“We’re going to win! We’re going to win!” they said over and over again.
There was a noticeable air of something portending when Dr. Churchill and his colleagues took their seats on the platform at chapel the next morning. The president’s voice was solemn as he read the Scriptures, more solemn as he offered prayer, and when he advanced to the edge of the rostrum to make an announcement, there was a long breath of expectation from the students.
“Is it about football or the trouble, I wonder?” whispered Holly Cross.
“Quiet,” begged Tom.
“Young gentlemen,” began the president, “I regret to say that I have bad news for you. Randall College has lost the first skirmish in the legal battle. The directors have been summoned to court to show cause why they should not vacate the land whereon our buildings stand. The matter had assumed a serious phase, all through the loss of that quit-claim deed.”
[CHAPTER XXIV]
DEFEAT
There was a buzz of excitement; everyone was whispering to his neighbor, and there was even talking among the members of the faculty.
Dr. Churchill gave a few more facts concerning the matter, stating that though the first move had gone against the college, the Randall legal representatives hoped to be successful in court.