CHAPTER XXII JOSIAH CRABTREE IS NONPLUSED
"What's to do next, Mr. Crabtree?"
"I--er--I don't know," stammered the enraged teacher. He gave a shiver."I am wet to the skin!"
"So am I," came from Peleg Snuggers.
"I shall take cold."
"An' I'll be after gitting the rheumatism."
"I am half of a mind to invoke the aid of the law," went on JosiahCrabtree, stalking around the barn to keep himself warm. "This ispreposterous, outrageous, extraordinary!"
"It's a blessed shame, sir, that's wot it is."
"It is strange that Mrs. Green was not aroused."
"No 'tain't, sir--she's a heavy sleeper. She sleeps with an alarm clockon a chair beside her bed, to wake her up in the mornin'."
"Snuggers, we must get into the school building in some manner."
"Yes, sir."
"Let us go around to the front once more."
"I don't want another duckin', sir. It was terribul, that was!" And thegeneral utility man shivered.
"Perhaps we can get under the shelter of the doorway."
They left the barn once more, and sneaking around the campus, came atlast to the front of the hall.
"Why, the door's on a crack!" ejaculated the hired man. "I thought it waslocked!"
"So it was locked!" returned Josiah Crabtree. "Can it be possible thatthe rascals have left the building?"
"Oh, Mr. Crabtree, perhaps they are after us with them guns!"
"I--I don't think so. Anyway, let us get inside. Then we can lock thedoor on them. Some of the cadets must have gone crazy!"
The two passed into the Hall, and the teacher lost no time in locking andbolting the door. All was pitch-dark, and Josiah Crabtree scarcely knewwhat to do next.
"I don't see nuthin'," was Peleg Snuggers' comment.
"It is not to be expected without a light," answered the teacher,sarcastically. "Have you a match?"
"Yes, sir."
"Then light up, and I'll try to get to the bottom of this piece ofvillainy."
"Are you certain we ain't in danger o' bein' shot?" queried the hiredman.
"Light up, I tell you!" thundered the teacher.
The hallway was soon a blaze of lights. Nothing appeared to be out of itsplace, and Josiah Crabtree passed from one classroom to the next, andthen to the messroom, the kitchen, and to Captain Putnam's privateoffice.
"They have gone!" murmured Snuggers, and breathed a sigh of relief.
"They are either outside or upstairs," answered Josiah Crabtree. "Come,we will go up."
"Hadn't you better get a club--or somethin'?"
"I'll take this," answered the teacher, and brought forth a heavy ruler.Then he gave the hired man a cane, and both mounted to the second floorof the Hall. Here all was as dark as it had been below, and againSnuggers was called on to light up.
Without further hesitation Josiah Crabtree pushed open the door ofDormitory No. 1. A glance inside showed him all of the cadets in bed,apparently fast asleep. He scratched his head in amazement.
"Am I dreaming, or is this a trick?" he murmured.
"Are the rascals there?" queried Peleg Snuggers.
"These--er--cadets seem to be asleep."
"Asleep!"
"Yes, let us look in the next dormitory," said Crabtree.
This was done, and then the other sleeping rooms were visited. Not a bedwas found vacant, and all of the boys looked as if they were sleepingsoundly.
"Snuggers, am I awake?" demanded the teacher.
"I reckon you are, sir. I know I ain't asleep--an' I ain't dry nuther."
"But what do you make of this?"
"I dunno, unless they be a-playin' off on you, sir."
"Did you recognize any of those who--er--attacked us?"
"No, sir."
"But we were attacked?"
"Yes, sir."
"We were doused with water?"
"Yes, sir--very cold water at that."
"And we were fired upon?"
"Yes, sir--I heard the bullets whistle past our heads, sir," added thehired man, drawing on his imagination.
"And yet all of these cadets are asleep--or pretend to be."
"It's a mystery, sir, that's wot it is, sir. But what's to do?" and thegeneral utility man scratched his head.
For once in his life Josiah Crabtree was nonplused. He rubbed his chinand cleared his throat several times.
