"It's too warm to hurry!" called back Roy Bock. "Do you think I
want to get all heated up?" He was faultlessly dressed in his best, and so
were his cronies, for nearly all of the Pornell students were rich and
spent a good deal upon their attire.
They walked into the ice house
just as Ritter and the others had done. It was Dale who called them to the
rear, and then the others came up behind with another set of long bags and
ropes.
"Let up!" roared Roy Bock, and began to fight with such vigor that
he almost broke away. But Jack held fast and both went down into the
wet sawdust, much to Bock's disgust.
"Confound it, you've ruined my
best suit!" he cried, "I'll fix you for this, see if I don't!"
"When
you get the chance," answered Jack in a disguised voice. "Glad you answered
my letter," he added.
"So this is what you were up to, eh?" stormed the
Pornell bully, after further resistance was useless. With the bag over him he
could, of course, see nothing. "What are you going to do with
us?"
"Nothing, only keep you here while we enjoy that lawn party,"
answered Pepper, in a disguised voice.
"It's a plot against us!"
groaned Grimes. "I told you to be cautious about coming here."
"Say,
Ritter, I thought I could trust you," continued Roy Bock. "This isn't fair at
all. I thought we were going to hatch out something against Ruddy, Ditmore,
and those fellows."
"Not to-day," murmured Dale, and he had all he could
do to keep from laughing over the turn of affairs. Andy was in a corner,
holding his sides and chuckling, and all of the other cadets were grinning
broadly.
The Pornell students wanted to argue, but Jack and his chums
would not listen. With strong ropes they tied each of the enemy fast to a
beam in the ice house.
"W'll be back bye and bye," cried Jack, in an
unnatural voice,
"Don't leave us!" cried Gussic. "This bag is horribly
dirty. I've got my whole head full of it!"
"Come back!" yelled Ritter,
from his bag. "Say, if you'll let us out we'll call it square. If you don't,
I'll----"
"What will you do?" asked Jack, from a distance.
"Report
you to Captain Putnam."
"Do it--I don't care," was the young major's
answer, and then he and his chums departed, rolling the ice house door shut
as they did so. They waited till they had covered a hundred yards or so and
then of a sudden every cadet present burst into a roar of merriment that
lasted for several minutes.
"It's the richest ever!" cried Andy, the
tears fairly running down his cheeks. "We've got 'em all prisoners and each
party thinks the other guilty!"
"Think of Roy Bock reporting to
Captain Putnam for this!" said Pepper. "Wouldn't that make you
scream?"
"And maybe Ritter will report Bock and his gang to Doctor
Pornell," suggested Dale.
"Sure, and its the foinest mix-up I ever
seen in me life," was Emerald's comment. "If only they meet some day an'
fight it out!" And the grin on his broad face spread from ear to
ear.
The crowd walked down to the lake shore and then to the place where
the lawn party was in progress. They saw a dozen or more girls in
the grounds, but only five boys.
"It's hard luck for the girls," was
Pepper's comment. "But it can't be helped."
"I don't pity them," said
Andy. "They didn't invite me,--and I once took two of them rowing,
too."
"Yes, and they didn't invite me--and I once treated three of them
to ice-cream soda," added Dale.
The boys watched the party from a
distance, and then, when it was growing late, started again in the direction
of the ice house.
"Hark! what is that?" called Andy
suddenly.
"Sounds like somebody fighting," answered Pepper.
"I
think I know what it is," burst out Jack. "Come, follow me!" And he dove into
the bushes lining the roadway.
CHAPTER X A MIX-UP ON THE ROAD
As luck
would have it, Reff Ritter's party and the crowd from Pornell Academy had
become free at the same time, each working out of the ropes and bags in a
manner known only to themselves. Each had brushed up as much as possible and
started hurriedly for the place where the lawn party was in progress. The two
crowds had come together on the road not over two hundred yards from the ice
house. Each accused the other of being guilty of the trick, and in less than
five minutes blows were being freely exchanged.
"I'll show you what it
means to treat me like a pig!" cried Roy Bock, and he struck Ritter a blow in
the nose that drew blood.
"Oh, you can't bluff me!" retorted the Putnam
Hall bully, and hit the lad from Pornell in the left eye. Then the pair
clinched and rolled over and over in the dirt of the road.
