Once more the days glided by peacefully. Autumn was now well under way, and the leaves of the trees were turning to crimson and gold. Boating became almost a thing of the past, and talks about football filled the air.
With the coming of the football season Dale Blackmore was in his element. Not only was Dale a good athlete, but it was speedily learned that he had been captain of a good amateur football team in the town he hailed from, and that the team had in one season won nine games out of twelve.
“Dale is the man for our team,” said Jack, and by a popular vote the lad was made captain. There was a slight opposition by Dan Baxter but this quickly subsided.
As soon as he was made captain, Dale set to work to organize as a good a team as Putnam Hall could produce. He tried fully thirty cadets and then selected fifteen—eleven for the regular team and the balance as substitutes. On the regular team were Jack, Andy, Hogan, Bart Conners, Henry Lee, and others already mentioned in these pages. Pepper was a substitute, and he was willing enough to take a “back seat” as he called it.
“Now we have got to get into practice,” said Dale, “and it’s to be no baby play either.” And every day the team went out on the playground to practice. Dale made a good coach, and soon had the boys doing finely. He was assisted by George Strong, who had himself played football on his college team.
It had been expected that Pornell Academy would play Putnam Hall. But the Pornell students were sore over their boat-race defeat and they insisted that a false start had been made. The discussion grew warm on both sides, and so the scheme for a football match for that year fell through, although matches between the two schools were played later, as I have already mentioned in certain volumes of the “Rover Boys Series.”
“Those Pornell fellows are a sore lot,” said Jack. “I suppose they felt sure they’d win that boat race.”
“They are going to play the Rigsby Football Club next Saturday,” said Andy. “Dale just told me.”
“I thought we were to play Rigsby,” put in Joe Nelson.
“We are, some time later.”
The Rigsby Football Club was controlled by a rich gentleman named Rigsby who had an elegant place outside of a nearby city which I shall call Mornville. The team was composed largely of college boys and played exceedingly well.
The game between the Pornell Academy and the Rigsby Club attracted a large crowd to Mornville, and half a dozen students from Putnam Hall journeyed to the town, to see what sort of a game was being put up.
“We must catch all the pointers we can,” said Dale. “It may help us in our playing.”
The Pornell Academy made a fine showing during practice, but when the game started it was quickly found that the Rigsby team was too heavy and too clever for them. In each half of the game the Rigsby Club made a touchdown and a goal, and when the contest came to a close the score stood, Rigsby 12, Pornell Academy 0.
“That’s as bad as the boat-race defeat,” said Pepper. “They must feel sick.”
“Those Rigsby chaps are heavy and full of ginger,” said Dale, seriously. “We’ll have no picnic playing against them.”
When our friends were coming from the football grounds they fell in with half a dozen Pornell students.
“Fine day, Bock!” called out Pepper, cheerily. “Good day for playing football, eh?”
“Oh, you needn’t crow!” growled Roy Bock. “Just wait till Rigsby waxes you—you won’t feel so happy.”
“Maybe they won’t wax us.”
“Won’t they!” put in Grimes, who was along. “The score will be about 50 to nothing in Rigsby’s favor.”
“Wait and see,” said Jack, quietly; and then the students of the two schools separated.
After this game the team of the Hall practiced harder than ever, and George Strong taught them several useful plays. So the days went by until the eventful day for the match arrived. The game was to come off on the Rigsby grounds, and the students from Putnam Hall went over in the stage, the carryall, and in carriages and on bicycles.
At first Dan Baxter said he was not going, but when he heard how the Rigsby Club had defeated Pornell Academy he changed his mind.
“The Rigsby Club is sure to beat Dale Blackmore’s crowd,” said he to Paxton and Coulter. “Let us go over there and see the drubbing administered.”
“All right, I’m willing,” said Coulter. “Maybe we can pick up a little money in bets.” And when they arrived on the football grounds all of Baxter’s cronies as well as the bully himself put up money that Putnam Hall would be beaten.
