CHAPTER VIII
AT COLBY HALL
"My! look at that!"
"Some tumble that, eh?"
"Why! he sent some of that water and mud over me!"
Such were some of the exclamations as the loudly-dressed youth went down in the puddle of water and mud.
He was flat on his back, and it took several seconds for him to turn over and get to his feet. The fall had attracted the attention of everybody making for the auto-stage excepting Spouter and Jack.
"Oh, my eye! you're certainly a sight to see," came from the biggest boy in the crowd, Slugger Brown.
"It wasn't my fault that I fell," retorted the unfortunate one. "Those fellows bumped into me and made me lose my footing," and he pointed to Fred and Randy.
"No such thing!" burst out Fred, indignantly. "You bumped into us first; and you only fell when you tried to jump across the puddle and your feet slipped."
"I say it's your fault!" spluttered the boy who had gone down. His hands were covered with mud and water and he stood there helpless, filled with rage.
"Take your handkerchief and wipe your hands off," advised Slugger Brown. He looked coldly at Fred and Randy. "If they tripped you up, they ought to have a licking for doing it."
"That's the fellow who's responsible," answered the boy who had fallen, and he strode up to confront Fred. "For two pins I'd smash you on the nose," he continued, hotly.
"You leave him alone!" broke in Randy, and doubled up his fists.
The boy who had gone down had expected Fred to back away; but the youngest Rover bravely stood his ground.
"Say! what's up back there?" queried Spouter, suddenly looking around to see why the other boys had not followed him to the auto-stage.
"Looks to me as if somebody was going to get into a fight," returned Jack. "See! one of those fellows just made a pass at Fred. Come on, this won't do!" and he ran back towards the crowd that was gathering.
The boy who had fallen had, indeed, made a pass with one of his dirty fists at Fred, but the latter had dodged the blow with ease and now he had the loudly dressed youth by the arm.
"You behave yourself!" he said sharply. "I didn't knock you down, and you know it! I'm sorry you got yourself all dirty, but it wasn't my fault."
"You fight him, and you'll fight me too!" broke in Randy. "If there is any blame in this it belongs to me as much as to my cousin."
By this time Jack had reached the group and pushed his way to the front. As he caught sight of the face of the boy who had fallen, he gave a quick exclamation.
"Well I never! Nappy Martell!"
"Do you know this fellow?" questioned Andy, quickly.
"I've met him before," was the reply. "He's Nappy Martell—the fellow I had trouble with in front of the office in Wall Street—the fellow who so mistreated that poor street peddler."
"Oh! So this is the same chap, eh?" broke out Randy. "No wonder he wants to fight with Fred. He's a regular scrapper, in spite of his fine clothes."
"What are you doing here?" asked Nappy Martell, curiously, as he looked at Jack. Then his gaze suddenly shifted to Fred and Randy. "Are you Rovers, too?"
"We are," was the quick response.
"Humph! No wonder you knocked me down. I suppose that fellow told you all about me?" and Nappy pointed to Jack.
"What's the use of quarreling about a little thing like a tumble in the dirt?" panted Fatty, who was almost out of breath because of his run towards the auto-stage. "Come on! let's get to the Hall and see who is there."
"I'm not anxious to fight," answered Fred, readily; "but I don't like this fellow's talk."
"I'll talk as I please," blustered Martell. "And I'll fight, too, if I want to."
"That's the talk, Nappy!" came from Slugger Brown. "Don't let any new boys lord it over you. If you want to fight, go ahead."
"I owe these Rovers one," muttered the loudly dressed youth. "I had a run-in with this one in New York," and he pointed to Jack. "They are all of a kind—too fresh to live."
"There is no use of your talking that way, Martell," broke in Jack. "We didn't come here to scrap, but everyone of us can take his own part if it is necessary."
A perfect war of words followed, and the argument proved so hot that it looked as if there would certainly be a fight with Fred and Randy, and possibly some of the others, on one side, and Nappy Martell, Slugger Brown and one or two of their cronies who had come up on the other. But then came a sudden diversion as a heavily built and military looking man came from the main street of the town and walked towards them.
"Cheese it, boys!" came from one of the lads present. "Here comes Captain Dale. He'll report us all if he knows there's anything like a fight going on."
At the announcement that Captain Mapes Dale, who was the military instructor at Colby Hall, was approaching, the boys who had attended the academy the term previous fell back in alarm. They knew the captain to be a strict disciplinarian who abhorred fighting except in a military way.
"Well, boys, are you going up to the Hall?" said the captain pleasantly, as he came closer. The old pupils present saluted him and were saluted in return.
"Yes, sir," answered Spouter. And then before any of the others could speak he added: "Captain Dale, will you permit me to introduce some new scholars?" and thereupon he mentioned the Rover boys' names.
"Glad to know you," said Captain Dale, and shook hands all around.
In the meanwhile Nappy Martell had dropped somewhat in the background so that the military instructor might not notice the soiled condition of his clothing. Then one or two other new pupils were introduced, and the whole crowd made for the auto-stage.
