Books: The Rover Boys at School
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Arthur M. Winfield >> The Rover Boys at School
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CHAPTER X
SETTLING DOWN AT THE HALL
"It's a boy!" cried the tall, slim man.
"One of the boys!" came from the tramp known as Buddy.
"You don't say!" The tall man turned to Tom. "How did you get
here?"
"Walked," answered Tom as calmly as he could, although this is not
saying much, for he realized that the pair before him were
desperate characters and that he was no match for them.
"Have you been spying on us?" demanded the fellow called Nolly.
"I've been spying on this man," answered Tom, pointing to the
other fellow. "He stole my brother's watch. What have you done
with it?"
"Never stole a watch in me life?" returned Buddy quickly.
"I say you did, and it will do no good to deny it."
"If you say I stole any watch I'll -- I'll knock yer down," cried
Buddy fiercely.
And he rushed at Tom and aimed a blow the boy's head with his
stick.
Nolly also ran forward with his sandbag; and seeing this, Tom
leaped back, and was soon making tracks as fast as his legs could
carry him.
The two men did not pursue him far. Instead, they turned and ran
in the opposite direction.
Tom hurried on until he came within sight of a large farmhouse.
Reaching the front door, he used the brass knocker vigorously.
Soon an upper window was raised, and the head of a middle-aged man
was thrust out.
"Who is there? "he demanded.
"I want help, sir," answered Tom. "I am a pupil at Putnam Hall,
and I have just spotted a fellow in this neighborhood who robbed
my brother of a gold watch."
"Is that so!"
"Oh, papa, is it one of the boys Grace and I were telling you
about?" came in the voice of Nellie Laning. "Aren't you Tom
Rover?"
"Yes. This must be Mr. Laning."
"Yes, my boy, I am John Laning," answered the farmer. "I will be
down in a moment. We are in the habit of retiring early."
In a few minutes Tom was let into the house, and he told his story
to John Laning, his wife, and the two girls, all of whom listened
with interest.
Then a hired man was aroused, and the two men and the boy hurried
to where the campfire had been located.
But, as stated before, Buddy and Nolly had made good use of their
time, and no trace of them was to be found.
"They have skipped out," said Mr. Laning.
"To look for them will be worse than looking for spiders in a corn
stack. I suppose you'll be getting back to Putnam Hall now?"
"If it is all the same, I would like to engage a room at your
farmhouse for the night," answered Tom, and told his tale.
At the mention of Josiah Crabtree's name John Laning's face grew
dark.
"I don't wonder you had a row with that man," he said. "I know
him only too well. You can stay at my house if you will, and it
shall not cost you a cent."
"Hullo, here is luck!" thought Tom, and thanked the farmer for his
offer.
When they got back to the farmhouse Tom's story had to be told to
Grace and Nellie, while Mr. Laning went off to prepare a room for
the youth.
"Oh, Josiah Crabtree!" cried Nelly. "Why, don't you know he is
trying to court our Aunt Lucy?"
"Your Aunt Lucy? Who is she?"
"Dora Stanhope's mother. Dora's father is dead, you know."
"Great Caesar!" burst from Tom; "I hope Dora never gets him for a
stepfather!"
"So do all of us, Tom; but I'm afraid he has made quite an
impression on Aunt Lucy. She is rich; and my own idea is that
Josiah Crabtree is after her money."
"He's none too good for it," was Tom's blunt comment.
The girls and the lad chatted together for half an hour, and then
all retired for the balance of the night.
"They're awfully sweet," thought the boy, "these two, and Dora
too."
He slept soundly, and did not arise until after seven. On coming
below he found a hot breakfast awaiting him, to which it is
perhaps needless to state he did full justice.
While he was talking to the girls, and finishing up at the same
time, Mr. Laning came in.
"Thought I would tell you that Captain Putnam just drove down the
Hall road on his way to the school," he announced.
