The Rover Boys at Big Horn Ranch: or, The Cowboys' Double Round-Up

“They said he had gone to the city,” answered Fred. “But I don’t know what they mean by that. They may mean Boston, or New York, or some smaller place.”

“The radiator is growing stone cold,” declared Gif, who had his hands on it.

“What’ll you bet old Duke didn’t turn the heat off?” broke in Andy quickly. “It would be just like him to do it.”

“I guess about the only thing we can do is to go to bed,” announced Jack.

“Well, you had better do it with your uniform on, then,” said Spouter. “Because I’m not going to bed with the windows closed, and it’s going to be beautifully cold by and by.”

All of the cadets had been accustomed to sleeping with the windows of their bedrooms open. But they had also been accustomed to plenty of bed clothing, and knew they would probably suffer with the scant quantity of quilts now provided.

However, they had to make the best of it, and in the end did little else but take off their shoes and coats and then wrap themselves in the blankets as best they could. Of course, there was some horseplay in which even Phil Franklin indulged. But on the whole the cadets kept rather quiet, for they did not want to make matters worse than they were.

“The last time Randy and I were home our dad laid down the law good and plenty,” announced Andy. “So we’ve got to do something towards toeing the mark.”

“I’m afraid Brassy Bangs and a lot of the other fellows will have the laugh on us for this,” remarked Fred, as he turned in.

“Oh, well, you can’t have fun without paying the piper once in a while,” was Jack’s comment.

It grew colder during the night, and on rising to cut off some of the air that was blowing over him, Fred noticed that it had begun to snow. The fine hard particles were drifting into the room, and he called the attention of some of the others to this.

“I don’t care. Let it snow in if it wants to,” grumbled Randy sleepily.

But some of the others demurred to this, and presently one of the windows was closed entirely and the others left open only a few inches.

“Gee, talk about Greenland’s icy mountains!” exclaimed Gif, on arising a little after seven o’clock. “Some coldness, if you ask me!”

“You said it!” declared Jack, as he got up and walked across the floor to where the radiator was located. “Cold as ice!” he announced.

“Did you leave it turned on?” questioned Randy quickly.

“I certainly did.”

“Then old Duke must intend to freeze us out!” exclaimed Fred. “What do you know about that!”

“I know it’s a mean piece of business,” answered Andy. “Gee! why, we might all catch our death of cold.”

Having washed themselves, the cadets lost no time in donning the clothing they had taken off on retiring. Then they continued to walk around the narrow room in order to keep their blood in circulation. It was now about eight o’clock, and they wondered if they would get any breakfast.

“A hot cup of cocoa or coffee wouldn’t go bad,” remarked Spouter. “Not to say anything about ham and eggs, hot muffins, or a few other things on the side.”

“Yum, yum! don’t mention them,” groaned Andy. “I feel hollow clean down to my shoes. I didn’t have any too much supper, and I was depending on having a few crackers I had in my closet.”

“And I left an apple on my bureau,” declared Phil.

“And I had two doughnuts stored away to take to bed with me,” came from Fred.

The boys heard the cadets below assembling for roll call and the short morning parade, and then heard them march into the mess room of the Hall for breakfast.

“My! but I wish I was downstairs right now,” declared Randy. “I wouldn’t do a thing to that breakfast table!”

“Maybe they’ll bring our breakfast to us,” suggested Jack.

“If they do you can bet there won’t be any too much of it – if old Duke has anything to do with it,” returned Gif grimly.

CHAPTER V

BY THE FISHING-POLE ROUTE

Another half hour went by, and the boys confined in the room on the third floor of the school building became more and more impatient.

“Perhaps they won’t give us any breakfast at all,” said Phil Franklin presently.

“If they don’t there’ll be war,” declared Andy. “I won’t stand for being starved.”

“None of us will stand for that,” put in Gif grimly. “But I don’t believe Duke will dare do it. You must remember he will have all the other teachers to contend with. They have the same rights here as he has.”

“Yes, but Professor Grawson turned this affair over to Duke,” was Fred’s comment.

“That was because old Duke was the only one to really suffer through what we did,” answered Jack.

Another fifteen minutes passed, and then those in the room heard footsteps outside. The door was unlocked and Professor Duke appeared, followed by Pud Hicks and Bob Nixon and two of the mess-room waiters.

“Well, did you behave yourselves during the night?” demanded the teacher, as he glanced sharply from one to another of the cadets, all of whom eyed him curiously.

“We did, sir,” answered Phil, who was nearest to the door.

Leaving those who had accompanied him at the door so that none of the cadets present might escape, Snopper Duke strode into the room and looked around suspiciously, even going so far as to glance into the bathroom and the clothing closet. As was the custom during the school term, the cadets had put the beds and the cots in order, and also arranged the chairs and other furniture.

“Professor Duke, I’d like to ask something. Do you know we have no heat in here?” questioned Jack.

“Growing boys like you don’t need too much heat – it makes them lazy,” responded the teacher tartly. “You will be warm enough after you have had your breakfast.”

“Can we go downstairs now and get it?” asked Andy quickly.

“No. You are to have it up here. I have had it brought up for you,” was the answer. And then Professor Duke motioned for the two waiters to come in.

They carried two trays covered with napkins, and these they deposited on the table.

“Has Colonel Colby come back yet?” questioned Spouter.

“You will know quickly enough when he comes,” was the teacher’s reply. And then he motioned the waiters out of the room.

“Professor, do you think – ” began Bob Nixon. But the teacher caught the Hall chauffeur by the arm and pushed him out into the hallway.

“Never mind now, Nixon,” he broke in hastily. “We’ll talk matters over downstairs.” And thereupon he closed and locked the door once again, and the cadets heard him and all of the others go below.

“What do you suppose he brought Hicks and Nixon up here for?” questioned Randy, when they were left alone.