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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of In School and Out, by Oliver Optic
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: In School and Out
+       or, The Conquest of Richard Grant.
+
+Author: Oliver Optic
+
+Release Date: February 26, 2008 [EBook #24698]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IN SCHOOL AND OUT ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by David Edwards and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was
+produced from images generously made available by The
+Internet Archive)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: RICHARD ON DRILL. Page 142.]
+
+
+
+
+IN SCHOOL AND OUT;
+
+OR,
+
+THE CONQUEST OF RICHARD GRANT.
+
+
+A Story for Young People.
+
+
+
+BY
+
+OLIVER OPTIC,
+
+
+AUTHOR OF "THE BOAT CLUB," "ALL ABOARD," "NOW OR NEVER,"
+"TRY AGAIN," "POOR AND PROUD," "LITTLE BY LITTLE,"
+"RICH AND HUMBLE," "THE RIVERDALE
+STORY BOOKS," ETC.
+
+
+
+BOSTON:
+LEE AND SHEPARD, PUBLISHERS.
+NEW YORK:
+LEE, SHEPARD AND DILLINGHAM.
+1873.
+
+Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1863, by
+WILLIAM T. ADAMS,
+In the Clerk's Office of the District Court
+of the District of Massachusetts.
+
+STEREOTYPED AT THE
+BOSTON STEREOTYPE FOUNDRY,
+19 Spring Lane.
+
+
+
+
+TO
+
+EDWARD JENKINS HOWE
+
+This Book
+
+IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED
+
+BY HIS UNCLE.
+
+
+
+
+THE WOODVILLE STORIES.
+
+IN SIX VOLUMES.
+
+A LIBRARY FOR BOYS AND GIRLS.
+
+BY OLIVER OPTIC.
+
+
+1. RICH AND HUMBLE.
+2. IN SCHOOL AND OUT.
+3. WATCH AND WAIT.
+4. WORK AND WIN.
+5. HOPE AND HAVE.
+6. HASTE AND WASTE.
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+
+The second volume of the Woodville Stories contains the experience of
+Richard Grant, "in school and out." We are sorry to say that Richard
+had become a bad boy, and was in the habit of getting into the most
+abominable scrapes, some of which are detailed in the first chapters of
+this book. But he is not what is sometimes called a vicious boy, for he
+has many good qualities, which redeem him from absolute condemnation.
+There is something noble in his character, which is the germ of his
+ultimate salvation from the sins which so easily beset him.
+
+Richard, like thousands of others, finds his strongest and most
+dangerous foe within his own heart; and the conquest he achieves is not
+a triumph of mind over matter, of force over force, but of principle
+over passion, of the good angels in the heart over the invading legion
+of evil ones.
+
+Richard's experience is full of stirring incidents; and while the
+author hopes therein to realize the expectations of his partial young
+friends, he begs them to remember that these exciting events are only
+the canvas upon which he has endeavored to paint the great change
+wrought in the character of the hero. There is a moral in the story,
+and though the author has not attempted to "point" it, he hopes his
+young readers will feel it, even if they do not see it.
+
+Again it affords me pleasure to acknowledge my indebtedness to my young
+friends for the kind reception given to my books. I trust that this,
+the twentieth volume of my "Stories for Young People," will not
+disappoint their hopes, or fail to improve their minds and hearts.
+
+WILLIAM T. ADAMS.
+
+DORCHESTER,
+Oct. 26, 1863.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+                                                                   PAGE
+
+CHAP. I.
+  Richard Grant and Friend get into an awful Scrape.               11
+
+CHAP. II.
+  Richard jumps out of the Frying-pan into the Fire.               23
+
+CHAP. III.
+  Richard finds that no Chastening seemeth joyous.                 35
+
+CHAP. IV.
+  Richard makes a tremendous Sensation at Woodville.               47
+
+CHAP. V.
+  Richard is determined to be revenged.                            59
+
+CHAP. VI.
+  Richard gives another Illustration of Sleep-walking.             71
+
+CHAP. VII.
+  Richard kindles a Fire.                                          83
+
+CHAP. VIII.
+  Richard beholds how great a Matter a little Fire kindleth.       96
+
+CHAP. IX.
+  Richard goes to the Tunbrook Military Institute.                110
+
+CHAP. X.
+  Richard learns the meaning of Right About Face.                 123
+
+CHAP. XI.
+  Richard goes through the Drill, and has a set-to in the Grove.  136
+
+CHAP. XII.
+  Richard does a "Big Thing" and takes the Consequences.           151
+
+CHAP. XIII.
+  Richard listens to a Homily on Fighting, and spends the Night in
+  the Guard House.                                                166
+
+CHAP. XIV.
+  Richard does Guard Duty, and is captured by an Enemy.           180
+
+CHAP. XV.
+  Richard finds himself in the Hands of the Regulators.           194
+
+CHAP. XVI.
+  Richard becomes First Sergeant of Company D.                    208
+
+CHAP. XVII.
+  Richard gives the Tunbrookers a Lesson in Boating.              220
+
+CHAP. XVIII.
+  Richard wins another Race, and Tunbrook is mutinous.            235
+
+CHAP. XIX.
+  Richard is determined, and some Allusion is made to
+  "Watermelons."                                                  247
+
+CHAP. XX.
+  Richard Visits Green Island, and the Regulators consider
+  their Plans.                                                    260
+
+CHAP. XXI.
+  Richard annihilates the Regulators, and the Story is concluded. 273
+
+
+
+
+IN SCHOOL AND OUT;
+
+OR,
+
+THE CONQUEST OF RICHARD GRANT.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+RICHARD GRANT AND FRIEND GET INTO AN AWFUL SCRAPE.
+
+
+"Now, steady as she is," said Sandy Brimblecom, who lay upon the
+half-deck of the Greyhound, endeavoring to peer through the darkness of
+a cloudy night, which had settled deep and dense upon the Hudson, and
+obscured every object on the shore. "Steady as she is, Dick, and we
+shall go in all right."
+
+"Ay, ay; steady it is," replied Richard Grant, who was at the helm.
+
+"Port a little! Port a little!" added Sandy, a few moments after, as he
+discovered the entrance of a little inlet, which was the destination of
+the Greyhound.
+
+"Shut up your head, Sandy!" replied Richard, in a low but energetic
+tone. "You might as well publish our plan in the newspaper as speak as
+loud as that."
+
+"Port a little more," said the lookout forward.
+
+"What's the use of hallooing port?" answered Richard, impatiently.
+"Don't you see the mainsail shakes now?"
+
+"You will be on the rocks in half a minute more."
+
+"Let her go about, then, and we will get a little farther to windward
+before we try to run in."
+
+The Greyhound came over on the other tack, and stood away from the
+shore a considerable distance. The wind was very light, and the current
+was against them; so the progress of the boat was necessarily very
+slow.
+
+"Now, Sandy Brimblecom," said Richard, when the boat had made a third
+of the distance to the opposite shore, "we might as well go back to
+Woodville, and go to bed, as to attempt to carry this thing through, if
+you are going to bellow and yell like a mad bull."
+
+"I didn't think I spoke very loud," replied Sandy.
+
+"Didn't think so!" sneered Richard. "Any one might have heard you clear
+across the river."
+
+"O, no, Dick; not so bad as that."
+
+"You spoke too loud, at any rate, and you might as well go up and tell
+'Old Batterbones' what we are about as talk half so loud as you did."
+
+"Come, Dick, you have said enough," replied Sandy, who did not relish
+all the reflections that were cast upon his conduct.
+
+"You are as stupid as an owl; I thought you had some common sense."
+
+"That'll do, Dick; I don't want any more of that kind of blarney; and
+if you don't shut up, you or I will get a black eye."
+
+Richard did not seem to have much doubt which of them would obtain this
+ornamental tinting of the physiognomy, for he immediately changed his
+tone, and did not venture to apply any more unpleasant epithets to his
+companion. Sandy had obtained some reputation as a fighting character,
+and was virtually the champion of the ring among the boys in the
+vicinity of Whitestone.
+
+"Now be more careful, this time, Sandy," said Richard, as he put the
+boat about upon the other tack.
+
+"Don't give me any more lip, Dick, and I will do any thing you want,"
+replied Sandy, mollified by the altered tones of his friend.
+
+"Don't get mad; we have no time to quarrel, if we mean to put this
+thing through to-night."
+
+"I am ready to put it through, but I have no notion of being treated
+like a slave or a fool," said Sandy, as he lay down upon the half-deck,
+and began to gaze into the gloom ahead of the boat. "Luff a little," he
+added, as he discovered the dim outline of the shore.
+
+"Luff, it is."
+
+This time, both boys spoke in a low tone, and the want of harmony which
+a few moments before had threatened to break up the enterprise, and end
+in a game of rough and tumble, was removed. The Greyhound, under the
+skilful management of Richard,--for there was not a better sailor of
+his years on the Hudson,--was thrown into the inlet without touching
+the rocks which lay at the entrance.
+
+Sandy, with the painter in his hand, jumped ashore, and made fast to a
+small tree on the bank. Neither of the boys spoke a loud word, and
+Richard carefully brailed up the sails, so that their flapping should
+not attract the attention of any person who might be in the vicinity.
+
+"Now, Dick, if you will follow me, I will lead you up to Old
+Batterbones' garden," whispered Sandy, when the sail boat had been
+properly secured.
+
+"I will follow you. Have you got the bag?"
+
+"Yes--all right."
+
+Richard followed his companion up the steep bank of the river, across a
+field, till they came to a fence, where they paused to reconnoitre.
+
+"Now be careful, Sandy," whispered Richard, nervously, "for I wouldn't
+be caught in this scrape for the best hundred dollars that ever was."
+
+"I don't want to be caught any more than you do," replied Sandy.
+
+"Well, it won't make so much difference with you as it will with me."
+
+"Won't it! Don't you think my neck is worth as much to me as yours is
+to you?"
+
+"I don't mean that, of course. Your father is a carpenter, and people
+won't think half so much of it if you are caught, as they would in my
+case."
+
+"My father never was in the Tombs if he is a carpenter," growled Sandy.
+
+"That's mean," said Richard. "You know he was put there for nothing at
+all."
+
+"It isn't half so mean as what you said. If you think you are so much
+better than I am, what did you ask me to come with you for?"
+
+"I don't think I am any better than you are."
+
+"Yes, you do; and you may go ahead with the game; I won't go any
+farther."
+
+"Don't back out, Sandy. Have you got scared?"
+
+"I'm not scared; you are too big for your boots."
+
+"No, no, Sandy, I didn't mean any thing of the sort."
+
+"Didn't you say it wouldn't make as much difference with me as with
+you, if we got caught?"
+
+"I only meant that people would talk more about me than they would
+about you."
+
+"Perhaps they would, and perhaps they wouldn't. In my opinion, I'm as
+good as you are, any day."
+
+"Of course you are; I never doubted it. Come, Sandy, we've run together
+too long to fall out now."
+
+"I don't want to fall out, or back out; but I don't want to be snubbed,
+every ten minutes, about my father's being a carpenter."
+
+"I won't say another word, Sandy. I didn't mean any thing."
+
+"All right, my boy. I don't live in a big house, and my father isn't
+rich; but I'm just as good as any other fellow, for all that. If you
+didn't mean any thing, I'm satisfied."
+
+"If I thought you were not as good as I am, of course I shouldn't go
+with you."
+
+This conversation was carried on in a very low tone, while the boys
+were seated by the fence. When Sandy's injured honor was healed, and
+the son of the rich broker of Woodville had acknowledged that the other
+was his equal, they were again ready to proceed with the business of
+the enterprise. Richard was not content with the homage which his
+companions could render without any sacrifice of self-respect, but he
+exacted the right not only to command them, but also to be indulged in
+the use of opprobrious epithets.
+
+Sandy, as the "bully" of his circle, could not quietly submit to the
+domineering style of the rich man's son. He was willing, for the sake
+of sharing in the "loaves and fishes," which Richard had to distribute,
+to compromise far enough to be ordered in a gentlemanly way; but he
+would not tolerate any invidious comparisons. Richard had a fine boat,
+and Sandy was very fond of sailing, which made him sacrifice some
+portion of his dignity as the champion of the ring. Richard was usually
+well supplied with money, which was a scarce article with the son of
+the journeyman carpenter, and boys bow down to the Mammon of this
+world, as well as men.
+
+Richard patronized Sandy because his hard fist and abundant muscle
+rendered him a powerful and influential person. It was easier to buy
+the champion than it was to whip him, and the broker's son had
+conquered the bully by paying for the oysters at Bob Bleeker's saloon
+in Whitestone, and by permitting him to use the Greyhound when he
+wished. Richard had a great respect for muscle. If Sandy Brimblecom's
+father had chosen to pursue his peaceful avocation in any other
+locality than Whitestone, Richard Grant might have been the champion of
+the "P.R." The advent of Sandy had produced a fight, in which Richard,
+though he behaved to the satisfaction of all his friends and
+supporters, was severely punished. His friends called it a drawn
+battle; but Richard did not think it advisable to have the question
+definitely settled, and Sandy was acknowledged as the champion.
+
+Richard respected the boy he could not whip, and they had become
+friends, or, at least, associates. It is scarcely necessary to inform
+the intelligent young readers of this book, that the moral standard of
+both boys was very low; for those who can fight simply to find out
+which is "the better man," have a very inadequate conception of what
+constitutes true dignity and nobility of character. "Muscle" and
+"backbone"--fighting ability and courage--in a good cause, are to be
+respected, and men and boys will always pay them due homage; but
+fighting for its own sake is mean, low-lived business--the most vicious
+of vices.
+
+Sandy was satisfied with the explanation of his patron, and rising from
+his seat under the fence, he looked over into the garden, and listened
+for any sounds which might indicate an obstacle in the way of the
+enterprise; but not a sound could be heard except the chirping of the
+crickets and the piping of the frogs. With a great deal of care, he
+climbed to the top of the fence, and then listened again.
+
+"Does he keep a dog?" whispered Richard.
+
+"I don't know; I don't care, either," replied Sandy, as he dropped from
+the fence into the garden.
+
+Richard climbed over with the same caution which his companion had
+used, and after following him for some distance, reached a patch of
+watermelons, which appeared to be the destination of this night
+expedition.
+
+"Get down on the ground!" whispered Sandy, who had already prostrated
+himself. "You will blow the whole thing if you stand up there."
+
+"Open the bag, and let's fill it up quick!" replied Richard, as he
+picked a large melon from the vines, and handed it to the other.
+
+"What's the use of picking such a melon in that?" snarled Sandy. "It
+isn't ripe. Can't you tell the ripe ones by the feeling?"
+
+"No; I can't."
+
+"Stick your thumb nail into them. Here, you take the bag, and I will
+pick them. We don't want to lug off melons that are good for nothing."
+
+Richard took the bag, and placed the fruit in it as fast as Sandy
+gathered it. In a few moments the bag was full, and the young marauders
+commenced their retreat with all the haste which a proper caution would
+permit. The bag was large and heavy, and it required their united
+strength to carry it.
+
+The garden proved to be something like an eel trap--it was easy enough
+to get into it, but very difficult to get out. Near the melon patch
+there was a piece of corn, by the side of which lay their path out of
+the enclosure. They had gone but a short distance when they heard a
+rustling in the corn behind them, and before they could make out the
+cause of the noise, a strong hand grasped the collar of each of them.
+
+"We've caught you, my lads!" exclaimed one of the men, who had seized
+Richard.
+
+It was an awful scrape: so thought the broker's son; and Sandy,
+notwithstanding the difference in their social standing, was of the
+same opinion.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+RICHARD JUMPS OUT OF THE FRYING-PAN INTO THE FIRE.
+
+
+Richard Grant was the son of a rich man, but he was neither any better
+nor any worse for this circumstance. He had been in a great many sad
+scrapes before the one in which the reader now finds him. It was not
+the first time he had taken that which did not belong to him.
+
+In his father's garden there was an abundance of watermelons, and he
+had always been plentifully supplied with all the fruits in their
+season. He had, therefore, no excuse for stealing melons. There could
+be no excuse, under any circumstances, for stealing. He did not need
+them; he did not even want them.
+
+But Richard was fond of exciting adventures, and it was simply the love
+of fun which had prompted him to visit the garden of Mr. Batterman. I
+hope none of my young friends will think this even palliated his
+offence. If he did not have the motive which actuates the common thief,
+he was certainly more to blame than if he had needed or wanted the
+product of his theft. Stealing for fun cannot be any better than
+stealing from the love of gain, or to provide for one's necessities.
+
+Richard Grant is the hero of this volume; but I shall not wink at any
+of his vices or inconsistencies on this account. That he may not be
+utterly despised, however, I may say of him that he had a great many
+redeeming qualities. He was generous to a fault, and his impulses were
+generally worthy and noble. He was ready to give to the needy, and to
+fight for the oppressed. He was kind-hearted, and nothing but the love
+of sport could induce him to violate the rights, or injure the
+feelings, of others. He lived upon excitement, and was not always very
+choice of the means which he used to procure it.
+
+Richard's father had not been able to bestow that care upon his moral
+education which his temperament required. He needed discipline, and the
+want of it was seen in his daily life. Mr. Grant was conscious of the
+boy's needs, and he frequently talked to him about his vicious course;
+but words did not supply the want; he required a more active treatment.
+
+Sandy Brimblecom was as little disturbed by his conscience as his more
+wealthy companion. As long as he could stand upon an equality with an
+heir of Woodville, he was satisfied to let all moral questions take
+care of themselves. The two boys who sailed in the Greyhound on the
+eventful night of their introduction to the reader, were well mated in
+every respect. Either was ready to follow the lead of the other,
+without asking whether he was doing right or wrong. If there was any
+fun to be had out of the enterprise, both were ready to engage in it.
+
+They had got into a bad scrape this time, for Mr. Batterman had the
+reputation of being a very hard man. He had suffered a great deal from
+the depredations of fruit thieves. He carried on a large business in
+raising fruit and vegetables for the New York market. It was not
+pastime to him, but bread and butter--the means by which he supported
+his family and accumulated his property. Those who stole fruit from his
+gardens robbed him of so much of his income; and he was not in the
+humor to submit to these exactions.
+
+In several instances he had taken these petty marauders before the
+courts, and caused them to be fined; but as this course did not remove
+the evil, he had taken the law in his own hands, and severely punished
+some of the juvenile offenders. For this reason, among the boys he was
+called "Old Batterbones," which was only a slight corruption of his
+real name.
+
+Of course Richard and Sandy had no idea of being caught when they
+embarked in this plundering expedition. They had taken extraordinary
+precautions to prevent such a catastrophe; but the farmer was
+constantly on the watch, and they had fallen into the trap which he had
+set not specially for them, but for any who might invade his grounds
+with malicious intent.
+
+[Illustration: RICHARD IN TROUBLE. Page 27.]
+
+The person who held Richard by the collar, and whose finger nails had
+already left their marks upon his neck, was no less a person than "Old
+Batterbones" himself; and from the manner in which he shook his
+prisoner, he seemed determined to make good his title to the sobriquet
+the boys had given him. The person who held Sandy in his grasp was the
+farmer's foreman, who fully sympathized with his employer in his views
+of discipline.
+
+Richard struggled, and Sandy struggled; but they might as well have
+attempted to escape from the grip of an iron vise. The farmer and his
+man held them fast; and the more their prisoners squirmed, the more
+they shook them, and the more they seemed to enjoy the satisfaction of
+shaking and choking them.
+
+"We've caught you, my lads," said Mr. Batterman several times.
+
+"Let go of me," growled Richard, his anger fully aroused by the rough
+treatment he was receiving.
+
+"I'll let go, you young villain, when I've done with you, but not
+before. I'll teach you to steal my melons; and then you can go home and
+tell your father how it is done," replied the farmer, as he twisted the
+cravat of the poor boy till he could hardly breathe.
+
+Sandy, finding that any violent resistance was hopeless, submitted to
+his fate with the best grace he could command; but he only waited his
+chance for something to turn up that would afford him an opportunity to
+escape. He intended to use his wits, rather than his muscle, on this
+occasion; and his prudence saved him from some portion of the hard
+usage that was bestowed upon his companion in misery.
+
+"Keep cool, Dick," said he, in a low tone, when he saw that his friend
+was wasting his strength and adding to his discomfort by useless
+resistance to the fiat of destiny.
+
+Richard profited by this hint; and when he became calm and reasonable,
+the farmer relaxed his grasp, and permitted him to breathe with more
+freedom.
+
+"Who are they, Bates?" asked the farmer of his foreman.
+
+"I don't know them; it is so dark I can't make them out," replied
+Bates.
+
+"We'll take them up to the barn, and see what they look like."
+
+"They have been here before, I think," added the foreman. "I am pretty
+sure I saw them the other night."
+
+"No, you didn't," said Richard, testily. "I never was here before."
+
+"Perhaps you never was, my boys; but when chaps like you go far enough
+to steal, you don't stand about a lie or two to cover it up. Now, boys,
+you may take up that bag, and carry it to the barn."
+
+"I won't carry it," said Richard, promptly.
+
+"Won't you?" And the farmer again applied the twisting process to his
+cravat, till the boy's strength was almost gone from the choking
+sensation.
+
+"Let go of me! You'll choke me to death!" gasped Richard, who had never
+before been so roughly handled.
+
+"Will you carry the bag up to the barn, then?" demanded Mr. Batterman,
+as he eased off the pressure upon the prisoner's throat.
+
+"No, I won't!" replied Richard.
+
+"Now, I think you will," said the farmer, as he resumed the torture.
+
+"Come, Dick, we may as well do it. It is no use to kick; we are in for
+it, and you had better make the best of it," interposed Sandy, who was
+disposed to get off as cheaply as he could.
+
+"I won't touch the bag! I'll die first!" gasped Richard, whose rage had
+now reached the boiling point, and there was no more reason in him than
+in a mad dog.
+
+"He's a hard one," suggested Bates.
+
+"But he shall come to it, or I'll break every bone in his body,"
+answered the farmer.
+
+Richard, insane with passion, and choking with rage as well as from the
+discipline of Mr. Batterman, commenced a tremendous struggle for
+freedom and self-preservation. He sprang towards his captor in an
+ineffectual attempt to hit him, or to scratch out his eyes with his
+finger nails. Failing in his efforts in this direction, he began to use
+his heels as vigorously as a three-year old colt, and succeeded in
+planting two or three hard kicks upon the shins of the farmer.
+
+Mr. Batterman was a large and powerful man, and the efforts of Richard
+were as puny as those of a lamb in the fangs of the lion. He foamed and
+struggled till his strength was exhausted, and his conqueror permitted
+him to drop upon the ground.
+
+"You've killed him," said Sandy, very much alarmed at the apparent fate
+of his friend.
+
+"If I have, that's his business, not mine," answered the farmer,
+without betraying any remorse at what he had done.
+
+But Richard was not killed, or even very badly injured. The choking had
+deprived him of all his strength; but a few minutes' respite from
+persecution restored him in a great measure, and he attempted to get
+up, when he was promptly seized by the farmer again.
+
+"Will you carry the bag up to the barn, or will you try some more of
+the same sort?" asked Mr. Batterman, in a tone which fully indicated
+his intention to resume his harsh treatment.
+
+"I can't carry it," replied Richard, in an altered tone, which was, at
+least, suggestive of a "caving in" of his obdurate will.
+
+"You carried it very well before you were caught, and perhaps you can
+again," sneered the farmer.
+
+"Come, Dick, take hold of the bag," said Sandy. "It's no use."
+
+"I wasn't brought up to do that kind of work," replied Richard, whose
+pride, quite as much as his self-will, prompted him to refuse to do the
+degrading office.
+
+"Take your choice, and be quick," said Mr. Batterman, preparing to
+apply his disciplinary powers again. "Take hold of the bag at once, or
+I'll shake the life out of you."
+
+Richard could not stand another dose of the farmer's exhausting
+medicine, and he sullenly seized the bag, while Sandy took hold of the
+other side. Bates and the farmer kept close to them, so that there was
+no chance to break away. After changing hands several times, they
+reached the barn, and placed the melons in the position designated by
+their tormentors.
+
+"Now, who are you?" asked the farmer, when they had disposed of the
+bag.
+
+"None of your business," answered Richard, in a low, sullen tone.
+
+"You haven't got enough of it yet. Bates, bring the lantern, and fetch
+a cowhide with you, while you are about it."
+
+Richard did not like the sound of this last order. It was ominous of a
+painful and degrading operation, a process of discipline to which he
+had never before been subjected. The idea of being whipped was almost
+as terrible as that of being shot through the head or heart.
+
+"Will you tell me your name, young man?" demanded the farmer, when the
+foreman had gone. "Let me inform you in the beginning, that I am in no
+humor to be trifled with. You can answer me or not, just as you think
+best."
+
+"I would rather not tell my name," replied Richard, in a subdued tone.
+
+The son of the rich broker of Woodville had conscientious scruples on
+this point; for though he did not scruple to commit the theft, he was
+fully alive to the disgrace of being exposed. The good name, the
+worldly reputation of his family, seemed to be of more value than a
+conscience void of offence before Him who readeth all hearts. To speak
+of the sin of the act was but to utter trite and commonplace words,
+which could be found in any cheap catechism; but to mention the
+disgrace attending the exposure of that sin, was to touch him where he
+was keenly sensitive.
+
+"You must tell me your name," said Mr. Batterman, firmly. "What is your
+name?" he added, turning to Sandy, whom he now held with one hand.
+
+"Sanderson Brimblecom," answered he, for he had no family reputation to
+guard.
+
+"Now, yours?" said he to Richard.
+
+The broker's son made no reply. He had now too much respect for Mr.
+Batterman to irritate him with words, and too much respect for the name
+he bore to connect it with the theft he had committed. He waited in
+silence till Bates came with the lantern.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+RICHARD FINDS THAT NO CHASTENING SEEMETH TO BE JOYOUS.
+
+
+"Tell him who you are, Dick," said Sandy, when Bates appeared with the
+lantern. "What's the use of trying to cover up your name, when the
+light will blow the whole thing?"
+
+"Well, Dick," added the farmer, adopting the name Sandy had used, "if
+you don't tell me who you are, I shall see what virtue there is in that
+cowhide."
+
+"My name is Richard Grant," replied the broker's son, sullenly, and
+with the feeling that he had sacrificed all his manhood by giving up
+the point.
+
+"Ah, then you are the son of Mr. Grant, of Woodville!" sneered Mr.
+Batterman. "I don't wonder you didn't want to tell your name, for
+stealing melons isn't a very respectable business."
+
+"I am willing to pay for the melons, and let the matter drop where it
+is," said Richard, who was so far humbled as to be willing to
+compromise with the owner of the stolen fruit.
+
+"I am not exactly willing to let the matter drop where it is. You are
+the son of a rich and respectable man, and you ought to know better
+than to steal; and I am going to give you a lesson which I hope you
+will profit by."
+
+"I will pay double price for all the melons, if you will let me go."
+
+"I wouldn't let you go if you would pay ten times the value of the
+melons. I want to teach you better than to steal; and when I've done
+with you, I don't believe you will want to steal any more of my fruit."
+
+"What are you going to do?" demanded Richard, very much disturbed by
+the decided tones of the farmer.
+
+"I'm going to give you a sound thrashing."
+
+"No, you are not," said Richard, who would rather have died on the spot
+than submit to the humiliation of a flogging.
+
+"You will see whether I am or not. It's no kind of use for me to take a
+rich man's son like you before the court. Your father would pay your
+fine, and you would laugh in your sleeve, and call it a good joke."
+
+"You have no right to flog me," protested Richard.
+
+"Perhaps I haven't; but I'm going to do it, if I have to suffer myself
+for it. I am going to have the satisfaction of curing you of stealing
+my melons."
+
+Bates had taken hold of Sandy again, and Mr. Batterman prepared to make
+good his promise. By the light of the lantern Richard saw the hard face
+of the farmer. It was stern and forbidding, and he felt that he meant
+all he had said. How could the son of the owner of Woodville submit to
+the disgrace of being whipped? At home he was treated with respect and
+consideration. The servants took off their hats to him. His father, in
+his sternest moments, had never hinted such a thing as corporal
+punishment.
+
+It seemed absolutely impossible for him to submit to the farmer's
+terrible remedy, but there was no way to avoid it. He had offered to
+compromise, but nothing would satisfy his relentless captor. The
+punishment was to be inflicted in the spirit of revenge rather than
+from a sense of duty, which made it all the more intolerable to think
+of. He was not to be whipped for his own or the public good, but to
+satisfy the malice and revenge of "Old Batterbones."
+
+He decided not to submit to the infliction; but he might as well have
+decided not to let the sun rise on the following morning, or to stop
+the Hudson in its majestic flow to the sea. His own experience, so
+dearly bought in the garden, had shown him that he was utterly
+incapable of any successful resistance. He looked around him for the
+means of escape, and racked his brain for some expedient that would
+enable him to checkmate his unwieldy opponent; but he looked in vain,
+and thought in vain. There was nothing upon which to hang even the
+faintest hope of resistance or escape.
+
+The farmer held him by the collar, and the terrible instrument of
+torture was raised over his head. It fell, and Richard writhed with the
+pain, not of the body alone, for the blow seemed to penetrate to his
+soul. It lacerated his pride, his self-respect, more than it did his
+legs. He trembled like an aspen leaf, as much from intense emotion as
+from the smart of the stroke.
+
+Richard was no coward, but he would have begged off, if he could have
+done so with any prospect of success; but he might as well have pleaded
+with the ocean to hold back its destructive waves, as with Mr.
