CHAPTER IXTHE SHOOTING CONTEST
It was decided that the shooting contest should take place the next day.
“It doesn’t give us much time to practice,” grumbled Fred.
“We might as well have it over with,” answered Jack. “There is no use of allowing it to interfere with our lessons or with the coming election for officers.”
“Do you think we can shoot as well as Brassy?”
“We can try, Fred. From all reports he’s quite a wonderful shot. It seems he comes from a place where everybody is used to firearms.”
It had been decided to hold the contest on the regular range back of the school grounds. Fred and Jack had been in favor of rifles, but the boy from the West had voted in favor of pistols. As a consequence, Captain Dale had told them the contest would be divided into two parts of a possible fifteen points each, the first part to take place with pistols and the second with rifles.
“Say, you fellows have just got to snow Brassy under!” cried Randy. “Don’t leave him a leg to stand on.”
“That’s easy enough to say, Randy,” answered Jack. “But it isn’t so easy to do.”
“I know it, and I was only fooling. However, do your best and make some kind of showing against that loud-mouthed fellow.”
Early on the morning of the contest Jack and Fred received permission to take rifles and pistols and do a little practicing with the firearms. They went out alone, not wishing to be disturbed by any one.
As they were crossing the fields they saw a figure coming from a side road. The person approaching had the cape of his overcoat drawn up tightly around his throat and wore his cap pulled down well over his forehead.
“That fellow looked like Brassy Bangs,” declared Fred, as the distant figure leaped over a hedge and disappeared.
“It certainly did look like Brassy,” answered his cousin. “But what in the world could he be doing out so early in the morning?”
“Maybe he was practicing a little on his own account.”
“He didn’t have any gun with him.”
“That’s right. But he might have a pistol.”
“He never struck me as a fellow who would get up so very early. He always appeared to be rather lazy. And besides that, he didn’t come from the range. He came from the river road.”
“I know it, Jack. Maybe he’s been out all night for a good time with some of those fellows from town.”
After this the two Rovers lost no time in hurrying to the rifle range, and there practised with their pistols and their rifles until it was time to return to the Hall for roll call and the drill before breakfast.
“Well, we may not win, but we’ll make some kind of a showing,” remarked Fred.
It was a clear day, the air just bracing enough to put the cadets of Colby Hall in good spirits. When the time came for the contest nearly all of them hurried to the range.
“Now then, Lest, show ’em what you can do!” cried Paul Halliday.
“The Rovers won’t have a look-in!” broke out Billy Sands. “It will be a regular walk-away for Lest.”
“Don’t be so sure of that,” answered Gif.
“Brassy may be all right enough with a pistol; but don’t forget that Jack and Fred know how to handle a rifle,” added Spouter.
A coin was tossed up and it was thereby decidedthat the contest with pistols should take place first. Each contestant was to shoot three times, the rings on the target counting from 1 to 5. The three contestants were to shoot in rotation, Fred first, Brassy second, and Jack last.
If Fred was a trifle nervous when he went to the front to shoot, he did his best to control it. Taking as careful aim as possible, he fired.
“A three!”
“That’s good enough for a starter!”
With a self-satisfied look on his face, Brassy Bangs strode forward, took quick aim, and fired.
“A bull’s-eye!” shouted Billy Sands in delight.
“I told you he could do it!” added Paul Halliday.
When Jack came to the front he managed to make a 4.
“That’s the stuff!” cried Randy. “You’re only one point behind!”
On the second round Fred managed to make a 4, while Jack scored a 3, thus tying the Rovers. Brassy scored a 4.
“Seven to nine in favor of Bangs!”
Then came the third round, and again Fred scored a 3 and Jack did likewise, while Brassy delighted his cronies by scoring another bull’s-eye.
“A total of ten each for the Rovers!”
“And fourteen for Bangs!”
“I told you Lest could hold ’em down!” shouted Billy Sands.
“Just wait till they shoot with the rifles. He’ll walk away from ’em!” added Paul Halliday.
It must be admitted that the Rovers and their chums were somewhat disappointed that the score stood four points in favor of Brassy.
“Now, Fred, do your best,” whispered Andy to his cousin, as the latter went to the front after carefully examining the rifle handed to him by Captain Dale.
The firearm was a light affair, but of approved pattern and supposed to be quite accurate for use at a distance of two hundred yards.
Fred took longer to aim with the rifle than he had with the pistol, and there was a breathless silence until after the report rang out.
“A four!”
“That’s the stuff, Fred!”
“Now, Brassy, let us see what you can do!”
