The Rover Boys Megapack Page 5

  “Always drives alone. Reckon it kind of quiets him, after a noisy time with the boy.”

  “I suppose.”

  They were soon on the way, which led out of Cedarville and over a hill fronting the lake.

  “By the way, do you know where the farms belonging to Mr. Stanhope and to Mr. Laning are located?” asked Tom, when they were well out of the village.

  “Mr. Stanhope, sir? There isn’t any Mr. Stanhope. He died two years ago. That place you see away over yonder is Mrs. Stanhope’s farm.”

  “She has a daughter Dora?”

  “Yes,” Peleg Snuggers paused for a moment. “They say the widder thinks of marrying again.”

  “Is that so!” put in Dick, and then he wondered if Dora would be pleased with her stepfather. “So that is the place?”

  “Yes, sir; two hundred and fifty acres, and the fittest dairy in these parts. If the widder marries again, her husband will fall into a very good thing. The dairy company at Ithaca once offered fifty thousand dollars for the cattle and land.”

  “Gracious!” came from Tom. “We’ve been chumming with an heiress. Are the Lanings rich, too?”

  “Very well to do. That is their place, that side road. Here is where we turn off to get to the Hall. Captain Putnam had this road made when the Hall was first built.”

  The road was one of cracked stone, as smooth as a huge iron roller could make it. They bowled along at a rapid rate, under the wide spreading branches of two rows of stately maples. They were close to the lake, and occasional glimpses of water could be caught through the tree branches.

  “It is certainly a splendid locality for a boarding academy,” was Dick’s comment. “My, what pure air—enough to make a sick boy strong! Do you have much sickness at the Hall?”

  “Very little, sir. The captain does not let a cast of sickness stand, but calls in Dr. Fremley at once.”

  “That is where he is level-headed,” said Fred. “My father said I was to call for a doctor the minute I felt at all sick.”

  They were now approaching Putnam Hall, but there was still another turn to make. As they swept around this, they came upon a tramp, half asleep under a tree. The tramp roused up at the sounds of carriage wheels and looked first at the driver of the carryall and then at the four boys.

  “Phew!” he ejaculated, and lost no time in diving out of sight into some brush back of the row of maples.

  “Hullo, who was that?” cried Sam.

  “A tramp, I reckon,” answered the utility man. “We are bothered a good deal with them.”

  “Begging at the Hall for the left-overs?”

  “Exactly. The captain is too kind-hearted. He ought to drive ‘em all away,” answered Peleg Snuggers; and then the carryall passed on.

  When it was gone, and the wagon with the trunks had followed, the tramp came out of the brush and gazed after both turnouts. “Say, Buddy Girk, but dat was a narrow escape,” he muttered to himself. “Wot brought dem young gents to dis neighborhood? It can’t be possible da have tracked me—an’ so quick.” He hesitated. “I t’ink I had better give dis neighborhood de go-by,” and he dove into the brush again. He was the rascal who had stolen Dick’s timepiece.

  CHAPTER VII

  TOM GETS INTO TROUBLE

  Putnam Hall was a fine building of brick and stone, standing in the center of a beautiful parade ground of nearly ten acres. In front of the parade ground was the wagon road, and beyond was a gentle slope leading down to the lake. To the left of the building was a playground hedged in by cedars, at one corner of which stood a two-story frame building used as a gymnasium. To the right was a woods, while in the rear were a storehouse, a stable, and several other outbuildings, backed up by some farm lands, cultivated for the sole benefit of the institution, so that the pupils were served in season with the freshest of fruits and vegetables.

  The Hall was built in the form of the letter F, the upright line forming the front of the building and the other lines representing wings in the rear. There were three entrances—one for the teachers and senior class in the center, one for the middle classes on the right, and another for the youngest pupils on the left. There were, of course, several doors in the rear in addition.

  The entire ground floor of the Hall was given over to class and drill rooms. The second floor was occupied by Captain Putnam and his staff of assistants and the pupils as living and sleeping apartments, while the top floor was used by the servants, although there were also several dormitories there, used by young boys, who came under the care of Mrs. Green, the housekeeper.

