Chapter XVI: About a Mad Dog

“Where is the mad dog?” cried Dan Baxter, in alarm.

“There he is!” shouted Gus Coulter, turning pale. “Oh, I do hope he doesn’t come this way!”

All of the cadets and the others present looked in the direction from whence the cries proceeded. They saw a middle-aged woman running along a footpath to the side of the field. Behind her was a big dog, who was frothing at the mouth and snapping his teeth together viciously.

“Help me! Save me from the dog!” cried the woman. She was evidently some farmer’s wife who lived in the neighborhood. She had been carrying a basket, but had thrown the article at the dog, in a weak effort to stay his progress.

When the alarm came Jack had one of the rifles in his hand. It was loaded, and now he turned quickly with the weapon.

“Take care! Don’t hit the woman!” began Captain Putnam, when the crack of the weapon cut short his warning. Taking hasty aim, the young major had fired at the mad animal. A yelp followed, the dog leaped high in the air, and then came down and lay still.

“Good! Jack nailed him!” shouted Andy. “A fine shot!”

“Let me see if he is dead,” said Captain Putnam, and catching up another rifle he ran forward, followed by half a dozen cadets. Soon they reached the woman, who was on the point of fainting from fright and from running.

“Is he—he—dead?” she faltered.

“Yes, he is dead,” announced the master of the Hall, making a close examination. “The bullet must have gone straight through his brain.”

“He was mad, wasn’t he?” went on the woman, recovering a bit.

“Beyond a doubt, and very violent, too.”

“He scared me nearly to death. When I first saw him he was tangled up in some old fence-wire. It seemed to have set him crazy. I tried to get away from him, but as soon as he got shut of the wire he came after me.”

“It was lucky that this young man shot him,” said the captain, and pointed at Jack.

“Oh, did he do it?” cried the woman. “I thought you did it.” She turned to the young major. “I am very much obliged, I am sure.”

“And you are welcome,” said Jack, blushing like a girl.

“Whose dog is it?” asked Andy.

“It belongs to Mr. Haverick, the horse-dealer. I suppose it was quite valuable.”

“Let me see—are you not Mrs. Bennington?”

“I am. My husband sold you some wood last winter.”

“Yes, I remember. Well, Mrs. Bennington, I do not know what to do with the dog excepting to have my man bury him.”

“I think we had better let Mr. Haverick see him first. He thought a good deal of the animal. I’ll have my husband tell him.”

“Very well, we’ll leave him where he is then—at least for the present.”

The woman went on her way slowly, and the target practice was resumed. It soon became noised around what Jack had done, and many, including Pepper and Dale, came out to see the slain animal.

“That was all right, Jack!” cried Pepper. “That’s better than hitting the target.”

“I’ve been thinking of something,” said Jack, in a serious tone. “Don’t you remember that horse-dealer we once met on the boat, down at Cedarville?”

“Is that the same chap?”

“I think so. He was very overbearing, and I am afraid he will try to make trouble.”

“Humph! He ought to be very glad that his dog didn’t bite somebody,” answered the Imp.

Dan Baxter had been much disturbed by the appearance of the mad dog, and his nerves were not yet settled. Consequently, when he came up to shoot he only made thirty-three out of a possible fifty points.

“This rifle is no good!” he growled. “It doesn’t shoot straight.”

“It is the rifle I used,” said a student who had made forty-six points.

“And I used it too,” said another, who had made forty-two points.

“I don’t care, it doesn’t shoot straight,” growled the bully.

“You do not hold the rifle just right, Baxter,” said Captain Putnam. “Take it this way,” and he illustrated what he was saying.

Jack was right when he said the horse-dealer, Haverick, would try to make trouble. Early the following morning the man called at the Hall and demanded to see Captain Putnam.

“I understand one of your scholars shot my dog,” said Sam Haverick. His face wore a deep scowl.

“You are Mr. Haverick, the horse-dealer?” questioned the captain, politely.

“I am.”

“Yes, the dog was shot because he was mad and wanted to bite Mrs. Bennington.”

“He wasn’t mad at all! He was playful, that’s all. That dog cost me fifty dollars. Somebody has got to pay for him.”

“I don’t think I shall pay for him,” said the captain, stiffly. “He was mad beyond a doubt, and had to be shot. Had he bitten Mrs. Bennington it might have made a lot of trouble for you.”

“Bah! I say he wasn’t mad. I want pay for the dog.”

“You’ll not get it from me.”

“Then I’ll sue!”

“That is your privilege,” answered Captain Putnam, with a shrug of his broad shoulders. “But I don’t think you’ll gain anything by it.”

“And I’ll have the boy who shot the dog arrested,” went on Sam Haverick, roughly.

The man’s manner made the captain angry, and he stiffened up.

“If you do that, sir, I’ll have you arrested also,” he said.

“Me?”

“Yes,—for allowing a mad dog at large.”

The captain’s manner did not suit the horse-dealer. He saw that he could not bulldoze the master of the Hall, and his manner changed.

“Then you ain’t going to pay no damages?”

“Not a cent. I do not think you are entitled to anything. If I thought you were I’d settle in a minute.”

“We’ll see! We’ll see!” grumbled Haverick, and stalked out of the building much discomfited.

As soon as the horse-dealer was gone, Captain Putnam called Jack into his private office and related what had occurred.

“Do not be alarmed, in case he tries to do anything,” said the captain. “I will protect you.”

“Can he do anything?”

“He can make us a little trouble, that is all. He is a foolish man.”

The horse-dealer consulted a lawyer. But the legal light gave him small hope, and he finally concluded that he would not bring suit nor would he have Jack arrested. But he was very bitter, and vowed that sooner or later he would “make Captain Putnam smart, and that young cub of a shooter, too!”

On the following Saturday Jack, Pepper, and Dale went on a long tramp over the hills with George Strong. The teacher was looking for certain botanical specimens, and the boys assisted him all they could. The lads were glad to go out with the second assistant teacher, for his talks were always of interest and profit. By going with him they learned more of botany and geology than they did from their schoolbooks.

“By the way, Mr. Strong,” said Jack, as they were coming home, “have you learned anything more concerning that hidden pot of gold that your ancestors buried during the Revolutionary War?”

“Not a great deal, Ruddy. I have gained what looks like a clew to me. That is, that the pot of gold was buried in the hills some distance to the south of this spot.”

“But you have no idea of the exact location?” said Pepper.

“I have not. If I had I’d certainly go and dig for it.” And George Strong gave a short laugh.

“When you get time you ought to organize a regular treasure hunt,” put in Dale.

“I’ve been thinking of that. But I do not like to waste time on a wild-goose chase,” answered the teacher.

“What has become of those crazy men, Bart Callax and Paul Shaff?”

“I believe they are still out west, under the care of a distant relative.”

“I suppose you don’t want to meet them again,” said Jack.

“No, never!” said George Strong, with a shiver. He had not yet forgotten his terrible experience with his insane relatives.

The party of four had made a long detour and were returning to the Hall by a route that was somewhat new to them. They had a large hill to cross, the other side of which was filled with thick trees growing among some large rocks.

“This is wild enough for anything,” said Pepper. “I didn’t know there was any ground around here so rough.”

“Be careful that you don’t sprain an ankle,” cautioned the teacher.

“Hullo, what’s this?” cried Dale, coming to a sudden halt.

“A cave!” ejaculated Pepper. “A regular cave,” he added, peering into the opening.

“Let’s explore it,” said Jack. “We’ve got time enough.”

George Strong was willing, and a minute later the exploration of the cave began.