by Oliver Optic
CHAPTER XXVI.
IN WHICH ERNEST FINDS A CHANGE IN THE MANAGEMENT OF THE INSTITUTE.
Mr. Hale put on his spectacles and read the circular, which had beencarefully prepared by several of the best scholars in the school; buthe was already familiar with the facts it contained. He knew that Mr.Parasyte was a tyrant, and that he was very unpopular with the boys.It was a fact that only a few of the students remained at theInstitute for any considerable length of time, and that its numbershad never equalled its capacity.
He had hardly finished reading the circular before Mr. Parasyte,followed by Poodles, Pearl, and the rest of the deserters, entered thehall. All of them had been passengers on the Champion, and of coursethey didn't feel very good after being beaten by the Adieno. Mr. Halewas evidently glad to see the principal of the academy, for he didnot seem to know what to do after he had finished the circular.
"I am glad you have come, Mr. Parasyte," said he; "it seems these boyshave been running away with one of our steamers."
"They have; and I hope you will punish the ringleaders as theydeserve," replied Mr. Parasyte, wiping his brow, as he was wont to dowhen excited.
"My son is one of them," added Mr. Hale, with a smile.
"Not one of the ringleaders, sir--by no means. Thornton, Rush, andVallington are the leaders in this enterprise."
"No more than myself, father. I have done as much as they have, and Iam willing to bear my share of the blame," said Bob.
The boys clapped their hands at this interposition. Bob was not afellow to shirk when the time of settlement came.
"My boy behaves like a man, and I honor him for that," replied Mr.Hale, proudly; "but he shall be punished if the others are. Mr.Parasyte, things seem to be at rather loose ends in the Institute justnow."
"Yes, sir; I am sorry to say they are. One bad boy can stir up awhirlwind of mischief," answered Mr. Parasyte, looking at me.
"These boys seem to be pretty well agreed in this matter."
"But this trouble has all been made by one boy--and that one is ErnestThornton. I expelled him once; but out of regard for his uncle, towhom I am under great obligations, I reversed my sentence, andendeavored to reduce him to proper subjection."
"Have you seen this paper, Mr. Parasyte?" continued the visitor,handing him the circular. "It seems to be signed by nearly all thestudents in the Institute."
Mr. Parasyte took the printed document, and proceeded to read it. Whenhe had gone far enough to comprehend the nature of the paper, heturned red; and when he came to the long array of signatures, hebecame very pale.
"May I inquire the object of this paper?" demanded the principal, withquivering lips.
"I'm sure I don't know. I never saw or heard of it till I enteredthis room," replied Mr. Hale "I see that it is addressed to theparents of the students."
"I need not say that the statements contained in this circular are,without a single exception, infamous falsehoods and slanders. I thinkyou know me well enough, Mr. Hale, to understand that justice andfairness have always characterized my dealings with my pupils."
Mr. Hale did not so understand it. He knew that the reverse of thisstatement was the truth. Mr. Parasyte then insisted on relating thefacts connected with the "breaking away." He told the story of mymisconduct, as he termed it, and embellished it with sundry flourishesabout his own impartiality and magnanimity. He said that after it hadbeen fairly proved that I had assaulted my schoolmate, inconsideration of my previous good conduct, he had only required that Ishould apologize in private to the one I had injured. Forbearancecould extend no farther than this; but I had even refused to make thisslight reparation for the offence I had committed. Then I had openlydisobeyed and insulted him in the presence of the whole school.
"Of course, after this," continued Mr. Parasyte, "I could do nothingmore for him. My gentleness was not appreciated; my leniency wasdespised. My mistake was in treating him too kindly--in not resortingto the strong arm in the beginning. Then, as I might have expected ofsuch an obdurate boy, I was subjected to a personal assault."
"But all the boys seemed to be on his side," said the matter-of-factMr. Hale.
"Very true. Thornton keeps a boat, and almost any boy may be bought orsold with a boat. He has sailed them on the lake, and won them by hisarts."
