Chapter XX: On Butterfly Island

“What’s this?”

“Oh, I am stung!”

“It’s a nest of hornets!”

“Let me get out of this!”

“Ouch! Wow! This is terrible!”

So the cries rang out, as the paper bag broke and the hornets’ nest fell to the ground with a thump.

The hornets had been angry before, at being imprisoned, and now the shock evidently made them madder than ever. Out they swarmed about Reff Ritter and his cronies, who slapped right and left to ward them off.

Ritter was stung on the nose and on the chin, and every one of the other lads was attacked.

For several seconds the bewildered boys did not know what to do, and simply made wild passes through the air at their enemies. Then, with one accord, they attempted to run away. In doing this Coulter bumped into Paxton, and both went down and the hornets swarmed all around them.

“Let me get away!” screamed Gus Coulter. “I’ll be stung to death!”

“Let me up!” shrieked Paxton. “I’m stung in the eye!”

“It’s your hornets’ nest!” growled Coulter, and getting up he went after the crowd, who were scattering in all directions.

It was certainly the liveliest time imaginable and Pepper and his chums roared heartily as they saw the others doing their best to fight off the little pests. Fortunately the Ritter crowd did not come near them, so they were not bothered at all by the hornets. Ritter ran for the lake shore, and the whole crowd traveled nearly a quarter of a mile before they dared to halt, so thoroughly were they alarmed.

“Well, that’s a case of the stinger getting stung!” was Andy’s comment, after the excitement was over.

“I’ll wager the Ritter crowd won’t go back to finish that feast,” came from Dale, with a grin.

“Too bad! So much good cake and stuff gone to waste!” said Stuffer, with a sigh.

“Go on back after it, Stuffer,” said the young major. “I reckon they will let you have the whole of it.”

“Not on your life!” cried the lad who loved to eat. “Think I want an introduction to those hornets? Besides, the stuff is all doctored anyway.”

As soon as the fun was over, Jack and Pepper and the others hurried back to camp and retired for the night. They did not, however, go to sleep but kept their ears open for the return of Ritter and his cronies.

The bully’s crowd came in about an hour later. To keep the stings from hurting they had covered the spots with soft mud and so everyone was a sight to behold. All grumbled a good deal under their breath.

“They’ll be more hateful than ever now,” was Andy’s comment. “Better watch ’em.”

“I intend to,” answered Pepper.

On the following morning when Ritter and his cronies appeared at roll call everybody else had to smile. The bully had a big swelling on his nose and another on his chin. Coulter had a puffed-out cheek and Paxton had one eye closed. As they lined up for inspection The Imp could hardly keep from roaring outright.

“Ritter, what is the matter with you?” asked George Strong, as he caught sight of the bully’s face.

“Some friends and I found a hornets’ nest in the woods and the hornets got after us,” was the answer.

“Is that so!” cried the teacher. “I am very sorry to hear it. Who else was stung?”

The bully gave the names.

“We have some salve you can put on the hurts,” continued the teacher sympathetically. “I will get it for you.”

“Oh, we put salve on last night,” said Ritter. “But maybe some more will help,” he added quickly, for the stings were still painful.

Jack and the others had expected an open row with the bully and his cohorts, but it did not come. As a matter of fact the crowd that had been stung were so ashamed of their appearance that they did all they could to keep out of sight. When it was off-time they got two boats and rowed down the lake, to a refreshment resort at which they stopped whenever they got the chance.

“I’ll get square, you mark my words,” cried Reff Ritter, savagely, as all were waiting for ice-cream to be served.

“I don’t understand how they got the hornets’ nest,” said Paxton.

“They made some kind of an exchange,” said Coulter. “And we got it in the neck!” he added, coarsely.

“Yes, and in the face and on our hands too,” added another cadet, who had a swollen forehead.

The cadets were about to leave the refreshment place when they saw a carriage approaching on the road which skirted the lake shore. The carriage contained Mr. and Mrs. Ford and their two daughters.

“Come on, we don’t want to meet those folks,” said Ritter.

“I am not afraid of them,” said Paxton. “I’ll get out when I feel like it.”

Some were for going and some were for staying, and the upshot of the matter was that Paxton and two others remained. Ritter, Coulter and the rest rowed off down the lake.

When the Paxton crowd came back they were met by the others. Paxton was excited and looked at Ritter and Coulter knowingly.

“I’ve got a note for Major Ruddy,” said one of the cadets, a lad named Wilbur who had only been at the school a short while. “That gentleman who stopped at the refreshment place gave it to me.”

“What’s it about?” asked Ritter, abruptly.

“I know,” said Paxton quickly. “I’ll tell you about it later.”

As soon as the encampment grounds were reached Wilbur went off to deliver the note to Jack. Paxton called Ritter and Coulter to him, and the three walked away to a spot where nobody could hear them.

“That note to Ruddy is an invitation for the Ruddy crowd to go on a picnic with the Fords,” said Paxton. “I overheard the Fords mention it when Mr. Ford was writing the note.”

“When and where?” demanded Ritter.

