Chapter XV: Hazing a Bully

Pepper and Andy slept close together in one of the tents. That night, about twelve o’clock, each was rudely awakened by having the cot upon which he rested tipped up on one side. Both rolled to the floor and bumped into one another.

“Hi, what’s this?” cried the acrobatic youth.

“Hazing!” returned Pepper. “Will you kindly take your head out of my stomach,” he added.

“Who did it?” asked Andy, as he struggled to get up, a blanket having become twisted about his feet.

“I don’t know—excepting it may be the Reff Ritter crowd,” returned Pepper, rubbing his nose, which had been bumped on the floor.

Cries came from the tent adjoining, and the two boys soon discovered that the cots of a dozen cadets had been turned over. One sufferer’s nose was bleeding, and all of the crowd were more or less angry.

“It was Ritter!” cried one cadet. “I saw him just as he dodged around a corner of the tent.”

“How is it you were awake?” asked another suspiciously.

“I just came in from guard duty. I was on Post 5.”

“Well, if it was the Ritter crowd we ought to get after ’em,” came from Dale.

“How could it be the Ritter crowd?” came from another cadet. “I heard they were going to have a feast to-night.”

“That comes off to-morrow night,” answered Joe Nelson.

As quietly as possible, so as not to disturb Captain Putnam and George Strong, the cadets looked around the various tents of their enemies. They found Ritter in his tent, lying on his cot and snoring loudly.

“He is shamming,” whispered Pepper. “Just wait till I prove it.”

“How will you do it?” asked Dale.

“I’ve got some red ink in a bottle here. I’ll daub his face with that. It’s indelible and it won’t come off for a month. He’ll look like an Indian on the warpath.”

The Imp spoke in a whisper and on tiptoes he approached Reff Ritter. As he bent over the bully the latter sat up very suddenly.

“You let me alone!” he blustered. “Don’t you dare to daub me with your red ink!”

“Ha! so you are wideawake, just as I suspected,” cried Pepper.

“Don’t you touch me with that red ink, Pepper Ditmore!”

“Red ink?” questioned The Imp, innocently. “Who mentioned red ink?”

“You did—but you’re not going to put any on me! I’ll report you if you do!”

“You must be dreaming, Ritter. I haven’t any red ink. I just came in to see if you were awake. Do you usually snore so loudly when you aren’t asleep?”

“Humph! think you’re smart, don’t you?”

“He was shamming true enough!” cried Andy. “Boys,” he went on, addressing his friends. “I move we initiate Ritter into the mysteries of a trip on an airship.”

“Airship?” said the bully. “Who has an airship?”

“That’s the talk!” cried several who understood Andy’s allusion to an “airship.” “Let’s give him his first lesson now.”

In a twinkling Reff Ritter was surrounded and bundled up in his own blanket. Then he was lifted bodily from the cot and taken out of the tent through the back. Six cadets carried him across the field.

Some cadets were still on guard and how to get out of camp was a problem. But Dale solved that question with ease. He gave a low whistle and one of the guards answered it almost instantly.

“Go past Post No. 7,” said Dale. “The guard there will be looking at the stars.”

The others followed his advice. On Post No. 7 Fred Century was stationed. They saw him looking intently up at a bright star, evidently oblivious to his surroundings and, of course, he did not see or notice them.

“Good for Fred!” cried Pepper. “He knows his little book all right!”

Reaching the end of the encampment field, the cadets entered the edge of the woods. Here was a swing which some of the boys had put up the afternoon before.

The rope of the swing was speedily secured, and several cadet belts were placed around Ritter’s waist and under his arms. Then the rope was run under these belts and the other end was thrown over the limb of a big tree.

“Now up with him!” ordered Andy. “Ritter, you’ll soon know how it feels to fly through the air!”

The cadets pulled on the rope with a will and up into the air went Ritter, sprawling out like a frog and turning around and around.

“Hurrah!” shouted one of the cadets. “Reff, how do you enjoy flying?”

“My, but he cuts a pretty figure!” added another.

“Just move your arms and you’ll think you are flying sure,” came from a third.

“Say, you let me down!” growled the bully. “It’s no fun to have these belts cutting you. I’m getting dizzy, too.”

“I guess you can stay there until sunrise!” answered Pepper.

“Sunrise! Not much! You let me down!” howled Ritter.

“We’ll let you down if you’ll apologize for dumping us out of bed and if you’ll promise not to do it again,” said Andy. Nobody had any intention of leaving Ritter suspended in mid-air for any great length of time.

“I’ll apologize to nobody!” cried the bully.

“Then let him hang,” said Dale. “Come on back, fellows.”

He made a move as if to leave the spot and his chums did the same.

“Hi, come back! Don’t leave me!” yelled Ritter, in sudden horror. “I can’t stand it! Let me down!”

“Will you apologize?” demanded several.

