THE BOATHOUSE FIRE
On the following evening Pepper was getting ready to go to bed when, on
passing through the hallway, a folded sheet of paper dropped upon his
head:
“Hullo, what’s this?” he murmured and looked up to the floor above, but
could see nobody. He unfolded the sheet and read the following:
“_To Pepper Ditmore and Jack Ruddy_: Go down to the old, disused
boathouse at once if you want to hear something to your advantage.
“A Friend.”
“This is certainly queer,” said the Imp to himself. “I wonder who wrote
it?”
He sought out the young major and showed him the communication. Jack
read it with care. It was written in a loose and evidently a disguised
hand.
“Maybe it is some sort of a trick—to get us to the old boathouse, Pep,”
said Jack, after a moment’s thought.
“Don’t you think it best to go?”
“Oh, yes, we can go. If it is one of Baxter’s tricks I’ll show him I am
not afraid of him.”
“Shall we take the others along?”
“This note is for you and me only. Are you afraid?”
“Not a bit.”
“Then come on—we have just time enough,” said the young major, glancing
at a clock on the wall.
Slipping on their overcoats and donning their caps, they ran to a side
door of the building. They were soon out into the night without anybody
seeing them depart but the boy upstairs who had dropped the note. He
chuckled to himself and then ran to a window at the end of the long
hallway.
“Something will be doing pretty soon now,” he said to himself, as he
made a signal from the window.
All unconscious of the trap that had been set for them, Jack and Pepper
hurried towards the old, disused boathouse. It was a dark night, with a
suggestion of either rain or snow in the air.
“Go slow,” whispered Jack, as they came close to the building. “We don’t
want to run into any trouble.”
They soon found themselves at the side of the building. All was dark, so
far as they could see.
“I don’t see anybody,” whispered Pepper.
“Let us go inside—just to show somebody that we are not afraid,”
suggested his chum.
They pushed open the door. A strong smell of cigarette smoke greeted
them. Then Pepper stepped on an empty bottle and almost fell flat.
“That smoking and drinking crowd has been here again,” said the
fun-loving youth.
“Look! look!” ejaculated Jack, pointing to a corner of the boathouse.
Pepper gazed in the direction and gave a gasp. And well he might, for as
if by magic there came a spurt of flame, and some dead leaves and dry
wood caught on the instant.
“Hi! what does that mean?” called out Jack. “Take care, or you’ll set
this place on fire!”
No answer came back. The spurts of flame increased, and in a twinkling
the old boathouse was on fire in half a dozen places!
“Jack, we must get out of here!” exclaimed Pepper. “I don’t like this at
all!”
“Neither do I. Come on!”
They turned, to find the door shut behind them. They tried it.
“Something is against it!” ejaculated the young major. “We are shut in!”
“Push!” was the answer, and both pushed with all of their might. The
door gave way some, but not enough.
“Again!” said Jack, and now they shoved as never before. In the meantime
the flames were increasing with marvelous rapidity.
“We must get out, or we’ll be burnt up!” said Pepper, and a final attack
was made on the door, and it went back, showing that a heavy timber had
been placed against it.
“They are out!” they heard somebody cry, and then they saw three forms
sneaking around to the back of the school building.
“Fire! fire! fire!” was the cry from Putnam Hall, and from the school
poured some students and several teachers, including George Strong.
“It’s the old boathouse,” said George Strong. “I wonder how it caught?”
“Ha! here come Ruddy and Ditmore!” exclaimed Josiah Crabtree. “They have
been down there!”
“Fire! fire!” yelled Pepper and Jack. “The old boathouse is burning up!”
The alarm was soon a general one, and it was not long before Captain
Putnam appeared upon the scene.
“I am afraid the old building is doomed,” said the master of Putnam
Hall. He was the calmest man present. “The Hall hose will not reach to
this spot. We can try our buckets, though.”
Some weeks before the boys had formed a bucket brigade, as it is termed,
and they had the drill down to perfection. At the word from Captain
Putnam they ran for their buckets and formed a line from the barn to the
burning building. At the barn there was a big tub of water, and this was
kept filled by some, while others passed along the buckets. Thus an
almost steady stream of water was poured on the growing fire.
“I say, let us use snowballs!” cried one cadet, who was not in the
bucket line, and in a twinkling the snowballs began to fly.
