Stratemeyer Edward
The Putnam Hall Rivals

CHAPTER XXV
JACK MAKES A DISCOVERY

Dan Baxter was evidently much chagrined. Pepper stood his ground and looked the master of Putnam Hall squarely in the face.

“Don’t you know that fighting is against the rules of this institution?” said Captain Putnam.

“Captain Putnam, I have not been fighting,” answered Pepper, as coolly as he could.

“Not fighting? Do you deny that you just knocked Baxter down?”

“No, sir, I do not deny it. I knocked him down twice.”

“And yet you do not call that fighting?”

“I do not, sir.”

“Well, what is it then?”

“I was walking out here when Baxter came up. He began to pick a quarrel, and without warning, as some of these boys can testify, he struck me in the chin and knocked me flat on my back. That made me angry and when I got up he struck at me again. Then I sailed in and knocked him down twice.”

“It ain’t so,” muttered Dan Baxter. “He started the quarrel.”

“No! no!” came from several.

“It started just as Pepper says,” put in Harry. “It was a mean thing for Baxter to attack Pepper without warning.”

“That’s what it was,” said another student standing by.

“You fellows shut up!” roared Dan Baxter. “If you don’t I’ll – ” He stopped short in confusion.

“Why did you attack him, Baxter?” asked the master of the school.

“Oh, he’s getting too airish,” said the bully, not stopping to think twice.

“Then you admit that you did attack him first?”

At this the bully grew red in the face.

“Well – er – I had good cause.”

“Both of you come to my office,” said the captain, and he also asked half a dozen of the others to come along. At the office the matter was carefully investigated.

“Ditmore, you may go,” said the master of Putnam Hall. “It was not just right for you to do as you did, yet I do not blame you for defending yourself. Baxter, you can remain.” And then all left the office but the bully. After the others had gone Captain Putnam read the bully a stern lecture. The captain had found out about the smoking and drinking at the old boathouse, and told the bully in very plain words that such practices would not be permitted around the academy.

“I presume the boathouse caught fire by accident,” said Captain Putnam.

“I – I guess it did,” said Baxter, meekly.

“It was a mean piece of business all the way through – and doubly mean to try to throw suspicion on some other cadets.”

“They did mean things to me, too,” grumbled the bully, and then he was glad to make his escape from the office.

It made Dan Baxter feel sick to face the school after his encounter with Pepper. Everybody was talking of how the Imp had polished off the bully. Baxter was glad enough when he received a telegram from his father asking him to leave Putnam Hall.

“I’m going on a trip and I shan’t be back for some time,” said Baxter to his cronies.

“You’re in luck,” answered Reff Ritter. “Wish I was going.”

“If you can, square up with Pepper Ditmore and his crowd,” went on the bully.

“We’ll do that,” put in Gus Coulter.

On the very day that Dan Baxter left Putnam Hall to go on a trip with his father, Pepper, Jack, and Andy received an invitation from the Fords to visit their summer home at Point View Lodge, not many miles away. The day was bright, and the roads seeming fine they went over on their bicycles.

“Here is where the Bock crowd once held us up,” said Jack, as they were riding through the woods. “Do you remember?”

“We are not likely to forget it,” said Andy. “Nor to forget how we shot the tiger that had escaped from the circus.”

“Which puts me in mind of something,” said Pepper. “Do you remember about that balloon that came down on us?”

“Of course.”

“Well, the balloonist, Professor Aireo, is going to give an exhibition next Saturday at Datport, in connection with some sort of soldiers’ reunion. I’d like to ride over and see him.”

“Let us do it – if we can get off,” returned Andy; and so it was agreed.

When the boys arrived at the Ford mansion they found all of the family there to greet them. Refreshments were served, and then the young people went out in the garden to play croquet and lawn tennis. The girls wanted to know about their life in camp, and smiled when told of the tricks that had been played.

“You certainly do have good times,” said Laura.

“Do you ever see any more of Roy Bock and his crowd?” asked Pepper.

“No, and we don’t wish to see them,” answered Flossie, with a toss of her curly head.

After the games there was music on the piano and singing, and then some more refreshments, and all too quickly it was time for the boys to return to the Hall. All said they had had a splendid time.

“I am glad to hear it,” said Mrs. Ford. “And do not forget to come again.”

It was still light when the boys leaped on their bicycles and started along the forest road for Putnam Hall. All were in high spirits, and Andy, in front, set a pace which the others followed with difficulty.

“Be careful,” sang out Jack. “This road is none of the best.”

“Oh, it’s all right,” answered the acrobatic youth. “Come on!” And he pushed ahead as hard as ever.