In the
meantime Grimes struck Coulter and Paxton hit Gussic. Then everybody struck
out, and inside of a minute the three Putnam Hall boys were down and the
enemy were on top of them. Clothing was torn, collars and ties pulled off,
and the general melee was something awful to behold.
It was in the
midst of this excitement that Jack and his chums arrived.
"Whow!" cried
Andy. "Say, but they are going at each other for keeps, aren't
they?"
"Sure, an' it's fightin' like cats an' dogs they are," was
Hogan's comment. "'Tis a bit av Donnybrook Fair," he added. "Oh, for
a shillalah!"
"The Pornell crowd isn't fighting fair," said Jack.
"They outnumber our fellows."
"What of it?" demanded Dale. "I reckon
Ritter, Coulter and Paxton are getting all they deserve."
"Ge--get off
of m--me!" came in a groan from Paxton. "Yo--you are crushing in my
ribs!"
"Don't hit me with that stone!" they heard Coulter
scream.
"They are certainly going too far," said Pepper. "Enough is
enough. Let us scare the Pornell fellows off."
This was agreed to, and
picking up sticks and stones Jack's crowd set up a sudden wild yelling that
made the Pornellites stop fighting and glance around in fear.
"Come
on!" cried Pepper. "Putnam Hall to the rescue! Down with Pornell Academy!"
And he looked over his shoulder, as if urging others behind him. Then Jack
and the others took up the cue, and they made it appear as if a big party was
approaching. Andy even ran behind some bushes and called out in as many
different tones of voice as he could master.
The ruse worked to
perfection, and Roy Bock and his cohorts lost no time in leaping to their
feet and retreating a few paces.
"I guess the whole school is coming!"
said the bully of Pornell Academy.
"Charge them! Charge them!" yelled
Jack, and ran forward brandishing a big stick. Pepper was at his side, and
flung a big stone over Bock's head. This was too much for the Pornell
students, and turning, they ran along the road for a short distance and then
took to the woods. They did not stop running until they had covered a good
quarter of a mile and were sure the pursuit had come to an end.
"It
was a put-up job!" growled Roy Bock, as he leaned against a tree to rest and
catch his breath. "That was Ruddy came to help Ritter and the others. It was
a put-up job and nothing else!"
"Yes, and we walked into the trap like a
lot of mice after cheese," grunted Gussic, with his hand on his windpipe,
where he had been hit.
"Just look at these duds!" came from another lad.
"About fit for the ragbag!" And he mournfully surveyed a torn sleeve and a
hole in his trouser leg.
"My collar is gone, and so is that new dollar
tie I bought for the party," said Bock. "I ought to make somebody buy me
another tie."
"Speaking of the party," said another. "Are you
going?"
"Going?" stormed the bully. "Are you crazy? If we went the girls
would take us for scarecrows!"
"It's funny that other crowd didn't go
to the party," remarked Grimes.
"Oh, I guess they'd rather play a trick
on us than go to any party," was Gussic's comment. "I am of the firm opinion
that Ritter, Ruddy and the whole bunch was in the plot against
us."
"Sure thing," answered Roy Bock. And then he and his cronies
walked slowly in the direction of Pornell Academy, wondering what they
should say when they got there, and what sort of excuse they should send to
the girls who had been waiting for them.
In the meantime Reff Ritter
and his cronies had gotten up and brushed themselves off. They were
considerably astonished to find that Jack and his chums had come to their
rescue.
"Huh! So it's you!" growled Ritter, with a far from pleasant look
on his face.
"Yes," said the young major cheerily. "I guess we got
here just in the nick of time, didn't we?"
"Maybe you
did."
"What's the row about?" questioned Pepper innocently, but with a
side wink at Andy and Dale.
"About? They tied us up in bags, and----"
began Paxton, when a cold look from Reff Ritter stopped him. "I
mean--er--they----"
"Never mind what it was about," growled
Ritter.
"Tied you up in bags, did they?" said Andy. "That was hard luck
sure. How did you escape?"
"I cut my way from the bag with my
pocketknife," said Coulter, ignoring Ritter's look. "Those
fellows----"
"Say, can't you keep it to yourself?" demanded the bully of
the Hall sourly. He was afraid Jack and his chums would laugh at him and
those who had suffered with him.
