The Putnam Hall Rivals

“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!”

“We don’t want anything to do with you!” put in Shaff.

They made rapid progress through the forest and soon George Strong lost track of them. But then Jack sighted them again.

“There they go – straight for the lake!” shouted the young major.

“I see them,” answered the teacher.

“They are getting into a boat,” said Pepper, and he was right.

By the time the party gained the lake shore the two crazy men were in a rowboat and pulling rapidly across the lake. The others looked around, but not another craft of any sort was in sight.

“We have lost them again!” said George Strong, with something like a groan. “Too bad!”

“How did they discover you?” asked Andy, after the darkness had hidden the fleeing men.

“In the oddest kind of a way,” explained Jack. “We were resting behind some bushes, when of a sudden the man named Callax leaped up and began to prance around the camp like a horse. He came straight for us, and landed within a few inches of my head. Then he let out a yell and that brought Shaff, and off they went like a pair of frightened rabbits.”

Curious to know what sort of a camp the crazy men had had, George Strong went back to the spot and stirred up the campfire. He found there a good supply of clothing and also many odds and ends which made the boys smile.

“Perhaps they will come back,” suggested Pepper.

“I will place a guard here,” answered the teacher. “They may come back later. I doubt if they do so right away.”

There was nothing to do but to return to Putnam Hall. The bicycles were strapped on the back of the carryall and all piled into the turnout. The lantern had already been lit; and thus they rode to the school, reaching the place a little after midnight.

“Keeping early hours, I see,” remarked Dale, when Pepper came into the dormitory.

“Tell you about it in the morning,” answered the Imp, and lost no time in getting to bed and to sleep.

“Those fellows will be the terror of this neighborhood if they keep on,” said Dale, when he heard of what had occurred.

“Mr. Strong is going to set a sharper watch than ever,” answered Jack. “Those men will be caught sooner or later.”

Many of the cadets had heard of the soldiers’ reunion at Datport, on the following Saturday, and also of the proposed balloon ascension, and they begged Captain Putnam for permission to visit the town and see what was going on.

“I’ll tell you what I’ll do,” said the master of the school at last. “Every student who gets an average of eighty per cent. this week can go, if he wishes.”

This put the students on their mettle, and never did cadets study harder than during that week. As a consequence about forty passed, and it was decided that they should visit Datport in the Hall carryall and the two Cedarville stages. The start was to be made at half-past six in the morning.

“Hurrah, we are to go!” shouted Andy. “Aren’t you glad, Pep?”

“To be sure I am.”

“It’s Reff Ritter an’ Coulter who are mad, so they are,” came from Emerald.

“Didn’t they pass?” asked Stuffer.

“They did not.”

“I had a tight squeeze, with old Crabtree,” came from Bart Conners. “He came close to cutting me out of the fun.”

“The same here,” said Henry Lee. “Oh, but I do wish we could get rid of him.”

“Your wish is to be gratified – at least for awhile,” said Joe Nelson. “I just got the news. Mr. Crabtree is going to Boston on business and may not come back for the balance of this term.”

“Hurrah!” shouted several students in unison.

“I thought you would like to get up a petition, asking him to remain,” went on Joe, with a wink.

“Great hambones!” gasped Pepper. “Remain? Not for a thousand plates of ice cream!”

“He can stay away and he never will be missed,” added Andy.

The boys were on hand promptly on Saturday morning, and after an early breakfast they piled into the carryall and the stages, and with shouts and cheers set off for Datport. Not one of them dreamed of the strange adventures and odd discovery ahead of them.

The way to Datport was level for the most part and the three turnouts made good time, the boys singing and cheering as they passed through villages and by prosperous farms. Many cheered and waved their hands in return. They were beginning to be known far and wide as “those Putnam Hall soldier boys.”

“I see some of the old soldiers now!” cried Jack, as the turnouts approached the town where the reunion was to occur. And soon they reached a green where many old veterans were assembled. The cadets, in their neat uniforms, were given a warm welcome and soon made themselves at home.

“This is all right,” said Pepper, as a fine band struck up a patriotic air. “I am glad I came.”

