“DOWN WENT THE MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTION.”
_The Putnam Hall Rebellion._ _Frontispiece._ (_Page 157._)
THE PUTNAM HALL
REBELLION
_Or, The Rival Runaways_
BY
ARTHUR M. WINFIELD
AUTHOR OF “THE PUTNAM HALL CADETS,” “THE PUTNAM HALL RIVALS,” “THE ROVER
BOYS SERIES,” ETC.
_ILLUSTRATED_
NEW YORK
GROSSET & DUNLAP
PUBLISHERS
Copyright, 1908, by
EDWARD STRATEMEYER.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER PAGE
I. Out on the Campus 1
II. Pepper Plays a Joke 11
III. At Target Practice 21
IV. The Blank Cartridges 32
V. A “Rough House” at Putnam Hall 41
VI. The New Teacher 51
VII. An Encounter on the Lake 60
VIII. Starching and Blueing 71
IX. What Happened at the Ice House 81
X. A Mix-up on the Road 91
XI. What Happened to Andy 101
XII. The Beginning of a Rebellion 111
XIII. Pluxton Cuddle’s Proposition 121
XIV. In Which the Storm Gathers 131
XV. Words and Blows 141
XVI. Prisoners in the Dormitories 151
XVII. Andy Snow’s Discovery 159
XVIII. On a Foraging Expedition 167
XIX. What Happened to Jack Ruddy 175
XX. The Escape from the Guardroom 183
XXI. How the Cadets Ran Away 191
XXII. Josiah Crabtree Is Worried 199
XXIII. A Discovery in the Woods 207
XXIV. The Rival Runaways 215
XXV. News of Interest 222
XXVI. After the Stolen Camp Outfit 229
XXVII. A Case of Tit for Tat 236
XXVIII. After the Tramps 243
XXIX. Something of a Confession 250
XXX. Back to School—Conclusion 262
INTRODUCTION
My Dear Boys:
This story is complete in itself, but forms the fourth in a line known
under the general title of “Putnam Hall Series.”
As I have said before, this series was started at the request of
numerous boys and girls who had read some volumes of my “Rover Boys
Series,” and who wanted to know what had taken place at Putnam Hall
Military Academy previous to the arrival there of the three Rover
brothers.
In the first volume of this series, called “The Putnam Hall Cadets,” I
related how Captain Putnam came to found the institution and also told
of the doings of Jack Ruddy, Pepper Ditmore and their chums. The young
cadets were whole-souled and full of fun, and enjoyed themselves to the
utmost.
In the second volume, entitled “The Putnam Hall Rivals,” more of the
doings of the cadets were chronicled, and the particulars were given of
a queer balloon ride, and of an odd discovery in the woods.
The third volume, “The Putnam Hall Champions,” brought Jack and Pepper
once again to the front, in a series of stirring athletic contests. They
had some bitter rivals, and one of these played Jack a most foul trick,
which came close to having a serious ending.
Ever since the opening of the school the scholars had had much trouble
with an overbearing teacher named Josiah Crabtree. When the Hall was
left in charge of Crabtree and a new instructor named Cuddle, matters
rapidly grew worse, until there seemed nothing for the lads to do but to
rebel. How this was done, and what the rebellion led to, I leave for the
pages which follow to relate.
Once more I thank my young friends for the interest they have shown in
my books. May this tale please you in every way.
Affectionately and sincerely yours,
Arthur M. Winfield.
THE PUTNAM HALL REBELLION
CHAPTER I
OUT ON THE CAMPUS
“Boys, we are to have target practice to-morrow.”
“Good!” cried Pepper Ditmore. “That suits me exactly. Just wait, Jack,
and see me make half a dozen bull’s-eyes, handrunning.”
“Why don’t you make it a dozen, Pep, while you are at it?” answered
Major Jack Ruddy, with a smile.
“If Pep makes one bull’s-eye he will be lucky,” came from another of the
cadets gathered on the Putnam Hall campus. “The last time we had
practice, instead of hitting the target he almost killed a cow in the
next field.”
“Hold on, Andy Snow!” cried Pepper. “I shot straight enough, but the
wind blew so hard it sent the bullet the wrong way. Now if——”
“What a pity the wind didn’t shift the target to meet the bullet,” cried
Paul Singleton. “Now when I shoot——”
“You’re too fat to shoot, Stuffer,” interrupted a youth who spoke with a
strong Irish accent. “Sure, if you had to crawl up on the inimy, like in
war, you’d tip over on your nose!” And at this sally from Joseph Hogan a
laugh arose.
“I’d rather be fat than skinny,” retorted Paul, whose waist measurement
exceeded that of any other cadet of the Hall.
“Where are we to do the practicing?” asked another boy, who was somewhat
of a newcomer, having been a pupil at the Military Academy for less than
a term.
