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diff --git a/old/60838-0.txt b/old/60838-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index cd787ff..0000000 --- a/old/60838-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,8335 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Rod and Gun Club, by Harry Castlemon - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: The Rod and Gun Club - -Author: Harry Castlemon - -Release Date: December 3, 2019 [EBook #60838] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ROD AND GUN CLUB *** - - - - -Produced by David Edwards and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - - - -[Illustration: THE BATTLE WITH THE STRIKERS.] - - - - - _ROD AND GUN SERIES._ - - THE - ROD AND GUN CLUB. - - BY HARRY CASTLEMON, - AUTHOR OF “THE GUNBOAT SERIES,” “BOY TRAPPER SERIES,” - “ROUGHING IT SERIES,” ETC. - - THE JOHN C. WINSTON CO., - PHILADELPHIA, - CHICAGO, TORONTO. - - - - -FAMOUS CASTLEMON BOOKS. - - - =GUNBOAT SERIES.= By HARRY CASTLEMON. 6 vols. 12mo. - - FRANK THE YOUNG NATURALIST. - FRANK IN THE WOODS. - FRANK ON THE LOWER MISSISSIPPI. - FRANK ON A GUNBOAT. - FRANK BEFORE VICKSBURG. - FRANK ON THE PRAIRIE. - - =ROCKY MOUNTAIN SERIES.= By HARRY CASTLEMON. 3 vols. 12mo. - Cloth. - - FRANK AMONG THE RANCHEROS. - FRANK IN THE MOUNTAINS. - FRANK AT DON CARLOS’ RANCH. - - =SPORTSMAN’S CLUB SERIES.= By HARRY CASTLEMON. 3 vols. 12mo. - Cloth. - - THE SPORTSMAN’S CLUB IN THE SADDLE. - THE SPORTSMAN’S CLUB AFLOAT. - THE SPORTSMAN’S CLUB AMONG THE TRAPPERS. - - =FRANK NELSON SERIES.= By HARRY CASTLEMON. 3 vols. 12mo. Cloth. - - SNOWED UP. - FRANK IN THE FORECASTLE. - THE BOY TRADERS. - - =BOY TRAPPER SERIES.= By HARRY CASTLEMON. 3 vols. 12mo. Cloth. - - THE BURIED TREASURE. - THE BOY TRAPPER. - THE MAIL-CARRIER. - - =ROUGHING IT SERIES.= By HARRY CASTLEMON. 3 vols. 12mo. Cloth. - - GEORGE IN CAMP. - GEORGE AT THE WHEEL. - GEORGE AT THE FORT. - - =ROD AND GUN SERIES.= By HARRY CASTLEMON. 3 vols. 12mo. Cloth. - - DON GORDON’S SHOOTING BOX. - THE YOUNG WILD FOWLERS. - ROD AND GUN CLUB. - - =GO-AHEAD SERIES.= By HARRY CASTLEMON. 3 vols. 12mo. Cloth. - - TOM NEWCOMBE. - GO-AHEAD. - NO MOSS. - - =FOREST AND STREAM SERIES.= By HARRY CASTLEMON. 3 vols. 12mo. - Cloth. - - JOE WAYRING. - SNAGGED AND SUNK. - STEEL HORSE. - - =WAR SERIES.= By HARRY CASTLEMON. 5 vols. 12mo. Cloth. - - TRUE TO HIS COLORS. - RODNEY THE OVERSEER. - MARCY THE REFUGEE. - RODNEY THE PARTISAN. - MARCY THE BLOCKADE-RUNNER. - -_Other Volumes in Preparation._ - -COPYRIGHT, 1883, BY PORTER & COATES. - - - - -CONTENTS - - - PAGE - - CHAPTER I. - - SOME DISGUSTED BOYS 5 - - CHAPTER II. - - BIRDS OF A FEATHER 25 - - CHAPTER III. - - LESTER BRIGHAM’S IDEA 45 - - CHAPTER IV. - - FLIGHT AND PURSUIT 66 - - CHAPTER V. - - DON’S ENCOUNTER WITH THE TRAMP 87 - - CHAPTER VI. - - ABOUT VARIOUS THINGS 108 - - CHAPTER VII. - - A TEST OF COURAGE 130 - - CHAPTER VIII. - - THE FIGHT AS REPORTED 152 - - CHAPTER IX. - - IN THE HANDS OF THE MOB 172 - - CHAPTER X. - - WELCOME HOME 194 - - CHAPTER XI. - - HOPKINS’ EXPERIENCE 217 - - CHAPTER XII. - - PLANS AND ARRANGEMENTS 239 - - CHAPTER XIII. - - THE DESERTERS AFLOAT 261 - - CHAPTER XIV. - - DON OBTAINS A CLUE 284 - - CHAPTER XV. - - ANOTHER TEST AND THE RESULT 307 - - CHAPTER XVI. - - THE ROD AND GUN CLUB 324 - - CHAPTER XVII. - - CASTING THE FLY 344 - - CHAPTER XVIII. - - CONCLUSION 360 - - - - -THE ROD AND GUN CLUB. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -SOME DISGUSTED BOYS. - - -“Well, young man, I will tell you, for your satisfaction, that I have got -you provided, for, for four long years to come.” - -The speaker was Mr. Brigham. As he uttered these words he placed his hat -and gloves on the table, and looked down at his son Lester, who had just -entered the library in obedience to the summons he had received, and -who sat on the edge of the sofa, twirling his cap in his hands. The boy -looked frightened, while the expression on his father’s face told very -plainly that he was angry about something. - -“I have had quite enough of your nonsense,” continued Mr. Brigham, in -very decided tones. “Since we came to Mississippi you have done nothing -but roam about the woods and fields with your gun on your shoulder, and -get yourself into trouble. You made yourself so very disagreeable that -none of the decent boys in the settlement would have anything to do with -you, and consequently you had to take up with such fellows as Bob Owens -and Dan Evans. After setting fire to Don Gordon’s shooting-box, and being -caught in the act of stealing David Evans’s quails, you had to go and mix -yourself up in that mail robbery. Why, Lester, have you any idea where -you will bring up if you do not at once begin to mend your ways?” - -“Why, father, I had nothing to do with that,” exclaimed Lester, trying -to look surprised and innocent; “nothing whatever. You know, as well as -I do, that I was at home when those men who lived in that house-boat -waylaid and robbed the mail-carrier.” - -“I am aware that you took no active part in the work,” said his father. -“If you had, you would now be confined in the calaboose. But you told Dan -Evans about those checks for five thousand dollars that my agent sends me -every month.” - -“I didn’t,” interrupted Lester. - -“Everything goes to prove that you did,” answered Mr. Brigham. “If you -didn’t, how does it come that Dan knew all about those checks? He made -a full confession to Don Gordon. The story is all over the country, and -the people about here are very angry at you. Suppose that Dan had shot -Don Gordon, as he tried to do? What do you suppose would become of you? I -really believe you would have been mobbed before this time. I wonder if -you have any idea of the excitement you have raised in the settlement?” - -No; Lester had not the faintest conception of it, for the simple reason -that he had held no conversation with anybody, save the members of his -own family, since the afternoon on which Dan Evans was overpowered and -robbed of his mail-bag. When the full particulars of the affair came to -his ears, he was as frightened as a boy could be, and live. He knew that -he was in a measure responsible for the robbery, that it would never -have been committed if he had held his tongue regarding his father’s -money, and the fear that he had rendered himself liable to punishment -at the hands of the law, nearly drove him frantic. His terror was -greatly increased by his father’s last words. There had not been so much -excitement in the settlement since the war—not even when it became -known that Clarence Gordon and Godfrey Evans had dug up a portion of the -general’s potato patch, in the hope of unearthing eighty thousand dollars -in gold and silver that were supposed to be buried there. Don Gordon had -more friends than any other boy in the settlement, unless it was Bert, -and the planters were enraged at the attempt that had been made upon his -life. If Dan Evans’s bullet had found a lodgment in his body instead of -going harmlessly through the roof, Dan and Lester Brigham, as well as the -three flatboatmen who stole the mail, might have had a hard time of it. - -Lester’s first care was to hide himself in the house, as he had done -after he and Bob Owens burned Don’s old shooting-box. He earnestly hoped -that the men would escape with their plunder; but when he learned that a -strong party, led by General Gordon, had pursued them in Davis’s sailboat -and captured them, he was ready to give up in despair. Judge Packard -would have to look into the matter now through his judicial spectacles, -and Lester did not want to be summoned to appear as a witness. Neither -did Dan, who, disregarding the advice Don Gordon had given him, took -to the woods and hid there, just as he did after he picked his father’s -pocket of the hundred and sixty dollars that David had made by trapping -quails. - -When Mr. Brigham saw that Lester took to staying in the house, and -that he had suddenly lost all interest in hunting and shooting, his -suspicions were aroused. He always kept his ears open when he went to the -landing, and by putting together the disjointed scraps of conversation -he overheard while he was waiting for his mail, he finally accumulated a -mass of evidence against his son Lester that fairly staggered him. - -“I couldn’t believe this of you until I went to Gordon and asked him what -he knew about it,” continued Mr. Brigham. “Then the whole story came out. -Lester, you will have to go away from here.” - -“That’s just what I want to do,” exclaimed the boy, in joyous tones. “I -never did like this place. It is awful lonely and dull, and there is -no one for me to associate with. If I could only go off somewhere on a -visit——” - -“As I told you, at the start, I have got things fixed for you for -four years to come,” said Mr. Brigham. “You ought to have something to -do—something that will occupy your mind so completely that you will have -no time to be discontented or to think of anything wrong. I have decided -to send you to school; and I am sorry I didn’t do it long ago.” - -When Lester heard this he threw his cap spitefully down upon the floor, -planted his elbow viciously upon the arm of the lounge, and looked very -sullen indeed. School-rooms and school-books were his pet aversions. - -“I don’t want you to do that,” said he, angrily. “I would much rather -stay here.” - -“Do you want to grow up in ignorance?” demanded his father. - -If Lester had given an honest response to this question it would have -been: “No, I don’t want to grow up in ignorance, but I do want to live at -my ease. I desire to go to some place where I can find plenty to amuse -me, and where I shall have no labor to perform, either mental or manual.” -But he did not quite like to say that, and so he said nothing. - -“You don’t know a single thing that a boy of your age ought to know,” -continued Mr. Brigham. “I have just had a long conversation with Gordon -and his two boys.” - -Lester looked up with a startled expression on his face. “You haven’t -determined to send me to Bridgeport, have you?” he exclaimed. - -“I have,” was the decided answer. - -“To the military academy?” asked Lester, in louder and more incredulous -tones. - -“That’s the very place. The systematic drill and training you will there -receive, will be of the greatest benefit to you, if you are only willing -to profit by them. That school has made men of Don and Bert Gordon -already.” - -“I should say so,” sneered Lester, suddenly recalling some items of -information that had come to him in a round-about way. “Don has been in a -constant row with the teachers ever since he has been there.” - -“That is not true. He got himself into trouble when he first entered -the school, and lost his shoulder-straps by it; but he has toned down -wonderfully under the influence of those three boys he brought home with -him, and he is bound to make his mark before his four years’ course is -completed.” - -“But, father, do you know that the teachers are awful hard on the -boys—that if a student looks out of the wrong corner of his eye, or -breaks the smallest one of the thousand and more rules that he is -expected to keep constantly in mind, he is punished for it?” asked -Lester, who was almost ready to cry with vexation. It was bad enough, he -told himself, to be sent away to any school against his will; but it was -worse for his father to select a military academy, and then to hold that -embodiment of mischief and rebellion, Don Gordon, up to him as an object -worthy of emulation. Lester had no desire to learn the tactics, and he -dreaded the discipline to which he knew he would be subjected. - -“I heard all about it during my talk with Don and Bert,” replied his -father. “A strong hand and plenty of work are just what you need.” - -“But do you know that Bert is first sergeant of the company to which I -shall probably be assigned, and that one of its corporals is a New York -boot-black? Do you want me to obey the orders of a street Arab?” - -“He could not have attained to the position he holds unless he had proved -himself worthy of it. The majority of the students, however, are the -sons of wealthy men, and they are the ones I want you to choose for your -associates. Make friends with them and bring some of them home with you, -as Don and Bert did, or go home with them, if they ask you. My word for -it, you will see plenty of sport there, if you will only do your duty -faithfully. Gordon’s boys are impatient to go back; and yet there was a -time when Don disliked school as heartily as you do.” - -“When shall we start for Bridgeport?” - -“A week from next Wednesday. New students are received up to the 13th of -the month; so we must make our application two days before the school -begins.” - -“Of course we’ll not go up on the same boat with the Gordons?” - -“Why not? Having been there before, they can save us a great deal of -trouble by telling us just where to go and what to do.” - -“But I don’t like the idea of traveling in their company. They will snub -me every chance they get.” - -“You need not borrow any trouble on that score. They have good reasons -for disliking you, but if you conduct yourself properly, you will -have nothing to fear from them. Now, Lester, promise me that, if you -are admitted to that school, you will wake up and try to accomplish -something. I will do everything I can to aid and encourage you, and I -will begin by putting it in your power to hold your own with the richest -student there.” - -Lester perfectly understood his father’s last words, and he was -considerably mollified by them. If there were anything that could -reconcile him to becoming a member of the military academy, it was the -knowledge of the fact that a liberal supply of spending money was to be -placed at his disposal. Lester’s highest ambition was to be looked up to -as a leader among his companions. He had failed to accomplish his object -so far as the boys about Rochdale were concerned, but he was pretty sure -that he would not fail at Bridgeport. He didn’t, either. His money, which -Mr. Brigham might better have kept in his own pocket, brought him to the -notice of some uneasy fellows at the academy, who joined him in a daring -enterprise, the like of which had never been heard of before. It gave -the village people something to talk about, and furnished the law-abiding -students with any amount of fun and excitement. In fact the whole school -term was crowded so full of thrilling incidents, so many things happened -to take their minds off their books, that when the examination was held, -some of the best scholars narrowly escaped being dropped from their -classes. - -“I will do anything I can for you,” repeated Mr. Brigham, seating himself -in the nearest chair and taking a newspaper from the table. “If you will -go through the four years’ course with flying colors, and come out at the -head of your class, I shall be highly gratified, and I assure you that -you will lose nothing by it.” - -Mr. Brigham fastened his eyes upon his paper, and Lester, taking this -as a hint that he had nothing more to say just then, picked up his cap -and went out. He made his way directly to his own room, and taking his -squirrel rifle down from the antlers that supported it—purchased antlers -they were, and not trophies of the boy’s own skill—he buckled a cartridge -belt about his waist and left the house. He wanted to go off in the woods -by himself and think the matter over; but it is hard to tell why he took -his rifle with him, for he had no intention of hunting, and he could not -have killed anything if he had. Perhaps it was because he had fallen into -the habit of carrying a weapon on his shoulder wherever he went, just as -Godfrey and Dan did. - -“It is some comfort to know that the governor is not disposed to put -me on short allowance,” thought he, as he sat down on a log and rested -his rifle across his knees, “and perhaps I can manage to stand it for a -while. If I can’t, and father won’t let me come home, I’ll skip out, as -Bob Owens did; only I’ll not go into the army. But it can’t be all work -and no play up there. There must be some jolly fellows among the students -who are in for having a good time now and then, and they are the ones I -shall run with. I am sorry Bert is an officer, for he will tyrannize over -me in every possible way. I feel disgusted whenever I think of that.” - -Lester Brigham was not the only boy in the world who felt disgusted that -day. There were three others that we know of. One of them lived away off -in Maryland, and the others lived in Rochdale. The last were Don and Bert -Gordon. - -When their father came into the room in which they were sitting and -told them that Mr. Brigham was waiting to see them in the parlor, they -followed him lost in wonder, which gave place to a very different feeling -when they learned that this visitor had come there to make some inquiries -regarding the Bridgeport military academy, with a view of sending his -son there. Bert gave truthful replies to all his questions, and so did -Don, for the matter of that; but he did not neglect to enlarge upon the -severity of the discipline, or to call Mr. Brigham’s attention to the -fact that no boy need go to that school expecting to keep pace with his -classes, unless he was willing to study hard. Believing that Lester would -make trouble one way or another, Don did not want him there, and he hoped -to convince Mr. Brigham that the academy at Bridgeport would not at all -suit Lester; but he did not succeed. The visitor seemed to believe that -military drill was just what his refractory son needed, asked the boys -when they were going to start, thanked them for the information they had -given him, and took his leave. - -“Well, now, I am disgusted,” exclaimed Don; while Bert went over to the -window and drummed upon it with his fingers. - -“I don’t see how you are going to help yourselves, boys,” said the -general. “Lester Brigham has as much right to go to that school as you -have.” - -“I know that,” replied Don. “But I don’t want him there, all the same.” - -“Neither do I,” said Bert. “He will be in my company, and if I make him -toe the mark, he will say that I do it because I want to be revenged on -him for burning Don’s shooting-box and getting Dave Evans into trouble.” - -“Do your duty as a soldier, and let Lester say what he pleases,” said the -general. - -“Oh! he’ll have to,” exclaimed Don. “If he doesn’t, he will be reported. -Bert’s got to walk a chalk line now, and if he makes a false step, off -come his diamond and _chevrons_. It’s some consolation to know that we -can’t introduce him to Egan and the rest. They would snub us in a minute -if we did, and serve us right, too. A plebe must be content to wait until -the upper-class boys get ready to speak to him.” - -“Having passed four years of my life in that academy I am not ignorant -of that fact,” said the general, after a little pause, during which he -recalled to mind how he had once had his face washed in a snow-drift by -a couple of second-class boys whom he had presumed to address on terms -of familiarity. “But I hope you will do all you can for Lester. Remember -how lonely you felt when you first went there, and found yourselves -surrounded by those who were utter strangers to you.” - -“Oh, we will,” said Bert, while Don scowled savagely but said nothing. -“If he will show us that he has come there with the determination to do -the best he can, we’ll stand by him; won’t we, Don?” - -Of course the latter said they would, but he gave the promise simply -because his father desired it, and not because he had any friendly -feeling for Lester Brigham. - -The other disgusted boy was Egan, who, on this particular day, was pacing -up and down the back veranda of his father’s house, shaking his fist at -the surf that was rolling in upon the beach, and acting altogether like -one whose reflections were by no means agreeable. What it was that had -happened to annoy him, we will let him tell in his own way. - -Christmas, with its festivities, was now a memory. New Year’s day -came and went, and Don and Bert, each in his own way, began making -preparations for their return to Bridgeport. The latter, who was -determined that the close of another school year should find him with at -least one bar on his shoulder, devoted his morning hours to his books, -while Don, to quote his own language, proceeded to put himself through a -regular course of training. There was a long siege of hard study before -him, but one would have thought, by the way he went to work, that he was -preparing himself for a physical rather than an intellectual contest. He -rode hard, hunted perseveringly, kept up his regular exercise with Indian -clubs and dumb-bells, and looked, as he said he felt, as if he were good -for any amount of work. - -Knowing how valuable a little advice would have been to them when they -first joined the academy, Don and Bert rode over to see Lester, intending -to give him some idea of the nature of the examination he would have to -pass before he would be received as a student, and to drop a few hints -that would enable him to keep out of trouble; but they never repeated the -experiment. Lester was surly and not at all sociable; and he was so very -independent, and seemed to have so much confidence in his ability to make -his way without help from anybody, that his visitors took their leave -without saying half as much to him as they had intended. - -“I know what they are up to,” said Lester, who stood at the window -watching Don and Bert as they rode away. “They have reasons for wishing -to get on the right side of me. Somebody has probably told them that I am -to have plenty of money to spend, and they intend that I shall spend some -of it for their own benefit. I am going in for a shoulder-strap—I am not -one to be satisfied with a sergeant’s warrant—and the first thing I shall -do, after I get it, will be to take those stripes off Bert Gordon’s arms. -He and his boot-black can’t order _me_ around.” - -This soliloquy will show that Lester had changed his mind in regard to -the school at Bridgeport. He wanted to go there now. His father, who -knew nothing about the academy beyond what Don and Bert had told him, -and who judged it by the fashionable boarding-schools at which he had -obtained the little knowledge he possessed, had neglected no opportunity -to impress upon Lester’s mind the fact that a rich man’s son would not -be allowed to remain long in the ranks, and that there was nothing to -prevent him from winning and wearing an officer’s sword, if he would only -use a little tact in pushing himself forward. After listening to such -counsel as this, it was not at all likely that anything that Don and Bert -could say would have any influence with him. - -“He thinks he is going to have a walk over,” said Don, as he stroked his -pony’s glossy mane. - -“It looks that way, but there’s where he is mistaken,” replied Bert. -“Lester will be walking an extra before he has been at the academy a -week.” - -“Well, we’ll not volunteer any more advice, no matter what happens to -him,” said Don. “We’ll let him go as he pleases and see how he will come -out.” - -The day set for their departure came at last, and Don and Bert, -accompanied by Mr. Brigham and Lester, set out for Bridgeport, which they -reached without any mishap. They rode in the same hack from the depot to -the academy, and when they alighted at the door, they were surrounded -by a crowd of boys who had already reported for duty, and who made it -a point to rush out of the building to extend a noisy welcome to every -newcomer. School was not yet in session, and the first-class boys were -not above speaking to a plebe. - -Among those who were first to greet Don and Bert as they stepped out of -the hack, were Egan, Hopkins and Curtis. As these young gentlemen had -already completed the regular academic course, perhaps the reader would -like to know what it was that brought them back. They came to take what -was called the “finishing course,” and to put themselves under technical -instruction. After that (it took two years to go through it) Hopkins -was to enter a lawyer’s office in Baltimore; Egan intended to become -assistant engineer to a relative who was building railroads somewhere in -South America; while Curtis was looking towards West Point. - -The boys who composed these advanced classes were privileged characters. -They dressed in citizens’ clothes, performed no military duty, boarded in -the village, and came and went whenever they pleased. When the students -went into camp, they were at liberty to go with them, or they could -stay at the academy and study. If they chose the camp, they could ask to -be appointed aids or orderlies at headquarters, or they could put on a -uniform, shoulder a musket, and fall into the ranks. They held no office, -and the boy who was lieutenant-colonel last year, was nothing better than -a private now. - -Don and Bert greeted their friends cordially, and as soon as the latter -could free himself from their clutches, he beckoned to Mr. Brigham and -Lester, who followed him through the hall and into the superintendent’s -room. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -BIRDS OF A FEATHER. - - -“Which one of these trunks do you belong to, Gordon?” inquired a young -second-lieutenant, whose duty it was to see that the students were -assigned to rooms as fast as they arrived. - -“The one with the canvas cover is mine,” replied Don. - -“Any preference among the boys?” asked the lieutenant. “You can’t have -Bert for a room-mate this term, you know. The second sergeant of his -company will be chummed on him.” - -Don replied that he didn’t care who he had for a companion, so long as -he was a well-behaved boy; whereupon the lieutenant beckoned to a negro -porter whom he called “Rosebud,” and directed him to take Don’s trunk up -to No. 45, third floor. - -“By the way, I suppose that that fellow who has just gone into the -superintendent’s room with Bert is a crony of yours?” continued the young -officer. - -“He is from Mississippi,” said Don. He did not wish to publish the fact -that Lester Brigham was no friend of his, for that would prejudice the -students against him at once. Lester was likely to have a hard time of it -at the best, and Don did not want to say or do anything that would make -it harder for him. - -“All right,” said the officer. “I will take pains to see that he is -chummed on some good fellow.” - -“You needn’t put yourself to any trouble for him on my account,” said Don -in a low tone, at the same time turning his back upon a sprucely-dressed -but rather brazen-faced boy, who persisted in crowding up close to him -and Egan, as if he meant to hear every word that passed between them. “He -is nothing to me, and I wish he was back where he came from. He’ll wish -so too, before he has been here many days. I said everything I could to -induce his father to keep him at home, but he——” - -“Let’s take a walk as far as the gate,” said Egan, seizing Don by the arm -and nodding to Hopkins and Curtis. “You stay here, Enoch,” he added, -turning to the sprucely-dressed boy. - -“What’s the reason I can’t go too?” demanded the latter. - -“Because we don’t want you,” replied Egan, bluntly. “I told you before -we left home, that you needn’t expect to hang on to my coat-tails. Make -friends with the members of your own company, for they are the only -associates you will have after school begins.” - -“But they are all strangers to me, and you won’t introduce me,” said -Enoch. - -“Then pitch in and get acquainted, as I did when I first came here. You -may be sure I’ll not introduce you,” said Egan, in a low voice, as he -and his three friends walked toward the gate. “An introduction is an -indorsement, and I don’t indorse any such fellows as you are.” - -“What’s the matter with him?” asked Don, who had never seen Egan so -annoyed and provoked as he was at that moment. - -“Everything,” replied the ex-sergeant. “He’s the meanest boy I ever met—I -except nobody—and if he doesn’t prove to be a second Clarence Duncan, I -shall miss my guess.” - -“The boy who came here with me will make a good mate for him,” said Don. - -“This fellow’s father has only recently moved into our neighborhood,” -continued Egan. “He went into ecstasies over my uniform the first time -he saw it, and wanted to know where I got it, and how much it cost, and -all that sort of thing. Of course I praised the school and everybody and -everything connected with it; but I wish now that I had kept still. The -next time that I met him he told me that when I returned to Bridgeport he -was going with me. I was in hopes he wouldn’t stick, but he did.” - -“Mr. Brigham crowded Lester upon Bert and me in about the same way,” said -Don. - -“Was that Lester Brigham?” exclaimed Curtis—“the boy who burned your old -shooting-box and kicked up that rumpus while we were at Rochdale? We -often heard you speak of him, but you know we never saw him.” - -“He’s the very one,” replied Don. - -“Then he will make a good mate for Enoch Williams,” said Egan. “Why, Don, -this fellow has been caught in the act of looting ducks on the bay.” - -Egan’s tone and manner seemed to indicate that he looked upon this as one -of the worst offenses that could be committed, and both he and Hopkins -were surprised because Don did not grow angry over it. - -“What’s looting ducks?” asked the latter. - -“It is a system of hunting pursued by the pot-hunters of Chesapeake bay, -who shoot for the market and not for sport. A huge blunderbuss, which -will hold a handful of powder and a pound or more of shot, and which is -kept concealed during the day-time, is put into the bow of a skiff at -night, and carried into the very midst of a flock of sleeping ducks; and -sometimes the men who manage it, secure as many as sixty or seventy birds -at one discharge. The law expressly prohibits it, and denounces penalties -against those who are caught at it.” - -“Then why wasn’t Enoch punished?” - -“Because everybody is afraid to complain of him or of any one else -who violates the law. It isn’t safe to say anything against these -duck-shooters, and those who do it are sure to suffer. Their yachts will -be bored full of holes, their oyster-beds dragged at night or filled with -sharp things for the dredges to catch on, their lobster-pots pulled up -and destroyed or carried off, their retrievers shot or stolen—oh, it -wouldn’t take long to raise an excitement down there that would be fully -equal to that which was occasioned in Rochdale by that mail robbery.” - -If the reader will bear these words in mind, he will see that subsequent -events proved the truthfulness of them. The professional duck-shooters -who played such havoc with the wild fowl in Chesapeake bay, were -determined and vindictive men, and it was very easy to get into trouble -with them, especially when there were such fellows as Enoch Williams and -Lester Brigham to help it along. - -The four friends spent half an hour in walking about the grounds, talking -over the various exciting and amusing incidents that had happened while -they were living in _Don Gordon’s Shooting-Box_, and then Don went to his -dormitory to put on his uniform, preparatory to reporting his arrival to -the superintendent. Every train that steamed into the station brought a -crowd of students with it, and the evening of the 14th of January found -them all snug in their quarters, and ready for the serious business of -the term, which was to begin with the booming of the morning gun. All -play was over now. There had been guard-mount that morning, sentries -were posted on the grounds and in the buildings, and the new students -began to see how it seemed to feel the tight reins of military discipline -drawn about them. Of course there were a good many who did not like it -at all. Events proved that there was a greater number of malcontents -in the school this term than there had ever been before. Bold fellows -some of them were, too—boys who had always been allowed to do as they -pleased at home, and who proceeded to get up a rebellion before they had -donned their uniforms. One of them, it is hardly necessary to say, was -Lester Brigham. On the morning when the ceremony of guard-mounting was -gone through with for the first time, he stood off by himself, muffled -up head and ears, and watching the proceeding. Presently his attention -was attracted by the actions of a boy who came rapidly along the path, -shaking his gloved fists in the air and talking to himself. He did not -see Lester until he was close upon him, and then he stopped and looked -ashamed. - -“What’s the trouble?” asked Lester, who was in no very good humor himself. - -“Matter enough,” replied the boy. “I wish I had never seen or heard of -this school.” - -“Here too,” said Lester. “Are you a new scholar? Then we belong to the -same class and company.” - -“I wouldn’t belong to any class or company if I could help it,” snapped -the boy. “My father didn’t want me to come here, but I insisted, like the -dunce I was, and now I’ve got to stay.” - -“So have I; but I didn’t come of my own free will. My father made me.” - -“Get into any row at home?” asked the boy. - -“Well—yes,” replied Lester, hesitatingly. - -“I don’t see that it is anything to be ashamed of. You look like a city -boy; did the cops get after you?” - -“No; I had no trouble with the police, but I thought for a while that I -was going to have. I live in the canebrakes of Mississippi, and my name -is Lester Brigham. I used to live in the city, and I wish I had never -left it.” - -“My name is Enoch Williams, and I am from Maryland,” said the other. “I -don’t live in a cane-brake, but I live on the sea-shore, and right in -the midst of a lot of Yahoos who don’t know enough to keep them over -night. Egan is one of them and Hopkins is another.” - -“Why, those are two of the boys that Don Gordon brought home with him -last fall,” exclaimed Lester. “Do you know them?” - -“I know Egan very well. His father’s plantation is next to ours. If he -had been anything of a gentleman, I might have been personally acquainted -with Hopkins by this time; but, although we traveled in company all the -way from Maryland, he never introduced me. Do you know them?” - -“I used to see them occasionally last fall, but I have never spoken to -either of them,” answered Lester. “By the way, the first sergeant of our -company is a near neighbor of mine.” - -“Do you mean Bert Gordon? Well, he’s a little snipe. He throws on more -airs than a country dancing-master. I have been insulted ever since I -have been here,” said Enoch, hotly. “The boys from my own State, who -ought to have brought me to the notice of the teachers and of some good -fellows among the students, have turned their backs upon me, and told me -in so many words, that they don’t want my company.” - -“Don and Bert Gordon have treated me in nearly the same way,” observed -Lester. - -“But, for all that, I have made some acquaintances among the boys in -the third class, who gave me a few hints that I intend to act upon,” -continued Enoch. “They say the rules are very strict, and that it is of -no earthly use for me to try to keep out of trouble. There are a favored -few who are allowed to do as they please; but the rest of us must walk -turkey, or spend our Saturday afternoons in doing extra duty. Now I say -that isn’t fair—is it, Jones?” added Enoch, appealing to a third-class -boy who just then came up. - -Jones had been at the academy just a year, and of course he was a member -of Don Gordon’s class and company. He was one of those who, by the aid -of Don’s “Yankee Invention,” had succeeded in making their way into the -fire-escape, and out of the building. They failed to get by the guard, -as we know, and Jones was court-martialed as well as the rest. His back -and arms ached whenever he thought of the long hours he had spent in -walking extras to pay for that one night’s fun; and he had made the -mental resolution that before he left the academy he would do something -that would make those who remained bear him in remembrance. He was lazy, -vicious and idle, and quite willing to back up Enoch’s statement. - -“Of course it isn’t fair,” said he, after Enoch had introduced him to -Lester Brigham. “You needn’t expect to be treated fairly as long as you -remain here, unless you are willing to curry favor with the teachers, and -so win a warrant or a commission; but that is something no decent boy -will do. I can prove it to you. Take the case of Don Gordon: he’s a good -fellow, in some respects——” - -“There’s where I differ with you,” interrupted Lester. “I have known him -for a long time, and I have yet to see anything good about him.” - -“I don’t care if you have. I say he’s a good fellow,” said Jones, -earnestly. “There isn’t a better boy in school to run with than Don -Gordon would be, if he would only get rid of the notion that it is manly -to tell the truth at all times and under all circumstances, no matter -who suffers by it. He’s as full of plans as an egg is of meat; he is -afraid of nothing, and there wasn’t a boy in our set who dared join him -in carrying out some schemes he proposed. Why, he wanted to capture the -butcher’s big bull-dog, take him up to the top of the building, and then -kick him down stairs after tying a tin-can to his tail! He would have -done it, too, if any of the set had offered to help him; but I tell you, -I wouldn’t have taken a hand in it for all the money there is in America.” - -“He must be a good one,” said Enoch, admiringly. - -“Oh, he is. We had many a pleasant evening at Cony Ryan’s last winter -that we would not have had if Don had not come to our aid; but when the -critical moment arrived, he failed us.” - -“You might have expected it,” sneered Lester, who could not bear to hear -these words of praise bestowed upon the boy he so cordially hated. - -“Well, I didn’t expect it. Don was one of the floor-guards that night, -and he allowed a lot of us to pass him and go out of the building. When -the superintendent hauled him up for it the next day, he acknowledged his -guilt, but he would not give our names, although he knew he stood a good -chance of being sent down for his refusal. I shall always honor him for -that.” - -“I wish he had been expelled,” said Lester, bitterly. “Then I should not -have been sent to this school.” - -“Well, when the examination came off,” continued Jones, “Don was so far -ahead of his class that none of them could touch him with a ten-foot -pole; and yet he is a private to-day, while that brother of his, who -won the good-will of the teachers by toadying to them, wears a first -sergeant’s _chevrons_. Of course such partiality as that is not fair for -the rest of us.” - -“There isn’t a single redeeming feature about this school, is there?” -said Enoch, after a pause. “A fellow can’t enjoy himself in any way.” - -“Oh yes, he can—if he is smart and a trifle reckless. He can go to Cony -Ryan’s and eat pancakes. I suppose Egan told you of the high old times we -had here last winter running the guard, didn’t he?” - -“He never mentioned it,” replied Enoch. - -“Well, didn’t he describe the fight we had with the Indians last camp?” - -“Indians!” repeated Enoch, incredulously, while Lester’s eyes opened with -amazement. - -“Yes; sure-enough Indians they were too, and not make-believes. We -thought, by the way they yelled at us, that they meant business. Why, -they raised such a rumpus about the camp that some of our lady guests -came very near fainting, they were so frightened. Didn’t Egan tell you -how he and Don deserted, swam the creek, went to the show disguised as -country boys, and finally fell into the hands of those same Indians who -had surrounded the camp and were getting ready to attack us?” - -No, Egan hadn’t said a word about any of these things to Enoch, and -neither had Don or Bert spoken of them to Lester; although they might -have done so if the latter had showed them a little more courtesy when -they called upon him at his house. Some of the matters referred to were -pleasant episodes in the lives of the Bridgeport students, and the reason -why Egan had not spoken of them was because he did not want Enoch to -think there was anything agreeable about the institution. He didn’t want -him there, because he did not believe that Enoch would be any credit to -the school; and so he did with him just as Don and Bert did with Lester: -he enlarged upon the rigor of the discipline, the stern impartiality of -the instructors, the promptness with which they called a delinquent to -account, and spoke feelingly of their long and difficult lessons; but he -never said “recreation” once, nor did he so much as hint that there were -certain hours in the day that the students could call their own. - -“Tell us about that fight,” said Enoch. - -“Yes, do,” chimed in Lester. “If there is any way to see fun here, let us -know what it is.” - -Jones was just the boy to go to with an appeal of this sort. He was -thoroughly posted, and if there were any one in the academy who was -always ready to set the rules and regulations at defiance, especially -if he saw the shadow of a chance for escaping punishment, Jones was -the fellow. He gave a glowing description of the battle at the camp; -told how the boys ran the guard, and where they went and what they did -after they got out; related some thrilling stories of adventure of which -the law-breakers were the heroes; and by the time the dinner-call was -sounded, he had worked his two auditors up to such a pitch of excitement -that they were ready to attempt almost anything. - -“You have given me some ideas,” said Enoch, as they hurried toward their -dormitories in obedience to the call, “and who knows but they may grow -to something? I’ve got to stay here—I had a plain understanding with my -father on that point—and I am going to think up something that will yield -us some sport.” - -“That’s the way I like to hear a fellow talk,” said Jones, approvingly; -“and I will tell you this for your encouragement: we care nothing for -the risk we shall run in carrying out your scheme, whatever it may be, -but before we undertake it, you must be able to satisfy us that we can -carry it out successfully. Do that, and I will bring twenty boys to back -you up, if you need so many. We are always glad to have fellows like you -come among us, for our tricks grow stale after a while, and we learn new -ones of you. Don Gordon can think up something in less time than anybody -I ever saw; but it would be useless to look to him for help. Egan and -the other good little boys have taken him in hand, and they’ll make an -officer of him this year; you wait and see if they don’t.” - -“Jones gave me some ideas, too,” thought Lester, as he marched into the -dining-hall with his company, and took his seat at the table; “but I -must say I despise the way he lauded that Don Gordon. Don seems to make -friends wherever he goes, and they are among the best, too; while I have -to be satisfied with such companions as I can get. I am going to set my -wits at work and see if I can’t study up something that will throw that -bull-dog business far into the shade.” - -Unfortunately for Lester this was easy of accomplishment. He was not -obliged to do any very hard thinking on the subject, for a plan was -suggested to him that very afternoon. There was but one objection to it: -he would have to wait four or five months before it could be carried out. - -Lester’s room-mate was a boy who spelled his name Huggins, but pronounced -it as though it were written Hewguns. He had showed but little -disposition to talk about himself and his affairs, and all Lester could -learn concerning him was that he was from Massachusetts, and that he -lived somewhere on the sea-coast. He and Lester met in their dormitory -after dinner, and while the latter proceeded to put on his hat and -overcoat, Huggins threw himself into a chair, buried his hands in his -pockets and gazed steadily at the floor. - -“What’s the matter?” inquired Lester. “You act as if something had gone -wrong with you.” - -“Things never go right with me,” was the surly response. “There isn’t a -boy in the world who has so much trouble as I do.” - -“I have often thought that of myself,” Lester remarked. “Come out and -take a walk. Perhaps the fresh air will do you good.” - -“I don’t want any fresh air,” growled Huggins. “I want to think. I have -been trying all the morning to hit upon something that would enable me to -get to windward of my father, and I guess I have got it at last.” - -“What do you mean by getting to windward of him?” asked Lester. - -“Why, getting the advantage of him. If two vessels were racing, the one -that was to windward would have the odds of the other, especially if the -breeze was not steady, because she would always catch it first. I guess -you don’t know much about the water, do you?” - -“I don’t know much about boats,” replied Lester; “but when it comes to -hunting, fishing or riding, I am there. I have yet to see the fellow who -can beat me.” - -“I am fond of fishing,” said Huggins. “I was out on the banks last -season. We made a very fine catch, and had a tidy row with the -Newfoundland fishermen before we could get our bait.” - -“What sort of fish did you take?” - -“Codfish, of course.” - -“Do you angle for them from the banks?” - -“I said _on_ the banks—that is, in shoal water.” - -“Oh,” said Lester. “I don’t know anything about that kind of fishing. Did -you ever play a fifteen pound brook-trout on an eight-ounce fly-rod?” - -“No; nor nobody else.” - -“I have done it many a time,” said Lester. “I tell you it takes a man who -understands his business to land a fish like that with light tackle. A -greenhorn would have broken his pole or snapped his line the very first -jerk he made.” - -“You may tell that to the marines, but you needn’t expect me to believe -it,” said Huggins, quietly. “In the first place, a fly-fisher doesn’t -fasten his hook by giving a jerk. He does it by a simple turn of the -wrist. In the second place, the _Salmo fontinalis_ doesn’t grow to the -weight of fifteen pounds.” - -Lester was fairly staggered. He had set out with the intention of giving -his room-mate a graphic account of some of his imaginary exploits and -adventures (those of our readers who are well acquainted with him will -remember that he kept a large supply of them on hand), but he saw that it -was time to stop. There was no use in trying to deceive a boy who could -fire Latin at him in that way. - -“The largest brook-trout that was ever caught was taken in the Rangeley -lakes, and weighed a trifle over ten pounds,” continued Huggins. “And -lastly, the members of the order _Salmonidæ_ don’t live in the muddy, -stagnant bayous you have down South. They want clear cold water.” - -“Why do you want to get to windward of your father?” inquired Lester, who -thought it best to change the subject. - -“To pay him for sending me to this school,” replied Huggins. - -“And you think you know how to do it?” - -“I do.” - -Lester became interested. He took off his hat and overcoat and sat down -on the edge of his bed. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -LESTER BRIGHAM’S IDEA. - - -“If one might judge by the way you talk and act, you didn’t want to come -to this school,” said Lester. - -“No, I didn’t,” answered Huggins. “I don’t want to go to any school. The -height of my ambition is to become a sailor. I was born in sight of the -ocean, and have snuffed its breezes and been tossed about by its waves -ever since I can remember. I live near Gloucester, and my father is -largely interested in the cod-fishery. He began life as a fisherman, but -he owns a good sized fleet now.” - -“Didn’t he want you to go to sea?” asked Lester. - -“No. He allowed me to go to the banks now and then, but when I told him -that I wanted to make a regular business of it, he wouldn’t listen to me. -After I got tired of trying to reason with him, I made preparations to -run away from home; but he caught me at it, and bundled me off here.” - -“What are you going to do about it?” - -“I’m not going to stay. I’ve been to school before, but I was never -snubbed as I have been since I came to Bridgeport. The idea that a boy of -my age should be obliged to say ‘sir’ to every little up-start who wears -a shoulder-strap! I’ll not do it.” - -“You’d better. If you don’t you will be in trouble continually.” - -“Let the trouble come. I’ll get out of its way.” - -“How will you do it?” - -Huggins shut one eye, looked at Lester with the other, and laid his -finger by the side of his nose. - -“Oh, you needn’t be afraid to trust me,” said Lester, who easily -understood this pantomime. “Those who are best acquainted with me will -tell you that I am true blue. I know just how you feel. I don’t like this -school any better than you do; I was sent here in spite of all I could -say to prevent it. I have been snubbed by the boys in the upper classes -because I spoke to them before they spoke to me, and when I see a chance -to leave without being caught, I shall improve it.” - -“I guess I can rely upon you to keep my secret,” said Huggins, but it is -hard to tell how he reached this conclusion. One single glance at that -peaked, freckled face, whose every feature bore evidence to the sneaking -character and disposition of its owner, ought to have satisfied him that -his room-mate was not a boy who could be confided in. - -“You may depend upon me every time,” said Lester, earnestly. “I’ll bring -twenty good fellows to help you.” - -“Oh, I can’t take so many boys with me,” said Huggins, looking up in -surprise. “I couldn’t find berths for them.” - -“Are you going off on a boat?” - -“Of course I am. Some dark night, when all the rest of the fellows are -asleep, I am going to slip out of here, take my foot in my hand and draw -a bee-line for Oxford; and when I get there, I am going to ship aboard -the first sea-going vessel I can find.” - -“As a sailor?” exclaimed Lester. - -“Certainly. I shall have to go before the mast; but I’ll not stay there, -for I can hand, reef and steer as well as the next man, I don’t care -where he comes from, and I understand navigation, too.” - -Lester was sadly disappointed. He hoped and believed that his room-mate -was about to propose something in which he could join him. - -“I am sorry I can’t go with you,” said he; “but I don’t want to follow -the sea.” - -“Of course you don’t, for you belong ashore. I belong on the water, and -there’s where I am going. Oxford is two hundred miles from Bridgeport, -and that is a long distance to walk through snow that is two feet deep.” - -“You can go on the cars,” suggested Lester. - -“No, I can’t; unless I steal a ride. My father is determined to keep -me here, and consequently he does not allow me a cent of money,” said -Huggins; and he proved it by turning all his pockets inside out to show -that they were empty. - -“He is mean, isn’t he?” said Lester, indignantly. He was about to add -that his father had given him a very liberal supply of bills before he -set out on his return to Rochdale, but he did not say it, for fear that -his friend Huggins might want to borrow a dollar or two. - -“But he will find that I am not going to let the want of money stand -in my way,” added Huggins. “I saw several nice little yachts in their -winter quarters when I was at the wharf the other day, and if it were -summer we’d get a party of fellows together, run off in one of them, and -go somewhere and have some fun. When the time came to separate, each one -could go where he pleased. The rest of you could hold a straight course -for home, if you felt like it, and I would go to sea.” - -“That’s the very idea,” exclaimed Lester. “I wonder why some of the boys -didn’t think of it long ago. When you get ready to go, count me in.” - -“I shall not be here to take part in it,” replied Huggins. “I hope to be -on deep water before many days more have passed over my head.” - -“I am sorry to hear you say so, for you would be just the fellow to lead -an expedition like that. But there’s one thing you have forgotten: if you -intend to slip away from the academy, you will need help.” - -“I don’t see why I should. I shall not stir until every one is asleep.” - -“Then you’ll not go out at all. There are sentries posted around the -grounds at this moment, and as soon as it grows dark, guards will take -charge of every floor in this building. It is easy enough to get by the -sentries—I know, for some of the boys told me so—but how are you going to -pass these floor-guards when they are watching your room?” - -“Whew!” whistled Huggins. “They hold a fellow tight, don’t they?” - -“They certainly do; and it is not a very pleasant state of affairs for -one who has been allowed to go and come whenever he felt like it. Your -best plan would be to ask for a pass. That will take you by the guards, -and when you get off the grounds, you needn’t come back.” - -“But suppose I can’t get a pass?” - -“Then the only thing you can do is to wait until some of your friends are -on duty. They will pass you and keep still about it afterward.” - -“I haven’t a single friend in the school.” - -“You can make some by simply showing the boys that your heart is in the -right place. I must go now to meet an engagement; but I will see you -later, and if you like, I will introduce you to a few acquaintances I -have made since my arrival, every one of whom you can trust.” - -As Lester said this, he put on his hat and overcoat and left the room. -Huggins had given him an idea, and he wanted to get away by himself and -think about it. He did not have time to spend a great deal of study upon -it, for as he was about to pass out at the front door, he met Jones, -who was just the boy he wanted to see. He was in the company of several -members of his class, but a wink and a slight nod of the head quickly -brought him to Lester’s side. - -“Say, Jones,” whispered the latter, “I understand that there are a good -many yachts owned in this village, and that they are in their winter -quarters now. When warm weather comes, what would you say to capturing -one of them, and going off somewhere on a picnic?” - -“Lester, you’re a good one,” exclaimed Jones, admiringly. - -“Do you think it could be done?” - -“I am sure of it,” replied Jones, who grew enthusiastic at once. “It’s -the very idea, and I know the boys will be in for it hot and heavy. -It takes the new fellows to get up new schemes. I can see only two -objections to it.” - -“What are they?” inquired Lester. - -“The first is, that we can’t carry it out under four or five months. -Couldn’t you think up something that we could go at immediately?” - -“I am afraid not,” answered Lester. “Where could we go and what could we -do if we were to desert now? We could not sleep out of doors with the -thermometer below zero, for we would freeze to death. We must have warm -weather for our excursion.” - -“That’s so,” said Jones, reflectively. “I suppose we shall have to wait, -but I don’t like to, and neither would you if you knew what we’ve got -to go through with before the ice is all out of the river. The other -objection is, that we have no one among us who can manage the yacht after -we capture it.” - -“What’s the reason we haven’t?” - -“Can you do it?” - -“I might. I have taken my own yacht in a pleasure cruise around the great -lakes from Oswego to Duluth,” replied Lester, with unblushing mendacity. -“It was while I was in Michigan that I killed some of those bears.” - -“I didn’t know you had ever killed any,” said Jones, opening his eyes in -amazement. - -“Oh, yes, I have. They are also abundant in Mississippi, and one day I -kept one of them from chewing up Don Gordon.” - -“You don’t say so. You and Kenyon ought to be chums; there he is,” said -Jones, directing Lester’s attention to a tall, lank young fellow who -looked a great deal more like a backwoodsman than he did like a soldier. -“He is from Michigan. His father is a lumberman, and Sam had never been -out of the woods until a year ago, when he was sent to this school to -have a little polish put on him. But he is one of the good little boys. -He says he came here to learn and has no time to fool away. Shall I -introduce you?” - -“By no means,” said Lester, hastily. He did not think it would be -quite safe. If his friend Jones made him known to Kenyon as a renowned -bear-hunter, the latter might go at him in much the same style that -Huggins did, and then there would be another exposure. He could not -afford to be caught in many more lies if he hoped to make himself a -leader among his companions. “Since Kenyon is one of the good boys, I -have no desire to become acquainted with him,” he added. “And, while I -think of it, Jones, don’t repeat what I said to you.” - -“About the bears? I won’t.” - -“Because, if you do, the fellows will say I am trying to make myself out -to be somebody, and that wouldn’t be pleasant. After I have been here -awhile they will be able to form their own opinion of me.” - -“They will do that just as soon as I tell them about this plan of yours,” -said Jones. “They’ll say you are the boy they have been waiting for. But -you will take command of the yacht, after we get her, will you not?” - -“Yes; I’ll do that.” - -“It is nothing more than fair that you should have the post of honor, for -you proposed it. I will talk the matter up among the fellows before I am -an hour older.” - -“Just one word more,” said Lester, as Jones was about to move off. -“My room-mate is going to desert and go to sea. If I will make you -acquainted with him, will you point out to him the boys who will help -him?” - -“I’ll be glad to do it,” said Jones, readily. “But tell him to keep his -own counsel until I can have a talk with him. If he should happen to drop -a hint of what he intends to do in the presence of some boys whose names -I could mention, they would carry it straight to the superintendent, and -then Huggins would find himself in a box.” - -“If he runs away, will they try to catch him?” asked Lester. - -“To be sure they will. Squads of men will be sent out in every direction, -and some of them will catch him too, unless he’s pretty smart. Tell him -particularly to look out for Captain Mack. He’s the worst one in the lot. -He can follow a trail with all the certainty of a hound, and no deserter -except Don Gordon ever succeeded in giving him the slip. Now you take a -walk about the grounds, and I will see what my friends think about this -yacht business. I will see you again in fifteen or twenty minutes.” - -So saying Jones walked off to join his companions, while Lester -strolled slowly toward the gate. The latter was highly gratified by -the promptness with which his idea (Huggins’s idea, rather) had been -indorsed, but he wished he had not said so much about his ability to -manage the yacht. He knew as much about sailing as he did about shooting -and fishing, that is, nothing at all. He had never seen a pleasure-boat -larger than Don Gordon’s. If anybody had put a sail into a skiff and told -him it was a yacht, Lester would not have known the difference. - -“It isn’t at all likely that my plan will amount to anything,” said -Lester, to himself. “I suggested it just because I wanted the fellows -to know that there are those in the world who are fully as brave as Don -Gordon is supposed to be. But if Jones and his crowd should take me at my -word, wouldn’t I be in a fix? What in the name of wonder would I do?” - -It was evident that Lester was sadly mistaken in the boys with whom he -had to deal, and he received another convincing proof of it before half -an hour had passed. By the time he had taken a dozen turns up and down -the long path, he saw Jones and Enoch Williams hurrying to meet him. The -expression on their faces told him that they had what they considered to -be good news to communicate. - -“It’s all right, Brigham,” said Jones, in a gleeful voice. “The boys are -in for it, as I told you they would be, and desired us to say to you that -you could not have hit upon anything that would suit them better. I have -been counting noses, and have so far found fifteen good fellows upon whom -you can call for help any time you want it. They all agreed with me when -I suggested that you ought to have the management of the whole affair.” - -“Where did you learn yachting, Brigham?” asked Enoch. - -“On the lakes,” replied Lester. - -“Then you must be posted. I have heard that they have some hard storms up -there occasionally.” - -“You may safely say that. It is almost always rough off Saginaw bay,” -answered Lester; and that was true, but he did not know it by experience. -He had heard somebody say so. - -“I am something of a yachtsman myself,” continued Enoch. “I brought my -little schooner from Great South Bay, Long Island, around into Chesapeake -bay. Of course my father laid the course for me, and kept his weather -eye open to see that I didn’t make any mistakes; but I gave the orders -myself, and handled the vessel.” - -Lester, who had been on the point of entertaining his two friends by -telling of some thrilling adventures that had befallen him during his -imaginary cruise from Oswego to Duluth, opened his eyes and closed his -lips when he heard this. He saw that his chances for making a hero of -himself were growing smaller every hour. He was afraid to talk about -fishing in the presence of his room-mate; he dared not speak of bears -while he was in the hearing of Sam Kenyon; and it would not be at all -safe for him to enlarge upon his knowledge of seamanship, for here was -a boy at his elbow who had sailed his own yacht on deep water. He was -doomed to remain in the background, and to be of no more consequence at -the academy than any other plebe. He could see that very plainly. - -“There’s a splendid little boat down there near the wharf,” continued -Enoch, who was as deeply in love with the water and everything connected -with it as Huggins was, although he had no desire to go before the -mast. “I bribed her keeper to let me take a look at her the other day, -and I tell you her appointments are perfect. I should say that her -cabin and forecastle would accommodate about twenty boys. But this is -cutter-rigged, and I don’t know anything about vessels of that sort; do -you?” - -“I’ve seen lots of them,” answered Lester. - -“I suppose you have; but did you ever handle one?” - -Lester replied that his own boat was a cutter; and when he said it, he -had as clear an idea of what he was talking about as he had of the Greek -language. - -“Then we are all right,” said Enoch. “They look top-heavy to me, and I -shouldn’t care to trust myself out in one during a gale, unless there was -a sailor-man in charge of her. But if we get her and find that she is -too much for us, we can send the yard down and make a sloop of her. It -wouldn’t pay to have her capsize with us.” - -Lester shuddered at the mere mention of such a thing; and while Enoch -continued to talk in this way, filling his sentences full of nautical -terms, that were familiar enough to him and quite unintelligible to -Lester, the latter set his wits at work to conjure up some excuse for -backing out when the critical time came. He was not at all fond of the -water, he was afraid to run the risk of capture and punishment, and he -sincerely hoped that something would happen to prevent the proposed -excursion. - -“Of course we can’t decide upon the details until the time for action -arrives,” said Jones, at length. “But you have given us something to -think of and to look forward to, and we are indebted to you for that. -Now, let’s call upon your room-mate and see what we can do to help him.” - -Lester led the way to his dormitory, and as he opened the door rather -suddenly, he and his companion surprised Huggins in the act of making -up a small bundle of clothing. He was startled by this abrupt entrance, -and he must have been frightened as well, for his face was as white as a -sheet. - -“It’s all right, Huggins,” said Lester, who at once proceeded with the -ceremony of introduction. “You needn’t be afraid of these fellows.” - -“Of course not,” assented Jones. “We know that you intend to take French -leave, but it is all right, and if there is any way in which we can help -you, we hope you will not hesitate to say so.” - -Huggins did not seem to be fully reassured by these words. The pallor -did not leave his face, and the visitors noticed that he trembled as he -seated himself on the edge of his bed. - -“I am obliged to you, but I don’t think I shall need any assistance. This -will see me through the lines, will it not?” said Huggins, pulling from -his pocket a piece of paper on which was written an order for all guards -and patrols to pass private Albert Huggins until half-past nine o’clock. -The printed heading showed that it was genuine. - -“Yes, that’s all you need to take you by the guards,” said Jones. “And -when half-past nine comes, you will be a long way from here, I suppose.” - -“I shall be as far off as my feet can carry me by that time,” replied -Huggins. “But don’t tell any one which way I have gone, will you?” - -“If you were better acquainted with us you would know that your caution -is entirely unnecessary,” said Jones. “But you are not going to walk two -hundred miles, are you? Why don’t you go by rail?” - -“How can I when I have no money?” - -“Are you strapped?” exclaimed Enoch. “I can spare you a dollar.” - -“I’ll give you another,” said Jones, looking at Lester. - -“I’ll—I’ll give another,” said the latter; but he uttered the words with -the greatest reluctance. He was always ready to spend money, but he -wanted to know, before he parted with it, that it was going to bring him -some pleasure in return. As he spoke he made a step toward his trunk, but -Huggins earnestly, almost vehemently, motioned him back. - -“No, no, boys,” said he, “I’ll not take a cent from any of you. I am used -to roughing it, and I shall get through all right. All I ask of you is to -keep away so as not to direct attention to me. How soon will my absence -be discovered?” - -“That depends upon the floor-guard,” answered Jones. “If he is one of -those sneaking fellows who is forever sticking his nose into business -that does not concern him, he will report your absence to the officer of -the guard when he makes his rounds at half-past nine. If the floor-guard -keeps his mouth shut, no one will know you are gone until the morning -roll is called. In any event no effort will be made to find you until -to-morrow.” - -“And then I may expect to be pursued, I suppose?” - -“You may; and if you are not caught, it will be a wonder. Every effort -will be made to capture you, for don’t you see that if you were permitted -to escape, other boys would be encouraged to take French leave in the -same way? Now, listen to me, and I will give you some advice that may be -of use to you.” - -If his advice, which was given with the most friendly intentions, had -been favorably received, Jones would have said a good deal more than he -did; but he very soon became aware that his words of warning were falling -on deaf ears. Huggins was not listening to him. He was unaccountably -nervous and excited, and Jones, believing that he would be better pleased -by their absence than he was with their company, gave the signal for -leaving by picking up his cap. He lingered long enough to shake hands -with Huggins and wish him good luck in outwitting his pursuers and -finding a vessel, and then he went out, followed by Enoch and Lester. - -“How strangely he acted!” said the latter. - -“Didn’t he?” exclaimed Enoch. “He seemed frightened at our offer to give -him a few dollars to help him along. What was there wrong in that? If -I had been in his place I would not have refused. Now he can take his -choice between begging his food and going hungry.” - -“I don’t envy him his long, cold walk,” observed Jones. “And where is he -going to find a bed when night comes? The people in this country don’t -like tramps any too well, and the first time he stops at a farm-house he -may be interviewed by a bull-dog.” - -Lester did not find an opportunity to talk with his room-mate again that -day. They marched down to supper together, and as soon as the ranks were -broken, Huggins made all haste to put on his hat and overcoat, secure his -bundle and quit the room. He would hardly wait to say good-by to Lester, -and didn’t want the latter to go with him as far as the gate. - -“He’s well out of his troubles, and mine are just about to begin,” -thought Lester, as he stood on the front steps and saw Huggins disappear -in the darkness. “I would run away myself if I were not afraid of the -consequences. It wouldn’t be safe to try father’s patience too severely, -for there is no telling what he would do to me.” - -Lester strolled about until the bugle sounded “to quarters,” and then he -went up to his room, where he passed a very lonely evening. No one dared -to come near him, and if he had attempted to leave his room, he would -have been ordered back by the floor-guard. He knew he ought to study, but -still he would not do it. It would be time enough, he thought, to take up -his books, when he could see no way to get out of it. - -Lester went to bed long before taps, and slept soundly until he was -aroused by the report of the morning gun, and the noise of the fifes and -drums in the drill-room. Having been told that he would have just six -minutes in which to dress, he got into his clothes without loss of time, -and fell into the ranks just as the last strains of the morning call died -away. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -FLIGHT AND PURSUIT. - - -“Fourth company. All present or accounted for with the exception of -Private Albert Huggins,” said Bert Gordon, as he faced about and raised -his hand to his cap. - -“Where is Private Huggins?” demanded Captain Clayton. - -“I don’t know, sir. He had a pass last night, and he seems to have abused -it. At any rate he is not in the ranks to answer to his name.” - -Captain Clayton reported to the adjutant, who in turn reported to the -officer of the day, and then the ranks were broken, and the young -soldiers hurried to their dormitories to wash their hands and faces, comb -their hair, and get ready for morning inspection. While Bert and his -room-mate were thus engaged, an orderly opened the door long enough to -say that Sergeant Gordon was wanted in the superintendent’s office. - -“Hallo!” exclaimed Sergeant Elmer—that was the name and rank of Bert’s -room-mate—“you are going out after Huggins, most likely. If you have the -making up of the detail don’t forget me.” - -Bert said he wouldn’t, and hastened out to obey the summons. As he was -passing along the hall he was suddenly confronted by Lester Brigham, who -jerked open the door of his room and shouted “Police! Police!” at the top -of his voice. - -“What’s the matter with you?” exclaimed Bert, wondering if Lester had -taken leave of his senses. - -“I’ve been robbed!” cried Lester, striding up and down the floor, in -spite of all Bert could do to quiet him. “That villain Huggins broke open -my trunk and took a clean hundred dollars in money out of it.” - -Lester’s wild cries had alarmed everybody on that floor, and the hall was -rapidly filling with students who ran out of their rooms to see what was -the matter. - -“Go back, boys,” commanded Bert. “You have not a moment to waste. If your -rooms are not ready for inspection you will be reported and punished for -it. Go back, every one of you.” - -He emphasized this order by pulling out his note-book and holding his -pencil in readiness to write down the name of every student who did not -yield prompt obedience. The boys scattered in every direction, and when -the hall was cleared, Bert seized Lester by the arm and pulled him into -his room. - -“No yelling now,” said he sternly. - -“Must I stand by and let somebody rob me without saying a word?” -vociferated Lester. - -“By no means; but you can act like a sane boy and report the matter in -a quiet way, can’t you? Now explain, and be quick about it, for the -superintendent wants to see me.” - -“Why, Huggins has run away—he intended to do it when he got that pass -last night—and he has taken every dollar I had in the world to help -himself along. Just look here,” said Lester, picking up the hasp of -his trunk which had been broken in two in the middle. “Huggins did -that yesterday, and I never knew it until a few minutes ago. I went -to my trunk to get out a clean collar, and then I found that the hasp -was broken, and that my clothes were tumbled about in the greatest -confusion. I looked for my money the first thing, but it was gone.” - -“Don’t you know that it is against the rules for a student to have more -than five dollars in his possession at one time?” asked Bert. “If you -had lived up to the law and given your money into the superintendent’s -keeping, you would not have lost it.” - -“What do I care for the law?” snarled Lester. - -“You ought to care for it. If you didn’t intend to obey it, you had no -business to sign the muster-roll.” - -“Well, who’s going to get my hundred dollars back for me? That’s what I -want to know,” cried Lester, who showed signs of going off into another -flurry. - -“I don’t know that any one can get it back for you,” said Bert quietly. -“It is possible that you may never see it again.” - -“Then I’ll see some more just like it, you may depend upon that,” said -Lester, walking nervously up and down the floor and shaking his fists in -the air. “I was robbed in the superintendent’s house, and he is bound to -make my loss good.” - -“There’s where you are mistaken. You took your own risk by disobeying the -rules——” - -“The money was mine and the superintendent had no more right to touch it -than you had,” interrupted Lester. “My father gave it to me with his own -hands, because he wanted I should have a fund by me that I could draw on -without asking anybody’s permission.” - -“Well, you see what you made by it, don’t you? How do you know that -Huggins has run away?” - -“He told me he was going to. I offered to give him a dollar to help him -along, and so did Jones and Williams.” - -“You ought not to have done that.” - -“I don’t care; I did it, and this is the way he repaid me. I’ll bet he -had my money in his pocket when he refused my offer. I thought he acted -queer, and so did the other boys.” - -“Do you know which way he intended to go?” - -“He said he was going to draw a bee-line for Oxford, and ship on the -first vessel he could find that would take him to sea. Are you going -after him?” inquired Lester, as Bert turned toward the door. “Look here: -if you will follow him up and get my money back for me, I’ll—I’ll lend -you five dollars of it, if you want it.” - -Lester was about to say that he would _give_ Bert that amount, but he -caught his breath in time, and saved five dollars by it. He knew very -well that Bert would never be obliged to ask him for money. - -The sergeant hurried down to the superintendent’s office, where he found -the officer of the day, who had just been making his report. - -“I understand that Private Huggins abused my confidence, and that -he stayed out all night on the pass I gave him yesterday,” said the -superintendent, after returning Bert’s salute. “Perhaps you had better -take a corporal with you, and look around and see if you can find any -traces of him.” - -Bert was delighted. Here was an opportunity for him to win a reputation. - -“Shall I go to Oxford, sir?” said he. - -“To Oxford?” repeated the superintendent, while the officer of the day -looked surprised. - -“Yes, sir. There’s where he has gone.” - -“How do you know?” - -“His room-mate told me so. He has run away intending to go to sea.” - -“Well, well! It is more serious than I thought,” said the superintendent, -while an expression of annoyance and vexation settled on his face. “He -must be brought back. Was he going to walk all that distance or steal a -ride on the cars? He has no money, and his father took pains to tell me -that none would be allowed him.” - -“He has plenty of it, sir,” replied Bert. “He broke into Private -Brigham’s trunk and took a hundred dollars from it.” - -The superintendent could hardly believe that he had heard aright. - -“That is the most disgraceful thing that ever happened in this school,” -said he, as soon as he could speak. “I didn’t suppose there was a boy -here who could be guilty of an act of that kind. Sergeant,” he added, -looking at his watch, “you have just fifteen minutes in which to reach -the depot and ascertain whether or not Huggins took the eight o’clock -train for Oxford last night. Learn all you can, and go with the squad -which I shall at once send in pursuit of him.” - -“Very good, sir,” replied Bert. - -“Can I go?” asked Sergeant Elmer, as Bert ran into his room and snatched -his overcoat and cap from their hooks. - -“I hope so, but I am afraid not. The superintendent will make up the -detail himself or appoint some shoulder-strap to do it, and it isn’t -likely that he will take two sergeants from the same company. You will -have to act in my place while I am gone.” - -“Well, good-by and good luck to you,” said the disappointed Elmer. - -Bert hastened down the stairs and out of the building, and at the gate -he found the officer of the day who had come there to pass him by the -sentry. As soon as he had closed the gate behind him, he broke into a -run, and in a few minutes more he was walking back and forth in front -of the ticket-office, conversing with a quiet looking man who was to be -found there whenever a train passed the depot. He was a detective. - -“Good morning, Mr. Shepard,” said Bert. “Were you on duty when No. 6 went -down last night?” - -No. 6 was the first southward bound train that passed through Bridgeport -after Huggins left the academy grounds. - -“I was,” answered the detective. “Was that fellow I came pretty near -running in last night on general principles one of your boys?” - -“I can’t tell until you describe him,” said Bert. - -“There was nothing wrong about his appearance, but I didn’t like the -way he acted,” observed the detective. “He looked as though he had been -up to something. He didn’t buy a ticket, and he took pains to board the -train from the opposite side. He wore a dark-blue overcoat, Arctic shoes, -seal-skin cap, gloves and muffler, and had something on his upper lip -that looked like a streak of free-soil, but which, perhaps, on closer -examination might have proved to be a mustache.” - -“That’s the fellow,” said Bert. “Did he go toward Oxford?” - -“He did. Do you want him? What has he been doing?” - -“I do want him, for he is a deserter,” replied Bert. He said nothing -about the crime of which Huggins was guilty. The superintendent had not -told him to keep silent in regard to it, but he knew he was expected to -do it all the same. - -“Then I am glad I didn’t run him in,” said Mr. Shepard. “You boys always -see plenty of fun when you are out after deserters. But you can’t take -that big fellow alone. He’ll pick you up and chuck you head first into a -snow-drift.” - -“There are one or two fellows in that squad whom he can’t chuck into a -snow-drift,” said Bert, pointing with his thumb over his shoulder toward -the door. - -The detective looked, and saw a party of students coming into the depot -at double time. They were led by Captain (formerly Corporal) Mack, who, -having been permitted to choose his own men, had detailed Curtis, Egan, -Hopkins, and Don Gordon to form his squad. A long way behind them came -the old German professor, Mr. Odenheimer, who was very red in the face -and puffing and blowing like a porpoise. The fleet-footed boys had -led him a lively race, and they meant to do it, too. They didn’t want -him along, for his presence was calculated to rob them of much of the -pleasure they would otherwise have enjoyed. He was jolly and good-natured -when off duty, but still pompous and rather overbearing, and if Huggins -were captured and Lester Brigham’s money returned to him, the honor of -the achievement would fall to him, and not to Captain Mack and his men. - -“Young sheltemans,” panted the professor, stopping in front of the squad -which Captain Mack had halted and brought to a front preparatory to -breaking ranks,“I use to could go double quick so good like de pest of -you ven I vas in mine good Brussia fighting mit unser Fritz; but I peen -not a good boy for running not now any more. Vere is Sergeant Gordon?” - -“Here, sir,” replied Bert, stepping up and saluting. - -“Vell, vere ish dat young rascals—vat you call him—Hukkins?” - -“He has gone to Oxford, sir,” said Bert, who then went on to repeat the -substance of his conversation with the detective. Now and then his eyes -wandered toward the boys in the ranks, who came so near making him laugh -in the professor’s face that he was obliged to turn his back toward them. -They were indulging in all sorts of pranks calculated to show their -utter disapproval of the whole proceeding. Don was humped up like old -Jordan, the negro he had so often personated; Hopkins was mimicking the -professor; Egan, who had assumed a very wise expression of countenance, -was checking off Bert’s remarks on his fingers; Curtis was watching for -a chance to snatch an apple from the stand behind him; while Captain Mack -held himself in readiness to drop a piece of ice down his back the very -moment he attempted it. These boys all liked the professor in spite of -his pomposity and his constant allusions to his military record, but they -would have been much better satisfied if he had remained at the academy. -If they had taken time to consider the matter, they would have seen very -clearly that the superintendent had acted for the best, and that he would -not have showed any degree of prudence if he had left them to pursue and -capture the deserter alone and unaided. There was no play about this, and -besides Huggins was something worse than a deserter. - -Just then the whistle of an approaching train was heard; whereupon -Captain Mack was ordered to break ranks and procure tickets for himself -and his party, Bert included. This done they boarded the cars, and in a -few minutes more were speeding away toward Oxford. - -“I don’t at all like this way of doing business,” observed Captain Mack, -who occupied a seat with Bert. “I am not personally acquainted with -Huggins, but if there is any faith to be put in his appearance, he is -nobody’s fool. He’ll not go to Oxford after stealing that money. If he -went this way, he will stop off at some little station, buy another suit -of clothes and keep dark until he thinks the matter has had time to blow -over.” - -“Perhaps you had better say as much to the professor,” suggested Bert. - -“Not I!” replied Captain Mack, with a laugh and a knowing shake of his -head. “I have no desire to give him a chance to turn his battery of -broken English loose on me. He has done it too many times already. While -I am very anxious that Huggins should be caught and the money recovered, -I can see as much fun in riding about the country as I can in drilling; -and if the professor wants to spend a week or two on a wild-goose chase, -it is nothing to me. I put in some good solid time with my books last -vacation, and I am three months ahead of my class.” - -The captain was right when he said that Huggins did not look like -anybody’s fool, and he wasn’t, either. When he first made up his mind -to desert the academy, he laid his plans just as he told them to Lester -Brigham; but one morning an incident occurred that caused him to make -a slight change in them. He saw Lester go to his trunk and take a -five-dollar bill from a well-filled pocket-book which he kept hidden -under his clothing. The sight of it suggested an idea to Huggins—one -that frightened him at first, but after he had pondered upon it for a -while and dreamed about it a few times, it became familiar to him, and he -ceased to look upon it as a crime. - -“It is easier to ride than it is to walk,” he often said to himself. -“Lester doesn’t need the money, and I do, for I don’t know what I shall -have to go through with before I can find a vessel. Oxford is a small -place, and I may have to stay there a week or two before I can secure a -berth, and how could I live all that time without money? I am not going -to steal it—I shall borrow it, for, of course, my father will refund -every cent of it. I know he will not like to do it, but he ought to have -let me go to sea when I asked him.” - -After reasoning with himself in this way a few times, Huggins finally -mustered up courage enough to make himself the possessor of the coveted -pocket-book. Unfortunately, opportunities were not wanting. Lester was -hardly ever in his room during the day-time, and it was an easy matter -for Huggins to lock the door and break open the trunk with the aid of a -spike he had picked up in the carpenter-shop. Then he bundled up some of -his clothes, intending to ask for a pass and leave the academy at once. -He got the pass, as we know, but found, to his great surprise and alarm, -that he could not use it until after supper. It was no wonder that he -showed nervousness and anxiety when Jones and the rest offered to lend -him money to help him along. If he had not succeeded in satisfying them -that he would not accept assistance from them, and Lester had gone to -his trunk after the dollar, there would have been trouble directly. He -escaped this danger, however, and as soon as he could use his pass, he -made all haste to get out of Bridgeport. - -“But I’ll not go to Oxford yet,” said he, when he found himself safe on -board the cars. “The fellows said they wouldn’t tell where I intended to -go, but when they made that promise they didn’t know that I had borrowed -Brigham’s money.” - -Just then the conductor tapped him on the shoulder and held out his hand -for the boy’s ticket. - -“What is the fare to the next station?” asked the latter. - -“One twenty-five,” was the answer. - -Huggins produced the money, and then buttoned his overcoat, settled -back into an easy position on his seat, and tried to make up his mind -what he should do next. Before he had come to any decision on this -point, the whistle blew again, and the train came to a stop; whereupon -Huggins picked up his bundle, which he had carried under his coat when -he deserted the academy, and left the car. The few men he saw upon the -platform were running about as if they were very busy—all except one, -who strolled around with his hands in his pockets. Huggins drew back -out of the glare of the lamps that were shining from the windows of the -depot, to wait for an opportunity to speak to him. He had got off at a -tank-station, but he did not find it out until it was too late to go -farther. - -Having taken on a fresh supply of coal and water the engine moved off, -dragging its long train of sleeping-cars behind it, the station agent -went into his office, closing the door behind him, and Huggins and the -unemployed stranger were left alone on the platform. - -“Good evening to you, pard,” said the latter, walking up to the boy’s -place of concealment. - -“How are you?” replied Huggins, who did not like the familiar tone in -which he had been addressed. “Can you tell me which way to go to find a -hotel?” - -“Hotel!” repeated the stranger. “There’s none around here.” - -Huggins started and looked about him. Then he saw that he had got off in -the woods, and that there were only one or two small buildings within the -range of his vision. - -“Is there no house in the neighborhood at which I can obtain a night’s -lodging?” asked Huggins, growing alarmed. - -“I don’t suppose there is,” was the encouraging reply. - -“Where does the station-agent sleep?” - -“In his office.” - -“How far is your house from here?” - -“Well, I can’t say just how many miles it is.” - -“What is your business?” asked Huggins, growing suspicious of the -stranger. - -“I haven’t any just now. I am a minister’s son, traveling for my health. -I’ll tell you what we might do, pard: if you are a good talker you might -coax the agent to let us spend the night in the waiting-room. There’s a -good fire there——” - -Huggins waited to hear no more. The man was a professional tramp, there -was no doubt about that, and the idea of passing the night in the same -room with him was not to be entertained for a moment. He started for the -office to have a talk with the agent, the tramp keeping close at his -heels. - -“I made a mistake in getting off here,” said Huggins to the agent, “and I -would be greatly obliged if you will direct me to some house where I can -put up until morning.” - -“I should be glad to do it,” was the answer, “but there is no one right -around the depot who can accommodate you. There is a boarding-house for -the mill-hands about a mile from here, but I couldn’t direct you to it so -that you could find it. The road runs through the woods, and you might -miss it and get lost.” - -“Why, what in the world am I to do?” asked Huggins, who, having never -been thrown upon his own resources before, was as helpless as a child -would have been in the same situation. “Must I stay out doors all night?” - -“Not necessarily. Where did you come from?” - -“I came from Bridgeport and paid a dollar and twenty-five cents to go -from there to the next station.” - -“Well, the next station is Carbondale, which is three miles from here. -There is where you ought to have stopped.” - -“Could I hire a horse and cutter to take me there?” - -“I don’t think you could.” - -“I am able and willing to pay liberally for it.” - -“Oh, you would have to go out to the mills to find a horse and a man to -drive it for you, and you might as well walk to Carbondale at once as to -do that.” - -“When is the next train due?” - -“The next train won’t help you any, for it is the lightning express, -and she doesn’t stop here. You can’t go on the next one either, for she -is the fast freight, and doesn’t carry passengers. You’ll have to wait -for the accommodation which goes through here at six fourteen in the -morning.” - -“Then I suppose I shall have to pass the night in your waiting-room,” -said Huggins, who was fairly at his wits’ end. - -“Well, I suppose you won’t,” said the agent in emphatic tones. “I shall -have to ask you to go out now, for I am going to lock up.” - -“Don’t you leave a room open for the accommodation of passengers?” -exclaimed Huggins, wondering what would become of him if the agent -turned him out in the snow to pass the night as best he could, while the -thermometer was only a degree or two above zero. If it had been summer -he could have bunked under a tree; but as it was—the runaway shuddered -when he thought of the long, cold hours that must be passed in some way -before he would see the sun rise again. Here the tramp, who stood holding -his hands over the stove, put in a word to help Huggins; but he only -made a bad matter worse. The heart of the station agent was not likely -to be moved to pity by any such advocate as he was. He carried a very -hard-looking face, he was rough and unkempt, and his whole appearance was -against him. Besides, he did not speak in a way calculated to carry his -point. - -“I don’t see what harm it will do for us to sit by your fire,” said he, -in angry tones. - -“I don’t care whether you see any harm in it or not,” said the agent, -taking a bunch of keys from his pocket. “I know what my orders are, and I -intend to obey them. Come now, move; both of you.” - -“I wish you would tell me what to do,” said Huggins, as he turned toward -the door. “I am not in this man’s company, and neither am I interceding -for him. I am speaking for myself alone.” - -“I can’t help that. If I let you in I must let him in too; but my orders -are to turn everybody out when I lock up. The best thing you can do is to -strike out for Carbondale at your best pace. The night is clear, and you -can’t miss the way if you follow the railroad. There are no bridges or -trestle-works for you to cross, and no cattle-guards to fall into. If you -make haste, you can get there before the hotels shut up. Go on, now!” - -The agent arose from his chair as he said this, and Huggins and the tramp -opened the door and went out into the cold. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -DON’S ENCOUNTER WITH THE TRAMP. - - -“You’re not in my company, ain’t you? You didn’t speak for me but for -yourself, did you? You think you’re too fine a gentleman to be seen -loafing about with such a fellow as I am, don’t you?” growled the tramp, -when he and Huggins were alone on the platform. “I’ve the best notion in -the world to make you pay for them words, and I will, too, if I find you -hanging about here after the agent has gone to bed.” - -There was no doubt that the man was in earnest when he said this. The -light from the agent’s window shone full upon his face and the runaway -could see that there was an evil look in it. - -“If you had stood by me I would have given you a good place to sleep, for -I know where there is a nice warm hay-mow with plenty of blankets and -buffalo robes to put over you,” continued the tramp. “I slept there last -night, and I’m going there now, after I see you start for Carbondale. Go -on, be off with you!” - -“I’m not going there,” replied Huggins, who was so badly frightened by -the man’s vehemence that he was afraid to show any of the indignation -he felt at being ordered about in this unceremonious way. “I shall stay -right here on this platform until daylight.” - -“No, you won’t. I’m not going to have you staying around here watching -for a chance to follow me to my warm bed. You went back on me, and now -you can look out for yourself.” - -“I have no intention of following you,” said Huggins. - -“I’ll believe that when I see you dig out for Carbondale. Go on, I say, -or I’ll help you!” - -The man took his hands out of his pockets, and Huggins believing that -he was about to put his threat into execution, jumped off the platform, -and started up the railroad track at a rapid pace, the tramp standing in -the full glare of the light from the agent’s window, and keeping a close -watch over his movements. - -“That was a pretty good idea,” said he to himself, as he saw the boy’s -figure growing dim in the distance. “He said he was able and willing to -pay liberal for somebody to take him to Carbondale, and that proves that -he’s got money. I’ll just look into that matter when he gets a little -farther away. I’ll take that fine cap, muffler, and them gloves of his’n, -too. They’ll keep me warm while I have ’em, and I can trade ’em off or -sell ’em before the police can get wind of me.” - -So saying the man stepped down from the platform and moved leisurely up -the track in the direction in which Huggins had disappeared, shuffling -along in a supremely lazy and disjointed way, that no one ever saw -imitated by anybody except a professional tramp. - -“The insolent fellow!” thought Huggins, looking back now and then to make -sure that the man was still standing on the platform. “What right had he -to tell me to go on to Carbondale if I wanted to stay at the depot until -morning? He must think I am hard up for a night’s rest if he imagines -that I would be willing to sleep in a hay-mow. I’ll have a good bed while -I am about it, for now that I am on the road to Carbondale, I shall keep -moving until I get there. How lonely and still it is out here, and how -gloomy the woods look! I wish I had somebody to talk to.” - -When the darkness had shut the station-house, the tank, the upright, -motionless figure of the tramp and every thing else except the light in -the agent’s window out from his view, Huggins broke into a run, and flew -along the track at the top of his speed. He kept up the pace as long as -he could stand it, and then settled down into a rapid trot which carried -him easily over one of the three miles he had to cover before he could -find a roof to shelter him and a bed to sleep in. - -“I think I am all right now,” soliloquized the runaway, slackening his -pace to a walk and unbuttoning his heavy muffler, which felt too warm -about his neck. “I tell you I am glad to see the last of that tramp, for -I didn’t at all like the looks of him. I believe he’d just as soon——” - -The runaway’s heart seemed to stop beating. He faced quickly about, and -there was the tramp whom he hoped he had seen for the last time, close -behind him. He had easily kept pace with the boy, stepping so exactly -in time with him that the sound of his feet upon the frosty snow had -not betrayed his presence. He held some object in his hand which he -flourished over his head, and Huggins, believing it to be a pistol, stood -trembling in his tracks and waited for him to come up. The object was -not a pistol, but it was a murderous looking knife, which made the boy -shudder all over as he looked at it. - -“I’ve concluded to make you pay for going back on me so fair and square -while you were talking to the agent,” were the tramp’s next words. “Put -your hands above your head while I go through your pockets and see what -you’ve got in ’em.” - -“Do you want my money?” asked Huggins, who could hardly make himself -understood, so frightened was he. “If you do I will give it to you, but -don’t hurt me.” - -He carried his money in two places. The greater portion of it was in -Lester Brigham’s pocket-book; and in one of his vest pockets he had the -small amount of change the conductor gave him when he paid his fare. As -it was all in small bills and made a roll of respectable size, he hoped -he could satisfy the robber by handing it over, but he was doomed to be -disappointed. When he made a move as if he were about to unbutton his -overcoat, the man raised his knife threateningly. - -“None o’ that!” said he, in savage tones. “You can’t draw a barker on me -while I am within reach of you, and it will be worse for you if you try -it. Put your hands above your head, and be quick about it.” - -Huggins was afraid to refuse or to utter a word of remonstrance. He -raised his hands in the air, and the robber, after dropping the knife -into his coat-pocket, so that it could be readily seized if circumstances -should seem to require it, proceeded to “go through” him in the most -business-like way. He turned all the boy’s pockets inside out, and when -he had completed his investigations, Huggins’s money was all gone and he -stood shivering in the tramp’s hat and thread-bare coat, while the tramp -himself looked like another person. He had appropriated the runaway’s -cap, coats, muffler and gloves, and would have taken his boots and -Arctics too, if they had been big enough for him. - -“Now, then,” said he, as he buttoned the muffler about his neck and drew -on the gloves, “I believe I am done with you, and you can dig out.” - -“But where can I go?” cried Huggins. “I have no money to pay for a -night’s lodging, and I am almost a thousand miles from home.” - -“You are better off than I am, for I have no home at all,” answered the -tramp. “It won’t hurt you to sleep out of doors; I’ve done it many a -time. Now skip, for I have wasted words enough with you. Not that way,” -he added, as Huggins reluctantly turned his face toward Carbondale. “Go -back to the station. Step lively now, for if you don’t, I shall be after -you.” - -The boy dared not wait for the command to be repeated, believing, as -he did, that it would be emphasized by a prod with the knife which the -robber still held in his hand. Scarcely realizing what he was doing he -hurried along the track toward the station, and when he ventured to look -behind him, the tramp was nowhere in sight. - -“Now what am I going to do?” said Huggins to himself; and it was a -question he pondered all the way to the station, and which he could not -answer even when daylight came. The station-agent was just locking up as -he stepped upon the platform, and he resolved to make another effort to -obtain a seat by one of his fires. - -“Won’t you please let me sit in the waiting-room until morning?” said the -boy, in a pleading voice. - -“No, _no_!” was the angry response. “Clear out! You are the third one -who has asked me that question to-night. I don’t keep a hotel. If I did, -I’d have a sign out.” - -“That man who followed me into your office a little while ago, has robbed -me,” gasped Huggins, choking back a sob. - -“Well, I should say he had!” exclaimed the agent, after he had taken -a sharp look at Huggins. “I thought I knew your voice, but I didn’t -recognize you in those clothes. If I had had the chance I should have -told you to shake him as soon as possible. He has been hanging around -here all day, and I was afraid he would be up to something before he -left. Why didn’t you call for help?” - -“He was armed and savage and I was afraid to say a word,” replied the -runaway. “Besides it would have done no good, for I was a long distance -up the track when he overtook me.” - -“Did he take all your money?” - -“Every red cent. He didn’t even leave me my pocket-knife or note-book.” - -“Your case is a hard one, that’s a fact, and I will do what I can for -you,” said the agent. “You may sit in this room to-night. That fellow -will probably go to Oxford, and if I can get the operator there to -respond to my call, I’ll tell him to put the police on the look-out. -To-morrow I will send an alarm all along the line.” - -“I am much obliged to you,” said Huggins, gratefully. “I may some day be -able to repay you for your kindness.” - -“That’s all right. Good night.” - -The agent went out, and the runaway drew one of the chairs up in front of -the stove and sat down in it. He was provided for for the night, but what -should he do when morning came? Should he stay there at the tank-station -and look for work, or would it be better for him to start for Oxford on -foot, begging his meals as he went like any other tramp? That was what -he intended to do when he first made up his mind to desert the academy, -and he could not see that there was any other course open to him now. -While he was thinking about it, he fell asleep. He did not know when -the lightning express and the fast freight went through, but he heard -the whistle of the morning train, and hurried to the door to see the -accommodation approaching. He saw something else, too—something that put -life and energy into him, and sent him around the corner of the building -out of sight. - -“They are after me already,” said he, as he hurried along a road that led -from the station into the woods. “I saw their uniform caps sticking out -of the