CHAPTER XVIII
HAZERS AT WORK
William Philander Tubbs was dreaming of a fashionable dance he had once enjoyed when he suddenly found himself bound and gagged and being carried he knew not where.
"This is awful!" he thought. "What in the world does it mean?"
Then he remembered that some of the cadets had spoken about hazing, and the cold perspiration came out on his forehead.
The gag in his mouth was made of nothing more than a knot in a clean towel, but it worried him a good deal and he was afraid he would be choked to death by it. But nothing of the sort happened, and soon the gag was removed.
"What does this mean?" he asked, as many cadets had done before him.
He received no answer, and tried to break away from his tormentors. But their hold on him could not be shaken, and before he was set down he found himself well out of sight and hearing of Camp Putnam, as the spot had been named.
THE THING WAS GIVEN A TOSS, AND UP HE WENT, HIGH INTO THE AIR.—P. 144.
He had heard of the mysterious society of Black Skulls before, but so far had never been hazed by the members. He looked curiously at the masked cadets, wondering if he could recognize any of them.
"Are you prepared to meet your doom?" he was asked.
"I am prepared to go back to my tent," he answered.
"Away with him!" was the cry.
"Where are you going to take me?" he asked anxiously.
There was no reply, but in a twinkling his hands were caught and bound tightly behind him, and a bag was thrust over his head and fastened around his throat. The bag was so thick that he could not see a thing before him.
"Let him take the cold water cure," said a voice, and he was forced to move forward.
"It's rather deep there," whispered a voice, just loud enough for him to hear.
"Not over his waist," whispered another voice.
"What! It's twice over his head," was the answer. "I tested the water this afternoon."
"Never mind, he's got to take the test anyway."
Now Tubbs was by no means a good swimmer, and the idea of being thrown into the water with his hands tied behind him and his head in a sack was frightful in the extreme.
"Le—let me go!" he whined. "Let me go, I say!"
"Forward with him!" was the heartless reply, and he was pushed on until he suddenly found tiimself in water up to his ankles.
"Stop! stop!" he cried, in a muffled voce. "Stop! I don't want to drown!"
"Will you obey your superiors?"
"Yes, yes—anything!"
"Will you join the Order of Black Skulls?"
"Anything, I told you, only don't let me drown!" cried the frightened Willam Philander.
"And will you promise to keep mum about what has happened here to-night?"
"Yes, yes!"
"Very well, you shall not be allowed to drown. But you must take the plunge."
"Oh, dear me! I can't"
"Forward, and be lively about it. We wil fish you out with a crab net."
"But I—I can't swim with my hands tied behind me!" chattered poor Tubbs.
"Yes, you can. Forward now! Ha, fellows, he will not go. Jab him with the pitchfork!"
At this a student stepped behind Tubbs and pricked his back with a pin.
The fashionable youth let out a yell of terror, and then, certain that he was about to take an awful plunge into some deep part of the lake, made a desperate leap forward.
A wild shriek of laughter rang out as Tubbs made the leap. He had jumped across a narrow brook not six inches deep and landed sprawling on the grass beyond.
"You are now initiated," said one of the masked cadets, when the laughter had somewhat died away. And at once Tubbs' hands were untied and the bag was taken from his head.
"Well, I never!" he murmured, as he gazed in amazement at the brook. "Thought it was the lake front sure!"
"As you are now one of us, Tubbs, you must wear these," said a cadet, and furnished the fashionable youth with a mask, cap, and pair of norns.
"We have now disposed of number two," said another cadet. "What of number three?"
"Number three must"
At that moment a gun-shot rang out on the still night air.
"Hullo, something is wrong!" cried one of the hazers, in quick alarm.
"There goes the drum, fellows!" came in the unmistakable voice of Sam Rover. "We've got to hustle back to camp or we'll be exposed!"
"Right you are," came from Songbird Powell. "Come, fellows, and mind you don't let anybody see the masks and other things."
