"I--ker-choo!--I guess I had better--ker-choo!" went on Joe.

"He's 'ker-chooing' all he needs to," was Jack's comment, and this
caused a general titter.

"I guess I'll ask to--ker-choo!--to be excused--ker-choo!" went on Joe,
and jumping up he left the table and the room. He ran out on the campus
and there sneezed himself free of the pepper, much to his relief.

Joe was about to return to the mess-hall when he chanced to see two
figures sneaking along in the semi-darkness, in the direction of the
woods. He was just able to make out that the pair were Reff Ritter and
Gus Coulter when they disappeared behind the trees.

"Now, what are those fellows up to?" mused Joe, as he walked slowly to
the mess-hall. "No good, I'll venture."

He sat down and commenced to eat. Then, of a sudden, he uttered an
exclamation.

"I've got it! That's it!"

"What is it, Nelson?" asked George Strong.

"Oh--er--nothing," stammered the cadet. But when the teacher was not
looking, he leaned over towards Jack.

"What is it, Joe?" whispered the young major.

"Tell Pepper I just saw Ritter and Coulter sneaking into the woods."

"You did!" Jack closed one eye. "And you think----"

"They may have learned about the barrels."

"If that is so, we'll have to watch 'em," murmured Jack, and
immediately passed word to Pepper, Dale and Andy.

The cadets could scarcely wait to finish their meal, and cut themselves
short on cake and pears. Pepper was the first out, but he was quickly
followed by Andy and Jack.

"Let us try to surprise them--if they are after the barrels," said The
Imp.

"Maybe they'll set fire to 'em before we get there," suggested the
acrobatic youth.

"If they do that, I'll make 'em pay for the barrels," cried Pepper. "I
am not going to put up three dollars for another fellow's fun."

"Did you pay the roofer that much for the barrels?"

"Yes."

The three boys hurried across the campus and dove into the woods beyond.
Then Pepper put up his hand for silence.

"Let us surprise 'em if we can," he whispered.

"That's the talk," answered the young major.

It did not take the three long to reach the vicinity where the
tar-barrels had been left. As they approached they saw a light flare up.

"They are setting 'em on fire!" cried Andy.

"Stop, Ritter! Stop, Coulter!" yelled Pepper. "Don't you light those
barrels!"

"Ha! ha!" came from the bully of the Hall. "What's an old tar-barrel,
anyway? Guess we can fire them if we want to!"

"Those are my barrels," answered Pepper.

He rushed forward, followed by Jack and Andy. But they were too late,
for on the instant a big flame shot up and all three of the tar-barrels,
standing in a close triangle, and filled with dried leaves, commenced to
burn furiously. As the flames shot up among the trees, Ritter and
Coulter backed away.

"Good-by to those barrels!" came sorrowfully from Andy. "We'll not be
able to use them for the celebration to-night."

"I'll fix you for this, Ritter; and you, too, Coulter!" called out
Pepper, bitterly. "Oh, what luck!" he groaned, as he saw the flames from
the tar-barrels climb higher and higher. "What a grand bonfire they
would have made on the lake-front!"

"Boys, this fire is dangerous!" ejaculated Jack.

"What do you mean?" came from the others.

"It is going to set fire to the woods! See, the dried leaves are
catching already! If it reaches yonder cedars there will be a terrible
conflagration here!"

"Phew! that's true!" came from Pepper. His merry face grew sober for the
moment. "What shall we do?"

"We are not responsible," said Andy. "It is Ritter and Coulter's fault."

"But we don't want these grand woods to burn down," went on the young
major. "Besides, the wind is rising and it is blowing towards the gym
and the stables! The burning embers might set fire to those buildings!"

"Come on and put the blaze out!" said Andy.

"How are you going to do it? We haven't any water--and water isn't of
much account against tar, anyway. Gracious, see those flames shoot up!"
Jack added, as a column of fire shot skyward.

"One of the trees is catching already!" gasped Pepper. "We had better
sound an alarm!"

"Andy, go back to the school and tell the others, teachers and all,"
ordered the young major. "Captain Putnam will know what to do. Pepper,
you and I had better try to throw dirt and stones on the barrels. That
will keep down the flames a little."

The acrobatic youth set off on a sprint in the direction of Putnam Hall.
While he was gone the others did their best to subdue the
rapidly-increasing conflagration. It was hot work, and soon the
perspiration was pouring down their faces.

"It's no use!" panted Pepper, when the wind sent a sudden eddy of black
smoke in his face.

"It would take a regular fire department to put out that blaze!"

"Maybe Captain Putnam will send out the bucket brigade," answered his
chum.

The wind was steadily increasing, and as it whirled around it sent the
sparks flying in all directions. Jack had one ember settle on his hand
and Pepper was burnt on the ear. They got a good deal of smoke in their
eyes and soon commenced to cough. But they kept on throwing all the
loose dirt and stones possible on the fire.

"I wish the barrels didn't have quite so much tar on 'em," panted
Pepper. "It's a wonder the roofer left so much inside."

"He wanted to give you the worth of your money," answered the young
major, grimly.

After what seemed a long time a shout was heard, and then Andy burst
into view.

"The bucket brigade is coming with pails of water," he said. "And some
other cadets are to get rakes and wet swabs and shovels."

"They can't come any too quick!" answered Pepper. "See, two of the trees
are burning already."

"Yes, and two others are catching!" announced Jack. Then an extra puff
of wind sent all of the cadets from the vicinity of the blazing barrels.

"I suppose Ritter and Coulter didn't dream of such a fire when they
started it," was Andy's comment.

"Just the same, they are responsible," answered Jack, gravely.

A yell came from afar, and soon some cadets ran into view, each carrying
a bucket of water. Leading them was George Strong, who had a
long-handled rake and a shovel.