"Then I'll get back at once," said Tom, and bade the various
members of the family good-by. Hope we meet again soon," he
whispered to the girls, and this made both blush.
Mr. Laning would have driven the lad to the academy, but Tom
declined the offer and set off on foot. It did not take him long
to cover the distance, and he entered the grounds as unconcernedly
as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened.
"Hullo!" cried several cadets as they noticed him. "Where did you
come from? Mr. Crabtree has been looking all over for you."
"I don't wish to see him. I wish to see Captain Putnam? Where is
he?"
"Gracious, but you're a cool one!" remarked one of the cadets.
"The captain is in his office, I think."
"Will you please show me to the place?"
"Certainly."
The office was a finely furnished apartment just off the main
classroom. Tom knocked on the door.
"Come in," said a cheery voice, and the boy calmly entered to find
himself confronted not only by Captain Putnam, but likewise by
Josiah Crabtree.
"Ah! Here is the young reprobate now!" cried Crabtree, as rushing
up, he grasped Tom by the arm.
"You will kindly let go of my arm, Mr. Crabtree," said Tom
steadily.
"You shan't run away again!"
"That's true -- now Captain Putnam is here."
"So this is Thomas Rover," said Captain Victor Putnam, with
something like a twinkle in his clear eyes. "Rover, I have heard
a rather serious report about you and your brother Richard."
"What kind of a report, if I may ask, sir?"
"Mr. Crabtree says you have been impudent to him, and that when he
locked you in the guardroom for breaking the rules you attacked
him and knocked him down."
"He attacked me first. If anybody attacked you, wouldn't you be
apt to knock him down if you could?"
"That would depend upon, circumstances, Rover. If a man attacked
me on the street I would certainly endeavor to defend myself to
the best of my ability. But you must remember that you are a
pupil here, and Mr. Crabtree is one of your masters, appointed by
me."
"I am not a pupil yet, sir -- although I hope to be very soon."
"Why, what do you mean?" demanded Victor Putnam, and now his voice
grew stern. Many a boy would have flinched, but Tom had
determined to say just what he thought of Crabtree, and he stood
his ground.
"I mean just this, Captain Putnam. I came to Putnam Hall with the
best intention in the world of doing my duty as a pupil and
becoming a credit to your institution. I hadn't a thought of
breaking a rule or being impudent. Before I entered your grounds
I thought of a big fire cracker I had in my pocket, and just for
the fun of the thing set the cracker off, as a sort of farewell to
the outdoor life so soon to be left behind."
"Captain Putnam, are you going to listen to such tomfoolery?"
interrupted Josiah Crabtree.
"I believe I have a right to tell my story," answered Tom.
"Unless that right is granted, I shall leave the Hall, go back to
my guardian, and tell him that I refuse to become a pupil here."
"You are a pupil already," snarled Crabtree.
"I am not -- and that is just the point I am trying to make," went
on Tom to the owner of Putnam Hall. "As soon as the firecracker
went off, this man rushed up and demanded an explanation. He was
going to lock up my brother first, but I said I had fired the
cracker, and so he compelled me to go to the guardroom with him.
I was locked in and treated to bread and milk for supper, and he
wanted to steal the keys of my trunk and valise from me."
"Steal!" ejaculated Josiah Crabtree.
"That is what it amounted to, for the keys, and boxes are my
property."
"Mr. Crabtree merely wanted to see that your baggage contained
nothing improper," put in Captain Putnam. "There are certain
things we do not allow boys to bring into the institution."
"Then he had a right to keep my baggage out until I was properly
enrolled as a pupil. I did not bring in the trunk and bag
myself."
At this Captain Putnam began to smile.
"I see the point you are trying to make, Rover. You are trying to
prove that you were placed under arrest, so to speak, before you
were under our authority here."
"Exactly. I will leave it to you, Captain Putnam, if I was really
a pupil when Mr. Crabtree hauled me off to the guardroom."