The stage was a large affair, and Slugger Brown, Nappy Martell and some of their friends kept to the front end, leaving the Rovers and their friends together at the rear, the captain and a professor connected with the Hall seating themselves between the two factions.
"This row is only stopped for the time being," whispered Randy to Jack. "I think that fellow Martell is too ugly to let it drop."
"He's rather a big fellow to tackle Fred," returned Jack. "Why, he is even bigger than I am!"
"That's the way with most bullies," put in Fatty. "They don't feel like tackling a fellow of their size. They like to pick out little chaps."
"Oh, don't misunderstand me," returned the oldest of the Rover boys. "Fred may be small, but he is very strong and wiry, and he knows how to take care of himself. But I shouldn't like to see any out and out fighting—at least not so soon. We don't want to get a black eye before we get settled down."
"That's the talk!" came from Andy. "I'd rather have some fun than have any fighting. I hope we'll find the other fellows at the Hall more pleasant than this Martell and that great big Slugger Brown."
"It's queer you didn't mention Martell to us on the train," remarked Fred.
"I thought he had left school," answered Spouter. "You see, he went home before the term closed last Spring, and I didn't know that he was coming back."
"He and Brown seem to be pretty thick," was Randy's comment.
"Yes; they were always together last term, they and a fellow named Henry Stowell. Stowell is a regular little sneak, and most of the boys call him Codfish on account of the awfully broad mouth he's got."
"Well, there's one thing sure," remarked Jack; "we'll all have to keep our eyes open for Martell, Brown and Company."
While on the train the Rover boys had learned that Haven Point was a clean and compactly built town containing about two thousand inhabitants. It was located at the head of Clearwater Lake, a beautiful sheet of water about two miles long and half a mile wide and containing a number of picturesque islands. At the head of the lake was the Rick Rack River, running down from the hills and woods beyond. Up in the hills it was a wild and rocky watercourse containing a number of dangerous rapids, but where it passed Colby Hall it was a broad and fairly deep stream, joining the lake at a point where there were two rocky islands. The distance from the railroad station to the Military Academy was a little over half a mile, along a road branching off through the main street into a country highway bordered on one side by the river and on the other by a number of well-kept farms, with here and there a small patch of timber.
"There's the Hall!" exclaimed Spouter presently, after the auto-stage made a turn through a number of trees and came out on a broad highway running in a semi-circle around a large campus. "What do you think of the place? Looks rather fine, doesn't it?"
All of the Rover boys gazed eagerly at what was before them. They saw a large stone building, shaped almost in the form of a cross, the upper portion facing the river. It was three stories in height and contained not only the classrooms and mess hall of the institution, but also the dormitories for the boys. To one side was a small brick building which at one time had evidently been a private dwelling. This was now occupied by Colonel Colby and his family and the various professors. On the opposite side was a long, low, wooden building.
"That's our gym," explained Fatty. "You can go in there any time you want to, do a turn on the bars, and break your neck."
Down at the water's edge were several small buildings which, Spouter explained, were used for storing the boats belonging to the Hall and also as bathhouses. Behind the Hall were a stable and a barn, and also a garage. And still farther back were a vegetable garden and some farm fields, for Colonel Colby believed in raising as much stuff for the Hall table as possible.
"That's the Rick Rack River," explained Spouter, as they passed the stream. "We've some dandy times there swimming and boating."
"Don't you have skating in the winter?" queried Andy.
"Sure! And we have some great races, too."
In another moment the auto-stage drew up to the front door of Colby Hall, and one after another the boys and Captain Dale and the other teacher alighted.
"You new pupils may as well follow me right to the office," said the captain. "You can leave your suitcases in the hallway until you have been assigned to your rooms."
He led the way, and they followed through a large reception room and into an elegantly appointed office where Colonel Colby sat at a mahogany desk, writing.
"Some new pupils, Colonel Colby," announced the captain, and at once the colonel arose.
"So you are the Rover boys, eh?" he said, his face lighting up with pleasure. "I am certainly very glad to meet you. Of course you know that your fathers and myself were schoolmates for many years?"
"Yes, Colonel Colby, we know that," replied Jack. "That is one reason why they sent us here."
"So I understand. I am proud to know that my old friends think so much of me," and the master of Colby Hall smiled broadly. "I am sure we are going to get along famously."
"It certainly looks like a nice school," remarked Andy, frankly. "I like it first rate."
"And so do I," added his twin.
"We hope to have some great times here," came from Fred.
Then one after another the boys were required to sign the register and answer a number of questions regarding their age and previous instruction, and the state of their health.
"I'll have Professor Brice assign you to your rooms," said Colonel Colby, after the questioning had come to an end. "He has charge of that matter so far as it concerns the older boys. The younger boys are under the charge of Mrs. Crews, the matron."
The master of the Hall touched a bell, and when a servant appeared requested that Professor Brice be summoned. The latter soon appeared, a young man evidently just from college. He was introduced to the boys, and then took them off to assign them their rooms.
