“We are going to square up some day!” growled Coulter, when he met Pepper. “Just wait, that’s all!”
“Look out that you don’t burn your fingers doing it,” answered The Imp. “Remember, we can give you as good as you send, every time!”
Coulter and Paxton still had some of the blueing on them and some of the cadets not in the secret wanted to know what was the trouble.
“Oh, we had some blue ink and it got spilled,” answered Paxton, and that was all he and Coulter would say. When Captain Putnam went upstairs to call on Ritter and make sure he was not seriously sick the bully told the same story.
“Well, be careful the next time,” said the master of the Hall, and he left Ritter in deep thought. He felt almost certain some kind of a joke had been played, but he did not wish to investigate, having his hands full with other things. George Strong had departed, having received a special message of importance, and the captain himself had to leave the school the following Monday, to go to Chicago.
In a roundabout way Jack and his chums learned that Reff Ritter, Coulter and Paxton were going to attend the lawn party in spite of the blueing that still showed on their hands and faces, and they at once set to work to see what could be done toward having more fun.
“This is going to be rather a delicate proceeding,” said the young major. “Remember, we have two crowds to deal with—Ritter’s and Roy Bock’s.”
“Perhaps we had better divide our forces?” suggested Dale.
“I’ve got a plan, but I don’t know if it can be carried out,” said Pepper. “To my mind, Ritter and Bock are quite friendly.”
“Yes, it’s a case of one bully loving another,” chimed in Stuffer. “They are thick, and so are Coulter and Gussic and Grimes.”