  Captain Victor Putnam was a bachelor. A West Point graduate, he had seen gallant service in the West, where he had aided the daring General Custer during many an Indian uprising. A fall from a horse, during a campaign in the Black Hills, had laid him on a long bed of sickness, and had later on caused him to retire from the army and go back to his old profession of school teaching. He might have had a position at West Point as an instructor, but he had preferred to run his own military academy.

  “Hurrah, here we are at last!” cried Fred Garrison, as the carryall swept into view of the Hall. “I see twenty or thirty of the students, and all togged out in soldier clothes!”

  “I suppose we’ll be wearing suits soon,”, answered Tom. “By George! I’m going to give them a salute.”

  (For the doings of the Putnam Hall students previous to the arrival at that institution of the Rover boys see “The Putnam Hall Series,” the first volume of which is entitled, “The Putnam Hall Cadets.”—Publishers)

  “How?” asked Sam.

  “Never mind. Just wait and see.”

  In a minute more they swept up to the gateway leading to the parade ground. Some of the pupils had seen the carriage coming, and they ran down to learn if any old friends had arrived.

  “Hullo!” yelled several.

  “Hullo yourself!” came in return, and then Tom drew out the firecracker still in his pocket and lit it on the sly. Just as it was about to explode he threw it up into the air.

  Bang! The report was loud and clear, and everybody within hearing rushed to the spot to see what it meant. There were forty or fifty pupils and two assistant teachers, but Captain Putnam had gone out.

  “Hi! Hi! What does this mean?” came in a high-pitched voice, and Josiah Crabtree, the first assistant, rushed up to the carryall. “What was that exploded?”

  “A big firecracker, sir,” answered Peleg Snuggers.

  “And who exploded it?”

  Before the utility man could answer there came a cry from the parade ground: “Don’t peach, Peleg, don’t peach!”

  “Silence, boys!” burst from Josiah Crabtree wrathfully. “Such a disturbance is against the rules of this institution.”

  “We didn’t fire the cracker,” piped up a tall, slim boy. “It came from the carriage.”

  “Mumps, you’re nothing but a sneak and tattle-tale,” was the reply to this, from several older cadets; and, afraid of having his ears boxed on the sly, John Fenwick, nicknamed Mumps by everybody in the Hall, ran off.

  “Which of you fired the cracker?” demanded Josiah Crabtree, advancing to the carriage step.

  There was no reply, and he turned to the driver.

  “Snuggers, what have you to say?”

  “I can’t say anything, sir. I was taking care of the horses, sir,” answered the hired man meekly.

  “I will find out who fired the cracker before I have finished with you,” growled the head assistant. “Get down and march into the Hall.”

  “Gracious, what have we struck now?” whispered Fred to Dick.

  “Is this Captain Putnam?” asked Dick, without answering his chum.

  “No, young man; I am Josiah Crabtree, A. M., Captain Putnam’s first assistant. And you are—” He paused.

  “I am Dick Rover, sir. These are my brothers,
Tom and Sam.”

  “And I am Fred Garrison,” finished that youth.

  “Very good. I hope, Richard, that you were not guilty of firing that cracker?”

  “Was there any great harm in giving a… a salute upon our arrival?”

  “Such a thing is against the rules of the institution. Article 29 says, ‘No pupil shall use any firearms or explosive at any time excepting upon special permission’.”

  “We are not pupils yet, Mr. Crabtree.”

  “That argument will not pass, sir. So you fired the cracker? Very well. Mr. Strong!”

  The second assistant came up. He was a man of not over twenty-five, and his face was mild and pleasant.

  “What is it, Mr. Crabtree.”

  “You will take charge of the other new pupils, while I take charge of the one who has broken our rules on his very arrival.”

  “Hold on!” cried Tom. “What are you going to do with my brother?”

