op A N 
 
 K\
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 
 AT LOS ANGELES

 
 JACK HALL 
 
 THE SCHOOL DAYS OF AN AMERICAN 
 BOY 
 
 BT 
 
 ROBERT GRANT 
 
 AUTHOR OF " PACE TO FACE/' " THE CONFESSIONS OF A FBIVOLOU3 OIKL," 
 STC. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED BY F. G. ATTWOOD 
 
 BOSTON 
 JORDAN, MARSH AND COMPANY 
 
 1888
 
 Copyright, 1887, 
 BT JORDAN, MARSH & CO. 
 
 The Riverride Press, Cambridge : 
 Electrotyped and Printed by II. 0. llougbton & Co.
 
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 MY THREE BOYS. 
 
 392449
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 How JACK SPENT THE FORENOON OF WASHINGTON'S 
 
 BIRTHDAY 1 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 THE SNOW-BALL FIGHT 29 
 
 CHAPTER in. 
 A DAY OF RECKONING ....... 65 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 JACK GOES TO UTOPIA 96 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 DR. MEREDITH 120 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 162 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 HAZELTINE MAKES HIS DEBUT 192 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 SETTLING DOWN 230
 
 yi CONTENTS. 
 
 . CHAPTER IX. 
 THK Bio FOUB 259 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 UP-HILL . 301 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 NIP AND TUCK . . * 333 
 
 CHAPTER XIL 
 HAZEI/TINB HAKES HIS CHOICE ...... 377
 
 JACK HALL. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 HOW JACK SPENT THE FORENOON OF WASHING 
 TON'S BIRTHDAY. 
 
 IT was a bright February morning. The sun 
 was warm, so that the piles of snow in the streets 
 were in a perfect condition for snow-balling, much 
 to the satisfaction of a medium-sized boy of thirteen 
 who had just come out of the house and was stand 
 ing on his doorsteps, drawing on his mittens. His 
 name was Jack Hall, and he wore a Scotch cap, a 
 reefer, and a pair of rubber boots. 
 
 As soon as his mittens were on he cleared the last 
 two steps with a jump, and, plunging his hands into 
 the nearest snow-bank, stood patting a ball into 
 shape while he looked around. The street on which 
 Jack's house stood was a long and tolerably steep 
 slope. There were houses on both sides. He lived
 
 2 JACK HALL. 
 
 at the top, near the corner of an intersecting street, 
 which ran at right angles to it down to Boston 
 Common. Opposite to his house was a grocery 
 shop. 
 
 Suddenly Jack looked animated as he caught 
 sight of another figure, not unlike his own, on the 
 way up the hill, and by way of welcome to the new 
 comer, who was still far off, he emitted a sort of 
 shrill war-whoop, " Ehu ehu ehu ! " 
 
 Immediately there came a faint reply from the 
 distance, " Ehu ehu ehu ! " 
 
 After each had twice repeated this salutation, 
 Jack continued contentedly to make snow-balls. 
 He had finished two, tucking one under either arm, 
 and was moulding a third, when a man appeared on 
 the further sidewalk of the intersecting street. 
 
 *' Give me a shot, mister ? " shouted Jack. 
 
 The man, who was going towards the Common, 
 looked back over his shoulder and grinned, which 
 Jack recognized as a sign that he might blaze away, 
 which he did accordingly. The first snow-ball went 
 a little wide of the mark, and struck the wall be 
 yond with a thud ; but the next hit the man plump 
 in the middle of his exposed arm, and evidently
 
 WASHINGTON'S BIRTHDAY. 3 
 
 convinced him that discretion was the better part 
 of valor, for he gathered his coat collar about his 
 neck, and fled with precipitation until the corner 
 shut him out from view, pursued by Jack's remain 
 ing snow-ball and derisive scoffing. 
 
 This put Jack in high humor. But before he had 
 fully re-supplied himself with ammunition, the area 
 door in the wing of the grocery shop opened, and 
 the grocers clerk, a young man of about eighteen, 
 appeared, carrying some baskets and bundles, with 
 which he proceeded to load a wheelbarrow belong 
 ing to the establishment, that stood beside the big 
 window, paying no attention to Jack, though he 
 perceived him very well. For there was perpetual 
 war between the boys in the neighborhood and 
 " Mustachio," which was the name applied by them 
 to the grocer's assistant on account of a feebly 
 sprouting down on his upper lip. 
 
 Jack had equipped himself amply with snow-balls 
 by the time that the clerk, with his barrow-full of 
 eggs and flour and other groceries to be delivered 
 in the neighborhood, was ready to- start down 
 the street, and stood leaning against a tree watch 
 ing the enemy. Before Mustachio had proceeded
 
 4 JACK HALL. 
 
 twenty feet, Jack let drive, not at him, but at the 
 area door, having made sure by a glance that the 
 grocer himself was not looking out at the big win 
 dow. Now the area door contained a pocket about 
 a foot square, cut in the panel and concealed by a 
 swinging cover, which opened inwards, and shut as 
 soon as pressure was removed. Through this the 
 baker dropped his rolls in the morning into a 
 basket in the cellar of the store, and one of the 
 never-tiring amusements of the boys was to try to 
 do the same with snow-balls. From across the 
 street this required some dexterity. As a conse 
 quence, the grocer had cause to complain bitterly, 
 both of the influx of snow into his bread basket, 
 and the dents in the woodwork of the door, which 
 was apt to need a new coat of paint as soon as the 
 spring came. 
 
 On this occasion Jack's first shot hit the wood 
 work with a plashing sound, for the ball was 
 slushy. The noise affected the grocer's clerk as a 
 red rag affects a bull. He stopped and, setting 
 down his barrow, turned towards Jack just as that 
 young miscreant's second ball hit the target and 
 disappeared. The clerk muttered something under
 
 WASHINGTON'S BIRTHDAY. 5 
 
 his breath and made a dash as though to run across 
 the street. Jack, divining that this was a feint, 
 retired alertly as far as the corner, where he stood 
 ready to beat a more hasty and prolonged retreat if 
 necessary. But the clerk, thinking better of his 
 first impulse, took up the handles of his barrow 
 and started off again, trundling smartly. 
 
 This was Jack's opportunity. He regained his 
 former post and, aiming with precision, sent a ball 
 whizzing within an inch of the clerk's head, accom 
 panying the shot with a vituperative cry loud 
 enough to arouse the neighborhood. 
 
 " Mustachio-o-o ! Mustachio-o-o! " 
 
 Dignity was the role which the victim assumed 
 this time, for he paid no heed to either insult. Yet 
 he was doomed to be discomfited. The second shot 
 hit his barrow without doing any damage, but the 
 next struck a paper bag containing eggs and broke 
 two, a misadventure which would require the poor 
 fellow to make another trip by-and-by. He turned 
 and glared at Jack, realizing his helplessness and 
 yet reluctant to be unavenged. 
 
 So absorbed was he in righteous indignation that 
 he had failed to observe another small figure creep-
 
 6 JACK HALL. 
 
 ing up on the opposite sidewalk in the shadow of 
 the houses and obscured by the trunks and branches 
 of the row of trees which grew along the street. 
 Mnstachio stooped to gather some snow which he 
 was compressing with relentless vim into ice with 
 his bare hands preparatory to hurling it at Jack 
 with all his might, when of a sudden a ball from a 
 new quarter and at short range struck him with 
 stinging force in the side of the head, plastering his 
 ear like a poultice. For an instant he was dazed 
 by the shock which gave time but only just time 
 for the reinforcement over the way to shoot past 
 liim and dive into the alley way of Jack's house 
 a few yards above. Mustachio plunging into the 
 snow had crossed the street and was at his new 
 antagonist's heels in the twinkling of an eye, but 
 too late. The heavy back door was slammed in his 
 face and double-bolted, and simultaneously from 
 behind it and from the street corner where Jack 
 had again sought shelter arose another triumphant 
 cry, " Mustachio-oh-o-ho ! Mustachio-o ! " 
 
 A few minutes later, a peculiar undulating whis 
 tle given vent to by Jack assured the prisoner 
 that danger was passed, who, accordingly, reap-
 
 WASHINGTON'S BIRTHDAY. 7 
 
 peared on the scene. The unhappy grocer's lad, 
 having come to the conclusion that retribution at 
 the moment was out of the question, was visible 
 down the street trundling his wheelbarrow, but out 
 of range of the parting snow-balls which the boys 
 sent after him. 
 
 " That was a beauty, Dubsy," said Jack, by way 
 of compliment to the shot which had struck Musta- 
 chio's ear. 
 
 At that moment a booby-hut swung round the 
 corner. As it went by each of the boys sprang 
 lightly on to one of the hind runners unseen by the 
 driver. Away they swept down hill, passing their 
 late enemy, at whom they grinned exultingly, and 
 delighting in the jounces which the sleigh made at 
 the uneven places. It turned into the next street, 
 and soon they were spinning over the smooth, well- 
 trodden snow of the milldam, amid a host of sleighs 
 and a gay jingling of bells. Presently the driver 
 pulled up the horses and they stopped before a 
 house where a lady got out. But they were in 
 luck for the time being ; there was another lady to 
 be left further on ; then the booby turned and car 
 ried them back again, which was what they had
 
 8 JACK HALL. 
 
 hoped for. They held on firmly, still as mice, and 
 well sheltered by the back of the sleigh. 
 
 All of a sudden, just as they had reached the 
 foot of their own street, a voice abreast of them 
 cried loudly, "Cut cut behind!" 
 
 Simultaneously, a snow-ball aimed at them 
 skimmed along the top of the booby and hit the 
 driver. But the driver needed no additional stimu 
 lus ; the cry was enough. Before the snow-ball 
 struck him he had reached for the whip. Swish ! 
 swish ! went the lash, curling round the back of 
 the sleigh. But the boys were quicker than he; at 
 the first note of danger they had let go their hold. 
 
 Instantly they darted after the urchin who had 
 betrayed them, a ragged shaver, who had taken to 
 his heels the moment after discharging the snow 
 ball, and was now running like greased lightning. 
 Their rubber boots impeded them, and though they 
 panted after the fugitive through a number of 
 streets they paused at last, pretty well winded, and 
 had to content themselves with firing a few harm 
 less shots at him. He returned the fire from the 
 brow of the hill where he stood, and one of his 
 balls, which were very swift, hit Jack's Scotch cap,
 
 WASHINGTON'S BIRTHDAY. 9 
 
 although Jack dodged, and nearly knocked it off ; 
 whereupon the enemy set up a jeer, and exclaimed 
 before vanishing over the hill, 
 
 "I'll bring a crowd down this afternoon and 
 knock the stuffing out of yer ! " 
 
 Jack and Dubsy, looking rather sheepish, turned 
 towards home. Their pride had received a down 
 fall. Moreover they were heated and rather tired.
 
 10 JACK HALL. 
 
 The vicinity of Ma'am Horn's struck them, accord 
 ingly, as providential, for it seemed as though 
 u pickle-limes r ' were the only things in creation 
 which could relieve their outraged feelings. They 
 began by flattening their noses against the window- 
 pane of the little shop. A goodly array of small 
 wares delighted their vision, peg-tops, of all 
 sizes ; marbles of every sort, from the common 
 clay variety known as tho "twoser" and blood al 
 leys up to wonderful mottled agates ; knives, jack- 
 stones, jew's-harps, and valentines. There were 
 caramels, pop corn balls, cream cakes, and cocoanut 
 cakes, and, most tempting of the whole in the way 
 of sweets, was a tin tray of black looking sticks of 
 molasses candy, each about the length of a short 
 cigar, but rather thicker. On the counter, under 
 the eye of Ma'am Horn, who did also a thriving 
 business in tapes, needles, and haberdashery, stood 
 a dish not unlike the bowls used for holding gold 
 fish, half full of dark greenish yellow spheres : 
 these were " pickle-limes." 
 
 Jack had seven cents in his hand, in copper coin, 
 as he entered. 
 
 " Give me two pickle - limes, please, Ma'am
 
 WASHINGTON'S BIRTHDAY. 11 
 
 Horn," he said. Ma'am Horn, a thin and rather 
 severe looking lady, fished out the dainties called 
 for, one of which Jack handed to Dubsy, who had 
 been gazing at them despairingly, having no money 
 of his own, and who exclaimed with effusion, " Oh, 
 thank you, Jack." Together they popped them 
 into their mouths, and as they munched inter 
 changed glances of rapturous congratulation. 
 
 Jack had five cents left ; what should he buy ? 
 His eye lingered fondly on almost every article in 
 the store. He was sorely tempted by a jew's-harp, a 
 compressible snake, and by some fascinating striped 
 marbles known as " Chinees." But his appetite 
 was far from satisfied. Then, too, there was Dub 
 sy, and Dubsy was out of cash ; though, of course, 
 if he bought marbles Dubsy would not expect him 
 to share them with him. 
 
 " How much is a cream cake ? " he asked. 
 
 " Five cents." 
 
 Jack sighed. He knew well the price of those 
 luscious articles, but the desire to have one made 
 him perhaps imagine that it might have gone 
 down. 
 
 " Give me two cocoanut cakes."
 
 12 JACK HALL. 
 
 Cocoanut cakes were a cent apiece. Jack put 
 one into his mouth and munched it thoughtfully ; 
 then with a sigh he held the second out to Dubsy 
 and exclaimed monosyllabically, " Here ! " 
 
 " You 're a brick, Jack ! " 
 
 Jack licked his fingers. " I took the brownest 
 one," he said, apologetically. 
 
 There were still three cents remaining. With 
 two of them Jack bought some " Chinees," but the 
 expenditure of the last cent perplexed him. He 
 finally selected one of the sticks of black molasses 
 candy ; these when fresh were so adhesive that it 
 was common to transplant them directly from the 
 tray to the purchaser's mouth, for if put in paper 
 the paper was sure to cling to them. Jack's eyes 
 closed with satisfaction as his teeth shut down on 
 one end of the delicious morsel. When he looked 
 again, he perceived Dubsy gazing at him with a 
 manly resolve to exhibit no envy, and yet with dis 
 appointment, or let us rather say resignation, writ 
 ten on his face. 
 