+Batterman to stay his hand, before his revenge was satisfied. Another
+and another blow fell. The pain was so severe that the culprit could
+not endure it, and the quick-falling strokes soon kindled a fire in his
+soul which neither prudence nor policy could check. It burst out in a
+raging flame of passion, which caused him to roar like a mad bull, and
+to kick, bite, and struggle like an imprisoned tiger.
+
+All this resistance only added to the spite of his persecutor and he
+laid on the blows till his own strength failed him. In vain Sandy
+remonstrated with Richard upon the folly of his course, and begged him
+to keep cool, as though a severe flogging was one of the light
+afflictions of this world, that may be endured with patience by a
+philosophical temperament.
+
+"Old Batterbones" had exhausted himself in the struggle. His "wind" was
+gone; and he gave up because he could do no more, rather than because
+he was satisfied with the extent of the punishment.
+
+"There, Mr. Richard Grant, of Woodville, when you want to steal any
+more melons of mine, think of that," said the farmer, as he cast the
+culprit from him.
+
+"You'll have to pay for this," groaned Richard, who felt as though he
+had endured all the tortures of the Inquisition.
+
+"Perhaps I shall," puffed Mr. Batterman; "but if you have got enough to
+make you a wiser and a better boy, I shall be perfectly satisfied."
+
+"I'll be revenged on you for this, if it costs me my life," exclaimed
+Richard, whose soul smarted even more than his body.
+
+"Shut up, now!" said the farmer, angrily, "or I'll give you some more."
+
+Richard did shut up, for the incident had developed a grain of
+discretion in his composition, if nothing better--though nothing better
+could be expected from a flogging inflicted in the spirit of malice.
+
+"Now, my boy," said the farmer, turning to Sandy, when he had in some
+measure recovered his breath, "we will see what we can do for you. You
+are not a fool like the other fellow, and your wisdom will serve you a
+good turn."
+
+Sandy made no remark in reply to this speech of Mr. Batterman. He had
+made up his mind to submit with all the philosophy he could bring to
+his aid. He had been flogged before. It was not a new institution to
+him, as it had been to his companion in iniquity. He looked upon a
+flogging as one of the necessary evils to which a fast boy must submit;
+and though he did not think it was all for the best, he was disposed to
+make the best of it. The thrashing was the gate by which he was to
+escape from a bad scrape.
+
+The farmer bore less malice towards him than towards his friend. He had
+offered no resistance, and been measurably humble under the discipline
+of misfortune. The blows were lighter and less in number, and when a
+dozen strokes had been administered, Mr. Batterman was satisfied, and
+so expressed himself. At the same time he volunteered an opinion that
+Richard was the real sinner, and had led the other into the mischief--a
+position which Sandy took no pains to controvert.
+
+But Sandy, though he was a philosopher, and an embryo man of the world,
+did not submit to his punishment in silence. He was not a Stoic, and
+every blow extorted from him a cry of pain, which was as politic as it
+was necessary. He labored to convince the farmer that he was suffering
+severely from the castigation, so that he might be the sooner satisfied
+with what had been done. Compared with that which Richard had received,
+his whipping was light. When it was finished, he was surprised that he
+had got off with so little; and he congratulated himself upon the
+strategy which had so sensibly diminished his portion.
+
+"Now, boys, you can go. If you are satisfied, I am; and when you want
+to steal any more of my fruit, just remember my treatment of fruit
+thieves," said the farmer.
+
+"You haven't seen the end of this yet," replied Richard, as he moved
+off, his skin and his proud spirit smarting in unison.
+
+"You haven't seen the end of it either, if you don't keep a civil
+tongue in your head."
+
+Richard was tempted to enter immediately upon the work of revenging
+himself for what he had suffered, and when the farmer spoke, he picked
+up a couple of stones, with the intention of throwing them at his
+tormentor; but Sandy, cool and self-possessed in the hour of
+tribulation, dissuaded him from this insane course.
+
+"No use, Dick; drop the stones, and we will pay him off at another
+time, when we can do so without danger."
+
+Richard listened to this prudent advice, and concluded to adopt it,
+though he was impatient to be revenged upon the farmer. He was not
+satisfied with Sandy. He had not been sustained in his resistance to
+the barbarous conduct of their captor. He thought his companion had
+been tame and mean-spirited, he had submitted so quietly to his
+punishment; and when they had got out of the hearing of Mr. Batterman,
+he roundly reproached him for his pusillanimous demeanor.
+
+"I don't want to call you any hard names, Dick, but in my humble
+opinion, you were a downright fool," replied Sandy. "It's no sort of
+use to pound a stone wall with your naked fist. You don't hurt the wall
+any."
+
+"I like to see a fellow show some spirit," growled Richard. "I thought
+you had some spunk; but you caved in, and took your flogging as meekly
+as though you had been one of the saints in Fox's Book of Martyrs."
+
+"I don't know any thing about your martyrs, but I hadn't any notion of
+getting a double licking, as you did. You got four times as much as I
+did, just because you were fool enough to resist. If there had been any
+use in fighting, I would have fought as big as you did."
+
+"I like to see a fellow stand by another when he gets into a scrape,"
+whined Richard.
+
+"Do you mean to say I didn't stand by you? Did I run away from you?"
+demanded Sandy, indignantly.
+
+"You couldn't run away. The man held you fast, or you would have done
+so."
+
+"It's very easy for you to talk. I did all I could to make you act like
+a reasonable fellow; but you were bound to be a fool, and you got all
+you bargained for."
+
+Richard made no reply to his companion's taunts, for his philosophy was
+beginning to commend itself to his common sense, as he thought of the
+difference in the two floggings, and realized that it was all owing to
+his own stupidity. They walked along in silence, till they reached the
+Greyhound, but still with "thoughts too big for utterance."
+
+"A pretty condition I am in to go home," said Richard, as he took his
+place at the helm.
+
+"You will be all right in a day or two," replied Sandy, consolingly.
+
+"What will my father say?"
+
+"If you are fool enough to let him know about it, I don't care what he
+says."
+
+"How can I help it? The blood is running down my legs now. My skin is
+all cut up."
+
+"Wash off the blood, and don't let any body see your legs."
+
+"I could kill Old Batterbones," added Richard, grating his teeth.
+
+"We'll pay him off."
+
+"I'll have my revenge, if I die for it."
+
+"I'm with you there, Dick."
+
+It was midnight when the Greyhound reached the pier at Woodville.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+RICHARD MAKES A TREMENDOUS SENSATION AT WOODVILLE.
+
+
+The mansion at Woodville was dark and silent when Richard stole
+cautiously up the walk which led from the pier to the house. Of course
+his father and the other members of the family supposed he was asleep
+in his chamber, where he had gone at an early hour to retire. He had
+locked his door as usual, and to make the deception more complete, he
+had pretended that he was not very well.
+
+His chamber window opened upon the one-story addition which had been
+erected to afford room for a conservatory. On one end of the structure
+there was a trellis for the support of a grape vine. After he had
+locked his door, Richard had opened the window, crawled out upon the
+roof of the conservatory, and descended to the ground by the aid of the
+trellis.
+
+He intended to return to his room by the same route, but it was now a
+more difficult matter than it had been when the family were all in the
+sitting room. Mr. Presby's room was next to his own, and the old
+gentleman was not a very sound sleeper. The difficulty of gaining
+access to his room was so great that he was tempted to sleep in the
+boat house, and not take the risk of being discovered; but the
+condition of his legs, still smarting severely from the chastisement he
+had received, would not permit him to do so. His wounds needed
+attention, and though he was no surgeon, he knew that a good washing in
+cold water, with the application of a simple remedy he had in his
+chamber, might ease the pain, and perhaps save him from serious
+consequences.
+
+With a stealthy step he walked round to the conservatory, and with the
+utmost care commenced the ascent of the trellis. With all the
+precautions he could use, it was impossible to avoid making some noise,
+and he trembled lest the wakeful invalid should hear him. But he
+succeeded in gaining the roof without creating an alarm. Here he felt
+comparatively secure; but sometimes when we think we are safest we are
+in the greatest peril. The roof, wet with the dew of night, was very
+slippery; and when he reached up to open the window, his feet flew up
+beneath him, and he fell, with noise enough to rouse a deeper sleeper
+than Mr. Presby.
+
+"Help! Help! Robbers! Thieves!" shouted the old gentleman, as he threw
+open his window.
+
+The invalid's lungs did not seem to be at all affected, and there would
+have been no difficulty in hearing him all over the house, not to say
+all over the estate. Richard, taking advantage of the momentary
+confusion, threw open the window, and sprang into his room. Doors were
+opening in all parts of the house, and he could hear the hurried tread
+of the members of the household in the halls.
+
+But Richard did not lose his self-possession, and hastily threw off his
+clothes. Placing himself at the open window, he joined in the cry which
+Mr. Presby still continued, and hallooed as lustily as his neighbor in
+the adjoining room. The house was in a complete uproar, and presently
+he heard the voices of his father and uncle Obed at his door.
+
+"Richard," said Mr. Grant.
+
+"Sir," replied the young scapegrace.
+
+"Open the door."
+
+"They are not in here, father; they are out doors. One of them just
+jumped off the conservatory,--at least, I think he did."
+
+"Did you see them?" asked uncle Obed.
+
+"No, I didn't see them, but I think I heard them."
+
+Mr. Grant seemed to be satisfied with the information he had gained,
+and retired from the door. Richard lighted his lamp, and waited
+impatiently for the disturbance to subside; but he had to wait a long
+time, for every body about the place had been thoroughly waked up. Mr.
+Presby went down to the sitting room, where, after a thorough search
+had been made, the family and the servants had collected to compare
+notes, and ascertain to what extent the supposed robbers had been
+successful in their enterprise.
+
+Richard's two sisters, Bertha and Fanny, were there, and both of them
+very much terrified. Mr. Grant soon pacified them with the assurance
+that no one had been injured, and that there was no further danger. But
+Richard was not there, and his absence was noticed. He and Mr. Presby
+had been the only persons who had heard the robbers, and they had
+created the alarm. The old gentleman told his story, and Richard's
+testimony was very much needed to complete the chain of evidence. One
+of the men servants was sent up to request him to join the party.
+
+"Tell them I don't feel very well, and have gone to bed again," replied
+Richard, when the man delivered his message.
+
+But this was the most dangerous answer he could have returned; for Mr.
+Grant, followed by uncle Obed and Mr. Presby, hastened up stairs to
+ascertain the nature of his illness.
+
+"What ails you, Richard?" demanded his father, in the tones of sympathy
+and kindness.
+
+"Nothing particular; only I don't feel just right," replied the young
+midnight marauder, terribly alarmed as he thought of the probable
+consequences of this visitation.
+
+"Well, open the door, and let me see what I can do for you," added his
+father.
+
+"I don't want any thing done. I shall be well enough in the morning."
+
+"You had better open the door, Richard; I want to see you about the
+robbers."
+
+"I can't; I am in bed."
+
+"Don't get up then," said Mr. Grant, more anxious than at first for the
+health of his son. "I have a key that will open the door."
+
+These words struck terror to the soul of the guilty youth, and he
+sprang out of bed with all the haste he could command. One terror
+filled his mind--that his father might see his bleeding, lacerated
+limbs; and he did, what guilty persons often do, the stupidest thing of
+which the circumstances would admit. He had blown out the light when he
+heard them coming, and now in the darkness he pulled on his pants,
+forgetting that the bed clothes would as effectually hide his injured
+members as the garment.
+
+He had hardly clothed himself in this partial manner before his father
+succeeded in opening the door. By the aid of the light which uncle Obed
+carried, the head and front of the melon expedition was revealed to the
+visitors, standing in the middle of the room, half clothed and wholly
+scared.
+
+"Why, Richard! What ails you? Where have you been?" demanded Mr. Grant,
+as he and the others gazed with astonishment at the sorry figure which
+the male heir of Woodville presented.
+
+If Richard had attempted to dress himself in the light, he would have
+rejected the muddy pants he now wore, and consigned them to the deepest
+depths of the clothes-press. He had rolled in the moist earth of the
+melon patch, while under the discipline of Mr. Batterman, till his
+clothes were plastered with mud. His face was begrimed with the rich
+black mould of the garden, through which the tears of anger and
+resentment he had shed, under the influence of their natural gravity,
+had furrowed passages down his checks.
+
+In the simple but eloquent language of Mrs. Green, the housekeeper of
+Woodville, who had followed the party up stairs, to offer her services
+in the capacity of nurse, Richard was "a sight to behold." He had
+retired from the sitting room, and bade the family good night before
+nine o'clock, looking like a decent person. His pants were in good
+condition then; certainly, if they had been in their present plight, it
+would have been noticed.
+
+The first impulse of the visiting party was to laugh at the
+extraordinary appearance he presented; but a stronger feeling of
+interest and sympathy overruled the inclination, and the culprit was
+spared this humiliation. Richard was almost as much astonished as they
+were, for he had not regarded a thing so trivial as his personal
+experience, in the excitement and terror of the hour.
+
+While the party were scrutinizing him with surprise and anxiety, he
+happened to glance at the looking glass on the bureau. Then he saw his
+hair tangled and matted with mud and filth; then he saw his dirty,
+tear-furrowed cheeks; and then he saw his befouled and torn pants. In
+the choice language of the boys, it seemed to him that "the cat was out
+of the bag" beyond the possibility of recovery.
+
+"What ails you, Richard? What under the sun has happened?" asked Mr.
+Grant again, for the terrified boy made no reply to the first question.
+
+But Richard was an old head, and he had no notion of being defeated in
+the present contest of words or ideas. He stood like a statue in the
+middle of the floor, and made no reply to the interrogatories.
+
+"Where have you been?" said his father. "Can't you speak?"
+
+"I don't know," replied Richard, with a bewildered look, as he glanced
+with a vacant stare at his soiled garments.
+
+"Don't know where you have been?"
+
+"No, sir."
+
+"That's very singular," said uncle Obed.
+
+"Have you been up since you went to bed?" demanded Mr. Grant.
+
+"I don't know," replied Richard, vacantly, as though the whole matter
+was as much a mystery to him as to the others.
+
+"Where were you when the alarm was given?"
+
+"Out on the roof of the conservatory."
+
+"On the roof!" exclaimed his father. "How came you there?"
+
+"I don't know," answered Richard, shaking his head.
+
+"Don't you know any thing about it?"
+
+"No, sir. I woke up, and heard some one halloo, Robbers! thieves! I was
+close by the window, and I jumped in, and hallooed with the rest of
+them."
+
+"Were you standing on the roof?"
+
+"No, I was flat on my face."
+
+"I see," interposed Mr. Presby, holding up his hands with astonishment,
+"I understand it all. The poor boy is a sleep walker."
+
+"Richard?" said Mr. Grant, who had never known his son to do such a
+thing before.
+
+"Yes, sir; your boy is unquestionably a somnambulist. He has been
+wandering about the garden, and rolling in the mud, in his sleep. There
+have been no robbers or thieves here to-night. The poor boy fell on the
+roof; that was what waked him up; and the noise of his fall was what
+caused me to give the alarm."
+
+"Very singular," added uncle Obed.
+
+"I never had any suspicion that he got up in his sleep," said Mr.
+Grant.
+
+"There are instances on record of persons addicted to the practice who
+have followed it for years, without discovery. Now, if you will come to
+my room, I will read you several accounts, given by competent medical
+authority, of cases just like this," observed Mr. Presby.
+
+But none of the party, at that hour of the night, were disposed to
+consult the authorities on the subject. If they had looked on the table
+in Richard's room they might have found there a yellow-covered pamphlet
+novel, entitled "Sylvester Sound, the Somnambulist." It is a very
+curious and amusing account of the antics of a sleep-walker, describing
+the wonderful feats he performed in his slumbers, without having the
+least idea of what he was doing.
+
+The ingenious young rogue had been reading the book that very day, and
+in the drama of the "Midnight Alarm," played at Woodville, he had
+chosen for himself the part of Sylvester Sound. While his father went
+for a hammer and nails, to secure the window, Richard removed his
+telltale trousers, and jumped into bed.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+RICHARD IS DETERMINED TO BE REVENGED.
+
+
+Mr. Grant nailed up the window in Richard's room, so that when he
+should again walk in his sleep, he might not be exposed to the peril of
+breaking his neck by falling off the roof of the conservatory. When
+this important work was accomplished, the party retired. Mr. Presby was
+a philosopher, and his library had not been a merely ornamental
+appendage of his house. He had read a great deal, and thought a great
+deal; and mesmerism, biology, psychology, somnambulism, and kindred
+subjects, had each in its turn been considered, and a conclusion
+reached.
+
+Mr. Presby, therefore, was not disposed to return to his bed when the
+excitement had subsided. So splendid an illustration of the phenomenon
+of sleepwalking was enough to kindle his enthusiasm. He tried to draw
+uncle Obed into a discussion on the topic, but the latter was too
+sleepy. Mr. Grant made a home question of the matter, and did not care
+to indulge in any philosophical inquiries. One after another the family
+retired, till the old gentleman was left alone, and then, in despair,
+he resorted to the "authorities" as he termed his books, and read till
+the inmates of the hennery began to sound the morning call.
+
+Richard did not come down stairs the next morning till nine o'clock,
+when Mr. Grant and uncle Obed had both gone to the city. He was so
+stiff that he could hardly walk; but he had washed himself clean, and
+thrown aside the soiled garments he had worn on the expedition.
+
+Already the story of Richard's wonderful doings in his sleep had been
+circulated all over the estate, and when he limped into the breakfast
+room, every body supposed he was suffering from the injuries he had
+received during his nocturnal ramble. Mr. Presby, whose researches were
+not yet completed, had taken pains to tell the people of the house,
+that somnambulists were peculiarly sensitive in regard to their
+involuntary rambles, and, very much to the surprise of Richard, no one
+even alluded to the events of the night.
+
+There was upon the faces and in the actions of all with whom he came in
+contact, an expression of abundant sympathy. He was treated with
+increased kindness and consideration by the family and by the servants.
+When he had eaten his breakfast, the thought occurred to him that
+something which might betray him had been left on the Greyhound, and he
+hastened down to the pier to remove any such evidence.
+
+As he passed the boat house he heard the voices of Mr. Presby and Ben
+in the building. The former had by no means slept off his enthusiasm in
+the cause of science; and as soon as the dew was off the grass, he
+commenced exploring the premises, in search of any appearances that
+might throw new light upon the conduct of the "poor boy" during his
+midnight ramble. He recalled the dirty and foul condition of the
+patient when discovered in his room, and he examined all the vile and
+filthy places in the neighborhood, for the marks of some terrible
+struggle that might have taken place between the sleep-walker, and any
+real or imaginary demon.
+
+The patient seeker after the hidden truths of science had been to the
+pigsty, to learn whether he had been wrestling with the pigs; he had
+looked into the cow yard, the horse stables, and the dog kennels for
+information upon the dark subject; he had patiently explored the
+cornfield and the potato patch, and every dirty hole he could find; but
+not a single fact or hint could he obtain to assist him in solving the
+difficult problem.
+
+In the course of his investigations he had reached the department of
+Ben, the boatman. He had carefully noted the appearance of the earth on
+the banks of the river, and, quite fatigued by his unusual exertions,
+he had seated himself in the boat house, where Ben was at work.
+
+"Have you noticed any thing unusual about the boats, Ben?" asked the
+old gentleman, after he had given the boatman a full exposition of his
+views on somnambulism.
+
+"Yes, sir; I noticed that the Greyhound was in a very dirty, slovenly
+condition this morning. She wasn't so last night, when I looked at
+her," replied the boatman.
+
+"Ah, indeed!"
+
+"The white seats in the standing room were covered with black mud, and
+upon the edges there were stains of blood."
+
+"Blood?" queried the philosopher.
+
+"Yes, sir, blood; I have seen blood in my day, and I know what it looks
+like."
+
+"Can it be possible! Blood! What could have happened to the poor boy?"
+
+"I don't know, sir."
+
+"It is really awful. There is no knowing what the poor boy may have
+suffered."
+
+"He got back all right, for the boat was made fast, as usual, to her
+moorings."
+
+"The poor fellow must have been off somewhere in the boat, in his
+sleep."
+
+"May be he did, sir," answered Ben, respectfully.
+
+"O, there can be no doubt about it. Isn't it a wonder that he wasn't
+drowned?"
+
+"Mr. Richard, knows how to handle a boat as well as any boy of his
+years on the river."
+
+"Yes, but you forget that he was asleep all the time."
+
+"Perhaps he was, sir," said Ben, who did not seem to appreciate Mr.
+Presby's philosophy.
+
+"But he did not get all that mud and filth upon him while he was in the
+boat."
+
+"No, sir, of course he didn't; for I wash down the boat every time she
+is used, and she was as neat as a new pin when I looked into her at
+sundown last night."
+
+"Then he must have landed somewhere," added the logical Mr. Presby.
+
+"No doubt of that, sir."
+
+"Where do you suppose he landed?"
+
+"I haven't the least idea."
+
+"Do you suppose you could find out by sailing up and down the river,
+and examining the shore?"
+
+"Well, sir, if you could tell which way the wind is by looking into the
+ship's coppers, perhaps you might."
+
+"I feel a very deep interest in the poor boy's welfare," added Mr.
+Presby, who did not admire Ben's coldness on the subject; "and if you
+could obtain any information that would throw light on this singular
+affair, you might confer a great favor on the youth."
+
+"I'll do any thing I can, sir, to find out about it; and if you want to
+go up and down the river and examine the shore, I'll pull the boat for
+you."
+
+Mr. Presby accepted this offer, and Richard kept behind the boat house
+till they had embarked. The roguish author of all these scientific
+inquiries listened to the old gentleman's remarks on sleep-walking in
+general, and the phenomena of his own case in particular, till the boat
+disappeared in the cove above the pier. He then jumped into his skiff,
+and pulled off to the Greyhound.
+
+Ben had carefully removed all the stains of dirt and blood, and the
+boat now bore no testimony against him. Whatever the boatman might have
+thought, he certainly said nothing, and was even willing to countenance
+Mr. Presby's theory in explanation of the absence of the boat, and of
+her dirty appearance.
+
+Though Richard had every reason to be satisfied with the success which
+had attended his representation of the character of a somnambulist, he
+could not banish the doubts and fears that haunted him. Some unlucky
+mischance might betray him; "Old Batterbones" or Bates might tell the
+story; Sandy might be entrapped into an exposure of the affair; indeed,
+there were so many ways by which the secret might come out, that he was
+far from satisfied with the prospect before him.
+
+He was a high-spirited young man, and prided himself upon his healthy
+body and well-developed muscle, and the idea of being pitied as a
+person having an infirmity upon him was far from grateful to his
+sensibilities. He did not much admire Mr. Presby's inquiring mind, and
+thought he was an "old fool" to trouble himself about what did not
+concern him. He did not care to be the subject of his meditations.
+Being watched, pitied, and made the object of a physiological study,
+were almost as bad as being caught in the act of stealing melons.
+
+But above all considerations of his own safety or his own comfort was
+the reflection that he had been whipped--unjustly and cruelly
+whipped--by such a person as "Old Batterbones." All the bad boys hated
+and despised him, and he felt that Woodville had been outraged in the
+person of its male heir. These thoughts rankled in his soul, and he was
+thirsting for revenge. He was determined to have satisfaction for the
+injuries that had been heaped upon him. Already the dim outline of a
+purpose whose execution would secure him ample vengeance was presented
+to his mind.
+
+While these dark thoughts were passing through his brain, he discovered
+the boat, with Mr. Presby and Ben, returning to the pier. Not caring to
+encounter the scrutiny, or answer the questions of the philosopher, he
+hoisted the sails, and cast off the moorings of the Greyhound. He was
+anxious to see Sandy Brimblecom, and ascertain whether he had been
+discovered when he went home. Sailing over to Whitestone, he found
+Sandy on the wharf, and took him into the boat.
+
+"Did you get into the house all right?" asked Richard as the Greyhound
+receded from the wharf.
+
+"I did, but I got caught for all that. My mother had missed me, and
+about one o'clock, after I had got into bed, the old man came up to my
+chamber to see if I was there."
+
+"Of course you pretended to be sound asleep."
+
+"I did; but it wouldn't go down. The old man asked me where I had been.
+I told him I had been over to see you."
+
+"Did you, indeed?" sneered Richard. "And the next thing he will do will
+be to go to my father, and ask him if you were at our house. My folks
+know I went to bed before nine o'clock. You have got me into a pretty
+scrape."
+
+"No, I haven't. The old man won't ask any more questions; but he was
+mad as thunder with me for staying out so late. It's all right now,
+Dick; you needn't give yourself any trouble about it."
+
+"I shall not do that, whatever happens."
+
+Richard then described the happy "dodge" by which he had thrown dust in
+the eyes of all the inmates of Woodville. Sandy was much amused at the
+account, and expressed a decided admiration for the wonderful genius of
+his companion, and even went so far as to request the loan of the
+remarkable work which had suggested the expedient. He would like to
+read that book, though he was not in the habit of doing such things.
+
+"See there, Sandy," said Richard, as he pulled up his pants, and
+exhibited to his friend the wales and broken skin upon his legs.
+
+"That's hard," replied Sandy, as he shook his head. "The old villain
+laid it on well."
+
+"He did, and he shall pay dearly for it," added Richard, as he
+compressed his lips and ground his teeth. "I'll be revenged upon him if
+it costs me my life."
+
+"I'm with you there, Dick."
+
+"It shall be the worst night's work for Old Batterbones that ever he
+did."
+
+"What are you going to do, Dick?"
+
+"Will you stand by me, Sandy?" demanded Richard, earnestly.
+
+"Certainly; to be sure I will. But, Dick, we mustn't burn our own
+fingers," said his prudent companion. "What are you going to do?"
+
+In low tones, Richard detailed the scheme into which his outline of a
+purpose had grown, and when they parted at noon, the arrangements were
+all completed.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+RICHARD GIVES ANOTHER ILLUSTRATION OF SLEEP-WALKING.
+
+
+For six or seven nights following the expedition to the watermelon
+patch of Mr. Batterman, Richard Grant did not "walk in his sleep." The
+parental solicitude of his father prompted him to set a watch for
+several nights; and Mr. Presby, who was still anxious to pursue his
+scientific investigations, slept with one eye open, that he might be in
+readiness to avail himself of the reappearance of the phenomenon.
+
+The philosopher's hint that sleep-walkers are sensitive to any allusion
+to their infirmity, had prevented him and Mr. Grant from informing the
+subject of their precautions of the steps they had taken to observe his
+movements, and Richard was entirely unconscious that vigilant eyes were
+upon him while he slept, or while he ought to sleep.
+
+But Richard was too lame and sore from the effects of his flogging to
+indulge again so soon in the luxury of "sleep-walking." He had not been
+questioned in regard to the blood upon the seats of the Greyhound, for,
+being asleep when the stains were made, of course he would know nothing
+about them. Mr. Presby explained his inactivity and want of energy upon
+philosophical principles, and every body seemed to be satisfied.
+
+The salve which the sufferer applied to his wounded members healed the
+bruises in a few days, and he was again in condition to pursue his
+wonted sports and pleasures. After the lapse of a week, as the patient
+exhibited no further signs of the malady, the watch was discontinued;
+but Mr. Presby was too enthusiastic in the cause of science to abandon
+the case so soon. He sat up in his chamber till midnight, with his ears
+wide open, to catch the slightest indication of a movement on the part
+of his interesting subject.
+
+Every day, Richard and Sandy met; and they never failed to renew the
+mutual pledges they had made to be revenged upon "Old Batterbones." The
+plan was discussed and amended till no further improvement could be
+made; and by this time Richard was so far recovered from his injuries
+as to enable him to take the leading part in its execution. The night
+was appointed for the purpose, and it was agreed that the boys should
+meet at a point just below Whitestone, where Richard was to take Sandy
+into the Greyhound, and proceed to the inlet where they had before
+landed.
+
+It was a very difficult matter for Richard to get out of the house
+without detection. If he could succeed in opening his door, and walk
+through the long halls of the mansion without attracting the attention
+of any of its numerous inmates, he could hardly expect to unlock any of
+the outer doors with safety. After much reflection, he decided that it
+would be the better way to go out as he had gone before--over the roof
+of the conservatory, and down the trellis.
+
+With the proper tools, therefore, he had removed the nails with which
+his father had secured the window of his chamber. He had then skilfully
+adjusted them, so that they appeared to be as his father had left them,
+though he could easily pull them out. At ten o'clock he retired as
+usual, but the hour of meeting was one o'clock, for the young rascals
+had come to the conclusion that their purpose could be better executed
+in the small hours of the morning, when the farmer and his man would
+probably be asleep.
+
+Richard waited impatiently till he heard the clock strike twelve. There
+had been no noise in the chamber of Mr. Presby for some time, and he
+concluded that the old gentleman must be asleep. He had gone to bed as
+usual, in order to remove any suspicion in case he should find it
+necessary to act the part of the sleep-walker again. He rose and
+dressed himself for the expedition, using the utmost care to avoid
+disturbing the slumbers of the troublesome philosopher in the adjoining
+room.
+
+Every thing worked to his entire satisfaction, and he was not conscious
+that he had made the slightest noise. The nails were removed from the
+window; but, though he had taken the precaution to oil the sash where
+it slid up and down, it creaked a little, in spite of all the care he
+could use. He was satisfied that the noise could not wake Mr. Presby,
+and he continued his operations. Leaving the window open, as a
+somnambulist would naturally be expected to do, he crept softly over
+the roof, and reached the trellis without accident.
+
+As yet there was no appearance of an interruption; but the first bar of
+the trellis, upon which he placed his foot, creaked and snapped. As the
+noise, so far as he could see, attracted no notice, he resumed his
+attempt, and reached the ground without any further impediment, real or
+imaginary.
