“I will not have such jokes played,” he said, when he encountered Darry once more. “You should be above it. If such a thing happens again I shall have to punish you.” “I didn’t--” began Darry, and then shut his mouth hard. Even though ordinarily light-hearted, Darry had a temper, and now it began to rise at this unjust accusation. The professor looked at him and he looked at the professor, and then they separated. But little was said at the breakfast table, but once a glance passed between Darry and Hockley which was far from friendly. The meal was soon over, and then Mark, Frank and Sam followed Darry to his stateroom. “Look here, Darry, we want to know the truth of this,” began Mark, when the door was shut. “Did you do this, or didn’t you?” Darry began to whistle and looked at the ceiling. “If you think I did it why do you ask me?” he snapped at last. “Well--er--Hockley says you had the pitch.” “I’ll take Darry’s word every time,” put in Sam, who saw that a crisis was at hand. “So will I,” added Frank. “I’m not holding back,” put in Mark, hastily. “Even if he did do it, it was only a joke. But if he didn’t do it, we ought to know it and lay for the joker. I won’t stand for such a joke from anybody outside of our crowd.” “Would you take such a joke from me?” demanded Darry, suddenly, and now he looked one and another full in the face. “Yes,” came in a chorus. Darry looked relieved. “Well then, I didn’t do it, and I don’t know who did.” It was Frank who caught his hand first, but Sam and Mark were not much slower. “We knew it!” they cried. “Nobody in this crowd would play a joke on the rest!” added Sam. “But who did do it?” queried Frank. “It wasn’t Hockley, for he was dosed, too.” “Don’t you be so sure about Hockley,” put in Darry. “I was thinking it over at the table. He had pitch in his shoes, but he didn’t put those shoes on, and I’ll wager he gets the pitch out easily.” “Then you think it was he after all?” queried Mark. “I don’t know what to think. But he’ll bear watching, according to my notion.” “Let’s search his room,” suggested Frank. “We may find some evidence against him.” This was considered a good idea and Frank went out, to come back a minute later and report the coast clear. Then they hurried to Hockley’s stateroom, and began a quick search around. “Whoop, I’ve got it!” ejaculated Mark, drawing a can from a corner under the berth. “Pitch, as sure as you are born!” “Come out of that!” sang out Darry, who was gazing down the stateroom corridor. “Hockley is coming.” “Put the can back and don’t let on we know about it,” said Sam. And this was done, and they escaped from the stateroom just in the nick of time. Then they returned to their own quarters and all four of the boys set to work to clean out the bepitched shoes. “We must get square for this,” said Frank. “To let it pass unnoticed would be criminal.”