The Putnam Hall Cadets: or, Good Times in School and Out

“The same two men are on board!” whispered Pepper.

“Yes, and they are acting as they did before, too,” added Jack. “Pep, I’d give a good deal to know what their game is.”

“So would I. Let us lay low. We may learn something.”

Slowly the mysterious sloop approached the shore and sailed past the Putnam Hall grounds. The men on board looked eagerly toward the academy buildings, and then went up the lake a short distance. A few minutes later they came back, and lowering the mainsail, drew close to shore, a short distance from where Jack and Pepper were in hiding.

“Perhaps our trip will be in vain again,” said one of the men to his companion.

“They cannot all be in vain,” was the answer. “Some day we shall be successful.”

“Are you going to land?”

“Yes. But stand ready to sail when I come back.”

So speaking, one of the men leaped ashore and stole behind a fringe of bushes. From that point he made his way up to a spot back of the gymnasium, and then walked completely around Putnam Hall, taking care to keep out of sight of the cadets who chanced to be roaming about.

“He acts as if he was a robber!” whispered Pepper.

“I don’t think a robber would come here in broad daylight.”

It was quite a while before the man came back. As he boarded the sloop again, his face showed his disappointment.

“Well?” questioned his companion.

“Another disappointment,” was the answer. “Let us go. We may have better luck another time.” And without another word the two men hoisted the mainsail of the sloop and sailed away across Cayuga Lake.

“Well, of all the odd things I ever heard of!” murmured Pepper. “If I wasn’t sure I was wide awake I’d say I was dreaming.”

“They are after something,” answered Jack. “The question is, what? I’m rather sorry we didn’t call Peleg Snuggers and capture that fellow who came ashore. Perhaps Captain Putnam could get something out of him.”

“Shall we go to the captain again?”

“I don’t know. Perhaps he’ll think we are only fooling him.”

They talked the matter over, and decided to say nothing more for the present. They watched the sloop until it disappeared from view, and returned to the school building.

The day for the circus dawned bright and clear, and directly after the midday meal the long stage belonging to the Hall was brought out and the boys who were going to the show piled in. They were in charge of George Strong, and many carried small flags and horns.

“Hurrah for Wildman’s Great International Circus!” cried Pepper. “Largest Aggregation of Wild Beasts on the Globe! See the wild man from Samoa, and the elephant-faced monkey from Greenland! All for the one price of admission, twenty-five cents – quarter of a dollar! Walk up, crawl up, tumble up, anyway to get up, ladies and gentlemen! Children half price, babies no price at all. If you don’t get your money’s worth, ask the manager to refund your hard-earned savings! The show will be started at exactly seventeen minutes past fourteen o’clock. The audience must come dressed in uniforms befitting the occa – ”

“Stop! stop!” cried Jack. “Pepper, you’ll have us wound up before we’re started.”

“All clocks are wound up before they are started,” retorted the Imp. “Don’t you go on a strike though, if you do – ”

“He’ll be so shamed that, like the clock, he’ll hide his face behind his hands,” finished Andy. “Call it off, as the young lady said of the caterpillar.”

“You’ll have to be just a little less enthusiastic, young gentlemen,” put in George Strong. “We don’t want this stage-load to be taken for the cage of monkeys, you know.” And then the crowd settled down, Peleg Snuggers whipped up the four horses, and off they rattled for the circus grounds, located on the outskirts of Cedarville.

When they arrived they found the tents in position, and a goodly crowd assembled. There were the usual side shows and the usual stands with peanuts, popcorn, and pink lemonade. There was also a man with a little gambling game, surrounded by a score of countrymen who thought they could win, when they were certain to lose.

“Looks as if it might be a pretty good show,” remarked Andy, after the chums had entered the tent devoted to the menagerie, and he was right. The animals were not many in number, but they had been selected with care, and George Strong explained just what each was to those under his guidance.

“There is a particularly fine tiger,” said he, pointing the beast out as it paced up and down its narrow cage. “He looks as if he’d enjoy his liberty.”

“And he looks as if he’d like to chew some of us up,” put in one of the students, and this created a laugh.

It was soon time for the circus proper, and all obtained good seats. One act after another passed and was applauded, for all were very good. Then came a chariot race, to wind up the performance. This was in progress when there came a shout from the menagerie tent.

“Stop the monkeys! They have broken loose!”

“Hullo, what’s that?” cried Pepper. “Somebody said the monkeys were loose!”

“If they are there will be fun!” murmured Jack, and he was right. But how much fun he was still to see.

CHAPTER XIII

THE CIRCUS, AND A MONKEY

The chariot race soon came to an end, and the cadets passed into the menagerie tent once more. Here there was considerable excitement. By accident the monkeys had opened the door to their big wagon cage, and fully a dozen of the little creatures were missing. One monkey had climbed into a cage containing two lions, and the kings of the forest had made a meal of the wanderer in double-quick order.

“Here’s fun truly,” said Pepper. “Wish I could catch one of the little beggars!”

“You’d have your hands full, if Mr. Monk was of the biting kind,” returned Dale.

They watched the circus employees trying to catch two of the monkeys, and then passed outside. One of the monkeys had climbed clear to the top of the flagpole on the circus tent and a crowd of children were watching him with keen delight.

“He’s the king-pin acrobat of the show!” cried Jack. “I don’t believe anybody will dare go after him,” and so it proved. But the monkey soon came down when shown some peanuts, and was then placed back in his cage.

“He didn’t know what to do with his liberty after he got it,” was Andy’s comment. “It’s a wonder he didn’t take to the woods.”

“More than likely he was born in captivity and didn’t know what liberty meant,” came from Joe Nelson. “I knew some folks who had a tame canary. For an experiment they took the bird to the woods and opened the cage wide. Close by the cage was a brook, and by the side of this they put the canary’s bath tub full of water. Would you believe it, the canary always came back to his cage to roost, and instead of dipping himself in the brook, took his bath in his old tub!”

“Which showed what habit would do,” said another pupil. “He didn’t know anything different.”

The boys were soon in the stage, and Pepper took his seat on the rear step, the stage itself being crowded.

“Don’t fall off, Master Ditmore,” said George Strong.

“No fear, you can’t lose me so easily,” replied the fun-loving youth, and said this so merrily that everybody had to laugh.

The stage was going along at a good gait when Pepper happened to look under the turnout and saw a sight that made him open his mouth wide in astonishment. There, on the bar running from the front to the back axle, sat a little monkey, gazing around in wonder, with his face screwed up into a curious pucker.

“Well, I declare!” murmured Pepper to himself. “Have you been hiding there ever since we left the circus grounds?”

As soon as the monkey saw that he was discovered, he gave a little squeak, and hopped a few inches away. Then he looked at Pepper in added curiosity, as much as to say: “What do you want to do with me?”

“You’re a cute little chap,” thought the cadet. And then of a sudden he broke into a grin. What fun might be had if he could capture that monkey!