As confident as ever, Brassy Bangs came to the front, took the rifle handed to him, and shot rather hastily.
“A three!”
Jack was up next, and to the dismay of many of his friends made only a 2.
Then came the second round with rifles, andin that Fred scored a 4, Bangs a 1, and Jack a 3.
“Hurrah! Fred Rover and Brassy Bangs are tied with eighteen points each.”
“And Jack Rover has fifteen points.”
Then came the final round, and amid a breathless silence Fred shot and scored a bull’s-eye. Then came Bangs, and made a 2. And Jack ended the contest with a bull’s-eye.
“Hurrah! Fred Rover wins the match with twenty-three points!”
“Yes, and Jack Rover and Brassy Bangs are tied for second place with twenty each!”
“Hurrah for Fred Rover!”
“Pretty good shooting, I’ll say!”
“It was all to the merry, Fred!” exclaimed Jack, as he caught his cousin’s hand. “You did fine!”
“The best ever!” burst out Andy.
“Say, Jack, why don’t you and Brassy shoot off the tie?” questioned Spouter.
“I’m willing,” was the ready reply of the young captain.
“I’ll shoot off the tie with pistols,” put in Brassy quickly.
“No, let it be with rifles,” broke in Randy.
“I’ll tell you what I think would be fair,” announced Captain Dale. “Each of you take one shot with a rifle and one shot with a pistol.” Andafter quite a little discussion it was so agreed.
The pistols were used first, and there Brassy made a bull’s-eye while Jack managed to register a 4. Then the rifles were used, and here Jack, shooting first, made a bull’s-eye while Brassy got a 2.
“Hurrah! Nine to seven in favor of Captain Rover!”
“Some shooting, Jack!”
“If you had shot as good as that in the first contest you might have beaten Fred.”
“I’m quite content, even if I didn’t beat Fred,” announced the young captain, with a smile.
Brassy Bangs was quite gloomy over the outcome of the contest, and he and his cronies lost no time in quitting the range.
“I’m mighty glad you two fellows beat him,” announced Gif. “Maybe it will take a little of the conceit out of him.”
“Well, Gif, you’ve got to admit he’s a wonderful shot with the pistol,” answered Jack.
“Yes. And his rifle work isn’t any worse than mine,” answered Andy. “Now, I’ll promise to make a lot of bull’s-eyes for you if you’ll let me use a good-sized shotgun or a blunderbuss,” and at this there was a snicker.
For the rest of that day Brassy Bangs had little to say. But the next morning he was as loud-mouthedas ever, declaring that he would have won the contest had he been allowed to use his own pistol—a long affair of the old-fashioned western variety.
“Had he done that it might have given him one more point,” declared Randy. “Of course that would have put him ahead of Jack in the first contest, but it wouldn’t have helped him when it came to the rifle work.”
“Oh, let’s drop Brassy,” said Jack. “I am really getting tired of hearing of him.”
“I can’t bear him,” put in Phil Franklin. “Once or twice he has tried to become chummy with me, but I’ve always given him the cold shoulder.”
It was now drawing on toward the time for the election, and there was a great deal of wire-pulling among the various cadets as to who might run for the offices. Three names were in the field for the office of major: Jack, a Captain Glasby, and a Lieutenant Harkness.
Glasby was a fellow who was very well liked, while Harkness was a lieutenant who at one time had been more or less of a crony of Nappy Martell, Gabe Werner, and others of the crowd that had been opposed to the Rover boys.
“Well, I sha’n’t complain if Glasby gets the position,” declared Jack. “But I’d hate mightily tosee Lieutenant Harkness at the head of the school battalion.”
“I never liked Harkness myself,” put in Spouter. “He isn’t a bit better in many respects than Gabe Werner.”
It was soon noised around the school that Brassy Bangs and his cronies were doing their best for Harkness, while another crowd, led by Bart White, were rooting in rather a lively fashion for Captain Glasby.
“We’ve got to get busy for Jack,” said Gif to Spouter. “Come on! Let’s sound out all the fellows in the Hall we think we can influence.” And thereupon he and Spouter and a number of others set to work to electioneer for Jack as hard as they could.
Several days before the election Andy and Randy obtained permission to go to Haven Point on an errand. It was rather a disagreeable, misty day, and they were tramping along through the mud on the outskirts of the town when they saw Brassy Bangs and a stranger ahead of them. The stranger was a tall, thin individual, dressed in an old-fashioned suit of rusty black and with a big slouch hat pulled well down over his head. He was puffing away at a large black cigar, and seemed to be very much in earnest in what he was saying to Brassy.
