“If I went to college I’d like you fellows to be with me,” he said one day to Tom and Sam. “There would be no fun in going alone.”
“That’s true,” answered Tom. “But if you wanted us to go together you’d have to wait for Sam and me to catch up to you.”
“Well, I might spend a year or so in traveling while I waited, or Sam and you might hurry up a little,” answered the eldest Rover.
During those days but little out of the ordinary happened. Dick took especial care to avoid Lew Flapp, and the tall youth did not attempt to bother him. It was soon learned that Flapp was more of a braggart than anything else, and then even some of the smaller boys grew less afraid of him.
As already told, it had been decided by Captain Putnam to have the cadets elect a new set of officers for the term, and these officers were to be chosen in a somewhat different manner than heretofore.
“In the past,” said the captain, when addressing the students on the subject, “you have been permitted to elect whoever you pleased to any office, from major down. This has occasionally resulted in someone being chosen who, while he might be a good scholar and a good fellow generally, was not exactly fitted to a military position. On that account I have made a change. Next Wednesday and Thursday I shall hold a general examination in military matters only, and the twenty pupils standing highest shall be the ones eligible for the positions of major, captain, and first and second lieutenants. On these twenty names you shall vote as heretofore. As we now have three companies here we shall want a major, three captains, and six lieutenants, making a total of ten officers. After that each company shall choose its own corporals and sergeants. The company marching best on parade the following Saturday shall have the honor of carrying the flag until after the annual encampment, which this year will begin a month from to-day.”
At the mention of the annual encampment the cadets set up a cheer. The outing was looked forward to with great interest.
“Where are we going this year?” asked George Granbury.
“It’s a secret, I believe,” answered Larry Colby. “But I am pretty certain that we are going further away than usual.”
“I hope we go into the mountains.”
“Or along some other lake, where the fishing is fine,” put in Tom.
“Yes, that would suit me, too.”
The announcement concerning the examination in military matters also caused much talk, and many of the cadets began at once to study military tactics harder than ever, while drills became a pleasure instead of a hardship.
“I’m going to win some kind of a place,” said Larry earnestly. “Even a lieutenantship would be better than nothing.”
“I am sure I am going to win,” put in William Philander Tubbs. “I am perfect in every kind of a drill.”
“Good for Buttertub, the perfect man!” sang out Tom. “Billy, you ought to have your picture done in oil, to hang alongside of Washington’s, in the library.”
“Don’t you dare to call me Buttertub, or Billy either, you rude thing!” snorted Tubbs, and walked away in outraged dignity.
“Dot examinations vos dickle me alretty,” said Hans. “Vot I don’t know apoud dem military tictacs you don’t know, ain’t it. I vill pe by der top of der class so kvick as neffer vos, you pet yourself!” And he nodded his head as if he meant every word of it.
Dick Rover said but little on the subject, but he meant to win if he possibly could, and so did Tom. Sam felt he was as yet too young to become anything but a sergeant, so he did not enter the competition with much vigor.
Lew Flapp was not a particularly bright pupil, but there was one thing, outside of bag punching, that he could do well, and that was to drill. He took to military tactics naturally, and knew nearly every rule that the book of instructions contained.
“It’s going to be an easy matter to get into the chosen twenty,” the tall boy told himself. “But after that, will the cadets elect me to one of those positions?” He wanted to be major of the battalion, but doubted if he could muster up sufficient friends to elect him.
The examination in military matters came off on the afternoon of the following Wednesday and on Thursday morning. Captain Putnam was very thorough in the work, and made the pupils do certain things over and over again, and write the answers to long lists of questions.
“It has given me great pleasure to conduct this examination,” he said, on the day following. “It shows that the average in military knowledge is much higher than it was last term. The following are the pupils who have passed, given in the order of merit.” And then he read the list of names. Lew Flapp came first, Dick Rover next, Larry Colby third, George Granbury fourth, and the others, including Tom and Fred Garrison, followed. Neither William Philander Tubbs nor Hans Mueller were mentioned.
“I dink me dere vos a mistake py dot,” said the German boy. “Or else I vos know so much der captain didn’t vont nobody to know apout it,” and this raised a laugh.
“It’s an outrage!” declared Tubbs. “An outrage! I shall request my parents to withdraw me from the institution.” And he wrote a letter home that very night. But his parents refused to grant his request. Probably they knew of his shortcomings, and thought a few terms at Putnam Hall would do him good.
Lew Flapp was much pleased over the fact that he headed the list of those who had passed, and nobody could blame him for this. But he immediately made himself more obnoxious than ever by going around among the cadets and declaring that he was the only one to be elected to the office of major.
“It’s mine by right,” he said. “It wouldn’t be fair to elect anybody else.”
“But Dick Rover and Larry Colby stand almost as high,” said one of the cadets. “Captain Putnam said your average was 96 per cent., while Rover’s average was 95 per cent., and Larry Colby’s was 94 per cent. A difference of one or two per cent. out of a possible hundred isn’t much.”
“I don’t care,” retorted Lew Flapp, “I ought to be elected major, and that is all there is to it.”
