The Rover Boys at Big Horn Ranch: or, The Cowboys' Double Round-Up

CHAPTER XI
THE ELECTION FOR OFFICERS

“Company attention! Shoulder arms! Forward march!”

Boom! Boom! Boom, boom, boom!

The drums rang out clearly on the morning air and the Colby Hall battalion swung into line on a march that carried it around the school buildings and then to the lake shore. Here Colonel Colby and Captain Dale inspected the three companies. Then the retiring major, Ralph Mason, was called on for a little speech which brought forth many cheers, and after this the command was dismissed.

It was the day for the election, and there was to be no school session until the afternoon.

At the last election there had been a total of 111 votes cast. But now there were one hundred and twenty-five cadets at the institution. There had been some talk of organizing a new command to be known as Company D, but so far this had not materialized.

As was the custom, the election was held in the main hall of the school and was presided over by Captain Dale and Professor Brice.

“I see they expect a hundred and twenty-five votes,” remarked Randy. “That means sixty-three will be necessary to a choice.”

“Well, I’m sure Jack will get at least forty on the first vote,” returned his brother.

“I hope he gets the whole sixty-three,” put in Dan Soppinger. Dan had once run for a captaincy, but had dropped out and turned most of his attention to athletics.

As at other elections, it was decided by Colonel Colby that each officer should be voted for separately.

“We’ll try for a new major first,” announced the head of the Hall.

The ballot box was placed on the table, and after a short intermission during which there was some very active electioneering among the various groups assembled, a bell rang and the cadets were formed in one long line and told to march up and deposit their ballots in the box.

It must be admitted that Jack was rather anxious, although he did his best to conceal it. He smiled at Captain Glasby, who smiled back. Then he smiled at Lieutenant Harkness, but that under-officer only favored him with a scowl.

“Harkness will never win anything with that look on his face,” was Gif’s comment, as he noticed the scowl. “The fellows like an officer who can take things pleasantly.”

It did not take the cadets long to vote, and as soon as all of the ballots had been cast Captain Dale, assisted by Professor Brice, began to tabulate the vote. In less than ten minutes they had finished. Then a bell rang and Captain Dale came forward to read the result.

“What do you know about that!” exclaimed Fred. “Jack and Glasby are within one vote of each other!”

“I’ll say that’s getting pretty close,” answered Randy.

“As no cadet has received the number of votes necessary to a choice, I will give the school a recess for fifteen minutes. Then we will vote again – for the same cadets or for new ones if you feel so inclined.”

After this brief announcement by Captain Dale came a hum of voices and there was some strenuous electioneering in all parts of the hall and also in the corridors and out on the campus.

“Glasby is stronger than I thought he was,” remarked Gif to Jack. “We’ll have to do some tall work to overcome his vote.”

“I think we can get some of the Harkness fellows to come over to us,” put in Spouter. “I don’t believe he’s as popular as he thinks.”

“Maybe we can get him to withdraw,” suggested Andy, with a grin.

“Withdraw, not!” broke out Fred. “He’s not that sort.”

While the conversation was going on somebody touched Jack on the shoulder, and turning he found himself confronted by Paul Halliday.

“Say, see here, Rover! I’d like a word with you,” whispered Halliday somewhat excitedly.

“All right, shoot!” answered the young captain.

“This is a little private matter,” went on Halliday. “You can bring your cousins along if you want to,” he added.

Wondering what Halliday had in his mind, Jack, along with Fred and Andy who happened to be close by, followed him to an out-of-the-way corner of a corridor.

“We want to know if you’re willing to make a deal with us,” said Halliday in a low, nervous tone of voice. “You know Harkness got twenty-four votes. Well, he’s willing to throw those votes to you if you are willing to back him for the new captain of Company C.”

“I can’t do that,” answered Jack quickly. “If I get to be major I’m going to back Fred here for the captaincy.”

“Oh, but, Jack, I could drop out of that!” put in his cousin quickly.

“Not much, Fred! I said I was going to do it, and I’m going to stick to my word. Besides that, I might as well tell you, Halliday, that I don’t believe Harkness is the best fellow for the position.”

“Then you won’t consider my offer?” demanded Halliday sourly.

“Certainly not!”

“I don’t believe you can control the Harkness votes,” put in Andy. “I believe Jack will get a whole lot of them on the next ballot.”

“He won’t get a one of them, and he’ll lose some of his own!” answered Paul Halliday. “You just wait and see!” And then he walked away.

“Jack, that move might have given you the majorship,” said Fred.

