Pepper was so full of high spirits that at the supper table he could not resist the temptation to play a joke. He saw Joe Nelson using his handkerchief and, on the sly, took up the pepper-shaker and dosed the cloth liberally with pepper.
Poor Joe caught the full benefit of the pepper, and in the midst of the meal commenced to sneeze loudly.
"Why, Nelson, what is the matter?" asked Mr. Strong, who was at the table that evening.
"I don't—ker-choo!—know!" stammered Joe. "I believe—ker-choo! ker-choo!"
"Exactly," whispered Pepper. "Very simple explanation, very."
"I—ker-choo!—I guess I had better—ker-choo!" went on Joe.
"He's 'ker-chooing' all he needs to," was Jack's comment, and this caused a general titter.
"I guess I'll ask to—ker-choo!—to be excused—ker-choo!" went on Joe, and jumping up he left the table and the room. He ran out on the campus and there sneezed himself free of the pepper, much to his relief.
Joe was about to return to the mess-hall when he chanced to see two figures sneaking along in the semi-darkness, in the direction of the woods. He was just able to make out that the pair were Reff Ritter and Gus Coulter when they disappeared behind the trees.
"Now, what are those fellows up to?" mused Joe, as he walked slowly to the mess-hall. "No good, I'll venture."
He sat down and commenced to eat. Then, of a sudden, he uttered an exclamation.
"I've got it! That's it!"
"What is it, Nelson?" asked George Strong.
"Oh—er—nothing," stammered the cadet. But when the teacher was not looking, he leaned over towards Jack.
"What is it, Joe?" whispered the young major.
"Tell Pepper I just saw Ritter and Coulter sneaking into the woods."
"You did!" Jack closed one eye. "And you think——"
"They may have learned about the barrels."
"If that is so, we'll have to watch 'em," murmured Jack, and immediately passed word to Pepper, Dale and Andy.
The cadets could scarcely wait to finish their meal, and cut themselves short on cake and pears. Pepper was the first out, but he was quickly followed by Andy and Jack.
"Let us try to surprise them—if they are after the barrels," said The Imp.
"Maybe they'll set fire to 'em before we get there," suggested the acrobatic youth.
"If they do that, I'll make 'em pay for the barrels," cried Pepper. "I am not going to put up three dollars for another fellow's fun."
"Did you pay the roofer that much for the barrels?"
"Yes."
The three boys hurried across the campus and dove into the woods beyond. Then Pepper put up his hand for silence.
"Let us surprise 'em if we can," he whispered.
"That's the talk," answered the young major.
It did not take the three long to reach the vicinity where the tar-barrels had been left. As they approached they saw a light flare up.
"They are setting 'em on fire!" cried Andy.
"Stop, Ritter! Stop, Coulter!" yelled Pepper. "Don't you light those barrels!"
"Ha! ha!" came from the bully of the Hall."What's an old tar-barrel, anyway? Guess we can fire them if we want to!"
"Those are my barrels," answered Pepper.
He rushed forward, followed by Jack and Andy. But they were too late, for on the instant a big flame shot up and all three of the tar-barrels, standing in a close triangle, and filled with dried leaves, commenced to burn furiously. As the flames shot up among the trees, Ritter and Coulter backed away.
"Good-by to those barrels!" came sorrowfully from Andy. "We'll not be able to use them for the celebration to-night."
"I'll fix you for this, Ritter; and you, too, Coulter!" called out Pepper, bitterly. "Oh, what luck!" he groaned, as he saw the flames from the tar-barrels climb higher and higher. "What a grand bonfire they would have made on the lake-front!"
"Boys, this fire is dangerous!" ejaculated Jack.
"What do you mean?" came from the others.
"It is going to set fire to the woods! See, the dried leaves are catching already! If it reaches yonder cedars there will be a terrible conflagration here!"
"Phew! that's true!" came from Pepper. His merry face grew sober for the moment. "What shall we do?"
"We are not responsible," said Andy. "It is Ritter and Coulter's fault."
"But we don't want these grand woods to burn down," went on the young major. "Besides, the wind is rising and it is blowing towards the gym and the stables! The burning embers might set fire to those buildings!"
"Come on and put the blaze out!" said Andy.
"How are you going to do it? We haven't any water—and water isn't of much account against tar, anyway. Gracious, see those flames shoot up!" Jack added, as a column of fire shot skyward.
"One of the trees is catching already!" gasped Pepper. "We had better sound an alarm!"
"Andy, go back to the school and tell the others, teachers and all," ordered the young major. "Captain Putnam will know what to do. Pepper, you and I had better try to throw dirt and stones on the barrels. That will keep down the flames a little."
The acrobatic youth set off on a sprint in the direction of Putnam Hall. While he was gone the others did their best to subdue the rapidly-increasing conflagration. It was hot work, and soon the perspiration was pouring down their faces.
"It's no use!" panted Pepper, when the wind sent a sudden eddy of black smoke in his face.
"It would take a regular fire department to put out that blaze!"
"Maybe Captain Putnam will send out the bucket brigade," answered his chum.
The wind was steadily increasing, and as it whirled around it sent the sparks flying in all directions. Jack had one ember settle on his hand and Pepper was burnt on the ear. They got a good deal of smoke in their eyes and soon commenced to cough. But they kept on throwing all the loose dirt and stones possible on the fire.
"I wish the barrels didn't have quite so much tar on 'em," panted Pepper. "It's a wonder the roofer left so much inside."
"He wanted to give you the worth of your money," answered the young major, grimly.
After what seemed a long time a shout was heard, and then Andy burst into view.
"The bucket brigade is coming with pails of water," he said. "And some other cadets are to get rakes and wet swabs and shovels."
"They can't come any too quick!" answered Pepper. "See, two of the trees are burning already."
