The Putnam Hall Rivals

“Maybe you’ve got the wrong paper,” suggested Jack.

“I don’t think so.” 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.

“We didn’t even have a light.”

“Mr. Crabtree, let the boys explain,” said the captain, stiffly.

“Captain Putnam, I think I can explain,” retorted the teacher. “To-day I made a discovery.”

“Well?”

“Some of the students have been in the habit of going down to the old boathouse to smoke and to drink.”

“To smoke and to drink!” cried the master of the Hall, “You are sure of this?”

“I am, sir.”

“Why did you not report to me at once?”

“I did not find it out until this afternoon. I was on my way to speak to you about it when the alarm of fire rang out.”

“Ahem! And you think, Mr. Crabtree – ?” The captain paused suggestively.

“I think Ruddy and Ditmore are guilty. They were smoking and they set the building on fire, perhaps by accident.”

“Mr. 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.”

“Did you find them?”

“No.”

“Was the building on fire when you got there?”

“We didn’t see any fire.”

“Hum!” The master of the Hall mused for a moment. “How did the fire start?”

“It sprang up all at once,” said Pepper. “We got scared and started to run away. Then we found the door closed, and we had a big job getting out of the place.”

“That is a fine story to tell,” sneered Josiah Crabtree. “Captain Putnam, if I were you, I’d place them in a room by themselves, while we make an investigation.”

“But, Mr. Crabtree – ”

“I am certain we shall learn a good deal,” went on the assistant teacher. And then he whispered something into the ear of the master of the Hall.

“If you think best,” said Captain Putnam. “Come with me, boys,” he added, to Jack and Pepper, and led the way to the school, and then to his private office.

“Captain Putnam – ” began Jack.

“I will listen to what you have to say later, Major Ruddy,” said the master of the Hall. “For the present both of you must remain here.”

Then Captain Putnam walked out, locking the door after him, and leaving Jack and Pepper in a decidedly unsettled state of mind.

CHAPTER IX

UNDER SUSPICION

“What do you make of this, Jack?”

“I give it up.”

“Something is in the wind.”

“I know that. If possible, old Crabtree is going to get us into trouble.”

“Not Crabtree alone.”

“What do you mean?”

“This is the work of Dan Baxter and his crowd. Don’t forget the three fellows we saw sneaking from the old boathouse.”

“That’s so! Do you suppose they set the place on fire?”

“I do – either by accident or design.”

“You don’t suppose they meant to burn us up?”

“Oh, no, they knew we could get out. But it would take time, and they wanted to detain us, so that we’d be found down there.”

“Well, we were found, and now we’re in a mess over it.”

After that both cadets looked at the sheet of paper once more.

“The writing has entirely evaporated,” said Pepper. “I can’t see a scratch.”

“Have you any idea who dropped the note?”

“Not the slightest.”

“Perhaps it was a friend who wanted us to learn what the Baxter crowd was up to.”

“I don’t think so. I think the whole thing is a plot against us.”

The boys talked the matter over for some time, but could make no progress towards a solution of the mystery.

“If Baxter did it, it was done to get square because we spoilt their feast,” said Jack.

“No doubt of that.”

“Shall we squeal on them?”

“I don’t want to be a tale-bearer.”

“Neither do I.”

For fully an hour nobody came near them. They heard the students retire, and later on heard a murmur of voices in the hallway. Then Captain Putnam appeared.

“Both of you will come with me,” he said, coldly.

“But, captain – ” began Jack.

“It is too late to discuss the situation to-night,” cut in the master of the Hall. “We will talk it over in the morning, and then I will decide what is to be done.”

He would not listen to another word, and meekly they followed him out of the office and down a side hallway to where there was a small room.

This room had been designed for stores, but it was almost empty. The two boys saw that in it had been placed two cots and a quantity of blankets.

“You will remain here all night,” said Captain Putnam. “There is a pitcher of water for you.” And then he withdrew, leaving them to themselves. The door was locked and bolted, and they heard the captain walk rapidly away.

“Well, what do you think of that?” declared Pepper, gazing around blankly. “Are we prisoners?”

“It certainly looks like it, Pep.”

