Bang! went one of the firecrackers, and both Mumps and Sabine let out yells of fear. Bang! went the second cracker, and now both cadets threw their guns from them and ran toward the school building.
“It’s the dynamite! We’ll be blown to pieces!” screamed Mumps.
“Somebody wants to kill us!” roared Sabine, and put his hands to his ears, as if to keep out the sounds of some awful explosion.
And then both boys disappeared around a corner of the Hall. As they did this The Imp rushed forward, cleaned the guns of the exploded firecrackers, and threw the burning bits of cracker paper in some bushes.
“What a joke!” cried Andy, who has witnessed the scene, and he and a number of others laughed heartily.
“They’ll be afraid to touch the guns after this,” was Emerald’s comment. “Sure, they’ll think the old Nick is after bein’ in ’em, so they will!”
“Here they come back!” called out Dave Kearney. “And look, they’ve got old Crabtree with them!”
“If Crabtree is coming I think I’ll dust out!” murmured Pepper, and lost no time in disappearing.
Josiah Crabtree was the first assistant teacher, and he was as cordially hated by the majority of the cadets as George Strong, the second assistant, was beloved. Crabtree was a fine scholar, but he was headstrong and sarcastic, and continually “picking” at those under him, no matter how hard they studied or how well they behaved.
“What is this I hear about dynamite?” he demanded, as he strode up and glared at the assembled boys.