"Yes, and two others are catching!" announced Jack. Then an extra puff of wind sent all of the cadets from the vicinity of the blazing barrels.
"I suppose Ritter and Coulter didn't dream ofsuch a fire when they started it," was Andy's comment.
"Just the same, they are responsible," answered Jack, gravely.
A yell came from afar, and soon some cadets ran into view, each carrying a bucket of water. Leading them was George Strong, who had a long-handled rake and a shovel.
"Boys! boys! didn't you know better than to light a fire here!" cried the teacher.
"We didn't do it," answered Jack.
The water was thrown on the blazing barrels, and then the teacher tried to knock them flat with his rake. But that caused a heavy shower of sparks to ascend, setting fire to some nearby bushes.
"It will be better to use the shovel," said Jack. "Dirt will put out such a fire quicker than anything."
"I believe you, Major Ruddy," answered Mr. Strong, and then he sent some cadets back for more shovels and a few pickaxes, with which to loosen up the dirt.
Soon many more cadets arrived, and with them Captain Putnam. Among the number were Coulter and Ritter, and the pair looked much dismayed.
"Say, I didn't think the fire would spread to the woods," whispered Gus Coulter.
"Hush!" warned his crony. "Don't you admit that we did it. If it comes to the worst, say it was an accident, that we were trying to light a torch, to sneak the barrels away, when they took fire."
"All right."
More water was thrown on the barrels, and then a small army of cadets commenced to dig up dirt and stones, with which to cover the burning objects. This worked very well on the barrels. But to reach the trees was different. One thick cedar was blazing away like a torch—the flames far above their heads.
"Let us cut that tree down," ordered Captain Putnam.
Two axes had been brought along, and Dale used one while Peleg Snuggers wielded the other. Soon the cedar commenced to totter.
"Look out!" cried Captain Putnam, and then crash! the tree came down, directly on top of the tar-barrels. Up went a thick cloud of smoke and sparks. But the cadets were ready with dirt and stones, and the danger of a new blaze was quickly averted.
While the tree was being cut down, the cadets and teachers had been busy with pickaxes and shovels, and also with their rakes and wet swabs, and had put out much of the fire elsewhere. One more tree had to be leveled, and this work wasdone by Joe and Bart. Then, after five minutes more of hard work, the last of the fire was extinguished, and the crowd in the woods was left in darkness.
"Hello, it's dark enough now," cried Pepper. "We'll need a lantern to get out with."
"Here's a torch," answered one cadet, and took up a cedar bough, and commenced to wave it into a flame.
"No more of that, Bates!" cried Captain Putnam. "We have had enough of fire. We'll go back in the dark. Snuggers, you stay here and see to it that the fire doesn't break out again."
"Yes, sir," answered the general utility man.
"Here is a pistol. If it does break out, fire two shots for an alarm."
"Yes, sir."
"I'll send Alexander Pop here with more water and with some lunch, for you'll have to stay all night," went on the owner of the school. Alexander Pop was a colored man who had come to the school to wait on the table.
"Yes, sir," answered Snuggers. He did not much relish remaining in the woods all night, but he felt that he had to obey orders.
One by one the cadets and the teachers returned to Putnam Hall. The conflagration in the woodshad rather broken up the anticipated celebration in honor of the football victory.
"Now, I want to know who placed those tar-barrels in the woods," said Captain Putnam, when he had assembled the cadets in the school building.
"It was Jerry Cole, the roofer from Cedarville," answered John Fenwick, a small youth usually called Mumps. He was known as a toady and a sneak, and was very chummy with Dan Baxter.
"How do you know, Fenwick?"
"I saw him with the barrels on his wagon."
"Why should he put the barrels there?"
"I will tell you," answered Pepper, stepping forward. "I bought them to celebrate with to-night. I thought they'd make a dandy bonfire."
"Indeed! Then you set them ablaze, Ditmore?"
"No, sir. My idea was to roll them to the lake-shore and pile them one on top of the other."
"Then who did set them on fire in the woods?"
For the moment nobody spoke, but Pepper, Jack and Andy, as well as Joe, looked at Reff Ritter and Gus Coulter.
"I want an answer!" cried Captain Putnam, sternly. "Who started that fire?"
He looked around from one cadet to another. But nobody spoke.
It was a rule of honor among the cadets of Putnam Hall that no student should tell on another. To do that would have been to put one's self down as a sneak, and none of our friends wanted such a reputation.
"I ask again, who started that fire?" went on Captain Putnam, with increased sternness.
"I rather think I know the guilty parties," said George Strong, who had walked away on an errand and had just returned, "Ritter and Coulter, what have you to say?"
The two culprits started, and Coulter turned pale.
"Why, I—er——" stammered Gus. "I—that is——" He did not know how to proceed. He did not dare deny his guilt, not knowing but what the assistant teacher might have seen him and his crony light the tar-barrels.
"Well, if you—er—want to know the truth,Captain Putnam, we—er—started the fire," stammered Reff Ritter. "But it was an accident."
"An accident?"
"Yes, sir. We were—er—going to roll the barrels down to the lake—going to hide 'em so that Ditmore and his friends couldn't find 'em, you know. Well, we didn't want to get the tar on our hands, so we—er—started a little fire to see by—it was dark under the trees. All of a sudden the barrels blazed up. We—er—didn't expect such a big blaze."
"That's it," cried Coulter, eagerly. "We just made the fire at first to see by."
"Then you didn't really want to fire the barrels under the trees?"
"No, sir," came from both of the guilty ones.
"It was a rash thing to do, to start such a blaze. In this wind you might have burnt down the whole woods and endangered the school buildings."
"I don't believe Ritter and Coulter," whispered Andy to Pepper.
"Neither do I," was the reply.
"Ditmore, you said the barrels belonged to you?" went on the owner of the school.