“And for nothing at all! It’s an outrage, Jack!”

“Captain Putnam appeared to be very angry.”

“Yes, and he wouldn’t listen to a word! I never dreamed it of him, never!”

“Well, one thing is certain – we’ve got to stay here until morning. Look at the window.”

The blinds were closed, and over them had been nailed several heavy slats. The room was rather cold, and they had only a small lamp for illumination.

When Pepper awoke he thought somebody was whistling in his ear. He listened intently and soon discovered that the whistling came through the keyhole of the door.

“Who is there?” he asked, rising.

“Is that you, Pep?” came in Andy’s voice.

“Yes.”

“Is Jack there, too?”

“Yes.” And now the Imp aroused his chum.

“What is it all about anyway? Our crowd is all upset over it,” continued Andy, in a low voice.

Pepper and Jack told as much as they knew, and their acrobatic friend listened with interest.

“I’d like to let you out, but the door is locked and I haven’t any key,” went on Andy.

“Never mind, we can stay here just as well,” said Jack.

“Something was doing in our dormitory too,” went on Andy. “We started to go to bed, when old Crabtree came up and ordered us out. Then he went in and shut the door.”

“What did he do there?”

“I think he made some kind of a search. Presently he called for Captain Putnam, and then both stayed in the room quarter of an hour. After that we were told to go to bed.”

“Something is certainly wrong,” mused Pepper. “Well, we’ll have to await developments, that’s all.”

It was too cold for Andy to remain in the hall long, and soon he went back to his dormitory, and Pepper and Jack went to sleep as before.

At eight o’clock in the morning Peleg Snuggers came in, with a big tray containing the boys’ breakfast.

“What! are we to remain here?” cried Jack.

“I dunno,” answered the general-utility man of Putnam Hall. “I was ordered to bring your breakfast, that’s all.”

“Who ordered it?”

“Mr. Crabtree.”

“Does Captain Putnam know of it?” asked Jack.

“Captain Putnam went away at six o’clock this morning. Had some special business in Rochester, I think.”

“Went away!” echoed Jack. “Then old Crabby – I mean Mr. Crabtree, is in charge.”

“That’s it.”

“Humph! Pep, that won’t be to our advantage.”

“I know it. He hates us.”

“I think he hates most o’ you young gents,” whispered Peleg Snuggers, who had no great love for the teacher in question.

“You tell Mr. Crabtree that we want to see him,” said Jack.

“It won’t do no good.”

“Never mind. You tell him we insist upon seeing him,” put in Pepper.

Peleg Snuggers placed the breakfast on a stand and withdrew, locking the door as before.

“Rather a slim meal,” observed the young major, looking at what had been brought.

“He is going to starve us as well as keep us prisoners,” was the Imp’s answer.

As both boys were hungry it did not take them long to stow away everything in sight. Then both began to walk around the cold cell, in order to keep warm.

“This is outrageous!” cried Pepper, at last. “I am not going to stand it another minute!” And going to the door he began to hammer upon it loudly. Jack, also out of sorts, did the same.

The racket was soon heard in the classrooms, and presently Josiah Crabtree came rushing to the place, a heavy switch in his hand.

“Hi! hi! stop that noise!” thundered the assistant teacher. “Stop it, I say!” And he threw open the door and confronted the pair, with snapping eyes and with a face red from indignation.

As soon as the door was opened Jack and Pepper stopped kicking and pounding. Both faced the instructor fearlessly.

“What do you mean by such a noise?” demanded Josiah Crabtree, after an ominous pause.

“We wanted to attract attention,” answered Pepper, calmly.

“I want you to keep quiet!”

“Mr. Crabtree, will you tell us why we are prisoners here?” asked Jack.

“You are prisoners because you have disobeyed the rules of this institution,” snapped the instructor, and there was a certain gleam of triumph in his eyes.

“How have we disobeyed the rules?”

“You know well enough.”

“We don’t know,” came from Pepper.

“Don’t contradict, Ditmore! Captain Putnam and myself have found you out.”

“Won’t you please explain?” asked Jack, as calmly as he could.

“Well, in the first place, you are responsible for the fire at the boathouse.”