+
+With stealthy step he retreated from the house till there was no longer
+any danger of being discovered. Quickening his pace, he soon reached
+the pier, and with the skiff boarded the Greyhound. The night was
+certainly favorable for the execution of dark deeds. The midnight
+assassin, the incendiary, or the burglar would have rejoiced in its
+darkness, its dense black clouds, and its fitful winds.
+
+Richard Grant still felt the cowhide of his enemy tingling upon his
+legs, and still felt its iron piercing his soul. The injury he had
+received a week before, rankled in his bosom as it had the hour after
+it had been inflicted. Neither the time that had elapsed, nor the peril
+attending his present enterprise, in any degree moderated the spirit of
+revenge that burned in his soul.
+
+As soon as he had secured the skiff at the buoy to which the sail boat
+was moored, he opened the door of the stern locker, and drew forth a
+small bottle. He shook it to satisfy himself that the contents were
+safe, and then restored it to the place from which he had taken it. He
+then examined his pockets to assure himself that some other article
+necessary for his purpose was all right. No mistakes or omissions had
+been made, and he proceeded to hoist the mainsail. He then cast off the
+moorings, and hoisted the jib. The wind was too fresh to permit the
+Greyhound to carry all sail, and even with what he had set, she put her
+rail under the water at the first forward impulse.
+
+One less skilful and courageous than Richard would have been terrified
+by the fierce waves and the gloom of the night, especially if bound
+upon an errand of evil and crime; but he held the tiller with a steady
+hand, and heeded not the spray that broke upon the half-deck of the
+Greyhound. A few moments in such a breeze were sufficient to carry him
+over the river to the place of rendezvous. The point was as familiar to
+him as the pier at Woodville; and as soon as he could obtain a view of
+the dark outline of the shore, he ran the boat alongside the point,
+with as little difficulty as though it had been broad daylight.
+
+Sandy Brimblecom was not there, and an expression of anger escaped from
+the lips of Richard, when he found that the partner of his iniquitous
+scheme might possibly fail him. He gave the signal whistle with which
+they were in the habit of calling each other; but there was no reply.
+The clocks on the churches in Whitestone struck one, and Richard waited
+half an hour after he heard them--half an hour, which seemed like half
+a day to him.
+
+He was afraid that Sandy's heart had failed him, or that his father had
+discovered him; and Richard decided to proceed alone with the
+enterprise. Disgusted at the failure of his associate, he pushed off
+from the point. As he did so, he discovered another boat a short
+distance up the river, moving off from the shore. He watched it for a
+moment, till it disappeared in the gloom. It was not a common thing to
+see sail boats out at such an hour, and on such a night as this was;
+but he concluded that it was some gardener taking his produce to an
+early market, and he gave himself no uneasiness.
+
+Just as he lost sight of the boat, he heard the familiar whistle of
+Sandy. Putting the Greyhound about, he ran under the lee of the point,
+and his friend leaped on board. Richard immediately put off again, and
+shaped the course of the boat for the inlet near the garden of "Old
+Batterbones."
+
+"You are late, Sandy," said Richard, in reproachful tones.
+
+"Can't help it. I got asleep, and didn't wake up," replied Sandy, with
+a long gape.
+
+"Asleep! What did you go to sleep for? I haven't been asleep."
+
+"I didn't mean to, but I was so sleepy I couldn't help it."
+
+"You came pretty near spoiling your share of the fun. I had just cast
+off, and was going to put the thing through alone."
+
+"I wish you had," answered Sandy, in a tone which did not please his
+companion any better than the words themselves.
+
+"What do you mean?"
+
+"It's a bad scrape we are getting into, and I wish we were well out of
+it. If I hadn't promised to go, I wouldn't have any thing to do with
+it."
+
+"Old Batterbones licked you as well as me."
+
+"I know that, and I should like to pay him off for it; but I don't
+believe it will do to go in quite so steep as we are going."
+
+"You are chicken-hearted, Sandy. I thought you had more grit than
+that."
+
+"I think I have got as much as you have, but I don't believe it will
+pay to rub your nose on a grindstone. Your nose will get the worst of
+it."
+
+"You can back out, if you want to," added Richard, in an indifferent
+tone.
+
+"I don't want to back out. I agreed to go, and I am going, if I have to
+be hung for it. I only say, it is a bad scrape."
+
+"No scrape at all, Sandy. I don't calculate to get found out."
+
+"You didn't calculate to before, but you did; and Old Batterbones got
+more fun out of the scrape than you did. Perhaps he will this time."
+
+"If you are afraid, Sandy, back out, and we will go home again."
+
+"I'm not afraid: don't use that word to me again, Dick. If I had been
+afraid, I shouldn't come, of course."
+
+By this time the Greyhound was off the little inlet, near Mr.
+Batterman's garden, and, as a matter of prudence, all conversation was
+suspended. The boat shot into the inlet, and was made fast to the same
+tree as on the former occasion. As the business of these hopeful youths
+was not with the melon patch, they took a different road this time.
+
+They had gone but a short distance before the rushing of a boat through
+the water was heard. They paused and Richard saw a sail, which he
+believed he had seen before that night, pass by the mouth of the inlet.
+He caught but a glance of it, as it cut a tangent along the small
+circle of his vision.
+
+"I don't like the looks of that boat, Sandy," whispered Richard, as the
+sail disappeared in the gloom.
+
+"Why not?"
+
+"What is any one sailing about the river at this time of night for?"
+
+"I don't know," added Sandy, who did not seem to be at all alarmed at
+the appearance of the boat.
+
+"I think I have seen her before to-night," continued Richard.
+
+"If you are afraid, we will both back out, and then neither can twit
+the other."
+
+"I'm not afraid; come along. I've no notion of backing out." And
+Richard moved on, followed by his reluctant associate.
+
+When they had ascended the hill, they carefully walked all over the
+grounds to satisfy themselves that the farmer and his man were not
+keeping vigil over the melons; but they could neither see nor hear any
+thing that betokened the presence of a human being. Satisfied with this
+survey of the ground, Richard led the way to the barn, where he had
+received his terrible flagellation. The memories of the place were not
+pleasant, and they intensified the hatred he bore the owner of the
+premises, and fanned the flame of vengeance that was burning in his
+soul.
+
+The barn was an old building, and very much out of repair. It contained
+the farmer's horses and oxen, his wagons, his hay, and other produce.
+On the side nearest to the river, some of the boards had been forced
+partly off by the pressure of the hay; and against one of these places
+Richard sat down upon the ground.
+
+"Pull out some of the hay, Sandy," whispered Richard, as he drew from
+his pocket the bottle which he had taken from the locker of the boat.
+
+Sandy hinted something about backing out again; but a sneer from
+Richard silenced him, and he obeyed the order. While he was doing so,
+Richard walked round the barn to satisfy himself that no one was near.
+They were alone, and the wicked work proceeded.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+RICHARD KINDLES A LITTLE FIRE.
+
+
+Sandy continued to pull out the hay from behind the board, till
+Richard, who, as engineer, conducted the operations, directed him to
+suspend his labors. The contents of the bottle were poured upon the
+heap of loose hay.
+
+"What's that, Dick?" asked Sandy.
+
+"Spirits of turpentine. I intend to make sure work of it," answered
+Richard.
+
+"I wouldn't use that stuff," added Sandy.
+
+"Why not?"
+
+"To tell the truth, Dick, I was in hopes the fire wouldn't burn."
+
+"I believe you are a fool, Sandy Brimblecom. Have you come clear over
+here, in the dead of the night, to kindle a fire that will not burn?"
+
+"I don't like the idea of setting the barn on fire," whispered Sandy,
+in an earnest tone. "What do you suppose they will do with us, if we
+should get found out?"
+
+"We shall not get found out."
+
+"We shall be sent to the state prison--at least I shall."
+
+"I shall, if you are; we shall both be in the same boat, and if one
+goes down the other must."
+
+"I don't know about that," said Sandy; "your father is rich, and he
+will get you off. I shall have to stand all the racket."
+
+"Shut up, Sandy! I have gone too far to back out now," added Richard,
+decidedly, as he took a bunch of matches from his pocket.
+
+"Hold on a moment, Dick, before it is too late. It will be cheaper to
+do our thinking now than it will be after the barn is burned down."
+
+"I have done all the thinking I care to do already. The die is cast,
+Sandy. I won't back out now, and you shall not."
+
+"It's too bad to burn up the horses and oxen in the barn. That's cruel.
+If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't say a word."
+
+"Very well; we will go round and turn out the horses and oxen. I don't
+want to burn them any more than you do."
+
+"But the noise will wake the farmer and his man."
+
+"No, it won't. I have thought a great deal about the animals, and it
+goes right against my grain to hurt them, especially the horses."
+
+"I don't want to burn the barn, any way."
+
+"You are a coward and a fool, Sandy."
+
+"It's easy enough for you to say so, when you know your father has
+money enough to buy up Old Batterbones, if we get into any scrape."
+
+"Come, no more whining, Sandy; I'm going to get the horses and oxen
+out, and then I'm going to burn the barn."
+
+"I'm off, then."
+
+"Very good; but if I get into trouble, I will blow on you."
+
+This consideration staggered Sandy, and he concluded to stay and see
+the end of the wicked enterprise. The house of Mr. Batterman was at a
+considerable distance from the barn, and there was but little danger
+that the humane policy of the young incendiaries would expose them to
+any additional peril.
+
+Richard, followed by Sandy, entered the barn, and turned all the
+animals loose. They drove them into a lot where they could not get near
+the fire. The only thing that had weighed upon the mind of the broker's
+son, in the prosecution of his mad enterprise, was now removed, and he
+returned to the place where he had prepared the materials for starting
+the conflagration. Again Sandy stated his objections, and urged Richard
+to abandon the scheme; but the latter, without any reply to this
+remonstrance, drew a card of matches across a stone, and applied the
+burning mass to the hay which had been saturated with turpentine.
+
+The heap of combustible matter suddenly blazed up, lighting all the
+fields around them. The work had been surely done, and it was too late
+for Sandy to urge any more of his objections.
+
+"Come, Sandy, the work is done. Now use your legs," said Richard, as he
+started at the top of his speed towards the inlet where the Greyhound
+lay.
+
+Sandy's legs did not fail him on this emergency, for he soon
+outstripped his companion. They had gone but a few rods, when both were
+appalled at the discovery of two men, who were running towards the fire
+with all their might--which was not saying much, for both of them
+seemed to be old and stiff, and incapable of making very good time even
+on so pressing an emergency as the present.
+
+The guilty boys were filled with terror. The shock was so great that it
+seemed to deprive them of their strength, and they found their legs
+giving out under them.
+
+"We are caught, Dick," gasped Sandy, when he could regain breath enough
+to speak.
+
+"No, we are not; come along. Don't stop here," answered Richard, who
+was beginning to recover his self-possession.
+
+They ran as fast as their weakened limbs would permit, till they
+reached the bank of the river. Richard jumped into the boat and hoisted
+the sails, while Sandy cast off the painter, and they were soon
+standing out from the shore before the fresh breeze. Neither of them
+spoke for some minutes, for neither of them had breath enough left in
+his body to do so.
+
+"The fire don't burn," said Richard, when the boat had gone far enough
+to enable him to see over the high bank of the river.
+
+"Don't it?" asked Sandy, hoarsely, for the terror and exhaustion of the
+awful moments through which he had just passed seemed to have choked up
+his throat, and deprived him of his voice.
+
+"No; it is as dark up there as it was before we landed."
+
+"I am glad of it," gasped Sandy, who was beginning to breathe a little
+easier.
+
+"I'm not," added Richard, firmly. "We shall only have the job to do
+over again."
+
+"If you ever catch me in such a scrape as this again, you may let me
+know it when you do."
+
+"You might as well have the game as the name."
+
+"I don't know about that. I am glad the barn didn't burn. Are you sure
+the fire has gone out?"
+
+"No doubt of it. There isn't enough to light your cigar."
+
+"I suppose those men put it out. Who do you think they were?"
+
+"I don't know, and I don't care. I wish they had been somewhere else.
+They have spoiled my night's work."
+
+"I am glad they have; and I thank them with all my heart for what they
+have done."
+
+"I don't; you might as well be hung for an old sheep as a lamb. If we
+are caught it will be all the same with us as though we had burned the
+barn."
+
+"Who do you suppose the men were?"
+
+"I haven't the least idea. I don't care."
+
+"Yes, you do care, Dick. What's the use of talking in that way? You
+don't want to be found out any more than I do."
+
+"I know that, but we are not found out; and that isn't all--we shall
+not be."
+
+"I should like to be satisfied on that point."
+
+"The men didn't take any notice at all of us, and I am certain they did
+not see us."
+
+"They couldn't help seeing us, Dick. The fire lit up the whole field,
+so that it was as light as broad day."
+
+"Suppose they did see us; they couldn't tell who we were. Keep a stiff
+upper lip, Sandy, and it will be all right."
+
+"I can only hope for the best, but I shall be scared at my own shadow
+for a month to come," added Sandy, in whose nature a vein of candor
+appeared to be suddenly developed, for he was not in the habit of
+acknowledging that he was afraid of any thing.
+
+"You don't talk a bit like Sandy Brimblecom," sneered Richard; "and you
+act more like an old woman than a fellow of any spunk."
+
+"Humph! I'll bet you are as scared as I am, only you won't own it."
+
+"I don't know what fear means, Sandy."
+
+"O, you can brag; but when a fellow can go and set a man's barn afire,
+without wincing, he's worse than I am; that's all I've got to say."
+
+"Worse than you are!" said Richard. "Didn't you agree to the whole
+thing? Didn't you go in for paying off Old Batterbones? Didn't you come
+down here to burn the barn with me?"
+
+"I did, but I didn't want to come."
+
+"What did you come for, then?"
+
+"Because I agreed to come."
+
+"You're not the fellow I took you to be. You joined me in the affair,
+and then, at the last moment, you begin to whine like a sick monkey."
+
+"I'm not so far gone that I can burn a man's barn without feeling it."
+
+"You haven't got the pluck of a mosquito."
+
+"You've said about enough on that tack, Dick Grant," replied Sandy, who
+did not relish the reflections cast upon his courage.
+
+"I shall say what I think best."
+
+"No, you won't! I'm sorry for what I've done, and I'm willing to own
+it; but I won't take any sauce from you or any other fellow."
+
+"You can talk big enough," sneered Richard.
+
+"Shut up, or I'll bat you over the head."
+
+"Humph!"
+
+"Just put me ashore, Dick Grant, and you and I will part company."
+
+"I'm willing."
+
+Both boys felt that enough had been said, and the conversation was
+discontinued by mutual consent. Richard, notwithstanding his bravado,
+was no better satisfied with himself than Sandy. Though he had spoken
+of "doing the job over again," he had not the slightest idea of
+repeating the experiment. The shock which the discovery of the two men
+had given him, was too much even for his strong nerves; and though he
+was not willing to confess it, he was sorry for what he had done. The
+terror of being found out had damped the spirit of revenge. The
+excitement of the affair had passed away, and like his companion in
+wickedness, visions of public trial, of the house of correction, or the
+state prison, began to flit before him.
+
+He was not sorry that the barn had been saved from destruction; and the
+only pleasant reflection in connection with the whole transaction was,
+that he had insisted upon saving the horses and the oxen. It was with
+Richard as it is with all who commit crimes. They are led on by the
+spirit of revenge, or some other strong motive. There is a kind of
+excitement which urges them on till the wicked deed is committed. Then
+the criminal excitement subsides; the hour of reflection comes,
+burdened also with the fear of discovery. To some extent, crime is its
+own punishment; at least, it is so with those who have not become
+hardened in iniquity.
+
+Richard brought the Greyhound up to the point where he had taken Sandy
+on board. He did not like to part with him in anger, for, to a certain
+extent, he sympathized with him in his penitential confession. But,
+more than this, he was afraid Sandy might revenge himself upon him for
+the reproaches he had uttered.
+
+"Let's not quarrel, Sandy," said Richard, as he laid the boat alongside
+the landing place.
+
+"I don't want to quarrel, but I won't be picked upon by you," replied
+Sandy, with spirit.
+
+"I'll take it all back. Let's be friends again. We have failed to do
+what we intended, and perhaps it will be just as well for us."
+
+"I'm glad you are coming to your senses. Do you mean to try it again?"
+
+"We won't burn the barn, Sandy, but we must pay off Old Batterbones in
+some other way."
+
+"I'll do it. I'll hook his apples, pull out the linchpins of his wagon,
+throw a dead cat into his well, or any thing of that sort, with you,
+but I won't attempt to burn any man's barn again. No, never!"
+
+"We'll fix him yet, Sandy. When shall I see you again?"
+
+"I shall be round the wharf to-morrow."
+
+"I'll see you there. Good night to you, Sandy."
+
+"Good night, Dick."
+
+Boys don't usually bid each other good night after they have been doing
+wicked deeds; and Richard's parting salutation was a peace-offering,
+rather than the kindly wish of a friend.
+
+Sandy made his way up to Whitestone, and Richard again pushed off upon
+the troubled waters of the Hudson. The Greyhound leaped over the waves
+as though she was in haste to get out of the disgraceful business in
+which she had been employed. Richard heard the clocks in Whitestone
+striking three, as he grappled his moorings and made fast to them.
+
+He landed from the skiff, and, like a thief in the night, stole up to
+his father's house. Before he attempted to ascend the trellis, he
+pulled off his boots, and fastening them together with his
+handkerchief, slung them around his neck. He reached the roof of the
+conservatory without noise, and then, to his utter consternation,
+discovered a light in Mr. Presby's room. But the precaution he had
+taken in the removal of his boots enabled him to reach his chamber
+window without producing a sound. Then, to his astonishment and terror,
+he found that the window he had left open was closed.
+
+Some one had been there.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+RICHARD BEHOLDS HOW GREAT A MATTER A LITTLE FIRE KINDLETH.
+
+
+The window of the chamber was not fastened, and when Richard gained
+admission, he found the door locked as he had left it. The window must
+therefore have been closed from the outside; but this did not seem
+probable, and he came to the conclusion that the sash had dropped of
+itself. This was a very comforting reflection, and it removed many of
+the doubts and fears which disturbed him.
+
+Congratulating himself upon his escape from manifold perils by land and
+water, Richard undressed himself and went to bed. But tired as he was,
+he could not go to sleep for some time. His brain was busy calculating
+the chances of detection, and devising schemes to avert suspicion if
+any should be fastened upon him. Nature triumphed at last, and he went
+to sleep.
+
+Late the next morning, when he went down stairs, he was pale and
+haggard. Somewhat to his surprise, he found that his father had not
+gone to the city as usual. Every body looked sober, and Mr. Grant's
+face wore a very stern and troubled expression. Richard ate his
+breakfast in silence, wondering all the time what so many serious and
+averted faces portended.
+
+"You were out again last night, Richard," said his father, when they
+met in the sitting room at a later hour.
+
+"No, sir, not that I am aware of," replied Richard, with as much
+self-possession as he could call to his aid, though his heart was
+leaping with fear and anxiety.
+
+"If you had been out, shouldn't you have been aware of it?" asked his
+father, fixing a penetrating gaze upon him.
+
+"I don't know. I only judge by what happened the other night," answered
+Richard, who had determined to "run" the sleep-walking expedient again.
+
+"You mean by that you got up in your sleep if you got up at all?"
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+"You were entirely unconscious when you got up the other night and went
+off in the Greyhound--were you?"
+
+"Of course I was."
+
+A faint smile played upon the lips of Mr. Grant, while the faces of
+uncle Obed and Mr. Presby wore a decidedly comical expression. Though
+Richard could not see "where the laugh came in," he was conscious that
+he had placed himself in a ludicrous attitude.
+
+"And you were asleep last night when you went out--were you?" continued
+Mr. Grant.
+
+"If I went out, I suppose I was," replied Richard, going to the window
+and looking out, thus turning his back to those in the room.
+
+He could not bear the penetrating gaze of his father, and the quizzing
+glances of Mr. Presby and uncle Obed were utterly insupportable.
+
+"Mr. Presby, you have devoted considerable attention to the phenomena
+of sleep-walking," added uncle Obed. "What do you think of this case?"
+
+"I think it is the most remarkable one on record," replied the
+philosopher, whose smile had grown into a broad grin. "Richard, I am
+deeply interested in the investigation of this matter, and I want to
+ask you a few questions. Will you oblige me by answering them?"
+
+"I will if I can," said Richard, rather doggedly, for he was fully
+satisfied, by this time, that the old gentleman was quizzing him.
+
+"If you _can_, then, will you be kind enough to tell me whether Sandy
+Brimblecom was asleep or not, when he joined you in the boat at the
+point below Whitestone?"
+
+"Who? Sandy joined me?" stammered Richard, staggered by this home
+thrust of the friend of the family.
+
+"Yes; I am very anxious to know whether there is a sympathy between
+sleep-walkers which draws them together, even though separated by miles
+of space."
+
+Richard made no reply; he had none to make. He had no idea how much his
+tormentors knew of the events of the night.
+
+"You don't answer, my boy. I have been the butt of your uncle for the
+last week on account of my devotion to the cause of science. I have
+studied your case very thoroughly, and I may want to make a report of
+it to the scientific associations."
+
+"Why don't you answer him, Dick?" added uncle Obed, who,
+notwithstanding the serious character of the matter, could not restrain
+his laughter at the ludicrous side of the question.
+
+"I don't care about your making fun of me," replied the poor
+somnambulist.
+
+"My dear boy, this is a scientific, a physiological investigation. You
+pulled out the nails which your father had driven into the window; you
+skulked away from the house; you went down to your boat, got under way
+in a squally, dark night, and met another sleep-walker on the other
+side of the river;--I presume he was asleep, for you do not say to the
+contrary;--you sailed down the river to a certain inlet; you landed,
+and went up to Mr. Batterman's barn; you removed the horses and oxen
+from it; you poured turpentine upon a bunch of loose hay prepared for
+the purpose; you lighted your matches and set fire to it; and all the
+while you were fast asleep. And you returned home and went to bed again
+without waking. Really, my dear boy, this is the most astonishing case
+of somnambulism on record. I have vainly looked over my books for a
+parallel instance. Can you tell me what your dreams were last night?
+Did you dream any thing of this kind?"
+
+Richard was filled with dismay at this recital of the events of the
+night. The mysterious boat he had twice seen was the only explanation
+of the minuteness of Mr. Presby's details that suggested itself to his
+mind.
+
+"You talked quite rationally in your sleep, which is a new development
+in somnambulism. But, after all," continued the devotee of science,
+"the phenomena of last night were not near so remarkable as those of
+the former occasion. By the way, my dear boy, do sleep-walkers have any
+particular fondness for watermelons?"
+
+Uncle Obed laughed outright at this sally, and even Mr. Grant, wounded
+as his paternal heart was by the discovery, could not help smiling,
+though he felt more like weeping than laughing.
+
+"You are silent, my dear boy," resumed Mr. Presby. "This is an
+important physiological inquiry, and you would enlarge the sphere of
+human knowledge of this interesting subject, if you would answer me."
+
+Richard was inclined to get into a passion, but the consciousness of
+his guilt restrained him, and he listened in silence to the satirical
+remarks of the old gentleman.
+
+"But the most astounding fact of all is, that you could take such an
+unmerciful flogging as Mr. Batterman gave you without waking up,"
+continued the inquisitor. "Perhaps you did wake under this cruel
+infliction, but went to sleep again when the castigation was over. Can
+you inform me on this point?"
+
+"You have made fun enough of me," replied Richard; but his words were
+very tame, considering the amount of provocation he had endured.
+
+"Were you asleep, Richard, on these two nights when you have been
+prowling about the neighborhood?" demanded his father, sternly.
+
+"No, sir, I was not," said Richard, to whom the ridicule of Mr. Presby
+and uncle Obed was more terrible than any punishment he could receive
+for his misdeeds.
+
+"I am glad to see you have some honesty left in your composition. You
+acknowledge the deception, and we will let the farce end here. You have
+become a thief and a midnight incendiary. I have been weak and
+indulgent towards you. My eyes are opened, and I shall pursue a
+different course."
+
+Mr. Grant's lip trembled with emotion as he spoke. Mr. Presby and uncle
+Obed suddenly became very serious, and it was plain to the culprit that
+the farce had really ended.
+
+"Richard, I knew you were wild, and even dissolute, but I did not think
+you would steal," added Mr. Grant, with deep feeling.
+
+"It was only for fun, father," pleaded Richard.
+
+"Do you practise the trade of the incendiary for fun?" asked his
+father, sternly.
+
+"That was only because Mr. Batterman flogged me. He had no business to
+do that."
+
+"And so you would burn his barn?"
+
+"I didn't burn it."
+
+"It would have burned to the ground, if Mr. Presby and Ben had not put
+the fire out. I have let my friend expose you in his own way, because
+the trouble he has taken reveals to me your true character. You are
+worse than your dissolute companions. Richard, you have become a
+villain!"
+
+Mr. Grant rose from his chair and walked away to hide the tears which
+this sad revelation of his son's character drew from his eyes.
+
+"He is not so bad as he might be," interposed Mr. Presby. "Remember
+that he saved the animals in the barn."
+
+"The record is black even with this redeeming line," said Mr. Grant. "I
+would rather follow my son to his grave than have him become such a
+wretch as you are, Richard. Shall I let you take the consequences of
+your crime?"
+
+"What consequences, father?" asked Richard, with a degree of humility
+he had never before exhibited.
+
+"Are you a simpleton? Don't you know the penalty of your crime?"
+
+"We didn't burn the barn."
+
+"In the eye of the law you are just as guilty as though the barn had
+burned to the ground. If convicted, you would be sent to the state
+prison. I have made up my mind what to do with you," said Mr. Grant, as
+he walked out of the room, for his emotions would no longer permit him
+to remain.
+
+"You have got into a bad scrape, Dick," added uncle Obed, as he shook
+his head, and followed his brother, leaving the culprit alone with Mr.
+Presby.
+
+"He will not let them send me to the state prison?" said Richard,
+fearful that his father might have abandoned all hope of redeeming him
+from the error of his ways.
+
+"You have been a very bad boy," replied Mr. Presby.
+
+"I am very sorry for it, and I mean to do better."
+
+"I hope you will, my dear boy. Your father has suffered terribly since
+I returned, and poor Bertha has done nothing but weep for the last two
+hours. You are ruining yourself and wounding the hearts of your friends
+more than words can describe."
+
+"I will try to do better."
+
+"Your father will not trust you again."
+
+"What is he going to do?"
+
+"He will inform you himself," replied Mr. Presby, as he withdrew from
+the room.
+
+Richard was alone with his own thoughts and fears. He felt as though
+his career had reached its close, though he could not imagine what
+terrible thing his father intended to do. He was really sorry for what
+he had done, whether his sorrow was caused by a genuine feeling that he
+had done wrong, or by the fear of punishment.
+
+His mind was in a confused state; the past with its sorrows, and the
+future with its terrors, whirled through his brain. He wanted time for
+reflection, and leaving the house, he walked down to the pier to
+deliberate upon the situation.
+
+Ben was there, and Richard began to question him, for Mr. Presby had
+intimated that the boatman was with him the night before. From him he
+learned all the facts in regard to their movements. It appeared that
+the old gentleman had heard Richard when he opened the window, and had
+watched him closely, fully satisfied, however, that he was asleep.
+
+When Mr. Presby, from the roof of the conservatory, had noted the
+direction he took, he had closed the window, and called the boatman to
+assist him. They had followed him in the large sail boat, and landed
+near the point where Sandy was taken on board the Greyhound. By this
+time, Ben's original idea that Richard was wide awake was adopted by
+Mr. Presby. By the exercise of great skill and caution, they had kept
+near the boys, and had put out the fire almost as soon as it was
+kindled.
+
+While they were still on the ground, Mr. Batterman, who had been
+awakened by the bright light of the burning hay, made his appearance.
+He found the two old men in the very act of putting out the fire. Mr.
+Presby smothered the flames by throwing his great-coat upon it.
+
+"Now, Mr. Richard," continued the boatman, "Mr. Presby saved you. He
+was acquainted with Batterman, and has a mortgage on his farm. The
+farmer suspected who had attempted to burn his building; he laid it to
+you at once, and told us all about the scrape when you stole the
+melons. You don't know how mad he was, Mr. Richard. But Mr. Presby made
+it all right with him, and he promised not to prosecute. Mr. Richard,
+you had better not walk in your sleep any more."
+
+Richard did not like this last remark, and he walked down the pier. The
+state prison was only a bugbear then; but his father meant to do
+something. He was about to get into his skiff to visit the Greyhound
+when Ben hailed him.
+
+"My orders are, not to let you have any of the boats," said he.
+
+The new order of things had begun, and he returned to the house. His
+father was in the sitting room when he entered.
+
+"Richard," said Mr. Grant, "to-morrow you will leave home for some
+months. I have decided to place you in a boarding school, where you
+will be under the eye of one who is competent to manage you."
+
+This was the great matter which a little fire had kindled.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+RICHARD GOES TO THE TUNBROOK MILITARY INSTITUTE.
+
+
+Richard had several times before been threatened with a residence at a
+boarding school. Most of his education had been obtained at home, under
+the superintendence of tutors, and special teachers in various
+branches. He had been under little or no restraint; and the consequence
+was, that his mental discipline had been very imperfect, and his stock
+of knowledge was small, considering the opportunities he had enjoyed.
+
+His father had long been conscious of his deficiencies, and proposed to
+send him to a boarding school, for the benefit of its discipline; but
+Richard was so averse to the idea, that his father had from time to
+time postponed his departure. When Mr. Grant saw his son associating
+with bad boys he again proposed to send him, and had actually sought
+out a suitable place for him; but his own financial trials and troubles
+had prevented him from executing his purpose.
