The Putnam Hall Rebellion

“I would like to ask one question,” put in Frank Barringer. “Did Captain Putnam authorize anybody to cut down our food?”

“He authorized Mr. Crabtree and myself to manage the school,” snapped Pluxton Cuddle.

“That isn’t answering the question,” said Jack. “Did the captain say anything at all about the food?”

“I am not on the witness stand,” snarled Cuddle.

“We intend to manage this institution as we deem best,” said Josiah Crabtree. “I command every student present to put down the dish he is holding.”

“Then make those men retire and put down the whips,” cried Andy.

“Yes! yes!” was the cry. “Take the men and the whips away!”

Again the tumult arose, and in the midst of the uproar a plate whizzed through the air and struck Pluxton Cuddle on the shoulder, causing him to utter a cry of pain and alarm. Then a saucer landed on Josiah Crabtree’s bosom.

When the first plate was thrown the men with the whips sprang forward, and in a twinkling half a dozen cadets felt the keen lashes. But then came more dishes, and one man was hit on the nose and another on the hand.

“Hi! we can’t stand this!” called one of the men. “We’ll be killed! Come on!” And dodging a sugar bowl, he ran out of a side door, and the other men, including the gymnasium instructor, followed him. Then, shaking his fist at the students, Josiah Crabtree backed out also, and Pluxton Cuddle followed.

“Hurrah! We have vanquished the enemy!” cried Andy.

“Boys, stop that plate throwing!” called out Jack. And then gradually the excitement died down. Only the cadets and the waiters were left in the mess room. The waiters were so scared and perplexed they did not know what to do.

“Let us have some more eating,” exclaimed Stuffer. “We may not get another chance like this in a hurry.” And he gave a waiter an order to fill. Then came more orders, and the waiters went off, grinning from ear to ear, for at heart they sided with the students.

While waiting for more food the cadets talked the situation over from every possible point of view. Many condemned the plate throwing, which had been started by Ritter and Coulter. Yet all were glad that the men with horsewhips had been routed. What to do next was a question nobody was able to answer.

“I know one thing we ought to do,” said Jack. “Telegraph to Captain Putnam to come back at once.”

“That’s it!” cried Dale. “Do it before old Crabtree sends a message. That will show the captain we are not afraid to leave the case to him.”

“We’ll have to get his address first,” said Henry Lee.

“I have it,” answered Frank Barringer, “and I’ll send him a telegram to-night. But I don’t think he’ll be able to get back here inside of several days.”

CHAPTER XVI

PRISONERS IN THE DORMITORIES

“Well, one thing is certain,” observed Pepper, as he and half a dozen others left the mess hall. “We are getting into this thing deeper and deeper. I wonder how it is going to end?”

“I doubt if it ends before Captain Putnam gets back,” answered Jack. “Crabtree is just headstrong enough to attempt something even worse than getting men with whips. Maybe he’ll have all of us locked up.”

“Will you stand for being arrested, Jack?” asked Andy.

“No.”

“Old Crabtree is a fool!” burst out Henry Lee. “I’d give half my spending money to ship him to – to Africa or the North Pole.”

“Say, I’ve got an idea!” burst out Stuffer. “Why not send him a bogus telegram, saying his grandfather or second cousin is dying of brainstorm, or something like that, and ask him to come right on? That might take him away until the captain got back.”

“We might try that,” mused Jack. “But let us see first what happens to-morrow. Maybe by morning Crabtree and Cuddle will cool off – and perhaps the fellows will cool off too.”

What had become of the teachers and the strange men none of the cadets knew, and the absence of all made the boys worry somewhat, although they tried not to show it. They wondered if the teachers had really gone off to summon more help, or make a formal complaint to the authorities. There was very little playing or studying done that evening.

“Might as well go to bed,” said Pepper, when the usual time for retiring was at hand. “I must say, I am dead tired. Such strenuous times are too much for me.”

One by one the cadets went to their various dormitories. A few were inclined to “cut up,” but Jack soon stopped this in every room but that occupied by Reff Ritter and his cronies.

“I want you to be on your good behavior,” said the young major. “Remember, when Captain Putnam gets back I am going to give him a full and true report of what happened.”

“Don’t you dare to say anything to him about inkwells and plates,” growled Ritter. “If you do you’ll get into trouble.”

“I expect every student to confess to just what was done,” answered Jack.

By ten o’clock the majority of the cadets went to bed, and an hour later the Hall was wrapped in stillness. Then, from the barn, there came a number of strange men, Josiah Crabtree and Pluxton Cuddle.

“Now make no noise,” cautioned Crabtree. “If you do some of them may wake up and make trouble.”

“We understand,” answered one of the strange men, who appeared to be something of a leader. Then the whole party entered the school building by a back door, and went about carrying out a plan they had arranged.

“Hello!” cried Pepper, as he woke up in the morning and looked at his watch. “Half-past seven! I didn’t hear any bell.”

“Neither did I,” came from Andy, who sat up at the same time. “I fancy it didn’t ring.”

“Everything is going wrong in this school,” put in the young major, as he slipped out of bed and commenced to dress.

“Maybe old Crabtree and Pluxton Cuddle, Esquire, have given it up,” suggested Pepper, as he rubbed his eyes and yawned.

Jack was the first to be dressed and Andy quickly followed.

“Let us take a look around and see how the land lays,” suggested the young major.

“I’m with you,” responded the acrobatic youth promptly.

“Beware of traps!” sang out Pepper. “Crabtree may be waiting for you with a club.”

“Or a shotgun,” added Dale, with a grin.

Jack walked to the door and turned the knob. To his surprise the door refused to open. He tried to shake it, but it remained firm.

“What’s the matter?” cried Pepper.

“The door is locked.”

“Locked?”

“Yes.” Jack stooped down and looked into the keyhole. “The key is on the outside,” he added.