"Yes, sir. I bought them from the tar-roofer in Cedarville and he delivered them. We were going to have a great bonfire—and we did!" And TheImp said this so dryly that even Captain Putnam had to smile.
"Well, I presume I shall have to drop the matter," said the captain, after a few more questions. "But let me warn you all about fires in those woods in the future. If a fire gained headway here we might burn everything down to the ground."
So, from an official standpoint, the matter was dropped. Ritter beckoned to Coulter, and they hurried away, followed by Nick Paxton and one or two others.
"Well, that ends the tar-barrel celebration," said Pepper, rather mournfully. "I really ought to make Ritter and Coulter pay for the barrels."
"You won't get any money out of Ritter," remarked Bart Conners.
"How do you know, Bart?"
"Because he hasn't any. He asked for credit at the store yesterday—to buy some cigarettes—and the shopkeeper refused, saying Ritter owed him eighty cents already."
"Humph!" mused Pepper, and said no more.
"Come on—forget it!" cried Jack. "We'll celebrate anyway."
"We've got other barrels," came from Dale.
The cadets rushed out and to the lake-shore, and soon several bonfires were blazing merrily. Aroundthese the students congregated, and sang songs and "cut up" generally. Dale had to make a speech, and the boys caught him up on their shoulders and carried him around the campus.
"Isn't it grand!" murmured Bert Field. "I am mighty glad I came to Putnam Hall."
"So am I," answered Fred Century. "It's much different from what it was at Pornell Academy."
"It was a great victory, Fred, wasn't it?"
"It certainly was, Bert. I am only sorry for one thing."
"What is that?"
"That it wasn't Pornell we beat instead of that other club."
"Oh, well, we'll get a chance at Pornell some day," answered Bert Field.
The celebration along the lake-shore lasted until half-past eleven. Then the bell was rung, and laughing and singing, the cadets trooped off to their various dormitories.
"All quiet by midnight!" came the order.
"Fifteen minutes yet," cried Andy, consulting his watch. "Whoop-la! Here goes!" And in the joyousness of high spirits he turned a handspring over one of the beds. Then he turned another spring over a table and stood on his head on one of the chairs.
"Hurrah for Snow's Imperial ConsolidatedCircus!" cried Pepper. "The one and only aggregation of stupendous wonders on the face of the globe! The marvelous twisting and death-defying acrobat! Walk up and see the blood-curdling exhibition! It will cost you but the small sum of a dime, ten cents; children double price, and no grandfathers unaccompanied by their parents admitted. Line will form on the left and everybody will please have his cash ready. Transfers not accepted on this line."
"Good for Pepper!" came from Jack. "When he fails as a student he can turn dime-museum shouter."
"On the right you will see our most mysterious wonder, Major Jacobus Ruddonowsky, the royal Russian sword swallower," went on The Imp, pointing to his chum. "He swallows two swords for breakfast, three for lunch and six to eight for dinner, with daggers for dessert. He is wonderfully strong, and can carry on his arms an amount of gold lace that would break a camel's back. As soon as the tent is full he will sing for you that famous ditty, entitled, 'How I Love to Line You Up When I'm Major of the Gang.'"
"Wow! that is where you caught it, Jack!" cried Dale, with a grin.
"And here we have a third wonder," went on Pepper, pointing to the football captain. "Commodore Daleo, the leather-ball juggler. The most renowned juggler of the spheroid in the world! You think it is here, but it is not, for lo! he has juggled it over the line and kicked it as high as an airship. He will show you——"
"Silence in here!" came a voice from the doorway, and Josiah Crabtree appeared. "I will have silence!"
"Oh, dear!" murmured Pepper. "Anybody got any silence to spare? Mr. Crabtree wants some."
"You must all be in bed by midnight, and the light must be out," went on the teacher. "This unseemly revel must cease!" And then he walked on, to stop the noise coming from the other dormitories.
"Say, Pepper, how do you like that?" murmured Fred.
"I knew there would be frost," sighed The Imp. "Every time old Crabtree appears we get a cold wave."
"Be thankful he didn't mark you down for extra lessons," said Andy.
"If he did that I'd rebel," returned Pepper.
After that the talk was carried on in whispers, and each cadet lost no time in disrobing. A few minutes after midnight all were in bed, and one after another lost himself in the land of dreams.
The day had been a particularly strenuous onefor Jack and the young major slept soundly until the rising-bell rang loudly. Then he rubbed his eyes sleepily and stretched himself.
"Wish I didn't have to get up just yet," he murmured. "I could sleep another hour without half trying."
"Same here," responded Pepper.
"I never feel awake until after I've had a wash," came from Andy, who had just leaped up.
Soon all of the cadets in the dormitory were dressing, and one by one they washed up and went below. Andy and Jack were the last to leave.
"What's the matter?" asked the acrobatic youth, as he saw the young major searching around for something.
"I'm looking for my watch and chain, Andy."
"Where did you put it?"
"Where I always do—on the stand at the head of my bed."
"Maybe it fell on the floor."
"If it did, it isn't there now." Jack got down on his knees to look around, and then turned over the bedclothes and some other things.
"Maybe Pepper played a joke on you, Jack."
"That may be so. I'll go down and ask him about it."
The young major looked through his clothing and all over the dormitory, and then hurried below.As it was Sunday morning, there was no drill, and the cadets were gathering in the mess-hall for breakfast.
"Pepper, did you see my watch?" asked Jack, coming up to his chum.
"Your watch? No," was the ready reply.
"You didn't?" cried the young major, and now he was more concerned than ever.
"Saw it last night, when you put it on the stand as usual."
"You didn't hide it? Come, now, tell the truth."
"Honor bright; the last I saw of it was when you placed it on the stand when you went to bed."
"It's gone; and the chain with it."
"You don't mean it, Jack! Did you look all around?"
"Everywhere."
"Did you ask the other fellows about it?"