“I want to see that balloon ascension,” returned Andy.

“Wouldn’t you like to go up, Andy?” asked Jack, by way of a joke.

“Sure I would,” was the quick answer.

“Do you really mean it, Andy?” asked Dale.

“I certainly do – I shouldn’t like anything better.”

“I’d be afraid to go up,” said Hogan. “I’ll take my balloon trips on the ground, so I will!”

The balloon ascension was advertised for two o’clock in the afternoon, and after listening to an address by an old army general, and getting some lunch, the cadets walked to the field where the balloon was located.

“Hullo! How are you?” said a man to Jack, and the young major recognized him as one of the pair who had come out in the farm-wagon after the balloon when the battalion had been on the march.

“First-rate,” answered Jack. “Found your balloon, eh?”

“Oh, yes, and all right, too. Much obliged.”

“Say, doesn’t the professor want somebody to go up with him?” asked Andy, brushing forward.

“I guess not!” said another man, standing by. “Not a greenhorn, anyway.”

“Where is the professor?”

“In his tent yonder, getting ready for the exhibition.”

The balloon was in a small roped-off enclosure and some men were at work filling it with hot air. Beside the balloon rested a big basket. It had been advertised that the professor would take somebody up with him provided that person would remain in the balloon after the aëronaut cut loose with his parachute, but so far nobody had come forward to take up the offer.

CHAPTER XXVII

UP IN A BALLOON

“This would just suit me to death,” said Andy, as he gazed with longing eyes at the balloon.

“Get in the basket and see how it feels,” suggested Jack.

The acrobatic youth was quick to comply. The men working around were good-natured and did not interfere.

“Come in here with me,” said Andy, and Pepper and Jack did as requested. Then Andy began to examine the ropes which held the basket to the balloon.

“The balloon is filling,” said Jack.

“Hi, what are you fellows doing in that balloon?” came from Nick Paxton, as he strode up. He was the only one of the Baxter crowd that had come to the celebration.

“That is none of your business,” answered Pepper.

At that moment came a shout from another part of the grounds. Then followed a big explosion.

“The cannon has burst!”

“Somebody must be killed!”

The excitement was intense and for the moment the balloon was forgotten. Hundreds rushed over to where some gunners had been discharging the old town cannon.

“My son was helpin’ to fire that!” said a man who was working on the balloon ropes. “I must see if he was hurt!” And off he ran.

“My brother was helping to load the cannon,” said another, and off he went likewise.

They had scarcely left when a sudden gust of wind made the big balloon give a tug at the ropes.

“Say, we’ll have to get out of this basket,” ejaculated Jack. “It isn’t safe.”

“Just what I was thinking,” answered Pepper.

“Oh, don’t be afraid,” came from Andy. “Perhaps – Oh!”

The acrobatic youth’s remark came to a sudden stop, for just then the balloon gave another tug. Crack! snap! went some ropes, and in a twinkling up went the basket, carrying the three cadets with it.

“Hold fast!” gasped Jack. “If you don’t, you’ll be killed!”

He clutched at the rim of the basket and so did the others. Almost before they knew it they were a hundred feet above the crowd.

“The balloon has gone up!”

“Three of those cadets are in it!”

“Andy, Jack, and Pepper!” came from Stuffer. “Hi! come back you!” he added.

“I wish we could,” murmured Pepper.

The balloon attendants were clutching at a rope that was trailing along the ground. Dale and Stuffer leaped forward to aid them, and all were quickly raised from their feet. Seeing they could not stop the balloon, they dropped to the ground, Dale landing on Paxton’s shoulders and sending him to the grass with a thud.

The excitement on the exhibition grounds was intense, one half of the folks gathering around the exploded cannon and the other half watching the sailing balloon. Fortunately it was found that nobody had been seriously hurt by the wrecking of the field-piece, for which everybody was thankful.

“Who let that balloon go?” stormed Professor Aireo, as he came rushing from his tent. “Who did it?” And he stormed around wildly.

“She got away, Bill, that’s all I can tell,” said one of the attendants.