"Ritter, you needn't tell us
anything," said the young major, drawing himself up, stiffly. "We did what we
could for you, but we don't expect either your confidence or your thanks." He
turned to his chums. "Come, fellows, I fancy we are not wanted here," and he
turned and walked in the direction of Putnam Hall, with Pepper and the rest
at his heels. Each boy wanted to laugh but each managed to keep a straight
face until a safe distance was covered. Then Pepper had to roll on the ground
and roar, and Andy did the same.
"Oh, Jack!" panted The Imp, when he
felt able to speak. "That was the richest yet--what you said--'We did what we
could for you, but we don't expect your thanks!' Gracious, I thought I'd die
when you said it!"
"We've got 'em guessing," said Dale.
"Yes, and
I reckon Bock and his gang and Ritter and his cronies will be enemies for
life now," said Andy.
"Boys, in honor of this occasion, I move we
celebrate to-night," said Pepper.
"Second the motion," answered Andy,
promptly. "But how is it to be done?"
"Might each do an extra example
in geometry, in honor of the event," suggested Jack, with a
smile.
"Geometry!" snorted Stuffer. "Not much! Let's have something to
eat!"
"Stuffer's one idea of celebrating is something to eat," cried
Andy.
"Well, a feast isn't so bad," said another cadet.
"Where are
we going to get anything?" asked Pepper. "We can't go to Cedarville--it's too
late."
"I have it!" cried Andy. "Let us have an ice-cream
festival."
"That's easy enough to say, Andy, but where are you going to
get the cream?" asked the young major.
"If some of you will make
excuses for me after supper I'll get the cream," answered the acrobatic
youth. "I can go to Cedarville and back in no time on my wheel. But I want
some money," he added, suddenly. "Poser, the ice-cream man, doesn't tick
anybody."
"An ice-cream party it is," said Emerald. "Sure, an' I could
eat some now, so I could!" And he smacked his lips.
When the cadets
got back to Putnam Hall they washed up hastily and then some of the others
turned over to Andy a portion of their spending money. Andy got a hasty
supper, and then, watching his chance, stole from the mess hall on the sly.
His bicycle was in the wagon house, and mounting this he spun along the
highway leading to the town at record-breaking speed.
"Where did Snow
go?" demanded Pluxton Cuddle, when he noticed the
vacant chair.
"Perhaps he wasn't feeling well," suggested Pepper. "I
noticed he had his hand to his stomach."
"He eats too much," grumbled
the new teacher. "All of you boys eat more than is good for you. After this I
shall have to keep an eye on Snow." He glared round the table. "Singleton,
what is that you have in your hand?"
"A piece of cake, sir," answered
Stuffer.
"Didn't you have a piece before, sir?"
"Yes, sir. But I'm
hungry and----"
"One piece of cake is enough, Singleton. Put that down
and leave the table."
"Do you want me to go hungry?" demanded Stuffer,
half angrily. The strenuous events of the afternoon had made him unusually
hungry.
"I will not allow a cadet to stuff himself. I do not wonder that
some of the boys have given you the nickname of Stuffer--although I
abhor nicknames. Leave the room, sir!"
"All right, old cat!" grumbled
Paul, under his breath, and he marched out, with Pluxton Cuddle's eyes
glaring after him. In the meantime Pepper calmly reached over, took half a
dozen slices of cake and rolled them up in a napkin in his lap. Seeing this,
Jack did the same. When Pluxton Cuddle chanced to look at the plate a minute
later he stared in amazement.
"Who took that cake?" he
thundered.
To this question all the cadets remained
silent.
"Answer me, who took that cake?" he repeated, and looked at each
boy in turn.
"I didn't," answered Dale.
"I ate but one piece,
Mr. Cuddle!" said Pepper.
"That is all I ate, too," added
Jack.
"Only Stuffer--I mean Singleton--ate more than one piece," said
Bart Conners.
"Strange! strange! I thought the plate was full of
cake," murmured Pluxton Cuddle. He glared again at the cadets. "If I find out
that any of you have deceived me I shall punish you severely. Now finish
your suppers!" And he began to munch away vigorously on the dry toast he
was eating. His theory was that a person should eat very little
but masticate that little well, and he sometimes chewed a mouthful of
food thirty or forty times.
