“Perhaps they will come back,” suggested Pepper.
“I will place a guard here,” answered the teacher. “They may come back later. I doubt if they do so right away.”
There was nothing to do but to return to Putnam Hall. The bicycles were strapped on the back of the carryall and all piled into the turnout. The lantern had already been lit; and thus they rode to the school, reaching the place a little after midnight.
“Keeping early hours, I see,” remarked Dale, when Pepper came into the dormitory.
“Tell you about it in the morning,” answered the Imp, and lost no time in getting to bed and to sleep.
“Those fellows will be the terror of this neighborhood if they keep on,” said Dale, when he heard of what had occurred.
“Mr. Strong is going to set a sharper watch than ever,” answered Jack. “Those men will be caught sooner or later.”
Many of the cadets had heard of the soldiers’ reunion at Datport, on the following Saturday, and also of the proposed balloon ascension, and they begged Captain Putnam for permission to visit the town and see what was going on.
“I’ll tell you what I’ll do,” said the master of the school at last. “Every student who gets an average of eighty per cent. this week can go, if he wishes.”
This put the students on their mettle, and never did cadets study harder than during that week. As a consequence about forty passed, and it was decided that they should visit Datport in the Hall carryall and the two Cedarville stages. The start was to be made at half-past six in the morning.