CHAPTER VII
THE REVOLT ENDS
The sun came up from behind Mount Adam, the chapel bell rang, some twohundred boys leaped, crawled, or rolled out of bed, and life at Hilltonbegan the next morning as though the day was of no more importance thanany of the five which had preceded it that week; in fact, as thoughWayne Gordon was not heroically resolved to sacrifice himself upon thealtar of principle.
While the unfeeling sun was coming up Wayne was going through a mostremarkable adventure. Plainly he had won Professor Wheeler to hisside, for together they were besieged in the school library and hadbarricaded the doors and windows with books, while from convenientloopholes they maintained a rapid and merciless fusillade of ancientand modern history, Greek and Latin text-books, geometries, andalgebras upon the heads of the besiegers, who retaliated with chestweights, dumb-bells, single sticks, and Indian clubs until the air wasdark with the flying missiles and the battle cries of the foes shookthe building. Wayne and the principal had just clasped hands and swornto perish side by side, fighting grandly to the last gasp for theright, when a whole covey of chest weights came through a window andsmote Wayne on the head, and he awoke to see Don with a second pillowpoised, ready to throw.
“Get up, Wayne; bell’s rung!”
Wayne yawned, pitched the pillow back at Don, and arose. He hadn’tslept well, and wished that Don wouldn’t always insist on his gettingup so early. And he told him so. But Don was good nature itself thatmorning and refused to argue or get cross, and Wayne was perforceobliged to recover his wonted gayety, much against his inclination, andtrudge off arm in arm with Don to chapel. And after he had got throughwith a hearty breakfast, even the thought that probation awaited him onthe morrow failed to dispel his excellent spirits.
For, as Don had feared, the combined efforts of the three friends hadfailed to shake Wayne’s resolution. Don had pleaded, Paddy had begged,Dave had threatened; and Wayne had reiterated passionately his desireto suffer martyrdom on account of his principles, and had utterly andabsolutely and finally refused to attend gymnasium work to-day or toplead illness in extenuation. The three friends had not appeared castdown--a fact at which Wayne wondered not a little. It looked as thoughthey didn’t care whether he was put on probation or not, and he hadgone to bed deeply pessimistic on the subject of friendship.
Wayne’s hour for physical training in the gymnasium began at three, andwhen, five minutes before that time, he issued from Academy Buildingresolved to proceed to his room and put in the momentous hour at hardstudy, he found Don and Dave and Paddy on the steps. The two latteryouths at once locked arms with him, much to his surprise, for Daveespecially was little given to such expressions of friendliness, andthe quartet moved toward Bradley Hall.
“Why aren’t you and Dave on the campus?” asked Wayne.
“Oh, we didn’t like to leave you alone this afternoon,” answered Paddy,with a smile. “You see, we have your welfare at heart, my boy, and weare going to see that you don’t act silly and get put on probation, andnot be able to go to Marshall with us next week.”
“If you mean not going to the gymnasium when you say ‘acting silly,’”replied Wayne, with much dignity, “why, then, I’m going to act silly.”
“Oh, no, you’re not,” said Dave.
“What do you mean?” demanded Wayne, striving to withdraw himself fromhis friends’ clutches. They had almost reached the steps of Bradley,and now they stopped and faced about.
“Just this,” said Dave. “We’ve tried persuasion and--and----”
“Entreaty,” prompted Don.
“And entreaty--and both have failed. So now we’re going to use force.If you don’t agree to go to the gym and do your work peaceable, we aregoing to take you there.”
Wayne struggled violently, only to suddenly find his feet off theground, his arms held fast, and himself being borne, kicking wildly,toward the gymnasium.
“Let me go, Dave! Paddy, you--you beast, put me down!”
“Aisy, me child,” answered Paddy soothingly. “’Tis for yer own good.”
“Don, make ’em let me go!” pleaded Wayne. But his chum shook his head.
“Go you must, Wayne, so you’d better promise and we’ll let you walk.”Wayne made no answer, only struggled the harder.
“You’ll have to take his legs, Don,” panted Paddy. “’Tis mighty unaisyhe is.” They were crossing the green now, and several fellows werehurrying nearer to see what was going on. A group of boys on the stepsof the gymnasium were watching.
“It’s--it’s an outrage!” panted Wayne, his face white with anger.
“Maybe it is,” said Dave calmly, “but we’re getting you there.”Struggle was useless, and Wayne for a moment lay quiet in the grasp ofthe three boys. Then he caught sight of the watchers. It was publicdegradation! He temporized.
“I’ll walk, fellows,” he said.
His bearers stopped and let him down.
“Will you promise to go to the gym?” asked Don.
“Yes,” growled Wayne. “But I’ll not do any work, and nobody can makeme!”
“Up with him!” cried Dave, and once more Wayne was fighting in the armsof the three and being borne on toward the gymnasium.
“What’s the fun, Paddy?” yelled one of the fellows who were hurrying tomeet them.
“Oh, we’re just taking exercise,” answered Paddy carelessly.
“What--what are you going to do with me?” asked Wayne, in meeker tones.
“Carry you to the locker room, change your clothes, take you upstairs,and give you, like a bundle of old rags, to Professor Beck,” answeredDave.
“Let me down, then, and I’ll agree.” Once more he found his feet, butthe others took no chances and still stood guard.