"Isn't it possible that there was some mistake in the matter of thequarrel between Thornton and Poodles?"
"It is quite impossible that there should have been any mistake,"replied Mr. Parasyte, with a look of injured innocence. "Iinvestigated the matter very carefully and impartially."
"I should really like to hear what the boys have to say about it,"added Mr. Hale.
"It would be useless for you to talk with them, and it would be aninsult to me for you to do so. Do you doubt my word, Mr. Hale? Do youthink I have not told you the truth?" said the principal, ratherwarmly.
"But there may be some mistake."
"I have said that it was quite impossible there should be anymistake."
"Have you any objections to my asking the boys a few questions, Mr.Parasyte?"
"Certainly I have. I am not willing to be arraigned and tried beforemy own school."
"O, very well!" exclaimed Mr. Hale, nodding his head significantly;and without saying anything more, he left the school-room.
The students felt that they had a friend in Mr. Hale, and even did notfear a prosecution for running away with the steamer. We judged thatthe captain of the Adieno would have to bear all the blame of thatoccurrence.
"What are these circulars for?" demanded Mr. Parasyte, when thevisitor had departed. "Vallington, as the ringleader in thisconspiracy, I call upon you for an answer."
"Those whose names are signed to the paper intend to send them totheir parents."
"They do--do they?" exclaimed the principal, with compressed lips."Are you aware that published slanders of this kind subject those whoutter them to a severe penalty?"
"We can prove all we assert, and should be glad of an opportunity todo so," replied Vallington, firmly.
"There is not a word of truth in the paper," added Mr. Parasyte,wiping his brow.
He walked up and down the platform two or three times in silence. Withhim the case was desperate. He knew not what to do. He had learnedthat the students would not be browbeaten or bullied.
"Scholars," said he, at last, "I think we are all too much fatiguedand excited to consider this difficult problem this afternoon. Inspite of the ill treatment I have received at your hands, I am stillyour friend, as I have always been. By and by you will see that youhave done wrong. To-morrow morning, if you will meet at the usualhour in the school-room, I shall have a proposition to make, which Iam confident will restore peace to the Parkville Liberal Institute.You are dismissed now, for the day."
Mr. Parasyte left the hall, and we held a meeting there on our ownaccount. If the principal did not know what to do, we were no betteroff, and we finally separated without any fixed plans. We agreed tomeet in the school-room in the morning, though we all doubted whetherMr. Parasyte would have any proposition to submit. The studentsdecided not to send the circulars to their parents until the next day.
We wanted advice, and our hope was with Mr. Hale. At Vallington'ssuggestion, half a dozen of us were appointed a committee to wait uponhim. He had expressed a desire to hear "the other side" of the case.We went to Mr. Hale's house, and found there Mr. Hardy, the assistantteacher, who had been discharged. We told our story, and related thefacts as they occurred. Mr. Hardy said nothing in our presence, and weleft him with Mr. Hale, who, we afterwards learned, had sent for him.
Bob invited me to spend the night with him, and having no home now, Iwas glad to accept. After supper, I was called into the library, andquestioned at great length by Mr. Hale and Mr. Hardy in regard to theaffairs of the Institute. While we were thus engaged, Bob was sent todeliver several notes to prominent and wealthy men in the place. Atseven o'clock there were not less than half a dozen of the "heavy men"of Parkville in t
he library.
Of course Bob and I did not know what was going on, but we wereconfident that the affairs of the Institute were under discussion. Ata later hour, Mr. Hale and another gentleman drove off, in a buggy,towards the cottage of my uncle, where I heard one of them say theywere going. Bob and I went to bed, tired out, and did not ascertainwhat had been done by the gentlemen who assembled that evening.
At nine o'clock in the forenoon of the next day, the students were allin their seats, in the school-room; but Mr. Parasyte did not appear.It was reported that there were half a dozen gentlemen with him in hisoffice, and that my uncle Amos was one of them. I was astonished atthis intelligence. I subsequently heard that he was there on business,and hardly spoke a word during a long and stormy interview between Mr.Parasyte and his visitors.
