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

by Edward Stratemeyer

  CHAPTER XVII IN DANGER OF FIRE

  Ritter had a smile of confidence on his face and he walked down to thepitcher's box with something of a swagger.

  "Strike the three of 'em out, Reff!" shouted one of the bully'ssupporters. "Don't let 'em see what first looks like."

  "I'll take care of 'em, don't worry," answered Ritter.

  A cadet named Jackson was first to the bat. He was not an extra goodhitter and now he was nervous.

  "Strike one!" was the umpire's cry as the first ball pitched whizzedover the plate.

  "That's the way to do it, Reff!" came the cry from one of the bully'scronies.

  The next was a ball, but then came two strikes, and much crestfallenJackson retired, while the supporters of Company A cheered Ritter.

  Dale came to the bat next and had one strike called on him. Then he hitout a safety and got to first with ease.

  "Hurrah! Now keep up the good work!" cried a supporter of Company B.

  As before, Pepper followed Dale. He watched the ball closely, and hadtwo balls called on him and a strike. Then he got just what he wantedand lined out a beautiful two-bagger. Dale was on the alert and by thetime Pepper got safely on second he slid home, amid a wild cheering.

  "That's the way to do it!"

  "You've got Ritter going! Keep up the good work!"

  "My, but wasn't that a beaut of a two base hit?"

  Andy was now at the bat. Plainly Ritter was getting nervous and soon hehad two balls called on him.

  "Don't let him walk--make him hit it!" was the cry.

  "I'll fix him!" muttered the bully sourly, and then sent in a balldirectly over the plate.

  Andy was there to meet it, and the way he lined the sphere down to leftfield was a sight to behold. Down he pounded for first while Pepperlegged it for all he was worth for home. The ball came in, but too lateand while Pepper was called safe Andy managed to slide to second amid arenewed cheering.

  "Thirteen to fourteen!" was the cry. "And only one man out! Now is yourchance to tie the score!"

  Coulter walked down to the pitcher's box.

  "Keep cool, Reff," he whispered. "Don't let them rattle you."

  "They are not rattling me," was the dogged answer. But the very tone ofhis voice showed the bully's nervousness.

  Stuffer was now up and he, too, was nervous. He watched the pitcher as acat watches a mouse. Ritter sent in a ball that was remarkably swift. Itcame directly for Stuffer's head and he had barely time to pull back outof the way.

  "Ball one!" cried the umpire.

  "Say, what do you want to do, kill me?" cried Stuffer angrily.

  "I--er--the ball slipped," answered Ritter lamely.

  "Bat it down to the woods, Stuffer!" cried one of the supporters ofCompany B.

  Following the ball came two strikes and the supporters of Company B grewsober, thinking Stuffer would strike out. But then the lad who loved toeat hit the sphere fairly, sending it just over the second baseman'shead. He gained first while Andy, who had stolen to third, came in amida cheering that was deafening.

  "A tie! A tie! The score is a tie!"

  Bart Conners, the captain of Company B, was now to the bat. Bart was abetter military officer than a baseball player, yet he resolved to dohis best for his command. He bunted the ball, reaching first on a fumbleby Coulter, while Stuffer got down to second.

  Conners was followed by Fred who, so far, had done but little to aidCompany B to win the match. Fred had two strikes called on him, and itlooked as if he would be put out when he met the sphere fairly andsquarely and sent it far down into the center field.

  "Run! Run! Everybody run!" was the cry, and amid great excitementStuffer ran in, followed by Bart. Fred got to third and might havereached home but Ritter got in his way, sending him flat on the grass.

  "Two runs! Company B wins!"

  "My, but that was a dandy hit!"

  "He ought to have come in."

  "Ritter got in his way on purpose!"

  "I didn't do anything of the kind!" growled the pitcher. "If anybodysays I did I'll punch his head!"

  "Are you hurt, Fred?" asked Jack, running to his chum's side.

  "I--I guess not," was Fred's reply. "But he bumped into me prettylively."

  A lively discussion followed, and in his rage Reff Ritter threw the ballon the grass.

  "You are all down on me--I won't pitch any more," he growled, andstarted to walk from the field.

  "As you please," answered Pepper. "We have won the game anyway."

  "That's right!" was the cry. "No use of playing it out. Company B winsby the score of 16 to 14,--with only one man out in the ninth." And sothe game came to an end. Some wanted Ritter to pitch the inning out buthe positively would not, and nobody cared to take his place.

  "Well, it was a great game!" declared Jack. "I never was so interestedbefore in my life."

  "I enjoyed it very much," said Laura. "I am glad Company B won."

  "So am I," added Flossie.

  "That Ritter seems to be an ugly sort," was Mr. Ford's comment.

  "He is--especially when he cannot have his own way," answered the youngmajor.

  Following the baseball game came some athletic contests, such as highjumping and hurdling. In the hurdling Emerald Hogan carried off thehonors and was greatly applauded. The high jumping contest was won byHenry Lee, who was quiet but a great favorite. One of the girls presentpresented Henry with a big bouquet, which made the athlete blush deeply.

