“What these fellows say is not true,” came from Gus Coulter. “I was never bribed in my life.”
“I wouldn’t accept a bribe,” put in Paxton, loftily. “I’m not that sort, and my friends know it.”
“We all belong to a secret society, and we were counting up the money in the treasury,” said Mumps. “In the midst of it Ditmore and Snow rushed up and intimated that Dan was bribing us. They ought to have their heads punched for it!”
“Well, you’ll never punch them, Mumps,” said Pepper. “And Baxter won’t punch them, either.”
“Don’t be so sure about that,” growled Dan Baxter. “You may get more than you expect!”
“I am not afraid of you,” answered Pepper.
Further talk was cut short by the ringing of the school bell, calling the cadets into the Hall. Baxter and his cronies went off in one bunch, while Pepper, Andy, and Jack went off in another.
Among so many cadets opinions were necessarily divided. Some thought Baxter guilty, while others believed in his protestations of innocence. Yet with it all, the bully had only a limited circle of friends and hangers-on, as later events proved.
During the evening the air was filled with subdued excitement. All of the candidates for the officers’ positions were discussed, and it was generally admitted that Jack, Bart Conners, Henry Lee, and Dan Baxter stood equal chances of winning the majorship, or at least one of the captaincies.
“I hope you win the majorship, Jack,” said Andy. “You are just suited for that position.”