Arthur M. Winfield

“ The majority of the cadets were now inclined to think that Rockley's team would win the contest. They had seen Tom's followers sneezing, but thought this might come from the dampness of the ground.
"Don't give in, Tom!" cried Sam, dancing around. "You've got to beat him!"
"Bah! you act like a monkey," said Lew Flapp. "Rockley's fellows are bound to win."
In the meantime the rope was moving rapidly backward and forward. Once Rockley and his men had Tom's team dangerously close to the line. But Tom ordered a drop and there the team clung, refusing to budge an inch further. ”

“ The wind was now blowing a gale, causing the trees near the farmhouse to creak and groan, and banging more than one shutter. But the boys did not mind this, and went to bed promptly at the usual hour.
"A storm like this on land is nothing to one on the sea," was the way Tom expressed himself. "I don't like anything better than to listen to the whistling of the wind when I am snug in bed." ”

“ The foot races were followed by some prize shooting, a race on the lake, and then by a tub race, and a race in sacks, which called forth much laughter, not only from the cadets, but also from the visitors.
"It was just splendid!" declared Alice Staton to Dick, when it was all over. "I never had such a lovely time in my life."
"Nor I," added her twin sister. "But your brother should have had that running race. It was a shame to knock him down."
"Never mind," said Tom, who had come up. "All the boys know he can run faster than the winner anyway." ”

“ It was rough sport, not to be approved, but "boys will be boys," and it is practically impossible to stop hazing even in the highest of our institutions of learning.
It was poor Hans Mueller who was the first to suffer that night. In the midst of the darkness, for there was no moon, Hans found himself suddenly aroused from his slumbers by being dragged out of his cot by the feet.
"Shtop!" he began, when a hand was thrust over his mouth. Then he was raised up by six cadets, shoved out of the back of the tent and carried away to the grove in the rear of the camp. ”

“ Up! Pull, pull! pull! Down!"
Up and down went the team twice, the second time hauling the rope forward over a foot. Then they went down once more and anchored as firmly as ever.
"Good!" shouted Sam enthusiastically. "You're doing it, boys! Keep it up!"
"Are they?" sneered Lew Flapp. "Just you wait and see."
He had a little roll of paper in his hand, and watching his opportunity he blew the contents into the air, directly over the team led by Tom Rover. The paper contained pepper and it set several of Tom's men to sneezing. ”

“ Left to himself, Arnold Baxter paced the floor of the cottage uneasily. Age was beginning to tell upon him and he was by no means the man he was when introduced to the Rovers years before.
"I wish I was out of it," he murmured to himself. "I'd give a good deal to be on the ocean this minute, bound for some place where I can make a fresh start."
The storm kept growing in violence until the cottage fairly shook from the fury of the wind. There was much thunder and lightning, with some crashing in the woods close at hand, that caused both Baxter and Dick to start in alarm. ”

“ Putnam Hall's the place for me!
⁠The best old school I know!"
"You'll have the conductor putting you off, the next thing you know," remarked Sam.
"Putting me off? Never!" cried Tom. "He knows that academy boys own privileges that other passengers do not possess. He can't cork me up. I defy him!" ”

“ The apples were within easy reach, and soon each was chewing on the juicy fruit to his heart's content.
"Wonder where Flapp and his crowd went," came presently from Tom.
"If they went to Oakville they most likely visited the tavern," answered Dick.
"It's a shame!" declared Tom. "Drinking and smoking and playing cards will never do them any good."
Another bend in the road was passed and they came within sight of Isaac Klem's farm.
"Hullo!" ejaculated Sam, pointing ahead. "What's the matter?"
"Those girls are running for all they are worth!" said Dick.
"A bull is after them!" ”

“ And then came the sounds of several blows in quick succession.
"It's Flapp!" cried Sam. "He is beating somebody most shamefully."
"It's little Harry Moss," returned Tom, leaping to the front. "The big bully! Why can't he take a fellow of his own size?"
He rushed around the corner of the boathouse and there beheld a scene that aroused his warmest indignation. Harry Moss was crowded into a corner and over him stood Lew Flapp, beating him with a heavy boat chain.
Flapp had just raised the chain for another blow when Tom ran in and caught his arm.
"Stop!" he cried. "You let Harry Moss alone!" ”

“ He looked at Arnold Baxter. The man had not yet recovered and looked to be more dead than alive.
Dick remembered having crossed a brook but a short distance away, and to this he went and bathed his burns and brought some water back for Arnold Baxter. His other hand had now be come free, so he could work to much better advantage.
"He has been seriously hurt, that is certain," thought the youth. "Perhaps he breathed in some of the flames. If he did that he may never get over it."
Left to itself the cottage burnt to the ground and then the falling rain put out the hissing embers. ”