“I saw that fellow around the school about a week ago,” declared Randy. “He didn’t look like a very nice sort, either.”
“He certainly has a fierce-looking mustache,” was Andy’s comment. “And it’s as red as his hair.”
“I tell you I can’t do it, and that’s all there is to it,” the boys heard Brassy exclaim, in reply to something the stranger had said.
“And I say you’ve got to do it,” returned the man, and his tone was decidedly ugly. “You’ve got to do it—or otherwise you’ve got to take the consequences.”
“You wouldn’t be so mean, Haddon!” pleaded Brassy, and now the Rovers could see that he was more or less scared.
“Wouldn’t I?” returned the strange man harshly. “You just try me and see! The best thing you can do is to agree to what I said. If you don’t, well——” and here the tall man shrugged his shoulders—“you’ll do as I said before—or you’ll take the consequences.”
CHAPTER XSPOUTER’S SECRET
“Say, this is rather interesting,” remarked Randy in a low tone to his brother.
“That fellow is certainly threatening Brassy,” returned Andy. “I wonder what it can be all about.”
“He wants Brassy to do something.”
The two Rovers kept on behind Bangs and the man called Haddon, and presently saw them turn down a side street where was located a small factory that had been in operation during the war but which was now closed. Both disappeared into a shed attached to the factory.
“Let’s see if we can find out what it’s all about,” said Randy.
“I’m willing,” answered his twin. “Maybe that fellow will grow abusive and hurt Brassy.”
“Well, a good licking wouldn’t hurt him,” answered his brother, with a grin.
“Oh, that’s all right. But we don’t want to see him half killed even if we don’t like him.”
“You trust Brassy to take care of himself,” was the quick reply.
The twins hurried to the shed and there found that the door had been left open and that the man and their fellow-cadet had gone into another part of the low building.
“You know as well as I do that that barn and them hosses was worth at least twelve thousand dollars,” the man was saying to Brassy. “That was a big loss for John Calder.”
“Please don’t say another word about it!” pleaded Brassy.
“I won’t if you’ll do as I told you to.”
“But I’ve let you have a hundred and ten dollars already! It’s every cent I can spare!”
“Well, I’ve got to have more.”
“I’ll bet you’ve been gambling it away, Haddon.”
“It’s none of your business what Bud Haddon does with his money!” exclaimed the stranger, with a toss of his head and blowing a ring of tobacco smoke toward the ceiling of the shed. “If you don’t want me to start things you do as I told you to.”
“Do you know what I think!” exclaimed Brassy, after a pause. “I think those tramp cowboys were guilty.”
“You can’t put that off on no cowboys!” exclaimedBud Haddon. “I know all about it, and so do Jillson and Dusenbury.”
“They don’t know anything—at least they don’t know anything about me!” cried Brassy. But it was plainly to be seen that he was exceedingly nervous. “Somebody’s been cooking up a story against me!”
“Ain’t nobody cookin’ up nothin’,” growled the man. “I know what I’m talkin’ about. You’d better get busy if you know when you’re well off. If you don’t, and your uncle gets wind of this—well, good-night for you!”
“Oh, don’t say anything to my uncle! Please don’t!”
“Well, then you get busy. I’ve hung around here about as long as I intend to. I’m goin’ back to Chicago in a few days.”
At this juncture the Rovers heard a noise outside, and several boys playing hide-and-seek appeared. Not wishing to be discovered by Brassy and his companion, Andy and Randy hurried out into the street and up to the corner. Here they waited for a while, and presently saw Brassy and Bud Haddon come forth. The man sauntered away in the direction of the town while Brassy sped off on the winding road leading to Colby Hall.
“Now what do you make of this?” questionedRandy, as he and his brother continued on their errand.
“It looks rather suspicious to me,” answered Andy. “It looks as if Brassy had done something that wasn’t right and this man was going to expose him unless Brassy paid over some hush money.”
“Yes, and from what Brassy said, he evidently has already paid the man one hundred and ten dollars.”
On the way back to Colby Hall after their errand was finished the twins discussed the matter, but could arrive at no satisfactory conclusion. That evening they told their cousins of what they had heard, and also mentioned the matter to Gif and Spouter.
“It looks to me as if that Bud Haddon had a hold on Brassy,” remarked Jack. “But whether Brassy is really guilty or not of some wrongdoing remains to be found out.”
“I wouldn’t put it past him to do something that wasn’t right,” came from Fred.