“We are going to get the best of that fire yet,” said Dale, passing the
buckets to George Strong, who was throwing the water on the
conflagration.
“It looks so,” answered the teacher.
It soon began to snow. The flakes were thick and wet, and this put an
additional damper on the fire. Presently the flames died down and ten
minutes later the last spark was extinguished; and the excitement came
practically to an end.
Everybody wanted to know how the fire had started. It soon became noised
around that Jack and Pepper had been seen coming from the burning
building.
“What have you to say to this, Major Ruddy?” asked Captain Putnam, in
rather a stern voice.
Jack knew not what to say. He looked at Pepper.
“Come, answer me,” went on the master of the academy.
“We—er—we went out to see if we could find some other boys,” said Jack.
“We got a note,” put in Pepper. He placed his hand in his pocket and
drew out the folded sheet of paper. “We—well, I declare!”
“What is it, Ditmore?”
Pepper did not answer, for he was staring at the sheet. It was almost
blank, only a few traces of letters remaining on it!
“Ditmore, answer me!” came from Captain Putnam, and now his voice was
more stern than ever.
“Why, I—er—look at that!” and he held out the sheet.
The captain glanced at the paper.
“I see nothing but paper.”
“Yes, but it—er—it had something written on it awhile ago,” stammered
Pepper.
“Maybe you’ve got the wrong paper,” suggested Jack.
“I don’t think so.” The Imp began to search his pockets. “No, this is
the right one.”
“Then it was written in evaporating ink,” said the young major. “It’s a
trick,” he murmured to his chum.
“Faded out, and so soon,” murmured Pepper. “That stumps me!”
“Why do not you two boys explain?” went on Captain Putnam.
“I do not believe they can explain,” put in Josiah Crabtree, who stood
near. “They have been up to mischief. More than likely they set the
boathouse on fire.”
“It isn’t so!” cried Jack.
“We didn’t even have a light.”
“Mr. Crabtree, let the boys explain,” said the captain, stiffly.
“Captain Putnam, I think I can explain,” retorted the teacher. “To-day I
made a discovery.”
“Well?”
“Some of the students have been in the habit of going down to the old
boathouse to smoke and to drink.”
“To smoke and to drink!” cried the master of the Hall, “You are sure of
this?”
“I am, sir.”
“Why did you not report to me at once?”
“I did not find it out until this afternoon. I was on my way to speak to
you about it when the alarm of fire rang out.”
“Ahem! And you think, Mr. Crabtree——?” The captain paused suggestively.
“I think Ruddy and Ditmore are guilty. They were smoking and they set
the building on fire, perhaps by accident.”
“Mr. Crabtree, there isn’t a word of truth in that!” cried Jack, his
temper rising.
“Ha! don’t contradict me!” cried Josiah Crabtree.
“But we shall contradict you,” said Pepper. “We have not been smoking,
neither have we been drinking.”
“But you were down to the old boathouse,” put in Captain Putnam.
“We admit that,” said Jack. “We went down there for a certain purpose.”
“What was that purpose?”
“I can’t tell you, exactly.”
“We were looking for some other students,” said Pepper. “Some fellows
who are enemies of ours.”
“Did you find them?”
“No.”
“Was the building on fire when you got there?”
“We didn’t see any fire.”
“Hum!” The master of the Hall mused for a moment. “How did the fire
start?”
“It sprang up all at once,” said Pepper. “We got scared and started to
run away. Then we found the door closed, and we had a big job getting
out of the place.”
“That is a fine story to tell,” sneered Josiah Crabtree. “Captain
Putnam, if I were you, I’d place them in a room by themselves, while we
make an investigation.”
“But, Mr. Crabtree——”
“I am certain we shall learn a good deal,” went on the assistant
teacher. And then he whispered something into the ear of the master of
the Hall.
“If you think best,” said Captain Putnam. “Come with me, boys,” he
added, to Jack and Pepper, and led the way to the school, and then to
his private office.
“Captain Putnam——” began Jack.
“I will listen to what you have to say later, Major Ruddy,” said the
master of the Hall. “For the present both of you must remain here.”
Then Captain Putnam walked out, locking the door after him, and leaving
Jack and Pepper in a decidedly unsettled state of mind.