"Hadn't we better get our suitcases?" suggested Jack.
"Yes; you might as well bring them along," answered Professor Paul Brice. "That will save another trip downstairs. You can give your trunk checks to me, and I will see that the trunks are brought up from the station and placed in your rooms to be unpacked. After you've unpacked them, they will be marked with your names and placed in the trunk room."
It took the boys but a minute to reach the end of the hallway where their suitcases had been left. Those of the twins were still there, and also that belonging to Jack; but Fred's was missing.
"Hello! what's become of my suitcase?" questioned the youngest Rover, anxiously.
"Maybe somebody carried it upstairs for you," suggested Jack.
All looked around the hallway and in the nearby rooms, but the suitcase could not be found.
"Well, I don't think you need to worry," said Professor Brice lightly. "There is no danger of thieves around here. Probably some boy picked up the suitcase by mistake."
"Maybe," returned Fred; but then he looked at his cousins and shook his head slowly.
"I guess you suspect Nappy Martell and his cronies," whispered Randy on the way upstairs.
"I do!" answered Fred. "I think they took that suitcase to play a trick on me."
CHAPTER IX
THE MISSING SUITCASE
In the letters sent to Colby Hall the Rover boys had requested that they be placed in rooms close to those occupied by Spouter Powell, Gif Garrison and their chums, and Colonel Colby had replied that he would do what he could for them in the matter, although many of the choicest rooms at the Hall had already been assigned to the old cadets.
"I can give you a choice of several rooms," said Professor Brice, as he led the way to the second floor of the school. "Come this way, please."
He took them down a long corridor and into a wing of the building.
"This is our hallway," whispered Spouter to Jack. "I guess you'll get pretty close to Gif and me after all."
Spouter and Gif had rooms numbered 19 and 21. Across the hall, Fatty had number 16. 18, 20 and 22 were as yet unassigned.
"I can give you these three rooms," announced Paul Brice.
"But what about the fourth?" queried Jack. "There are four of us, you see, and all these are single rooms."
"For a fourth room you might take the one next to that occupied by Powell on the other side of the hallway," answered the teacher.
"That might do," returned Fred. "But we would prefer to be together—especially as these rooms all connect."
"I think I can help you out if you want me to," came from Fatty, good-naturedly. "If Professor Brice is willing, I'll move over to number twenty-three, and that will give you four fellows numbers sixteen, eighteen, twenty, and twenty-two."
"Oh, we don't want to disturb you, although it's very kind of you to make the offer," remonstrated Jack.
"That's all right," answered Fatty. "I'd just as lief be next to Spouter. The room is just as good, and I know you four cousins would like to keep together." And so, after a little more talk, the matter was arranged.
"Now the question is: How are we going to assign these rooms?" came from Randy.
"I've got an idea," returned his twin.
"All right; out with it!" came from Fred. "I'd like to get settled so that I can make another hunt for my missing suitcase."
"Why not live here just as we live on Riverside Drive?" answered Andy. "Jack can take one of the middle rooms, with Fred on one side of him and Randy and myself on the other."
"You've solved it, Andy!" exclaimed Jack, and so without further ado the matter was settled.
"Now I'll institute a hunt for that missing suitcase," said Professor Brice after he had made a note of the room assignments. "Most likely some boy picked it up by mistake."
"If he did that, why didn't he leave his own suitcase behind?" queried Fred.
"I'll look it up. Don't worry," said the professor, and then hurried away, for there were many other matters demanding his attention.
The boys found the rooms small but pleasant. Each contained a single bed, a desk, and a chiffonier, and also a small clothing closet. In one corner was a bowl with running water, and each room contained two electric lights. All of the rooms had connecting doors, but these, for the most part, were kept closed, some of the pupils having their beds or chiffoniers in front of them.
"You see, you are permitted to arrange your room to suit yourselves," explained Spouter, "so some of the boys have them one way and some another. Some of the boys are even permitted to double up—that is, put two of the beds in one room and use the other room exclusively for dressing and studying."
"That's an idea," answered Randy. "Maybe Andy and I will do that." This plan was followed out by the twins, who used the last room of the four for a sleeping apartment and made of the other room a sort of general meeting place for all of the Rovers.
"Where does that Nappy Martell hold forth?" questioned Fred of Fatty, while he was helping the stout youth transfer his belongings across the hallway.
"He and Slugger Brown and Codfish and that gang are all around the corner, on the main corridor," was the reply. "That is, Nappy was there last season. I don't know whether somebody else used his room after he left or not."
"It was room sixty," put in Spouter. "Slugger has sixty-two. I don't believe anyone went into sixty after Nappy left. You see, it was almost the end of the term and all the cadets were settled."
"I'm going to take a look around," answered Fred. "I can't do anything here anyway, with no suitcase and no trunk."
"I guess I'd better go with you," came from Jack. He did not wish to allow his cousin to interview the big, over-dressed youth alone.