“No! no!” came from both boys.

“We have made a rigid investigation,” returned Josiah Crabtree. “It is useless to deny it,” he continued. “But that is not the worst of it, in the eyes of myself and Captain Putnam.”

“Well, what is the worst?” asked Jack, curiously, and wondering what was coming.

“Both of you went down to the old boathouse to smoke and drink.”

“I deny that flatly,” said the young major.

“So do I,” added Pepper.

“Denials will do you no good. We have the evidence,” returned Josiah Crabtree, and once again his rather fishy eyes showed a gleam of triumph.

“What evidence have you?” demanded Jack.

“After we locked you up here, I suggested to the captain that we search your dormitory. This was done, and we have uncovered your secrets. The captain is amazed, and so am I. We did not dream that any cadet at this school would be guilty of such a thing.”

“Guilty of what?” asked Jack and Pepper, in a breath.

“Guilty of such bad habits. We went into your lockers and your trunks, and we discovered two bottles of liquor, eight packages of cigarettes, and three packs of playing-cards, all belonging to you two students. You know our rules. You have broken them, and you must either be punished or else be dismissed from this school!”

CHAPTER X

FROM CELLAR TO ATTIC

For the moment after Josiah Crabtree made this declaration Jack and Pepper were so amazed that they could not speak. They stared at the teacher as if they had not heard aright.

“Do you mean to say you found such things in our trunks and lockers?” asked the young major, at last.

“I certainly do, Ruddy.”

“It’s a – a trick!” burst out Pepper. “A mean, rascally trick!”

“No, there was no trick about it,” answered Josiah Crabtree.

“But, Mr. Crabtree, there must be some mistake,” faltered Jack. “I do not drink or smoke or play cards, and neither does Pepper. Surely you have made a mistake.”

“No mistake about it, I tell you. I found the things as plain as day, and Captain Putnam saw them too. You had the things hidden pretty well, but our search was thorough. After the fire I suspected you at once, for I saw the evidence of smoking and drinking around the burnt building. You may as well confess. It will do no good to put on an innocent front.”

“Mr. Crabtree, will you listen to me?” asked Pepper, half desperately.

“If you wish to confess, yes.”

“I have nothing to confess.”

“Then I do not care to listen. You are a pair of bad boys, and in the absence of Captain Putnam I am bound to make an example of you.”

“If Captain Putnam was here he would listen to us,” said Jack.

“I am capable of taking charge of this affair,” answered the teacher, coldly. A little brief authority always made him strong-headed.

“I repeat, I am guilty of no wrongdoing,” said Jack, simply. “There is some mistake somewhere.”

“And I am innocent, too,” added Pepper.

“After this, I want you two boys to behave yourselves,” resumed Josiah Crabtree. “If you don’t – ”

“What then?” asked Jack.

“I’ll make you.”

“We don’t want to stay here,” said Pepper. “It’s a beastly place and we’ll catch our death of cold.”

“You shall stay here.”

“I protest!” cried Jack.

“Ruddy, it will do no good, I tell you. And let me tell you something more. Your conduct is unworthy of an officer. After this, you shall be a private, nothing more.”

“You are going to take my majorship away from me!” gasped Jack.

“Yes.”

The boy’s heart sank within him. This was the unkindest cut of all.

“It’s dirt mean!” cried Pepper. “Jack, for two pins I’d write home about this.”

“Yes, and leave Putnam Hall,” added the deposed major.

“You two boys will behave yourselves!” roared Josiah Crabtree. “If you make any more trouble I’ll show you a thing or two!”

With this the teacher went out, banging and locking the door behind him.

Jack and Pepper felt hurt and angry. They had done nothing wrong, and did not consider that they were being treated fairly.

The forenoon dragged by slowly and both boys were chilled. Growing desperate, Pepper began to hammer on the door again and his chum followed suit.

For fully quarter of an hour nobody paid attention to the noise, and they were on the point of stopping the racket when Josiah Crabtree again appeared, followed by Peleg Snuggers and another man, who did occasional jobs around Putnam Hall.

“Hold out your hands,” said the teacher, grimly; and almost before they knew it, Jack and Pepper were handcuffed. Then the teacher slipped the key of the handcuffs into his pocket.

