Edward Stratemeyer - The Putnam Hall Cadets - or, Good Times in School and Out

“Now then for a rest and a swim,” cried Pepper.

“And then we’ll sample some of the good things Jack has provided,” added Stuffer, smacking his lips.

“Say, Stuffer, you could eat about all the time, couldn’t you?” queried Andy.

“No, not all the time – he must sleep,” put in Jack, and this brought forth a laugh.

“I caught myself eating once in my sleep,” said Stuffer. “I began to cough and woke up with a piece of pie in my hand. I had had the nightmare, gone down to the kitchen pantry, and helped myself. After that ma locked the pantry up and hid the key.” And at this tale there was another laugh.

After a short rest the boys went in bathing, placing their baskets in a secluded spot behind some bushes. Not far away was a small stream of water, and they did not know that in this one of the Hall rowboats was hidden, containing Baxter, Paxton, and Mumps, who had watched their arrival.

“Now is our chance!” cried Baxter, when all but two of the boys had gone in bathing. “Let us take their baskets and make off with them. We can go up the lake shore and have a dandy time on the good things!”

“Right you are,” put in Paxton. “And won’t Jack Ruddy and the others be mad!”

“Be careful, or they’ll spot you!” whispered Mumps, in a trembling tone.

“Oh, don’t get scared, Mumps,” said Baxter. “They can’t see us – the bushes are too thick.”

Leaving the rowboat, the party of three stole to the spot where the baskets were resting.

“Say but they are heavy,” remarked Paxton in a low voice.

“Hush!” came warningly from the bully, and then nothing further was said. Each took a basket, and started back for the rowboat as fast as he could carry the load.

Baxter and Paxton had just placed their baskets in the boat when there came a crash. Mumps, who was bringing up the rear, had slipped and let his basket fall, breaking a drinking glass and a bottle of ginger ale.

“Hi, there, what’s that?” came from Jack, who was standing in the water up to his waist. “Who’s breaking glass?”

“I’m not,” answered one of the cadets on shore. “It was – ”

“Hullo, there is Dan Baxter!” yelled Pepper. “He’s got one of our baskets!”

“They are running off with our things!” broke in Andy. “Hi, stop, Baxter! Stop, Paxton!”

“Go to grass!” roared the bully of Putnam Hall. He flung himself into the rowboat. “Quick, Paxton; quick, Mumps!”

Paxton leaped in, basket in hand. But Mumps, becoming frightened, let his load remain where it had fallen and scrambled in headlong. Then the oars were taken up and the craft shoved out into the stream.

“Stop them! Stop them!” came from Jack. “Don’t let them get away, boys!”

“Swim for the boat,” said another cadet. “Come on!”

“Baxter, stop your rowing!” called a cadet on shore. “Stop, or I’ll throw this!” And he held up a large and sharp stone.

“Ain’t going to stop!” muttered the bully. “Clear the track, you fellows!” And he shook his head at those in the water. “If you don’t get out of the way, I’ll run over you!” And then he began to pull with might and main, while Paxton did the same.

For the moment the declaration by the bully that he would run the boat into those in the water kept the swimmers back.

“Look out, fellows!” cried Stuffer, in alarm. “That boat has got a pretty sharp bow. If it hits you it will cut you deep!”

“I’m going to stop the boat anyway,” cried Jack, and continued to swim toward the craft.

As Jack did this, Andy measured his distance and suddenly dove out of sight. Andy was as good at swimming as he was at acrobatic feats, and he did not come up until he was close to the side of the rowboat. Then, before Baxter knew what was up, he had hold of one of the oars and jerked it out of the bully’s hand.

“Hi, give me back that oar!” cried Baxter, in alarm.

“Not much,” said Andy. And then, as Baxter tried to hit him with the other oar, he dove under the boat and gave it a sudden push that nearly upset the craft.

“Oh!” yelled Mumps, in alarm. “Don’t! We are going over! Help!”

By this time all of the crowd in the water were surrounding the rowboat, and Jack lost no time in pulling an oar from Paxton. Then he shoved the end of the blade against Dan Baxter, and in a twinkling the bully fell over against the gunwale. Here Pepper caught him by the arm, and over went Baxter into the water with a loud splash.

“Don’t throw me over!” screamed Mumps. “Don’t! I – I can’t hardly swim a stroke.”

“Do you surrender?” demanded Jack.

“Yes! Yes! Please don’t throw me over! I – I wasn’t going to do anything!”

“Paxton, do you surrender?” asked Jack.

“No, I don’t! I’m going – Hi! give me that oar!” For somebody had suddenly captured the other blade.

“If you don’t surrender we’ll cast you adrift without oars,” came from Pepper, with a wink at his companions.

“Yo – you won’t dare,” faltered Paxton.

“Won’t we? You’ll soon see.”

“Yes, cast him adrift,” was the cry.

“Send him away out into the lake!”

“No! No! I – I surrender!” said Paxton.

By this time Dan Baxter was walking ashore. His clothes – a new suit, elegantly pressed, – were, of course, soaked completely, and there was a streak of mud over one shoulder.

“I’ll make somebody pay for this!” he growled. “It will cost two dollars to have this suit fixed up again.”

“You brought it on yourself, Baxter,” said Jack.

“No, I didn’t!”

“Yes, you did. What right had you to try to run away with our baskets of things?”

“I – er – I wasn’t going to run off with ’em. I was just fooling.”

“I don’t believe you,” broke in Pepper.

Several surrounded the bully, so that he might not run away, and the rowboat with Paxton and Mumps was turned back to the point from where it had started.

“Let us make them prisoners,” suggested Andy. “They ought to be taught a lesson.”

“That’s the talk!” came the cry.

“I – I won’t stand it,” faltered Paxton.

“Then sit on it!” cried Pepper, and tripped the fellow up. While he and Stuffer made Paxton a prisoner, the others attended to Dan Baxter and Mumps. The prisoners had their hands tied behind them, and each had a foot tied to the root of a big tree, the boys using sections of boat rope for that purpose.

“Now let us finish our swim,” said Jack, and drew his crowd to one side.

“What shall we do with them?” whispered Pepper.

“We ought to duck Paxton and Mumps,” came the suggestion. “Baxter don’t need any more.”

“Let us keep them bound up,” said another. “They can look on while we are feasting.”

“That’s the talk!” cried Jack. “It will make their mouths water to look at us getting outside of the good things.”

“And let us pretend that we’re going to leave them tied up when we go away,” added Andy.

So it was arranged, and, this settled, the boys continued their swim and then dressed at their leisure.

“See here, ain’t you going to let us go?” asked Dan Baxter, after a long spell of silence.

“Of course not,” answered Jack. “We’ve decided to let you stay here until Sunday night.”

“Sunday night!” cried Mumps, in alarm. “I don’t want to stay here all night and all day tomorrow!”

“Don’t get afraid, Mumpsy dear,” came from Pepper. “There are not very many bears around these parts now.”

“Oh! one bear is enough!” And the sneak shivered.

“I’m not going to stay here until Sunday night,” came from Paxton.