The Mystery at Putnam Hall: The School Chums' Strange Discovery

  CHAPTER VIII

  THE FOOTBALL ELEVEN

  "Hi! Let go of me!" spluttered Reff Ritter, as he found himself flat onhis back, with the ax up-raised in his two hands.

  "Ritter, you leave this boat alone!" exclaimed Pepper.

  "Humph! so it's you, Ditmore," muttered the bully, and now he turnedover and arose.

  "Going to chop the boat to pieces, I suppose," went on Pepper, "Well,not if I can prevent it."

  "I'll chop you to pieces!" roared the bully, and swung the ax sosuggestively that Pepper leaped back in alarm. "You've got no right tointerfere with me!"

  "This is Jack Ruddy's sloop; you have no right to touch her."

  "Aw, you shut up."

  "I'll not shut up, Reff Ritter. If you make another mark on this boatI'll have you locked up!"

  "Humph! you think you've got the best of me, don't you?" sneered thebully, but his manner showed that he was considerably disconcerted. Hehad imagined that all the cadets were at supper and that no one wouldsee his foul actions.

  "I want you to get off of this boat."

  "Supposing I won't?"

  "Then I'll call help, and advise Jack to have you arrested."

  "Going to run the whole school, aren't you?"

  "I am going to run this affair, Ritter. Now leave the boat."

  "Oh, I'll leave," muttered the bully, and walking to the side, he sprangdown to the float. Then he ran to the boathouse and placed the axinside. "Don't you dare to mention this to anybody!" he shouted as hereappeared. "If you do, you'll get yourself in hot water. My word is asgood as yours." And then he turned and ran towards the school building.

  Pepper watched him out of sight.

  "No use of reporting this to Captain Putnam," he reasoned. "Ritterwould, of course, deny everything. Wonder if he did much damage?"

  Pepper made an examination. Luckily the bully had not had time to get inhis nefarious work to any extent, and the bottom of the sloop showedonly two slight ax cuts, not deep enough to do harm.

  "Caught him just in time," thought Pepper, and then he sat down on thestern seat and munched away at the sandwich and cake, washing the stuffdown with a drink from the cooler in the boathouse.

  By the time he had finished, the other cadets were coming from theirsupper, and soon he was joined by Jack, Dale and several others. Inprivate, he told the young major of what had occurred.

  "The rascal!" cried Jack. "If he hurts my boat he shall pay for it!"

  "Captain Putnam must have given him a good dressing down to make him sougly."

  "Well, he deserved it."

  "Say," put in Dale. "That was mean of old Crabtree to send you away fromthe table."

  "Never mind, I'll pay him back," answered The Imp, grimly.

  Several days passed and during that time Reff Ritter kept his distance.The bully was in a bitter mood, and even his cronies could get littleout of him.

  The reason for this was twofold. He was smarting over the treatmentreceived at the hands of Jack and Captain Putnam and he was alsodisturbed because his father had written to him, stating he could allowhim hardly any spending money for the term. He had already borrowed asmall amount from Paxton and he was wondering how he was going to pay itback. Added to this, he had gambled with some racetrack men during thesummer, and one of those fellows now held his IOU for forty dollars.

  "Dad has got to let me have money, that is all there is to it," he toldhimself. "If he won't, then I'll write to mother. She'll raise it for mesomehow; she always does." Which shows how foolish an indulgent mothercan sometimes be.

  In the meantime, Andy had recovered from the accident and was now aroundas usual. Another hunt had been instituted for his belongings, butwithout success. A report came in that a strange man had been seen onthe road just previous to the accident, and the cadets and CaptainPutnam wondered if that individual had picked up Andy's things and madeoff with them.

  "Maybe he was the fellow I saw," said Andy, and then he heaved a deepsigh, thinking he would never hear of his property again.

  Jack and Pepper were glad to see Bert Field again, and also to see theirold friend, Joseph Hogan. Emerald came back wearing a smile that wassunniness itself.

  "Sure, an' it does me heart good to be here once more, so it does," hesaid, in his rich Irish brogue. "I traveled all over the ould sod thissummer, so I did. But Putnam Hall an' the States fer me every toime!"

  "Is this your last term here, Emerald?" asked Dale.

  "I think so--if I am lucky and get through. How about you?"

  "I hope to graduate next June."

  "And so do Jack and I," added Pepper. "But you can't always tell. I'llbe sorry to leave Putnam Hall."

  "That's so; such good times as we have had here," added Jack.

  As soon as the cadets were settled down at the Hall, and the excitementover the runaway, the loss of Andy's things, and the fight between Jackand Ritter, was at an end, the talk of the boys turned to football andother Fall sports. As in the past, the cadets hoped to have a goodeleven and win some substantial victories.

  "Wonder if we'll be allowed to play Pornell," said Jack.

  "I don't know," answered Dale. "I rather think the captain is sore overthe reply he got from the head of that school, over the carryall affair,and maybe he won't let us play them." And in this Dale was correct.Pornell was cut out that season, but it played Putnam Hall the yearfollowing.