“That remains to be seen, Fred. Brassy might do some things that we wouldn’t do; but at the same time I doubt if he’s so very bad at heart. He’s loud-mouthed and has a hasty temper, and he likes to show off, and all that sort of thing, but that doesn’t say he’s a criminal.”
“That Bud Haddon looks like a bad one,” announced Randy. “I wouldn’t trust him with a nickel.”
“It certainly is a mystery,” came from Fred. “Just the same as it’s a mystery about Professor Duke.”
“Gosh, don’t mention Duke!” broke out Gif. “I had all I could do to keep from getting into a row with him this morning. He certainly is a tart one at times.”
“But he looks troubled,” answered Jack. “Ever since Colonel Colby spoke about him I’ve been watching him carefully. And, believe me, that man has something on his mind that’s far from pleasant.”
“He certainly comes and goes a good deal,” said Spouter. “He was away several hours last night and the night before. And I understand he’s going away to-morrow afternoon again.”
“Colonel Colby must know it’s all right. Otherwise he wouldn’t let him go away so much,” declared Gif.
On the following morning when the mail was distributed Spouter received a letter from his father that interested him greatly. He read the communication several times, and then, placing it in his pocket, ran off to where he had left Gif.
“Come on, Gif!” he cried gayly. “I’ve gotgreat news! Come ahead and help find the Rovers.”
“What’s the news?” demanded the other, as they hurried on side by side.
“Just wait and I’ll tell you all about it—maybe.” And then Spouter stopped short, struck by a sudden idea. He thought for a few seconds and then his face broke into a broad smile.
The two boys found the Rovers up in Room 20, which the four cousins used as a sitting room. All were busy studying and looked up in surprise as Spouter dashed in with Gif at his heels.
“Glorious news, boys! Glorious news!” sang out Spouter, as he beamed at them.
“What is it?” they demanded in chorus.
“Glorious, I tell you, glorious!” Spouter waved his hands eloquently. “Why remain cooped up here within the dingy walls of a school when the mighty plains, the boundless forests, the leaping streams, and the azure blue of the skies await you? Why snuff the tainted air of the musty classroom when the free ozone of the hills and mountains beckons to you? Why waste time over musty books when rifle and fishing rod can be had, when one can fling himself in the saddle and go dashing madly across the——”
“Jumping crabs and hopping mud turtles!” exclaimed Andy. “Spouter has got ’em again!”
“What is this, Spouter?” demanded Randy. “A moving picture, or just a plain everyday nightmare?”
“Ha, ha!” continued Spouter, prancing around. “Whoopee! Bang! Bang! Let her go, boys! Lasso him quick before he gets away!” and the talkative cadet made a movement as if throwing a lasso.
“Say, Spouter, come down to earth, will you?” cried Jack, grabbing his chum by the shoulder. “What’s the matter with you?”
“Maybe he swallowed a few yeast cakes by mistake,” remarked Andy.
“It’s the best news ever, fellows!” went on Spouter. “I got it this morning.”
“All right! Let’s have it,” came quickly from Fred.
“I’ve been waiting for this news for several weeks.”
“News from where?” came from the others.
“News from home.”
“From your dad?” questioned Randy.
“Exactly.”
“What has he done now—bought you an automobile?” questioned Gif.
“Better than that!”
“For goodness’ sake, spill out what you’ve got to say!” returned Fred, in exasperation.
“When we went to Cedar Lodge on our grand hunt we were Gif’s guests,” resumed Spouter. “This summer the tables are to be turned, and all of you are to be the guests of yours truly.”
“Gee, that sounds interesting, Spouter!” cried Randy.
“Where do we go and when?” questioned his twin.
“You’re to go just as soon as school shuts down and you can get ready.”
“And where to?” questioned Jack curiously.
“Ha! that’s the deep, dark and delightful secret,” returned Spouter. “You’re all to be my guests, and I’ll promise you the time of your lives. Oh, boys, but this is going to be something great!” And the cadet playfully pounded one and another on the shoulder with his fist.
“But how can we go if we don’t know where we’re going?” asked Fred.
“You’ll know, Fred, before you’re on the way,” was the mysterious answer. “And, believe me, after you’ve found out you won’t want to turn back.”
“What! do you mean you’re not going to tell us where we’re going?” demanded Jack, in astonishment.
“Exactly, Jack. That’s going to be my little secret until this school shuts up,” and Spouterfolded his arms calmly and grinned at all his chums.
They looked at him in blank amazement. This was a proceeding that had never happened before. Suddenly Gif made a dash forward.
“Let’s pound it out of him!”
“That’s the talk! We’ll make him tell!”