At this plain question the face of the owner of the Hall became a
study.
"You make a very fine distinction, Rover," he answered slowly.
"Perhaps so, sir; and I do it because I want to begin right here.
If I am to be handicapped at the start of my career, what is the
use of my trying to make a record for myself?" and Tom looked the
master of Putnam Hall full in the face.
Without a word Captain Putnam held out his hand. "Thomas, you
have considerable spirit, but I think your heart is in the right
place, and I am willing to try you. Supposing you enroll as a
pupil now, and we let bygones be bygones?"
"With all my heart, sir!" cried Tom, glad to have the whole affair
settled so easily.
"Why, are you going to let the -- the young rascal go?" demanded
Josiah Crabtree, in amazement.
"I'm not a rascal, Mr. Crabtree."
"Yes, you are!"
"Mr. Crabtree, I have decided to drop the matter," put in Captain
Putnam, in a tone which admitted of no dispute, and the head
assistant fell back abashed. "Rover says he wishes to make a
record for himself, and I am inclined to help him. He starts his
term free and clear of all charges against him -- and his brother
whom you have locked up shall do likewise. Kindly call Mr.
Strong."
"It is a -- a most unusual proceeding," growled the head
assistant.
"Perhaps, but we will talk that matter over at another time."
Josiah Crabtree went out; and in a minute George Strong appeared,
and Tom was turned, over to him, to sign the roll of the academy
and to join Sam, Fred, and the others in the class room over which
Mr. Strong presided.
"Hullo, you're back," whispered Sam, but no more could be said
until recess, when Tom told his story in detail. In the meantime
Dick was released.
"So you met the fellow who stole my watch!" cried the elder
brother. "I wish you had got the timepiece."
"So do I, Dick."
Dick had been captured by Josiah Crabtree just as he was vaulting
the iron fence around the guardroom window. The head assistant
had locked him up in the apartment Toni had occupied, and there
Dick had remained all night.
"Oh, Crabtree is a terror!" said Dick later on. "I hope Dora
Stanhope's mother never marries him."
"I'll wager neither of you have heard the last of Crabtree, even
if we are not in his classes," remarked Sam. "He will watch for a
chance to get even, mark my words."
"I don't doubt it, Sam," answered Tom/ 'But let him come on. I
intend to do my duty as a cadet, and I am not afraid of him."
CHAPTER XI
A ROW IN THE GYMNASIUM
For several days matters moved along smoothly with the Rover boys.
In that time their chums, Frank Harrington and Larry Colby,
arrived, and these, with Fred, made up the "Metropolitan Sextet,"
as they called themselves -- the sole occupants of dormitory No.
6.
Next to this dormitory was apartment five, occupied by Dan Baxter,
Mumps, and six others of the bully's cronies. The two apartments
were connected by a door, but this was nailed up.
So far there had been no open rupture between Baxter and Dick, but
there was trouble "in the air," and it was bound reach a climax
sooner or later.
Fortunately for Dick and his brothers, Captain Putnam had cadet
uniforms to fit them, and the three were now dressed in true
military style. The other boys had to wait until uniforms could
be made for them.
The first day at Putnam Hall was spent in assigning the newcomers
to the various classes, according to their knowledge. On the
second day the three Rover boys were placed in the awkward squad,
to learn the military drill.
The squad was presided over by Corporal Mark king, a youth who was
cut out to be a soldier, although his father was a sea captain.
"Now then, line up!" he called out to the newcomers. "All of you
will please toe that crack in the floor; now turn out your toes
like this, and put your shoulders back, hands with the palms to
the front."
His instructions were followed to the letter, for all were anxious
to learn as fast as possible.
