“It’s a mean trick.”

“You can save yourself by promising to steer clear of Point View Lodge in the future.”

“Supposing we are invited there?”

“You can plead a previous engagement.”

“I’ll not do it,” said Andy.

“Nor I,” came from Jack and Pepper.

“To the lake with them!”

In spite of their resistance, our three friends were hurried through the woods, to a point where there was a small cove of the lake. Here a bent tree overhung the water and here were several ropes.

“We’ll tie them by the hands and feet and then duck them good,” said Roy Bock.

“We must escape!” whispered Jack to his friends. “When I give the word cut for it, and cut lively.”

“All right,” they answered.

“I’d rather be ducked than make any promises,” said Jack, loudly. “But I want to tell you fellows something. We have friends, and some day we’ll get square. The people—Gracious sakes alive! What is that, fellows? Look, it’s coming this way! It must be a mad bull!”

As Jack broke off short and pointed with his hand, all of the masked students looked in that direction. Then Jack gave Pepper and Andy the signal, and side by side they dove into the woods and ran towards the road.

“They are gone!”

“It was a trick, to get us to look away!” roared Roy Bock. “Come on after them!”

“If you come after us now we’ll shoot somebody!” cried Andy. They had no firearms, but he thought he might scare their enemies.

“Do you think they will shoot?” questioned one of the masked boys, a lad who was timid by nature.

“No, I don’t,” answered Grimes. “Come on!”

“We don’t want to get hurt——”

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