Part 5

So Berry dashed to the window, and gave one look. "There she sails with a bottle in her hand, going over to South" (the other dormitory across the yard). "Most likely Jones has the colic again. Good! Now that disposes finely of old Fox," which brought him back to the subject in hand, the disposal of Joel's racket.

"Give me that," he said, hurrying over to Jenkins.

"No, you don't," said that individual; "and I must be lively before old Fox gets back." With that, he rushed out of the room.

"If you don't give me that racket, I'll tell on you," cried Beresford in a passion, flying after him.

"Hush!" Jenk turned on him suddenly, and gripped him fast. "See here," he cried in a suppressed tone, and curbing his anger as best he could, "you don't want Joe to go into that match, this afternoon, with this racket." He shook it with eager, angry fingers.

"No," said Berry without stopping to think, "I don't."

"Well, then, you better keep still, and hold your tongue," advised Jenk angrily.

"Well, what are you going to do with it?"

"None of your----" what, he didn't say, for just then a boy flew out of his room, to tear down the long hall. He had his back to them, and there was no time to skip back into Jenkins' own room, for the two had already passed it. One wild second, and Jenkins thrust the racket into the depths of the housemaid's closet close at hand, under some cleaning-cloths on a shelf. Then he stuck his hands in his pockets.

"Hullo!" The boy who was rushing along, suddenly turned, to see him whistling.

"Oh Jenk, is that you? See here, where's your Cæsar?"

"Don't know--gone up the spout," said Jenkins carelessly, and keeping well in front of Beresford.

"Well, who has one? You haven't, Berry?" He turned to Tom anxiously.

"Not on your life he hasn't," Jenk answered for him.

"Botheration!" ejaculated the boy. "I've fifty lines to do, else I'm shut in from the game. And Simmons has run off with my book."

"Try Joe Pepper's room; he's in math recitation," said Jenk suddenly. "He has one, Toppy."

"You're a brick." Toppy flew down the hall, and bolted into Joel's room.

"Holy Moses, what luck! He'll prowl for an hour over Joe's duds. Come on." Jenk had his head in the cupboard, and his fingers almost on the racket, when Toppy's voice rang dismally down the hall: "Joe must have taken it."

Jenk pulled his fingers out, and had the door fast, and was quite turned away from the dangerous locality. "Well, I don't know what you'll do, Toppy," he said, controlling his dismay enough to speak. "Run down and skin through the fellows' rooms on first floor. Oh, good gracious!" he groaned, "it's all up with getting it now," as a swarm of boys came tumbling over the stairs.

So he mixed with them, laughing and talking, and Berry melted off somewhere. And no one had time to think a syllable of anything but the great game of tennis to be called at two o'clock, between the two divisions of Dr. Marks' boys. Some of the team of the St. Andrew's School, a well-known set of fellows at this sport and terribly hard to beat, were going to be visitors. So there was unusual excitement.

"What's up, Pepper?" A howl that rose above every other sort of din that was then in progress, came from Joel's room.

"He's been in here!" Joel plunged out of the doorway, tossing his black, curly locks, that were always his bane, his eyes flashing dangerously. "Say, where's Jenk? He's been in my room," he cried, doubling up his small fists.

"What is it?" cried Jenkins, making as if just coming up the stairs. "What's all the row about?"

"You've been in my room," shouted Joel in a loud, insistent voice, "and taken my----" The rest was lost in a babel of voices.

"What? What's gone, Joe?" They all crowded into the small space, and swarmed all over the room.

"My racket," yelled Joel wrathfully. "Jenk has got it; he better give it up. Quick now." He pushed up the sleeves of his tennis shirt, and squared off, glaring at them all, but making the best of his way over toward Jenk.

That individual, when he saw him coming, thought it better to get behind some intervening boys. Everybody huddled against everybody else, and it was impossible to get at the truth.

"See here now, Mother Fox will be after us all if you don't hush up," called one boy. "I guess she's coming," which had the desired effect. All the voices died down except Joel's.