The cadets had to wait a long time before they were served. Meanwhile Pluxton Cuddle consulted with the head waiter and paid a visit to the kitchen. As a result, when the dinner came in, the cadets found the food both scanty and exceedingly plain.
“Say, how is a chap to get along on this,” growled Stuffer. “I could eat twice as much!”
“Make the best of it this time,” said Jack. “We can hold a meeting after school and decide upon what to do in the future—if things don’t mend.”
The worst of it—to Stuffer’s mind—was that there was nothing but a little rice pudding for dessert. All of the cadets who had rebelled went from the mess room hungry—and out on the campus they discovered that the other cadets had fared little better.
“It’s Cuddle’s doings,” said one of the other students. “He’s a crank on the question of eating—thinks a man ought to eat next to nothing to be healthy and clear-minded.”
“Crabtree was willing enough to fall in with his views,” returned Pepper.
“That’s because he wanted to square up with you. Personally, Crabtree likes to eat as hearty a meal as anybody.”
“I know that.”
“I don’t know what we are coming to, if Captain Putnam or Mr. Strong don’t come back soon,” said another cadet. “We had a row in our classroom too.”
“Neither Crabtree nor Cuddle are fit to manage a school,” said Dale. “They may be good enough teachers, but they need somebody in authority over them.” And this statement hit the nail squarely on the head.