"If I thought they were playing off on me----" he began.
"They couldn't have all been in it, sir," interrupted Snuggers.
"I don't know about that. But that's the point--I do not know which toaccuse."
"Well, what do you want me to do?"
"I--er--I don't know."
"Hadn't we better change our clothes an' go to bed?"
"You may change your clothes, and I'll do the same. But I am going toinvestigate further before I retire for the night."
The pair separated, and Peleg Snuggers lost no time in getting to hisroom. Josiah Crabtree stalked to his own apartment and there proceeded todon dry clothing.
The head teacher was furious, but the more he mused over the problembefore him, the more was he perplexed. He could not call all of the boysto account, and, to tell the truth, he was just a bit afraid of the wholeschool. With Captain Putnam and George Strong absent, there was notelling what the pupils might do.
"I don't want to get shot, or something like that," he told himself."Perhaps I had better wait until the captain gets back."
"Do you want me again?" came presently from Peleg Snuggers, from outsidethe door.
"No, you can go to bed. But sleep with one ear open, in case there aremore disturbances."
"Yes, sir; good-night, sir," and the general utility man tiptoed away."Don't catch me a-gittin' up again to-night," he muttered to himself."One sech duckin' is enough fer me."
"I fancy he has given up the battle," said Pepper to his chums, after along spell of silence.
"He is afraid of us." came from Andy. "Those shots frightened him."
"I'll wager we hear something in the morning," put in Jack. "We ought tobind every fellow to absolute secrecy."
"Let's do it!" cried Pepper. "We can visit every dormitory."
This plan was agreed to, and soon a dozen cadets were making the rounds,and each student was made to promise on his honor not to say a wordconcerning the doings of the night.
"Let me catch you opening your trap and I'll make it warm for you," saidJack to Mumps, and the sneak promised faithfully to keep mum.
In the morning the cadets were on hand as usual, and they came down toroll call as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Josiah Crabtreewas on hand, looking as dark as a thunder cloud.
"Phew, but his face is enough to sour the milk!" whispered Andy.
"Take care, he is watching us," returned Pepper, and then the chumsbecame silent.
Nothing was said during breakfast, and it was not until the school wasassembled for the first session of the day that Josiah Crabtree opened upupon them.
"Last night a most disgraceful thing happened at this academy," he began."A number of headstrong pupils locked me out of this building, andattacked me with their guns. I have some information concerning thisaffair, but I am bound to get at all the details. I, therefore, demandthat each pupil tell all he knows of the affair. I shall ask each pupilby roll order. Dale Blackmore, what have you to say?"
"Nothing, sir," answered Dale, rising.
"Don't you know anything of this affair?"
"I have nothing to say," returned the cadet, stiffly.
"Um! Sit down. Harry Blossom."
"I have nothing to say, sir," answered Harry, as he arose.
"You know nothing?"
"I have nothing to say."
"Bart Conners!"
"I have nothing to say, Mr. Crabtree," answered the captain of Company B.
"Augustus Coulter!"
As Coulter arose
, Jack, Pepper, Andy, and a number of others eyed himsharply.
"I--er--I don't know anything much," stammered Dan Baxter's crony. "Iwas--er--very sleepy last night. I heard some noise, but I didn't pay anyattention."
"Really?" returned the teacher, sarcastically. "You must have slept verysound, indeed, not to have heard the gun-shots."
"That wasn't so bad for Coulter," whispered Jack to Pepper.
One after another the pupils were questioned, but all had nothing to say.Even Mumps said "Nothing to say!" in a voice that was as stiff as starch.
"He's afraid of his life," whispered Andy. "I told him he'd be treated toan icy bath if he said two words."
"School will come to order!" thundered Josiah Crabtree, after the name ofthe last cadet had been called out. "I shall inquire into this later on.We will now take up our studies for the day."
"He's beaten!" said Jack, and the young major spoke the truth. Try hisbest Josiah Crabtree could not get at the bottom of the mystery, and atlast he had to give it up, for fear of being ridiculed by Captain Putnamand George Strong.