"It will be on deck during the first half of the mid watch, from twelve till two," added the principal, as he came out of the brig.
Mr. Lowington made no parade of what he had done. He never subjected any student to unnecessary humiliation. He indulged in no reproaches, and preached no sermons. He went on deck, intending to leave the culprit to the influence of the better thoughts which he hoped and believed had been kindled in his mind by the events of the day. Mr. Agneau remained a moment to give a final admoni tion to the penitent, as he regarded him, and then went to his cabin.
"Are you going to turn in, Shuffles?" asked Wilton.
"Not yet. Are there any of our fellows below?"
"Plenty of them."
"Our fellows" was a term applied to that portion of the crew who were understood to be ready for any scrape which might be suggested. Shuffles had coined the expression himself, while at the Brockway Academy, and introduced it on board the ship. Without concealment or palliation, they were bad boys. By the discipline of the ship they were kept in good order, and compelled to perform their duties.
As in every community of men or boys, where persons of kindred tastes find each other out, the bad boys in the Young America had discovered those of like tendencies, and a bond of sympathy and association had been established among them. They knew and were known of each other.
On the other hand, it is equally true, that there was a bond of sympathy and association among the good boys, as there is among good men. If a good man wishes to establish a daily prayer meeting, he does not apply to the intemperate, the profane swearers, and the Sabbath breakers of his neighborhood for help; there is a magnetism among men which leads him to the right persons. If a bad man intends to get up a mob, a raffle, or a carousal, he does not seek assistance among those who go to church every Sunday, and refrain from evil practices, either from principle or policy. He makes no mistakes of this kind.
In every community, perhaps one fourth of the whole number are positively good, and one fourth positively bad, while the remaining two fourths are more or less good or more or less bad, floating undecided between the two poles of the moral magnet, sometimes drawn one way, and sometimes the other.
The Young America was a world in herself, and the moral composition of her people was similar to that of communities on a larger scale. She had all the elements of good and evil on board. One fourth of the students were doubtless high-minded, moral young men, having fixed principles, and being willing to make great sacrifices rather than do wrong. As good behavior, as well as proficiency in the studies, was an element of success in the ship, a large proportion of the positively good boys were in the after cabin.