“I understand we are to go to Rawling’s pasture, Fred,” answered Jack
Ruddy. “Captain Putnam is going to make the test a very thorough one,
too, for he says all of the students here ought to be first-class
marksmen.”
“Well, I’d certainly like to know how to handle a rifle,” answered Fred
Century. “I’ve used a shotgun, in the woods, but never a rifle. I’m
afraid I’ll make a rather poor showing at first.”
“Many of the fellows will,” returned the young major. “It isn’t given to
everybody to become a good shot, no matter how hard a fellow tries.”
While the others were talking, a big, broad-shouldered youth joined the
gathering. He was Dale Blackmore, the captain of the Putnam Hall
football team, and a general leader in all kinds of athletic sports.
“Talking about the rifle practice, eh,” said Dale. “I just heard the
other fellows talking of it, too. One of ’em said he was going to show
your crowd how to shoot,” and he nodded toward Jack Ruddy.
“Who was it?” questioned the young major.
“Reff Ritter.”
“Oh, that bully makes me tired!” cried Pepper Ditmore. “Every time
anything is going on he tries to push himself to the front—and nobody
wants him—at least I don’t want him.”
“Nor I,” came from Andy Snow and Paul Singleton.
“Sure, an’ I doubt if he’s any better shot nor Major Jack,” remarked
Hogan.
“Not half as good, Emerald,” interposed Pepper quickly. “Jack’s a
soldier through and through. If he wasn’t the fellows wouldn’t have
elected him major.”
“Perhaps Reff Ritter is a good marksman,” said Jack. “He has made some
fair scores and he may have been practicing up for this contest. Who was
he talking to, Dale?”
“Oh, his usual crowd of hangers-on, Gus Coulter, Nick Paxton, Billy
Sabine, and that bunch. Coulter thinks, too, that he can make a big
score.”
“Well, I’ll bank on Jack—and on Bart Conners,” said Pepper. “Bart is a
good shot and always was.”
“Say, here comes Reff Ritter now,” whispered Andy, as a youth with a
somewhat sour-looking countenance put in an appearance. “Gus Coulter is
with him.”
“Hello, Reff!” sang out one of the boys, Dave Kearney by name. “I hear
you are going to wax us all at target practice to-morrow.”
“Who told you?” demanded Reff Ritter, coming to a halt.
“Oh, I heard it.”
“Yes, Reff and I are going to make star records,” came from Gus Coulter.
“Perhaps you think you can shoot better than Major Ruddy and Captain
Conners?” questioned Andy Snow.
“We can,” came from Reff Ritter promptly. “When it comes to handling a
rifle I don’t take a back seat for anybody.”
“Must have been practicing a tremendous lot lately,” was Pepper’s
comment.
“Never mind what I’ve been doing,” growled Reff Ritter. “I’m willing to
bet anybody here a new hat that I come out ahead to-morrow.” And he
gazed around with a “you don’t dare to take me up” look.
“I’d take that bet,” answered Pepper dryly. “Only a new hat would do me
no good—since I have to wear the regulation cap here. Just the same,
Reff, my boy, you won’t come out ahead of Jack and Bart, and I know
it—and neither will you, Gus.”
“Huh! just wait and see,” grumbled Coulter.
“You fellows think that because you have won a few races and things like
that you can win everything,” said Reff Ritter, sourly. “Well, to-morrow
you’ll find out differently. After the shooting is over you’ll see where
I and Gus and Nick Paxton stand.” And with this remark he strutted off,
arm in arm with Coulter.
“Say, but he is in a bad humor,” observed Andy Snow. “Somebody must have
brushed his fur the wrong way.”
“He has been behind in his lessons for over a week,” answered a boy
named Joe Nelson, a quiet and studious lad. “Yesterday Captain Putnam
called him into the office for a talk. When Reff came out he looked
pretty glum.”
“Must have gotten a strong lecture,” said Pepper. “And lectures don’t
agree with such fellows as Ritter.”
“Do they agree with you, Pep?” asked the young major of the school
battalion, with a twinkle in his eye.
“Me? Not much! I’d rather write a composition in Latin than face the
captain for a lecture! But, just the same, you can be sure Ritter didn’t
get it harder than he deserved.”
“There is nothing like blowing one’s own horn,” observed Fred Century.
“And certainly Reff Ritter knows how to do that to perfection.”
“Time for drill, boys!” cried Jack Ruddy, as a bell rang out. “Now, do
your best on the parade ground, even if you don’t know how to hit the
target.” And off he ran to get ready to assume command of the Putnam
Hall battalion.