 Jack could not speak, but he grunted and held 
 out his mouth ; Dubsy understood the signal. A 
 moment later his teeth had hold of the other end
 
 WASHINGTON'S BIRTHDAY. 13 
 
 of the stick of candy. Now began a struggle. The 
 two boys, chewing vigorously and soon convulsed 
 with laughter, tried to draw away from one another, 
 but the tough and ropy compound balked them. In 
 a moment or two, however, it began to yield, and 
 presently the point of ambition with Jack and 
 Dubsy was to draw out as long as possible the 
 strand of stringy molasses which bound them to 
 gether. At last, after they were separated from 
 one another by the width of the shop, the strand 
 became a thread. When this broke the fun was 
 over. But, needless to say, the mouths of the par 
 ticipants were a sight to behold. 
 
 The corner from which they had originally 
 started was the regular meeting-place for the boys 
 who lived within the radius of half a mile from 
 Jack's house. Thither they now returned only to 
 learn that the other fellows had gone coasting on 
 the Common. Accordingly, they went into Jack's 
 back yard by way of the long alley already referred 
 to, and soon reappeared devouring an apple apiece 
 obtained from the cook, and dragging a double run 
 ner called " Never Say Die," made out of Jack's sin 
 gle sleds, "Star of the East," and "Reindeer," with
 
 14 JACK HALL. 
 
 which they proceeded to the long coast, so called, 
 which ran from a point opposite the State House 
 diagonally across the Common to the West Street 
 gate. The coast was in fine condition and crowded 
 with sleds of every description, from the most di 
 minutive type to huge double runners capable of 
 holding eight or ten big boys. Some of these last 
 named, elaborate with carpet laid over the main 
 board and a bell which sounded at intervals to warn 
 people to get out of the way, seemed to Jack and 
 Dubsy the most desirable things in the world, and 
 made their own double runner appear very insig 
 nificant by comparison. 
 
 However, theirs went tolerably fast, quite fast 
 enough to be safe for such small boys as they. 
 Jack went down in front " belly flounders," or 
 "belly bumps," the phrase used to denote lying 
 flat on one's stomach ; little Bill French, whom 
 they had picked up on the way, came next in the 
 same posture, grasping Jack firmly by the legs just 
 above the tops of his rubber boots, and on the end 
 squatted Dnbsy, " butcher " fashion, with one foot 
 hanging out behind for extra steering purposes. 
 The coast was like glass. They positively flew ;
 
 WASHINGTON'S BIRTHDAY. 15 
 
 and it was no easy work to guide their course so as 
 to avoid running down the small sleds ahead of 
 them, to say nothing of getting safely over an ugly 
 rut half way from the top, which jounced and was 
 apt to upset the unskillful. At the bottom of the 
 hill, where a crowd of spectators was collected, 
 another jounce was caused by a plank walk which 
 crossed the coast. This passed without mishap, 
 the sleds sped along the smooth mall so long as 
 their velocity could hold out. Thanks to Jack's 
 cleverness in handling, the " Never Say Die " made 
 an excellent showing the first time down, being 
 landed by dint of strenuous coaxing and nursing 
 three inches ahead of a considerably larger com 
 petitor, to the great satisfaction of our trio. Then 
 came the climb up hill with the prospect of another 
 glorious descent to deter them from lagging. 
 
 It was great sport, and a boon to the hundreds 
 of boys of every size and class who could thus 
 spend their holiday out of harm's way in healthful 
 exercise. 
 
 Jack and his friends went down half a dozen 
 times without a mishap, and even beat their first 
 record, running to a point on the path which none
 
 16 JACK HALL. 
 
 but the very largest double-runners had succeeded 
 in reaching. But on the seventh trip they came to 
 grief, though the fault was scarcely theirs. Jack 
 was in front as usual, and with both his hands 
 clasped over one of the iron-shod points of " Rein 
 deer," was urging the " Never Say Die " on for all 
 she was worth in point of ^ speed, when, of a sudden, 
 a lady started to cross the coast about half way 
 down. You boys who know the Common do not 
 need to be told that there is a more or less traveled 
 path which intersects the long coast at this point. 
 
 The lady had been waiting on the edge of the 
 coast for several minutes for a chance to cross. 
 She was very nervous and at the same time in a 
 hurry to catch a horse-car. There were a number 
 of other people standing in line as spectators and 
 what with so many sleds on the way down, and the 
 stream of boys coming up hill dragging sleds behind 
 them, she doubtless got confused, lost her head, 
 and started just at the wrong time. It was too late 
 to help her before the bystanders realized her 
 danger. Jack was seized with horror as she 
 loomed up on the track just ahead of him. The 
 " Never Say Die " was going like a locomotive.
 
 WASHINGTON'S BIRTHDAY. 17 
 
 "Clear the lulla ! Clear the lulla-a-a!" Jack 
 shouted, as loud as he was able. 
 
 He made one frantic effort to wrench " Rein 
 deer " aside, but to no purpose. The lady turned 
 her head at his cry, and just then the points of the 
 foremost sled struck her amidships, as sailors would 
 say, and she fell with a despairing shriek on to 
 Jack's head and shoulders, her legs flying from 
 under her. Her clothing blinded Jack's eyes so 
 that he could perceive nothing ahead. At the 
 same moment, the hinder part of the " Never Say 
 Die," as a consequence of the check in front, slued 
 violently and swung nearly at right angles across 
 the coast, a certain target for those coming after. 
 Bump ! Crash ! Another double runner and a sin 
 gle sled struck them simultaneously, and the wreck 
 of all three, mingled together and twisted awry by 
 the ugly rut which by this time they had fallen 
 into, flew asunder. Somehow or other Jack got 
 free from the lady in time to dodge his head just 
 as " Reindeer," torn apart from her mate, smashed 
 into a tree and upset. The unhappy cause of the 
 catastrophe was tossed a few feet behind him into 
 the gutter. " Star of the East " darted off to the
 
 18 JACK HALL. 
 
 other side of the coast, but, handicapped by the 
 remains of the board which ordinarily united her 
 with "Reindeer," capsized immediately and rolled 
 over and over with poor Dubsy. Little Bill French, 
 being light and small, was lifted like a shuttlecock 
 off the " Never Say Die " by the prow of the " Ice 
 land Queen," but only to be thrown a moment 
 later into the middle of the coast by the violent 
 slueing of that semblance of royalty, from which 
 dangerous predicament he managed to crawl away 
 unharmed. " Iceland Queen " wobbled about for 
 a few minutes longer, but upset at last into the 
 gutter ; while the boy with the single sled, violently 
 thrown out of his path, shot between the trees over 
 the crust of the adjacent field, where he succeeded 
 in coming to a halt without further mishap. Al 
 together it was a dire experience. 
 
 Fortunately the lady was merely shaken up a 
 little though a good deal frightened. The injuries 
 to the three boys were also slight, consisting of 
 a scratch on Dubsy 's cheek, a lame shoulder re 
 ceived by Jack from contact with the tree, and a 
 general wetting and begriming of them all. Jack's 
 chief concern, after being satisfied that neither the
 
 WASHINGTON'S BIRTHDAY. 19 
 
 lady nor either of his companions was dead, was 
 for the " Never Say Die," which, to tell the truth, 
 was pretty far gone ; for not only was her main 
 board splintered, but one of the runners of "Star 
 of the East " was nearly twisted off. Nothing was 
 left, therefore, but to convey what was left home, 
 which was done by the boys ruefully, inasmuch 
 as such an occupation on Washington's Birthday 
 seemed the essence of misuse of time. 
 
 Jack, in common with the other boys of the 
 city, was rejoicing in the consciousness that there 
 would be no school until Monday, this being only 
 Friday morning. Washington's Birthday was to be 
 followed by some civic celebration on the morrow, 
 thus affording them two days of vacation in suc 
 cession, with Sunday to boot. But though there 
 was so much time at his disposal, every minute of 
 it was precious to Jack. Accordingly, as soon as 
 the " Never Say Die " was reestablished in the 
 back yard preliminary to sending her to a carpen 
 ter for repairs, the question arose, what to do dur 
 ing the hour and a half left before dinner. 
 
 To begin with, the three boys sauntered into the 
 grocery on the corner and were weighed, a process
 
 20 JACK HALL. 
 
 which they were apt to inflict upon its long-suffer 
 ing proprietor whenever there was nothing else in 
 particular to do. For after getting off the scales it 
 was rather pleasant to wander about the store peer 
 ing into the barrels, stroking the cat, and perhaps, 
 when there was a chance, " hooking " a dried ap 
 ple or a handful of beans. On this occasion, Bill 
 French stood treat to figs, which he charged to his 
 father with an audacity that seemed admirable to 
 Jack. Bill, though the smallest of the three, was 
 their equal in age, and more than their equal in sly 
 ways ; for whereas Jack was full of animal spirits 
 and very mischievous, and Dubsy (as the boys 
 called him, for no reason that was ever discovered, 
 his real name being Samuel) Perkins was not a 
 model of obedience, they were both straightforward 
 boys. But they looked up to Bill as knowing a 
 thing or two, and accordingly listened with avidity 
 when, after they had pretty well exhausted the 
 resources of the shop, he suddenly exclaimed in 
 a confidential whisper, " I know what let 's do, fel 
 lows." 
 
 " What ? " they asked together. 
 
 Without disclosing his purpose, Bill led the way
 
 WASHINGTON'S BIRTHDAY. 21 
 
 out of the store, up the intersecting street, into one 
 parallel with that on which Jack lived, and up the 
 back stairs of his house into the garret, stopping on 
 the way at his own room for a minute, from which 
 he reappeared with some pieces of stick and a box 
 of matches which he exhibited with a wink to his 
 companions. 
 
 " What are they for ? " Jack asked. 
 
 " I know," said Dubsy, after an instant. 
 
 "Mum's the word," answered Bill, putting his 
 finger on his lips. Thereupon he mounted a short 
 ladder leading to the skylight, pushed open the sky 
 light, through which he crawled on to the flat, grav 
 eled roof, followed immediately by the others. 
 This was a lark in itself. To be able to look over 
 the tops of the houses and to discern the harbor 
 and the forts and the shipping, or to see the horses 
 and people in the streets below looking pigmy-like, 
 was a genuine treat. 
 
 " Swanny ! " cried Jack, with a burst of enthusi 
 asm ; " I can see Nahant ! " 
 
 "And there's Bunker Hill," said Dubsy, who 
 was looking in another direction. " The flags are 
 flying everywhere. That 's because it 's Washing 
 ton's Birthday."
 
 22 JACK HALL. 
 
 Their attention was suddenly diverted by seeing 
 Bill light a match under cover of the chimney wall 
 and apply it to one of the pieces of stick which pro 
 truded from his mouth ; then he drew in his breath, 
 puffed, and blew out a little smoke. 
 
 " She 's going," he said, gleefully. " Have a 
 weed ? " He pointed to the other sticks which lay 
 near by. 
 
 Jack looked a little awestruck. " What is it ? " 
 he asked, " sweet-fern ? " He had, sometimes, while 
 skating on the ponds, seen older boys when it was 
 dusk flying about with lighted cigarettes in their 
 mouths, which he had been told were made of 
 sweet-fern. 
 
 " No," said Bill. " Rattan, greeny." 
 
 Jack hated of all things to be considered green. 
 " Oh," he said, doubtfully. 
 
 Dubsy had already taken one of the sticks and 
 was lighting it. 
 
 "It's bully," said Bill. "Charley Buck has 
 smoked real cigarettes and says they 're no better. 
 Don't be stumped by Dubsy, Jack ! How is it, 
 Dubsy?" 
 
 " First rate," said Dubsy. " But mine does n't 
 draw very well, Bill."
 
 WASHINGTON'S BIRTHDAY. 23 
 
 " I '11 fix it all right," answered the master of 
 ceremonies. Whereupon he took his knife and 
 worked it a few times in the unlighted end of 
 Dubsy 's cigarette. " There ! try that." 
 
 The operation acted like a charm ; Dubsy was 
 enabled to emit a cloud of smoke which filled 
 Jack's doubting soul with envy. To be stumped 
 by Dubsy was more than he could bear, though he 
 felt very sure that his mother would disapprove of 
 his smoking. 
 
 " It 's better 'n hay-seed," said Dubsy, who had 
 seated himself on a ridge of the roof beside Bill, 
 and was swinging his foot jubilantly. 
 
 " I never smoked hay-seed," replied poor Jack. 
 "Which end do you light? "he asked defiantly, 
 taking up one of the pieces of rattan. 
 
 " It makes no difference," said Bill. " Bully for 
 you, Jack." 
 
 A moment later they were all three seated side 
 by side, puffing like little Turks. 
 
 "Yesterday was my birthday," continued Bill. 
 " See what father gave me." He drew out of his 
 pocket an open-faced silver watch, which he exhib 
 ited with pride.
 
 24 JACK HALL. 
 
 " My eye ! " exclaimed Jack. " Does it really 
 go?" 
 
 " Go ? I guess she does. You ought to hear 
 her tick at night. Father says I shall have a 
 hunter when I 'm fifteen, and a gold repeater when 
 I 'm twenty-one." 
 
 The other boys were silent with envy. 
 
 " My father 's got lots of money," went on Bill. 
 *' He could buy both your fathers out, I guess, and 
 have a pile left." 
 
 " My father 's dead, you know," answered Jack. 
 
 u So he is ; I was n't thinking. Well, then, he 
 could buy your mother out." 
 
 "Let 's see the works," said Dubsy. 
 
 Bill opened the inside cover with his thumb nail 
 in response to this request, and the three heads were 
 immediately in close proximity studying the inter 
 nal arrangements of the watch. 
 
 " That 's a jewel," said Bill, indicating a colored 
 spot among the cogs and wheels. 
 
 The heads went lower in mute admiration. 
 