When the meal was over, Pepper and Jack
slipped the napkins full of cake under their jackets and left the mess hall.
Then they took the cake upstairs and hid the dainty in a safe place. This
done they strolled down the highway leading to Cedarville, looking for
Andy.
"He ought to be coming soon," remarked the young major, after a
half hour had passed.
They walked a short distance from the Hall and
then sat down on a rock to rest. Here presently Dale and Stuffer joined
them.
"Where is Andy?" called out Stuffer. "I am hungry enough to eat
that ice-cream right now."
"I think something is wrong," said Jack.
"He ought to be back by this time."
"What could be wrong, Jack?" asked
Pepper.
"I don't know, but----" The young major paused. "Somehow, I feel
that something serious has happened to
Andy!"
CHAPTER
XI WHAT HAPPENED TO ANDY
"Perhaps Andy
had a tumble from his wheel," suggested Dale. "It might have broken down, you
know."
"Let us walk toward town and find out," answered Pepper.
To
this the others readily consented, and all set off in the direction of
Cedarville. They had to go around a long curve, and then came to a spot where
the roadway was lined upon either side with thick brushwood and
trees.
"Here he is!" called out Jack, and ran forward. "At least, here is
his wheel."
He was right about the bicycle. It rested by the roadside,
close to the fallen limb of a tree.
"He certainly took a tumble!"
cried Stuffer. "But where is he?"
This question was answered by a groan
that made all of the cadets start. They turned, peered into the bushes, and
there beheld poor Andy stretched out on some grass. The blood was flowing
from a wound in his forehead and from a cut on his hand.
"Andy!" cried
the young major. "Are you hurt much?"
"I--I don't know," was the
gasped-out reply.
"Didn't you see the tree limb?" asked Pepper, as he got
out his handkerchief to wipe away some of the blood on his chum's face, so
he might see the extent of the injury. Fortunately the cut was not
deep, and it was easily bound up.
"That limb came down right in front
of me," was Andy's answer. "If it had been down before I got to it I could
have cleared it somehow."
Stuffer ran to a nearby brook for water,
bringing some in a cone he made of a sheet of writing paper, and inside of
five minutes the sufferer felt well enough to tell his story.
"I was
coming along, guiding the wheel with one hand and holding the ice-cream with
the other," he explained. "All at once the limb came down right in front of
me. I crashed into it and landed on some stones in the bushes and then, I
guess, I lost consciousness. That's all I've got to tell."
"What
became of the ice-cream?" asked Stuffer, and despite Andy's plight the lad
who loved to eat gazed around rather anxiously.
"Why, it--it--I don't
know, I'm sure," stammered Andy. "Isn't it on the road?"
It was not,
nor was it anywhere in that vicinity. The cadets looked at each other
suggestively.
"Maybe it was a trick," said Pepper. "A trick to get the
cream away from Andy and spoil our little festival."
"That's it!"
cried Dale. "For look, there is no tree around here where that limb could
come from."
The others looked around and saw that Dale was right. Only
small trees were in that vicinity and none of these had lost a
branch.
"If it was a trick, it was a mighty mean one," was the young
major's comment. "Why, the tumble might have killed Andy!"
"Did you
see anybody, Andy?" questioned Stuffer.
"No, and I didn't hear anybody
either."
"Well, it's too bad. It must have been a trick. I wonder if some
of our fellows or some fellows from Pornell Academy played it?"
"That
remains for us to find out," said Pepper. "And when we do find out--well,
somebody will suffer, that's all!"
"Right you are!" answered Jack and
Dale.
The other boys helped Andy to his feet. He was still dizzy and they
had to support him on either side. It was found that the bicycle had
a broken pedal.
"I wish I knew who did this," grumbled Andy, as he
started to limp along between Pepper and Jack. "I'd--Oh!" And he stopped
short.
"What's the matter?" came simultaneously from those who were
assisting him.
"It's gone!"
"What is gone?"
Andy did not
answer immediately. He began to search his clothing, going through every
pocket several times. Then he started to hunt around on the
ground.
"What have you lost, Andy?" asked Jack.
"Was it valuable?"
put in Stuffer.
"Was it valuable?" queried Andy. "Well, I just guess yes!
It was worth at least two hundred dollars!"
"Two hundred dollars!"
exclaimed all of the others in astonishment.
