“What about?” and now the seven students came together close to the side of the boathouse. “Don’t give me any of your long-winded speeches, Ruddy, for I am sleepy and want to get to bed.” “Ritter, you and your gang played a mean trick on me and Ditmore to-night.” “Did we?” sneered the bully. “You did.” “I don’t know what you are talking about.” “Yes, you do.” “Maybe you think you weren’t seen near the church?” put in Pepper, meaningly. “Say, who—er—who saw us?” faltered Coulter. “Ha, so you admit you were at the church!” cried Jack. “Coulter, can’t you hold your jaw?” demanded Reff Ritter, angrily. “Ritter, answer me straight,” said Jack, in a determined voice. “Were you at the church to-night or not.” “Well, since you want to know so badly, I was,” answered the bully. “Now then, what of it?” “You fastened the trap door of the belfry, did you?” put in Pepper. “I did.” CHAPTER IV PUNISHING A BULLY After the frank confession of the bully of Putnam Hall that he had fastened the trap door of the church belfry, there was a moment of intense silence. He faced Jack and Pepper with a sickly grin on his face. “It was a joke on you all right enough,” he continued. “You were lucky to get away as quickly as you did. What did you do,—force the trap door open in spite of the bolt?” “Ritter, I think you are about the worst boy that ever came to this school,” said Pepper. “Oh, you needn’t preach to me, Ditmore.” “I wouldn’t say so much if you had played that trick on me alone,” went on The Imp calmly. “But to play it on Jack—after all he did to save you from being expelled—well, it’s beyond me. I guess you don’t know what a conscience is.” “If you are going to talk to me like that I’ll smash you one in the jaw!” fired back the bully. “I know what I am doing, and it’s not for you to teach me manners.” “Do you know that Jack came close to losing his life at the church and all because you locked us in the belfry?” added Pepper. “Humph! What are you trying to do, scare me? It didn’t hurt you to be locked in.” “Ritter, you listen to me,” broke in the young major, and now his voice was so cold and uncompromising that all in the crowd held their breath. “You admit that you locked us in the belfry, don’t you? You know what it would have meant for me if I had been caught there, and you know what it would have meant for the school. It was mean, dirt mean. I thought you were going to turn over a new leaf—be like the rest of the fellows. Now—well, I think I’ll teach you a lesson.” “Me, a lesson?” faltered Reff Ritter. “Exactly. I made a mistake when I didn’t let Captain Putnam expel you. The whole school would have been better off for it. Take off your jacket and cap.” “Why?” “Because I am going to give you a sound thrashing—and do it before we go to bed.” “Humph! Want to fight, eh?” “No, I didn’t say anything about a fight, I said I was going to give you a sound thrashing.”