“This, is a high-handed proceeding,” said Jack.

“I believe you objected to the cold,” said the teacher, ignoring the remark.

“We did – I am half frozen,” answered Pepper.

“Then come, and I’ll provide you with a warmer place,” was the answer.

It would have been useless to resist in the presence of the three men, and so the boys marched out of the storeroom and along the hallway. Soon they came to a cellar door.

“Are you going to put us down in the cellar?” cried Jack.

“March, and do not ask any more questions,” said Josiah Crabtree.

The boys tried to argue, but the assistant teacher would not listen. Down into the cellar went the party and walked along until they came to a square stone room that was built close to one of the big heaters.

“You won’t freeze here,” said the teacher, and shoved them inside. “Now, if you make any more noise, you shall not have a mouthful of dinner.”

Again the door was closed and locked on the two unfortunates. They heard the others hurry away, and faced each other in the gloom.

“This is the worst yet,” said Pepper. “It’s a regular dungeon cell!”

“It is an outrage and I shall not stand for it,” was his chum’s comment. “Phew! how hot it is! That furnace is a regular bake-oven!”

“First he freezes us and then he bakes us,” muttered Pepper. “Oh, but he is a hard-hearted wretch!”

“Here is something to make you feel better,” said Jack, when he felt certain nobody was watching them. “Hold out your hands, Pep.”

The Imp did so and Jack commenced to feel of the lock of the handcuffs. Soon Pepper was at liberty.

“However did you do it, Jack?” he questioned.

“I watched my chance and took the key from old Crabby’s pocket.”

“Good for you!”

“Now unfasten my bracelets, will you?”

“Certainly.”

With their hands at liberty, the boys felt a trifle better. But the semi-darkness and the heat did not suit them at all. Besides this, the hot stone room was full of a dry dust that set them to coughing.

“I’d like to put old Crabtree in this place,” muttered Jack.

“I wonder if we can’t get out, Jack?”

“What good will it do?”

“A lot of good. We can remain out of Crabtree’s reach until Captain Putnam gets back. Then we can demand a hearing.”

“I don’t see how you are going to get out.”

“Have you got a match?”

“Nary a one.”

“Let us explore in the dark then. Start at the door. I’ll go to the right and you can go to the left.”

This was done, and they went over the stone walls with care. Nothing in the way of an opening presented itself.

“Now let us try the flooring above,” said Pepper.

“How can we reach it?”

There was a bench in the room, and they turned this up on one end. Then Pepper boosted his chum to the top. Jack felt around with care.

“Here’s a crack in the floor,” said he, presently. “Hullo!”

“What’s up now?” queried the Imp.

“I saw a streak of light and then it suddenly disappeared. I think – There it is again!”

Jack turned his eye upward, and now Pepper saw the light also. It lasted about half a minute and then disappeared, and the boys heard the slamming of a door.

“I know what it is now,” said Jack. “The flooring above is that of some storeroom or closet. Somebody opened the door, letting in some light. Then the door was closed again.”

“Maybe we can get up into the room or closet. Are any of the boards loose?”

“I’ll try them and find out.”

Jack began to press upward and soon found a board that was loose at one end. He worked at it and soon had an opening large enough to admit the passage of his body.

“Give me your hand,” he whispered to Pepper. “Don’t make any noise.”

Soon the Imp was standing beside his chum on the upturned end of the bench. Then both crawled through the opening above. As Pepper followed Jack the bench fell over with a crash.

“Quick, put the board down! Somebody may come!” ejaculated Jack, and they replaced the flooring of the closet in which they now found themselves. It was partly filled with clothing for outdoor wear, and also held rubbers, rubber boots, and umbrellas.

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.

Below they could hear the students returning to their classrooms, having had their midday meal.

“We’ve lost our dinners, that’s certain,” said Pepper, with a sigh. “If only we had some of Dan Baxter’s stuff here now, it wouldn’t go half bad, eh?”

“Do you know what I think, Pep?”

“Well?”

“I think Dan Baxter put up a job on us.”

“About that liquor, cigarettes, and cards?”