"Yes--and
more."
"What was it?"
"Joe Nelson's
medal."
"Andy!"
That was all the others said--but it was enough.
Every lad at Putnam Hall knew Joe Nelson's medal, the one left to Joe by his
Uncle Richard. It was a beautiful racing medal of gold, set with jewels, and
Joe was very proud of it.
"What were you doing with Joe's medal?"
asked Jack, after a pause.
"The pin catch got broken and Joe sent it to
the watchmaker to have another put on. He asked me to get it for him--I was
with him when he left it at Bright's shop. I went for it before I went for
the cream."
"And where did you have the medal?" asked Dale.
"In
the inside pocket of my jacket, and I had the pocket fastened with a safety
pin, too, to keep the medal from jumping out on the road."
"It must be
somewhere around here," said Stuffer. "Let us make a
good search."
This they did, but it was of no avail. In the midst of
it Andy set up another cry.
"My change is gone, and so is my
ring!"
"Andy!"
"Boys, I have been robbed!"
"Oh, Andy, can
this be true?" burst out Jack.
"What else can it be? I couldn't lose my
ring and everything else, could I, by just tumbling from my
bicycle?"
"Andy must be right--the sudden coming down of the tree limb
proves it," declared Pepper. "Were you unconscious long?" he
continued.
"I don't know."
"But you are sure you were completely
knocked out when you hit the rock?" asked Dale.
"Yes--everything got
dark and I didn't know a thing. And, yes, when I came to my senses--just
before you arrived--I was in the bushes!"
"Then somebody must have
carried you from the road!" declared Jack. "And that somebody robbed you!" he
added, bitterly.
After this there was a moment of silence. The others
looked at Andy, and the acrobatic lad stared at them blankly.
"Yes, I
must have been robbed," he said slowly. "But who did it?"
"I don't
believe any of our fellows would do it," answered Dale. "Even Ritter isn't
bad enough for that."
"Would the Pornell fellows do it?" queried
Stuffer.
"I don't think so," answered the young major. "Why, this is a
prison offence!"
"Andy, who knew you were carrying the medal?"
questioned Pepper.
"I don't know."
"Did anybody see you get it
from the watchmaker's?"
At this question Andy's face lit up
suddenly.
"Yes, a beggar, who came in and asked Mr. Bright for the price
of a meal. Mr. Bright gave him five cents and I gave him the same. He was
a tall, hungry looking fellow, with a flat nose, and, I remember now,
he looked greedily at the gold medal and at the things in the
shop."
"Then maybe he is the guilty man," said Dale.
"How would he
know enough to come here and strike Andy down?" asked Stuffer.
"He
would know, by Andy's uniform, that he belonged to the Hall," answered the
young major. "He may have taken to this road and laid in wait for
Andy."
"I believe you are right!" cried Andy. "I didn't like the looks of
that chap, even though I did give him five cents. He looked just as if
he wanted to get his hands on something of value."
"And he must have
taken the ice-cream too," came mournfully from Stuffer.
"I hope it
poisons him," muttered Pepper.
"Humph! The idea of ice-cream poisoning
anybody! Besides, a fellow like that most likely has the digestion of an
ostrich," returned Stuffer.
It was now growing so dark that to look
around further was impossible. Jack and Pepper assisted Andy, and Dale
brought along the broken bicycle, and thus the crowd returned to Putnam Hall.
At the entrance to the campus they encountered Josiah
Crabtree.
"Stop!" called the teacher, harshly. "Where have you been? Did
you have permission to leave?"
"Mr. Crabtree, where is Captain
Putnam?" asked Jack, without answering the questions put. "Andy had been hurt
and robbed. We'll have to notify the authorities at once."
"Hurt?
Robbed? How?" And Josiah Crabtree was much interested.
"He was knocked
off his wheel and robbed of a ring, some money and Joe Nelson's fine gold
medal. Is Captain Putnam in his office?"
"I presume so. But I want to
know----"
"Time is valuable here, Mr. Crabtree. We want to catch the
thief if we can," put in Pepper, and then the whole party hurried to the
office of the master of the Hall before Josiah Crabtree could detain them
further. The teacher's curiosity was aroused and he stalked after
them.
