“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 storm 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.