 " It is n't a very big one, anyway," said Jack, 
 glad of what seemed an opportunity for criticism. 
 
 " There are fourteen, mostly rubies," replied Bill.
 
 WASHINGTON'S BIRTHDAY. 25 
 
 " Don't breathe so hard, Dubsy. Father says it 
 hurts the works to breathe on them." 
 
 " Wind her up," cried Jack. 
 
 Bill fumbled in his pocket and produced a key. 
 "She's mostly wound," he said. "I wound her 
 last night and again just after breakfast." One or 
 two turns was all the watch would stand at the mo 
 ment without danger to the mainspring ; so this 
 exhibition was unsatisfactory. 
 
 " My father has a stem-winder," said Dubsy, after 
 a moment ; " I 've heard him say that a watch with 
 a key was more bother than it was worth." 
 
 " I should n't care for one that was n't a stem- 
 winder," said Jack, stoutly. 
 
 " Sour grapes," said Bill, with a sneer. 
 
 " You feel awful big, don't you, because you Ve 
 got a watch," retorted Jack. 
 
 " Oh, come off," said Bill, contemptuously. This 
 was a phrase unfamiliar to the others, which Bill 
 had picked up in the streets. The interest awak 
 ened by its use induced a pause, during which Jack 
 cooled down. He did not wish a row, and was con 
 scious of having been unwarrantably aggressive. 
 But, as he would have said, he was sick of hearing 
 Bill blow.
 
 26 
 
 JACK HALL. 
 
 Bill, having by this time exhausted the delights 
 of his cigarette, had taken his knife and split the 
 rattan open down the middle. " That 's dried 
 
 blood," he said, holding out the pieces for inspec 
 tion. 
 
 The boys looked, and there, sure enough, running 
 down through the pith was a fine red thread, which 
 resembled very much what Bill said it was.
 
 WASHINGTON'S BIRTHDAY. 27 
 
 " Every time one smokes, blood is sucked out 
 of the lungs and collects like that," he said. 
 
 " How do you know it 's blood ? " asked Jack in 
 rather an awestruck voice. 
 
 " Charley Buck says so." This was strong evi 
 dence. Charley Buck was nearly fifteen. 
 
 " I was awfully sick the first time I smoked," 
 went on Bill, but his words were not regarded by 
 Jack, who was deep in the process of dividing his 
 own piece of rattan. There the red thread was, 
 just as in Bill's piece. His lungs seemed all right, 
 bat his head was a little dizzy ; he coughed once or 
 twice and patted his chest without uncomfortable 
 results ; however, he felt grave. What would his 
 mother say if she knew the truth ! He put the 
 pieces of rattan carefully in his pocket, and recol 
 lected that it was dinner time. 
 
 Just then Bill exclaimed in a tone in which pity 
 and satisfaction were blended in about equal pro 
 portions, " I guess you 're sick, Dubsy." 
 
 Dubsy was ; the poor fellow looked very white 
 and doleful, and was sitting still. " I feel faint, 
 that 's all," he answered. 
 
 But it was n't all ; moreover, it was a good quar-
 
 28 JACK HALL. 
 
 ter of an hour before Dubsy was able to lift his 
 head from the roof and be helped down the ladder. 
 Meanwhile, Jack and Bill sat on either side of him 
 and tried to cheer him up. Bill, who was able to 
 speak from experience, assured them that the sick 
 ness would soon subside, and that he had been much 
 more miserable after his first smoke. But to tell 
 the truth, Jack and Bill also, despite his former ex 
 periences, felt rather squeamish themselves and not 
 much inclined to talk. Besides, the remembrance 
 of what he supposed to be his dried blood haunted 
 Jack's mind. Altogether, it was, on the whole, a 
 bad quarter of an hour, as the French say.
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE SNOW-BALL FIGHT. 
 
 As soon as Dubsy Perkins felt all right again, 
 Jack and he left Bill French's and went home to 
 their dinners. Jack lived alone with his mother ; 
 he was her only child. Her husband had been 
 killed in the Civil War ten years before, and Jack 
 was all she had in the world to care for and be 
 proud of except the memory of Jack's father's gal 
 lant services as a soldier, which she was never tired 
 of talking about to Jack. His name had been 
 John Hall, just as Jack's was, and he had fallen at 
 the head of the regiment of which he was Colonel, 
 in one of the last battles of the war, when Jack 
 was a mere baby. 
 
 Back of Colonel John Hall was a long line of 
 Halls, running very nearly into Mayflower times, a 
 good many of them John Halls or, as those who 
 knew them best called them, Jack Halls, though 
 John is a good name for any boy or man to be con-
 
 30 JACK HALL. 
 
 tent with and not to wish to change. They were a 
 hardy, thorough-going set, these Halls, Massachu 
 setts folk who in Colonial times, when the days 
 were gone by for shooting Indians, tilled their farms 
 and made sure that their liberties were not inter 
 fered with by King James or King William or 
 King George. When this was impossible without 
 taking arms, they were equal to the occasion. Is 
 rael Hall, Jack's great-great-grandfather, was one 
 of the raw recruits composing the Continental Army 
 over which General Washington assumed command 
 under the famous old elm at Cambridge. He fol 
 lowed his commander through thick and thin, be 
 came a sergeant, then a captain, was wounded, but 
 got well in time to be one of those who made the 
 memorable passage of the Delaware when our army, 
 reduced to a forlorn band of four thousand, fell 
 upon the Hessians at Trenton, routed them, and 
 plucked up spirit and hope once more. He was 
 shot dead, however, at the battle of Brandy wine, 
 and, as will be the case with many brave fellows 
 so long as wars last, left a wife and some wee bits 
 of children to get along as best they could. 
 
 It would take too long to give an account of the
 
 THE SNOW-BALL FIGHT. 31 
 
 lives of Jack's ancestors in detail, but you may be 
 interested to learn something of the career of Israel 
 Hall's eldest son, also named John, who, hav 
 ing to make his own way in the world, left the 
 family farm and came to Salem town in search of 
 something to do. Now, at that time Salem was a 
 famous commercial port, little as one would im 
 agine it torday. Forty years later its prestige was 
 usurped and overshadowed by its near neighbor, 
 Boston, but from 1770 until 1820 the maritime su 
 premacy of Salem was unquestioned. Prior to the 
 Revolution, the inhabitants of the town had been 
 noted for their commercial energy, and when war 
 was declared they fitted out their trading vessels 
 with guns, and built others to the number of over 
 one hundred, which made great havoc among the 
 enemy's commerce in the English Channel and the 
 Bay of Biscay, so that the rates of insurance went 
 up amazingly among the British underwriters. 
 The patriotism and enterprise of the old Salem 
 merchants is a glowing chapter in the history of 
 our country. 
 
 But as soon as there was no more fighting to be 
 done, the merchants turned their fleet of privateers
 
 32 JACK HALL. 
 
 into trading-vessels again, and as the vessels were 
 too large for mere coasters, sent them out laden 
 with Spanish dollars to every nook and corner of 
 the Oriental world, to Calcutta and Madagascar, 
 and Batavia and Java, and the Celibes, and all the 
 chain of islands in the Indian Archipelago which 
 you have read about in your geographies. There 
 the silver freight was exchanged for pepper, spices, 
 gums, coffee, or other Eastern products, with which 
 the captains would either return or would bear 
 away to some European port, like Marseilles, where 
 part of the cargo was sold at a profit, and its place 
 supplied by wines and silk to be brought home. 
 It was an adventurous, exciting life for those who 
 sailed ; and meanwhile the owners sat in their 
 counting-houses casting up figures and waiting for 
 their vessels to arrive. It was often two and even 
 three years that they had to wait, but the ships 
 came back at last, freighted with merchandise, 
 which their owners sold to their fellow townspeo 
 ple at a snug profit. Or, if by chance the ships 
 were lost and never returned, the underwriters re 
 imbursed the merchants so that they were able to 
 buy new ones.
 
 THE SNOW-BALL FIGHT. 33 
 
 It was into the counting-bouse of one of these 
 merchants that Jack's great-grandfather, John 
 Hall, chanced to stray one morning in search of 
 employment. Probably the head of the firm liked 
 the looks of the boy and divined that he would 
 make a sterling sailor ; at all events he took him 
 into his service and sent him on a long voyage in 
 one of his ships, which turned out very success 
 fully for the merchant, and for John Hall too, in 
 asmuch as everybody had a pleasant word to say 
 in his behalf. From this time forward his life was 
 one of marvelous experiences for many years to 
 come. One thing leads to another when a young 
 man is efficient. Before he was nineteen John 
 Hall was a mate, and on his twenty-first birthday 
 he found himself in command of a three hundred 
 ton ship, which was a large one for those days. If 
 it were his career I was narrating, it would be easy 
 to keep you awake many hours with thrilling tales 
 of what happened to him. He fought with pirates, 
 and had hair-breadth adventures with savage tribes, 
 was twice shipwrecked, and barely escaped being 
 eaten by cannibals, only to be imprisoned in a 
 South American dungeon instead. But in the end
 
 34 JACK HALL. 
 
 he passed safely through his perils, and settled 
 down in Salem for the rest of his days with sev 
 enty-five thousand dollars in hard cash, which was 
 quite as much as a million is now. 
 
 Very possibly some of you may be thinking that 
 you would like to have lived when a career similar 
 to that of Jack's great-grandfather was a natural 
 one for an ambitious boy to follow. But though 
 the glamour of such adventures as his does make 
 the blood even of those of us who are grown up 
 tingle as we read, it will not do to shut our eyes to 
 the truth. We see only the glory and forget the 
 hardships. We forget, too, and their many vir 
 tues make us forget, that resolute, noble fellows 
 as were the men whose enterprise and pluck built 
 up fortunes for themselves while supplying their 
 country, starved and draggled by the Revolution, 
 with the necessities and even the luxuries of life, 
 these old merchant captains and their crews were 
 rough, ignorant people compared with what some 
 of your fathers are to-day. They had but little 
 knowledge except of a practical kind acquired by 
 bitter experience ; their one absorbing interest was 
 the accumulation of money, and, let us say it under
 
 THE SNOW-BALL FIGHT. 35 
 
 our breaths, the standards of morality by which 
 they did business were not the highest. How 
 could it be otherwise ? The population of the strip 
 of seaboard States which then composed our coun 
 try had to begin existence as a nation bankrupt, 
 and chiefly dependent for its wants on the products 
 of other lands. Our great-grandfathers were down 
 to hard pan, as the saying is, and life meant for 
 them a struggle for the means of existence unre 
 lieved by any but the most homely pleasures and 
 tastes. There were no mills and factories then to 
 compete with the manufactories of Europe, no 
 great west with its fields of waving grain and de 
 veloped mines of gold and coal and iron, no cotton 
 gin, no splendid libraries and broad institutions of 
 learning, no railroads, no telegraph. All these 
 were yet to come, and it is to such men as John 
 Hall that we are indebted for having laid the foun 
 dations of that prosperity which affords to their de 
 scendants opportunities for usefulness and culture 
 such as our forefathers never dreamed of. Let us 
 admire their courage, grit, and perseverance ; let us 
 applaud their successes and recognize the sterling 
 virtues by which they won them, but their lot
 
 36 JACK HALL. 
 
 should no more arouse our envy than should that 
 of those later pioneers in the struggle of reclaiming 
 our west from the forest and the savage, inspired 
 by whose adventures as scouts and trappers so 
 many boys have run away from home and been 
 very sorry afterwards. 
 
 We left Jack going home to his dinner, for which 
 he did not feel very hungry at first. But a fine 
 piece of beefsteak with potatoes and macaroni, fol 
 lowed by cold rice pudding with bits of cinnamon 
 in it, of which Jack was especially fond, brought 
 his appetite back again, so that when he had .fin 
 ished his second plate of pudding, cleaning the 
 plate with his spoon until it shone, the thought 
 occurred to him that he would have a third help ; 
 but the well-known " Ehu ehu ehu " resound 
 ing from the street told him that the fellows were 
 beginning to collect again, and he started up. 
 
 Jack dined in the middle of the day, and his 
 mother had her dinner at night; but Mrs. Hall 
 made a point of taking her lunch at the same hour 
 as Jack dined, and after he had finished eating she 
 always tried to beguile him into sitting still for a 
 while, for he had a tendency, when anything inter-
 
 THE SNOW-BALL FIGHT. 37 
 
 esting was in prospect outdoors, to scurry through 
 his meals and leave the table with his mouth full 
 the instant the last course had been served. Some 
 times he would bolt from his chair as soon as he 
 had finished his meat, crying, merely by way of 
 explanation for his hasty departure, as he seized 
 his cap and just prior to slamming the front door, 
 " Don't want any pudding." On such occasions 
 his mother did not always have the heart to detain 
 him. 
 
 But this day he dined alone and there was no 
 one to put a check on his movements, for Mrs. 
 Hall had been called away out of town to see an 
 old friend who was sick, and would not be back 
 until after Jack's bed hour. Deeply as he loved 
 his mother and fond as he was of having her with 
 him, Jack felt a certain pride in being his own 
 master for once. As an indemnity for being left 
 alone for the day, he had obtained permission to 
 order whatever he liked for tea, and to have whom 
 ever he chose among the boys to share it with him. 
 He had already exercised the second privilege by 
 inviting Dubsy Perkins, Bill French, and Harry 
 Dale, another of his friends, and it was now neces-
 
 38 JACK HALL. 
 
 sary to decide upon the viands before he went out 
 again. This was no easy task, as he had a number 
 of dainties in mind which ranked very evenly in 
 his estimation. He felt pretty certain as to one, 
 however. " We '11 have cream cakes, Hannah," he 
 said with decision to the maid. 
 
 " Very well, Master Jack, I '11 get six ; that '11 be 
 one and a half apiece." 
 
 " How much are Eclairs ? " he asked, presently. 
 
 " I don't know, Master Jack. Your mamma, 
 when she has company, buys those at the confec 
 tioner's." 
 
