The Mystery at Putnam Hall Part 52

"I'll run over to the Saldy farm and see," answered Andy, and set off without delay.

While Andy was gone, Samuel Darwood went to the barn to hitch up his team. Jack, Pepper and Coulter remained in the kitchen. Coulter sat staring at the fire, but occasionally his eyes wandered to Jack.

Suddenly, while the others were silent, he spoke.

"Say, but you're a fine fellow, Jack Ruddy!" he said. "A fine fellow!

And I'm a--a skunk! That's what I am, a low-down, mean skunk!"

"Never mind now, Gus," answered Jack, kindly. He hardly knew what to say at this outburst.

"You--you jumped in and saved me from drowning, didn't you?"

"Yes. But anybody would do that, Gus, for a schoolmate."

"No, they wouldn't; Reff Ritter wouldn't. He would have left me to drown!" And Coulter shuddered. "You're a real hero, Jack Ruddy! And I'm a--a skunk; yes, a mean, low-down skunk--and I always have been!" And now Gus Coulter buried his face in his hands.

"Jack certainly deserves great credit for jumping in after you," said Pepper, warmly. "It was a mighty cold plunge for anybody to take."

"Oh, let's drop it!" came modestly from the hero of the occasion.

"I am not going to drop it!" retorted Gus Coulter, with spirit. "You saved my life, and I want everybody to know it, especially Reff Ritter.

He would have left me to drown!"

"Reff had to save himself. He was chilled to the bone when we got him out," answered Jack.

"If you had been Reff you wouldn't have run away and left me to drown,"

went on Coulter, stubbornly.

At this Jack was silent.

"You don't know it all, Jack Ruddy. Reff and I had a quarrel. He said he--he didn't want to have anything more to do with me. I believe he--he would have been glad to have me drown!"

"Oh, don't say that, Gus!" burst out Pepper.

"But I will say it!" flared out Gus Coulter. "After this I am going to cut Reff Ritter! And I am going to tell what I know about him, too! And I am going to get Nick Paxton to tell what he knows, too!"

"What do you know about him?" asked Jack, with sudden interest.

"Oh, I know a good deal."

"Coulter, answer me honestly. Do you know anything about his dealings with a certain man named Cameron Smith?"

"Oh, do you know that fellow?" questioned the other cadet, and he stared wonderingly at Jack.

"I know a little about him."

"Don't you have anything to do with him, Jack! And don't you have much to do with Reff! They are both bad! Oh, you don't know how bad!" And Gus Coulter shook his head to emphasize his words.

"What did you and Reff quarrel about, Gus?" asked Pepper.

"We quarreled about--about---- Oh, I don't know how I can speak of it!

But I suppose I've got to, if I want to remain honest. We quarreled over something I found one day in his private box. I got suspicious of him, and when he was taking a nap I took his key and opened the box. And in the box what do you suppose I found?"

"What?" came simultaneously from Jack and Pepper.

"Your watch and chain, Jack."

CHAPTER x.x.x

THE MYSTERY EXPLAINED--CONCLUSION

"My watch and chain!" cried the former major of the school battalion.

"Yes."

"What did you do about it? Why didn't you report it to me, or to Captain Putnam?"

"I was so stunned I didn't know what to do. I couldn't believe that Reff had taken them, and that he was guilty of the robberies that were going on. I locked the box up and put the key back in his pocket. That night I accused him of the theft, and we had a quarrel and almost came to blows.

He said he didn't take the watch and chain, that he found them in the gymnasium near the lockers. He said he was only keeping them to get square with you, and that he would return them to you before the term closed."

"Found them in the gym?" repeated Pepper.

"I don't believe it," came firmly from the former major of the school battalion. "I believe he took them; and I believe he took the other things, too!"

"And I believe that myself, now!" cried Gus Coulter. "Oh, my eyes are open! I used to think Reff was a pretty good fellow, even though something of a bully, but I am learning that he is bad through and through. Paxton saw him sneaking through the dormitories at night, and he got afraid of him and cut him."

"And what of Cameron Smith?" asked Jack. "You said he was bad?"

"He is. I didn't know it at first, but I heard about it during the holidays, when he and Reff went off on what they called a good time."

"Can you give me Smith's real address?"

"He claims to come from Boston, but I know Reff once sent him a letter addressed to Springfield, care of the Excelsior Hotel."

Having once opened his mind, Gus Coulter talked freely of his doings with Reff Ritter. He said the bully had quite some money at times, but the amount was quickly spent.

Just as Mr. Darwood drove around to the door with his sleigh Andy came back to the farmhouse.

"I had some hot words with Ritter," he explained. "He was just as bullying as ever, and gave us no credit for hauling him out of the lake, and he said if Coulter was drowned it would be his own fault. Oh, he is the limit!"

The ride to Putnam Hall was a short one, and on arriving at the school the cadets hurried to their dormitories to change their damp clothing for suits which were perfectly dry. In the meantime Jack asked Pepper to find Captain Putnam and tell the master of the school that he wished to see him on a matter of great importance.

A little later the former major of the school battalion entered the captain's private office, followed by Pepper and Andy. They found Captain Putnam staring at a telegram that had just come in.

"Well, what can I do for you?" he asked.