“I think this road is better than it used to be,” said Pepper, after a mile and a half had been covered. “They must have – ”

A crash ahead caused him to cut his speech short. They saw Andy fly over the handle-bars of his machine and land in some thick bushes. The bicycle spun around in the roadway and then fell, with the front wheel completely wrecked.

“Are you hurt, Andy?” asked Jack, slackening his pace just in time.

“I – I don’t think I am,” was the slow reply, as the acrobatic youth climbed out of the brushwood. “Gosh! but that was a header, wasn’t it?”

“How did it happen?” asked Pepper, who had gone ahead and now came back.

“I got in a rut and that threw me against yonder rock. I suppose I can be thankful that I didn’t break my neck.”

“The front wheel is done for,” said Jack, examining the bicycle. “The spokes and the rim are both smashed.”

“Then I reckon I’ll have to walk home,” said Andy, ruefully. “I reckon the old saying is true, ‘The more haste the less speed.’”

“We can take turns at carrying you,” said Jack. “One can carry you and the other the broken wheel.”

“Can you do it – on such a road as this?”

“We can try it, anyway.”

Andy got on the rear of Pepper’s bicycle and went on ahead, and Jack placed the broken wheel on his shoulder and followed on his own machine. Progress was slow, and long before the Hall was reached it was dark.

“Let us rest awhile,” said Pepper. “This is hard work.”

“I’ll work one of the wheels for awhile,” said Andy – “that is, when we start again.”

The boys sat down by the side of the forest road to rest. Near by a tiny brook of cold water was trickling.

“There must be a spring near by,” said Jack. “If there is, I’m going to have a drink.”

“Ditto myself,” said Pepper.

Jack walked off to look for the spring. He was gone only a few minutes when he came back in high excitement.

“I’ve made a discovery!” he cried, softly.

“What kind of a discovery?” asked Andy.

“I followed up the brook until I came to the spring, under a big overhanging rock. I was stooping down for a drink, when I caught the gleam of a campfire, through the trees. After I had my fill, I walked closer to the campfire to investigate. There I saw those two crazy relatives of Mr. Strong, Paul Shaff and Bart Callax!”

CHAPTER XXVI
THE MEN IN THE WOODS

Jack’s announcement filled Andy and Pepper with surprise. They had not dreamed that the two missing men could be anywhere in that vicinity.

“You didn’t make any mistake?” said Pepper.

“No, you can go and see for yourself. They have a regular camp located there.”

The other boys were curious, and followed the young major along the brook and to the campfire beyond. True enough, Shaff and Callax were there, taking it easy beside the campfire. They had built themselves a rude shelter of tree-boughs and brushwood, in front of which was a beautiful rug. In front of a tree hung a looking-glass and on a bench rested a washbowl and a shoe-blacking outfit.

“Lay low – we don’t want them to spot us,” whispered Jack.

“What are they talking about?” whispered Andy.

“Everything in general. They are certainly crazy.”

“We ought to let Mr. Strong know of this,” said Pepper.

The boys watched the two men for some time and saw that it was probable they would remain in the camp that night.

“I have an idea,” said Pepper. “Andy can ride to the school and tell Mr. Strong, while Jack and I watch the men. If they go away we can follow and see where they go to.”

So it was arranged, and a little later Andy rode off on Jack’s wheel. Jack and Pepper kept well out of sight, but made certain that Shaff and Callax should not slip them in the darkness which was now settling down upon all sides.

Andy took care that he should have no more accidents, and as a consequence it took him quite a while to reach Putnam Hall. Once there he asked at once for George Strong. The assistant teacher was in the library.

“I wish to see you in private, Mr. Strong,” said the cadet, and having walked outside with the instructor, the acrobatic youth told his tale.

“This is indeed news,” said George Strong. “We must capture them by all means. It is criminal to leave such dangerous characters at large.”

Captain Putnam was informed of the affair, and he told Peleg Snuggers and another man around the place to go with George Strong and Andy. The carryall was brought out, with a pair of good horses, and away they started on a good gait for the camp in the woods.

They had just reached the spot where the bicycles had been left when they heard a blood-curdling cry. Then came a shout in Jack’s voice.

“They have been discovered!” cried Andy, and leaped from the carryall, followed by George Strong and Peleg Snuggers.

“Look out, or they may shoot you!” said the general-utility man, taking good care to keep well to the rear.

Another shout, this time from Pepper, rang out, and then those who had just come up saw two men rush through the forest in the direction of the lake.

“There they go!” cried George Strong. “Stop, Paul! Stop, Bart!” he added.

“Let us alone!” said Callax. “Let us alone!”

“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.