  “That is… none of your business, Master Rover. You will go with Mr. Strong.”

  “He didn’t fire the cracker. I did that! And I’m not ashamed of it. I wasn’t a pupil when I did it, and I’m not a pupil now, so I can’t see how you can punish me for breaking one of your rules.”

  At this there came a titter from the cadets gathered around. Hardly any of them liked Josiah Crabtree, who was dictatorial beyond all reason. The head assistant flushed up.

  “You are a pupil here, and I will show you that you cannot break our rules with impunity, and be impudent to me in the bargain!” cried Crabtree. “Come with me!” And he caught Tom by the arm, while Dick and the others were led off in another direction.

  “Surely, this is a fine beginning,” thought Tom as he walked along. He was half inclined to break away, but concluded to await developments.

  “Are you going to take me to Captain Putnam?” he questioned.

  “We do not permit cadets placed under arrest to ask questions.”

  “Great smoke! Am I under arrest?”

  “You are.”

  “Perhaps you’ll want to hang me next.”

  “Silence! Or I shall be tempted to sentence you to a caning.”

  “You’ll never cane me, sir.”

  “Silence! You have evidently been a wayward boy at home. If so it will be best for you to remember that all that is now at an end, and you must behave yourself and obey orders.”

  “Can’t a fellow breathe without permission?”

  “Silence!”

  “How about if I want a drink of water?”

  “Silence, I say!” stormed Josiah Crabtree. “I’ll warrant you’ll not feel so smart by the time you are ready to leave Putnam Hall.”

  There was a silence after this, as the head assistant led the way into the building and conducted Tom to a small room looking out toward the rear.

  “You will remain here, Rover, until Captain Putnam returns.”

  “How long will that be?”

  “Didn’t I tell you not to ask questions?”

  “But Captain Putnam may not return for a day or a month,” went on Tom innocently.

  “Captain Putnam will be back in an hour or two.” Without another word, Josiah Crabtree turned and left the room, locking the door behind him.

  “Well, by crickety!” came from the boy when he was left alone. “I’ve put my foot into it from the very start. I wonder what Captain Putnam will say to this? If he’s half as sour minded as old Crabtree, I’ll catch it. But I haven’t done anything wrong, and they shan’t cane me—and that’s flat!” and he shook his curly head decidedly.

  The room was less than ten feet square and plainly furnished with two chairs and a small couch. In one corner was a washstand containing a basin and a pitcher of water.

  “This looks a good deal like a cell,” he mused as he gazed around. Suddenly his eyes caught some writing on the wall in lead pencil. He stepped over to read it.

  “Josiah Crabtree put me here,

  And I am feeling very queer;

  He boxed my ears and pulled my hair

  Oh, when I’m free won’t I get square!”

  “Somebody else has been here before me,” thought Tom. “I rather reckon I’ll get square too. Hullo, here’s another Whittier or Longfellow:

  “In this lock-up I’m confined;

  If I stay long I’ll lose my mind.

  Two days and nights I’ve paced the floor,

  As many others have before.”

  “I hope I don’t stay two days and nights,” said Tom half aloud. Then he walked to the single window of the apartment to find that it was heavily barred.

  “No escaping that way,” he went on to read another inscription, this time in blank verse:

  “And I am jugged,

  Alone in solitude, and by myself

  Alone. I sit and think, and think,

  And think again. Old Crabtree,

  Base villain that he is, hath put me here!

  And why? Ah, thereby hangs a tale, Horatio!

  His teeth, the teeth that chew the best of steak

  Set on our table—those I found and hid;

  And Mumps, the sneak, hath told on me! Alas!

  When will my martyrdom end?”

  “Good for the chap who hid the teeth!” continued Tom, and smiled as he thought of the rage Crabtree must have been in when he discovered that his false teeth were gone. A rattle in the keyhole disturbed him, and he dropped onto a chair just as the head assistant again appeared.

  “I want the keys to your trunk and your satchel,” he said.

  “What for, sir?”

