The Rover Boys at School
CHAPTER VII
TOM GETS INTO TROUBLE
Putnam Hall was a fine building of brick and stone, standing in
the center of a beautiful parade ground of nearly ten acres. In
front of the parade ground was the wagon road, and beyond was a
gentle slope leading down to the lake. To the left of the
building was a playground hedged in by cedars, at one corner of
which stood a two-story frame building used as a gymnasium. To
the right was a woods, while in the rear were a storehouse, a
stable, and several other outbuildings, backed up by some farm
lands, cultivated for the sole benefit of the institution, so that
the pupils were served in season with the freshest of fruits and
vegetables.
The Hall was built in the form of the letter F, the upright line
forming the front of the building and the other lines representing
wings in the rear. There were three entrances--one for the
teachers and senior class in the center, one for the middle
classes on the right, and another for the youngest pupils on the
left. There were, of course, several doors in the rear in
addition.
The entire ground floor of the Hall was given over to class and
drill rooms. The second floor was occupied by Captain Putnam and
his staff of assistants and the pupils as living and sleeping
apartments, while the top floor was used by the servants, although
there were also several dormitories there, used by young boys, who
came under the care of Mrs. Green, the housekeeper.
Captain Victor Putnam was a bachelor. A West Point graduate, he
had seen gallant service in the West, where he had aided the
daring General Custer during many an Indian uprising. A fall from
a horse, during a campaign in the Black Hills, had laid him on a
long bed of sickness, and had later on caused him to retire from
the army and go back to his old profession of school teaching. He
might have had a position at West Point as an instructor, but he
had preferred to run his own military academy.
"Hurrah, here we are at last!" cried Fred Garrison, as the
carryall swept into view of the Hall. "I see twenty or thirty of
the students, and all togged out in soldier clothes!"
"I suppose we'll be wearing suits soon,", answered Tom. "By
George! I'm going to give them a salute."
"How?" asked Sam.
"Never mind. Just wait and see."
In a minute more they swept up to the gateway leading to the
parade ground. Some of the pupils had seen the carriage coming,
and they ran down to learn if any old friends had arrived.
"Hullo!" yelled several.
"Hullo yourself!" came in return, and then Tom drew out the
firecracker still in his pocket and lit it on the sly. Just as it
was about to explode he threw it up into the air.
Bang! The report was loud and clear, and everybody within hearing
rushed to the spot to see what it meant. There were forty or
fifty pupils and two assistant teachers, but Captain Putnam had
gone out.
"Hi! Hi! What does this mean?" came in a high-pitched voice, and
Josiah Crabtree, the first assistant, rushed up to the carryall.
"What was that exploded?"
"A big firecracker, sir," answered Peleg Snuggers.
"And who exploded it?"
Before the utility man could answer there came a cry from the
parade ground:
"Don't peach, Peleg, don't peach!"
"Silence, boys!" burst from Josiah Crabtree wrathfully. "Such a
disturbance is against the rules of this institution."
"We didn't fire the cracker," piped up a tall, slim boy. "It came
from the carriage."
"Mumps, you're nothing but a sneak and tattle-tale," was the reply
to this, from several older cadets; and, afraid of having his ears
boxed on the sly, John Fenwick, nicknamed Mumps by everybody in
the Hall, ran off.
"Which of you fired the cracker?" demanded Josiah Crabtree,
advancing to the carriage step.
There was no reply, and he turned to the driver.
"Snuggers, what have you to say?"
"I can't say anything, sir. I was taking care of the horses,
sir," answered the hired man meekly.
"I will find out who fired the cracker before I have finished with
you," growled the head assistant. "Get down and march into the
Hall."
"Gracious, what have we struck now?" whispered Fred to Dick.
"Is this Captain Putnam?" asked Dick, without answering his chum.
"No, young man; I am Josiah Crabtree, A. M., Captain Putnam's
first assistant. And you are--" He paused.
"I am Dick Rover, sir. These are my brothers, Tom and Sam."
"And I am Fred Garrison," finished that youth.
"Very good. I hope, Richard, that you were not guilty of firing
that cracker?"
"Was there any great harm in giving a... a salute upon our
arrival?"
"Such a thing is against the rules of the institution. Article 29
says, 'No pupil shall use any firearms or explosive at any time
excepting upon special permission'."
"We are not pupils yet, Mr. Crabtree."
"That argument will not pass, sir. So you fired the cracker?
Very well. Mr. Strong!"
The second assistant came up. He was a man of not over twenty-five,
and his face was mild and pleasant.
"What is it, Mr. Crabtree."
"You will take charge of the other new pupils, while I take charge
of the one who has broken our rules on his very arrival."
"Hold on!" cried Tom. "What are you going to do with my brother?"
"That is... none of your business, Master Rover. You will go with
Mr. Strong."
