“Wonder where Flapp and his crowd went,” came presently from Tom.
“If they went to Oakville they most likely visited the tavern,” answered Dick.
“It’s a shame!” declared Tom. “Drinking and smoking and playing cards will never do them any good.”
Another bend in the road was passed and they came within sight of Isaac Klem’s farm.
“Hullo!” ejaculated Sam, pointing ahead. “What’s the matter?”
“Those girls are running for all they are worth!” said Dick.
“A bull is after them!” came from Tom. “My stars! but he seems to mean business!”
Tom was right, Helen and Alice Staton were running along the highway at all the speed they could command. Behind them, less than fifty feet distant, was the enraged black bull, bent on doing all the mischief possible.
“Those girls will be hurt!” said Dick, running forward.
“Can’t we do something?” asked Sam.
“We can try,” said Tom. “Get a rock, or something,” and he picked up a sharp stone which lay handy. Sam did likewise.
By this time the twins were almost upon the boys.
“Chase the bull away!” panted Helen, who was ready to drop from exhaustion.
“Yes! yes!” gasped Alice. “Please don’t let him touch us!”
“Jump the fence!” said Dick. “Quick, I’ll help you over!”
He caught each girl by the hand and turned toward the low stone fence. At the same time Tom and Sam let fly the two sharp stones. One took the bull in the nose and the other struck the creature in the eye.
With a snort the animal came to a halt and viewed the boys curiously. He had evidently not expected the attack, and the wound in the eye hurt not a little. Tom and Sam lost no time in providing themselves with more stones.
By this time Dick was at the wall and in another moment he had assisted the girls over. Both had lost their hats and also dropped the market basket filled with things from the store.
“Oh, be careful,” said Alice. “That bull will try to kill you.”
“We’ll look out for ourselves,” answered Dick, and picked up a bit of fence rail lying near. “Did he chase you far?”
“From that lot yonder,” answered Helen.
The bull had turned toward the fence, and watching his chance, Dick struck out with the bit of rail. His aim was good and the animal received a sharp blow directly across the nostrils. Then Sam and Tom let fly more stones, and the bull was hit in the mouth, the leg, and the side. He stood his ground for a moment and then began to retreat.
“Hurrah! we’ve got him on the run!” cried Tom. “Give it to him!” and he let go another stone, which hit the bull in the tail and made him throw up his rear hoofs in a most alarming fashion.
“You had better come over into the lot!” said one of the girls. “He may come back.”
“Here comes Mr. Klem with a pitchfork,” said the other.
A farmer was rushing down the road, with a pitchfork in one hand and a rope in the other. He ran up to the bull and slipped the rope over the animal’s neck. Then he tied the creature to a tree.
“Pretty savage animal you’ve got,” observed Tom as he came up.
“Is them gals hurt?” demanded the farmer.
“I don’t think so. But they are pretty well out of breath and scared.”
“Don’t know how the pesky critter got loose,” said Isaac Klem. “First thing I see he was after them gals lickety-split. I was out hayin’, and I didn’t wait, but picked up a pitchfork and a rope and run.”
“The girls lost their hats,” said Sam, who had also come up.
“Yes, they’re in the road up yonder, along with a basket o’ stuff they had.”
“Let us get the things,” said Sam, and he and Tom started after the hats and the basket. The things which had been in the basket were scattered in all directions, and the boys picked them up.
Dick remained with the girls, doing what he could to quiet them. They were so exhausted they could not stand and each sat on a rock panting for breath.
“It was simply dreadful!” declared Helen. “I thought every moment the bull would catch me and toss me up into the air.”
“He didn’t like the sight of your red shirt-waists,” was Dick’s comment.
“That must be it,” put in Alice. “After this, I don’t think I’ll go near him when I have a red waist on.”
“Perhaps the farmer will be more careful and keep him roped up.”
When Tom and Sam came up with the hats and the basket Isaac Klem accompanied them.
“All right, Helen?” he asked. “And you too, Alice?”
“Yes, Mr. Klem,” said the tall girl. “But it was a narrow escape. The bull would have gored us if it hadn’t been for these young gentlemen.”
The girls thanked Tom and Sam for what they had brought.
“Who be you young fellows?” asked Isaac Klem curiously.
“I am Dick Rover, and these are my brothers Tom and Sam. We belong to the cadets of Putnam Hall.”
“The young sodgers up to Bass Lake?”
“Yes.”
“I see. Well, it was gritty o’ you to face my bull, and I give ye credit for it. My name’s Isaac Klem, and thet’s my farm over yonder. These gals is Helen and Alice Staton, and they live down the road a piece.”
The boys tipped their caps and the girls smiled.
“We are very thankful to you,” said Alice and Helen, almost in a breath.
“You are welcome to the little I did,” returned Dick.
“It was fun to pelt the old bull with rocks,” put in Tom. “I’ll do as much for you any time,” and this caused a laugh.
Isaac Klem went off to drive his bull home and the girls also prepared to depart.
“When you are coming back this way you can stop at our house if you wish,” said Alice Staton. “It’s the yellow one with honeysuckle growing over the porch.”
