CHAPTER I OUT ON THE CAMPUS
“Boys, we are to have target practice to-morrow.”
“Good!” cried Pepper Ditmore. “That suits me exactly. Just wait, Jack,and see me make half a dozen bull’s-eyes, handrunning.”
“Why don’t you make it a dozen, Pep, while you are at it?” answeredMajor Jack Ruddy, with a smile.
“If Pep makes one bull’s-eye he will be lucky,” came from another of thecadets gathered on the Putnam Hall campus. “The last time we hadpractice, instead of hitting the target he almost killed a cow in thenext field.”
“Hold on, Andy Snow!” cried Pepper. “I shot straight enough, but thewind blew so hard it sent the bullet the wrong way. Now if——”
“What a pity the wind didn’t shift the target to meet the bullet,” criedPaul Singleton. “Now when I shoot——”
“You’re too fat to shoot, Stuffer,” interrupted a youth who spoke with astrong Irish accent. “Sure, if you had to crawl up on the inimy, like inwar, you’d tip over on your nose!” And at this sally from Joseph Hogan alaugh arose.
“I’d rather be fat than skinny,” retorted Paul, whose waist measurementexceeded that of any other cadet of the Hall.
“Where are we to do the practicing?” asked another boy, who was somewhatof a newcomer, having been a pupil at the Military Academy for less thana term.
“I understand we are to go to Rawling’s pasture, Fred,” answered JackRuddy. “Captain Putnam is going to make the test a very thorough one,too, for he says all of the students here ought to be first-classmarksmen.”
“Well, I’d certainly like to know how to handle a rifle,” answered FredCentury. “I’ve used a shotgun, in the woods, but never a rifle. I’mafraid I’ll make a rather poor showing at first.”
“Many of the fellows will,” returned the young major. “It isn’t given toeverybody to become a good shot, no matter how hard a fellow tries.”
While the others were talking, a big, broad-shouldered youth joined thegathering. He was Dale Blackmore, the captain of the Putnam Hallfootball team, and a general leader in all kinds of athletic sports.
“Talking about the rifle practice, eh,” said Dale. “I just heard theother fellows talking of it, too. One of ’em said he was going to showyour crowd how to shoot,” and he nodded toward Jack Ruddy.
“Who was it?” questioned the young major.
“Reff Ritter.”
“Oh, that bully makes me tired!” cried Pepper Ditmore. “Every timeanything is going on he tries to push himself to the front—and nobodywants him—at least I don’t want him.”
“Nor I,” came from Andy Snow and Paul Singleton.
“Sure, an’ I doubt if he’s any better shot nor Major Jack,” remarkedHogan.
“Not half as good, Emerald,” interposed Pepper quickly. “Jack’s asoldier through and through. If he wasn’t the fellows wouldn’t haveelected him major.”
“Perhaps Reff Ritter is a good marksman,” said Jack. “He has made somefair scores and he may have been practicing up for this contest. Who washe talking to, Dale?”
“Oh, his usual crowd of hangers-on, Gus Coulter, Nick Paxton, BillySabine, and that bunch. Coulter thinks, too, that he can make a bigscore.”
“Well, I’ll bank on Jack—and on Bart Conners,” said Pepper. “Bart is agood shot and always was.”
“Say, here comes Reff Ritter now,” whispered Andy, as a youth with asomewhat sour-looking countenance put in an appearance. “Gus Coulter iswith him.”
“Hello, Reff!” sang out one of the boys, Dave Kearney by name. “I hearyou are going to wax us all at target practice to-morrow.”
“Who told you?” demanded Reff Ritter, coming to a halt.
“Oh, I heard it.”
“Yes, Reff and I are going to make star records,” came from Gus Coulter.
“Perhaps you think you can shoot better than Major Ruddy and CaptainConners?” questioned Andy Snow.
“We can,” came from Reff Ritter promptly. “When it comes to handling arifle I don’t take a back seat for anybody.”
“Must have been practicing a tremendous lot lately,” was Pepper’scomment.
“Never mind what I’ve been doing,” growled Reff Ritter. “I’m willing tobet anybody here a new hat that I come out ahead to-morrow.” And hegazed around with a “you don’t dare to take me up” look.
“I’d take that bet,” answered Pepper dryly. “Only a new hat would do meno good—since I have to wear the regulation cap here. Just the same,Reff, my boy, you won’t come out ahead of Jack and Bart, and I knowit—and neither will you, Gus.”
“Huh! just wait and see,” grumbled Coulter.
“You fellows think that because you have won a few races and things likethat you can win everything,” said Reff Ritter, sourly. “Well, to-morrowyou’ll find out differently. After the shooting is over you’ll see whereI and Gus and Nick Paxton stand.” And with this remark he strutted off,arm in arm with Coulter.
“Say, but he is in a bad humor,” observed Andy Snow. “Somebody must havebrushed his fur the wrong way.”
“He has been behind in his lessons for over a week,” answered a boynamed Joe Nelson, a quiet and studious lad. “Yesterday Captain Putnamcalled him into the office for a talk. When Reff came out he lookedpretty glum.”
“Must have gotten a strong lecture,” said Pepper. “And lectures don’tagree with such fellows as Ritter.”
“Do they agree with you, Pep?” asked the young major of the schoolbattalion, with a twinkle in his eye.
