Oak Hall

“ Dave asked, coming up to Plum with his fists still clenched tightly.
In a dazed fashion the bully of Oak Hall looked up. He saw something in Dave's eyes that made him shiver—that look which made the country boy at times truly dangerous.
"Here comes somebody!" cried Macklin, at this juncture, and a second later the door swung open and Job Haskers strode in.
"What is the meaning of this noise up here?" demanded the assistant teacher, sharply. "It sounds as if you were pulling the school building down. Ha! you have been fighting!" ”

“ As a consequence, at the opening of the seventh inning the score stood Oak Hall 6, Rockville Military Academy, 11.
"This is bad," said Roger, with a sigh. "We have got to pull ourselves together if we want to overcome that lead."
Besides becoming rattled, Jennings had been struck in the arm by a "liner," and he was perfectly willing to retire from the box and give Dave a chance to pitch. He was thoroughly loyal, even though disappointed.
"Go in and win," he said to Dave. "Strike every one of 'em out, if you can!"
"No such luck," answered Dave, with a quiet smile. "But I'll do what I can." ”

“ Score, Rockville Academy 8, Oak Hall 0.
It must be confessed that the boys of Oak Hall felt much downcast, and the team had but little to say as it sped for the dressing room.
"This is the time Oak Hall gets whitewashed," said one of the Military Academy students. "They don't know how to play."
"Wait—the game isn't ended yet," answered an Oak Hall youth.
So the talk ran on, while Dave and a number of others tried to cheer the players up. In the midst of the talk Gus Plum pushed his way into the dressing room, followed by Puffers and Macklin.
"Why ain't you fellows doing something?" ”

“ The Oak Hall boys felt as gloomy as the sky above them and they had little or nothing to say. They could now realize how Rockville had felt, when defeated on the football field, the season before. None of the players gave attention to the rain, which was now coming down in torrents.
"Told you we'd lose," said Link Merwell, to some of the boys near him.
"Oh, you're a croaker!" cried Messmer. "We can't win every time."
"You should have had Purdy in the box," said another. Purdy was a new student and it was said he could pitch very well.
"Yes, and Barloe behind the bat," added another. ”

“ It would be useless to deny that Dave felt nervous when he walked down to the pitcher's slab. He knew that for Oak Hall to win that game depended largely upon himself.
Fortunately for Dave the first batter up was not one of Rockville's best. He got two balls and two strikes, and then another ball.
"Steady, Dave!" said Phil. "Don't let him walk."
The pitcher made a signal to Roger. He made as if to throw in the ball easily, then let drive with all the swiftness at his command.
"Three strikes! Batter out!"
"Hurrah!" yelled the Oak Hall boys. "One gone! Now go for the other two, Dave!" ”

“ And then, as the sleigh rolled away from the school grounds, the lads to leave commenced to sing the favorite school song, sung to the tune of "Auld Lang Syne":
"Oak Hall we never shall forget,
⁠No matter where we roam;
It is the very best of schools. ”

“ The departure of Frapley brought about a semblance of order, and presently the gymnasium instructor got up to talk. What he said was directly to the point. He said that he had prepared a list of names of former football players of Oak Hall, with a record of the work of each individual. This list would be used in making up the reorganized team.
"That's the talk!" cried one student. "That's the common-sense way of going at it."
"Merit is what counts every time," added another. ”

“ And Dave began to warm up. "Very kind indeed!"
"Not at all, Porter. You have as much right to an education as anybody. You—but what brought you here? Has anybody said anything of this to you?" And now the master of Oak Hall bent a pair of shrewd, penetrating eyes upon the youth. ”

“ On the following Saturday the Oak Hall nine played the Oakdale Resolutes, on the town grounds. As before, a large crowd assembled, including some of the cadets from Rockville, who were to open their series with Oak Hall the week following. ”

“ A RACE ON THE ICE
"Hurrah, Dave, the ice is six inches thick on the river, and Dr. Clay says we can go skating as much as we please during off hours!"
It was Roger who brought in the good news, as he entered the general library of Oak Hall, where Dave, Ben, and a number of others were reading. It was a clear, sunshiny day, but nipping cold.
"Good!" answered Dave, throwing down his book. "I'm going to see if my skates are O. K. They are rather old, but I've had lots of fun out of them." ”

