So Harry stepped into the booth and closed the door behind him, The Duke’s expression of wrath changing slowly to a wicked grin. Harry turned the knob inside and pushed. The door remained firm. Then he tried again and with no better success. The Duke was thoroughly enjoying himself now, applauding and encouraging. Gerald observed smilingly. At last Harry gave it up. “Can’t be did,” he announced from within in a smothered voice. “Open her up, Gerald.” Gerald looked inquiringly at The Duke and The Duke gazed questioningly at Gerald. “Strange,” observed the latter, “that you can’t hear what he says. Perhaps if he put his mouth to the keyhole――――” “There isn’t any,” said The Duke. “That’s so.” Gerald shook his head sadly. “I don’t see what he can do then.” Harry threatened them behind the glass. “You open that door, you silly chumps! I want my dinner.” “Did you get that?” asked The Duke. Gerald shook his head. “Only a faint murmur. These sound-proof booths are wonderful, aren’t they?” “Marvelous! Who’d ever suppose that a person could be as near as that and not be heard?” Harry was now doing his best to kick a hole through the wooden paneling, his expression an interesting mixture of amusement and annoyance. “Listen!” said The Duke. “I think I hear a tapping!” “He is probably trying to signal to us, the way they do in the mines, you know, when they’re imprisoned.” “I know. They let food down to them through pipes somehow, don’t they? I wonder if we could get his dinner to him anyway? We might telephone it, perhaps.” “If you don’t open this door,” announced Harry desperately, “I’ll break the glass and you fellows will have to pay for it. Fair warning!” “I hear a little better now,” said The Duke. “Perhaps he wants to come out, Gerald!” “I wonder! How stupid of us! I’ll bet that’s it, Duke. Suppose we open the door and see.” “Silly asses!” grunted Harry as he emerged, warm and disgusted. “It makes an awful difference who the joke is on, doesn’t it, dearie?” asked The Duke sweetly. “Somebody ought to tell someone about that,” said Harry, “and have it fixed.” “And someone had better get into commons before someone loses someone’s dinner,” replied The Duke. “You fellows been in?” “No, we were on the way when Kirk asked us to find you and give you a message.” “He was in a rush and asked me to call up his folks in New York and say he’d telephone this evening. Couldn’t get the house, though. Central said they didn’t answer. I wonder if he knew about that door!” “I don’t think so,” laughed Gerald as they ran up the steps of Whitson. “He didn’t look to be in a very――very flippant mood.”