“I remember it,” said Sam. “Thank you,” and the others also gave thanks for the invitation. A moment later the two parties separated.
“What a difference between those cadets and the ones we met at the store,” said Helen to her twin sister when they were out of hearing.
“Yes, indeed,” said Alice. “The Rovers are gentlemen, while those at the store were—were rude.”
“Two nice girls,” declared Tom. “How much alike their faces are!”
“Tom is smitten,” cried Sam. “Going to forget all about Nellie Laning, Tom?” he went on quizzically.
“Oh, you needn’t talk!” cried Tom, growing red in the face. “You were just as attentive as a dancing master yourself.”
“Don’t quarrel about it,” put in Dick good naturedly. “You can be pleasant to them without forgetting all about Grace and Nellie Laning, I think.”
“Or Dora Stanhope either,” put in Sam slyly. “Shall we stop at the house on the way back?”
“Why not? They may offer us a piece of pie,” said Tom.
“I don’t know. We can walk by slowly. They may be on the lookout for us, you know.”
Once again the boys set their faces toward Oakville, and soon reached the outskirts of the town.
They were passing some of the stores when Lew Flapp caught sight of them.
“Hullo!” cried the tall boy. “I declare! there are the three Rover brothers. What brought them to Oakville?”
“We had better not let them see us with this stuff,” said Pender hurriedly. “We’ll get into hot water if they do.”
They lost no time in putting their purchases out of sight. Then they walked out on the street and stood leaning against the posts of a wooden awning.
“There is Flapp and his crowd now,” said Tom, catching sight of the trio.
“We want nothing to do wi
th them,” said Dick. “They are not our kind at all.”
“Hullo, Rovers!” cried Pender as they came up.
“Hullo, yourself,” returned Tom coldly.
“What brought you to town?” asked Rockley.
“My feet.”
“Thanks. I thought it might have been your ears. They’re big enough.”
At this sally both Flapp and Pender began to laugh.
“That’s a good one,” said Flapp.
“I suppose you used your tongue for a walking stick when you came over,” said Tom. “It’s long enough.”
“Bah!” cried Rockley, and turned away in disgust.
“Those Rover boys have got the swelled head,” muttered Flapp. “But we’ll turn ‘em down before the encampment is over, eh, fellows?”
“That’s what,” replied Rockley.
While the Rover boys were making their purchases Lew Flapp and his cronies turned back into the tavern. There was a billiard room in the rear and here they began to play billiards.
“We’ll let the Rovers start for home first,” said Rockley. “It will be safer.”
CHAPTER XXI
A TUG OF WAR
When the Rover boys reached the vicinity of the Staton cottage they found Alice and Helen in the dooryard, watching for them.
“Mamma says you must come in,” said Alice. “She wishes to see you.”
“And papa wants to see you, too,” added Helen.
“Thank you, we won’t mind resting a bit,” answered Dick. “The sun is rather hot.”
They were soon seated on the broad porch, and here Mrs. Staton and her husband were introduced. They proved to be nice people, and both thanked the boys warmly for what they had done on the road.
“I’ve told Isaac Klem about that bull,” said Mr. Staton. “Some day he’ll do a whole lot of damage.”
“We are going to keep a good lookout for him in the future,” put in Alice. “I don’t wish to be scared out of my wits again.”
Before the boys left Mrs. Staton insisted on treating each to a piece of apple pie and a glass of milk.
“What did I tell you about pie?” whispered Tom. “Say, but it’s all right, isn’t it?”
“Yes, indeed!” whispered Sam.
The girls had a set of croquet on the lawn and asked the boys to play, but they had to decline for want of time.
All had moved to the rear of the cottage, under a wide-spreading tree, when Dick chanced to look toward the roadway and uttered an exclamation:
“Here come the other fellows now!”
“Yes, and look at the packages they are carrying,” added Sam.
“And the bottles,” came from Tom significantly.
Dick was about to step forward when Tom caught him by the arm.
“Let us keep shady, Dick.”
“All right, Tom, if you say so.”
Sam noticed that the faces of the two girls fell when Flapp and his cronies went past.
“Those are some of your chums, I suppose?” said Helen.
“They are some of the cadets, but no chums of ours,” replied Dick.
“Oh!”
“They belong to a little crowd of their own.” explained Tom. “We don’t hitch very well, so that is why we let them go by unnoticed.”
“We met them at the store in Oakville,” said Alice.
“Did they speak to you?”
“Yes, but—but we did not want them to.”
“Humph!” said Dick, and then the subject was changed.
Having invited the girls to come and look at the camp some pleasant day the Rover boys left the cottage and hurried along the road after Lew Flapp and his cronies.
“I’ll wager those fellows made themselves obnoxious to the girls,” said Tom. “You could tell that by the way the girls looked.”
“What do you think they are going to do with the stuff they are carrying?” came from Sam.
“I believe they intend to smuggle it into camp,” replied Dick. “And if that is so, I don’t know but what it is my duty to report them.”
“If you do that, Flapp will consider you the worst kind of a spy, Dick.”
