"I am glad, also, but I shall have to mark you five off for being out after taps. When I find out who fired the gun I shall punish them severely. It seems as though it was done to throw suspicion on you." "That is what I think," said Dick quickly. "Whom do you suspect?" "I had rather not say, sir." "Of course not, no, I wouldn't want you to on mere suspicion. You young gentlemen may retire to your rooms, now. I will look into this matter further." The cadets filed out, all of them breathing easier. As Dutton passed Dick in the hall, he said: "Did you refer to me when you said you suspected some one?" "Not particularly." "You looked at me," said the cadet captain angrily. "Well, a cat may look at a king, I suppose." "None of your impertinence." "I'm not impertinent, but I don't propose to have you dictate to me." "You'll have to, as long as you're a freshman. I say you intimated that I fired that gun and tried to throw the blame on you." "I can't help what you say." "Do you believe I did it?" "I refuse to answer." "Then I'll make you! Take that!" and before Dick could step back Dutton had hit him a blow in the face. "You know what that means, I suppose," said Dutton with a sneer. "A fight?" asked Dick quietly. "Of course. I'll send a friend to you to-morrow and we'll see if you'll back up your words." "Don't worry. I'll be on hand," replied Dick, as he went to his room. He told Paul of what had happened, and the latter consented to act as second to him in the fight. The matter was quietly arranged, and, the next afternoon Dick, and the few chums he had, slipped off after the evening parade to a secluded spot, where all the fistic battles of the academy took place. Dutton and a large throng of his supporters were on hand, and the preliminaries were soon settled. "Time!" called Lieutenant Stiver, who acted as Dutton's second. The two youths faced each other, but dispensed with the ceremony of shaking hands. The next moment Dutton aimed a blow at Dick's face, but our hero cleverly dodged and sent a stiff right hander to the cadet captain's jaw. CHAPTER XI DICK GIVES A SPREAD The shock of the blow made Dutton stagger back, but he quickly regained his balance, and rushed at Dick, raising his foot to give him a kick. "Hold on, that's not fair!" cried Paul. "Do you stand for that, Stiver?" Stiver plainly wanted to side with Dutton, but there were cries of "Shame! That's not fair!" from several in the crowd and Dutton's second was forced to caution his man. "Don't do that, Dutton," he said. "You can lick him with your fists." "Yes, and I'll fix him, all right!" exclaimed the angry cadet captain. Dick, who had stepped back, out of reach of his opponent's foot, now stood up to meet the rush of Dutton.