“Pull him down and sit on him!”
“Pull off his shoes and tickle his feet! He’s got to tell!”
“Poke him in the ribs!”
“He got a letter this morning. I’ll bet the news is in that!” shouted Gif. “It’s in his pocket now!”
All attempted to pounce upon Spouter, but he was too quick for them, and, dashing across the room, he shot into Fred’s bedroom, banging the door after him. Then, as the others followed, he ran out into the corridor and then sped for his own room, where he locked the door behind him. Then he hid the letter in a place where he was sure none of his chums would find it.
“Well, this takes the bakery!” announced Randy, after all of them had pounded on Spouter’s door in vain. “What do you suppose it means?”
“It’s simple enough,” remarked Jack. “Spouter is going to invite us on some sort of outing thissummer, but he doesn’t want to tell us yet what sort it’s to be.”
“He spoke about mountains and rivers and horseback riding,” said Randy. “That looks like some sort of outdoor affair,” and his eyes glistened.
“Come on out, Spouter, and let us love you a little,” called Fred through the keyhole.
“You go on down and I’ll meet you downstairs,” was the reply. “And remember, you’re not to know another word about this until vacation comes.”
“Going to take us away in a submarine, Spouter?” demanded Andy.
“No, he’s going to take us in an airship to the south pole,” declared his twin.
“Never mind where I’m going to take you,” answered Spouter. “You just keep calm until vacation time comes, and then you’ll learn fast enough in what direction you’re going to travel. And, believe me, we’ll have some outing, or else I’ll miss my guess.”
And with this statement the Rover boys and Gif had to be content.
CHAPTER XITHE ELECTION FOR OFFICERS
“Company attention! Shoulder arms! Forward march!”
Boom! Boom! Boom, boom, boom!
The drums rang out clearly on the morning air and the Colby Hall battalion swung into line on a march that carried it around the school buildings and then to the lake shore. Here Colonel Colby and Captain Dale inspected the three companies. Then the retiring major, Ralph Mason, was called on for a little speech which brought forth many cheers, and after this the command was dismissed.
It was the day for the election, and there was to be no school session until the afternoon.
At the last election there had been a total of 111 votes cast. But now there were one hundred and twenty-five cadets at the institution. There had been some talk of organizing a new command to be known as Company D, but so far this had not materialized.
As was the custom, the election was held in the main hall of the school and was presided over by Captain Dale and Professor Brice.
“I see they expect a hundred and twenty-five votes,” remarked Randy. “That means sixty-three will be necessary to a choice.”
“Well, I’m sure Jack will get at least forty on the first vote,” returned his brother.
“I hope he gets the whole sixty-three,” put in Dan Soppinger. Dan had once run for a captaincy, but had dropped out and turned most of his attention to athletics.
As at other elections, it was decided by Colonel Colby that each officer should be voted for separately.
“We’ll try for a new major first,” announced the head of the Hall.
The ballot box was placed on the table, and after a short intermission during which there was some very active electioneering among the various groups assembled, a bell rang and the cadets were formed in one long line and told to march up and deposit their ballots in the box.
It must be admitted that Jack was rather anxious, although he did his best to conceal it. He smiled at Captain Glasby, who smiled back. Then he smiled at Lieutenant Harkness, but that under-officer only favored him with a scowl.
“Harkness will never win anything with that look on his face,” was Gif’s comment, as he noticed the scowl. “The fellows like an officer who can take things pleasantly.”
It did not take the cadets long to vote, and as soon as all of the ballots had been cast Captain Dale, assisted by Professor Brice, began to tabulate the vote. In less than ten minutes they had finished. Then a bell rang and Captain Dale came forward to read the result.
“What do you know about that!” exclaimed Fred. “Jack and Glasby are within one vote of each other!”
“I’ll say that’s getting pretty close,” answered Randy.
“As no cadet has received the number of votes necessary to a choice, I will give the school a recess for fifteen minutes. Then we will vote again—for the same cadets or for new ones if you feel so inclined.”
After this brief announcement by Captain Dalecame a hum of voices and there was some strenuous electioneering in all parts of the hall and also in the corridors and out on the campus.
“Glasby is stronger than I thought he was,” remarked Gif to Jack. “We’ll have to do some tall work to overcome his vote.”
“I think we can get some of the Harkness fellows to come over to us,” put in Spouter. “I don’t believe he’s as popular as he thinks.”
“Maybe we can get him to withdraw,” suggested Andy, with a grin.
“Withdraw, not!” broke out Fred. “He’s not that sort.”
