five of the dozen were posted as guards, and that left seven to go out upon the war-path and bring in the chief of the ravens. he had felt his dignity too great to permit him to take two meals in one evening; besides, he was very solemnly engaged in preparing a speech to deliver at the banquet; and his task was very difficult, since he had to make a great splurge about the glories of the campaign, without reminding every one of the inglorious result of the attempt to haze the dozen. no note had been sent to him, and it seemed necessary to concoct some scheme to decoy him from his room, because any attempt to drag him out would probably bring one of the professors down upon the scene. tug had an idea; and leaving three of the seven to guard the door, he took the other three and hurried to the dormitory where macmanus roomed, and threw pebbles against his window. the chief crow soon stuck his head out and peered down into the dark, asking what was the matter. a voice that he did not recognizeor suspectcame out of the blackness to inform him that some of the crows were in trouble at the gymnasium, and he must come at once. after waiting a moment they saw his light go out and heard his feet upon the stairs, for he had lost no time in stuffing into his pocket the notes for his address at the banquet, and flying to the rescue of the captive banqueters. as soon as he stepped out of the door of the dormitory, historys knit muffler was wrapped around his mouth, and he was seized and hustled along toward the gymnasium. tug felt a strong desire to inflict punishment then and there upon the man who had tortured him when he was helpless, but that was not according to the lakerim code. another idea, however, which was quite as cruel, but had the saving grace of fun, suggested itself to him, and he said to the others, when they had reached the gymnasium: ill tell you what, fellows what? said the reunited seven, in one breath. instead of putting macmanus with the rest of em, lets take him along and make him look on while we eat the crows banquet. make him eat crow himself, you mean, suggested jumbo. the idea appealed strongly to the lakerimmers, who, after all, were human, and couldnt help, now and then, enjoying the misery of those who had made them miserable. while macmanus was securely held by two of the dozen, sawed-off and tug went to the cupola to summon the twins. the knots with which the cummitty were tied were carefully looked to and strengthened, and then the lakerimmers withdrew from the cupola, taking the lantern with them, dragging a heavy trap-door over their heads as they descended the ladder, and then taking the ladder away and laying it on the floor. they hurried down the stairs then, and went to the cellar, looking alive again to the fetters of the crows, and closing and barring the heavy wooden doors between the compartments as securely as they could. they came up the stairs, and put down and bolted the cellar door, and moved upon it with great difficulty the parallel bars with their iron supports, from the gymnasium, and several 25-pound dumb-bells, as well as the heavy vaulting-horse. reddy and heady were in favor also of blocking up the narrow little windows set high in the walls of the cellar, well over the head of the tallest of the crows; but tug said that these windows were necessary for ventilation, and history was reminded of the black hole of calcutta, so it was decided to leave the windows open for the sake of the air, even if it did give the crows a loophole of possible escape. theres no fun in an affair of this kind if the other side hasnt even a chance, said tug; and this appealed to the lakerim theory of sport. x so they all left the gymnasium with its prisoners, and sawed-off locked the door firmly behind him. then they went at a double-quick for moores restaurant and the waiting banquet, which, they suspected, was by this time growing cold. when macmanus left his room he had thrown on a long ulster overcoat with a very high collar. when this was turned up about his ears it completely hid the gag around his mouth, and tug and sawed-off locked arms with him and hurried him along the poorly lighted streets of kingston without fear of detection from any passer-by. macmanus dragged his feet and refused to go for a time, till tug and sawed-off hauled him over such rough spots that he preferred to walk. then, without warning, when they were crossing a slippery place he pushed his feet in opposite directions and knocked sawed-offs and tugs feet out from under them. but inasmuch as all three of them fell in a heap, with him at the bottom, he decided that this was a poor policy. the dozen were soon at moores restaurant; and there, at the door, they found waiting one of the crows whom they had forgotten to take into account. he was the fat boy whom tug and history had seen hazed just before their turn came, on the eventful night at rodens knoll. having been hazed, and having been taxed, this boy who was known as fatty warner, was entitled to banquet with the crows; but he had been invited out to a bigger supper than he could get at the slaughter-house, and so he did not receive his note, and escaped the fate of the crows who had been put in cold storage in the gymnasium. b.j. and bobbles, however, took him to one side and told him that they were afraid they would have to tie him up and put him in a corner with macmanus. but the tears came into his eyes at the thought of sitting and looking at a feast in which he could not take part, and he reminded the lakerimmers that he had had no share in the attack on tug and history, and had done nothing to interfere with their escape from rodens knoll, and besides, he had been compelled to pay out his last cent of spending-money to the crows for this banquet: so the lakerimmers decided to invite him to join them in eating the feast of the enemy. mr. moore, the proprietor of the village restaurant, had a very bad memory for faces, and when the lakerimmers came into the room where the table was spread, and told him to hurry up with the banquet, it never occurred to him to ask for a certificate of character from the guests. he was surprised, however, that there were only twelve men where he had provided for eighteen or more; but jumbo said, with a twinkle in his eye: the rest of them couldnt come; so well eat their share. the lakerimmers grinned at this. mr. moore suspected that there was some joke which he could not understand; but the ways of the academy boys were always past his comprehension, so he and the waiters came bustling in with the first course of just such a banquet as would please a crowd of academicians, and would give an older person a stomach-ache for six weeks. besides, the wise mr. moore knew the little habit students have of postponing the payment of their bills, and he had insisted upon being paid in advance. poor macmanus suddenly remembered how he had doled out the funds of the crows for this very spread, and he almost sobbed as he thought of the hard time he had spent in collecting the money and preparing the menuand all for the enjoyment of the hated lakerimmers, who had already spoiled the final hazing of the year, and were now giggling and gobbling the precious banquet provided at such expense! mr. moore wondered at the presence of such a sad-looking guest at the feast, and wondered why he insisted on abstaining from the monstrous delicacies that made the tables groan; but he reasoned that it was none of his affair, and asked no questions. before they had eaten much the lakerimmers grew as uncomfortable over the torment they were inflicting on poor macmanus as the poor macmanus was himself. and tug explained to him in a low voice that if he would promise on his solemn honor not to make any disturbance they would be glad to have him as a guest instead of a prisoner. macmanus objected bitterly for a long time, but the enticing odor drove him almost crazy, and the sight of the renegade fat boy, who was fairly making a cupboard of himself, finally convinced the president that it was better to take his ill fortune with a good grace. so he nodded assent to the promises tug exacted of him, his muffler and overcoat were removed, and he was invited to make himself at home; and his misery was promptly forgotten in the rattle of dishes and the clatter of laughter and song with which the dozen reveled in the feast of its ancient enemies. the delight of the lakerimmers in the banquet was no greater than the misery of the crows whose wings had been clipped, and who had been left to flop about in the dark nooks of the chapel. the feast of the dozen had just begun when two of the crows in the cupola and two others in the cellar bethought themselves to roll close to each other, back to back, and untie the knots around each others wrists. they were soon free, and quickly had their fellows liberated and the gags all removed