"No; but I will, right away."
The young major walked to one roommate after another and asked about his watch and chain. All denied knowing anything about the timepiece. Several had seen him place the watch on the stand at the head of the bed, but that was all.
"Well, it's a mystery what has become of it, that's sure," was Jack's comment. "It certainly couldn't walk off by itself."
"Well, a good watch knows how to run," remarked Pepper, dryly, for he couldn't help having his joke. "But, seriously, Jack, do you think somebody stole the watch and chain?"
"I don't know what to think."
"I don't imagine anybody in our dormitory would do such a thing."
"Neither do I. But the watch and chain are gone. The question is, Where?"
"Hadn't you better report the matter to Captain Putnam?"
"I will, after I have taken another look around," answered the young major, and left the mess-room just as the bell rang for breakfast.
"Why did Major Ruddy leave?" asked Josiah Crabtree, harshly, as he saw that the young officer was missing.
"He had something of importance to attend to," answered Pepper.
"Humph! It is his duty to be at the table on time, if he wants his breakfast," muttered the dictatorial teacher.
Jack did not come back for the best part of half an hour. By that time the breakfast was nearly over.
"Major Ruddy, what does this mean?" demanded Josiah Crabtree.
"A matter of importance, Mr. Crabtree," answered the young officer.
"I cannot permit cadets to come in late to breakfast."
"This couldn't be helped, sir. I will explain to you and to Captain Putnam directly after I have finished."
"Very well. If it is of real importance I will let it pass. But otherwise I shall mark you for being tardy," returned Josiah Crabtree, harshly.
Jack merely bowed and then he sat down and ate his breakfast. While he was doing so, Pepper leaned over to him.
"Find the watch?" he whispered.
"No—not the least trace of it," answered Jack.
The young major did not feel much like eating. The watch was a gold one and the chain was also of gold, and both were valuable. They had been a birthday gift from his parents.
"Say, Jack, this is as bad as my loss," came from Andy, in a low tone. "What are you going to do about it?"
"I don't know. I want to talk the matter over with Captain Putnam first," answered the young officer.
Captain Putnam looked very grave when Jack reported the loss of the gold watch and chain.
"You are certain you left them on the stand when you went to sleep?" he questioned.
"Yes, sir. Pepper Ditmore saw me put them there, and Dale Blackmore saw it, too."
"And you have looked everywhere for them?"
"Yes, sir."
"I will go up and look around with you."
"All right, sir. But it will do no good," answered the young major.
"You say that all your roommates deny taking the watch and chain."
"Yes, sir. They say they didn't see the watch at all after we went to bed."
"Major Ruddy, do you suspect anybody of this crime?" demanded the owner of the school, looking Jack full in the face.
"No, sir," was the prompt answer. "It's acomplete mystery to me. All I know about it is, that I left the watch and chain on the stand at the head of my bed when I went to sleep and this morning they were gone."
"Did any of the other cadets enter your dormitory during the night?"
"Not that I know of."
"They may have been skylarking and may have carried the watch and chain off by—accident, let us say," finished the captain, significantly.
"If anybody came in, nobody who sleeps in our room seems to be aware of it."
Captain Putnam and Jack passed up to the dormitory, followed by Josiah Crabtree. They were soon joined by Pepper and the other occupants of the apartment. Another search was made, but the gold watch and chain were not found, nor were any clues concerning the timepiece unearthed.
"What were the watch and chain worth?" asked Fred.
"I don't know; maybe fifty or sixty dollars," answered Jack.
"Then if they were stolen, the thief made quite a haul."
"Do you think they were stolen, Century?" demanded the owner of the school.
"Doesn't it look like it, sir?"
"But if they were stolen, who is guilty?" asked Josiah Crabtree, glaring around from one cadet to another.
For the moment nobody spoke.
"I don't suspect any of my roommates," said Jack, quickly. "I think it was done by some outsider."
"Some other cadet?" asked Crabtree.
"Possibly; or else by some of the help."
"Gracious, Ruddy, I—er—I hope you don't suspect me!" stammered the teacher.
"No, sir; I meant some of the servants."
"Ah, I see!" Josiah Crabtree looked relieved. "You may be right. Perhaps some of the new colored help took the watch," he went on, to Captain Putnam.
"I will start an investigation," returned the owner of the school.
Captain Putnam was as good as his word, and over an hour was spent in questioning the help, and the other cadets, but without results. The investigation was continued Monday morning. But not the first trace of the missing watch and chain was discovered anywhere.
"It assuredly is a mystery," said Captain Putnam at last. "What do you make of it, Mr. Strong?" he asked of his second assistant.
"It is a very unfortunate occurrence," answeredGeorge Strong. "If there is a thief in Putnam Hall we ought to locate him. As long as he remains undetected none of us will be safe."
"How are you going to catch him?"
"I don't know. We might try to trace up the watch and chain through the authorities."
"I hate to let the authorities know anything has been stolen in the school. It gives us a bad name in public." The two men were alone, so they could speak freely.
"It will give the school a worse name if we don't get the watch and chain back. I am afraid Major Ruddy can hold you for the worth of them."
"He can, and I expect to pay for them if we don't get them back. I will think it over, and perhaps I'll report the loss."
Later on, the authorities were notified that a watch and chain were missing. No details were given, but the police were asked to look out for the watch and chain in pawnbroking establishments and elsewhere.
"I shall also offer a reward," said the owner of the school, and the next day a bulletin was posted, offering a reward of ten dollars for information leading to the recovery of the timepiece and conviction of the thief.
"It's tough to go without your watch, Jack," said Pepper.
"Captain Putnam is going to loan me one for the present," was the young major's reply. "It's only a silver affair, but he says it keeps good time, and that's the main thing."
