Edward Stratemeyer

“ Crabtree, there isn’t a word of truth in that!” cried Jack, his temper rising.
“Ha! don’t contradict me!” cried Josiah Crabtree.
“But we shall contradict you,” said Pepper. “We have not been smoking, neither have we been drinking.”
“But you were down to the old boathouse,” put in Captain Putnam.
“We admit that,” said Jack. “We went down there for a certain purpose.”
“What was that purpose?”
“I can’t tell you, exactly.”
“We were looking for some other students,” said Pepper. “Some fellows who are enemies of ours.” ”

“ The noise awoke Captain Putnam and George Strong, who were sleeping in a tent close by. Both ran out, and a lantern was lit.
“What’s the trouble here?” demanded the captain.
“A tent is down,” answered George Strong. “Some students’ fun, I presume.”
Soon Baxter, Ritter, and Mumps crawled from under the collapsed tent, making a great noise among the tinware as they did so. Then a crowd began to collect.
“Fenwick! What in the world is the matter with your face?” cried Captain Putnam.
“It’s flour, sir,” answered Mumps. “Somebody nearly smothered me with flour.” ”

“ Strong, is something we suspect belongs to you,” said Jack, proudly. “It is the missing pot of gold—only it isn’t full by any means.”
“The pot of gold? Surely I must be dreaming!” gasped the teacher. “Where did you get it?”
Their tale was speedily told in detail, and the gold was examined with much interest.
“It must be true,” said George Strong. “What an extraordinary ending to an extraordinary adventure!”
Just then the cannon on the campus boomed out—the signal that the boys had returned to Putnam Hall. ”

“ George Strong had been very grateful to the boys for what they had done for him, and he did what he could to help them along in their studies. The insane relatives had imagined that the teacher had hidden away a fortune belonging to the family. The teacher told the boys that it was true that, during the Revolutionary War, his ancestors had buried a pot of gold, to keep it out of the hands of the British.
“But it was not worth anything like a million, as my unfortunate relatives believed,” had been George Strong’s statement to Jack and Pepper. ”

“ I know you!”
“You evidently judge us by yourself,” said Pepper, hotly. “We are not so mean.”
“Don’t waste any words on them,” said Andy. “Come on and let them take their pictures,” and he skated away, and Jack and Pepper followed.
“What a fellow Dan Baxter is!” sighed the youthful major of the cadets. “No matter how nice a fellow tries to be to him he seems to resent it.”
“It’s because he doesn’t want us for friends,” answered Pepper. “He prefers fellows like Coulter and Paxton, and that sneak, Mumps.” ”

“ THE PUTNAM HALL CADETS Or, Good Times in School and Out
The cadets are lively, flesh-and blood fellows, bound to make friends from the start. There are some keen rivalries, in school and out, and something is told of a remarkable midnight feast and a hazing that had an unlooked-for ending. ”

“ Don’t hit the woman!” began Captain Putnam, when the crack of the weapon cut short his warning. Taking hasty aim, the young major had fired at the mad animal. A yelp followed, the dog leaped high in the air, and then came down and lay still.
“Good! Jack nailed him!” shouted Andy. “A fine shot!”
“Let me see if he is dead,” said Captain Putnam, and catching up another rifle he ran forward, followed by half a dozen cadets. Soon they reached the woman, who was on the point of fainting from fright and from running. ”

“ By this time all of the cadets were stirring, for it had been ordered that no shot should be fired unless something was really wrong.
“Must be thieves in the camp!”
“Maybe some wild beasts!”
“I think it is some bears,” said Andy, in a loud voice.
“Bears!” screamed Mumps, and the cry was taken up on all sides. “Oh, I don’t want to meet any bears!”
“Nonsense! There are no bears on this island,” said Captain Putnam. “They must be shooting at something else.”
“Let us go around and investigate,” said George Strong, and brought out his revolver, while the master of Putnam Hall did the same. ”

“ Then came a shout in Jack’s voice.
“They have been discovered!” cried Andy, and leaped from the carryall, followed by George Strong and Peleg Snuggers.
“Look out, or they may shoot you!” said the general-utility man, taking good care to keep well to the rear.
Another shout, this time from Pepper, rang out, and then those who had just come up saw two men rush through the forest in the direction of the lake.
“There they go!” cried George Strong. “Stop, Paul! Stop, Bart!” he added.
“Let us alone!” said Callax. “Let us alone!” ”

“ The Imp began to search his pockets. “No, this is the right one.”
“Then it was written in evaporating ink,” said the young major. “It’s a trick,” he murmured to his chum.
“Faded out, and so soon,” murmured Pepper. “That stumps me!”
“Why do not you two boys explain?” went on Captain Putnam.
“I do not believe they can explain,” put in Josiah Crabtree, who stood near. “They have been up to mischief. More than likely they set the boathouse on fire.”
“It isn’t so!” cried Jack. ”

“ The weight of the big balloon made the upper branches of the tree bend far down, while a few of them were broken. Fearing the whole top of the tree might snap off, the three cadets climbed down with caution until they reached the ground.
“Here we are, safe and sound!” cried Andy, doing a handspring, just to work off his high spirits.
“Don’t crow, Andy; we are not yet out of the woods,” returned Jack, with a faint smile.
[226]
“It seems to me we are much in the woods,” came from Pepper, as he gazed around. “I must confess I haven’t the least idea where we are.” ”

