The next day Dan and Nelson went fishing up at the head of the lake near Evergreen Island. They brought home seven bass and four chub. The bass went to the cook, and appeared on the supper table, but the chub Dan took up to the storehouse with the explanation that he was going to put them on ice until the next day.
“Oh, throw them away,” said Nelson. “Nobody wants to eat chub.”
“That’s all you know about it,” answered Dan. “Bob’s terribly fond of them. I’m going to give them to him, but don’t say anything about it because I want to surprise him.”
“I’ll bet you’re up to one of your silly jokes,” he said. Nevertheless he kept his own counsel.
That night Bob and Joe Carter and his brother, who since Saturday’s baseball game was looked upon as a veritable hero, played euchre on Bob’s bunk from after camp-fire until it was time to go to bed. Dan looked on awhile but seemed very fidgety and quoted somebody whose name he didn’t remember to the effect that cards were only fit for fools and imbeciles. Finally he wandered back to his own bunk and began to prepare for slumber. Tom was already in bed with his lantern rigged up beside his pillow and was deep in his fascinating book.
“What are that silly hero and the girl doing now?” asked Dan.
“Escaping from the lighthouse,” answered Tom without raising his eyes from the volume.
“How? In a trolley car?” asked Dan sarcastically.
“Boat; and they’ve only got one oar and there’s a peach of a storm coming up, and they haven’t got anything to eat, and----”
“Tommy, you ought to be ashamed to read such trash,” said Dan severely. Then he seized the book and sent it with excellent aim to the farther end of the hall, where it narrowly missed Bob’s nose and created consternation among the card-players. Tom leaped out of bed and raced after it, and during the next thirty seconds Dan, unnoticed of all, worked very hard. Having recovered his book Tom started to retrace his steps.
“Don’t you bring that pernicious literature around here,” warned Dan. “If you do I shall be forced to take it away from you. I must protect my morals at any cost.”
Tom told him what he thought of his morals and then annexed Nelson’s bunk and returned to his story. When he was ready for bed Dan went visiting farther down the dormitory. The result of this maneuvering was that when bedtime came and the lights at the ends of the hall were put out by the councilors Tom and Dan were still out of their bunks. The former closed his book with a sigh of regret and stumbled down the aisle. Dan heard him putting the book away. Then there was a moment of silence save for the whispers of the fellows, and then----