  “Didn’t I tell you before not to ask questions?”

  “But my keys are my own private property, and so is what is in the trunk and the satchel.”

  “All pupils’ baggage is examined, Rover, to see that nothing improper is introduced into the Hall.”

  “Want to see if I’ve got any more firecrackers?”

  “We do not allow dime novels, or, eatables, or other things that might harm our pupils.”

  “Eating never harmed me, sir.”

  “Sometimes parents load up their boys with delicacies which are decidedly harmful. Come, the keys.”

  Josiah Crabtree’s tones were so harsh that Tom’s heart rebelled on the moment.

  “I shan’t give them to you, Mr. Crabtree. You have no right to place me here. I wish to see the proprietor, Captain Putnam, at once.”

  “Do you—er—refuse to recognize my authority over you?” cried Josiah Crabtree passionately.

  “I do, sir. When I have met Captain Putnam and been enrolled as a cadet it may be different. But at present I am not a cadet and not under your authority.”

  “We’ll see, boy, we’ll see!” came hotly from the head assistant. “Before I am done with you, you will be sorry that you have defied me!”

  And with these words he went out, slamming the door after him. Tom had made an enemy at the very start of his career as a cadet.

  CHAPTER VIII

  A MEETING IN THE MESSROOM

  In the meantime Dick, Sam, and Fred had been having quite a different experience. George Strong, the second assistant at Putnam: Hall, was not only a first-class teacher, but a calm and fair-minded gentleman as well; and in addition, and this was highly important, he was not so old but that he could remember perfectly well when he had been a boy himself.

  “Come this way, my lads,” he said with a faint smile. “I trust you will soon feel at home in Putnam Hall. It is Captain Putnam’s desire to have all of his boys, as he calls them, feel that way.”

  “What will Mr. Crabtree do with my brother?” asked Dick anxiously.

  “I cannot say, Rover. Probably he will place him in the guardroom until Captain Putnam arrives.”

  “I am sure he did
n’t do much that was wrong.”

  “We had better not discuss that question, my boy. Come this way; I will conduct you to your room.”

  “George Strong showed them into the main hallway and up the stairs to the second story. Passing through a side hall, they entered a large, bright dormitory overlooking the parade- and the playground. Here were eight beds, four on either side, with as many chairs, and also a table and two washbowls, with running water supplied from a tower on the roof, the water being pumped up by the aid of a windmill.

  “This room has not been occupied this year,” said the teacher. “Captain Putnam and Mrs. Green, our housekeeper, thought it might be as well to put you in here together, along with Lawrence Colby and Frank Harrington, when they come. I believe you are all friends, at least Harrington and Colby intimated as much in their letters.”

  “They told the truth,” cried Sam. “This just suits me, and we owe Captain Putnam and Mrs. Green one for doing it.”

  George Strong smiled. Then the smile faded as he remembered how Josiah Crabtree once told Captain Putnam that he did not believe in letting chums room together. “Place each boy among strangers,” Crabtree had said. “It will make him more reliant.” But Captain Putnam had not listened to the crabbed old fellow, and Strong was glad of it.

  “Here is a closet, in which each of you can stow his clothing when it is dealt out to him. Your ordinary suits will, of course, be placed away for you, for during the academy term, you will as cadets wear only your uniforms.”

  “When will I get my uniform?” asked Fred, who was anxious to don his “soldier fixings,” as he put it.

  “Tomorrow, if we have any suit on hand that fits.”

  “I don’t want a second-handed suit,” put in Sam.

  George Strong laughed. “Don’t worry, my boy; every pupil gets new clothing. But, many boys are so nearly of a size that Captain Putnam always keeps a dozen or more suits on hand.”

  “Oh, that’s different.”

  “The beds are all numbered, and to avoid disputes we always put the eldest boy in bed No. 1, and so on. You can arrange this between yourselves, and I feel certain you won’t get into a dispute.”

  “We won’t quarrel,” said Dick. “I don’t how exactly how old Frank and Larry are, though.”