CHAPTER IX WHAT HAPPENED AT THE ICE HOUSE
The next morning Reff Ritter had to excuse himself, and he did not comedownstairs all day. Some of the blueing had gotten on his nose andrefused to come off. Paxton and Coulter appeared, and they looked “blue”in more ways than one.
“We are going to square up some day!” growled Coulter, when he metPepper. “Just wait, that’s all!”
“Look out that you don’t burn your fingers doing it,” answered The Imp.“Remember, we can give you as good as you send, every time!”
Coulter and Paxton still had some of the blueing on them and some of thecadets not in the secret wanted to know what was the trouble.
“Oh, we had some blue ink and it got spilled,” answered Paxton, and thatwas all he and Coulter would say. When Captain Putnam went upstairs tocall on Ritter and make sure he was not seriously sick the bully toldthe same story.
“Well, be careful the next time,” said the master of the Hall, and heleft Ritter in deep thought. He felt almost certain some kind of a jokehad been played, but he did not wish to investigate, having his handsfull with other things. George Strong had departed, having received aspecial message of importance, and the captain himself had to leave theschool the following Monday, to go to Chicago.
In a roundabout way Jack and his chums learned that Reff Ritter, Coulterand Paxton were going to attend the lawn party in spite of the blueingthat still showed on their hands and faces, and they at once set to workto see what could be done toward having more fun.
“This is going to be rather a delicate proceeding,” said the youngmajor. “Remember, we have two crowds to deal with—Ritter’s and RoyBock’s.”
“Perhaps we had better divide our forces?” suggested Dale.
“I’ve got a plan, but I don’t know if it can be carried out,” saidPepper. “To my mind, Ritter and Bock are quite friendly.”
“Yes, it’s a case of one bully loving another,” chimed in Stuffer. “Theyare thick, and so are Coulter and Gussic and Grimes.”
“Then perhaps I can get this plan to work after all,” went on The Imp,and then he told the others of his scheme. This was nothing more than tosend a letter to Bock asking him and his cronies to meet Ritter at acertain ice-house on the lake front, at two o’clock—just an hour beforethe party was to come off. Another letter was to be sent to Ritterasking him to meet Bock and his crowd at the same place, but a littleearlier.
The letters were written without delay and a farm boy of that vicinitywas hired to deliver them both at noon on the day the party was to comeoff. Each letter spoke of “a way to fix Ruddy and his crowd,” and wasunsigned.
As Pepper anticipated, Bock and Ritter and their cohorts fell into thetrap readily. Each bully was more than anxious to learn of somethingwhereby he might do the young major and his chums injury.
“Ritter is a fine fellow,” said Roy Bock, to his cronies. “He hatesRuddy and those other chaps like poison, too. He must have somethinggreat up his sleeve.” And the others agreed this must be so; and allvoted to stop at the ice-house on the way to the lawn party.
On the other hand, Ritter was equally enthusiastic, and so were Coulterand Paxton.
“We’ll work with the Pornell fellows in this,” said the Hall bully. “Ialways liked Bock, and if he will show us how to turn a trick on RuddyI’ll like him better than ever.”
It was no easy matter for Jack, Pepper and the others to get away earlyon the day the lawn party was to be held. Yet they managed it by variousexcuses, and then met back of the gymnasium, and hurried at top speed tothe ice house.
The structure was empty, the last of the former winter’s ice having beenremoved the week before. It was a large and gloomy place, and scatteredaround were many tons of wet sawdust.
“Now boys, follow my directions and be quick about it!” cried Pepper.“Andy, you keep an eye open and let us know as soon as you see anybody.Jack, here’s your make-up,” and as he finished speaking he handed over asuit of plain clothes and a hat, such as Bock was in the habit ofwearing. These the young major donned with all speed, and pulled downhis hair over his forehead, in the style Bock affected. This done, at adistance he resembled the bully of Pornell Academy.
The cadets set to work doing various things in the ice house that Peppersuggested. Hardly had they completed their labors when Andy gave a lowwhistle.
“Ritter and his crowd are coming!” he called, as he came into thebuilding.
It was now that Jack acted. He ran to the doorway, and seeing Ritter ata distance waved his hand wildly.
“Hurry up! You’re late!” he called out, imitating Bock’s voice as muchas possible.
Not dreaming that anything was wrong, Reff Ritter and his croniesquickened their pace and soon came up to the ice house.
“Where are you?” called out Coulter.
“Here, inside,” was the muffled answer. “Come in, the place is empty.”
Ritter entered, followed by Coulter and Paxton. They saw somebody moveat the rear end of the building and started in that direction. Each hadhardly taken a dozen steps when he found himself attacked from behind. Along bag was thrown over his head and pulled to his knees and tied fastthere.
“Hi, you! What does this mean?” roared Ritter, trying in vain to clearhimself of the bag. Then he commenced to cough, for the bag was full ofdust.
“Silence—unless you want to be buried deep in the sawdust,” commandedJack, in a heavy, unnatural voice.