+
+If Richard's education had failed to develop his intellect in an
+adequate degree, it had built up a sound and vigorous constitution.
+Riding on horseback, sailing and rowing, had been pastimes for which he
+had sacrificed intellectual culture. But there was still time to remedy
+this deficiency, for the youth was hardly sixteen.
+
+The establishment which Mr. Grant had selected for the future residence
+of his son was the Tunbrook Military Institute, under the
+superintendence of Colonel Brockridge. This place had been chosen, not
+because it was a military institution, but because its principal was a
+thorough disciplinarian. He had the reputation of being a just and fair
+man, and was very popular with boys of strong constitution and decisive
+temperaments. No "milk-and-water" boys were ever sent to him; or, if
+they were, they soon left the Institute, or became vigorous and decided
+in their habits.
+
+Colonel Brockridge had been in the army, though his title was won in
+the militia. He was a thorough teacher, and was conscientious and
+faithful in the discharge of his duties to those who were intrusted to
+his care. He was a "positive man," and no fear of what the father or
+mother would say or do ever induced him to alter his plans, or change
+his purposes.
+
+Though the Institute was conducted on military principles, it was not
+peculiarly the school of the soldier. The principal believed in
+discipline; this was his hobby; and he believed that he could best
+secure system and order by adopting military routine. His success
+justified his theory. He had more applicants than he had places.
+
+Richard knew all about the Tunbrook Military Institute. He had
+carefully read its circular, and its rules and regulations. They did
+not suit him. He was not a devotee of discipline, in its application to
+himself. He was very impatient of restraint, as the reader has already
+seen, and he did not like the idea of being sent to this Institute.
+
+When his father had given him his final sentence, he retired to his
+chamber. The shame which attended the discovery of his guilt still
+rested heavily upon him, and he was in a more humble and tractable mood
+than usual. Under ordinary circumstances he would have rebelled against
+the decision of his father. He would have frightened his sister by
+threatening to run away to sea. It is true, this thought occurred to
+him on the present occasion; but Ben had told him enough about the life
+of a sailor to convince him that he should not improve his condition by
+such a course.
+
+There seemed to be no alternative but passive obedience. He did not
+want to go, but he felt that his father must certainly conquer if he
+attempted to resist. He had always had his own way to a very great
+extent. He had always been a conqueror himself--at least he felt so,
+and he could not endure the thought of being compelled to yield
+implicit obedience to any person.
+
+At this time Richard's thoughts took a peculiar turn. The shame he
+endured, the reproaches that had been heaped upon him, caused him to
+feel that there was something wanting in his character. The path in
+which he had been travelling, for the first time in his life seemed to
+lead to destruction. When he considered that he had been detected in
+the act of stealing, and of setting fire to a barn, and in practising a
+gross and wicked deception, he felt that his road was down hill; that
+he should become a dissolute and worthless man.
+
+He was sitting on the stool of repentance. From a prudential penitence
+he had arrived at a genuine one. Something must be done. There was
+something to be conquered. There was a harder battle before him than
+any he had yet fought. He was master of the boats, of the horses, of
+the servants, and even of his companions at Whitestone; but there was
+one whom he had never conquered--one that held him in leading-strings,
+and was pulling him down to ruin and destruction.
+
+He must conquer himself.
+
+Richard had had such thoughts as these before, but they had never
+seemed so substantial as now. He felt the necessity of reforming his
+life and character--of conquering himself, his greatest enemy. As he
+looked upon his dissolute course, upon the events of the preceding
+night, and its fellow a week before, he was disgusted with himself, and
+wondered how he could so easily embrace his besetting sin.
+
+While he was engaged in these reflections, his sister Bertha entered
+his chamber. She had heard of the sentence, and she had come to comfort
+him. Her eyes were still red with weeping, for she had almost lost hope
+of the reform of her brother.
+
+"I have been trying to see you for the last two hours," said she, as
+she sat down by his side.
+
+"Don't cry any more, Berty," said he, with unwonted tenderness.
+
+"I will try not to do so, Richard. Father says you are going away
+to-morrow."
+
+"Yes, Berty, I suppose I am," replied he, with an appearance of
+resignation.
+
+"I shall miss you very much."
+
+"It will be a good miss--won't it?"
+
+"Why, Richard! You don't think so--do you?"
+
+"Well, I have been a kind of nuisance to you."
+
+"No, Richard; don't say that."
+
+"I have been in all sorts of scrapes."
+
+"I would a great deal rather have you stay at home, and--and----"
+
+"And be a good boy," added Richard.
+
+"That's what I mean, Richard."
+
+"Berty, I think I have sowed all my wild oats now."
+
+"I hope so."
+
+"I suppose I have been a very bad boy," said he, with a kind of
+deprecating smile, as though he did not believe more than one half he
+said.
+
+"It was all those bad boys you went with; if it hadn't been for them,
+you would have done very well. That Sandy Brimblecom hasn't done you
+any good."
+
+"I hope I haven't done him any hurt, Berty. I won't be mean, when I get
+into trouble. I don't think Sandy is any worse than I am. I don't know
+but that he is a little better. I suppose he and I must part company
+now."
+
+"It will be all for the best."
+
+"Berty, I am off to-morrow. I have given you a great deal of trouble. I
+mean to do better. I am going to turn over a new leaf."
+
+"O, I hope so, Richard!"
+
+"I mean so, this time."
+
+"I am so glad!"
+
+"Don't you think father will let me stay at home, if I do well?"
+
+"Perhaps he will."
+
+"I don't like the idea of being put into a strait jacket, and tied to a
+bell rope."
+
+"It would be hard for you."
+
+"I can't stand it, any how. I have made up my mind to be a saint. I
+intend to keep out of all scrapes, and behave with perfect propriety
+all the time, night and day."
+
+"I hope you are not jesting, Richard," said Bertha, who did not like
+the facetious language with which he clothed his resolutions.
+
+"I'm in earnest. I mean every word I say. I solemnly promise you that I
+will be a pattern of propriety; but I don't like the Tunbrook Military
+Institute. I don't like the idea of being tied down to Colonel
+Brockridge's little finger; of being drummed and fifed here and there;
+and of reciting a Latin lesson at six o'clock in the morning, after an
+hour's drill on the parade ground. Berty, to tell you the truth, I
+don't believe I shall be able to keep my good resolutions, if I am to
+be tied to a bell rope, or have to move by the tap of a drum."
+
+"I hope you will."
+
+"If I could stay at home, and have my pony and my boat, I should do
+first rate."
+
+Whatever the experienced reader may think of Richard's sincerity, he
+was uttering an honest opinion. He sincerely feared that his courage
+would not be equal to the work of submitting to the discipline of
+Tunbrook, and conquering himself, at one and the same time. Tunbrook
+and Colonel Brockridge seemed to be formidable obstacles in the path of
+reform.
+
+"You would soon get used to the discipline of the Institute," suggested
+Bertha.
+
+"I might get used to it as the old man's horse got used to living upon
+shavings--when he died. If I go, I shall try to submit; but I don't
+want to go."
+
+"I don't see how it can be avoided. Father is determined that you shall
+go."
+
+"You can save me from this strait jacket, if you will, Berty."
+
+"What can I do, Richard?"
+
+"Mr. Presby will do any thing you ask him to do. You can tell him that
+you think it would injure me to be sent to Tunbrook. Then he can talk
+with father about it; and father will do any thing that Mr. Presby
+wishes."
+
+Bertha promised to speak to Mr. Presby about the matter, and she did so
+at once; but instead of Bertha convincing him that it would injure
+Richard to be sent to the Military School, he convinced her that it
+would be the best thing in the world for him.
+
+"I am afraid I spoiled my own children by over indulgence, and I cannot
+counsel your father to do the same thing," said the old gentleman, with
+deep feeling.
+
+Bertha returned to her brother with his answer. Richard was not angry,
+as she feared he would be, and this was a very hopeful sign. But he
+went over his argument against strait jackets, bell ropes, and drums
+and fifes, once more, and then proposed that he should be put on
+probation for one or two months; and if he did any thing wrong, he
+would submit without a murmur.
+
+Bertha went to Mr. Presby again, and was so far successful that the old
+gentleman agreed to speak with Mr. Grant in the evening. He kept his
+promise, but the father carried a stronger argument than the friend of
+the family. Richard was doomed to go to the Military Institute, and the
+fact was patent to him before he retired. He felt as though he wanted
+to submit, but the unconquered enemy that had so often led him astray
+was rebellious.
+
+He did not sleep well that night. He was excited by the prospect before
+him. His good resolutions seemed to be very shaky, and he found himself
+running away from them. When he heard the clock strike twelve, he
+actually jumped out of bed, under a sudden impulse, fully resolved to
+run away and go to sea. He thought he would take the Greyhound, and
+make his way down to the city and ship the next day. He put on a
+portion of his clothes, under the influence of this impulse.
+
+"This would be becoming a saint with a vengeance!" said he to himself,
+as he threw off his clothes, and got into bed again. "I told Bertha I
+would try to submit, and I will."
+
+This was the first decided advantage which Richard had gained over his
+great enemy; but the battle was a mere skirmish with the outposts of
+the potent foe. It was a victory, however, and it strengthened him. It
+improved the _morale_ of his fighting element.
+
+He had resisted temptation, and angels ministered unto him. While they
+ministered, peace came, and he fell asleep.
+
+At an early hour in the morning he was called by his father. With the
+assistance of Bertha he packed his trunk and prepared himself for the
+journey. He was sad, but submissive. At nine o'clock, having bid adieu
+to all his friends, and taken a sorrowful survey of Woodville, he and
+his father were driven down to the railroad station.
+
+Before night they reached Tunbrook, and Richard was introduced to the
+terrible Colonel Brockridge. He was a little man of fifty, with great
+bushy red whiskers, whose whole face seemed to be eclipsed by the
+wonderful sharpness of his eyes. He shook hands with Richard, spoke to
+him very kindly, and hoped they should be good friends. The new recruit
+was shown to his quarters, as his room was called, and Mr. Grant took
+his leave.
+
+Richard felt that he was alone with the future.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+RICHARD LEARNS THE MEANING OF RIGHT ABOUT FACE.
+
+
+The apartment to which Richard was shown was called "Barrack B." There
+were ten rooms of this kind, known by the first ten letters of the
+alphabet, omitting J. Each barrack contained twenty narrow iron
+bedsteads, and no two boys were allowed to occupy the same bed. At the
+head of each barrack, there was an alcove large enough to contain the
+bed of the assistant teacher, who had charge of the pupils in the room.
+This apartment of the instructor was screened from the view of the boys
+by a curtain, so that he could see without being seen, when he desired
+to do so.
+
+There was a small closet in the wall between every two beds, for the
+use of the boys, and Richard was directed to transfer the contents of
+his trunk to this receptacle, by Mr. Gault, the assistant teacher in
+charge of Barrack B. Richard opened the trunk, and then sat down upon
+the bed to wait until the instructor should retire, for he did not care
+to exhibit his wardrobe to a stranger.
+
+"Proceed, if you please," said Mr. Gault.
+
+"I think I will do this business by myself," replied Richard.
+
+"According to a rule of the Institute, the wardrobe of each pupil must
+be inspected," said the teacher.
+
+"Inspected?" asked the recruit. "What for?"
+
+"To see that no improper articles are brought in."
+
+"I would rather not," added Richard.
+
+"The rule is imperative," said Mr. Gault, decidedly.
+
+The strait jacket had already begun to oppress the male heir of
+Woodville, and he was disposed to resent the indignity, as he deemed
+it; but almost the last words of Bertha had been an injunction to
+observe the rules of the school, however distasteful they might be.
+Reluctantly, and with the feeling that he was sacrificing his
+independence, Richard transferred his clothing to the closet assigned
+to him. Mr. Gault carefully watched the proceeding, and confiscated
+several articles which were declared to be contraband, among which were
+some cakes and other sweetmeats, prepared by Bertha, and several
+yellow-covered novels he had purchased in Whitestone.
+
+"Can't I have those things?" asked Richard.
+
+"No, sir; no boy belonging to the Institute is allowed to eat cake on
+the premises."
+
+"Why not?"
+
+"We do not explain to boys the reason for every thing we do," replied
+Mr. Gault, rather curtly.
+
+"I don't think you have any right to take my property away from me."
+
+"I don't ask your opinion, and it is of no value whatever."
+
+"You needn't be so crusty about it," said Richard, who was wholly
+unused to this style of remark.
+
+"We tolerate no impudence here. If you use an expression of that kind
+again, you will be put under arrest, and spend the night in the guard
+house."
+
+Richard's blood was beginning to boil, and he was tempted to pitch into
+the insolent instructor who dared to use language of that kind to the
+only son of the proprietor of Woodville. But he did not want to get
+into trouble the first day; besides, the words "arrest" and "guard
+house" had a very ominous sound to him.
+
+"Can't I have my books? They are not cake," asked Richard.
+
+"No, sir; you cannot. Such trash as that is not fit for boys to read.
+Your property will be kept safely for you, and when you leave the
+school, you can have it again."
+
+"The cake will not be very good then."
+
+"You can do any thing you please with it, except eat it. You can sell
+it, or give it away."
+
+"You can do what you like with it."
+
+"Very well. Have you any money about you?"
+
+"I have."
+
+"You will hand it to me, and a receipt for the amount will be forwarded
+to your father."
+
+"Do you mean to rob me?" demanded Richard, his face flushing at this
+new indignity.
+
+"I refer you to the regulations of the Institute. We provide every
+thing the boys require, and they have no more use for money than they
+have for wings."
+
+"I won't give up my money."
+
+"Very well, sir. I will refer the matter to Colonel Brockridge, and you
+may settle it with him. Follow me, if you please," said Mr. Gault,
+after Richard had locked the trunk containing the contraband articles.
+
+The new scholar followed the teacher to the office of the principal on
+the first floor. He was very uneasy and nervous, and almost wished he
+had given up his money. But he felt that the tutor was carrying things
+altogether too far. It was subjecting him to a needless indignity.
+
+"This young man refuses to give up his money," said Mr. Gault to the
+colonel, who was writing at his desk.
+
+Without waiting to ascertain the result of the interview, the assistant
+departed, leaving the obdurate youth alone with the owner of those
+terribly sharp eyes.
+
+"Have you read our regulations, Grant?" said Colonel Brockridge,
+turning round and looking the recruit full in the face.
+
+But there was a pleasant smile upon his face, and his words were
+gentle, and even respectful.
+
+"Yes, sir," replied Richard.
+
+"Then you are aware that pupils are not allowed to have money--are you
+not?"
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+"Boys are tempted to purchase various articles which injure them, such
+as cakes and candy, and improper books. Therefore we think it is better
+that they should not be provided with money. Is this a satisfactory
+explanation?"
+
+"I don't know but it is, sir," replied Richard, doubtfully.
+
+"It satisfies me, at any rate. How much money have you?"
+
+"About five dollars."
+
+"Now, Grant, if you will hand it to me, I will give you a receipt for
+it, or send it to your father. I will keep it, subject to your order,
+if you desire it."
+
+"I don't like the rule, sir."
+
+"I think it is an excellent rule. But you waste my time. Your decision,
+Grant."
+
+"I should like to think of the matter, sir."
+
+"Your decision at once," said the colonel; and Richard saw the sharp
+eyes grow a shade sharper, and heard the deep voice grow a shade
+sterner.
+
+The recruit winced under the necessity thus laid upon him. The
+principal could not be trifled with, and he must either submit, or take
+the consequences, which were so indefinite to him that they seemed
+sufficiently terrible.
+
+"I will give up the money," said he, with a struggle, as he handed his
+wallet to the colonel.
+
+"I am glad to find you are a discreet and sensible youth," added the
+colonel, as he wrote the receipt, and handed it, with the wallet, from
+which he had taken the money, back to the owner. "If you wish to use
+money for any proper purpose, you can draw on me, and your paper shall
+be honored to the extent of the funds in my hands."
+
+"I don't think I am likely to want money here," answered Richard,
+gloomily.
+
+"Every needed article will be furnished. Now, Grant, I am afraid you
+have come here with an intention to resist our wholesome regulations.
+If so, you must learn the meaning of "right about, face"--in its moral
+application, I mean. Your father has told me all about you, and given
+me explicit instructions to make a man of you. I understand your case
+perfectly. If you are disposed to observe the rules of the Institute,
+we shall treat you like a gentleman. The future is before you, young
+man, and you must choose for yourself."
+
+"I intend to obey the rules, sir," said Richard, rather crest-fallen
+after what had happened.
+
+"I am very glad to hear you say so. In a few days you will be provided
+with the uniform worn by the pupils of the Institute. Here is a time
+card for the fall term. Look it over carefully, for you will be
+required to conform to it very strictly. To-morrow morning you will
+take your place with the boys, and go through with the programme just
+as though you had been here all your lifetime. We make no allowances
+for beginners; they will have seasonable warning, and they must be on
+the ground promptly at the moment. There will be a dress parade in a
+few moments, and you can go out and witness it, if you choose," said
+Colonel Brockridge, as he handed Richard the card. "After supper, Mr.
+Gault will introduce you to the boys of your barrack."
+
+Richard took the card, and left the room. As he passed out of the
+building he descried the boys at play on the lawn. They were all
+dressed in a uniform of gray cloth, though some wore a loose blouse,
+and some, in the heat of play, had thrown off their jackets. The new
+scholar walked over to the flagstaff, where the stars and stripes were
+flying, and seated himself on a bench. The boys seemed to be having a
+good time, in spite of the strictness of the discipline. As he listened
+to the tremendous noise they made, and saw the rough-and-tumble games
+in which they were engaged, he became convinced that the Institute was
+not of the Blember style, and he began to have some hope that he should
+survive the shock.
+
+While he was waiting for the dress parade, he examined the time card
+given him by the principal. To him it had a decidedly strait-jacket
+odor, and he read it with a feeling of repugnance, not to say disgust.
+It was as follows:--
+
+    "TUNBROOK MILITARY INSTITUTE.
+
+    FALL TERM.
+
+    _From Sept. 1 to Dec. 1._
+
+
+     6     A. M.  Reveille.
+     6.30    "    Study.
+     7.30    "    Breakfast.
+     8       "    Squad Drill.
+     9       "    Study and Recitation.
+    11       "    Battalion Drill.
+     1     P. M.  Dinner.
+     1.30    "    Recreation.
+     3       "    Study and Recitation.
+     5       "    Recreation.
+     6       "    Dress Parade.
+     6.30    "    Supper.
+     7       "    Off Time.
+     9       "    Retire.
+
+    The 'Off Time' belongs to the student; but deficient lessons must
+    be made up during these hours.
+
+    Camp duty will be performed by all students for one week, in each
+    term, except the winter term.
+
+                             J. BROCKRIDGE,
+                                   Principal."
+
+Richard thought the time card was rather formidable, but he came to the
+conclusion that he could stand it, if the rest of the boys could.
+
+While he was musing upon the present and the future, the rattling drum
+sounded, and the boys instantly suspended their play. In a moment the
+whole crowd had disappeared within the buildings that flanked the lawn;
+but presently the rattle of several drums was heard, and one company
+after another marched upon the parade ground, and formed the line.
+Every boy was dressed in full uniform now, the blouses and other
+non-conforming garments having been thrown aside, and every one wore
+white gloves.
+
+Richard found that the teachers were not the officers of the companies,
+or the battalion, as he had expected. Several of the instructors were
+present, but they appeared to take no part in the proceedings. Every
+thing was managed by the boys, apparently without any assistance from
+the teachers. The captains, lieutenants, sergeants, and corporals were
+all in appropriate uniform, with their rank designated as in the United
+States army. The swords and muskets were genuine weapons, though not so
+large and heavy as those used by older soldiers. The students varied in
+age from fourteen to eighteen.
+
+The various evolutions of the dress parade were regularly performed.
+The adjutant announced to the major that the parade was formed; the
+band, consisting of eight pieces, marched up and down the line; the
+first sergeants reported "all present or accounted for," and the
+company officers marched up to the commander of the battalion. The boys
+were as rigid as statues when the order, "Parade--rest," was given. The
+companies marched back to the armories, broke ranks, and were
+dismissed.
+
+Richard was delighted with this exhibition, and the Tunbrook Military
+Institute went up many degrees in his estimation. He followed the boys
+into the supper room, where, without much ceremony, he made the
+acquaintance of several captains and lieutenants. He received a hearty
+welcome from his new associates, and began to feel very much at home.
+
+The supper was not exactly what he had been accustomed to at Woodville,
+but it was plain wholesome food; and when he saw officers and privates,
+from the major down to the drummers, partake of it with hearty relish,
+he was not disposed to grumble.
+
+After supper, the boys scattered in every direction. Some went out
+doors, some to the barracks, some to the school rooms. It was
+"off-time," and without much assistance from Mr. Gault, who attempted
+to introduce him, he made the acquaintance of half the students in the
+Institute. At nine o'clock the sound of the drum rolled through the
+halls, and the boys all retired.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+RICHARD GOES THROUGH THE DRILL, AND HAS A SET-TO IN THE GROVE.
+
+
+Richard slept very well, and was attending to the business of sleeping
+with great pertinacity, when the reveille sounded at six o'clock in the
+morning. He did not feel much like getting up, and though the other
+boys in Barrack B instantly jumped out of bed, he did not heed the
+summons. It went against his grain to get up at the sound of a drum, or
+of a bell; not that he cared to lie in bed any longer, but the
+principle of the thing was utterly objectionable.
+
+"Come, Grant," said the boy who occupied one of the beds next to him,
+in a kind and friendly tone, "it's time to turn out."
+
+"I suppose it is," yawned Richard, "but I'm not quite ready to get up
+yet."
+
+"Better get up at once. They call the roll to half past six. You are in
+our company, you know."
+
+"Suppose I don't get up--what then?"
+
+"It will be all the worse for you."
+
+"What will they do?"
+
+"I don't know; but fellows don't like to be late at roll-call."
+
+Richard concluded to get up, for he preferred to see a punishment
+inflicted upon some one besides himself before he got into trouble.
+Bailey--for this was the name of the boy next to him--told him what to
+do, and where to go, till they made their appearance at the armory of
+Company D, to which the recruit had been assigned. They were then sent
+to the school room for an hour's study. Richard was examined to
+ascertain his attainments, and placed in a class, and he was told to
+prepare himself for the lessons of the day. There was no great hardship
+in this, and as Richard's talents were of a high order, he had no
+difficulty in performing the work assigned to him.
+
+The breakfast call scattered the boys again, and they were soon
+reassembled in the dining room. When they were seated, profound silence
+reigned throughout the apartment. The principal, all the assistant
+teachers, and every one else belonging to the establishment, were
+present. The chaplain then read a short passage from the Scriptures,
+which was followed by a prayer, the whole service occupying not more
+than three or four minutes.
+
+The breakfast consisted of coffee, beefsteak, potatoes, with cold bread
+and butter. The new comer was perfectly satisfied with this fare, and
+taking it as a sample of his living, he did not believe he should
+starve.
+
+"What next, Nevers?" asked Richard of the boy who sat next to him, and
+who wore the designation of an orderly sergeant.
+
+"Squad drill, my boy. We shall give you some now," replied Nevers. "We
+begin to find out what a fellow is made of on drill."
+
+There was a little spare time before the drill came on, and the new
+student improved it by inquiring particularly into the nature of his
+duties. Bailey was patient and communicative, and he obtained from him
+all the information he wanted.
+
+Again the drum rattled, and the boys made their way to the several
+armories. The doors and windows were thrown open, and the drill
+commenced. It was conducted by Mr. Gault, who was assisted by various
+officers of the company.
+
+"Nevers," said the assistant, "you may take Grant and instruct him in
+the positions."
+
+Richard glanced at the orderly sergeant to whom this command had been
+given, and the look of satisfaction which Nevers put on did not please
+him.
+
+"This way, if you please, Grant," said the young orderly sergeant, as
+he led the way to one corner of the armory.
+
+"What are _you_ going to do?" demanded the recruit.
+
+"Give you the positions."
+
+"Are you my teacher?"
+
+"I am ordered to give you the positions," replied Nevers, chuckling
+with a delight which the new comer could not understand.
+
+"You want to find out what I am made of--don't you?" said Richard,
+remembering what the other had said to him at breakfast.
+
+"I always obey orders."
+
+"Well, I think I should rather be instructed by the regular teachers."
+
+"Very well; I will report to Mr. Gault."
+
+"You needn't trouble yourself. If this is the custom, go ahead. I am
+ready."
+
+"Stand as I do, if you please--heels on the same line, feet turned out
+equally, knees straight."
+
+Richard observed all these instructions, and being a very tractable
+scholar, he was soon master of the positions.
+
+"Eyes--right!" continued Nevers, explaining the meaning of the order.
+"Front."
+
+There were three other boys, who had not yet been supplied with
+uniforms, having come to the Institute a few days before. These also
+were placed in Nevers's care, and he began to drill them in the
+facings.
+
+"Attention--squad," said the drill master, explaining what he meant,
+and going through with the next movement. "Right--face."
+
+Richard did not come to time, and the sergeant repeated his
+instructions, and gave the order again; but it was done no better than
+the first time.
+
+"Move quicker, Grant. How long will it take you to turn on your left
+heel? Now, try again. Right--face!"
+
+The young gentleman from Woodville did not like the style of the drill
+master's remarks. Though he had been scrupulously polite in all he had
+said, up to the point of Richard's failure to obey the order with
+promptness, there was something in his tone and manner that was very
+offensive to him. Nevers seemed to feel that he was armed with
+authority, and he intended to make the new comer feel it; but Richard
+took his own time, and after they had tried half a dozen times, he
+could not "right face" till after the others had completed the
+movement.
+
+"How long will it take you to turn on your heel, Grant?" said Nevers,
+sharply, when his patience had been sorely tried.
+
+"Till you speak a little more civilly," replied Richard, quietly.
+"Perhaps not till you have found out what I am made of."
+
+Nevers bit his lip at this reply. Perhaps he was conscious that he
+ought not to have used the remark, or he might have reported the
+contumacy of the recruit to the assistant in charge of the room.
+
+"We will try again," continued Nevers. "Right--face."
+
+The result was no better than before; for Richard was so offended at
+the manner of the instructor that he determined not to obey.
+
+"Well, Grant, you won't get round till the first day of January. You
+are a perfect dough-head," said Nevers, the last remark being in a low
+tone, though it was distinctly heard by the subject of it.
+
+"All right," muttered Richard. "If you have found out what my head is
+made of, I will show you, by and by, what my fist is made of."
+
+"Ready when you are," replied Nevers, dropping his voice so that the
+assistant teacher could not hear him. "Now, about--face;" and he
+explained the movement, and went through with it himself.
+
+Richard, having made up his mind what to do when the occasion offered,
+did not deem it necessary to carry his resistance any farther at
+present. Besides, he was very desirous of learning the drill, that he
+might join the company. His "about face," therefore, was
+unexceptionable.
+
+"Very well, Grant," said the drill master, in a satirical tone, and
+with a patronizing air.
+
+"Your praise and your censure are all the same to me. Spare me both, if
+you please," replied Richard, with a dignity becoming the male heir of
+Woodville.
+
+"No impudence, you puppy!" growled Nevers, his cheek flushed with
+anger. "If Gault wasn't here, I'd boot you."
+
+"I will make an opportunity for you when he is not present. Do your
+duty like a decent fellow, if you can," answered Richard.
+
+"Squad, forward--march," said Nevers, as he explained how the command
+was to be executed.
+
+As Richard and his companions in the squad were very tractable
+scholars, they soon mastered all the mysteries of the step in common
+time, and were then instructed in the principles of the "double quick."
+They were then reviewed several times in what they had learned: after
+which muskets were placed in their hands, and they were taught to
+"shoulder arms," "support arms," and "present arms."
+
+The hour devoted to drill was finished, and in spite of the overbearing
+manner of the instructor, Richard was pleased with the exercise, and
+even began to entertain visions of military glory.
+
+The two hours devoted to study and recitations passed off without any
+thing to distinguish them. Richard had learned his lessons, and every
+thing went off to his satisfaction. The next item on the time card was
+the battalion drill. The recruits were placed in the ranks, and for an
+hour and a half they were exercised in the school of the battalion;
+part of the time by Colonel Brockridge, and part of the time by the
+young gentleman who had been elected by the company officers to the
+command of the battalion--Major Morgan. If Richard was pleased with the
+squad and company drill, he was delighted with that of the battalion.
+
+After dinner came the hour of recreation. During this time the boys
+were allowed to go any where upon the estate, which contained about a
+hundred acres of land. Some of them made up games on the parade ground,
+and others went over to the grove, a short distance from the Institute
+buildings. Richard and Bailey, who had become good friends in the short
+time they had been acquainted, took a walk over the estate. They found
+the students engaged in every amusement which the genius of a boy could
+devise, from base ball and cricket down to mud dams and water wheels.
+
+In the grove they found Nevers, whom Richard was very anxious to meet.
+The orderly sergeant was a year older than Richard, and somewhat
+heavier.
+
+"There is the fellow I've been looking for," said Richard to his
+companion.
+
+"Who--Nevers?"
+
+"Yes, that's his name."
+
+"Do you know him?"
+
+"He drilled our squad this morning, and took the trouble to insult me
+several times."
+
+"Just like him. He is the biggest bully in the school."
+
+"I am going to knock some of his impudence out of him."
+
+"You?" exclaimed Bailey, stopping short, and looking with astonishment
+at the new comer.
+
+"I am going to try it, at any rate," added Richard, more modestly. "I
+don't let any fellow insult me."