“ Each football team had a uniform, and the rivals made a neat appearance when they ran out on the field, to indulge in a little practice.
"Now, fellows, do your best!" cried Dave, who was waving a small flag.
Soon the practicing came to a finish and the game proper began. It was Rockville's kick-off, and they sent the ball thirty-five yards into Oak Hall's territory in almost the time it takes to tell it.
"Hurrah! look at that!" came from the Military Academy boys. "This is our game, sure! Keep up the good work!"
"Keep cool, fellows," came quietly from Roger. "Watch 'em." ”

“ Phil and his chums were accused of trying to break up the good feeling of the school in general, and, in return, the shipowner's son very bluntly told the new captain of the school eleven that he would lead Oak Hall to defeat.
"It's time enough to talk like that after we are beaten," declared Guy Frapley, grimly. Then it was announced that the regular Oak Hall football eleven would play the opening game of the season against an eleven from Lemington on a Saturday afternoon, the contest to take place on the Lemington Athletic Grounds. ”

“ The only discontented students were those who had failed to get on the team, and among these were Gus Plum, Macklin, and a red-headed lad named Puffers.
"It wasn't fair to leave us on the outside," grumbled Puffers. "Every one of us ought to be on that team."
"Oh, I didn't expect any better treatment from Roger Morr," declared the bully of the school. "He is running this to suit himself."
"I'll bet our school loses this match," put in Macklin. "And if it does, it will serve those fellows right." He was not loyal enough to wish Oak Hall success if he could have no part in the victory. ”

“ Dodsworth, your gymnasium instructor. He will be assisted by Mr. Dale, who, as you all know, was once a leading college football and baseball player. These two gentlemen will aid you in reorganizing your football eleven, and will do all in their power to give to Oak Hall the victories you all desire."
This announcement came as a bombshell to Rand, Frapley, Poole, and their cohorts, and it was equally surprising to all of the others who had played on the eleven.
"That means a shaking-up for us all right," said one of the players. "I can see somebody getting fired already." ”

“ And then he related how he and the others had met Merwell and Jasniff with Nat Poole, and how the two former youths were going to Rockville Military Academy. As he had anticipated, this created quite a sensation, and a lively discussion followed, which was kept up even after the crowd got aboard the train which would carry them to Oakdale.
"Well, if Rockville wants such fellows it can have 'em," was Buster Beggs's comment. "I, for one, am glad they are out of Oak Hall."
"I know one fellow who will be glad they are gone," said Shadow. "That is Gus Plum." ”

“ It had been decided that some of the boys should go to Rockville by boats and others by carriages and on their bicycles and motor-cycles. The eleven were to go in the school carryall, and Mr. Dodsworth and Andrew Dale were to go with them.
Owing to the change in the academy management, but little had been done to the athletic field, and when the Oak Hall club arrived, they found the grounds rather uneven and poorly marked.
"Bad for really good playing," remarked Dave.
"You'll have to be on your guard," warned Andrew Dale. "This field should have been rolled down after the last storm." ”

“ All these relics gave to the third storey of Thornfield Hall the aspect of a home of the past: a shrine of memory. I liked the hush, the gloom, the quaintness of these retreats in the day; but I by no means coveted a night’s repose on one of those wide and heavy beds: shut in, some of them, with doors of oak; shaded, others, with wrought old English hangings crusted with thick work, portraying effigies of strange flowers, and stranger birds, and strangest human beings,—all which would have looked strange, indeed, by the pallid gleam of moonlight. ”

“ The ceiling is of oak, panelled, and has a rich armorial cornice, with arms of Talbot, running around it. The chimney-piece, of dark oak, is a splendid piece of ancient carving. From the corridor another doorway leads to a staircase connecting other private apartments above, while at its east end it opens into—
“The Grand Dining-Hall, near which are the kitchens. This hall, which was being remodelled and altered by Pugin at the time of the Earl’s death, remains to this day in an unfinished state, but shows how truly grand in every way it would have been had it been completed. ”