The bell had hardly ceased to ring when there followed the rolling of a
drum, and out on the school campus poured the students, in their neat
military uniforms, and with their guns and swords polished to the
highest degree. Major Jack Ruddy was at the head of the battalion, which
consisted of Companies A and B, under the commands of Bart Conners and a
youth named Henry Lee.
“Battalion attention!” commanded Major Jack, after the rattle of the
drum had ceased. “Shoulder arms! Forward, march!” And then the drums
beat, the fifes struck up a lively air, and the cadets began a march
around the school grounds.
To those who have read the previous volumes of this “Putnam Hall
Series,” the lads mentioned above will need no special introduction. For
the benefit of others let me state that Putnam Hall Military Academy was
a fine institution of learning, located on the shore of Cayuga Lake, in
New York State. It was owned by Captain Victor Putnam, a retired army
officer, who, in days gone by, had seen strenuous military service in
the far West. It was modeled somewhat after West Point, our great
national school for soldiery, but, of course, on far less pretentious
proportions. The school building proper, located not far from the lake,
was of brick and stone, and contained many classrooms, a big mess hall,
a business office, library and sitting room, and, on the upper floors,
many dormitories. Besides this building there were a gymnasium, a
boathouse, a barn, and half a dozen minor structures. The location was
ideal, exactly suited to such a school as Captain Putnam had
established.
Jack Ruddy and Pepper Ditmore were chums, hailing from the western part
of New York State. Jack was a little the older of the two and was
inclined to be studious. Pepper was full of fun, and on this account was
often called The Imp, a nickname that did not bother him in the least.
When Jack and Pepper first arrived at the school, as related in the
initial volume of this series, called “The Putnam Hall Cadets,” they
found that no regular military organization had yet been effected. After
some time spent in drilling and studying, the cadets were permitted to
ballot for their own officers, with the result that Jack became the
major of the battalion, Henry Lee captain of Company A, and Bart Conners
captain of Company B. Jack wanted Pepper to try for an official
position, but The Imp declined, stating he thought he could have more
fun as a private.
At that time there was an overbearing lad at the school named Dan
Baxter. He bribed Coulter and some others to vote for him, but
nevertheless was defeated. Baxter was now away on a vacation, and Jack
and his chums wished he would never come back.
It was not long before Jack and Pepper made many friends, including Andy
Snow, who was an acrobatic youth, used to doing marvellous “stunts” in
the gymnasium; Dale Blackmore, of football fame; Hogan, whose Irish wit
was delightful to listen to; Stuffer Singleton, who much preferred
eating to studying, and Joe Nelson, the best scholar the Hall possessed.
But if Jack and Pepper made many friends, they also made many rivals and
not a few enemies. Baxter was gone, but Reff Ritter remained, and what
sort of a fellow he was we have already seen. As Andy Snow said, Ritter
frequently imagined that he “was the whole show.” His particular cronies
were Gus Coulter and Nick Paxton, while he had something of an admirer
in a small lad named Fenwick, usually known as “Mumps,” who was a
contemptible sneak, as had been proved on more than one occasion.
The organizing of the school had been followed by hard studying, yet not
a few adventures had fallen to the lot of Major Jack and Pepper, and
some of their chums. In the middle of one of the terms George Strong,
the second assistant teacher, disappeared. He was found a prisoner in a
hut, being kept there by two insane relatives, and to rescue him proved
no easy task.
The assistant teacher’s ancestry dated back to Revolutionary times, and
he told the boys of a treasure buried in that vicinity by some
relatives. How the treasure was unearthed had been told in detail in
“The Putnam Hall Rivals.”
With the coming of summer, the attention of the cadets was given largely
to sports in the field and on the water. Jack’s uncle presented him with
a fine sloop, the _Alice_, and in this the young major sailed several
races, as related in the third volume of this series, entitled “The
Putnam Hall Champions.” The cadets also held a great bicycle race and a
hill climbing contest, and they likewise had a bowling match with the
team of a rival school, Pornell Academy. At that time Fred Century was a
student at Pornell, but he became disgusted at the way his fellow
students acted, and at the treatment he received from Doctor Pornell,
and left that institution of learning and came to Putnam Hall.
As the time went on Reff Ritter became more and more jealous of Major
Jack’s popularity. A contest in the gymnasium was arranged between the
two, and then Ritter, with a wickedness which he was wise enough to keep
to himself, dosed the young major with some French headache powders,
putting the stuff in Jack’s drinking water. As a consequence, Jack,
while on the flying rings, became dizzy and then unconscious, and would
have hurt himself seriously had he not been caught as he fell. He was
put to bed and was sick for some time. It was discovered that he had
been dosed, but, so far, the perpetrator of the vile deed had managed to
keep his identity a secret. Jack and Pepper suspected Ritter, but not
being able to prove the rascal guilty, could do nothing.