“Oh, come, now, fellows, that’s too mean—to back out that way,” said Hamlin. “My father told me I could go somewhere else, if I wanted to, and I said, ‘No, sir-e-e! I’m not going to desert the old Central in that fashion.’ I’m coming back next year, and I’m going to do my best to make D the finest section in the school.”
“Good for you, Hamlin,” said Gordon’s clear, quiet voice. “My father was a high school-boy, and he says that in his time the school stood higher than any private school in the city, both as to scholarship and character. I mean to come back next year, and do all I can to bring the reputation of the school up to that point again.”
“But we can’t do it,” grumbled Raleigh. “See how it is now. After all our hard work, a dozen mean, lazy cubs have spoiled our class record, and, worse than that, made section D the talk of the town.”
“I know—it has been mighty rough on us this year,” admitted Gordon; “but, Raleigh, we won’t have quite so much to fight next year. Henderson won’t be here, and I hope we can win over most of the Antis, and break up their society altogether. Freeman, I’m sure, will join us, and I reckon Baum will, and Ridley. There won’t be so many of the tough fellows left, and they’ve all had a lesson that I think they’ll not have forgotten by next fall.”
“Henderson won’t be back, of course,” said another, “but Crawford will, and Green and Coyle, I suppose, and they can keep us from making any decent class record.”
“Crawford has behaved himself since he came back,” said Hamlin quickly, “and nobody need say anything against his scholarship now. He came near a hundred this last report.”
“He does well enough in class,” admitted Raleigh rather reluctantly, “but he and Henderson have put the Antis up to all sorts of tricks this last quarter. They didn’t deserve the marks they got for deportment.”
“I admit all that, Raleigh,” said Gordon, “but, as I said before, the Antis have had a pretty severe lesson, and I can’t believe that they’ll dare to do much to make trouble next year; and they’re most all bright enough, so, if they do make up their minds to work—I mean, if we can any way arouse their ambition and awaken a feeling of pride in the section and the school—we can make a splendid record without any question.”
“Ambition!” echoed Raleigh scornfully. “I’d like to see Green or Coyle show any pride or ambition in the school.”
“Well, I hope you will see it. Stranger things than that have happened,” said Gordon, and Hamlin added:—