take away your majorship,
Jack."

"If he does that, I'll--well, never mind what I'll do."

"If he did it to me, I'd feel like leaving."

"I was going to say that. But I'll not do anything hastily," answered
the young major, and heaved a deep sigh.

"Want me to go along?"

"No, since Crabtree didn't ask any one. But I wish you'd hang around, so
I can call on you."

"I'll go to the library."

"All right--and take Brown, if he'll go."

Jack washed up and brushed his uniform, and then made his way to Captain
Putnam's private office. He found that Reff Ritter had hurried and
gotten ahead of him, and was telling his story, both to the head of the
school and to the first assistant teacher. Ritter's mouth, nose and one
eye were swollen, and he looked anything but happy.

"You may remain in the hallway until I call you, Major Ruddy," said
Captain Putnam, when Jack appeared, and the young major had to go
outside, closing the door after him.

The telling of Reff Ritter's story took some time, and he was asked
several questions by Captain Putnam and Josiah Crabtree. He said that he
had just been getting ready to take some gymnastic exercise when Jack
and some of his chums had come in and begun to talk about his father,
saying that they had heard he was dishonest.

"Ruddy said he knew my father was dishonest," went on Reff Ritter. "That
made me mad and I ran out of the dressing-room and told him he ought to
be ashamed of himself, that my father was as honest as anybody. Then he
got on his high-horse and told me to shut up or he would knock me down.
I told him it was a shame for him to speak so of my father. Then he got
mad and all of a sudden he jumped at me and hit me in the mouth and the
eye and then in the nose. Then I went for him, and we had it hot and
heavy, until we bumped into one of the wooden horses and I went down. He
tried to hit me after I was down, but Coulter and Paxton hauled him
back. Then Mr. Crabtree came in."

"A most disgraceful proceeding!" cried Josiah Crabtree. "And evidently
Major Ruddy's fault entirely."

"You are quite sure Ruddy started the quarrel?" questioned Captain
Putnam, gravely.

"Yes, sir."

"And he told the other cadets that your father was dishonest?"

"Yes, sir. That is what made me so mad. But I didn't hit him until he
attacked me," added Ritter, hastily.

"Who was present at the time?"

"Pepper Ditmore and Fred Century were with Ruddy, and Gus Coulter and
Nick Paxton