“The uniform will be ruined. Better take it off now.”
“Oh, Jack wants to go to bed in it,” said Pepper, lightly. He loved to tease Peleg.
“Ha! ha! you must have your joke. I reckon he won’t go to bed in no wet clothes, ’less he wants to git rheumatism an’ lumbago, an’ a few other things,” answered Peleg Snuggers, and walked away.
Without loss of time Jack slipped up to his dormitory and changed his wet uniform for a dry suit. Then the wet clothing was sent to the laundry to be dried and pressed. In the meantime the other lads hastened to the mess-room for supper. There they told Captain Putnam of what had occurred.
“You must be more careful in the future,” said the master of the school. “A squall is a nasty thing to be out in—I know that from personal experience. I must see Major Ruddy and have a talk with him,” and he hastened off to Jack’s room. He could not help but praise the young major for his heroism.
It soon became noised about the Hall that the new sloop from Pornell Academy had met Jack’s craft, and more of the cadets were interested in the outcome of the race than they were in the rescue that had taken place.
“Of course it was a great thing to pull those chaps out of the water,” was Andy Snow’s comment. “But I do wish you had beaten them by about a mile, Pep.”
“Well, when the squall came we simply had to call it off—with the other sloop capsized.”
“Oh, I know that.”
“By the way, Andy,” went on Pepper. “I understand that you have a little contest of your own coming off at the gym.”