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

“Whose monkey is it?”

“He must have come over from the circus,” said Jack. “They said a lot of them had gotten away.”

“I’ll sue the circus proprietor for this!” howled Josiah Crabtree. “It’s an outrage on the public. Oh, my poor head!” And he ran back into his room, banging the door behind him.

“Has the monkey gone?” asked Captain Putnam.

“Went through the window,” answered Joe Nelson.

They looked out of the window, but could see nothing of the animal. Then some went below, but the monkey had disappeared. He was captured in the morning and returned to the circus by Snuggers.

“Young gentlemen, you may retire,” said Captain Putnam, and one after another the cadets did so. Safe in Dormitory No. 4, Pepper told his whole story, and the boys had a laugh that lasted for a long time.

“Old Crabtree won’t get over that right away,” said Andy. “What a sight he did cut, with Mr. Monk on his shoulder pulling his hair!”

“Mum’s the word about this,” came from Pepper. “If he found me out he’d be mad enough to chew my head off.”

“Well, we are not telling on you,” came from one of the others. “We are glad you fixed old Crabtree. He deserves it.”

CHAPTER XIV

ALL ABOUT A TIGER

“Oh, it’s awful, gents, really it is! As soon as I heard the news, it made my knees shake like they was made o’ jelly! Whatever are we goin’ to do, with sech a wild animal as thet roamin’ the roads, I’d like to know?”

It was Peleg Snuggers who was speaking. He had just returned from an early morning trip to Cedarville with the monkey, and was addressing a little knot of cadets standing just outside of the parade ground.

“Better git in the school,” he went on. “It won’t be safe to go outdoor no more. Ain’t it awful, though?” And he shook his head solemnly.

“What is the trouble, Snuggers?” questioned Captain Putnam, who chanced to come up and saw how disturbed his hired man was.

“It’s about thet tagger as was at the circus, sir,” said Snuggers. “Somehow or other, he broke loose last night – knocked some o’ the bars out o’ his cage. An’ they ain’t found him yet.”

“A tiger broke loose?” queried the captain, and now he was intensely interested. “Who told you of this?”

“Mr. Chase, sir – an’ some circus folks. Cedarville is wild with excitement, an’ none o’ the folks dare to go outdoors. They say he’s a powerful tagger an’ mighty ugly.”

“He certainly was a big tiger,” said Jack, who was in the crowd. “I shouldn’t want to fall in with him.”

“Maybe he is coming this way,” suggested one of the smaller students, looking around nervously.

“Excuse me from meeting a tiger,” said Mumps, and without another word he walked into the Hall and to his classroom.

The news spread with the rapidity of lightning, and to be on the safe side, Captain Putnam ordered all of the boys into the school and had all the lower windows and doors closed.

“This is certainly exciting enough,” said Joe Nelson. “Supposing the tiger takes it into his head to camp out around here? None of us will want to go out any more.”

“Oh, they are bound to either catch him or shoot him, sooner or later,” answered Jack. “But just the same, I don’t want to run afoul of that beast. He looked strong enough to kill half a dozen of us.”

The excitement was intense, and nobody dared to venture far from the Hall. The cadets kept a constant watch; but nothing came of it.

“They must have news of the beast by this time,” said Captain Putnam on the following morning. “I’ll drive down to Cedarville and find out.”

“Oh, dear captain don’t do that!” shrieked Mrs. Green, the housekeeper. “If you meet him he’ll eat you up!”

“I’ll risk that,” returned the master of the Hall, grimly. “I’ll take my rifle with me, and also my seven-shooter. If I see the tiger I’ll try to give him a warm reception.”

“You – you – er – don’t want me to drive you, do you?” asked Peleg Snuggers, in a trembling voice. “I – er – I ain’t well this morning. I had a – er – a dreadful backache all night, an’ a headache, an’ – ”

“You won’t have to drive, Snuggers. I’ll take the buggy and drive myself.”

“It’s flyin’ in the face of Providence,” came from Mrs. Green. “Better wait a day or two longer.”

“No, I’m going now. Hitch up Black Bess, Snuggers. She is a steady mare, and won’t run away even if the tiger does show himself.”

The mare was hooked to the buggy, and Captain Putnam looked carefully to his rifle and his old army revolver. The excitement of the occasion was just to his liking. It put him in mind of his days in the wild west, and he half wished the escaped tiger would show itself so that he might get a shot.

“The captain certainly has grit,” remarked Jack, as the master of the Hall drove away.

“I shouldn’t mind going with him,” came from Dale. “I like hunting.”

“Well, this isn’t ordinary hunting,” put in Andy. “It’s the wildest kind of game to bring down.”

As soon as the captain was out of sight all began to wait anxiously for his return. The cadets could scarcely settle themselves to their studies, and more than one failed utterly in his lessons.

“This is wretched!” cried Josiah Crabtree, wrathfully. “I shall keep all of you in after regular hours!” He had not gotten over his adventure with the monkey, and was feeling more sour than ever.

“We can’t forget the tiger,” said Andy.

“The tiger is not here,” snapped the crabbed teacher. “Attend to your lessons.”

“Oh, what a teacher!” murmured Jack.

“I’ll fix him,” whispered Pepper. “Wait till he passes that open window again.”

A moment later Josiah Crabtree walked by the window in question. His back was toward it, and on the instant Pepper arose and pointed at the opening.

“Hi! Is that the tiger?” he cried, shrilly.

At the words Josiah Crabtree sprang a foot into the air and dodged into a corner. All of the cadets leaped to their feet.

“Did – did you – see the tiger?” questioned the teacher, faintly.

“Where’s the tiger?” roared several boys.

“Must be trying to come into the window,” shouted Andy, catching the spirit of the joke.

“Ke – ke – keep him ou – ou – out!” spluttered Josiah Crabtree. “Do – don’t let him get in here!”