In the class rooms Hugh progressed well, for the fiery-locked Mr. Fairway had done his work thoroughly. In fact, Hugh began his career at Grafton most satisfactorily, and progressed serenely and pleasantly and without especial incident along the stream of school life until, just two weeks to a day after his arrival, he struck his first snag.
CHAPTER VIII
BATTLE!
It was the custom for the juniors to hold a meeting shortly after the beginning of the school year and elect class officials, and it was also the custom of the lower middle and upper middle fellows to take quite a flattering interest in the affair. Perhaps it would be more correct to say that the lower middlers were interested in the meeting and the upper middlers were interested in the lower middlers. Just why the second-year boys held it incumbent to do all in their power to prevent the juniors from getting together successfully it is difficult to say; but they did. The upper middlers’ part in the proceedings was theoretically to see that the first-year fellows had fair play, but what they actually did was to have a good-natured mix-up with the lower middlers. Consequently the evening of junior meeting was looked forward to with pleasurable anticipation by the whole school, unless we omit a portion of the junior class whose disposition was entirely peaceable.
The juniors did their best to hold the meeting in secret, but someone outside the class invariably got wind of it in time to give the alarm. Faculty had on one or two occasions, when the fun had become rather too noisy, threatened to prohibit the ceremony, but at the time of this story it was still observed. This fall it was arranged among the juniors that they were to meet at five o’clock on Wednesday afternoon in assembly hall. But the watchful lower middlers prevented that by the simple expedient of locking both doors on the inside and leaving the keys in, departing by way of a window and by means of a rope. By the time Mr. Crump, the head janitor, had pushed out one of the keys and fitted a new one it was too late for the meeting and the juniors retired in defeat. Subsequently they allowed it to leak out that the postponed assembly would take place in the same room on Saturday evening, and, for some reason, their story was believed.
But on Thursday evening at about eight o’clock cries of “Lower middle, all out!” echoed through the dormitories and books were abandoned and green eye-shades tossed aside. In a few minutes it became known that the juniors had stolen a march and were safely barricaded in the gymnasium! Lower middle hastened to the scene in force, and upper middle followed swiftly. The seniors, forgetting dignity, likewise repaired to the gathering to play the part of spectators. As Roy Dresser remarked to Ted Trafford as they secured positions of vantage against the end wall of Manning, it looked very much as though, in the words of the country newspapers, “a good time was to be had by all.”
Lower middle tried doors and windows and found them impregnable. They were denied even a glimpse of the proceedings inside, for the juniors had carefully draped blankets against the windows. Lower middle held a conference of war and upper middle jeered. Upper middle not only jeered but made remarks calculated to displease the enemy. Lower middle replied in kind and the seniors applauded both sides. And there the matter would have rested until the juniors had finished their meeting and sallied forth had not an ambitious lower middler taken it into his head to try to reach the second story by means of a copper rain-spout. Why that should have annoyed upper middle I don’t know, but upper middle resented the trespass and surged forward. The attack was so unexpected that lower middle gave way and the ambitious climber was pulled, struggling, from his place halfway up the metal pipe. He reached the ranks of his friends no worse for the adventure, but lower middle felt that her rights had been interfered with and the fun commenced.
Up and down in front of the gymnasium the battle waged, the two classes fairly even in numbers. For the first few minutes it was a mere matter of pushing and shoving, one throng against the other, lower middle giving way only to close ranks again and force upper middle back. The seniors, laughing and impartially encouraging the belligerents, watched appreciatively. And in the meanwhile, quite forgotten, the juniors proceeded undisturbed with their election.
Afterwards lower middle declared that upper middle had started the real trouble, and upper middle stoutly laid the blame on her opponent. At all events, what was to be expected happened and someone, losing his temper for the instant, struck a blow. His adversary accepted the challenge. Others at once adopted the new tactics and cries of “Fight! Fight!” arose from both factions, and those behind surged eagerly forward. At first it was only those in the front ranks who became engaged, but the others soon got into action and presently some ninety-odd youths were hard at it. More than one old score was settled, doubtless, in the ensuing five minutes. The seniors, scattering away from the field of battle, viewed proceedings dubiously. This was more than precedent called for, and if a master happened to put in an appearance there would be trouble for all concerned.