Captain Putnam listened to Andy's story with keen attention, and
then asked all of the boys a number of questions. Nothing was said
about ice-cream, nor did the captain ask Andy if he had had permission to
go to the village.
"You did not come back at once, after getting the
medal?" was the question put.
"No, sir. I went to a couple of stores
and posted a letter at the post-office."
"Then that would give the
rascal time enough to get out of the village and make his plans to waylay
you," answered Captain Putnam. "I think the least we can do is to try to
catch that beggar and make him give an account of himself. If he can prove he
was in Cedarville at the time of the robbery, why then you'll have to look
further for the thief."
His army experience had taught Captain Putnam to
act quickly in a case of emergency, and now, without delay, he had Peleg
Snuggers hitch his fast mare to a buggy, and he and Andy drove down to
Cedarville. Here the local authorities were interviewed, and two constables
and a special policeman went out on a hunt for the beggar. The policeman had
seen the man, and remembered how he looked and how he had been
dressed.
"He had an upper set of teeth that were false and a flat nose,"
said the policeman. "He was dressed in a suit of blue that was too big around
for him but not quite long enough. I saw him begging down at the
steamboat dock, and I told him if he didn't clear out he'd be run
in."
A hunt was instituted that very night, and was kept up for several
days. But the beggar had disappeared and all efforts to locate him
seemed fruitless. A reward was offered by the captain and by Andy's
parents, but brought no results.
"I am afraid he's gone, and for
good," sighed Andy.
"Well, if the medal is gone it's gone, and that is
all there is to it," answered Joe Nelson. He felt the loss of his uncle's
gift greatly.
"Joe, my father says he will buy you another medal," said
Andy.
"He doesn't have to do that, Andy," was the quick reply. "It wasn't
your fault you were robbed. Besides, I'd like to have that particular
medal back."
"Yes, and I want my ring," said Andy. "My mother gave me
that on my last birthday, and I prized it highly."
"Well, maybe the
medal and the ring will turn up some day," concluded Joe; and there the
subject was dropped.
CHAPTER
XII THE BEGINNING OF A REBELLION
As has been
said, George Strong had gone away on business, and now Captain Putnam
followed him. This left the school in charge of Josiah Crabtree and Pluxton
Cuddle. That there might be no dispute regarding authority the master of the
school made it plain to the two assistants that Crabtree was to have
undisputed sway during school hours and that at other times Cuddle was to
assume command.
"We are in for it now," said Bart Conners, after the
captain had gone. "Just you wait and see. Crabtree will be as dictatorial as
possible during recitations and Cuddle won't let us call our souls our own
the rest of the time."
"Well, I'll stand just so much," answered
Pepper. "Then, if it gets worse, I'll kick." And his chums said about the
same.
The first trouble arose in the schoolroom. Some of the boys had a
Latin lesson that was extra difficult, and when they stumbled in
the recitation Crabtree read them a lecture that was bitter in the
extreme.
"You must understand that I am now in authority here," he
declared, pompously. "I want no more shirking. The reason you haven't this
lesson is because you are lazy!"
"Mr. Crabtree," answered Joe Nelson,
with a flushed face. "I did my best on that translation. But we have never
had----"
"Stop, Nelson, I want no excuses," roared Josiah Crabtree. "This
lesson is simple enough for a child to learn."
"I did my best," put in
Jack, half aloud.
"Ruddy, did you speak?" demanded the teacher, whirling
around and eyeing the young major savagely.
"I did, sir. I said I did
my best. As Joe says, we have never had----"
"Silence! Didn't I say I
wanted no excuses? Ditmore, you may translate from the beginning of paragraph
twenty-four."
"I didn't study paragraph twenty-four," answered Pepper. "I
thought we were to take to twenty-two only."
"I said twenty to
twenty-five," answered Josiah Crabtree, coldly. "If you can't translate sit
down, and I'll mark you zero. Ritter, you may translate paragraph twenty-four
for Ditmore's benefit."
The last words were said maliciously, for the
teacher knew that Pepper and Ritter were on bad terms with each other.
Pepper's face reddened and he scowled. But a moment later he had to
grin.
"Mr. Crabtree, I--er--I am not prepared to translate," stammered
Reff Ritter.
"What!" shouted the teacher.
"I am not prepared to
translate. I--er--I had such a headache last night I couldn't
study."
