After that the crowd withdrew to a corner, leaving Baxter alone. The bully wanted to escape, but he was afraid to try it. The masked cadets held a consultation lasting several minutes.
“Just the thing!” was the cry. “Just the thing!”
“Now what do they intend to do?” asked the bully of himself. “Something awful, I’m sure!”
“Baxter, we have decided on your fate,” said one of the masked boys. It was Pepper, but he disguised his voice well.
“What are you going to do?”
“We are going to brand you first and then march you out into the country, so that you can’t find your way back to Putnam Hall.”
“Brand me! March me away! Don’t you dare to do it!”
“Blindfold him first, fellows!” came from Andy, and the bully’s eyes were quickly bound tight with a handkerchief.
“Now heat up that iron,” came loudly from one of the masked cadets. “I think that a B on his forehead will look beautiful.”
“What are you going to—to—put a B on me for?” asked Baxter, with a shiver.