Kitabı oku: «The Putnam Hall Cadets: or, Good Times in School and Out», sayfa 6
CHAPTER XVI
OFF ON A LONG MARCH
When the boys returned to Putnam Hall and told about their adventure with the tiger, they were proclaimed genuine heroes.
“You certainly deserve a great deal of credit,” said Captain Putnam. “Just the same, had I known the tiger was still at large, I should have kept you at the Hall.”
Later on, the circus authorities were communicated with, and from them Rossmore Ford obtained the skin of the beast, and had it prepared, with the head on, for a rug; and it is in his mansion on the floor to this day.
The cadets of Putnam Hall were now getting ready for an outing to last several days. Before winter set in, the captain wished to give them a taste of camp life, and so decided to make a march to a beautiful valley some twenty miles away. Here the boys were to go into camp for two nights, returning on the next day.
“That is what I’ll like!” exclaimed Stuffer Singleton. “No lessons to study. Only to march, get up an appetite, and eat!”
“Especially eat!” said Andy. “That hits Stuffer every time.”
“We’re to go on army rations,” put in Pepper, with a wink at his chums. “Pork and beans, and hard-tack.”
“No!” exclaimed Stuffer in alarm. “Who told you that?”
“Why, everybody knows it,” put in Andy.
“We’ll see that you get all the hard-tack you want, Stuffer,” went on Pepper. “The captain won’t want you to go hungry, you know.”
“I don’t want any hard-tack,” growled Stuffer, in disgust. “I thought we’d get the same kind of feed as we get here.” The march had suddenly lost all of its interest for him.
“Better take some private rations along,” suggested another cadet. “A loaf of bread, or some dried herrings, or – ”
“Oh, you’re joking!” exclaimed the boy who loved to eat. “I’m going to ask Mr. Strong,” and off he ran, while the others set up a loud laugh.
It was a cool, crisp morning when the battalion started. The cadets made a fine showing in their clean, neat uniforms, with buttons and buckles polished to the last degree. Major Jack was at the head of the column, and he was certainly proud of his position, and had a right to be.
“Shoulder arms, forward, march!” was the command given, and the drums sounded out, and the column moved off. A few people were present to see them march away, and these gave a cheer.
“Ain’t no nicer school in these United States!” exclaimed Peleg Snuggers, enthusiastically. “Them boys is the real thing, right straight through!”
“An’ nice boys, too,” added Mrs. Green. “God bless ’em, every one!”
For the first mile the route was along the lake shore. Then the battalion turned to the westward, and were soon pursuing a road that wound in and out among the hills. The cadets passed through several small villages, and the inhabitants came out to gaze at them in wonder, while the small boys set up a cheer.
One of the villages had just been left behind, when those in the front of the line of march heard a loud tooting from an automobile horn.
“Here comes one of those big autos,” said Pepper. “Say, it’s coming at a spanking gait, too.”
“Hope it gives us plenty of room,” came from another cadet. “I don’t like to meet those big machines, when they are going at a twenty-mile clip.”
The automobile was coming around a turn of the road, and soon it was almost on top of Company A. The cadets were marching on the right side of the road, but the automobile crowded them closely.
“Hi, there, keep to your side of the road!” shouted Jack.
“Go to Halifax!” growled the man who was running the machine, a big burly fellow, with a red face.
“If you don’t keep to your side of the road there will be trouble,” answered Jack, sharply, and then the young major commanded the battalion to halt. He was in sole charge, Captain Putnam and his assistants having gone ahead to arrange for dinner.
“Look here, young fellow, you can’t bulldoze me, even if you are in soldier clothes!” stormed the man, bringing his machine to a standstill.
“Never mind, Carl!” pleaded a lady who sat on the rear seat of the automobile. “Let us go on.”
“I want him to understand he can’t bulldoze me, Annie.”
“I am not trying to bulldoze you, sir,” answered Jack. “We are entitled to half the roadway, and we are going to have it.”
“Feel big, don’t you?” sneered the automobilist.
“Are you going to give us half the road or not?”
“Give them what they want, Carl!” pleaded the lady.
“I can’t give them half the road,” growled the man. “I’m not going to run my wheels into the soft ground for anybody. I might get stuck.”