window.” - -If he had waited a few minutes longer he would have seen Captain Mack and -Sergeant Gordon step upon the platform and run toward the agent’s office. - -“Did you say he was a tall young fellow with a little mustache, and -that he wore a dark-blue overcoat, Arctic shoes and seal-skin furs? -He’s the very chap. Come with me. He was fast asleep in a chair in the -waiting-room not more than half an hour ago. There is his chair,” said -the agent, as he opened the door, “but he has skipped out, as sure as the -world.” - -“Have you any idea where he is?” asked the young captain. - -“I think he must have gone to Carbondale,” replied the agent. “But see -here, boys: you needn’t waste any time in looking for a fellow in a blue -overcoat and seal-skin furs, for the police will take care of him. You -want to keep your eyes open for a chap in a patched and torn broad-cloth -coat and a slouch hat without any brim to it. You see——” - -Here the agent went on to tell how Huggins had been robbed and compelled -to exchange clothes with the tramp. The boys listened attentively, and -when the agent finished his story, they hastened back to the train to -report to the professor. Captain Mack did the talking, and wound up with -the request that he might be permitted to take a couple of men and go up -the wagon-road toward Carbondale to see if Huggins had gone that way. -To his great surprise as well as delight the request was granted, the -professor adding that he and the rest of the squad would keep on with the -train until he thought they had got ahead of the runaway, and then they -would get off and come back on foot. - -“If you seen any dings of Hukkins or de veller vot robbed him, you will -gatch all two of dem and rebort to me py delegraph,” said the professor, -in concluding his instructions. “I shall pe somveres along de road, and -as lightning can dravel so much fasder dan shteam, you can easy gatch -me.” - -“Very good, sir. I wish I could take you with me, Bert,” he added, in a -whisper, “for I am bound to carry off the honors of this scout; but you -will have to stay and act as lackey to the professor. Gordon, you and -Egan come with me.” - -The boys obeyed with alacrity, smiling and kissing their hands to Hopkins -and Curtis, who frowned fiercely and shook their fists at them in return. -They stood upon the platform until the train moved off, and then Captain -Mack said: - -“Business before pleasure, boys. I move that we go somewhere and get a -good, old-fashioned country breakfast. I speak for a big bowl of bread -and milk.” - -The others were only too glad to fall in with this proposition. Having -left the academy almost as soon as they got up, they began to feel the -cravings of hunger, and their appetites were sharpened by the mere -mention of bread and milk. They held a short consultation with the -station-agent, and then started leisurely down the wagon road in the -direction of Carbondale, stopping at every house along the route with the -intention of asking for a bowl of bread and milk, but always, for some -reason or other, coming away without doing it. They were not inclined -to be fastidious. When it came to the pinch they could eat pancakes or -bacon that were seasoned with nothing but ashes and cinders with as much -zest as anybody; but they had become so accustomed to the strict and -rigidly enforced rules regarding personal cleanliness, that any violation -of these rules shocked them. To quote from Don Gordon, who generally -expressed his sentiments in the plainest possible language, they had no -use for children whose faces and hands were covered with molasses, nor -could they see anything to admire in an unkempt woman who went about her -cooking with a well-blackened clay-pipe in her mouth. - -“There’s the place we are looking for,” said Egan, directing his -companions’ attention to a neat little farm-house a short distance in -advance of them. “If we can’t find a breakfast there, we’ll not find it -this side of——” - -At that instant the front door of the house was suddenly opened, and a -lady appeared upon the threshold. She looked anxiously up and down the -road, and, seeing the students approaching, beckoned to them with frantic -eagerness, at the same time calling out, “Help! help!” at the top of her -voice. - -“Come on, boys,” cried Captain Mack. “Her house is on fire.” - -The officer and his men broke into a run, discarding their heavy -overcoats as they went, but before they had made many steps they -discovered that it was something besides fire that had occasioned the -lady’s alarm. All on a sudden a back door was jerked violently open, and -a man bounded down the steps and ran across a field toward the railroad -track. - -“He’s been doing something in there,” shouted Captain Mack. “Take after -him, boys.” - -“That’s one of the fellows we want,” observed Egan. “He’s got Huggins’s -overcoat on.” - -“So he has,” said the captain. “Never mind the lady, for she is safe now. -Catch the tramp, and we’ll find out what he had been doing to frighten -her.” - -Don Gordon, who had already taken the lead of his companions, cleared the -high farm gate as easily as though he had been furnished with wings, and -ran up the carriage-way. He lingered at a wood-rack he found in front of -the barn long enough to jerk one of the stakes out of it, and having -thus provided himself with a weapon, he continued the pursuit. - -The tramp, who had about fifty yards the start, proved himself to be no -mean runner. His wind was good, his muscles had been hardened by many -a long pedestrian tour about the country, and Don afterward admitted -that for a long time it looked as if the man were going to beat him; but -when the latter got what school-boys are wont to call his “second wind,” -he gained rapidly. Another hundred yards run brought him almost within -striking distance of the fugitive, and while he was trying to make up his -mind whether he ought to halt him or knock him down without ceremony to -pay him for frightening the lady, the tramp suddenly stopped and faced -about. Then Don saw that he carried a knife in his hand. - -“Keep away from me,” said he, in savage tones, “or I’ll——” - -“You’ll what?” demanded Don, leaning on his club and casting a quick -glance over his shoulder to see how far his companions were behind. - -“Do you see this?” said the tramp, shaking the knife threateningly. - -“Yes, I see it,” answered Don, coolly. “You had better throw it away. You -might hurt yourself with it.” - -The tramp was astonished. Here was a boy who could not be as easily -frightened as Huggins was, and he began to stand in awe of him. He was -old enough to know that a cool, deliberate antagonist is much more to -be feared than one who allows himself to go into a paroxysm of rage and -excitement. - -“Drop that knife,” commanded Don, who had suddenly made up his mind that -the tramp ought to be disarmed before his companions came up; and as he -spoke, he raised his club over his head. - -A year’s hard drill, added to faithful attention to the instructions -he had received from Professor Odenheimer, had made Don Gordon very -proficient in the broadsword exercise, but he had never had an -opportunity to test the value of the accomplishment until this particular -morning. Seeing that the man had no intention of dropping the knife he -proceeded to disarm him, and he did it in a way that was as surprising -to him as it was to the tramp. Bringing his club to the first position, -he made a feint with it as if he were going to give a No. 1 cut. If the -weapon had not been arrested in its progress through the air, and the -tramp had stood motionless, he would have received a sounding whack on -his left cheek; but seeing the club coming he ducked his head at the very -instant that Don changed from the first to the third cut, thus receiving -squarely between the eyes the full force of a terrific blow that was -intended for his right forearm. He fell as if he had been shot. The knife -fell from his grasp, and before he could recover it, Captain Mack had run -up and secured possession of it. - -Without saying a word Egan proceeded to explore the tramp’s pockets, and -the first thing he brought to light was Lester Brigham’s money. It was -all there, too, for the tramp had had no opportunity to spend any of it. -He had reasons of his own for desiring to go to Oxford, but he did not -intend to start immediately. He slept in a barn that night, and intended, -as soon as he had begged a breakfast, to strike back into the country and -make his way to Oxford by a round-about course, avoiding the railroad -and all the villages along the route. He hoped in this way to elude the -police who, he knew, would be on the watch for him. When he reached the -farm-house from which he had taken his hurried flight, and found that -the male members of the family were absent, he began to act as though -he had a right there. He demanded a warm breakfast and a seat at the -table; and when the lady of the house objected and tried to oppose his -entrance into the kitchen, he frightened her nearly out of her senses by -producing his knife and threatening to do something terrible with it if -his demands were not complied with on the instant. Some of these things -Captain Mack and his men learned from the tramp himself, and the rest of -the story they heard from the lady, into whose presence they conducted -their prisoner without loss of time. The latter came very near meeting -with a warm reception. The farmer and his two stalwart sons had just come -in from the wood-lot where they had spent the morning in chopping, and -it was all the old gentleman, aided by his wife and Captain Mack and his -men, could do to keep the boys from punching the tramp’s head. - -“What are you going to do with him?” demanded the farmer, when quiet -had been restored and Captain Mack had told what the tramp had done to -Huggins the night before. - -“I am going to take him back to the station and telegraph to Professor -Odenheimer for orders,” answered the captain. “Those are my instructions.” - -“Haven’t had any breakfast, I reckon, have you? I thought not. Well, I -haven’t either. Come in and sit down. It’s all ready.” - -“Thank you,” said Mack. “A bowl of milk would be——” - -“Oh, we’ve got something better than that.” - -“You haven’t anything that would suit me better,” said Mack, with -refreshing candor. “I am a city boy.” - -“Oh, ah! Well, you shall have all the milk you can drink.” - -When Captain Mack and his men had satisfied their appetites and listened -to the grateful words of the farmer, who thanked them for their prompt -response to his wife’s appeals for assistance, they put on their -overcoats, which one of the boys had brought in from the road during -their absence, and set out for the station with their prisoner. The -latter’s face began to show the effect of Don’s blow, but the tramp did -not seem to mind it. He ate the cold bread and meat which the farmer’s -wife gave him just as he was about to leave the house with his captors, -and even joined in their conversation. - -When the students reached the depot they were met by the agent, who -laughed all over when he saw the tramp, and drew Captain Mack off on one -side. - -“You got him, didn’t you?” said he. “Some of you must have given him a -good pounding, judging by his countenance. Now, if you are at all sharp, -you can capture the other.” - -“Who? Huggins?” - -“Yes. He went out to the mill and got a job there at hauling wood. He was -in here not ten minutes ago, and I had a long talk with him. He saw some -of you looking out of the window when the accommodation came in, and that -was the reason he took himself off in such a hurry. I told him that you -had gone on toward Oxford. He’ll be back here with another load in less -than an hour, and then you can catch him.” - -“I am much obliged to you,” said Captain Mack. “Now will you see if you -can ascertain where the professor and the rest of the boys are?” - -The agent said he would; but his efforts to find them met with no -success. The operators of whom he made inquiries had all seen them, but -couldn’t tell where they were. - -“They haven’t left the train yet,” said he. “The accommodation will be at -Munson in a quarter of an hour, and then I will try again.” - -Of course the captain could not make his report until he knew where the -professor was, so he and his men went into the waiting-room, accompanied -by the tramp, and sat down there—all except Don Gordon, who was ordered -to hold himself in readiness to capture the deserter when he came back -with the next load of wood. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -ABOUT VARIOUS THINGS. - - -Don’s first care was to ascertain which way Huggins would come from when -he returned from the mill with his wood, and his second to keep behind -the depot out of sight. He paced up and down the platform in front of the -door of the waiting-room, so that he could be at hand to lend assistance -in case the tramp showed a disposition to make trouble for Mack and Egan, -but that worthy had no more fight in him. He was a coward and afraid of -Don, and he wisely concluded that the best thing he could do was to keep -quiet. - -At the end of twenty minutes the station-agent came in. He had heard -from the professor and the rest of the squad, who had left the train at -Munson. At Captain Mack’s request he sent off the following despatch: - -“Have captured the tramp who robbed Huggins, and expect to have Huggins -himself inside of an hour.” - -In due time the answer came back: - -“Remain at the station until I come.” - -“And when he comes, which will be about four o’clock this afternoon, we -shall have to go back to our books and duties,” said the young officer, -stretching his arms and yawning. “I haven’t seen a bit of fun during this -scout, have you, Egan? I hope the next fellow who makes up his mind to -desert the academy, will lead us a good long chase and give us some work -to do.” - -The captain had his wish. The next time he was sent in pursuit of a -runaway, he did not come back in one day nor two; and even at the end -of a week he had not completed his work. We shall tell all about it -presently. - -The minutes wore away, and presently Don Gordon, who stood where he could -command a view of the road for a long distance, saw a load of wood coming -out of the timber. There was somebody walking beside it and driving -the horses, but Don would not have known it was Huggins had not the -station-agent, who was also on the watch, at that moment opened his door -and called out: - -“There he is.” - -“Much obliged,” replied Don, who straightway pulled off his overcoat and -dropped it upon the platform. He knew nothing whatever of Huggins. The -latter might be a good runner or a good fighter, and if he concluded to -make a race of it or to resist arrest, Don intended to be ready for him. - -Huggins approached the depot with fear and trembling. He stopped very -frequently to reconnoiter the building and its surroundings, and when he -drew up to the wood-pile, he threw the blankets over his steaming horses, -and jumped upon the platform. He wanted to make sure that the coast was -clear before he began throwing off his load. Don could not see him now, -but the sound of his footsteps told him that the deserter was approaching -his place of concealment. When he came around the corner of the building, -Don stepped into view and greeted him with the greatest cordiality. - -“Your name is Huggins, I believe,” said he; and without giving the -runaway time to recover from his surprise and bewilderment, Don took him -by the arm and led him toward the door of the waiting-room. “I am glad -to see you,” he continued, “and you will be glad to know that the tramp -who robbed you last night has surrendered Lester Brigham’s money, and -that your clothes—— Hallo! What’s the matter?” - -Huggins had been brought to his senses by Don’s words. He saw that he -had run right into a trap that had been prepared for him, and he made a -desperate attempt to escape. Throwing all his strength, which was by no -means insignificant, into the effort, he tried to wrench his arm loose -from Don’s grasp, and to trip him up at the same time; but the vicious -kick he aimed at Don’s leg expended its force in the empty air, and -Huggins turned part way around and sat down on the platform very suddenly. - -“What are you doing down there?” said Don, taking the runaway by the -collar and lifting him to his feet. “Come into the waiting-room if you -want to sit down. I was about to say, when you interrupted me, that -you can get your clothes back now. Mack’s got the money, and all your -property. Here we are. Walk right in and make yourself at home.” - -Captain Mack and Egan, who had kept a watchful eye on Don and his -captive, but who dared not go out to assist him for fear that the -tramp would improve the opportunity to escape, opened the door of the -waiting-room, and Huggins walked in without saying a word. In obedience -to Captain Mack’s command an exchange of hats and coats was made between -the new prisoner and the man who had robbed him, and after that another -despatch was sent to Professor Odenheimer. The answer that came back was -the same as the first. - -The fun, as well as the work, was all over now, and the students had -nothing to do but walk about the room and wait as patiently as they -could for the train that was to take them back to Bridgeport. It came at -last, and in due time the tramp was handed over to the authorities to be -tried for highway robbery, while Huggins was marched to his room to be -kept there under guard until his father came to take him away. He was -expelled from the school in general orders. Lester Brigham was punished -for keeping so large an amount of money by him in violation of the -regulations, and Don Gordon was looked upon as a hero. This hurt Lester -more than anything else. He had come there with the fixed determination -to supplant Don and Bert in the estimation of both teachers and -students—to build himself up by pulling them down—and he was not a little -disappointed as well as enraged, when he discovered that it was not in -his power to work them any injury. He wrote a doleful letter to his -father, complaining of the indignities that were constantly heaped upon -him, and begging to be allowed to go home; but for once in his life Mr. -Brigham was firm, and Lester was given to understand that he must make up -his mind to stay at Bridgeport until the four years’ course was completed. - -“I’ll show him whether I will or not,” said Lester, who was almost beside -himself with fury. “He’ll _have_ to let me go home. If Jones and the rest -will stand by me, I will kick up a row here that will be talked of as -long as the academy stands. I’ll show the fellows that Don Gordon isn’t -the only boy in the world who has any pluck.” - -In process of time Mr. Huggins came to the academy to look into the -charges that had been made against his son, and when he went away, the -deserter went with him. It was a long time before the boys knew what had -become of him, for he left not a single friend at the academy, and there -was no one who corresponded with him. - -Things went smoothly after that. Of course there was some grand running, -and a good deal of extra sentry and police duty to be performed by the -idle and disobedient ones; but there were no flagrant violations of -the rules—no more thefts or desertions. The malcontents were plucky -enough to do almost anything, but they lacked a leader. There were no -Don Gordons or Tom Fishers or Clarence Duncans among them. They had -expected great things of Lester Brigham, but when they became better -acquainted with him, they found that he was a boy of no spirit whatever. -He talked loudly and spent his money freely, and his liberality brought -him plenty of followers who were quick to discover all the weak points -in his character. His insufferable vanity and self-conceit, his hatred -of Don Gordon, his fondness for telling of the imaginary exploits he had -performed both afloat and ashore—all these were seized upon by a certain -class of boys who flattered him to his face, ate unlimited quantities of -pancakes and pies at his expense and laughed at him behind his back. But -the idea he had suggested to them—that of stealing a yacht and going off -somewhere and having a picnic—was not forgotten. They talked about it at -every opportunity; numerous plans for their amusement were proposed and -discussed, and they had even selected the yacht in which they intended to -make their cruise. Lester was, of course, the nominal leader, but Jones -and Enoch Williams did all the work and laid all the plans. - -The winter months passed quietly away, spring with its trout-fishing and -pickerel-spearing came and went, and summer was upon them almost before -they knew it. Now the students went to work in earnest, for the season -of the annual camp and the examination that followed it, was close at -hand. Even the lazy boys began to show some signs of life now, for they -had heard much of the pleasures that were to be enjoyed during their -month under canvas, and they were as anxious as the others to make a good -showing in the presence of the strangers and friends who would be sure to -visit them. - -Lester Brigham would have looked forward to the camping frolic with -the greatest eagerness and impatience if he had only had a corporal’s -_chevrons_ to wear; but he hadn’t, and if we might judge by his standing -in his class, he was not likely to wear them, either. - -“I’ll have to stand guard and be bossed around by that little whiffet -of a Bert Gordon, who will throw on more airs than he deserves,” Lester -often said to himself. “But I’ll not go to camp, if I can help it. If I -do, I’ll not stay there long, for I will do something that will send me -back to the academy under arrest.” - -This was a part of Jones’s programme. The boys who were to steal the -yacht and go to sea in her—there were twenty-eight of them in all—were -to fall so far behind their classes that they would be ordered to remain -at the academy to make up for lost time. If they did not succeed in -accomplishing their object and were sent to camp against their will, they -were to commit some offence that would cause them to be marched back -under arrest. The boys growled lustily when this programme was marked out -for them, and some of them flatly refused to follow it. - -“As this is my first year at the academy I have never been in camp, and I -should like to see what they do there,” said one. “Suppose those Mount -Pleasant Indians should come in again? I shouldn’t like to miss that.” - -“I don’t see any sense in waiting so long,” said another. “Why can’t we -go now?” - -“Where’s the yacht?” asked Jones, in reply. “There isn’t one in the -harbor. They have all gone off on a cruise. The first thing is to make -sure that we can get a boat. As soon as that matter is settled, I will -tell you what to do next. If you will hold yourselves in readiness to -move when I say the word, I will guarantee that we will see more fun than -those who stay in camp.” - -“What will they do with us after they capture us?” - -“They will court-martial and expel the last one of us. That’s a foregone -conclusion. If there are any among us who desire to stay in this school, -they had better back down at once, so that we may know who they are. But -we’ll lead them a lively race before we are caught; you may depend upon -that.” - -Whenever Jones talked in this way there were a few of his adherents—and -they were the ones who had exhibited the most enthusiasm when Lester’s -plan was first proposed—who felt their courage oozing out at the end of -their fingers. It was easy enough to talk about capturing and running off -with a private yacht, but as the time for action drew nearer they began -to show signs of wavering. Unfortunately, however, an incident happened -during the latter part of June, which did more to unite them, and to -bring their runaway scheme to a head, than almost anything else could -have done. - -Among those who kept a watchful eye over the interests of the academy, -and who took the greatest pride in its success, were the rank and file -of the 61st regiment of infantry, National Guards, which was located at -Hamilton, a thriving little city about fifty miles north of Bridgeport. -This regiment was composed almost entirely of veterans, and a few of -them were the fathers, uncles and older brothers of some of the boys who -were now wearing the academy uniform. Their colonel and some of their -field and line officers were graduated there, and in the ranks were -many bearded fellows who, in the days gone by, had run the guards to -eat pancakes at Cony Ryan’s, and who had paid for their fun by spending -the next Saturday afternoon in walking extras with muskets on their -shoulders and packed knapsacks on their backs. - -The regiment had once spent a week in camp with the academy boys, and -this year was the twenty-fifth anniversary of its organization. The -members intended to celebrate it by giving the citizens of Hamilton the -finest parade they had witnessed for many a day. Regiments from Rhode -Island, New York and Ohio had given favorable replies to the invitations -that had been sent to them, others from Virginia and North Carolina, -which had seen service under General Lee at Richmond, had promised to be -present, the firemen and civic societies were to join in the parade, and -the academy boys were expected to be there in full force. The line was to -be formed after dinner had been served in a big tent, and the festivities -were to conclude with a grand ball in the evening. - -When the superintendent read the invitation before the school and asked -the students what they thought about it, they arose as one boy and raised -such a tumult of “Union cheers” and “rebel yells” (remember there were -a good many Southern boys among them), that the superintendent, after -trying in vain to make his signal bell heard, raised his hand to enforce -silence. - -“Young gentlemen, you know that such a demonstration as this is a -direct violation of our rules and regulations,” said he, when the boys -had resumed their seats; but still he did not seem to be very much -annoyed. He judged that they were unanimously in favor of accepting the -invitation, and the adjutant would be instructed to reply accordingly. -He hoped that every member of the academy would be able to join in the -parade, _but_ there were two things that must be distinctly understood: -The first was, that they could not remain to take part in the festivities -of the evening—they must start for home at six o’clock. The boys, he -said, had all they could do to prepare themselves for the examination, -and pleasure must not be allowed to interfere with business. If they -deserved it they would have plenty of recreation when they went into -camp. Just then a boy in the back part of the room raised his hand. The -superintendent nodded to him, and the boy arose and said: - -“Could we not march to and from the city, camping out on the way, instead -of going by rail?” - -The flutter of excitement which this proposition caused in every part of -the school-room indicated that the students were all in favor of it; but -it seems that the superintendent wasn’t. There would be no objection, he -said, if the parade were to come off immediately; but the 24th of July -was the day that had been set for the celebration; it would take three -days to march there, as many more to return, and seven days of study -taken from the end of the term would certainly show in the examination. -They were too valuable to be wasted. One day was all he could allow them. - -The second thing he wished them to understand was this: The parade would -be an event of some consequence. It would afford them as much pleasure as -the fight with the Mount Pleasant Indians. They would be surrounded by -well-drilled men who would watch all their movements with critical eyes, -and note and comment upon their slightest errors or indiscretions. He had -no fears for the majority of the students, for he knew beforehand that -they would act like soldiers while they were in the ranks, and like young -gentlemen when they were out of them; but there were some among them, -he was sorry to say, whose presence would reflect no honor upon their -companies—boys who could not keep their eyes directed to the front while -they were marching, or hold their heads still on dress-parade, and whose -conduct, when they were on the streets and out of sight of their teachers -and officers, would not be calculated to win the respect of the citizens -of Hamilton. He did not want those boys to accompany them, but still he -would give them the same chance he gave the others. - -They had nearly five weeks of hard study and drill before them, during -which time it was possible for any studious and attentive boy to run his -standing up to a hundred. Those who did that, might be sure of a holiday -and a general good time on the 24th of July; but those who allowed -themselves to fall below seventy-five, would be required to remain at the -academy. He left the matter in their own hands. - -“I say, Don,” whispered Egan, as the students marched out of the -school-room, “if this thing had happened last year, you and I would have -gone to the hop, wouldn’t we?” - -“I believe we would,” answered Don. - -“Well, what do you say to——” - -“I’ll not do it,” was the emphatic response. “If any of the other fellows -have a mind to desert and stay to the roll, they may do it and take the -consequences; but I won’t. I haven’t received a single reprimand this -term, not even from that old martinet Odenheimer, and what’s more, I -don’t intend to put myself in the way of getting one.” - -“Good for you, Gordon,” said Egan, approvingly. “Stick to it, and the day -that sees you a first-class cadet, will see you lieutenant-colonel of the -academy battalion. You hear me?” - -“I hope it will,” replied Don. “It certainly will not see me a private; -you may depend upon that.” - -That night Lester Brigham and his friend Jones met in the gymnasium. -Their followers came up, one after the other, and in a few minutes there -was quite a crowd of boys gathered about them. Some of them spoke with -great enthusiasm regarding the proposed excursion to Hamilton, while -others were sullen, and had but little to say. Among the latter was -Lester Brigham, who, having wasted his time and fallen behind his class -in everything, saw very plainly that his chances for participating in -the celebration were slim indeed. He grew angry whenever he thought that -he would have to remain a prisoner at the academy while the other boys in -his company were seeing no end of fun, and when he got that way, he was -ready for almost anything. He saw how his enforced sojourn at Bridgeport -could be turned to account; but the next thing was to make the rest of -the fellows see it. - -“Things couldn’t have been planned to suit us better, could they?” said -Lester, as the boys crowded about him. - -“They might have been planned to suit _me_ better—a good deal better,” -growled one, in reply. “I wish that invitation had been sent a month ago. -Then I should have gone to work in earnest, and perhaps I would stand -some chance of going to Hamilton with my company.” - -“Why, do you want to go?” exclaimed Lester. - -“Of course I do, and I will, too, if there is anything to be gained by -faithful effort. If you catch me in any mischief before the result of the -next five weeks’ study is announced, you may shoot me.” - -“And me; and me,” chorused several of the boys. - -“Look here, Brigham,” said Jones. “That celebration will be the grandest -thing you ever saw, outside of a big city, and we mustn’t miss it.” - -“I was going to suggest that it would be a good time to start off on our -cruise,” said Lester. “The boys who will be left here to stand guard will -be fellows after our own hearts, and we can easily induce them to pass us -or to join in with us.” - -“That’s my idea,” said another. - -“Well, it isn’t mine,” said Jones, in very decided tones. - -“Don’t you know what the understanding was?” began Lester. - -“I know all about it,” replied Jones. “I ought to, for I proposed it. The -bargain was, that we were to be left out of camp, if we could, so that we -could desert the academy when it was not strongly guarded. Failing that, -we were to leave the camp in a body, capture our boat and go to sea in -her. Wasn’t that the agreement, boys?” - -The students all said it was. - -“I am ready to live up to that agreement,” continued Jones; “but I -wouldn’t miss that parade for any money. I am going to the ball in the -evening, too.” - -“You can’t,” said Lester. “The superintendent said you would come home on -the six o’clock train.” - -“Some will and some won’t,” said a boy who had not spoken before. “It -will be an easy matter for those of us who want to stay, to slip away and -hide until the rest of the boys are gone. If I go to Hamilton I shall go -to the dance.” - -“And I’ll stay here,” said Lester, who was disappointed as well as -enraged. “But when you return, you will not find me. I am going off on a -cruise if I have to steal a skiff and go alone.” - -“You needn’t go alone,” said one of the boys. “I will go with you.” - -“Wait until August and we will all go with you,” said Jones. - -“I can’t and I shan’t. I have waited long enough already. I have seen -quite enough of this school.” - -These were the sentiments of a good many of the students, who gradually -drew over to Lester’s side, and when the latter had run his eye over -them, he found that there were an even dozen who were willing to stand by -him. - -“Whose side are you on, Enoch?” inquired Lester. - -He waited with considerable anxiety for the reply, for he knew that a -good deal depended upon Enoch Williams. He was to be first officer of -the yacht, when they got her (the real commander, in fact, for Lester, -who was to be the captain, didn’t know the starboard rail from the main -truck) and if Lester could induce him to come over to his side, the rest -of the boys would probably come with him. - -“I go with the majority,” answered Enoch. “The most of the fellows have -declared against your plan, and if they are going to the celebration, I -am going too.” - -“By dividing in this way, you act as if you desire to read us out of -your good books,” said Jones. “If that is the case, all right. If you -will keep still about us and our plans, we will not blow on you. If you -succeed in reaching the bay, and in eluding the tugs that are sent after -you, we may join you some time during the second week in August, if you -will tell us where you are going.” - -“They are a pack of cowards,” observed Lester, as Jones and Williams -walked away, followed by their friends. “You fellows did well to side -with me. They had no intention of helping us capture that yacht, and this -is the way they take to get out of it.” - -“I don’t know whether we have done well or not,” said one of Lester’s -friends, when he saw the others moving away. “Now that Enoch has deserted -us, who is there to command the boat?” - -“Why, I am to have charge of her,” said Lester, with a look of surprise. -“That was understood from the very first.” - -“But you are a fresh-water sailor and don’t know anything about the -coast,” said the boy. - -“I know I don’t, and neither does Enoch. But I never yet got a vessel -into a place that I couldn’t get her out of, and if you will trust to me -I will look out for your safety and insure you lots of fun besides,” said -Lester, confidently; and then he wondered what he should do if the boys -took him at his word. - -“I must see if I can’t induce Enoch to stand by me,” said he to himself. -“If he refuses, the whole thing is up stump, for I can’t command the -yacht, and I am not foolish enough to try it. I will wait a few days, and -perhaps something will turn up in my favor.” - -Lester was not disappointed. When each scholar’s standing for the week -was announced on Friday night, Jones had only fifty marks to his credit, -while Enoch Williams was obliged to be satisfied with thirty. - -“I’ve done my level best,” said the former, in a discouraged tone, “and -now I believe I’ll give it up.” - -“Never say die,” said Enoch, hopefully. “I have better reason for being -discouraged than you have. I shall try harder than ever from this time -on, and if I can get up as high as ninety next week, and stay there, that -will make my average standing seventy-eight. You _must_ try, old boy, for -I don’t want to go to Hamilton unless you do. Give me your promise.” - -Jones gave it, but said he didn’t think anything would come of it. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -A TEST OF COURAGE. - - -It was by no means a common occurrence for the best of the scholars to -win a hundred credit marks in a week, for in order to do it, it was -necessary that they should be perfect in everything. If their standing -and deportment as students were all they desired them to be, they ran the -risk of falling behind in their record as soldiers. If they handled their -muskets a little too quickly or too slowly while their company was going -through the manual of arms, if they forgot that the guide was left when -marching in platoon front, and allowed themselves to fall half an inch -out of line, or if they turned their heads on dress-parade to watch the -band while it “rounded off,” they were sure to be reported and to lose -some of their hard-earned credit marks. - -Don Gordon worked early and late, and his average for the first three -weeks was ninety—Bert following close behind with eighty-eight. Jones -and Enoch Williams did not do as well, and Lester was out of the race -almost before it was begun. Enoch made a gallant struggle, and would have -succeeded in winning the required number of marks if Jones had only let -him alone; but at the end of the third week the latter gave up trying. - -“It’s no use, Williams,” said he. “I’ve made a bad showing, thanks to -the partiality of the instructors, who don’t intend to let a fellow win -on his merits. I have made just a hundred and forty altogether, and if I -could make a clean score during the next two weeks, my average would be -sixty-eight—seven points too low. Now what are you going to do?” - -“You can’t possibly make seventy-five, can you?” said Enoch, after he had -performed a little problem in mental arithmetic. “Well, if you’ve got to -stay behind, I’ll stay too. How about that picnic? Lester hasn’t been -near me in a long time. He and his crowd seem to hang together pretty -well, and I shouldn’t wonder if they had got their plans all laid.” - -“Let’s hunt him up and have a talk with him,” said Jones. “We have made -him mad, and perhaps we shall have hard work to get him good-natured -again.” - -“I don’t care if he never gets good-natured again,” answered Enoch. -“I have long been of the opinion that we ought to throw that fellow -overboard. We shall certainly see trouble through him if we do not.” - -“We’ll see trouble if we do,” said Jones, earnestly. “I have studied him -pretty closely, and I have found out that there is no honor in him. We’ve -gone too far to drop him now. If we should attempt it, he’d blow on us as -sure as the world.” - -Jones struck pretty close to the mark when he said this, for Lester had -already set his wits to work to conjure up some plan to keep the boys who -would not side with him at the academy while he and the rest were off on -their cruise. He had decided that when the proper time came he would make -an effort to induce Enoch to go with him, and if he refused, he (Lester) -would take care to see that he didn’t go at all. He would contrive some -way to let the superintendent know what he and Jones and their crowd -intended to do. - -“Brigham is no sailor, and there’s where the trouble is coming in,” said -Enoch. - -“I confess that I have often had my fears on that point,” replied Jones; -“but we mustn’t think of leaving him behind. Let him act as leader, if -he can, until we are fairly afloat, and then, if we find he doesn’t know -what he is about, we can easily depose him and put you in his place.” - -“I don’t care to be captain,” said Enoch. “I’d just as soon go before the -mast, provided there is somebody on the quarter-deck who understands his -business. These racing boats are cranky things, and sometimes they turn -bottom side up without any provocation at all. There’s Brigham now.” - -Lester was delighted to learn that his two old cronies were ready to side -with him, but he did not show it. He appeared to be quite indifferent. - -“I listened with all my ears when the last week’s standing was announced, -and I know very well what it was that brought you over to me,” said he, -addressing himself to Jones. “You’re going to fall below seventy-five -in spite of all you can do, and Enoch doesn’t want to go to Hamilton -without you. I’ll have to talk to the boys about it. Perhaps they will -say they don’t want you, because you went back on us once.” - -“I say we didn’t go back on you or anybody else,” said Enoch, looking -savagely at Lester. “We are ready to stand by our agreement, and you are -not.” - -Jones and Williams, believing that Lester was not very favorably disposed -toward them, thought it would be a good plan to talk to the boys about it -themselves. They found that some were glad to welcome them back, but that -those who wanted to go to Hamilton and who were working hard, and with a -fair prospect of success, to win the required number of marks, met their -advances rather coldly. - -“Let the celebration go and come with us,” urged Jones. “I’ll warrant -you’ll see more fun on the bay than you will in marching about the dusty -streets of Hamilton while the mercury is away up in the nineties.” - -“Sour grapes!” exclaimed one of the boys. “Look here, Jones. A little -while ago this parade was the grandest thing that ever was thought of, -and you wouldn’t miss it for any amount of money. You tried your best -to win a place in the ranks of your company, but you failed, and now you -want us to fail, too. I can’t see the beauty of that.” - -There was more than one who couldn’t see it—boys who spent all their time -with their books and watched themselves closely, in the hope of attaining -to the required standing. Some succeeded and others did not. Those who -failed fell back into the ranks of Lester’s crowd, angry and discouraged, -and ready for anything that would close the doors of that school against -them forever. The fortunate ones, turning a deaf ear to the pleadings of -their companions, but promising to keep a still tongue in their heads -regarding the proposed picnic, went to the city with their company, and -we must hasten on to tell what happened to them while on the way, and -what they did after they got there. - -While these things were going on inside of the academy, some stirring -events, in which a few of the students finally became personally -interested, were occurring outside of it. The daily papers, to which -many of the boys were subscribers, began to speak of railroad strikes, -and in every issue there was a column or more of telegrams relating to -“labor troubles.” The boys read them, simply because they wanted to keep -themselves posted, as far as they could, in all that was going on in -the world; but they paid no particular attention to them. The news came -from distant points and did not affect them in any way, because they -were independent of the railroads and would be until September. If the -hands on the Bordentown branch, the road that ran from Oxford through -Bridgeport to Hamilton, wanted to strike for higher wages, they could do -it and welcome. There was no law to prevent them. In fact, the students -hoped they would do it, for then they could shoulder their muskets and -march to the city, as the majority of them wanted to do. - -Time passed and things began to assume a more serious aspect. The strike -became general and trouble was feared. The strikers would not work -themselves nor would they allow others to work; and when men came to take -their places they won them over to their side, or assaulted them with -clubs and stones and drove them away. The lawless element of the country, -the “dangerous classes,”—the thieves, loafers, tramps and socialists, who -had everything to make and nothing to lose, joined with the strikers; -and although the latter repudiated and denounced them in strong language, -they did not send them away. The police could do nothing, and finally the -National Guard was called out; but its presence did not seem to have any -effect. The most of the guard were working men, and the strikers did not -believe they would use their weapons even if ordered to do so. At Buffalo -the mob threw aside the bayonets that were crossed in front of the door -of a machine shop, and went in and compelled the men to stop work. Not -satisfied with that they attacked the company that was guarding the shop -and put it to flight. A Chicago paper announced, with much trepidation, -that there were twenty thousand well-armed socialists in that city, who -were threatening to do all sorts of terrible things; a Baltimore mob -stoned and scattered the soldiers who had been sent there to preserve -order; New York was like a seething cauldron, almost ready to boil over; -the strikers and their allies had got beyond control at Pittsburg, and -were destroying the property of the railroad companies; and thus were -ushered in “those dark days in July, 1877, when the whole land was -threatened with anarchy.” - -“I tell you, boys, this is becoming interesting,” said Egan, as he and -his particular friends met one morning on the parade ground, each with a -paper in his hand. “Just listen to this despatch from Pittsburg: ‘A large -force of strikers has captured a train, and is running about the country, -picking up arms and ammunition wherever they can be found. A regiment is -expected from Philadelphia this evening.’” - -(This regiment didn’t do any good after it arrived. It was whipped at -once, driven out of the city, and every effort was made by the strikers -and their friends to have its commanding officer indicted for murder, -because he defended himself when he was attacked.) - -“That’s the worst news I have heard yet,” said Curtis, anxiously. “We’ve -got about four hundred stand of arms and two thousand ball cartridges in -the armory.” - -“That’s so!” exclaimed the boys, in concert. - -“And if the men who are employed on this railroad should take it into -their heads to come here and get them—eh?” continued Curtis. “It would be -worse than the fight with the Mount Pleasant Indians, wouldn’t it?” - -“I should say so,” cried Hopkins, growing alarmed. “But these Bordentown -fellows are all right yet.” - -“They’ve struck,” said Don. “My paper says that Hamilton is in an -uproar, that business is virtually suspended, that the mob is growing -bolder every hour, and that the 61st has been ordered to hold itself in -readiness to march at a moment’s notice.” - -“I know that,” said Hopkins. “The strikers have stopped all the freights, -but they haven’t yet interfered with the mail trains, nor have they -attempted any violence.” - -“If they would only stick to that, they would have a good deal of -sympathy,” said Curtis. “But when they defy the law and trample upon the -rights of other people, they ought to be put down with an iron hand, and -I hope they will be.” - -“You may have a chance to assist at it,” said Egan. - -“I shouldn’t wonder if he did,” exclaimed Don, when the other boys smiled -incredulously. “Mark my words: There’s going to be trouble in Hamilton. -There are a good many car-shops and founderies there, and one regiment, -which numbers only four hundred and fifty men, can’t be everywhere. - -“And of those four hundred and fifty men how many do you suppose there -are who do not sympathize with the strikers?” asked Egan. - -“There are at least two companies—the Hamilton Tigers and the Sanford -Guards,” replied Hopkins. “You can depend on them every time.” - -“And if the others show a disposition to get up on their ears, there will -be visiting troops enough to handle them without gloves,” observed Curtis. - -“I am afraid not,” answered Don. “Rumor says that the most, if not all, -the regiments that were expected to be there, have been ordered, by the -adjutant-generals of their respective States, to stay at home.” - -“And some of the firemen have given notice that they will not turn out,” -added Hopkins. - -“That knocks the parade higher than a kite,” exclaimed Egan. “Well, -there’s no loss without some gain. The prospect of marching with the -61st, had a good effect on me. It made me study hard and behave myself. -Hallo! what’s the matter with you? Any startling news?” - -This question was addressed to Sergeants Gordon and Elmer, who just then -hurried up, bringing with them pale and anxious faces. - -“Oh, fellows!” stammered Bert. “We’re going to have trouble right here at -the academy.” - -“No!” exclaimed all the boys at once. - -“But I say we are,” said Bert; who then went on to tell what had happened -to Elmer and himself just a few minutes before. They had been sent to the -village on business, and in going and coming they were obliged to pass -the railroad depot. They noticed that there were a good many men gathered -on the platform and standing around in little groups, all talking in low -and earnest tones, but no one paid any attention to them until they came -back, and then one of the truck hands, who was dressed in his Sunday -clothes, stepped out and confronted them. - -“Arrah, me foine gentlemen,” said he, nodding with his head and winking -his eyes vigorously, “it’s a swate little rod we have in pickle fur yees, -intirely; do yees moind that?” - -The boys made no reply. They turned out and tried to go by the man, but -he spread out his arms and stopped them both. - -“We’ll have thim foine soldier clothes aff the back of yees the day,” -said he, with a leer. - -“Be good enough to let us pass,” said Bert. “We have no desire to talk to -you.” - -“Haven’t yees now? Well, _I’ll_ spake to _yees_. Yer foine lookin’ little -b’ys to be takin’ the brid from the mouth of the wurrukin’ mon an’ his -childer, so ye are. I’ve a moind to knock the hids aff yees.” - -“Move on there, Mickey,” commanded a policeman. - -“Shure I will; but moind this, the hul of yees: We have min enough, an’ -there’s more comin’ from Hamilton, to take all the arrums yees have up -there to the school-house beyant, and there’ll not be a soldier nor a -polace lift the night. We’ll trample them into the ground like the dirt -under our feet; an’ so we will do with all the big min who want to grind -down the wurrukin’ mon; ain’t that so, me brave b’ys?” - -The “brave boys” who were standing around did not confirm these words, -and neither did they deny them. They looked sullen and savage, and the -two sergeants were glad to hurry on and leave them out of sight. - -“He said they were going to clean us out to-night, did he,” exclaimed -Don, when Bert had finished his story. “Well, they will have a good time -of it. Some of the boys are pretty fair shots.” - -“Oh, I hope it won’t come to that,” said Sergeant