"Boys! boys! didn't you know better than to light a fire here!" cried
the teacher.

"We didn't do it," answered Jack.

The water was thrown on the blazing barrels, and then the teacher tried
to knock them flat with his rake. But that caused a heavy shower of
sparks to ascend, setting fire to some nearby bushes.

"It will be better to use the shovel," said Jack. "Dirt will put out
such a fire quicker than anything."

"I believe you, Major Ruddy," answered Mr. Strong, and then he sent some
cadets back for more shovels and a few pickaxes, with which to loosen up
the dirt.

Soon many more cadets arrived, and with them Captain Putnam. Among the
number were Coulter and Ritter, and the pair looked much dismayed.

"Say, I didn't think the fire would spread to the woods," whispered Gus
Coulter.

"Hush!" warned his crony. "Don't you admit that we did it. If it comes
to the worst, say it was an accident, that we were trying to light a
torch, to sneak the barrels away, when they took fire."

"All right."

More water was thrown on the barrels, and then a small army of cadets
commenced to dig up dirt and stones, with which to cover the burning
objects. This worked very well on the barrels. But to reach the trees
was different. One thick cedar was blazing away like a torch--the flames
far above their heads.

"Let us cut that tree down," ordered Captain Putnam.

Two axes had been brought along, and Dale used one while Peleg Snuggers
wielded the other. Soon the cedar commenced to totter.

"Look out!" cried Captain Putnam, and then crash! the tree came down,
directly on top of the tar-barrels. Up went a thick cloud of smoke and
sparks. But the cadets were ready with dirt and stones, and the danger
of a new blaze was quickly averted.

While the tree was being cut down, the cadets and teachers had been busy
with pickaxes and shovels, and also with their rakes and wet swabs, and
had put out much of the fire elsewhere. One more tree had to be leveled,
and this work was done by Joe and Bart. Then, after five minutes more
of hard work, the last of the fire was extinguished, and the crowd in
the woods was left in darkness.

"Hello, it's dark enough now," cried Pepper. "We'll need a lantern to
get out with."

"Here's a torch," answered one cadet, and took up a cedar bough, and
commenced to wave it into a flame.

"No more of that, Bates!" cried Captain Putnam. "We have had enough of
fire. We'll go back in the dark. Snuggers, you stay here and see to it
that the fire doesn't break out again."

"Yes, sir," answered the general utility man.

"Here is a pistol. If it does break out, fire two shots for an alarm."

"Yes, sir."

"I'll send Alexander Pop here with more water and with some lunch, for
you'll have to stay all night," went on the owner of the school.
Alexander Pop was a colored man who had come to the school to wait on
the table.

"Yes, sir," answered Snuggers. He did not much relish remaining in the
woods all night, but he felt that he had to obey orders.

One by one the cadets and the teachers returned to Putnam Hall. The
conflagration in the woods had rather broken up the anticipated
celebration in honor of the football victory.

"Now, I want to know who placed those tar-barrels in the woods," said
Captain Putnam, when he had assembled the cadets in the school building.

"It was Jerry Cole, the roofer from Cedarville," answered John Fenwick,
a small youth usually called Mumps. He was known as a toady and a sneak,
and was very chummy with Dan Baxter.

"How do you know, Fenwick?"

"I saw him with the barrels on his wagon."

"Why should he put the barrels there?"

"I will tell you," answered Pepper, stepping forward. "I bought them to
celebrate with to-night. I thought they'd make a dandy bonfire."

"Indeed! Then you set them ablaze, Ditmore?"

"No, sir. My idea was to roll them to the lake-shore and pile them one
on top of the other."

"Then who did set them on fire in the woods?"

For the moment nobody spoke, but Pepper, Jack and Andy, as well as Joe,
looked at Reff Ritter and Gus Coulter.

"I want an answer!" cried Captain Putnam, sternly. "Who started that
fire?"

He looked around from one cadet to another. But nobody spoke.




CHAPTER XI

A MYSTERIOUS HAPPENING


It was a rule of honor among the cadets of Putnam Hall that no student
should tell on another. To do that would have been to put one's self
down as a sneak, and none of our friends wanted such a reputation.

"I ask again, who started that fire?" went on Captain Putnam, with
increased sternness.

"I rather think I know the guilty parties," said George Strong, who had
walked away on an errand and had just returned, "Ritter and Coulter,
what have you to say?"

The two culprits started, and Coulter turned pale.

"Why, I--er----" stammered Gus. "I--that is----" He did not know how to
proceed. He did not dare deny his guilt, not knowing but what the
assistant teacher might have seen him and his crony light the
tar-barrels.

"Well, if you--er--want to know the truth, Captain Putnam,
we--er--started the fire," stammered Reff Ritter. "But it was an
accident."

"An accident?"

"Yes, sir. We were--er--going to roll the barrels down to the
lake--going to hide 'em so that Ditmore and his friends couldn't find
'em, you know. Well, we didn't want to get the tar on our hands, so
we--er--started a little fire to see by--it was dark under the trees.
All of a sudden the barrels blazed up. We--er--didn't expect such a big
blaze."

"That's it," cried Coulter, eagerly. "We just made the fire at first to
see by."

"Then you didn't really want to fire the barrels under the trees?"

"No, sir," came from both of the guilty ones.

"It was a rash thing to do, to start such a blaze. In this wind you
might have burnt down the whole woods and endangered the school
buildings."

"I don't believe Ritter and Coulter," whispered Andy to Pepper.

"Neither do I," was the reply.

"Ditmore, you said the barrels belonged to you?" went on the owner of
the school.

"Yes, sir. I bought them from the tar-roofer in Cedarville and he
delivered them. We were going to have a great bonfire--and we did!" And
The Imp said this so dryly that even Captain Putnam had to smile.