When Dick was approached he had but little to say.
“I didn’t expect to stand so high,” he declared. “I don’t know that I care to be made major. If I get to be a captain or a first lieutenant I shall be well content. You know I was a second lieutenant once.”
“My percentage is more than I expected,” said Larry. “I really didn’t think I was so well up in military matters. Now, if the boys want me for an officer I’ll take whatever they give me.”
“And that is what I say,” added George Granbury.
“Ditto, myself,” put in Tom. “Even a second lieutenantship will not be declined by yours truly.”
After this there was a good deal of canvassing and “log rolling” as it is called. Lew Flapp spent much money in secret, treating boys when at the village and elsewhere. By this means he gathered quite a band of followers around him.
“He is going to win, by hook or by crook,” observed Songbird Powell. “He acts just like some of those politicians who don’t care what they do so long as they win.”
“I am not going to spend a cent on the boys,” declared Dick. “I don’t believe in buying votes.”
There was a strict rule at Putnam Hall that no cadet should touch liquor of any kind excepting when ordered by the doctor. This rule had been broken in the past by Dan Baxter and a few others, but the majority of the cadets respected the rule and kept it.
But Lew Flapp had always been allowed to drink when at home and now he frequently drank on the sly when down to Cedarville. On these excursions he was generally joined by a weak-minded boy named Hurdy, who was usually willing to do whatever Flapp desired done.
One day, just before the election for officers was to come off, Lew Flapp called Ben Hurdy to him.
“I am going down to Cedarville this evening,” he said. “I want you to go along and invite Jackson and Pender and Rockley.”
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“Going to have a good time?” asked Ben Hurdy.
“Yes and you can tell the others so, and tell them if they know some others who want a good time, and can keep their mouths shut about it, to bring them along. But mind, Hurdy, we want no blabbers.”
“All right, Flapp, I’ll get the right fellows,” answered Ben Hurdy, and ran away to fulfill his questionable errand.
CHAPTER X
AN ADVENTURE IN CEDARVILLE
On the same evening that Lew Flapp and his particular cronies went down to Cedarville to have a good time in a very questionable way, Dick Rover and Songbird Powell also visited the village, one to buy some handkerchiefs, and the other to invest in a book he had ordered from the local bookseller and newsdealer.
“I heard that Lew Flapp was going to Cedarville,” said Powell, while on the way. “Do you know, Dick, I don’t like that fellow at all.”
“Neither do I, Songbird.”
“It will make me sick if he is elected major of the battalion.”
“Nevertheless, the cadets have a right to elect whom they please.”
“I know that as well as you do. But I can’t stand Flapp’s domineering ways. And he is bound to grow worse if he is put in authority.”
“As to that, I shall not stand being bullied,” came from Dick, with flashing eyes. “I’ll let him go just so far, and if he goes any further he’ll have to beware.”
Both boys were excellent walkers and it was not long before Cedarville was reached. Dick soon had the handkerchiefs wanted, and then Powell led the way to the bookstore, to obtain a volume of humorous verses he had ordered the week previous.
“I don’t see why you buy verses, since you can make them up so readily,” said Dick with a smile.
“Oh, I like to see what the other fellows are doing,” answered his friend.
“I saw some more of your cadets in town to-night,” said the bookseller, while wrapping up the book.
“Yes, I believe half a dozen or more came down,” returned Powell.
“Having a special celebration to-night?”
“Not that I am aware of.”
“Why do you ask?” put in Dick, who knew the bookseller well.
“Oh, I only thought some of the boys were flying their kite pretty high, that’s all,” and the man closed one eye suggestively.
“Where did you meet the fellows?”
“Well—er—I’d rather not say, Rover. You see, I don’t want to make trouble for anybody.”
“Are they in town yet?”
“I presume they are. But don’t say I mentioned it, please,” pleaded the bookseller.
No more was said, and having paid for the book Powell walked out, with Dick behind him.
“If those fellows are drinking it’s a jolly shame,” declared Dick, when they were out of hearing. “What do you think about it, Songbird?”
“Exactly as you do, Dick.”
“Shall we hunt them up?”
“What good will it do? Lew Flapp won’t listen to what you say, and I’m sure I don’t want to play the spy and report him.”
“But what if he is leading some innocent students astray? He has had half a dozen young chaps dangling at his heels lately.”
“I know that.” There was a pause. “We might look into some of the places as we pass them.”
Very slowly they walked up and down the main street of Cedarville, a thing easy to do, since the stores extended only a distance of two blocks. Then they passed to a side street, upon which two new places had recently been built.
One of the new places was a butcher shop, and this was dark and deserted. Next to it was a new resort known as Mike Sherry’s Palace, and this was well lit up and evidently in full blast.
“If Flapp is drinking he is evidently in this place,” remarked Dick. “But I don’t see anything of him,” he added, after peering through the swinging doors.
“They tell me this Sherry has a room upstairs, also for drinking purposes,” returned Powell. “Maybe Flapp and his friends are up there. They wouldn’t want to be seen in public, you must remember.”
“That is true. But how do they get upstairs—through the saloon?”
