"Good! I'm going through before he comes back."
As good as his word, Tom slipped past the various tables at which the students were sitting, until he reached the door which connected with Captain Putnam's private apartments.
Usually this portion of the Hall was forbidden ground to the scholars. But Tom had been inside the rooms a number of times, so knew the way well. Passing through a private sitting room and a small library, he came to a narrow hall connecting with the main hall, at the end of which were the stone cell and the empty storeroom.
He was just about to step into the main hall when he heard somebody coming down from the floor above. The party was Mrs. Green, the housekeeper, a good-natured lady upon whom Tom had played many a joke in the past.
"Gosh! I mustn't be discovered!" he muttered, and looked around for some place to hide. Under the staircase was a recess containing a number of hooks with cloaks and overcoats, and into this he crowded, drawing one of the overcoats so as to completely cover the upper portion of his body.
Hardly had he gained the hiding place when Mrs. Green reached the lower hallway. Tom heard her pause at the foot of the stairs, strike a
