CHAPTER XVII
THE ENEMY PLOT MISCHIEF
The most disgusted cadet on Pine Island was Lew Flapp, and when Jacksonwalked out of the water and entered one of the bath-tents he followedhis crony with a face full of bitterness.
"Why didn't you try to keep up and win out"? he asked bitterly, whileJackson was dressing.
"I did try. But Rover came up like a steam engine."
"You seemed to play out all in a minute."
"And that is just what I did do. The pace was too hot for me, and Ijust about collapsed. Those fellows are good swimmers, no two waysabout that."
"Bah! I could have beaten them with ease."
"I'd like to see you do it."
"Do you know I lost six dollars on that race," went on Flapp, after apause.
"Who won the money"?
"Songbird Powell."
"How did you come to put up such an odd figure, Lew"?
"I bet a dollar even first, and then, when I felt certain you wouldwin, I gave him odds of five to one. I was a chump."
"Well, I did my best--honestly I did," returned Jackson, who hated tohave his crony lose.
"I ought to make you pay me back."
"I'd do it if I had the money," said Jackson. He rarely had money inhis pocket, spending everything as fast as received.
"Well, that is one more we owe that crowd," observed Flapp withincreased bitterness.
When Jackson was dressed he and Flapp took themselves to another partof the camp, and there met Pender, Rockley, and Ben Hurdy.
"Let us take a walk," said Jackson. "I am sick of staying around wherethe others can stare at me."
"Come with me," put in Pender. "I have found something I want to showyou."
"A gold mine, perhaps," said Flapp. "I need one just now. Betting onJackson nearly cleaned me out."
"It's no gold mine, but it may prove useful to us," answered the othercadet.
The crowd started off, and Pender led the way through the woods andpartly around the rocky hill in the center of the island.
"I ran into it quite by accident," he said. "You'd never suspect it wasthere unless you knew of it."
"Knew of what?" asked Rockley. "What sort of a mystery are you runningus into now?"
"Just wait and see."
Pender stepped from the path they had been pursuing and pushed asidesome overhanging bushes. Beyond was a small clearing, backed up by ahigh, rocky wall. In the wall was an opening, blocked up by a heavydoor secured by a rusty iron chain that was passed through a ring inthe rocks.
"Well, this is certainly odd," exclaimed Flapp. "What kind of a placeis it"?
"It's a den of some sort," said Hurdy. "Maybe some counterfeitersbelong here."
"Bosh, you talk as if you were in a dime novel," came from Jackson."More than likely some old hermit lived here. When some men get queerin the head they come to just such a spot as this to end their days.They hate the sight of other human beings."
"I reckon it is a hermit's den," said Pender. "But if so the hermitleft it years ago, for everything inside is covered with dust andcobwebs and mildew."
Pender walked up to the stout wooden door, unfastened the iron chain,and threw the barrier back.
One after the other the boys entered the opening beyond. At first theycould see but little, but gradually their eyes became accustomed to thegloom and they made out a rocky chamber about twelve feet wide andrunning back in irregular shape for a hundred feet or more. At somepoints the ceiling was so low they had to stoop, while elsewhere it wasfar above their reach. The flooring was fairly level, with rock in someplaces and hard dirt in others.
The opening was rudely furnished with a heavy table and a bench, andclose to one wall was a box bed, still filled with pine boughs. On abig wooden hook hung a man's coat, so decayed that it began to fallapart when they touched it. The table contained several tin cups andplates, all rust eaten.
"This is certainly a curious find," said Flapp. "How did you happen tohit it, Gus?"
"I was exploring the cliff above when I happened to slip and fall intothe bushes just in front of the door. I was shook up but not hurt, andwhen I got up I saw the door and wondered what it meant. Then I lookedinside and after that went back to camp to tell you fellows about it."
"It will make a dandy place for secret meetings," suggested Rockley."We can come here and do what we please."
"Just what I thought," said Pender. "We can smuggle no end of goodthings here from the nearest village and come whenever we have our offtime."
"Perhaps we can do more than that," said Flapp, struck with a suddenidea.
"What"? asked the others.
"I'll tell you some other time. It's a great find," continued the tallboy.
In the meantime those left at the camp had surrounded Dick and werecongratulating him on his victory.
"I knew you would win," said Powell, when the excitement was over. "Ibet with Lew Flapp on the result. Garling was stakeholder."
"What did you win, Songbird"?
"Six dollars."
"Gracious! You went in pretty deep.'
"Flapp called me a coward when I told him I didn't want to bet, so Ihad to take him up," went on Songbird. "Had it been anybody else Imight have given the money back. But I won't give it back to thatbully."
