he was detected pulling duplicate brass rings out of his pocket and the Tatians had to flee for their lives. Sheldon had spotted the rings in a box in the merry-go-round ticket office and, diverting the attention of the cashier elsewhere, had calmly purloined them.
Along about six o'clock, the group of merrymakers, having spent the afternoon in the fresh air and water, grew hungry. Talbott proposed that they dine at the Hotel Benton, Lakeport's newest and most expensive hostelry. When Carter protested that there probably wasn't enough money among the five put together to pay for the meals, Sheldon, who was feeling in excellent form, reassured them, "Just watch me handle the checks and it won't cost us a cent."
So they invaded the aristocratic dining room of the Benton and ate a full course dinner apiece. Having received separate checks, they looked toward Sheldon for the next move.
"Don't pay the waiter. Pick up your check and follow me," he ordered. The four, mystified but hopeful, trailed behind the bold Sophomore as he approached the stony-faced man behind the cashier's wicket.
"Put it on my room bill," said Sheldon in his haughtiest manner to the cashier and, flipping down the check, sailed augustly by. The three youths after him, quaking inwardly,