“Promise to do your work?” asked Don.
“Yes,” growled Wayne.
“Honest Injun?”
“Honest Injun,” echoed the other.
“All right,” replied Dave. “Then let’s proceed.”
They walked on, Wayne striving to look at ease under the inquiring gazeof many eyes as they passed up the steps and into the building. In thelocker room Dave and Paddy left him to get into their own clothes andto hurry away to the campus, while Don stood by and listened patientlyto all that Wayne had to say, which was much, and not altogether politeor flattering. Then the two proceeded upstairs and Wayne went througha long siege with the dumb-bells and the chest weights. Professor Beckmade no sign, and Wayne wondered resentfully if he was aware of hispresence. He was, for after awhile he came to the boy, watched himtugging the cords over his shoulders for a moment in silence and thensaid:
“Don’t get yourself too tired, Gordon. Stop when you think best.”
Whereat Wayne scowled, tugged the harder at the weights, and resolvedto stay until the class was dismissed, hoping resentfully that hewould injure his spine or some other portion of his anatomy, and thatProfessor Wheeler and Don and Paddy and Dave would be sorry and wouldregret their treatment of him. This so cheered him up that he wasquite ready to forgive and forget when he had dried himself after hisbath, and so met Don with almost a smile; for that youth, hoping fora reconciliation, had abandoned a French recitation and had waitedpatiently outside. Neither mentioned the recent affair as theystrolled off together, and by mutual consent the subject of physicaltraining was tabooed in their conversation for several weeks. And Daveand Paddy evinced the utmost tact, and were in turn forgiven on themorrow.
Professor Wheeler, however, was not so silent on the subject nor soconsiderate of Wayne’s feelings. He summoned the boy before him on thefollowing day and earnestly and kindly thanked him for his action inattending the gymnasium; and Wayne, shifting uneasily from one foot tothe other, heard him through and then broke out with:
“But I didn’t, sir!”
“Didn’t what?” asked the principal.
“Didn’t voluntarily attend the class.”
“But Professor Beck himself told me that you were there.”
“Yes, sir, I was there; but--but--” And Wayne told the circumstances ofhis attendance, and the principal smiled broadly when he had finished.
“Well, well, that’s one way to persuade. I asked Cunningham tosee what he could do with you, but I didn’t suppose he would usesuch--ah--heroic measures.”
“I don’t think it was his idea, sir,” answered Wayne. “I believe Paddywas at the bottom of it.”
“Paddy? Oh, yes--Breen. I shouldn’t be surprised if he was.” ProfessorWheeler was smiling again. “Well, it wasn’t so hard yesterday, was it,Gordon?”
“No, sir, not very hard; but the principle----”
The professor held up his hands in simulated despair.
“Gordon, it’s a reckless thing to say, but let us forget our principlesfor once. If I were you I’d try to keep out of all trouble if for noother reason than to please three such good friends as Cunningham andBreen and--er--Merton have proved to be. I’d even put principle aside,I think, and only consider that I was pleasing my chums. Now, don’t youthink you can afford to do that?”
Wayne thoughtfully smoothed the carpet with the toe of his shoe.
“Yes, sir,” he said, at length, “I think I can.”
“And you’ll attend the ‘compulsory physical education’ class infuture?” Wayne scowled and tried the effect of the other shoe for amoment.
“Yes, sir,” he answered. “I’ll do gymnasium work, but not because Ithink it is right, for I don’t. I still think it’s wrong. But I’ll doit to please Don and Dave and Paddy and--and----”
“And me,” said the principal smilingly.
“Yes, sir.”
“That’s right. By the way, Carl Gray came to me yesterday and told meabout that money, you know. It may please you to hear that the accountwill not be sent to his mother.”
“I’m very glad, sir,” responded Wayne heartily. “It seemed too bad tohave her know, didn’t it, sir?”
“Yes,” said Professor Wheeler gravely. “I feel sure that you don’t wantthanks for the kindness, but I’d like to tell you that it has made mevery nearly as happy as it has Gray; I disliked my duty greatly. Well,that’s all, I think, Gordon. Come and see me sometimes. I’m always gladto see you boys at any time, and especially on Saturday evenings. Iwish more of you could find time to come then. Oh, by the way, you saidthe other day that you were having hard work with your studies. Whichones bother you most?”
“Greek and mathematics are the worst.”
“Perhaps you could get a little help from some one for a while. Haveyou tried?”
“No, sir, I--I didn’t like to own up; all the other fellows get alongso well.”
“Not all, Gordon; there are others in your fix. Take my advice and goand see Professor Durkee. He rooms in your building. You’ll find himquite willing to help you all he can; and he’s an excellent Greek man.He’s a little--ah--well, crusty, Gordon, on the surface, but you’llfind him kindness itself underneath. Try him.”
“Thank you, sir, I will.”
“Yes. And it’s all settled about the ‘compulsory physical education,’is it?”
“Yes, sir, only----”
“What, have we struck a snag already?”
“No, only I’d like it understood that I’m doing it under protest, sir.”
“That,” answered the principal gravely, “is of course understood. Shallwe shake hands on it?”
And they did.
For the Honor of the School: A Story of School Life and Interscholastic Sport Page 7