“I just heard Baxter is betting against our club,” said Andy, coming in with the news.
“How mean!” cried Jack. “To bet against his own school! I don’t believe in betting, but if I did want to lay a wager, I’d do it on my own school.”
“That’s just how I feel about it,” put in Pepper. “Well, I hope now, more than ever, that we win.”
It was a fine ground, with a beautiful stand and nice dressing rooms for both clubs. Mr. Rigsby himself was at hand and shook each of the visitors by the hand.
“Play for all you are worth, boys!” he said, cheerfully. “I want the best club to win!”
“We are going to do our best, sir,” said Dale, modestly.
The halves were divided into thirty-five minutes each, and soon the first half was on. It was Rigsby’s ball and they sent it twenty yards into Putnam Hall territory. The Rigsby fellows were exceedingly active, and inside of ten minutes they scored a touchdown and immediately afterwards kicked a goal.
“Hurrah for Rigsby! That’s the way to do it!” was the cry.
“Putnam Hall will be defeated worse than Pornell Academy was!”
When the touchdown and goal were made Dan Baxter grinned at Paxton and his other cronies.
“What did I tell you?” he whispered. “This is a dead easy thing for Rigsby.”
“You’re right,” answered Paxton. “Wish I had another fiver up on them.”
“Let us do a little more betting,” said Mumps, who had just a dollar of his spending money left.
They walked into the crowd, and after some trouble managed to place what money they had left on the Rigsby team. Then they hurried back to their seats. The first half of the game was drawing to a close.
“Another touchdown for Rigsby!”
“Hurrah! Now for a goal!”
“There she goes! A goal, sure enough! How do you like that, Putnam Hall?”
With the score 12 to 0 the two teams went at it again. But hardly had the leather been put into play when the whistle blew and the first half came to an end.
“We are up against it sure, this trip,” sighed Andy. “They can play like—like tigers!”
“They are too heavy for us, that is certain,” said Dale. “We must depend upon our lightness and our quickness if we want to win anything at all.”
The brief intermission was soon at an end, and once more the two teams faced each other. The Rigsby followers cheered wildly while the students from Putnam Hall gazed expectantly.
It was soon seen that Dale’s team was not playing as before. There was little mass work, and the ball flew from player to player with great rapidity. This did not suit the Rigsby team, and they made several errors and lost some ground thereby.
Hardly had the second half been opened than Joe Nelson got the ball. He passed it to Hogan, who sent it to Andy. With a wild leap over a Rigsby player, the acrobatic youth went flying down the gridiron with the leather clutched in his arms.
“See Andy Snow running with the ball!”
“Stop him, Brown! Stop him, Callahan!”
“Cut him off, Sturmen!”
So the calls rang out and several started in pursuit of Andy. But just as they thought they had him he let the ball drop, gave it a swift kick, and over the bar sailed the leather.
“Hurrah! What a beautiful kick!”
“And on a dead run, too!”
“Putnam Hall is waking up!”
The cadets cheered wildly and unfurled the flags they had brought along, while some tooted their horns.
As soon as possible the ball was put into play once more. This time it went far up into Putnam Hall territory, and it looked as if Rigsby would score once more, when Hogan got the ball.
“Not just yit, me laddybuck!” muttered the Irish cadet, and started in the opposite direction. He made twenty yards before he was downed and the ball went to Joe Nelson, who carried it another ten yards. Then Dale landed on it through a fumble by Rigsby, and took it over the line for a touchdown. A moment later there was a trial for a goal, but it failed.
“Never mind, it’s a touchdown, anyway!” shouted the Putnam Hall supporters.
With the score 12 to 9 against them, Putnam Hall went again at the battle. They had exactly seven minutes in which to do or die, and the excitement all over the field was now intense. Among the anxious ones were Baxter and his cronies.
“They can’t win anything in seven minutes,” argued Paxton, somewhat gloomily.