“Perhaps, but as a captain of the command it is my duty to see that such things are kept out of camp.”
“Well, do what you think is best.”
“Better make sure that the stuff they are carrying isn’t all right,” said Sam. “They may have nothing but soda in those bottles.”
They hurried along faster than ever but, strange to say, failed to catch up to Lew Flapp and his cronies, who were making for the hermit’s den with all possible speed.
“Maybe they got scared, thinking we might be spying on them,” suggested Tom, and hit upon the exact truth of the matter.
After that nearly a week passed in camp without anything unusual happening. Lew Flapp and his cronies kept their distance, and so strict was the guard set by Captain Putnam and his assistants that hazing became, for the time being, out of the question.
To pass the time more pleasantly some of the cadets organized several tug-of-war teams. This sort of thing pleased Tom very much and he readily consented to act as anchor man on one of the teams. Another team had Pender for an anchor man, with Rockley and seven others on the rope.
“Let us have a regular contest,” said one of the cadets, and all was arranged for a match on the following morning after drill.
The students were enthusiastic over the match, some thinking one side would win and others favoring the opponents.
“Tom’s crowd will win that match,” said Sam.
“What makes you so sure?” questioned Ben Hurdy.
“Oh, Tom knows how to pull and how to manage the others.”
“And so does Rockley know how to pull,” continued Hurdy. “And what is more, he knows a trick or two that will pull your fellows over the line in no time.”
“I don’t believe it, Hurdy.”
“Want to bet?”
“No, I don’t bet. Just the same, I think Rockley’s crowd will lose.”
Although Sam would not bet, some of the other students did, so that by the time the match was to come off quite a sum was up.
George Strong had been chosen as starter and umpire. On the green a line of white was laid down, and the team pulling the other over this line would be the winner.
For the contest Captain Putnam provided a new rope of proper size. To each end was attached a belt for the anchor men, and there was ample room on each side of the line for the eight cadets on the rope.
“All ready?” questioned George Strong, when the time had come for the contest.
“All ready on this end,” replied Tom, seeing to it that each of his team was in his proper position and had a proper hold on the rope.
“All ready here,” said Rockley, a few seconds later.
“Drop!” cried the teacher, and down went the two teams like a flash, each pulling for all it knew how. But neither gained an inch at the fall, so the start-off was perfect.
“Now pull for all you’re worth, Rovers!” cried one cadet.
“Haul ‘em over, Rockleys!” cried another.
“Steady, boys!” whispered Tom. “Don’t get nervous. There is lots of time.”
He was almost flat on his back, with both feet braced firmly in the soil. Rockley was also down, and it looked as if it might be well-nigh impossible to budge either.
“This is a dandy tug of war,” said Fred Garrison. “Neither has got an inch of advantage.”
“The Rovers will beat!”
“The Rockleys will win!”
“I think it will be a tie,” said another.
The strain was terrific and soon each member of the two teams was bathed in perspiration.
“Here is where you earn your rations!�
� cried one cadet, and this caused a general laugh.
“Watch your chances, Tom,” whispered Dick, and his brother nodded to show that he understood.
Both sides were glaring at each other. The strain was beginning to tell, but so far nobody had thought of letting up in the least.
But now Tom saw two of Rockley’s men “getting their wind” as it is called. They still held on to the rope, but were hardly pulling at all.
“Up!” cried Tom suddenly, and his men went up like a flash. “Down!” came the cry, an instant later, and down they went, before Rockley’s men could recover.
“Hurrah! the Rovers have gained four inches!” came the shout. And then those who favored that team set up a cheer.
It was true, the rope had shifted over four inches. Rockley was angry, but could do nothing.
“Mind yourselves, Wilson and Brady!” he whispered. “Don’t let up a minute.”
“I didn’t let up,” growled Wilson. “It was Chambers.”
“Not much!” growled Chambers. “I wasn’t—”
“Up!” cried Tom again. “Down! Up! Pull, pull! pull! Down!”
Up and down went the team twice, the second time hauling the rope forward over a foot. Then they went down once more and anchored as firmly as ever.
“Good!” shouted Sam enthusiastically. “You’re doing it, boys! Keep it up!”
“Are they?” sneered Lew Flapp. “Just you wait and see.”
He had a little roll of paper in his hand, and watching his opportunity he blew the contents into the air, directly over the team led by Tom Rover. The paper contained pepper and it set several of Tom’s men to sneezing.
This trick had been arranged between Flapp and Rockley, the latter feeling certain that Tom and his followers could not sneeze and pull at the same time.
“Up!” yelled Rockley. “Pull! pull! pull!”
“Stay down!” roared Tom. “Down! Don’t give in an inch!”
But the cry could not be obeyed. Half the team was up and sneezing and before order could be restored the rope had gone over to the Rockleys’ side a distance of two and a half feet.
“Hurrah, the Rockleys are winning!” yelled Ben Hurdy. “Haul ‘em over, boys!”
“Down!” ordered Tom.
“What on earth made the men sneeze?” demanded Dick, gazing around sharply.
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