Now You See Him, Now You Don't

At Medfield College, science buff Dexter Riley and his friends eavesdrop via a hidden walkie-talkie on a board meeting led by Dean Eugene Higgins, discussing the small college's continuing precarious finances. The roof of the lab is struck by lightning, sending a current of electricity down a metal beam and through Dexter's complex experiment components. The next day, as Dexter examines his burnt equipment with dismay, Higgins meets with A.J. Arno, a recently released prisoner, who had also purchased Medfield's mortgage. Arno is more concerned with the campus architecture than Higgins' curriculum speech.