Upton Sinclair

“ Has it not been our special and exclusive privilege, disputed by no one, to leave camp at night whenever we want to? And are we to surrender our immortal rights as plebes to a handful of impudent yearlings? Gentlemen, I say no! Why, pretty soon they’ll be objecting to our hazing them! Think of their daring to talk of leaving camp! And without our permission at that. And of their daring to get up a feast without offering us any! Why, such outrages are enough, as my friend, the Parson, here has so often said, to make the very dogs of Rome cry out in rage and mutiny. ”

“ It is a lot of fun to get a big elephant to raise his trunk in eager expectation and then to torment him by not giving him anything to eat. It is fun, at any rate, if you like to tease; Bull liked to, and the madder the elephant got the better he liked it.
An elephant is a peculiarly intelligent-looking animal. He can indicate his feeling very well with those twinkling little eyes of his. And the two conspirators chuckled as they noticed the way the animal was regarding his four tormentors. And then suddenly Dewey, chancing to put one hand in his pocket, gave a gasp of delight. ”

“ Pretty soon the plebes came along, creeping with stealthiness that was most laughable to the yearlings. You might hunt for ten years without finding a sight more ludicrous than Parson Stanard in a ragged, black clerical frock, lanky and solemn, stealing along on tiptoe and glancing about him with cunning and wariness such as the villain assumes in a deep black Bowery melodrama. Indian’s round body and saucer-like eyes, going through the same contortions, made a close second for humorous effect. If Bull hadn’t hated the plebes too much he would have sneered at them as Vance was doing. ”

“ The plebes realized what was happening a moment later, as they paused and listened. There were sounds of hurrying feet, of men shouting to each other.
The town was awake.
The prisoners gazed about them anxiously, feverishly. They had yet a chance, a hope. But it would take them so long to unfasten that rope, tie it to another bar, and tear it out in the same way. The sheriff with his dreaded gun would surely be there before that. And they could not get through the window as it was. What then? The door! Mark thought of it an instant later. ”

“ Fly for your life! Chase me!”
Mark gazed about him in bewilderment; an instant later he caught sight of something that told him all. Just entering the door of the tent, a lady leaning upon his arm, was a blue uniformed figure, a tactical officer, Lieutenant Allen! And quick as a flash Mark saw the ruse, and with a cry of mock rage made a savage leap at Texas.
Texas sprang to the ground, Mark at his heels, and carefully looking away from the distant “tac.” Texas plunged through the crowd, Mark following at full tilt and shouting for vengeance. ”

“ With one whoop of joy that fairly shook the camp they had leaped to their feet and made a spring for Mark; after that you would have called them idiots no longer, but ordinary maniacs. For they were dancing about, laughing, hurrahing, slapping each other on the back, rolling on the ground for joy. They had the plot at last! They were going to masquerade as officers and fool those yearlings! There never were seven such hysterical plebes since the founding of Rome, when “plebes” first began to exist. ”

“ He read it. And as he read it his face seemed fairly to turn blue, whether with anger or amazement, or excitement, no one can say. He dropped his hands and gazed about him as if to make sure where he was. Then he raised the letter and stared at it again.
“To Lieutenant Allen: The lieutenant may be interested in knowing who it was that stole his uniform last night. It was Cadet Mallory! And if the lieutenant doubts this he has only to watch and he will see Cadet Mallory go out of camp to-night also. A word to the wise is sufficient!” ”

“ Bull was simply drenched; he was sputtering and gasping with rage. As for the elephant, he set up a terrific trumpeting, which, together with the cries of the cadets, brought the circus attendants in on a run.
(It is needless to say that Mark and Dewey had fled long ago, ready to burst with hilarity.)
The circus men had expected some danger from the cries they heard. When they discovered what was really the matter they broke into roars of laughter, for they were only human. That made Bull all the madder. ”