Leaving the others to settle down in the rooms as best they could, Fred and Jack hurried through the hallway to the main corridor of the second floor of the Hall. Old cadets and new pupils were coming and going in all directions, and many were the glances of curiosity directed towards the Rovers.
"Gee! some of those fellows certainly look nifty in their uniforms," was Fred's comment.
"They look like the uniforms our folks brought home from Putnam Hall," answered Jack. "My father's old uniform is up in our storeroom now. I tried it on one day just for fun. They tell me they are patterned after the uniforms worn at West Point."
"There goes an officer," whispered Fred, as a tall youth went by with a sword dangling from his belt. "Look at the gold braid, will you? Isn't it swell?" he added, in deep admiration.
"I can see your finish, Fred," laughed his cousin. "If you stay here, you'll want to be an officer with a sword, and with lots of gold lace."
"I don't know about that," answered the youngest Rover, seriously. "I guess all the officers have to be big boys."
"Nonsense! Size has nothing to do with it. Why, some of the greatest military men in the world have been very small. Look at Napoleon, for instance."
"Well, I'll see about that later, Jack. Just now I'd rather get on the track of that suitcase."
It did not take the two Rovers long to reach that part of the corridor where was located the room formerly occupied by Nappy Martell. The door was open several inches, and Fred and Jack saw that three boys were present—Nappy, Slugger, and a small, round-faced youth with a particularly broad mouth.
"That little chap must be the sneak Spouter mentioned—the boy they call Codfish," whispered Jack.
"That was a good joke all right, Nappy," piped out the small cadet, as the Rovers came closer. "A fine joke all right all right!"
"You keep your mouth shut about it, Codfish," retorted Nappy Martell, quickly.
"Oh, I won't say a word, believe me!" returned the other quickly.
Just then Slugger Brown peered out into the hallway and saw the two Rover boys. He looked somewhat startled, and immediately placed his hand over Nappy Martell's mouth.
"I want to see you, Martell," cried Fred without hesitation. "I want to know what you did with my suitcase."
"I don't know anything about your suitcase," growled the loudly dressed youth in surly tones.
"Yes, you do! You took it; and I want you to return it," answered Fred, boldly.
"See here! do you want a licking?" burst out the New York boy, as he doubled up his fists. "You deserve one for the way you tripped me up in that mud puddle. You say another word, and I'll give you what's coming to you," and his manner was very threatening.
"No use of fighting here, Nappy," remonstrated Slugger Brown. "Keep it until some time when you can meet him outside."
"I didn't come here to fight," answered Fred. "But I want my suitcase."
"I don't know anything about your suitcase. Who says I took it?" added Nappy Martell with sudden suspicion.
"I say you took it. There wouldn't be anyone else here to play such a trick on me. Now, you must hand it over!"
"You go on about your business!" roared the New York boy; and as Fred, followed by Jack, attempted to enter the room, he slammed the door in their faces and shot the bolt into place.
Fred was thoroughly angry, and if it had not been for his cousin he would have tried then and there to batter the door down. But Jack caught him by the arm and pulled him back.
"No use of creating a disturbance so soon," said Jack. "We'd only get into hot water, and maybe Colonel Colby would become so disgusted he would send us right home. If Martell took that suitcase, he won't dare to keep it, for that would be stealing. More than likely he'll sneak it back to you by to-morrow."
"He ought to have his head knocked off of him," muttered the youngest Rover. "Jack, I feel in my bones that that fellow is going to cause us a lot of trouble."
"I shouldn't wonder," was the answer. "Remember, Fred; he is as angry at me for the row we had down in Wall Street as he is at you over that mud-puddle affair."
"Oh, dear! And I thought everything was going to be lovely when we got here," sighed Fred.
There seemed nothing else to do, and so the two boys returned to where they had left the others. A little while later their trunks came in, and all spent an hour or more in unpacking these and stowing away the various articles brought along.
"You'll be measured for your uniforms to-morrow," announced Spouter. "And then, if the school has the right sizes on hand, you'll get them at once. Otherwise, they'll be made to order and you'll have to wait at least ten days for them."
"Oh, I hope they've got my size in stock!" cried Andy. "I'd like to see how it feels being a cadet."
"Don't worry," answered his twin. "I guess we'll get enough of that before we leave Colby Hall. Remember, you've got to learn how to drill, and march, and shoot at a target, and all that."
"I think it'll be lots of fun," broke in Jack. "My father told me he liked that part of the life at Putnam Hall very much."
"We're pretty well filled up here, it seems to me," came from Fred, as he sat on his empty trunk surveying his surroundings.
"The men will come to take the trunks away in a little while," answered Fatty; and this proved to be so. With the trunks gone the boys had more room in which to move about, for which they were thankful.
"How about supper?" questioned Andy, presently, as a bell rang out sharply.
"We have supper at six o'clock sharp," returned Fatty, quickly.
"Last year we were at a table with Professor Grawson," put in Spouter. "He's a pretty nice man. I hope I get at his table again."
"Excuse me from getting at a table with a man like Professor Lemm," burst out Andy. "Gee! what will I do if they put me with him?" he continued dolefully.
