Keeping well in the background, they saw Nappy Martell ascend the stairs to his room. A moment later he came forth with his hat in his hand.

"I bet an oyster against a soda cracker he's going down to that cornfield!" cried Andy.

"Right you are!" answered Fred. "Come on, let's follow him;" and rushing up to their own rooms the Rover boys donned their caps and sweaters, for the day was unusually cool.

Nappy Martell left the Hall by a rear door, and the Rovers followed.

They saw the loudly dressed youth hurry toward the stable and then disappear to the rear. Soon he was on the highway leading to the cornfield.

"There is no use of our following him, for he might see us and that would spoil everything," said Randy. "Let's wait here at the stable until he comes back."

It did not take Nappy Martell long to reach the cornfield; and from a distance the Rovers saw him rush around, first to one stack of cornstalks and then to another. He was gone fully a quarter of an hour, and came back looking decidedly worried.

"He thinks some tramp got that suitcase and went off with it," said Fred, grinning. "Randy, that certainly was one great joke."

"Don't say a word," answered Randy. "Just let him keep on worrying for a while. Maybe it will do him good."

As Martell pa.s.sed the stable, the Rover boys stepped out of sight in the building. They saw him re-enter the Hall, and then they took a roundabout course which soon brought them to the campus, where they joined Fatty and Ned.

"It's certainly a good joke," was Fatty's comment. "And any fellow who would be mean enough to dirty a fellow's clothing like that ought to suffer for it. Gee! I'll bet he's worried!"

Of course, such a joke could not be kept entirely secret, and before long it was spread among a good many of the cadets. But great care was taken to keep it from Slugger Brown, Codfish and all the others belonging to the Martell crowd.

"And now to pay Martell back for his meanness!" said Fred a little later. "This joke of Randy's is all right as far as it goes, but I think I'm going to go him one better--that is, if I can get into Martell's room."

"All right, Fred. Anything you say goes," added Andy, quickly. "Isn't that so, Randy?"

"Sure thing!"

"Look here! You don't want to get into trouble," warned Jack.

"There won't be much trouble about this," answered Fred. "I am only going to give Nappy Martell something to think about."

CHAPTER XII

LEARNING TO DRILL

While the Rover boys were talking matters over among themselves, Nappy Martell had returned to his room, which was connected by a door with that occupied by Slugger Brown.

"What in thunder made you run off in such a hurry, Nappy?" demanded the other cadet somewhat surlily. "You didn't answer that question I put to you at all."

"I had something else to think about," was the reply. "It looks to me as if I'm in hot water."

"How's that?"

"Do you remember I told you that I placed that Fred Rover's suitcase down under a stack in the cornfield?"

"Yes."

"Well, I heard Walt Baxter telling Ned Lowe that he had seen a tramp down in the cornfield running away from one of the stacks with a suitcase in his hand; so I went down to the cornfield to find out if the suitcase was still where I had hidden it. It was gone."

"Whew!" Slugger Brown gave a prolonged whistle. "That certainly does look bad. Did Baxter say where the tramp went?"

"He told Lowe that he had not come towards the Hall, but had gone off in the opposite direction."

"Then that looks as if the suitcase was gone for good."

"So it does. And I don't know what I'm going to do about it," answered Nappy Martell, gloomily. "Of course, I didn't think the suitcase would be stolen."

"And the worst part of it is, the Rovers suspect you of having taken it," was the comment of Slugger.

"Yes. But they can't prove it," cried Nappy, quickly. "That is, they won't be able to do it unless you or Codfish give me away."

"You know me well enough to know I won't say a word, Nappy. And as for Codfish, just give him to understand if he opens his trap you'll fix him for it."

A little while later Martell and Brown went below. In the lower hallway they met Fred and some of the others.

"Well, Martell, when are you going to return that suitcase?" demanded the youngest Rover.

"I told you I haven't got your suitcase and don't know anything about it," cried the loudly dressed youth. But at the same time his face grew flushed and he could not look Fred in the eyes.

"You took that suitcase, and if you don't return it pretty quick you'll see what will happen," warned Fred; and then he walked away with his cousins, leaving Nappy Martell gazing at Slugger Brown, questioningly.

The pair conversed in a low tone, and pa.s.sed on out of the hall on to the campus.

"Now's your time, Fred, if you're going to do as you said," whispered Randy.

"Right you are!" was the quick reply. "Come on;" and Fred led the way upstairs again, his cousins following.

When they reached Nappy Martell's room, they found the door locked. But the door to Slugger Brown's apartment was unfastened, and they quickly entered this and pa.s.sed into the room beyond.

"Say, Jack, won't you stand on guard?" questioned Fred. "They might come back while we're at work."

"All right, boys. But be careful what you do. You don't want to spoil anything. A joke is a joke, but it loses its flavor if it is carried too far."

With Jack standing in the hallway on guard, Fred and the twins took possession of Nappy Martell's room. The boy who loved to dress so loudly was rather methodical in his habits, and had arranged all of his clothing and other articles with great nicety in his chiffonier and his closet.

"The bed first," whispered Fred; and in a trice the boys had taken off the bed clothing and turned up the mattress. On the springs they placed one of the bedsheets and on the top of this they distributed all of Nappy's choice neckties and also his fancy-colored socks. Then to this they added his cuffs, his fancy underwear, and all of his loose jewelry. The articles were spread over the bed with care, so that they rested as flat as possible.

"Now, we'll put the mattress back and then make up the bed as nicely as possible," said Randy, who, of course, in a joke of this sort directed operations.

"Gee! I don't believe he'll find those articles in a hurry," chuckled Fred.

"They'll never find them until they come to turn the mattress over,"

vouchsafed Andy. "Some joke, believe me!"