CHAPTER VIII.A DESPERATE UNDERTAKING.
Leaving Mack and his companions to wonder at Blake’s skill and cunning, and to rejoice over the unexpected return of their dinner, let us go back to Lester Brigham, whom we left locked in his dormitory in company with his friend, Wallace Ross.
If the reader will recall the conversation that took place at Cony Ryan’s that afternoon, he can readily imagine that Lester was in just the right mood to do something desperate. Cony had intimated very plainly that he was a boy of one idea, and had also given it as his opinion that, although Lester was the acknowledged leader of his set (we know he wasn’t; he was only the tool), he was totally unfit for the position. This made Lester so angry that he declared he would not eat any more pancakes in Cony’s house. He would dosomething to prove that he was not a boy of one idea, and it would be something that would not put a red cent into Cony’s pocket. He would teach that enterprising landlord that it wasn’t policy to rail at a good customer because he did not run the guard every night; but what should he do? That was the question. His companions expected him to get up something that would afford them plenty of fun and excitement, but they might as well have told him to plan an expedition to the North Pole, for Lester’s mind was utterly barren of ideas. Just in the nick of time, however, his room-mate came to his assistance, and Lester’s reputation was saved.
“I don’t know what you will think of my plan,” said Ross, after he had closed and locked the door, “but I am of the opinion that I have got hold of something that will create a bigger uproar than your runaway expedition did. You know that the boys in the first class are talking of having a dinner on the 31st. They have invited a good many guests, and intend to make it a grand affair; but I should like to see the whole thing knocked into a cocked hat. I propose that we get a party ofgood fellows together, and go up to the city and eat the dinner ourselves.”
“Humph!” exclaimed Lester, who was greatly disappointed. “Is that all you have to offer? I thought from the way you acted when I came in that you had some grand idea in your head.”
“Don’t you call that a grand idea?” demanded Ross.
“No, I don’t,” snapped Lester, who was inclined to be angry as well as disappointed. “I think it would be a very tame undertaking. The boys would hoot at me if I should suggest it.”
“Tame!” echoed Ross. “Look here, Lester; you don’t understand the matter at all. It would be a much more dangerous exploit than running off with a private yacht, for if the boys in the first class should find out that you thought of interfering with them in any way, they would give you such a thrashing that you wouldn’t get over it in a month. You must know that there are a lot of prominent men invited to this dinner, and if anything should happen, just think how deeply mortified Mack and all the rest of them would be!”
Lester began to prick up his ears now, and to listen with some interest while Ross went on torepeat the conversation he had overheard in the hall, when the committee of arrangements were warming their fingers at the stove, and to unfold the details of the scheme he had matured while awaiting Lester’s return from Cony Ryan’s. The longer Lester listened, the less inclined did he become to take part in it. His room-mate’s idea could not be carried out, he was quite sure of that, because there were too many difficulties and altogether too much danger in the way; still he could propose it to Enoch, and when the latter refused to have anything to do with it, as of course he would the minute the matter was fully explained to him, Lester could say that he had kept his promise—that he had suggested something that would have afforded him and his friends any amount of fun and excitement, but that Enoch lacked the courage to take part in it.
“I wouldn’t take part in it myself for a hundred dollars of any man’s money,” said Lester, mentally, “and I don’t believe Ross would be fool enough to do it, either. Good gracious! What would the fellows in the first class do to us? What would the teachers do? But I’ll propose it, just as Don Gordon once proposed to capturethe butcher’s big bull-dog, take him up to the top floor of the building and kick him down stairs, after tying a tin can to his tail. Don knew very well that there wasn’t a boy in the world who would dare take a hand in a proceeding like that, and he suggested it, just because he wanted to make Tom Fisher and Duncan believe that he was a very brave fellow.” Then aloud he added: “I’ll tell you what I’ll do, Wallace. If you will keep still and say nothing to nobody, I’ll speak to Enoch about this idea of yours and tell you what he thinks.”
Ross looked disappointed; he did not at all approve of this arrangement. If Enoch thought well of his scheme, he wanted him to know who was the originator of it. Lester had no difficulty in reading the thoughts that were passing through his room-mate’s mind, and he hastened to add:
“You see, Ross, that runaway expedition last term made our crowd famous, and there are a good many fellows hanging around us this year, hoping that if we get up another of the same sort, they will be invited to join us; but there are some among them whom we know we can’t trust, and we haveabout decided that we won’t take anybody into our confidence.”
“But you know you can trust me!” exclaimed Ross, with some indignation in his tones.
