[Illustration: “The fire seemed to be everywhere.”
_The Putnam Hall Encampment._ Frontispiece. (_Page 178._)]
THE PUTNAM HALL
ENCAMPMENT
_Or, The Secret of the Old Mill_
BY
ARTHUR M. WINFIELD
AUTHOR OF “THE PUTNAM HALL CADETS,” “THE PUTNAM HALL RIVALS,” “THE
PUTNAM HALL REBELLION,” “ROVER BOYS SERIES,” ETC.
_ILLUSTRATED_
NEW YORK
GROSSET & DUNLAP
PUBLISHERS
Copyright, 1910, by
EDWARD STRATEMEYER.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I. In the Belfry 1
II. Jack in Peril 11
III. Reff Ritter’s Confession 21
IV. Punishing a Bully 32
V. Josiah Crabtree Makes a Find 42
VI. An Announcement of Importance 52
VII. What the Girls Had to Tell 62
VIII. A Remarkable Adventure 72
IX. A Send-off for Josiah Crabtree 82
X. Off for the Encampment 93
XI. On the Trail of the Wagons 103
XII. The Cave in the Woods 114
XIII. The Encampment at Lake Caboy 125
XIV. What Happened During a Swim 136
XV. Hazing a Bully 147
XVI. A Game of Baseball 157
XVII. In Danger of Fire 167
XVIII. The Investigation 177
XIX. Ritter Gives a Feast 187
XX. On Butterfly Island 198
XXI. An Adventure with Snakes 209
XXII. The Missing Launch 217
XXIII. A Wild Goose Chase 225
XXIV. What Happened Underground 233
XXV. Bert Field’s Revelation 241
XXVI. A Story of Interest 249
XXVII. Caught in the Act 257
XXVIII. Captain Putnam Has His Say 265
XXIX. At the Haunted Mill 273
XXX. A Find of Importance—Conclusion 281
INTRODUCTION
My Dear Boys:
This story is complete in itself but forms the fifth volume in a line
issued under the general title of “Putnam Hall Series.”
As I have mentioned several times, this series was started at the
solicitation of those who had read some of my “Rover Boys” books and who
wanted to know something about what took place at Putnam Hall military
academy before the Rovers went there.
In my first volume, called, “The Putnam Hall Cadets,” I told how Captain
Putnam happened to organize that famous school, and how Jack Ruddy and
Pepper Ditmore came to be among his first pupils. The boys made a host
of friends and also some enemies, and proved their worth on more than
one occasion.
In the second volume, “The Putnam Hall Rivals,” I related the outcome of
several contests on the field of sports, and also gave the particulars
of a thrilling balloon ride and of a strange discovery in the woods.
Then came “The Putnam Hall Champions,” with more contests, in one of
which Jack Ruddy’s enemies played him a foul trick.
Ever since the opening of the school there had been trouble with an
overbearing teacher named Crabtree. When Crabtree and another teacher
were left in sole charge of the school during the master’s absence, this
trouble reached its climax, as related in “The Putnam Hall Rebellion.”
The boys ran away and would not go back to school until Captain Putnam
appeared to smooth matters out.
In the present volume are related the things that occurred during a long
encampment, when the cadets marched from the academy to a beautiful spot
on the shore of a lake. Not far away was an old mill, and at this place
some of the lads fell in with a most unusual mystery. What that mystery
was, and what it led to, I leave the pages which follow to explain.
Again I thank my former readers, young and old, for the nice things they
have said about my stories. I trust the present volume affords you equal
pleasure in the reading.
Affectionately and sincerely yours,
Arthur M. Winfield.
THE PUTNAM HALL ENCAMPMENT
CHAPTER I
IN THE BELFRY
“I say, Jack!”
“What’s the matter now, Pepper?” demanded Major Jack Ruddy, for the cry
was a startling one.
“We are locked in!” answered Pepper Ditmore.
“Locked in?” repeated the young major of the Putnam Hall battalion.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that the trap door is fastened. I can’t budge it.”
“Oh, it must be stuck,” said Jack, as he started to climb down a ladder
upon which he stood. “Why, there is nobody in the belfry but ourselves.”
“Don’t be so sure of that, Jack. Some of the other fellows may have
followed us,” answered Pepper. He was down on his knees on the floor,
pulling at an iron ring with all his strength. “Maybe you want to try
this,” he added, as he gave an additional tug.
The young major of the school cadets leaped from the bottom of the
ladder and took hold of the iron ring, which was set in the edge of a
heavy trap door. He pulled with might and main, but the trap door
refused to budge.