“ The season before Jack, Pepper, and Andy had saved Mr. Ford’s two daughters, Laura and Flossie, from being drowned, and the gentleman had been their warm friend ever since.
“I think not,” said Stuffer. “Their mansion at the Point has been closed up for the winter, and they are not yet back.”
It was not long before Roy Bock and his crew appeared, in a brand-new rowboat which was certainly a beauty. It was painted black, with a gold stripe, and cut the water like a thing of life.
“That’s a better boat than ours,” whispered. Stuffer. “No wonder they want to race us. ”

“ The tents were pitched on the grass, and after a rest Captain Putnam allowed some of the boys to take a dip in the lake. Then campfires were lit and supper cooked, to which the boys did full justice, topping off the meal with the strawberries that had been brought along.
“I don’t think we’ll have any fun to-night,” said Andy. “Everybody is too tired.” And he was right. The cadets were glad to rest and went to sleep without a murmur, only the guards remaining active. Each cadet had to go on guard two hours each night, in true military style. ”

“ Remember, we have only three-quarters of an hour off to-day.”
“Oh, I’ll remember it right enough,” grumbled Pepper Ditmore, as he fixed the skate strap. “And such good skating, too! Isn’t it a shame! I wish we had a whole holiday to-morrow.”
“Make it a week,” put in a cadet named Dale Blackmore. “I declare, I almost love skating as well as I do baseball and football.”
“Are you all ready?” came from Jack Ruddy, a moment later. “I am not going to wait any longer.”
“All ready!” was the answering cry, and six boys lined up on the smooth ice of the lake. ”

“ The announcement the young major made was true—the man who had come up was really Sam Haverick, the horse-dealer, a fellow known far and wide around the lake for his sharp deals in horseflesh.
As soon as he caught sight of the cadets’ uniforms his face took on a sour look.
“Are you youngsters from Putnam Hall?” he asked, as he came to a halt under the tree.
“We are,” answered Pepper.
“How many of you up there?”
“Three.”
“Humph! What are you doing there?”
“The dogs drove us up here,” said Andy. Jack was purposely keeping in the background. ”

“ The corporal of the guard had been out to one of the posts, when an explosion took place just behind him, causing him to leap wildly into the air. He looked back, saw something burning, and picked it up.
“Here you are!” he called, rushing back to Captain Putnam. “I know what is up now.”
“Humph! A firecracker!” said the master of the school. “Who is setting them off, Pell?”
“I don’t know, sir.”
“Ah! nothing but firecrackers,” said Dan Baxter, in disgust. “I am going to bed again.”
“So am I,” added Reff Ritter. ”

“ Baxter and his crowd strolled off by themselves, to smoke some cigarettes Reff Ritter had purchased at the cross-roads hotel on the sly.
“Let us take a walk,” suggested Dale to Pepper and some of the others, and soon they were on the way, going first along the shore and then into the wood. Here it was cool and pleasant, and they enjoyed it thoroughly.
“Couldn’t a fellow have a fine time here if there wasn’t a big crowd?” said Dale. “Just think of six or seven of us with the whole island to ourselves!”
“It would be dandy,” answered Andy. ”

“ The cadets waited, and as nobody came they gradually breathed more freely. They tried the door to the closet, to find it unlocked.
“Well, what’s the next move?” asked Pepper, after a pause.
“We’ll have to get out of this, that’s certain,” answered Jack.
They tiptoed their way out of the closet and found themselves in the main hallway of the academy. Then they ran up the front stairs and into their dormitory.
“I wish I knew when Captain Putnam will get back,” observed Jack, after they had looked around, to find the sleeping quarters empty. ”

“ Josiah Crabtree told his tale, with many exaggerations. According to what he said, Jack and Pepper acted in a most vicious manner.
“They are natural-born young rascals,” said the assistant teacher. “If we can locate them, we must make examples of them, Captain Putnam.”
“Perhaps they are not so bad as you think, Mr. Crabtree.”
“They are every bit as bad—maybe worse. They ran away because they were afraid to face the consequences of their misdoings.” ”

“ The academy stood in the middle of a ten-acre plot. In front was a smooth, grassy parade ground and also a well-kept wagon road, running off in the direction of Cedarville, the nearest village on the lake. To the rear of the school the grounds ran down to the lake, and here were the barns and a storehouse on one side, and a gymnasium on the other, backed up by thick woods, and on the lake shore a boathouse and a line of bathing-houses. ”

“ The story was too good to keep, and soon many of the students knew how Baxter’s toady had thought to trap a burglar, and Mumps was plagued unmercifully. The man to do the cleaning also heard of it and laughed as loudly as anybody.
On the following Wednesday morning bright and early the cadets left Putnam Hall for the brief encampment. They took with them three wagons, loaded with tents, cooking utensils, and provisions.
The battalion certainly presented a fine appearance when it started off. Every cadet was looking his best, in a well-brushed uniform with shining buttons. ”

“ The prisoners were marched to one end of the camp where there were some low bushes. Then Pepper began to whisper, but in a voice so that Coulter and Sabine could hear.
“Fix the bayonets all around, and don’t forget to set the traps. That’s it, now set that trap too. If they dare to move, well, they’ll wish they hadn’t, that’s all.”
“You don’t want to kill them,” whispered Dale, entering into the spirit of the fun.
“They won’t get killed. It will only nip ’em pretty bad—if they move,” answered Pepper.
He opened and shut his pocketknife several times with sharp clicks. ”