+
+"Why, he will break every bone in your body. He can lick any fellow in
+the school."
+
+"I don't care for that. I won't be imposed upon by him."
+
+"But it won't do; if any fellow gets up a fight here, it goes hard with
+him."
+
+"Can't help that."
+
+"But he will whip you, as sure as you attempt it. I tell you he is the
+bully of the school."
+
+"He called me a dough-head, on drill, this morning."
+
+"If you had reported him to Mr. Gault, he would have punished him
+severely. No officer is allowed to speak impudently to a private,
+especially to a new fellow. Why didn't you report him?"
+
+"Because I feel able to fight my own battles; besides, I don't like the
+idea of being a tell-tale."
+
+"I advise you not to touch him. He will make mince meat of you, if you
+do."
+
+"Perhaps he will; he shall have a chance to try it."
+
+"I should like to see him licked, and so would every other fellow in
+the school."
+
+"I think I can take care of him."
+
+"Do you know any thing about the science?"
+
+"O, well, something," replied Richard, with assumed indifference.
+
+But Richard had been very thoroughly educated in the science of
+self-defence by Bob Bleeker, who had served his time as a butcher's boy
+in New York city, and done duty there as a rough of the first water.
+
+"Nevers knows all about it. He has had half a dozen pitched battles
+with fellows whom he bullied, and all of them got whipped. Nevers has
+been 'cock of the walk' for the last year, for no fellow dares say a
+word to him."
+
+Richard said no more, but went directly to the place where the bully
+was standing. He walked up to him with a bold and defiant air.
+
+"I am glad to meet you, Nevers," said he, with easy self-possession.
+
+"Are you, my fighting chicken?" laughed Nevers.
+
+"You called me a dough-head this morning," added Richard.
+
+"I did; and to make sure that there is no mistake, I repeat it--You are
+a dough-head."
+
+"Then take that for your impudence!" said Richard, as with a sudden
+movement he slapped the bully's face.
+
+"A fight! A fight!" shouted the dozen boys who were gathered in that
+part of the grove.
+
+"What do you want, Grant?" demanded Nevers, turning pale and red with
+rage. "Do you want me to lick you?"
+
+"If you please. You wanted to know what I am made of. I am ready to
+show you."
+
+"Clear the ring!" shouted the boys, forming a circle round the two
+belligerents.
+
+Richard coolly threw off his jacket and vest, rolled up his shirt
+sleeves, unloosed his suspenders, and wound them round his waist, to
+support his pants. Nevers threw off his jacket only. By this time, at
+least fifty boys had assembled to witness the encounter; and so
+unpopular was the bully, that Richard had the sympathy of the whole
+crowd, except a few personal friends of his opponent.
+
+"I am all ready," said Richard, taking the most approved attitude.
+
+"So am I," replied the ready Nevers, as he edged up to Richard, and
+attempted to plant a blow by the side of his head, which was handsomely
+parried, and a left-handed rap lodged under the eye of the bully.
+
+This blow maddened Nevers, and he redoubled his efforts to crush his
+opponent, as he had expected to do at the first onset. "Keep cool, and
+have both eyes open," had been the oft-repeated admonition of Richard's
+distinguished instructor in the sublime art of self-defence, and he
+carefully observed the instruction. After a few more plunges on the
+part of Nevers, he found himself on the ground, from the effect of a
+stunning blow which Richard had given him on the side of the head.
+
+"Are you satisfied?" called Richard, flushed with victory.
+
+"No!" yelled Nevers, as he sprang to his feet, and rushed upon his
+antagonist.
+
+Richard's coolness enabled him to do wonders, and the bully was down
+again in a moment more.
+
+"Come on if you are not satisfied," said Richard, whose nose was
+bleeding, and on whose face there was a huge swelling, caused by the
+bully's hard fist.
+
+"Time!" shouted the boys.
+
+"Gault's coming! Dry up!" "Settle it another time," added others, as
+they began to scatter.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+RICHARD DOES A "BIG THING," AND TAKES THE CONSEQUENCES.
+
+
+In the language of the "prize ring," Nevers was still able to "come to
+time;" therefore Richard could not be regarded as the victor in the
+fierce contest. The boys who formed the ring began to scatter as soon
+as the coming of the assistant teacher was announced. But they helped
+the combatants to clothe themselves, and used every effort in their
+power to conceal the fact that a fight had taken place.
+
+"A drawn battle," said one of the students.
+
+"Grant," said Nevers, "I am far from being satisfied. At five o'clock,
+if you are ready, we will finish this business."
+
+"With all my heart," replied Richard, wiping the blood from his nose.
+
+"I hope you will do so," said the bully, earnestly.
+
+"You hope I will! Do you suppose I will not? I am willing to be put
+under bonds to appeal at the time named, Nevers. If any body backs out,
+I shall not be the one."
+
+"I am sure I shall not."
+
+"Good!" shouted the boys.
+
+"Now, keep still, fellows," added Nevers. "Don't say a word about it,
+or all the fun will be spoiled."
+
+The spectators of the barbarous spectacle all promised to keep still,
+and Richard moved over to a brook behind the grove to wash the blood
+from his face. His opponent had sundry very bad-looking places on his
+physiognomy, but no blood had been drawn.
+
+By this time Mr. Gault made his appearance in the grove; but so well
+did the boys play their parts, that he did not even suspect that any
+unusual event had transpired. Some of them commenced a game of "tag,"
+and played with such zeal that no one could have suspected they were
+not in earnest. Others engaged in conversation, and those who had
+followed Richard to the brook resumed their labors upon the dam and
+water wheel.
+
+Mr. Gault had no particular motive in visiting the grove. He was merely
+taking a walk in the discharge of his duty, which included a general
+supervision of the boys on all the grounds. But Richard kept out of his
+way, fearful lest his swelled face should betray him, and thus prevent
+the final settlement of the account. He felt like a victor already, for
+he was perfectly confident that his superior science and coolness would
+give him the battle.
+
+I am sorry to add that he did not think of the good resolutions he had
+made; or, if he did, he banished the thought as inconvenient and
+uncomfortable. He really believed that he had been deeply injured by
+the bully of the Institute, and if he did not regard it as a positive
+duty to obtain satisfaction, he at least felt that such a course was
+perfectly justifiable.
+
+Nevers was the bully of the school. Weak and timid boys were obliged
+to submit to his insults. He had won the position of the "best man" in
+the school, and he employed his power in playing the tyrant. Richard
+felt that he must either whip him, or acknowledge him as his superior,
+and submit to his rule.
+
+The element of pride also had a powerful influence upon his mind.
+Bailey had told him that Nevers could whip any fellow in the Institute;
+and it followed, of course, if he could master him, he should at once
+become the champion of the ring. Richard regarded this as a proud
+distinction, and he was quite willing to have a battered nose and a
+swelled face in the achievement of such an honor.
+
+More than all this, Richard was animated by the generous sentiment
+that, in fighting and whipping the bully of the ring, he became the
+champion of the weak and the timid, who dared not resent the insolence
+of Nevers.
+
+When he had washed his face and stopped the bleeding, he followed the
+course of the brook, till it emptied itself into the river, which was a
+small stream some four or five rods wide. He was attended by Bailey and
+two or three other boys, who had suddenly conceived a very great
+admiration for him. If he was not the victor in the fight, he had the
+advantage, and he had already partially entered upon the enjoyment of
+the honors which would be bestowed upon the conqueror of Nevers.
+
+A short distance above the mouth of the brook, the river received the
+waters of the beautiful and picturesque Tunbrook Lake. The Institute
+grounds bordered upon it for some distance, and great was the
+satisfaction of Richard when he saw several boats, which his companions
+informed him belonged to the school. There was a large schooner-rigged
+sail boat, two twelve-oar race boats, besides three smaller craft. He
+felt at home here, and inquired particularly whether the boys were
+allowed to use these boats. They were only permitted to sail in company
+with some of the instructors.
+
+The boys were exercised in rowing on Saturday afternoons, when the
+regular sessions of the school were suspended, and also upon the
+occasional holidays which were granted. The lake was seven miles long,
+by about two in breadth, so that there was abundant sea room. While
+they were examining the boats, and viewing the beautiful lake, the
+signal bell in the tower of the Institute school room sounded its
+warning peal, and summoned them to study and recitation.
+
+"How does my face look, Bailey?"
+
+"Not very bad."
+
+"Do you think Gault will smell a mice when he hears my lessons?"
+
+"I don't see why he should."
+
+"I guess I can stave him off if he does," added Richard, confidently.
+"Didn't you see me tumble down when that fellow chased me?"
+
+"What fellow?" asked Bailey.
+
+"Any fellow you please," replied Richard, with a knowing smile.
+
+"I didn't see any fellow chase you," added Bailey, innocently.
+
+"Can't you see through a millstone when there is a hole in it?"
+
+"Of course I can."
+
+"Don't you see what I mean?"
+
+"No, I don't."
+
+"If Gault asks me how I hurt my face, I will tell him a fellow was
+chasing me, and I tumbled down. Of course all the rest of you saw it."
+
+"But I don't see it," persisted Bailey.
+
+"Don't you, indeed! Then I think you ought to have a pair of leather
+spectacles."
+
+"O, I know what you mean, but I don't believe in lying about it."
+
+"Ah, then you are a military saint--are you?" said Richard, with a
+sneer.
+
+"All but the saint," laughed Bailey. "I don't think there is any use in
+lying about it."
+
+"Then I suppose you think it was very wicked of me to fight with
+Nevers."
+
+"No, I don't," answered Bailey, promptly and decidedly. "Nevers is a
+bully, and he insulted you. My father always told me never to take an
+insult, but he would thrash me for telling a lie."
+
+"Well, Bailey, I believe you are right. I think it is mean to tell a
+lie; but how shall I manage it?"
+
+"Face the music. A fellow who can stand such a pounding as you have
+had, wouldn't mind being punished."
+
+"I don't like to be punished."
+
+"I don't know as the colonel would punish you. If a fellow gets up a
+fight, he has to take it; but if he only defends himself, he says he
+does no more than his duty."
+
+"Well, who got up this fight?"
+
+"That's the point. Nevers insulted you, and you pitched into him. I
+don't know which is most to blame."
+
+"We will leave it to the powers that be, and not bother our heads about
+the question. I won't lie about it, any how."
+
+By the time this point was settled the boys had reached the school
+room. Richard applied himself with zeal and patience to the labors of
+the afternoon, determined to do his whole duty. When called out to
+recite, Mr. Gault noticed the swelling upon his face, and at recess
+asked him what had caused it.
+
+"It was done in a little affair out in the grove sir," replied Richard.
+
+"What kind of an affair?"
+
+"Nevers and I had a little set-to," said Richard.
+
+"Rather rough play, I should think," added Mr. Gault, as he struck the
+bell for the work to be resumed.
+
+Richard congratulated himself that he had escaped, and, as he thought,
+without telling a lie. He told none with his lips, but his manner was
+such as to assure the teacher that the affair in the grove had been
+nothing but friendly sport. Deception, or wilfully misleading another,
+for the accomplishment of a purpose, is, in our opinion, just as
+culpable a falsehood as gaining the same end by a lie expressed in
+words. But Richard had not come up to this standard.
+
+At the close of the school session, Richard hastened to the grove, as
+did all the boys who were in the secret of the fight. Nevers was on the
+ground soon after him, and the arrangements for the fight were hastily
+completed. A line of scouts reaching from the parade ground to the
+grove was stationed at convenient distances to give warning of the
+approach of any of the teachers. The ring was formed, and Richard
+coolly divested himself of all superfluous clothing, and prepared with
+the utmost care for the desperate encounter.
+
+Nevers was ready sooner than Richard, for he was not so precise in the
+arrangement of his garments. As he took his place in the ring, though
+he stood strong and defiant, there was a kind of nervousness in his
+manner, which might have been detected by a keen observer.
+
+"Come, Grant, we shall not get to work to-day, if you don't hurry up,"
+said Nevers, his lip curling into a sneer.
+
+But it was the bully in him that spoke. He had a reputation to sustain,
+and he was saying and doing all he could to ward off any imputation
+upon his courage.
+
+"In one moment, Nevers," added Richard.
+
+"You are as particular as though you were going to a ball," continued
+Nevers.
+
+"I suppose you are too much of a man to bawl, whatever happens; so
+there won't be any," replied Richard.
+
+"We shall have the colonel and all the teachers down upon us, if you
+don't get fixed soon."
+
+"I'm all ready," said Richard, throwing himself into the attitude of
+the pugilist.
+
+"Come on, then."
+
+Richard edged up to his antagonist, and after considerable sparring,
+the fight commenced in good earnest. Nevers was too much excited to use
+all his strength to the best advantage, for the first hit he received
+seemed to make him angry. In the first round Richard had the advantage.
+In the second, Nevers knocked him down; but he was not at all
+disconcerted. The heavy blows he received did not appear to disturb his
+equanimity, while his opponent worked himself up into a towering
+passion. The fight went on for ten minutes with varying results. At one
+time all the spectators were sure that Nevers would win, and at another
+they were equally sure that Grant would be the victor.
+
+The anger of Nevers exhausted him more than his tremendous efforts.
+Both parties had been terribly punished, but Richard was still cool and
+self-possessed. At last Nevers became desperate, and rushed upon his
+foe, determined at one effort to crush him. He was furious, and
+abandoned all the science he had brought to his aid, and apparently
+depended entirely upon brute force. The consequence was, that he laid
+himself open to his cool rival, and Richard rained a series of
+tremendous blows upon his head, which carried him under. He fell
+heavily upon the ground, and lay there incapable of moving.
+
+Richard, though his nose was bleeding, and he could not see out of one
+eye, seated himself on the ground for a moment, till he had recovered
+his breath, and then took his place in the ring.
+
+"Time!" cried the friends of Richard.
+
+But Nevers could not "come to time." He raised himself partly up, but
+sank back again, incapable of making the effort to rise.
+
+"Come on!" said Richard, as he sparred a little with his fists to
+assure the spectators that he was "game" to the last.
+
+Nevers made no reply, and Richard was declared the victor by his own
+friends, and the proposition was admitted by those of his prostrate
+antagonist.
+
+"I am satisfied," added Richard, as he picked up his clothes, and made
+his way down to the brook, attended by an admiring crowd.
+
+When Nevers recovered his breath, he rose from the ground, and his
+companions helped him down to the water, where he was bathed by his
+sympathizing friends. Both of the combatants were severely though not
+seriously injured.
+
+"What's to be done now, fellows?" asked Richard, when all that cold
+water could do for him had been done. "I suppose we are all in a bad
+scrape."
+
+"That's so," replied several. "We will stand by you, Grant, as well as
+we can."
+
+"I am not exactly in condition to appear at dress parade," added
+Richard, turning his head round, so as to bring his available eye to
+bear upon his companions.
+
+"You are better off than Nevers, who is first sergeant of Company D."
+
+"Can't we keep out of sight till we get our eyes open, as little
+kittens do?"
+
+"Roll call before dress parade," suggested Bailey.
+
+"Can't some fellow answer for me? I will spend the night in the cabin
+of the sail boat on the lake. It won't be the first time I've slept in
+a boat."
+
+"That won't do. Better face the music, Grant."
+
+"But I shall be punished for this affair. I don't----"
+
+"Colonel Brockridge is coming!" was the word passed down the line of
+scouts, interrupting Richard's remarks on the subject of punishment.
+
+"What shall I do?"
+
+"Don't do any thing, Grant," said Bailey. "You are sure to be found
+out, whatever you do. If you run away, it will be all the worse for
+you."
+
+Richard, after a moment's reflection, was of the same opinion, and he
+decided to take the consequences, whatever they might be.
+
+"What does all this mean?" demanded the colonel, sternly, when he saw
+the swelled face of Richard.
+
+"Been a fight, sir," replied several of the boys.
+
+"Between whom?"
+
+"Nevers and Grant."
+
+"Nevers and Grant will report forthwith in my office," said the
+principal, as he walked back to the Institute.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+RICHARD LISTENS TO A HOMILY ON FIGHTING, AND SPENDS THE NIGHT IN THE
+GUARD HOUSE.
+
+
+Richard, in obedience to the order of the principal, immediately
+repaired to the office, where he was soon joined by Nevers, both of
+them very much the worse for the encounter.
+
+"You have been fighting--have you, young gentlemen?" demanded Colonel
+Brockridge, as he entered the room.
+
+"Yes, sir," replied both of the culprits, in the same breath.
+
+"You know the rules of the Institute, Nevers," added the principal,
+sternly.
+
+"I do, sir; but I was struck, and was obliged to fight in
+self-defence."
+
+"And you, Grant, had common sense enough to know better than to engage
+in a fight. You struck the first blow--did you?"
+
+"I struck the first blow that was given with the fist, but Nevers
+struck the heaviest blow with his tongue."
+
+"Explain, Grant."
+
+"At breakfast I was informed by Nevers that they found out what boys
+were made of on drill."
+
+"Did you make use of this remark, Nevers?" asked the principal.
+
+"I did, sir."
+
+"What did you mean by it?"
+
+"Simply that we found out something about a boy's capacity."
+
+"Ah, indeed!" added Colonel Brockridge, in a slightly satirical tone.
+"What did you understand by the remark, Grant?"
+
+"That a fellow who hadn't spunk enough to protect himself must submit
+to be insulted, and to be bullied by those who were wiser than he in
+military matters."
+
+"I did not mean that, sir," protested Nevers.
+
+"His looks and his tone indicated it," said Richard. "And when he was
+directed to instruct me in the positions, his tone and manner were
+haughty and domineering. I so understood it, sir; if I am wrong, I am
+willing to apologize. In the course of the drill he called me a
+dough-head."
+
+"Is this true, Nevers?"
+
+"It is; but I did not call him so till I was satisfied he did not mean
+to observe the order. In teaching him the facings, he would not come
+about till all the others had finished the movement."
+
+"I wouldn't, if I had been in his place," added the colonel, very much
+to the astonishment of Richard, and very much to the indignation of
+Nevers. "You know very well that one boy is never permitted in this
+school to domineer over another. You took pains beforehand to inform
+Grant, by your words, and especially by your looks and actions, that
+you meant to haze him, to bully him. As a decent boy, he could not
+submit to it. Then you called him a dough-head; which, as Grant
+suggests, was the heaviest blow that was struck, for it touches a spot
+which the fist cannot reach. Nevers, you commenced the fight."
+
+"I think not, sir."
+
+"We don't argue the matter, sir," said the colonel, sharply. "One thing
+more: no pupil is allowed to use ungentlemanly language to another
+pupil. Obedience to officers who are merely students is purely
+voluntary. If a boy refuses to obey the officers, he must leave the
+company. No boy is compelled to go into the ranks. On drill the case is
+still stronger, Nevers. If the recruit will not obey, it is the duty of
+the drill officer to report him to the instructor. If you had done so,
+it would have been Mr. Gault's duty to drill Grant himself."
+
+Nevers made no reply to these remarks. He cast a savage glance at
+Richard, who appeared to have conquered him in the forum as well as in
+the field.
+
+"Grant, you are also to blame," continued the principal. "We will not
+permit you to be insulted, bullied, or domineered over. I will protect
+you, but you must not take the law into your own hands. A blow is not
+justifiable except in self-defence, or when all other means have
+failed. You knew it was wrong to strike Nevers."
+
+"I did not think so, at the time, sir," replied Richard. "What you have
+said has changed my view of the matter."
+
+Nevers sneered at this remark of his antagonist, and Richard saw and
+felt that sneer. It was as much as to say that he, Richard, was making
+his peace with the principal by pretending a penitence he did not feel.
+It stung him where he was very sensitive, and he was angry.
+
+While his wrath was boiling, and he was considering in what manner he
+should punish his crestfallen rival for his savage look and his bitter
+sneer, the parting admonition of Bertha came to his mind, with the
+promise that he had made to obey the rules of the school. This
+suggested his big resolutions to reform his life and character. A
+brutal fight on the first day of his residence at Tunbrook was not
+exactly redeeming his solemn promise to his sister; nor was the
+conquest of Nevers a step towards the conquest of himself.
+
+Yet, in spite of his promise, and in spite of his resolutions, he could
+not believe that he had been altogether in the wrong. He thought
+Colonel Brockridge's views of the case were very sensible: and while he
+wished he had not been so hasty in hitting Nevers, he felt, as the
+principal had suggested, that his conduct was greatly palliated by the
+provocation he had received.
+
+Nevers cast looks of hatred and contempt at him, which stirred his
+blood deeper than even the words of insults he had received. He came to
+the conclusion that the bully had not got enough yet, and impulsively
+he determined to give him some more at the first convenient
+opportunity. But when he thought of the promise he had made to Bertha,
+when he thought of his resolution to conquer himself, he struggled with
+the temptation, and finally had the strength to say to the malignant
+demon of hatred and revenge, "Get thee behind me, Satan." The victory
+was won; the heart of Richard was at peace; he had actually conquered
+himself this time.
+
+"You have both done wrong," said the principal, after a few moments'
+consideration, during which time Richard had won a greater and nobler
+victory than that he had gained in the grove.
+
+"I am sorry for it," said Richard, and it was almost the first time in
+his life that he had acknowledged himself in the wrong.
+
+Nevers cast a look full of contempt at him when he uttered these words;
+but Richard, under the influence of the good angel which had taken
+possession of his soul, did not permit the look to ruffle him.
+
+"I will do right, and feel right, this time, if I never did before,"
+said he to himself.
+
+"Nevers," added the principal, "your warrant as orderly sergeant is
+withdrawn; you are reduced to the ranks. You can go, now. Remove those
+stripes from your arms."
+
+The sentence was a heavy blow to the bully. For a year he had been
+trying to obtain promotion. He wanted a commission. The company
+officers were elected from the sergeants, and he was confident that he
+should be chosen captain of Company D at the next election. He had been
+a sergeant for a year and a half, and would have been a captain if he
+had not been a bully; for there were enough who disliked him on this
+account to prevent his election. As the first sergeant of the company,
+he was almost sure that he should be chosen the next time. But his
+sentence removed all hope of such preferment.
+
+"Grant, I believe you are sincerely sorry for what has happened; but
+you have done wrong, and you must be punished."
+
+Richard's anger rose at these words, and he was disposed to resent the
+idea of being punished for what he had done, especially after the judge
+had ruled so decidedly in his favor.
+
+"I shall order you to be placed under arrest, and to spend the night in
+the guard house. You will report to me at dress parade. You can go."
+
+The culprit's lips were compressed, and his teeth were tightly closed.
+He was angry, for he had expected to be fully justified before the boys
+for his conduct. An impudent remark trembled on the end of his tongue,
+but the memory of the conquest he had achieved over himself prevented
+him from uttering it.
+
+"I have done wrong, and I have owned that I was in the wrong. I will
+submit," said Richard to himself, as he left the office.
+
+When he went out upon the play ground, he found the boys assembled in
+groups discussing the exciting event of the day. They gathered around
+him to learn the result of the trial.
+
+"Nevers has lost his office, and I am under arrest, to spend the night
+in the guard house," replied Richard, in answer to their inquiries.
+
+"You got off easy," said Bailey.
+
+"I suppose I did; at any rate, I am satisfied."
+
+"Nevers has lost his warrant," exclaimed the boys, who were
+particularly technical in speaking of military events. "Let's give
+three cheers."
+
+"Don't do it," said Richard. "It's a hard case for him."
+
+"I am glad of it. The bully is down," added one."
+
+"You licked him well," said another.
+
+"I am sorry I did," replied Richard. "I didn't understand the matter so
+well then as I do now. Colonel Brockridge is a trump!"
+
+If any of Richard's friends at Woodville had heard this remark, they
+would have been ready to canonize him at once, for it was so utterly at
+variance with his style, that his acquaintances would not have
+recognized it as coming from him. But Richard was engaged in the
+conquest of himself, and had won two or three important victories.
+
+The early call for dress parade sounded, and the boys all hasted to the
+armories to prepare for it. As Richard had no uniform yet, he was
+excused from serving, and reported himself to the colonel, as he had
+been ordered. When the parade was finished, the principal delivered a
+homily on fighting, stating the facts connected with the combat of that
+day, and commenting upon them. He condemned fighting in round terms,
+declaring it was never necessary, except in self-defence. The civil and
+the social law would protect every member of the community, and there
+could be no need of resorting to the barbarous custom of settling
+differences by single combat. He applied the principles he laid down
+to the case before him so clearly, that Richard lost much of his
+admiration of the "noble art of self-defence"--as pugilists stupidly
+style the act of fighting, to ascertain who is the better man.
+
+Lest our boy friends should not fully understand us, we must add, that
+the colonel's views are ours. A boy ought to fight in self-defence;
+never to find out which is "the better man." He should use no more
+violence than is necessary to defend himself. A boy is bound to protect
+his weak friend--not from words, but from blows--to the best of his
+ability, by using blows, when they are necessary. We can excuse, but we
+cannot justify, the boy who strikes another for insulting his mother or
+his sister. We believe in a "kiss for a blow," but we also believe that
+cannon are often the best peacemakers. "Blessed are the peacemakers,"
+but he who permits himself to be unjustly scourged is more truly a
+fomenter of strife than he who conquers a peace in a good cause by the
+might of his strong arm.
+
+At the conclusion of his remarks, Colonel Brockridge ordered Richard to
+be conducted to the guard house, where he was to spend the night. Mr.
+Gault was directed to see the order executed, and the culprit was
+marched to the apartment which served as a place of confinement for
+offenders. He submitted to the punishment with the best grace he could
+command, but he was mortified and humiliated.
+
+The guard house was a bugbear to the boys of the Institute. It was a
+small room, with the mockery of iron bars at the window, placed there
+more for effect than for any thing else. It contained a bed and a
+stool, with no other furniture. But it was regarded as a terrible place
+by the boys; not that it was a very great hardship to spend a night
+there, but because of the disgrace which the popular sentiment of the
+establishment had attached to the prison.
+
+Richard entered, and the door was locked upon him. The room was dark,
+but he was not permitted to have a light. He seated himself upon the
+stool, and it was literally the stool of repentance to him. His supper
+was brought to him, and the servant stood by with a lamp till he had
+eaten it. He was then left alone for the night, to meditate upon the
+folly and wickedness of engaging in a fight without justifiable cause.
+
+One of the first questions which the hero of the fight asked himself
+was, whether he had not too tamely submitted to the authority which had
+humiliated and punished him. That he had done so was the most
+surprising thing he had ever known himself to do. And when he came to
+ask himself why he had submitted, he could very clearly trace the
+reason to the good resolution he had made to reform his life and
+character--to conquer himself. It was hard for him to give in, but he
+was satisfied with himself, and began to feel that he had really made
+some progress in the great work.
+
+He wanted to write a letter to Bertha, and tell her all about the
+events of the day--how patiently he had submitted to reproof and
+punishment; and record his solemn determination to conquer himself. He
+had no light, and no materials for writing; so, at an early hour, he
+went to bed; and fatigued with the labors and excitement of the day, he
+forgot in sleep that he was a prisoner.
+
+At reveille, in the morning, he was discharged from arrest, and ordered
+to report for duty in the school room. He was still strong in his good
+resolutions, and the sneers and frowns of Nevers and his clique did not
+disturb him--did not even tempt him to indulge in the cheap retaliation
+of sneers and frowns in return.
+
+In the course of the day Richard found that he was a lion. He had
+thrashed the bully of the school, and won the enviable position of
+champion of the Institute. But even this glory did not seem to be worth
+much; for since the fight, he realized that he had whipped a bigger
+fellow than Nevers.
+
+For a week, in school and out, Richard was true to himself, and behaved
+nobly. More times than we have room to record, during this period, he
+got the better of his ever-familiar foe, and every new victory improved
+his _morale_ and added to his _prestige_.
+
+At this point in his school career, the students were ordered to
+perform the usual round of camp duty; and at eight o'clock in the
+morning, the battalion took up the line of march for the appointed
+place, at the other end of Tunbrook Lake, distant ten miles by the
+road.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+RICHARD DOES GUARD DUTY, AND IS CAPTURED BY AN ENEMY.
+
+
+Camping out was a great event at Tunbrook, and the students looked
+forward to it with pleasant anticipations for weeks. The principal was
+shrewd in his policy, and no one knew when it would take place till it
+was announced, only a day or two before the march. By this plan he
+prevented any diversion of the thoughts from the lessons. Neither did
+the boys know where they were going when they started. They obeyed the
+orders which were given from time to time, and even when they halted
+for the night and pitched their tents, they could not find out whether
+they had reached the end of the march or not. The colonel told them
+that soldiers should be taught to obey orders, and cured of all
+propensity to ask questions.
+
+The tour of camp duty for the summer term had been almost a continuous
+march; and during the campaign of ten days, they had travelled over a
+hundred miles. Colonel Brockridge was an earnest believer in the
+necessity of physical development in boys. He was of the opinion that
+they could stand almost every thing, if they were regularly and
+systematically inured to hardship. Weak papas and tender mammas raised
+their hands with horror at the idea of having their Johnny sleep on the
+ground in a tent, and stick to the camp whether it was fair weather or
+foul; but the colonel could adduce hundreds of instances where boys of
+puny constitutions had become strong and vigorous under this treatment.
+
+He believed that more boys had been spoiled by being "babied" than ever
+had been injured in the slightest degree by hardship--if military duty,
+as it was performed at Tunbrook, could be called hardship. It was very
+certain that the boys enjoyed camping out; and if a few of them sneezed
+or coughed after their return, these were not regarded as fatal
+symptoms.
+
+Richard was in his element when the school was put upon its muscle.
+Though nothing but a private in Company D, and subject to the orders of
+his inferiors in body and mind, he performed his duty cheerfully, and
+enjoyed it very much. After Nevers had been cured of his folly, there
+was not another boy in the establishment who had the hardihood or the
+desire to impose upon him.