“I’ll make somebody pay damages,” stormed the professor, who in private life was plain Bill Jones.

“Better get the balloon back first,” put in a man standing near.

In the meantime the balloon went up higher and higher, until it was a good six hundred feet in the air. Then the wind caught it and sent it whirling over the town and some green fields beyond.

“Wh – where are we going to?” asked Pepper, still clutching the basket with a deathlike grip.

“Don’t ask me,” answered Jack. “I’ll be thankful if we are not upset and cast out!”

“We won’t be upset, so long as we remain in the air,” answered Andy, who, now that the first excitement was over, was quite cool. “I must say I rather enjoy this.”

“Then go ahead and enjoy it,” grumbled Pepper.

“Do you feel dizzy?” asked the acrobatic youth.

“Just a little. The sudden rush upward made me light-headed. But it is going away now,” answered the Imp.

On and on sailed the balloon. For the time being Andy was the only one of the three who dared to look downward, and he announced that the town had been left far behind.

“We are sailing over a patch of woods,” he announced. “Beyond is a hill of rocks.”

“Oh, I hope we don’t tumble on the rocks,” said Jack.

“We are not going to tumble, I tell you, Jack. This balloon will sail for miles before it begins to settle.”

A little while later Jack and Pepper ventured to take a peep at what was below. They could see the farms, with the houses and barns looking like toy buildings. Here and there was a silver thread, where some brook ran into the lake.

“I think we are moving towards the lake,” announced Andy, some time later.

“If we go down in the lake we’ll be drowned,” said Jack.

“We’ll have to swim for it,” answered Andy, cheerfully. “If we get too close to the water we can take off our coats and kick off our shoes. We ought all to be able to swim to shore.”

In five minutes more they crossed another patch of woods and came out over the lake. Far below them was a sailboat, and the occupants looked up at the balloon in astonishment.

“We are surely going down!” cried Pepper.

The balloon made a big dip, coming to within two hundred feet of the lake surface. They were preparing to shed their coats and shoes when a gust took them upward once more and back to the shore.

“We are not going down just yet,” said Andy. “But I think the balloon will settle before long.”

“Where are we?” asked Jack.

“In the air,” said Pepper, who could not resist the temptation to joke.

“I don’t know where we are,” answered Andy. “But there is a wild lot of timber and rocks below us,” he added, after a searching look downward.

The balloon continued to move onward, but kept lowering constantly. Then came a sudden jolt to the basket.

“We hit a tree-top,” announced Andy. “We must be on our guard now!”

But once more the balloon took an upward turn, and the forest remained a good hundred feet below them. Then the wind appeared to die out utterly and the balloon ceased to move forward.

“This is all right,” said Andy. “Now, fellows, prepare to catch hold of a limb or something, when we go down.”

All were on the alert and watched the gradual settling of the big balloon with interest. The hot air had become cooled, and in a few seconds the basket struck the top of a tree and went over. The three cadets were spilled out in a most undignified fashion. They caught hold of the limbs as best they could and swung themselves towards the tree trunk. Then the balloon settled down over the top of the tree, forming a regular tent.

CHAPTER XXVIII

THREE BOYS AND THREE DOGS

“Are you all right, Jack?”

“Yes.”

“How about you, Pep?”

“As right as a button. Say, that was a ride worth talking about, wasn’t it?”

“I should say it was,” said the young major. “I must say, though, I shouldn’t care for another like it.”

“It suits me to a T!” cried Andy. “I don’t know but what I’d like to be a balloon acrobat.”

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.

“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.”

“I know,” said Jack, dryly.

“Where?”

“On the ground. There, that pays you back for telling me we were in the air awhile ago.”

“We must have sailed seven or eight miles at least,” said Andy. “Remember, the breeze was a pretty fair one.”

“I thought we came about fifty miles,” answered Pepper. “And we seemed to be about five miles high.”

“You couldn’t live at five miles, you know that,” answered Jack, quickly. “Science teaches that – ”

“Oh, bother science, unless it can connect us with a refreshment stand,” interrupted Pepper. “I am awfully dry, and hungry too.”

