CHAPTER IV ELECTING A MAJOR
"Have they been spying on us?" queried Mumps, and turned slightly pale.
"Yes, they have been spying--I caught them at it," came from BillySabine. "What have you fellows been up to here?" he added, anxiously.
"Never mind just now," answered Dan Baxter. He looked much disconcerted."Just step in here a minute, will you?" he requested, of Pepper and Andy.
"What do you want of us?" asked Pepper, cautiously, while Andy also heldback.
"Have you been listening to our talk?"
"Yes."
"It was a mean piece of business, Pepper Ditmore!"
"Not half as mean as what you were up to, Dan Baxter!"
"What was I up to?"
"You were bribing these fellows to vote for you."
"No, I wasn't. I--er--that is--we were talking about something else. It'sa--er--a secret society," stammered the bully. He did not know what tosay.
"Bosh!" came from Andy. "You were bribing them to vote for you formajor,--paying them from two to five dollars apiece."
"You shut up!" roared Baxter, rushing up to Andy and catching him by thearm. "I know what I'm doing. I don't want any talk from you!"
He ran Andy against the side of the bath-house, but as said before, Andywas a good deal of an acrobat, and in a twinkling he had slipped fromBaxter's grasp.
"Let us get out of here, Andy," said Pepper. "We have seen and heardenough."
"Are you going to blab on us?" demanded Gus Coulter.
"That depends upon what you do," retorted Pepper, bravely. "We are notgoing to stand for such underhanded work as has been going on here."
"If you dare to say a word I'll--I'll thrash you within an inch of yourlife!" hissed Dan Baxter, rushing forward and catching Pepper by thethroat. "Don't you dare to do it! Don't you dare!"
"Le--let up, Baxter!" gasped Pepper. He pushed the bully back with hishand. "You won't, eh? Then take that!"
So speaking, he landed a blow that took Dan Baxter full in the face andsent him staggering back several paces.
"What's going on here?" came the cry from the parade ground, and half adozen cadets appeared, including Joe Nelson and Jack.
"Perhaps Baxter will tell you," said Andy.
"I--er--I haven't anything to say!" stammered the bully.
"But I have something to say!" cried Pepper, boldly. "Boys, take carethat he doesn't try to bribe you to vote for him. He has just bribedCoulter, Paxton, and Mumps. I saw him pay over his money, and so did AndySnow."
"It's a--a--falsehood!" stormed Dan Baxter. He was beside himself withrage.
"It's the truth," came from Andy. "It was the most disgraceful thing Iever witnessed in my life. We don't want such a chap for a major, or evenfor a captain."
"Maybe we don't want him even for a high private," came from somebody inthe crowd.
Gus Coulter whispered to Baxter, and then to Paxton and to Mumps.
"That's the way to talk!" whispered Mumps. "Our word is as good astheirs!"
"What these fellows say is not true," came from Gus Coulter. "I was neverbribed in my life."
"I wouldn't accept a bribe," put in Paxton, loftily. "I'm not that sort,and my friends know it."
"We all belong to a secret society, and we were counting up the money inthe treasury," said Mumps. "In the midst of it Ditmore and Snow rushed upand intimated that Dan was bribing us. They ought to have their headspunched for it!"
"Well, you'll never punch them, Mumps," said Pepper. "And Baxter won'tpunch them, either."
"Don't be so sure about that," growled Dan Baxter. "You may get more thanyou expect!"
"I am not afraid of you," answered Pepper.
Further talk was cut short by the ringing of the school bell, calling thecadets into the Hall. Baxter and his cronies went off in one bunch, whilePepper, Andy, and Jack went off in another.
Among so many cadets opinions were necessarily divided. Some thoughtBaxter guilty, while others believed in his protestations of innocence.Yet with it all, the bully had only a limited circle of friends andhangers-on, as later events proved.
During the evening the air was filled with subdued excitement. All of thecandidates for the officers' positions were discussed, and it wasgenerally admitted that Jack, Bart Conners, Henry Lee, and Dan Baxterstood equal chances of winning the majorship, or at least one of thecaptaincies.
"I hope you win the majorship, Jack," said Andy. "You are just suited forthat position."
