"Well, you go to bed now, and I'll take this matter up to-morrow morning," said Captain Dale. "Boys, I want you all to retire, and at once," he went on with a wave of his hand to those outside. And then the cadets dispersed to their rooms. CHAPTER IX THE GAME WITH LONGLEY "I guess that will hold Codfish for a while," remarked Randy, when the Rovers were once more by themselves in their rooms and the excitement had died away. "I'll have to make it a point to see Pud Hicks the first thing in the morning," returned his twin. "Pud might tell somebody that he showed those mice to me." "Yes, you'd better do that, by all means," put in Jack. "And another thing you ought to do, is to let Codfish know why this trick was played on him," came from Fred. "Otherwise it will be a good effort thrown away," and he grinned. "I'll leave a note under his door," said Randy, and a little later scribbled out the following on a card: "This is what you get, Codfish, for giving information to our baseball rivals. Be careful in the future to keep your mouth shut. "THE AVENGERS." "I reckon that will hold him for a while," said Randy, and before going to bed he slipped out into the corridor and placed the card under Stowell's door. Early in the morning Andy saw the assistant janitor and easily arranged for Pud Hicks to say nothing about the mice. "Why, over a dozen of the cadets saw those mice," said Hicks; "so they can't blame any of this on you." And it may be mentioned here that the investigation which followed came to nought. Two days later Andy burst in on the others like a whirlwind, his face glowing with excitement. "Come on downstairs, everybody!" he called out. "Colonel Colby has just arrived! Come on, and ask him what he can tell us about our fathers." At this announcement there was a general stampede. All of the others dropped the textbooks they had been studying and made a simultaneous rush for the corridor and the stairs. Down, pell-mell, went the whole crowd, to join a group of cadets in the lower hall, everyone of whom was doing his best to shake Colonel Colby's hand first. The owner of the school was dressed in his uniform as a United States officer, and looked taller and more bronzed than ever. His face wore a broad smile and he gave each of his pupils a hearty handshake. "Oh, Colonel, we are so glad to see you back!" cried Jack, with genuine pleasure as he wrung the officer's hand. "And I hope you have good news of my father and my uncles?" "I am as glad to see you as you are to see me, Captain Rover," returned Colonel Colby. "And it is a genuine pleasure to get back to this school after having endured such arduous days in France." "And what about our folks?" added Fred, as he too came in for a handshake. "When our troopship left France your folks were expecting to follow in about ten days or two weeks. Most likely they are already on the way." "And they were well?" asked Randy anxiously.