“Why, when he was hauled up for allowing Clarence Duncan and Tom Fisher, and all the rest of the guard-runners to go by him one night when he was on duty, didn’t he come very near being sent down for refusing to give their names when he was ordered to do so?” demanded Jones.
“Some of you fellows make a great fuss about that,” said Lester, with a gesture of impatience. “One would think, by the way you harp on it, that Gordon is the only boy in the world who has the courage to stand by a school-mate. If he was so very anxious to keep the guard-runners out of trouble, why did he not say that no one went by him while he had charge of the floor? That’s what any decent boy would have done.”
“And that same decent boy would have found himself brought up with a round turn directly,” replied Jones, “for the superintendent knew right where to look to find every fellow who broke the rules that night. Don did the best that could have been done under the circumstances, for Duncan was bound to go down any way.”
While Lester and his friends were talking in this way, they were standing at the foot of the wide stone steps that led up to the front door of the academy; and it was not until their teeth began to chatter that they thought of going into the building to get out of reach of the keen, cutting wind which came over the frozen surface of the river. Gathering about the huge stove in the hall, they threw off their gloves and mufflers and looked about them. There was a large pile of trunks in one end of the hall, and Bert Gordon, assisted by one of the corporals, was trying his best to get rid of it; but fast as his four stalwart porters worked, the pile grew in size, for a train had just passed through the village, and carriage-loads of students and wagon-loads of luggage were arriving every minute. Some of the new comers shook hands with Lester and his two cronies and were introduced to the boys from Long Island; but the majority of them, although they crowded up to the stove to get warm, did not notice Lester and his companions at all.
“Do they feel too big to speak to a fellow?” whispered Dale, who had never been told of the wide gulf that separated the members of the different classes.
“That’s just what’s the matter with them,” answered Jones. “A good many of them are officers, and the others belong to the first class. You must be careful to say ‘sir’ when you have occasion to speak to them.”
“Say ‘sir’ to those little brats of boys!” exclaimed Dale, who was greatly amazed.
“That’s the law.”
“I don’t care if it is; I won’t do it. I am just as good as they ever dare be.”
“No body disputes that,” said Enoch. “Jones is only trying to post you so that you can keep out of trouble. You must not only address them as he says, but you must not address them at all unless they first speak to you. Of course if you want any information, you are at perfect liberty to go to your company officers to get it; the rule does not apply in that case.”