A day or two after the reward was offered, Jack, Pepper and Andy received an invitation to take dinner at Point View Lodge with the Fords and spend the evening there. The weather was now growing colder and the Fords expected before long to close up their summer home and move to the city for the winter.
"Say, this is all to the merry!" cried Pepper, as he read the invitation. "Of course we'll go."
"If Captain Putnam will let us," added Andy, anxiously.
"I think he will," returned Jack. "He is so cut up over this watch affair I think he will do almost anything for me."
The three went to the captain and showed the invitation, and were told that they could go to Point View Lodge, but that they must be back at Putnam Hall by ten o'clock.
"It's lucky we can go in our uniforms," said Pepper. "Otherwise I suppose we'd have to go in full dress, eh?"
"Sure thing."
"How are we going to get to the Lodge? We can't walk."
"Might hire a carriage for once."
"Too slow. The Lodge is so far off. We could make better time on our bicycles."
"But if it rains—or snows?"
"Then we'll have to take a carriage."
The three cadets watched the weather anxiously. It remained clear and cool up to the afternoon of the day they were going and then grew cloudy.
"Looks like rain or snow to me," announced Jack.
"Oh, don't croak!" cried Andy. "It's a bit cloudy, but that's all. I guess it will hold off until morning."
"Got your bicycle ready for the trip, Andy?" questioned Pepper.
"Sure, I oiled up this morning. How about you?"
"Ready since yesterday, and Jack's wheel is ready, too," was the answer. "Oh, say, don't you anticipate a dandy time at Point View Lodge?"
"Yes, indeed! The Ford girls are just all right."
"Best ever!" chimed in Jack.
"Don't forget to fill your lamps!" cried Andy, as he turned away.
"Mine is full," answered Jack.
"I'll see to mine," came from Pepper. "Glad you mentioned it. It will be quite dark on theroad to-night, and I don't want to run in a hole and take a header."
"None of us want to do that. We'd look fine going into the Lodge with our faces and hands all dirt and our uniforms torn."
The cadets hurried away in various directions. They had been talking in the gymnasium, near one of the dressing-rooms, and they did not know that anybody else was near. But Mumps, the sneak, had overheard every word. As soon as they had gone, the younger cadet hurried off toward the boathouse. Here he found half a dozen students assembled, including Ritter and Coulter.
"Say, do you fellows know that Ruddy, Ditmore and Snow are going out to-night?" he said. He always loved to tell the news, and thought himself quite important in so doing.
"Where to?" asked one of the cadets.
"To Point View Lodge—the place where the Ford family live. They've got an invitation to dinner."
"Lucky dogs!" came from another cadet. As he spoke he looked at Reff Ritter, but that individual merely scowled, and took surreptitious whiffs at a cigarette he was smoking.
"How are they going to Point View?" asked another who was present.
"Going on their bicycles," answered Mumps. "It's quite a ride, isn't it?"
"Oh, not for them. They can make it in half an hour if they try. But they'll find it pretty dark to-night, I'm thinking," added the cadet, with a glance out of the boathouse window at the leaden sky.
The talk continued and Ritter listened closely to every word. Then he arose and motioned to Coulter, and the two walked outside.
"Did you hear what Mumps said?" he asked of his crony.
"About those chaps going to the Fords' home?"
"Yes."
"What of it?"
"I was thinking we might spoil their fun."
"And get caught, as we did with the tar-barrels," grumbled Gus Coulter.
"We'll take good care that nobody sees us this time."
"What are you thinking of doing?" asked Coulter, curiously.
"Come with me and I'll tell you," answered Reff Ritter, and took his crony by the arm. Slowly they walked across the campus, and as they did so Ritter unfolded a plot that had just then come into his head.
"What do you think of it?" he asked, after he had finished.
"Very good; if it will work, and we are not caught."
"We'll not get caught if you'll do as I say. Listen, Gus, all you need to do is to stand on guard, to give me warning if anybody comes. I'll do the rest."
"When do you want to get to work?"
Reff Ritter looked around anxiously. It was cold on the campus and growing darker rapidly. Only a few cadets were in sight.
"Come on now," he answered. "We'll see if the coast is clear."
They walked to the end of the gymnasium building, where, in a long room, the bicycles of the students were kept. It was pitch dark inside and not a soul was in sight.
"Now, you remain outside," said Ritter. "If you see anybody coming begin to whistle 'Yankee Doodle,' as loud as you can. Don't wait for me, for I'll go out the back way."
"All right. But let me know when you are through," answered Coulter, somewhat nervously.
"Sure."
Coulter took his stand outside of the building and peered forth eagerly in the darkness. Only three cadets were in view and they presentlyentered the school building. Then ten minutes went by—a long wait for the youth who was aiding Ritter in his plot. Then Reff came quickly from the gymnasium.
"Anybody around?" he asked hurriedly.
"No."
"Good enough."
"Have you finished, Reff?"
"Yes."
"Did you get at all three of the wheels?"
"I sure did. Say, they will have their own troubles, see if they don't!" chuckled the bully. "But come on before anybody sees us," he added, and stalked away in the darkness, with his crony beside him.
It was not until a few minutes after five o'clock that Jack, Andy and Pepper hurried down to the gymnasium, to get their wheels. At the last moment Andy discovered that one of his buttons was loose and had to be sewed on, and Jack had trouble with the new cap he was going to wear. It was a trifle too large and he had to place a strip of paper under the band to make it stay on his head properly.
"It certainly feels like snow," said Pepper, as the three got out their bicycles. "I am sure we'll get a snowstorm before long."
"I don't care, if only it holds off till we get back," returned Andy.
They lit the acetylene gas lamps, with which their wheels were provided, and then ran the bicycles down to the roadway.
"Have a good time," cried Stuffer, who had come out to see them off.
"Don't worry about that," replied Pepper, gaily.
"I'll wager you'll have a dandy spread," went on the lad who loved to eat.