“Yes.”

“Would he be mean enough to do it?”

“I think so. Remember, he was terribly angry over that feast affair.”

“Oh, I know that. If he put up a job on us I’d like to prove it.”

“That may be a hard thing to do. No doubt he covered up his tracks well.”

The boys remained in the dormitory for some time and then stole to the rear of the Hall and down a back stairs. This brought them close to the kitchen.

“If we could only get into the pantry,” whispered Pepper. “I am going to try it!” he added, with sudden determination.

“I am with you,” answered his chum.

Watching their chance, they crossed the kitchen and entered the pantry, on the shelves of which rested a variety of good things. There was a basket handy, and into it they put such things as they desired. Some maids came into the kitchen, but then went back to the mess-hall, in one corner of which they were now having their own dinner.

“Now is our chance!” cried Jack, softly, and once more they crossed the kitchen and made for the stairs. In a few minutes they were on the upper floor, and there they almost ran straight into Dale Blackmore.

“Hullo!” cried Dale, staring as if he saw two ghosts. “I thought you were prisoners.”

“We were, but we escaped,” explained Jack. “You won’t tell on us, will you, Dale?”

“Me tell on you?” said the other cadet, reproachfully. “Not by a jugful!”

“Do you know when Captain Putnam is coming back?”

“Not until to-morrow morning, so I heard.”

Pepper and Jack looked at each other.

“What shall we do next?” asked Pepper.

“Let us stay in hiding until the captain gets back.”

So it was decided, and Dale told them of a vacant room on the top floor where they might make themselves comfortable in the meantime.

“It’s got a bed in it and all,” said he. “You can lock yourselves in and I’ll keep you posted.”

They talked the matter over a few minutes and then went to the room. It contained no heater, but the main chimney of the Hall was at one end, making it fairly comfortable. From a window they could get a view of the road leading to Cedarville.

“Make yourselves at home,” said Dale, on departing. “I’ll try to keep you posted.”

CHAPTER XI

JOSIAH CRABTREE’S TROUBLES

There was a key in the lock of the door, and the two cadets locked themselves in. Then they proceeded to unpack the basket of good things, and sitting on the edge of the bed, began to satisfy their hunger.

“This certainly beats the cellar,” said Jack, munching some cold roast beef and a biscuit.

“Yes, and we can keep our eyes on the road below,” answered his chum. “If the captain comes I believe in reporting to him at once.”

“So do I.”

As they had nothing else to do, they took their time eating, and then placed what was left to one side, for supper and a possible breakfast. Then Pepper strolled to the window and gazed down on the campus below.

“Well, I never!” he cried.

“What’s up now?”

“There are Crabtree and Snuggers looking all around the place! I’ll wager a bun to a bakery that they think we have run away from the Hall!”

Jack looked out also, and both boys saw the teacher and the general-utility man walk all around the campus and then disappear in the direction of the gymnasium.

“I hope they have a good time looking for us,” observed Pepper, with a broad grin.

“Maybe they’ll come up here next.”

“If they do we’ll have to lay low.”

Nearly an hour passed, and then they heard footsteps in the hall outside. Instantly both became quiet as mice.

“They don’t seem to be around here,” they heard Peleg Snuggers remark.

“Let us look in all the rooms,” answered Josiah Crabtree.

The boys almost held their breath as they heard the door tried.

“This is locked up,” said Snuggers.

“Let me see,” answered the assistant teacher, and they heard his hand upon the knob. “Have you a key, Snuggers?”

“No, sir.”

There was a brief pause.

“Boys, are you in there?” called out Josiah Crabtree. “If you are, answer me.”

A deathlike silence followed. Jack and Pepper scarcely dared to breathe.

“They couldn’t git up here nohow, Mr. Crabtree,” said the general-utility man. “Somebody would be sure to see ’em.”

“I don’t know about that. Boys that will crawl through the flooring of a closet will do almost anything,” grumbled the teacher. “Who has the key to this room?”

“Most likely Mrs. Green.”

Mrs. Green was the matron of the Hall, she having charge of all the female help and also doing a great deal for the small boys in the institution. At the mention of her name the hearts of the cadets sank.