“There it goes!” cried Mumps. “See, Rigsby has the ball!”
“They are going to score again!”
It certainly looked like it, but at the last moment Dale got the ball and sent it back. Then it went from player to player so rapidly that the Rigsby players could not follow it. At last Jack had it and he ran with might and main for a touchdown—and got it!
“Whoop! Hurrah! Putnam Hall wins!” was the cry.
The goal was kicked, and the ball went again into play. But before it could be moved ten yards time was called; and the match came to an end. Putnam Hall had indeed won.
“What a splendid game!”
“Say, but didn’t the Putnam Hall boys pull themselves together in that second half!”
“They surely did! I never saw such running in my life!”
“And such dodging, too! They deserve their victory!”
So the talk ran on. Both Captain Putnam and George Strong came up to congratulate the team members.
Dan Baxter and his cronies were utterly downcast. Between them they had lost sixteen dollars and a half, and now some of them would have to do without spending money for a long time to come.
“I guess those Rigsby chaps didn’t want to win,” growled the bully. “They went all to pieces in the second half.”
Jack was talking to Andy and Pepper when Laura and Flossie Ford came up with smiling faces.
“Oh, it was just splendid!” cried Laura.
“I just had to scream for you!” added Flossie. “I was terribly anxious at first! Those Pornell boys were sure you’d be beaten.”
“Well, we have disappointed them,” said Jack. “I guess we could beat them, too.”
“Why, of course. See how they were beaten by Rigsby,” said Flossie.
“Have you been bothered by Roy Bock lately?”
“Only once. Then he came and talked against you, and pa told them—Roy and those others—they had better stay away.”
“Good!” said Pepper, and told of the meeting in the woods. The girls laughed heartily when they heard how the bicycles had been taken.
“We are coming to see the drill next week,” said Laura. And they did come, and were entertained to the best of our friends’ ability. They thought the drill and parade fine, and complimented Jack on the way he handled the cadets.
As a substitute player, Pepper had gotten into the second half of the football game, so he came in for a portion of the glory, even though he had made no brilliant plays. That night the boys celebrated by a bonfire and by singing and “larking” on the campus until eleven o’clock.
“Captain Putnam, let them have their sport,” said George Strong. “They certainly deserve it.” And the captain took the advice of his assistant. Josiah Crabtree took no part in the proceedings, but locked himself up in his room and read. To his mind, all sports were just so much time wasted.
On the following day one of the students brought in news that interested all of the cadets. A circus was to stop at Cedarville, and the boy had brought one of the handbills along.
“This looks as if it might be a pretty good show,” said Pepper, after reading the handbill. “Andy, let’s go if we can.”
“Don’t think the captain will let us off,” answered Andy.
“We can sound him anyway,” put in Jack.
The master of Putnam Hall was appealed to, and finally said the big boys could go to the circus if they wished, but all must promise to behave themselves.
“To be sure we’ll behave ourselves,” said Jack.
“But we must have a little fun,” came from Pepper, with a wink at his chums.
“Better keep out of mischief,” put in Andy. “If you don’t, the captain will put the screws on us, and we won’t get anywhere after this.”
The circus soon became the chief topic of conversation, and it was ascertained that twenty-one of the older cadets were going. Dan Baxter “stuck up his nose” at the affair.
“Don’t catch me going to such a one-horse affair,” he said, with a sneer. “When I go to a circus it’s only to the best.”
“We can get along very well without his company,” was Jack’s comment, when he heard what the bully had said.
On the following day Jack and Pepper walked down to the lake shore and then up to a spot where a large tree overhung the water. It was sunny and fairly warm, and the two cadets took a seat in the tree to chat and rest.
They had been sitting there less than five minutes when the young major uttered a cry of surprise.
“What is it, Jack?”
“Unless I am mistaken, there is that mysterious sloop again!”
“Where?”
“Up the lake! She is coming this way, too.”
“Let us keep out of sight and see if we can discover anything.”