"Wish you were along, Stuffer?" asked Jack.
"Do I? Well, now, don't mention it!" and Stuffer's eyes fairly watered in anticipation.
"I'll bring you something if I get the chance," sang out Pepper, as he gave his bicycle a shove and leaped into the saddle. "So-long!"
Jack and Andy followed their chum, and with a parting cry to Stuffer, all three pedaled along the highway leading to Point View Lodge. It was now night, but the three gas-lamps lit up the road so well that they had little difficulty in finding their way.
"We are not due until six o'clock," said Jack. "So we can take it easy. No use of getting into a perspiration over it."
"We'll not sweat much to-night," answered Pepper. "Too cold. I move we keep at it until we reach that old barn near the Lodge. Then we can rest a bit, so that we won't appear at the place all out of breath."
Two miles were covered, and then they came to a place where the highway was unusually rough.
"Let me go ahead and pick the way," sang out Andy, and forged to the front.
"Better slack up a little!" returned the youngmajor. "No use of taking chances when we have plenty of time."
Scarcely had he uttered the words when there came a cry from the acrobatic youth. His wheel commenced to wobble and twist. Over into some bushes he shot, to fall with a crash in their midst.
"Hello, what's the matter with you?" sang out Pepper, and leaped quickly to the road, an example followed by Jack.
"Bicycle has gone to pieces, I guess," spluttered Andy, as he essayed to scramble out of the bushes.
"Are you hurt?" demanded Jack, anxiously.
"Only a few scratches, Jack. Say, that was a narrow escape, wasn't it?"
"Thought you said your wheel was in good condition," came from Pepper.
"So it was when I looked at it this morning."
"What's wrong now?"
"The handle-bars are loose for one thing. I don't know what else is wrong until I look it over."
The machine was brought forth from the bushes. The lamp-glass had been smashed and the light had gone out. Andy stopped the flow of acetylene gas, and then his chums turned the rays of the other lamps on the disabled bicycle.
"Handle-bars loose and also nuts on the front wheel!" cried Andy, after an examination. "Say, I believe some enemy did this!"
"Who?" questioned the young major.
"I don't know. Maybe Ritter, or Coulter."
"Hurry up and tighten things," cried Pepper. "We don't want to be late."
"Better be late than have a nasty tumble," returned Jack. "While you are at it, Andy, better look the whole machine over carefully."
"I will, Jack. And maybe you had better look your machines over, too."
"Good advice."
While Andy was fixing his bicycle Pepper and the young major inspected their own bicycles.
"Well, I never!" gasped The Imp, as the light fell on his rear wheel. "Another quarter of a mile and I would have had a spill and no mistake!"
"Same here!" came from Jack. "Oh, isn't this the worst yet!"
"What's wrong?" queried the acrobatic youth.
"The back wheel is loose, and two of the sprockets of the sprocket-wheel have been filed down, to let the chain slip," answered Pepper.
"And my handle-bars are loose and the chain all but filed in two," cried Jack. "Boys, this was done on purpose!"
"Of course!" came from both of the others.
"Done by our enemies!"
"Sure."
"Ritter and his cronies."
"Well, we'd have to prove that," answered Andy, slowly.
"Don't you believe it, Andy?"
"I do; but that isn't proof."
"And that isn't getting us to Point View Lodge," came from Pepper. "I guess we'll have to walk!" he added, with something like a groan.
"Walk! We can't walk that distance," replied the young major.
"Well, we can't trust ourselves on these machines. We might if we had lots of time, but that we haven't got."
The three cadets stared blankly at each other. Here they were on a lonely road, and what to do none of them knew.
"Oh, if I only had Ritter here wouldn't I punch his head good!" muttered Pepper.
"Ritter will keep. Let us look over the machines and make up our minds what is to be done," said Jack.
The more they inspected the wheels the more hopeless appeared the task of fixing them up so they could be used.
"We simply haven't got time to bother with them," announced Jack. "We've got to get to the Lodge some other way."
"Well, what way?" asked Andy.
"I wonder if we could hire a rig at the next farmhouse."
"Well, we can try that," answered Pepper.
Trundling their bicycles, they hurried along the country road until they reached a farmhouse.
"Looks as if they were all out or gone to bed," was Jack's comment, for not a light showed about the place.
"We'll soon know," returned Pepper, and he pounded lustily on the front door.
There was no answer to this summons, and he pounded again. But nobody appeared.
"Gone away for the day, I guess," he said. "Now what?"
"Let us leave our wheels in the barn," said Jack. "We can come back for them any time."
This they did, and after a look around the place, to make certain nobody was there, they passed out on the road once more. Pepper looked at his watch.
"Fifteen minutes to six," he announced.
"Oh, we'll never get there on time," groaned Andy.
"We'll be lucky if we get there at all to-night," answered the young major.
"They are looking for us by now," came from Pepper. "Wonder what they will think when we don't show up?"
"They'll think we are pretty mean, I guess," answered the acrobatic youth.
"Here comes some kind of a turnout now!" cried Pepper.
He pointed down the highway. They could see a lantern swinging idly to and fro. It was hung under a farm-wagon, and presently they saw the turnout, drawn by a pair of good-looking horses. The wagon was filled with barrels of potatoes, and on the seat sat a raw-boned old farmer, half asleep.
"Hello, there!" challenged Jack out of the darkness. "Hold up a minute, please!"
"Hi, what's this, a hold-up?" exclaimed the old farmer, and then of a sudden he reached between the barrels of potatoes and brought forth a long horse-pistol and pointed it at them.
"Don't shoot!" cried Pepper, thinking the old fellow might be just scared enough to pull the trigger of his ancient weapon. "This isn't any hold-up."
"Who be you?" and the farmer peered forth anxiously in the darkness.
"We are cadets from Putnam Hall."