While the conversation was going on somebody touched Jack on the shoulder, and turning he found himself confronted by Paul Halliday.
“Say, see here, Rover! I’d like a word with you,” whispered Halliday somewhat excitedly.
“All right, shoot!” answered the young captain.
“This is a little private matter,” went on Halliday. “You can bring your cousins along if you want to,” he added.
Wondering what Halliday had in his mind, Jack, along with Fred and Andy who happened to be close by, followed him to an out-of-the-way corner of a corridor.
“We want to know if you’re willing to makea deal with us,” said Halliday in a low, nervous tone of voice. “You know Harkness got twenty-four votes. Well, he’s willing to throw those votes to you if you are willing to back him for the new captain of Company C.”
“I can’t do that,” answered Jack quickly. “If I get to be major I’m going to back Fred here for the captaincy.”
“Oh, but, Jack, I could drop out of that!” put in his cousin quickly.
“Not much, Fred! I said I was going to do it, and I’m going to stick to my word. Besides that, I might as well tell you, Halliday, that I don’t believe Harkness is the best fellow for the position.”
“Then you won’t consider my offer?” demanded Halliday sourly.
“Certainly not!”
“I don’t believe you can control the Harkness votes,” put in Andy. “I believe Jack will get a whole lot of them on the next ballot.”
“He won’t get a one of them, and he’ll lose some of his own!” answered Paul Halliday. “You just wait and see!” And then he walked away.
“Jack, that move might have given you the majorship,” said Fred.
“If I’ve got to get it that way, Fred, I don’twant it,” was the prompt reply. “I wouldn’t vote for Harkness under any circumstances. He’s in hand and glove with Brassy Bangs, Halliday, Sands, and that whole bunch; and I don’t believe he ought to be an officer.”
A few minutes later came a commotion near the main entrance of the Hall. A cadet named Gibson who was doing some electioneering for Glasby had knocked Paul Halliday down, and there was every prospect of a fight when the two cadets were separated by a number of friends.
“He offered to sell the Harkness vote if our crowd would vote later on the way he wanted us to!” declared Gibson. “You would think he had half the vote of the Hall in his pocket,” and he glared at Halliday, who thereupon lost no time in sneaking out of sight.
The report that Halliday, Sands, and even Brassy Bangs were trying to sell the Harkness vote in exchange for some votes for a captaincy soon spread, and a number of the cadets who had voted for the lieutenant became disgusted and promptly said they were going to change. A lively discussion followed, in the midst of which the bell rang for the second ballot.
“Gee, Jack! if some of those fellows do change their votes I hope they come to you,” murmured Gif.
“Well, I must confess I’m hoping that myself,” answered the young captain, with a smile.
Once more the boys lined up and deposited their ballots. Then came some anxious waiting, and finally Captain Dale announced the result:
“Total number of votes cast.....125 Necessary to a choice............63 Jack Rover has...................67 Louis Glasby has.................46 Darrell Harkness has..............9 Peter Floyd has...................3”
“Hurrah! Jack wins!” cried Fred enthusiastically, and was the first person to grab his cousin by the hand and shake it warmly.
“That’s great, Jack!” exclaimed Gif, slapping him on the shoulder. “Let me congratulate you!”
“It’s just the result I was looking for!” burst in Spouter, his face wreathed in smiles.
Of course, Louis Glasby was much disappointed, but he took his defeat in good part and came up bravely to shake Jack by the hand.
“It was a fair and square contest, Jack,” he said. “And I congratulate you.” And then turning to the other cadets he called out: “Three cheers for Major Rover!” They were given with a will; and then Colonel Colby, Captain Dale,and many of the older persons came forward to congratulate the newly-elected head of the school battalion.
“Speech! Speech!” came the cry from the students. “A speech from the new major!” and almost before he was aware of it Jack was escorted to the platform.
“I don’t know what to say to you,” he said, as he faced his fellow-students. “I thank you very heartily for your support and I will do my best to deserve it. I want to say that I am particularly pleased at the nice manner in which Louis Glasby has taken his defeat. He’s a fine fellow and I hope I shall always have him for my friend.” And following these words there was more cheering.
“Evidently the Harkness combination went to pieces,” remarked Randy. “He polled only nine votes.”
“And that was nine too many,” murmured his brother.
Following the election for major, Captain Dale announced that they would next vote for a new captain for Company A.
“I don’t know what you fellows are going to do, but I know I’m going to vote for Louis Glasby,” announced Jack.
“I think a whole lot of fellows will do that,”answered Fred. “He’ll probably get every one of his original fifty-one votes.”
