The Putnam Hall Encampment; or, The Secret of the Old Mill

by Edward Stratemeyer

  CHAPTER XIV WHAT HAPPENED DURING A SWIM

  On the following morning camp duty commenced in earnest and Major Ruddyand his fellow officers had their hands full. Drill and inspection werehad, following breakfast, and then the camp was "policed," that is,cleaned up. After that the cadets had two hours in which to do as theypleased.

  Some boats had been sent to the spot by Captain Putnam, and some of thelads went rowing, while others went fishing and bathing. Pepper and hisfriends preferred a dip into the cool and inviting waters of the lakeand were soon in their bathing suits, which had been brought along. ReffRitter and Gus Coulter went off in a rowboat, followed by some others.

  "Say, this is something like!" cried Andy, after a first plunge into thelimpid waters. "I am going to have a dip every day I am here!"

  "So am I, unless something happens to prevent it," returned Fred. Hemissed the use of his sloop very much.

  The cadets had found a cove where the water was deep and here they haderected a springboard, and took turns in diving from this. It was greatsport and for some time George Strong watched the lads.

  "Come on in, Mr. Strong!" cried Andy. "The water is fine!"

  "Not to-day," answered the teacher, with a smile. "But I may come insome other day. I like swimming as well as you do." And then he walkedoff, to attend to some camp duties.

  "What a difference between him and old Crabtree!" sighed Dale. "If allteachers were like Mr. Strong we'd never have a bit of trouble."

  "Right you are," answered Pepper. "But old Crabtree is the kind thatsets your teeth on edge the minute you rub up against him."

  The boys spent quite some time diving and sporting around, and then Fredproposed a race.

  "To the rock over yonder and back!" he cried, pointing with his hand.

  "I'll go you!" said Andy. "What's the prize?"

  "A brass-bound copy of last year's almanac," answered Jack, and thiscaused a general laugh.

  Six cadets entered the race, and at a word from a lad on the shore allstruck out sturdily for the rock that was to be the turning spot of thecontest.

  At first Pepper was ahead, with Fred second, but presently Emerald drewto the front, followed by Dale.

  "Hi, this won't do!" cried Jack, good naturedly. "Throw out youranchor!"

  "Sure, an' I can't sthop, so I can't!" answered Hogan.

  As the six swimmers made the turn at the rock one after the other, arowboat shot into view. It was that containing Reff Ritter and GusCoulter.

  "Racing, eh?" murmured the bully, crossly. He had not slept well thenight before and was all out of sorts.

  "I'd like to spoil their fun for 'em," returned Coulter.

  "Maybe we can do it," went on the bully, craftily. "They have no rightto get in the way of our boat."

  "Say, you wouldn't run 'em down, would you?" asked his crony, anxiously.

  "Not very hard, Gus--only enough to break up their race."

  "Stop! stop!" cried Andy, in alarm, as he saw the rowboat being sent inclose to the swimmers.

  "Get out of the way!" roared Reff Ritter, ungraciously.

  "Don't run us down!" called out Fred. "Turn out, Ritter!"

  But Ritter would not turn out. Instead he sent the boat closer to shore.All in the water tried to avoid the craft, some swimming to one side andothers ducking beneath the boat. The race was completely broken up.

  Hogan heard the cries, but he was too anxious to win the race to paymuch attention. Suddenly the rowboat shot beside him and struck him asharp blow in the shoulder. With a gasp the Irish cadet threw up an armand then disappeared from view.

  "Emerald is struck!" cried Andy.

  "Oh, I hope he isn't hurt," added Jack

  "It was his own fault," said Ritter. "Why didn't he get out of the way?"Now that the damage was done he was somewhat scared himself.

  "It was your fault, Ritter," answered Dale.

  The rowboat drifted over the spot where Emerald had gone down, and allof the other cadets looked in that direction. The Irish lad was nowhereto be seen.

  "Maybe he's killed!" gasped Andy. "He got struck pretty hard."

  "Oh, don't say that!" gasped Coulter, and he went white with fear.

  All of the boys in the water swam to the spot, and presently Jack andDale caught sight of Hogan, near the bottom of the lake. They dove downand brought him up. He was unconscious and had swallowed considerablewater. He could not aid himself and the others took him ashore.

  "This is the worst trick yet," said Jack, after Emerald had given a gaspand opened his eyes. "How do you feel, old man?"

  It was several seconds before the Irish cadet could reply. In themeantime, very much disturbed, Ritter and Coulter had beached their boatand joined the group surrounding the sufferer.

  "I--er--I lost control of the boat at the last minute," said the bullylamely. "I didn't mean to hit anybody. I was only going to scare you."

  "It was done on purpose! I saw it," answered Andy firmly.

  "See here, Andy Snow, you say that again and I'll knock you down!" criedRitter fiercely.

  "You have got to spell Able first," was the acrobatic youth's reply, ashe doubled up his fists.

  "Whe--where is that spalpeen, Ritter?" came unsteadily from Hogan."Where is he, I say?" And he staggered to his feet. There was a slightcut on his neck, from which the blood was flowing.

  "Here he is," answered Pepper. "But, Emerald, you had better keep quietfor awhile. We'll attend to Ritter later."

  "I'll attend to Ritter and right now!" roared the Irish cadet, andhaving recovered himself somewhat he made a sudden leap at the bully."I'll be afther givin' ye a dose o' your own medicine, so I will!" headded.