“You can give us half the road and not get stuck either,” returned Jack. He knew a little about running an automobile himself.
The machine was standing almost in the middle of the road. Somewhat to the right was a puddle of water, and had the cadets marched around the machine, they would have had to go directly through the wet spot.
“Do you expect us to march through that puddle?” demanded the young major, after a pause.
“You can break ranks and go around the other way,” answered the man. He evidently wanted to make as much trouble for the young soldiers as he could.
“We are not breaking ranks for that purpose.” Jack’s face was growing white. “I’ll give you just two minutes in which to get out of the road. Now be quick, and move on!”
“Ho! do you intend to dictate to me?” growled the man, but looked just a bit anxious.
For reply the young major got out his watch. At the same time he turned to the two companies behind him.
“Support arms!” was the command. “Fix bayonets!” And at the last word the cadets drew their shining bayonets from their scabbards and fastened them to their guns.
“Oh, Carl, do move to one side!” cried the lady, in terror. “They are going to charge on us!”
“Hi! hi! don’t you charge!” yelled the man. He knew only too well what bayonets could do to the rubber tires of his automobile.
“Time is up,” called out Major Jack. “Are you going to get to your side of the road or not?”
“Wait – I’ll try it,” grumbled the man, and turning on the power, he moved to one side, and passed the two companies with ease. Several made imitation charges on his rubber tires as he passed, much to his alarm.
“What a brute!” was Andy’s comment, as the cadets moved on once more. “I suppose he wanted the whole road to himself.”
“A good many folks who own autos forget that other folks have rights on the road which they are bound to respect,” answered Joe Nelson. “If they had their way, they’d ride over everything and everybody that came along.”
A short distance further on, the battalion came to another village, and here the young soldiers stopped for dinner. Without loss of time Jack reported to Captain Putnam.
“I am sorry you had trouble,” said the owner of the Hall. “You did right to demand half the road. If you have more trouble, let me know.”
Dinner was had under some large spreading chestnut trees. It was plain but wholesome, and the long morning march had given everybody a good appetite.
“Are you enjoying your hard-tack, Stuffer?” asked Pepper, with a wink at the always-hungry cadet.
“Humph! I knew you fellows were only fooling,” was the answer.
At two o’clock the march was resumed, and kept up until half-past five. They had now reached a spot known as Squire’s Grove, and here tents were pitched in true military style. Big fires were started, and the cadets had their first taste of camp life.
“Say, but I’d like about a month of this,” was Andy’s comment, after each cadet had been assigned to his quarters.
“Perhaps we couldn’t have some fun!” put in Pepper. “As it is, I’m going to try for some fun to-night.”
“Right you are, Pep.”
The air was so cool in the evening that the cadets were glad enough to gather around the big camp-fires. They told stories, and sang songs, and all too quickly came the hour to turn in.
As Captain Putnam wanted the students to learn what real military life was like, each cadet was assigned to two hours of guard duty during the night. As soon as he heard of this, Pepper learned where Mumps would be stationed, and then called Andy to one side.
“Did you hear that ghost story Dale was telling?” he questioned.
“To be sure I did. It fairly made some of the younger lads tremble.”
“Did you notice how scared Mumps was?”
“Yes.”
“Well, Mumps is going to see a ghost to-night, Andy.”
“How do you know?”
“Because we are going to fix one up for him,” and then Pepper unfolded a plan that had just entered his head. It met with instant approval, and soon the two boys started to carry it out.
Taking a tree branch they wrapped it up in a white sheet, and on the top placed a white duck cap, making the whole look like the ghost of a cadet while at a distance. Then they took this out of camp, and placed it at the end of a strong cord, running up over the limb of a tree. The figure was pulled up among the branches, out of sight, and this done they sought out Mumps.
“Say, Mumps, was it you told the fellows that a cadet was once murdered around here?” questioned Pepper, innocently.
“Murdered?” returned the sneak of the school. “No, I never heard of it.”
“They say a cadet was murdered at this place about four years ago, and that if you watch for it, you can see his ghost among the trees.”
“Ah, you can’t scare me,” returned Mumps.
“I’m not trying to scare you. I thought you told the story yourself,” was the answer, and then Andy and Pepper strolled on.
