that day was cold and clear, with a still, penetrating cold that sent a tingle through the veins of the cadets. for hours the ice had been forming on lake blair. one or two cadets had been hardy enough to test it and found that it was about ready to bear weight, and by nightfall it had frozen to a depth of several inches. it was the first real ice of the season and the students hailed it with shouts of delight. closets and trunks were hastily ransacked, and some of the new cadets went to town and bought skates. others went to the cellars under the barn and brought out stored barrels, breaking them up and distributing the wood at various points along the lake for their fires.

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in the afternoon rhodes went to the major and asked for permission to go to town. he found the headmaster in a suspicious and angry mood, caused probably by the things which were weighing on his mind. when the senior cadet asked for leave the major swung around.

“what for?” he snapped.

rhodes looked surprised. “i want to have my skates ground,” he returned. “and i have other errands.”

“very well, go ahead,” grumbled the major. “there is too much of this running to town.”

rhodes saluted and left the office, not even taking the trouble to thank the major because of his ungracious tone. he got his skates and put on his overcoat. then he hurried off to town.

“wonder if major tireson really suspects anything or if he is just cranky today?” he wondered.

true to his statement rhodes left his skates to be ground and purchased some necessities. then, after making sure that no one was around who looked suspicious, he went to the main hotel in portville and asked for the colonel’s room. the clerk called the colonel on the telephone, allowed rhodes to talk to him, and when the colonel was satisfied that it was his senior cadet captain, he told him to come up.

the colonel greeted rhodes warmly and they discussed plans. rhodes told him of the major’s harshness, but the colonel was inclined to put it down to nervousness.

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“he has a lot on his mind,” said the colonel. “but even so, i guess it’s about time to close in on this bunch. i’m afraid the major might slip through our fingers, so i’ve decided to trap him tomorrow morning. just as soon as he gets teaching his classes the police chief and i will swoop down on the school and take him in. we’ll just have to hope that somehow or other we’ll run across dennings. there are men out looking for him now, and they may run him down. i’m afraid to fool around too long, for fear that the major may move don or skip himself.”

“if you are going to wait until tomorrow we will have to see to it that don is not spirited away tonight,” said rhodes.

“yes, and a pretty close watch on the major will do that. is anyone watching clanhammer hall now?”

“terry is prowling around there,” replied rhodes.

“very good. the driver was taken out of the tool house early this morning and locked up, protesting that he had been kidnapped and abused by a big bully, that meaning mr. vench. i guess he was pretty cold, too. so you are having your skates ground, eh? the lake frozen over?”

“yes, sir. all of the cadets are going skating tonight and we four planned to skate down near clanhammer hall, so as to keep an eye on the place.”

“a good idea,” nodded the colonel. “is jim keeping up an appearance of anxiety?”

“yes, he is. he went to the major this morning and asked if any word had been received of his brother. the major assured him that all steps had been taken to find don and told him to keep up his good spirits.”

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“oh, sure!” grinned the colonel. “fine old scoundrel that major is! well, tomorrow morning, with as little fuss as possible, we’ll just scoop up that arch plotter.”

agreeing to call the colonel immediately if anything came up rhodes left him, and after getting his skates, went back to school. after a good supper the cadets studied for an hour and then rushed with whoops to the lake, where a half dozen big fires blazed along the edge of the sheet of ice. in a short time the runners of scores of skates were ringing with sharp, crisp sounds over the hard surface.

a dozen games were immediately started, games of snap the whip, hockey and races, but the four friends carefully avoided these and kept to themselves. those who were not in the mood for playing, but who wanted to skate more calmly, moved toward the lower end of the lake, and the boys were in this company. most of the fires were near the school, and only a few scattered ones extended down the lake.

“let’s take a long trip down to the end of the lake,” suggested vench, and they started off, side by side, their skates ringing on the frozen surface. they passed clanhammer hall, turning to watch it as they went by, but there was no light in it. they passed the last skaters and plunged on in the half gloom of the winter night toward the place where the lake narrowed down to a mere brook.

“poor old don must think we have deserted him,” said jim.

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“i guess he does,” cried terry. “but we’ll haul him out tomorrow morning as soon as the colonel returns.”

“tomorrow will be a big day,” smiled rhodes. “the older class men will be wild to have the colonel back, and it is a pretty safe bet that we won’t do much in the way of routine when he does get back. the colonel is a good joe, and it is ten to one that he’ll give us the whole day off, to skate and fool around, in celebration of his return.”

they skated to the end of the lake and turned and started back. they were now in darkness, with the fires in front of them as they began the return trip. consequently, they could see far up the lake, to where several dark figures skated about, outlines against the distant fires. none of them was below clanhammer hall at the time.

“somebody coming across the ice from the opposite side of the lake,” called jim.

rhodes spun in a half circle and stopped, screening himself behind some bushes that grew near the shore, the others following his example. they watched the man who was crossing.

“he is walking,” decided terry, after they had watched him for a time.

“yes, it isn’t one of the cadets,” said vench. “he keeps looking up the lake and watching the boys. wonder who it is?”

the man walked swiftly across the ice, his head bent over his shoulder to watch the boys who skated further up near the school. he was tall and wore a heavy overcoat and a cap. rhodes eyed him keenly.

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“isn’t he heading for clanhammer hall?” he asked.

“he certainly is!” cried jim. “and do you know, i think it’s dennings!”

“there is no doubt of that,” said terry. “he is certainly going toward the hall, too. maybe they are going to move don right away. what shall we do?”

rhodes swiftly unbuckled the strap on his skates, kicking them off and stowing them in the bushes. “we’ll follow him and see what he is up to. if a move is afoot to carry don off we want to break it up in short order.”

“you’re right,” agreed jim. “good thing we were at this end of the lake.”

the others took off their skates, and following rhodes’ example, placed them in the near-by bushes. when they looked again the man was leaving the ice and just entering the tangle of snow-covered bushes that fringed the lake back of clanhammer hall.

“well, let’s go,” ordered rhodes. “we must keep that fellow in sight and somehow get in the hall. by hurrying along the shore we can soon make the place. on your toes, and don’t make a sound!”

leaping up the bank the four boys broke into a trot, heading for the old building which stood in darkness some quarter of a mile down the lake.