  Dale Blackmore was at the head of the football eleven, and, as before,he organized a fine team. Jack, Andy, Hogan, and Bart Conners were intheir usual places.

  "And I want you, too, Pepper," said Dale.

  "Oh, I can go on the sub-bench," was the answer, for Pepper did not carevery much for football. "Give Fred Century and Bert Field a chance."

  "I know what Pepper wants," said Andy. "He wants us to play, while hesits in the grandstand, having a good time with the girls."

  "Sure thing," answered The Imp, coolly. "Somebody has got to entertain'em."

  "They ought to be entertained by the game," came from Dale.

  "Girls make me tired when they are at a football game," put in the cadetnamed Brown. "I took one once, and she said she knew all about football.After the game was half over she asked me how many runs and base hitshad been made, and what they had done with the bats!"

  Reff Ritter felt extra sore when the football eleven went out forpractice. He wanted to play, but Captain Putnam would not allow it, andthe bully went off by himself, up the lake-shore, where he sat down on arock to smoke cigarettes and brood over his troubles. While he satthere he took from his pocket a letter and read it over several times.

  "Twenty dollars by Saturday! I don't see how I am going to raise it," hemuttered to himself. "I guess I'll have to send mother a telegram for aremittance."

  The first football game of the season was arranged to take place betweenPutnam Hall and an eleven from Cedarville called the Dauntless. TheDauntless players were made up of former college boys and someall-around athletes, and the cadets were told that they would have astiff time of it trying to beat the aggregation. The game was to takeplace on the grounds at Cedarville. These were roped off and anadmission fee was charged, the entire proceeds to go to a local OldFolks' Home.

  "I've got news!" cried Pepper, a few days before the game was to comeoff. "Some of the Pornell students are coming to the game, and Iunderstand they are going to try to make trouble for our team."

  "Is it the Roy Bock crowd?" questioned Jack.

  "Yes."

  "Then it is up to you to keep an eye on them, Pepper. We can't do itwhile we are playing."

  "I'll keep an eye on 'em, don't fear," was the answer.

  The eleven practiced every afternoon, under the direction of Mr. Strong,who had once been a player on a college team. Josiah Crabtree took nointerest in the sport, declaring it was a waste of valuable time.

  "I've got a plan to outwit the Pornellites, if they try any funny work,"said Pepper, the day before the game. And then he took about a dozencadets asi
de and told them what his plan was. All agreed to help him,and did what he asked of them without delay.

  The day for the game dawned clear and bright, and promptly on time theeleven started for Cedarville in the carryall, which had just come fromthe repair shop. Some of the cadets went on their bicycles, and CaptainPutnam and some of the teachers drove over in carriages.

  When the cadets arrived at the grounds they found quite a crowdassembled. Horns and banners were in evidence, and from a flagpolefloated the Stars and Stripes. On one side was a grandstand and this wasabout three-quarters filled.

  "I see some friends of mine," cried Pepper, and advanced to the stand.

  He had caught sight of Laura Ford, and her sister, Flossie, two youngladies who lived on the lake-shore at a place called Point View Lodge.In the past Pepper and his chums had done the Ford sisters severalvaluable services, for which Laura and Flossie were profoundly grateful.

  "Oh, how do you do, Pepper?" called out Laura, on catching sight of him.

  "Aren't you playing?" questioned Flossie.

  "No, I'm merely an onlooker to-day," answered Pepper, and he raised hiscap and shook hands. "How have you been since I saw you last?"

  "Very well, thank you," answered Laura.

  "We hope Putnam Hall will win," came from her sister.

  "You can't hope it any more than I do," answered Pepper, and then heintroduced several cadets to the young ladies, and all sat down to enjoythe game.

  Pepper has his eyes open for the appearance of the students fromPornell. At first a few came in and took a stand in a corner, out of theway. They did not belong to the Bock crowd and seemed to be content tobehave themselves.

  "Maybe Roy Bock got cold feet and stayed away," said a cadet namedMelmore.

  "No, here he comes!" cried Bob Grenwood. "And Sedley and four others arewith him."

  Pepper looked in the direction pointed out and saw Roy Bock and hiscronies approaching. All had big tin horns and immense wooden rattles,and their pockets bulged with apples and peanuts.

  "Whoop her up, Dauntless!" yelled Roy Bock, as soon as he reached thegrandstand. "Whoop her up, and wipe up the ground with Putnam Hall!" Andthen he swung his big rattle, and his cronies did likewise. Then thePornellites crowded into the grandstand and took seats near Pepper andhis fellow cadets and the girls. They talked in loud voices and said anumber of things that caused the faces of the girls to burn, and madethe cadets thoroughly angry.

  "They ought to be put off the stand!" cried Bob, indignantly.

  "And they will be put off if they keep this up," answered Pepper. "Theycan cheer all they please for the Dauntless eleven, but they have got toact like gentlemen."

  As soon as the two elevens appeared, the practice commenced, and thenthere was a toss-up for goals, which Dauntless won. They took the southgoal and Putnam Hall took the ball. Then came the kick-off, and the gamewas on.