“There may be a back way. Let us look.”
They walked around to the rear of the building and here found a door leading into a back hall. But the door was locked.
“This is the way up, I feel sure,” said Dick. “Somebody has locked the door as a safeguard.”
“Then, I’m afraid, we’ll have to give it up.”
“Not yet, Songbird.” Dick had been looking over toward the rear of the butcher shop. “See, the painters are at work here and have left one of their ladders. Wonder if we can’t move it over and put it up under one of those windows?”
The matter was talked over for a minute, and then the two boys took hold of the long ladder and did as Dick desired.
“This may be a wild goose chase,” was Powell’s comment. “And if it is, and Mike Sherry discovers us, he’ll want us to explain. Maybe he’ll take us for burglars.”
“You can keep shady if you want to, Songbird. I’m going up,” and so speaking Dick began to mount the ladder.
The window under which the ladder had been placed was open from the top only, and a half curtain over the lower portion hid what was beyond from view. So, in order to look over the curtain, Dick had to climb to the very top of the ladder and then brace his feet on the window sill.
He could now hear voices quite plainly, and presently heard Lew Flapp speak.
“I’m on the right track,” he called softly to Powell. “They are in the room next to this one, but the door between is wide open.”
“Shall I come up?”
“Suit yourself. I’m going inside.”
As good as his word, Dick slipped over the top of the lowered window sash, and an instant later stood in the room, which was but dimly lit. Then he tiptoed his way behind a door and peeped into the room beyond.
Seven cadets were present, including Lew Flapp, Ben Hurdy, and their particular cronies Jackson, Pender, and Rockley. The others were two young cadets named Joe Davis and Harry Moss.
On the table in the center of the room stood a platter of chicken sandwiches and also several bottles containing beer and wine, and a box of cigars. Evidently all of the crowd had been eating and drinking, and now several were filling the apartment with tobacco smoke.
“Come, smoke up, Moss,” cried Lew Flapp, shoving the box of cigars toward one of the younger cadets. “Don’t be afraid. It won’t kill you.”
“Thank you, Flapp, but I—I guess I won’t to-night,” pleaded Harry Moss, whose face was strangely flushed.
“Why not?”
“I—I—don’t feel well. The drinking has made me feel sick.”
“Oh, nonsense! Here, take this cigar and smoke up. It will brace your nerves. And you, Davis, have another glass of something to drink,” went on Lew Flapp, pouring out a glassful and handing it to the one addressed.
“Thank you, Flapp, but I don’t want any more,” answered Joe Davis. He looked as ill at ease as did Harry Moss.
“Don’t you want to be sociable?” demanded the tall boy.
“It isn’t that, Flapp. I—I guess I’ve had enough already.”
“Oh, don’t be a sissy, Davis. Here, I’ll drink with you, and then I’ll smoke a cigar with Moss. If you are going to be men you want to start right in. Eh, Rockley?”
“That’s right, Lew,” answered Rockley, as he lit a fresh cigar.
“What you need is another glass, Davis,” came from Pender. “It will act as a bracer. Just try it and see.”
“I—I don’t want to get—get—” faltered Davis.
“Get what?”
“Intoxicated—really I don’t—”
“Who said anythin
g about that?” demanded Lew Flapp in apparent anger. “Don’t be a fool. One more glass won’t hurt you. Here, take it,” and he almost forced the liquor to Joe Davis’s lips.
But before he could accomplish his wicked design Dick Rover leaped quickly into the apartment and hurled the glass from the big boy’s hand.
“For shame, Flapp!” he cried. “For shame!”
“And that’s what I say, too,” came from Powell, who was close behind Dick.
Every cadet in the room was astonished, and all leaped to their feet.
“What’s up?” cried Rockley.
“They have been spying on us!” came from Jackson.
“Talk about meanness! This is the limit!” added Pender.
“I want you to leave Joe Davis and Harry Moss alone,” went on Dick, as calmly as he could. “It’s an outrage to get them to drink and smoke against their will.”
“Are you two alone?” asked Lew Flapp, glancing nervously over the newcomers’ shoulders.
“We are.”
“What right had you to come here?”
“Well, we took the right.”
“Then you enjoy playing the spy?”
“No, Flapp,” said Dick boldly, “but I do enjoy doing Davis and Moss a favor.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I mean that I am going to stand by them, so you shall not get them to drink any more or smoke.”
“Humph! What right have you to interfere?”
“Maybe he’s going to squeal to the captain,” put in Jackson.
“If he does that I’ll punch his head for him!” roared Lew Flapp, who had been drinking just enough to make him ugly and unreasonable.
“I did not come here to squeal on anybody,” answered Dick.
“I know you did—and I’m going to pound you well for it!” howled Lew Flapp, and on the instant he leaped forward and aimed a savage blow with his fist at Dick’s head.
CHAPTER XI
A QUARREL AND ITS RESULT
Had the blow landed as intended Dick Rover would have received a bloody nose and might perhaps have lost one or two teeth.
But Dick was on the alert and he dodged to one side, so the blow landed on Songbird Powell’s shoulder.
The Rover Boys Megapack Page 111