“If I’ve got to get it that way, Fred, I don’t want it,” was the prompt reply. “I wouldn’t vote for Harkness under any circumstances. He’s in hand and glove with Brassy Bangs, Halliday, Sands, and that whole bunch; and I don’t believe he ought to be an officer.”

A few minutes later came a commotion near the main entrance of the Hall. A cadet named Gibson who was doing some electioneering for Glasby had knocked Paul Halliday down, and there was every prospect of a fight when the two cadets were separated by a number of friends.

“He offered to sell the Harkness vote if our crowd would vote later on the way he wanted us to!” declared Gibson. “You would think he had half the vote of the Hall in his pocket,” and he glared at Halliday, who thereupon lost no time in sneaking out of sight.

The report that Halliday, Sands, and even Brassy Bangs were trying to sell the Harkness vote in exchange for some votes for a captaincy soon spread, and a number of the cadets who had voted for the lieutenant became disgusted and promptly said they were going to change. A lively discussion followed, in the midst of which the bell rang for the second ballot.

“Gee, Jack! if some of those fellows do change their votes I hope they come to you,” murmured Gif.

“Well, I must confess I’m hoping that myself,” answered the young captain, with a smile.

Once more the boys lined up and deposited their ballots. Then came some anxious waiting, and finally Captain Dale announced the result:

“Total number of votes cast…125 Necessary to a choice…63 Jack Rover has......67 Louis Glasby has.....46 Darrell Harkness has.....9 Peter Floyd has......3”

“Hurrah! Jack wins!” cried Fred enthusiastically, and was the first person to grab his cousin by the hand and shake it warmly.

“That’s great, Jack!” exclaimed Gif, slapping him on the shoulder. “Let me congratulate you!”

“It’s just the result I was looking for!” burst in Spouter, his face wreathed in smiles.

Of course, Louis Glasby was much disappointed, but he took his defeat in good part and came up bravely to shake Jack by the hand.

“It was a fair and square contest, Jack,” he said. “And I congratulate you.” And then turning to the other cadets he called out: “Three cheers for Major Rover!” They were given with a will; and then Colonel Colby, Captain Dale, and many of the older persons came forward to congratulate the newly-elected head of the school battalion.

“Speech! Speech!” came the cry from the students. “A speech from the new major!” and almost before he was aware of it Jack was escorted to the platform.

“I don’t know what to say to you,” he said, as he faced his fellow-students. “I thank you very heartily for your support and I will do my best to deserve it. I want to say that I am particularly pleased at the nice manner in which Louis Glasby has taken his defeat. He’s a fine fellow and I hope I shall always have him for my friend.” And following these words there was more cheering.

“Evidently the Harkness combination went to pieces,” remarked Randy. “He polled only nine votes.”

“And that was nine too many,” murmured his brother.

Following the election for major, Captain Dale announced that they would next vote for a new captain for Company A.

“I don’t know what you fellows are going to do, but I know I’m going to vote for Louis Glasby,” announced Jack.

“I think a whole lot of fellows will do that,” answered Fred. “He’ll probably get every one of his original fifty-one votes.”

Again there was an intermission of a quarter of an hour, and then the boys were lined up for the vote to fill the vacancy in Company A. On the first ballot Glasby got 60 votes while Fred poled 18 votes, the rest being scattering. Then on the second ballot Glasby was declared elected with 69 votes in his favor.

“Three cheers for Captain Glasby of Company A!” called out Jack quickly, as he shook hands with his late rival, and the cheers were given with as much of a will as they had been for the newly-elected major.

“Well, I got thirty-two votes on that last ballot,” announced Fred. “That shows I’ve got some friends in this school. I don’t want to be the captain of Company A. I’d rather remain a lieutenant of Company C.”

“But we’ve got to have a new captain for Company C now that Jack has stepped out,” put in Phil Franklin.

A quarter of an hour later the balloting began for a new captain for the company Jack had commanded. Here developed a spirited rivalry, and it was not until the fifth ballot that the final vote was taken. Then Fred won by 64 votes with the other votes scattered among eight contestants.

“Three cheers for Captain Fred Rover!” shouted Phil Franklin enthusiastically, and threw his cap high in the air. He had electioneered as hard as anybody for the youngest Rover.

Then Fred was called on for a little speech, and after that there was another election for lieutenants and a number of minor officers.

“It certainly was our day, Fred,” said Jack, as he and his cousin shook hands.

“Right you are, Major Rover,” and Fred saluted in the most precise military fashion.

“Bonfires to-night, boys!” sang out Andy. “And we’ll have some big doings, believe me!”

“Right you are!” declared his twin.