 " They 're bully," he said. " I like the chocolate 
 ones best. I guess, though, the fellows would 
 rather have cream cakes." 
 
 " Cook has a Washington pie ready." 
 
 "That's hunky ! Mother said that we could 
 have quince jam and raspberry jam, and and I 
 know what we '11 have," he cried with a wave of his 
 arm, " waffles." 
 
 "I don't know as the cook has a waffle-iron, 
 Master Jack," answered Hannah, despondently. 
 
 Jack looked downcast a moment. " We had them 
 at Bill French's , you eat them with butter and 
 nutmeg," he said, with a sigh.
 
 THE SNOW-BALL FIGHT. 39 
 
 " Cook makes those puff cakes very nicely," said 
 Hannah, who had been thinking. 
 
 Jack clapped his hands. " They '11 do first-rate," 
 he said. "I guess that'll be enough, with the 
 spread bread and butter and some muffins ; don't 
 you, Hannah ? " 
 
 " Goodness sakes ! yes, Master Jack. If you 're 
 not all sick to-morrow, I shall be very much mis 
 taken." 
 
 At the mention of sickness Jack was pensive a 
 moment. Then he felt in his pocket and produced 
 one of the pieces of rattan. " See there, Hannah, 
 that 's my blood," he exclaimed. 
 
 " Your blood ! Mercy on us, what does the child 
 mean?" she added, as she examined the charred 
 stick. 
 
 "It's dried blood out of my lungs." 
 
 Hannah put the rattan up to her nose, then gave 
 a start. " You don't mean to tell me, Master Jack, 
 that you 've been smoking ? " 
 
 " What if I have ? " 
 
 " What will your mamma say ? " 
 
 "I guess she won't mind." 
 
 Jack knew that this last statement was not true,
 
 40 JACK HALL. 
 
 but as he intended to make a clean breast of it to 
 his mother, he felt justified in assuming a bold front 
 before Hannah. 
 
 Hannah shook her head prophetically. " It 's that 
 Bill French, I '11 be bound ; he 's always getting you 
 into some sort of mischief. Had n't you anything 
 better to do than go smoking that nasty stick ? " 
 
 " I only smoked a little piece," Jack answered. 
 " Besides, it is n't a stick, it 's rattan." 
 
 " I 'd just like to get my hand on that Bill French, 
 that 's all," said Hannah. " Blood out of your 
 lungs, too ! We '11 have you sick abed next, and 
 your mamma crying her eyes out." 
 
 Jack, as he went out of the house, was conscious 
 that he had not derived much consolation from. Han 
 nah, whose view seemed to confirm the fearful tes 
 timony already in his possession. But on closing 
 the front door his attention was at once absorbed by 
 what was going on outside. Some half-dozen boys, 
 including Dubsy Perkins, Bill French, and Harry 
 Dale, were engaged in building a huge dam. It 
 had grown milder since morning and was melting 
 fast. Underneath the piles of snow on either side 
 of the street, the water was beginning to flow rap-
 
 THE SNOW-BALL FIGHT. 41 
 
 idly along the gutters down hill. The boys had 
 selected a spot a hundred yards or so below Jack's 
 house, across the way, and had formed a basin by 
 digging up the snow until they came to the paving. 
 The curbstone constituted one bank, and the other, 
 or rather the whole remaining bulwark of the dam, 
 was made of snow piled up and mashed with shov 
 els until it became firm. While constructing this 
 they had made a temporary dam a few feet further 
 up, to catch the water ; but just as Jack joined 
 them Dubsy cut a big hole in it, and the accumu 
 lated torrent poured with a rush into the large res 
 ervoir. When the smaller dam had emptied itself, 
 they closed it up again in order to strengthen the 
 resistance of the main one. 
 
 Most of the boys were armed with shovels obtained 
 from home, and they worked diligently as beavers, 
 building the walls higher and higher as the water in 
 creased in depth. Soon it was necessary to fortify 
 the curbstone with a layer of snow to prevent an 
 overflow on to the sidewalk. Every few minutes 
 one of them would test the depth by wading, and it 
 was not long before the water came up to within 
 half an inch of the top of Jack's rubber boots, so
 
 42 JACK HALL. 
 
 that any careless movement on his part would be 
 sure to let some inside. Their number was rather 
 smaller than usual, as some of the " crowd " which 
 ordinarily collected in front of the grocery shop had 
 gone down to the Frog Pond on the Common to see 
 if there were any " tiddledies," which, as all Boston 
 boys know, are cakes of floating ice formed during 
 the first stages of a thaw ; the sport being to jump 
 from one to another, until terra firma is reached, 
 without tumbling in. This was one of the favorite 
 pastimes of Jack and his friends. The water of the 
 pond was only deep enough to give one a thorough 
 ducking, and though whoever was so unskillful or 
 unlucky as to fall in was sure to be greeted with a 
 jeer of derision, it may be fairly doubted whether 
 the most miserable participants were not the boys 
 who went home dry. 
 
 But Jack considered hftnself very well employed 
 as it was. He felt pretty sure that if there were 
 tiddledies to-day there would be tiddledies to-mor 
 row, and he was interested in making the dam as 
 high as his waist, if it were possible. There was 
 such a volume of water in the basin now that most 
 of their active force was employed in pasting snow
 
 THE SNOW-BALL FIGHT. 43 
 
 against the back of the lower wall, through which 
 there was a steady leakage in spite of their best 
 efforts. Two or three of them, Jack among the 
 number, had already gone in over their boots and 
 wet their trousers more or less above their knees, 
 so that now they stood along the sidewalk, or in the 
 street, gazing contentedly into the enormous pool. 
 Perhaps they realized that there was not much 
 more to be done, for there began to be some fool 
 ing. Bill French introduced it by dropping a bit 
 of ice down Harry Dale's back, gliding away in 
 time so that Harry could not get at him. Harry 
 was just about Bill's size, but a little more chunky. 
 He knew that Bill could outrun him, so he nursed 
 his wrath for the present, and, keeping his eyes 
 open, bided his time. 
 
 The spirit of playing tricks upon one another 
 proved contagious, so that the dam was almost for 
 gotten in the interest of several flights down street 
 and subsequent tussles. Only Jack and Dubsy 
 still worked away at the walls now and then, pil 
 ing fresh snow on top and stopping the leaks. All 
 of a sudden, as Jack was standing leaning on his 
 shovel trying to understand how a fine stream of
 
 44 JACK HALL. 
 
 water trickling through the solid wall of the dam 
 had thus been able to defy his labors, Harry Dale 
 made a dive at Bill French, who was just behind 
 Jack, and who was off his guard at the moment. 
 Bill gave a shriek, and, to protect himself, tried to 
 interpose Jack between his pursuer and himself by 
 seizing Jack roughly by the shoulders. Jack, who 
 had been already annoyed by Bill several times, 
 and had contented himself with exclaiming, " Quit 
 your fooling, Bill," or, " Let up, Bill," goaded now 
 by what he supposed to be a fresh attack, dropped 
 his shovel, seized his tormentor, and suddenly pull 
 ing him forward by a quick movement brought him 
 to his knees ; then picking up a handful of snow 
 he rubbed it freely over Bill's face. 
 
 " That 's the sort, Jack ; give him some more for 
 me," cried Harry. 
 
 Bill, who was struggling with all his might, 
 sprang to his feet the moment he was let free, and 
 launched himself with rage on Jack's neck. In an 
 instant Jack had grappled with him in self-defense. 
 Bill, who was thoroughly angry and bent on upset 
 ting his adversary, twisted one of his legs inside of 
 Jack's, and being lithe and active, though small,
 
 THE SNOW-BALL FIGHT. 45 
 
 made it incumbent on Jack to exert himself to 
 avoid being thrown. The pair swayed violently 
 for several moments, then Jack, taking advantage 
 of a failure of Bill's to trip him up, retaliated in 
 the same fashion, and over they went with Bill 
 undermost. They struck against the wall of the 
 dam, which gave way before them with a slump. 
 Jack, realizing what the catastrophe promised to 
 be, tore himself by an effort of strength from Bill's 
 grasp just in time to avoid more than a severe 
 splashing, although he fell on his hands and knees, 
 and had a lively scramble to get away from the 
 deluge which came pouring down upon him as soon 
 as the flood-gates were removed. But poor Bill, 
 accelerated probably by the effort which saved 
 Jack, fell with the wall backwards into the deepest 
 part of the dam, so that his head and the upper 
 portion of his body were completely submerged. 
 For an instant his struggling black legs only were 
 visible, then these were drawn under him as he 
 reappeared head first above the surface, wallowing 
 as he staggered to his feet. But Bill was doomed 
 to still further discomfiture, for scarcely had he 
 gained a footing when he slipped and fell sideways
 
 46 JACK HALL. 
 
 again into the dirty, slushy water, his head this 
 time striking the curbstone. 
 
 The pain of the concussion must have been toler 
 ably smart, but anger and mortification were suffi 
 cient to explain Bill's facial expression as he lay 
 on the sidewalk after his companions had dragged 
 him out. His eyes were shut and his mouth was 
 wide open, but from it at first no sound issued. It 
 seemed to the others as if the expected bawl were 
 never coming. But it came at last, a terribly 
 vociferous cry, preceded by a noise like the hum 
 ming of a large top, which increased in volume 
 until it was a yell, bursting on them as a thunder 
 storm bursts in wind and rain after the silence 
 which goes before. " Boo-ooo-ooo ! " Then it 
 seemed as if he would never stop. Jack and the 
 other boys, who were rather frightened, bent over 
 him with anxious faces, but it was soon apparent 
 that Bill was more mad than hurt. 
 
 "I'm very sorry, Bill; I didn't mean to send 
 you into the dam," protested Jack. 
 
 This attempt at consolation only induced a fresh 
 fit of crying on the part of the victim, which was 
 redoubled when he saw his cap trimmed with as-
 
 THE SNOW-BALL FIGHT. 47 
 
 trachan fished out with a shovel from the bottom 
 of the now largely depleted dam by Dubsy Per 
 kins. 
 
 " It was an accident ; Jack did n't mean to," 
 said one of the others. 
 
 " Served you right for fooling so, Bill," exclaimed 
 Harry Dale. " We 'd all told you to quit." Then 
 turning to the rest, Harry said, " He ought to go 
 home or he '11 catch cold, fellows." 
 
 Bill sulkily allowed himself to be lifted to his 
 feet. He stood shivering and dripping like a 
 soused pup, sobbing and snuffling, and eying rue 
 fully his bedraggled cap. " I 'II make you pay for 
 this, Jack Hall," he blurted out. 
 
 But Jack scarcely heard him, for just at the mo 
 ment he gave a start, and shading his eyes with 
 one of his hands gazed intently down the street. 
 
 " Here come the muckers, fellows," he cried, with 
 excitement. 
 
 His companions turned eagerly at his words and 
 looked in the same direction. Sure enough, a gang 
 of other boys, twenty to twenty-five in number, had 
 suddenly Emerged from a cross street at some little 
 distance below and was advancing up hill. As the
 
 48 
 
 JACK HALL. 
 
 invaders perceived that they were recognized, they 
 set up a derisive, triumphant yell, and dashed on 
 ward at a rapid dog-trot, preparing snow-balls and 
 waving sticks. 
 
 " There's a regular posse," cried Jack. " Who '11 
 go and tell the other fellows ? " 
 
 " I will," cried Harry Dale, and suiting the action 
 to the word he started off to warn their friends, 
 who were running tiddledies. 
 
 Meanwhile, Jack and the four other boys, who 
 were all there were, for Bill French had slipped 
 away to change his clothes, retreated slowly as
 
 THE SNOW-BALL FIGHT. 
 
 49 
 
 their adversaries advanced, Jack having first, with 
 the instinct of destroying anything that the enemy 
 might find pleasure in, swept away with his shovel 
 the remaining rampart of the dam. They were 
 outnumbered for the moment in the proportion of 
 four to one, and though to retire was ignominious, 
 it seemed necessary under the circumstances. The 
 vanguard of the invading army now began to dis 
 charge their snow-balls, the shower of which fell 
 slightly short, but served to whet their ardor.
 
 50 JACK HALL. 
 
 With another cheer and a yell the " muckers " 
 rushed forward, headed by a powerful - looking 
 butcher's boy, close by whose side ran the raga 
 muffin who earlier in the day had threatened this 
 invasion, and who could be heard pointing out 
 Jack and Dubsy as special objects of vengeance. 
 
 " Them 's the chumps, go for 'em ! " he cried. 
 
 The little band, reluctant to run, wavered and 
 hurled back a volley of snow-balls, which were re 
 turned with vigor. The butcher's boy was well 
 known in that quarter of the city as a terror. 
 His balls made solely with bare hands were hard 
 as ice, and whizzed like bullets. One of them took 
 Jack in the cheek and stung like mischief, so that 
 the water ran out of the eye on that side of his 
 face. 
 
 " Clean 'em out ! " yelled the little instigator. 
 
 The consciousness that the protecting alley was 
 close at hand nerved the boys to hold their ground 
 for a moment longer, and the courage displayed by 
 them, supplemented by several skillful shots, caused 
 their opponents to halt and advance more deliber 
 ately. Just then there came flying round the cor 
 ner Harry Dale, at the head of the detachment of
 
 THE SNOW-BALL FIGHT. 51 
 
 whom he had gone in search, and whom he had 
 found in the next street peppering the passers-by 
 in a listless fashion, and only too glad to come to 
 the succor of their friends. 
 
 " To the rescue ! " cried Dubsy, waving his arms 
 above his head ; and the reinforcement of a dozen 
 boys swept down upon the combatants. 
 
