The Chums of Scranton High

e was quite surprised to discover his chum Thad seated on one of

ith summons to come out and start practice at baseball, you run home to get on your togs an

the usual line must have occurred to detain him; and Hugh, on his part, would not h

my first chance to get limbered up; but so far as that goes, there'll be plenty o

," remarked Hugh; "or else you'd have sho

tter that could not be delayed, so I didn't even bother running to the field to report to Mr. Leonard. At that I hoped to breeze along fast enough to fetch me back in time

ay to the hop; but we were lucky enough to escape it. Of course, on the road home, I wouldn't have cared much, because all the fun was over by then; and the girls wou

n weak there. And when I found how late it was after getting here I concluded not to hustle around to the grounds. I guessed you'd be cropping

all?" a

r how your sharp eyes noticed anything peculiar abo

Did any tramp try to hold you up on the road; or was it necessary for you to stop and help put out a fire in some farm

is head in t

the mark, Hugh. Still, in one sense you're right when you call i

. "Playing ball for three hours gives a fellow a ferocious appetite, you know; and we have chick

hour ago, I should imagine. I had just stopped to take another look at the tire, which seemed to be flattening more or less, when I heard some one calling weakly. When I turned

gged, for he instinctively guessed that something unusual must come out of Thad's mention of the stra

e, I told myself; and then all of a sudden I remembered who lived there. So I started my machine and moved off the road, to leave it clear for other cars

he low stone wall, and soon found that it was old Mr. Dugdale. He seemed glad to see me,

able to get back to the house alone. Then seeing me stop and step out to look at my mended tire, he had called as loud as he could, to attract my attent

be able to make the team if he continues to improve. So you, of course, a

and mysteriously. When we arrived I had to help him up the steps, for he insisted on my coming in. Well, to tell you the honest truth, Hugh, I was a little curious to see what that q

would renew the invitation, but I also remembered that his grandfather was said to be queer, and averse to meeting

ng breath, and

ly. "Up to then the whole thing hadn't amounted to a row of beans,

onderful secret did you discover there? Is that old house the rendezvous of a nest of counterfeiters,

hen you learn about it. Well, the old gentleman asked me who I was, and if I knew his grandson Owen, as well as a lot of other questions. Fact is, Hugh, I rather guess he

ed some more questions. The old gentleman interested me a whole lot in the bargain, and I soon made up my mind that those silly people who had been hinting that Old Mr. Dugdale might be that notorious Wa

boy of his. Nothing would do, finally, but that he should take me to seen the den Owen had fitted up for himself, because there was plenty of room in the big house, and every fellow he knew had some kind of a den in which he could keep his boyish treasures, in th

could suggest that Owen might have to add to his comfort while at home studying his lessons or reading. So I went with him upstairs. Say, it's a real queer house,

t of small dinky windows that faced on three sides of the room. Owen had fixed it up in good taste in the bargain. He must have plenty of spending

t I arranged mine seven separate times, until now it's back where I started? Well, of course, to please the old gentleman, I walked around, an

something that lay half hidden among some papers on a side table. Hugh, you could have knocked me down with a feather when I saw that it was a souvenir tea spoon, an o