“Yes, I think we can; but the others may not think so, and the best thing you can do is to keep entirely in the background, and let me manage the matter in my own way. If you won’t agree to it, you can go and see Enoch yourself. And if you do that,” added Lester, mentally, “I’ll knock the whole arrangement higher than the moon. I’ll tell Colonel Mack of it the very first chance I get.”
“But if Enoch thinks that my idea can be carried out I want to know it, so that I can have a hand in it myself,” exclaimed Ross.
“Of course. I’ll attend to that.”
“Then I will agree to your proposition.”
“All right. When I tell you there are some boys who are now recognized as members of our crowd, but whom we do not intend to take with us on any more picnics, you will see the necessity for keeping the matter a profound secret. Don’t lisp a word to anybody, for, if you do, you may speak to the wrong fellow. I’ll talk the schemeup the best I know how, and tell you what conclusion we come to.”
So saying, Lester left the room and hastened away in search of Enoch, whom he found in the hall in company with his inseparable friend, Jones. They saw and understood the wink that Lester gave them as he passed, and followed him out of the building to an unfrequented part of the grounds, where they could talk without fear of being overheard. Then Lester went into the details of his room-mate’s plan, never once mentioning Ross’s name, however, but leaving his auditors to infer that the idea was original with himself. He wanted them to say at the outset that they would not have anything to do with it, and he succeeded in making the difficulties and dangers of the undertaking stand out so prominently that he did not believe that any boy who was in his sober senses would willingly face them. Judge, then, how surprised he was when he saw the look of interest and enthusiasm which his glowing words called to Enoch’s face, and felt the hearty embrace the boy gave him as he exclaimed, in delighted tones:
“Lester, you are a brick! I knew you wouldhit upon something grand if you were only given time to set your wits at work. This beats last year all to smash; don’t it, Jones?”
“I should say so,” replied the latter, as soon as he had somewhat recovered from his amazement. The whole scheme was so original and daring in its conception that he could not take it in all at once. “Lester could not suggest anything that would please me better if he were to think and plan for a month. If we can only carry it out—”
“Oh, we’ll carry it out,” interrupted Enoch, nodding his head in a significant way, as if he meant to convey the impression that he had suddenly conceived of a brilliant idea of his own. “Don’t you worry about that.”
Lester was so disgusted that he could only give a sickly smile in return for the beaming looks his companions bestowed upon him. The latter entered heartily into the spirit of the matter, and Lester, if he had dared, would have gone straight to Colonel Mack and exposed the whole thing. He was afraid to take part in it, and he was so mean that he did not want others to see any fun unless he could have the lion’s share of it. His companions already showed a disposition to ignorehim entirely, and discussed with each other several plans for accomplishing their ends without once asking Lester to express his opinion regarding them.
“Won’t Cony be surprised when he hears of it!” exclaimed Enoch, who was highly excited over the sport in prospect.
“I only wish it would take some money out of his pocket,” snarled Lester, in reply.
“Why do you wish that?” demanded Enoch.
“Because I don’t at all like the way he jawed me to-day,” answered Lester.
“Oh, he didn’t jaw you. He only wanted to wake you up, and I am glad to say that he succeeded in doing it. You never would have thought of this if Cony had not given you that friendly overhauling this afternoon. I wish that dinner was coming off this very night.”
“Perhaps the other boys will not be in favor of it,” Lester ventured to remark, and he hoped from the bottom of his heart that they would not.
“Yes, they will,” said Enoch, confidently. “Mack and Gordon have made themselves obnoxious to a large party of fellows by the extraordinary airs they have thrown on since theyreceived their last promotion, and they will do anything to get even with either of them. Now, we have no time to waste. We must find out just what their plans are, and then we shall know how to go to work to defeat them. I believe they hold their regular business meeting to-night; and, Lester, you and Jones had better hide in the room and see if you can’t hear something that will be of use to us.”
The coolness with which Enoch desired others to put themselves in danger of a good beating while he kept out of the way of it, was refreshing. The promise of the lieutenant-colonel’s shoulder-straps at the end of the term would not have induced Lester Brigham to go into that recitation room as a spy, and take his chances of detection, and he did not hesitate to say so in the plainest language he could command.
“But somebody must go,” insisted Enoch.
“Then go yourself!” exclaimed Lester. “I had brains enough to get up the scheme, and now I’d like to see if you have enough to carry out the details.”
“All right; I’ll go,” said Enoch, promptly; and thus another of Lester’s hopes was dashed tothe ground. If all the boys in the crowd were as courageous as Enoch, and as willing to brave the wrath of the boys in the first class, it was plain that if they did not accomplish their object, it would not be because they were afraid to try.