They gazed around them. On all sides was the tall timber. The ground was very uneven and rocky in spots. Some of the rocks were damp, but they could not locate any spring or brook.

“The first thing to do is to get out of this woods,” said Jack. “Then perhaps we can strike a farmhouse and get some refreshments. I am not hungry, but I’d like to have a drink of cold water.”

“Maybe you’d refuse a nice piece of pie?” said Pepper, sarcastically. “Or some fresh doughnuts?”

“Stop, Pep!” cried Andy. “I am getting hungry now. Come on!”

“Where to?”

“Out of the woods.”

“Which way?”

That was the question, and the three cadets stared around them helplessly.

“By the sun the lake must be in that direction,” said Jack. “Let us try to reach the water. Perhaps we can hail some passing boat.”

The others agreed, and leaving the balloon where it was, they made their way among the tall trees for a distance of several rods.

“Hullo! here’s a road!” cried Andy. “This must lead to somewhere. We are in luck.”

“But it doesn’t lead down to the lake,” said Jack.

However, it was decided to follow the road for awhile, which seemed to pass from the woods quarter of a mile further on. Then they came to an apple orchard, but, of course, none of the apples were ripe.

“Hark! I hear some dogs approaching!” ejaculated Jack, a few minutes later. “I hope they are not unfriendly.”

“They are bulldogs!” came from Pepper. “Say, I don’t like this at all!”

“Nor I,” added Andy, as the dogs came closer. There were three bulldogs, all of large size, and each looked particularly savage.

The three boys did not know what to do, but as the bulldogs came closer, Andy ran for a nearby tree. The others followed, and all got up into the tree just as the animals reached the vicinity.

The dogs were baying loudly, and as they gathered under the tree, they snapped and snarled in anything but a pleasant fashion. They had evidently run quite a distance, for they looked hot.

“Here’s a pretty kettle of fish,” remarked Jack. “We got out of one difficulty only to tumble into another.”

“Thanks, but I don’t want to tumble just now,” answered Pepper, with a shake of his head. “I don’t think those brutes would like anything better than to chew us up.”

“I wonder if I can beat them off with a stick?” said Andy, beginning to cut off a tree-bough with his pocketknife.

“I don’t think so, but you can try it,” answered the young major.

The stick was cut and Andy let himself down to a lower limb. He hit one of the dogs just once. Then the animal made a leap, caught hold of the stick, and had not Andy let go he would have been jerked to the ground. As it was he swung clear around the limb and only his acrobatic skill saved him.

“Don’t you try that again,” warned Pepper.

“Don’t think I will. Gosh! he almost had me; didn’t he?”

The dogs made themselves at home under the tree, lying down, but keeping their eyes fixed on the prisoners. The moment one of the lads moved there would be a growl from below.

“They’d make good camp guards, if they were trained,” said Pepper, with a sorry kind of a grin.

“This is no laughing matter,” expostulated Jack.

“Don’t think I’m laughing. I’d give a week’s spending money to be out of this right now.”

“Ditto here,” said Andy.

A half-hour went by and still the dogs remained at the foot of the tree. Occasionally one would walk around a bit and growl, but that was all. The boys tried everything they could think of to chase the brutes away, but without avail.

“I think I see somebody coming!” said Andy, later on. He had climbed to the top of the tree to make observations.

“Let us yell for help,” suggested Pepper, and all three immediately set up as loud a shout as their lungs would permit. At first there was no reply, but then a faint hello came back, and Andy saw the man running towards them.

“If he owns the dogs he’ll aid us,” said the acrobatic youth.

“Yes, but if he doesn’t what is he to do?” asked Jack, quickly. “We ought to warn him.”

Again they set up a shout:

“Look out for the dogs!”

“What’s that?” asked the man, coming to a halt.

“Look out for the dogs.”

“Three bulldogs?”

“Yes.”

“That’s all right – the dogs are mine.”

“Good enough,” murmured Jack. “Now we’ll get some help, I hope.”

The man came nearer. He was dressed in a riding-suit and carried a short whip in one hand. As he came closer the bulldogs ran towards him in a friendly way.

