Edward Stratemeyer - The Putnam Hall Rivals

“I don’t see why,” said Paxton. “I’ve smoked ever since I was eight years old.” And his pinched face showed it.

“I love these imported Egyptian cigarettes,” went on Reff Ritter. “I get the genuine, you know.”

“I’ve got a treat for all hands,” said Dan Baxter, after a pause. He brought forth a big bottle from his overcoat.

“What is that?” asked Mumps.

“Wine – I bought it down at Cedarville.”

“Just the stuff!” exclaimed Ritter. “I’m with you on wine. I got used to drinking it when I was over in Europe. You know they serve it regularly for dinner at all the hotels.”

The bottle of wine was passed around, and all of the boys assembled drank a portion. Mumps wanted to decline, but did not dare.

“Don’t be afraid of it, Mumpsy, old boy,” said Baxter to his toady. “Drink it, it will make a man of you.”

The boys continued to smoke and drink for the best part of half an hour. Then they heard a peculiar noise outside.

“Hi, somebody is coming!” cried Paxton, in alarm. “Put out the light!”

The lantern that hung on a nail was extinguished and the boys listened. They heard somebody moving around in the dark. Then all became silent.

“I – I don’t like this,” said Mumps, in a trembling voice. “I think somebody was spying on us!”

“We had better get back to the school,” said Baxter, and this advice was followed without delay. They saw somebody running across the campus, but could not make out who the person was.

During the time the Baxter crowd had been smoking and drinking they had talked over many matters, and particularly their troubles with Pepper, Jack, and Andy Snow. The bully of the Hall wanted to get even with Pepper for the trouble on the ice, and Reff Ritter was willing to do almost anything to “put a spoke in Andy Snow’s wheel,” as he expressed it.

The upshot of the talk was that the crowd determined to play some tricks on our friends, and do it that very night.

“I know something brand-new,” said Coulter, and told his cronies of it.

“That’s the talk – if we can work it,” said Baxter. “And we’ll do something else, too,” he added.

Gus Coulter’s idea was to get some snow and stuff it into the pillows of the other boys. The heat of the boys’ heads would gradually melt the snow and leave the lads in beds that were soaking wet.

As luck would have it, Dan Baxter and his party found the dormitory occupied by Jack and the others empty when they went upstairs. They quickly got out the bed pillows, and from the roof of an addition to the academy procured the necessary snow, which they stuffed into the pillow-cases, next to the feathers. Then they got a number of icicles and put several at the foot of each bed, under the blankets, and in such manner that the boys’ feet would come up against them.

“And now for a finishing touch,” said Ritter, and placed a big chunk of snow on the upper edge of the dormitory door, leaving the door slightly open. Then the boys hid away to watch proceedings.

It was not long after this that Jack and his friends came upstairs to go to bed. They did not, however, go straight to their dormitory, but stopped to talk to some other cadets at the end of the hall.

“I wish they would go in their room,” whispered Paxton, from a corner. “I am getting tired of waiting.”

“Say, here comes old Crabtree,” put in Mumps.

“Yes, and he’s going toward their room!” cried Gus Coulter, in surprise.

He spoke the truth, and an instant later Josiah Crabtree pushed upon the dormitory door. Down came the big chunk of snow on the teacher, sending him flat to the floor.

“Hi! hi! What’s this?” spluttered Josiah Crabtree. “Who is – er – who covered me with snow?”

He turned over and got to his feet. His shoulders were full of snow and some snow had gone down inside his collar, causing him to shiver with cold.

The noise attracted the attention of all the cadets in the vicinity, and soon they gathered around the teacher.

“What’s the matter?”

“Old Crabtree is taking a snow bath for his health.”

“Where did all that snow come from?”

“Major Ruddy, can you explain this?” demanded the assistant teacher, turning angrily to Jack.

“No, sir, I cannot,” was the answer.

“I was going to enter this dormitory when down came this snow, almost burying me alive!”

“I am sorry, Mr. Crabtree.”

“It is outrageous – villainous! Somebody is responsible!”

“I am not. I know nothing about the snow.”

“I guess it was put there for our benefit,” put in Pepper. “We were about to enter the room when you came along.”

“Humph! A silly trick.”

“How did you happen to catch it, Mr. Crabtree?” asked Andy, curiously.

“I was going into the room to see if the windows were closed. There is a great draught through this hallway, as you can feel. Then you do not know who did this?” went on the instructor, gazing sharply at the assembled pupils.

All looked blankly at each other. Dan Baxter and his cronies took good care to keep in the background.

“Gather up the snow and throw it out of a window,” ordered Josiah Crabtree, and this was done, but not before several snowballs had been thrown, one catching Mumps in the neck and another landing on Reff Ritter’s left ear. Then the throwing was stopped, order was restored, and all of the cadets were told to retire.

“Somebody put up a job on us right enough,” observed Pepper, when he and his chums were in the dormitory and the door had been closed. “If old Crabtree hadn’t come along one of us would have gotten that dose.”

“I’ll wager that I know who is guilty,” came from Dale.

“Dan Baxter and his crowd?”

“Exactly. Didn’t you see how they hung back and how they grinned at us?”

“I saw it,” came from Andy. “That’s why I soaked Mumps with a snowball.”

“And I let Ritter have it in the ear,” said Pepper. “But I say, fellows, we want to be on our guard.”

“Do you think they played more jokes on us?” questioned Hogan. “Sure an’ it would be just like ’em to do it, so it would!” he added.

“It certainly won’t do any harm to look around,” suggested Jack. “It won’t take but a few minutes to do it.”

Pepper held up his hand.

“Wait!” he whispered, and sliding to the door, threw it open suddenly. Outside he found Ritter, Baxter, and Coulter. The trio were amazed at being thus suddenly confronted.

“I thought so!” cried Pepper, triumphantly.

“Oh, go to grass!” muttered the bully of the school, and walked away.

“We’ll fix you another time,” muttered Ritter.

“And do it well too,” added Coulter.

Pepper waited until he had seen the others enter their dormitory and then closed his own door again.

“I’ve found something!” cried Andy, and dove into his pillow-case. “Filled with snow!”

“Snow for Snow!” said Jack.

“That’s a cold pun,” observed Dale. “Just the same, here is snow in my pillow too. Say, we just got this in time. It would have melted before long and then our pillows would have been wringing wet.”

“Don’t say a word about snow,” said Emerald. “Just be after lookin’ at this now!” And he held up three icicles he had dislodged from his bed. “Ain’t they iligant foot-warmers though!”

Without delay the other boys looked into their beds, and soon all the icicles were disposed of, and the snow was likewise cleaned away. They then made another hunt around the dormitory, to make certain that nothing else was wrong.

“I guess we are safe now,” said Jack, at last. “But what a mess this would have made if we had not found it out in time!”