Ralph Henry Barbour

“ The rivalry between house students and day students was for the time forgotten and upper grade fellows hastened to the support of Ben and his cohorts and lower grade boys flocked to the standard of Bert and Lanny and the others. Being at last forced to choose sides, Cupples and Crandall threw in their lots with the revolutionists, and with their enlistment the last semblance of peace vanished. Every room was divided against itself, for every room was occupied by an upper grade fellow and a lower grade fellow. ”

“ To-day he was to put aside childish things and face the World. Therefore he resolutely winked back the tears that had begun to leak around the corners of his eyes and told himself sternly to “be a man, Kid!”
He listened for sounds from below. They were having arithmetic now, Bert and Lanny and Small and Nan. Then came history. Kid was glad he was where he was, for his lessons were not well prepared to-day. On Saturday Mr. Folsom had been very lenient with him, having learned of his trouble, but Kid shuddered to think what it would have been like to-day down there! ”

“ Didn’t I promise to give ten dollars to the Fund for the trophy, Bert? Ten dollars isn’t so easy to make, either. Of course I don’t want your quarter if you begrudge it to me—”
“Well, I do,” growled Bert.
“But I’d hate to have to say that you’re the only fellow in House who hasn’t helped me.” And Kid smiled sweetly.
Bert glared at him a moment. Then his sense of humor came to his rescue and he grinned. “You’re a wonder, Kid!” he exclaimed. “Well, all right, I’ll take your old smelly tablets and I’ll give you a quarter for them some time. But I’ll get even with you, Kid, some day, don’t worry.” ”

“ Out into right field sped the ball, high and far. Around the bases raced the batsman. Day, scenting victory at the eleventh hour, arose to their feet and shrieked their triumph. But they were reckoning without their host. Far out in the field a pair of small legs were streaking over the sod. A glance over his shoulder, and Kid paused and wheeled. Up went his hands. What was a catch like that to the fellow who had batted “Toots” Morgan for a home run? Down came the ball, hesitantly at first, then with a rush. Straining eyes watched as it thumped into Kid’s big glove. ”

“ Kid dived into his pocket, but Ben seized his arm.
“No, you shan’t, Kid! It isn’t going to be allowed, is it, fellows?”
“No, sir!” said Dick Gardner. “Let it be a lesson to you, Lanny, not to be sneaky. You heard Kid say he’d take the things back and instead of coming and telling us like—like a man you made believe you liked the things and made us sell you ours cheap. Now you take your medicine!”
“If he does he will die,” murmured Bert. “I wouldn’t take one for fifty dollars!”
“That’s it!” cried Stanley Pierce. “Let’s make him eat one, fellows. Come on!” ”

“ Small. Artists are always touchy. I didn’t say I didn’t like it. I couldn’t say that, because I do like it—awfully.”
“Yes, you do!” growled Small, mollified nevertheless.
“I do, honest! Cross my heart, Small! I think it’s a dandy drawing. Wish I could draw like that.”
Small viewed him suspiciously, but Kid’s cherubic countenance seemed without guile. Small, much flattered and highly pleased, stammered that it wasn’t much and that he could show Kid how to do it if he, Kid, wanted him to. Kid thanked him and promised to give the matter thought. Then,
“Say, you’ve got a cough, haven’t you?” ”

“ Kid groaned. Fortune had deserted him utterly. Mr. Folsom, sternest of disciplinarians, would find the story-paper, would ask who had left it there and Kid would have to confess. Of course, as long as the instructor merely asked who he could maintain a discreet silence; a fellow didn’t have to incriminate himself; but Mr. Folsom wouldn’t stop there. He would begin with Ben Holden and ask each boy in turn and when it came Kid’s time to answer he would have to own up. After that the deluge! Mr. Folsom was notoriously opposed to the sort of literature represented by “Hairbreadth Harry.” ”