“He’ll remember that, I’ll wager,” whispered Pepper.
“We’ll know better when he goes on guard,” answered Andy, and then they waited impatiently for the time to come when they could work off their little joke on the sneak.
CHAPTER XVII
MUMPS SEES A GHOST
As luck would have it, Pepper and Andy went on guard from ten o’clock to midnight, while Mumps had his time set from midnight to two in the morning.
As soon as they came in from guard duty, Pepper and Andy told a few of their chums of what was in the air, and they all stole from their tents to a spot overlooking the ground that Mumps would have to cover during the next two hours.
The sneak was already on duty, pacing up and down slowly, with his gun on his shoulder. He had to march from one tree in the grove to another, a distance of two hundred feet.
As the sneak passed the tree where the white figure was concealed, Pepper, who was close at hand, uttered a low and unearthly groan.
At once Mumps came to a halt.
“Wh – what’s that?” he faltered.
For reply Pepper uttered another groan, and Andy followed with a sound like that of a dying calf.
“I say, what’s that?” repeated the sneak. All was so dark and strange around him that he felt anything but comfortable.
“Murdered!” moaned Pepper. “Murdered!”
“Murdered!” put in Andy, in a solemn tone. “Oh, to be avenged!”
Then when Mumps’ back was turned Pepper allowed the white figure to drop to within a foot of the ground. As it was light in weight, the breeze made it sway slowly from side to side.
“Ha! ha! ha!” came from Andy and Pepper together.
At this blood-curdling laugh the sneak of the school turned around once again. When he saw the swaying figure in white his teeth began to chatter.
“Oh! Ple – please go – go a – away!” he groaned. “G – go away!”
“Ha! ha! ha!” went on Pepper and Andy. “Down on thy knees, if thou wouldst live!”
“Don’t!” screamed Mumps, and fell on his knees. “Oh, please, don’t kill me! I – I didn’t have anything to do with killing that other fellow, indeed I didn’t!”
“Thou art doomed!” went on the Imp and his chum.
“Doomed! doomed! doomed!” came from half a dozen. All of the cadets could scarcely keep from laughing.
“Oh, save me!” yelled Mumps, and sprang to his feet. “Save me! Save me from the ghost!” And throwing down his gun he started for the center of the camp, with all the speed at his command.
The other cadets set up a laugh, but the sneak was too paralyzed with fear to pay attention to it. Still yelling for help he ran down the main street of the camp, and plunged into the tent occupied by Captain Putnam.
“Hullo, what’s the trouble?” came from Captain Putnam.
“Oh, the ghost! Please save me from the ghost, Captain Putnam!” howled Mumps, and clutched the master of the Hall by the arm. “Save me! The ghost is going to kill me!”
“Why, Master Fenwick, what is the trouble? Have you a nightmare?”
“No, sir. It’s the ghost of the murdered cadet! I – I saw it. It came after me! Oh, save me!”
“Nonsense! You have seen no ghost. Be reasonable.”
“I did see it, sir. It was all white, and it was going to kill me!” And the sneak clung tighter than ever.
“This is some trick.” The captain slipped into his clothes, and turned up a lantern hanging on a tent post. “I’ll investigate. Come along.”
“Oh, I – I’m afraid!” whined Mumps.
“You need not be, Fenwick. I’ll protect you. Come along. There are no such things as ghosts.”
It was fully five minutes before Captain Putnam could get the sneak to accompany him to the spot where the latter had been doing guard duty. In the meantime the whole camp had been aroused, and Pepper and Andy had folded up the sheet and put it away, along with the cap and the cord.
“You can see for yourself that there is nothing here, Fenwick,” said the captain, gazing around.
“But I saw it, Captain Putnam. A tall white figure, right there.”
“You must have been dreaming.”
“No, sir, I saw it, I am certain.”
“Well, where is it now?”
“I don’t know, sir.”
An investigation was made, but, of course, nothing out of the ordinary was brought to light.
“You had better go back to your duty, Fenwick,” said the master of the Hall at last.
“Oh, sir – supposing that ghost comes again?”
“Run up and catch hold of it. You’ll likely find it some joke the other cadets have played on you,” and Captain Putnam smiled broadly.