And away they scooted, under the trees and then along a row of bushes running fairly close to the first line of tents. In the meantime the drum continued to roll and the whole camp was astir. Captain Putnam himself was out and was soon followed by Major Larry and Captain Fred Garrison. Dick Rover knew what was up and took his time about showing hmself, since he did not wish any of the hazers to be captured.
"Call the roll!" said Major Larry, after making a round of the company streets. But he himself was in no particular hurry.
Almost out of breath with running, the hazers came into camp, accompanied by Hans and Tubbs. Masks, caps, and horns were pushed out of sight under cots, and then all sallied forth to join their various commands. Calling the roll was already in progress.
"All present or accounted for," came the declaration, five minutes later.
"All present, eh?" mused Captain Putnam. "That's queer. Who fired that gun?"
"Private Jackson."
"I will interview Jackson," said the master of the school, and he ordered Jackson to his private tent.
"What made you raise the alarm, Jackson?" he questioned sharply.
"I thought some of the cadets were out of camp, sir," was the answer.
"Did you see them go?"
"Not exactly, sir, but I thought I saw three or four of them sneaking along near the woods."
"Humph! You should be sure of what you are doing, Jackson. It is not commendable to arouse the whole camp at midnight for nothing."
"Well, I thought I was sure," insisted the crestfallen cadet. He knew for a certainty that some of the cadets had been out but saw no way to prove it.
"In the future be more careful while on guard duty," said Captain Putnam coldly; and there the subject was dropped.
"Who fired that shot?" asked Sam, on the morning following the hazing.
"Jackson," replied a cadet named Gilson, who had been one of the hazers.
"The sneak!" murmured the youngest Rover.
"That's what I say, Rover."
"Guess he did it to get square for losing that swimming race," put in another of the hazers.
"More than likely. We ought to square up with him for it."
"That's the talk."
"Vat's der madder mit tossing him a blanket up?" asked Hans earnestly.
"Think that's a good way to get square, eh, Hans?" laughed Sam.
"Dot's der vorst bunishments vot I know of," said the German boy with deep conviction. "Makes you feel like you vos going to preak abard alretty kvick!"
All of the boys knew that it would not do to try any more hazing for the next few nights. Even if the guards gave no alarm, Captain Putnam or one of the teachers might be on the watch to catch them.
On the following day it rained and the majority of the cadets were glad enough to remain under shelter. A few went bathing or fishing and the latter brought in quite a respectable mess of fish. Even in fishing the boys were rivals and a new tin cup was voted to the cadet bringing in the string that weighed the most.
The rain began about ten o'clock and by noon the water was coming down in torrents.
"This is beautiful," remarked Tom, as he looked at the puddle in the company's street.
"We ought to have dug another ditch to let that water run off," remarked Dick.
"Well, nobody wants to go out now and dig."
"That is true."
Instead of abating the rain became more violent as the afternoon advanced.
"This looks as if we were going to have some wind," remarked Major Larry with a doubtful shake of his head.
"I hope it doesn't blow too heavily," said Captain Putnam.
"Don't you think I had better caution the fellows to pin down their tents extra hard?"
"It would do no harm, Major Colby."
"Then I'll do it," said Larry, and issued the order without delay. Some of the cadets grumbled at being driven out into the wet, but the majority knew they were doing the work for their own good and went at it without a murmur.
At about sundown the wind fell and after supper it was as calm as it had been before the itorm started.
"Told you there wasn't any use of getting wet pounding down stakes," growled Lew Flapp. He had done his work in a slip-shod fashion, staying out but a minute or two for that purpose.
It still rained, so building camp-fires was out of the question. This being so, the cadets turned in early, glad to seek the shelter of their cots and their warm blankets.
An hour went by, when of a sudden the rain increased once more. Then came a rush of wind that shook all of the tents violently.
"We are not out of it yet, it would seem," said Dick, as he sat up on his cot to listen to the flapping of the canvas in the company street.
He had hardly spoken when another gust of wind tore down on the camp. There was a ripping of cloth and a crashing of poles, and then a cry for help sounded from several places at once.