This was agreed to, and from behind the boughs of the tree the two boys watched the strange craft as it approached the shore where Putnam Hall was located.
“The same two men are on board!” whispered Pepper.
“Yes, and they are acting as they did before, too,” added Jack. “Pep, I’d give a good deal to know what their game is.”
“So would I. Let us lay low. We may learn something.”
Slowly the mysterious sloop approached the shore and sailed past the Putnam Hall grounds. The men on board looked eagerly toward the academy buildings, and then went up the lake a short distance. A few minutes later they came back, and lowering the mainsail, drew close to shore, a short distance from where Jack and Pepper were in hiding.
“Perhaps our trip will be in vain again,” said one of the men to his companion.
“They cannot all be in vain,” was the answer. “Some day we shall be successful.”
“Are you going to land?”
“Yes. But stand ready to sail when I come back.”
So speaking, one of the men leaped ashore and stole behind a fringe of bushes. From that point he made his way up to a spot back of the gymnasium, and then walked completely around Putnam Hall, taking care to keep out of sight of the cadets who chanced to be roaming about.
“He acts as if he was a robber!” whispered Pepper.
“I don’t think a robber would come here in broad daylight.”
It was quite a while before the man came back. As he boarded the sloop again, his face showed his disappointment.
“Well?” questioned his companion.
“Another disappointment,” was the answer. “Let us go. We may have better luck another time.” And without another word the two men hoisted the mainsail of the sloop and sailed away across Cayuga Lake.
“Well, of all the odd things I ever heard of!” murmured Pepper. “If I wasn’t sure I was wide awake I’d say I was dreaming.”
“They are after something,” answered Jack. “The question is, what? I’m rather sorry we didn’t call Peleg Snuggers and capture that fellow who came ashore. Perhaps Captain Putnam could get something out of him.”
“Shall we go to the captain again?”
“I don’t know. Perhaps he’ll think we are only fooling him.”
They talked the matter over, and decided to say nothing more for the present. They watched the sloop until it disappeared from view, and returned to the school building.
The day for the circus dawned bright and clear, and directly after the midday meal the long stage belonging to the Hall was brought out and the boys who were going to the show piled in. They were in charge of George Strong, and many carried small flags and horns.
“Hurrah for Wildman’s Great International Circus!” cried Pepper. “Largest Aggregation of Wild Beasts on the Globe! See the wild man from Samoa, and the elephant-faced monkey from Greenland! All for the one price of admission, twenty-five cents—quarter of a dollar! Walk up, crawl up, tumble up, anyway to get up, ladies and gentlemen! Children half price, babies no price at all. If you don’t get your money’s worth, ask the manager to refund your hard-earned savings! The show will be started at exactly seventeen minutes past fourteen o’clock. The audience must come dressed in uniforms befitting the occa——”
“Stop! stop!” cried Jack. “Pepper, you’ll have us wound up before we’re started.”
“All clocks are wound up before they are started,” retorted the Imp. “Don’t you go on a strike though, if you do——”
“He’ll be so shamed that, like the clock, he’ll hide his face behind his hands,” finished Andy. “Call it off, as the young lady said of the caterpillar.”
“You’ll have to be just a little less enthusiastic, young gentlemen,” put in George Strong. “We don’t want this stage-load to be taken for the cage of monkeys, you know.” And then the crowd settled down, Peleg Snuggers whipped up the four horses, and off they rattled for the circus grounds, located on the outskirts of Cedarville.
When they arrived they found the tents in position, and a goodly crowd assembled. There were the usual side shows and the usual stands with peanuts, popcorn, and pink lemonade. There was also a man with a little gambling game, surrounded by a score of countrymen who thought they could win, when they were certain to lose.
“Looks as if it might be a pretty good show,” remarked Andy, after the chums had entered the tent devoted to the menagerie, and he was right. The animals were not many in number, but they had been selected with care, and George Strong explained just what each was to those under his guidance.