The clock on the school-house struck ten, and still Mr. Parasyte didnot come. It was deeply impressed upon our minds that something wasabout to happen, and we waited with intense anxiety for the event. Athalf past eleven o'clock, Mr. Parasyte entered the school-room. Helooked sad and subdued, and his coming was the signal for a breathlesssilence among the boys. It was evident that he had a proposition tomake.
"Young gentlemen, I appear before you now for the last time," said he.
He paused, and his words made a tremendous sensation, though, I amhappy to say, there was no demonstration of any kind. We looked uponhim as a fallen man.
"I have sold the Parkville Liberal Institute to a company composed ofthe citizens of this town, who have made me an offer for the property,so liberal that I could not afford to refuse it. Until about a weekago, my relations with the students have been exceedingly pleasant. Ishall not allude to recent events. I take my leave with many regrets,and I sincerely desire that prosperity and happiness may attend you inthe future. Good by."
"Good by," replied a large number of the boys, and Mr. Parasyte bowedand left the room.
As he went out at one door, the "company" entered at another. Mr. Halewent upon the platform, and repeated what Mr. Parasyte had told us,that the Institute had been purchased by a number of the citizens ofParkville, and in future its affairs would be managed by a board oftrustees, of which he had the honor to be chairman. The trustees hadjust appointed Mr. Hardy as principal,--here he was interrupted by aspontaneous burst of cheers,--and the school would be reorganized byhim in the afternoon. The "boarders" were requested to write to theirparents and guardians, informing them of the change.
Mr. Hale dismissed the students, after he had assured them that thedomestic part of the establishment would remain as before. The boyswent out upon the play ground, and gave three rousing cheers for thenew company, trustees, and principal. I went home to dinner with Bob,and learned that the purchase of the Institute had been contemplatedfor some months, by prominent citizens, who were aware that the schoolwas badly managed. They acted, many of them, simply as business men,for the interests of the town. The Institute was "running down," andthey had taken this step to build it up. They knew that Mr. Hardy wasa true man and a good teacher, and as he was popular among the boys,he was promptly elected principal.
Mr. Hale told Bob and me that the conduct of the students in "breakingaway" was strongly condemned by the gentlemen who had discussed theaffair, and he by no means approved of it himself; but the injusticeof Mr. Parasyte had provoked them to such a degree that themisdemeanor was palliated, if not excused, and it was deemed best tosay nothing about it. The mortgage which my uncle held was paid, andhe had fled the instant the business was finished.
Mr. Parasyte had long and obstinately refused to sell the property,even for a third more than its actual value; but finally, convincedthat the Institute would not succeed under his administration, he hadyielded the point. The next day he left Parkville, with his family,"bag and baggage;" and so disagreeable was he to me, that I hoped Inever should see his face again.
In the afternoon we went to school, and Mr. Hardy appeared upon theplatform. We attempted to cheer him, but he silenced us. He made quitea speech, in which, however, he did not allude to recent events, andin half an hour the students were all at work on the old track. WhileI was in school that afternoon for the last time, as I believed, Ireceived a note from my uncle. It was as brief as his speech. "If youwish to return to your home, you may." This, with the signature, wasall it contained. I went home that night, but my uncle did not seeme--would not see me.
I went to school as usual for several months, until the followingspring, when an event occurred which made me a wanderer on the earth;which sent me to "SEEK AND FIND" the mother, for whom I longed andprayed in my loneliness, and which shall be related in another story.
Our rebellion at the Institute had been successful. We had driven thetyrant from his throne, and seated another person in his place, whowas fit to teach and to rule. Mr. Hardy was, perhaps, more severe thanhis predecessor, but he was just and fair. He had no favorites--atleast none who did not win their high place in his esteem by beingfaithful and earnest in all things. Certainly he never gave thestudents occasion even to think of such a doubtful expedient as"BREAKING AWAY."