"Well, I presume I shall have to drop the matter," said the captain,
after a few more questions. "But let me warn you all about fires in
those woods in the future. If a fire gained headway here we might burn
everything down to the ground."

So, from an official standpoint, the matter was dropped. Ritter beckoned
to Coulter, and they hurried away, followed by Nick Paxton and one or
two others.

"Well, that ends the tar-barrel celebration," said Pepper, rather
mournfully. "I really ought to make Ritter and Coulter pay for the
barrels."

"You won't get any money out of Ritter," remarked Bart Conners.

"How do you know, Bart?"

"Because he hasn't any. He asked for credit at the store yesterday--to
buy some cigarettes--and the shopkeeper refused, saying Ritter owed him
eighty cents already."

"Humph!" mused Pepper, and said no more.

"Come on--forget it!" cried Jack. "We'll celebrate anyway."

"We've got other barrels," came from Dale.

The cadets rushed out and to the lake-shore, and soon several bonfires
were blazing merrily. Around these the students congregated, and sang
songs and "cut up" generally. Dale had to make a speech, and the boys
caught him up on their shoulders and carried him around the campus.

"Isn't it grand!" murmured Bert Field. "I am mighty glad I came to
Putnam Hall."

"So am I," answered Fred Century. "It's much different from what it was
at Pornell Academy."

"It was a great victory, Fred, wasn't it?"

"It certainly was, Bert. I am only sorry for one thing."

"What is that?"

"That it wasn't Pornell we beat instead of that other club."

"Oh, well, we'll get a chance at Pornell some day," answered Bert Field.

The celebration along the lake-shore lasted until half-past eleven. Then
the bell was rung, and laughing and singing, the cadets trooped off to
their various dormitories.

"All quiet by midnight!" came the order.

"Fifteen minutes yet," cried Andy, consulting his watch. "Whoop-la! Here
goes!" And in the joyousness of high spirits he turned a handspring over
one of the beds. Then he turned another spring over a table and stood on
his head on one of the chairs.

"Hurrah for Snow's Imperial Consolidated Circus!" cried Pepper. "The
one and only aggregation of stupendous wonders on the face of the globe!
The marvelous twisting and death-defying acrobat! Walk up and see the
blood-curdling exhibition! It will cost you but the small sum of a dime,
ten cents; children double price, and no grandfathers unaccompanied by
their parents admitted. Line will form on the left and everybody will
please have his cash ready. Transfers not accepted on this line."

"Good for Pepper!" came from Jack. "When he fails as a student he can
turn dime-museum shouter."

"On the right you will see our most mysterious wonder, Major Jacobus
Ruddonowsky, the royal Russian sword swallower," went on The Imp,
pointing to his chum. "He swallows two swords for breakfast, three for
lunch and six to eight for dinner, with daggers for dessert. He is
wonderfully strong, and can carry on his arms an amount of gold lace
that would break a camel's back. As soon as the tent is full he will
sing for you that famous ditty, entitled, 'How I Love to Line You Up
When I'm Major of the Gang.'"

"Wow! that is where you caught it, Jack!" cried Dale, with a grin.

"And here we have a third wonder," went on Pepper, pointing to the
football captain. "Commodore Daleo, the leather-ball juggler. The most
renowned juggler of the spheroid in the world! You think it is here, but
it is not, for lo! he has juggled it over the line and kicked it as high
as an airship. He will show you----"

"Silence in here!" came a voice from the doorway, and Josiah Crabtree
appeared. "I will have silence!"

"Oh, dear!" murmured Pepper. "Anybody got any silence to spare? Mr.
Crabtree wants some."

"You must all be in bed by midnight, and the light must be out," went on
the teacher. "This unseemly revel must cease!" And then he walked on, to
stop the noise coming from the other dormitories.

"Say, Pepper, how do you like that?" murmured Fred.

"I knew there would be frost," sighed The Imp. "Every time old Crabtree
appears we get a cold wave."

"Be thankful he didn't mark you down for extra lessons," said Andy.

"If he did that I'd rebel," returned Pepper.

After that the talk was carried on in whispers, and each cadet lost no
time in disrobing. A few minutes after midnight all were in bed, and one
after another lost himself in the land of dreams.

The day had been a particularly strenuous one for Jack and the young
major slept soundly until the rising-bell rang loudly. Then he rubbed
his eyes sleepily and stretched himself.

"Wish I didn't have to get up just yet," he murmured. "I could sleep
another hour without half trying."

"Same here," responded Pepper.

"I never feel awake until after I've had a wash," came from Andy, who
had just leaped up.

Soon all of the cadets in the dormitory were dressing, and one by one
they washed up and went below. Andy and Jack were the last to leave.

"What's the matter?" asked the acrobatic youth, as he saw the young
major searching around for something.

"I'm looking for my watch and chain, Andy."

"Where did you put it?"

"Where I always do--on the stand at the head of my bed."

"Maybe it fell on the floor."

"If it did, it isn't there now." Jack got down on his knees to look
around, and then turned over the bedclothes and some other things.

"Maybe Pepper played a joke on you, Jack."

"That may be so. I'll go down and ask him about it."

The young major looked through his clothing and all over the dormitory,
and then hurried below. As it was Sunday morning, there was no drill,
and the cadets were gathering in the mess-hall for breakfast.

"Pepper, did you see my watch?" asked Jack, coming up to his chum.

"Your watch? No," was the ready reply.

"You didn't?" cried the young major, and now he was more concerned than
ever.

"Saw it last night, when you put it on the stand as usual."

"You didn't hide it? Come, now, tell the truth."

"Honor bright; the last I saw of it was when you placed it on the stand
when you went to bed."

"It's gone; and the chain with it."

"You don't mean it, Jack! Did you look all around?"

"Everywhere."

"Did you ask the other fellows about it?"

"No; but I will, right away."

