For the moment after Jack spoke so positively there was a silence. Captain Putnam looked at the young officer thoughtfully.
“Huh! that’s all tommy-rot!” observed Reff Ritter. “He missed and that is all there is to it.”
“Of course he missed,” chimed in Coulter. “He isn’t a crack shot by any means.”
“What makes you so certain that the first two shots were blanks, Major Ruddy?” asked the master of the school, somewhat sternly.
“Well, sir, I think my record helps to prove it,” answered Jack. “At the hundred-yard target I made three bull’s-eyes; at the two-hundred-yard target I made two bull’s-eyes and a four; now I have made a bull’s-eye and two blanks. Doesn’t it stand to reason, sir, that if those cartridges had not been blanks I would at least have made a two or a one?”
“It is probable, yes,” answered the captain, thoughtfully. “But I did not know any blanks had been brought along, much less dealt out.”
“I brought a case along by mistake,” put in Bob Grenwood. “But as soon as I discovered my mistake I put the case to one side. There it is, sir, on yonder rock.”
“I see. You are sure you didn’t hand any blanks around? That particular box looks like the real thing.”
Captain Putnam strode over to the rock and shoved back the lid of the case.
“Why, the top layer of cartridges is gone!” he cried. “Was the box full when you opened it?”
“Why—er—yes, sir—I think so, sir,” stammered the quartermaster of the school battalion. “It looked full to me.”
“Young gentlemen,” went on Captain Putnam, raising his voice. “Please to look over the cartridges you have left.”
There was a hasty examination by over a score of cadets.
“Here, I’ve got a blank!” cried Andy Snow, rushing forward and holding it up. “It’s one of the kind we used to have—those that looked so much like the ball cartridges.”
“Hum! So it is—one of the kind made to represent ball cartridges,” mused Captain Putnam.
“I’ve got two of them!” exclaimed Pepper, and held them up. “My other one is all right,” he added.
“Two blanks and one good one,” said Jack. “That must have been just what I had!”
“Quartermaster Grenwood, can you explain this?” demanded Captain Putnam, sternly.
“N—no, sir. I—I am sure I didn’t deal out any of the blanks. I was very careful, sir.”