  He caught Ritter and in his fury shook the bully as a dog shakes a rat.Then he commenced to back Ritter to the lake front.

  "Hi, let up!" roared the other. "It was only done in fun, I tell you,Hogan!"

  "Thin lit this be fun too," was the Irish cadet's answer, and of asudden he gave Ritter a shove in the breast that sent the bully overbackwards with a splash into the lake.

  "Serves Ritter right," murmured Dale.

  "An' now fer you, me little goslin!" went on Hogan and leaped forCoulter.

  "Le-let me alone--I didn't mean to touch you!" whined Coulter.

  "You backed up Ritter--an' ye can cool off wid him, too," answeredHogan, and catching Coulter by the neck and the seat of his trousers, heran him down to the lake after Ritter and pitched him in. Coulter landedon top of his crony, and both went out of sight with a great splash.Then Hogan shoved from the shore the rowboat Ritter and Coulter had beenusing.

  "You git into that, an' be off wid yez!" roared the Irish cadet, whenRitter and Coulter reappeared in the water. "Don't yez dare to landhere!"

  Much alarmed at Hogan's sudden fury, the bully and his crony kept awayfrom the shore. They swam to the rowboat and clambered on board. Then,dripping from head to feet, they picked up their floating caps, and tookup the oars.

  "You think you're smart, but I'll show you!" cried Reff Ritter.

  "'Tis your own fault," answered Emerald. "Supposin' I had been drowned,what thin, eh? Bad cess to you, Ritter! You're a bad egg, if iver therewas wan!"

  To this the bully did not dare make answer, and he and his crony rowedoff. They went to a secluded but sunny spot up the lake, and there driedthemselves as best they could.

  "I told you not to do it," whined Coulter.

  "Oh, dry up, you make me tired," answered Ritter, and for the remainderof the day he and Coulter had little to do with each other.

  "What makes you so wet?" asked Paxton, when the pair went back to thecamp.

  "Oh, we got into a mix-up with some of the cadets and fell overboard,"answered Ritter, in an off-handed manner. "Where have you been?" headded, quickly, to avoid giving further particulars.

  "Went up to the head of the lake," answered Paxton. "And say, I andMumps made a discovery," he added. Mumps was, as my old readers know, asmall cadet
whose real name was John Fenwick. He was a good deal of asneak and continually toadying to those bigger than himself.

  "What did you discover?"

  "We found a good big hornets' nest."

  "Humph! that's of no account," was Coulter's comment

  "Isn't it though! That's all you know about it," cried Paxton. "I oncefound a hornets' nest and put a big flour bag over it and took it downand brought it to school and had dead loads of fun with it."

  "Say, can you handle 'em that way?" queried Ritter, with interest.

  "Certainly, but you have to be awfully careful."

  "Then, it would be a scheme to secure the nest and introduce some of ourenemies to the hornets."

  "Just what I was thinking," said Nick Paxton.

  "When can you get the nest?"

  "The best time is at night, when the hornets are all inside."

  "You'll want a good, heavy bag, otherwise the hornets will get out andsting you."

  "I can make a bag, of paper and paste," said Paxton.

  "Well, keep it quiet and we'll see what we can do with the nest--afterwe have it," answered Reff Ritter. "I think I know of a scheme," hechuckled.

  "What?" asked the cadet who had made the find.

  "Sooner or later the Ruddy crowd will have some kind of a feast. Whenthey get together we can watch our chance and throw the hornets' nest intheir midst. I reckon that will wake 'em up!"

  "It sure will," said Paxton with a chuckle, and even Coulter had tosmile over the prospect of doing such a thing to the enemy.

  In the meantime, while this talk was going on, Jack and Andy werewalking in the woods back of the encampment. Presently they fell in withMumps.

  "Hello, Mumps!" cried the young major pleasantly. "Walking out for yourhealth?"

  "Oh, I've been up the lake with Paxton," answered the little sneak. Heliked to be noticed by such a superior as the major of the battalion.

  "Well, did you see anything worth seeing?"

  "Oh, lots of things. Saw a hornets' nest."

  "Fall into it?" asked Pepper. "If you did I guess you got out in ahurry."

  "No, I didn't fall into it. Paxton and I found it."

  "I'll wager you threw stones at it," said Jack.

  "No, we didn't touch it. I wanted to throw a stone but Paxton wouldn'tlet me. He said--But never mind that now," added the sneak hastily.

  "What did he say, Mumps?" demanded Pepper.

  "Oh, well, if you want to know, he said he might come and get thehornets' nest some time and play a joke on some of the cadets with it. Iguess he wants to get square with some of the fellows."

  "Hum, I see," mused Jack, and he and Pepper looked knowingly at eachother. "Where was the hornets' nest?"

  "Oh, Paxton said I wasn't to tell anybody."

  "You tell me, Mumps, and I'll give you my old baseball," said Pepper. Hechanced to know that the sneak wanted a ball.

  "Well, I'll tell you, but you musn't tell Paxton I did so."

  "We won't say a word," said The Imp. And thereupon the sneak took himand the young major to where the hornets' nest was located.

  "I'll give you the ball to-morrow," said Pepper, on the way back to thecamp. "Now, mum's the word all around remember."

  "I won't tell anybody I told you," answered Mumps.