CHAPTER XII
BONFIRE NIGHT

It was the custom at Colby Hall for the officers of the battalion to take dinner with Colonel Colby on the day of an election. This was quite a formal affair and the cadets to participate made it a point to look their best.

“Say, Jack, you’re going to make a stunning looking major,” remarked Fred, as he watched his cousin dressing.

“How about yourself as captain?” was the reply.

“Just wait till Ruth Stevenson sees Jack in his new uniform!” cried Randy.

“Say, Jack, why not have a life-sized photo taken and give it to her to hang over her dressing table?” put in Andy, with a grin.

“You beware, Andy,” admonished his cousin, waving a finger severely at him. “Remember, as the commandant of the battalion, I can throw you into a dungeon cell if I feel so inclined,” and Jack strutted around grandly in the privacy of the Rovers’ sitting room.

“I’ll be good, oh, Most Noble One,” answered the fun-loving Rover, bowing down until his head almost touched his feet.

Jack and Fred had already sent word to Martha and Mary, and they, of course, had told Ruth and the others. It is needless to say that the Rover girls and their chums were almost as much pleased over the results of the election as the boys had been.

“I’m just dying to see them on parade with Jack at the head,” confided Martha to the others.

“Yes, and Fred in command of Company C,” added Mary. “Just to think of it! And he so much younger than the others!”

“I hope I’m on hand to see their first parade,” said Ruth, her eyes beaming with pleasure.

“I thought you were going to write Jack a letter about that party,” said Martha in a low tone.

“I am. To-night. And I’ll let him know that I’ve wanted to do it ever since the party was talked of,” went on Ruth.

The officers’ dinner was a great success. Every one present made a little speech and Colonel Colby and Captain Dale made addresses to which the cadets listened with keen attention.

“It is my desire to make this military academy one of the best in the country,” declared the colonel earnestly. “And I cannot do that without the sincere coöperation of every cadet attending the institution. As many of you know” – and here he glanced at Jack and Fred – “when I was about your age I attended Putnam Hall Military Academy. I am sure the training I received there did me much good, and I am also sure that I made many friends who will stand by me as long as I live.

“I want this institution to be one of good-fellowship all around, and I am relying upon all of you to do your best. At Putnam Hall in many respects we followed the honor system which I have put into operation here. That honor system did not fail there, and I do not look for it to fail here. I want you all to have a good time; but there is a limit, and every one of you knows what that limit is just as well as I do. In the late war the training which some of our soldiers had received at Putnam Hall stood them in good stead. And I want the training received here to be of equal benefit if any of my cadets should ever be called upon to fight for our country.”

“Three cheers for Colonel Colby!” came from Jack a minute later, and the boys assembled nearly split their throats trying to do justice to their feelings.

While this dinner was going on the other cadets had their repast in the mess hall and then flew off in all directions to prepare for the real festivities of the evening. They had gotten together several piles of barrels and boxes, as well as brushwood from the forest behind the school, and these were soon heaped up along the river bank into great bonfires, the light of which could be seen a long distance.

“It’s going to be some night, believe me!” sang out Andy merrily. “We’ll tear the woodpile down, as the old saying is.”

“We want to be a little bit careful or else we’ll have Snopper Duke or some other professor calling us down.”

“Snopper Duke is going away. I heard him tell one of the other teachers that he had had a sudden call to go somewhere out of town,” answered Randy.

“Going away again, eh?” questioned Gif, in surprise. “He certainly is getting to be a regular Man of Mystery.”

The greater part of the cadets were wildly excited over the prospects of a good time that night. A few of them, however, including Lieutenant Harkness, Paul Halliday, and Brassy Bangs, looked far from pleased.

“They make me tired,” was Brassy’s comment. “You’d think that being major of the school battalion was next to being president.”

“If I can’t be anything better than a lieutenant I think I’ll resign altogether,” returned Harkness. “I’d rather go in for athletics.”

“You’ll have a pretty good chance if you do,” announced Paul Halliday. “I understand they’re going to try to divorce the officers from participating in baseball and football as much as possible. A fellow can hold a commission and be on a team at the same time only when it seems absolutely necessary.”

“Then Jack Rover and Fred Rover will have to give up playing baseball,” put in Brassy quickly.

“More than likely. Although, of course, they’ll hate to lose such good players as they are,” put in another cadet who was present.

When the officers’ dinner was at an end Jack and Fred lost no time in hurrying to their rooms, where they donned their old uniforms. It was what was termed a “holiday night” at the Hall, which meant that for the time being the cadets were all on an even footing and must treat each other as if such a thing as an officer was unknown.