“ Indian’s eyes were fixed upon him, as if held by some uncanny spell. As the man advanced Indian shrank back instinctively, his movement almost keeping time with the maniac, though his knees trembled so that he nearly fell to the floor.
The man crept forward again, one step; and again one step Indian shrank back. He was so stupefied with terror, poor lad, that he could not even think that such a method could not save him. The wall of the cave was behind him! One step must soon prove his last.
They say that when a man is drowning he lives his life in the seconds in which he dies. ”

“ Quick as a wink the sheriff pulled the trigger of his weapon; there was a deafening report that seemed to shake the rocks.
But it was a moment too late, for the old man had vanished in the passage.
With a cry of rage the sheriff leaped into the cave. At the same moment the Parson, who had been gazing about him in consternation, gasping and striving to recover his wits, sprang forward in pursuit.
“He’ll get out!” he shouted. “There’s an entrance out there!”
The sheriff was at his heels as they bounded through the narrow tunnel. On, on they dashed! Rapid footsteps ahead urged them forward. ”

“ The sight of the man who came to the door reassured the trembling young hero somewhat, for it was George, the butler, who had once set off some cannon for the Banded Seven and turned West Point topsy-turvy. A moment later Grace Fuller herself appeared in the hallway, a vision of loveliness that made the rest wish they were Indian.
The six heard her inquire anxiously for them; and then they heard Indian begin to stammer and stutter furiously, putting in a “Bless my soul!” every few syllables and making the others grit their teeth with rage.
“Plague take him!” muttered Mark. ”

“ Rogers was bleeding from a wound in the arm and almost blind with fright as he darted away.
After he was gone the place grew as silent as a grave. The amazed plebes huddled together and stared at the hole, racking their brains to think of what that most extraordinary occurrence could mean. They half expected something to emerge, a wild animal, perhaps; but nothing of the kind took place; the cave was black and still as ever. The woods grew silent, too, as soon as the frightened yearlings had disappeared. Nothing more occurred to explain the uncanny adventure. ”

“ Experience had taught Texas that a hold up was a hold up, a thing that could no more be resisted than a sudden stroke of lightning. And therefore, though he had a huge revolver in each hip pocket, he merely flung up his hands and stared.
It was an awful situation. It took the unfortunate lads some time to realize it in its full horror. Here they were, cadets, wandering about during the forbidden hours of night. And here was a sheriff with all the power of the law at his back, arresting them as lunatics! He would take them to jail. Keep them there all night! ”

“ But one idea occurred to Mark at that moment. It was Bull or one of the yearlings! His first impulse was to point his pistol over his shoulder and fire. He checked it as he recovered his self-possession; he did not want to shoot anybody, and he did not want to alarm the camp. He would fight this hand-to-hand battle, even though he was at a disadvantage.
Mark’s assailant evidently knew that he was armed, for the plebe felt a hand reaching out toward the weapon. With a violent effort he managed to turn to get a view of his assailant. ”

“ The more the delighted plebes thought of it the better they liked it. It would be far more exciting to trap the enemy than simply to keep them off. Even Parson Stanard was dancing about with delight. A few moments later the crowd was hurrying at full speed up the narrow tunnel toward “the back door.”
Whatever mystery that tunnel may have contained the plebes got no inkling of it. They did not stop to strike a light, but simply dashed wildly ahead in the darkness. Mark thought once that he felt a figure brush past him, but he scarcely gave it a thought. ”

“ Having brought his best girl to town, and being secure in his skill with his farm plugs, he strode forward timidly to make a name for himself in Highland Falls forever.
“Ah!” said Smithers, serenely. “One gent has nerve! I knew that America with her sons of freedom could produce one man bold enough to dare this feat.”
The country youth hesitated a moment in front of his mount, while the crowd leaned forward in expectation. Having petted Smasher in a professional way and observed that the horse still hung its sleepy head, the rider summoned all his nerve and straddled the pony. ”

“ Mark was as much terrified as any of them, but he shook it off with a powerful effort and gazed resolutely about him.
“There’s no use having any nonsense about this!” he exclaimed. “None of us believes in ghosts, so what’s the use of being scared. There’s only one thing possible, there’s somebody in here.”
“Who’s afraid?” cried Texas.
“Yes,” echoed Dewey, boldly. “Who’s afraid. I’m not.”
“Who-who-who’s af-f-f-fraid-d?” chattered Indian.
To tell the truth, they were all very much afraid and were not at all successful in hiding it. The sound had been so weird and horrible. ”