+
+Every thing was done with military order and precision on the morning
+that the battalion marched from the Institute. Though the reader knows
+where they were going, not an officer or a private had a suspicion of
+their destination; and none but a few of the new comers asked the
+question, or appeared to care. In front of the battalion was the band,
+and behind it came the wagons containing the tents, baggage, and
+pontoon train. The principal and the instructors were scattered along
+the line, where they could superintend the operations of the column.
+
+Major Morgan, in command of the battalion, had evidently received
+instructions for a portion of the day; for, without any direction from
+the teachers, he led his command over the road to the grove, and in
+fifteen minutes after they started, the order to halt was given. The
+battalion stood rigid as a stake where they were ordered, and presently
+the engineer corps was detached for duty. The pontoon wagon was brought
+up, and unloaded by the side of the river. The boats, which were of
+rubber, were inflated, and the business of building a bridge across the
+stream was commenced.
+
+Every thing was so nicely prepared that the work was accomplished in an
+incredibly short space of time. The battalion, followed by its wagons,
+crossed the pontoon bridge, the boats and the planks were taken up and
+loaded upon the wagon again, and the troops were ready to march.
+Neither Colonel Brockridge nor any of the instructors had spoken a word
+during these operations, for the engineers had been thoroughly trained
+in their difficult duty.
+
+For an hour the battalion marched without stopping. The orders
+"shoulder arms," "support arms," "right shoulder shift" relieved them
+occasionally; but some legs began to ache before a halt was permitted.
+During the next hour they marched most of the way with the "route
+step." At twelve o'clock they halted for dinner and an hour's rest. The
+haversacks of the soldiers had been filled with crackers and cold ham,
+and they had a jolly dinner in a grove where they stopped.
+
+About four o'clock in the afternoon, they reached the upper end of the
+lake, and the orders necessary for forming a camp were given. The tents
+were pitched, the boundaries of the camp marked out, and a detail for
+guard duty was made from each company. Every thing proceeded precisely
+as it would if they had been old soldiers, and engaged in the actual
+business of war.
+
+Richard was one of those who had been detailed from Company D, for
+guard duty. The camp ground was a large, open plain, bordering on one
+side upon a dense forest. The night was dark and dismal, and at nine
+o'clock Richard found himself walking his lonely beat, on the verge of
+the forest. There was a novelty about the situation that was very
+attractive to him, and as he walked his solitary round, he actually
+enjoyed it. It was not to all probable that an enemy, or even a
+straggler, would disturb the quiet of the scene by attempting to pass
+the line; but though the guard had been commanded to be vigilant, he
+had abundant time and opportunity for reflection and castle-building.
+
+Our sentinel had imbibed much of the spirit of the soldier, from the
+martial exercise to which he had been trained, and he indulged in some
+pretty visions of military glory. They were very pleasant and very
+alluring at that time, when the country was enjoying profound peace.
+Even the politicians, who were compromising with difficulties, present
+and future, never dreamed that the war blast would sound through the
+land in their day and generation, and were unbelievers in the dire
+prophecies which they uttered. While Richard's fancy led him to scenes
+of blood and glory on the battle field, he little thought that an
+opportunity would so soon be presented for the practical application of
+his military knowledge, and for the indulgence of his military
+ambition.
+
+While he was dreaming of war and glory, while in imagination he was
+leading battalions of brave men to battle and victory, his reflections
+were disturbed by the approach of a squad of boys. It was so dark that
+he did not see them till they were within a few rods of him. It was
+evident that they had left the tents by stealth, and must have crept
+some portion of the way on the ground to escape observation. When they
+came near enough to be challenged, the guard called out,--
+
+"Who comes there?"
+
+"Friends," replied one of the party.
+
+"Advance, one friend, and give the countersign."
+
+One of them stepped forward, and Richard held him at bay with his
+bayonet, according to military custom.
+
+"I declare, I have forgotten the countersign," said he.
+
+"Then I will call the corporal of the guard."
+
+"No; hold on a minute. I shall think of it in a moment."
+
+Richard was willing to give him a fair chance, as there was no enemy in
+the vicinity who could possibly intend to capture the battalion. But
+while he was waiting, the fellow suddenly grasped his musket, and
+attempted to wrest it from his hands. But this was a game at which two
+could play as well as one; and Richard, instead of giving the alarm, as
+he should have done, threw himself upon his muscle, and attempted to
+beat off his assailants.
+
+The rest of the party immediately came to the assistance of the fellow,
+and, after a short but sharp struggle, the sentinel was overpowered,
+and his gun taken from him. At the conclusion of the struggle Richard
+found himself upon his back, on the ground, held down by the whole
+squad of boys, or as many as could get hold of him. One of them held a
+handkerchief over his mouth, so that he could not give the alarm, now
+that he found it necessary to do so.
+
+Richard supposed this rough treatment could be nothing more than a
+practical joke--one of those tricks played off upon raw recruits, to
+teach them the necessity of vigilance, and a nice observance of the
+rules of the service. When he was overpowered, therefore, he submitted
+to his fate, whatever it might prove to be, hoping his captors would
+relax their hold upon him just long enough to enable him to turn the
+tables upon them; for he was vain enough to believe that he could whip
+the whole dozen of them, if he could only have fair play.
+
+"Let him up, now, and we will tie his hands behind him," said one of
+the party, in a feigned voice, to prevent the victim from recognizing
+the speaker.
+
+"But he will halloo, if we let him up," replied the one who had
+answered his challenge, and whose voice Richard could not identify.
+
+"I'll stop his mouth, if he hallooes," added the first speaker. "I'll
+hit him over the head with the butt of his musket."
+
+"No, no," said the other; "you'll kill him. We don't want to injure
+him."
+
+"I do; I wouldn't mind cracking his skull for him."
+
+"No, no; we shall get into trouble ourselves if we do any thing of that
+kind."
+
+Richard thought they would any way, as soon as he could obtain the use
+of his arms. He felt so well qualified to take care of himself that he
+would have been willing to give his bond not to halloo, or call any one
+to his assistance, though he could not help wondering that the
+sentinels whose beats were next to his own, did not arrive at the scene
+of operations. It was evident to him that they were asleep on their
+posts, or that they were accomplices of the conspirators.
+
+"Now, get up," said the speaker, who used the disguised voice.
+
+Richard promptly obeyed this order, and though several of the boys held
+on to him as he rose, a terrible struggle ensued, in which the captured
+sentinel almost made good his mental boast; but they were too many for
+him, and his hands were tied behind him with a knapsack strap, in spite
+of his best exertions to shake them off.
+
+"I told you he would be a hard customer," said one, who had not before
+spoken.
+
+"Shut up, you ninny! You'll blow the whole of us. No fellow is to speak
+but--you know whom," said he with the assumed voice.
+
+Richard tried to obtain, in the thick darkness that shrouded them, some
+clew which would enable him to identify the ruffians; but he could not
+make out any thing peculiar in their form or motions to guide him, and
+he was equally at fault in regard to the voices. He stood quiet when he
+found that resistance was useless; but he determined to keep a sharp
+lookout for an opportunity to release himself from his mortifying
+situation.
+
+"Now, you----"
+
+"My name is Dobbin," added the false voice.
+
+Richard did not remember any such name, though he had heard the roll
+called in all the companies, and he concluded that it was a "blind," to
+deceive him.
+
+"Now, Dobbin, take him off, and we will settle the case in the woods."
+
+"Lead the way, Kennedy, and we will follow; but be careful and not make
+a noise."
+
+"Hush!" said Dobbin; "somebody is coming."
+
+"Grand rounds!" added Kennedy. "Hurry him off as quick as you can.
+Stuff a handkerchief in his mouth; choke him if he attempts to cry
+out."
+
+"But they will miss him," suggested Dobbin, "and then there will be a
+row and a search."
+
+"Off with him! Off with him! We shall all get caught," whispered
+Kennedy. "I will take his gun, and keep guard."
+
+Richard was literally dragged from the spot, and the fellow who called
+himself Kennedy--though that was not his name--took the musket of the
+defeated sentinel, and began to travel his beat as regularly as though
+he had been duly detailed.
+
+"Who comes there?" demanded he, as the officer of the day, attended by
+a sergeant and two men, approached his beat.
+
+"Grand rounds," replied the sergeant.
+
+"Halt, grand rounds! Advance, sergeant, with the countersign."
+
+The sergeant advanced to give the countersign, without discovering that
+he had been challenged by the wrong man.
+
+"_Bennington_" said the sergeant, giving the word appointed for the
+night.
+
+"Advance, rounds!" added Kennedy, as he placed himself in the proper
+position.
+
+The officer of the day passed on with his attendants, and as soon as
+the ceremony had been repeated with the next sentinel, Kennedy threw
+the musket upon the ground, and followed his companions into the
+forest. Taking a road which led into the wood, he soon overtook the
+rest of the party.
+
+Richard was very curious to find out what his captors intended to do
+with him; for he could not even yet believe that any thing more serious
+than a practical joke was intended. He was not conscious that he had an
+enemy in the battalion, with the exception of Nevers, who, though he
+had bestowed a great many sneers and looks of hatred upon him during
+the week that had elapsed since the fight, had betrayed no intention to
+seek revenge for his defeat in fair fight. He knew that Nevers hated
+him, but he could not believe that he would resort to such underhand
+measures as the conspirators had adopted.
+
+"What are you going to do?" asked he, after Kennedy had joined them.
+
+"Shut up! You will find out soon enough."
+
+Richard tried to open a conversation with them, but they were too wary
+to talk, and no one spoke except Dobbin and Kennedy. They conducted
+their prisoner half a mile, as he judged, from the camp, when they
+halted, and fastened Richard to a tree, seating themselves upon logs
+and stumps. The captive waited impatiently for the proceedings to
+commence.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+RICHARD FINDS HIMSELF IN THE HANDS OF THE REGULATORS.
+
+
+"Come, fellows, we have no time to spare," said Kennedy, when the party
+were seated, and Richard fastened to the tree. "We must finish this
+business at once."
+
+"We are all ready," replied Dobbin.
+
+"Ready for what?" demanded Richard.
+
+"Ready to settle your case. We are going to give you the biggest
+licking you ever had in your life."
+
+The prisoner thought this was rather doubtful; but as they could not be
+supposed to have any knowledge of the thrashing inflicted upon him by
+"Old Batterbones," he was willing to excuse any exaggerations of which
+they might be guilty. When the young ruffian spoke of flogging him,
+Richard could not help recalling the incident at the barn of the farmer
+on the Hudson. Then he was guilty, now he was innocent; and his
+feelings on the present occasion were as different from those of the
+former one as light is from darkness.
+
+He had been captured while in the discharge of his duty, and was not
+conscious that he had given his assailants any cause of offence. He
+could not explain how it happened that he was not angry. He did not
+chafe in the bonds that confined him. The consciousness of being
+innocent of all offence before his comrades, sustained and supported
+him; and he felt a kind of proud superiority over his captors, which
+placed him out of the reach of fear, and even out of the reach of
+malice and revenge.
+
+Richard was a courageous boy; he had been so in his foolish and vicious
+enterprises; but he was doubly so now, when his soul was free from the
+stain of transgression. He did not borrow any trouble about what his
+persecutors intended to do, though he felt a very natural curiosity to
+see the end of the adventure.
+
+"Go on," replied Richard, calmly, as the spokesman of the party
+announced their intentions.
+
+"Shall we tell him what for? Shall we try him?" asked Kennedy.
+
+"Yes; let us give him a drum-head court martial. The licking won't do
+him any good if he don't know what it is for," replied Dobbin.
+
+"Grant," said Kennedy, with the solemnity of a judge, "you have ruined
+the best fellow in Company D."
+
+"He ruined himself," replied Richard.
+
+"No, he didn't. Of what you did in fair fight in the grove, we haven't
+a word to say. But you have prejudiced the colonel against him, and
+caused him to be deprived of his warrant, which will prevent him from
+obtaining his commission at the next election. You set yourself up as a
+leader among the fellows before you had been a week in the school. Have
+you any thing to say?"
+
+"Nothing, except that all your charges are false," answered Richard;
+and if there had been light enough to see it, a smile would have been
+discovered upon his countenance.
+
+"In the interview with the principal, you pretended to be a saint, and
+to be sorry for what you had done. You did not stand up like a man, and
+take the consequences of your acts."
+
+"Go on; I have nothing to say," added Richard, when the speaker paused.
+
+"You are a dangerous fellow in the school. You intend to climb up
+yourself by pushing others down. We won't submit to it."
+
+"What are you going to do?" coolly asked the prisoner.
+
+"We are going to thrash you, as you deserve."
+
+"You are brave fellows!" sneered Richard. "What you are afraid to do in
+the daylight, with fair play, you do by stealth and trickery in the
+night. You are a set of cowards, and if you will untie my hands I will
+whip the whole of you."
+
+"That is very fine talk, Grant," said Kennedy, "but it don't amount to
+any thing."
+
+"No talk is necessary to prove your cowardly meanness. Go on, and do
+your best. I am not afraid of the whole of you, even with my hands tied
+behind me. I despise the whole of you."
+
+"We will give you a chance to escape."
+
+"I don't ask any chance to escape."
+
+"Grant, you talk like a fool."
+
+"Better be a fool than a knave and a coward."
+
+"We don't want to hurt you. There are fellows enough in our crowd to
+make Tunbrook Institute too hot to hold you. We advise you to write to
+your father, advising him to send you to some other school. Will you do
+so?"
+
+"I will not," replied Richard, promptly.
+
+"Then you must take the consequences. We are organized, and we are
+determined that you shall leave. If you ask your father, and insist
+upon it, no doubt he will take you away."
+
+"Very likely he would," added Richard, "but I shall not ask him to do
+so."
+
+"You plainly don't understand what is in store for you. Our plans are
+well laid, and we have been through the same mill once before. A fellow
+about your size, and one who could fight as well as you do, had to
+leave about a year ago. He undertook to be a leader before his time
+came. We hunted him out, as we shall you."
+
+"When you hunt me out, I will go, but not till then."
+
+"Grant, this is all idle talk on your part. You don't understand your
+situation. We can count up fifty fellows belonging to our association.
+We can drive out any fellow who makes himself obnoxious. We mean to be
+fair, and we are willing that any fellow who works his way up should
+have all the honors he wins. But do you suppose we fellows, who have
+been here two or three years, and who have worked ourselves up, are
+going to step one side for a fellow who has been here only a week or
+two?"
+
+"Who asks you to step aside?" demanded Richard, indignantly, for this
+show of fair play had touched him in a tender spot, and in spite of
+himself he began to be interested in the argument.
+
+"You do; you have licked the best fellow in the school, and then you
+begin to play saint, and curry favor with the colonel. You mean to
+lead, and not follow."
+
+"I mean to be and do just what circumstances require."
+
+"Grant, there is no such thing as misunderstanding your position. What
+your looks indicate is more than all you may say with your mouth, or do
+with your hands. You are a dangerous fellow, and you must leave, or
+compromise."
+
+"What do you mean by compromise?"
+
+"We'll let you stay if you will keep in your proper position."
+
+"What is my proper position?"
+
+"At the foot of the ladder, of course, till the fellows above you have
+got out of the way."
+
+"You mean Nevers?"
+
+"Nevers and others."
+
+"I will agree to no such compromise. All the officers, I am informed,
+are chosen by ballot."
+
+"They are."
+
+"Then, of course, the fellows can choose whom they please."
+
+"They can; and since you have whipped Nevers, they will elect you; and
+those who have done their duty for two or three years must go into the
+shade. If you will agree to step one side, we will promise to let you
+alone. Will you do it?"
+
+"I will not."
+
+"Mind what you do, for if the 'Regulators' make war upon you, they will
+drive you out."
+
+"The what?"
+
+"The Regulators. They are a secret society for certain purposes. It is
+a powerful organization, Grant, I can tell you. If you will do the
+right thing, we will take you in."
+
+"No you won't. I'm not to be taken in by any such bait," replied
+Richard, who was disposed to laugh at the ridiculous association that
+had taken upon itself the duty of regulating the affairs of the
+Tunbrook Institute.
+
+"You may sneer as much as you please. Every fellow in the school knows
+there is such a society, but no one but members can tell who belong to
+it. We mean to have fair play in this institution, and we have never
+yet failed in getting it."
+
+"Come, Kennedy, you will talk all night," said Dobbin. "You can't do
+any thing with him."
+
+"Well, Grant, you may leave, compromise, or take the consequences.
+Which will you do?"
+
+"I will not leave; and I certainly will not compromise on the terms
+named. I mean to behave myself like a man, while I am here. If any one
+is a better fellow than I am, I will step one side for him, as I must.
+If any fellow gets above me in the class, I will not complain, or
+attempt to pull him down. If the fellows think I am fit to be a
+sergeant, or a captain, or a corporal, I shall abide their decision. I
+won't pull any fellow down, or be pulled down myself. I think the
+Regulators are a mean, dirty, cowardly set of bullies, who mean to
+build themselves up by pulling others down. Let every fellow be judged
+by his own merits. That's my opinion. Now you can do what you please."
+
+And they did do what they pleased, though it was evident the Regulators
+were not accustomed to deal with so stubborn a subject. At the word
+from Kennedy, who seemed to be the chief of the society, the whole band
+fell upon Richard with sticks which they had cut in the woods, and gave
+him a most unmerciful beating. The prisoner bore it with silent
+disdain. He felt that the cause in which he was engaged was a good one,
+and he did not flinch from the penalty of fidelity.
+
+At the word from the chief, they suspended the flagellation, and
+Kennedy again attempted to bring him to terms by argument, but it was
+in vain.
+
+"Very well," said he, evidently disappointed at the ill success of the
+reasoning process. "This is only the first installment of what is your
+due. When any thing goes wrong with you, when you get into a scrape,
+when you find the ushers and the colonel down upon you, just understand
+that the Regulators are round. You have fifty enemies now, instead of
+one, as you had two hours ago."
+
+"That's all, Kennedy; don't say any more," interposed Dobbin,
+impatiently. "Let's take him back now. He will find out the rest of it
+fast enough."
+
+If Richard could have heard the conversation among the Regulators
+before they waited upon him, he might have been flattered by the
+complimentary manner in which his name was handled. His talents and his
+muscle, no less than his growing popularity, were appreciated by the
+band, and it was more desirable to win him than it was to drive him
+out. They knew what a valuable acquisition he would be to their number.
+But he must stand one side, and wait for his turn before he aspired to
+become a leader.
+
+The Regulators, using the utmost caution, unloosed the prisoner, and
+marched him back to the camp. When they reached the line, they threw
+him upon the ground. While one of the largest of them, having all the
+advantage, held him there, the others disappeared in the darkness. The
+fellow that held him then removed the strap from the arms of the
+captive, and bounded away as fast as his legs would carry him.
+
+Richard jumped up as quick as he could and gave chase. But the
+Regulator had the start of him, and the pursuit was useless. The victim
+returned to his beat, felt round upon the ground till he found his gun,
+picked it up, and resumed his solitary walk. He was a little confused
+by the events which had transpired, and he was forced to acknowledge
+that the Regulators had managed their business with consummate address
+and skill. He hardly knew what to make of the affair. He knew that he
+had been whipped; this fact was still patent to his consciousness in
+the tingling sensation that played over his legs.
+
+The whole thing seemed very much like an illusion. It was almost too
+strange and ridiculous to be credited, and he could not help
+considering whether he had not actually been walking in his sleep this
+time. The Regulators appeared, to his sober senses, to be the most
+absurd institution ever invented by the mischievous brain of a boy. Yet
+he could not disbelieve the evidence of his senses, and especially of
+his smarting legs, and he was compelled to admit that the society
+actually existed; though there was a remote possibility that the whole
+affair was a practical joke, devised by Nevers and his clique.
+
+We have before intimated, in the course of this story, that Richard
+Grant was an "old head." He had a very tolerable conception of the
+principles of strategy; therefore he did not do as most boys would have
+done--make a tremendous row over the occurrences of the night. He
+decided that it would be politic for him to keep both eyes and both
+ears open, while he kept his mouth closed. By this course he hoped to
+obtain a clew to the mystery, and thus eventually to make the daylight
+shine in upon the dark proceedings of the Regulators.
+
+"Where have you been this hour?" demanded the sentinel, whose beat was
+next to his own, when they met.
+
+"I haven't been far off," replied Richard; "that is, not more than half
+a mile off," he added, in a tone so low that his companion could not
+hear him.
+
+"I understand. You have been taking a nap."
+
+"'Pon my word, I haven't."
+
+"But you have; I haven't seen you before for an hour."
+
+"I haven't been asleep."
+
+"Honor bright, Grant, haven't you?" asked his companion, good
+naturedly.
+
+"No, I haven't."
+
+"Where were you when the grand rounds were made?"
+
+"I was close by."
+
+"Of course you were, or you would have been missed," added his
+neighbor, as he turned on his heel and made off.
+
+Richard thought he was very easily satisfied, and he wondered if he
+wasn't a member of the secret band of Regulators. Our sentinel marched
+to the other end of his beat. His neighbor on this side had missed him,
+but he was as easily satisfied as the other had been, and Richard
+wondered whether _he_ was not a Regulator.
+
+While he was musing upon the extraordinary events of the night, the
+relief came round, and he was marched to the guard tent, where, for
+four hours, he had an opportunity to dream of the Regulators, and their
+secret management of the affairs of the Tunbrook Institute.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+RICHARD BECOMES FIRST SERGEANT OF COMPANY D.
+
+
+The next morning Richard was discharged from guard duty, and returned
+to the battalion. From the moment he opened his eyes he carefully
+observed the actions of his companions, and even studied the glances
+which were bestowed upon him. All his watching seemed to be in vain,
+for he could not obtain a particle of information that would aid him in
+solving the mystery of the Regulators.
+
+Among the boys there were several with whom he had become quite
+intimate, particularly Bailey, who occupied the next bed to his in
+Barrack B. So eager was he to fathom the mystery, that he was tempted
+to make some inquiries of them; but they might themselves be members of
+the Regulators. Even Bailey might belong to the potent organization,
+and he did not care to expose himself in the slightest degree to their
+jeers or their malice. Though, as he had been informed, there were
+fifty boys who had become his enemies, and who were pledged to annoy
+him to the utmost of their ability, every one seemed to be his friend.
+
+Hardly had he been discharged from guard duty before his arrest was
+ordered, and he found himself accused of sleeping at his post. He was
+conducted to the tent of Colonel Brockridge, where the charge was
+distinctly recited to him.
+
+"What do you say to this charge, Grant? Are you guilty or not guilty?"
+demanded the principal.
+
+"Who are my accusers, sir?" asked Richard, thinking only of the task he
+had laid upon himself of discovering the Regulators.
+
+"That does not answer my question, Grant. I asked you whether you were
+guilty or not guilty," added the colonel, sternly.
+
+"Not guilty, sir!" replied Richard, promptly and firmly.
+
+"Then you wish to have the charge proved?"
+
+"I do, sir."
+
+"That is rather inconvenient," said the colonel, biting his lip. "If
+you are guilty, I should prefer to have you say so."
+
+"I am not guilty, sir."
+
+Colonel Brockridge had had too much experience with boys to neglect the
+looks and actions of the accused while he questioned him, for the
+expression often reveals more than the words. Richard's communication,
+on this occasion, was "yea, yea; nay, nay." He had the look of one who
+speaks the truth, and the principal was duly impressed by the
+appearance and manner of the prisoner.
+
+"You speak very decidedly," added the colonel. "Were you at your post
+at half past nine o'clock?"
+
+"I was not, sir."
+
+"Where were you?"
+
+Richard hesitated; there were several teachers and several company
+officers present. He did not like to tell the story before them, and he
+did not think it would be prudent to do so. Probably some of the
+Regulators were within hearing, and he preferred to unearth them in
+some other way.
+
+"Your answer, Grant," said the principal.
+
+"Without intending any disrespect to you, sir, I would rather not
+answer," replied Richard, glancing at the officers present.
+
+A slight curl on the lip of a cadet by the name of Redman attracted his
+attention. It was a kind of suppressed sneer, which Richard interpreted
+that he dared not expose the doings of the secret society. His answer
+had been a virtual admission of the charge, and the case seemed to have
+gone against him. Richard concluded that the boy who could rejoice at
+that moment must be a Regulator.
+
+"The penalty of sleeping at your post and deserting it would be the
+same; and as you admit the charge in substance, it will not be
+necessary to proceed any further," said Colonel Brockridge.
+
+Richard was tempted to make a full explanation of the events of the
+night, but he had some doubts whether he would be believed if he did
+so. Besides, he was curious to know what the Regulators would do. The
+penalty for the offence with which he was charged could not be very
+heavy, and he determined to submit to it, for the purpose of exposing
+the Regulators at some future time.
+
+The principal then gave him a lecture on the impropriety of deserting
+his post, when placed on guard, explaining the consequences that might
+result from such unfaithfulness in time of war. Richard listened
+patiently to the reproof, and was sentenced to be confined in the guard
+tent for twenty-four hours.
+
+Richard possessed his soul in patience, and slept off a good portion of
+his imprisonment. He devoted all his wakeful hours to a consideration
+of the doings of the Regulators, and in devising plans for
+"ventilating" their secret proceedings.
+
+When he was relieved from arrest, and permitted to join his comrades,
+he kept a close watch upon Redman, and also upon the two privates who
+had been next to him in the line on guard. They must have been his
+accusers, and he was satisfied that they belonged to the obnoxious
+association. Nevers, no doubt, was also a member, and he believed him
+to be the "Dobbin" of the party that had whipped him. Here were four
+whom he suspected, and during the week the battalion remained in camp,
+their words and their actions were carefully scanned; but they were too
+adroit to expose themselves, though Richard's close scrutiny was not
+entirely fruitless.
+
+Our soldier entered heartily into the spirit of the occasion, and
+performed his duty with the utmost fidelity. Though he was made the
+victim of various petty tricks, such as smearing the stock of his
+musket with grease, cutting the straps of his knapsack, and hiding his
+blanket, he bore all these things with politic patience, and treated
+his comrades with the most scrupulous fairness. He was the champion of
+the weak, and, being the conqueror of Nevers, no one ventured to carry
+their opposition to his will beyond a few respectful words. He would
+not let a small boy be insulted or bullied; and a frown from him was
+generally a sufficient protection. He was foremost in all the sports of
+the boys, and every day increased his popularity.
+
+If the Regulators said or did any thing to his injury, they did it very
+slyly, for Richard could not discover that there was any one who was
+not his friend. On the last day of the encampment, the election of
+officers was to take place, and during the week, of course there was a
+great deal of electioneering done for various candidates.
+
+On the day before the election, a petition was circulated among the
+boys, requesting the principal to reinstate Nevers in the office from
+which he had been degraded. There were about fifty names on the paper
+when Bailey brought it to Richard. It was not very favorably received
+by the boys generally. Nobody could tell when or where the fifty names
+had been obtained; no one had seen the signers place their autographs
+upon the document. Richard heard Bailey and a dozen others refuse to
+sign it, and some of them even proposed to get up a remonstrance.
+
+"I am going to sign the petition," said Richard, to the astonishment of
+his companions.
+
+"You, Grant?" exclaimed a dozen boys, in the same breath.
+
+"I am; just to show the fellows that I bear him no ill will," replied
+Richard. "Nevers was degraded for that affair with me; and, as I licked
+him, I think I can afford to do the handsome thing."
+
+"Then he will be elected captain of Company D," said Bailey.
+
+"I don't know about that," added Richard. "I am willing to see him
+restored to the place he was in before I came, but I shall not give him
+my vote for captain, or any thing else."
+
+The victim of the Regulators took out his pencil and wrote his name
+upon the petition. Though he fully believed that Nevers was the
+"Dobbin" of the party that had assaulted him, he could not prove it and
+he was disposed to give him a fair chance, so that neither he nor his
+friends should have any good ground for complaint. His example was
+followed by all the boys present, and from that moment the number of
+names on the paper increased very rapidly.
+
+At dress parade, Colonel Brockridge, to whom the petition had been
+presented early in the afternoon, called Nevers forward, and after a
+few remarks, restored him to his former position as first sergeant of
+Company D, observing at the same time that the name of Richard Grant on
+the paper had had more influence upon his mind than that of all the
+others. It was a magnanimous act, which he heartily approved.
+
+"Three cheers for Nevers!" shouted some friend of the first sergeant,
+when the company broke ranks.
+
+They were given, but it was only a partial demonstration, evidently
+confined to about a dozen of the company.
+
+"Three cheers for Grant!" said Bailey, when those for the first
+sergeant had been given.
+
+The call was promptly responded to, and though the cheers seemed to
+proceed from the entire company, there were probably about a dozen who
+did not join.
+
+"Tiger!" added Bailey, with an earnestness that assured Richard he was
+not a member of the Regulators.
+
+The "tiger" was added, together with a volley of applause by clapping
+the hands. Richard's position in Company D was not to be doubted, and
+the Regulators present must have felt that their influence was not very
+powerful.
+
+On the following day they had a further proof of the popularity of
+Richard, and if they had not been very stupid, they might have seen
+that he had more influence than the whole band of Regulators put
+together. On the first ballot in Company D, the first lieutenant was
+elected captain; the second sergeant was elected first lieutenant. The
+second lieutenant was believed to be a strong friend of Nevers, and no
+promotion was awarded to him.
+
+Richard Grant was elected second sergeant, and when the vote was
+declared, the result was greeted with a round of hearty applause. The
+other places were all filled, as the inclination of the majority
+dictated, subject only to the healthy rules of the Institute. If there
+had been no limit to the choice of the boys, we have no doubt their
+favorite would have been elected captain.