The young major walked to one roommate after another and asked about his
watch and chain. All denied knowing anything about the timepiece.
Several had seen him place the watch on the stand at the head of the
bed, but that was all.

"Well, it's a mystery what has become of it, that's sure," was Jack's
comment. "It certainly couldn't walk off by itself."

"Well, a good watch knows how to run," remarked Pepper, dryly, for he
couldn't help having his joke. "But, seriously, Jack, do you think
somebody stole the watch and chain?"

"I don't know what to think."

"I don't imagine anybody in our dormitory would do such a thing."

"Neither do I. But the watch and chain are gone. The question is,
Where?"

"Hadn't you better report the matter to Captain Putnam?"

"I will, after I have taken another look around," answered the young
major, and left the mess-room just as the bell rang for breakfast.

"Why did Major Ruddy leave?" asked Josiah Crabtree, harshly, as he saw
that the young officer was missing.

"He had something of importance to attend to," answered Pepper.

"Humph! It is his duty to be at the table on time, if he wants his
breakfast," muttered the dictatorial teacher.

Jack did not come back for the best part of half an hour. By that time
the breakfast was nearly over.

"Major Ruddy, what does this mean?" demanded Josiah Crabtree.

"A matter of importance, Mr. Crabtree," answered the young officer.

"I cannot permit cadets to come in late to breakfast."

"This couldn't be helped, sir. I will explain to you and to Captain
Putnam directly after I have finished."

"Very well. If it is of real importance I will let it pass. But
otherwise I shall mark you for being tardy," returned Josiah Crabtree,
harshly.

Jack merely bowed and then he sat down and ate his breakfast. While he
was doing so, Pepper leaned over to him.

"Find the watch?" he whispered.

"No--not the least trace of it," answered Jack.

The young major did not feel much like eating. The watch was a gold one
and the chain was also of gold, and both were valuable. They had been a
birthday gift from his parents.

"Say, Jack, this is as bad as my loss," came from Andy, in a low tone.
"What are you going to do about it?"

"I don't know. I want to talk the matter over with Captain Putnam
first," answered the young officer.




CHAPTER XII

AN INVITATION ACCEPTED


Captain Putnam looked very grave when Jack reported the loss of the gold
watch and chain.

"You are certain you left them on the stand when you went to sleep?" he
questioned.

"Yes, sir. Pepper Ditmore saw me put them there, and Dale Blackmore saw
it, too."

"And you have looked everywhere for them?"

"Yes, sir."

"I will go up and look around with you."

"All right, sir. But it will do no good," answered the young major.

"You say that all your roommates deny taking the watch and chain."

"Yes, sir. They say they didn't see the watch at all after we went to
bed."

"Major Ruddy, do you suspect anybody of this crime?" demanded the owner
of the school, looking Jack full in the face.

"No, sir," was the prompt answer. "It's a complete mystery to me. All I
know about it is, that I left the watch and chain on the stand at the
head of my bed when I went to sleep and this morning they were gone."

"Did any of the other cadets enter your dormitory during the night?"

"Not that I know of."

"They may have been skylarking and may have carried the watch and chain
off by--accident, let us say," finished the captain, significantly.

"If anybody came in, nobody who sleeps in our room seems to be aware of
it."

Captain Putnam and Jack passed up to the dormitory, followed by Josiah
Crabtree. They were soon joined by Pepper and the other occupants of the
apartment. Another search was made, but the gold watch and chain were
not found, nor were any clues concerning the timepiece unearthed.

"What were the watch and chain worth?" asked Fred.

"I don't know; maybe fifty or sixty dollars," answered Jack.

"Then if they were stolen, the thief made quite a haul."

"Do you think they were stolen, Century?" demanded the owner of the
school.

"Doesn't it look like it, sir?"

"But if they were stolen, who is guilty?" asked Josiah Crabtree, glaring
around from one cadet to another.

For the moment nobody spoke.

"I don't suspect any of my roommates," said Jack, quickly. "I think it
was done by some outsider."

"Some other cadet?" asked Crabtree.

"Possibly; or else by some of the help."

"Gracious, Ruddy, I--er--I hope you don't suspect me!" stammered the
teacher.

"No, sir; I meant some of the servants."

"Ah, I see!" Josiah Crabtree looked relieved. "You may be right. Perhaps
some of the new colored help took the watch," he went on, to Captain
Putnam.

"I will start an investigation," returned the owner of the school.

Captain Putnam was as good as his word, and over an hour was spent in
questioning the help, and the other cadets, but without results. The
investigation was continued Monday morning. But not the first trace of
the missing watch and chain was discovered anywhere.

"It assuredly is a mystery," said Captain Putnam at last. "What do you
make of it, Mr. Strong?" he asked of his second assistant.

"It is a very unfortunate occurrence," answered George Strong. "If
there is a thief in Putnam Hall we ought to locate him. As long as he
remains undetected none of us will be safe."

"How are you going to catch him?"

"I don't know. We might try to trace up the watch and chain through the
authorities."

"I hate to let the authorities know anything has been stolen in the
school. It gives us a bad name in public." The two men were alone, so
they could speak freely.

"It will give the school a worse name if we don't get the watch and
chain back. I am afraid Major Ruddy can hold you for the worth of them."

"He can, and I expect to pay for them if we don't get them back. I will
think it over, and perhaps I'll report the loss."

Later on, the authorities were notified that a watch and chain were
missing. No details were given, but the police were asked to look out
for the watch and chain in pawnbroking establishments and elsewhere.

"I shall also offer a reward," said the owner of the school, and the
next day a bulletin was posted, offering a reward of ten dollars for
information leading to the recovery of the timepiece and conviction of
the thief.

"It's tough to go without your watch, Jack," said Pepper.

"Captain Putnam is going to loan me one for the present," was the young
major's reply. "It's only a silver affair, but he says it keeps good
time, and that's the main thing."

