of his leg.
“What’s the matter?” asked Tom.
“A broken spring stuck me,” explained Sid, who was too lightly clad to indulge in indiscriminate sitting about. “Oh, those freshies! What can we do to get square with them?”
“That’s more like it,” said Tom. “We’ve got to pay them back in some way, and the sooner the better.”
It was an hour or more before matters had quieted down in the west dormitory. From various sophomores who came into their room to exchange notes, Tom, Phil and Sid learned that the freshmen had executed a well-organized fire scare by the simple process of burning in each corridor some of the powder extensively used on Fourth of July, or in political parades.
“Well, there’s no use talking about what they did to us,” said Ed Kerr. “The question is, what can we do to them? They certainly put it all over us.”
“Dutch, you ought to be able to suggest something,” said Tom. “You’re always up to some trick. Give us one to play on the freshies.”
“Sure,” agreed Dutch. “Let me think.”
Sid arose and turned out the light.