 This sudden turn of affairs was too much for the 
 backers of Joe Herring, that was the butcher 
 boy's .name, who turned and fled precipitately, 
 although Joe and one or two others stood their 
 ground manfully and tried to rally them. But the 
 counter cheer was disheartening to an army with 
 victory in its very grasp. They broke and ran 
 helter-skelter, followed closely by Jack and his 
 comrades. Jack kept his eye especially on Joe 
 Herring, whom he longed to pay back for the blow 
 on his cheek ; but even Joe did not wait for the 
 new victors to get too near, but ran at last. As 
 for the youngster who had been the guide of the 
 raiders, he had taken to his heels at the earliest 
 sign of danger, and was among the first to reach 
 the halting-place, where the rout finally paused, not 
 far above the cross street from which thev had
 
 52 JACK HALL. 
 
 emerged. There they made a stand, while their 
 pursuers, who were not too flushed with success to 
 be cautious, being still numerically inferior, drew 
 up at a respectful distance and held a council of 
 war. 
 
 These snow-ball fights were of tolerably frequent 
 occurrence between the boys who lived in Jack's 
 neighborhood and hordes from other localities, who 
 were apt to be styled muckers by those whose ter 
 ritory they invaded. Once or twice every winter 
 skirmishes such as the one now in progress would 
 develop into battles of some magnitude, enlisting 
 the services, on one side or the other, of all the 
 youth in that part of the city. Contests of this 
 kind had traditions to encourage them. Mr. War 
 ren, of whom you will hear later, who had been 
 the college chum and dear friend of Jack's father 
 and was now his mother's adviser, had often told 
 Jack of how, in the days long before he and Colo 
 nel Hall were boys, there had been relentless strife 
 between the Round-pointers and the Nigger-hillers, 
 and the North-enders and the South-enders, and 
 the Charlestown pigs, so called, which last named, 
 in the language of a local bard,
 
 THE SNOW-BALL FIGHT. 53 
 
 " Put on their wigs, 
 And over to Boston came," 
 
 only to be routed and driven back without them. 
 Jack delighted in the accounts of these old con 
 tests, and though the names were now changed he 
 had no difficulty in seeing in the Anderson-Streeters 
 and their allies, foes no less terrible than the boys 
 with whom his forefathers had fought. 
 
 But it is time to return to the immediate scene 
 of action, where both sides were beginning to real 
 ize that there had as yet been no real fighting to 
 speak of, merely a feeling of one another's strength. 
 Scouts had, apparently, been sent out by the muck 
 ers to scour the country, for recruits were coming 
 in by twos and threes. They were a motley-look 
 ing crew, as compared with Jack and his friends, 
 including some ragged specimens and several 
 negroes, one of whom, a left-handed lad nick 
 named "Custard" on account of the lightness of 
 his sable, was unerring in his shots. Cardigans, 
 for the most part, took the place of overcoats 
 among them, but some wore only tightly buttoned 
 jackets, and kept warm by kicking their toes against 
 the curb-stones, and alternately stuffing their hands
 
 54 JACK HALL. 
 
 into their pockets or blowing on their bare fin 
 gers. 
 
 From time to time they jeered at and insulted 
 the other army, who, by their pea jackets and rub 
 ber boots, suggested the solidity and dignity of 
 grenadiers, an impression which was heightened by 
 the silent disdain with which they received the vi 
 tuperation showered upon them. 
 
 But now the Anderson-Streeters, having accumu 
 lated a goodly supply of ammunition, and being 
 twice the numbers of their opponents, show signs 
 of an intention to attack. Their pickets edge up 
 gradually on the sidewalk, more or less sheltered 
 by the trunks of the line of trees which grow 
 there. Snow-balls begin to fly, and Joe Herring at 
 one point and Custard at another move forward si 
 multaneously, which is the signal for a general ad 
 vance. The grenadiers stand firm without firing a 
 shot. A perfect hail-storm is showered upon them, 
 which they bear unflinchingly. A loud yell spreads 
 along the advancing line, and the flower of all An 
 derson and Pinckney and Revere streets comes 
 dashing on. 
 
 " Now let them have it, fellows ! " cries Jack at
 
 THE SNOW-BALL FIGHT. 55 
 
 last, who, with General Warren's instruction at 
 Bunker Hill, of which he had recently read, fresh 
 in mind, has waited to see the whites of the 
 enemy's eyes before giving the order. 
 
 " That 's the sort ! " shouts Dubsy, as the whole 
 volley delivered at short range goes smashing into 
 the faces of their foes. 
 
 It is so deadly a volley that two or three of the 
 muckers clap their hands to their eyes and cry out 
 with pain ; others sputter as they receive the big 
 hard balls full against their teeth. Several caps 
 are knocked off and fall into the snow. Jack, with 
 his attention riveted on Joe Herring, sees, to his 
 delight, his first shot take the leader squarely in 
 the forehead, so that Joe shakes his head savagely 
 like an angry bull ; yet, putting it down, comes 
 on in butting fashion all the same, and hitting 
 Jack plump in the stomach nearly sends him over. 
 Custard, too, apparently is not struck, or at least, 
 if he is, does not mind it, and though some falter 
 he does not, but with another yell rushes at the 
 grenadiers. These muckers, though checked for 
 an instant, have good stuff in them. 
 
 " Give it to them again ! " cries Jack, who seems 
 to be recognized as the commanding officer.
 
 56 JACK HALL. 
 
 This volley is well delivered, too, but the on- 
 comers are too near for it to have full effect. The 
 balls go over the heads of Joe and Custard and the 
 other leaders, and before there is time to say Jack 
 Robinson, the two armies are at close quarters. Joe 
 Herring, with a bound like a wild-cat, gets his arms 
 round the neck of the first of the grenadiers in his 
 path, and over they go together, with Joe on top, 
 and rubbing the snow about his adversary's neck 
 and ears, to accomplish which to the best advantage 
 he squats upon the victim's chest. This is the first 
 feature in a hand-to-hand scrimmage which is 
 waged for several minutes without apparent advan 
 tage on either side, for Jack and Dubsy and Bill 
 Dale, who happen to be close together, form quite 
 as formidable a trio as any opposed to them. The 
 muckers fall before them like nine-pins, and scurry 
 out of their way. Jack gets his fingers inside the 
 collar of his original enemy of the morning, and 
 shaking him as a terrier would shake a mouse, 
 dumps him face downward in a pile of snow and 
 slush. This does Jack's heart good. The little 
 wretch blubbers and tries to use the stick in his 
 hand, which Jack snatches away from him, and with
 
 THE SNOW-BALL FIGHT. 57 
 
 a proper contempt for so unfair a weapon in a snow 
 ball fight, sends flying over the wall of a neighbor 
 ing yard. Sam Willis and George Bird, two more 
 of Jack's set, do yeoman service also at the other 
 end of the line, driving their opponents back and 
 washing the faces of the fallen with energy. 
 
 As used to happen in encounters of old, when 
 knights and other warriors contended together, the 
 leaders on either side seem at first to fight shy of 
 one another. They slaughter the weaker at the, 
 outset, making incursions into the enemy's line, so 
 that often the two armies are hopelessly confused. 
 Indeed, Joe Herring and Custard are a hundred 
 yards apart from Jack and his chief allies, and 
 between them the rank and file are intermingled 
 higgledy-piggledy. But presently, as fatigue and 
 lack of pluck begin to tell, the champions find that 
 the only enemies left worthy of the name are be 
 hind them, and by a common instinct turn and eye 
 one another, while the feebler boys draw off a little 
 as though waiting for the strife to be settled once 
 and for all by a battle of the giants. 
 
 Jack, at a glance, perceiving that Joe Herring 
 and Custard and one or two others are between him
 
 58 JACK HALL. 
 
 and the main body of his friends, and seized by 
 what he feels to be an inspiration of generalship, 
 shouts to Dubsy and Bill, and Sam Willis and 
 George Bird, who are close beside him, " Cut them 
 off ! cut them off ! " 
 
 Whereupon Jack springs forward at the head of 
 this detachment, imbued with the idea, which they 
 all share with him, of raking the enemy's vanguard 
 fore and aft before the chief force of the muckers 
 can come up from behind. Inspirited by the plan, 
 those above, among whom Bill French appears in 
 dry garments, present a bold front, and with a 
 shout charge. Joe and Custard, realizing their 
 peril, hesitate for an instant, while a shower of balls 
 pours in upon them, whether to break through the 
 rallied array of grenadiers or to seek to rejoin their 
 friends ; but before they can decide they are forced 
 to defend themselves. There are five of them, just 
 equal in number to their intervening enemies, who, 
 with gritted teeth, bear down upon them. Jack 
 again singles out Joe Herring, who, adopting his 
 old tactics, lowers his head and plunges forward. 
 But Jack does not intend to have his wind knocked 
 out of him a second time. He meets Joe with an
 
 THE SNOW-BALL FIGHT. 59 
 
 upper cut of his hand, which, though covered with 
 a mitten, is full of snow, and, jerking the butcher 
 boy's head up, grapples with him. They wrestle 
 fiercely ; meanwhile, three of the other muckers, 
 beset before and behind at the same moment, are 
 rolling on the ground. Only Custard, with Dubsy 
 hanging about his neck and Bill French and an 
 other boy on his back, still struggles for freedom, 
 shouting energetically for his friends. They are 
 coming by the score as fast as their legs will carry 
 them, but not soon enough to save their illus 
 trious leader from disaster. Three boys eager to 
 leap upon Joe Herring are prevented only by 
 Jack's decisive " Leave him to me," so stand aloof 
 ready to give succor if it be needed. It is scarcely 
 a fair match. Joe is nearly a head taller and is a 
 year older; his muscles are like steel, and, more 
 over, he has thrashed everybody in the neighbor 
 hood who has ever fought with him. If he can 
 once shake Jack off, he will soon knock the stuffing 
 out of him. But Jack knows this, too, and having 
 got a good hold, means to have no fisticuffs if he 
 can help it. He intends to throw Joe if he can. 
 He hears now, as they pitch from one side to the
 
 60 JACK HALL. 
 
 other with faces scarcely an inch apart, the yells of 
 the great body of muckers closing in upon them, 
 and knows that the fight is being renewed on more 
 even terms. Joe knows it, too, and, breathing 
 hard, makes one grand effort to swing his antagonist 
 off his feet, so as to be able to bring terror once 
 more into the general ranks. Jack, however, is 
 ready for him, and, resisting stubbornly, waits until 
 Joe relaxes his muscles a little as the great effort 
 proves unsuccessful, then adroitly twists his leg 
 about the champion's and throws him. Down they 
 go together, but Jack uppermost, and long 
 dreamed-of triumph of his life able to secure 
 a seat upon the butcher hero's chest, and to stuff 
 his mouth with snow. Joe's eyes are green as they 
 gaze up at him, and remind Jack of the cat whose 
 death-throes he once witnessed after the dogs had 
 left her. This was the simile employed by Jack 
 in recounting modestly his victory that evening at 
 the tea party. 
 
 But victory though it was, it was too short for 
 comfort. Before Jack has time to rub more than 
 a handful of slush over his victim's face and ears, 
 the army of invasion, by dint of numbers, drive back
 
 THE SNOW-BALL FIGHT. 61 
 
 the grenadiers, disputing every inch of ground, and 
 two big fellows throw themselves upon him and try 
 to drag him off Joe. Harry Dale is on top of them 
 in an instant, and straightway a half dozen on each 
 side precipitate themselves and make a pile, at the 
 bottom of which lies Joe Herring still gripped by 
 Jack. A fearful tussle ensues ; the two principals 
 are of course practically powerless to move, and feel 
 that they are well off if able to breathe without dif 
 ficulty. The legs of both are firmly grasped by a 
 score of arms, which in turn are kept down by boys 
 on top whom others seek to tear away from the pile. 
 As fast as one is pulled off another takes his place ; 
 heads, bodies, and limbs are hopelessly intermingled, 
 and neither party seems to have the best of it. 
 
 Just as Jack is -wondering whether Joe is alive, 
 because he is lying so still, and whether he himself 
 will not stifle, a shrill voice on the outskirts of the 
 fight pipes out, " Cheese it ! Cheese it ! " 
 
 At the words every boy ceases action, those on 
 the pile waiting for confirmation of the news which 
 the alarm has conveyed, and those erect following 
 the gaze of the small mucker who has given it, and 
 who is already preparing to flee down the street.
 
 62 JACK HALL. 
 
 As their eyes perceive at the street corner the offi 
 cer in a blue blouse with brass buttons, and armed 
 with a rattan, advancing upon them at a slightly 
 quickened gait, a dozen of the urchin's companions 
 repeat the cry, " Cheese it ! Cheese it ! " 
 
 In the twinkling of an eye the pile disintegrates 
 itself ; the boys of either faction get up and begin 
 to scatter, the muckers hastily and fearfully, the 
 grenadiers more composedly, and yet unequivocally. 
 Jack and Joe uncovered are free to rise, which they 
 proceed to do at once without further hostilities. 
 Jack, with his eye on the policeman, mingles with 
 the band of his friends who, gathered on the oppo 
 site sidewalk to that on which the guardian of the 
 peace is advancing, are hoping to slip by him with 
 out molestation, feeling, perhaps, that inasmuch as 
 they are on their own territory, and merely defend 
 ing themselves against invasion, pardon may not be 
 withheld from them. They take care to be so far 
 respectful in behavior as to refrain for the moment 
 from the insulting allusion to a cheese indulged in 
 by their late adversaries, which, for some reason or 
 other, had come to be the recognized phrase of 
 warning and insult combined, among the youth of
 
 THE SNOW-BALL FIGHT. 63 
 
 the city, in referring to the constabulary ; its origin 
 
 at least Jack and his friends always supposed so 
 
 being connected with the theft, either real or 
 imagined, at an earlier date, of one of the commod 
 ities in question by a member of the force. They 
 await his coming, grouped together, with almost an 
 innocent air. On the other hand Joe, the moment 
 he is free, glances over his shoulder at the represen 
 tative of order, puts two fingers in his mouth prelim 
 inary to emitting a piercing whistle, shouts " Cheese 
 it I " at the top of his lungs, and scoots down the 
 street at full speed to the spot where he had depos 
 ited his butcher's basket. This regained, he con 
 tinues his flight at a more leisurely pace until 
 distance hides him from view. His exodus is the 
 signal for a general stampede of his followers, who 
 disappear principally into the cross street by which 
 they had come, pursued with some swiftness by the 
 officer, galled, perhaps, by their impertinence, or 
 encouraged by their pusillanimity. Jack and his 
 grenadiers, not having hoped in vain that the en 
 gine of the law would pass them by unharmed, 
 survey the retreat in complacent silence until the 
 policeman is comfortably remote, then at a sig-
 
 64 JACK HALL. 
 
 nal raise their voices in a prolonged, ungenerous, 
 " Cheese it ! " 
 
 The officer turns and looks back at them angrily, 
 and raises his cane in so threatening a manner that 
 some of the fainter-hearted stai't to run into Jack's 
 alley- way. But the alarm is short-lived; their en 
 emy, after an instant's hesitation, pi-oceeds on his 
 way, reflecting doubtless on the ingratitude of boys. 
 The snow-ball fight is over, and ten minutes later 
 the grenadiers separate to their homes.
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 A DAY OF BECKONING. 
 