+
+The face of Nevers was as dark as a thunder cloud after the election.
+The remark of Richard that he would not vote for him had been
+circulated through the company, and had been influential in defeating
+the aspirations of the first sergeant. Nevers knew very well that he
+owed his defeat and his restoration to his rival, whom he hated with
+ten fold greater vigor than before--hated him for what he had done, and
+hated him for what he had left undone.
+
+Of course, Richard felt very good-natured, and snapped his fingers at
+the Regulators. He sat upon a stool alone after supper, thinking of his
+good fortune, and congratulating himself upon the skill with which he
+had conquered his enemies. He was satisfied that in being true to
+himself he had won the respect and confidence of his companions. The
+good resolutions he had successfully carried out had rendered him
+worthy of the favor bestowed upon him. In conquering himself he had
+conquered others.
+
+While Richard sat on the stool thinking of the pleasant events of the
+day, and perhaps wondering how long it would be before he became the
+major of the battalion, his vanquished rival sauntered up to him, his
+face still looking dark and malignant.
+
+"You have beaten me again, Grant," said he, sourly, "but your day will
+come soon."
+
+"Eh, Dobbin?" replied Richard, with a good-natured smile, as he glanced
+at his fellow-sergeant.
+
+"What's that?" growled Nevers. "What do you mean by calling me Dobbin?"
+
+Richard was satisfied from the appearance of Nevers, that the name was
+not wholly unfamiliar to his ears. It was the first time he had ever
+ventured to hint at the proceedings of his first night in camp; and it
+was the first time that his rival had ever dared to speak to him in a
+surly tone.
+
+"If you don't understand it, no matter," added Richard, with a merry
+twinkle of the eye.
+
+"If you call me by that, or any other improper name, you shall suffer
+for it."
+
+"How many of you will it take to punish me for it, eh, Dobbin?"
+
+"Dobbin again?"
+
+"Do you know a fellow by the name of Kennedy?" added Richard. "If you
+don't, I'll introduce you some day."
+
+Nevers concluded that Richard was a tough customer, and he made no
+further allusion to any suffering in store for his defiant rival. But
+Richard's taunt about Kennedy, and his promises to introduce him, were
+not pleasant to the bully, and he walked away. He feared that the
+victim had been making dangerous discoveries.
+
+On the following morning the battalion took up the line of march for
+the Institute, and arrived without incident or accident; and that night
+the boys exchanged the hard ground for the iron bedsteads in the
+barracks.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+RICHARD GIVES THE TUNBROOKERS A LESSON IN BOATING.
+
+
+Among the favorite recreations of the cadets of the Tunbrook Military
+Institute was that of boating. The beautiful lake afforded them
+abundant space for sailing and rowing, and quite a number of them were
+proficient oarsmen and excellent navigators.
+
+On the Saturday afternoon following the return from the camp, Colonel
+Brockridge proposed to exercise the boys in the boats. This
+announcement was received with hearty applause by the cadets, and they
+gathered round the principal to learn the order of exercises upon the
+lake.
+
+"Well, boys, suppose we appoint a couple of coxswains and have a race."
+
+"Hurrah!" shouted the boys. "A race! A race!"
+
+"You like the plan, I see. Who shall be your leaders?" added the
+colonel.
+
+The boys made no reply, but looked curiously at each other, as though
+they were not competent, to settle the question.
+
+"Nevers for one," said Redman.
+
+"Very well; Nevers, we all know, is a good boatman, and has always won
+the races. Who shall be the other?"
+
+No reply was made, and the principal waited some time for a suggestion.
+
+"Grant has had considerable experience with boats, his father informed
+me," continued Colonel Brockridge.
+
+"Grant! Grant!" shouted the boys.
+
+"Grant shall be coxswain of the other boat, then. What do you say,
+Grant?"
+
+"I am very willing, sir, if the fellows desire it," replied Richard,
+modestly.
+
+"Very well. The race shall come off at four o'clock. Each leader shall
+have two hours to train his crew. The course shall be round Green
+Island and home, making a pull of about three miles. You shall draw
+lots for the choice of boats, though I don't think there is a particle
+of difference between them."
+
+The choice was between the Alice and the Emma, as the two club boats
+had been named. Nevers drew the first choice, and selected the Alice,
+and of course Richard was obliged to be satisfied with the Emma.
+
+"The coxswains shall select their own crews. Now, draw for the first
+choice."
+
+Nevers drew the prize this time also, and named Redman as his stroke
+oarsman. Richard took Bailey for the same station, and they continued
+to select alternately till each had taken his twelve oarsmen. The
+coxswain of the Alice had a decided advantage over his rival, for he
+had a complete knowledge of the capacity of each boy, and had before
+taken part in several races on the lake. Richard was aided in choosing
+by his friends whom he had selected, and when they stepped into the
+boat, he was well satisfied with his crew.
+
+"We shall get beaten," said Bailey, in a low tone, as they shoved off
+the Emma.
+
+"What makes you think so, Bailey?" demanded Richard, with a smile.
+
+"Nevers is a great boatman. He knows all about a boat, and when he was
+in command he always won the race."
+
+"Don't you croak, Bailey," laughed Richard. "I have seen a boat before
+to-day, and I tell you we shall not get beaten."
+
+The coxswain spoke in a loud tone, so that all his crew could hear him,
+for he knew that the first requisite of success was confidence.
+
+"I hope so," said Bailey. "I would rather any other fellow in the
+school should beat you than Nevers. It will be a feather in his cap."
+
+"Don't croak, Bailey. Just believe that we shall beat, and we shall."
+
+"I hope we shall. Nevers first got ahead of all the fellows in boating.
+His success elected him to his first office in the company, and if he
+beats you in this race, he will be captain at the next election. The
+boys will all stand by the fellow that beats in any thing."
+
+"There, Bailey, if you say another word, I shall wish I had chosen some
+other fellow. You will defeat us if you keep on croaking," added the
+coxswain, earnestly.
+
+"I'm not croaking. I only want you to understand what you have got to
+do; and I will do all I can to help you win the race. What are you
+going up here for?" demanded Bailey, as the boat's bow was pointed down
+the river, which was the outlet of the lake.
+
+"You ask too many questions, Bailey. If you will leave this thing to
+me, I will agree to whip Nevers all to pieces," said Richard, who did
+not like the discipline on board the Emma.
+
+"All right, Grant. Let him alone, Bailey," said one of the boys in the
+middle of the boat.
+
+"Where's the other boat?" asked Richard. "I see her; she has gone up
+the lake. That's just what I wanted her to do. I have a little business
+to do here before we go into the race."
+
+He ordered the crew to cease rowing, and, to the surprise of his
+companions, ran the boat up to the shore. As he had intimated to them
+that questions were not agreeable to him, they asked none, and waited
+patiently till his movements should explain themselves.
+
+"Now, Bailey, will you go up to the store-house, and bring down some
+black lead, and the brushes they use to clean the stoves. Don't let any
+body see you, and don't say a word to any one."
+
+Bailey did not very clearly understand what this request had to do with
+winning the race, but he ran off with all haste to execute the mission
+intrusted to him. While he was gone, Richard improved the opportunity
+to develop his system of rowing to his companions. He had attended a
+great many boat races on the Hudson, had belonged to a boat club in
+Whitestone, and had clear ideas upon all matters connected with the
+business of boating.
+
+On the return of the messenger, the articles he had brought were thrown
+into the stern sheets, and the boat shoved off. Again, to the surprise
+of the crew, Richard took them down the river, half a mile, till they
+came to a sandy shore, where he grounded the Emma.
+
+"Now, tumble out, fellows," said Richard, "and take your oars with
+you."
+
+The boys wondered more than before at the singular proceedings of the
+coxswain, and Bailey so far overcame his respect for discipline again,
+as to suggest that they should have no time to practise with the oars,
+if they spent the precious moments in this stupid manner.
+
+"Shut up, Bailey; I have more to lose in this race than you have," said
+Richard, rather curtly. "If the fellows don't believe in me for this
+business, I am willing to step one side, and let any other one take
+hold who thinks he can do it better than I can."
+
+"Go ahead, Grant!" shouted the crew. "We are all satisfied, and so is
+Bailey."
+
+"I won't speak another word, Grant," said Bailey. "I only wish I had as
+much confidence as you have."
+
+"Bear a hand lively, my lads," added Richard, as he seized the painter
+of the boat; "I want to get her out of the water."
+
+The boys took hold with a will, and the Emma was soon placed high and
+dry upon the beach. She was then turned over.
+
+"There, fellows," said Richard, as he pointed to the foul bottom of the
+boat, "do you expect to win a race with the craft in that condition? In
+fifteen minutes we will have her in the water again, as clean as a
+lady's parlor."
+
+By direction of the coxswain, the crew fell to scrubbing the bottom of
+the boat with an earnestness and zeal which soon removed every trace of
+moss and grass. She was then permitted to dry for a short time, and the
+bright October sun soon completed their work. The bottom was then
+covered over with black lead, and rubbed with the brushes till it shone
+like a newly-polished stove. The boys used their muscle upon the
+brushes, being relieved every minute by fresh hands.
+
+"Now, my lads, we are in condition to win the race. Shove her off,"
+said Richard, whose energy inspired the whole party with resolution and
+confidence.
+
+The Emma was afloat again; the boys took their places, though not till
+Richard had rearranged them by their weight, so that the boat was in
+perfect trim when she started. For an hour and a half Richard trained
+them in rowing, till the stroke exactly suited him, and they fully
+understood all his signs and signals.
+
+"Now, fellows, mind your eyes, and we are sure to win," said the
+wide-awake coxswain, as the gun fired that was to call them to the
+stake boat. "I never saw a better set of rowers in my life, and I am as
+well satisfied with you as though we had been pulling together for a
+year."
+
+"Bully for you, Grant," said one of the boys at the bow.
+
+The Emma pulled leisurely up to the large sail boat, on board of which
+were the colonel, the assistant teachers, and as many of the boys as
+she would comfortably accommodate.
+
+"Are you all ready?" shouted the colonel, as the Alice and the Emma
+took their stations.
+
+"All ready, sir," replied Richard, cheerfully.
+
+"All ready, sir," added Nevers, confidently.
+
+Both parties were impatient for the contest to begin, and both were
+almost certain of winning the victory. Even the boats seemed to share
+in the spirit of their crews, and anxious to have the fetters removed
+that they might bound away upon the errand of conquest. Each had
+appropriate flags at the bow and stern, and one with a taste for boats
+would have been delighted by the appearance of the trim craft.
+
+"Ready for the signal!" shouted the colonel again.
+
+"Down with that flag in the bow, Carter," said Richard to the bowman,
+as he took down the color in the stern.
+
+"What's that for?" asked one of the crew of the Emma.
+
+"They hold the wind, and keep us back a little. We will be on the safe
+side. Now, ready, fellows, and mind what I have said to you. Don't look
+at the other boat till you can see her over our stern."
+
+Nevers disdained to follow the example of his rival in removing his
+flags, saying that he could beat him with his colors flying. Nevers
+prided himself upon his skill in handling a boat, and he felt that the
+opportunity had come which would enable him to triumph over the hated
+usurper, as he considered Richard. He knew how much glory and honor
+would be awarded to the conqueror in this race, and that if he could
+beat his rival, scores of those fair-weather friends, who always attach
+themselves to a rising man, would leave him.
+
+The signal gun was on shore, and at a gesture from the colonel, it was
+discharged. The report seemed to unloose the bonds which chained the
+boats to their stations, and they bounded away. The crew of the Alice
+bent to their oars with the most tremendous energy, while that of the
+Emma seemed to be inspired by the cool and steady nerve of her
+coxswain. They had been fully and thoroughly instructed in their duty.
+
+The crowd of boys on the shore were silent and breathless with the
+interest they felt in the exciting race; and when, before the boats had
+gone a quarter of a mile, they discovered the Alice more than half a
+length ahead of her companion, the jaws of Richard's friends dropped,
+and their faces were as long as though a ten pound weight had been
+fastened to the chin of each, while a smile of triumphant satisfaction
+lighted up the faces of Nevers's well-wishers.
+
+"Nevers has it!" exclaimed one of his intimates, as, when she rounded
+Green Island, the Alice was found to be more than a length ahead of the
+Emma.
+
+"Not yet," said one of the other clique. "Let Dick Grant alone. He
+knows what he is about. He don't half try yet."
+
+The crew of the Emma could not yet see the Alice over the stern of the
+boat, and we doubt not they shared the anxiety and despondency of their
+friends on shore. But no sooner had the boats rounded the island, and
+commenced on the home stretch, than Richard's vibrating body began
+gradually to move more rapidly, and just in proportion as he increased
+the movement, the Emma lessened the distance between herself and the
+Alice.
+
+"Steady, fellows; don't get excited. Dip a little deeper," said
+Richard, in a quiet, cool tone. "We are doing splendidly, and you shall
+see the Alice over the stern in about three minutes."
+
+Nevers, as in the fight with his rival, began to be very much excited
+when he saw that he was losing ground. He spoke quick and earnest words
+to the crew of his boat, who had been doing their utmost from the
+beginning, urging them to increase their exertions. Richard had not
+permitted his crew to do their best at first, but had kept in their
+muscles a reserve of strength for the final emergency. The party in the
+Alice had no such reserve power, and their efforts to increase the
+speed of the boat were put forth at the expense of a proper attention
+to skill and precision.
+
+The boats were now side by side, and they continued in this relative
+position until they were within half a mile of the stake boat. The race
+had become intensely exciting, and again the two cliques on shore were
+breathless and silent with interest. Neither party had any thing to
+indicate the success of its favorite.
+
+Even yet Richard had not put his crew to their utmost. But the decisive
+moment had arrived, and his body began to sway backward and forward
+with increasing rapidity, and a quarter of a mile more gave him half a
+boat-length's advantage over his rival.
+
+"Steady, fellows; keep cool," said he, in a loud whisper. "Don't miss a
+stroke, and make every one tell all it will. Now you see her over the
+stern--but pull steady."
+
+The Emma was a length ahead of the Alice when Richard finished these
+remarks. The boats were within an eighth of a mile of the end of the
+course, and the murmuring applause of the Grant party on shore began to
+reach the ears of the contestants.
+
+"Pull! Pull!" shouted Nevers, filled with rage and vexation. "Pull with
+all your might, fellows. We can beat him yet, if you only stick to it."
+
+He increased the rapidity of his motions, but his crew were unable to
+keep up with him. Their stroke was unsteady; some of them forgot to
+feather their oars, and some scarcely dipped the blades in the water.
+
+"Steady!" said Richard, with more energy. "Mind your stroke. Keep both
+eyes on me. Here we are!" shouted he, jumping up from his seat in the
+stern, and giving the order to cease rowing.
+
+The Emma flew by the stake boat two and a half lengths ahead of the
+Alice, and a stunning roar of cheers from the shore and the sail boat
+saluted the victors.
+
+"Grant forever! Three cheers for Grant!" shouted Bailey, as the crew of
+the Emma rose and made the welkin ring with their huzzas.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+RICHARD WINS ANOTHER RACE, AND TUNBROOK IS MUTINOUS.
+
+
+It was a proud moment for Richard Grant when he rose from the stern
+sheets of the Emma, and found the Alice was two or three lengths
+behind, and when he heard the shouts of his friends rend the air. It
+was victory--another triumph over the Regulators, who had threatened to
+make Tunbrook too hot to hold him. They did not get ahead very fast,
+and he felt that his conquest over them was complete.
+
+The hour of prosperity, of triumph, is the most dangerous period in the
+experience of a young man. He is on the top of the wave, and he sees
+not the dark abyss that yawns on either side of him. Truly we need
+adversity to keep us from forgetting God and duty; to keep us from
+forgetting that truth and justice are more mighty than mere success.
+
+But when Richard came to Tunbrook, he came with a solemn resolution to
+forsake the error of his ways, and find happiness in the path of
+rectitude. Whatever success had attended him, he attributed to the
+influence of this good resolution. He had manfully resisted temptation;
+he had cured himself of several bad habits, and he had made good
+progress in the conquest of himself. He had often felt an inclination
+to resent with hard words and heavy blows the sneers of the Nevers
+faction, but he had controlled himself; and each victory of principle
+over inclination had made him stronger in his purpose to do right.
+
+Bertha's answer to his letter, in which he had informed her of his
+election to the post of sergeant, cautioned him against being too much
+elated by his good fortune. She hoped his promotion would not make him
+think too much of himself. When he realized that he had won a new
+victory, when he heard the boys shouting his name, the words of his
+sister came to his mind, and he determined to bear his honors meekly,
+and to feel kindly towards Nevers and his friends.
+
+As they pulled to the stake boat, Richard cautioned his crew not to
+"crow" over the fellows in the other boat, for it was a friendly
+contest, and he did not wish to see any ill feeling on either side. The
+Alice was already alongside the sail boat. Nevers was in no enviable
+frame of mind; he looked dark and sour, and Richard only bestowed one
+glance upon him, lest his looks should be misconstrued.
+
+"Grant, you have won the race," said Colonel Brockridge, as the Emma
+came up. "I had no idea of such a result."
+
+"Three cheers for Grant!" shouted an enthusiastic boy in the sail boat.
+
+"No," added the principal, as he glanced at the crest-fallen coxswain
+of the Alice, and saw that he was taking his defeat very hardly. "You
+have cheered enough. We don't want any unkind feelings to grow out of
+this affair. Nevers, you have been beaten, but----"
+
+"I shouldn't have been, if I had had fair play," growled Nevers, whose
+anger was manifest in his tones.
+
+"Has there been any foul play?" demanded the colonel.
+
+"Yes, sir, there has," replied Nevers, sharply.
+
+"What was it?"
+
+"The fellows in the Emma took her out of the water, cleaned her, and
+covered her bottom with black lead."
+
+"I don't see any unfair play in that. You had the right to use your
+time for preparation as you wished," said the principal.
+
+"He couldn't have beaten if his boat hadn't been in better condition,"
+added Nevers.
+
+"It is a good driver that keeps his horse in good condition. I think it
+is rulable for each crew to prepare their boat as they think best."
+
+"Well, he beat us by a trick. What did they go down the river for to
+haul up their boat?"
+
+"That is their business. I see you are not satisfied, Nevers."
+
+"No, sir, I am not. I like to have fair play in these things."
+
+"So do I," said the colonel, with a quiet smile, "and I think you had
+better try this thing over again. Now, suppose you exchange boats, and
+pull round once more, that we may see how much good the black lead did.
+What do you say, Grant?"
+
+"I am willing, sir," replied Richard.
+
+"We are all fagged out, now, sir," interposed Nevers.
+
+"I proposed this method to remove your objections to the race, Nevers.
+You might have cleaned your boat, if you had been so disposed."
+
+"I didn't think of it," snarled Nevers.
+
+"If a general should get beaten because he did not think to bring up
+his ammunition, or by neglecting any precaution, his want of
+forethought would hardly be deemed a sufficient excuse. I should like
+to have you exchange boats for a short pull, if you don't go round the
+island."
+
+"We are tired out, sir."
+
+"The other crew have pulled the same distance you have," added the
+principal.
+
+"Try it, Nevers, try it," whispered Redman. "We shall be laughed at for
+a month, if we don't. We will whip them this time."
+
+"I am willing to try it, sir," said Nevers, though his words belied his
+feelings.
+
+Both crews were somewhat rested from the fatigue of the race, and they
+exchanged places in the two boats, taking the positions assigned to
+them.
+
+"We shall get beat this time, sure," said Bailey.
+
+"No, we won't," replied Richard.
+
+"Well, if you say so, then we shall not. It would be the greatest thing
+that ever was, if we should whip them again. It will show that black
+lead isn't a great institution, after all."
+
+"No, it won't. Those fellows don't pull worth a cent. If they can't do
+better than they did before, we shall whip them all to pieces. Now,
+mind what I told you; don't hurry, and keep cool."
+
+The signal was given, and the two boats dashed off. The race was very
+nearly a repetition of the first one. Richard kept a sufficient
+quantity of muscle in reserve for the last half mile of the race, and
+came in about a boat length ahead of the Emma. The one and a half
+length's difference in the two races seemed precisely to indicate the
+amount of virtue in black lead.
+
+[Illustration: RICHARD WINS THE RACE. Page 240]
+
+Again the thundering cheers of the Grant party reverberated over the
+lake and through the grove. Nevers was astonished, as well as angry,
+and his face was darker than ever.
+
+"Are you satisfied now, Nevers?" asked the colonel, when the Alice and
+the Emma came alongside the stake boat.
+
+"Yes, sir," replied he, desperately; "but I don't understand it."
+
+"I do," said the principal. "The other crew pull better than yours. I
+never saw better pulling in my life than those fellows showed us. I
+hope there is no hard feeling between you."
+
+"No, sir," replied Nevers; but his looks and his tones belied his
+words.
+
+"He will pull us all down at this rate," muttered Redman, as the Emma
+left the stake boat.
+
+"Something must be done," added Nevers. "He has got half the fellows on
+his side now."
+
+"What shall we do?" asked Redman, who seemed to regard it as a hopeless
+case.
+
+"We'll fix him yet."
+
+Some earnest conversation followed these remarks. It was carried on in
+whispers, and entirely suspended when the Alice approached. The boats
+were secured, and both crews landed.
+
+"Grant, you have beaten me fairly, and there is my hand," said Nevers,
+when the two coxswains met on shore.
+
+Richard was utterly confounded by this show of good will on the part of
+his rival. He took the proffered hand, and gave it a hearty pressure.
+
+"Thank you, Nevers; it is very kind of you to treat me in this handsome
+manner. I'm sure I don't feel any ill will toward you," replied
+Richard.
+
+"We will be friends, Grant, and perhaps you will tell me how this thing
+was done?"
+
+"With the greatest pleasure."
+
+"You have some secret in rowing."
+
+"I will tell you all I know about it, any time you please," said
+Richard, frankly.
+
+"Thank you; you are the first fellow that ever beat me rowing, and I
+honor you for it, but I don't understand it. Shall we be friends now,
+Grant?"
+
+"With all my heart."
+
+Richard could not have been more astonished if the sky had fallen, than
+he was when his great enemy approached him with words of kindness and
+conciliation. He could scarcely believe his senses; but there was
+Nevers by his side, as good-natured as though he had won the race; and
+more than this, the rival crews were suddenly on the most excellent
+terms, and were fraternizing like brothers. Nevers had evidently given
+up the point, and intended to withdraw all opposition to the
+advancement of Richard.
+
+Nevers and his friends seemed to be sincere, and the hatchet appeared
+to have been actually buried. Richard was so well treated by them, that
+he came to the conclusion that the Regulators had been dissolved, or at
+least that they had turned their attention to some more promising field
+of labor.
+
+On the first of November, when the boys assembled for morning prayers,
+the principal announced a new regulation, requiring every member of the
+Institute to be in-doors during the off time, from seven till nine in
+the evening. Before, they had been permitted to go where they pleased
+during these hours, as long as they did not leave the estate. But some
+of the boys had been seen in the village of Tunbrook after eight in the
+evening; and all efforts to discover who they were had been unavailing.
+The prohibition had been made to correct this evil.
+
+When the new regulation was announced, there was a general murmur of
+disapprobation among the students, for some of their best sport had
+been enjoyed out of doors, after dark. No one ventured to remonstrate,
+but the order was exceedingly unpopular.
+
+"I won't stand it," said one and another, during the first recreation
+hour in the afternoon. "It's too bad; it will spoil all our fun."
+
+"The fellows are all agreed on this point," said Redman.
+
+"I am willing to observe all reasonable regulations, but we might as
+well go into a monastery as submit to this thing," added Nevers. "What
+do you say, Grant?"
+
+"I don't like it. We intended to have a first-rate game of foot ball
+these moonlight evenings."
+
+"There isn't a fellow in the school that likes it," said Redman.
+
+"That's so," replied Bailey. "I don't see the use of the rule either."
+
+"Nor I."
+
+"Some of the fellows have been down to Tunbrook almost every night."
+
+"What's that to us, as long as we didn't go?" said Bailey. "The
+innocent ought not to be punished with the guilty."
+
+"The colonel couldn't find out who they were," said Redman, with a kind
+of chuckle. "No fellow would 'blow' on the others."
+
+"It is easy enough to talk," said Bailey, "but what are you going to
+do?"
+
+"Do? Why, resist it, of course," replied Redman. "I am ready to do so,
+for one. Let us all stay out to-night till nine o'clock."
+
+"Agreed," added some of the larger boys.
+
+"We shall get punished if we do," suggested Bailey.
+
+"No matter. They will have to punish the whole crowd. The guard house
+won't hold us all," replied Redman.
+
+"Let us have a plan about it. We will get up a regular mutiny," said
+Nevers. "If we can get a hundred fellows to go with us, we shall make
+the old man cave in."
+
+"Good, Nevers! Let all the fellows that will join meet under the big
+oak by the river, at five o'clock, or as soon as we get out of school.
+Let each fellow talk it round in a quiet way, but don't let the
+teachers hear a word."
+
+"Will you be there, Grant?" asked Nevers.
+
+"I don't know. I will see."
+
+"Don't know?" said Nevers. "Don't you see all the fellows are in for
+it?"
+
+"I will think of it," replied Richard, as he walked away.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+RICHARD IS DETERMINED, AND SOME ALLUSION IS MADE TO "WATERMELONS."
+
+
+There had been a time when Richard Grant would have desired no better
+fun than to engage in such a mutiny as that proposed by Nevers and
+Redman; and he was not yet so far removed from his evil propensities as
+to be able to decline the proposition. The boys of the Institute
+believed they had a real grievance, for it seemed harsh and needless to
+deprive them of some of their best hours for amusement. It looked just
+as though the principal was angry because he could not ascertain who
+had broken the rules of the school, and spitefully intended to punish
+the innocent with the guilty.
+
+Probably none of them intended to carry their opposition any farther
+than to express their disapprobation of the new regulation. The colonel
+was a universal favorite, and they had full confidence in his judgment
+and his justice. Perhaps the desire to have a little fun and excitement
+was the strongest motive that actuated them.
+
+During the afternoon, the plan to redress their grievance was whispered
+among the boys. "All the fellows were going to join the mutiny" was the
+strongest inducement that could be used to obtain the consent of the
+timid ones; and if "all were going to join," it would require a great
+deal of moral courage to stand aloof from the scheme.
+
+Richard was sorely perplexed. With the others, he felt that the new
+regulation was arbitrary and unnecessary; and such a scrape as the boys
+proposed was exactly in accordance with his antecedents. He wanted to
+join for the fun of the thing, and because the rest of the boys were
+going to do so. He did not like to be singular. Besides, he might
+injure his popularity, and lose some of the influence he possessed, if
+he refused to join.
+
+The temptation was so strong that he could not at first resist it; and
+though he did not positively promise to meet the others under the big
+oak, he gave them some encouragement that he would do so. The little
+time he had to think of the matter during the study and recreation
+hours did not enable him to arrive at a conclusion; and at five
+o'clock, when school was dismissed, he was still halting between two
+opinions.
+
+When he left the school room, he fixed his mind upon the question, and
+began to discuss it in the most vigorous manner. He knew that any
+resistance to the authorities of the school was wrong. Colonel
+Brockridge had made the rule, and it was his duty to observe it. What
+would Bertha say, after he had given her such a glowing account of his
+success in overcoming temptation, when she was informed that he had
+joined a mutiny?
+
+"I'll keep my resolution!" said he, stamping his foot upon the ground
+to emphasize his determination. "I'll stand out against the whole of
+them."
+
+Half past five came, and nearly every boy in the school had gone to the
+appointed place. Richard sat on the bench at the foot of the flagstaff
+on the parade ground, thinking whether his duty required him to do any
+thing more than simply refuse to join the mutiny. Somehow, it entered
+into his head that it was his duty to prevent the rebellion if he
+could. It even occurred to him that he ought to inform Colonel
+Brockridge of the intention of the students, and thus place himself on
+the side of law and order; but he rejected this suggestion, it was so
+utterly repugnant to his nature. He could not "tell tales out of
+school." If any body's life, property, or happiness had been at stake,
+he might have felt differently. Richard was a novice in advocating the
+claims of law and order, of truth and justice; and he was more easily
+satisfied than some would have been in a similar situation.
+
+"While he was debating this matter with himself, Nevers, Bailey, and
+Redman approached, and interrupted his meditations. They appeared to be
+a committee appointed to wait upon him, and ascertain his views upon
+the momentous question.
+
+"You didn't come down," said Nevers.
+
+"No; I have concluded not to join in the scrape," replied Richard,
+gravely.
+
+"Why not?"
+
+"Because I don't think it is right; and I think if we speak to the
+colonel about the matter, he will make it all right."
+
+"I tell you, Grant, he has no right to make such a regulation," added
+Nevers, with energy; "and I, for one, am not going to beg him not to do
+that which he has no right to do."
+
+"Come, Grant, you are almost the only fellow in the school who won't
+join the mutiny," said Redman.
+
+"The fellows are all in for it, and you had better come," added Bailey.
+
+"No; I won't join," replied Richard, decidedly.
+
+"Come down to the grove, whether you join or not," suggested Nevers.
+
+"I am willing to go down to the grove, but I shall not go in for this
+scrape."
+
+"Come along, then."
+
+The boys walked over to the grove, the committee using all their
+eloquence and logic to induce Richard to change his mind; but thus far
+he remained firm and loyal to his good resolution. His arrival at the
+grove created a sensation, for it seemed to be evidence that he was to
+form one of the party.
+
+The position of Richard Grant on the present occasion was so novel that
+he could hardly believe in his own identity. Like the old woman with
+the little pig, it did not seem to be he that was refusing an
+invitation to join in a scrape so harmless as the one proposed; and he
+almost needed an introduction to himself.