“Say, do you know who he is?” asked Jack, suddenly.

“Who?” asked the others.

“Haverick, the horse-dealer – the man who owned the dog I shot while we were at target practice.”

CHAPTER XXIX

THE OLD WELL

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.

“As they are your dogs we would like you to call them off,” continued Pepper. “They have kept us treed about long enough.”

“I guess they know you,” said the horse-dealer, with a scowl. “One of you cadets killed one of their mates.”

“The mad dog,” said Andy.

“He wasn’t mad! He only wanted to have some fun. Say, why don’t you show yourself?” shouted the man, to Jack.

As there was no help for it, the young major stepped out on a tree-limb in full view.

“Oh, I see now. You are Jack Ruddy, the lad who shot my dog. Ain’t that so?”

“I did shoot the dog,” answered Jack, boldly. “But I only did it because he was mad and because he wanted to bite Mrs. Bennington.”

“Stuff and nonsense! You shot the dog because you thought it was smart!” growled the horse-dealer. “I ought to have had you locked up for it.”

There was an awkward pause. The boys felt that they could expect anything but kind treatment from Sam Haverick.

“Are you going to call off the dogs?” asked Pepper, at last.

“I will – on one condition,” answered the man, and there was a shrewd look in his face as he spoke.

“What’s that?” asked Jack, although he knew about what was coming.

“That you pay for the dog you shot.”

“How much?”

“Fifty dollars.”

“Do you think we have fifty dollars with us?” cried Andy. “Why, I haven’t but eighty cents.”

“And I have sixty-five cents,” said Pepper.

“I’ve got two dollars and a quarter,” put in Jack. “But I am not going to give it to you,” he added, with spirit.

“Humph! Then you can stay in the tree.”

“We shan’t do that either,” said Pepper. “Call off those dogs and be quick about it. I am coming down, and if your dogs attack me, you’ll go to prison for it.”

“That’s the talk,” said Jack. “Call off the dogs, quick! Here I come!” And he started to drop down.

The horse-dealer was a good deal of a brute, but he was likewise a coward, and he did not dare to allow his dogs to attack the boys. As they came down out of the tree, he whistled to the bulldogs and they crouched behind him.

“Suppose you think you’re smart,” he growled.

“We are standing up for our rights, that is all,” answered Jack. “Now we are going on our way. If those dogs come after us again, I’ll get Captain Putnam to have you locked up for allowing such brutes at liberty.”

“Oh, go to grass!” grumbled Sam Haverick, and strode off, with his dogs following him.

As he went in one direction, the boys thought it wise to take the other. They continued on the road, and quarter of an hour later came in sight of a small farmhouse, perched on a hillside and surrounded with fields of grain.

“So you were really in that balloon!” said the farmer after he had heard their story. “Don’t it beat all now! I wouldn’t go up in one of them pesky things not fer a million dollars!”

“An’ I wouldn’t go fer three million,” said his wife, who was in the kitchen baking.

The boys asked if they could purchase some lunch and were given some sandwiches, fresh cake, and all the milk they could drink. The farmer wanted no pay, but each cadet insisted upon giving his wife a quarter.

“This road will take you to Cedarville,” said the farmer. “It’s a long way around though. A short way is by the trail over yonder.”

“Is the trail a good one?” asked Pepper, cautiously.

“You see, we don’t want to lose our way again,” explained Jack.

“I don’t see how you can lose your way,” answered the farmer. “Keep to the trail until you come to some tall rocks. Then turn to your left, go around the rocks, and you’ll come out on the old Borden Road, which runs straight down to Cedarville.”

“That looks easy enough,” said Andy.

The three cadets soon set off, and in a few minutes the farmhouse was out of sight. They passed through a patch of woods, then across a meadow, and then followed the trail beside a tiny brook, which seemed alive with trout.

“This is the spot for fishing,” exclaimed Pepper. “Don’t I wish I had a line!”

“We can’t stop to fish now,” answered Jack. “Remember, the folks will be worried about us until we report.”

“That is true. But we can come here some other day.”