Pepper watched him out of sight.

“No use of reporting this to Captain Putnam,” he reasoned.  “Ritter would, of course, deny everything.  Wonder if he did much damage?”

Pepper made an examination.  Luckily the bully had not had time to get in his nefarious work to any extent, and the bottom of the sloop showed only two slight ax cuts, not deep enough to do harm.

“Caught him just in time,” thought Pepper, and then he sat down on the stern seat and munched away at the sandwich and cake, washing the stuff down with a drink from the cooler in the boathouse.

By the time he had finished, the other cadets were coming from their supper, and soon he was joined by Jack, Dale and several others.  In private, he told the young major of what had occurred.

“The rascal!” cried Jack.  “If he hurts my boat he shall pay for it!”

“Captain Putnam must have given him a good dressing down to make him so ugly.”

“Well, he deserved it.”

“Say,” put in Dale.  “That was mean of old Crabtree to send you away from the table.”

“Never mind, I’ll pay him back,” answered The Imp, grimly.

Several days passed and during that time Reff Ritter kept his distance.  The bully was in a bitter mood, and even his cronies could get little out of him.

The reason for this was twofold.  He was smarting over the treatment received at the hands of Jack and Captain Putnam and he was also disturbed because his father had written to him, stating he could allow him hardly any spending money for the term.  He had already borrowed a small amount from Paxton and he was wondering how he was going to pay it back.  Added to this, he had gambled with some racetrack men during the summer, and one of those fellows now held his IOU for forty dollars.

“Dad has got to let me have money, that is all there is to it,” he told himself.  “If he won’t, then I’ll write to mother.  She’ll raise it for me somehow; she always does.”  Which shows how foolish an indulgent mother can sometimes be.

In the meantime, Andy had recovered from the accident and was now around as usual.  Another hunt had been instituted for his belongings, but without success.  A report came in that a strange man had been seen on the road just previous to the accident, and the cadets and Captain Putnam wondered if that individual had picked up Andy’s things and made off with them.

“Maybe he was the fellow I saw,” said Andy, and then he heaved a deep sigh, thinking he would never hear of his property again.

Jack and Pepper were glad to see Bert Field again, and also to see their old friend, Joseph Hogan.  Emerald came back wearing a smile that was sunniness itself.

“Sure, an’ it does me heart good to be here once more, so it does,” he said, in his rich Irish brogue.  “I traveled all over the ould sod this summer, so I did.  But Putnam Hall an’ the States fer me every toime!”