“Do—don’t!” spluttered Paxton. “If yo—you bury us in that we—we’llsmother to death!”
“Wh—who are you fel—fellows?” gasped Coulter.
“We are the Pornell Academy boys, and we mean to keep you from thatparty,” answered Andy, in a voice that sounded much like that of Grimes.
“Confound the luck!” growled Reff Ritter. “Say, Bock, this isn’t fair.You said in the letter you would help us to get Jack Ruddy intotrouble.”
“Ha! ha! you were nicely fooled!” laughed Jack, still disguising hisvoice.
“March!” ordered Pepper.
“I won’t budge!” cried Paxton.
Scarcely had he spoken when he felt a whip lash across his legs.
“Ouch! Oh, let up! I’ll march!” he whined. “Don’t lash me again,please!”
As they were absolutely helpless with the strong bags tied down to theirknees, Ritter Coulter and Paxton had to do as commanded, and they weremarched out of a back door of the ice house and to a grove of trees somedistance away.
“Hurry up, boys!” whispered Pepper, to his chums. “Somebody is comingdown the road. It must be the Pornell Academy crowd!”
In a twinkling the prisoners were tied with ropes to several trees. ThenJack led the way back to the ice house. Here Pepper went to the front,while the major resumed his uniform.
“Say, you fellows!” cried Pepper, as soon as he was sure of the partyapproaching. “Don’t be all day! Hurry up!”
“It’s too warm to hurry!” called back Roy Bock. “Do you think I want toget all heated up?” He was faultlessly dressed in his best, and so werehis cronies, for nearly all of the Pornell students were rich and spenta good deal upon their attire.
They walked into the ice house just as Ritter and the others had done.It was Dale who called them to the rear, and then the others came upbehind with another set of long bags and ropes.
“Let up!” roared Roy Bock, and began to fight with such vigor that healmost broke away. But Jack held fast and both went down into the wetsawdust, much to Bock’s disgust.
“Confound it, you’ve ruined my best suit!” he cried, “I’ll fix you forthis, see if I don’t!”
“When you get the chance,” answered Jack in a disguised voice. “Glad youanswered my letter,” he added.
“So this is what you were up to, eh?” stormed the Pornell bully, afterfurther resistance was useless. With the bag over him he could, ofcourse, see nothing. “What are you going to do with us?”
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“Nothing, only keep you here while we enjoy that lawn party,” answeredPepper, in a disguised voice.
“It’s a plot against us!” groaned Grimes. “I told you to be cautiousabout coming here.”
“Say, Ritter, I thought I could trust you,” continued Roy Bock. “Thisisn’t fair at all. I thought we were going to hatch out somethingagainst Ruddy, Ditmore, and those fellows.”
“Not to-day,” murmured Dale, and he had all he could do to keep fromlaughing over the turn of affairs. Andy was in a corner, holding hissides and chuckling, and all of the other cadets were grinning broadly.
The Pornell students wanted to argue, but Jack and his chums would notlisten. With strong ropes they tied each of the enemy fast to a beam inthe ice house.
“W’ll be back bye and bye,” cried Jack, in an unnatural voice,
“Don’t leave us!” cried Gussic. “This bag is horribly dirty. I’ve got mywhole head full of it!”
“Come back!” yelled Ritter, from his bag. “Say, if you’ll let us outwe’ll call it square. If you don’t, I’ll——”
“What will you do?” asked Jack, from a distance.
“Report you to Captain Putnam.”
“Do it—I don’t care,” was the young major’s answer, and then he and hischums departed, rolling the ice house door shut as they did so. Theywaited till they had covered a hundred yards or so and then of a suddenevery cadet present burst into a roar of merriment that lasted forseveral minutes.
“It’s the richest ever!” cried Andy, the tears fairly running down hischeeks. “We’ve got ’em all prisoners and each party thinks the otherguilty!”
“Think of Roy Bock reporting to Captain Putnam for this!” said Pepper.“Wouldn’t that make you scream?”
“And maybe Ritter will report Bock and his gang to Doctor Pornell,”suggested Dale.
“Sure, and its the foinest mix-up I ever seen in me life,” was Emerald’scomment. “If only they meet some day an’ fight it out!” And the grin onhis broad face spread from ear to ear.
The crowd walked down to the lake shore and then to the place where thelawn party was in progress. They saw a dozen or more girls in thegrounds, but only five boys.
“It’s hard luck for the girls,” was Pepper’s comment. “But it can’t behelped.”
“I don’t pity them,” said Andy. “They didn’t invite me,—and I once tooktwo of them rowing, too.”
“Yes, and they didn’t invite me—and I once treated three of them toice-cream soda,” added Dale.
The boys watched the party from a distance, and then, when it wasgrowing late, started again in the direction of the ice house.
“Hark! what is that?” called Andy suddenly.
“Sounds like somebody fighting,” answered Pepper.
“I think I know what it is,” burst out Jack. “Come, follow me!” And hedove into the bushes lining the roadway.