"Oh! I see! Waal, don't ye try to play no trick on Ezra Cole, or I'll let fly with this hoss-pistol, sure ez you're born!"
"We don't want to play any tricks, Mr. Cole,"answered Jack. "We are in trouble, and I was wondering if you could help us out."
"Wot's the trouble?"
In as few words as possible the young major and his chums explained the difficulty. The old farmer listened with interest.
"I know Mr. Ford; he buys garden sass from me," he said.
"We don't know how we are going to get to the Lodge, unless we can find somebody to drive us over," said Pepper. "Could you do it, if we paid you?"
"Wot, with this load o' potatoes? Not much!"
"Couldn't you leave your potatoes here?" asked Andy. "I'll give you fifty cents to drive me over."
"And so will I," added Pepper.
"That will be a dollar and a half for the three of us, Mr. Cole," put in Jack.
"Hum!" The old farmer began to look interested. "It's a putty stiff drive to Point View, an' I'd have to come back fer the potatoes."
"Make it two dollars!" cried Jack. "And do it as quickly as you can."
"Hum! Got the cash with you, young man?"
"Yes, here it is!" And the young major held up two one-dollar bills.
"All right, I'm your man!" cried Ezra Cole. "I ain't in no hurry to git to hum, an' two dollarsain't picked up every day. Jest wait till I drive in an' leave my potatoes where they will be safe."
"Might leave 'em with our bicycles," said Jack.
"So I will."
It did not take the old farmer long to unload his barrels of potatoes. Then he swept out his farm-wagon and spread some horse-blankets for the boys to sit upon. They leaped in and he took up the lines once more.
"G'lang!" he shouted to his team and cracked his whip, and off they went along the road at a good gait.
"Great Julius Cæsar!" cried Andy, after a quarter of a mile had been passed. "Talk about bumping the bumps! This road has 'em beaten to a frazzle!"
"Getting your money's worth, Andy?" asked The Imp, with a grin.
"Ain't no springs on this wagon!" said Ezra Cole, with a grin. "But don't you mind; it will give you a fine appetite fer that dinner when you git there!"
"It will, if it doesn't knock out our teeth so we can't chew!" murmured Jack.
On and on they rattled at a good pace until the lights of Point View Lodge shone in the distance.
"Just drop us off at the gate!" cried Jack. "Wedon't want to ride up to the piazza in such a rig as this."
"Why, hello, have you arrived at last?" cried a voice from out of the darkness, and then Laura and Flossie appeared, standing by the gate. The three cadets looked glumly at each other, and then Pepper commenced to snicker and all burst into a hearty spell of laughter.
"Don't you admire our very fashionable turnout?" questioned Pepper, as he came forward and shook hands with the girls.
"It's the latest in carriages," came from Andy.
"Oh!" murmured Laura. "Did you really come all the way from Putnam Hall in that?"
"It must have been hard riding," was Flossie's comment.
"No, we didn't come all the way," answered Pepper. "We'll tell you about it later," he added. Then Ezra Cole was paid. The old farmer lost no time in driving away.
As the girls and boys walked slowly toward the mansion the cadets told the particulars of the breakdown on the road.
"And you really think some of your rivals did it?" questioned Laura. "How mean!"
"I'd never speak to them again," added Flossie, with a flash of her eyes.
"Well, we'll talk a whole lot to 'em," answered Pepper, grimly.
"But you have got to prove them guilty first," said Laura.
Once at the mansion the situation was explained to Mr. and Mrs. Ford, and the boys were conducted by a servant to a bathroom, where they might wash and brush up and make themselves otherwise presentable. They did not linger long, and when they came below, the folding-doors to the dining-room were opened and the butler announced dinner.
It was a jolly meal, and the cadets were made to feel perfectly at home. Mr. Ford asked them how they were getting along in school, and was surprised when told that they hoped to graduate from the Hall the following June.
"We shall miss your visits to the Lodge," said Mrs. Ford.
"You'll have to visit us anyway—if you get a chance," said Laura, and all of the cadets said they would remember her kind words. Then they talked about old times, and especially about the time when the boys had visited the Lodge and killed the tiger that had escaped from the circus, as related in "The Putnam Hall Cadets," and of how the girls had visited the cadets in the woods,when the boys had run away from the Hall, as told of in "The Putnam Hall Rebellion."
"I'd like to go to a boarding-school," said Flossie. "It must be lots of fun!"
"Fun and work, mixed," answered Andy.
After the dinner, over which they took their time, the young folks gathered around the piano and sang and played, and they also had several dances, with the old folks looking on. All too soon it came time for the boys to go back to the Hall.
"I have ordered the auto around," said Rossmore Ford. "John can take you back, and he can also stop for your bicycles, if you wish."
"Thank you very much," answered Jack. "We'll ride home in the auto with pleasure. But I guess we had better let the bicycles rest to-night where they are; eh, fellows?"
"Yes," answered Pepper and Andy.
A little later the cadets said good-night. The big touring car was brought around and they got in the tonneau. Then the chauffeur turned on the power, and away they shot into the darkness, the girls crying a good-by after them.
"Well, we had a dandy time, in spite of the breakdown," remarked the young major.
"But we have got to find out who played this trick on us," came from Pepper.
"That may be easier said than done," said Andy."Whoever was mean enough to play such a trick will do his best to lay low."
When the boys got back to the Hall they found that the majority of their friends had gone to bed. Only Stuffer Singleton was up, reading a novel by the light of a wax-candle he had smuggled up to the room.
"Hello! have a good time?" queried the boy who loved to eat, as he cast aside the volume.
"Bang up," answered Jack, and then he went on quickly. "Stuffer, were you near the gym this afternoon?"
"No. Why?"
"Somebody was mean enough to tamper with our bicycles," answered the young major, and gave a few particulars.