 JACK'S first thought on reentering the house was 
 for his tea-party, so he went into the dining-room, 
 where he found Hannah, to his satisfaction, already 
 setting. the table. 
 
 " Got the cream cakes ? " he asked. 
 
 "Yes, sir," answered Hannah. " Sakes alive, 
 Master Jack, where 've you been?" 
 
 " Snow-balling. We've had an awful fight with 
 the muckers." 
 
 " I guess they gave it to you, then," replied 
 Hannah, whose sympathies in the matter of snow 
 ball fights were not, perhaps, wholly on the side 
 of her charge, as her home was in the vicinity of 
 Anderson Street. " You 're wetted from head to 
 foot; go right up-stairs and get off those things." 
 
 "They didn't lick us any more than we licked 
 them. I threw Joe Herring, and they all piled on 
 me, and that 's how we were when the ' cheese it '
 
 66 JACK HALL. 
 
 came," said Jack. He went to the mirror and ex 
 amined his cheek, which was beginning to feel a 
 little swollen where the butcher boy's snow-ball 
 had struck it under the eye. 
 
 " I guess it won't be black," he said, under his 
 breath. "Holloa!" he exclaimed, as he seated 
 himself on the edge of one of the leather chairs. 
 " My tails are gone." By way of explanation he 
 held out his Scotch cap, from which both the rib 
 bons which ordinarily fluttered in the breeze had 
 been torn off. 
 
 Hannah sighed. "That's the third time this 
 week," she said. " Get up this minute, Master 
 Jack," she continued vehemently; "you're ruining 
 the nice furniture. Your mamma would have a fit 
 if she could see you." 
 
 The cause of this outbreak was that Jack, hav 
 ing plumped himself down as described, was trying 
 to remove one of his rubber boots by pressing its 
 heel against the toe of the other. It yielded sud 
 denly, and at the same time a quantity of loose 
 snow was scattered over the carpet. 
 
 " Jiminy ! " exclaimed Jack. 
 
 " Go right up-stairs the back way this minute.
 
 A DAY OF RECKONING. 67 
 
 Why, your leg is wet as sop as high as your knee," 
 said Hannah. 
 
 "The dam was over my boots," he answered. 
 " We made a bully dam," he continued, hobbling 
 toward the door on one leg with his bootless foot 
 drawn up like a stork. 
 
 Hannah followed him up to his room, where she 
 proceeded to pull off the other boot. It was harder 
 to start than its mate. Accordingly Jack tipped 
 himself back on the bed so that she could get a 
 purchase with her foot against the iron frame. 
 
 " Golly ! " he cried, as a small deluge of water 
 flowed back over him. The boot stuck like a vise, 
 and came off at last amid a splutter of slosh. 
 Hannah was breathless. 
 
 "Now take off every stitch of clothes, or you 
 shan't have a bit of supper this blessed night," she 
 said with decision, as she turned to go. 
 
 Fifteen minutes later Jack sat waiting in the 
 parlor to receive his friends, looking a pattern of 
 spruceness. His broad white collar was set off. by 
 a cherry tie ; he wore knickerbockers, red stockings, 
 and pumps, and his hair lay smooth and neatly 
 parted. Although he appeared ordinarily in trousers,
 
 68 JACK HALL. 
 
 his mother still made an exception in favor of knick 
 erbockers in the case of his Sunday go-to-meeting 
 suit. He bad walked three times round the dining- 
 room table, with his hands in his pockets, surveying 
 the delicacies, so as to make sure that nothing had 
 been forgotten, before composing himself. But he 
 had not long to waii ; the bell rang loudly three 
 times in quick succession, and promptly at the hour 
 set for the feast the three guests and their host 
 took their seats at table. They all four looked 
 very smiling, and showed no ill results from the 
 experiences of the day. Bill French, apparently, 
 had quite forgiven Jack for his ducking, though he 
 took a mild revenge by observing "Your eye '11 
 be black to-morrow." 
 
 "I threw him, any way," answered Jack, refer 
 ring, of course, to Joe Herring. 
 
 They talked the fight over in detail, and as they 
 discussed, the good things disappeared with aston 
 ishing rapidity. Nothing was wanting; the cream 
 cakes were fat fellows, and Jack showed strict im 
 partiality and skill in dividing the extra two so 
 that each of the company should get an equal 
 amount of the inside.
 
 A DAY OF RECKONING. 69 
 
 Dubsy had received the wishbone of the chicken, 
 which he carefully picked and held out to Jack to 
 pull with him. " Wish ! " he cried. 
 
 " I am wishing," said Jack, after a pause. 
 
 The others looked on with interest while the two 
 holders pulled energetically to tear the forked bone 
 apart. Not being dry, it resisted their efforts for 
 some moments, but at last broke on Jack's side 
 just below- the crotch, so that Dubsy retained the 
 larger piece, thus becoming the winner. 
 
 "What did you wish for, Dubsy?" they all 
 asked. 
 
 " I wished that it might always be Washington's 
 Birthday," said Dubsy jubilantly. 
 
 This seemed to every one an eminently sensible 
 wish, though Harry Dale qualified it by remarking, 
 " I 'd rather have every day Fourth of July." 
 
 " That 's so," said Bill French. " Father 's prom 
 ised me a big show of fireworks, this year." 
 
 " What was your wish, Jack ? " asked Dubsy 
 suddenly. 
 
 " That 's telling." 
 
 ' Of course you ought to tell," said Harry. 
 
 " Not if I lost."
 
 70 JACK HALL. 
 
 " It can't come true, any way," said Bill French. 
 
 " How do you know ? " retorted Jack sharply. 
 
 " What was it, then ? " asked Bill. 
 
 Jack hesitated a moment. " I wished," he said 
 a trifle bashfully, " that when I grew up there 
 might be a war and I might be a colonel, like my 
 father." 
 
 The boys followed Jack's glance at the oil por 
 trait, over the mantelpiece, of the handsome officer 
 gazing down on them, whose face and dark hair 
 were not unlike his son's, and became contempla 
 tive. 
 
 " He was a soldier, too," continued Jack, point 
 ing to a portrait of Israel Hall at the other side of 
 the room. " He was my great-great-grandfather, 
 and was killed at the battle of Brandywine." 
 
 "Are all these your relations?" asked Harry, 
 indicating the half-dozen pictures on the walls, 
 among which the strong features of the old Salem 
 sea-captain looked forth stanchly. 
 
 " Yes," answered Jack. " The others were mer 
 chants." 
 
 " That 's what I mean to be when I 'm a man," 
 said Bill French. " And when I 'm rich I mean to
 
 A DAY OF RECKONING. 71 
 
 have a steam yacht. Father 's going to give me a 
 cat-boat, this summer." 
 
 By this time they had got to the puff cakes, 
 which proved to be all that Hannah had predicted. 
 After finishing his third help, Dubsy patted his 
 stomach complacently and observed that he was 
 full up to the muzzle, which seemed to be each 
 one's sentiment as regards himself, though to tell 
 the truth there was scarcely anything left to eat 
 on the table. 
 
 How to spend the evening was now the problem. 
 For a while a bagatelle board sufficed for their 
 amusement, but growing weary of that, Bill French 
 chanced to draw up the window-shade a little and 
 peep outdoors. It was a fine night, with plenty of 
 stars, but no moon. The other boys joined him, 
 and all four stood with their noses pressed against 
 the pane. 
 
 " Golly ! " exclaimed Jack suddenly, in a de 
 lighted whisper, " I know what we '11 do." He 
 put his finger to his lips and proceeded to run up 
 stairs two steps at a time, but noiselessly as a cat, 
 until he reached his room. Without needing to light 
 the gas, for he knew the whereabouts of every-
 
 72 JACK HALL. 
 
 thing well enough to find it blindfolded, Jack rum 
 maged in his tool-chest for a piece of chalk and a 
 ball of twine. Then he started down-stairs again, 
 stopping in the parlor a moment to obtain a sheet 
 of paper from his mother's desk. With these im 
 plements the four boys, having put on their over 
 coats, slipped out the front way and carefully closed 
 the door behind them. 
 
 As soon as they were outside, Jack stooped and 
 with his piece of chalk drew on the bottom door 
 step the outline of an envelope, which he whitened 
 and whitened within until it stood out so distinctly 
 that any one opening the door would be certain to 
 be misled. Then he rang the bell, after which 
 all four glided across the street to hide in the 
 shadow of the grocer's shop. Hannah, who an 
 swered the bell, stared with surprise at first, and 
 then perceiving the envelope, as she supposed, de 
 scended the steps to pick it up, but naturally her 
 fingers scratched against the cold granite. A sec 
 ond time she made the same attempt, but with no 
 better result. The chuckle which Harry Dale was 
 just then unable to repress was not necessary, per 
 haps, to make clear to her that she was the victim
 
 A DAY OF RECKONING. 73 
 
 of a practical joke ; at any rate, she bounced up 
 and slammed the door indignantly behind her. 
 
 This trick was repeated once or twice at other 
 houses, varied by a second of a similar character, 
 which consisted in fastening a string to the real 
 piece of paper and jerking it away on to the side 
 walk as the street-door opened. The unfortunate 
 maid- servant, supposing that the wind had carried 
 it away, would follow for some little distance the 
 paper, flitting along at intervals, until the truth 
 dawned upon her that she had to deal with " them 
 boys." 
 
 But the novelty of this mischief wore off after a 
 few experiments, and the culprits arranged them 
 selves on the sill of the grocer's large window, like 
 a row of sparrows, to cogitate as to what they 
 should do next. 
 
 " Let 's smash lamp-posts," said Dubsy. 
 
 " I 've promised my mother not to any more," 
 answered Jack sadly. 
 
 "Well, I haven't," said Bill Dale; whereupon 
 he aimed a snow-ball at the corner gaslight and 
 let drive. A crash of glass followed, and the boys 
 ran like deer until they were safe in Jack's alley-
 
 74 JACK HALL. 
 
 way ; from this they cautiously peeped out after a 
 moment or two, and, no policeman or other censor 
 being in sight, leisurely sauntered forth again. 
 
 " I know what let 's do," said Bill French sud 
 denly in his confidential tone. " Give me the 
 string, Jack." Taking the ball of twine, Bill went 
 noiselessly across the street and up the steps of the 
 house immediately opposite, which was occupied by 
 a gentleman who was known to them all as " Stiffy 
 Bacon." Mr. Bacon, who was regarded by his con 
 temporaries as a very worthy person, had thus far 
 been unable to preserve friendly relations with the 
 boys who congregated at the corner, and who, as a 
 consequence, delighted in making his life misera 
 ble. His house and the one adjoining fronted on a 
 narrow terrace, some six or eight feet above the 
 level of the sidewalk, which was approached by a 
 few winding stairs at either end. 
 
 Bill fastened the fine twine around the bell-han 
 dle, and letting it unwind returned to the alley-way 
 with the ball, having established a taut line across 
 the street at a height which would endanger the 
 hat of any passer. The street was pretty well de 
 serted at this hour, but the boys were content to
 
 A DAY OF RECKONING. 75 
 
 wait with a patience worthy of a better cause. It 
 must have been five minutes before Jack exclaimed, 
 " I hear some one coming." 
 
 They listened, and could plainly distinguish foot 
 falls and the resonance from the ferule of a cane 
 on the opposite side. The person was coining up 
 hill, and soon, to their delight, proved to be a man 
 wearing a silk hat. 
 
 " Now 's your time," said Jack to Bill, who had 
 hold of the string. 
 
 Bill accordingly pulled the bell and adjusted the 
 line to what seemed the proper height. The mis 
 chief-makers were rewarded by perceiving the door 
 open and the gentleman, who was walking rather 
 fast, come abreast of the twine at precisely the 
 same moment, a consummation for which they had 
 fondly hoped. The unwary pedestrian was brought 
 up short ; his silk hat flew oflf and striking upon 
 the bricks with a hollow thud bumped along the 
 street ; while the other, who happened by chance 
 to be no one less than Stiffy Bacon himself, en 
 countering only empty space and then hearing the 
 mutte rings of surprise and indignation below, 
 stepped forward and peered over the railing. There
 
 76 JACK HALL. 
 
 was a gas lamp a hundred and fifty yards away 
 which enabled Mr. Bacon, as he thought, to distin 
 guish the disaster and to divine the cause. 
 
 " What do you mean, sir, by ringing at my bell 
 at this hour in that condition ? " he asked angrily. 
 
 " What do you mean, sir, by obstructing the high 
 way in such an outrageous manner?" retorted the 
 stranger, who, having picked up his hat, was en 
 deavoring to smooth its nap against his coat-sleeve. 
 
 " You are intoxicated, sir," replied Stiffy Bacon. 
 
 " How dare you insult a gentleman in such a 
 fashion ; you are an insolent scoundrel, sir ! I "will 
 enter a complaint against you in the morning for 
 obstructing the highway and for defamation of 
 character, yes, sir, for defamation of character." 
 