"Well, you'll have to sit wherever you are placed," answered Spouter.
"And what do you care so long as you get enough to eat?" questioned Fatty.
But Andy shook his head. He thought if he were placed at the same table with Professor Asa Lemm, it would be an actual hardship.
CHAPTER X
GETTING ACQUAINTED
"I don't see him anywhere," remarked Andy, as he and his cousins approached the mess hall of the school.
The cadets were entering in little groups of twos and threes, for as yet the regular term at Colby Hall had not begun. With the real opening of the school, the cadets would have a dress parade previous to dining and would then stack their arms outside and march in in regular order.
"Who are you talking about?" questioned Fred.
"Professor Asa Lemm. I don't see him at any of the tables."
"Maybe he didn't come to the Hall to-night. He might have had quite some business to transact with that man who left the train with him."
As there were more tables than professors, some of the boards were presided over by the senior cadets. There was a little confusion, due to the entrance of so many new pupils, and then the Rovers were assigned to a table presided over by a senior named Ralph Mason, who was the major of the school battalion.
"I am glad to meet you," said Major Mason, as he shook hands cordially. "I hope you will make yourselves at home," and he smiled in a manner that won the confidence of all the boys at once.
The meal was a good, substantial one—for Colonel Colby believed in setting a homelike table—and soon the clatter of knives and forks and the rattle of dishes filled the air. Most of the boys had come in from long journeys and were, consequently, hungry, so but little was said while the meal progressed. Spouter and Fatty and several other boys they had met sat at a table next to that occupied by the Rovers, but Nappy Martell and his cronies were on the opposite side of the mess hall, for which our friends were thankful.
"I think if I had to look at the face of Codfish while I was eating, it would spoil my appetite," was Andy's comment during the meal. "They ought to photograph his mouth and put it in the comic supplements."
"Yes. Or else they ought to get him to act in some of the funny movies," returned his twin.
As soon as the repast was at an end, Fred sought out Professor Brice and asked him if anything had been learned concerning the missing suitcase.
"I am sorry to say I haven't learned anything," answered the professor, a troubled look coming over his face. "I really must say, Rover, I don't know what to make of it. Do you suspect anyone in particular of having taken it?"
Fred was on the point of mentioning Nappy Martell's name, but suddenly held himself in check.
"I wouldn't like to say anything about that, Professor," he answered slowly. "I might be accusing a fellow cadet unfairly. If the suitcase isn't returned by to-morrow I may have something to say about it."
"Very well. I think I understand how you feel about it," and the young professor looked knowingly at the boy. "Did you have much in the suitcase?"
"Yes, sir. It was well packed. You see, I wasn't sure whether my trunk would come right along, so I carried all I could in my handbaggage."
When Fred joined the others, all of the crowd, led by Spouter, walked down to the gymnasium. Here the Rovers were introduced to a number of other pupils, including Ned Lowe, who was quite a mandolin player and also a good singer, and a tall, studious youth named Dan Soppinger.
"Ned is our great singer," announced Spouter. "We expect some day that he'll be singing in grand opera on the Metropolitan stage."
"Did you say grand opera or grand uproar?" questioned Andy, slyly.
"Opera, my boy! Opera!" repeated Spouter. "I expect some day that he will thrill great audiences with exquisite renderings of the famous solos by Wagner, Beethoven, Mozart, Donizetti——"
"Great mackerel, Spouter! what are you giving us—a musical directory?" interrupted Randy.
"No. I was only giving you a list of the things I expect to hear Ned sing sooner or later. Now, as for Dan here—he is the human encyclopedia."
"If there is anything you don't want to know, ask Dan and he'll be sure to tell you all about it," put in Fatty with a grin. "How about it, Dan?"
"Say! that's a fine way to introduce a fellow," cried Dan Soppinger, with a doubtful grin on his studious face. "Of course, I'm trying to learn as much as possible, but there are a whole lot of things that I don't know, and I'm not ashamed to acknowledge it. But say! by the way, can any of you tell me what the date was when Jefferson was inaugurated president?"
At this question there came a sudden groan, not only from Fatty, but also from Spouter and Ned Lowe. Then with one voice the three shouted:
"Down with him! He's at it again!"
"I don't believe any of you know the date," retorted Dan Soppinger. "If you did, you'd tell me. I am writing an article about the presidents, and I've got to put that in. And then, here's another thing. Can any of you tell me who crossed the Pacific Ocean to——"
But whatever the question was, it was never finished, for at that moment Spouter, Fatty, Ned and several others piled on Dan Soppinger and brought him to the gymnasium floor.
"Hi! You let up!" cried the victim, squirming from under the others as best he could. "Can't a fellow ask a question or two without you starting such a rough-house as this?"
"No questions to be asked, Dan, until the regular school term begins," answered Spouter. "Then all you've got to do is to go to the Rover boys——"
"Not much!" came simultaneously from Andy and Randy.
"Do you take us for a school library?" questioned Fred, gaily.