A day or two after the reward was offered, Jack, Pepper and Andy
received an invitation to take dinner at Point View Lodge with the Fords
and spend the evening there. The weather was now growing colder and the
Fords expected before long to close up their summer home and move to the
city for the winter.

"Say, this is all to the merry!" cried Pepper, as he read the
invitation. "Of course we'll go."

"If Captain Putnam will let us," added Andy, anxiously.

"I think he will," returned Jack. "He is so cut up over this watch
affair I think he will do almost anything for me."

The three went to the captain and showed the invitation, and were told
that they could go to Point View Lodge, but that they must be back at
Putnam Hall by ten o'clock.

"It's lucky we can go in our uniforms," said Pepper. "Otherwise I
suppose we'd have to go in full dress, eh?"

"Sure thing."

"How are we going to get to the Lodge? We can't walk."

"Might hire a carriage for once."

"Too slow. The Lodge is so far off. We could make better time on our
bicycles."

"But if it rains--or snows?"

"Then we'll have to take a carriage."

The three cadets watched the weather anxiously. It remained clear and
cool up to the afternoon of the day they were going and then grew
cloudy.

"Looks like rain or snow to me," announced Jack.

"Oh, don't croak!" cried Andy. "It's a bit cloudy, but that's all. I
guess it will hold off until morning."

"Got your bicycle ready for the trip, Andy?" questioned Pepper.

"Sure, I oiled up this morning. How about you?"

"Ready since yesterday, and Jack's wheel is ready, too," was the answer.
"Oh, say, don't you anticipate a dandy time at Point View Lodge?"

"Yes, indeed! The Ford girls are just all right."

"Best ever!" chimed in Jack.

"Don't forget to fill your lamps!" cried Andy, as he turned away.

"Mine is full," answered Jack.

"I'll see to mine," came from Pepper. "Glad you mentioned it. It will be
quite dark on the road to-night, and I don't want to run in a hole and
take a header."

"None of us want to do that. We'd look fine going into the Lodge with
our faces and hands all dirt and our uniforms torn."

The cadets hurried away in various directions. They had been talking in
the gymnasium, near one of the dressing-rooms, and they did not know
that anybody else was near. But Mumps, the sneak, had overheard every
word. As soon as they had gone, the younger cadet hurried off toward the
boathouse. Here he found half a dozen students assembled, including
Ritter and Coulter.

"Say, do you fellows know that Ruddy, Ditmore and Snow are going out
to-night?" he said. He always loved to tell the news, and thought
himself quite important in so doing.

"Where to?" asked one of the cadets.

"To Point View Lodge--the place where the Ford family live. They've got
an invitation to dinner."

"Lucky dogs!" came from another cadet. As he spoke he looked at Reff
Ritter, but that individual merely scowled, and took surreptitious
whiffs at a cigarette he was smoking.

"How are they going to Point View?" asked another who was present.

"Going on their bicycles," answered Mumps. "It's quite a ride, isn't
it?"

"Oh, not for them. They can make it in half an hour if they try. But
they'll find it pretty dark to-night, I'm thinking," added the cadet,
with a glance out of the boathouse window at the leaden sky.

The talk continued and Ritter listened closely to every word. Then he
arose and motioned to Coulter, and the two walked outside.

"Did you hear what Mumps said?" he asked of his crony.

"About those chaps going to the Fords' home?"

"Yes."

"What of it?"

"I was thinking we might spoil their fun."

"And get caught, as we did with the tar-barrels," grumbled Gus Coulter.

"We'll take good care that nobody sees us this time."

"What are you thinking of doing?" asked Coulter, curiously.

"Come with me and I'll tell you," answered Reff Ritter, and took his
crony by the arm. Slowly they walked across the campus, and as they did
so Ritter unfolded a plot that had just then come into his head.

"What do you think of it?" he asked, after he had finished.

"Very good; if it will work, and we are not caught."

"We'll not get caught if you'll do as I say. Listen, Gus, all you need
to do is to stand on guard, to give me warning if anybody comes. I'll do
the rest."

"When do you want to get to work?"

Reff Ritter looked around anxiously. It was cold on the campus and
growing darker rapidly. Only a few cadets were in sight.

"Come on now," he answered. "We'll see if the coast is clear."

They walked to the end of the gymnasium building, where, in a long room,
the bicycles of the students were kept. It was pitch dark inside and not
a soul was in sight.

"Now, you remain outside," said Ritter. "If you see anybody coming begin
to whistle 'Yankee Doodle,' as loud as you can. Don't wait for me, for
I'll go out the back way."

"All right. But let me know when you are through," answered Coulter,
somewhat nervously.

"Sure."

Coulter took his stand outside of the building and peered forth eagerly
in the darkness. Only three cadets were in view and they presently
entered the school building. Then ten minutes went by--a long wait for
the youth who was aiding Ritter in his plot. Then Reff came quickly from
the gymnasium.

"Anybody around?" he asked hurriedly.

"No."

"Good enough."

"Have you finished, Reff?"

"Yes."

"Did you get at all three of the wheels?"

"I sure did. Say, they will have their own troubles, see if they don't!"
chuckled the bully. "But come on before anybody sees us," he added, and
stalked away in the darkness, with his crony beside him.




CHAPTER XIII

THE WORK OF THE ENEMY


It was not until a few minutes after five o'clock that Jack, Andy and
Pepper hurried down to the gymnasium, to get their wheels. At the last
moment Andy discovered that one of his buttons was loose and had to be
sewed on, and Jack had trouble with the new cap he was going to wear. It
was a trifle too large and he had to place a strip of paper under the
band to make it stay on his head properly.

"It certainly feels like snow," said Pepper, as the three got out their
bicycles. "I am sure we'll get a snowstorm before long."

