“That depends,” answered Jack.
“I shan’t say a word unless you promise. I’m not going to get myself in a hole on your account.”
“Then you do know something!” cried Pepper. “Well, if you don’t tell us what it is, and anything happens, we’ll blame you, so there!”
“I’m not going to do anything!” exclaimed Sabine, in fresh alarm.
“What do you know?” said Jack, and now his voice was stern.
“I—er—I was down back of the boat-house awhile ago and I heard Reff Ritter, Gus Coulter, and Nick Paxton talking. They are all down on your crowd.”
“We know that,” answered Pepper, briefly.
“They didn’t see me, and I heard most of what they said, although not all.”
“And what did they say?” questioned Andy.
“First they talked about you”—Sabine nodded to the young major. “Ritter has a plan to spoil your things—sword and all that—so they won’t show up good at the inspection. He is going to get something down to the Cedarville drug store to-night and sprinkle or rub it on everything. After Ritter unfolded his plan he and the others agreed to fix up your whole crowd in the same way—so the inspection would be ruined, so far as you were concerned. They want to put you in disgrace with Captain Putnam.”