"I'll answer all the easy ones, Dan," said Jack, good-naturedly. "The hard ones I'll turn over to Spouter. If the question is a real sensible one, he'll give you a nice little answer—one about twelve hundred words long."
"Hurrah! Spouter is discovered at last!" cried Fatty. "Twelve hundred words long just fits it—that is, if Spouter is in a hurry to cut it short."
The Rover boys were much interested in what was taking place in the gymnasium, and they even tried out some of the bars and swinging rings, as well as one of the exercising machines.
"This is certainly an up-to-date institution," remarked Jack. "This gym couldn't be better."
"How about the boats?" questioned Randy. He and his brother had owned a rowboat on the Hudson River, and had often gone out in the craft.
"Oh, we've got half a dozen good rowboats, as well as several racing shells," answered Spouter. "You'll probably get a chance to look them over later."
While the Rover boys were taking in the sights to be seen in and around the gymnasium, their attention was attracted to a tall, well-formed cadet who was doing some clever work on one of the bars.
"He's doing that almost as well as a circus performer," was Fred's comment.
"Yes; he's certainly very graceful," returned Jack. "I wonder who he is."
"That is Walt Baxter," announced a cadet who had heard the talk.
"Walt Baxter!" exclaimed Randy. "I wonder if he can be the son of Dan Baxter, the man who made so much trouble for our fathers while at Putnam Hall."
"I'll soon find out," returned Jack. "But please remember—Dan Baxter reformed, and more than likely his son is a first-rate fellow."
As soon as Walter Baxter had gotten through with his exercise and had dropped to the floor, Jack, followed by his cousins, went up to him.
"Are you Walt Baxter—the son of Mr. Daniel Baxter?" he questioned.
"Yes," returned the other, and looked at Jack and the others with him curiously.
"I am Jack Rover—the son of Mr. Richard Rover. These are my cousins," and Jack introduced them.
"Oh! is that so?" answered Walt Baxter, and shook hands rather doubtfully. "I—I—am glad to know you," he stammered.
"And we are real glad to know you, Baxter," answered Randy, readily. "We heard you were at this school. We hope that we'll all be good friends."
"If we are not, it won't be my fault," and now there was a ring of relief in Walter Baxter's voice. He lowered his tone a trifle. "I know your fathers did a lot for my father, and I am very thankful for it. If I can do anything for you fellows here, I'll certainly do it."
"And we'll do what we can for you, Baxter," answered Jack, quickly.
After that the talk became general, and Walt Baxter told much about himself and the doings of the cadets at Colby Hall. When Nappy Martell's name was mentioned, he drew down the corners of his mouth.
"I never had any use for that chap," he declared. "Once or twice my hot temper got the better of me and we came pretty near having a fight. But after that Martell gave me a wide berth."
"I think I've got Martell to thank for something that is missing," said Fred, and thereupon related the particulars regarding the lost suitcase.
"Say! I think I know something about that!" cried Walter Baxter, quickly. "Yes, I'm sure I do!"
"Did you see Martell take the suitcase?" demanded the youngest Rover, quickly.
"I can't say as to that, exactly. But I did see Martell sneaking off through the backyard, past the stable, with something under his arm—a big package wrapped up in a couple of newspapers."
"When was this?" questioned Jack, quickly.
"About four o'clock this afternoon."
"Just after we arrived at the Hall!" burst out Randy.
"What did he do with what package?" asked Jack.
"I don't know exactly, excepting that he went down past the stable on to the roadway that leads to the farm fields."
"Maybe he took the suitcase and threw it down in one of the fields," ventured Andy.
"You didn't see him come back?" asked Fred.
"Yes, come to think of it, I did—about a quarter of an hour after that," answered Walt Baxter.
"And did he have the package then?"
"No."
"Then I'll wager it was the suitcase and he left it somewhere down on the farm!" cried Randy. "Let us go and take a look. We are permitted to go out in the farm fields, aren't we?" he asked of Walt.
"Oh, yes. You can go anywhere you please during off hours so long as you don't go out of bounds," was the reply. "If you want to go out of bounds, you have to report at the office and get permission."
The matter was talked over for a few minutes more, and Walt Baxter said he would gladly go along with the Rovers to show them just where he had seen Nappy Martell with the bundle. The five boys were soon in the neighborhood of the Hall stable, and then they passed beyond this to a roadway which ran between the fields attached to the school farm.
"It's a pity it's so dark," declared Jack. "I doubt if we'll be able to locate that suitcase even if we get quite close to it."
"I'll tell you what I'll do," declared Randy. "I'll run back to my room and get my pocket flashlight. That will be just the thing."
It took him but a few minutes to obtain the article he had mentioned, and with the flashlight to guide them, the five boys started along the roadway behind the school. The light was flashed first on one side and then on the other.
"Looks like a wild goose chase," declared Andy, after they had passed two farm fields. "I don't think he would come this far with that heavy suitcase."
"Here is a cornfield full of stacks," said Walt Baxter. "The stacks would afford a dandy hiding place for almost anything."