"I don't care, if only it holds off till we get back," returned Andy.

They lit the acetylene gas lamps, with which their wheels were provided,
and then ran the bicycles down to the roadway.

"Have a good time," cried Stuffer, who had come out to see them off.

"Don't worry about that," replied Pepper, gaily.

"I'll wager you'll have a dandy spread," went on the lad who loved to
eat.

"Wish you were along, Stuffer?" asked Jack.

"Do I? Well, now, don't mention it!" and Stuffer's eyes fairly watered
in anticipation.

"I'll bring you something if I get the chance," sang out Pepper, as he
gave his bicycle a shove and leaped into the saddle. "So-long!"

Jack and Andy followed their chum, and with a parting cry to Stuffer,
all three pedaled along the highway leading to Point View Lodge. It was
now night, but the three gas-lamps lit up the road so well that they had
little difficulty in finding their way.

"We are not due until six o'clock," said Jack. "So we can take it easy.
No use of getting into a perspiration over it."

"We'll not sweat much to-night," answered Pepper. "Too cold. I move we
keep at it until we reach that old barn near the Lodge. Then we can rest
a bit, so that we won't appear at the place all out of breath."

Two miles were covered, and then they came to a place where the highway
was unusually rough.

"Let me go ahead and pick the way," sang out Andy, and forged to the
front.

"Better slack up a little!" returned the young major. "No use of taking
chances when we have plenty of time."

Scarcely had he uttered the words when there came a cry from the
acrobatic youth. His wheel commenced to wobble and twist. Over into some
bushes he shot, to fall with a crash in their midst.

"Hello, what's the matter with you?" sang out Pepper, and leaped quickly
to the road, an example followed by Jack.

"Bicycle has gone to pieces, I guess," spluttered Andy, as he essayed to
scramble out of the bushes.

"Are you hurt?" demanded Jack, anxiously.

"Only a few scratches, Jack. Say, that was a narrow escape, wasn't it?"

"Thought you said your wheel was in good condition," came from Pepper.

"So it was when I looked at it this morning."

"What's wrong now?"

"The handle-bars are loose for one thing. I don't know what else is
wrong until I look it over."

The machine was brought forth from the bushes. The lamp-glass had been
smashed and the light had gone out. Andy stopped the flow of acetylene
gas, and then his chums turned the rays of the other lamps on the
disabled bicycle.

"Handle-bars loose and also nuts on the front wheel!" cried Andy, after
an examination. "Say, I believe some enemy did this!"

"Who?" questioned the young major.

"I don't know. Maybe Ritter, or Coulter."

"Hurry up and tighten things," cried Pepper. "We don't want to be late."

"Better be late than have a nasty tumble," returned Jack. "While you are
at it, Andy, better look the whole machine over carefully."

"I will, Jack. And maybe you had better look your machines over, too."

"Good advice."

While Andy was fixing his bicycle Pepper and the young major inspected
their own bicycles.

"Well, I never!" gasped The Imp, as the light fell on his rear wheel.
"Another quarter of a mile and I would have had a spill and no mistake!"

"Same here!" came from Jack. "Oh, isn't this the worst yet!"

"What's wrong?" queried the acrobatic youth.

"The back wheel is loose, and two of the sprockets of the sprocket-wheel
have been filed down, to let the chain slip," answered Pepper.

"And my handle-bars are loose and the chain all but filed in two," cried
Jack. "Boys, this was done on purpose!"

"Of course!" came from both of the others.

"Done by our enemies!"

"Sure."

"Ritter and his cronies."

"Well, we'd have to prove that," answered Andy, slowly.

"Don't you believe it, Andy?"

"I do; but that isn't proof."

"And that isn't getting us to Point View Lodge," came from Pepper. "I
guess we'll have to walk!" he added, with something like a groan.

"Walk! We can't walk that distance," replied the young major.

"Well, we can't trust ourselves on these machines. We might if we had
lots of time, but that we haven't got."

The three cadets stared blankly at each other. Here they were on a
lonely road, and what to do none of them knew.

"Oh, if I only had Ritter here wouldn't I punch his head good!" muttered
Pepper.

"Ritter will keep. Let us look over the machines and make up our minds
what is to be done," said Jack.

The more they inspected the wheels the more hopeless appeared the task
of fixing them up so they could be used.

"We simply haven't got time to bother with them," announced Jack. "We've
got to get to the Lodge some other way."

"Well, what way?" asked Andy.

"I wonder if we could hire a rig at the next farmhouse."

"Well, we can try that," answered Pepper.

Trundling their bicycles, they hurried along the country road until they
reached a farmhouse.

"Looks as if they were all out or gone to bed," was Jack's comment, for
not a light showed about the place.

"We'll soon know," returned Pepper, and he pounded lustily on the front
door.

There was no answer to this summons, and he pounded again. But nobody
appeared.

"Gone away for the day, I guess," he said. "Now what?"

"Let us leave our wheels in the barn," said Jack. "We can come back for
them any time."

This they did, and after a look around the place, to make certain nobody
was there, they passed out on the road once more. Pepper looked at his
watch.

"Fifteen minutes to six," he announced.

"Oh, we'll never get there on time," groaned Andy.

"We'll be lucky if we get there at all to-night," answered the young
major.

"They are looking for us by now," came from Pepper. "Wonder what they
will think when we don't show up?"

"They'll think we are pretty mean, I guess," answered the acrobatic
youth.

"Here comes some kind of a turnout now!" cried Pepper.

He pointed down the highway. They could see a lantern swinging idly to
and fro. It was hung under a farm-wagon, and presently they saw the
turnout, drawn by a pair of good-looking horses. The wagon was filled
with barrels of potatoes, and on the seat sat a raw-boned old farmer,
half asleep.

"Hello, there!" challenged Jack out of the darkness. "Hold up a minute,
please!"

