The Putnam Hall Rebellion

On the other hand, Ritter was equally enthusiastic, and so were Coulter and Paxton.

“We’ll work with the Pornell fellows in this,” said the Hall bully. “I always liked Bock, and if he will show us how to turn a trick on Ruddy I’ll like him better than ever.”

It was no easy matter for Jack, Pepper and the others to get away early on the day the lawn party was to be held. Yet they managed it by various excuses, and then met back of the gymnasium, and hurried at top speed to the ice house.

The structure was empty, the last of the former winter’s ice having been removed the week before. It was a large and gloomy place, and scattered around 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 a suit of plain clothes and a hat, such as Bock was in the habit of wearing. These the young major donned with all speed, and pulled down his hair over his forehead, in the style Bock affected. This done, at a distance he resembled the bully of Pornell Academy.

The cadets set to work doing various things in the ice house that Pepper suggested. Hardly had they completed their labors when Andy gave a low whistle.

“Ritter and his crowd are coming!” he called, as he came into the building.

It was now that Jack acted. He ran to the doorway, and seeing Ritter at a distance waved his hand wildly.

“Hurry up! You’re late!” he called out, imitating Bock’s voice as much as possible.

Not dreaming that anything was wrong, Reff Ritter and his cronies quickened 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 move at the rear end of the building and started in that direction. Each had hardly taken a dozen steps when he found himself attacked from behind. A long bag was thrown over his head and pulled to his knees and tied fast there.

“Hi, you! What does this mean?” roared Ritter, trying in vain to clear himself of the bag. Then he commenced to cough, for the bag was full of dust.

“Silence – unless you want to be buried deep in the sawdust,” commanded Jack, in a heavy, unnatural voice.

“Do – don’t!” spluttered Paxton. “If yo – you bury us in that we – we’ll smother to death!”

“Wh – who are you fel – fellows?” gasped Coulter.

“We are the Pornell Academy boys, and we mean to keep you from that party,” 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 into trouble.”

“Ha! ha! you were nicely fooled!” laughed Jack, still disguising his voice.

“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 their knees, Ritter Coulter and Paxton had to do as commanded, and they were marched out of a back door of the ice house and to a grove of trees some distance away.

“Hurry up, boys!” whispered Pepper, to his chums. “Somebody is coming down the road. It must be the Pornell Academy crowd!”

In a twinkling the prisoners were tied with ropes to several trees. Then Jack 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 party approaching. “Don’t be all day! Hurry up!”

“It’s too warm to hurry!” called back Roy Bock. “Do you think I want to get all heated up?” He was faultlessly dressed in his best, and so were his cronies, for nearly all of the Pornell students were rich and spent a 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 up behind with another set of long bags and ropes.

“Let up!” roared Roy Bock, and began to fight with such vigor that he almost broke away. But Jack held fast and both went down into the wet sawdust, much to Bock’s disgust.

“Confound it, you’ve ruined my best suit!” he cried, “I’ll fix you for this, see if I don’t!”

“When you get the chance,” answered Jack in a disguised voice. “Glad you answered my letter,” he added.

“So this is what you were up to, eh?” stormed the Pornell bully, after further resistance was useless. With the bag over him he could, of course, see nothing. “What are you going to do with us?”

“Nothing, only keep you here while we enjoy that lawn party,” answered Pepper, in a disguised voice.

“It’s a plot against us!” groaned Grimes. “I told you to be cautious about coming here.”

“Say, Ritter, I thought I could trust you,” continued Roy Bock. “This isn’t fair at all. I thought we were going to hatch out something against Ruddy, Ditmore, and those fellows.”

“Not to-day,” murmured Dale, and he had all he could do to keep from laughing over the turn of affairs. Andy was in a corner, holding his sides and chuckling, and all of the other cadets were grinning broadly.

The Pornell students wanted to argue, but Jack and his chums would not listen. With strong ropes they tied each of the enemy fast to a beam in the 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 my whole head full of it!”

“Come back!” yelled Ritter, from his bag. “Say, if you’ll let us out we’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 his chums departed, rolling the ice house door shut as they did so. They waited till they had covered a hundred yards or so and then of a sudden every cadet present burst into a roar of merriment that lasted for several minutes.

“It’s the richest ever!” cried Andy, the tears fairly running down his cheeks. “We’ve got ’em all prisoners and each party thinks the other guilty!”

“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’s comment. “If only they meet some day an’ fight it out!” And the grin on his broad face spread from ear to ear.

The crowd walked down to the lake shore and then to the place where the lawn party was in progress. They saw a dozen or more girls in the grounds, but only five boys.