“ Texas at the first shout had hauled out a huge revolver and was standing in the bow with a desperately tragic air ready for anything in the whole realm of nature.
“Oo-oo!” howled Indian. “It’s the elephant!”
That caused still more alarm, so that the heavily-weighted old boat began to ship water rapidly. But just then the suspense was ended by the moon’s appearance from behind a cloud; that showed them the huge buffalo, a sight by no means comforting, even if it was better than an elephant run amuck.
The bull was a huge one even if he was thin ”

“ It was about eleven o’clock that evening, as soon as the last inspection was over and the camp quiet, that four figures crept out of one of the tents, dashed past the intentionally oblivious sentry and hid themselves in the shadow of old Fort Clinton. Those who have read these stories would have been quick enough to recognize them―​the unpleasant features of Bull Harris, and likewise the sallow Vance, the brutal Gus Murray, and the amiable Baby Edwards. Those four were bound for the Banded Seven’s den, and, in vulgar parlance, “they weren’t going to do a thing to it.” ”

“ The amazement of Smithers, the proprietor of the circus, may be imagined. The last time he had seen Texas was while Mark Mallory (Professor Salvatori) had been making a speech to the crowd in the dime museum tent, when Texas had made an attack upon the professor and been chased out of the town. Here he was again, driving a buffalo in the Hudson. And there was Professor Salvatori, too, still in his old tennis blazer, talking to the cowboy without a trace of anger. ”

“ There was more excitement then. Of course Smithers had to shout and likewise the other circus men, and ditto the loungers in the neighborhood. That woke up the town; and when a country town wakes up at night there is no telling when the thing will stop. Some people solace themselves by shouting murder under such circumstances; others prefer fire; but however that may be, there are sure to be bells ringing, and everybody peering out of their windows to find out if by any chance they had been murdered without knowing it. Anyhow, that was the way it happened in Highland Falls. ”

“ And then, instead of running with all their might for camp, seeking safety with all possible swiftness, here they were loitering along as if there were no such man on earth as a determined sheriff, and now――​
The noise of the advancing men grew louder every moment. It was evident that they were to pass almost over the plebes. There were several of them, tramping heavily, crashing the brush beneath their feet with a sound that to the trembling listeners seemed the advance of a herd of elephants. ”

“ He’s succeeded in spoiling our fun all this summer. He’s ruined every bit of hazing! And if we don’t get rid of him somehow he’ll keep up his tricks through the winter. There’s nothing we attempt that he don’t spoil. It’s a wonder that he hasn’t found out about this affair to-night and tried to drive us off――”
“I wish he would!” put in Merry Vance. “By Heaven! he’d regret it!”
“You bet he would!” roared the crowd. “There are enough of us here to handle him,” Bull went on. “That’s the reason he don’t dare try it, for he’s nothing but a blamed coward. ”

“ He knew that Mark was too honorable to strike him now, whatever his insults.
“That bluff about suspecting us is pretty hollow,” he continued. “You don’t need to go away from the camp. If you weren’t too much of blamed coward and stuff you’d not offer the excuse. You can meet us just beyond the sentry line and go with us. And if there’s any yelling done we’ll be caught as well as you. Do you see? If you’re afraid of a crowd’s pitching in let that fool of a Texas bring his guns. You bring some, too. We aren’t afraid of the whole seven of you!” ”

“ Having thus obtained attention, Mark began:
“Texas observed,” he said, “that Bull would try that trick of raising a row while we were out of camp at night once too often. Now that’s a fact; he may. And you know as well as I do that to be caught outside of the sentry lines at night would mean court-martial and dismissal for every one of us. I’m beginning to think that it’s hardly worth the risk. You know how Bull hates us; our cutting up as we did last night is lots of fun, but it only gives him a weapon to hurt us with. ”