By the time Jack and Fred joined the crowd along the river bank the fun was at its height. Many of the cadets were running around indulging in all sorts of horseplay while others were dancing around the bonfires singing the songs they had learned in the school and while at the encampments. Several of the boys, including Andy, were in clowns’ costume with big slapsticks which they used vigorously on everybody who came within their reach.

“Hurrah, boys, let her flicker!” cried Fred, as he rushed forward. “Everybody join in!” he added, and then boomed out with this well-known Hall refrain:

 
“Who are we?
Can’t you see?
Colby Hall!
Dum! Dum! Dum, dum, dum!
Here we come with fife and drum!
Colby! Colby! Colby Hall!”
 

“That’s the stuff!” cried Jack. “Let’s have it again!” And then the refrain boomed out louder than ever.

“Come on! Let’s march around the school,” came from Gif, and he caught up a firebrand as he spoke.

A number of others were quick to follow his example, and in a minute more a torchlight procession was in progress, winding along over the campus, around the school, and through the edge of the woods beyond. Then the boys came back by way of the barns and sheds in the rear.

“Look out that you don’t set something on fire,” warned Jack.

“Something is on fire already!” burst out Andy suddenly.

“You don’t say!” queried Spouter.

“Where is the fire?” demanded half a dozen others, looking around anxiously.

“Right down there,” declared the fun-loving Rover, and pointed to the bonfires along the river.

“Wow! Let’s duck him for that!” cried Phil Franklin.

He made a dive for Andy and so did several others, but the agile Rover was too quick for them and danced out of their reach, having no desire to take an involuntary bath in the river, which at that time of the year was very cold.

In the past the cadets had had considerable fun with Job Plunger, the school janitor, who was quite deaf and who was often called Shout because everybody had to shout at him to make him hear. But this time Plunger was wise and kept out of sight, as did also Pud Hicks, his assistant, and Bob Nixon, the chauffeur. The only person the boys could get hold of was Si Crews, the gymnastic instructor.

“Give us a song, won’t you?” asked several of the boys at once, for Si Crews was known to be quite a singer.

“I will if Lowe will play the mandolin or the banjo,” answered Crews.

“That’s the stuff, Ned!” called Fred. “Go on and get your mandolin.”

Ned Lowe, who was also a good singer, was willing, and at once ran off into the school to get the musical instrument mentioned. When he came out he tuned up hastily and then played while Si Crews sang one or two old-time songs. Then Ned gave the crowd one or two funny songs and a dozen or more of the cadets joined in the chorus.

“Here’s a chance to get square with Codfish!” cried Fred, as the sneak of the school showed himself in the crowd.

“Oh, we might as well let Codfish drop,” answered Jack.

But before this could be done Andy and Randy caught hold of Stowell and pushed him forward through the circle of merry cadets around one of the fires.

“We’re going to initiate you in the Ancient Order of Cornmeal,” declared Andy.

“I don’t want to be initiated,” answered Codfish. “You let me alone!”

“Oh, but this is a first-class Order, Codfish,” returned Randy. “If your reputation is bad it will render you almost spotless.”

“You let me go!” burst out Codfish in sudden fear, as Andy and Randy and several others came close to him. “I don’t want any horseplay to-night. I’m tired out.”

“To be initiated in this Order you’ve got to lie down,” continued Andy, and, motioning to his brother and some of the others, they suddenly caught poor Codfish and stretched him out on the grass in front of the fire.

“Are you ready to be initiated?” questioned Randy solemnly, as he stood over Codfish with a small paper bag in one hand.

“You let me – ” began Codfish.

“He says ‘let me!’” burst out Randy quickly. “So go to it, Most Potent Sower of the Ancient and Honorable Order of Cornmeal! Go to it, I say!”

And thereupon without further ado Randy overturned the paper bag he held in his hand and there descended upon Codfish several pounds of finely-ground meal which the lads had purchased in town a day or two before.

“Hi! Hi! What’s this? You let me go!” cried Codfish, and then began to splutter as the dry cornmeal got into his mouth and nose.

“My, Codfish, you’d make a regular muffin now,” declared Andy, as the whitened youth struggled to his feet.

“Give us a song, Codfish.”

“Make it a regular corncake hoedown,” put in Randy.

“You let me go!” shrieked Codfish, and then in commingled rage and fear he suddenly caught up a long firebrand from the bonfire and whirled it around rapidly before him.

“Get out of my way – all of you!” he screamed, and the next minute made a movement as if to dash the firebrand directly into Randy’s face.