Again there was an intermission of a quarter of an hour, and then the boys were lined up for the vote to fill the vacancy in Company A. On the first ballot Glasby got 60 votes while Fred poled 18 votes, the rest being scattering. Then on the second ballot Glasby was declared elected with 69 votes in his favor.
“Three cheers for Captain Glasby of Company A!” called out Jack quickly, as he shook hands with his late rival, and the cheers were given with as much of a will as they had been for the newly-elected major.
“Well, I got thirty-two votes on that last ballot,” announced Fred. “That shows I’ve got some friends in this school. I don’t want to be the captain of Company A. I’d rather remain a lieutenant of Company C.”
“But we’ve got to have a new captain for Company C now that Jack has stepped out,” put in Phil Franklin.
A quarter of an hour later the balloting began for a new captain for the company Jack had commanded. Here developed a spirited rivalry, and it was not until the fifth ballot that the final vote was taken. Then Fred won by 64 votes with the other votes scattered among eight contestants.
“Three cheers for Captain Fred Rover!” shouted Phil Franklin enthusiastically, and threw his cap high in the air. He had electioneered as hard as anybody for the youngest Rover.
Then Fred was called on for a little speech, and after that there was another election for lieutenants and a number of minor officers.
“It certainly was our day, Fred,” said Jack, as he and his cousin shook hands.
“Right you are, Major Rover,” and Fred saluted in the most precise military fashion.
“Bonfires to-night, boys!” sang out Andy. “And we’ll have some big doings, believe me!”
“Right you are!” declared his twin.
CHAPTER XIIBONFIRE NIGHT
It was the custom at Colby Hall for the officers of the battalion to take dinner with Colonel Colby on the day of an election. This was quite a formal affair and the cadets to participate made it a point to look their best.
“Say, Jack, you’re going to make a stunning looking major,” remarked Fred, as he watched his cousin dressing.
“How about yourself as captain?” was the reply.
“Just wait till Ruth Stevenson sees Jack in his new uniform!” cried Randy.
“Say, Jack, why not have a life-sized photo taken and give it to her to hang over her dressing table?” put in Andy, with a grin.
“You beware, Andy,” admonished his cousin, waving a finger severely at him. “Remember, as the commandant of the battalion, I can throw you into a dungeon cell if I feel so inclined,” andJack strutted around grandly in the privacy of the Rovers’ sitting room.
“I’ll be good, oh, Most Noble One,” answered the fun-loving Rover, bowing down until his head almost touched his feet.
Jack and Fred had already sent word to Martha and Mary, and they, of course, had told Ruth and the others. It is needless to say that the Rover girls and their chums were almost as much pleased over the results of the election as the boys had been.
“I’m just dying to see them on parade with Jack at the head,” confided Martha to the others.
“Yes, and Fred in command of Company C,” added Mary. “Just to think of it! And he so much younger than the others!”
“I hope I’m on hand to see their first parade,” said Ruth, her eyes beaming with pleasure.
“I thought you were going to write Jack a letter about that party,” said Martha in a low tone.
“I am. To-night. And I’ll let him know that I’ve wanted to do it ever since the party was talked of,” went on Ruth.
The officers’ dinner was a great success. Every one present made a little speech and Colonel Colby and Captain Dale made addresses to which the cadets listened with keen attention.
“It is my desire to make this military academyone of the best in the country,” declared the colonel earnestly. “And I cannot do that without the sincere coöperation of every cadet attending the institution. As many of you know”—and here he glanced at Jack and Fred—“when I was about your age I attended Putnam Hall Military Academy. I am sure the training I received there did me much good, and I am also sure that I made many friends who will stand by me as long as I live.
“I want this institution to be one of good-fellowship all around, and I am relying upon all of you to do your best. At Putnam Hall in many respects we followed the honor system which I have put into operation here. That honor system did not fail there, and I do not look for it to fail here. I want you all to have a good time; but there is a limit, and every one of you knows what that limit is just as well as I do. In the late war the training which some of our soldiers had received at Putnam Hall stood them in good stead. And I want the training received here to be of equal benefit if any of my cadets should ever be called upon to fight for our country.”
“Three cheers for Colonel Colby!” came from Jack a minute later, and the boys assembled nearly split their throats trying to do justice to their feelings.
While this dinner was going on the other cadets had their repast in the mess hall and then flew off in all directions to prepare for the real festivities of the evening. They had gotten together several piles of barrels and boxes, as well as brushwood from the forest behind the school, and these were soon heaped up along the river bank into great bonfires, the light of which could be seen a long distance.