+
+But Richard was himself, truly himself--himself in the highest and
+noblest sense. His determination to keep his resolution seemed to
+create around him an atmosphere of purity, and the more he breathed it,
+the firmer and the stronger he became. The boys exhorted him singly, in
+couples, and by squads, to join the foolish enterprise, but without
+effect.
+
+"Better come with us, Grant," said Nevers. "We have got a first-rate
+plan, and we shall have a tip-top time."
+
+"I have fully made up my mind not to go," replied Richard.
+
+"I shall not go, if Grant doesn't," added Bailey.
+
+"Nor I," said another.
+
+"Back out--will you?" sneered Nevers, his face darkening with an
+expression of anger.
+
+"I said I would join if Grant did," replied Bailey, stung by the
+reproach.
+
+Most of the boys were silent for a time, for the decided and unexpected
+stand taken by Richard, the favorite of the school, altered the
+complexion of the whole affair. This silence was succeeded by a more
+unequivocal demonstration. One after another followed the example of
+Bailey, and deserted the bad cause, till Richard found himself no
+longer alone, but supported by at least thirty of the best fellows in
+the Institute; and then they began to come over in squads.
+
+"You are the meanest set of cowards I ever saw in my life," exclaimed
+Nevers, bitterly, when the enterprise appeared to be fully nipped in
+the bud.
+
+"Grant is right," several of the boys replied.
+
+"Grant!" sneered Nevers, angrily. "He wasn't always so nice as he is
+now."
+
+"That's so," said Redman, as he placed himself by the side of the
+bully. "We know a thing or two about Grant, before he became pious."
+
+"What do you mean by pious?" demanded Richard, stepping up to the
+speaker; and as he did so, his fists were involuntarily clinched.
+
+"Watermelons!" replied Redman, vindictively.
+
+"Watermelons!" added Nevers.
+
+"Watermelons!" responded a dozen or more of the large boys, who had
+gathered around Redman.
+
+"Do you walk in your sleep any now, Grant?" said Redman, with a mocking
+laugh. "You wasn't pious _then_."
+
+Richard was so mortified and confused by these taunts that he wished
+the earth might open and hide him from the exulting gaze of his
+assailants. His blood boiled with shame and indignation, and more than
+ever before he realized that "the way of the transgressor is hard." His
+first impulse was to rush upon his dastardly foes, and crush them
+beneath the weight of his strong arm.
+
+Most of the boys looked at each other with astonishment, wondering what
+could be meant by "watermelons," and walking in his sleep. It was
+evident to Richard that only a few of his companions understood the
+reflections cast upon him. There he stood, trembling, as it were, in
+the balance, and ready to be carried up or down by this new and most
+terrible trial--up into a higher sphere of virtue, or down into a
+deeper degradation than any he had yet fathomed.
+
+"I will be true to myself!" said he to himself, after he had stood
+silent for a moment, blushing with shame, and assailed by the foe
+without and the foe within.
+
+His clinched fist unclosed, the muscles relaxed, and though his face
+was still red, a smile of triumph played upon his lips.
+
+"Will you go, Watermelons?" sneered Redman.
+
+"I will not," replied Richard.
+
+"Shut up, Redman," interposed Nevers, who entirely mistook the singular
+change which had come over Richard's countenance. "Come, Grant, you and
+I will talk it over alone;" and he took his arm, and led him away from
+the crowd.
+
+"You see we know all about these things," continued Nevers, "but we
+don't want to be hard upon you. Only about a dozen of us know any thing
+about those scrapes."
+
+"Who told you about them?" asked Richard.
+
+"That's nothing to the purpose. You are a good fellow, Grant, and I
+advise you to join us; if you do, not a fellow shall ever say a word
+about watermelons or sleep-walking."
+
+"I will not join you, whatever you say and whatever you do."
+
+"Then you won't hear any thing but watermelons while you stay here. I
+called you out as a friend, and I think you had better go with us."
+
+"I will not."
+
+"Then we will tell all the fellows."
+
+"I will save you the trouble by telling them myself."
+
+"Come, Grant."
+
+"I will not."
+
+"Go it, then, Watermelons!" said Nevers, as he ran back to the others,
+and told them of the result of the interview.
+
+Richard wondered who could have informed them of his scrapes, but he
+could form no idea. Lest our readers should be equally in the dark, we
+will tell them, confidentially, that Sandy Brimblecom had done the
+mischief. A cousin of his, on his way to Tunbrook, had stopped a day in
+Whitestone. This relative was, unfortunately, one of the Nevers'
+faction, and the information he brought was carefully preserved for an
+emergency.
+
+"All who join, come under the big tree!" shouted Redman. "If you walk
+in your sleep, Grant, perhaps you will pay us a visit."
+
+"Asleep or awake," replied Richard, calmly, but forcibly, "I shall know
+enough to keep out of bad company."
+
+"Do you mean me by that?" demanded Redman, rushing up to Richard, and
+shaking his fist in his face.
+
+"I do."
+
+"Then take that;" and Redman struck Richard in the face.
+
+The latter did take that, but the next instant his assailant lay upon
+the ground, where Richard with a single blow had thrown him.
+
+"None of that, Redman," interposed Nevers. "The colonel will be down
+upon us."
+
+"Let's lick him," said another.
+
+"I am ready," coolly replied Richard, throwing off his coat.
+
+But prudence carried the day, and the mutineers retired to the big oak.
+Only about fifty, or one fourth of the students, responded to the call
+of Redman, and the rest retired from the ground.
+
+"What did they mean by 'watermelons'?" asked Bailey, as they walked up
+to the Institute.
+
+"I'll tell you all about it;" replied Richard. "I got into some scrapes
+before I came here;" and he told his companions the whole story. "But,
+fellows, I have turned over a new leaf."
+
+"Good!" said Bailey. "I am glad you told us; and I'm sure no decent
+fellow in the Institute will ever fling it at you."
+
+Richard felt better when he had told the whole truth. He confided in
+his friends, and feared not his enemies. When they reached the parade
+ground they saw that the mutineers had taken possession of every one of
+the boats, and were sailing up the lake towards Green Island. They
+dared not return to the Institute, fearing that their plan might be
+discovered.
+
+Richard was informed that arrangements had been made before he joined
+them; that they intended to take all the boats, so that the instructors
+could not reach them, and encamp on the island.
+
+When the rolls were called, the absence of about fifty of the boys was
+discovered by the teachers. The truth came out, and the sharp eye of
+Colonel Brockridge seemed to glow with unwonted lustre.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+RICHARD VISITS GREEN ISLAND, AND THE REGULATORS CONSIDER THEIR PLANS.
+
+
+The evening exercises proceeded as usual, no allusion whatever being
+made to the absence of the mutineers, after the facts had been
+revealed. But no one supposed that the energetic principal would drop
+the matter where it then stood.
+
+Richard had been "putting that and that together" since the events
+which had transpired in the grove, till he was pretty well satisfied
+that the mutineers now upon Green Island were the Regulators. The
+evidences which led him to this conclusion had been carefully collected
+from the time he had been whipped by them in the woods near the camp.
+Though Nevers had appeared to be very friendly since the race, his
+conduct had not been above suspicion.
+
+During the evening the boys had a great deal to say about the mutiny,
+and some of them even regretted that they had not joined, especially as
+the colonel did not seem to care much about the affair. About eight
+o'clock in the evening, Richard was sent for by the principal.
+
+"Grant," said Colonel Brockridge, as Richard entered the office, "I
+have heard all about your conduct, and I wish to express to you my
+approbation. You have, indeed, turned over a new leaf, as you told the
+boys, and I congratulate you upon your success in keeping your good
+resolution. I have just written a letter to your father, which you may
+read."
+
+The principal handed him the letter, and with a glow of pride and
+satisfaction, Richard read the high commendation which was bestowed
+upon him. There was no allusion to the affair of the day, and the
+praise covered his general conduct since he had been at Tunbrook.
+
+"I learn that you have been true to yourself, and true to the rules of
+the Institute, under peculiar trials. I sympathize with you. But you
+have won the respect and regard of all the good boys. You can afford to
+be disliked by the others."
+
+"I have tried to do my duty, sir," replied Richard, blushing at the
+praise bestowed upon him.
+
+"You have done well. I know how fond you are of exciting adventure, and
+I wonder that you had the strength to resist this temptation."
+
+"I am surprised myself," added Richard.
+
+"If I except the fight, which was greatly palliated by the
+circumstances, and the sleeping on guard when we were in camp, your
+conduct has been entirely unexceptionable since you came to the
+Institute. Sleeping on guard is not----"
+
+"I didn't sleep on guard, sir," interposed Richard, mildly and
+respectfully. "I am prepared to explain all about that now."
+
+"Indeed? It is rather late now," said the principal, shaking his head.
+
+"I think I have unearthed the Regulators."
+
+"The Regulators? I haven't heard any thing of them for a year. I
+supposed they no longer existed."
+
+"They do exist," added Richard. "I happen to know something about
+them."
+
+"What do you know?"
+
+In reply to this question, Richard narrated all the particulars of his
+abduction from his post while doing guard duty.
+
+"But why didn't you tell me about this?" demanded the colonel,
+surprised and indignant at the audacity of the Regulators. "Why did you
+suffer the penalty of deserting your post, when you were innocent?"
+
+"I thought it would be better in the end, sir. I wanted to find out who
+the Regulators were."
+
+"Well, have you found out?"
+
+"I think I have, sir."
+
+"Who are they?"
+
+"I am pretty well satisfied that they are encamped upon Green Island
+just now," said Richard, with a smile.
+
+"What evidence have you?"
+
+Richard stated, at considerable length, the facts and incidents which
+had led him to this conclusion: but the colonel was not fully
+satisfied.
+
+"If you will permit me, sir, I think I could prove what I say to your
+entire satisfaction."
+
+"What do you wish to do?"
+
+"I wish to visit Green Island," replied Richard, boldly.
+
+"They would whip you again."
+
+"I am not afraid of them."
+
+"How will you get over to the island? The young rascals have taken all
+the boats."
+
+"I can borrow a skiff; if not, I can go over on a plank."
+
+"But they would handle you rather roughly."
+
+"I don't intend to let them see me. I think I can manage the matter,
+sir."
+
+"Well, Grant, your plan will harmonize with mine. I intend to punish
+these mutineers, as they foolishly call themselves, in a novel way; and
+I have already made my arrangements to do so. But you shall carry out
+your scheme first."
+
+"I should be very glad to do so, and I am confident that I shall
+succeed."
+
+"You shall try it, at all events."
+
+"Will you let Bailey go with me?" asked Richard.
+
+"No; I do not wish to expose him to danger. You can take care of
+yourself, it appears, if you get into trouble. Do you want some one
+with you?"
+
+"I think it would be better."
+
+"Mr. Gault shall accompany you, but you shall manage the matter
+yourself."
+
+"Very well, sir. What shall I do for a boat?"
+
+"You shall have one of the pontoon boats. It will be better than a
+skiff."
+
+"Good! I didn't think of that," said Richard, with enthusiasm.
+
+"Now, Grant, not a word must be said of the events of to-night."
+
+It was after nine o'clock when this conference was finished, and the
+boys had retired. Richard and the principal left the office, and
+repaired to the stables, where they found three of the instructors,
+including Mr. Gault. The horses were attached to the pontoon wagon,
+ready for a start. The whole party seated themselves in the vehicle,
+and were driven by the public road to a spot near the shore of the
+lake. One of the rubber boats was unloaded, and Mr. Gault and Richard
+carried it down to the bank.
+
+The night was cloudy and dark. Green Island was half a mile from the
+place where they proposed to embark, and there was no danger that the
+mutineers would see or hear them. The boat was filled with air, by the
+aid of a bellows, and placed in the water. Richard requested Mr. Gault
+to lie down in the boat, and, with a short paddle he had brought for
+the purpose, he propelled the light craft towards her destination.
+
+The utmost care and quiet were necessary to prevent the mutineers from
+gaining any knowledge of the movement; and when the boat was within a
+few rods of the island, Richard laid aside his paddle and listened. He
+could hear the Regulators talking and laughing at some distance from
+the shore, and he soon satisfied himself that no sentinels had been
+detached to guard the approaches. With a few strokes of his paddle, he
+brought the boat alongside the island.
+
+Richard seemed to be a master of strategy, and conducted his movements
+with such skill and prudence, that he and Mr. Gault succeeded in
+effecting a landing without disturbing the mutineers.
+
+"Now, sir, we must lie down and crawl upon the ground till we get
+within hearing distance of them," whispered Richard.
+
+"I will follow you, Grant," replied the instructor.
+
+"We must move very slowly."
+
+"There is plenty of time."
+
+Richard led the way, crawling like a snake upon the grass, so slowly
+and so cautiously that not a particle of noise seemed to be made. Near
+the centre of the island there was a clump of trees, which had been
+dignified by the title of a grove. The mutineers were seated upon the
+ground in this place. Though the distance to the grove from the place
+where Mr. Gault and Richard had landed was only a few rods, more than
+half an hour was consumed in reaching a spot which would be near enough
+to enable them to hear what was said.
+
+The deep gloom beneath a spreading oak afforded them a friendly
+shelter; and here they disposed of themselves to the best advantage to
+effect the object in view. For half an hour they listened to
+conversation on all topics. Various wild schemes were proposed to bring
+the colonel to terms. Some declared their intention to spend a week on
+the island.
+
+"We should freeze and starve," said another.
+
+"No; Leslie--I mean Kennedy--said he would supply us with food; and we
+can make a tent of the sails of the boat."
+
+"Let us stick together, whatever we do," added another. "If we could
+only have got Grant over here, we should have fixed him."
+
+"Thank you," said Richard to himself; and he listened to this kind of
+talk for some time, beginning to fear that he should not obtain the
+information for which he came.
+
+"Regulators, come to order!" said Nevers, at last, much to the
+satisfaction of the listeners. "Are all present Regulators?"
+
+"They are," replied Redman.
+
+"Guards, to your stations."
+
+Richard could not see where their stations were; and he hoped the line
+of their duty would not lead them to the oak under which Mr. Gault and
+himself were seated.
+
+"It is a long time since we have had a chance to hold a regular
+meeting; and it may be a long time before we are able to do so again.
+Perhaps it was lucky that all except the Regulators backed out,"
+continued Nevers. "You all know the business we have on our hands."
+
+"We do," replied several.
+
+"By a judicious use of _watermelons_ and _sleep-walking_, we shall
+accomplish our purpose," continued Nevers.
+
+"We must do it before the next election, my chief," said Redman.
+
+"It is of no use to attempt to whip him, or any thing of that sort,"
+answered "my chief," which seemed to be the official designation of the
+presiding officer.
+
+"I have a plan which I think will procure his expulsion from the
+school."
+
+"State it; and every Regulator will remember the penalty of disclosing
+one of the society's secrets."
+
+"He shall be pounded till he is black and blue," said the members, in
+concert.
+
+"And every Regulator shall despise him as man and boy, to the end of
+his life."
+
+"That's so," responded the members.
+
+"Go on, Redman," said the chief.
+
+"Next Sunday night, the sheds, near the grove, will be set on fire. On
+Friday night Grant's French exercise book will be taken from his desk.
+He will fail in his lesson on Saturday, and the colonel must punish
+him. This will make him mad. The exercise book will be torn up, and
+pieces of it, especially the cover with his name on it, will be found
+near the burnt building. Masters, who is on good terms with Grant, on a
+certain pretence, known to him and me, will induce him to wait at the
+shed until after dark, where he will be seen by Mr. Gault, when he goes
+his rounds. A broken bunch of matches will be found in Grant's closet,
+where no fellow is allowed to keep matches. Other suspicious
+circumstances will appear at the time for they are in charge of proper
+persons."
+
+"You hear," said the chief.
+
+"I don't like the plan," said one.
+
+"Nor I," chimed in a dozen others.
+
+"It is a mean thing," added the first objector.
+
+"How many officers has the Society of Regulators?" demanded the chief,
+sternly.
+
+"One, whom all obey," replied the members.
+
+"Who is he?"
+
+"Nevers."
+
+"I am chief, and I command that this be done," said the chief.
+
+Twenty or thirty of the members, as Richard judged by the voices,
+protested against the scheme; but the measure was ordered in spite of
+this opposition.
+
+"Is there a traitor here?" demanded the chief.
+
+"Not one," replied the members.
+
+The chief then urged the necessity of using strong measures. He pointed
+out the danger of permitting Grant to remain in the school; and the
+plan would insure his expulsion. But still the intractable ones
+objected, and their names were ordered to be given. As they were
+announced, Mr. Gault, aided by faith rather than sight, wrote them down
+on the back of some letters he had in his pocket. The business was
+finished, and it was proposed to establish a watch on the island for
+the night.
+
+"We must go," whispered Richard; and he crawled off, followed by Mr.
+Gault.
+
+They reached the water without being discovered, and embarked in the
+rubber boat.
+
+"If they place sentinels on the watch, the colonel's plan will be
+defeated," said Mr. Gault.
+
+"What is his plan?"
+
+"To get all the boats away from them, and keep them on the island till
+they have had enough of it."
+
+"We must do it before the watch is set," added Richard.
+
+To accomplish this purpose, he paddled the float to the place where the
+boats were moored, and cast them all adrift. The slight current of the
+lake carried them slowly down to the river, and the listeners returned
+to the shore, and reported what they had done to the colonel. The whole
+party were then driven round to the outlet of the lake, where they
+secured the boats as they floated down.
+
+The business of the night was done, and the party retired to their
+several apartments.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI.
+
+RICHARD ANNIHILATES THE REGULATORS, AND THE STORY IS CONCLUDED.
+
+
+It would have damaged the self-esteem of the Regulators if they could
+have seen how little notice was taken of their absence at the Institute
+on the day following the development of the mutiny. Every thing went on
+as usual, and the instructors did not even allude to the rebels or the
+rebellion. It seemed to be the policy of the principal to maintain a
+"masterly inactivity" in regard to them.
+
+Perhaps Colonel Brockridge was not so indifferent as he appeared to be.
+He had stationed men on both sides of the lake to prevent any
+communication between the mutineers and persons on the shore. At noon
+it was reported that a boy by the name of Leslie, who lived in
+Tunbrook, and who had been expelled from the Institute, had attempted
+to visit the island. Richard was curious to know who Leslie was, for he
+had heard the name mentioned by the Regulators.
+
+The first day of November was very mild and pleasant. It was one of the
+sweet days of the Indian summer, and the rebels on Green Island were
+highly favored by this circumstance. On the second day the wind
+changed, and it blew clear and cold from the north-west. Just before
+sunset, a white flag was seen upon a pole, near the landing place on
+the island. Colonel Brockridge was informed of the fact, and the large
+sail boat was sent off to relieve the rebels from their uncomfortable
+situation.
+
+Richard and two of the instructors were deputed to visit the island,
+and ascertain the import of the "flag of truce." The teachers were not
+boatmen, and our hero was the only person available as a navigator; and
+he was too deeply interested in the fate of the Regulators to be averse
+to the visit.
+
+On arriving at the island, the rebels were found to be in a very
+deplorable condition. They had eaten nothing since dinner on the
+preceding day, and were shivering with cold. Mr. Gault calmly inquired
+what they wanted.
+
+"We want to return," replied Nevers, whose teeth chattered as he spoke.
+
+"Step into the boat, then."
+
+But the boat would not carry them all, and it was necessary to make two
+trips to convey the entire party. On the passage, Richard attended
+closely to his duty, and did not speak a word to the rebels. The two
+instructors were as taciturn as the boatman.
+
+The party seemed to be astonished that their return created no
+sensation. No restraint was placed upon them, and when they landed each
+went where he chose, but most of them found their way to the warm rooms
+of the Institute.
+
+"Have you had a pleasant time, Nevers?" asked the colonel, when he met
+the chief of the Regulators.
+
+"Not very, sir," replied Nevers, with a ghastly smile.
+
+This was all the allusion that was made to the affair. Provisions
+disappeared with astonishing rapidity at the supper table that night.
+The Regulators looked very tame and "chapfallen" for a day or two; and
+Nevers condescended to inform Richard that the whole thing was a bad
+failure.
+
+Colonel Brockridge had requested Mr. Gault and Richard to be entirely
+silent in regard to what had transpired while they were upon the
+island. He did not explain his purpose to Richard, but his injunction
+was faithfully observed.
+
+The Regulators, even to Nevers and Redman, were very cordial and
+considerate towards their intended victim, and Richard believed they
+had abandoned their wicked purpose, till, on Saturday morning, he
+missed his French exercise book. Without it, he could not recite his
+lesson, and he was checked for the failure, and reported to Colonel
+Brockridge. The principal sent for him, and every boy in school
+supposed he was under censure for the deficiency.
+
+On Sunday night, when the boys were permitted to walk, Masters told
+Richard that Bailey wished to see him on particular business near the
+Grove shed, as the building was called. Richard promised to meet him at
+the place assigned. He waited there some time, but as Bailey did not
+come, he returned to the parlor of the Institute. He met Bailey there,
+and asked if he wished to see him.
+
+"Yes; I wanted to show you something in the shed, but it will do just
+as well in the morning," replied Bailey, somewhat to the astonishment
+of Richard, who, of course, understood what all these things were for.
+
+"What was it?" asked the intended victim.
+
+"It was a piece of your exercise book; and I didn't know but the piece
+might enable you to find the whole."
+
+While they were talking the alarm of fire was given; but before they
+could reach the spot, some ready hands had extinguished the flames. In
+accordance with the programme laid down upon the island, pieces of
+Richard's exercise book, some of them half burned, were found in and
+near the shed. Several cards of matches, and half the printed paper
+that had enclosed the original bunch, were also picked up near the
+building which had been devoted to destruction.
+
+An investigation was immediately commenced. The boys were ordered to
+the school room. The pieces of Richard's exercise book were examined. A
+dozen boys had seen its owner standing near the shed before the fire
+originated. The teachers were sent to examine the closets for further
+evidence. Not only were several cards of matches found in Richard's
+closet, but also part of the printed envelope that had enclosed them.
+This piece of paper was a portion of the wrapper, of which the other
+part had been found in the shed.
+
+These facts were duly announced to the boys, and it seemed as clear as
+noonday that Richard Grant was the incendiary. He was ordered to report
+forthwith at the office, and the boys were dismissed for the night.
+
+"We have fixed him this time," said Nevers, in a whisper, as he and
+Redman left the room.
+
+"He is under arrest, and to-morrow he will be sent home in disgrace,"
+replied Redman, rubbing his hands. "Nevers, you will be the next
+captain of Company D."
+
+"We have broken the fellows' idol, at any rate. Grant will spend the
+night in the guard house," added Nevers.
+
+Nevers was slightly mistaken; for Richard, though he did not appear in
+Barrack B that night, occupied the guest chamber of Colonel
+Brockridge's private residence. His friends, especially Bailey, were
+gloomy and sad. The more lukewarm ones were sure, and always had been,
+that Grant was a bad boy.
+
+On Monday morning, when the boys had assembled in the school room,
+Colonel Brockridge appeared, followed by Richard. The students
+understood that the incendiary case was to be settled, and a breathless
+silence pervaded the hall.
+
+"Grant stands before you accused of a very grave offence," the
+principal began. "We cannot permit a boy who sets fire to a building to
+remain in the Institute. If guilty, he must be expelled. But Grant
+assures me this is a conspiracy to injure him. He declares that there
+is a secret organization in the Institute called the Regulators, who
+have determined to drive him away from the school. Some of us have
+heard of such an institution before, but its existence has never been
+clearly proved. Redman, do you know any thing of such an association."
+
+"I never heard of it before, sir," replied Redman.
+
+"Do you, Nevers?"
+
+"No, sir."
+
+"Grant charges you both with being connected with the Regulators."
+
+"Let him prove it," said Nevers, in defiant tones.
+
+"Who is Dobbin?" asked the principal.
+
+"I never heard the name before," answered Nevers. "I think it is very
+hard to be accused without evidence. I hope you will make Grant prove
+what he says, sir."
+
+"I will, my chief," said Richard, at a nod from the colonel; and,
+without giving the source of his information, he told all he knew about
+the Regulators.
+
+"How many officers have the Regulators?" asked Mr. Gault, rising from
+his chair, at the farther end of the room.
+
+"_One, whom all obey_," replied Richard, repeating what he had heard on
+the island.
+
+"Who is he?"
+
+"_Nevers._"
+
+"Are there traitors among us?" continued Mr. Gault.
+
+"_Not a traitor._"
+
+"What shall be done to him who discloses the secrets of the
+Regulators?" asked the teacher.
+
+"_He shall be pounded till he is black and blue, and, as man and boy,
+be despised till the end of his life_," replied Richard, repeating
+the words of the Regulators as nearly as he could remember them.
+
+"What do you think of this, Nevers?" asked the colonel.
+
+"I don't know what it all means, sir," answered he, with a
+well-counterfeited look of astonishment.
+
+There were a great many pale faces, beating hearts, and quivering lips
+in the seats, for it was certain that the daylight had been shining in
+upon the dark doings of the Regulators. Who was the traitor? who had
+betrayed the secrets of the fraternity? Confusion and trembling
+overwhelmed the Regulators.
+
+"Before we proceed any farther," continued the principal, "if there are
+any of this secret band present who wish to acknowledge their guilt,
+and are willing to be forgiven, they may stand."
+
+The silence was intense and deep. Nevers and Redman did not move a
+muscle, but some of the mutineers glanced at each other, and seemed to
+be in doubt.
+
+"Now is the only time for confession," added the colonel.
+
+Half a dozen boys rose; then one after another followed their example,
+till it seemed as if the whole band intended to absolve themselves from
+their vows. Those who rose were ordered to the rear of the room. Only
+ten of the band decided to abide the issue. They were called out by
+name.
+
+"Here are the rest of the Regulators," said the colonel, when the
+obdurate ones had taken their places upon the platform.
+
+Mr. Gault told his story, and Richard told his. The evidence was
+complete and overwhelming. Two of the teachers had been concealed in
+the shed, and had seen Redman set it on fire, and scatter the pieces of
+the exercise book in the vicinity. Another had seen Masters place the
+matches in Richard's closet. The colonel, knowing the details of the
+plot beforehand, had arranged every thing so as to insure the
+conviction of the conspirators.
+
+"Boys," said Colonel Brockridge, "I am happy to inform you that Grant
+is entirely innocent."
+
+Those in their seats received this announcement with a storm of
+applause.
+
+"I knew he was innocent from the beginning."
+
+Another burst of applause.
+
+The principal detailed with great minuteness the particulars of the
+conspiracy, with which our readers are already familiar. The ten
+Regulators were expelled at once, and sent away by the next train that
+left Tunbrook. The whole forenoon was occupied in disposing of the
+matter; but when the boys were sent out, there was no end to the
+cheering for Richard Grant.
+
+It was plain that Nevers and Redman were the head and front of the
+Regulators. They were the authors of the association, and when they had
+gone, the organization died a natural death. Leslie was Kennedy, as
+Nevers was Dobbin. All the secrets and signs were bandied about and
+laughed at among the boys. Those of the band who remained were punished
+by being deprived of various privileges; but they behaved themselves
+afterwards with commendable propriety. One of them ventured to say
+"watermelons," one day, when he was angry with Richard, but a hundred
+boys hissed him for it.
+
+Three of the expelled Regulators were eventually restored, but the
+lesson they had learned was all-sufficient.
+
+                     *      *      *      *      *
+
+Richard's victory was complete; and the events we have related rendered
+him a greater favorite than before. At the spring election he was
+chosen captain of Company D, and was regarded as the best officer in
+the line.
+
+Richard's victory over himself was as complete as that over the
+Regulators. That good resolution, kept through trial and temptation,
+eventually reformed his life and character. During the spring vacation,
+he spent a week at home, and rejoiced the hearts of Bertha and his
+father by the evidences of his reformation. Ben wept for joy, and Noddy
+Newman "couldn't tell, for the life of him, what had come over Dick."
+
+Richard continued two years longer at Tunbrook, and maintained the high
+character he had won to the last. He was a favorite with the boys, and
+with the teachers. Colonel Brockridge pointed with pride to Major
+Grant--which was the title of our hero during the last year of his
+residence at Tunbrook--as one of the brightest ornaments of his school,
+and as one of the best fruits of his system of education.
+
+And now we must take leave of Richard Grant; and we do so with greater
+regret than we should have done when his reputation was stained by
+"watermelons" and "sleep-walking."
+
+Our hero is still true to himself. As we use fictitious names, our
+sympathizing readers will not be able to recognize Colonel Richard
+Grant, commanding a brigade in the Army of the Potomac, at the present
+time; but, true to his country in her hour of peril, he has served with
+that gallant band of brave men from the commencement of the war.
+
+If my young friends would conquer others; if they would be chosen of
+men to reign in the hearts of their fellow-beings, and thus guide the
+destinies of men and nations; if they would be chosen of God to do his
+work in earth and heaven,--they must first conquer themselves.
+
+
+
+
+LEE & SHEPARD'S JUVENILE PUBLICATIONS.
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+Illustrated. $1.25.
+
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+hardships, trials, and triumphs of life in our new settlements."
+
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+_PLANTING THE WILDERNESS_; or, The Pioneer Boys. By JAMES D. McCABE,
+JR. 16mo. Illustrated. $1.25.
+
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+By NATHANIEL H. BISHOP. 16mo. Illustrated. $1.50.
+
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+
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+follow real experiences, are full of those thrilling incidents which
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+
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+
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+
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+&c., their Habits and Instincts.
+
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+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of In School and Out, by Oliver Optic
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