“ Just now I went all the way to the house for Ben’s gloves and they weren’t there. And when I came back and told him so he said I was a ninny. What is a ‘ninny’?”
“Idiot,” said Small.
“Dunce,” said Kid.
“Let him find his own gloves then,” growled Lanny. “I’ve a good mind to quit, too.” He looked doubtfully at Bert.
“Let’s all quit,” suggested Bert cheerfully. “Let’s make a declaration of independence. They can’t punish us all, you know. And even if they do make it warm for us we can stand it, I guess. What do you say, you fellows?” ”

“ Kid, who was trying to roast some chestnuts he had been treasuring since autumn, gurgled with delight. “They won’t do a thing to Lanny, will they? He’s so small they’ll just pick him up and—” He paused and fixed Lanny with a rapturous gaze. “Say, Lanny, wouldn’t it be funny if they mistook you for the puck?” he cried.
Lanny pounced on him and there was noise and confusion until the older fellows parted them. Then everyone trooped into supper, deliciously hungry, and fell upon the repast like a flight of devastating locusts. Luckily defeat doesn’t spoil appetites. ”

“ Crane called “Play ball!”
House took the field and Day went to bat. Out in right field, a ridiculously small figure in that expanse of green sward, stood Kid, thumping his fielder’s glove with a bare fist impatiently. On second base Sam Perkins called encouragement and tried to make himself believe that he felt at home there. Behind the bat was Steve Lovell, looking not a little nervous. Waters pitched, for it had been decided to get the jump on Day at the start, if such a thing was possible, and win the game in the first few innings. ”

“ Say, fellows, there isn’t much snow up here. First thing we know we’ll be out of ammunition.”
“Kid, you gather all the snow you can find,” directed Bert, “and pile it back of the toboggan.”
“I want to fight,” demurred Kid.
“Well, you can fight, too. Go ahead. I’ll help you until they start for us.”
“They’ll wait until the other three fellows come,” said Cupples. “We’ll have to shoot straight, fellows. Don’t waste your shots now.”
“We won’t,” muttered Lanny. “Don’t you worry.”
“There are the rest of them,” said Crandall, patting a fine, soggy snowball into shape. “Get ready, fellows.” ”

“ The only fly in the ointment of his contentment was the realization that if he purchased a further supply of Tinkham’s Throat-Ease he would have to go to the village to sell it. Those of the fellows who had given the tablets a fair trial were anything but enthusiastic over their taste and Kid despaired of securing reorders. Meanwhile that five dollars and seventy cents was occasioning him a good deal of uneasiness. It wasn’t that Kid feared having it stolen. The trouble was that he had never been a believer in the hoarding of wealth. ”

“ Folsom heartlessly appropriated. But Kid was much too miserable to care at the time. Life was at a very low ebb with Kid.
The doctor gave it as his opinion that if Kid abstained from food for a day and took the medicine prescribed he would pull through. Kid, listening uninterestedly, assimilated the sense of the verdict and sincerely hoped the doctor might prove mistaken. He didn’t want to live. Life held no pleasures for him. He wanted them to leave him alone to die. ”

“ Then in a voice that easily carried to “Toots” Kid observed carelessly: “He isn’t hard to hit!”
After that it should have been all over, but to-day the unexpected happened. “Toots,” still dazed, as it seemed, passed Waters in spite of that youth’s attempt to hit, bounded the ball off Lanny’s knee and then, with first and second bases occupied, let Perkins drive out a clean-cut hit! Waters romped home, Lanny went to second and House became frantic. How the coachers yelled! For that matter how every one yelled! “Toots” was going fast. ”

“ Maybe I’ll give you a straight, easy ball [293] this afternoon, Kid, and let you get a hit—if we’re ahead and there’s no one on.”
“Will you, honest?” asked Kid eagerly. “I wish you would, ‘Toots’! I’d love to get a hit! Gee, wouldn’t it surprise those stuck-up chaps who say I can’t play? But how will I know when to hit it, ‘Toots’?”
“Toots” laughed amusedly. “Gee, you’re a green one, aren’t you, Kid? Well, say, I’ll give you a signal, see? Like this. When I put my hand up and wiggle my fingers this way—see?—you take a swing. I’ll put it over slow and easy for you, Kid. You’re not a bad sort.” ”