"Hi, what's this, a hold-up?" exclaimed the old farmer, and then of a
sudden he reached between the barrels of potatoes and brought forth a
long horse-pistol and pointed it at them.

"Don't shoot!" cried Pepper, thinking the old fellow might be just
scared enough to pull the trigger of his ancient weapon. "This isn't any
hold-up."

"Who be you?" and the farmer peered forth anxiously in the darkness.

"We are cadets from Putnam Hall."

"Oh! I see! Waal, don't ye try to play no trick on Ezra Cole, or I'll
let fly with this hoss-pistol, sure ez you're born!"

"We don't want to play any tricks, Mr. Cole," answered Jack. "We are in
trouble, and I was wondering if you could help us out."

"Wot's the trouble?"

In as few words as possible the young major and his chums explained the
difficulty. The old farmer listened with interest.

"I know Mr. Ford; he buys garden sass from me," he said.

"We don't know how we are going to get to the Lodge, unless we can find
somebody to drive us over," said Pepper. "Could you do it, if we paid
you?"

"Wot, with this load o' potatoes? Not much!"

"Couldn't you leave your potatoes here?" asked Andy. "I'll give you
fifty cents to drive me over."

"And so will I," added Pepper.

"That will be a dollar and a half for the three of us, Mr. Cole," put in
Jack.

"Hum!" The old farmer began to look interested. "It's a putty stiff
drive to Point View, an' I'd have to come back fer the potatoes."

"Make it two dollars!" cried Jack. "And do it as quickly as you can."

"Hum! Got the cash with you, young man?"

"Yes, here it is!" And the young major held up two one-dollar bills.

"All right, I'm your man!" cried Ezra Cole. "I ain't in no hurry to git
to hum, an' two dollars ain't picked up every day. Jest wait till I
drive in an' leave my potatoes where they will be safe."

"Might leave 'em with our bicycles," said Jack.

"So I will."

It did not take the old farmer long to unload his barrels of potatoes.
Then he swept out his farm-wagon and spread some horse-blankets for the
boys to sit upon. They leaped in and he took up the lines once more.

"G'lang!" he shouted to his team and cracked his whip, and off they went
along the road at a good gait.

"Great Julius Cæsar!" cried Andy, after a quarter of a mile had been
passed. "Talk about bumping the bumps! This road has 'em beaten to a
frazzle!"

"Getting your money's worth, Andy?" asked The Imp, with a grin.

"Ain't no springs on this wagon!" said Ezra Cole, with a grin. "But
don't you mind; it will give you a fine appetite fer that dinner when
you git there!"

"It will, if it doesn't knock out our teeth so we can't chew!" murmured
Jack.

On and on they rattled at a good pace until the lights of Point View
Lodge shone in the distance.

"Just drop us off at the gate!" cried Jack. "We don't want to ride up
to the piazza in such a rig as this."

"Why, hello, have you arrived at last?" cried a voice from out of the
darkness, and then Laura and Flossie appeared, standing by the gate. The
three cadets looked glumly at each other, and then Pepper commenced to
snicker and all burst into a hearty spell of laughter.




CHAPTER XIV

AT THE FORD MANSION


"Don't you admire our very fashionable turnout?" questioned Pepper, as
he came forward and shook hands with the girls.

"It's the latest in carriages," came from Andy.

"Oh!" murmured Laura. "Did you really come all the way from Putnam Hall
in that?"

"It must have been hard riding," was Flossie's comment.

"No, we didn't come all the way," answered Pepper. "We'll tell you about
it later," he added. Then Ezra Cole was paid. The old farmer lost no
time in driving away.

As the girls and boys walked slowly toward the mansion the cadets told
the particulars of the breakdown on the road.

"And you really think some of your rivals did it?" questioned Laura.
"How mean!"

"I'd never speak to them again," added Flossie, with a flash of her
eyes.

"Well, we'll talk a whole lot to 'em," answered Pepper, grimly.

"But you have got to prove them guilty first," said Laura.

Once at the mansion the situation was explained to Mr. and Mrs. Ford,
and the boys were conducted by a servant to a bathroom, where they might
wash and brush up and make themselves otherwise presentable. They did
not linger long, and when they came below, the folding-doors to the
dining-room were opened and the butler announced dinner.

It was a jolly meal, and the cadets were made to feel perfectly at home.
Mr. Ford asked them how they were getting along in school, and was
surprised when told that they hoped to graduate from the Hall the
following June.

"We shall miss your visits to the Lodge," said Mrs. Ford.

"You'll have to visit us anyway--if you get a chance," said Laura, and
all of the cadets said they would remember her kind words. Then they
talked about old times, and especially about the time when the boys had
visited the Lodge and killed the tiger that had escaped from the circus,
as related in "The Putnam Hall Cadets," and of how the girls had visited
the cadets in the woods, when the boys had run away from the Hall, as
told of in "The Putnam Hall Rebellion."

"I'd like to go to a boarding-school," said Flossie. "It must be lots of
fun!"

"Fun and work, mixed," answered Andy.

After the dinner, over which they took their time, the young folks
gathered around the piano and sang and played, and they also had several
dances, with the old folks looking on. All too soon it came time for the
boys to go back to the Hall.

"I have ordered the auto around," said Rossmore Ford. "John can take you
back, and he can also stop for your bicycles, if you wish."

"Thank you very much," answered Jack. "We'll ride home in the auto with
pleasure. But I guess we had better let the bicycles rest to-night where
they are; eh, fellows?"

"Yes," answered Pepper and Andy.

A little later the cadets said good-night. The big touring car was
brought around and they got in the tonneau. Then the chauffeur turned on
the power, and away they shot into the darkness, the girls crying a
good-by after them.

"Well, we had a dandy time, in spite of the breakdown," remarked the
young major.