"Headache is good!" muttered Dale into Pepper's ear. "He was out
on the lake having a good time and smoking cigarettes!"
"Perhaps the
cigarettes made his head ache," answered Pepper.
"Stop that talking!"
bawled Josiah Crabtree, and rapped sharply on his desk with a ruler.
"Kearney, you may go on with the lesson."
Now as it chanced, Dave Kearney
was an exceptionally good Latin scholar, so he translated fairly well, even
though he had not looked over the paragraph given. Then Stuffer was called
on.
"I studied only up to twenty-three," said he. "That's as far as you
said we were to go."
"Don't contradict me! Don't you dare!" shouted
Josiah Crabtree, red in the face with rage. "I know what lessons I give out.
Conners, you go on."
The big boy of the class shrugged his
shoulders.
"I can go on, but not very well, sir," he answered. "I
understood we were to go to the end of paragraph twenty-two only. I may
be mistaken----"
"You're right!" came from a cadet in the rear of the
room.
"So he is!" said several others.
"Silence! silence!" shouted
Josiah Crabtree, leaping to his feet and shaking his ruler in the pupils'
faces. "Silence! I will have silence!"
"Anybody got any silence to
spare?" murmured Pepper, looking behind him. "Mr. Crabtree wants to borrow
some silence." And at this a snicker went around.
"I will have
silence!" repeated the teacher. "If you are not silent I will keep every one
of you in after school!"
"Mr. Crabtree," said Jack, arising and facing
the irate teacher boldly. As major of the school battalion he felt it his
duty to speak.
"Ruddy, what do you want?" snapped the
teacher.
"There has evidently been a mistake made. I think most of the
boys here understood you to say we were to go to the end of
paragraph twenty-two----"
"That's it! That's it!" came in a dozen
voices.
"Silence! Ruddy, sit down!"
"But, sir, I would
suggest----"
"Sit down, or I'll make you!" stormed Josiah Crabtree, and
leaving his desk he strode down the aisle with his ruler brandished over his
head.
It was a critical moment--one of the most critical Putnam Hall had
ever seen--and many of the cadets present held their breath. Some expected
to see Jack drop into his seat, but the young major did nothing of
the kind. He stood in a soldierly attitude and looked the angry teacher
full in the eyes.
"Will you sit down or not?" demanded Josiah
Crabtree, as he came to a halt in front of the pupil.
"Will you listen
to me, or not, Mr. Crabtree?" asked Jack. "If you won't, I have nothing more
to say, here. But I'll report the matter to Captain Putnam when he
returns."
"Good! That's the talk!" came from several
others.
"Crabtree made the mistake and he is afraid to acknowledge it,"
said one cadet.
"Boys, will you be silent?" yelled the teacher.
"This is--er--outrageous! I never saw such actions in a schoolroom before!
Am I in authority here, or am I not?"
"You are--not!" squeaked a voice
from the rear.
"Walk out in the air and forget to return," added another
voice.
"Take a vacation until Captain Putnam gets back," suggested a
third.
Josiah Crabtree trembled with rage and from red grew white. He
waved his ruler wildly in the air.
"This is--is rebellion!" he gasped.
"Rebellion! I want everybody to sit down!" For all the cadets were now on
their feet.
"Sit down yourself!" came from Coulter, who was in the rear,
and then somebody threw a book into the air. More books followed, and
several volumes landed on Josiah Crabtree's head and shoulders. He danced
around wildly, trying to reach some of the cadets with the ruler, but all
kept out of his way.
It was the most exciting time Putnam Hall had
ever witnessed, and the climax was gained when an inkwell, thrown by Reff
Ritter, struck Josiah Crabtree in the neck. Up flew the ink into the
instructor's face, covering his nose, chin and one cheek.
"You
wretches!" spluttered Crabtree, wiping the ink from one eye. "You wretches!
Stop, or I'll have you all locked up! This is--is disgraceful, outrageous,
preposterous! I never imagined any set of boys could be so bad! I shall have
somebody arrested for assault and battery! I'll have the law on all of you!"
And still brandishing the ruler he ran from the classroom, banging the door
after him.
For the moment after he was gone nobody spoke. Then Bart
Conners emitted a low whistle. "Here's a how-do-you-do!" he exclaimed. |
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