"He didn't fire the cracker. I did that! And I'm not ashamed of
it. I wasn't a pupil when I did it, and I'm not a pupil now, so I
can't see how you can punish me for breaking one of your rules."
At this there came a titter from the cadets gathered around.
Hardly any of them liked Josiah Crabtree, who was dictatorial
beyond all reason. The head assistant flushed up.
"You are a pupil here, and I will show you that you cannot break
our rules with impunity, and be impudent to me in the bargain!"
cried Crabtree. "Come with me!" And he caught Tom by the arm,
while Dick and the others were led off in another direction.
"Surely, this is a fine beginning," thought Tom as he walked
along. He was half inclined to break away, but concluded to await
developments.
"Are you going to take me to Captain Putnam?" he questioned.
"We do not permit cadets placed under arrest to ask questions."
"Great smoke! Am I under arrest?"
"You are."
"Perhaps you'll want to hang me next."
"Silence! Or I shall be tempted to sentence you to a caning."
"You'll never cane me, sir."
"Silence! You have evidently been a wayward boy at home. If so
it will be best for you to remember that all that is now at an
end, and you must behave yourself and obey orders."
"Can't a fellow breathe without permission?"
"Silence!"
"How about if I want a drink of water?"
"Silence, I say!" stormed Josiah Crabtree. "I'll warrant you'll
not feel so smart by the time you are ready to leave Putnam Hall."
There was a silence after this, as the head assistant led the way
into the building and conducted Tom to a small room looking out
toward the rear.
"You will remain here, Rover, until Captain Putnam returns."
"How long will that be?"
"Didn't I tell you not to ask questions?"
"But Captain Putnam may not return for a day or a month," went on
Tom innocently.
"Captain Putnam will be back in an hour or two." Without another
word, Josiah Crabtree turned and left the room, locking the door
behind him.
"Well, by crickety!" came from the boy when he was left alone.
"I've put my foot into it from the very start. I wonder what
Captain Putnam will say to this? If he's half as sour minded as
old Crabtree, I'll catch it. But I haven't done anything wrong,
and they shan't cane me--and that's flat!" and he shook his
curly head decidedly.
The room was less than ten feet square and plainly furnished with
two chairs and a small couch. In one corner was a washstand
containing a basin and a pitcher of water.
"This looks a good deal like a cell," he mused as he gazed around.
Suddenly his eyes caught some writing on the wall in lead pencil.
He stepped over to read it.
"Josiah Crabtree put me here,
And I am feeling very queer;
He boxed my ears and pulled my hair
Oh, when I'm free won't I get square!"
"Somebody else has been here before me," thought Tom. "I rather
reckon I'll get square too. Hullo, here's another Whittier or
Longfellow:
"In this lock-up I'm confined;
If I stay long I'll lose my mind.
Two days and nights I've paced the floor,
As many others have before."
"I hope I don't stay two days and nights," said Tom half aloud.
Then he walked to the single window of the apartment to find that
it was heavily barred.
"No escaping that way," he went on to read another inscription,
this time in blank verse:
"And I am jugged,
Alone in solitude, and by myself
Alone. I sit and think, and think,
And think again. Old Crabtree,
Base villain that he is, hath put me here!
And why? Ah, thereby hangs a tale, Horatio!
His teeth, the teeth that chew the best of steak
Set on our table--those I found and hid;
And Mumps, the sneak, hath told on me! Alas!
When will my martyrdom end?"
"Good for the chap who hid the teeth!" continued Tom, and smiled
as he thought of the rage Crabtree must have been in when he
discovered that his false teeth were gone. A rattle in the
keyhole disturbed him, and he dropped onto a chair just as the
head assistant again appeared.
"I want the keys to your trunk and your satchel," he said.
"What for, sir?"
"Didn't I tell you before not to ask questions?"
"But my keys are my own private property, and so is what is in the
trunk and the satchel."
"All pupils' baggage is examined, Rover, to see that nothing
improper is introduced into the Hall."
"Want to see if I've got any more firecrackers?"
"We do not allow dime novels, or, eatables, or other things that
might harm our pupils."
"Eating never harmed me, sir."
"Sometimes parents load up their boys with delicacies which are
decidedly harmful. Come, the keys."
Josiah Crabtree's tones were so harsh that Tom's heart rebelled on
the moment.
"I shan't give them to you, Mr. Crabtree. You have no right to
place me here. I wish to see the proprietor, Captain Putnam, at
once."
"Do you--er--refuse to recognize my authority over you?" cried
Josiah Crabtree passionately.
"I do, sir. When I have met Captain Putnam and been enrolled as a
cadet it may be different. But at present I am not a cadet and
not under your authority."
"We'll see, boy, we'll see!" came hotly from the head assistant.
"Before I am done with you, you will be sorry that you have defied
me!"
And with these words he went out, slamming the door after him.
Tom had made an enemy at the very start of his career as a cadet.