“It’s going to be some night, believe me!” sang out Andy merrily. “We’ll tear the woodpile down, as the old saying is.”
“We want to be a little bit careful or else we’ll have Snopper Duke or some other professor calling us down.”
“Snopper Duke is going away. I heard him tell one of the other teachers that he had had a sudden call to go somewhere out of town,” answered Randy.
“Going away again, eh?” questioned Gif, in surprise. “He certainly is getting to be a regular Man of Mystery.”
The greater part of the cadets were wildly excited over the prospects of a good time that night. A few of them, however, including Lieutenant Harkness, Paul Halliday, and Brassy Bangs, looked far from pleased.
“They make me tired,” was Brassy’s comment.“You’d think that being major of the school battalion was next to being president.”
“If I can’t be anything better than a lieutenant I think I’ll resign altogether,” returned Harkness. “I’d rather go in for athletics.”
“You’ll have a pretty good chance if you do,” announced Paul Halliday. “I understand they’re going to try to divorce the officers from participating in baseball and football as much as possible. A fellow can hold a commission and be on a team at the same time only when it seems absolutely necessary.”
“Then Jack Rover and Fred Rover will have to give up playing baseball,” put in Brassy quickly.
“More than likely. Although, of course, they’ll hate to lose such good players as they are,” put in another cadet who was present.
When the officers’ dinner was at an end Jack and Fred lost no time in hurrying to their rooms, where they donned their old uniforms. It was what was termed a “holiday night” at the Hall, which meant that for the time being the cadets were all on an even footing and must treat each other as if such a thing as an officer was unknown.
By the time Jack and Fred joined the crowd along the river bank the fun was at its height. Many of the cadets were running around indulgingin all sorts of horseplay while others were dancing around the bonfires singing the songs they had learned in the school and while at the encampments. Several of the boys, including Andy, were in clowns’ costume with big slapsticks which they used vigorously on everybody who came within their reach.
“Hurrah, boys, let her flicker!” cried Fred, as he rushed forward. “Everybody join in!” he added, and then boomed out with this well-known Hall refrain:
“Who are we?
Can’t you see?
Colby Hall!
Dum! Dum! Dum, dum, dum!
Here we come with fife and drum!
Colby! Colby! Colby Hall!”
“That’s the stuff!” cried Jack. “Let’s have it again!” And then the refrain boomed out louder than ever.
“Come on! Let’s march around the school,” came from Gif, and he caught up a firebrand as he spoke.
A number of others were quick to follow his example, and in a minute more a torchlight procession was in progress, winding along over the campus, around the school, and through the edgeof the woods beyond. Then the boys came back by way of the barns and sheds in the rear.
“Look out that you don’t set something on fire,” warned Jack.
“Something is on fire already!” burst out Andy suddenly.
“You don’t say!” queried Spouter.
“Where is the fire?” demanded half a dozen others, looking around anxiously.
“Right down there,” declared the fun-loving Rover, and pointed to the bonfires along the river.
“Wow! Let’s duck him for that!” cried Phil Franklin.
He made a dive for Andy and so did several others, but the agile Rover was too quick for them and danced out of their reach, having no desire to take an involuntary bath in the river, which at that time of the year was very cold.
In the past the cadets had had considerable fun with Job Plunger, the school janitor, who was quite deaf and who was often called Shout because everybody had to shout at him to make him hear. But this time Plunger was wise and kept out of sight, as did also Pud Hicks, his assistant, and Bob Nixon, the chauffeur. The only person the boys could get hold of was Si Crews, the gymnastic instructor.
“Give us a song, won’t you?” asked several ofthe boys at once, for Si Crews was known to be quite a singer.
“I will if Lowe will play the mandolin or the banjo,” answered Crews.
“That’s the stuff, Ned!” called Fred. “Go on and get your mandolin.”
Ned Lowe, who was also a good singer, was willing, and at once ran off into the school to get the musical instrument mentioned. When he came out he tuned up hastily and then played while Si Crews sang one or two old-time songs. Then Ned gave the crowd one or two funny songs and a dozen or more of the cadets joined in the chorus.
“Here’s a chance to get square with Codfish!” cried Fred, as the sneak of the school showed himself in the crowd.
“Oh, we might as well let Codfish drop,” answered Jack.
But before this could be done Andy and Randy caught hold of Stowell and pushed him forward through the circle of merry cadets around one of the fires.
“We’re going to initiate you in the Ancient Order of Cornmeal,” declared Andy.
“I don’t want to be initiated,” answered Codfish. “You let me alone!”