“And not a mouthful of food shall any cadet have until he does as we demand,” said Crabtree.
“And if you try to break out you’ll do it at your peril,” added Pluxton Cuddle. And then the two teachers gave the guards in the hallways some instructions in whispers, and went below again.
It would be hard to define the feelings of the cadets when they were left alone once more. Some wanted to break down the doors at once, while others spoke of climbing out of the windows, using knotted-together bedsheets for that purpose. Still others advised waiting to see what might turn up.
“We can all do without our breakfast,” said Jack. “And we can go without dinner, too, if we have to.”
“Maybe you can, but I can’t,” groaned Stuffer.
“I think old Crabtree wants us to break down the doors and do as much damage to the building as possible,” said Andy. “Then he’ll be able to prove to Captain Putnam what a lot of ruffians we are.”
“Maybe you are right,” answered Dale. “I agree with Jack, let us go slow and see what happens.”
“I wonder how Reff Ritter and his crowd are taking it,” said Henry Lee.
“Coulter won’t want to go without his breakfast,” answered Andy. “He is the greatest feeder in the school. He eats even more than Stuffer.”
“Reff Ritter can eat his share, too,” said Bart.
“Ritter is responsible for a good deal of this trouble,” went on Dave Kearney. “He made old Crabtree boiling mad by throwing the inkwell, and he started the throwing of things in the mess room.”
It was a dreary wait in the dormitories, and the majority of the boys did not know what to do with themselves. Joe Nelson started to study but soon gave it up. One lad had some dominoes and several cadets played a dozen games or more.
While this was going on Jack walked around the two rooms and looked into the various clothing closets. Presently an idea struck him and he called Andy to his side. The two entered one of the closets, and the acrobatic youth got up on a shelf and pulled loose a board of the ceiling. Then he wormed his way through the opening made.
“What is Andy doing?” asked Pepper, coming up.
“Why, I remembered the board ceiling in this closet,” answered Jack. “I wondered what was above it. Andy is such a gymnast I sent him up to investigate.”