“There is a particularly fine tiger,” said he, pointing the beast out as it paced up and down its narrow cage. “He looks as if he’d enjoy his liberty.”
“And he looks as if he’d like to chew some of us up,” put in one of the students, and this created a laugh.
It was soon time for the circus proper, and all obtained good seats. One act after another passed and was applauded, for all were very good. Then came a chariot race, to wind up the performance. This was in progress when there came a shout from the menagerie tent.
“Stop the monkeys! They have broken loose!”
“Hullo, what’s that?” cried Pepper. “Somebody said the monkeys were loose!”
“If they are there will be fun!” murmured Jack, and he was right. But how much fun he was still to see.
The chariot race soon came to an end, and the cadets passed into the menagerie tent once more. Here there was considerable excitement. By accident the monkeys had opened the door to their big wagon cage, and fully a dozen of the little creatures were missing. One monkey had climbed into a cage containing two lions, and the kings of the forest had made a meal of the wanderer in double-quick order.
“Here’s fun truly,” said Pepper. “Wish I could catch one of the little beggars!”
“You’d have your hands full, if Mr. Monk was of the biting kind,” returned Dale.
They watched the circus employees trying to catch two of the monkeys, and then passed outside. One of the monkeys had climbed clear to the top of the flagpole on the circus tent and a crowd of children were watching him with keen delight.
“He’s the king-pin acrobat of the show!” cried Jack. “I don’t believe anybody will dare go after him,” and so it proved. But the monkey soon came down when shown some peanuts, and was then placed back in his cage.
“He didn’t know what to do with his liberty after he got it,” was Andy’s comment. “It’s a wonder he didn’t take to the woods.”
“More than likely he was born in captivity and didn’t know what liberty meant,” came from Joe Nelson. “I knew some folks who had a tame canary. For an experiment they took the bird to the woods and opened the cage wide. Close by the cage was a brook, and by the side of this they put the canary’s bath tub full of water. Would you believe it, the canary always came back to his cage to roost, and instead of dipping himself in the brook, took his bath in his old tub!”
“Which showed what habit would do,” said another pupil. “He didn’t know anything different.”
The boys were soon in the stage, and Pepper took his seat on the rear step, the stage itself being crowded.
“Don’t fall off, Master Ditmore,” said George Strong.
“No fear, you can’t lose me so easily,” replied the fun-loving youth, and said this so merrily that everybody had to laugh.
The stage was going along at a good gait when Pepper happened to look under the turnout and saw a sight that made him open his mouth wide in astonishment. There, on the bar running from the front to the back axle, sat a little monkey, gazing around in wonder, with his face screwed up into a curious pucker.
“Well, I declare!” murmured Pepper to himself. “Have you been hiding there ever since we left the circus grounds?”
As soon as the monkey saw that he was discovered, he gave a little squeak, and hopped a few inches away. Then he looked at Pepper in added curiosity, as much as to say: “What do you want to do with me?”
“You’re a cute little chap,” thought the cadet. And then of a sudden he broke into a grin. What fun might be had if he could capture that monkey!
“I’ll do it,” he told himself, and feeling into his pocket, he brought out a few peanuts. As soon as the monkey saw these he came closer, snatched one of the nuts, and proceeded to crack it open.
“Don’t you want to come into the stage, Pep?” called out Andy. “We’ll make room for you.”
“Oh, I can stay here,” was the answer. “It’s like a private seat, you know.” And then, when he got the chance, he whispered: “I’ve got a reason for remaining here, but keep mum!”
“What’s doing?”
“I’ll tell you afterwards.”
On and on rattled the stage, the boys singing and tooting their horns to pass the time. The monkey did not appear to mind the noise, and evidently enjoyed the ride. Luckily a slight shower the night before had laid the dust, otherwise both Pepper and the monkey might have been smothered.
At last they came in sight of the Putnam Hall grounds, and then Pepper realized that something must be done. He held out some more peanuts, and when the monkey reached for them, he caught the animal and held him fast, pushing him inside his jacket. Then Pepper knocked off his own cap into the road.