 The unfortunate stranger, who drew himself up 
 to his full height as he delivered this speech, had 
 such an air of injured respectability and spoke with 
 so much assurance that Mr. Bacon, although very 
 angry, peered forward a little further and ex 
 claimed, " I obstructing the highway ? Explain 
 yourself." 
 
 li What do you call this, I should like to know, 
 but obstructing the highway ? " replied the victim,
 
 A DAY OF RECKONING. 77 
 
 pawing the air in search of the twine which Bill, 
 immediately after the catastrophe, had let drop so 
 that it lay along the sidewalk. " Fastening a rope 
 across the street to cut the throats of honest folk 
 at night is akin to manslaughter. Ah, here it is." 
 
 He picked up the string at his feet, and, perceiv 
 ing that it dangled down from the terrace, shook it 
 indignantly at his insulter. " There, sir, what do 
 you think'of that?" 
 
 Apprised by the rubbing of the string against 
 his leg that something was wrong, Mr. Bacon 
 glanced around him and in an instant realized the 
 situation. 
 
 " My dear sir," Mr. Bacon protested, " you will 
 excuse me. This is none of my doing; it is the 
 work of some bad boys who are a torment to this 
 neighborhood." 
 
 " They ought to be arrested ; I 'd make short 
 work of them if I lived here," said the gentleman, 
 brandishing his cane. " Another time, sir, perhaps 
 you will be more careful as to the aspersions which 
 you cast on respectable people. Good-evening, sir." 
 Whereupon the stranger stalked away at his pre 
 vious rapid gait.
 
 78 JACK HALL. 
 
 Meanwhile, the boys had been squatting still as 
 mice in the dark alley, almost afraid to breathe for 
 fear of giving any indication as to their where 
 abouts. The affair had exceeded in dramatic effect 
 their wildest anticipations, and there had been mo 
 ments, especially when the stranger had brandished 
 his stick, during which they had felt a common im 
 pulse to run into the house. But now that they 
 had only Stiffy Bacon to concern themselves about, 
 terrible as he was, a feeling of relief so far took 
 possession of them, that the irrepressible Harry 
 Dale, unable to contain himself longer, chuckled 
 again. Mr. Bacon, who had stooped to examine 
 the arrangement of the device by which he had 
 been victimized, caught the sound, and, turning in 
 their direction, shook his fist and exclaimed, " You 
 young rascals, you ! " 
 
 At these strenuous words, which were delivered 
 in what seemed to them a tone of terrible wrath, 
 the young evil-doers turned and fled with precipi 
 tation up the alley, save Jack, who lingered for an 
 instant to pick up the ball of twine and pull the 
 line as taut as possible with all his might. He 
 could hear the jangling of the bell as he followed
 
 A DAY OF RECKONING. 79 
 
 the footsteps of his companions, who ran through 
 the back yard into the house again. From the win 
 dows of the dining-room the four peeped once more 
 into the street, but all was still. Stiffy Bacon had 
 apparently retired to his lair. After watching a 
 sufficient time to make sure that the enemy was 
 not lying in wait for them, Jack's visitors ventured 
 to take leave of their host, as it was now half-past 
 nine, and in fifteen minutes more Jack himself was 
 sound .asleep. 
 
 An hour later, Mrs. Hall returned home. Step 
 ping into the laundry, as was her custom every 
 night before going to bed, to make sure that all 
 was safe from fire, she saw Jack's mittens and pea- 
 jacket hanging up to dry, and smiled to herself as 
 she thought of the happy day he must have passed. 
 Hannah, who would sooner have cut off her right 
 hand than have got Jack into trouble, had already 
 reported to her mistress that the tea party had been 
 a great success, and smothered her own resentment 
 at having been made to scratch her finger-nails on 
 the stone step. Before entering her chamber, Mrs. 
 Hall went into Jack's room, and, bending over the 
 little iron bedstead, stood watching for some min-
 
 80 
 
 JACK HALL. 
 
 utes his peaceful, regular breathing. " Dear boy ! " 
 she murmured, " what should I do without him ? " 
 
 She stooped and kissed his soft cheek, which unex 
 pectedly aroused him. 
 
 " Is that you, mother ? " he asked. 
 
 " Yes, dear ; good-night."
 
 A DAY OF RECKONING. 81 
 
 " But I 'ra not asleep ; you must n't go." He 
 rubbed his eyes and sat up in bed. 
 
 " It 's late, dear ; lie down again. Have you had 
 a happy holiday ? " 
 
 " Bully, mother ; sit down, I want to tell you 
 about it. You shall- stay," said Jack, putting his 
 arm about her neck and drawing her cheek against 
 his own. 
 
 " You shall tell me all about it in the morning." 
 
 " No ; now, mother." 
 
 "Well, dear?" 
 
 Jack was silent a moment. " I smoked to-day," 
 he blurted out. 
 
 "Smoked?" 
 
 " Yes ; it wasn't tobacco, it was rattan. Dubsy 
 and Bill French smoked too. Dubsy was sick af 
 terwards ; I was n't sick, but I felt queer." 
 
 " Why, how came you to do that, Jack ? You 
 must have known that it was wrong." 
 
 Jack said nothing, but played with his mother's 
 hand. 
 
 " Did n't you, dear ? " 
 
 " Yes," he whispered. 
 
 " Who put such an idea into your head ? " she 
 asked.
 
 82 JACK HALL. 
 
 " Bill French. I guess he smokes lots ; we went 
 on top of his house, so that no one could see us." 
 
 " You forget, ray dear, that God saw you," said 
 his mother. 
 
 Jack was pensive a moment. " And Washing- 
 tori ? " he asked. 
 
 " Sh ! " Mrs. Hall was a little doubtful how to 
 take this observation. 
 
 "Do you suppose," Jack went on after a mo 
 ment, " that he knows his birthday is a holiday ? " 
 
 " I think very likely, dear." 
 
 Jack was again silent. " Mother? " 
 
 "Well?" 
 
 " Bill French says that when you smoke rattan 
 the blood is sucked out of your lungs ; do you be 
 lieve it 's true ? " 
 
 Mrs. Hall started a little, but a moment's reflec 
 tion enabled her to answer composedly, " No, dear, 
 certainly not ; such a thing would be impossible." 
 
 " He showed us the dried blood in the rattan, 
 afterwards." 
 
 "Nonsense, dear. Bill French was trying to 
 make sport of you." 
 
 Charley Buck told him so."
 
 A DAY OF RECKONING. 83 
 
 "Charley Buck ought to know better, then. 
 Charley is too old to tell such foolish things to little 
 boys. What he says about the blood is n't true ; 
 but it would make me very unhappy to have you 
 smoke, Jack, until you are a man. It's a very bad 
 habit for a boy to get into, no matter what he 
 smokes, rattan or anything else. But I 'in very 
 glad you told me, Jack. If you had concealed it 
 from me and I had found it out, I should have been 
 very unhappy." 
 
 " I did n't want to go to sleep until I 'd told you," 
 answered Jack, drawing her cheek closer to his own. 
 
 " You will promise me not to smoke again ? " 
 
 Jack promised, and then laid himself down again 
 perfectly happy, still clasping his mother's hand, 
 which she did not withdraw until he had returned 
 to the land of dreams. 
 
 But while Mrs. Hall was dressing in the morn 
 ing, Hannah brought word that Jack had waked up 
 covered with a rash, and that he complained of a 
 headache. The doctor was hastily sent for, but 
 on his arrival the fears of anything serious were 
 promptly dispelled by the announcement that Jack 
 had a thorough case of measles. The loss of the
 
 84 JACK HALL. 
 
 holiday outdoors seemed to be very nearly made up 
 to the invalid himself by the news that he could not 
 be able to return to school for a fortnight at least; 
 and his mother, who sat beside his bed for a while 
 after the doctor had gone, was on the point of leav 
 ing him with a comparatively light heart to his 
 own devices, when word was brought her that Mr. 
 Eriggs, the grocer, was down-stairs and would like 
 to see her. 
 
 " He has probably come to explain why his last 
 supply of coffee is so much poorer than I have usu 
 ally had," said Mrs. Hall to herself. 
 
 But Mr. Briggs had come for a very different 
 purpose. He looked very grave and a little embar 
 rassed as she entered the sitting-room into which 
 he had been shown. He was a tall and rather thin 
 man, with a worried expression, which became in 
 tensified as he proceeded to explain the reason of 
 his visit. " I 've come, ma'am, to say that something 
 must be done about that boy of yours. I 've stood 
 it a good many years, ma'am, and my patience is 
 pretty much exhausted, I 'm free to confess." 
 
 Mrs. Hall colored violently. " Are you speaking 
 of Jack, Mr. Briggs ? "
 
 A DAY OF RECKONING. 85 
 
 " Yes, ma'am. If I may be so bold, he 's a very 
 troublesome young gentleman, and there 's plenty 
 in the neighborhood who think as I do," he said 
 respectfully. 
 
 " Sit down, Mr. Briggs ; what has he been doing 
 now?" 
 
 "You know it ain't the first time I've had to 
 complain," he remarked apologetically. 
 
 Mrs. Hall - bowed coldly. 
 
 " If it is n't one thing it 's another," he continued. 
 "I 'rn willing to put up with their coming into the 
 shop and purloining beans and dried apples and figs 
 which they don't pay for, knowing as boys is boys; 
 but when it comes to " 
 
 " What I you don't mean to tell me that my son 
 takes things from your store which he does n't pay 
 for ! " interrupted Mrs. Hall, in a horrified tone. 
 " Why, that would be stealing." 
 
 " Yes, ma'am, strictly speaking, I suppose it 
 would," replied the grocer, with a judicial air. 
 "But as I was telling you, I 'm willing to say noth 
 ing about that for the sake of your custom, provided 
 as no more snow is fired into my cellar. The bas 
 ket into which the baker drops the rolls for my cus-
 
 86 JACK HALL. 
 
 tomers is so wet every morning that they 're mostly 
 spoiled, to say nothing of the dents in the door from 
 the snow-balls and stones which don't go in. I only 
 want to be reasonable, or I 'd send in a bill for my 
 wheelbarrow which some of them broke last week 
 by upsetting it down the area steps. I 've told you 
 most of this before, ma'am," he continued, after a 
 pause, " and you 've promised to speak to your son.'' 
 
 "I have spoken, Mr. Briggs. I have cautioned 
 him particularly to let your wheelbarrow alone, and 
 not to fire snow-balls at your door. But this steal 
 ing is a more serious affair, and shall be put a stop 
 to at once." 
 
 " It is n't the stealing that I care about," replied 
 Mr. Briggs dryly. " But if I have to put the mat 
 ter in the hands of the police, as I 've made up my 
 mind to do if my cellar ain't let alone, I can't an 
 swer for what '11 happen. I've put up with their 
 tricks as long as I can." 
 
 " What makes you think that Jack is stilt con 
 cerned in this mischief ? " asked Mrs. Hall. " I 
 assure you that I have told him repeatedly that he 
 is not to molest you." 
 
 " It does n't seem to make much difference,
 
 A DAY OF RECKONING. 87 
 
 ma'am, then, for my clerk see him with his own 
 eyes shy two snow-balls at the door only yesterday 
 morning, and one of them went through. Besides, 
 he's a sort of leader of mischief hereabouts. He 
 and the Perkins boy and the Honorable Horatio 
 French's youngest son are up to all sorts of pranks, 
 and it's hard to say which of them is the worst." 
 
 Mrs. Hall sighed and looked sad. She said pres 
 ently, " I will make a point this time of seeing 
 that Jack avoids your premises, Mr. Briggs, and if 
 you will send in a bill covering whatever he has 
 taken from your store, and the cost of a new wheel 
 barrow, I will pay it." 
 
 " Thank you, ma'am ; I should never think of 
 doing that." 
 
 " I insist," said Mrs. Hall decidedly. She felt 
 fairly ready to cry at Jack's depravity. 
 
 " Then I shall consider that from this time forth 
 there will be a change," said Mr. Briggs, rising. 
 " It's the last time I shall speak," he added, as he 
 stood with his hat in both his hands, evidently feel 
 ing it his duty to be explicit. 
 
 " Very well, Mr. Briggs. Let me say that at 
 present there will be no occasion for you to trouble
 
 88 JACK HALL. 
 
 yourself, so far as as Jack is concerned, for he 
 has the measles." 
 
 " I 'm sorry to hear it, ma'am ; he must have 
 been took sudden." 
 
 " This morning." 
 
 "Well, I hope he'll get well soon. I bear no 
 malice, ma'am, I hope you '11 believe, and if it 
 were n't that I thought him a smart, likely lad, I 
 should have spoken to the police long since. Good 
 morning, ma'am." 
 
 " Good morning, Mr. Briggs. Oh, one moment. 
 The last coffee you sent was very poor," she said, 
 unable to forego this opportunity to put the worthy 
 grocer a little in the wrong. 
 
 " Very well, ma'am ; I will take it back and 
 send you some more." 
 
 When she was alone, Mrs. Hall wiped her eyes, 
 which were full of tears. The idea of Jack's tak 
 ing what did not belong to him ! Honesty was 
 honesty, no matter whether it were a question of 
 dried apples or of diamonds, and the boy who got 
 into the habit of thinking trifles of no importance 
 would soon degenerate. Then, too, how often she 
 had warned him not to interfere with Mr. Briggs !
 
 A DAY OF RECKONING. 89 
 
 That hole in the area door had been a constant 
 source of trouble ever since Jack had been able to 
 fire a snow-ball. What with catapults and bean 
 blowers in addition, which were the engines of as 
 sault when the snow was gone, poor Mr. Briggs 
 had ample cause to complain. It was evident that 
 he had been goaded to a point where he would 
 take desperate measures unless something were 
 done to restrain effectually his tormentors. 
 