"But we have got to find out who played this trick on us," came from
Pepper.

"That may be easier said than done," said Andy. "Whoever was mean
enough to play such a trick will do his best to lay low."

When the boys got back to the Hall they found that the majority of their
friends had gone to bed. Only Stuffer Singleton was up, reading a novel
by the light of a wax-candle he had smuggled up to the room.

"Hello! have a good time?" queried the boy who loved to eat, as he cast
aside the volume.

"Bang up," answered Jack, and then he went on quickly. "Stuffer, were
you near the gym this afternoon?"

"No. Why?"

"Somebody was mean enough to tamper with our bicycles," answered the
young major, and gave a few particulars.

"Oh, you can bet it was the Ritter crowd, or Ritter alone," said
Stuffer, quickly. "It would be just like them to do their best to spoil
your fun."

It was not until two days later that Jack and his chums had a chance to
go for their broken-down wheels. They found them exactly as they had
been left, and explained to the owner of the barn how they happened to
be there.

"It's all right," said the farmer. "You can leave them here a month if
you want to." He knew Captain Putnam well, having sold him some straw
for the school stables.

The cadets had to trundle the bicycles back to Putnam Hall and then had
many hours' work in fixing the wheels so they could be used again.

During those two days the youths made many inquiries, but were unable to
get a clue as to who had played the trick. Ritter and Coulter "laid low"
and kept out of their way.

Following the game with the Dauntless Club came several other football
contests, and Putnam Hall won two games and lost one. Then the weather
turned off cold, with a promise of snow in the air.

During those days it must not be supposed that the search for Jack's
gold watch and chain was abandoned. It was continued with spirit, but no
clue was brought to light.

"It's as much of a mystery as the disappearance of my things when the
horse ran away with me," said Andy. "I don't suppose I'll ever hear of
those things either."

"Yes, but that was different, Andy," said the young major. "You were on
a public highway, where anybody might pick up the things, supposing you
merely dropped them. But I was right here, where everybody is supposed
to be honest."

"It gives the school a black eye, doesn't it?"

"That's it. I know Captain Putnam feels terrible about it, too."

"Do you suspect any of the hired help?"

"I don't know what to think."

The weather grew colder rapidly, and one morning the cadets arose to
find the ground covered with snow to a depth of several inches.

"Hurrah!" shouted Fred. "See the snow! Doesn't it look inviting?"

"Want a roll in it, Fred?" questioned Bart Field.

"Not exactly. I was thinking of a snowball fight."

"That's the talk! Let us get up a fight after school hours!" cried Bart
Conners.

Pepper was at the window. Slyly he raised the sash and scooped up a big
handful of snow from the broad ledge outside. Andy was nearby, bending
over, lacing up his shoe.

"Welcome to the snow!" cried The Imp, gaily, and let a portion of the
frozen mass slip down the acrobatic youth's collar.

"Wow!" snorted Andy, straightening up with a jerk. "Hi, you, what do you
take me for, an ice-box?" And he commenced to squirm as the cold snow
ran down his backbone. Then he made a dive for Pepper and chased The Imp
around the dormitory. Over two of the beds they flew, and then brought
up in a corner with a crash.

"Have mercy on the furniture!" cried Joe Nelson.

"Don't knock over the table!" added Stuffer.

"Give me that snow!" cried Andy, and managed to get a small portion from
Pepper. "How do you like that?" And he plastered the snow in The Imp's
left ear.

"Hurrah! Snow from Snow!" cried Jack.

"'Twill warm Pepper's blood, so it will!" was Emerald Hogan's comment.

More snow had been scooped from the window-sill by Fred and Joe, and
soon a battle-royal was in progress in the dormitory. But it came to an
abrupt end when Dave Kearney appeared.

"Stop it!" cried the young sergeant. "Crabtree is coming!"

"All over!" whispered Jack. "All as orderly as lambs!" And at once every
cadet settled down and started in an orderly fashion to finish his
morning toilet.

"What was the noise in here?" demanded Josiah Crabtree, as he threw open
the door and strode into the dormitory.

He glared around savagely, but nobody answered him.

"I demand to know what was going on here!" he continued.

"Mr. Crabtree, did you speak to me?" asked Pepper, meekly.

"I spoke to you all!" thundered the teacher. "What were you doing in
here?"

"I am dressing, Mr. Crabtree," answered Andy.

"I am dressing, Mr. Crabtree," came from Jack.

"I am dressing, too," put in Fred.

"And so was I dressing," said Stuffer, with a smile.

"And I was dressing," supplemented Pepper. "Come to think of it, I
rather fancy we were all dressing. You see, we always do dress when we
get up in the morning, Mr. Crabtree," he added with a simple smile.

"I want none of your impudence, Ditmore."

"Oh, dear, was I impudent?" murmured The Imp. "I didn't know it. I beg
ten thousand pardons--yes, a million, if you'd rather, sir."

"Be quiet, you--you forward boy! Something was going on in here! If I
find out what it was, I shall punish all of you!" And having thus
delivered himself, Josiah Crabtree strode out of the dormitory, banging
the door after him.

"Isn't he an angel!" murmured Andy.

"The sweetest teacher that ever grew!" returned Pepper.

"I'd like to know how long Captain Putnam will put up with him," was
Jack's comment.

"I don't believe it will be very long," answered Fred.

The cadets finished their dressing and hurried below. On account of the
storm the morning drill was held in the gymnasium, and then the young
soldiers marched to the mess-room. On the way several could not resist
the temptation to pick up some snow and throw it at each other.

"Hi, you stop that!" roared Reff Ritter, as a snowball took him in the
neck. "Who threw that?" he demanded; but nobody answered him. "I believe
it was you, Ditmore!" he went on, turning an ugly look on Pepper.

"That's one for tampering with our bicycles, Ritter," retorted Pepper.