“Hi! there goes my cap!” he called out, and leaped to the ground. “Don’t wait for me,” he added. “I’ll walk the rest of the way.”
“Pep has lost his cap!” cried several.
“Never mind, it’s only a step to walk,” came from some others.
“I’m going to walk in with him,” said Andy, and leaped to the ground, followed by Jack. As the three were known to be chums, nothing was thought of this, and in a moment the stage disappeared around a bend.
At first Pepper had his hands full holding the monkey, and he was afraid he was going to be bitten. But as Jack and Andy came up the creature quieted down.
“Well, I declare!” ejaculated the young major. “Where did you get the monk?”
“He was on the stage,” explained Pepper. “Say, help me make him a prisoner, will you?”
“Sure,” came from the others, and soon the monkey had a cord tied around his waist. As this was nothing new to him, he submitted without much trouble, and when given half a dozen more peanuts and a bit of candy Andy carried, seemed quite content.
“What are you going to do with him?” questioned Jack.
“Introduce him to old Crabtree,” was Pepper’s answer.
“Just the thing!” ejaculated Andy. “Let’s put him in Crabtree’s room to-night!”
“That’s what I was thinking, Andy.”
“There will be some fun when the monk begins to roam around.”
After some talk, the boys decided to enter the school by the back way. Jack went ahead to see that the coast was clear, and soon they had the animal safe in dormitory No. 4, over which the youthful major presided. Then Andy found an empty bird cage in the storeroom of the Hall, and his monkeyship was transferred to this.
The evening was a long one to the boys, but it finally came to an end, and they retired. Then, when all the lights were out, Pepper and Andy stole through the darkened hallways to the door of Josiah Crabtree’s room. Listening intently, they heard the first assistant teacher snoring peacefully on his bed.
“Is the door unlocked?” questioned Andy.
“Yes.”
No more was said, and Pepper hurried back for the bird cage containing the monkey, and also for an old school-book he had brought up from below.
Opening the door with caution, they took the monkey from the cage and placed him at the foot of Josiah Crabtree’s bed. Then they hurried to the doorway once more, and went outside.
“Wait!” whispered Pepper, and taking aim, he sent the book flying at Josiah Crabtree. Then the chums scampered for their dormitory with might and main.
The book landed on Josiah Crabtree’s somewhat bald head, and he awoke with a start and sat up.
“What in the world was that?” he muttered. “Is the ceiling falling down?”
He stared around him. The moon was coming up, and it cast considerable light into the apartment. He saw a dark object moving around.
“Hi! What’s that?” he called out. “Scat!”
Thinking it might be a cat, he made a wild pass at the monkey. At once the frisky animal caught him by the finger and gave him a nip.
“Oh, oh!” roared the teacher. “He has bitten me! Take him off! Help! Robbers! Help!” And he flung the bedclothes aside and began to dance around.
At the excitement of the man the monkey also became excited, and leaped upon the top of a bookcase in a corner, which contained some volumes belonging to the teacher. Down came a bust on the bookcase with a crash. Then the monkey took up a book and flung it at the man.
“Stop! stop!” roared Josiah Crabtree. “Don’t! Help! There is a wild beast in the room!” And he ran around, with the monkey following. Presently the animal leaped on his shoulder, and then Josiah Crabtree let out a yell as if a dozen wild Zulus were on his track.
The noise aroused the whole school. Doors were flung open, and teachers, hired help, and cadets came forth into the hallways.
“What’s the trouble?”
“Is there a fire?”
“I heard somebody say robbers!”
“It’s Mr. Crabtree!” shouted Pepper. “Somebody must be trying to rob him. Come on, let us catch the thief!” And on the instant the cadets stormed forward, towards the teacher’s apartment, and George Strong and Captain Putnam followed.
