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

“I don’t know, unless he thought we might try to break out, and if so he would have them along to stop us,” answered Jack.

“Maybe he thought the cold and waiting for breakfast would make us desperate,” suggested Gif. “However, now they’ve gone, let’s see what they have brought us to eat.”

Eagerly the seven cadets whipped away the napkins that covered the two trays. They gave one look, and then a cry of disappointment arose.

“What do you know about this!”

“Isn’t this the limit!”

“Black coffee and bread without butter!”

“And mush with nothing but a little molasses on it!”

“And no sugar in the coffee, either!”

“Talk about your prison fare!” groaned Andy. “I think this takes the cake!”

“You mention cake and I’ll murder you!” burst out Fred. “Why don’t you speak of ham and eggs, lamb chops, fried potatoes, coffee cake with raisins in it, and things like that while you’re at it?”

“Wow! Fred for the water faucet!” exclaimed Jack, and got his cousin by the arm and made as if to run him into the bathroom.

“Hold up! I’ll be good!” pleaded the youngest Rover. “But, say! doesn’t looking at these two trays make you weary in the bones?”

“Well, anyway, the coffee is hot,” declared Spouter, as he tasted it. “And we might as well drink it before it gets cold. It will help to warm us up.”

Thereupon the seven cadets fell to eating, and soon every particle of the scanty breakfast furnished to them had disappeared. They grumbled, however, as they ate, and continued to grumble after the repast was finished.

“I’m quite sure Colonel Colby wouldn’t treat us like this,” declared Gif.

“He certainly did much better by Fred and me when we were placed in the guardroom,” declared Jack. “We got as good a meal as we ever had served to us in the mess hall.”

“It’s nothing short of a crime not to turn the heat on,” said Fred, who was examining the radiator again. “Just as cold as ever.”

“Listen!” cried Randy suddenly.

All did so, and heard a faint knocking on the door.

“Who is that?” questioned Jack, moving to the portal.

“Is that you, Jack?” came in Fatty Hendry’s voice. The stout youth was whispering through the keyhole.

“Yes, Fatty. What brought you up here?”

“I got wind that you fellows were being fed scanty rations,” answered Fatty. “How about it?”

“It’s true, all right enough.”

“Well, Dan Soppinger, Walt Baxter and myself got our heads together and we managed to make up a bundle of food for you. Just watch the window on your right,” continued the stout youth, and then tiptoed away.

Wondering what their friends intended to do, the seven cadets crowded to the window in question and opened it wide. It was still snowing, and through the thickly-flying flakes they presently saw the end of a fishing pole on which was tied a bundle done up in a pillow case.

“Hurrah! Our friends are on the job,” cried Fred delightedly, as the bundle was slipped from the end of the fishing pole and hauled into the room. Then he looked out of the window and saw at a little distance the face of Dan Soppinger at another window.

“Got it all right, did you?” demanded Dan, as he hauled in the fishing pole.

“We sure did, Dan; and much obliged to you.”

“Has Colonel Colby come back yet?” questioned Jack, looking over his cousin’s shoulder.

“No. And there is no telling when he’ll come back,” answered Dan. “He sent word that his business might keep him away for several days.” Then Dan spoke to some one behind him, and continued in a low voice, “I’ve got to go now, or they’ll catch us. Good-bye.”

The imprisoned cadets closed the window again and then placed the bundle on the table and opened it. They found it contained a rather jumbled collection of buttered bread, cheese, the knuckle of a boiled ham, a small glass full of jelly, a square of pound cake, three bananas, a couple of oranges, several apples, a small bag of lump sugar, and a can of condensed milk.

“Some collection, all right enough,” declared Spouter, as they surveyed it. “I guess they grabbed up anything they could lay their hands on.”

“They must have heard we had black coffee without sugar,” put in Fred. “Too bad we were in such a hurry. We might have feasted in great shape off of this collection.”

“Never mind. The sugar and condensed milk may come in handy later,” answered Jack.

The boys divided some of the fruit, and then made themselves a few sandwiches, and with this topped off the scanty breakfast they had previously consumed. They placed the rest of the things on the top shelf of the closet and folded up the pillow case carefully.

“We’ll have to send that back the first chance we get,” declared Fred. “Otherwise some cadet is going to catch it when his room is inspected.”

With nothing to do, the cadets found the time drag heavily. They looked around the room for some reading matter, but found nothing outside of some newspapers which had been placed on the shelves of the closet. These were old sheets, and contained nothing which they cared to peruse.

“Hurrah! we’re going to have some heat, anyhow,” cried Randy, about eleven o’clock. “Hear the radiator cracking?”

He was right, and soon the radiator became moderately warm. This did not, of course, warm the room very thoroughly, but it took the chill off and made it more comfortable than it had been.

“I’ll bet a cooky that some of the others made old Duke turn the heat on,” declared Gif.

“Either that or else some of our chums turned it on when he wasn’t watching,” answered Jack. Some time later they found out that Bob Nixon had turned on the heat unbeknown to Snopper Duke. It was also learned that Professor Grawson and Professor Brice knew nothing about the heat having been turned off.

About half-past twelve Snopper Duke appeared again, this time with one of the under teachers and two of the waiters. The under teacher had his arms full of books.

“I have had some of your text books brought up here,” explained Professor Duke. “There is no sense in your wasting your time here doing nothing. I want you to study the same as if you were attending your classes. I have also had your dinner brought up.”

“Do you expect us to study in a cold room?” questioned Jack. He had thrown one of the small bed covers over the radiator and added a book or two so that the teacher might not notice that it was warm.

“I’ll not discuss that point with you, Rover,” was Snopper Duke’s sharp reply. “You can eat your dinner, and then go at your studies.” And thereupon he directed the two waiters to deposit the fresh trays on the table and take the old ones away. Then the seven cadets were locked up as before.

In comparison, the dinner was just as scanty as the breakfast had been. For each pupil there was a small boiled potato, almost cold, a few lima beans, a small slice of roast beef, and one slice of unbuttered bread. There were also several paper drinking cups, to indicate that the cadets might drink all the water they cared to draw from the faucet in the bathroom.

“Regular miser’s lunch,” was Andy’s comment, as he surveyed it.

“Exactly!” answered Fred. And then he added dryly: “What are we going to use that sugar and condensed milk on?”

“Oh, the condensed milk will go fine on the bread,” put in Spouter. “I used to like condensed milk sandwiches.”