"Oh, you can bet it was the Ritter crowd, or Ritter alone," said Stuffer, quickly. "It would be just like them to do their best to spoil your fun."
It was not until two days later that Jack and his chums had a chance to go for their broken-down wheels. They found them exactly as they had been left, and explained to the owner of the barn how they happened to be there.
"It's all right," said the farmer. "You can leave them here a month if you want to." He knew Captain Putnam well, having sold him some straw for the school stables.
The cadets had to trundle the bicycles back to Putnam Hall and then had many hours' work in fixing the wheels so they could be used again.
During those two days the youths made many inquiries, but were unable to get a clue as to who had played the trick. Ritter and Coulter "laid low" and kept out of their way.
Following the game with the Dauntless Club came several other football contests, and Putnam Hall won two games and lost one. Then the weather turned off cold, with a promise of snow in the air.
During those days it must not be supposed that the search for Jack's gold watch and chain was abandoned. It was continued with spirit, but no clue was brought to light.
"It's as much of a mystery as the disappearance of my things when the horse ran away with me," said Andy. "I don't suppose I'll ever hear of those things either."
"Yes, but that was different, Andy," said the young major. "You were on a public highway, where anybody might pick up the things, supposing you merely dropped them. But I was right here, where everybody is supposed to be honest."
"It gives the school a black eye, doesn't it?"
"That's it. I know Captain Putnam feels terrible about it, too."
"Do you suspect any of the hired help?"
"I don't know what to think."
The weather grew colder rapidly, and one morning the cadets arose to find the ground covered with snow to a depth of several inches.
"Hurrah!" shouted Fred. "See the snow! Doesn't it look inviting?"
"Want a roll in it, Fred?" questioned Bart Field.
"Not exactly. I was thinking of a snowball fight."
"That's the talk! Let us get up a fight after school hours!" cried Bart Conners.
Pepper was at the window. Slyly he raised the sash and scooped up a big handful of snow from the broad ledge outside. Andy was nearby, bending over, lacing up his shoe.
"Welcome to the snow!" cried The Imp, gaily, and let a portion of the frozen mass slip down the acrobatic youth's collar.
"Wow!" snorted Andy, straightening up with a jerk. "Hi, you, what do you take me for, an ice-box?" And he commenced to squirm as the cold snow ran down his backbone. Then he made a dive for Pepper and chased The Imp around the dormitory. Over two of the beds they flew, and then brought up in a corner with a crash.
"Have mercy on the furniture!" cried Joe Nelson.
"Don't knock over the table!" added Stuffer.
"Give me that snow!" cried Andy, and managed to get a small portion from Pepper. "How do you like that?" And he plastered the snow in The Imp's left ear.
"Hurrah! Snow from Snow!" cried Jack.
"'Twill warm Pepper's blood, so it will!" was Emerald Hogan's comment.
More snow had been scooped from the window-sill by Fred and Joe, and soon a battle-royal was in progress in the dormitory. But it came to an abrupt end when Dave Kearney appeared.
"Stop it!" cried the young sergeant. "Crabtree is coming!"
"All over!" whispered Jack. "All as orderly as lambs!" And at once every cadet settled down and started in an orderly fashion to finish his morning toilet.
"What was the noise in here?" demanded Josiah Crabtree, as he threw open the door and strode into the dormitory.
He glared around savagely, but nobody answered him.
"I demand to know what was going on here!" he continued.
"Mr. Crabtree, did you speak to me?" asked Pepper, meekly.
"I spoke to you all!" thundered the teacher. "What were you doing in here?"
"I am dressing, Mr. Crabtree," answered Andy.
"I am dressing, Mr. Crabtree," came from Jack.
"I am dressing, too," put in Fred.
"And so was I dressing," said Stuffer, with a smile.
"And I was dressing," supplemented Pepper. "Come to think of it, I rather fancy we were all dressing. You see, we always do dress when we get up in the morning, Mr. Crabtree," he added with a simple smile.
"I want none of your impudence, Ditmore."
"Oh, dear, was I impudent?" murmured The Imp. "I didn't know it. I beg ten thousand pardons—yes, a million, if you'd rather, sir."
"Be quiet, you—you forward boy! Something was going on in here! If I find out what it was, I shall punish all of you!" And having thus delivered himself, Josiah Crabtree strode out of the dormitory, banging the door after him.
"Isn't he an angel!" murmured Andy.
"The sweetest teacher that ever grew!" returned Pepper.
"I'd like to know how long Captain Putnam will put up with him," was Jack's comment.
"I don't believe it will be very long," answered Fred.
The cadets finished their dressing and hurried below. On account of the storm the morning drill was held in the gymnasium, and then the young soldiers marched to the mess-room. On the way several could not resist the temptation to pick up some snow and throw it at each other.
"Hi, you stop that!" roared Reff Ritter, as a snowball took him in the neck. "Who threw that?" he demanded; but nobody answered him. "I believe it was you, Ditmore!" he went on, turning an ugly look on Pepper.
"That's one for tampering with our bicycles, Ritter," retorted Pepper.
It was a chance shot, taken on the spur of the moment, but it told. Reff Ritter started and turned pale.
"Who—er—told you I—er—tampered with your bicycles?" he stammered.
"Never mind who told me, Ritter. We are going to get square with you, and don't you forget it."
"Who said I touched 'em?" grumbled the bully.
"Never mind about that."
"You are trying to corner me, that what's you are up to!" grumbled Ritter. "But you shan't do it! I never touched your wheels, and you can't prove that I did. Now don't you throw any moresnowballs at me, or I'll report you." And then Ritter hurried into the mess-room as fast as he could.
Pepper, Jack and Andy looked at each other.
"He is guilty, I know it!" said Pepper firmly.
"I believe you," answered the young major; and Andy nodded his head to show that he agreed with his chums.