“Oh, dear! Scat, I tell you! Let me alone. Don’t pull my hair! Oh, will somebody take him away!” came from the room. “This is simply awful! Who put this beast here?” and so the cries ran on.
“Something is surely wrong,” cried Captain Putnam. “Stand back, young gentlemen, or you may get hurt.”
He flung open the doorway, and as he did so, Josiah Crabtree, robed in his nightdress, leaped out, with the monkey on his shoulder.
“Have you gone crazy?” asked Captain Putnam. And then he added: “Where did that monkey come from?”
“How should I know?” roared Josiah Crabtree. “Take him off! He’ll have my hair out by the roots!”
“What a pretty monkey!” cried Pepper. “Is he your pet, Mr. Crabtree?”
“My pet? Never! Take him away!” And the teacher continued to dance around.
Several darted in to secure the monkey, but like a flash the animal leaped to a fixture suspended from the ceiling, and then swung himself to a hall window and slipped outside.
“He has gone!”
“Let us catch him!”
“Whose monkey is it?”
“He must have come over from the circus,” said Jack. “They said a lot of them had gotten away.”
“I’ll sue the circus proprietor for this!” howled Josiah Crabtree. “It’s an outrage on the public. Oh, my poor head!” And he ran back into his room, banging the door behind him.
“Has the monkey gone?” asked Captain Putnam.
“Went through the window,” answered Joe Nelson.
They looked out of the window, but could see nothing of the animal. Then some went below, but the monkey had disappeared. He was captured in the morning and returned to the circus by Snuggers.
“Young gentlemen, you may retire,” said Captain Putnam, and one after another the cadets did so. Safe in Dormitory No. 4, Pepper told his whole story, and the boys had a laugh that lasted for a long time.
“Old Crabtree won’t get over that right away,” said Andy. “What a sight he did cut, with Mr. Monk on his shoulder pulling his hair!”
“Mum’s the word about this,” came from Pepper. “If he found me out he’d be mad enough to chew my head off.”
“Well, we are not telling on you,” came from one of the others. “We are glad you fixed old Crabtree. He deserves it.”
“Oh, it’s awful, gents, really it is! As soon as I heard the news, it made my knees shake like they was made o’ jelly! Whatever are we goin’ to do, with sech a wild animal as thet roamin’ the roads, I’d like to know?”
It was Peleg Snuggers who was speaking. He had just returned from an early morning trip to Cedarville with the monkey, and was addressing a little knot of cadets standing just outside of the parade ground.
“Better git in the school,” he went on. “It won’t be safe to go outdoor no more. Ain’t it awful, though?” And he shook his head solemnly.
“What is the trouble, Snuggers?” questioned Captain Putnam, who chanced to come up and saw how disturbed his hired man was.
“It’s about thet tagger as was at the circus, sir,” said Snuggers. “Somehow or other, he broke loose last night—knocked some o’ the bars out o’ his cage. An’ they ain’t found him yet.”
“A tiger broke loose?” queried the captain, and now he was intensely interested. “Who told you of this?”
“Mr. Chase, sir—an’ some circus folks. Cedarville is wild with excitement, an’ none o’ the folks dare to go outdoors. They say he’s a powerful tagger an’ mighty ugly.”
“He certainly was a big tiger,” said Jack, who was in the crowd. “I shouldn’t want to fall in with him.”
“Maybe he is coming this way,” suggested one of the smaller students, looking around nervously.
“Excuse me from meeting a tiger,” said Mumps, and without another word he walked into the Hall and to his classroom.
The news spread with the rapidity of lightning, and to be on the safe side, Captain Putnam ordered all of the boys into the school and had all the lower windows and doors closed.
“This is certainly exciting enough,” said Joe Nelson. “Supposing the tiger takes it into his head to camp out around here? None of us will want to go out any more.”
“Oh, they are bound to either catch him or shoot him, sooner or later,” answered Jack. “But just the same, I don’t want to run afoul of that beast. He looked strong enough to kill half a dozen of us.”
