Part 36 (1/2)
”Poole is down on you, isn't he?”
”Yes.”
”He told me you and he had had a lot of trouble.”
”So we have--but I claim it was mostly Nat's fault. He does some pretty mean things.”
”So he does, for a fact,” and Tom Hally nodded earnestly. ”He is down on Maurice Hamilton too, isn't he?”
”Yes, but Shadow never did him any harm. It's just Nat's mean disposition,” returned Dave; and there the conversation had to come to an end.
But that talk, coupled with the fact that Dave and his chums had so bravely gone to Tom Hally's rescue, produced an unexpected result. Two days later, when the occupants of dormitories Nos. 11 and 12 got up, they were surprised to find, just inside of one of the doors, a big pasteboard box, securely tied with a heavy cord.
”Why, what's this?” asked Phil, who was the first to see the box.
”Must be a Christmas box!” cried Dave. ”And yet it is rather early in the season for that.”
”Is it addressed to anybody?” questioned Ben.
”Nothing on it,” announced Roger, after an inspection. ”Maybe the box was placed in this room by mistake.”
”Let us open it and see what is inside,” suggested Polly Vane.
”I second that motion,” added Luke. ”Hope it's got some nice Christmas pies in it.”
”Maybe it's a trick,” cautioned Shadow. ”Go slow on opening it.”
The boys pushed the box to the center of the dormitory with care, and then Roger cut the cord with his pocketknife.
”You open it,” said Phil to Dave.
”I am not afraid,” answered Dave, and took off the cover.
And then what a shout went up!
”Our shoes, and boots, and slippers!”
”Where in the world did this come from!”
”Say, I thought my shoes were gone for good!”
”Are they all here?”
”I guess so. Let us sort 'em out and see.”
Hastily the box was turned over, and the contents dumped on the floor.
Then began a general sorting out, lasting for several minutes.
”One of my gym. shoes is missing,” announced Phil.