They approached the first of the stacks, and Fred kicked some of the corn stalks aside, but without result. Then they passed on to the next stack.
"Hello! here is something!" exclaimed Jack, as the rays of the flashlight fell upon the object. "Fred, I guess we've found it all right enough."
"So we have!" cried the youngest Rover; and in a moment more he thrust his hand in between the cornstalks and pulled out the missing suitcase.
CHAPTER XI
DOWN IN THE CORNFIELD
The other boys gathered around in curiosity as Fred brought forth from the stack of cornstalks his missing suitcase. Beside the bag were several newspapers crumpled up into a wad.
"Those must be the newspapers he had the suitcase wrapped in," remarked Walt Baxter.
"More than likely," answered Jack. He picked up the wad of papers and glanced at them. "New York newspapers, too," he cried. "Nappy must have brought them with him from home."
"Was the suitcase locked, Fred?" questioned Randy.
"No. I didn't bother to lock it, because, you see, I had it with me. I only lock a suitcase when I check it."
"Then you'd better take a look inside and see if your duds are all right," advised Andy.
The youngest Rover quickly unstrapped the suitcase and threw back the catch. Then, as Randy sent the rays of the flashlight into the bag, he, as well as the others, uttered various exclamations.
"The mean fellow!"
"Fred, you ought to get after him for this!"
For a quick look inside the suitcase had revealed the fact that Nappy Martell had opened the bag and thrown handfuls of dirt amid the pieces of clothing and the various other articles Fred had packed therein.
"You'll have to have all that laundered stuff done over again before you can wear it," declared Jack. "And you'll have to have those neckties cleaned, too, I am afraid. Say! this is a shame!"
"Just wait! I think I'll be able to get square with Nappy Martell," muttered the youngest Rover.
"He ought to be reported for this," broke in Walt Baxter. "This isn't a joke. It's a low-down, dirty trick."
At this remark all of the other Rover boys looked at Fred, and he looked at his cousins in return.
"I don't know about reporting this," he answered slowly. "I rather think I prefer to settle with Martell myself."
"That's the talk!" cried Andy. "If you reported this, some of the fellows might put you down for a softy and a sneak. I'd rather watch my chance and give Martell as good as he sent."
"And with interest," added his twin.
"If you fellows are anything like your fathers were before you, I reckon you'll know how to get square with Nappy," remarked Walt Baxter. "I've heard that the Rovers never took a back seat for anybody."
"I'll figure out what I'm going to do after I get settled here," returned Fred. He suddenly began to smile. "Say! things have been happening since we left home, haven't they?"
"I should say yes!" answered Andy.
With Jack assisting his cousin in carrying the suitcase, the whole crowd returned to Colby Hall, and here the Rovers started to separate from Walt Baxter, first requesting him to remain silent regarding the finding of the handbaggage.
"If we don't say a word about it, maybe Nappy will get worried," said Fred; "and that is what I want him to do."
"He may go down to the cornfield to see if the bag is still there."
"Hold on!" burst out Randy, suddenly. "I've got an idea!" and then in a few words he explained what had occurred to him. The others listened with interest, and even Walt Baxter had to laugh outright over what he proposed.
"I'll do it!" declared the son of Dan Baxter, readily. "I'll do it the first chance I get. And, believe me, I'll fix it so Nappy Martell gets into hot water!"
"I'd like to see what effect the story has on Martell," said Andy, grinning broadly. "Can't you fix it so we can be around at the time?"
"Sure! When I get the chance, I'll drop you a hint."
"And now I must get this bag to my room without anyone seeing me," said Fred.
"Better let Spouter or Fatty carry it up," advised Jack. "Then, if Martell sees it, he won't know that it is your suitcase."
It was an easy matter to get Spouter to do what was required, although he insisted upon knowing what was in the wind. When he was told, he, too, laughed heartily.
"It will serve Martell right," he said. "I hope it worries him to death."
As soon as the suitcase was safe in Fred's room, he sought out Professor Brice, who was busy arranging the order of some classes.
"I wish to report that I've got my suitcase back, Professor," said the youth.
"Ah, indeed!" was the teacher's reply, and his face showed his relief. "I'm glad to know it. Did you—er—have any trouble?"
"Nothing that I care to mention—at least at this time," answered Fred. "If you don't mind, Professor, we'll drop the matter."
"Oh, very well, Rover. Just as you please." The young professor looked at Fred rather knowingly. "Of course, if there is anything wrong, you can report it later," he added hesitatingly.
"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir," answered the youth, and then bowed himself out of the office. In the hallway he was joined by Andy.
"Did he make you squeal?" questioned the cousin quickly.
"Not much!" was the reply. "He's a good sport. I guess he's been through the mill himself."
Fred spent some time over the contents of the suitcase, brushing the dirt from some of the articles and sorting the rest out to be cleaned or laundered.
"It's going to cost two or three dollars to fix this up," he declared to Randy. "I really ought to send the bill to Martell."