“There’s just this much about it,” thought Lester; “I won’t go, nor will I have the first thing to do with it. Since Enoch and Jones take so much interest in the scheme, they can work it out to suit themselves and bear the brunt of the punishment when it comes, and I will stay in the background. If I see that they are going to succeed, I will make it my business to break some of the rules so that I will be refused a pass.”
If Lester had tried to carry this resolution into effect he would have found himself in trouble directly. The astute Enoch, who knew just how far to trust him, put the right interpretation upon the expression he saw on his face, and laid his plans accordingly.
“Well, Jones,” said he, cheerfully, “you and I will act as spies to-night, and see if we can learn anything. In the meantime we’ll not say a wordto any of the boys. We’ll wait until we have something definite to tell them.”
Just then the supper call was sounded, and as the three conspirators hastened to obey it, Enoch found opportunity to whisper to his friend Jones:
“Keep your weather-eye on Brigham. I don’t like the way he looked. He means to back out, and, failing in that, to betray us.”
“No!” exclaimed Jones, who was profoundly astonished.
“I am sure of it.”
“Then what in the name of sense did he propose it for?” was the indignant inquiry.
“For fun—just because he wanted to show us that he could think up something in five minutes if he set about it in dead earnest. If he had had the least idea that we would so readily fall in with his scheme, he would not have said a word about it.”
“He wanted to hear himself talk, did he? If I really believed it, I would report him.”
“Don’t do that,” said Enoch, in some alarm, “for if you do you will spoil everything. We don’t care whether he was in earnest or not. He has told us how we can see some fun, and if weare sharp we will go ahead with it. What we want to guard against is, that he don’t slip out, and leave us to stand the court-martial alone.”
“Fall in for supper!” shouted the quartermaster sergeant; and the order put a stop to the conversation.
Enoch and Jones could not remember that they had ever been more excited than they were that night. As self-constituted spies they were about to undertake something that no boy in that school had ever before had the hardihood to attempt. They knew the temper of the students in the first class, and they knew, too, that they all belonged to a secret society that was as old as the academy itself. Its members were scattered all over the country. Its signs, grips, and pass-words, and all the other mysterious things belonging to it, had always been so closely guarded, that no one except a first-class boy had ever been able to obtain the faintest clue to them. A few inquisitive fellows had been bold enough to try it, but they were sorry for it afterward. They never did find out what passed inside the doors of the lodge-room, not even after they became members of the first class; and besides being forever debarred from allthe rights and privileges they would otherwise have enjoyed, they were soused in the big pond until all the curiosity and a good deal of their breath was washed out of them. Enoch and Jones knew all this, and yet they were about to go a step farther. They were going to allow themselves to be locked in one of the recitation rooms with all the boys in the first class, and Jones, after he had taken time to consider the situation, began to feel as if he were on the point of entering a den of lions. Of course, he knew that none of the ceremonies of the lodge-room would be enacted at a business meeting, but still it was possible that some of the students, believing themselves to be alone, might let fall some words or phrases that outsiders were not entitled to hear. He talked these matters over with Enoch after supper, and would have been delighted to see some signs of wavering or hesitancy on the part of his companion. But Enoch’s eye lighted up and his face flushed, as the perils of the undertaking were portrayed to him, and the longer Jones talked, the brighter grew the light and the deeper the flush.
“I don’t want to be black-balled when I getinto the first class,” said Jones, as a clincher. “Why, just think of it, Enoch! Some of the best officers in our army and navy belong to that society, and if I should happen to meet any of them after I leave school, I should like to associate with them on equal terms.”
“I don’t want to be black-balled either,” returned Enoch, “and, what’s more, I don’t intend to be. You need have no fears on that score, because we are not going to allow ourselves to be caught in the recitation room. I tell you, Jones,” exclaimed Enoch, growing enthusiastic, “it will be the biggest thing that was ever thought of, and we must go through with it. The tuckout will be well worth eating—Mack and his crowd don’t do things by halves—and if we succeed in stealing it, they will know in a minute that some of their secrets have leaked out; but won’t it puzzle them to locate that leak?”
“Not if they find us hidden under the benches in the room in which they are holding their meeting,” replied Jones.
But Enoch declared over and over again that they were not going to be caught, and spoke so confidently, and drew so glowing a picture of therage and mortification that would be displayed by the first-class boys when they discovered how they had been duped, that he succeeded in infusing a little of his own courage into his timid companion.