“They are going up to Butterfly Island day after to-morrow, directly after breakfast. They’ll take lunch along and stay there until supper time. They’ve invited Ruddy, Ditmore, Snow and Blackmore to participate.”

“Butterfly Island, eh?” mused the bully.

“Yes. Say, why can’t we go up there too and spoil the fun?” went on Paxton.

“That’s the talk!” added Coulter.

“We can—if we can get away from the camp,” answered Ritter. “Let us watch our chance and see what we can do. How are they to go to the island?”

“Mr. Ford is going to charter a launch, the _Emma_, and will stop here for the others,—if they get permission to go.”

“Oh, they’ll get permission easily enough—Captain Putnam wouldn’t care to offend such a rich man as Mr. Ford.”

While this talk was going on the note was delivered to Jack. The young major read it and then sought out his chums.

“Here’s a chance for a fine outing!” cried Jack, and handed the invitation around for inspection.

“If Captain Putnam will let us accept,” said Pepper. “Let us go and ask him right now.”

They soon found the head of the school and showed him the note.

“Yes, you may go,” said he. “Only remember to be back by nightfall,—and don’t get into any mischief.”

“We’ll remember,” said Andy.

“Don’t stir up any hornets’ nests, for instance,” and Captain Putnam smiled meaningly.

“We’ll let hornets severely alone,” answered Jack with a laugh.

Word was sent to the Fords that their kind invitation was accepted, and then the four cadets waited impatiently for the time for the picnic to arrive. They went in undress uniform, and it is safe to say that never did four lads brush up more or pay more attention to their shoes, collars and ties.

“Jack is going to try to make the hit of his life,” said Pepper, with a grin.

“You needn’t say a word,” was the answer, while the young major’s face grew red. “You’re grooming up as much as anybody.”

“Andy has fixed his collar four times,” came from Dale. “Say, you keep on and you’ll have it dirty before you start.”

“Well, the collar doesn’t fit the shirt-band!” growled the acrobatic youth. “I never saw such a collar anyway!” And he threw it aside and adjusted a fresh one.

Promptly at the time appointed the launch _Emma_ appeared at a point of the shore near the encampment. On board were the Ford family, and the girls waved their handkerchiefs gaily at the cadets, who waved their caps in return. Then the launch came closer and the boys clambered aboard.

“Oh, I am so glad the weather is fair!” cried Laura, after the greetings were over. “I thought last night it would rain!”

“We looked at the sky about every ten minutes,” answered Pepper, and this caused a laugh.

“Last night it looked as if we might not get here,” said Mr. Ford. “The engine of the launch broke down and the man had quite a time fixing it. But he finally got it to working.”

“She don’t work just right yet,” put in the man who was running the craft. “But I reckon I can fix her while you folks are having your picnic.”

Butterfly Island was a narrow strip of land lying some distance from the eastern shore of Lake Caboy. It was a well-wooded spot and used frequently by Sunday schools and societies for picnic purposes. Mr. Ford had learned that no picnic would be held that day, however, so they would have the island to themselves.

“We’ll camp out in regular hunter style,” declared Flossie. “We brought a coffee pot and a frying pan, and you boys can build a big camp fire, and we’ll set the table, and all that! Won’t it be just too lovely for anything?” And her eyes beamed brightly.

The launch ran slowly and it was nearly an hour before the island was reached. Then all went ashore, and the boys carried the things that had been brought along to a spot the girls picked out. This was on a high, grassy knoll that overlooked the southern end of the lake.

While the Fords and the boys proceeded to make themselves at home, the man who owned the launch got to work to fix his motor. A fire was lit and when it came lunch time the girls made hot coffee and fried some lake bass that had been caught that morning near the hotel. A table cloth was spread out under the trees, and all sat around it and enjoyed the coffee and fish, and the numerous good things brought along by the Fords from the hotel.

“Say, Stuffer ought to see us now!” whispered Andy to Dale, while munching on a piece of cream cake. “Wouldn’t he turn green with envy!”

“Yes, and what would Ritter and his crowd say?” answered Dale. “No hornets’ nest in this, eh?” And he smiled broadly.

When the meal was ready the man from the launch had been called up from the shore, and he was given his share of the good things and sat off by himself to enjoy them. He said he had taken off a part of one of the cylinders of the launch and hoped, when he put it back, that the engine would work better.

An hour was spent in eating, and then the man left the picnic ground to return to his work on the launch. The young folks cleared away the remains of the repast and then the boys invited the girls to take a walk completely around the island.

“Be careful and don’t get into any trouble,” said Mrs. Ford. “We’ll stay here until you return.”

The path around the shore of Butterfly Island was rough, but the young folks did not mind this. Jack led the way, and he and the other cadets helped the girls down and up the rocks, and “jumped” them over the hollows. All were in the best of spirits, and the woods rang with laughter.

“Come on out to the headland,” said Andy presently, and led the way to a narrow strip of land extending out into the lake for fully a hundred feet. All followed and Andy was about to point out some object of interest when Pepper, who chanced to glance back, uttered a cry of alarm.