"Well, just wait first and see if we get any fun out of this," answered the joke-loving cousin.
As was to be expected, there was far from a full night's sleep coming to the Rover boys that night. The quarters were strange to them, and there was more or less noise throughout the school building, a bunch of scholars coming in on a late train and not getting settled down until after midnight. There was also something of horseplay, although the majority of the cadets were too tired from their journeys to be very active.
"I suppose we'll have to stand some hazing and all that sort of thing later on," remarked Jack before retiring.
About one o'clock the school seemed to settle down, and then one after another the Rover boys fell asleep, not to awaken until the autumn sun was showing well above the hills beyond Clearwater Lake.
"This certainly is a splendid location," remarked Jack, as he went to the open window, stretched himself, and filled his lungs with the fresh morning air.
"I don't wonder Colonel Colby picked this place out for a school," answered Andy, who had come in. "He couldn't have done better."
Not being accustomed to their surroundings, it took the Rovers a little longer than usual to get washed and dressed. They were just finishing their toilets when there came a light knock on Randy's door. He opened it to find Walt Baxter standing there.
"Nappy Martell just went downstairs, and I've fixed that matter up with Ned Lowe," said Walt. "Come on down if you want to see what takes place."
He led the way, and all of the Rover boys followed at a safe distance. They saw Walt enter one of the big living-rooms of the Hall, to one end of which was attached the school library. Nappy Martell was at one of the library tables glancing carelessly over a magazine. In the living-room Walt was joined by Ned Lowe, and the pair walked up behind Nappy.
"Why, yes, it was the strangest thing I ever saw," said Walt to Ned in a loud voice so that Nappy Martell could not help but hear. "The fellow seemed to come from a stack of cornstalks down in the cornfield."
"It wasn't one of the cadets, was it?" questioned Ned, innocently.
"Oh, no. I think this fellow was some kind of a tramp—maybe some fellow who had been sleeping under the stack all night. But what he was doing with such a fine suitcase gets me."
"That's right. Tramps don't generally have suitcases," returned the other boy. "Did he come toward the school?"
"No. He dug out the other way just as fast as he could go."
"Poor fellow! maybe he was afraid if he came towards the school he would be arrested. If he had a suitcase he couldn't have been just an ordinary tramp. Maybe he was some working man looking for a job and without the price of a night's lodging."
"Perhaps, Ned. At the same time, I don't think Colonel Colby wants his cornstalks used for a hotel," returned Walt; and then he and Ned walked through the library and went outside on the campus.
During this conversation the Rover boys, hidden behind some open doors, had watched Nappy Martell closely. They had seen that he had caught what was being said and had immediately lost all interest in the magazine he was perusing. His face took on a worried look, and he glanced inquiringly after Walt and Ned. Then he threw down his magazine and started to leave the room.
"Come on, let us watch him," whispered Jack.
"Yes. But keep out of his sight," returned Randy. "We don't want this joke spoiled."
Keeping well in the background, they saw Nappy Martell ascend the stairs to his room. A moment later he came forth with his hat in his hand.
"I bet an oyster against a soda cracker he's going down to that cornfield!" cried Andy.
"Right you are!" answered Fred. "Come on, let's follow him;" and rushing up to their own rooms the Rover boys donned their caps and sweaters, for the day was unusually cool.
Nappy Martell left the Hall by a rear door, and the Rovers followed. They saw the loudly dressed youth hurry toward the stable and then disappear to the rear. Soon he was on the highway leading to the cornfield.
"There is no use of our following him, for he might see us and that would spoil everything," said Randy. "Let's wait here at the stable until he comes back."
It did not take Nappy Martell long to reach the cornfield; and from a distance the Rovers saw him rush around, first to one stack of cornstalks and then to another. He was gone fully a quarter of an hour, and came back looking decidedly worried.
"He thinks some tramp got that suitcase and went off with it," said Fred, grinning. "Randy, that certainly was one great joke."
"Don't say a word," answered Randy. "Just let him keep on worrying for a while. Maybe it will do him good."
As Martell passed the stable, the Rover boys stepped out of sight in the building. They saw him re-enter the Hall, and then they took a roundabout course which soon brought them to the campus, where they joined Fatty and Ned.
"It's certainly a good joke," was Fatty's comment. "And any fellow who would be mean enough to dirty a fellow's clothing like that ought to suffer for it. Gee! I'll bet he's worried!"
Of course, such a joke could not be kept entirely secret, and before long it was spread among a good many of the cadets. But great care was taken to keep it from Slugger Brown, Codfish and all the others belonging to the Martell crowd.
"And now to pay Martell back for his meanness!" said Fred a little later. "This joke of Randy's is all right as far as it goes, but I think I'm going to go him one better—that is, if I can get into Martell's room."
"All right, Fred. Anything you say goes," added Andy, quickly. "Isn't that so, Randy?"
"Sure thing!"
"Look here! You don't want to get into trouble," warned Jack.
"There won't be much trouble about this," answered Fred. "I am only going to give Nappy Martell something to think about."