The Brother of a Hero

by Ralph Henry Barbour

Chanting their refrain and keeping time with aching legs, they stormed the hill. Greenridge, from the sidewalks, looked on smilingly and occasionally waved a defiant Green-and-Gray banner in the face of the invader. At the head of the procession two cheer leaders held a six foot banner of red silk on which “Bursley” was blazoned in big blue letters. Long before they reached the Y at the top of the hill their deep, sonorous slogan had penetrated to the campus, and Maple Hill emptied itself from dormitory and boarding-house and assembled along the road. Bursley always turned into Academy Street and marched through the campus on her way to the field, and always, where the driveway separated in front of Main Hall, she paused and cheered her rival. And to-day she made no exception. Still chanting, although with failing voices, her “B, U, R, S, L, E, Y, Rah, rah, rah!” she followed the head cheer leader as, waving his yard-long megaphone, he swung through the big gate between rows of smilingly hostile faces. They were a good, sturdy looking lot of fellows, those Bursleyans, and Jack Billings said as much to Warren Hoyt as the two, having raced across from Westcott’s, watched them file past.

“Not so worse,” replied Warren in his rather affected manner. “Sort of lack class, though, it seems to me.”

Jack laughed. “You’re a beast of a snob, Warren,” he said; “or you want fellows to think you are. You know perfectly well that those chaps are every bit as good as we are. Now, don’t you?”

Warren raised his eyebrows languidly. “Er—theoretically,” he said.

“Theoretically! What the dickens do you mean by theoretically?” demanded Jack. “Come on. They’re getting ready to cheer.”

Over in front of Main Hall the procession had stopped and the cheer leaders were hurrying to positions along the line. Then:

“All ready, Bursley!” announced the chief marshal of the parade, his big megaphone high in air. “Regular cheer for Maple Hill! One! Two! Three!”

“Rah, rah, rah! Rah, rah, rah! Rah, rah, rah! Maple Hill!” shouted two hundred voices, and a responsive “A-a-ay!” swelled from the throats of the enemy. Then Borden, Fourth Form President and Crew Captain, sprang to the steps and waved his arms and Maple Hill returned the compliment. More “A-a-ays!” from both contingents, and Bursley took up her march again, and, having in a measure recovered her breath, started once more her reiterative chorus as she went tramp, tramp, tramp along the gravel driveway and around the end of Main Hall on her way to the field. Maple Hill watched with grudging admiration. Bursley made a brave showing, there was no gainsaying that. There was a fine nonchalance in the way in which the veriest junior at the tag-end of the procession carried himself and a sturdy self-possession and equanimity in the faces of all. They were proud to be Burslians, and, incongruous as that might seem at first thought, Maple Hill on reflection felt a thrill of sympathy and understanding. Certainly those shouting Red-and-Blue partisans had made a frightful mistake in the choice of a school, but, having committed themselves, they were right to stand up for it, to be proud of it and to fight for it! Many Maple Hill hearts warmed toward the paraders as they disappeared from sight, still chanting their “B, U, R, S, L, E, Y, Rah, rah, rah!” around the corner of the building. There had been a few jeers from youngsters who knew no better, and some smiles of derision as Bursley had passed, but on the whole Maple Hill had been polite, respectful, even friendly in a distant way. Why not? They could well afford to let Bursley have their fun now since in two hours they would send her home defeated and disappointed. At least, so most of Maple Hill argued.

Meanwhile Bursley went on her way, quite as convinced of a coming victory as the enemy, and debouched onto the field and took possession of the cheering section reserved for her on the further stand. There many fellows, who had been unable or disinclined to attend the early dinner at school, produced packets of sandwiches and fruit and, with much skylarking and laughter, fortified the inner man.