Elmer. - -“So do I,” said Don. “But there’s only one way to reason with a mob, and -that is to thrash them soundly.” - -“I don’t see why that man should pitch into us,” observed Bert. “If he -would go to work, he would get bread enough for himself and his children. -If the working man is ‘ground down’ we had no hand in it.” - -“Of course not,” said Egan. “But you wear a uniform and are supposed to -be strongly in favor of law and order.” - -“And we are, too,” said Bert, emphatically. - -“Well, that man knew it, and that was the reason he talked to you in the -way he did,” continued Egan. “He and his kind hate a soldier as cordially -as they hate the police, because the soldier is always ready to step in -and help the policeman when the mob gets too strong for him; and when -the boys in blue take a hand in the muss, the rioters generally hear -something drop. Now, Bert, you and Elmer had better go and report to the -superintendent.” - -All that day the excitement at the academy was intense, and it was no -wonder that the lessons were bad, that such faithful fellows as Mack, -Egan, Curtis and Bert Gordon came in for the sternest reprimands, or that -the teachers looked worried and anxious—all except Professor Odenheimer. -He was in his element, for he scented the battle from afar. His lectures -were full of fight, and never had his classes listened to them with so -much interest. When night came the excitement increased. It was plain -that the superintendent had received information which led him to believe -that it was best to be prepared for any emergency, for the guards were -doubled, mattresses were issued to the members of the first company who -bunked in the armory, and the boys who went on post were supplied with -ball cartridges. - -Another thing that increased the excitement and added to the general -disquiet and alarm, was the rumor that all idea of a parade had been -abandoned, and that the brigade commander had asked the superintendent -what he could do for him, if help were needed at Hamilton. There was -a mob there, and it was having things all its own way. It was growing -stronger and bolder all the while, the police were afraid of it, the -majority of the soldiers sympathized with it, and the only company that -had done anything was the Hamilton Tigers, which had cleared the depot at -the point of the bayonet. - -“Didn’t I say there would be trouble in the city before this thing was -settled?” asked Don Gordon of some of his friends whom he met in the -armory when dress parade was over. - -“And didn’t I say that the Tigers would do their duty every time?” -answered Hopkins. “But do you suppose the superintendent will order any -of us down there?” - -“Why shouldn’t he?” inquired Curtis in his quiet way. - -“Because we don’t belong to the National Guard, and there is no precedent -for any such proceeding,” answered Hopkins. - -“There’s where you are mistaken,” said Egan. “The students at the -Champaign Agricultural College in Illinois didn’t belong to the National -Guard, but when Chicago was burned some of them were ordered up there to -protect property, and I never heard it said that they didn’t do their -duty as well as men could have done it. It will be no boy’s play, but -I shall hold myself in readiness to volunteer with the company that is -ordered down there.” - -“Well, I won’t,” said a voice. - -The boys looked around and saw Williams, Jones, Lester Brigham and -several of that crowd standing close by. The faces of the most of -them were very pale, and Lester was trembling visibly. Under ordinary -circumstances they would have been ordered away at once; but class -etiquette was forgotten now. The young soldiers had something else to -think about. - -“I didn’t come here to fight,” continued Enoch Williams, “and I won’t do -it, either.” - -“How are you going to help yourself?” asked Curtis. “Will you skip over -to Canada? That’s what some of the Hamilton boys have done.” - -“No; but I’ll refuse to do duty, and stay here under arrest,” replied -Enoch. - -“And be court-martialed for cowardice and disgracefully dismissed the -academy when the trouble is over,” said Egan. “Don’t let the people down -in Maryland hear of it, Enoch. They’ll cut you, sure.” - -“I don’t care if they do,” was the defiant response. “I have no desire to -be knocked in the head with a coupling-pin.” - -The other boys didn’t want to be treated that way either, but they had no -intention of shirking their duty. They didn’t care to talk with Enoch and -his friends, and so they turned away and left them alone. - -There was little sleeping done in the academy that night, and those who -did slumber kept one eye and both ears open, and were ready to jump at -the very first note of alarm. It came shortly after midnight. All on a -sudden the clear blast of a bugle rang through the silent building, being -followed an instant later by the “long roll.” There was a moment’s hush, -and then hasty footsteps sounded in the different halls, and heavy blows -were showered upon the dormitory doors, mingled with loud cries of, “Fall -in! Fall in!” - -“The mob has come! Now we’ll know how it seems to engage in a real -battle,” were the words with which each boy encouraged his room-mate, as -he sprang out of bed and pulled on his clothes. “The rioters at Hamilton -number ten thousand men; and if they have all come up here, what can -three hundred boys do with them?” - -There were some pale faces among the young soldiers who jerked open their -doors and ran at the top of their speed towards the armory, but not one -of them was seen to falter. Some of them _did_ falter, however, but we -shall see that they did not escape detection. - -In a great deal less than the six minutes that were usually allotted for -falling in in the morning, the majority of the boys were in line and -ready for business. And that there was business to be done they did not -doubt, for no sooner had the companies been formed than they were marched -down the stairs in double time and out of the building, which in a few -seconds more was surrounded by a wall of bayonets; but they could neither -see nor hear anything of the mob. - -“I say, Hop,” whispered Don to his fat friend who stood next to him in -the ranks, “this is another put-up job. There are no cartridges in my -box.” - -“That’s so,” said Hopkins, after he had satisfied himself that his own -box was empty. “The teachers only wanted to test our pluck.” - -Just then the big bell in the cupola was struck once—half-past twelve—and -a few seconds later the voice of a sentry rang out on the quiet air. - -“No. 1. All’s well!” shouted the guard; and this assurance removed a -heavy burden of anxiety from the mind of more than one boy in the ranks. - -The whole thing was out now, and as there was nothing to be gained by -standing there in the dark, the companies were marched back to the armory -and the roll was called. The ranks of the first and second companies -were full, Jones and a few like him were missing from Don’s, and Bert -found, to his great mortification, that fully a dozen of his men had -failed to respond to their names. The reports were made through the -usual channels, and when the result was announced to the superintendent, -he ordered details from the third and fourth companies to hunt up the -delinquents. The rest of the battalion were brought to “parade rest” and -kept there, until the missing boys were brought in. Some of them had been -taken ill as soon as they heard the order to fall in; others had sought -safety and concealment in the attic; and a few had been found in the -cellar and pulled out of the coal-bins. They looked very crestfallen and -ashamed when they found themselves drawn up in line in full view of their -companions, and expected to receive the sternest kind of a reprimand; but -the superintendent did not once look toward them. - -“Young gentlemen,” said he, addressing himself to the boys who stood in -the ranks, “I am much pleased with the result of my experiment. I did -not expect so prompt a response from so many of you. The honors belong -to the third company. It was the first to fall in, and Captain Mack was -the first to report himself and his men ready for duty. I shall bear that -company in mind. You can now return to your respective dormitories and -go to sleep with the full assurance that there is no mob here and none -coming. All is quiet in the city. The 61st is under arms, but no trouble -is apprehended. Break ranks!” - -“Attention, company! Carry arms! Right face! Arms port! Break ranks, -march!” shouted the several captains; and the boys scattered and -deposited their muskets in their proper places, each one congratulating -himself and his neighbor on the indefinite postponement of the fight -with the mob, which the most of them believed would be sure to take place -sooner or later. The members of Don’s company had reason to be proud -of themselves, but there were some among them who shook their heads -dubiously whenever they recalled the superintendent’s words: “I shall -bear that company in mind.” What did he mean by that? - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -THE FIGHT AS REPORTED. - - -“It means that if the authorities at Hamilton need help in putting down -that mob, we third company boys will have to give it,” said Egan, in -reply to a question propounded to him by Captain Mack. - -“What do you mean by _we_?” inquired the captain. “You don’t belong to my -company.” - -“Yes, I do, and so do Hop and Curtis,” answered Egan. “We intend to -report for duty in the morning; and as long as this strike lasts, we are -to stand post and do duty like the rest of the boys. We asked permission -of the superintendent to-day, and he granted it.” - -Of course he granted it. Faithful students, like these three boys, were -allowed to do pretty nearly as they pleased. It was the idle and unruly -who were denied privileges. - -“I am glad to welcome such fellows as you are into my family,” said -Captain Mack. “But why didn’t you go into the first company where you -belong?” - -“We belong wherever it suits us to go,” said Egan, in reply. “And it -suits us to be with you and Don Gordon. Look here, Mack: If worst comes -to worst, and the superintendent calls for volunteers, you be the first -to jump. Do you hear? Good night and pleasant dreams.” - -The students hastened back to their rooms, and feeling secure from an -attack by the mob, the most of them slept; but their dreams, like Captain -Mack’s, were none of the pleasantest. More than one of them started up in -alarm, believing that he heard the order to fall in. They all expected -it, and it came the next day about eleven o’clock, but the majority of -the boys did not know it until dinner time; and then Don Gordon, who -had been acting as the superintendent’s orderly that morning, rushed -frantically about the building looking for Egan and the rest. - -“The time has come, fellows,” said he, when he found them. “Some of us -will have to face the music now.” - -“How do you know?” asked Egan and his friends, in a breath. - -“The superintendent received a despatch from the city a short time ago.” - -“Do you know what was in it?” - -“I do, for I heard him read it to one of the teachers. It ran: ‘Hold -a company, provided with ten rounds per man, ready to move at short -notice.’ The answer that went back was: ‘The company is ready.’” - -“Whew!” whistled Curtis, while the others looked at one another in blank -amazement. - -“But I don’t see how that company is to get to Hamilton,” said Hopkins, -at length. “There are no trains running to-day. Everything is as quiet as -it is on Sunday.” - -“They will go by special train,” said Don. “There are a good many -passengers and a big mail that were left at Munson last night when the -engineer of the lightning express was taken by force from his cab, and -the mob has agreed to let them come on to Hamilton. It was all talked -over in my hearing.” - -“And our boys are to go on that train, are they?” - -“Yes; if they get marching orders in time.” - -“Then there’ll be trouble. Remember what I tell you; there will be the -biggest kind of a fuss down there,” said Curtis, earnestly. “The rioters -didn’t agree to let soldiers into the city, and they won’t do it, either.” - -“Did it ever occur to you, that very possibly the wishes of the rabble -will not be consulted?” inquired Hopkins. “I hope that company will go in -if it is needed there, and that the very first man who fires a stone into -its ranks will get hurt.” - -Just then the enlivening notes of the dinner-call sounded through the -building, and the students made all haste to respond to it. The different -companies formed in their respective halls, but when they had been -aligned and brought to a right face by their quartermaster-sergeants, the -captains took command, ordered the sergeants to their posts, and marched -their men to the armory instead of to the dining-hall. They all wondered -what was going to happen now, and they were not kept long in suspense. - -“Young gentlemen,” said the superintendent, when all the companies had -come into line, “our friends in Hamilton are in need of assistance, and -we, being law-loving and law-abiding men and boys, and utterly opposed to -mob rule, can not refuse to give it to them. It may be—nay, I am sure, -from what I have heard, that it is a mission of danger; and therefore I -shall not ask any of you to go to the city against your will. Those of -you who are in favor of the law, and who have the courage to enforce it -if you are called upon to do so, will step three paces to the front.” - -These words, which were spoken so rapidly that those who heard them did -not have time to think twice, fairly stunned the boys. Egan, who stood -next the first sergeant of the third company, was the first to recover -himself. Reaching around behind the sergeant he gave Captain Mack a prod -in the ribs with his fist that fairly knocked him out of his place in the -ranks; but it brought him to his senses, and raising his hand to his cap -the captain said: - -“I speak for my company, sir.” - -“Your services are accepted,” said the superintendent. “You are too late, -young gentlemen,” he added, addressing himself to the boys in the first -and second companies who moved forward in a body, together with the -majority of the members of Bert’s company. “You ought to have had an old -first-sergeant in your ranks to wake you up.” - -This was Greek to some of the students, but Mack understood it and so did -Egan. So did the boys directly behind them, who had seen Egan strike the -captain in the ribs to “wake him up.” - -“If your conduct last night is any criterion, I shall have reason to be -proud of you when you return,” continued the superintendent, turning to -the third company boys. “I shall expect you to do your duty regardless -of consequences; and in order that you may work to the best advantage, I -shall make some changes in your _personnel_.” - -Here the superintendent paused and looked at the adjutant, who stepped -forward and drew his note-book from his pocket. - -“Mack, you’re a brick,” said Egan, in an audible whisper. - -“He’s a born fool,” said Jones to the boy who stood next him. “I didn’t -give him authority to speak for me, and I’ll not stir one step. If he -wants to go down there and be pounded to death by that mob, he can go and -welcome; but he shall not drag me along with him.” - -“It is not expected that boys who take refuge in the attic or hide in -coal-bins, or who are seized with the pangs of sickness at the very -first notes of a false alarm, would be of any use to you if you should -get into trouble,” added the superintendent. “Consequently those boys -will be permitted to remain at the academy. As fast as their names are -called they will fall out of the ranks and form a squad by themselves -under command of Sergeant Elmer, who will have charge of them until their -company returns.” - -Some of those who had behaved with so much timidity the night before, -thought this the severest punishment that could be inflicted upon them. -They were virtually branded as cowards in the presence of the whole -school, and they felt it most keenly; but the others, those who had -determined to be sent down since their parents would not allow them to -leave the academy, as they wanted to do, did not seem to mind it at all. -They were perfectly willing to be disgraced. They fell out of the ranks -as their names were called, and after their places had been supplied by -boys from the first and second companies whom the superintendent knew he -could trust, they were all marched down to the dining-hall. - -There was little dinner eaten that day, for their excitement took away -all their appetites. The hum of animated conversation arose above the -clatter of knives and forks from all except the third company boys, -who were already looked upon as heroes by some of their companions. -They were going down to the city to face an infuriated mob, and who can -tell what the result might be? These boys talked only in whispers, and -the all-absorbing question with them was: What teacher would be sent -in command of them? Everybody seemed to think it would be Professor -Odenheimer, who, by his fiery lectures, had now the appellation of -“Fighting Jacob,” which the students transformed into “Viting Yawcop.” -Everybody seemed to think, too, that if he were sent in command, they -would stand a fine chance of getting into a fight, whether the mob forced -it upon them or not. - -The study-call was not sounded that afternoon, because the teachers knew -that there would be no studying done. The students gathered in little -groups in the building and about the grounds, and there was an abundance -of talk, argument and speculation. They were all anxious for news, and -it did not take long to raise a crowd. If a teacher, an officer or an -orderly stopped for a moment to exchange a word or two with one of the -students, they were very soon joined by a third, the number was rapidly -augmented, and a large assembly was quickly gathered. The wildest rumors -were freely circulated as facts, and if the third company boys had -believed half they heard, it is hard to tell whether or not their courage -would have stood the test. The excitement arose to fever-heat when a -messenger-boy, who had been passed by the sentry at the gate, ran up the -walk with a brown envelope in his hand. - -“What is it? What is it?” cried the students, as he dashed through their -ranks. - -“It’s for the superintendent,” was the boy’s reply. - -“But what does it say?” - -“Don’t know; only there’s the very mischief to pay down at Hamilton. The -special is due in fifteen minutes.” - -“Then we’re off, boys,” said Egan; and so it proved. A few minutes after -the messenger-boy vanished through the door, a sergeant appeared on the -steps and cried out: “Fall in, third company!” whereupon all the boys -made a rush for the armory. Don and his comrades made all haste to put on -their belts and epaulets and take their muskets from the racks, while the -rest of the students drew themselves up in line behind the teachers so -that they could see all that was going on. - -“Fall in!” commanded the first sergeant. “Left face! Support arms! Listen -to roll-call!” - -Each boy in the ranks brought his piece to a “carry” and then to “order -arms,” as his name was called, and when this ceremony was completed the -company was again brought to a “carry,” and ordered to “count fours”; -after which the sergeant proceeded to divide it into platoons. Then he -faced about, saluted his commander and said, with a ring of triumph in -his tones: - -“All present, sir.” - -There was no one hiding in the attic or coal-bins this time. - -“Fix bayonets,” said the captain. - -The sergeant gave the order and moved to his place on the right of the -company, leaving the captain in command. His first move was to open -the ranks, and his next to order the quartermaster-sergeant to supply -each man with ten rounds of ammunition. Candor compels us to say that -the sergeant did not strictly obey this order. He was careful to put ten -cartridges, and no more, into each box, but he did not scruple to put -three or four extra ones into the hand that was holding the box open. - -By this time the boys had found out who was to be their real commander. -It was Mr. Kellogg, the most popular instructor at the academy. He was -a modest, unassuming gentleman, but he was a soldier all over. He had -served in the army of the Potomac, and had twice been carried to the rear -and laid among the dead. The boys knew he was going with them, for he was -dressed in fatigue uniform and wore a sword by his side. - -The cartridges having been distributed and the company brought to close -order, it was marched out of the armory and down the stairs. When the -other students saw it preparing to move, they rushed out in a body, ran -to the gate, and drawing themselves up in line on each side of the walk, -stood ready to give their friends a good “send off.” When the company -marched through their ranks, led by the band which was to accompany it -to the depot, they broke out into deafening cheers, which Captain Mack -and his men answered with a will. Don caught just one glimpse of his -brother’s face as he passed. It was whiter than his own. - -The students followed the company as far as the gate, and then ran along -the fence to keep it in view as long as they could; but all they could -see of it were the bayonets, the young soldiers themselves being wholly -concealed by the crowd of citizens who had assembled to see them off. The -men cheered them lustily, the ladies waved their handkerchiefs, and the -girls threw flowers at them until a bend in the road hid them from sight. -Then the boys who were left behind turned away from the fence, and walked -slowly toward the academy. - -“I’d much rather be here than with them,” said Jones to his friend -Lester, and the latter did not doubt it, for Jones was one of the boys -who had been found in the cellar. Lester had hidden his head under the -bed-clothes when he heard the bugle, and pleaded sickness when Bert -Gordon and his squad came to pull him out. “I suppose the teachers think -I feel very much disgraced because I was left behind, but I don’t. I -didn’t come here to fight, and when my father hears of this, he will tell -me to start for home at once. But I shan’t go until I get a good ready, -and then I am going in my own way. I am going to do something that will -make these fellows remember me. I said it long ago, and I mean it.” - -“It is my opinion that this day’s work will break up this school,” -observed Enoch Williams. “I know my father will not allow me to stay here -after he hears of it.” - -“Wouldn’t this be a good time to go off on our cruise?” inquired Lester. - -“I am afraid not,” answered Jones. “I should like to go this very night; -but as things look now, I am of the opinion that we shall have to wait -until next month. We don’t want to fail when we make the attempt, for if -we do, we shall be watched closer than we are now.” - -“I don’t want to stay here,” said Lester. “Suppose they should need more -help in the city, and that my company should be ordered down there?” - -“You need not waste any time in worrying over that,” was the encouraging -reply. “Your company is composed of nothing but raw recruits; and even if -it should be ordered there, _you_ wouldn’t go. You would be told to stay -behind, as I was.” - -Lester found some satisfaction in this assurance, but he found -none whatever in being snubbed as he was. Even the boys in his own -company—those who had promptly responded when ordered to fall in the -night before—would not look at him. If two of them were talking and -Lester came up to hear what they were saying, they would turn their backs -upon him without ceremony and walk away. All the boys who had concealed -themselves or played off sick when the false alarm was sounded, were -treated in the same way by their fellows, and all the companionship they -could find was in the society of students who were as timid as they -were. This had at least one good effect, so Lester thought. It brought -many friends to the boys who intended to desert the academy and run away -in the yacht, and before the day was over Lester, Jones and Enoch had -revealed their scheme to half a dozen or more new fellows, who heartily -approved of it and promised to aid them by every means in their power. -But after all they did not take as much interest in, or show as much -enthusiasm for, the scheme, as Lester and the rest thought they ought to. -The strike was the all-absorbing topic of conversation, and the possible -fate of the boys who had gone down to the city to confront the mob, made -many an anxious face. - -Although all study was over for the day, everything else was done as -usual, but nothing was done well. The students were thinking of something -beside their duties, and made blunders and received reprimands without -number. As the hours wore on, the excitement gave place to alarm. The -third company ought to have reached Hamilton at eight o’clock, if -everything had gone well with them, and now it was long after ten and not -a despatch had been received. - -“I am really afraid something has happened to them, Sam,” said Sergeant -Gordon, as he and Corporal Arkwright paced up and down the walk in front -of the guard-room in which sat the German professor, who was deeply -interested in his paper. These two boys were on duty until midnight, and -they wished they were going to stay on until morning, for they knew they -could not sleep if they tried. “My brother promised to telegraph me just -as soon as he reached the city,” continued Bert, “and he would surely -have done so, if something had not occurred to——” - -“Corporal of the guard, No. 1,” shouted the sentry at the gate. - -“Zetz auber!” exclaimed the professor, throwing down his paper. “Go out -dere, gorporal. Mebbe dot ish somedings from Meester Gellock.” - -The corporal went, and Bert went with him. If there were a messenger-boy -at the gate, his despatch might be from Don instead of Professor Kellogg; -but there was no messenger-boy to be seen. On the opposite side of -the tall, iron gate were a couple of men who peered through the bars -occasionally, and then looked behind and on both sides of them as if to -make sure that there was no one watching their movements. - -“These fellows affirm that they are just from the city,” said the sentry, -in a husky and trembling voice. “They have brought bad news. They say -that our boys were cut all to pieces by the rioters.” - -Bert’s heart seemed to stop beating. Without waiting to ask the sentry -any questions, he passed on to the gate and waited for the men to speak -to him. He could not have said a word to them to save his life. - -“We thought we had better come up here and let you know about it,” said -one of the visitors, at length. “The strikers are awful mad, and declare -they are going to burn the academy.” - -“Who are you?” demanded Bert, after he had taken time to recover his -breath. - -“We’re strikers, but we’re friends,” was the answer. “We live here in -Bridgeport and had to strike with the rest to escape getting our heads -broken. We saw the fight to-night, but we didn’t take any part in it.” - -“The fight?” gasped Bert. - -“Yes; and it was a lively one, I tell you. I didn’t know the boys had -so much pluck. But there were three thousand of the mob and only about -eighty of them, and so they had no show.” - -“Great Scott!” exclaimed Bert. “What became of our boys?” - -“We don’t know, for we lost no time in getting out of that when we found -that there were bullets flying through the air; but some of the strikers -told us that they whipped the cadets, and that those of them who could -get away ran like sheep.” - -“Corporal, go into the sentry’s box and get the key,” said Bert. “I shall -have to ask you to make your report to the officer of the guard.” - -“All right,” said the man who did the talking. “That’s what we came here -for; but we want to be as sly as we can in getting in and out, for if -we should be seen here, we’d have trouble directly. Bridgeport is in a -tumult of excitement, and there are lots of spies here. We came up from -Town Line on a hand-car with a lot of them. The lads must have got in -some pretty good work before they were whipped, or else the strikers -would not be so mad at them.” - -“Was there a fight, sure enough?” said Bert, as the corporal came up with -the key and opened the gate. He was so astounded and terrified that, -although he heard all the man said to him, he did not seem to comprehend -it. - -“Well, I should say there was a fight. I tell you, it must have been hot -in that car, and I don’t see how a single boy in it could possibly come -out alive!” - -“Then some of our friends must have been hurt?” faltered Bert. - -“Of course. I don’t believe a dozen of the whole company came out -uninjured.” - -Bert wanted to ask if his informant had heard the names of any of the -wounded, but the words he would have uttered stuck in his throat. While -he was trying to get them out he reached the guard-room, and ushered the -visitors into the presence of Professor Odenheimer. - -“These men, sir, desire to make report concerning a fight that took place -between our boys and the mob at Hamilton,” said the sergeant; and then he -backed off and stood ready to hear what they had to say in addition to -what they had already told him. - -The excitable Prussian started as if he had been shot. “Our poys did have -a pattle?” he exclaimed. - -“Yes, sir, they did,” answered one of the men. - -“Donder and blixen! I don’t can pelieve dot.” - -“They say they have just come from there, sir,” interposed Bert. - -The professor jumped to his feet, dashed his spectacles upon the table, -and broke into a torrent of German ejaculations indicative of the -greatest wonder and excitement. His next question was, not “Were any of -the boys injured?” but— - -“Did dem gadets make good fighting? Dot’s vot I vant to know.” - -The men replied that they had done wonders. - -“Dot’s all right! Dot’s _all_ right,” exclaimed Mr. Odenheimer, rubbing -his hands gleefully together. “Zargeant, you and de gorporal vait oudside -and I will hear de rebort of dese men. So dem gadets make good fighting! -I been glad to hear dot. Seet down in dem chairs and told me all apout -it.” - -The non-commissioned officers reluctantly withdrew, and the professor was -left alone with the visitors. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -IN THE HANDS OF THE MOB. - - -“Dutchy is a hard-hearted old wretch,” said Corporal Arkwright -indignantly. “He never asked if any of our boys were wounded.” - -“Of course he didn’t,” replied Bert. “He took it for granted. If the -fight was as desperate as those men say it was, we shall soon have a -sorrowful report from Hamilton. I ought to write to my mother at once, -but I haven’t the courage to do it.” - -The boys waited outside, as they were told to do, but they used their -best endeavors to overhear what passed between the professor and his -visitors. They had their trouble for their pains, however. The men -talked in low tones, and beyond an occasional ebullition of wrath from -Mr. Odenheimer, who invariably spoke in German, they could hear nothing. -Presently the door opened, and the three came out and hastened toward the -academy. - -“It is fully as serious as we thought, Sam,” said Sergeant Gordon. “They -are going in to tell their story to the superintendent.” - -Bert never slept a wink that night. He was at the gate at daylight, and -was the first to purchase a paper when the newsboys came around. As he -opened the sheet with trembling hands, his eye fell upon the following -paragraph: - -“WEDNESDAY MORNING, 3 O’CLOCK.—We have delayed the issue of our paper -until this morning, hoping to obtain direct information from Hamilton; -but we have heard nothing but vague rumors, which grew out of all -proportion as they traveled. That the academy boys had a brush with the -strikers is evident. They were met before reaching the city by an immense -mob, and a fight ensued, in which some of our boys were wounded. The -following despatch, taken from last night’s _Town Line Democrat_, despite -some inaccuracies, probably has a few grains of truth in it: - -‘This evening, when the Bridgeport Cadets got into Hamilton they were -stopped by striking rioters, who shoved their car upon a side track, and -then commenced stoning and shooting them. The Cadets, after standing the -fusillade for some time, opened fire and delivered volley after volley, -wounding thirty persons and killing many. The rioters finally succeeded -in getting upon the car and overpowering the company, capturing the guns, -and driving the boys out of the city.’ - -“Nine members of the academy company, having become separated from their -fellows in the _mêlée_, took the back track and are expected home to-day.” - -After making himself master of everything in the paper that related -to the fight, Bert went into the academy and handed the sheet to the -orderly, with the request that he would give it to the superintendent as -soon as he got up. It was probable, he thought, that the latter would -want to do something to assist those nine boys who were now on their way -home. When they arrived he might be able to learn something about Don; -and in the mean time he could do nothing but wait. - -No study-call was sounded that morning, and the day promised to be a -dark and gloomy one; but about ten o’clock little rays of sunshine began -breaking through the clouds. The first came when the word was passed -for Bert Gordon. He hurried into the superintendent’s office and was -presented with a despatch. He was about to go out with it when the -superintendent said: - -“Read it here, sergeant. There may be news in it, and we should like to -know what it is, if you have no objections.” - -Bert tore open the envelope and read aloud the following from Don, who -had telegraphed at the very earliest opportunity: - -“Got in this morning after a night of trouble. No violence offered in the -city. I am all right, and so is Curtis, but our unlucky friend Hop is -missing, and Egan is wounded.” - -Every one present drew a long breath of relief when Bert read these -words. This was the first reliable news they had received, and it removed -a heavy burden of anxiety from their minds. - -“So it seems that the company was not cut to pieces after all,” said -the superintendent. “It is probable that the boys were roughly handled, -but that didn’t keep them from going into the city. I feel greatly -encouraged.” - -And so did everybody. Bert would have felt quite at his ease if he could -have got over worrying about Hopkins and Egan. He feared the worst. -But then his fat crony was fortunate in some respects even if he were -unlucky in others, and it was possible that he might yet turn up safe and -sound and as jolly as ever, and that Egan’s wound might not be a serious -one. - -After that despatches came thick and fast. As soon as they were received -they were read aloud to the students, who made the armory ring with -their yells of delight when one came from Professor Kellogg stating -that Captain Mack and his men had behaved with the utmost gallantry. -Thirty-two of the company were fit for duty, although they had but -seventeen guns among them, eight were slightly wounded, but, having good -care, were doing well, and the rest were missing. They had whipped the -mob twice and carried their wounded off the field. - -“I tell you it makes a good deal of difference where the news comes -from—from your own side or from the enemy’s,” said Bert. “Things don’t -look as dark as they did. I wish those nine boys who are now on the way -home would hurry up. I am impatient to talk to them.” - -“They will soon be here,” replied one of the students. “I heard the -superintendent say that the citizens have sent carriages after them.” - -While those at the academy are waiting for these boys, let us go back -to the third company and see what really happened to them, and how -they acted when they found themselves surrounded by the mob. Of course -they did not know what was in store for them, but the majority made up -their minds that they would be called upon to face something decidedly -unpleasant when they reached Hamilton, for their train had hardly moved -away from the depot before it was whispered from one boy to another that -some one on the platform had been heard to say that they (the students) -were going into a hotter place than they ever dreamed of. Still they -kept up a good heart, although they did not at all like the looks of the -crowds of men and boys who were assembled at every station along the -road. They did not know that two unhanged villains, Michael Lynch, the -fireman of their train, and William Long, the Western Union operator at -Bridgeport, had conspired to make their reception at Hamilton a warmer -one than they had bargained for, by sending a despatch announcing their -departure to an office in the lower part of the city that was in the -hands of the strikers. - -For a while it looked as though the ball would be set in motion at Town -Line; for the large depot through which their train passed was literally -packed with strikers and their aids and sympathizers, who had a good deal -to say about the young soldiers and their object in going to the city. -But they went through without any trouble, and when they reached a little -station a few miles beyond, Professor Kellogg telegraphed for orders. -These having been received the train moved on again, and Captain Mack -came and perched himself upon the arm of the seat in which Don and Egan -were sitting. - -“I tell you, fellows, this begins to look like war times,” said he. - -“Where are we going, and what are we to do when we get there?” inquired -Egan. - -“We are not going into the city to-night,” answered the captain. “We are -sent down here simply to act as guards, and if there is any fighting to -be done, the 61st will have to do it. Our orders read in this way: ‘You -will leave the train at Hamilton creek and guard the railroad property -there during the night. Use such cars as you can, and keep all the guards -out that may be necessary.’ There are no signs of a gathering at the -creek, but in order to be on the safe side the professor has ordered the -conductor to let us out at least a quarter of a mile from the bridge. If -a mob appears anywhere along the road, we are to get off and form before -we go up to it.” - -There was nothing in these plans with which any military man could have -found fault. They would have met the requirements of the case in every -particular, had it not been for the fact that Professor Kellogg had to -deal with men who were as treacherous as the plains Indians are said to -be. There _was_ a mob at the bridge, and the engineer saw it long before -he reached it. In fact he ran through a part of it, and did not stop his -train until he was right in the midst of it. The first thing the boys -knew their car was standing still, hoarse yells and imprecations which -disturbed their dreams for many a night afterward were arising on all -sides of them, and the rioters were crowding upon the platforms. - -“Lave this kyar open; we’re strong,” said a man, in a voice which -proclaimed his nationality; and as he spoke he threw open the rear door -and placed one end of his heavy cane against it, at the same time -drawing himself back out of sight as much as he could. - -“Attention!” shouted Captain Mack, prompted by the professor; whereupon -the young soldiers arose and stood in front of their seats. Their -bayonets were fixed, they had loaded their guns when they left the -station at which they had stopped for orders, and if they had been -commanded to act at once, the mob never would have gained a footing in -the car. But Mr. Kellogg did just what he ought not to have done—he stood -in the front door, blocking the way as well as he could, and trying to -reason with the leaders of the rabble, who demanded to know why he had -come down there, and what he was going to do. The professor told them in -reply that he was not going into the city that night, that he had been -ordered to stop at the bridge and guard the railroad property there, and -this seemed to satisfy the mob, who might have dispersed or gone back to -Hamilton, as their leaders promised, had it not been for one unfortunate -occurrence. - -The attention of everybody in the car was directed toward the men who -were gathered about the front door, and no one seemed to remember that -there was a rear door at which no guard had been stationed. The rioters -at that end of the car did not at first make themselves very conspicuous, -for they did not like the looks of the muskets the young soldiers held -in their hands; but in a very few minutes they grew bold enough to move -across the platform in little squads, stopping on the way to take a hasty -glance at the interior, and finally some of the reckless ones among them -ventured to come in. These were followed by others, and in less time than -it takes to tell it the aisle was packed with strikers, who even forced -their way into the seats, crowding the boys out of their places. About -this time Mr. Kellogg happened to look behind him, and seeing that he -and his men were at the mercy of the mob—there were more strikers than -soldiers in the car now—he called out to the conductor, who stood on the -front platform, to go ahead with the train. - -“I can’t do it,” was the reply. “The strikers are in full possession of -it.” - -“Well, then, cut loose from us and go ahead with your passengers,” said -Professor Kellogg. “This is as far as I want to go anyhow.” - -“And you couldn’t go any farther if you wanted to,” said a loud-mouthed -striker. “We’ll have the last one of you hung up to the telegraph poles -before morning.” - -“Who said that?” exclaimed one of the leaders at the front door. “Knock -that man down, somebody, or make him keep his tongue still.” - -“Shove the car on to the switch,” yelled somebody outside. - -“Yes; run ’em into the switch!” yelled a whole chorus of hoarse voices. -“Dump ’em over into the creek.” - -Some idea of the strength of the mob may be gained from the fact that -the car, heavily loaded as it was, began to move at once, and in a few -minutes it was pushed upon a side-track, and brought to a stand-still on -the edge of a steep bank. While the car was in motion Don, who had grown -tired of being squeezed, sought to obtain an easier position by stepping -into his seat and sitting down on the back of it. As he did so he nearly -lost his balance; whereupon a burly striker, who had stepped into his -place as soon as he vacated it, reached out his hand and caught him, in -the most friendly manner. - -“Thanks,” said Don, placing his hand on the striker’s broad shoulder and -steadying himself until he was fairly settled on his perch. “Now, since -you have showed yourself to be so accommodating, perhaps you wouldn’t -mind telling me where those fellows on the outside are shoving us to, and -what they intend to do with us.” - -“They are going to throw you into the creek, probably.” - -“I don’t see any sense in that,” observed Don. “What’s the meaning of -this demonstration, anyhow?” - -“It means bread!” said the man so firmly that Don thought it best to hold -his peace. - -There were few in the mob who seemed inclined to talk. They answered all -the questions that were asked them, but gave their entire attention to -what was going on in the forward end of the car. Their recognized leaders -were there, talking with Professor Kellogg, and they were waiting to see -how the conference was going to end. Those who spoke for the strikers -seemed to be intelligent men, fully sensible of the fact that Professor -Kellogg and his company had not come to the city to trample upon the -rights of the workingman, and for a time the prospect for a peaceful -settlement of the points under discussion looked very bright indeed. -But there were some abusive and violent ones in the mob who could not be -controlled, and they always spoke up just at the wrong time. - -“Take the bayonets off the guns!” piped a forward youngster, who ought to -have been at home and in bed. “That’s the way we did with the 61st.” - -“I’ll tell you how to settle it,” said a shrill voice, that was plainly -audible in spite of the tumult in the car and the continuous yells of the -mob outside. “If they’re friendly toward us, as they say they are, let -them give up their guns. We’ll see that nobody harms them.” - -“Yes; that’s the way to settle it,” yelled the mob. “Let them give up -their guns.” - -This proposition startled the young soldiers. If they agreed to it they -would be powerless to defend themselves, and what assurance had they that -the strikers would not wreak vengeance upon them? Nothing but the word of -half a dozen men who could not have controlled the turbulent ones among -their followers, even if they had been disposed to try. But fortunately -Mr. Kellogg was not the man they took him for. As soon as the yells of -approval had subsided so that he could make himself heard, his answer -came clear and distinct; - -“I shall not disarm my men; you may depend upon that.” - -“Let’s run ’em back to Bridgeport, where they belong,” shouted a striker. - -“That’s the idea,” shouted the mob. “We don’t want ’em here. Run ’em back -where they came from. We can easy find an engine.” - -“I am not going back,” replied the undaunted professor. “I was ordered to -come here, and now that I got here, I am going to stay.” - -“Well, you shan’t stay with these guns in your hands,” said the -shrill-voiced man. “All of us who are in favor of disarming them say ‘I.’” - -“I! I!” was the almost unanimous response. - -If there were any present who were opposed to disarming the boys, they -were not given an opportunity to say so. Encouraged by their overwhelming -numbers, and by the fact that the mass of the soldiers were mere -striplings to be strangled with a finger and thumb, the rioters went to -work to secure the muskets, and then there was a scene to which no pen -could do justice. - -The fight, if such it could be called, was a most unequal one. That -portion of the mob which had possession of the car, was composed almost -entirely of rolling-mill hands, and not of “lazy, ragged tramps and -boys,” as a Hamilton paper afterward declared. They were powerful men, -and the young soldiers were like infants in their grasp. But, taken at -every disadvantage as they were, the most of the boys gave a good account -of themselves. A few, terrified by the sight of the revolvers and knives -that were flourished before their eyes, surrendered their weapons on -demand, and even allowed their cartridge-boxes to be cut from their -persons; but the others fought firmly to retain possession of their guns, -and gave them up only when they were torn from their grasp. Among the -latter was Don Gordon. - -When the proposition to disarm the boys was put and carried, the man who -was standing in Don’s seat, and who had caught him when he came so near -losing his balance, faced about, seized the boy’s musket, and, in spite -of all Don could do to prevent it, forced it over toward his friends -in the aisle. A dozen hands quickly laid hold of it, but Don would not -give it up. He held to it with all his strength, until one of the mob, -enraged at his determined resistance, gave a sudden jerk, pulling the -weapon out of his hands and compelling Don to turn a somerset over the -back of his seat. - -One thing that encouraged Don to make so desperate a struggle for the -possession of his piece, was the heroic conduct of a little pale-faced -fellow, Will Hovey by name, who occupied the seat in front of him. Will -didn’t look as though he had any too much courage, but his actions proved -that he had plenty of it. He was confronted by a ruffian big enough to -eat him up, who was trying to disarm him with one hand, while in the -other he had a formidable looking knife with a blade that was a foot long. - -“Give it up, I tell you,” Don heard the striker say. - -“I’ll not do it,” was Will’s reply. “I’ll die first.” - -The knife descended, and Don expected to see the brave boy killed before -his eyes; but he dodged like a flash, just in the nick of time, and the -glittering steel passed over his shoulder, cutting a great hole in his -coat and letting out the lining. Will lost his gun in the end, but he -wore that coat to the city, and was as proud of that rent as he would -have been of a badge of honor. He was a soldier all over, and proved it -by stealing a gun to replace the one the strikers had taken from him. - -When Don was pulled over the back of his seat, he fell under the feet -of a party of struggling men and boys, who stepped upon and knocked him -about in the most unceremonious way, and it was only after repeated -efforts that he succeeded in recovering his perpendicular. No sooner had -he arisen to an upright position than he fell into the clutches of a -striker who seized his waist-belt with one hand and tried to cut it from -him with a knife he held in the other, being under the impression that if -he succeeded, he would gain possession of the boy’s cartridge-box. But -there’s where he missed his guess, for the cartridge-box which hung on -one side and the bayonet scabbard that hung on the other, were supported -by breast belts; and the waist belt was simply intended to hold them -close to the person, so that they would not fly about too much when the -wearer was moving at double time. Don, however, did not want that belt -cut, and he determined that it should not be if he could prevent it. -The striker was larger and much stronger than he was, but Don fought him -with so much spirit that the man finally became enraged, and turned the -knife against him. If he had had any chance whatever to use his weapon, -he would certainly have done some damage; but he and Don were packed in -so tightly among the strikers and the students, who were all mixed up -together now, that neither one of them had an inch of elbow-room. The -struggling crowd was gradually working its way toward the rear door, and -Don saw that he must do something very quickly or be dragged out of the -car into the hands of the outside mob. After trying in vain to disarm his -assailant, and to free himself from his grasp by breaking the belt, he -set to work to unhook it; but he was knocked about so promiscuously by -the combatants on all sides of him, that he couldn’t even do that. - -How long the fight over the guns and cartridge-boxes continued no one -knows; and the reports in our possession, which are full and explicit on -all other points, are silent on this. But it took the strikers a long -time to disarm the boys, and even then they had to leave without getting -all the guns. - -Up to this time not a shot had been fired or a stone thrown. The mob -outside could not bombard the car for fear of injuring some of their own -men, and the students could not shoot for the same reason. Besides, the -order not to pull a trigger until they were told to do so was peremptory, -and in his report Professor Kellogg takes pains to say that this command -was strictly obeyed. The order to fire on the mob would have been given -before it was but for one thing: The only officer who had the right to -give it was being choked so that he could not utter a sound. The strikers -were quick to see that Professor Kellogg was the head and front of the -company, and believing that if they could work their will on him, they -could easily frighten the boys into submission, they laid hold of him and -tried to drag him out of the car; and failing in that, the door being -blocked by their own men, who were anxious to crowd in and take a hand in -the fracas, they bent the professor backward over the arm of a seat and -throttled him. The students in his immediate vicinity defended him with -the utmost obstinacy and courage, and a sword, and at least one bayonet, -which went into the fight bright and clean, came out stained. At any -rate the rioters did not succeed in killing the professor, as they fully -intended to do, or in dragging him out of the door. After a desperate -struggle he succeeded in freeing himself from their clutches, and as soon -as he could speak, he called out: - -“Clear the car! Clear the car!” - -This was the order the students were waiting for, and if the order had -not been so long delayed their victory would have been more complete -than it was, for they would have had more guns to use. They went to work -at once, and the way those rioters got out of that car must have been a -surprise to their friends on the outside. Swords, bayonets and the butts -of the muskets were freely used, and when the last rioter had jumped from -the platform, the real business of the night commenced. All on a sudden -the windows on both sides were smashed in, and stones, chunks of coal, -coupling-pins, bullets and buck-shot rattled into the car like hail. - -“Come on, me brave lads!” yelled a voice on the outside. “Let’s have the -last one of ’em out of there an’ hang them to the brudge.” - -A simultaneous rush was made for both the doors, but the maddened mob -had no sooner appeared than a sheet of flame rolled toward them, and -they retreated with the utmost precipitancy. Forbearance was no longer -a virtue. His own life and the lives of the boys under his charge were -seriously threatened now, and with the greatest reluctance Professor -Kellogg gave the order to fire. It was obeyed, and with the most telling -effect. After repulsing three charges that were made upon the car, the -boys turned their guns out of the windows, and firing as rapidly as they -could reload, they drove the mob over the railroad track and forced them -to take refuge behind the embankment. - -Although the students had full possession of the car, their position was -one of extreme danger. They were surrounded by a rabble numbering more -than three thousand men, sixty of whom were armed with their own muskets, -while the students had only seventeen left with which to oppose them; -the rioters were securely hidden behind the embankment, while the car -was brilliantly lighted, and if a boy showed the top of his cap in front -of a window, somebody was sure to see and shoot at it; and worse than -all, some of the mob, being afraid to run the gauntlet of the bullets -which were flying through the air from both sides, had taken refuge under -the car, and were now shooting through the bottom of it. One of the -lieutenants was the first to discover this. He reported it to Captain -Mack, and the latter reported it to the professor. - -“That will never do,” said Mr. Kellogg. “We must get out of here. -Attention!” - -The boys, who were crouched behind the seats and firing over the backs -and around the sides of them, jumped to their feet and stepped out into -the aisle, while Don opened the door so that they could go out. - -“Where’s your gun, Gordon?” demanded the professor. - -“It was taken from me, sir,” replied Don. “But I’ll have another before -many minutes.” - -Don knew very well that somebody would get hurt when they got out on the -railroad, and if he were not hit himself, he wanted to be ready to take -the gun from the hands of the first boy who _was_ hit, provided that same -boy had a gun. He secured a musket in this way, and he did good service -with it, too. - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -WELCOME HOME. - - -Don Gordon’s assailant kept him exceedingly busy in warding off the -thrusts of the knife, and the boy had a lively time of it before he -could escape from his clutches. When the students went to work to clear -the car, Don hoped that the man would become frightened and let go his -hold; but instead of that, he seemed all the more determined to pull -his captive out of the door. In spite of his resistance Don was dragged -as far as the stove, and there he made a desperate and final effort to -escape. Placing his foot against the side of the door he threw his whole -weight upon the belt, jerked it from the man’s grasp and fell in the -aisle all in a heap. When he scrambled to his feet the car was clear -of strikers, his antagonist being the last to jump from the platform. -Don was surprised to see how few there were left of the students. When -they left Bridgeport there were more of them than the seats could -accommodate; but there were only a handful of them remaining, and they -were gathered in the forward end of the car. Where were the others? While -Don stood in the aisle debating this question, two or three boys arose -from their hiding-places under the seats and hurried past him. - -“Come on, Gordon,” said one. “The way is clear now.” - -“Where are you going?” asked Don. - -“Anywhere to get out of the mob. Lots of our fellows have left the car -and taken to their heels. Come on.” - -“Don’t go out there,” cried Don. “You will be safer if you stay with the -crowd.” - -The boys, who were so badly frightened that they hardly knew what they -were doing, paid no attention to him. They ran out of the car, and a -minute later the rioters made their first charge, and the order was given -to fire. This put life into Don, who lost no time in getting out of the -range of the bullets in his companions’ muskets. Stepping out of the -aisle he made his way toward the forward end of the car, by jumping from -the back of one seat to the back of another. As he was passing a window -a coupling-pin, or some other heavy missile, came crushing through it, -barely missing him and filling his clothing with broken glass. If it had -hit him, it would probably have ended his career as a military student -then and there. - -Reaching the forward end of the car in safety the first thing Don saw, -as he dropped to his knee by Egan’s side, was a loaded musket; and the -second was one of the Bridgeport students lying motionless under a seat. -His face was too pale and his wide-open eyes were too void of expression -to belong to a living boy, and Don straightway came to the conclusion -that he was dead. - -“Poor fellow,” was his mental comment. “There’ll be a sad home somewhere -when the particulars of this night’s work get into the papers. He doesn’t -need his musket any more, so I will use it in his stead.” - -Don secured his musket in time to assist in repulsing every charge the -mob made upon the car, and then, like the others, he began firing from -the windows. While he was thus engaged one of the lieutenants passed -along the aisle, and discovering a student lying prone under a seat, he -bent down and looked at him. Like Don, he thought, at first, that the -boy was dead; but upon closer examination he found that there was plenty -of life in him. - -“What are you doing there?” demanded the young officer, indignantly. “Get -up and go to work. Where’s your gun?” - -“Gordon’s got it,” was the faint reply. - -The lieutenant looked around and saw Don in the act of firing his piece -out of the window. After he made his shot, the officer asked him whose -gun he was using. - -“I don’t know,” answered Don. “I found it on the floor, and thought it -might as well take part in this fight as to lie idle there.” - -“That’s all right; but it belongs to this man. Hand it over.” - -Don was glad to know that his comrade was not injured, but he was -reluctant to surrender the musket into the hands of one who had showed no -disposition to use it when he had it. He gave it up, however, and then -crouched behind a seat and passed out cartridges to Egan and Curtis, who -fired as fast as they could load. Both these boys had won the marksman’s -badge at five hundred yards, and it was not likely that all their shots -were thrown away. - -About this time report was made that some of the rioters had taken refuge -under the car and were shooting up through the floor, and the professor -determined to abandon his position. The company was called to attention, -Don Gordon opened the door, as we have recorded, and when the order was -given they left the car on a run, Don being the fourth to touch the -ground. After moving down the track a short distance they came to a halt -and faced toward the rioters, who arose from their places of concealment -and rushed over the embankment in a body, evidently with the intention -of annihilating the students. In fact they told the boys as they came -on that they were going to “wipe the last one of ’em out,” but they did -not do it. The young soldiers were as steady as veterans, and one volley -was enough to scatter the rioters, and send them in confusion to their -hiding-places. But the students did not escape unscathed. As Don stood -there on the track offering a fair target to the rifles of the mob, and -unable to fire a single bullet in response to those that whistled about -his ears, he heard a suppressed exclamation from somebody, and turned -quickly about to see the boy who stood on his left, bent half double and -clasping both his hands around his leg. - -“I’ve got it,” said he, as Don sprang to his assistance. - -“Well, you take it pretty coolly,” replied the other. “Come down out of -sight. You’ve no business up here now that you are shot.” - -After leading his injured comrade to a place of safety behind the -embankment, Don returned to the track just in time to receive in his arms -the boy who stood on his right and who clapped his hand to his breast and -reeled as if he were about to fall. That was the narrowest escape that -Don ever had. If he had been in line, where he belonged, the bullet which -struck this boy’s breast-plate and made an ugly wound in his chest, would -have hit Don squarely in the side. - -The wounded boy had a gun, and Don lost no time in taking possession of -it. After seeing that the owner was cared for by some of the unarmed -students, Don went back to his place in line, where he remained just long -enough to fire one round, when the company was ordered off the track -behind the embankment, and an inspection of boxes was held. To their -great astonishment the young soldiers found that they had not more than -two or three cartridges remaining. As it was impossible for them to hold -their ground with so small a supply of ammunition, Mr. Kellogg thought -it best to draw off while he could. The wounded were sent to the rear in -charge of the boys who had lost their guns in the car, after which the -company climbed the fence and struck off through an oat-field toward the -road. Seeing this retrograde movement the mob made another charge, but -one volley sufficed to check it. If the boys were whipped (as a Hamilton -paper, which was cowardly enough to pander to the mob and to extol its -heroism afterward declared they were) they did not know it, and neither -did the rioters, who took pains after that to keep out of sight. They -remained by the car, which they afterward used to carry their wounded to -the city, and the students saw them no more that night. - -It was during this short halt that Don Gordon, after firing his single -round, was approached by Curtis and Egan, one of whom held a musket in -each hand, while the other had his fingers tightly clasped around his -wrist. The latter was Egan, and his left hand was covered with blood. - -“Have you got a spare handkerchief about you, Gordon?” said he. “I’m hit.” - -“Great Scott!” exclaimed Don. “When did you get it?” - -“Just now. Curtis had a loud call too,” said Egan, nodding toward his -friend. “His plume was shot out of his cap.” - -“Let me look at your hand,” said Don, drawing a couple of handkerchiefs -from his pocket. - -“Oh, there’s no artery cut, for the blood comes out in drops and not in -jets,” answered Egan. “But I am afraid my little finger has gone up. I -have bled for my country and you haven’t.” - -“And what’s more, I don’t want to,” said Don. - -The latter bandaged the wounded hand as well as he could, and the -line moved on across the oat-field. On the way the boy who had been -shot through the leg, gave out and had to be carried. The other held -up bravely, making frequent and clamorous demands for his gun, and -announcing his readiness, severely wounded as he was, to whip the boy -who stole it from him. Don kept a still tongue in his head. He had the -gun, and being in a better condition to use it than the owner was, he -determined to hold fast to it. - -When they reached the road they tore a panel or two of the fence to -pieces to make a litter for the boy who had given out, and here they -were joined by ten or a dozen of their comrades who had left the car by -the rear door. By some extraordinary streak of good luck, such as might -not have fallen to them again in a thousand years, they had succeeded in -escaping the mob and finding refuge in a culvert under the railroad. They -brought two wounded boys with them, one of whom had been struck in the -eye with a buck-shot, while the other had had his scalp laid open by a -vicious blow from the butt of a musket as he was jumping from the car. - -“When we heard you going across the field we came out,” said one of the -new-comers, who was delighted to find himself among friends once more. -“There were strikers in the culvert, too, but they didn’t bother us, for -they were as badly frightened as we were. If they had known that there -was going to be a fight they wouldn’t have come near the bridge. They -said so.” - -“Seen anything of Hop?” asked Don, as soon as he had satisfied himself -that his fat friend was not with the party. - -“Not lately,” was the reply, “but I guess he’s all right. The last time I -put eyes on him he was going up the track toward Bridgeport, beating the -time of Maud S. all to pieces. If he kept on he’s at the academy by this -time. I always had an idea that I could outrun Hop, but when he passed me -I thought I was standing still.” - -“Were there any strikers after him?” - -“There wasn’t one in sight. When you fellows in the car got fairly to -work, you kept such a fusillade that they were afraid to show their -heads.” - -By this time the litter was completed, and the wounded boy being placed -upon it, the students resumed their march, stopping at the first house -they came to, which proved to be a little German inn. The hospitable -proprietor gave up his house to them; guards were posted at once; a good -Samaritan, who was also a surgeon, promptly made his appearance; the -wounded were tenderly cared for; and one of the corporals exchanged his -uniform for a citizen’s suit, went into the city, reported the fight, -and in due time returned with orders for the company to march in and -report at the railroad depot. - -When morning came the good Samaritan came also, accompanied by a liberal -supply of hot coffee and a substantial breakfast, which were served out -to the boys while they were sitting in the shade of the trees opposite -the inn. The doctor took the wounded home with him to be cared for until -they could be sent back to Bridgeport; and the others, having broken -their fast, shouldered their guns and set out for Hamilton. - -Don Gordon afterward said that his courage had never been so severely -tested as it was that morning. On their way to the depot the students -passed through the lower portion of the city and through the coal-yards -in which the hands had just struck. Thousands of tons of coal were piled -on each side of the narrow street, and on the top of these piles stood -the striking workmen, who, outnumbering the boys more than twenty to one, -and having every advantage of them in position, could have annihilated -them in a minute’s time if they had made the attempt. It required all the -nerve Don possessed to march through there with his eyes straight to the -front, and his hair seemed to rise on end whenever he heard one of the -men call out to his comrades: - -“Thim’s the fellers, b’ys. Have a bit of coal at thim.” - -Some of the men held chunks of coal in their hands, but they did not -throw them. No doubt there were those among them who had been in -the fight the night before, and who knew that the boys would defend -themselves if they were crowded upon. They passed the coal-yards in -safety, and marched into the depot, where they found a portion of the -61st under arms, together with several companies of militia, which had -been sent there from the neighboring towns. When they stacked arms in the -rear of one of the companies which held the left of the line, every boy -drew a long breath of relief, and Don hurried off to find a telegraph -office. - -But little duty was imposed upon the students that day, partly because -of their rough experience of the previous night, and partly for the -reason that the mob had threatened vengeance upon them—particularly -upon Professor Kellogg, who conducted the defence, and upon Captain -Mack and the boy with the stained bayonet who had so gallantly defended -their leader when the rioters tried to kill him. As one of the students -afterward remarked, they loafed about like a lot of tramps, eating and -sleeping as they do, and looking quite as dirty. As the hours wore away -the mob began gathering in front of the depot, and once when Don looked -out, he could see nothing but heads as far as his eyes could reach. There -were between eight and ten thousand of them, and opposed to them there -were less than three hundred muskets. They were kept in check by double -lines of sentries which they could have swept away like chaff if they had -possessed the courage to attempt it. - -With the night came more excitement. Reinforcements began to arrive. -Squads of men who had been sent off on detached duty came in, followed by -strong delegations from the Grand Army. There were three false alarms, -the last of which created some confusion. Some uneasy sleeper, while -rolling about on his hard bed, managed to kick over a stack of muskets. -One of them, which its careless owner had not left at a half-cock, as -he ought to have done, exploded with a ringing report that brought the -different companies to their feet and into the ranks in short order. -The company that created the confusion was stationed directly in front -of the Bridgeport boys. Some of its members, believing that the mob was -upon them, ran for dear life, deserting their arms and rushing pell-mell -through the ranks of the students, knocking them out of their places as -fast as they could get into them. - -This was an opportunity that was too good to be lost. Here were guns, -scattered about over the floor, and no one to use them. To snatch them up -and remove and throw away the slings that belonged to them, thus making -their identification a matter of impossibility, was the work of but a few -seconds. Will Hovey was the one who set the example, others were quick to -follow it, and no one noticed what they were doing. When order had been -restored and the ranks formed, there were eight men in one company who -could not find their weapons, and as many boys in another who held in -their hands muskets that did not belong to them. - -“Humph!” said Don to himself. “If our company gets into another tight -place, I hope we shall have somebody besides these men to back us. They -are very pretty fellows, well up in the school of the company, and all -that, but they don’t seem to have much pluck.” - -The night passed without further trouble, the forenoon came and went, and -at three o’clock the 49th, of Auburn, came in. The train that brought -them to the city was stopped by the strikers, who refused to allow it to -go any further. The colonel said he didn’t care—that he had just as soon -walk as ride—and ordered his men to disembark. - -If the rioters had never before been fully satisfied that their day was -passed, they must have seen it now. Instead of one company there were -several that got out of the cars—four hundred and ninety men, in fact, -who stood there with their bayonets fixed and their pieces loaded, all -ready for a fight if the rioters wanted it. But they didn’t. Having -been so severely handled by only seventeen boys, that they dared not -pursue them when they left the field, it was not likely that they were -anxious for a collision with this splendid body of men, many of whom were -veterans. The leaders held a consultation, and seeing that they could -not help themselves, they finally concluded that the regiment might -proceed. - -A short time after it came into the depot, the Bridgeport boys and two -other companies marched out, directing their course toward the Arsenal, -which was located on one of Hamilton’s principal business streets. Now -came another test of their courage. The sound of the drums served as a -signal to the mob, which congregated in immense numbers, and marched with -the troops to their destination. Some of them carried clubs and stones in -their hands, and loud threats were made against the students, who were -repeatedly assured that not one of them would ever leave the city alive. -If they had been alone they would probably have had another fight on -their hands; but they had a hundred and sixty men to back them, and that -number, added to their own, made a larger force than the mob cared to -face in battle. - -They took supper at the Arsenal, where they remained until midnight, -when they were ordered to fall in without the least noise. They obeyed, -lost in wonder, leaving the drill-room so silently that the men who -were slumbering on each side of them did not know they were gone until -daylight came to reveal the fact, and when they reached the gate they -found an immense police-van waiting for them. Into this they crowded and -were driven slowly up the street, Professor Kellogg and Captain Mack -going on ahead to see that the way was clear. - -“Where are you taking us?” whispered Don to the driver. - -“To the Penitentiary,” was the guarded response. - -“Going to lock us up there?” - -“Yes, sir; the last one of you.” - -“What for?” - -“To punish you for shooting at the mob last night.” - -“They’ll give us plenty to eat, I suppose?” - -“Oh, yes; all you want.” - -“Do they look for any trouble among the prisoners?” - -“I think so; at any rate you are sent up there at the mayor’s request. He -said he wanted men there who were not afraid to shoot, and such men he -wanted well fed.” - -This was a compliment to the company, and a decided indorsement of the -manner in which they had conducted themselves during the fight with the -mob. To quote from some of the members, they had a “soft thing” while -they remained at the Penitentiary. There were about four hundred convicts -there, but they knew better than to attempt an outbreak, and all the boys -had to do was to keep themselves clean, eat, sleep, and stand guard. -Having made themselves famous they received many calls during their two -days’ stay at the prison, and these visitors did not come empty-handed. -The stockings, handkerchiefs, collars, lemons and other needful things -they were thoughtful enough to bring with them, were gratefully accepted -by the young soldiers, who begged for papers, and wanted to know all that -was going on outside. They were gratified to learn that the back-bone of -the riot was broken; that the strikers were anxious to go to work; that -trains were running on some of the roads; and that the hour of their -release was close at hand. - -It came early on Saturday morning, when they were ordered to draw -cartridges and fall in for a march to the skating-rink, which was now -used as military headquarters, and which they reached without any mishap, -the streets being free from any thing that looked like a mob. As they -marched into the rink a soldier called out: “Three cheers for the -Bridgeport boys!” and the lusty manner in which they were given proved -that their comrades were entirely satisfied with what they had done. - -Their departure from Hamilton, which was ordered at eleven o’clock, was -in keeping with the treatment they had received from all the officers and -military during their entire stay. They were escorted to the depot by two -companies, which formed in line and saluted them as they passed by. After -taking leave of many new-made friends they boarded the car which had been -set apart for them (it was guarded at both doors this time, although -there was no necessity for it) and were whirled away toward home, their -journey being enlivened by songs, speeches and cheers for everybody who -had borne his part in the fight. When the whistle sounded for Bridgeport -one of the students thrust his head out of a window, but almost instantly -pulled it back again to exclaim: - -“Great Moses! What a crowd!” - -But it was one the boys were not afraid of. As soon as the train came to -a stand-still they left the car, and marching in columns of fours, moved -through long lines of firemen and students who had assembled to welcome -them home, the firemen standing with uncovered heads and the students -presenting arms. The cross-roads, as well as the roads leading from the -depot to the village, were crowded with carriages, all filled to their -utmost capacity with ladies and gentlemen, who waved their handkerchiefs -and hats, and greeted them with every demonstration of delight. - -“Halt here, captain,” said the marshal of the day, when the boys reached -the head of the line. - -“Where’s Professor Kellogg?” asked Mack, looking around. - -“I don’t know. Halt here, and come to a left face.” - -When the order was obeyed, the spokesman of a committee of reception, -which had been appointed by the citizens, mounted upon a chair and took -off his hat; whereupon Captain Mack brought his men to parade rest to -listen to his speech. It was short but eloquent, and went straight -to the hearts of those to whom it was addressed, with the exception, -perhaps, of Captain Mack. He knew that somebody would be expected to -respond, and while he pretended to be listening with all his ears, he -was looking nervously around to find Mr. Kellogg. But that gentleman -was seated in the superintendent’s carriage a little distance away, -looking serenely on, and Mack was left to his own resources, which, so -far as speech-making was concerned, were few indeed. When the speaker -had complimented them in well-chosen words for the gallantry they had -displayed in the fight, and told them how proud his fellow-citizens were -to say that the company that struck the first blow in defence of law -and order in Hamilton came from their little town, he got down from his -chair, and everybody looked at Captain Mack. - -The young officer blushed like a girl as he stepped out of the ranks with -his cap in his hand. He managed to make those of the crowd who could -hear him understand that he and his company were much gratified by their -reception, which was something they had not dreamed of, and delighted -to know that their conduct as soldiers was approved by their friends at -home; and then, not knowing what else to say, he broke out with— - -“I can’t make a speech, gentlemen of the committee, but my boys can -holler, and I’ll prove it. Three cheers and a tiger for the gentleman -who has so cordially greeted us, for the other gentlemen composing the -committee, and for every man, woman and _baby_ who has come out to -welcome us home.” - -The cheers were given with a will, and the citizens replied with “three -times three.” When the band struck up, the line was formed under -direction of the marshal and moved toward the park. The church bells -were rung, the solitary field-piece of which the village could boast, -and which was brought out only on state occasions, thundered out a -greeting every minute, and the crowds that met them at every turn cheered -themselves hoarse. Mottoes and bunting were lavishly displayed, and -Main-street was spanned by two large flags, to which was attached a white -banner having an inscription that sent a thrill of pride to the breasts -of the boys, who now read it for the first time— - - “WELCOME! - - _We honor those who do their duty._” - -On arriving at the park the arms were stacked, the ranks broken, and -fifteen minutes were taken for hand-shaking; and cordial as the formal -reception was, it bore no comparison to the hearty personal welcome that -was extended to each and every one of the third company boys, who never -knew until that moment how many warm friends they had in Bridgeport. -Among those who came up to shake hands with Don Gordon and Curtis was a -fellow who was dressed in the academy uniform, who walked with a cane and -wore a slipper on his left foot. It was Courtland Hopkins. - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -HOPKINS’S EXPERIENCE. - - -“Boys, I am delighted to see you home again, safe and sound,” said -Hopkins, putting his cane under his arm and shaking hands with both his -friends at once. “I tell you we have been troubled about you, for some -of us who returned the second day after the fight, heard the rioters say -that you would never leave the city alive.” - -“We heard them say so, too,” replied Curtis. “But we’re here all the -same. Hallo, Bert. And there’s Egan. How’s your hand, old fellow? Lost -that little finger yet?” - -“No; and I don’t think I’ll have to. Why didn’t you let us know that you -were coming?” - -“You did know it, or else you couldn’t have met us at the depot,” -answered Don, after he had returned his brother’s greeting. - -“I mean that you ought to have sent us word this morning,” said Egan. -“The ladies would have got up a good supper for you if they had had time -to do it.” - -“We should have done full justice to it, for we had an early breakfast -and no dinner,” Curtis remarked. “But you have not yet told us what is -the matter with you, Hop. I hope you were not shot.” - -“Oh, no. It is nothing more serious than a sprained ankle,” replied -Hopkins. - -“And ‘thereby hangs a tale,’” added Egan. “I’ll tell you all about it -when we get up to the academy. Hop showed himself a hero if he did run -out of the back door.” - -“How did you get back to Bridgeport?” inquired Don. - -“I went home with the doctor on the morning that you fellows started -for Hamilton, you know,” replied Egan. “Well, as soon as he had dressed -my hand and the wounds of some of the other boys who were able to walk, -we went up the track to the next station, and there we telegraphed for -a carriage. To tell the truth I never expected to get home, for the -rioters were scouring the country in search of us. We heard of them at -every house along the road, and everybody cautioned us to look out for -ourselves.” - -During a hurried conversation with their friends, Don and Curtis learned -that the people of Bridgeport knew as much about the fight as they did -themselves. Perhaps they knew more, for they had heard both sides of the -story. The students who came home the day after the fight—the missing -ones had all reported with the exception of three, whose wounds were so -severe that they could not be brought from the city—had given a correct -version of the affair and described the part that every boy took in it. -All those who had done their duty like men were known to the citizens, -and so were those who gave up their guns when the strikers demanded them. -The boys who did the fighting, however, had not a word to say regarding -the behavior of their timid comrades. They had an abundance of charity -for them. - -“We don’t blame them for being frightened,” Don and Curtis often said. -“There isn’t a boy in the company who wouldn’t have been glad to get -out of that car if he could. When you have been placed in just such a -situation yourselves, you will know how we felt; until then, you have no -business to sit in judgment upon those who are said to have shown the -white feather.” - -The fifteen minutes allotted for hand-shaking having expired, the -students fell in and set out for the academy. As they marched through the -gate the bell in the cupola rung out a joyful greeting, the artillery -saluted them, and the boys in the first, second and fourth companies -presented arms. They moved at once to the armory, and after listening -to a stirring speech from the superintendent the ranks were broken, and -their campaign against the Hamilton rioters was happily ended. - -“And I, for one, never want to engage in another,” said Captain Mack, as -he and Don and Curtis set out in search of Egan and Hopkins. “Have you -heard some of the fellows say that they wish they had been there?” - -Yes, they and all the returned soldiers had heard a good deal of such -talk from boys who would have died before giving up their guns, and who -were loud in their criticisms of Mr. Kellogg, who ought to have stopped -the train at least half a mile from the mob, and fired upon it the moment -it appeared. What a chance this would have been for Lester Brigham, if he -had only been in a situation to improve it! If he had never known before -that he made a great mistake by feigning illness on the night the false -alarm was sounded, he knew it now. He could not conceal the disgust he -felt whenever he saw a third-company boy surrounded by friends who were -listening eagerly to his description of the fight. Such sights as these -made him all the more determined to get away from the academy where he -had always been kept in the background in spite of his efforts to push -himself to the front. And worse than all, there was Don Gordon, who had -come home with the marks of a rioter’s knife on his coat and belt, who -had behaved with the coolness of a veteran, and showed no more fear than -he would have exhibited if he had been engaged in a game of snow-ball. - -“I’ll bet he was under a seat more than half the time, and that nobody -noticed him,” said Lester, spitefully. - -“Oh, I guess not,” said Jones. “Gordon isn’t that sort of a fellow. Well, -they have had their fun, and ours is yet to come. There will be a jolly -lot of us sent down at the end of the term. What do you suppose your -governor will say to you?” - -“Not a word,” replied Lester, confidently. “He didn’t send me here to -risk life and limb by fighting strikers who have done nothing to me, and -when he gets the letters I have written him, he will tell me to start for -home at once.” - -“But you’ll not go?” said Jones. - -“Not until we have had our picnic,” replied Lester. - -“Perhaps your father won’t care to have Jones and me visit you,” remarked -Enoch. - -“Oh, yes he will. He told me particularly to invite a lot of good fellows -home with me, and he will give you a cordial welcome. I haven’t got a -shooting-box, but I own a nice tent, and that will do just as well. I -will show you some duck-shooting that will make you open your eyes.” - -“All right,” said Enoch. “I’ll go, according to promise, and you must be -sure and visit me in my Maryland home next year. Both the Gordons and -Curtis will visit Egan at that time, and unless I am much mistaken, we -can make things lively for them.” - -“Nothing would suit me better,” returned Lester. “I hate all that crowd. -Don and Bert went back on me as soon as they got me here, and I’ll never -rest easy until I get a chance to square yards with them.” - -(Lester learned this from Enoch. He remembered all the nautical -expressions he heard, and used them as often as he could, and sometimes -without the least regard for the fitness of things. He hoped in this way -to make his companions believe that he was a sailor, and competent to -command the yacht during their proposed cruise.) - -The conversation just recorded will make it plain to the reader that -Lester and some of his particular friends, following in the lead of Don -and Bert Gordon and _their_ friends, had made arrangements to spend a -portion of their vacation in visiting one another. They carried out their -plans, too, and perhaps we shall see what came of it. - -When Mack and the rest found Hopkins and Egan, they went up to the -latter’s room, where they thought they would be allowed to talk in peace; -but some of the students saw them go in there, and in less time than it -takes to write it, the little dormitory was packed until standing-room -was at a premium. The boys were full of questions. What one did not think -of another did, and it was a long time before Don could say a word about -Hopkins’s experience, which Egan related substantially as follows: - -To begin with, Hopkins did not leave the car because he wanted to, but -because he couldn’t help himself. When the rioters voted to disarm the -young soldiers, half a dozen pairs of ready hands were laid upon his -musket, but Hopkins wouldn’t give it up. Threats, and the sight of -the revolvers and knives that were brandished before his face, had no -effect upon him; but he could not contend against such overwhelming -odds, with the least hope of success. He was jerked out into the aisle -in spite of all he could do to prevent it, and dragged toward the door. -When the students turned their bayonets and the butts of their pieces -against their assailants, the latter made a frantic rush for the door, -and Hopkins was wedged in so tightly among them, that he could not get -out. His gun was pulled from his grasp, and Hopkins, finding his hands -at liberty, seized the arm of the nearest seat in the hope of holding -himself there until the mob had passed out of the car; but the pressure -from the forward end was too great for his strength. He lost his hold, -was carried out of the door by the rush of the rioters, who, intent -on saving themselves, took no notice of him, and crowded him off the -platform. - -“But before I went, I was an eye-witness to a little episode in which -our friend Egan bore a part, and which he seems inclined to omit,” -interrupted Hopkins. - -“Now, Hop, I’ve got the floor,” exclaimed Egan, who was lying at his ease -on his room-mate’s bed. - -“I don’t care if you have. There’s no gag-law here.” - -“Go on, Hop,” shouted the boys. - -“It will take me but a moment,” said Hopkins, while Egan settled his -uninjured hand under his head with a sigh of resignation. “When the mob -went to work to disarm us, one big fellow stepped up to Egan and took -hold of his gun. ‘Lave me this; I’m Oirish,’ said he. ‘I’m Irish too,’ -said Egan. ‘Take that with me compliments and lave me the gun;’ and he -hit the striker a blow in the face that lifted him from his feet and -would have knocked him out of the front door, if there hadn’t been so -many men and boys in the way. That fellow must have thought he had been -kicked by a mule. At any rate he did not come back after the gun, and -Egan was one of the few who got out of the car as fully armed as he was -when he went in.” - -Hopkins could be irresistibly comical when he tried, and his auditors -shouted until the room rang again. They knew that his story was -exaggerated, but it amused them all the same. Egan _did_ say that he was -Irish (Hopkins often told him that if he ever denied his nationality his -name would betray him), and it was equally true that he floored the man -who demanded his gun, and with him one or two of his own company boys who -happened to be in the way; but he said nothing about “compliments” nor -did he imitate the striker’s way of talking. Among those who felt some of -the force of that blow, was Captain Mack. - -“That explains how I got knocked down,” said he. “The rioters were trying -to drag the professor out of the car, and we were doing all we could to -protect him, when all at once some heavy body took me in the back, and -the first thing I knew I was sprawling on the floor. I thought I should -be trampled to death before I could get up.” - -When Hopkins struck the ground he stood still and waited for some of the -mob to come and knock him on the head; but seeing that they were looking -out for themselves, and that some of his comrades were making good -time up the track in the direction of Bridgeport, he started too, doing -much better running than he did when he stole farmer Hudson’s jar of -buttermilk, and passing several of the company who were in full flight. -The bullets sang about his ears and knocked up the dirt before and behind -him, and Hopkins began looking about for a place of concealment. Seeing -that some of his company ran down from the track and disappeared very -suddenly when they reached a certain point a short distance in advance of -him, Hopkins stopped to investigate. He found that they had sought refuge -in a culvert, which afforded them secure protection from the bullets; but -Hopkins was inclined to believe that in fleeing from one danger they had -run plump into another. There were strikers as well as students in there; -and as he halted at the mouth of the culvert he heard a hoarse voice say: - -“You soldier boys had better not stop here. You have made the mob mad, -and as soon as they get through with those fellows in the car, they -are going to spread themselves through the country and make an end of -everybody who wears the academy uniform. I heard some of them say so, -and I am talking for your good.” - -“And I will act upon your advice,” said Hopkins to himself. “It is a -dangerous piece of business to go along that railroad-track, but I don’t -see how I am going to help it.” - -It proved to be a more dangerous undertaking than the boy thought it -was. Death by the bullets which constantly whistled over the track, was -not the only peril that threatened him now. Believing that the main body -of their forces could keep the professor and his handful of students in -the car until their cartridges were expended, after which it would be an -easy matter to drag them out and hang them as they fully meant to do, the -rioters had sent off a strong detachment to look after the boys who had -escaped from the rear of the car. Hopkins could see them running through -the fields with the intention of getting ahead of the fugitives and -surrounding them. - -“That’s a very neat plan, but I don’t think it will work,” said Hopkins, -as he drew himself together and prepared for another foot-race. “I wish I -had known this before I left the culvert so that I could have told—I’ll -go back and tell them if I lose my only chance for escape by it.” - -Hopkins turned quickly about, but saw at a glance that there was no need -that he should waste valuable time by going back to the culvert. The boys -were leaving it in a body and making their way across a field. They were -going to join their comrades who had left the car, but Hopkins did not -know it, for he could not see the company, it being concealed from his -view by some thick bushes which grew on that side of the track. - -“They’re all right,” said Hopkins, “but it seems to me they are taking -a queer way to get home. I’ll stick to the track, because it leads to -Bridgeport by the most direct route. Now then for a run! Hallo, here! -What’s the matter with you, Stanley?” - -While Hopkins was talking in this way to himself, he was flying up the -track at a rate of speed which promised to leave the fleetest of the -flanking party far behind; but before he had run a hundred yards, he came -upon a student who was sitting on the end of one of the ties with his -head resting on his hands. As Hopkins drew nearer he saw that the boy had -bound his handkerchief around his leg just above his knee, and that it -was stained with blood. - -“What’s the matter?” repeated Hopkins. - -“I’m shot and can’t go any farther,” was the faint reply. - -“When did you get it?” - -“Just as I jumped from the car.” - -“Well, get up and try again. You must go on, for if you stay here you are -done for. Look there,” said Hopkins, directing the boy’s attention to the -rioters who were trying to surround them. - -“I can’t help it. I ran till I dropped, and I couldn’t do more, could I? -I am afraid my leg is broken. Take care of yourself.” - -“I will, and of you, too,” replied Hopkins. “Get up. Now balance yourself -on one foot, throw your arms over my shoulders and I will carry you.” - -The wounded boy, who had given up in despair, began to take heart now. He -did just as Hopkins told him, and the former walked off with him on his -back as if his weight were no incumbrance whatever. He did not run, but -he moved with a long, swinging stride which carried him and his burden -over the ground as fast as most boys would care to walk with no load at -all. The mob followed them until they came to the creek which was too -wide to jump and too deep to ford, and there they abandoned the pursuit. -At all events Hopkins and Stanley saw no more of them that night. - -“Look out,” said Stanley, suddenly. “There’s one of them right ahead of -us.” - -Hopkins looked up and saw a man standing on the track. The manner of -his appearance seemed to indicate that he had been hidden in the bushes -awaiting their approach. - -“You had better put me down and save yourself,” whispered Stanley, as -Hopkins came to a halt wondering what he was going to do now. “If you get -into a fight with him I can’t help you.” - -“I didn’t pick you up to drop you again at the first sign of danger,” was -the determined reply. “I wish I had a club or a stone. You don’t see one -anywhere, do you?” - -“Say, boss,” said the man, in guarded tones. - -“Bully for him; he’s a darkey,” exclaimed Hopkins. “We have nothing to -fear.” - -“Say, boss,” said the man again, as he came down the track, “Ise a -friend. Don’t shoot.” - -“All right, uncle. Come on.” - -“What’s de matter wid you two?” - -“There’s nothing the matter with me,” answered Hopkins, “but this boy is -shot. Can you do anything for him?” - -“Kin I do sumpin fur de soldiers?” exclaimed the negro. “’Course I kin, -kase didn’t dey do a heap fur me when de wah was here? I reckon mebbe I’d -best take him down to de house whar de women folks is.” - -“Handle him carefully,” said Hopkins. “He’s got a bad leg.” - -The negro, who was a giant in strength as well as stature, raised the -wounded boy in his arms as easily as if he had been an infant, and -carried him up the track until he came to a road which led back into -the woods where his cabin was situated. Here they found several colored -people of both sexes who had gathered for mutual protection, and who -greeted the boys with loud exclamations of wonder and sympathy. - -“Hush yer noise dar,” commanded the giant, who answered to the name of -Robinson. “Don’t yer know dat dem strikers is all fru de country, an’ dat -some of ’em was hyar not mor’n ten minutes ago?” - -“Not here at this house?” exclaimed Hopkins, in alarm. - -Yes, they had been there at the house, and in it and all over it, so -Robinson said, looking for the boys who had escaped by the rear door. -They might return at any moment, but he (Robinson) would do the best -he could for them. He couldn’t fight the mob, as he would like to, but -perhaps he could keep the boys concealed. - -“What do you think they would do with us if they found us?” inquired -Stanley. - -Robinson couldn’t say for certain, but the men who came to his house were -angry enough to do almost anything. They were all armed, and some of them -carried ropes in their hands. This proved that their threat to hang the -young soldiers was no idle one. - -The first thing Robinson did was to look at Stanley’s wound. A bullet -had plowed a furrow through the back of his leg just below his knee, -and although the artery had not been cut and the bone was uninjured, -everybody saw at a glance that it was impossible for him to go any -farther. Hopkins inquired where he could find a surgeon, but the negro -wouldn’t tell him, declaring that if he set out in search of one he -would never see his friends again. - -While Hopkins was trying to make up his mind what he ought to do, he -suddenly became aware that there was something the matter with himself. -One of his boots seemed to be growing tighter, and he limped painfully -when he tried to walk across the floor. - -“I declare, I believe I have sprained my ankle,” said he; and an -examination proved that he had. His ankle was badly swollen and inflamed, -and after he took his boot off he could not bear the weight of his foot -upon the floor. - -“I reckon you’ns has got to put up at my hotel dis night, bofe of you,” -said Robinson. “You can’t go no furder, dat’s sho’.” - -“Perhaps you had better let us lie out in the woods,” said Hopkins. “If -the strikers should return and find us here, they might do you some -injury.” - -The negro said he didn’t care for that. Soldiers had more than once -put themselves in danger for him, and it was a pity if he couldn’t do -something for them. At any rate he would take the risk. He bustled about -at a lively rate while he was talking, and in five minutes more the -disabled boys had been carried up the ladder that led to the loft and -stored away there on some hay that had been provided for them. After that -Stanley’s leg was dressed with cold coffee, which Robinson declared to be -the best thing in the world for gunshot wounds. Hopkins’s ankle was bound -up in cloths wet with hot water, a plain but bountiful supper was served -up to them, and they were left to their meditations. Of course they did -not sleep much, for they couldn’t. They suffered a good deal of pain, but -not a word of complaint was heard from either of them. Hopkins acted as -nurse during the night, and shortly after daylight sunk into an uneasy -slumber, from which he was aroused by a gentle push from Stanley, who -shook his finger at him to keep him quiet. - -“They’ve come,” whispered his companion. - -“They! Who?” said Hopkins, starting up. - -“The mob. Don’t you hear them?” - -Hopkins listened, and his hair seemed to rise on end when he caught the -low hum of conversation outside, which grew louder and more distinct as a -party of men approached the house. Enjoining silence upon his companion -Hopkins drew himself slowly and painfully over the hay to the end of the -loft, and looked out of a convenient knot hole. Stanley, who watched all -his movements with the keenest interest, trembled all over when Hopkins -held up all his fingers to indicate that there were ten of them. He also -made other motions signifying that the rioters were armed and that they -had brought ropes with them. Just then there was a movement in the room -below, and Robinson opened the door and stepped out to wait the mob. - -“Say, nigger,” exclaimed one of the leaders, “where are those boys who -were here last night?” - -Robinson replied that he didn’t know where they were. They had been taken -to the city early that morning, and he thought they were in the hospital. - -“Were they both hurt?” asked one of the rioters. - -“Yes; one had a bullet through his leg, and the other had been shot in -the foot.” - -“We wish those bullets had been through their heads,” said the leader. -“It’s well for them that they got away, for we came here on purpose to -hang them.” - -“Dat would serve ’em just right,” said Robinson. “Dey ain’t got no call -to come down hyar an’ go to foolin’ wid de workin’ man when he wants his -bread an’ butter. No, sar, dey ain’t.” - -The boys in the loft awaited the result of this conference with fear and -trembling. They fully expected that the rioters would search the house -and drag them from their place of concealment, but the negro answered all -their questions so readily and appeared to be so frank and truthful, that -their suspicions were not aroused. When Stanley, who kept a close watch -of his friend, saw him kiss his hand toward the knot-hole, he drew a long -breath of relief, for he knew that the rioters were going away. - -This visit satisfied both them and their sable host that they were not -safe there, and Robinson at once sent his oldest boy to the nearest -farm-house to borrow a horse and wagon. When the vehicle arrived the boys -were put into it, and Robinson took the reins and drove away with all the -speed he could induce the horse to put forth. - -“How do you suppose those men knew that we were at your house?” said -Hopkins. - -“One of dem no account niggers dat was dar las’ night done went an’ tol’ -’em,” replied Robinson, angrily. “I’ll jest keep my eye peeled fur dat -feller, an’ when I find him, I’ll make him think he’s done been struck by -lightnin’. I will so.” - -Robinson took the boys to the house of the nearest surgeon, who received -and treated them with the greatest kindness and hospitality. As Hopkins -and Stanley were boys who never spent their money foolishly they always -had plenty of it, and consequently they were able to bestow a liberal -reward upon the negro, who volunteered to drive to the nearest station -and sent off a despatch for them. The next day a carriage arrived from -Bridgeport and Hopkins went home in it, but Stanley, much to his regret, -was ordered to remain behind, the surgeon refusing to consent to his -removal; but he could not have been in pleasanter quarters or under -better care. - -There were half a dozen other boys in the room who told stories of -escapes that were fully as interesting as this one. They could have -talked all night, but the supper-call sounded, and that broke up the -meeting. - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -PLANS AND ARRANGEMENTS. - - -“I say, fellows,” exclaimed Egan, the next time he found all his friends -together, “there’s something going to happen during this camp that never -happened before. The paymaster is coming here to settle with us.” - -“What do you mean by that?” - -“I mean that we are entitled to a dollar a day for the work our company -did at Hamilton,” replied Egan. “As we were under orders five days we -have five dollars apiece coming to us from the State.” - -“Do the wounded come in for that much?” inquired Hopkins. - -“They belong to the company, do they not?” demanded Egan. “They are not -to blame for getting hurt, are they? They will get just as much as the -others.” - -We may here remark that the Legislature gave them more. Hopkins received -a hundred dollars to pay him for his sprained ankle; the boy who was hit -in the eye with a buck-shot, and who stood a fair chance of going blind -from the effects of it, got eleven hundred; Stanley received six hundred, -and so did each of the boys who were shot at Don Gordon’s side when the -company was ordered out of the car. - -“I’ll never spend those five dollars,” said Don. - -“Neither will I,” chimed in Hopkins. “If I get the money all in one bill, -I’ll have it framed and hang it up in my room beside a fox-brush which I -won at the risk of my neck.” - -“I wonder how mine would look hung around the neck of that white swan -that led me such a race two winters ago,” said Egan. “I think they will -go well together, and every time I look at them, they will remind me of -the most exciting incident of my life. Gordon, you’ll have to make yours -into a rug and spread it on the floor beside the skin of that bear that -came so near making an end of Lester Brigham.” - -The boys had only three days more to devote to study during the school -term, and much lost time to make up. The work was hard, they found it -almost impossible to keep their minds upon their books, and everybody, -teachers as well as students, was glad when the first day of August -arrived, and the battalion took up its line of march for its old camping -ground. The students were hardly allowed time to become settled in their -new quarters before their friends began to flock into the camp. A few -fathers and guardians came there with the intention of taking their sons -and wards from the school at once—they did not want them to remain if -they were expected to risk their lives in fighting rioters. Some of the -timid ones were glad to go; but the others, who were full of military -ardor, begged hard to be permitted to complete the course, and pleaded -their cause with so much ability that their fathers relented, and even -took the trouble to hunt up Professor Kellogg and congratulate him on -having “broken the back-bone” of the Hamilton riot. - -Lester Brigham’s father and mother were among the visitors, and so were -General Gordon and his wife. The former were very indignant when they -left Rochdale. Mr. Brigham repeatedly declaring that it was a sin and an -outrage for the superintendent to send boys like those under his care -into battle, and after he had told him, in plain language, what he -thought of such a proceeding, he was going to take Lester out of that -school without any delay or ceremony. But when he reached the camp, he -did not feel that way. General Gordon reasoned with him, and when he -shook hands with Lester, he said he was sorry the boy hadn’t been in the -fight, so that he could praise him for his gallant conduct. Mr. Brigham -didn’t know that Lester had hidden his head under the bed-clothes when -the bugle sounded. - -“I was afraid you would want me to leave the school,” faltered Lester, as -soon as he had somewhat recovered from his surprise. - -“By no means,” said his father, earnestly. “You boys will have full -control of this government some day—did you ever think of that?