"Now the first thing to remember is to say nothing, but obey
orders promptly," exclaimed the corporal. "When an order is given
the first part is a warning, while the conclusion is the time when
that order must be executed. For, instance, I tell you 'Eyes
right!' I say 'Eyes,' and you get ready to move your eyes; I add
'Right,' and you instantly turn them to the right, and keep them
there. Now we'll try. Eyes-right! Great smoke! number four, you
turned them to the left! Now again: Eyes right! Good! Eyes-
front! That's first-class. Now: Eyes - left! Eyes -- front!
That couldn't be better."
And so it went on for an hour, during, which the boys learned not
alone how to use their eyes, but also to "left face," "right
face," "front face," and "about face" -- that is, to turn directly
to the rear. Then they learned how to
mark time "with their feet, starting with the left foot."
"Tomorrow you shall learn how to march," said Corporal King when
the drilling was over. "And then each of you will get a gun and
go through the manual of arms."
"Will we learn how to shoot? asked Tom. "I can shoot a little
already."
"We have target practice once a month, and during the annual
encampment," concluded the corporal.
"I wish that encampment was already at hand!" sighed Sam. He
imagined that life under a tent would just suit him.
As soon as the boys "got the run" of the institution they began to
feel at home. They made friends rapidly, especially when it
became known that Sam was a fine runner and Tom a capital baseball
player. There were several baseball teams in the school, and they
frequently played matches on Saturday afternoons.
The gymnasium pleased Dick as much as it did his younger brothers,
and nearly every day, he spent a quarter of an hour or more in the
building, using one apparatus or another, for the building was
fitted up with rings, parallel bars, wooden horses, pulling
machines, and other paraphernalia of athletic usage.
One afternoon Dick had just begun to use a set of parallel bars
when Dan Baxter sauntered in, accompanied by Mumps and two other
cronies.
There were very few cadets in the building at the time, and Baxter
came directly to Dick.
"I guess we can settle that little affair now," muttered the
bully, and slapped Dick on the cheek. "That for interfering with
my doing on the boat."
Being on the bars, Dick could not ward off the blow, but he
immediately sprang down, and with flushed cheeks leaped in front
of Baxter.
"You seem very anxious to fight," he said in a low, steady voice.
"You can, therefore, take that for a starter!" And hauling off
with his right fist, he struck Dan Baxter fairly and squarely upon
the nose, causing the blood to spurt and sending the bully to the
floor like a shot.
If ever there was an individual taken by surprise it was the bully
of Putnam Hall. He had not anticipated such a sudden and
determined resistance, and for several seconds he lay still, too
dazed to move. In the meantime his friends sprang forward, but
Dick waved them off.
"My fight is with Baxter," he said. "I want you to keep your
hands out of it."
"You hit him when he wasn't prepared," blustered Mumps.
"And he hit me when I was not prepared. Stand back!"
And Dick made such a show of being ready to attack Mumps that the
toady fell back in great alarm.
In the meanwhile Dan Baxter arose, and tried to stop the flow of
blood with his handkerchief. "I'll get even with you, Rover!" he
growled behind the stained cloth.
"At any time you please, Baxter," returned Dick. "But don't you
take me off my guard again, or I'll have no mercy on you."
"Do you dare to meet me in a fair, standing up fight?" demanded
the bully.
"I certainly do."
"All right, then. Next Saturday afternoon at three."
Dick bowed. "Where?" he questioned.
"In the patch of woods behind the cornfield."
"All right."
"Mums is the word, fellows," said Baxter to his cronies. "You
will keep this to yourself, Rover, won't you?"
"How many do you expect to bring to the fight?"
"Only the four fellows who are here."
"Very well; I will bring a like number."
"Want to tell everybody, don't you?"
"No, but I think I am entitled to fair play; and that means that I
must have as many friends there as you have."
"All right," grumbled Baxter, but he evidently did not like the
arrangement. A moment later he hurried off, to do what he could
to prevent his nose from swelling.
"Dick told only his brothers and his chums of what had occurred,
but the news leaked out that a fight was on, and Saturday
afternoon found at least twenty cadets in the secret and on their
way to witness the "mill," as those who had read something about
prize-fighting were wont to call the contest.