“Regular tug-of-war!” he panted. “Say, if we can’t get this door open
what are we to do?”
“Don’t ask me.”
“It’s the only way out of the belfry, Pep.”
“I know that—unless we climb out of one of the windows.”
“Ugh! I don’t care to risk my neck in that manner.” And Jack Ruddy gave
a slight shiver as he spoke.
“Well, we’ve got to get out somehow,” continued Pepper, making a wry
face. “We don’t want to stay here all night.”
“If some of the other fellows played this trick on us——”
“They ought to be hammered for it.”
“Right you are. Maybe it was Reff Ritter.”
“Say, that’s so! Don’t you remember, we saw him and his cronies on their
way to the Hall when we came here? Maybe they followed us, came up the
stairs on the sly, and bolted the trap from the under side. I shut the
door myself—so that we wouldn’t fall through the hole in the dark.”
“Well, if Reff Ritter & Company did this thing we’ll have an account to
settle with them—when we get free.”
“Right you are. But before we talk about getting square let us get this
trap door open and get out of here.”
The scene was the tall tower of a village church. The time was about
nine o’clock of a fine moon-light night, and on all sides everything was
quiet and serene.
An hour before, the two boys already introduced had left the school
which they attended on a “dare” from some of their chums. The dare
involved visiting the Cedarville Union Church. The boys were to steal
into the edifice by way of a side window, usually left open to admit
fresh air. They were to make their way into the gallery and thence to
the tower where hung a big bell. They were to remove the clapper of the
bell and bring it back to the school with them. If they accomplished the
feat the other students were to get up a feast in their honor.
To those who have read the previous volumes of this “Putnam Hall Series”
the two lads will need no special introduction. But for the benefit of
others let me state that Jack Ruddy and Pepper Ditmore were chums
living, when at home, in the western part of New York state. Jack was a
little the older of the two, and was of a more or less serious turn of
mind. Pepper was full of fun, and was frequently called The Imp, a
nickname that fitted him well.
As related in the first volume of this series, called “The Putnam Hall
Cadets,” the boys had been sent to a new institution of learning,
located on Cayuga Lake. This military academy was presided over by
Captain Victor Putnam, a retired army officer, who ran the place
somewhat on the lines of our National school at West Point. The place
was a large one, consisting of the school building proper, the
gymnasium, the boathouse, and several other buildings. The captain was a
strict disciplinarian, but he had a kindly manner about him, and the
majority of the students liked him very much.
When Jack and Pepper came to the Hall everything was, of course, new to
them. But it did not take them long to make some good friends, including
Andy Snow, who was of an acrobatic turn, Stuffer Singleton, who
preferred eating to studying, Dale Blackmore, who was a great football
player, Joseph Hogan, who, because of his Irish accent, was usually
called Emerald, and Joe Nelson, a lad who was the best scholar in the
academy. They also made some enemies, including Reff Ritter, already
mentioned by them, and his cronies, Gus Coulter and Nick Paxton.
At first the cadets were given their regular school studies and taught
how to drill and march, but when they could do creditable duty as cadets
Captain Putnam allowed them to ballot for their officers. This election
resulted in Jack becoming major of the Putnam Hall Battalion, with Henry
Lee captain of Company A and Bart Conners captain of Company B. Jack
wanted Pepper to try for an officer’s position, but The Imp declined.
“I’ll continue to be a high private in the rear rank,” said Pepper, with
a wink. “I can have more fun that way—especially if I have a major over
me who knows when to keep his eyes shut.”
“Humph! I expect to have fun myself, even if I am a major,” had been
Jack’s answer.
There had been a keen contest over the election of officers. An
overbearing youth named Dan Baxter had wanted to be major, and he had
bribed Gus Coulter and some others to vote for him, but without success.
Baxter was now away on a vacation, and Jack and Pepper hoped he would
remain away for good.
Following the election of officers, the chums had had several
adventures, not the least of which was their aiding in the rescue of
George Strong, one of the teachers, who had been made a prisoner in a
hut in the woods by some insane relatives.
The teacher’s ancestry dated back to the Revolution, and he told the
boys of a treasure buried by his relatives during war times. How the
lads unearthed the treasure has been related in detail in the second
volume of this series entitled, “The Putnam Hall Rivals.”
With the coming of summer, the cadets turned their attention to sports
in the field and on the lake. Jack’s uncle had presented him with a fine
sloop, and in this the youthful major sailed several races, as told
about in “The Putnam Hall Champions.” The boys also had a bicycle race
and a hill-climbing contest, and likewise went bowling against a rival
institution of learning called Pornell Academy. At Pornell at the time
was a youth named Fred Century, but this lad became so disgusted at the
actions of some of the boys, and at Doctor Pornell, that he left the
school and came to Putnam Hall.