  The guests who had been especially invited by Captain Putnam and thecadets to the contests were also asked to remain to a collation. Cakeand ice-cream had been brought from one of the summer hotels down thelake shore, and these were served, with lemonade, by the boys. Jack andhis chums found seats under an awning for the Fords and did all theycould to make the girls comfortable.

  "It must be jolly to camp out!" declared Flossie. "Papa, we must try itsome time."

  "It is fine--when it doesn't rain," answered Andy.

  "Or the mosquitoes don't get too lively," added Pepper, and at thisthere was a general laugh.

  The only cadets who did not enter into the spirit of the celebrationwere Reff Ritter and his cronies. Ritter did not wait for cake andice-cream, but walked away into the woods, taking Coulter, Paxton andBilly Sabine with him.

  "It makes me sick--the way the other crowd crow!" declared the defeatedpitcher. "They won by a fluke, that's all."

  "Sure that's all," declared Coulter, who had made several bad errorsbehind the bat. "But just wait, we'll wax 'em next time!"

  "Sure we will!"

  "Say, what about that hornets' nest?" asked Sabine. "Thought you fellowssaid something about using it."

  "We will--but there is no hurry," answered Ritter. "Just wait till somenight when the Ruddy crowd have a celebration--we'll make it lively for'em!" And he laughed coarsely.

  By nightfall the festivities came to an end and the visitors departedfor home. Some of the boys wanted to build a big bonfire, to celebratethe baseball victory during the evening, but Captain Putnam would notallow it.

  "The wind is rising and it is very shifty," said the master of theschool. "If the fire got to blowing among the tents we might havetrouble."

  "Oh, I don't think the fire would hurt anything," grumbled Dale.

  "Well, you never can tell," answered Fred. Some wood had been gatheredfor the fire by Dale, Pepper, Andy and Fred, and the quartet were muchdisappointed when they found they could not start the blaze. Fred hadthought to start the fire in a new way--by putting some carbide from abicycle lamp on the ground in a little water and then igniting the gasformed by the combination. He forgot to put the carbide holder away,leaving it on the pile of wood.

  Captain Putnam was right about the wind, it was steadily rising andblowing first from one direction and then another.

  "Have your men peg down the tents good and tight," said the captain toMajor Jack, and the young commander of the battalion at o
nce issued thenecessary orders.

  By bedtime the wind was blowing almost a gale. Then, however, itappeared to die down. The guards were set as usual. Reff Ritter wasstationed on Post 3, while Sabine was on Post 2. At the other end ofthat side of the encampment, on Post 4, was a cadet named Mason.

  "It's a raw night to be out," grumbled Ritter to Sabine, when the twomet.

  "That's so," was the answer. "I'll be glad to get under the covers whenmy time is up."

  "I think I'll smoke a cigarette," went on Reff Ritter, looking around tosee if anybody was in that vicinity.

  "Don't let anybody catch you at it," said Sabine, who well knew thatcigarette smoking was against the rules.

  Ritter got out a cigarette and, not without difficulty, lit it. He tookseveral puffs and inhaled the smoke.

  "Have one," he said, and passed over the box.

  "Thanks, I will," answered Billy Sabine weakly. He did not wish tosmoke, but he did not want to look like a coward.

  The boys were at the end of the woods and remained together for severalminutes. Then each walked off along his post The wind was now coming upagain, and presently a sudden gust took Ritter's cigarette from hisfingers. It struck a nearby bush and the burning tobacco was carriedthrough the air a distance of a hundred feet or more.

  "Hello, what's that?" cried the cadet named Mason, as he came to a haltat the end of Post 4.

  "What's what?" grumbled Ritter.

  "Thought I saw some fire flying through the air. Well, I declare! Look!"

  Mason stared in wonder in the direction of where the wood had beenheaped up for the bonfire. The burning tobacco had been carried by thewind to this heap and had landed on the box of carbide. A few drops ofrain were coming down, and the carbide was commencing to blaze up like agasolene torch.

  "Oh, that's nothing," cried Ritter and running forward he kicked at thebrushwood in semi-darkness. Over went the can of carbide into a pool ofwater. At once came a flash of fire from the gas thus generated, and thebrushwood commenced to blaze away at a lively rate.

  It was now raining lightly and the wind was blowing stronger andstronger. Ritter tried to put out the fire, but it roared louder andlouder, as more gas from the carbide was generated, and he grew afraidand drew back.

  "Fred Century had that carbide," said Mason. "I saw him with it."

  "Sure he had it," added Ritter quickly. "It's his fault that thebrushwood took fire."

  "But he didn't set it on fire, Reff."

  "How do you know?"

  "He isn't anywhere around."

  "Humph! He might have put a slow match to it."

  "Do you think he did that? I saw some fire in the air--but I thought itcame from this direction."

  "Well, you keep quiet about this,--or we'll both get into trouble!"answered Ritter. And just then the wind came up with a sudden fury,sending the burning brush rolling directly towards the tents of theencampment!