Now, lest my readers obtain a false impression of my views on this
subject, let me state plainly that I do not believe in fights,
between boys or other-wise. They are brutal, far from manly, and
add nothing to the strength of one's character. It is well enough
to know how to defend one's self when occasion requires, but such
occasions occur but rarely.
But I have set out to relate the adventures of the Rover boys, in
school and out, and on land and sea, and I feel I must be truthful
and tell everything just as it happened, not only in this volume,
but in a those which are to follow; and, consequently, I shall
tell of the fight as the particulars were related to me by Sam
Rover, Fred Garrison and others - details which I am certain are
correct.
The spot was a sheltered one, and on the edge of the woods two
spies were posted, to warn the contestants should Josiah Crabtree
or any of the other teachers appear, for fighting was against the
rules of Putnam Hall, and neither Dick nor Baxter wanted to be
caught.
Both came to the spot promptly, and, without preliminary talking,
took off their coats, collars, ties, and caps. A ring was formed,
and Dick stepped forward and faced Baxter.
The bully was several inches taller than his opponent and at least
fifteen pounds heavier. His nose was a bit swollen, and there was
a sneer upon his coarse face.
"Rover, if you wish to apologize to me you can do so, and save
yourself a thrashing," he remarked.
"I can take care of myself, Baxter. Perhaps you would like me to
make a similar proposition to you. If so, let me say it is too
late; I came here to give you a well-deserved thrashing, and I
mean to stick to my determination."
"Phew, but we talk big!" muttered Mumps. "You keep your oar out,
Mumps," put in Tom. "If you don't I'll give you a hiding, just as
soon as Dick is done with Dan."
"Will you? Maybe you'll be the one to catch it," muttered Mumps.
Nevertheless, he said no more.
"Are you ready?" asked the boy who acted as timekeeper.
"I am," said Dick.
"So am I," returned Baxter, and hurled himself at his opponent
without a second's delay.
He had expected to catch Dick napping, but he found himself
mistaken. A blow aimed at Dick's face was well parried, and in
return Dick hit Baxter heavily on the shoulder.
"Hurrah! Score one for Dick!" cried Larry Colby. "That's right,
old man, keep at him."
"Keep cool, Dan!" put in Mumps. "You can polish him off at your
leisure."
The blow on the shoulder staggered Baxter, and he fell back, to
become more cautious; and then the two boys began to circle around
and around, each looking for a favorable "opening." At last
Baxter thought he saw what he wanted, and struck out again, and
Dick was hit on the cheek.
"That's the way, Baxter!" came the cry.
"That was a teaser! Give him another!"
Again Baxter launched out, and now Dick was hit on the arm. He
slipped to one side, and struck out like lightning, and the bully
caught it in the neck, something which, spun him around like a
top.
"Another for Dick!" cried Frank Harrington. "Keep it up!"
Again the two boys faced each other. But only for an instant.
With a savage cry Baxter sprang upon Dick as if to fairly tear him
apart. One blow landed upon Dick's arm and a second on his chest.
"It's Baxter's fight! Baxter is still king of this school!"
'You might as well give it up, Rover; he's too many for you!"
So the cries ran on, while the bully, encouraged by his success,
renewed his efforts; and an additional blow sent Dick to the
ground in a heap.
CHAPTER XII
FAIR AND FOUL FIGHTING
As Dick went down, Tom and Sam uttered cries of chagrin and
horror. The eldest Rover had been struck on the chin, and the
blood was flowing from a deep scratch.
"Get up! Get up, Dick!" cried Tom. "Don't say you are beaten!"
"Yes, yes; get up and go at him!" added Sam.
The urging was unnecessary, as Dick was already scrambling up.
Dan Baxter made a dash at him, intending to strike him while he
was down, but a fierce look from Tom stopped him.