“Me? Not much! I’d rather write a composition in Latin than face thecaptain for a lecture! But, just the same, you can be sure Ritter didn’tget it harder than he deserved.”
“There is nothing like blowing one’s own horn,” observed Fred Century.“And certainly Reff Ritter knows how to do that to perfection.”
“Time for drill, boys!” cried Jack Ruddy, as a bell rang out. “Now, doyour best on the parade ground, even if you don’t know how to hit thetarget.” And off he ran to get ready to assume command of the PutnamHall battalion.
The bell had hardly ceased to ring when there followed the rolling of adrum, and out on the school campus poured the students, in their neatmilitary uniforms, and with their guns and swords polished to thehighest degree. Major Jack Ruddy was at the head of the battalion, whichconsisted of Companies A and B, under the commands of Bart Conners and ayouth named Henry Lee.
“Battalion attention!” commanded Major Jack, after the rattle of thedrum had ceased. “Shoulder arms! Forward, march!” And then the drumsbeat, the fifes struck up a lively air, and the cadets began a marcharound the school grounds.
To those who have read the previous volumes of this “Putnam HallSeries,” the lads mentioned above will need no special introduction. Forthe benefit of others let me state that Putnam Hall Military Academy wasa fine institution of learning, located on the shore of Cayuga Lake, inNew York State. It was owned by Captain Victor Putnam, a retired armyofficer, who, in days gone by, had seen strenuous military service inthe far West. It was modeled somewhat after West Point, our greatnational school for soldiery, but, of course, on far less pretentiousproportions. The school building proper, located not far from the lake,was of brick and stone, and contained many classrooms, a big mess hall,a business office, library and sitting room, and, on the upper floors,many dormitories. Besides this building there were a gymnasium, aboathouse, a barn, and half a dozen minor structures. The location wasideal, exactly suited to such a school as Captain Putnam hadestablished.
Jack Ruddy and Pepper Ditmore were chums, hailing from the western partof New York State. Jack was a little the older of the two and wasinclined to be studious. Pepper was full of fun, and on this account wasoften called The Imp, a nickname that did not bother him in the least.
When Jack and Pepper first arrived at the school, as related in theinitial volume of this series, called “The Putnam Hall Cadets,” they
found that no regular military organization had yet been effected. Aftersome time spent in drilling and studying, the cadets were permitted toballot for their own officers, with the result that Jack became themajor of the battalion, Henry Lee captain of Company A, and Bart Connerscaptain of Company B. Jack wanted Pepper to try for an officialposition, but The Imp declined, stating he thought he could have morefun as a private.
At that time there was an overbearing lad at the school named DanBaxter. He bribed Coulter and some others to vote for him, butnevertheless was defeated. Baxter was now away on a vacation, and Jackand his chums wished he would never come back.
It was not long before Jack and Pepper made many friends, including AndySnow, who was an acrobatic youth, used to doing marvellous “stunts” inthe gymnasium; Dale Blackmore, of football fame; Hogan, whose Irish witwas delightful to listen to; Stuffer Singleton, who much preferredeating to studying, and Joe Nelson, the best scholar the Hall possessed.
But if Jack and Pepper made many friends, they also made many rivals andnot a few enemies. Baxter was gone, but Reff Ritter remained, and whatsort of a fellow he was we have already seen. As Andy Snow said, Ritterfrequently imagined that he “was the whole show.” His particular cronieswere Gus Coulter and Nick Paxton, while he had something of an admirerin a small lad named Fenwick, usually known as “Mumps,” who was acontemptible sneak, as had been proved on more than one occasion.
The organizing of the school had been followed by hard studying, yet nota few adventures had fallen to the lot of Major Jack and Pepper, andsome of their chums. In the middle of one of the terms George Strong,the second assistant teacher, disappeared. He was found a prisoner in ahut, being kept there by two insane relatives, and to rescue him provedno easy task.
The assistant teacher’s ancestry dated back to Revolutionary times, andhe told the boys of a treasure buried in that vicinity by somerelatives. How the treasure was unearthed had been told in detail in“The Putnam Hall Rivals.”
With the coming of summer, the attention of the cadets was given largelyto sports in the field and on the water. Jack’s uncle presented him witha fine sloop, the _Alice_, and in this the young major sailed severalraces, as related in the third volume of this series, entitled “ThePutnam Hall Champions.” The cadets also held a great bicycle race and ahill climbing contest, and they likewise had a bowling match with theteam of a rival school, Pornell Academy. At that time Fred Century was astudent at Pornell, but he became disgusted at the way his fellowstudents acted, and at the treatment he received from Doctor Pornell,and left that institution of learning and came to Putnam Hall.
As the time went on Reff Ritter became more and more jealous of MajorJack’s popularity. A contest in the gymnasium was arranged between thetwo, and then Ritter, with a wickedness which he was wise enough to keepto himself, dosed the young major with some French headache powders,putting the stuff in Jack’s drinking water. As a consequence, Jack,while on the flying rings, became dizzy and then unconscious, and wouldhave hurt himself seriously had he not been caught as he fell. He wasput to bed and was sick for some time. It was discovered that he hadbeen dosed, but, so far, the perpetrator of the vile deed had managed tokeep his identity a secret. Jack and Pepper suspected Ritter, but notbeing able to prove the rascal guilty, could do nothing.