“It’s stones that did the damage—stones, and nothing else!” exclaimed Gif. “Look here!” and he pointed at a box standing near one of the bonfires. The box had been peppered with both large and small stones, some of the smaller ones being still embedded in the wood.
“But Andy and Randy said they placed nothing on top of the blank charge but a couple of loose newspapers,” said Jack.
“It was undoubtedly stones that did the damage here,” came from Professor Grawson.
“The boys who did this should be dismissed from the school,” thundered Professor Snopper Duke, a dictatorial teacher whom many of the cadets detested.
“Well, it was probably done in fun with no intention of harm,” returned Professor Grawson, who generally took the side of the boys.
While Fred and the twins were passing an uncomfortable time outside Colonel Colby’s office waiting for the commandant’s appearance, Dan Soppinger and Fatty Hendry came up.
“Say, what did you want to load that cannon with rocks for?” demanded Hendry. “Did you want to shoot somebody’s head off?”
“Didn’t put any rocks in,” retorted Andy.
“Yes, you did. Pieces of stone are sticking in all sorts of places; the cannon must have been loaded to the muzzle.”