“A joke!” Mumps looked interested. “Do you think it was a joke?”
“More than likely.”
“Oh, but it looked so real!”
“A ghost can’t look real. You have been deceived. Go back to your duty,” and the master of Putnam Hall returned to his tent, and Mumps resumed his guard duty, with a heart that trembled every time he took a step.
“Gosh! but that was rich!” laughed Andy, when the affair was over.
“Talk about being scared,” returned Pepper. “I was afraid he would have a regular fit!”
There was more fun that night. Poor Hogan was tossed in a blanket, and Dan Baxter had three frogs placed between the blankets of his cot. Our friends did not escape, for in the morning Pepper found a sharp burr in one shoe, and Andy found the sleeves of his coat tied into hard knots. Jack was minus his shoes, which were finally located dangling from the limb of a tree back of his tent.
“Hullo, Major Ruddy has planted a shoe tree!” cried one of the cadets. “Wouldn’t mind having some seed, major. I’d like to grow a pair of slippers.”
“Why not try some lady-slipper seed,” suggested Pepper.
“I’ll slipper the chap that put my shoes up there, if I can find him,” grumbled Jack.
At breakfast there was more fun. Dan Baxter’s crowd was preparing a pot of coffee when Pepper, watching his chance, dropped a piece of soap into the pot.
“Phew! but this is rank coffee!” came from Paxton, spitting out a mouthful.
“Vilest I ever tasted,” came from Coulter. “Say, Dan, did you make that out of stale glue, or old boots?”
“It’s good enough coffee for anybody,” grumbled the bully. “If you don’t like it, make it yourself after this.”
Then he took a deep gulp, just to show them he was not afraid to drink it. A wry face followed.
“Fine, eh?” came from Paxton, sarcastically.
“Regular Waldorf-Astoria brand,” put in Coulter.
“Something’s got in the pot,” cried the bully, and poured the coffee into a big pan that was handy. “What’s this? A cake of soap, I declare! Who put that there?”
“Excuse me from drinking soap coffee,” grunted Paxton.
“Hullo, Dan Baxter’s crowd is drinking soap coffee!” shouted one of the cadets.
“How do you like the flavor, Dan?” asked another.
“Better than Java, eh?” came from a third cadet.
“I have heard of all sorts of tastes in coffee, but I never heard of soap being used before,” was Pepper’s comment.
“Baxter’s afther wantin’ a good wash on th’ insoide!” came from Hogan.
“Ah, you fellows shut up!” growled the bully, and taking the chunk of semi-soft soap, he hurled it at Pepper. But the Imp dodged, and the soap landed in Mumps’ left eye.
“Oh! oh!” howled the sneak. “Oh! you have put out my eye! Oh!” And he began to dance around wildly.
“Didn’t mean to hit you, Mumps,” said Baxter. “I say,” he called out; “who put that soap in the coffee?”
“Here’s a riddle,” came from Andy. “A lima bean to the one who solves it last.”
“Coffee in the soap is good for warts,” said Dale, with a grin, for Baxter’s hands were covered with warts.
“Just wait – I’ll get square!” growled the bully; and there the talk had to come to an end.
Breakfast over, there was a long drill, and then the cadets were allowed to do as they pleased for several hours. Some wandered through the woods, while others went to a nearby brook to fish. Half a dozen of Baxter’s crowd went off through the woods by themselves.
“Where are they going?” asked Pepper.
“I don’t know – and don’t much care,” answered Jack.
Baxter’s crowd walked through the woods to where there was a farmhouse, and there stopped to get some apples and some milk. While stopping at the place they got into conversation with the farmer’s daughter, a pleasant-looking damsel of eighteen.
“She’s a beauty,” said Coulter.
Baxter followed the farmer’s daughter to the dairy, and began to talk to her in a pleasant way. Then he tried to put his arm around her waist.
“Stop that!” she said sharply.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” said he. “Won’t you give me just one kiss?”
“I’ll give you – this!” she answered quickly, and, taking up a can of sour milk, she threw it directly into his face. Then she ran into the house, shrieking with laughter.
“Dan got it that time!” said Paxton, with a snicker.
“It was real sweet, too!” added Coulter.
Wild with rage, Baxter wiped the sour milk from his face and hair.