"It's against the rules to bet, Songbird."
"But you are not going to tell on me, are you?"
"You know me better than to ask the question. Just the same, I am sorryyou bet," said Dick.
"I'm going to treat the boys as soon as I get the chance," went onPowell. "Six dollars will buy a whole lot of ice cream and cake, not tomention soda and candy and peanuts." And then he began to hum tohimself:
"Peanuts and candy and raspberry ice, Chocolate cake, and all that's nice, Ev'ry student can come if he will, And ev'ry student can eat his fill!"
"I believe you'd sing at a funeral," said Dick, laughing.
"I wouldn't sing at my own funeral," answered Powell, and stalked off,humming as gayly as ever.
The remainder of the day passed quietly enough, although by thewhispering in various tents it was easy to see that something unusualwas in the air.
"Hazing to-night, as sure as guns," said Major Larry to one of theofficers.
"Shall we arrest the hazers"? asked the officer, with a twinkle in hiseye.
"You must obey orders," answered the youthful major, non-committally,since he had given no orders on the subject.
He could well remember his first year in camp, when he had been draggedfrom his cot at midnight, almost stripped, and thrown into a brook oficy spring water, and then made to run over a rough road in his barefeet for half a mile, "just to warm up," as the hazers told him. Itwas rough sport, not to be approved, but "boys will be boys," and itis practically impossible to stop hazing even in the highest of ourinstitutions of learning.
It was poor Hans Mueller who was the first to suffer that night. In themidst of the darkness, for there was no moon, Hans found himselfsuddenly aroused from his slumbers by being dragged out of his cot bythe feet.
"Shtop!" he began, when a hand was thrust over his mouth. Then he wasraised up by six cadets, shoved out of the back of the tent and carriedaway to the grove in the rear of the camp. The party had to pass twosentries, but the sentries were evidently posted, for they appeared tosee nothing wrong.
Hans was not allowed to speak until he was out of hearing distance ofthe camp. Then he was dumped on the ground with a dull thud.
"Mine cracious! vot does dis mean annahow"? he demanded, as hestruggled to his feet. "Does you vants to kill me alretty, drowing mearoundt like a log of vood, hey"?
There was no answer, and now he looked at the cadets, to discover thateach wore a black mask, with a hood from which two black hornsprotruded.
"Who you vos alretty"? he spluttered, staring in open-mouthed amazementat the party. "You vos all look like der Oldt Boy, ain't it! I guess Igo me back to der camp kvick!" and he started to run.
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Hans did not get far, for a foot send him sprawling, and by the time hewas again on his feet four masked cadets had him by the hands and arms,so that he could not get away. He started to yell when of a suddensomebody threw a handful of dry flour into his wide open mouth.
"Wuog!" he gasped. "Wuog! Do--you--wants--to choke me alretty!" Andthen he started to sneeze, as some of the flour entered his nose.
There was a moment of silence and then one of the masked figuresadvanced slowly.
"Hans Mueller, are you prepared to meet your doom"? was the questionput, in a deep bass voice.
"Doom? Vot's dot?" asked the German boy, slightly frightened.
"Are you prepared to die?"
"Die? Not by a jugful I ain't. You let me go!"
"Are you prepared to become a full-fledged member of the Order of BlackSkulls."
"Not much, I ton't belong to noddings," gasped Hans.
"Then you must prepare to meet your fate. Away with him, fellows, tohis doom!"
Before Hans could resist he was caught up once again. One of the cadetshad brought with him a large blanket and into this the German youth wasthrown. Then the others caught the blanket around the edges.
"Stop!" roared Hans, and tried to climb out of the blanket. But beforehe could manage it, the thing was given a toss and up he went, highinto the air.
"Oh! Mine cracious!" he gasped and came down with a crash, to go upagain an instant later. Then up and down went the boy, turning over andover, until he was all but dazed.
"Stop! Murder! Fire! Robbers!" he roared. "Let me owid, kvick! I vosturning outsides in alretty! Oh, stop, von't you, blease!"
"Will you join the Order of Black Skulls"? he was asked again.
"_Yah, yah!_ Anydings, so long as you lets me town kvick!"
"And you will not breathe a word about what has taken place here"?
"I say me noddings, upon my honor, ain't it!"
"Then let him go, fellows," and a moment later Hans was lowered.
"Now you are one of us," said another student, and handed him a mask,skull-cap and pair of horns, the latter made of stuffed black cloth."Do you promise to help us"?
"Anydings vot you vonts."
"Then come with us, and don't dare to open your mouth."