"You'll fight fair, Baxter," were Tom's words.
"Yes, he'll fight fair," repeated Dick, throwing back his head as
if to collect himself. "Fellow-students, Dan Baxter is not fit to
be a pupil at this academy."
"Why not?" came in a chorus.
"He is not fighting me fairly."
"What do you mean?" blustered Mumps.
"Don't find fault because he knocked you down," added another of
the bully's cronies.
"I say he is not fighting fair," repeated Dick Stoutly. "He has
something in each hand."
At this unexpected announcement Dan Baxter started back and
changed color. Then of a sudden he placed both hands into his
trouser pockets.
"He is putting the things out of sight!" cried Tom, who saw
through the bully's intentions.
"Come, Baxter, show us what you had."
"I didn't have anything," growled the bully. "If you say I had
I'll punch your head off. This is only a ruse to, let Dick gain
time to get his wind."
"That's it!" cried Mumps. "Go at him, Dan, and finish him!"
"Baxter daren't turn out his pockets," said Sam, "Do it if you
dare."
"There is what I have in them," answered the bully, pulling a
trunk key from one pocket and some small change from the other.
"Perhaps you'll say I was fighting with these in my hands."
"Turn the pockets, out!" demanded Dick.
"Yes, turn 'ern out!" added Fred, and dozen others took up the
cry.
"I won't do it," growled Baxter, but it was plain to see that he
was growing uneasy. "I'm a gentleman, and I can whip Rover with
ease, and do it fairly, too!"
While he was speaking Larry Colby had come up behind him. Ere
Baxter could stop the movement, Larry pushed his hand into one of
the bully's pockets and turned it out. A jagged stone as big as a
walnut dropped to the ground.
"There, see that!" cried Larry. "For shame, Baxter!"
"I didn't have the stone -- you placed it there!" blustered the
so-styled king of the school.
"Didn't you though?" said Fred Garrison, who had also come up
behind Baxter, and he quickly hauled another stone from the other
pocket.
"That is how he scratched me," said Dick. "I was sure he had
something in his hand."
"It's a put-up job!" howled Baxter, growing red in the face. "If
you want to continue the fight, come on!" and he squared off
again.
"That's the talk!" said Mumps. "Let both show their hands!
Perhaps Rover has some stones, too!"
Both opened their palms, then doubled up their fists. Baxter was
the first to strike out. But, as quick as lightning, Dick dodged
the blow and landed vigorously upon the bully's chest. Before
Baxter could recover, Dick struck out again, and the bully caught
it straight in the left eye.
"Oh!" he yelled in pain, and put his hand up to the injured optic,
which began to grow black rapidly. Then he struck out wildly half
a dozen times. He was growing excited, while Dick was as calm as
ever. Watching his opportunity, Dick struck out with all his
force, and Baxter received a crack on the nose which caused him to
fall back into the arms of Mumps. As that nose had been struck
heavily in the gymnasium, it was decidedly tender, and Baxter
roared with pain.
"Have you had enough?" demanded Dick, coming up to him.
Yes -- Baxter had had more than enough; but he did not wish to
acknowledge it. He made a sign to Mumps previously agreed upon,
and Mumps raised his cap as a signal to one of the spies set on
guard.
"Stop the fight!" cried the guard instantly. "Somebody is
coming!"
"Nonsense -- nobody is coming!" said the other spy, but Baxter
would not listen to him.
"I'm not going to be caught -- I'll finish this some other time,"
he said to Dick, and hurried away with Mumps and his other
friends, leaving Dick the victor beyond question.
"I knew you could do it!" cried Tom, as he fairly hugged his elder
brother.
"I'll wager he won't bother you again."
"No, indeed!" put in Sam; and Fred and the others said the same.
That was the first and last, time that Dan Baxter fought any of
boys openly, but he was their bitter enemy in secret; we shall
learn in this and other volumes.
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