"How did those two young fellows get here?" asked Sam.

"I don't know. And please--that is--you won't say anything to my
father about that, will you? It would make him very angry, and I don't
know what he'd do."

"We'll not say a word if you wish it that way," answered Dick.

"I don't think they'll bother me again after the way you treated
them," added the girl.

She led them toward the barn and introduced her father, a fat and
jolly farmer of perhaps fifty. Mr. Sanderson had been off on a short
drive with one horse and he readily agreed to take them to Brill
College for two dollars.

"Just wait till I put in a fresh team," he said. "Then I'll get you
over to the college in less than an hour and a quarter."

While he was hooking up he explained that he had been to a nearby
village for a dry battery for the electric doorbell.

"We don't use the bell much, but I hate to have it out of order," he
explained.

"That's why it didn't ring," said Sam to his brothers.

The carriage was soon ready and the three dress-suit cases were piled
in the rear. Then the boys got in and Mr. Sanderson followed.