The excitement was intense, and nobody dared to venture far from the Hall. The cadets kept a constant watch; but nothing came of it.
“They must have news of the beast by this time,” said Captain Putnam on the following morning. “I’ll drive down to Cedarville and find out.”
“Oh, dear captain don’t do that!” shrieked Mrs. Green, the housekeeper. “If you meet him he’ll eat you up!”
“I’ll risk that,” returned the master of the Hall, grimly. “I’ll take my rifle with me, and also my seven-shooter. If I see the tiger I’ll try to give him a warm reception.”
“You—you—er—don’t want me to drive you, do you?” asked Peleg Snuggers, in a trembling voice. “I—er—I ain’t well this morning. I had a—er—a dreadful backache all night, an’ a headache, an’——”
“You won’t have to drive, Snuggers. I’ll take the buggy and drive myself.”
“It’s flyin’ in the face of Providence,” came from Mrs. Green. “Better wait a day or two longer.”
“No, I’m going now. Hitch up Black Bess, Snuggers. She is a steady mare, and won’t run away even if the tiger does show himself.”
The mare was hooked to the buggy, and Captain Putnam looked carefully to his rifle and his old army revolver. The excitement of the occasion was just to his liking. It put him in mind of his days in the wild west, and he half wished the escaped tiger would show itself so that he might get a shot.
“The captain certainly has grit,” remarked Jack, as the master of the Hall drove away.
“I shouldn’t mind going with him,” came from Dale. “I like hunting.”
“Well, this isn’t ordinary hunting,” put in Andy. “It’s the wildest kind of game to bring down.”
As soon as the captain was out of sight all began to wait anxiously for his return. The cadets could scarcely settle themselves to their studies, and more than one failed utterly in his lessons.
“This is wretched!” cried Josiah Crabtree, wrathfully. “I shall keep all of you in after regular hours!” He had not gotten over his adventure with the monkey, and was feeling more sour than ever.
“We can’t forget the tiger,” said Andy.
“The tiger is not here,” snapped the crabbed teacher. “Attend to your lessons.”
“Oh, what a teacher!” murmured Jack.
“I’ll fix him,” whispered Pepper. “Wait till he passes that open window again.”
A moment later Josiah Crabtree walked by the window in question. His back was toward it, and on the instant Pepper arose and pointed at the opening.
“Hi! Is that the tiger?” he cried, shrilly.
At the words Josiah Crabtree sprang a foot into the air and dodged into a corner. All of the cadets leaped to their feet.
“Did—did you—see the tiger?” questioned the teacher, faintly.
“Where’s the tiger?” roared several boys.
“Must be trying to come into the window,” shouted Andy, catching the spirit of the joke.
“Ke—ke—keep him ou—ou—out!” spluttered Josiah Crabtree. “Do—don’t let him get in here!”
“It is gone now,” said Pepper. “Must have been something else!” And he winked broadly at his friends, so that none of them might be alarmed.
“Are you—you sure, Ditmore?”
“Yes, sir.”
“This is awful!” murmured Josiah Crabtree, wiping the cold perspiration from his forehead.
“Oh, we can study anyway,” murmured Pepper.
“Eh?”
“It won’t hurt our studying, Mr. Crabtree. You can watch for the tiger while we do our sums.”
“Silence!” roared the crabbed teacher, but after that he said little about the poor lessons.
By noon Captain Putnam came back, and the cadets at once surrounded him to learn what he might have to tell.
“I saw nothing of the tiger,” said the master of the Hall. “A number of parties went out after him yesterday, and one crowd discovered the beast near the lake. They fired on him and he started to swim away. They think he must have been drowned, although they have not yet located the body.”
“Hope he was drowned,” said Pepper.
The matter was talked over for the balance of that day, and also the next. Then came in news that the circus people were also certain the tiger had gone to the bottom of Cayuga Lake, and everybody breathed easier. The circus moved southward, and soon the excitement died down completely.