"They got back all they lost and more!"

"Hold 'em, Dale! Stone foundation!"

A great many cries arose. Dale and his supporters braced back as well as
they could. Then Dale gave the word to come up for another haul.

Back and forth went the rope, the center knot first on one side of the
line and then on the other. For several minutes it looked as if Dale's
team might win. But then the tide turned again, and with a strength that
was surprising, Pepper's team gave "a long pull, a strong pull, and a
pull all together," and brought the center knot over the winning line.

"Hurrah! Pepper Ditmore's team wins!"

"Say, that was a great tug, wasn't it?"

"My foot slipped!" said one of Dale's supporters.

"So did mine," same from a cadet on the other side.

"It was a fair contest," said Frank Barringer. "Pepper Ditmore's team
wins. My private opinion is, both sides did well," he added.

"They certainly did," was Mr. Strong's comment. He had watched the
contest with interest.

After the tug-of-war came a contest on the flying rings. Here Andy was
in his element, and the acrobatic youth easily outdistanced all of his
competitors.

"Very good, indeed, Snow," said the gymnastic instructor. "Really, you
go at it as if you were a professional."

"Say, Andy, some day you can join the circus," suggested the young
major.

"Maybe his folks came from a circus," sneered Nick Paxton. "It isn't
fair to bring in a professional."

"Sour grapes, Paxton!" cried Stuffer. "You know that Andy Snow's father
is a business man in the city. Andy just takes to gymnastic exercises,
that's all."

"Humph! I don't think such an exhibition much!"

"Just the same, Paxton, you'd give a good deal to do as well," retorted
the youth who loved to eat, and turned his back on the other cadet.

Thanksgiving came and went in another storm. The snow was so deep that
getting away from the Hall was out of the question, so those who had
planned to go home for the holiday were somewhat disappointed. But
Captain Putnam provided good cheer in abundance, with plenty of turkey
and cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie and nuts. For the evening the boys got
up an entertainment in the assembly room, with monologues and dialogues,
and also some singing by the school Glee Club, and some very good violin
and mandolin playing. Pepper, Jack and Andy took part in the
entertainment, and everybody but Josiah Crabtree enjoyed the exhibition.
Crabtree did not believe in such "t