“I’ll fix you for that!” he roared, and started to go into the house, but the girl appeared with a broom.
“You keep away!” she cried, shrilly. “If you don’t, I’ll set our dog on you!”
“Oh, come on away!” put in Mumps, in alarm. “Come on!” And he hurried towards the road.
“I guess we had better go,” whispered Coulter. “If the farmer should report us to Captain Putnam, there would be the Old Nick to pay,” and he too walked off, with Paxton and the sneak beside him. Seeing there was no help for it, Baxter withdrew, the girl laughing merrily at him as he did so.
CHAPTER XVIII
THE YOUNG MAJOR SHOWS HIS COURAGE
All too soon for the young cadets the encampment in the grove came to an end, and the march back to Putnam Hall was taken up.
“This gives us a taste of what the annual encampment will be like,” said Andy. “My, but won’t we have just boss times!” And his face glowed with anticipation.
The day was positively cold, and the young soldiers were glad enough to march along briskly. Mile after mile was covered, until they came to the place where they had taken dinner when coming from the Hall.
While they were resting Jack and Pepper fell in with a boy of the neighborhood, who was riding a bicycle. The boy asked them about life at the Hall, and in return they questioned him about his wheeling trips.
“You can try my wheel if you wish,” said the youth to them, and Pepper took a short spin up the road and back. Then Jack turned his sword over to his chum and hopped into the saddle.
“The seat isn’t quite high enough for me,” said the young major. “But it’s a good wheel and I feel as if I could pedal ten or twenty miles without half trying.”
Jack had gone quite a distance down the road when he heard a whirring sound, and looking in the direction, saw an automobile approaching. It was coming at good speed, and swaying from side to side.
“Hullo, I’ll have to get out of the way, or run the risk of being run over,” he said to himself, and drew up near a stone fence.
As the automobile came closer he saw that it contained only a lady and a little girl. The lady was holding on to the steering wheel with one hand, and holding the girl with the other.
“Oh, help!” she cried out, as the automobile passed Jack. “Help! I cannot stop the machine!” And then she passed by in a cloud of dust.
For the moment Jack did not comprehend. Then he shut his teeth hard, turned around, and raced after the automobile on the bicycle.
“I’ll have to stop that machine for her if I can!” he reasoned. “I suppose she is afraid the girl will fall out, or else the lever is stuck.”
The automobile was now a good distance down the road, and running dangerously close to the stone fence. Then it swayed to the other side, two wheels going into some mud.
“Help! help!” the lady shrieked, at some cadets standing near.
“Here comes Jack on the bicycle!” exclaimed Andy.
“Look, he is going after the auto!” put in Pepper.
Along the road swung the ponderous machine, the lady continuing to call for help, and the little girl crying in her terror. Behind, Jack was doing his best to catch the runaway machine.
It was a stiff race, and for several minutes it looked as if the young cadet would not make it. But at last he closed the gap ahead, and came up directly behind the automobile. Then, with a quick leap, he cleared the bicycle handle bars and caught hold of the back seat of the turnout ahead.
“What’s the matter?” he asked, as he piled forward. “Can’t you stop it?”
“No, the lever is stuck!” gasped the woman. She was on the point of fainting through excitement and fear.
Jack bent down, and his knowledge of automobiles stood him in good stead. He saw how the lever had become bent. With all of his might he tugged upon it, and brought it back. At once the automobile began to slacken its pace. Then came another pull, and the ponderous machine came to a complete standstill.
“Oh!” murmured the lady, and sank back in a deathlike swoon.
“Oh, Aunt Annie is dying!” shrieked the little girl. “Oh, dear, I never want to ride like this again!”
“She isn’t dying,” said Jack. “She’ll soon be better.”
He looked back and saw some of the cadets hurrying along the road. Soon Pepper came up, followed by Andy and a dozen others, and then Captain Putnam put in an appearance.
The lady was lifted from the automobile and carried to a shady spot under a tree. She had smelling salts with her, and was treated with these, and her face was bathed with water from the brook. Soon she opened her eyes and stared around her.
“You are safe, madam,” said the captain. “Pray take it easy.”
“And Jennie, my niece?”
“She is safe too.”