“I suppose I’ll have to. But this ain’t fair.”

“Do you apologize?”

“Yes,” was the low answer.

“And do you promise not to do such a thing again?”

“Oh, yes, anything you want,—only let me down,” growled Ritter.

The bully was lowered and the rope and belts were loosened. He was a little dizzy, and sank down on the ground.

“Gi—give me air!” he gasped.

The other cadets fell back, so that he might have all the air he desired. This was the chance the bully wanted and with a bound he arose and commenced to run for camp with all the speed he could command.

“Corporal of the guard!” he yelled, as he dodged past one of the cadets on guard. “Thieves! Robbers! Help!” he went on, and then he dodged into his tent and threw himself on his cot, pretending to be asleep as before.

The loud alarm woke the entire camp, just as the bully had desired, and Captain Putnam came rushing from his tent, followed by George Strong. Then Major Jack appeared and so did Captain Bart Conners and Captain Henry Lee.

“What is the trouble?” demanded Captain Putnam.

“I don’t know, sir,” answered Major Jack, but he suspected that some of the cadets were out for a lark.

“I’ll go the rounds of the guards and find out,” went on the master of the school shortly. He was determined to break up the horseplay if it could possibly be accomplished.

In the meantime Andy, Pepper and the others had not yet gotten into camp. They had to put the swing rope away and distribute the belts, and the sudden alarm given by Ritter had taken them all unawares.

“Say, fellows, we are going to have a tight squeeze of it getting in,” said Pepper, as the alarm increased.

“I didn’t think Ritter would be mean enough to raise such a hullabaloo,” said Dale. “He can’t take a joke.”

“He is sour on our crowd and will do all in his power to get us into trouble,” said Joe.

“We can’t get past Fred again, for there is Captain Putnam making straight for that post!” said another.

“Come on down to the lake front,” said Andy. “But be quick. They may call the roll!”

The cadets skirted the woods on the double-quick and came down to the water’s edge. Here, to their relief, they found Hogan on guard. Hale gave a low whistle, to which the Irish cadet responded. Then up into the air went Emerald’s face and he commenced to study the stars, utterly oblivious to his surroundings.

“This is our chance!” cried Pepper, and past the guard they sped, Hogan paying not the slightest attention to them. After they had passed Dale whistled once more, and the Irish cadet withdrew his gaze from the stars and resumed his march to the end of his post

Scarcely had the boys gotten into camp when the drum rolled out sharply. Wondering what was wrong, those who had been sleeping soundly got up and hurried to the parade ground. Lanterns and torches were lit, and the two companies lined up.

“Have the roll called, Major Ruddy,” said Captain Putnam. “Note carefully the names of all those who do not answer.”

“I will sir,” answered the young officer, and he wondered how many of his chums would prove to be missing.

Pepper dropped into line yawning broadly, as if just aroused from a heavy sleep, and Andy and the others followed suit, Dale stretching himself as if he could not get awake.

“Why don’t they let a fellow sleep?” grumbled The Imp, and this almost set some of the others to laughing.

“Shut up!” said Andy in a low voice. “I want to keep a straight face.”

“Did we all get here?” asked another anxiously.

“I guess so.”

The calling of the roll commenced, and one after another the cadets answered their names. The roll was called by the quartermaster, but George Strong had another roll on which he did the checking, so that Bob might make no mistake or check off some friend who did not answer.

“Eleven cadets missing,” announced George Strong after the roll call had come to an end.

“Eight of those are on guard duty,” answered Major Jack, and had the corporal of the guard give the names. He was wondering who the three other cadets could be.

“That leaves three to account for,” said Captain Putnam. “Who are they?”

George Strong consulted his roll.

“Nicholas Paxton, William Sabine and Frank Barringer.”

“Barringer had permission to go away—his folks are at the Lake Hotel,” answered the master of the school. He raised his voice: “Does anybody know anything about Paxton and Sabine?”

To this question there was no answer.

“We will take a look around the camp and see if we can find them,” said Captain Putnam.

This was done but the two cadets could not be found.

“Paxton said after supper he didn’t feel very well,” said Coulter, lamely. “Maybe he left the camp to look for a doctor.”

“Possibly, but I doubt it,” answered Captain Putnam, dryly.

The cadets were dismissed and told to keep absolutely quiet for the remainder of the night. As they returned to their tents speculation was rife concerning the two missing cadets.

“If they slipped off to one of the lake hotels they will be punished for it,” said Andy.

“Paxton is getting quite sporty,” answered another cadet. “And poor Billy Sabine is just foolish enough to follow his example.”

“I am sorry for Billy,” said Dale. “He is a pretty decent sort sometimes.”

The cadets retired and for about an hour matters in camp were quiet. Then, from the woods, came several screams of terror. A rifle shot rang out, and once more the camp was in an uproar.