"I'd like it, Andy, I must confess. But I'm afraid I'm not well enoughknown. Big Bart Conners has a host of friends--and he is a staving goodchap in the bargain."
During the following morning it was easily to be seen that Dan Baxter hadbeen working hard to win the cadets over to him. The bully and hiscronies had done a good deal of talking, and in a few cases it looked asif he had been doing additional bribing.
During the recess electioneering became warm once more, and the studentsgathered in little knots to discuss the situation. Jack, Pepper, andseveral others were talking together when Dan Baxter strolled up, with adark look on his face.
"Say, I want this talk about bribery stopped," he said, savagely. "Iwon't stand it--do you understand? I won't stand it!" And he shook hisfist at the crowd.
"If you won't stand it, sit down on it, Baxter," retorted Pepper.
"It ain't fair," roared the bully, for the benefit of the crowd.
"I believe Pepper tells the truth," came from Jack, eying Baxter boldly."He caught you in the act."
"Of course you'd say so, Jack Ruddy, you're so anxious to be elected!"
"Well, I don't want to be elected," came from Pepper.
"And neither do I," put in Andy. "I saw it as well as Pepper."
"It's false! Absurd!" roared Baxter, and then, as there seemed nothingmore to say, he walked off with his head held high in the air.
"He makes me tired," came from Dale Blackmore. "I'd never vote for him,even if he hadn't started to bribe the fellows."
The voting began directly after dinner. There was a large ballot box, andthe cadets were given slips of paper and pencils, so that they might putdown the names of their candidates.
"There are seventy-seven students present," said Captain Putnam."Consequently it will take thirty-nine votes for a choice. We will nowtake the vote for the majorship."
There was a moment of silence, during which the students put down thenames of their candidates, and then the line filed past the ballot-box,and each youth deposited his ballot. Without delay the captain and GeorgeStrong tabulated the vote.
"I will now read the result of the first ballot," announced CaptainPutnam, and at once the cadets became silent.
"Number of votes cast, 77; Necessary to a choice, 39; Bart Conners has 21, John Ruddy has 21, Henry Lee has 14, Harry Blossom has 9, Daniel Baxter has 7, David Kearney has 3, Andrew Snow has 1, Paul Singleton has 1."
"Hullo, Bart and Jack are a tie!" exclaimed Pepper.
"And I've got one vote," put in Andy.
"Guess you must have voted for yourself," put in Gus Coulter,sarcastically.
"If I did, I didn't have to bribe myself to do it," retorted Andy. Heraised his voice: "Whoever voted for me, will kindly vote for Jack Ruddyon the next ballot."
"I also wish to withdraw in favor of Jack Ruddy," came from Dave Kearney."I don't believe I can fill the position of major just yet," he added, byway of explanation.
"Please cross me off the list," sang out Paul Singleton, a fat youth, whowent by the nickname of Stuffer because he was always hungry.
After this came a little more electioneering, and Henry Lee said he wouldwithdraw and give Jack his support if Jack's friends would vote for himfor captain.
"Yes, we'll do that, Henry," cried Andy.
The second ballot was soon cast, and resulted as follows:
Number of votes cast, 77; Necessary to a choice, 39; For John Ruddy, 48; For Bart Conners, 20; Fo
r Harry Blossom, 5; For Daniel Baxter, 4.
"Hurrah! Jack is elected!" cried Pepper, and rushing forward he caughthis chum by the hand.
"I congratulate you, Major Ruddy," said Captain Putnam, with a smile.
"I move we make the election of Jack Ruddy unanimous!" called out BartConners. "I voted for him, and I want all of you to do the same."
"Hurrah! That's the way to talk!" sang out a student. "Bart, you're agood fellow."
"Three cheers for Major Ruddy, Captain Putnam, and Bart Conners!" camethe cry, and the cheers were given with a will. But Dan Baxter and hiscronies did not join in.
"They sold me out!" muttered the bully to Mumps. "Some of the fellows whosaid they'd vote for me didn't vote for me at all."
"I'd square up with them for it," returned the sneak.
"I shall--and I'll square up with Jack Ruddy too," added Dan Baxter,bitterly.