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CHAPTER XXXIV


THE EXCITED STRANGER


At first, Tom's chums did not know whether or not he was joking. They crowded around him and looked over his shoulder as he unfolded the paper. The inner contents bore out the endorsement on the face of the document.

"That's it, all right!" cried Frank. "It's the quit-claim deed, as sure as you're a foot high!"

"And does possession of it mean that Randall College is all right?" asked Sid.

"Sure!" asserted Tom.

"But how in the world did it ever get inside that chair?" demanded Phil. "This is the greatest mystery yet. The loss of our chair and clock aren't in it."

"I should say not!" agreed Frank.

"What had we better do?" asked Sid.

"Get this deed into the hands of Dr. Churchill as soon as possible," decided Tom. "He'll lock it in the safe, whence it can't disappear again, and then they'll call off the suit against Randall.

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