“ Tom was right, Helen and Alice Staton were running along the highway at all the speed they could command. Behind them, less than fifty feet distant, was the enraged black bull, bent on doing all the mischief possible.
"Those girls will be hurt!" said Dick, running forward.
"Can't we do something?" asked Sam.
"We can try," said Tom. "Get a rock, or something," and he picked up a sharp stone which lay handy. Sam did likewise. ”

“ When Tom and Sam came up with the hats and the basket Isaac Klem accompanied them.
"All right, Helen?" he asked. "And you too, Alice?"
"Yes, Mr. Klem," said the tall girl. "But it was a narrow escape. The bull would have gored us if it hadn't been for these young gentlemen."
The girls thanked Tom and Sam for what they had brought.
"Who be you young fellows?" asked Isaac Klem curiously.
"I am Dick Rover, and these are my brothers Tom and Sam. We belong to the cadets of Putnam Hall." ”

“ THE ELECTION FOR OFFICERS
On the following morning all of the cadets but Harry Moss appeared in the messroom.
"Joe Davis says Harry is quite sick," said Powell to Dick.
"That's too bad. Have they sent for a doctor?"
"I don't know."
When Lew Flapp heard that Harry was sick he grew pale, and during the morning session could scarcely fix his mind on his studies.
"I hope the little fool don't blab on us," was his thought. "If he does there is no telling what the captain will do. He's altogether too strict for comfort in some things." ”

“ The trouble is, I can't end the tale properly."
"How is that, Dick?" asked his Uncle Randolph. "You were all saved. Isn't that a proper ending for any book?"
"Yes, but what of the villain? Baxter didn't show himself, and that is no ending at all. He should have fallen over a cliff, or been shot, or something like that."
"And we should have married the three girls," put in fun-loving Tom. "That would make the story even more complete."
"Well, things do not happen in real life as they do in story books," said the parent. "It is likely you will never hear of Dan Baxter again. ”

“ Now, though Lew Flapp was much larger than most of the others, he was in the same class as Sam, and he had also entered this race, which boasted of ten contestants, including William Philander Tubbs.
"You have got to win this, Lew," said Rockley. "It ought to be easy for you, with such long legs."
"I mean to win and leave that Rover boy so far behind he'll feel sick," answered Flapp.
Sam had but little to say. But he knew that both Tom and Dick expected him to win, and he resolved to "do or die" as the saying goes. ”

“ Three of the snakes were hit, one quite seriously. These retreated, but the other snakes remained as defiant as ever.
"There must be a nest under the rocks," said Tom. "Were that not so I am sure the snakes would leave at once."
"I've got another idea!" cried Fred. "Why didn't we think of it before?"
"I haven't thought of it yet, Fred," grinned Tom. "What is it?"
"Let us take our fishing rods and tie one fast to another. Then we can turn the boat around and go fishing on the rocks for our clothes." ”

“ If they say they found us at Mike Sherry's we can say that we found them there, too. For all we know they were drinking below before they came up."
"That's it!" interrupted Lew Flapp, thinking he saw a way of implicating Dick and Powell. "Mike Sherry never lets anybody in his saloon without they drink something."
"It's as plain as day," came from Rockley. "They had all the liquor they wanted before they came up, and now they want to stop our sport."
"Your story might be believed were it not for one thing," said Dick, trying to keep calm. "Come on, Harry, come, Joe." ”

“ Dick was about to step forward when Tom caught him by the arm.
"Let us keep shady, Dick."
"All right, Tom, if you say so."
Sam noticed that the faces of the two girls fell when Flapp and his cronies went past.
"Those are some of your chums, I suppose?" Said Helen.
"They are some of the cadets, but no chums of ours," replied Dick.
"Oh!"
"They belong to a little crowd of their own," explained Tom. "We don't hitch very well, so that is why we let them go by unnoticed." ”

“ Lew Flapp spoke in such a loud, overbearing voice that a crowd began to collect in the corner where the punching apparatus was located.
"What's up?" asked more than one cadet.
"Lew Flapp and Dick Rover are going to try to beat each other at punching the bag," was the report.
"Rover will have to do his best then. Flapp is a prime one at bag punching. It's about the only thing he can do real well."
"This isn't a fair contest," put in another student. "Flapp took lessons from a man who used to do bag-punching on the vaudeville stage." ”

“ Then Tom caught the reptile by the tail and flung it into the lake.
After this there was but little trouble in getting the remaining shoe, and with this aboard they sent the rowboat out into the lake and lost no time in finishing their dressing.
"This was a truly horrible experience," was Sam's comment, after the excitement had died down. "Gracious, I feel as if the snakes were crawling around me this minute!"
"Don't say that," said Fred with a shudder. "You make me feel as if there was another snake in my shirt."
"The best thing to do is to forget the snakes," put in Songbird Powell. ”