CHAPTER II
FOOLED
“Come here quick and watch this!”
“What’s going on? I’ve got this letter——”
“This is some livelier than letter writing, Bill,” Gus declared, and a moment later Bill was of the same mind.
The boys gazed out of the window of their room in the school dormitory to witness an upper-class reception of one of the freshmen, a lad of almost tender years, yet husky and of undoubted good nature. He was expensively dressed to begin with, a little foppish in appearance even, and it was known that his people were very wealthy. Such as he, then, could well afford the sacrifice demanded of him to become a member in high standing of the Marshallton student body. Whatever was done, short of actual physical injury, must contribute to the violently initiated youth’s general glorification, at least this was the popular impression. It occurred to but few to make serious objections to that which was customary in the school.
Hazing, long since taboo or forbidden in many educational institutions, was still a part of Marshallton Tech, by reason of the belief that a high mentality and virile spirit demanded the extreme mental and physical show-down which hazing is wrongly supposed to bring out. Though severe enough, perhaps the initiations were not so terrible as to call for much complaint.
“By cracky, that’s rotten!” exclaimed Gus, as he watched the progress of the affair.
“Worse than mean!” agreed Bill.