but two minutes when the door of Mumps' dormitory opened and the sneak came out, wearing his slippers and his long overcoat. He glided swiftly toward the side stairs leading to Captain Putnam's private apartments.
"He's going to peach!" whispered Tom. "Come on, Sam, let us capture the enemy!" and he hurried after Mumps and caught him by the arm.
"Hi! who is this?" demanded the sneak, turning in fear. Then, as Tom and Sam confronted him, his face grew white.
"Come with us, Mumps, we want to treat you," answered Tom readily, into whose head another trick had entered.
"I don't want any of your treat," growled the sneak. "Let me go."
"Oh, you must come," urged Tom. "We have a fine bottle of root beer and a lot of candied fruit for you."
If there was one thing that Mumps liked it was root beer, while he knew candied fruit was very rich eating. Accordingly he hesitated.
"I'll get all I can first and tell on them afterward," he thought, and allowed Tom and Sam to conduct him into the dormitory occupied by the Metropolitan Sextet.
"Here is Mumps come to join us!" cried
