CHAPTER XXVIII THE RESULTS OF A FIRE
That morning Dan Baxter did not appear and it was reported that he wassick.
"He acts to me as if he were going to die," announced Mumps, whenappealed to. "I don't know exactly what is the matter with him."
"Can this be true?" asked Pepper of Jack. "I'd hate to think that Baxtergot sick through what we did to him."
"More than likely he is shamming," said the young major, and he wasright. But to make sure Captain Putnam sent for Doctor Framley, aphysician of Cedarville, who made a careful examination.
"He is nervous, as if he had been frightened, that is all," announced themedical man. "Let him keep quiet for a day or two."
Baxter had hoped to scare his tormentors into thinking that they wereresponsible for a serious spell of sickness. When this plan failed hequickly got around as before. He tried his best to find out who had hazedhim, but the cadets kept their secret well.
On the day following the hazing Jack chanced to go down to the lakefront. He was just entering the boathouse when, to his astonishment, twomen stepped forth. They were the individuals he had seen several times onthe mysterious sloop.
"Say, what do you want here?" he demanded, but instead of replying themen hurried away, up the lake, and then in the direction of Cedarville.
"Well, of all the mysteries I ever struck," exclaimed the young major."Now, what can those chaps be up to? This is at least the third or fourthtime they have come here, and nobody seems to know anything about them."
When Jack returned to the Hall he lost no time in visiting CaptainPutnam's office.
"Perhaps you'll laugh at me, sir," he said. "But I want to report thosetwo men again."
"Again!" cried the master of Putnam Hall. "Where did you see them?"
"At the boathouse. I went down there for a skate strap. They were justcoming out."
"Did you speak to them?"
"Yes, I asked them what they wanted. They didn't answer, and hurried awayon the Cedarville road."
"Did they take anything out of the boathouse?"
"I don't know."
"I must assuredly investigate this, Major Ruddy. Let us go to theboathouse together."
This was done and they took a careful look around. Nothing was missing.
"Why can't we follow them up once?" questioned Jack. "We ought to be ableto overtake them in a cutter."
"A good idea. I'll have Snuggers get a cutter ready at once. Get yourovercoat and your gloves."
In a few minutes they were on the way, the captain driving and Jacksitting by his side. They drove all the way to the village, but sawnothing of the men.
"Perhaps they turned off on a side road," said the young major.
"It is possible."
There was nothing to do but to return to Putnam Hall. This they did; andfor the time being the subject was dropped.
At the end of the week, Jack, Pepper, Andy, and Dale got permission tovisit Cedarville, one to buy a pair of skates, and the others to getvarious things. They set out on foot, thinking nothing of the rather longwalk before them.
Just before reaching Cedarville they came to a side road, leading to aspot called Brierroot Grove. A short distance up the road was a two-storycottage, located behind a hedge of boxwood.
"Look!" cried Andy, pointing to the cottage, "Am I mistaken, or is thatplace on fire?"
"It's the chimney smoking," answered Pepper.
"No, it's a fire coming up through the roof around the chimney!" burstout Jack.
"Let us go to the fire!" sang out Dale, and suiting the action to theword, he turned down the side road, and the others followed at his heels.
By the time they reached the cottage the place was burning fiercelythroughout the second story and around the roof.
"I don't see anybody," said Pepper. "Perhaps the place isn't occupied."
"Maybe tramps set it on fire," suggested Dale.
"I see two men!" cried Jack. "Well, I never!"
"What is it, Jack?"
"The men from the sloop! Here is where they must have been putting up!"
The cadets ran into the yard of the house and to the front door. They hadseen the two men pass in and out, carrying some furniture.
"How did this start?" called out Pepper to one of the men.
At this cry both men turned around to gaze at the youths. Then one spoketo the other in a low tone, and off they ran to the rear of the cottage,leaped a rail fence, and disappeared from view in the woods.
"Stop!" yelled Jack, but the men paid no attention.
"They are the queerest chaps I ever met!" declared Pepper. "I believethey must be crazy."
"Help! help!" came in a weak cry from the cottage.
"Somebody is in there!" said Dale.
"It's a woman," returned Jack. "Come on!" And he ran into the cottage.
The others followed. The smoke was growing thick, and at first they couldsee nothing. Then they saw an old woman with a crutch, trying to hobbledown a pair of stairs.
"Don't let me burn up!" she screamed. "Don't let me burn up!"
Running to the old woman, Jack caught her in his arms. It was an easymatter to carry her to the open air. Here he sat her down on an oldhorse-block which was clear of snow. She was trembling so she could notspeak.
It was easily to be seen that the cottage was doomed. The village ofCedarville boasted of nothing better than an old hand engine and a bucketbrigade, and to get the engine through the snow was next to impossible.
"Let us take out what furniture we can," said Jack, and this they did,and also carried out some clothing, a lamp and a few pictures. While thebuilding was burning a crowd of thirty or forty folks collected.
"It don't belong to the old woman," said one of the farmers to Jack. "Itbelongs to Mr. Eggers, a rich man of Ithaca. He let her live in itrent-free, because it wasn't worth much."
"Then the old woman didn't lose much," replied the young major. "Who isshe?"
"Her name is Mrs. Cowen. Nobody knows much about her, except that she hasa brother who lives near the head of the lake."
The old woman was taken to the nearest cottage, and there, after the firewas at an end, Jack went to interview her.
"I'm goin' to live with my brother now--I ain't goin' to live alone nomore," she murmured.
"We got out most of your furniture."
"Twasn't mine--it belonged to the house. The old hair trunk was mine. Didye save that?"
"Yes."
"Then I don't care much--brother Jim wants me anyway."
"I want to know about those two men who were stopping at the cottage,"went on Jack. "Who are they?"
"Ain't they around?"
"No, they ran away."
"Humph! It's just like 'em. They were the strangest! Allers doin'somethin' queer-like."
"Did they board with you?"
"Kind of--when they were to home. They went out a good deal. They eachpaid three dollars a week. Sometimes they got their own meals, too--whenI wasn't feelin' well."
"Do you know their names?"
"No, 'ceptin' one was Bart an' tudder Paul. They had some scheme forgetting a million dollars."
"A million dollars?"
"Yes. They were after a fellow they called George. They said he had thesecret."
"I guess they were crazy," answered Jack. "Have you any idea where theycould have gone to?"
"No."
The old woman could tell no more, and a little later Jack left her, andtold his chums of what he had learned.
"Maybe the fellows will leave the neighborhood, now the house has burneddown," said Pepper.
"We must watch out for them," put in Andy. "They ought to be captured andinterviewed."