When the time for action arrived, Enoch, who ought to have been studying his lessons for the next day, came softly out of his dormitory and was promptly halted by Charley Porter, the guard who had charge of that floor until midnight. We have seen Charley before, and know that he was a boy after Enoch’s own heart.
“Where are you going?” he asked, in a cautious tone, after he had looked up and down the hall to made sure that he and the spy were the only occupants of it. He knew at once that there was something afoot. He judged from Enoch’s stealthy movements that guard-running was about to be inaugurated again, and wondered how any boy could have the temerity to attempt it. “You can’t get out,” he added, a moment later, “and if you make the effort, you will only get yourself and me into trouble. I am afraid to let you pass.”
“It will be for only half an hour,” was Enoch’swhispered response. “I assure you that I don’t intend to go out of the building.”
“What’s going on?” demanded the guard.
“Something that will astonish you when you hear the full particulars of it,” answered Enoch. “You know about that dinner, of course? Well, some of our old crowd have made up their minds that Mack and his friends shan’t eat it—that we will eat it ourselves.”
Charley smiled, and looked incredulous.
“It’s a fact,” said Enoch, earnestly. “Lester Brigham got up the scheme, and I think it a splendid one.”
“It would be, if it could be carried out,” replied the guard.
“It can be,” said Enoch, in a confident tone. “In the first place we must learn all about their plans, and then we shall know just what to do.”
“But how are you going to learn about their plans?”
“You know that the fellows in the first class hold their regular meeting to-night, I suppose? Well, Jones and I are going to hide in the room and listen to what that committee, who have been to the city to-day, have to say about the matter.”
Charley Porter was really astonished now. He looked at Enoch as if he could hardly believe that he had heard aright, but he did not speak.
“I want to go down to the room now,” continued the spy, “and as soon as the meeting is over I will come back—the very minute. I’ll take care to see that you don’t get into any trouble on my account.”
The guard walked carelessly to the head of the stairs, took a survey of the hall below, and came back to Enoch before he spoke.
“Iwouldn’t do it for a million dollars,” said he. “Don’t you know that you will surely be left out in the cold when you get into the first class if you are caught in that room? I have heard it said that the school is made so very unpleasant for black-balled boys that they can’t stay in it. They are glad to get out and go home as soon as they can.”
“I know all about it,” replied Enoch. “But if I am willing to take the risk it doesn’t make any odds to you, does it?”
“None at all. You’re sure that you will come back as soon as the meeting is adjourned, are you? Go on, then; but you had better take a friend’sadvice and think twice before you go into that room.”
Enoch, who had repeatedly told himself that nothing except detection should turn him from his purpose, gave the guard an assuring nod, and having satisfied himself that the way was clear, darted down the stairs that led to the next lower floor. There was a guard there, but Enoch stood in no fear of him. The fact that he had passed the sentry on his own floor, was taken by all the guards and patrols in the building as evidence that he had left his dormitory by permission of somebody who had a right to give it. So long as he kept clear of the teachers and remained in the building, he could move about without fear of being questioned.
When Enoch reached the lower floor he saw at a glance that there was not a single instant to be lost. There were a good many boys in the hall, and the number was being rapidly augmented by first-class fellows, who were coming out of their rooms to attend the meeting. Jones was there, pacing restlessly up and down, and awaiting Enoch’s arrival with no little impatience. His face was pale, and he rubbed his hands togetherso nervously that it was a wonder he did not attract attention.
“I thought you were never coming,” said he, as Enoch approached. “Don’t you think we had better give it up and find some other way of learning about their plans?”
“Can you suggest any other way?” asked Enoch, in reply.
Jones was obliged to confess that he could not. He had racked his brain in the hope of discovering some less dangerous mode of procedure, but his thinking had amounted to nothing. In fact, there was no other way in which the two spies could gain the information they desired than the one Enoch had selected, because the first-class fellows kept entirely to themselves while they were strolling about the building or grounds, and if a lower class boy had attempted to approach them when they were discussing their plans, he would have been ordered away without ceremony.
“Well, then,” said Enoch, “I don’t see any way for it but to hide under the benches and take the chances. We’ll go one at a time, and I will take the lead. When you come in, give a lowwhistle, and I will reply in the same way to show you where I am.”
The spies separated and began walking up and down the hall, moving in opposite directions, and all the while drawing nearer to the door of the room in which the meeting was to be held. Watching his opportunity, when none of the boys who were gathered around the stove at the upper end of the hall happened to be looking that way, Enoch darted into the room and, in less time than it takes to write it, was concealed under one of the benches. A few minutes later Jones was crouching by his side, and none of the boys in the hall were the wiser for what they had done.