“What a fearful ride I have had,” went on the lady, with a shudder. “It was awful! The auto got entirely beyond my control. Where is the brave young gentleman who stopped it for me?”
“Here he is,” answered Captain Putnam, pointing to Jack.
“What, you! Why, you – er – you are the young man that – that had the trouble with my husband a few days ago,” faltered the lady, and reddened.
“Never mind about that,” said Jack, quickly. He remembered what the lady had said on that occasion. “I’m glad I happened to be on the bicycle.”
“You sprang from the wheel into the machine?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“It was a brave thing to do. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
A few minutes later a buggy came along, being driven furiously by the man who owned the automobile. He leaped out and ran toward his wife and his little niece.
“Are they hurt?” he demanded.
“No, Carl, we are not hurt,” answered his wife.
“What made you run off so furiously, Annie?”
“I didn’t do it on purpose. The machine started up, and I could not stop it.”
“That young soldier saved us, Uncle Carl,” came from the little girl. “He rode on his wheel after us, and jumped into our auto and pulled on the handles till it stopped.”
The man looked at Jack, and his face grew red.
“Why – er – did you – er – you stop the auto for my wife?” he stammered.
“I did,” answered the young major, coldly.
“He did it at the risk of his life, too,” added the lady. “Carl, we owe him a great deal.”
The man’s face became a study.
“How did you do it?” he asked at length. “Tell me the story, won’t you?” And Jack did so, and then the lady had her say, and so did Captain Putnam.
“I thank you, sir,” said the man. “It was handsome of you, handsome. And after I treated you so meanly, too! Say, do you know how I feel? I feel like two cents!”
“Let us drop it,” said Jack, and walked away. But the man came after him, and his voice was full of emotion.
“Don’t go off that way. I want to tell you something. I – I acted like a fool the other day. It wasn’t fair at all. And now you’ve done the handsome thing. It was great, simply great! I thank you, and I ask your pardon at the same time. Won’t you shake hands?”
“Certainly!” cried Jack, and held out his hand, which the other grasped tightly. “It’s all right – only please give us a little more show when we’re on the march after this.”
“You shall have the whole road – you deserve it!” answered the man, heartily. “This has taught me a lesson I’ll not forget,” he added, as he turned back to look after his wife and inspect the automobile. It took some time to repair the big machine, and in the meantime the cadets walked away, and Jack delivered the wheel to the owner.
“That was a great ride of yours,” said the boy. “And that jump into the auto was grand. Do you know that man?”
“No.”
“His name is Carl Reuterman. He is a rich brewer. He runs all over these roads, and he is rather careless. But I guess he’ll be more careful after this.”
“He’ll have to be – or he and his family will get into trouble,” returned Jack.
“Did he reward you, Jack?” asked Pepper, later on.
“No, and I don’t want any reward,” answered the young major. “I don’t risk my neck for pay.”
The march back to school came to an end that evening at seven o’clock. A hot supper awaited all hands, and the manner in which the students pitched in was astonishing.
“We’re going to have cold weather now,” said Pepper, on turning in. “There’s a heavy frost on the ground already.”
“Frost will be good for the nuts,” came from Andy.
“That’s the idea!” put in Henry Lee. “Let us organize a nutting party. I know where we can get a lot of nuts. The trees are just loaded with them.”
“All right, I’m ready any time Captain Putnam will let us off,” came from Jack. “But I don’t believe he will let us off this week, on account of the outing we have already had,” and he was right.
The cold weather continued, and there was a promise of snow in the air. The week passed, and on the following Saturday the master of the Hall said all of the pupils could go out in the woods for three hours, if they wished.
“But you must be careful of two things,” he said. “Do not get lost, and do not poach on private grounds.”
“I don’t think I’ll get lost,” said Andy. He had been out in the woods a number of times.
The boys divided up into half a dozen parties, and set off with light hearts. Each party carried bags for nuts, and Jack had a pocket compass, in case his party should miss the way.
Just after they had started Dale came to Jack.
“Baxter is going up to Top Rock Hill,” said he. “I believe that is private property.”
“I was going there myself,” said the young major, “but not on private grounds. There are a good many trees outside of the inclosures.”
“I’ll wager Baxter gets into trouble,” said Dale. And he was right, as later events proved.