As time went on Reff Ritter showed up as the worst boy at Putnam Hall.
He did all in his power to get Jack and Pepper and their chums into
trouble, and even dosed the young major with some French powders that
made Jack violently sick. But this trick was eventually exposed and
Ritter came close to being expelled. It was Jack who asked Captain
Putnam to give the wayward youth another chance to reform, but Ritter
did not appreciate his rival’s generosity.
For a short while matters ran along smoothly at Putnam Hall, but then
came a happening far out of the ordinary, as related in full in “The
Putnam Hall Rebellion.” During the absence of the head of the
institution, and of George Strong, the Hall was left in charge of Josiah
Crabtree, a teacher hated by nearly all the cadets, and a new assistant
named Cuddle. Cuddle was a peculiar man who did not believe in hearty
food for boys, and he almost starved the cadets, so that they had to
rebel. For this they were locked in their dormitories. But they escaped
at night, and went off to camp in the woods. Here the crowd split in
two, Reff Ritter heading the insurgents. Ritter did all he could to
annoy the crowd under Jack, and there might have been a pitched battle
had not Captain Putnam put in an appearance. He made the cadets march
back to the Hall, and there held some interesting interviews with all
connected with the rebellion. As a consequence the students were allowed
to return to their studies and Cuddle was pre-emptorially dismissed from
the institution, while Josiah Crabtree escaped with a lecture.
The Ritter crowd did not come back to the Hall until after a severe
storm had drenched all to the skin. They were in far from a good humor
and many of them blamed Reff for the discomforts they had suffered, and
gave their former crony the cold shoulder.
“It’s all that Jack Ruddy’s fault,” growled Ritter. “He and Pep Ditmore
want to run everything. If I had had my say from the start we would have
had a fine time.” But only Coulter, Paxton and a few others believed
this. The others said very frankly they thought Ritter had made a mess
of it when he got them to run away from the main body of the rebelling
cadets.
With the return of Captain Putnam and George Strong, the students
settled down once more to their studies. The dictatorial Josiah Crabtree
was, for the time being, much subdued, yet the cadets knew that sooner
or later he would become as harsh as ever. The one point in his favor
was that he was a learned man and could teach well when he put his mind
to it.
It was Andy Snow who had proposed the trip to the belfry of the
Cedarville church, located about a mile and a half from the Hall. He had
dared Jack and Pepper to make the trip with him, and the talk had been
taken up by Stuffer Singleton, Fred Century, Dale Blackmore, and half a
dozen others.
“They won’t dare to do it,” said Dale. “I’ll bet an apple pie on it.”
“And I’ll wager ice-cream for the crowd,” added Stuffer.
“With most of the ice-cream for Stuffer himself,” put in Pepper.
“I’m willing to try it,” declared Jack.
“So am I,” added Pepper. “We owe the sexton of that church one anyway,
for chasing us from Mr. Dalter’s orchard when he had no right to do it.”
“Let us get the clapper and hide it in old Crabtree’s bed,” said Andy.
But just then he was called away by one of the monitors. Then he sent a
note back stating Captain Putnam wished him to do an errand, so he could
not make the trip.
“I suppose that ends it,” said Dale Blackmore.
“Nobody dares to go,” said another cadet.
“Yes, I’ll go,” said Pepper promptly.
“So will I,” came from Jack. “But mum’s the word, remember. We don’t
want any of the teachers to learn what is going on.”
“We’ll be as silent as oysters in a stew,” said Stuffer.
“Sure an’ ’twill be a great sphort to put the clapper in ould Crabtree’s
bed,” said Emerald Hogan.
“Who is going to do that?” asked another.
“I’ll do it—if Pep and Jack get the clapper,” answered the Irish cadet
promptly.
A little later Jack and Pepper set off on their quest, stealing away
from Putnam Hall campus unobserved. They got half way to the church and
then passed Reff Ritter and his cronies, who went by without speaking.
“This is dead easy,” remarked Jack, as they climbed in the church
window. They had a lantern with them, and lighting this, mounted the
stairs to the gallery, and then ascended the long ladder leading to the
belfry floor. Here they opened the trap door and then closed it again,
as already stated.
The bell was close at hand and it was a comparatively easy matter to
detach the iron clapper. Pepper came down the ladder with it and then
made the startling discovery with which our story opens. The trap door
had been bolted from the under side and the two cadets were prisoners in
the belfry, at a distance of seventy-five feet from the ground.