“ Perhaps I was wrong in the means I adopted; but I longed for an honest name, and it occurred to me that Sir Robert Cecil could be frightened, if not persuaded, into procuring my pardon. God is my judge that I was weary of my reckless habits, and panted for active but legal employment. A blasted oak will tumble to the earth, if struck by a thunderbolt,—like a withy. Then my child! I knew that Lady Cecil cared for her, though, good lady, she little thought, when she first saw the poor baby, that it was the child of a Buccaneer. ”

“ The staircases creak or clatter with the footsteps of men going up and down, to and from these rooms. Outside one or two sets of rooms the great outer door—the “oak”—is fastened, a signal that the owner wishes to be undisturbed, and practically an invitation to trials of strength with heel and shoulder from the passer-by. In the faintly lighted quadrangles, men are hurrying, or sauntering, or resting on the grass among the trees. Perhaps there is a light in the college hall. ”

“ He has enjoyed a four years' course of study at Tuskeegee, and four years at the Iowa State Agricultural college, Ames, Iowa. During the last four years he has been working on the old home farm during the summer and teaching school during the winter, which is an ideal plan for the average young man to pursue in early life.
Malinda A. Hall in 1900, after completing the grammar course at Oak Hill Academy, was sent by Mrs. Edward G. Haymaker to Ingleside Seminary at Burkeville, Virginia, where she graduated in 1904. She has taught public school one or more years. ”

“ The roof is one of the finest imaginable, and from its centre rises a majestic louvre, which at once admits a subdued light and acts as a ventilator. It is of truly noble proportions, and the fire-places and carved stone chimney-pieces are grand in the extreme—the latter bearing the arms, crest, supporters, motto, chapeau, &c., of the Earl of Shrewsbury. The sides of the room were intended to be panelled, as was also the minstrels’ gallery, with carved oak, and a part of this is already placed. ”

“ After the loss by fire of two of the main buildings at Oak Hill Industrial Academy in 1908 and 1910, this fund was used for the erection of a main building—Elliott Hall—and the school has since been called the Alice Lee Elliott Memorial.
The Bible and shorter catechism are to be regularly and faithfully taught to all pupils, as fundamental in the development of a good moral character. ”

“ The Great Hall, or Marble Hall, is 50 feet by 30 feet, and is extremely lofty. It is lit by an oriel window at the upper or daïs end, and by three bay windows; and is panelled with oak and lined with fine old tapestry. A carved screen, with an open gallery, decorated with armorial bearings, badges, &c., is at the east end, and the ceiling, which is coved and divided into compartments, is decorated with the heads of the Cæsars. ”

“ Roger pretended not to see the girls, but hurried immediately to the dressing-room to prepare for the game.
It had brightened up a little and for a short while the sun came out. Promptly at three o'clock the game started with Oak Hall at the bat. They [Pg 253] were retired in one, two, three order, much to the delight of the Rockville contingent.
"That's the way to do it!"
"Now then, fellows, show them how you can bat the ball!"
And then arose the Military Academy slogan:
"Rockville! ”

“ The south side comprises [364] the south corridor, the Chapel at the south-west corner, the Oak Room, the south entrance, the Stag Parlour, and other apartments. It will only be our province on this story (having already described the sub-hall, north corridor, and grand hall) , to speak of the corridors, the Chapel, and cursorily of one or two other of the apartments on this floor. Passing beneath the grand staircase in the great hall is the “Grotto Room,” the ceiling of which, supported by four massive pillars and twelve pilasters, is divided into compartments ”

“ From this end one doorway leads to the private gallery of the chapel, and another opens into the library.
The Library is entirely of oak, the ceiling divided into compartments, with carved bosses at the intersections, and armorial bearings decorating other parts. Over the fire-place Grant’s fine portrait of the late duke, “presented to his grace as a token of affection and esteem by his tenantry, 27th February, 1856,” is placed, and forms a pleasant feature in the room. ”

“ The grand feature of the house is the Hall: it is not, as Evelyn thought it was, “somewhat too small,” but is finely proportioned, in some parts admirably carved, and it contains many portraits—among others that of the founder and his wife and daughter. The ceilings throughout the mansion [1127] are of much beauty, and, besides several grand examples of the ancient masters and “throngs” of family portraits, there are some rare specimens of china. There are other curious relics—among them the chair of Alexander Pope, and the carved oak head of Cromwell’s bed, converted into a chimney-piece. ”