om Snow!" cried Jack.

"'Twill warm Pepper's blood, so it will!" was Emerald Hogan's comment.

More snow had been scooped from the window-sill by Fred and Joe, and
soon a battle-royal was in progress in the dormitory. But it came to an
abrupt end when Dave Kearney appeared.

"Stop it!" cried the young sergeant. "Crabtree is coming!"

"All over!" whispered Jack. "All as orderly as lambs!" And at once every
cadet settled down and started in an orderly fashion to finish his
morning toilet.

"What was the noise in here?" demanded Josiah Crabtree, as he threw open
the door and strode into the dormitory.

He glared around savagely, but nobody answered him.

"I demand to know what was going on here!" he continued.

"Mr. Crabtree, did you speak to me?" asked Pepper, meekly.

"I spoke to you all!" thundered the teacher. "What were you doing in
here?"

"I am dressing, Mr. Crabtree," answered Andy.

"I am dressing, Mr. Crabtree," came from Jack.

"I am dressing, too," put in Fred.

"And so was I dressing," said Stuffer, with a smile.

"And I was dressing," supplemented Pepper. "Come to think of it, I
rather fancy we were all dressing. You see, we always do dress when we
get up in the morning, Mr. Crabtree," he added with a simple smile.

"I want none of your impudence, Ditmore."

"Oh, dear, was I impudent?" murmured The Imp. "I didn't know it. I beg
ten thousand pardons--yes, a million, if you'd rather, sir."

"Be quiet, you--you forward boy! Something was going on in here! If I
find out what it was, I shall punish all of you!" And having thus
delivered himself, Josiah Crabtree strode out of the dormitory, banging
the door after him.

"Isn't he an angel!" murmured Andy.

"The sweetest teacher that ever grew!" returned Pepper.

"I'd like to know how long Captain Putnam will put up with him," was
Jack's comment.

"I don't believe it will be very long," answered Fred.

The cadets finished their dressing and hurried below. On account of the
storm the morning drill was held in the gymnasium, and then the young
soldiers marched to the mess-room. On the way several could not resist
the temptation to pick up some snow and throw it at each other.

"Hi, you stop that!" roared Reff Ritter, as a snowball took him in the
neck. "Who threw that?" he demanded; but nobody answered him. "I believe
it was you, Ditmore!" he went on, turning an ugly look on Pepper.

"That's one for tampering with our bicycles, Ritter," ret