“ Bert shook his head. “No, I never tried it. Do you?”
“Yes, and if Ben was fair he’d give me a chance on the House Team. I can play a heap better than Cupples.”
[12]
“Won’t he let you play?” asked Bert.
“No, I’m a junior. All juniors are good for is to run errands and fetch and carry. It makes me tired.”
“I guess it’s going to make me tired, too, pretty soon,” said Bert. “Seems to me I’ve been on the go for Holden or Gardner about every minute since I got here.” ”

“ Bert learned to be an expert with the wooden shovel, for he, like the rest of the under-class fellows, had to work hard those days. But it was all in a good cause and he didn’t mind it a bit. The spirit of mutiny was quite quelled now. The snow made the tobogganing better and there were some rare times on the slide. Having won the right to the use of the slide the juniors were no longer debarred from it, but it must be acknowledged that they were somewhat restricted and often had to wait a good while for a chance to go down. Kid alone, however, voiced rebellion. ”

“ What do you say, fellows?”
“Sure,” responded Steve Lovell.
“Vote we accept the gentleman’s apologies,” laughed George Waters.
“Of course.” This from Sam Perkins. “Kid’s all right. If it wasn’t for Kid life here would be one long dull and dreary grind. Besides, ‘Toots’ [246] Morgan swears it was one of those Tinkham’s things that made him miss that puck the other day and gave us the game.”
“That’s so,” agreed Ben. “Kid, you’re forgiven, but you want to behave yourself after this; hear? No more fibs, my son. Lying isn’t manly.”
“I don’t believe Kid meant to lie,” said Stanley. ”

“ Succeeding generations of students would appreciate our gift and thank us.”
“Hm.” This from Lanny. “The succeeding generations don’t make much of a hit with me, Nan. What’s the matter with doing something for the present generation?”
“Why, we would be! We’d use the books, too, Lanny. I only said that about succeeding generations to—to show that the gift would endure in usefulness.”
“If we made it an eating club,” said Kid, “we’d get some fun out of it ourselves.”
“There’s nothing noble about an eating club,” declared Nan severely. ”

“ They were not a nice looking lot of men. By two o’clock Kid had done some three miles. That left only thirty-seven, he reflected. If he walked ten miles more before dark—his heart sank. Where was he to spend the night? Two silver half-dollars, a dime and two pennies looked horribly small just then. He would either have to beg or run out of funds long before he reached the river. He stopped and gazed irresolutely back toward Mt. Pleasant. He sort of wished he had waited until he had more money. Running away to be a sailor was fast losing its glamour. ”

“ Kid smiled his sweetest.
“You’re fresher than I am, Lanny; you’ve been on the ice most of the time! Hasn’t anyone ever explained to you that it’s part of the game to stay on your feet?”
Lanny maintained a dignified silence.
“Also,” proceeded Kid thoughtfully, “if you stay back of the puck you may get a chance to make a shot, Lanny.”
“Cut it out, Kid! Lanny played a mighty good game.” Bert frowned his disapproval.
“Not bad, for a beginner,” responded Kid, sauntering away. Morgan, known familiarly as “Toots,” was the goal-tend on the Day Team. ”

“ Small nodded affirmatively and eyed Bert with sympathy.
“Why should I?” asked Bert. “I didn’t come here to shack, as you fellows call it, for every chap in school. Let them run their own errands!”
“I wish they would,” sighed Kid. “Stanley Pierce says I’ve got to work on the toboggan slide after supper.”
“We all have to,” said Small gloomily. “And my hands get so cold and my feet ache so——!”
“What do you mean?” Bert questioned. “Who has to work where?”
“Juniors and lower middlers have to fix up the slide after supper,” explained Small. ”