—and now -is the time for you to learn your duty as citizens. What are you going to -be when this examination comes off? A captain, I hope.” - -“I shan’t be anything,” replied Lester, who could scarcely conceal his -rage. “I shall never be an officer, because I can’t see the beauty of -toadying to the teachers. I’ll not stay here to fight strikers, either.” - -“I sincerely hope your company will never be called upon to perform any -duty so hazardous,” said Mr. Brigham; “but if it is, I want to hear -that you are in the front rank. If you do not obtain promotion this -examination, I shall think you have wasted your time.” - -“I have invited a couple of my friends to go home with me,” said Lester, -who wanted to make sure of a cordial reception for Jones and Williams, -even if he and they were expelled from the academy for misconduct. - -“I am glad to hear it,” said Mr. Brigham. “Your mother and I will -endeavor to make their visit so agreeable that they will want to come -again.” - -“And Williams has invited me to go home with him next year,” added -Lester. “He lives down in Maryland, a short distance from Egan and -Hopkins. May I go?” - -“Certainly. Make all the friends you can, but be sure that they are the -right sort.” - -“I’ve got his promise,” said Lester to himself, as he paced his lonely -beat that night, “and he’ll not break it. But I must say he’s a nice -father for any fellow to have. I thought sure he had come here to take -me home with him. He talks very glibly about my risking life and limb in -defence of law and order, but would he take it so easy if he were in my -place? I’ll not stay here another year, and that’s flat.” - -Contrary to his expectations Lester Brigham, although he fell far behind -his class in both deportment and studies, had not been left at the -academy under arrest, and now he was glad of it. It was easier to get -out of the camp than it was to leave the academy grounds, and he and his -fellow-conspirators could hold a consultation every day. They began to -exhibit some activity now, and among those who had agreed to accompany -Lester on his “picnic” there was not one who showed any signs of backing -out, or who even thought of it, with the exception of Lester himself. -Three of their number had been taken home by their angry parents, but -those who remained held to their purpose, and urged their leaders to -decide upon a plan of operations. Lester, who had been rendered almost -desperate by the extraordinary behavior of his father, was anxious that -something should be done at once, and he and his two right-hand men had -many an earnest conference, the result of which was the promulgation -of an order to the effect that none of the “band,” as they called -themselves, should ask for a pass until they were told to do so. - -“That will keep us together, you know,” said Lester and his lieutenants. -“If one of us asks for a pass to-day and another to-morrow—why, when the -time for action comes those who have already been out will be refused, -and consequently not more than half of us will get away. Williams will -have to go out to do a little scouting so as to ascertain when and where -we can get a boat, but the rest of us must be content to stay in.” - -Their first week under canvas was a busy one, as it always was. The -fortifications, which had been thrown up the year before in anticipation -of that fight with the Mount Pleasant Indians, must be repaired and camp -routine established before liberty was granted to anybody. Before this -work was completed many of their visitors took their departure. Among -these were General and Mrs. Gordon, who wished Don and Bert a pleasant -visit with their friend Curtis in his northern home, and Lester’s father -and mother, who did not forget to give the boy a good supply of spending -money before they went, and to assure Jones and Williams that they looked -forward to their visit to Rochdale with many pleasurable anticipations. - -“That money is intended for the use of yourself and your friends,” said -Mr. Brigham. “If it is stolen from you, or if the superintendent finds -out that I gave it to you, it will be your own fault. If you will come -home with a strap on your shoulder, I will give you as much more.” - -During the second week passes were freely granted, and one of the first -to go out was Enoch Williams, whose duty it was to find a suitable -boat and lay plans for seizing it at a specified time. He was gone all -day, and when he came back he was full of enthusiasm, some of which he -communicated to Jones, who was the first boy he met after reporting his -return. They exchanged a few whispered words, and then hurried off to -find Lester. - -“It’s all right, Brigham,” said Jones, gleefully. “Enoch has done his -full duty, and deserves the thanks of every fellow in the band. We’re off -to-morrow night.” - -Somehow Lester did not feel as highly elated over this piece of news as -his friends thought he would. He wanted to desert and do something that -would make the academy boys talk about him after he was gone, but he -wished from the bottom of his heart that he had never said a word about -running away in a boat. - -“I think myself that I have planned things better than any other boy in -the band could have done it,” said Enoch, with no little satisfaction in -his tones. “I’ve got the boat, and now you must assess every fellow in -the band five dollars.” - -“What for?” demanded Lester. - -“To pay for her, and to buy our provisions.” - -“To pay for her,” echoed Lester. “I thought we were going to steal her.” - -“So we are—after a while. Now I will begin at the beginning and tell you -just what I have done: When I got down to the river I found that the -cutter I wanted to take on account of her superior accommodations, had -gone off on a cruise, and that there was only one yacht in port. But -she’s a beauty, and I wouldn’t be afraid to go to Europe in her. She -was anchored out in the stream, and while I was wondering how I could -get aboard of her, her keeper came off in a dory and told me that if I -wanted to take a look at the schooner he would be glad of my company, -for he was alone there. I went, and in less than an hour I had everything -arranged. His owner is going on a cruise with a party of friends next -Monday, and it took but little urging on my part to induce the keeper to -agree to give the band a ride down the river to-morrow night, provided we -would promise to come back when he said the word, so that he could have -the schooner in her berth at daylight.” - -“You didn’t promise that, of course,” said Lester, when Enoch paused to -take breath. - -“Of course I did,” answered Enoch. - -“Well, you’re a good one,” exclaimed Lester, in deep disgust. “I’ll not -go on any such expedition. A night ride on the river! There would be -lots of fun in that, wouldn’t there? When I start on this picnic I don’t -intend to come back to Bridgeport until I have had sport enough to pay me -for the trouble of deserting, or I am captured and brought back.” - -“Neither do we,” said Jones, as soon as he saw a chance to crowd a word -in edgewise. “Let Enoch finish his story, and then see if you don’t think -more of his plans.” - -“I promised that he could come back with his vessel before daylight, so -that his owner wouldn’t suspect that he had been doing a little cruising -on his own hook,” continued Enoch, “but I didn’t say that we would come -back with him.” - -“You might as well have said so,” snapped Lester. “Where are we going to -stay and what are we going to do without a boat to sail about in?” - -“Wait until I have had my say, and then you may talk yourself blind for -all I care,” retorted Enoch, who was beginning to get angry. - -“Go easy, Williams,” Jones interposed. “We don’t want a row before we get -out of camp. If we go to quarreling among ourselves there’s an end of all -our fun.” - -“I don’t want to quarrel,” said Lester, who did not like the way Enoch -glared at him. - -“Then wait till I get through before you pass judgment upon the -arrangements I have made,” exclaimed Enoch. “I didn’t promise -Coleman—that’s the boat-keeper’s name—that we would return to Bridgeport -with him, and neither did I say that he could bring the yacht back, for I -don’t intend that he shall do anything of the kind.” - -“How are you going to prevent it?” inquired Lester. - -“That’s the best part of the plan,” said Jones. “Go on, Enoch.” - -“This is the way we will prevent it,” continued the latter. “We’ll go -with him as far as Windsor, and then we will stop and make an excuse to -get him ashore. As soon as we are rid of him we’ll fill away for the bay. -If the wind is at all brisk he can’t catch us.” - -“What do you say to that?” demanded Jones. - -“I say it looks like business,” answered Lester, who now, for the first -time, began to take some interest in his scheme. “It’s all right, Enoch; -you couldn’t have done better, and I couldn’t have done as well. There’s -my hand.” - -“I thought you would like it after you had given me a chance to explain,” -said Enoch, growing good-natured again. - -“So did I,” chimed in Jones. “We want to do something daring and -reckless, you know; something that will make the good little boys open -their eyes.” - -“There’s only one objection to it,” continued Enoch. “When we send -Coleman ashore we shall lose our small boat, but we can easily stop at -one of the islands in the bay and borrow another.” - -“So we can,” exclaimed Lester, with great enthusiasm. “Say, boys, what’s -the use of buying any provisions? Let’s turn pirates and forage on the -farmers for our grub?” - -“That’s the very idea,” said Enoch. - -“I am in favor of foraging and have been all the while,” said Jones. “But -we must be careful and not try to carry things with too high a hand. If -we get the farmers down on us, they will help our pursuers all they can, -and that will bring our cruise to an end very speedily. We must buy the -most of our provisions and we must speak to the boys about it now, so -that when they ask for a pass they can draw on the superintendent for -five dollars apiece.” - -“But how will you get out of the lines, Enoch?” inquired Lester. “The -superintendent will not grant you liberty for two days in succession.” - -“I’ll get out; don’t you worry about that,” replied Enoch, confidently. -“Now let’s separate and post the other boys, and see who they want for -treasurer. That’s an official we have never had any use for before.” - -“Tell them that I am a candidate,” said Lester, who thought he would be -a little better satisfied if he could keep his five dollars in his own -hands. - -“That won’t do at all,” said Jones, quickly. - -“Of course not,” chimed in Enoch. “You’ll have enough to do to manage the -yacht. I shall push Jones for the office.” - -“By the way, how much did you agree to pay Coleman for giving us a ride -down the river?” asked Lester. - -“Twenty-five dollars,” replied Enoch. - -“That’s a good deal of money to pay out for nothing. The understanding -was that we were to capture our vessel. If we had held to that, we could -have got her for nothing.” - -“And had a tug after us as soon as she could get up steam,” replied -Enoch. “As I said before, this schooner is the only yacht in port. We -couldn’t capture her without getting into a fight with Coleman, and if we -had alarmed anybody, we should have had to run a race with the telegraph -as well as with the tug. Now, remember what I say, Lester: We shall be -in danger as long as we are this side of Oxford. Coleman knows that we -are going to take French leave, and has promised to be as sly as he can -in taking us on board the schooner; but no matter how carefully we cover -up our trail, some sharp fellow like Mack will be sure to find it, and -telegraph the authorities at Oxford to be on the look-out for us.” - -“And Coleman himself will raise an outcry just as soon as he finds out -that we have given him the slip,” added Jones. - -“To be sure he will. I tell you, Brigham, we’re going to have a time of -it, and you will have a chance to show just how smart you are. After -we get the schooner everything will depend upon you. If you can take -us safely past Oxford and out into the bay, you will be a leader worth -having, and the boys will feel so much confidence in you that they will -do anything you say.” - -“And if I fail in my efforts to do that, they will lose what little -confidence they have in me now, and put somebody else in my place,” -said Lester to himself, as he and his friends moved off in different -directions to hunt up the rest of the band and tell them of the plans -that had been determined upon. “What am I to do now?” - -There was a time when Don Gordon would have been delighted with such a -prospect as this. The responsibility resting upon the captain of the -schooner, and which was much too heavy a burden for Lester to bear, would -have aroused all the combativeness in his nature, and made him determined -to succeed in spite of every obstacle that could be thrown in his way. -Lester, however, felt like backing out, and he would have done so if he -had received the least encouragement from a single one of the band to -whom he spoke that night. They were all strongly in favor of Enoch’s -plan, and promised to be on hand at the appointed time with their money -in their pockets. - -“If you don’t want to go, now is the time to say so,” Lester ventured to -suggest, hoping that some timid boy would take the hint and give him an -excuse for staying behind himself; but the invariable reply was: - -“I do want to go. I didn’t agree to this thing just to hear myself talk. -If you fellows are going, I am going too.” - -“Whom have you seen, Brigham?” asked Jones, as the two met again just -before the supper call was sounded. “All right. Enoch and I have seen -the rest, and have found them all true blue. There’s not a single -weak-kneed one among them. We mustn’t leave the camp in a body, you -know, for that might excite suspicion; but we’ll see them in Bridgeport -to-morrow afternoon, and tell them to be at Haggert’s dock at dark.” - -They were all going, that was evident, and Lester did not see how he -could refuse to accompany them. If he feigned illness or neglected to -ask for a pass, he would surely be found out and accused of cowardice, -and then the boys would have nothing more to do with him. There were few -outside the band who ever took the trouble to speak to him, and if they -deserted him he would be lonely indeed. - -“And more than all, Williams and Jones would refuse to go home with me, -and that would knock my visit to Maryland in the head,” said Lester to -himself. “That wouldn’t be at all pleasant. I shall have a harder time at -Rochdale than I ever had before. Don and Bert Gordon will be sure to tell -all the people there how I have acted ever since I came to the academy, -and what a coward I was on the night the false alarm was given, and they -will make it so disagreeable for me that I can’t stay. I must stick to -those boys, for they are the only friends I have. I believe I’ll turn -the command of the yacht over to Enoch. He wants it and I don’t; and if -I give it up to him of my own free will, perhaps it will increase his -friendship for me.” - -Lester breathed easier after he made this resolution, and, although he -did not enjoy his sleep that night, he did not look forward with so many -gloomy forebodings. He received his pass and his money when he asked for -them, and in company with Jones set out for Bridgeport. They directed -their course toward Haggert’s dock, and when they reached it Lester -obtained his first view of a sea-going yacht. One glance at her was -enough to satisfy him that he could do nothing with her, and he suddenly -thought of an excuse for saying so. - -“Is that the schooner?” he asked, as he and his companion seated -themselves on a spar that was lying on the dock. - -“Why, of course she’s a schooner,” exclaimed Jones, looking up in -surprise. “A vessel of that size wouldn’t be square-rigged, would she? -Can’t you see that she is a fore-and-after?” - -“Not being blind I can,” replied Lester, loftily. “I inquired if she was -_the_ schooner—the one we are going to take.” - -“Oh!” replied Jones. “Yes, I suppose she is, but I can very soon find -out,” he added, as he drew his handkerchief from his pocket. “If that man -who is lounging in the cockpit is Coleman, I can bring him ashore.” - -“Having always been used to plenty of sea-room, I am not sure that I can -handle the schooner in this narrow river,” said Lester. - -“We are not going to stay in the river, you know,” answered Jones. “We -shall get out of it as soon as we can.” - -“I know that; but Enoch said last night that we shall be in danger as -long as we remain this side of Oxford, and the boy who takes us down the -river ought to be one who knows how to handle boats in close places. I -don’t know much about schooners, for, as I told you long ago, my yacht -was a cutter.” - -“What’s the difference?” asked Jones. - -“There is a good deal of difference the first thing you know,” exclaimed -Lester; and fearing that he might be asked to tell what it was, he -hastened to say: “Williams is a good fellow and a good sailor too, if -I am any judge, and I think I will ask him to take command. Of course -I could manage the schooner, and perhaps I will take her in hand after -Enoch gets her out of the river.” - -“All right,” said Jones. “I guess Enoch will take her if you ask him. -That’s Coleman.” - -“How do you know?” - -“Because he waved his hand in reply to my signal, and is now coming off -in his boat.” - -In a few minutes Coleman rowed up to the wharf in his dory. He did not -get out, but stood up in his boat and kept it in its place by holding -fast to a ring-bolt. - -“I wanted to make sure that everything is just as it should be,” said -Jones, who saw that the boat-keeper was waiting to hear what he had to -say. “Can we go on our cruise to-night?” - -“Are you one of the deserters?” asked Coleman. - -“I am; and my friend here, is another. One of our fellows was down here -yesterday and talked the matter over with you. Has anything occurred to -interfere with the arrangements you and he made?” - -“Not that I know of. How many of you are there?” - -“Just twenty-five,” replied Jones. - -“That will be a dollar a piece,” said Coleman. “Can you raise so much -money? Then it’s all right; but there’s one thing I want understood -before we start: I must be back here before daylight.” - -“There’s nothing to prevent it,” answered Jones; “that is, if you can -walk back from Windsor by that time,” he added, mentally. - -“I am doing this thing without my owner’s knowledge,” continued Coleman. -“If he should come down here early in the morning and find the yacht -gone, I’d lose my situation.” - -“We know that. All we ask of you is to take us as far as Windsor, where -we intend to go ashore for an hour or two. You don’t object to that, I -suppose.” - -“Oh, no. If you don’t want to go any farther than that, I can easily get -back in time to avoid suspicion. Anything going on at Windsor?” - -“A party,” replied Jones. - -After a little more conversation the two boys got up and walked away, and -Coleman went back to the schooner. - -“There is that much done,” said Jones. “We have paved the way for getting -him ashore. After we get him up in town we will lose him, and then we’ll -have the schooner to ourselves. Now let’s separate and look out for the -rest of the fellows. Tell them about the party that isn’t going to come -off in Windsor, and give them to understand that they may talk about it -as much as they please in Coleman’s hearing. Urge upon them the necessity -of being on the dock at dusk, so as not to run the risk of being left -behind, but caution them against forming a crowd there. We don’t want -anybody to see us off, and consequently we must be careful not to attract -attention. Williams and I will meet you at noon at Cony Ryan’s.” - -“Well, don’t bring any other fellows with you,” said Lester, who knew -that this meant pies, pancakes and milk for three, and that he would have -to foot the bill. - -Jones said he wouldn’t, and the two boys gave each other a farewell -salute, and set out in different directions in search of the other -members of the band. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -THE DESERTERS AFLOAT. - - -If the deserters had had the ordering of things themselves they could -not have made them work more to their satisfaction. There was not a -single hitch anywhere; but there was just enough excitement to put them -on their mettle, and give them an idea of what was before them. In less -than twenty minutes after Lester Brigham parted from his friend Jones, he -ran against Captain Mack and Don Gordon. The latter wore a bayonet by his -side to show that he was on duty. If they had not been so close to him, -Lester would have taken to his heels. Although he had not yet deserted, -and carried a paper in his pocket that would protect him, the sight of -these two boys made him feel guilty and anxious. - -“Hallo, Brigham,” exclaimed the young captain, as he returned Lester’s -salute. “If I didn’t know better, I should say that you were out on -French leave.” - -“Oh, I am not,” answered Lester, with more earnestness than the -circumstances seemed to warrant. “I have a pass.” - -“I know it, for I was in the superintendent’s marquee when it was given -to you,” said the captain. “But I must say that you look rather queer for -an innocent boy. Seen anything of Enoch Williams?” - -“No, I haven’t,” replied Lester, who now began to prick up his ears. “Is -he out?” - -The captain laughed and said he was. - -“Has he got a pass?” - -“Of course not. If he had we wouldn’t be looking for him, would we? -He followed Egan’s example and Gordon’s, and ran the guard in broad -daylight. We’ve traced him to the village, and we’re going to catch him -if we have to stay here for a week. The boy who was on post at the time -Enoch went out said he ran like the wind, and if I can get Don after him, -I expect to see a race worth looking at. My men are scattered all over -the village, and if you see Enoch I wish you would post some of them.” - -“I will,” answered Lester. - -“He won’t,” said Don, as he and the captain moved on. - -“I know that very well,” returned Mack. “Brigham is up to something -himself, or else his face belies him.” - -“He and Jones and Williams are cronies, you know,” continued Don, “and I -believe that the surest way to find our man is to keep an eye on Lester.” - -“I believe so myself,” said the captain, giving his companion a hearty -slap on the back. “That’s a bright idea, Gordon, and we’ll act on it.” - -“Mack thinks he’s smart, but he may find out that there are some boys in -the world who are quite as smart as he is,” soliloquized Lester, as he -moved on up the street. “I don’t know whether I want Enoch to command -that schooner after all. His running the guard in daylight shows that he -is inclined to take too many risks.” - -Lester began to be alarmed now; the village seemed to be full of -Captain Mack’s men. He met them at nearly every corner, and they, as in -duty bound, asked to see his pass, and made inquiries concerning the -deserter. Every one of them declared that there was something afoot. - -“Williams didn’t run the guard in that daring way and come to town for -nothing,” said they. “There’s no circus here, nor is there anything -interesting going on that we can hear of; but there’s a scheme of some -kind in the wind, and we know it.” - -Lester’s fears increased every time Captain Mack’s men talked to him in -this way, and he began looking about for Jones. He wanted to know what -the latter thought about it; but he could not find him, nor could he see -any of the band. They had all disappeared very suddenly and mysteriously, -and now the only academy boys he met were those who wore bayonets. Eleven -o’clock came at last, and Lester was on the point of starting for Cony -Ryan’s, when he heard his name pronounced in low and guarded tones, and -looked quickly around to see Jones standing in a dark doorway. - -“Don’t come in here,” whispered the latter, as Lester stepped toward the -door. “Stand in front of that window and pretend to be looking at the -pictures, and then I’ll talk to you.” - -Lester wonderingly obeyed, and Jones continued: - -“We’re suspected already.” - -“I know it,” answered Lester, in the same cautious whisper. “Mack’s men -all believe that Enoch had some object in deserting as he did, and one of -them said they wouldn’t go home until they caught him if they had to stay -here a week.” - -“That’s just what they said to me,” returned Jones. “The thing is getting -interesting already, isn’t it?” - -“Almost too much so. What do you suppose the teachers would do to us if -Mack should hear of our plans?” - -“They wouldn’t do anything but stop our liberty,” replied Jones. “Some of -the best fellows in the school make it a point to desert every camp, and -there’s nothing done to them. Stealing the schooner is what is going to -do the business for us. We’ll be sent down for that, and it’s just what -we want.” - -“Have you seen anything of Enoch?” - -“Yes; he’s all right. He’s gone down to Ryan’s to order dinner for us.” - -“Where are the rest of the fellows?” - -“Some of them are hiding about the village, and the others have gone down -to Ryan’s. Enoch and I thought it best to tell them, one and all, to keep -out of sight. If Mack and his men should hear of our plan, the fat would -all be in the fire.” - -“Would they arrest us?” - -“You’re right.” - -“Why, we haven’t done anything.” - -“No, but we’re going to do something, and if they knew it, it would be -their duty to stop us.” - -“Well, why don’t you come out, or why can’t I go in there?” demanded -Lester. “There’s no one, except village people, in sight.” - -“There’s where you are mistaken,” replied Jones. “Look across the street. -Do you see that fellow on the opposite sidewalk who appears to be so -deeply interested in something he sees in the window of that dry-goods -store?” - -Yes, Lester saw him. He had seen him before, and took him for just what -he appeared to be—a country boy out for a holiday. His tight black -trowsers would not come more than half-way down the legs of his big -cowhide boots; his felt hat was perched on the top of a thick shock -of hair which looked like a small brush-heap; his short coat sleeves -revealed wrists and arms that were as brown as sole-leather; and the -coarse red handkerchief which was tied around his face seemed to indicate -that he was suffering from the toothache. But if he was, it did not -prevent him from thoroughly enjoying his lunch—a cake of ginger-bread -and an apple which he had purchased at a neighboring stand, and which -he devoured with so much eagerness, as he stood there in front of the -window, that everybody who saw him laughed at him. - -“I see some gawky over there,” said Lester, after he had taken a glance -at the boy. - -“That’s no gawky,” replied Jones. “It’s Don Gordon.” - -Lester was profoundly astonished. He faced about and looked again. There -was nothing about that awkward clown, who did not know what to do with -his big feet, that looked like the neat and graceful Don Gordon he had -met a short time before. - -“You’re certainly mistaken,” said Lester. “Don’s pride wouldn’t let him -appear in the public street in any such rig as that.” - -“It wouldn’t, eh? You don’t know that boy.” - -“Besides, Gordon couldn’t look and act so clumsy if he tried,” continued -Lester, who had striven in vain to imitate Don’s soldierly carriage. -“Why, he is making a laughing-stock of himself.” - -“I know it, and so does he; and he enjoys it. I don’t know where he -procured his disguise, but if he didn’t borrow it, he bought it. He’s got -more money than he can spend, and he will stick at nothing that will help -him gain his point. Now, can you see Mack anywhere?” - -Lester looked up and down the street and replied that he could not. - -“Well, he’s somewhere around, and you may be sure of it,” Jones went on. -“He is keeping Don in sight, and Don has disguised himself so that he can -keep _you_ in sight. They have been following you around the streets for -two hours, and this is the first chance I have had to tell you of it. -Have you let anything slip?” - -“No,” replied Lester, indignantly. - -“You’re spotted, any way; and I can’t, for the life of me, see why you -should be if you have kept a still tongue in your head,” said Jones, -in deep perplexity. “Now, our first hard work must be to shake those -fellows, and then we’ll draw a bee-line for Cony’s. When I say the -word, come into the hall and go up those stairs as if all the wolves in -Mississippi were close at your heels; but don’t make any noise.” - -Lester braced himself for a jump and a run, and Jones took up a position -in the hall from which he could observe Don’s movements without being -seen himself. The amateur detective—it really was Don Gordon—having -disposed of his lunch and growing tired of waiting for Lester to make a -move in some direction, shuffled rather than walked over to the other -window, not neglecting, as he made this change, to take a good look at -the boy he had “spotted.” As soon as he was fairly settled before the -other window, Jones whispered “_Now!_” whereupon Lester darted through -the door and went up the stairs three at a jump. Jones lingered a minute -or two and then followed him. - -“It’s just as I expected,” said he, hurriedly, when he joined Lester at -the top of the stairs. “Captain Mack was concealed somewhere down the -street. He saw you when you ran through the door and signaled to Don, who -is now coming across the street. Follow me and run on your toes. Stick -to me, and ask no questions.” - -So saying Jones broke into a run and led the way through a long hall to -another flight of stairs, which he descended with headlong speed, Lester -keeping close at his heels. On reaching the sidewalk they slackened their -pace to a walk, and Jones suddenly turned into a shoe-store, with the -proprietor of which he was well acquainted. - -“Mr. Smith,” said he, addressing the man who stood behind the counter, -“may I go in your back room long enough to take something out of my boot?” - -Time was too precious to wait for the reply, which they knew would be a -favorable one, so Jones and Lester kept on to the back-room. When they -got there the former took his foot out of his boot—there was nothing -else in it—while his companion, acting in obedience to some whispered -instructions, concealed himself and kept an eye on those who passed the -store. - -“There he goes!” he exclaimed suddenly, as Don Gordon walked rapidly -by, peering sharply through the glass doors as he went. “He must have -followed us through the hall.” - -“Of course he did, and consequently there is no need that I should tell -you why I came in here. Now we’ll start for Cony’s.” - -As Jones said this he opened a back door which gave entrance into a -narrow alley, and conducted his companion through a long archway that -finally brought them to a cross-street. After making sure that there were -none of Captain Mack’s men in sight, they came out of their concealment -and walked rapidly away toward the big pond. When they reached Cony -Ryan’s house and entered the little parlor which had been the scene of -so many midnight revels, they found it in possession of their friends, -who greeted them in the most boisterous manner and inquired anxiously for -Enoch Williams. A few of them had had opportunity to exchange a word or -two with him, all knew how he had run the guard, but none of them could -tell where he was now. - -“He is safe enough,” said Jones, knowingly. “Of course you don’t expect -him to show himself openly, as we can who have passes in our pockets. If -you will be on Haggert’s dock at dark—and those who are not there will -stand a good chance of being left, for when we get ready to start we -shall wait for nobody—you will find him. In the meantime be careful how -you act, and keep out of sight as much as you can. Mack knows that we -haven’t come down here for nothing.” - -The boys said they were well aware of that fact, and Jones went on to -tell how closely Don Gordon and Captain Mack had watched Lester in the -hope of finding out what it was that had brought him and his friends to -town that day, and described how he and Lester had managed to elude them. -While the boys were laughing over the success of their stratagem, Jones -disappeared through a back door, but presently returned and beckoned to -Lester, who followed him into the kitchen. Cony Ryan was there, and he -had just placed upon the table two large buckets covered with snow-white -napkins. - -“That’s your dinner,” said he, as he shook hands with Lester, who had -put many a dollar into his pocket that term. “They tell me that you are -getting to be a very bad boy, Brigham. You have put the fellows up to -stealing a yacht.” - -“It’s a pretty good scheme, isn’t it?” said Jones. - -“I never heard of such a thing,” said Cony. “I know every boy who has -been graduated at this academy during the last half century, and although -there were some daring ones among them, there were none who had the -hardihood to do a thing like this. I have about half made up my mind that -if Captain Mack comes here, I will report the last one of you.” - -“Well, so long as you don’t wholly make up your mind to it, we don’t -care,” replied Jones, who knew their host too well to be alarmed by any -such threats as this. “I’ll take one basket, Brigham, and you can take -the other. Cony, you keep your eyes open and give us the signal at the -very first sign of danger.” - -“Where are you going?” inquired Lester, as Jones, with one of the baskets -on his arm, led the way out of the door toward a grove that stood a -little distance off on the shore of the big pond. - -“To find Enoch,” answered Jones. “I know right where he is. I say, -Lester, you did something to be proud of when you got up this scheme. -When Cony Ryan praises a fellow, the praise is well deserved.” - -“I am very well satisfied with it,” said Lester, complacently. “You said -something about a signal of danger; what is it?” - -“Did you ever hear Cony’s greyhound sing?” asked Jones in reply. “Well, -if Cony sees any of Mack’s men approaching his house, he’ll tell his -hound to ‘sing,’ and the animal will set up the most dismal howling you -ever heard. If Enoch hears that, you will see him dig out for dear life.” - -After walking a short distance into the grove, the two boys came to a -little creek, whose banks were thickly lined with bushes. Here Jones -stopped and put down his basket, and hardly had he done so when Enoch -Williams made his appearance. He had been concealed in the bushes, -awaiting their arrival. This was the first time Lester had seen the -deserter that day, and one would have thought by the way he complimented -Enoch, that the latter, when he ran by the guard, had performed an -exploit that no other boy in the academy dare attempt. - -“I am glad to see you two,” said Enoch, nodding his head toward the -baskets, “for I am hungry.” - -“Any news?” asked Jones, as he spread the lunch on one of the napkins. - -“Not a word,” replied the deserter. “I haven’t seen Mack or any of his -squad for a long time.” - -“We have,” said Lester. “We’ve just had some fun in getting away from -them.” - -Of course Enoch wanted to know all about it, and Jones told the story -while they were eating their lunch. The good things that Cony had put -up for them rapidly disappeared before their attacks, but busy as they -were, they did not neglect to keep their eyes and ears open. They -depended upon Cony and his hound to guard one side of the grove, and upon -themselves to detect the presence of any danger that might threaten them -from other directions; but Mack and his men never came near them. Being -well acquainted with Cony Ryan, they knew it would be a waste of time -to look for a deserter about his premises. The old fellow was a staunch -and trustworthy friend. He could not be bribed, coaxed or flattered into -betraying a boy’s confidence. - -It seemed as if the day never would draw to a close. As Enoch did not -think it safe to venture near the house, Jones and Lester kept him -company in the grove, where they rolled about on the grass, consulting -their watches every few minutes and laying out a programme for their -cruise. By this time it was understood that Enoch was to command the -schooner. He was delighted when Lester proposed it, accepted the -responsibility without the least hesitation, and spoke confidently of his -ability to make the cruise a lively one and to give their pursuers a long -chase, if he could only succeed in getting the yacht out into the bay. - -The hours wore away, and when six o’clock came the deserter and his -friends finished what was left of their lunch and began to bestir -themselves. Jones and Lester returned to Cony Ryan’s house, which they -found deserted by all save the proprietor and his family, the members of -the band having formed themselves into little squads and strolled off -toward the dock. Having made sure that the coast was clear, Jones went -out on the back porch and gave a shrill whistle, to which the deserter -responded in person. - -“Now, Lester,” said Jones, when Enoch entered the house, “you stay here -and act as look-out for Williams, and I will take a scout about the -village and see how things look there. It will be dark by the time I -come back, and then we will make a start.” - -Jones was gone a long while, but the report he brought was a favorable -one. The members of the band were all hidden about the dock, awaiting -Enoch’s appearance with much anxiety and impatience, and Coleman was -ready to carry out his part of the contract. The sails were cast loose, -and all they had to do was to slip the anchor, and let the current carry -them down the river. He had seen nothing of Captain Mack or his men, nor -had he been able to find any one who could tell him what had become of -them. He believed they had gone back to camp. - -“Mack rather plumes himself on his success in capturing deserters, I -believe,” said Enoch, as he arose from the sofa on which he had been -lounging and put on his cap. “He fails sometimes, doesn’t he?” - -“Don’t shout until you are out of the woods,” replied Jones, who knew -that his friend was congratulating himself on his cunning. “The pursuit -has not fairly begun. He may gobble you yet and all the rest of us into -the bargain.” - -“Well, it will not cost him anything to try,” said Enoch, confidently. -“I am more at home on the water than I am on land, and the boy who beats -me handling a yacht must get up in the morning.” - -“But they will follow us in tugs,” said Lester. - -“Then we’ll hide among some of the islands in the bay and let them hunt -for us,” replied Enoch. “I tell you it will be a cold day when we get -left.” - -After Lester had paid for the lunch they had eaten in the grove, he and -his companions left Cony Ryan’s hospitable roof and set out for the -dock, neglecting no precautions on the way. Jones and Lester went ahead, -stopping at every corner and looking into every doorway, and Enoch, -who followed a short distance behind them, did not advance until they -notified him, by a peculiar whistle, that he had nothing to fear. - -By keeping altogether on the back streets and giving the business -thoroughfares a wide berth, they managed to reach the dock without -meeting anybody. There was no one in sight when they got there, but -Jones’s low whistle was answered from a dozen different hiding places. - -“Ahem!” said Enoch, looking toward the schooner. - -“Ahem!” came the answer through the darkness. “Who is it?” - -“The band,” replied Enoch; and then there came a few minutes of silence -and impatient waiting, during which Coleman got into his dory and shoved -off toward the dock. Another whistle from Jones brought several students -from their places of concealment, and when the dory was filled to its -utmost capacity, it was pulled back to the schooner. Coleman was obliged -to make three trips in order to take them all off, and when Jones, who -was the last to leave the dock, sprang over the schooner’s rail, he -announced that not a single one of the band was missing. - -“Keep silence fore and aft,” commanded Coleman, as he made the dory’s -painter fast to the stern and went forward to slip the chain. “Wait until -we get under way before you do any talking.” - -The boys were careful to obey. With a single exception they were highly -elated over the success of their plans, and now that the schooner was -moving off with them, they were determined that she should not come back -to her berth again until she had taken them on a good long cruise. That -exception was, of course, Lester Brigham. He became timid when he found -himself at the mercy of the current which was carrying him off through -darkness so intense that he could scarcely see the vessel’s length ahead -of him, and took himself to task for his foolishness in proposing such an -expedition. But when he found that the schooner was seaworthy, and that -Enoch knew how to keep her on top of the water and to get a good deal of -speed out of her besides, these feelings gradually wore away, and he even -told himself that he was seeing lots of fun. - -When the current had taken the little vessel so far down the river that -there was no longer any danger to be apprehended, Coleman came up to -Enoch, whom he recognized as one of the leaders of the band, and inquired: - -“Are there any among you who know a halliard from a down-haul?” - -Enoch replied that there were. - -“Then send a couple of them forward to run up the jib, while I take the -wheel,” said Coleman. “I want to throw her head around. No singing, now.” - -“What did he mean by that?” asked Lester, speaking before he thought. - -“Why, have you never heard sailors sing when they were hoisting the -sails?” exclaimed Enoch. “It makes the work easier, you know, and helps -them pull together.” - -“Why, of course it does,” said Lester. “What was I thinking of?” - -“I don’t know, I am sure. Come with me and lend a hand at the jib. Jones, -you had better attend to Coleman now.” - -“Shall I give him his money?” asked Jones, who, we forgot to say, had -been elected treasurer of the band without one dissenting voice. - -“Yes; hand it over, and perhaps he will want to go ashore and spend some -of it. You see,” added Enoch, as he and Lester went forward, “our first -hard work must be to get rid of Coleman without raising any fuss, and -Jones is going to try to induce him to go off with us at Windsor; so keep -away from him and let him talk.” - -It was so very dark and there were so many ropes leading down the -foremast that Lester didn’t see how Enoch could find the one he wanted; -but he laid his hand upon it without the least hesitation, and when he -began pulling at it, Lester knew enough to take hold and help him. The -schooner swung around as the wind filled the sail, and when her bow -pointed down the river the fore and main sails were hoisted, and in a few -minutes more she was bowling along right merrily. Enoch superintended the -work, all the boys lending willing but awkward assistance, and Coleman -complimented him by saying that he was quite a sailor. - -“And I am the only one on board,” said he, as soon as he found -opportunity to speak to Jones in private. “Brigham is a fraud of the -first water. There are lots of fellows aboard who make no pretensions, -but who know more about a boat in five minutes than he does in a month.” - -“His yacht was a cutter, you know,” suggested Jones. - -“Oh, get out!” exclaimed Enoch. “He doesn’t know a cutter from a -full-rigged ship.” - -Lester, who was painfully aware that his ignorance of all things -pertaining to a yacht had been fully exposed, was leaning against the -weather-rail, heartily wishing himself back at the academy. He then and -there resolved that he would never again attempt to win a reputation -among his fellows by boasting. It is a bad thing to do; and the boy who -indulges in it is sure to bring himself into contempt sooner or later. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -DON OBTAINS A CLUE. - - -“How have you succeeded with Coleman?” continued Enoch. “Are we going to -get rid of him as easily as we hoped?” - -“Coleman is all right,” was Jones’s encouraging reply. “I laid a neat -little trap for him, and he fell into it just as easy! I told him that we -had been followed nearly all day, and he said he knew it, for he had seen -Mack and some of his squad on the dock. I told him, too, that Mack knew -all about the party at Windsor, and that I was afraid he would go down -there and lie in wait for us; and Coleman offered to go ashore in the -dory and reconnoiter.” - -“Good!” exclaimed Enoch. “Just the minute he is out of sight we’ll fill -away for the bay. Now let’s post the other boys, so that they may know -just what is expected of them.” - -The deserters did not at all enjoy their ride down the river, for they -were thinking about something else. They were impatient to see the -last of Coleman, and trembling for fear that something would happen to -excite his suspicions. They were strong enough to take the schooner from -him by force, and there were some reckless ones in the band who openly -advocated it; but the majority would not listen to them. They had enough -to answer for already, they said, and they would not countenance any such -high-handed proceeding. While they were talking about it they sighted -Windsor. - -“I guess I had better run in and tie up to the wharf,” said Coleman, who -stood at the wheel. - -“Don’t do that,” said Enoch, quickly. He wanted to keep the schooner out -in the river so that when the proper time came he could fill away without -the loss of a moment. If she were made fast to the wharf and the sails -were lowered, it would be a work of some difficulty to get under way -again, and if Coleman were the active and quick-witted man they took him -for, he would upset all their plans in an instant. - -“That wouldn’t do at all,” chimed in Jones. “How do we know but that Mack -and his men are hidden there on the wharf all ready to board us as soon -as we come alongside?” - -“Couldn’t you fight ’em off?” inquired Coleman. - -“We might, but we’ll not try it,” said Enoch. “There’s no law that -prevents a deserter from hiding or taking to his heels, but if he should -resist arrest, they’d snatch him bald-headed. We don’t want to fight, for -we’re deep enough in the mud already.” - -“What will the superintendent do to you when you go back?” asked Coleman. - -“Oh, he’ll court-martial us and stop our liberty,” replied Jones. “But -we don’t care for that, you know. We intend to have so much fun to-night -at the party that we can afford to stay in camp during the rest of the -month.” - -Jones did not think it best to tell Coleman that he and his companions -stood a fine chance of being expelled from the academy to pay for this -night’s work. He was afraid that if he did, the man would refuse to -assist them in their scheme, and that he would come about and take them -back to Bridgeport. If he had tried that, there would have been trouble -beyond a doubt, for his passengers were bound to make themselves -famous before they went back. They succeeded beyond their most sanguine -expectations. It is true that they were taken to the academy under -arrest, but they were looked upon as heroes and not as culprits who -were deserving of punishment. They gave the students and everybody else -something to talk about, but not in the way they had anticipated. - -“The safest plan you can pursue is to leave the schooner out here in -the river, and go ashore in the dory and see that the way is clear,” -continued Jones. - -“I don’t know of but one house in Windsor that is big enough for a party, -and that’s Dr. Norton’s,” said Coleman. - -“There’s right where we’re going,” said Enoch, at a venture. “We want you -to go out there and look carefully about his grounds to make sure that -Mack and his men are not in hiding there.” - -“Why, it’s a mile from the village!” exclaimed Coleman. - -“What of that?” - -“It would take me an hour to go there and come back,” replied the man, -“and to tell the truth, I am afraid to trust the yacht in your hands for -that length of time. You might beach her, or a steamer might run her down -in the dark.” - -“You needn’t be afraid of that,” replied Jones. “Williams can take care -of her. He owned and sailed a yacht years ago.” - -“And here’s another thing,” said Enoch. “You ought to remember that you -are as deeply interested in this matter as we are. If Mack and his men -should capture us now, wouldn’t they find out that you are using your -owner’s yacht without his knowledge, and wouldn’t they get you into -trouble by speaking of it?” - -“So they would,” answered Coleman. “I didn’t think of that. I must help -you now whether I want to or not. Well, I’ll go ashore, as I agreed. -Who’s going to manage the schooner while I am gone?” - -Enoch answered that he was. - -“All right. Take the wheel, and let me see you throw the yacht up into -the wind.” - -Enoch complied, and Coleman had no fault to find with the way in which -he executed the maneuver. As soon as the schooner lost her headway, the -man clambered down into the dory and pushed off toward the dock, not -forgetting to tell Enoch that he left the yacht entirely in his hands, -and that he (Enoch) would be responsible for her safety. - -“Don’t be uneasy,” was the boy’s reassuring reply. “I know just what -I want to do; and I’m going to do it,” he added, in a lower tone. “Go -for’ard, Jones, and keep an eye on him as long as you can. When you see -him go up the street that leads from the wharf, let me know.” - -The impatient boys watched Coleman as he rowed toward the dock, and -presently they saw his head bobbing up and down in front of the lights -in the store windows. As soon as he disappeared up the road that led to -Dr. Norton’s house, Jones carried the news to Enoch, who filled away -and stood down the river again. The deserters were so delighted at the -success of their stratagem that they danced hornpipes, and could with -difficulty restrain themselves from shouting aloud. - -“Brigham, tell those fellows to keep still,” commanded the new captain. -“Now, Jones, the next thing is something else. We’ve got the schooner -easy enough, but what shall we do with her?” - -“Let’s crack on and get into the bay as soon as we can,” suggested Jones. - -“I should like to, for I know we are not safe as long as we are in the -river, but I am afraid to put any more canvas on her. Not being familiar -with the channel I am going it blind, and I don’t want to knock a hole in -her, or run her high and dry on a sand-bar before I know it. I think it -would be safest to stay here for a while, and let our pursuers get ahead -of us, so that we will be in their wake instead of having them in ours. -Perhaps you had better talk it up among the boys and see what they think -of it. While you are about it, find out if there is any one in the band -who knows the river. If there is, send him to me.” - -Jones hurried away to obey this order, and presently returned with a boy -who lived in Oxford, and who had often piloted his father’s tugs up and -down the river. The information he gave the captain was contained in a -very few words, but it proved to be of great value to him. The boy told -him that he had better keep as close to the bluff banks as he could, for -there was where the channel was; but when he came to a place where the -banks were low on both sides, he would find the deepest water pretty -near the middle of the river. - -“That’s all I want to know about that,” said Enoch. “It is eleven -o’clock, isn’t it, and we are about thirty-five miles from Bridgeport? -Very well. How much farther down the river ought the current and this -wind to take us by daylight?” - -“I should think it ought to take us past Mayville, and that is seventy -miles from Bridgeport,” replied the boy. - -“Do you know of any little creeks around there that we could hide in -during the day?” - -The boy said there were a dozen of them. - -“All right,” answered Enoch. “Perhaps you had better stay on deck with me -to-night, and to-morrow we will sleep. Now Jones, divide the crew into -two equal watches, and send one of them below if they are sleepy and want -to go. Then bring up a couple of lanterns and hang them to the catheads. -If we don’t show lights we may get run over.” - -Jones proved to be an invaluable assistant, and it is hard to tell how -Enoch would have got on without him. He hung out the lamps, set the -watch, and then he and some of the band went below to take a look at -their floating home. He peeped into all the state-rooms, glanced at the -forecastle, examined all the lockers as well as the galley and pantry, -and was delighted with everything he saw. - -“I didn’t know there was so much elbow-room on one of these little -boats,” said he, after he had finished his investigations. “There are -provisions enough in the store-rooms to last us a week, and the owner has -left his trunk and his hunting and fishing traps on board.” - -“That must not be touched,” said Enoch, decidedly. - -“It wouldn’t do any harm to take out one of those fine breech-loaders and -knock over a mess of squirrels with it,” said Jones. - -“Yes, it would. Most men are very particular about their guns and don’t -want strangers to use them. We must return all this property in just as -good order as it was when it came into our hands. We’ve got money enough -to buy our own grub, and I’ll raise a row with the first fellow who dips -into those provisions, I don’t care who he is. We’re not mean, if we did -run away with the schooner.” - -Perhaps Egan would have been astonished to have heard such sentiments as -these expressed by the boy whom he believed to be the “meanest fellow -that ever lived.” Enoch could be manly so long as he was good-natured, -and so could Lester Brigham. It was when they got angry that they showed -themselves in their true characters. It may be that the fear of a -rigorous prosecution by the angry owner of the yacht had something to do -with the stand Enoch took in regard to the provisions and hunting outfit. - -Of course none of the band wanted to go below, inviting as the berths -looked, and Enoch, who liked company, did not insist upon it. They showed -a desire to sing, but that was something the captain opposed. The noise -they made would be sure to attract the attention of some of the people -living along the banks, and put it in their power to aid Captain Mack and -his men when they came in pursuit. He wanted to cover up their trail so -as to mystify everybody. - -“You need not expect to do that,” said one of the band. “Coleman will -blow the whole thing as soon as he gets home.” - -“But I don’t think he will go home and face his owner after what he has -done,” said Enoch. “I know I shouldn’t want to do it if I were in his -place. If he keeps away from Bridgeport, so much the better for us. Wait -till we get out of danger, and then you can sing to your hearts’ content.” - -Enoch stood at the wheel all night, and the boy who lived in Oxford kept -him company to see that he gave the sand-bars a wide berth. Some of the -band managed to sleep a little, but the majority of the members lounged -about the deck and wondered what they were going to do for excitement -during their cruise. - -The schooner passed Mayville shortly after daylight, and the deserters -could not see that there was any one stirring. About half an hour -afterward Enoch’s companion directed his attention to a wide creek which -he said would afford an excellent hiding-place for their vessel during -the day, and the schooner was accordingly turned into it. After she had -run as far up the stream as the wind would carry her, the sails were -hauled down, a dory they found in the creek was manned, a line got out, -and the yacht was towed around the bend out of sight, and made fast to -the bank. - -And where were Captain Mack and his men all this time, and did they -succeed in finding the trail of the deserters in spite of all Enoch’s -efforts to cover it up? They spent the night in their quarters, and -struck a hot scent the first thing in the morning. It came about in this -way: - -When Lester Brigham, with Jones’s assistance, succeeded in eluding Don -Gordon, the latter became firmly settled in the belief that there was -“something up.” He and Captain Mack used their best endeavors to get on -Lester’s track again, looking in every place except the one in which they -would have been sure to find him. That was at Cony Ryan’s house. As we -said before, they did not go there because they knew it would be time -wasted. - -“It’s no use, Gordon,” said Captain Mack, after he and his squad had -searched all the streets and looked into every store in the village. -“They’re safe at Cony’s, and we might as well go home. I hope they will -stay out all night so that we can have another chance to-morrow. I don’t -like to give up beaten.” - -Captain Mack knew where to find every one of his men, and in half an -hour’s time they were all marching back to camp. The young officer -reported his return and his failure to capture the boy who had run the -guard, adding that he had a strong suspicion that Enoch, Lester and the -rest had some plan in their heads, and that they did not intend to return -to camp of their own free will. - -“Very well,” said the superintendent. “If they do not return to-night, -you had better take a squad and go down to the village in the morning and -make inquiries. If they can get away from you they are pretty smart.” - -“Thank you, sir. I will do my best, but I can’t hope for success if I am -to be hampered by orders.” - -“No, I suppose not,” said the superintendent, with a laugh. “You would -rather waste your time in running about the country than stay here in -camp and attend to your business.” - -“I am ahead of my class, sir,” said Mack. - -“I know it. Well, stay out until you learn all about their plans, if they -have any, and capture them if you know where they have gone. I presume -that is the order you want.” - -“Yes, sir; that’s the very one,” said Mack, with so much glee in his -tones that the superintendent and all the teachers laughed heartily. “May -I select my own men and take as many as I want?” - -“Certainly, provided you leave enough to do camp duty.” - -“I will, sir. I’ll take a man for every deserter.” - -Captain Mack made his salute and hurried out, laughing all over. His -first care was to go to the officer of the guard and find out just how -many boys there were in Lester’s party (he took it for granted that they -were all together and that they intended to desert and go off somewhere -to have a good time), and his next to make out a list of the boys who -were to comprise his squad. It is hardly necessary to say that the names -of Don and Bert Gordon, Egan, Curtis and Hopkins appeared on that list. -The captain meant to have a good time himself, and he wanted some good -fellows to help him enjoy it. - -“I have a roving commission, fellows,” he said to the boys, as fast as he -found them. “If I can find out where those deserters have gone, I shall -not come back without them. Stick a pin there.” - -“Good for you, Mack,” was the universal verdict. - -“I tell you it pays for a fellow to mind his business,” continued the -delighted captain. “I never would have been allowed so great a privilege -if I hadn’t behaved myself pretty well this term. Say nothing to nobody, -but hold yourselves in readiness to leave camp at daylight. We’ll get -breakfast in the village. If you haven’t plenty of money, perhaps you -had better ask for some; and while you are about it, you might as well -get ten dollars apiece. The superintendent is not very particular about -financial matters during camp, you know.” - -That was true, but still he looked surprised when more than twenty boys -came to him that night and asked for ten dollars each. He handed over the -money, however, without asking any questions, and when the last one went -out he said to the teachers who had gathered in his marquee: - -“This looks as if Captain Mack were up to something himself. Well, he’s -a good boy, he associates with none but good boys, and we can trust him -with the full assurance that any privileges we grant him will not be -abused.” - -Captain Mack and his chosen men did not get much sleep that night. -Although they firmly believed that a large party of students had deserted -the camp they had no positive proof of the fact, and they were in a state -of great uncertainty and suspense. They hoped from the bottom of their -hearts that Lester and the rest would not come in, for if they did, that -was the end of the fun. Some of them ran out of their tents every time a -sentry challenged, and always breathed easier when they found that none -of the suspected parties had returned. At ten o’clock the challenges -ceased, and after that no one came through the lines. Captain Mack went -to the guard tent and found that none of Lester’s crowd had returned, and -then he knew that his scout was an assured thing. The band was gone sure -enough, and the next thing was to find it. All the members of his squad -reported for duty promptly at daylight (not one of them waited to be -called), and in five minutes more they were on their way to the village. - -“Now, boys,” said the captain, as he halted the squad in front of the -post-office, “scatter out, and take a look about the streets for half an -hour, and then report for breakfast at the International, which will be -our headquarters as long as we stay here. I will go down there and tell -them that we want something to eat as soon as they can dish it up.” - -The boys “scattered out” in obedience to their order, and a short time -afterward Don Gordon drew up at Haggert’s dock, where he found a portly -old gentleman who seemed to be greatly excited about something, for he -was striding back and forth, talking to himself and flourishing his cane -in the air. This was Mr. Packard—the one to whom Don and Bert presented -their letter of introduction on the night they got into trouble with the -guard, and saved Sam Arkwright from being ducked in the big pond by Tom -Fisher and his followers. - -“I declare I don’t understand this thing at all,” said Mr. Packard, -shaking his cane at Don, as the latter came up and wished him a hearty -good morning. - -“Neither do I,” replied Don, who knew that the angry old gentleman -expected him to say something. - -“Now there’s that villain, Coleman,” continued Mr. Packard, bringing the -iron ferrule of his heavy stick down upon the dock to give emphasis to -his words. “I’ve done everything I could for that man. I’ve footed his -doctor bill when he was ill, paid him more wages than he demanded, given -him employment when I didn’t really need him, and now he’s gone and run -off with my boat. I say hanging is too good for such an ingrate. Come up -to the house and take breakfast with me, Don. We haven’t seen you and -Bert there in a long time. What are you doing here at this hour in the -morning? Have you deserted again, you young scamp?” - -“No, _sir_,” said Don, emphatically. “I haven’t been in a single scrape -this term.” - -“You were in that fight at Hamilton, and I call that something of a -scrape. Everybody says you behaved with the greatest coolness. I am proud -of you, do you hear me?” said Mr. Packard, again shaking his cane at Don. - -“Thank you, sir,” was the reply. “What I meant to say was, that I have -broken none of the rules, and don’t mean to, either. Do you see this -bayonet? I am on duty, and consequently, I am obliged, much to my regret, -to decline your kind invitation. I am out after a lot of deserters.” - -“I hope you’ll not catch them,” exclaimed Mr. Packard. “Let them enjoy -themselves while they are young, for old age comes all too soon—too soon. -I haven’t forgotten that I was a boy once myself. Come up to the house as -often as you can—you and Bert. We are always glad to see you.” - -The old gentleman walked quickly away, and then he as quickly stopped and -shook his cane at the anchor buoy which marked the berth in which his -schooner lay the last time he visited the dock. - -“Now there’s that Coleman,” said he. “I’ll give him till dark to bring -that boat back, and if he doesn’t do it, I’ll have the police after him. -I will, for I can’t stand any such nonsense.” - -“I have an idea,” said Don; and he also left the dock, performing a -little problem in mental arithmetic as he hurried away. Given a five-knot -breeze and a three-mile current, how far could a vessel like the Sylph -(that was the name of Mr. Packard’s missing yacht) go in a narrow and -crooked channel in nine or ten hours? That was the question he was trying -to solve. While he was working at it, he entered a telegraph office -and found the operator dozing in his chair. He held a few minutes’ -consultation with him, which must have resulted in something that was -entirely satisfactory to Don, for when the latter came out of the office -and hurried toward the hotel, his face wore an excited and delighted -look. He found the squad at breakfast, he being the last to report. - -“What kept you?” demanded the captain, as Don entered and took his seat -at the table. - -“Business,” was the laconic reply. “Have any of you got a clue?” - -No, they hadn’t. With all their trying they had not been able to gain -any tidings of the deserters, who had disappeared in some mysterious -way and left no trace behind. Their leader, whoever he was, had shown -considerable skill in conducting their flight so as to baffle pursuit. - -“You’re a wise lot,” said Don. “I have a clue.” - -A chorus of exclamations arose on all sides, and the captain laid down -his knife and fork and settled back in his chair. - -“I know right where they were about the time we left camp this morning,” -continued Don. - -“Where were they?” exclaimed all the boys at once. - -“A long way from here. I tell you, Mack, the superintendent didn’t dream -of this when he gave you your roving commission. Is it necessary that you -should report to him for further orders?” - -“No. He told me to catch those fellows if I could learn where they were, -and that’s the only order I want.” - -“All right. What do you say to a sail on the bay?” - -The students raised a shout that made the spacious dining-room echo. -“Have they gone that way?” asked the captain. - -“They have, and this is the way I found it out,” answered Don, who, -having worked his auditors up to the highest pitch of excitement, went -on to repeat the conversation he had held with Mr. Packard, and wound up -by saying: “Somehow I couldn’t help connecting the deserters with the -disappearance of that yacht; so I dropped into a telegraph office, and -the operator, at my request, spoke to Mayville, who, after taking about -fifteen minutes to gain information, replied that the Sylph had gone down -the river at daylight with a lot of students aboard.” - -“Hurrah!” shouted Captain Mack; while his men broke out into a yell, -pounded the table, clapped their hands, and acted altogether so unlike -orderly guests of a first-class hotel, that the proprietor came in to see -what was the matter. - -“Break all the dishes,” said he, swinging his arms around his head. “Turn -the house out of doors, if you want to; it’s paid for!” - -“We’ll try to stop before we do any damage, Mr. Mortimer,” said Captain -Mack, with a laugh. “Now pitch in everybody, so that we can take the -first train.” - -“Where are we going, Mack,” inquired Curtis. - -“To Oxford. Egan is a sailor-man, and—you know Mr. Shelby, of course.” - -These words enabled the students to see through Mack’s plan at once, and -they made another boisterous demonstration of delight and approval. They -knew Mr. Shelby, who owned the finest and swiftest yacht in Oxford. He -was an academy boy, and had once been famous as a good runner. He was a -soldier as well as a sailor, as full of fun and mischief as any boy in -Mack’s squad, and just the man to help Lester and his band with one hand, -while giving their pursuers a lift with the other. Of course he would -lend them his yacht and take as deep an interest in the race as any -student among them. - -Breakfast over, Don asked and obtained permission to run up to Mr. -Packard’s and let him know what had become of the Sylph. To his great -surprise the old gentleman took it as a huge joke, and laughed heartily -over it. He warned Don that the schooner was a hard boat to beat when -Coleman was at the helm, and declared that if the deserters would return -her safe and sound, they might keep her a month and welcome. He would -never make them any trouble on account of it. He was sorry to give up -his cruise, but then his brother had just left Newport in his yacht, and -when he arrived, he (Mr. Packard) would go off somewhere with him. It was -plain that his sympathies were all with the runaways, although he knew -nothing of the great service they were going to render him and others. If -it hadn’t been for those same deserters, Mr. Packard would never again -have seen his brother alive. - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - -ANOTHER TEST AND THE RESULT. - - -“Keep her away, Burgess! If the ragged end of that spar hits us it may -send us to the bottom. Slack away the fore-sheet! Stand by, everybody, -and don’t let him go by for your lives! He looks as though he couldn’t -hold on another minute.” - -It was Egan who issued these hurried orders. He was standing on the -weather-rail of Mr. Shelby’s yacht, the Idlewild, which was sailing as -near into the wind’s eye as she could be made to go, now and then buoying -her nose in a tremendous billow that broke into a miniature cataract on -her forecastle and deluged her deck with water. He was drenched to the -skin, and so were the boys who were stationed along the rail below him, -trembling all over with excitement, and watching with anxious faces one -of the most thrilling scenes it had ever been their lot to witness. - -There had been a terrible storm along the coast. It was over now, the -clouds had disappeared and the sun was shining brightly; but the wind was -still blowing half a gale, there was a heavy sea running, and the waves -seemed to be trying their best to complete the work of destruction that -had been commenced by the storm. Two points off the weather-bow there had -been, a few minutes before, a little water-logged sloop, over which the -waves made a clean breach; but she was gone now. All on a sudden her bow -arose in the air, her stern settled deep in the water, and the yacht, -which had set sail from Newport a few days before with a merry party of -excursionists on board, went down to the bottom of the bay. Broad on -the Idlewild’s beam was the Sylph, the deserters working like beavers -to rescue the crew of the sunken yacht, heedless or ignorant of the -fact that they were in jeopardy themselves, their vessel being so badly -handled by the frightened and inexperienced boy at her wheel, that she -was in imminent danger of broaching to. Tossed about by the waves which -rolled between the Idlewild and the Sylph was a broken spar to which a -student, with a pale but determined face, clung desperately with one -arm, while in the other he supported the inanimate form of a little boy. -The student was Enoch Williams, and the boy was Mr. Packard’s nephew. - -The last time we saw the Sylph she was hiding in the creek a short -distance below Mayville. That was a week ago, and her persevering and -determined pursuers had but just come up with her. During the day the -deserters purchased a small supply of provisions from the neighboring -farmers, fished a little, slept a good deal, and when darkness came to -conceal their movements they got under way again, and stood down the -river, taking the stolen dory with them. At daylight they found another -hiding-place, and before dawn the next morning they ran by Oxford, a -bustling little city situated at the mouth of the river. If they were -pursued they did not know it. They made cautious inquiries as often as -they had opportunity, but no one could give them any information, because -Captain Mack and his men had escaped observation by going from Bridgeport -to Oxford on the cars. - -When the Sylph ran out into the bay, the deserters began to feel -perfectly safe. They shouted and sung themselves hoarse, and told one -another that they were seeing no end of sport; but in their hearts -they knew better. How was their cruise going to end? was the unwelcome -question that forced itself into their minds every hour in the day, and -none of them could answer it satisfactorily. It might be a daring exploit -to run off with a private yacht, but they didn’t think so now that the -mischief was done, and there was not one among them who did not wish that -he had taken some other way to get out of the academy. Enoch very soon -became disgusted. The wind being brisk he was obliged to be at the wheel -nearly all the time, and he couldn’t see the fun of working so steadily -while the rest of the band were lying around doing nothing. - -“I’ll tell you what’s a fact,” said he to Jones, one day. “There’s too -much of a sameness about this thing to suit me. I have the best notion in -the world to desert the yacht the next time we go ashore, and strike a -straight course for home.” - -“I have been thinking seriously of the same thing,” answered Jones. - -“It’s a cowardly thing to do,” continued Enoch, “but when I fall to -thinking of the settlement that’s coming, I can’t sleep, it troubles me -so. Suppose the man who owns this yacht is one who can’t take a joke! Do -you know that we have rendered ourselves liable to something worse than -expulsion from the academy?” - -“I didn’t think of that until it was too late,” said Jones. - -“Neither did I; nor did I think to ask myself what my father would say -and do about it. I believe our best plan would be to go back and put the -schooner in her berth. It will take us four or five days to do that, and -during that time each fellow can decide for himself how he will act when -we get to Bridgeport—whether he will go home, or return to the academy -and face the music.” - -“That’s a good idea,” exclaimed Jones. “I know what I shall do. I shall -get into camp, if I can, without being caught, and report for duty. -Let’s all do that, and if we return the schooner in as good order as she -was when we found her, we shall escape the disgrace of being sent down, -and at the same time have the satisfaction of knowing that we have done -something that no other crowd ever attempted. After we get home we can -tell our fathers that we don’t want to come back to school, and perhaps -we can induce them to listen to us. That fight with the mob will be in -our favor, for after our folks have had time to think it over calmly, -they’ll not willingly put us in the way of getting into another. That’s -the best plan, and you may depend upon it.” - -“I think so myself,” said Enoch. “Call the boys aft and ask them what -they think about it.” - -It is hardly necessary to say that the runaways were delighted with the -prospect of escaping the consequences of their folly. Their cruise among -the islands of the bay had been almost entirely devoid of interest. It is -true that they had raided a few melon-patches and corn-fields, and that -a little momentary excitement had been occasioned by the discovery of -suspicious sails behind them; but their foraging had been accomplished -with small difficulty and without detection, and the sails belonged to -coasters which held their course without paying any attention to the -schooner. Without giving Jones, who did the talking, time to enter fully -into an explanation, the deserters broke into cheers, and some of them -urged the captain to turn the schooner’s bow toward Oxford at once. - -“I am afraid to do it,” said Enoch, as soon as he could make himself -heard. “Just turn your eyes in that direction for a moment.” - -The boys looked, and saw a milk-white cloud, followed by one as black as -midnight, rapidly rising into view above the horizon. Underneath, the sea -was dark and threatening. - -“There’s wind in those clouds, and plenty of it, too,” continued the -captain. “If we are caught in it we are gone deserters. Our only chance -for safety is to make the lee of that island you see ahead of us.” - -The runaways watched the clouds with a good deal of anxiety. Up to this -time the wind had been fair and the weather all they could have desired; -but now it looked as though the Storm King were about to show them what -he could do when he got into a rage. The clouds came up with startling -rapidity; the lightning began playing around their ragged edges, the -mutterings of distant thunder came to their ears, and their haven of -refuge seemed far away; but fortunately the breeze held out, and just -a few minutes before the wind changed with a roar and a rush, and the -storm burst forth in all its fury, the Sylph dropped her spare anchor in -a sheltered nook under the lee of the island, and with everything made -snug, was prepared to ride it out. The rain fell in torrents, driving -the boys below and keeping them there until long after midnight. The -wind blew as they had never heard it blow before, but the anchor held, -and shortly before daylight the thunder died away in the distance, and -finally the sun arose in unclouded splendor. The runaways were all -hungry, for they had had no supper, and as their provisions were all -exhausted, some of them began to talk of laying violent hands upon those -in the lockers. - -“There’s no need of doing that,” said Enoch, after he had taken a look -around. “All hands stand by to get ship under way. It doesn’t blow to -hurt anything, and we’ll take the back track without any delay. After a -glorious spin over these waves, we’ll stop for breakfast at the island -where we robbed our last corn-field. It’s only a few miles away, and it -will make the Sylph laugh to run down there with such a breeze as this.” - -The deserters had become accustomed to yield prompt and unquestioning -obedience to Enoch’s orders, but there were some among them who did not -at all like the idea of going out of the cove to face the white caps that -were running in the bay. If there had been any one to propose it and -to direct their movements afterward, a few of them would have refused -duty; but the majority, having confidence in Enoch’s skill and caution, -went to work to get the chain around the little windlass which served -the Sylph in lieu of a capstan, and when they shipped the handspikes, -the timid ones took hold and helped run the vessel up to her anchor. She -was got under way without difficulty, and as long as she remained behind -the island where the wind was light and the sea comparatively smooth, -she made such good weather of it that Lester Brigham and those like -him, began to take courage; and they even struck up: “Here let my home -be, in the waters wide,” to show how happy they were, and how much they -enjoyed the rapid motion. But their song ceased very suddenly when they -rounded the promontory at the foot of the island, and saw what there was -before them. In front, behind and on both sides of them were tumbling, -white-capped billows, whose tops were much higher than the schooner’s -rail, and which came rolling slowly and majestically toward them, but -with dreadful force and power. It seemed as if every one of them were -higher than its predecessor, and that nothing could save the Sylph, which -bounded onward with increased speed. - -“This is something like a sail!” shouted Enoch, who was all excitement -now. “This is what puts life into a fellow. I wish some other schooner -would show up, so that we could have a race with her. How she flies!” - -“Look out or you’ll tip us over,” whined Lester, who was holding on for -life. - -“No fear of that,” replied Enoch. “The Sylph is no ‘skimming-dish.’ She’s -deep as well as wide, and being built for safety instead of speed, I -couldn’t capsize her if I should try.” - -“There’s the boat you were wishing for,” said Jones, suddenly. “Now you -can have a race if you want it.” - -Enoch looked around, and was surprised as well as startled to see a -handsome little yacht scarcely more than a mile distant from them and -following in their wake. She was carrying an immense spread of canvas, -considering the breeze that was blowing and the sea that was running, -but that her captain was not satisfied with the speed she was making -was evident from the fact that while the deserters looked at her, they -saw a couple of her crew mount to the cross-trees to shake out the -gaff-topsails. - -“That’s the most suspicious-looking fellow we have seen yet,” remarked -Enoch, after he had taken a good look at the stranger. “He don’t crack on -in that style for nothing. Hallo! what’s the matter with you?” he added, -as Jones gave a sudden start and came very near dropping the spy-glass -which he had leveled at the yacht. - -“They’re after us, as sure as the world,” exclaimed Jones, in great -excitement. “Those fellows who are going aloft are dressed in uniform.” - -“Then we’re as good as captured,” said Enoch, spitefully. “There isn’t a -single boy in the band who can go up and loosen the topsails, or whom I -dare trust at the wheel while I do it. If I had as good a crew as he has, -I’d beat him or carry something away; but what can I do with a lot of -haymakers.” - -“There’s another boat right ahead of us,” said one of the deserters. - -Enoch was not a little astonished as well as frightened by the sight -that met his gaze when he turned his eyes from the pursuing yacht to the -boat in advance of them. He expected to find that she also was full of -students; but instead of that she was a complete wreck. Her mast had gone -by the board and was now dragging alongside, pounding the doomed yacht -with fearful violence every time a wave rose and fell beneath it. There -was no small boat to be seen, and Enoch thought at first that the sloop -had been abandoned; but when she was lifted on the crest of a billow and -he obtained a better view of her, he was horrified to discover that there -were three men and a woman lashed to the rigging. The sight was a most -unexpected one, and for a minute or two Enoch could not speak. He stood -as if he had grown fast to the deck, and then all the manhood there was -in him came to the surface. Those helpless people must be taken off that -wreck at all hazards. He looked at the pursuing yacht, and then he looked -at the sloop. The former was coming up hand over hand, but she was still -far away, and the sloop might go to the bottom at any moment. Probably -she was kept afloat by water-tight compartments. The spar that was -towing alongside would very soon smash them in, and then she would go -down like a piece of lead, being heavily ballasted and having no buoyant -cargo to sustain her. - -“Jones,” said Enoch, speaking rapidly but calmly, “you have stood by me -like a good fellow so far, and you mustn’t go back on me now. Come here -and take the wheel. I am going to save that lady or go to the bottom -while trying.” - -“Are you going off in the dory?” faltered Jones, as he laid his hands -upon the wheel. - -“Of course. There’s nothing else I can do.” - -“Then you will go to the bottom, sure enough.” - -“I can’t help it if I do,” said Enoch, desperately. “I will throw the -yacht up into the wind before I go, and all you’ve got to do is to hold -the wheel steady and keep her there till I get back—if I ever do. I say, -fellows,” he added, addressing the frightened boys who were gathered -around him, “I am going off in the dory after that lady, and I want one -of you to go with me. Who’ll volunteer?” - -The deserters were so astonished that there was no immediate response. -The dory was small, the waves were high, and it looked like certain -death to venture out among them. After a moment’s indecision one of them -stepped forward and prepared himself for the ordeal by discarding his -coat and hat and kicking off his boots. Who do you suppose it was? It was -Lester Brigham. The boy who had hidden his head under the bed-clothes -when he thought that the rioters were coming to attack the academy, now -showed, to the surprise of everybody, that he was not a coward after -all. Enoch could not have picked out an abler assistant. He was a good -oarsman, he could swim like a duck, and, better than all, his courage -never faltered when he found himself in the dory battling with the waves. -His companions, who dared not go on so perilous a mission themselves, -cheered him loudly as he stepped forward, and Enoch shook him warmly by -the hand, saying in a low tone: - -“We said we would give the academy boys something to talk about, and now -we’re going to do it.” - -The schooner ran on by the wreck, whose crew, seeing that an attempt was -to be made to rescue them, cheered faintly, but made no effort to free -themselves from their lashings. The reason was because they were utterly -exhausted, and they were afraid that if they loosed their bonds, the -first wave that broke over the sloop’s deck would carry them into the sea. - -As soon as the Sylph had been thrown up into the wind, Enoch and Lester, -whose faces were white but resolute, scrambled down into the dory, and -the struggle began. The waves tossed their little craft about like an -egg-shell, but they kept manfully on, and in ten minutes more, they -were alongside the wreck. The lady, who was insensible from fright or -exposure, was the first to be released and placed in the boat, and then -the men were taken care of, one after the other. As Enoch approached -the last one, he saw that the man carried in his arms a bundle that was -wrapped up in a blanket. He held fast to it, too, in spite of the boy’s -efforts to take it from him; but as Enoch assisted him toward the dory, a -wave, higher than the rest, knocked them both off their feet, and as the -man was hauled into the boat Enoch missed the frantic grasp he made at a -life-line, and the water rushing across the deck carried him overboard. -Close in front of him was the bundle which had slipped from the grasp -of the rescued man when he lost his footing. As the wave hurried it -across the deck toward an opening in the bulwarks the blanket fell off, -revealing to Enoch’s astonished gaze the handsome features of a little -four-year-old boy, who turned his blue eyes pleadingly toward him for -an instant, and then disappeared over the side. Enoch made a desperate -clutch at the golden curls, and when he arose to the surface, he brought -his prize with him; but he had to go down again the next moment to -escape destruction from the spar, which the next wave brought toward him -broadside on. It had been torn from its fastenings at last, but it had -done its deadly work. There was a great hole in the sloop’s side, and the -water was pouring into it. - -“I say, Lester!” shouted Enoch, as he came up on the other side of the -spar, shook the water from his face and held the boy aloft so that he -could breathe. “Get away from there.” - -“Oh, my boy!” cried one of the men in the dory, who now discovered that -he had lost the precious burden to which he had so lovingly clung through -long hours of exposure and suffering. - -“He’s all right,” shouted Enoch, encouragingly. “I’ve got a good grip on -him. Lester, I tell you to get away from there! Hold the dory head on to -the waves, and she’ll ride them without shipping a drop of water. If the -Sylph doesn’t make stem-way enough to pick you up, the other yacht will -take care of you.” - -Not knowing just how much of a swirl the sloop would make when she went -to the bottom, Enoch exerted all his powers as a swimmer to get himself -and his burden out of reach of it. He succeeded in his object, and when -the wreck had sunk out of sight and he thought it safe to do so, he swam -back to the spar and laid hold of it. Then he looked around for the dory. -She had been hauled alongside the Sylph by aid of the line that one of -the crew had been thoughtful enough to throw to her, and the sloop’s crew -were being hoisted over the rail one after the other. - -“Hard a starboard! Stand by, everybody,” shouted a voice above him. - -The pursuing yacht came gracefully up into the wind, and as the bold -swimmer was lifted on the crest of a wave strong hands grasped his arms, -and he and his prize were lifted out of the water and over the rail to -the Idlewild’s deck. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - -THE ROD AND GUN CLUB. - - -The first southward bound train that passed through Bridgeport on -the morning that Don Gordon so unexpectedly obtained a clue to the -whereabouts of the deserters, took him and all the rest of Captain Mack’s -men to Oxford. Although the young officer had full authority to act in -this way, he did not omit to drop a note into the post-office, telling -the superintendent where he had gone and what he intended to do. - -“He’ll not get it before ten o’clock,” said the captain, gleefully, “and -by that time we shall be so far away that he will not think it worth -while to recall us, or to send a teacher after us.” - -“We don’t want any teacher with us,” said Don. “We can do this work -ourselves.” - -“Of course we can; and what’s more, we’re going to. Now, keep out of -sight, all of us, and don’t go out on the platform when we stop at -the stations. We don’t want to see any despatches. We’re doing this -ourselves, and having begun it, we want to go through with it.” - -The next time the superintendent heard from Captain Mack and his men -they were at Oxford, and ready to continue the pursuit in the Idlewild, -which was lying to in the river when Mack sent the despatch. In fact he -took pains to see that everything was ready for the start before he went -near the telegraph office. He got the yacht, as he knew he would, without -the least trouble (Mr. Shelby laughed heartily when he heard what the -deserters had done, and said he wished he had thought of such a thing -when he was a boy), laid in a stock of provisions and water, and then -turned the management of affairs over to Egan, who selected his crew and -got the yacht under way. When she came abreast of the city (the berth -she usually occupied was about a mile up the river) Mack went ashore in -the dory, and after sending off his despatch, telling the superintendent -where he was and what he intended to do next, he plumed himself on having -done his full duty as a gentleman and an officer. - -“He couldn’t stop us now if he wanted to,” said Mack, as he returned -aboard and the Idlewild filled away for the bay, “for there are no -telegraph offices outside, and if we see a tug after us, we’ll hide from -her. But the superintendent can’t say that I didn’t keep him posted, can -he?” - -The pursuing vessel had a much better crew than the Sylph—of the -twenty-three boys aboard of her there were an even dozen who could go -aloft and stand their trick at the wheel—and if she had once come in -sight of the deserters, she would have overhauled them in short order; -but the trouble was to get on the track of them. There was a good deal -of territory in the bay—it was about a hundred miles long and half -as wide—and there were many good hiding-places to be found among the -numerous islands that were scattered about in it. For five days they -sailed about from point to point, but could gain no tidings of Enoch and -his crowd. The island farmers, of whom they made inquiries, declared -that Captain Mack and his squad were the only academy boys who had been -seen on the bay that summer. If the deserters had left the corn-fields -and melon-patches alone, their pursuers might not have been able to get -on their track at all; but one irate truck-gardener, whom they had -despoiled of nearly a cart-load of fine watermelons which were in prime -condition for the Oxford market, gave them the needed information, and -after that their work was easy. They traced the Sylph from island to -island, gaining on her every hour, and would have overhauled her before -the close of the day on which the storm came up, had they not been -obliged to seek a safe anchorage from the gale. - -During the night of the blow the little vessels were not more than five -miles apart. The Idlewild made the earlier start, and if the Sylph had -remained in the cove an hour longer she would have been captured there, -for it was Egan’s intention to coast along the lee-shore of that very -island. As it was, he did not catch sight of the object of his search -until she rounded the promontory and stood up the bay. Then all was -excitement on the Idlewild’s deck. - -“Hold her to it, Burgess,” said Egan to the boy at the wheel. “The -Sylph’s got the weather-gauge of us now, but we can soon gain the wind of -her. At any rate we’ll make her captain show what he’s made of. Go aloft, -a couple of you, and we’ll set the topsails.” - -“Are you going to lay us alongside of her?” asked Burgess. - -“Not in this sea,” replied Egan. “We’ll keep her company until she gets -into smooth water, and then we’ll bounce her. What do you see, Gordon?” -he added, addressing himself to Bert who was gazing steadily at something -through the glass. - -“I never saw a wreck,” replied Bert, handing the glass to Egan, “but if -that isn’t one, tossing about on the waves just ahead of the Sylph, I’d -like to know what it is.” - -Egan looked, and an exclamation indicative of the profoundest -astonishment fell from his lips. It was a wreck, sure enough, said all -the boys, as the glass was passed rapidly from hand to hand, and there -were people on it, too. Now what was to be done? - -“Stow the topsails and lay down from aloft,” commanded Egan. “We don’t -want any more canvas on her until we have taken care of those castaways.” - -Never before had the Idlewild bore so excited a party as Captain Mack -and his men were at that moment, and never had she carried a more -orderly one. There was not the slightest confusion among them. Those -who understood Egan’s hurried orders obeyed them, and those who did -not, kept out of the way. When they saw that the deserters were making -preparations to board the wreck, their admiration found vent in lusty and -long-continued cheers. - -“Who are those fellows in the dory?” Egan asked of Don, who had the -glass. “They have good pluck, I must say.” - -“One of them is Enoch Williams, and the other is——” - -Don was so utterly amazed by the discovery he had made, that he could go -no further. He wiped both ends of the glass with his handkerchief to make -sure that there was nothing on them to obscure his vision, and then he -looked again. - -“The other is Lester Brigham,” said he. - -His companions could hardly believe it. First one and then another took -the glass, and every one who gazed through it, gave utterance to some -expression of astonishment. - -“I’ll never again be in such haste to pass judgment upon a fellow,” said -Egan, after he had satisfied himself that Enoch’s companion was none -other than the boy who had faltered when his courage was first tested. “I -have been badly mistaken in both those boys. You are going to capture the -deserters, Mack, but Enoch and Lester will go back to Bridgeport with a -bigger feather in their caps than you will.” - -Captain Mack did not feel at all envious of them on that account. He and -the rest watched all their movements with the keenest solicitude, and -cheered wildly every time one of the sloop’s crew was released from his -lashings and put into the dory. When that big wave came and washed Enoch -overboard, their hearts seemed to stop beating, and every boy anxiously -asked his neighbor whether or not Enoch could swim well enough to keep -himself afloat until they could reach him. Their fears on that score were -speedily set at rest and their astonishment was greatly increased when -Egan, who held the glass, said that he could swim like a cork, that he -held a little child in his arms, and that he knew enough to get beyond -the influence of the whirlpool made by the wreck which was now going to -the bottom. - -“He’s a hero!” cried Egan, after he had shouted himself hoarse. “Look out -for that spar, Burgess! Get handspikes, some of you, and stand by to -push her off!” - -But the handspikes were not needed. Being skilfully handled the Idlewild -came up into the wind within easy reach of the spar, but never touching -it, and hung there barely a moment—just long enough to give the eager -boys who were stationed along the weather-rail, time to seize the swimmer -and haul him aboard. He was none the worse for his ducking, while his -burden lay so white and motionless in his arms that everybody thought he -was dead; but he was only badly frightened, and utterly bewildered by the -strange and unaccountable things that were going on around him. - -“Now, then, what does a fellow do in cases like this?” exclaimed Don, who -was at sea in more respects than one. - -“Take the boy below and put him to bed,” commanded Egan. “Pull off those -wet clothes, give him a good rubbing to set his blood in motion, and then -cover him up warmly and let him go to sleep. I suppose his father is -among those whom you and Lester took off the wreck?” - -“I think he is, and his mother too,” replied Enoch, who was wringing the -water out of his coat. - -“His mother!” cried Egan. - -“Yes. The first one we took off was a lady.” - -“Who are they, and where did they come from?” - -“Haven’t the shadow of an idea. I don’t know the name of their vessel, or -whether or not any of the crew were lost. The lady was insensible, and -the men were not much better off.” - -“Then we must run for a doctor!” exclaimed Mack. - -“You can’t get to one any too quick,” answered Enoch. “But first, you had -better send somebody off to take charge of that schooner. Jones is at the -wheel, and he can’t handle her in this wind.” - -Captain Mack lost no time in acting upon this suggestion. While the -Idlewild was taking up a position on the Sylph’s starboard quarter, -her small boat, which had been housed on deck, was put into the water, -half the squad, six of whom were capable of managing the schooner, -were sent off to take charge of the prize, and the majority of the -deserters were transferred to the Idlewild. Bert Gordon, who was the -only non-commissioned officer in the squad, commanded the Sylph, but -Burgess sailed her. All this work was done as soon as possible, and when -it was completed the two vessels filled away for the nearest village, -the Idlewild leading the way. During the run the deserters fraternized -with their captors, and many interesting and amusing stories of the -cruise were told on both sides. The former were treated as honored guests -instead of prisoners, and Mack and his men praised them without stint. - -“We’re all right, fellows,” said Jones, when he had opportunity to -exchange a word with Lester and Enoch in private. “The superintendent -won’t say anything to us. He can’t after what we have done.” - -“But we didn’t all do as well as Enoch did,” said Lester. - -“I know that. He will receive the lion’s share of the honors, but the -rest of us did the best we could, and if one is let off scot free, the -others must be let off too. Those people would have gone to the bottom -with their yacht if we hadn’t sighted them just as we did; and by -rescuing them we have made ample amends for our misdeeds.” - -All the deserters seemed to be of the same opinion, and the boys who, but -a short time before, would have shrunk from meeting the gaze of their -teachers, now looked forward to their return to camp with the liveliest -anticipations of pleasure. There was one thing they all regretted, now -that the fun was over, and that was, that the confiding Coleman had lost -his situation through them. They resolved, if they could gain the ear of -the Sylph’s owner, to make an effort to have him reinstated. Fortunately -for Coleman, this proved to be an easy thing to do. - -It was twenty miles to the nearest village, but the fleet little vessels, -aided by the brisk wind that was blowing, covered the distance in quick -time. The moment the Sylph came within jumping distance of the wharf, -one of her crew sprang ashore and started post-haste for a doctor, and -shortly afterward Burgess and another of Bert’s men boarded the Idlewild. - -“The lady is coming around all right and wants to see her boy,” said the -former. - -The little fellow was fast asleep in one of the bunks, and his clothes -were drying in the galley; so Burgess picked him up, blankets and all, -and carried him off to his mother, while his companion lingered to give -Captain Mack some account of the rescued people who, he said, were able -to talk now, but too weak to sit up. They were from Newport, and they -were all relations of Mr. Packard, the Sylph’s owner. The owner and -captain of the lost sloop was Mr. Packard’s brother, and the little boy -was his nephew. The lady was the captain’s wife. They had been out in -all that storm, and after the men had worked at the pumps until their -strength failed them, they had lashed themselves to the rigging in the -hope that their disabled craft would remain afloat until the waves could -carry her ashore. - -“But she wouldn’t have gone ashore,” said Egan. “She would have missed -the island and been carried out to sea if she had stayed above water.” - -“They know that,” said the student, “and they know, too, that they owe -their lives to the Sylph, for they would have gone down before the -Idlewild could have reached them. They feel very grateful toward the -dory’s crew, and Mr. Packard says he will never forget the gallant fellow -who saved his boy’s life at the risk of his own.” - -These words were very comforting to the deserters. The owner of the -Sylph was one of the prominent men of Bridgeport, and it was not at all -likely that he would neglect to use his influence with the superintendent -in behalf of the boys who had saved his relatives from a watery grave. -Lester Brigham could hardly contain himself. He had won a reputation at -last, and the hated Gordons were nowhere. He believed now that he would -stay at the academy, and Enoch, Jones and the rest of them had about come -to the same conclusion. They all wanted warrants and commissions, and who -could tell but that their recent exploit would give them the favor of the -teachers, who would see that their desires were gratified? - -At daylight the next morning Bert Gordon sent word to Captain Mack that -the doctor thought his patients were now able to continue the journey -to Bridgeport. No time was lost in getting under way, and at dark they -were in Oxford. The Idlewild was turned over to her owner in just as good -condition as she was when she left port, and Captain Mack, after seeing -the rescued people to a hotel, at which they intended to remain for a -day or two in order to obtain the rest they so much needed, and sending -despatches to the superintendent and Mr. Packard, took the first train -for Bridgeport with the deserters and the main body of his men, leaving -Bert, Egan, and six others to bring the Sylph up the river. Before she -was hauled into her berth the camp had been broken, the students had -marched back to the academy, and the examination was going on as if -nothing had happened during the term to draw the students’ attention -from their books. Mr. Packard had responded to Captain Mack’s telegram -by going down to Oxford and bringing his relatives back with him, and -the townspeople were almost as highly excited over what the deserters -had done, as they were when they learned that an academy company had put -down the Hamilton riot. There were some among them who declared that -Enoch and Lester ought to be promoted; but the superintendent was of a -different opinion. He admired their courage, but he could not lose sight -of the fact that in stealing a private yacht and running off in her, -they had done something for which they ought to be expelled from the -academy. In fact that was the sentence that was passed upon them by the -court-martial; but the superintendent set it aside, as everybody knew he -would, and commuted their punishment to deprivation of standing and loss -of every credit mark they had earned during the year, thus destroying -their last chance for promotion. - -The examination came to a close in due time, and the result astonished -everybody. Don Gordon made the longest jump on record, springing from the -ranks to a position “twelve yards in the rear of the file-closers, and -opposite the centre of the left wing” of the battalion. In other words, -he became major; Bert was made a first-lieutenant, and Sam Arkwright, -the New York boot-black, was promoted to a second-lieutenancy. This -was enough to disgust Lester and Enoch, and not even the satisfaction -they felt at being invited to dinner and made much of at Mr. Packard’s -residence, could make them good-natured again. Forgetting that the -position a boy occupied in that academy was determined by his standing -as a student and a soldier, and not by any acts of heroism he might -perform while on a runaway expedition, they laid Don’s rapid promotion to -favoritism, and threatened him and the teachers accordingly. As for Don, -who had simply tried to behave himself, hoping for no higher round than -a lieutenant’s commission, he was fairly stunned; and as soon as he had -somewhat recovered himself, his first thought was to enjoin secrecy upon -his brother. - -“Don’t lisp a word of this in your letters to mother,” said he. “Tell her -that the result of the examination is perfectly satisfactory to both of -us, and let her be content with that until she sees our shoulder-straps.” - -Lester Brigham pursued an entirely different course. The papers were -full of the exploit the deserters had performed on the bay, and whenever -he found an article relating to it that was particularly flattering to -his vanity, he cut it out and sent it to his father. He wanted him and -everybody else about Rochdale to know what a brave boy he was. - -The examination over, two parties of students left the academy and -started off to enjoy their vacation in their own way, Lester and his -friends heading for Mississippi, and Curtis and _his_ friends striking -for the wilds of Maine. The latter had long ago sent for their guns, -which arrived during their first week in camp. Bert, whose highest -ambition was to bag a brace or two of ruffed grouse, carried his little -fowling-piece; Don, who had an eye on the moose and caribou which, -so Curtis told him, were still to be found on the hunting-grounds he -intended to show them, had sent for his muzzle-loading rifle; while Egan -and Hopkins were armed with the same ponderous weapons with which they -had worked such havoc among the ducks and quails about Diamond Lake. To -these outfits were added fly-rods, reels and baskets which they purchased -in Boston, Curtis making their selections for them. The Southern boys -were astonished when they handled the neat implements that were passed -out for their inspection. - -“I don’t want this pole,” said Don, who was holding an elegant -split-bamboo off at arm’s length. “It’s too limber. It isn’t strong -enough to land a minnow.” - -“That isn’t a pole; it’s a rod,” said Curtis. “Of course it is very light -and elastic, and you couldn’t throw a fly with it if it were not; but -it’s strong enough to land any fish you are likely to catch in Maine. -I suppose you have been in the habit of yanking your fish out by main -strength, haven’t you? Well, that’s no way to do. You’d better take it -if you want to see fun.” - -Don took it accordingly, though not without many misgivings, and the -other boys also paid for the rods that Curtis selected for them, carrying -them out of the store as gingerly as though they had been made of glass. -But there proved to be any amount of strength and durability in those -same frail-looking rods, and their owners caught many a fine string of -trout with them before the season closed. - -Their journey from Boston to Dalton, which was the name of the little -town in which Curtis lived, was a pleasant though an uneventful one. -The last fifty miles were made by stage-coach—a new way of traveling to -the Southern boys, who, of course, wanted to ride on the top. About ten -o’clock at night the stage drove into the village, and after stopping at -the post-office to leave the mail, and at the principal hotels to drop -some of its passengers, it kept on to Curtis’s home. Late as the hour -was, they found the house filled with boys who had gathered there to -welcome their friend who had been in a real battle since they last saw -him, and to extend a cordial greeting to the comrades he had brought -with him. They were introduced to the new-comers, one after the other, -as members of _The Rod and Gun Club_, which, according to Curtis’s way -of thinking, could boast of more skillful fishermen, and finer marksmen, -both at the trap and on the range, than any other organization of like -character in the State. There were nearly a score of them in all, and -they seemed to be a jolly lot of fellows. Some of them had performed -feats with the rod and gun that were worth boasting of, and as fast as -Curtis found opportunity to do so, he pointed them out to his guests, and -told what they had done to make themselves famous. That tall, slender, -blue-eyed boy who stood over there in the corner, talking to Mr. Curtis, -had won the club medal by breaking a hundred glass-balls in succession, -when thrown from a revolving trap. He was ready to shoot against any boy -in the country at single or double rises, and Curtis was going to try to -induce Don Gordon to consent to a friendly trial of skill with him. That -fellow over there on the sofa, who looked enough like Hopkins to be his -brother, was the champion fisherman. He had been up in Canada with his -father, and during the sixteen days he was there, he had caught more -than eight hundred pounds of fish with one rod. They were all salmon. One -of them weighed thirty-two pounds, and it took the young fisherman fifty -minutes to bring him within reach of the gaff. The boy who was talking -with Don Gordon was a rifle shot. He could shoot ten balls into the same -hole at forty yards off-hand, and think nothing of it. - -“I’ll just tell you what’s a fact,” said Egan, when he and the rest were -getting ready to go to bed,“we’ve fallen among a lot of experts, and if -we intend to keep up the good name of our section of the United States -we’ve got to do some good work.” - -The other boys thought so too, but they did not lose any sleep on account -of it. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII. - -CASTING THE FLY. - - -“Now, Curtis, bring on your moose.” - -“Don’t be in a hurry. You don’t want to crowd all your sport into the -first day, do you?” - -“By no means. I expect to get a moose every day.” - -“You mustn’t do it. It’s unlawful for one person to kill more than one -moose, two caribou, and three deer in one season.” - -“I wouldn’t live in such a stingy State.” - -“You may have to some day. Wait until Mississippi has been overrun with -greedy hunters, calling themselves sportsmen, from every part of the -Union, as Maine has, and see if your lawmakers do not wake up to the -necessity of protecting the little game they will leave you. If those -pot-hunters were let alone, there wouldn’t be anything for a fellow to -shoot after a while. Our laws are strict.” - -“Are they always obeyed?” - -“Of course not. Last winter a party of Indians camped on the headwaters -of the Brokenstraw, and killed nearly a hundred moose. When the -game-constables got after them, they ran over to Canada. But the worst -destroyers of game are the city sportsmen. They shoot at everything that -comes within range of their guns, throw away the trout they can’t eat, -and the money they pay for food and guides doesn’t begin to cover the -damage they do.” - -It was a pleasant scene that was spread out before the gaze of Don Gordon -and Walter Curtis on that bright September morning. They stood upon the -brink of a high bluff jutting out into one of the Seven Ponds, which, at -that day, were not as widely known among the class of men whom Walter had -just been denouncing as they are at the present time. There was a hotel -at the lower pond, but it was patronized only by adventurous sportsmen -who, as a rule, lived up to the law, and took no more fish and game than -they could dispose of. The men who are willing to endure almost any -hardship, who brave all sorts of weather and the miseries of “buck-board” -traveling over corduroy roads, for the sake of spending a quiet month in -the woods, are not the ones who boast of the number of fish they catch -or the amount of game they kill. A hard fight with a three-pound trout, -or a single deer brought down after a week’s arduous hunting, affords -them more gratification than they would find in a whole creelful of -“finger-lings,” or a cart-load of venison killed on the runways. - -The boys were in the midst of an almost unbroken wilderness. On their -right a noble forest, known only to the hardy lumberman and a few hunters -and trappers, stretched away to the confines of Canada. In front was -the pond (it was larger than Diamond Lake, whose sluggish waters had -once floated a fleet of Union gunboats), and from the glade below them -on their left arose the smoke of the fire over which some of their -companions were cooking a late breakfast. A deep silence brooded over the -woods, broken only by an occasional splash made by a trout as he arose to -the surface of the pond to seize some unwary insect, and snatches of a -plantation melody from Hopkins, who sang as he superintended the frying -of the bacon: - - “Big fish flutter when he done cotch de cricket; - Bullfrog libely when he singin’ in de thicket; - Mule get slicker when de plantin’ time ober; - Colt mighty gaily when you turn him in de clover; - An’ it come mighty handy to de nigger man nater - When he soppin’ in de gravy wid a big yam ’tater!” - -The Southern boys had spent just three days in Dalton, enjoying as much -sport as could be crowded into that short space of time. Everybody -showed them much attention, and the fathers and mothers of the other -members of the club vied with Mr. and Mrs. Curtis in their offers of -hospitality. The guests were elected honorary members of the club, and -hunting and fishing parties were the order of the day. Don caught his -first brook-trout with the little rod whose strength he so much doubted. -Bert knocked over a brace or two of ruffed grouse, and one of the club, -having heard the visitors say that they didn’t know what a corn-husking -was, found a farmer who had some of last year’s crop on hand, and got -up one for their especial benefit. There was a large party of people, -young and old, assembled in the barn in which the husking was done, and -the Southerners, who were not at all bashful or afraid of pretty girls, -had any amount of fun over the red ears of which there seemed to be -an abundant supply. On Saturday there was glass-ball shooting on the -grounds of the club in the presence of invited guests, and although Don -Gordon did not succeed in beating the champion, he did some shooting with -the rifle that made the club open their eyes. Using Curtis’s Stevens -he broke all the spots out of the eight of clubs in eight consecutive -shots, shooting off-hand at the distance of fifty feet and using the -open sights. This was a feat that no one on the grounds had ever seen -accomplished before. Even Curtis, who was the best marksman in the club, -couldn’t do it, but he declared he would before he went back to the -academy again. - -“I tell you plainly that you’ve got a task before you,” said Don. “The -best published record is five spots in five shots, using peep sights. -This is the best use that can be made of playing cards. I always keep a -pack of them on hand, for they are the best kind of targets.” - -And that is all they are good for. If every pack of cards in the world -could be shot to pieces as Don’s were, there would be less swindling -going on, and we should not see so much misery around us. - -Don and his friends made so many agreeable acquaintances in Dalton and -so thoroughly enjoyed themselves among them, that they would have been -content to pass the whole of their month there; but Curtis would not hear -of it. There were only ten days more in September, he said; it would take -three of them to reach their camping grounds, and if they desired to see -any of the hunting and fishing that were to be found in Maine, they must -start at once, for their fine fly-rods would be useless to them after the -first of October. The day which closed the time for trout-fishing, opened -the season for moose-hunting. If Don had revealed all that was passing in -his mind, he would have said that he didn’t care a snap for hunting or -fishing either. He had seen a pair of blue eyes and some golden ringlets -whose fair owner gazed admiringly at the shoulder-straps he had so -worthily won, and who interested him more than all the trout that ever -swam or any lordly moose that ever roamed the forests. But he started -for the camping-ground when the others did, submitted as patiently as -he could to the jolting he was subjected to on the corduroy roads, and -wondered what the girl he left behind him would think if she could see -him now, dressed in a hunting suit that was decidedly the worse for the -hard service it had seen, and wearing a pair of heavy boots, thickly -coated with grease, and a slouch hat that had once been gray, but which -had been turned to a dingy yellow by the smoke and heat of innumerable -camp fires. - -Their party had been increased by the addition of five of the members -of the rod and gun club, but the lodge which Curtis and some of his -friends had erected on the shore of one of the Seven Ponds, and which was -modeled after Don Gordon’s shooting-box, was large enough to accommodate -them all. It took four wagons to transport them and their luggage to -the lodge, at which they arrived on the evening of the third day after -leaving Dalton. They were too tired to do much that night, but they were -up at the first peep of day, and after their luggage had been transferred -from the wagons to the lodge, the beds made up in the bunks, the guns -and fishing-rods hung upon the hooks that had been fastened to the walls -on purpose to receive them, the canoes put into the water (they had -brought three of these handy little crafts with them), a blaze started -in the fire-place, the chest that contained their folding-table and -camp-chairs unpacked—when these things had been done, the little rustic -house, which was a marvel in its way, being constructed of poles instead -of boards, began to assume an air of domesticity. The teamsters who -brought them to the pond took a hasty bite and departed, leaving the club -to themselves. There was no patient, painstaking old cuff with them to -cook their meals and act as camp-keeper, and so the young hunters had -to do their own work. The first morning the lot fell upon Hopkins and -two of the Dalton boys who straightway began preparations for breakfast, -while the rest strolled out to look about them, Don and Curtis bringing -up on the edge of the bluff where we found them at the beginning of this -chapter. - - “Lean hoss nicker when de punkin’-vine spreadin’; - Rabbit back his ear when de cabbage-stalk bendin’; - Big owl jolly when de little bird singin’; - ’Possum’s gwine to climb whar de ripe ’simmons swingin’; - Nigger mighty happy, ef he aint wuf a dollah, - When he startin’ out a courtin’ wid a tall standin’ collah!” - -sang Hopkins, as he stood in the door of the lodge; and when he shouted -out the last line he shook his head at Don in a way that made the -latter’s face turn as red as a beet. Hopkins evidently knew where Don’s -thoughts were. - -“Come down from there, you two,” he exclaimed. “The bacon is done cooked.” - -The cool, invigorating morning air, laden as it was with the -health-giving odors of the balsam and the pine, had bestowed upon the -boys an appetite that would not permit them to disregard this invitation. -They hastened down the bluff, and when they entered the lodge, they -found the cooks putting breakfast on the table. They sat down with the -rest, and while they ate, Curtis, who was the acknowledged leader of the -party, laid out a programme for the day. There were three canoes which -would accommodate two boys each (they could be made to carry four, but -with so many in them there would not be much elbow-room for those who -wanted to fish) and two Falstaffs to be provided for. One of them was -Hopkins and the other was Hutton, the boy who caught the big salmon -in Canada. He would have to go, of course, for he knew all the best -places in the pond, and he was certain to bring luck to the boy who went -with him. Curtis thought he and Bert would look well together, while -Hopkins and Farwell—the latter a light-weight Dalton boy and a clever -fly-fisher—would make another good team. Don and Egan could have the -other canoe to themselves. - -“But we don’t know where to go or what to do,” said Egan. “You go in my -place, and let me stay behind as one of the camp-keepers.” - -“_I_ am laying out this programme,” replied Curtis, speaking in the -pompous tone that Professor Odenheimer always assumed when he wanted to -say something impressive. - -“I know it, but I can’t be of any use to them,” continued Egan. “Some -rioter, on the evening of the 23d of last July, put it out of my power to -handle a paddle or a rod for some time to come.” - -As Egan said this he held up his bandaged hand. His injuries were by no -means so serious as everybody thought they were going to be, but still -the wounded member was not of much use to him. When he found that he was -to be one of Mack’s squad, he frankly told the young officer that he -could not help him; but Mack would have taken him if he had no hands at -all, for he was fond of his company. He was afterward glad that he did -take him, for no one could have handled the Idlewild during the pursuit -with greater skill than Egan did. If they had had much walking to do -Hopkins’ weak ankle would have given out; but he did full duty as a -foremast hand, and proved to be of as much use as anybody. - -“We don’t expect you to do any work,” said Curtis. “Let Don work, and you -sit by and see the fun. Either one of the other boats will lead you to a -good fishing-ground. Then all Don will have to do will be to watch Hutton -or Farwell and do just as he does, and he’ll be sure to get a rise; but -whether or not he will catch a trout I can’t say.” - -Breakfast being over the boys paired off as Curtis had instructed, -launched the canoes and paddled away, Bert and his fat mentor, Hutton, -going toward the lower end of the pond, and the others turning toward -the upper end. The fish were breaking water on all sides of them, but -Farwell did not stop until he and Hopkins had run their canoe into a -little cove at the further end of the pond, which was fed by clear cold -streams that came down from the hills. - -“In warm weather this is the best fishing-ground I know of,” said he, as -he beckoned Don to come alongside, “and I don’t think it is too late in -the season to have a little fun here now. You see, trout like cold water, -and they find plenty of it here. Now, Gordon, if you will let me see your -fly-book, I will make a selection for you while you are putting your rod -together.” - -Don handed over the book which contained about three dozen flies that -Curtis had picked out for him in Boston. He did not know the name of a -single one of them, but Farwell did, and after running his eye over them -he said that Don had a very good assortment. - -“As it is broad daylight we want small flies,” Farwell remarked. “The sun -doesn’t shine very brightly, and neither is it entirely obscured by the -clouds—the weather is rather betwixt and between; so we will take a gaudy -fly, like this scarlet ibis, for a stretcher, and a white miller for the -other. Then the trout can take their choice. Now, where’s your leader—a -cream-colored one. Bright and glistening ones are apt to scare the fish, -and they generally fail when the pinch comes. It’s very provoking to have -your leader break just about the time you are ready to slip your dip-net -under a trout you have worked hard for. I hold that two flies on one -line are enough. They are sometimes more than a novice wants to manage, -especially when he catches a weed or a root with one hook and a trout -with the other, or when two heavy fish take his flies at the same instant -and run off in different directions. Three hooks on a line are allowable -only when you are out of grub, and the trout don’t run over fifty to the -pound. But then we don’t catch such fish in these ponds.” - -The Southerners listened with all their ears and closely watched Farwell, -who, while he was talking, deftly fastened the flies he had selected -upon the leader, bent the leader on to the line, and was about to pass -the fully equipped rod back to its owner, when a large trout shot out of -the water about fifty feet away, giving them a momentary glimpse of his -gleaming sides before he fell back into his native element. Don withdrew -the hand he had extended for the rod and looked at Farwell. - -“Shall I take him for you and show you how it is done?” asked the latter. - -“Yes,” answered all the boys, at once. - -“Well, in order to do it, I shall have to throw the flies right over that -swirl. What are you going to do with that paddle, Hopkins?” - -“I was going to pull the canoe up nearer,” replied the latter. - -“I don’t care to go any nearer.” - -“Why, you can’t reach him from here,” said Egan. - -“And if you hook him he will break the rod into a thousand pieces,” -chimed in Don. “I know I made a mistake when I bought that flimsy little -thing.” - -Farwell smiled but said nothing. Grasping the rod in his right hand -above the reel he drew off as much line as he thought he needed, and -then threw the flexible tip smartly upward and backward, causing the -flies to describe a circle around his head. One would have thought from -his actions that he was going to strike the water with the rod, but he -didn’t. When the rod reached a horizontal position it stopped there, but -the flies had received an impetus that carried them onward almost to the -edge of the weeds, and landed them on the water as lightly as a feather -and right in the center of the swirl. It was neatly and gracefully -done; but before Don and his companions could express their delight and -admiration, the scarlet ibis suddenly disappeared, the line was drawn as -tight as a bow-string and the pliant rod was bent almost half double. -Farwell had hooked his fish, and now the fun began. - -The trout fought hard but he did not break the rod as Don had predicted, -and neither did the boy with whom he was battling show half as much -excitement as did the others who sat by and watched the contest. They -had never dreamed that there was so much sport in fishing, and there -wasn’t in the way they generally fished, with a heavy pole and a line -strong enough to jerk their prize from the water the moment he was -hooked. Don, as we have said, had caught a few trout in the brooks about -Dalton, but he had not done it in any such scientific way as this. Being -distrustful of his rod he had seized the line and lifted the fish out -by main strength—a most unsportsmanlike thing to do. He closely observed -all Farwell’s movements, and when at last the exhausted trout was dipped -out of the water with the landing-net and deposited in the bottom of the -canoe, he thought he had made himself master of the art of fly-fishing. -But when he came to try casting he found he was mistaken. His flies went -almost everywhere except in the direction he desired to throw them, and -annoyed him by catching in his coat-tail when he tried to throw them over -his head; but after patient and careful practice in making short casts -he finally “got the hang of the thing,” as he expressed it, and after -that he did better. The string of fish he took back to the lodge with him -at noon was not a very large one, but the few he caught afforded him an -abundance of sport, and that was just what he wanted. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII. - -CONCLUSION. - - -Having gained a little insight into the art of casting the fly, Don -and his friends became eager and enthusiastic fishermen. They were on -the pond almost all the time, and as they tried hard to follow the -instructions that were willingly and patiently given them, and would not -allow themselves to become discouraged by their numerous blunders and -failures, they finally became quite expert with their light tackle. They -wound up the season with a glorious catch, and then oiled their rods and -put them into their cases with many sighs of regret. - -“Never mind,” said Curtis, soothingly. “There’s no loss without some -gain, and now we will turn our attention to bigger things than speckled -trout. To-night we will try this.” - -As he spoke, he took from a chest something that looked like a -dark-lantern with a leather helmet fastened to the bottom of it. And -that was just what it was. When Curtis put the helmet on his head, the -lantern stood straight up on top of it. - -“This is a jack,” said he, “and it is used in fire-hunting. As soon as -it grows dark some of us will get into a canoe and paddle quietly around -the pond just outside of the lilies and grass. The fellow who is to do -the shooting will wear this jack on his head. It will be lighted, but -the slide will be turned in front of it, making it dark. When he hears a -splashing in the water close in front of him he will turn on the light by -throwing back the slide, and if he makes no noise about it and is quick -with his gun, he will get a deer, and we shall have venison to take the -place of the trout.” - -This was something entirely new to the Southerners, who carefully -examined the jack and listened with much interest while Curtis and his -friends told stories of their experience and exploits in fire-hunting. -Deer were so abundant about Rochdale that those who hunted them were -not obliged to resort to devices of this kind, and in Maryland, where -Hopkins lived, they were followed with hounds and shot on the runways. -Egan had never hunted deer. He devoted all his spare time to canvas-backs -and red-heads. They spent the forenoon in talking of their adventures, -and after dinner Bert and Hutton, who had become inseparable companions, -strolled off with their double-barrels in search of grouse, and Curtis -and Don pushed off in one of the canoes to make a voyage of discovery to -the upper pond; the former, for the first time, taking his rifle with -him. He was afterward glad that he had done so, for he made a shot before -he came back that gave him something to talk about and feel good over all -the rest of the year. - -Don and his companion paddled leisurely along until they reached the -upper end of the pond, and then the canoe was turned into the weeds, -through which it was forced into a wide and deep brook communicating with -another pond that lay a few miles deeper in the forest. Curtis said there -was fine trapping along the banks of the brook, adding that if Don and -Bert would stay and take a Thanksgiving dinner with him, as he wanted -them to do, they would put out a “saple line.” - -“What’s that?” asked Don. - -“Nothing but a lot of traps,” replied Curtis. “When a man starts out to -see what he has caught, he says he is going to make the rounds of his -saple line. There are lots of mink, marten and muskrats about here, and -now and then one can catch a beaver or an otter; but he’s not always sure -of getting him if he does catch him, for it’s an even chance if some -prowling luciver doesn’t happen along and eat him up.” - -“What’s a luciver?” inquired Don. - -“It’s the meanest animal we have about here, and is as cordially hated by -our local trappers as the wolverine is by the trappers in the west. It’s -a lynx. A full-grown one would scare you if you should happen to come -suddenly upon him in the woods; and after you had killed him and taken -his hide off you would feel ashamed of yourself, for you would find him -to be about half as large as you thought he was. They don’t average over -thirty or forty pounds—one weighing fifty would be a whopper—but they’re -ugly, and would just as soon pitch into a fellow as not. I have heard -some remarkable stories——” - -Curtis did not finish the sentence. He stopped suddenly, looked hard at -the bushes ahead of him, listening intently all the while, and finally -he drew his paddle out of the water and gently poked Don in the back -with the blade. When Don faced about to see what he wanted, Curtis laid -his finger upon his lips, at the same time slowly and silently turning -the bow of the canoe toward the nearest bank. Just then Don heard twigs -snapping in front of him, the sound being followed by a slight splashing -in the water as if some heavy animal were walking cautiously through -it. His lips framed the question: “What is it?” and Curtis’s silent but -unmistakable reply was: “Moose!” - -For the first and only time in his life Don Gordon had an attack of -the “buck-ague.” His nerves, usually so firm and steady, thrilled with -excitement, and his hand trembled as he laid down his paddle and picked -up his rifle. He had not yet obtained the smallest glimpse of the animal, -but his ears told him pretty nearly where he was. - -As soon as he had placed his rifle in position for a shot, Curtis gave -one swift, noiseless stroke with his paddle, sending the canoe away from -the bank again, and up the stream, Don trying hard to peer through -the bushes, and turning his body at all sorts of angles in the hope of -obtaining a view of the quarry; but the alders were thick, and he could -not see a dozen yards in advance of him, until Curtis brought him to a -place where the bank was comparatively clear, and then Don discovered -something through a little opening in the thicket. He raised his hand, -and the canoe stopped. - -“That thing can’t be a moose,” thought Don, rubbing his eyes and looking -again. “It’s too big, and besides it’s black.” - -In twisting about on his seat to obtain a clearer view of the huge -creature, whatever it was, Don accidentally touched the paddle, the -handle of which slipped off the thwart and fell to the bottom of the -canoe. The effect was magical. In an instant the dark, sleek body at -which Don had been gazing through the opening in the bushes gave place to -an immense head, crowned with enormous ears and wide-spreading palmated -antlers, and a pair of gleaming eyes which seemed to be glaring straight -at him. It was a savage looking head, taken altogether, but Don never -took his gaze from it as his rifle rose slowly to his shoulder. He -looked through the sights for an instant, covering one of the eyes with -the front bead, and pressed the trigger. The rifle cracked and so did the -bushes, as the animal launched itself through them toward the bank with -one convulsive spring. Their tops were violently agitated for a moment, -then all was still, and Don turned about and looked at Curtis. - -“You’ve got him,” said the latter, dipping his paddle into the water and -sending the canoe ahead again. - -“I’ve got something,” replied Don, “but it can’t be a moose.” - -“What is it, then?” - -“I think it is an elephant.” - -Curtis laughed until the woods echoed. - -“I don’t care,” said Don, doggedly. “He’s got an elephant’s ears.” - -“Do an elephant’s ears stick straight out from his head, and does he -carry horns?” demanded Curtis, as soon as he could speak. “Elephants -don’t run wild in this country—at least I never heard of any being seen -about here. It’s a moose, easy enough. I saw his horns through the -alders, and I tell you they are beauties. If you were a taxidermist now, -you could provide an ornament for your father’s hall or dining-room that -would be worth looking at.” - -It was a moose, sure enough, as the boys found when they paddled around -the bushes and landed on the bank above them. There he lay, shot through -the brain, and looking larger than he did when he was alive. His shape -was clumsy and uncouth, but his agility must have been something -wonderful; his expiring effort certainly was. He lay fully six feet from -the bank, which was about five feet in height. The place where he had -been feeding, which was pointed out to the boys by the muddy water and by -the trampled lilies and pickerel grass, was thirty feet from the foot of -the bank; so the moose, with a ball in his brain, must have cleared at -least thirty-six feet at one jump. His long, slender legs did not look -as though they were strong enough to support so ponderous a body, to say -nothing of sending it through the air in that fashion. - -“Do you know that I was afraid of him?” said Don, after he had feasted -his eyes upon his prize and entered in his note-book some measurements he -had made. “When he was staring at me through those bushes, I thought I -had never seen so savage a looking beast in all my life.” - -“He was savage, and you had good reason to be afraid of him,” answered -Curtis, quickly. “If you had wounded him he would have trampled us out of -sight in the brook before we knew what hurt us. When his horns are in the -velvet the moose is a timid and retiring animal; but after his antlers -are fully grown, and he has sharpened and polished them by constant -rubbing against the trees, he loses his fear of man and everything else, -and would rather fight than eat. Now you would like to have Bert and the -rest see him, I suppose. Well, if you will stay here and watch him, I -will go down and bring them up. We’ll camp here to-night, for we shall -have to cut the moose up before we can take him away. He’s heavy, and -weighs close to seven or eight hundred pounds.” - -Don agreeing to this proposition, Curtis stepped into the canoe and -paddled toward the pond, not forgetting to leave the axe they had brought -with them so that his companion could start a fire and build a shanty -during his absence. But Don was in no hurry to go to work. He was so -highly elated at his success that he could not bring his mind down -to anything. For a long time he sat on the ground beside the moose, -wondering at his gigantic proportions and verifying the measurements he -had taken, and it was not until he heard voices in the brook below him -that he jumped to his feet and caught up the axe. He had a cheerful fire -going when his friends arrived, but there were no signs of a shanty. - -“Look here,” shouted Bert, as he drew his canoe broadside to the bank. -“You were good, enough to keep your moose until we could have a look at -him, and so I brought my trophies along. You needn’t think you are the -only one who has gained honors to-day. What do you think of _that_?” - -As Bert said this, he and Hutton lifted a queer looking animal from the -bottom of the canoe and threw it upon the bank. It was about as large -as an ordinary dog, rather short and strongly built, with sharp, tufted -ears and feet that were thickly padded with fur. Its claws were long and -sharp, and so were the teeth that could be seen under its upraised lip. -Its back was slightly arched, and as it lay there on the bank it looked -a good deal like an overgrown cat that was about to go into battle. Don -had never seen anything like it before. - -“What in the world is it?” he exclaimed. - -“That’s just the question I asked myself when I stumbled on him and his -mate a little while ago,” said Bert. “It’s a luciver.” - -“Here’s the other,” cried Curtis; and a second lynx, somewhat smaller -than the first, was tossed ashore. “It’s the greatest wonder to me that -they didn’t make mince-meat of Bert, and I believe they would have done -it if he hadn’t been so handy with that pop-gun of his.” - -“Well, that pop-gun had proved itself to be a pretty good shooter,” -returned Bert, complacently. “You see, Don, I was beating a coppice in -which Hutton told me I would be likely to flush a grouse or two, and -Hutton himself was on the other side of the ridge. All on a sudden I felt -a thrill run all through me, and there right in front of me, and not more -than ten feet away, was this big lynx. Of course he heard me coming, but -as he was making a meal off a grouse he had just killed, he didn’t want -to leave it. He humped up his back, spread out his claws, showed his -teeth and _spit_ just like a cat; and believing that he was going to -jump at me, I knocked him over, giving him a charge of number eight shot -full in the face. It killed him so dead that he never stirred out of his -tracks, but he looked so ugly that I was afraid to approach him. While I -was thinking about it, I happened to cast my eyes a little to the right, -and there was his mate looking at me over a log. I gave him the other -barrel, and he came for me.” - -“Good gracious!” exclaimed Don, looking first at his brother’s slender -figure and then at the dead luciver’s strong teeth and claws. Bert was -too frail to make much of a fight against such weapons as those. - -“But the luciver didn’t get him,” chimed in Hutton, “although he made -things lively for him for a little while. I heard the rumpus, and knowing -that Bert had got into trouble, I ran over the ridge to take a hand in -it. When I got into the thicket there was Bert, making good time around -trees, over logs and behind stumps, and the luciver was close at his -heels, following him by scent and hearing, as I afterward learned, and -not by sight, for Bert’s shot had blinded him. While I was watching for -a chance to fire at him, Bert, who was trying his best to load his gun as -he ran, managed to shove in a cartridge, and after that the matter was -quickly settled.” - -“Don got the moose, but I had the excitement,” added Bert. - -The young hunters ate a hearty supper that night, but they slept well -after it, for they did not go to bed till they had cut up the moose, -and hung the quarters out of reach of any prowling lucivu that might -happen to come that way. The habits of this animal and those of the -moose afforded them topics for conversation long after they sought their -blankets, and the sun arose before they did. - -Stowing the heavy carcass in their cranky little canoes and transporting -it to the lodge occupied the better portion of the day, but they were -not too tired to await the return of the fire-hunters, who set out at -dark in quest of deer. They returned at midnight and reported that they -had “shone the eyes” of two which they could have shot if they had been -so disposed; but being sportsmen instead of butchers they could not see -any sense in shooting game they could not use. About the time they -began to look for the teamsters, who had been engaged to return on a -certain day and carry them and their luggage back to Dalton, they would -begin fire-hunting in earnest, and procure a supply of venison for the -club-dinner, which was to be eaten before the Southern boys went home. - -The days passed rapidly, and every one brought with it some agreeable -occupation. Curtis and the other Dalton boys took care to see that the -time did not hang heavily upon the hands of the guests, and were always -thinking up something new for them. The teamsters came as they promised, -and found four fine deer waiting for them. The next morning the wagons -were loaded, the foremost one being crowned by the antlers of Don’s -moose, to show the people along the road that one of their number had -gained renown while they had been in the woods, and the homeward journey -was begun. - -If time would permit we might tell of some interesting incidents that -happened in connection with the club dinner, which came off on the -evening of the last day that Don and his companions spent in Dalton. To -quote from some of the boys who sat down to it, “the spread was fine,” -so were the toasts, speeches and songs, and Don Gordon had abundant -opportunity to talk to the owner of the eyes and the curls that had -haunted him every day of the long month he spent at the lodge. He would -have been glad to stay in Dalton always. He said he was coming back, but -the excuse he gave was that he wanted another trial at glass-balls with -the champion. Perhaps his friends believed that that was his only reason -for desiring to return, and perhaps they didn’t. At any rate they looked -very wise, and exchanged many a significant wink with one another. - -“Good by, boys,” said Egan, when the stage-coach drew up in front of Mr. -Curtis’s door the next morning. “We are indebted to you for a splendid -time, and we should like a chance to reciprocate. Curtis is going to -spend a month with me next fall, and I should be delighted to have you -come with him. Don, Bert and Hop will be there too, and we’ll make it as -pleasant as we can for you.” - -The Southern boys separated in Boston and took their way toward their -respective homes, Don and Bert stopping in Cincinnati long enough to -purchase a couple of revolving-traps and a supply of glass-balls, and -reaching Rochdale in due time without any mishap. Their shoulder-straps -created all the surprise that Don could have desired, and the latter knew -by the way his mother kissed him that she was entirely satisfied with the -way he had conducted himself during his last year at school. They never -grew weary of talking about the fine times they had enjoyed at the lodge, -and Don gave everybody to understand that he was going back to Dalton -some day on purpose to win that medal from the champion. He had a right -to compete for it now, for he was a member of the club. - -“But you will have to win it three times before you can bring it home -with you,” said Bert. - -“So much the better,” answered Don, “for then I can see that handsome -little—ah! I mean the lodge, you know.” - -“Yes, I know,” said Bert, dryly. - -“By the way, has anybody heard anything of Lester Brigham and Jones and -Williams?” exclaimed Don, anxious to change the subject. - -Yes, everybody had heard of them. Mr. Brigham had been industriously -circulating the articles and papers that Lester had sent him, and had -celebrated his son’s return by giving a big supper and a party. The house -was crowded, and Lester and Enoch were lionized to their hearts’ content. - -Don and Bert spent a portion of their next vacation at the homes of Egan -and Hopkins as they had promised, seeing no end of sport and some little -excitement. What they did for amusement, and what Lester and his enemies -did when they returned to Bridgeport in January, shall be narrated in the -third and concluding volume of this series, which will be entitled: “THE -YOUNG WILD-FOWLERS.” - - -THE END. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Rod and Gun Club, by Harry Castlemon - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ROD AND GUN CLUB *** - -***** This file should be named 60838-0.txt or 60838-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/0/8/3/60838/ - -Produced by David Edwards and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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