ideally located on the shore of the lake, and had attached to it a
gymnasium, a boathouse, and several other buildings. On the lower floor
of the main building were the classrooms, the mess-hall, and the
offices, and upstairs were the dormitories.

Arriving at the school, Jack and Pepper soon made a host of friends,
including the acrobatic Andy Snow; Dale Blackmore, who was a great
football player; Paul Singleton, who was usually called "Stuffer"
because of his constant desire to eat; Joseph Hogan, commonly addressed
as "Emerald" because of his Irish blood, and Joe Nelson, who was one of
the best scholars the school ever had. They also made some enemies, the
greatest of them being Reff Ritter, the big bully, and Gus Coulter and
Nick Paxton, his cronies.

Not long after the students learned how to drill and to march they were
allowed to ballot for officers. A bitter contest was waged, which
resulted in Jack being chosen major of the Hall battalion. A bully named
Dan Baxter had wanted to be major, and he bribed Gus Coulter and some
others to vote for him, but without avail. It may be added here that
Baxter was now away on a vacation, but had written that he was going to
return to the school before long.

During their first term at Putnam Hall the chums had several adventures,
not the least of which was one in the woods, where they rescued George
Strong, one of the teachers, from two of his relatives who were insane.

Mr. Strong's ancestry dated back to the Revolution, and he told the
cadets about a family treasure buried in the vicinity of the lake. How
the boys went in search of the treasure, and how they had numerous other
adventures, was related in the second volume of this series, called "The