“ Bert saw the gymnasium, above the schoolroom, the laboratory downstairs, the heating and lighting plant, the snow-covered athletic field and finally the two rinks where, by the time they arrived, some dozen and a half fellows were hard at work practising hockey.
“That’s the House Team over there,” explained Lanny. “Ben’s captain. This is the Day Team. The captain’s that short, round-faced fellow, Billy Spooner. The first match comes off a week from next Saturday. Do you play hockey?” ”

“ Billy Spooner was disappointed and vexed and some of the things he said to the unfortunate [159] “Toots” were doubtless quite unjust. We will let them pass unheeded—even if “Toots” didn’t. House shouted its glee, waved its sticks and cavorted, and Lanny, who by rare chance had shot the winning goal, was seized by admiring team-mates and conveyed, shoulder-high, to the barrier, where, owing to the fact that someone let go too soon, he toppled into a snow bank! High above all other sounds of rejoicing piped Kid’s shrill voice in a pæan of triumph:
“Day Team, Day Team, your playing’s rocky! ”

“ Every day one or more of the day pupils deserted for some reason or other, leaving the team short. Sometimes Spooner conducted practice with only four players out of seven!
It was right there that Ben and his House Team had the advantage. His fellows didn’t have to run home after lessons were over and he almost always had enough players at hand to make a full team. Crandall, who was a poor skater but a hard worker, was usually on hand as a substitute, while Lanny looked on enviously from the side of the rink and almost daily petitioned Ben to let him play. ”

“ Bert asked.
[96]
“Well, how would it do to have it a Benevolent Society?”
“What’s that?” asked Lanny finally after prolonged silence.
“A Benevolent Society,” explained Nan vaguely, “is a society that—that does good to people.”
“Who?” asked Kid suspiciously.
“Why, anyone. You present beds to hospitals or endow something, you know. Any worthy cause—”
“That takes money, doesn’t it?” asked Small.
“Of course. We save our money—”
“That’s a silly game!” jeered Kid. “Save your money! Gee, I don’t have enough now.”
“Or we can earn it,” continued Nan. “That would be more fun, wouldn’t it?” ”

“ Lanny still looked suspicious, and Bert, although his face was quite serious, somehow gave the impression of being secretly amused by something.
“What made you think of throat tablets?” asked Ben Holden. “Seems to me something else would have sold better.”
“Well, at this time of year,” replied Kid, “almost every fellow has a cough or a cold or a scrapy throat. I guess most of us have one now, if we stopped to think about it.” Several fellows cleared their throats experimentally. ”

“ Kid swung around first and headed for second. The coachers were shouting unintelligible things to him as he ran. Out between center field and right O’Connell and Briggs were racing. Kid reached second and turned to look. What had happened? Two fielders were scurrying along with their backs to him. From somewhere came the insistent cry: “Come on, Kid! Come on! Take third!” Kid started again, his small legs twinkling above the dust. Out in deep field Briggs was throwing the ball to second baseman. At third Steve Lovell, shouting and waving, sent Kid toward home. ”

“ Hit it up! You aren’t half skating!”
“Beat him, Bert! Beat him! Skate! Skate!”
Kid danced about and turned circles on his skates, all the time yelling shrilly, and Nan, her pink cheeks rosier than ever from excitement, clapped her hands and “rooted” for Bert. Down to the line came the two skaters, skating fast but evidently quite tuckered out and showing a lot of effort. The spectators skated to meet them, and then it was that Ben’s wet clothes were noted and questions fell fast. Bert had no thought of the race. He wanted to see Ben wrapped up warmly and started on his way back to school. ”

“ Kid, flattered, nodded nonchalantly. “Pretty near, I guess. It wouldn’t be hard.”
“How would you do it?” asked Nan eagerly.
“Oh—” Kid smiled carelessly—“I know a way. I dare say I could make more than ten if I really tried; maybe fifteen or twenty!”
“Maybe you’d make twenty cents!” Lanny said sarcastically. “You’re a silly little goat!”
“Is that so?” Kid smiled in a superior manner and looked dreamily out the window. “Just because you can’t make money you think nobody else can. Bet you I can make ten dollars in a fortnight easy.”
“You said a week!” exclaimed Small. ”