 This was by no means the first occasion, as Mr. 
 Briggs had seen fit to remind her, that she had 
 been called to account for Jack's mischievous be 
 havior ; but somehow or other she had flattered 
 herself from time to time that the grocer was 
 crabbed and prone to fault-finding, and that her 
 son's high spirits would moderate themselves as 
 he learned more clearly to recognize the rights of 
 others. But of late it had seemed to her that 
 instead of improving, Jack was growing steadily 
 worse. Rumors of his ill-doings reached her ears 
 from various sources, and even Hannah had given 
 her to understand that he had been alluded to in 
 neighboring kitchens as little inferior, in capacity 
 for wickedness, to a fiend. His clothes, alternately
 
 90 JACK HALL. 
 
 soaking wet, stiff with mud, or full of rents, bore 
 silent but eloquent testimony to the recklessness of 
 his conduct. She felt that she did not, of course, 
 mind the mere rough usage, though it entailed per 
 petually washing and mending ; that was to be 
 expected, perhaps, of an active boy ; but his con 
 stant return home in a draggled condition made 
 her anxious as to the character of his amusements. 
 He was perpetually in the company of Bill French, 
 whose family, though rich, were new-comers in that 
 part of the city, and to whose society she would 
 have liked to see him less devoted. This incident 
 of rattan-smoking was another piece of testimony 
 to confirm her opinion that Bill was an undesirable 
 crony for Jack. Dubsy Perkins and Harry Dale 
 seemed to her less objectionable, especially Harry, 
 who was a quieter and more thoughtful-looking 
 boy than most of the others who made a play 
 ground of Mr. Briggs' corner. As for Dubsy, he 
 imitated Jack in everything, applauding all he did, 
 and trying his best to keep up with or even sur 
 pass him in whatever was proposed. 
 
 Little by little, it had come over Mrs. Hall of 
 late that the best thing for Jack would be to send
 
 A DAY OF RECKONING. 91 
 
 him to some school away from home. The grow 
 ing city seemed no place for a high-spirited boy, 
 for whatever he did was pretty sure to be mischief 
 or against the law. Time was when the Common 
 had been an ample play-ground, but the crews of 
 children which crowded it now, to the annoyance 
 and even peril of adult persons, had induced the 
 municipal authorities to consider whether the popu 
 lation had not become so large as to make it im 
 perative to forbid ball-playing and other healthy 
 sports to go on there. One strong argument in 
 favor of the proposed restriction was that the play 
 ground was usurped by youths of seventeen and 
 upwards, large and powerful as men, who kept 
 away the smaller boys. For a time the vacant lots 
 on the outskirts of the city had become favorite 
 resorts, but these were rapidly being occupied by 
 houses. Only the streets were left, and boys who 
 tried to play there were involved in an incessant 
 warfare with the police. To keep Jack indoors 
 Avas impossible, and she reasoned that if the natu 
 ral outlets for youthful energy were obstructed, 
 others of an unwholesome kind would be found by 
 him. Nothing disturbed her more than the thought
 
 02 JACK HALL. 
 
 of Jack becoming old before his time, one of the 
 knowing little gentlemen of fifteen, who sauntered 
 about the streets in standing collars and kid gloves 
 with an eye to the girls. She wished to see Jack 
 remain an unsophisticated manly boy as long as 
 possible, and she feared that another year of city 
 life might bring about a change in him far more 
 to be deplored than any amount of mischievous- 
 ness. 
 
 But the thought of parting with him was un 
 bearable. He was her idol and the delight of her 
 existence. At present he was under her eye, at 
 least for a part of the time, and could not go very 
 far wrong without her perceiving it. Would it be 
 possible to find a school in the country where, in 
 addition to the advantages of a natural boyish de 
 velopment, Jack would find also the watchful care 
 of a home ? There were, she knew, academies 
 some of them large ones to which certain of her 
 friends had sent their boys, but she had derived the 
 impression that at them excellence in instruction 
 was the chief consideration, and that the masters 
 were not expected to concern themselves with the 
 morals of the pupils many of whom were day-
 
 A DAY OF RECKONING. 93 
 
 scholars who lived in adjoining towns outside of 
 the class-room, unless tiny boy became conspicu 
 ously disreputable. She had discussed the matter 
 somewhat with her adviser, Mr. Warren, who 
 agreed with her that Jack would be better off away 
 from the bricks and mortar, and who promised to 
 make inquiries as to where it was advisable to send 
 him. He had further made her understand that 
 the question had only latterly been forced upon the 
 attention of parents by the growth of our cities. 
 Hitherto there had been, and there was still in the 
 smaller places, facilities for children to play natu 
 rally and yet to go to school at home. Our system 
 of free education, which dated from noble John 
 Winthrop's time, had properly been our boast, and 
 we had, accordingly, always rather regarded it as 
 superior to the English system of large public 
 schools away from the cities, without perceiving 
 that it might not always suffice for our needs. 
 Home training was, doubtless, the key to many 
 virtues, but there was unquestionably a more pre 
 ponderating danger to be feared, to the growth of 
 the muscles, and to the action of the liver, lungs, 
 and heart, and, most important of all, to the charac-
 
 94 JACK HALL. 
 
 ter itself, in the cramped, unwholesome life which 
 a boy is in danger of leading who goes to school in 
 a large city. 
 
 There was another point of which Mrs. Hall had 
 thought in this connection. She knew that her 
 husband had been very anxious that his son should 
 grow up an American, without false notions of 
 equality, and with pride and faith in his country. 
 It had been bis intention to send Jack to the pub 
 lic schools so that he might mix early with all sorts 
 of boys. And yet she could remember hearing him 
 remark shortly before he went to the war, that it 
 might well be a question how far, to insure this, 
 one would be justified in subjecting a child to the 
 companionship of rough or vicious boys. Since 
 then she had discussed the matter with Mr. War 
 ren from this point of view. She was far from 
 wealthy, but she could afford to pay a reasonable 
 sum for Jack's tuition. Would sending him to a 
 school to which the mass of boys were not well 
 enough off to go tend to foster in him undemo 
 cratic notions ? As her adviser explained to her, it 
 would be folly to assume that because free educa 
 tion was open to all for the sake of the poor, all
 
 A DAY OF RECKONING. 95 
 
 were obliged to take advantage of it in order not to 
 be regarded as aristocrats. As well say that a man 
 was no lover of republicanism because he livefl in 
 a more expensive house than his neighbor.
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 JACK GOES TO UTOPIA. 
 
 MRS. HALL'S reflections concerning Jack were 
 interrupted by the sound of the door-bell. A mo 
 ment later Hannah ushered in a no less formida 
 ble personage than Mr. Bacon. A call at so early 
 an hour was not likely to be merely social Mrs. 
 Hall well knew, and she began to ask herself what 
 Jack had done now, as her visitor made some ob 
 servations on the weather before proceeding to 
 explain the real object of his coming. 
 
 Mr. Bacon was ceremonious in his general deport 
 ment, especially toward ladies. Indeed, his erect- 
 ness, spruceness, and general starched effect, com 
 bined with his austerity toward the boys of the 
 neighborhood, had won for him his nickname. 
 Mrs. Hall had a bowing acquaintance with him, 
 but there was none of that familiarity between 
 them which encourages the friendly discussion of a 
 serious affair. Mr. Bacon announced in well chosen
 
 MR. BACON WAS CEREMONIOUS IN HIS GENERAL 
 DEPORTMENT.
 
 JACK GOES TO UTOPIA. 99 
 
 language that his patience (like Mr. Briggs') was 
 exhausted. He had been badgered, so he phrased it, 
 long enough. Only the night before a party of 
 boys, of which, presumably, Master Hall was one, 
 for the reason that they had concealed themselves 
 in Mrs. Hall's alley-way, and had sought shelter in 
 Mrs. Hall's house, had made a barrier across the 
 street with a piece of twine fastened to his door 
 bell at such a height as to imperil the eyesight, to 
 say nothing of the hats, of the passers. This sort 
 of thing could not go on. He had endured, with 
 forbearance, having his windows smashed by the 
 careless and sometimes deliberate discharge of va 
 rious missiles, having his doorsteps dirtied by 
 muddy feet, his wife's pet cat tormented, and him 
 self insulted by offensive epithets, hoping that pa 
 rental authority might interfere. But it seemed to 
 him as if matters were getting worse every day 
 instead of better. To apply to the police to protect 
 him and his household against his neighbors' chil 
 dren was a step from which he shrank, yet some 
 thing must be done. For some reason or other the 
 boys appeared to pitch invariably on him as a vic 
 tim on whom to practice their pranks, though he
 
 100 JACK HALL. 
 
 was not conscious of having deserved their hostility. 
 > Would not Mrs. Hall remonstrate seriously with 
 her son, whom he had reason to believe to be more 
 or less of a ringleader among them ? 
 
 Mrs. Hall, who had listened with pain and morti 
 fication to this account of Jack's wrong conduct, 
 was too much of a fond mother not to take advan 
 tage of Stiffy Bacon's reference to the fact that he 
 had been especially selected to play tricks upon. 
 
 " Of course, Mr. Bacon, Jack has behaved very 
 badly, and you must not think for a moment that 
 I wish to justify his actions," she said; "but boys 
 will be boys, and may it not be that if you were a 
 little better disposed toward them they might not 
 be so troublesome? Their annoyance of you is in 
 defensible, I know, still, as you yourself say, they 
 seem to single you out especially to play tricks 
 upon." 
 
 Mr. Bacon colored violently. "I don't know 
 what you mean, Mrs. Hall," he answered. "I 
 pride myself that my treatment of the boys who 
 congregate in this street has been most considerate 
 and lenient. The fact is, madam, I am afraid you 
 do not appreciate what nuisances they have become.
 
 JACK GOES TO UTOPIA. 101 
 
 If it be true that I have unwittingly incurred your 
 son's ill will, I can scarcely be held responsible for 
 the constant vexation they occasion the worthy 
 tradesman opposite by their mischievous behavior; 
 scarcely a day passes without some cause for com 
 plaint on his part." 
 
 It was now Mrs. Hall's turn to blush, but she 
 answered, a little warmly, " I think that Mr. Briggs 
 is quite able to fight his own battles, Mr. Bacon. 
 As to Jack, I shall most certainly forbid him to go 
 upon your premises in future. There will be no 
 chance of it at present," she added, rising, "as he 
 has the measles." 
 
 "Oh," said Mr. Bacon. "Very sorry to hear it, 
 I'm sure. It is not a serious disease, I believe." 
 
 "I believe not," she answered coldly, and so 
 they parted. But there was further mortification 
 in store for Mrs. Hall. 
 
 Ten minutes later Hannah, in an awe-struck 
 tone, informed her that there was a policeman in 
 the front entry. It occurred to her at once that 
 Mr. Briggs had repented of his leniency and sought 
 protection from the law without waiting for another 
 breach of it. The sight of the tall officer in the
 
 102 JACK HALL. 
 
 blue coat and brass buttons, with a number shining 
 on his breast, filled her with dismay. At least he 
 would have to wait until Jack was well before he 
 carried him off to court. 
 
 "The captain has sent me to say, ma'am, that 
 this breaking of lamps must coine to an end. 
 There's been sixteen smashed at the corner here 
 in the last month," he began. 
 
 " Do you mean that he suspects my boy of being 
 concerned in it? " asked Mrs. Hall, as he seemed to 
 be waiting for an answer. 
 
 " Boys did it, ma'am ; or rather snow-balls fired 
 by boys, and I guess what your son don't know 
 about it ain't worth knowing," replied the officer 
 confidently. 
 
 "I feel sure that Jack has not broken any for 
 eh a week," she faltered. " At least he promised 
 me faithfully that he would not, and I never knew 
 him not to keep his word." 
 
 " Can't pretend to say who did it," he said. "If 
 I'd seen it done while I was on the beat, there 'd 
 been an end to it mighty quick ; they take precious 
 good care to wait until I 'm not round. All I 'm 
 saying is, some one did it, and that some one is
 
 JACK GOES TO UTOPIA. 103 
 
 boys ; and, what 's more, there 's got to be an end 
 of it, or there '11 be trouble. I 've tried to be easy 
 with them, but it 's no use ; the more I overlook 
 the saucier they get, and it 's about time to cry 
 halt. My instructions, ma'am, are, to make arrests, 
 if another lamp is broken." 
 
 " But you can't arrest a boy if he is innocent," 
 exclaimed Mrs. Hall, who was becoming alarmed. 
 
 " I guess there ain't much danger of my making 
 any. serious mistakes," said the officer, with a grin. 
 " I 've been on this beat for the last four years, and 
 I know pretty well by this time who 's innocent and 
 who 's not." 
 
 " The boys all appreciate how lenient you have 
 been with them," she said, hoping, perhaps, to 
 mollify him by flattery. " They quite look upon 
 you as a friend." 
 
 " Maybe it would have been better if I 'd been 
 strict with them from the first. There 's no trust 
 ing them ; the moment my back 's turned they 're 
 making faces at me or shouting after me," he said, 
 somewhat bitterly, evidently reflecting on his ex 
 perience of the previous afternoon. " There ain't 
 much gratitude in boys if you come to reflect upon
 
 104 JACK HALL. 
 
 it; leastways, I ain't found much so far. Well, 
 ma'am, I bid you good morning," he added. "A 
 warning 's a warning, and that 's all there is about 
 it." 
 
 "If there are any lamps broken during the next 
 fortnight," Mrs. Hall hastened to say, as the officer 
 turned to go, " it won't be Jack's fault, for he has 
 the measles." 
 
 " Sbo ! Has he though ? Want to know ! " he 
 said slowly, by way of comment, pausing between 
 the phrases. "Well, 't ain't as bad as scarlet 
 fever. I hate to see boys sick, though. Good 
 day, madam." 
 
 That afternoon Mrs. Hall put on her bonnet and 
 went down town to call on Mr. Warren, whom she 
 always consulted when she wished advice. She 
 told the lawyer briefly, in rather a despairing tone, 
 all that had come to her ears during the morn 
 ing, and ended by saying that if a good school 
 could be found outside the city, Jack must be sent 
 to it, even if her heart were broken as a conse 
 quence. Her heart was certain to be broken if he 
 remained at home. 
 
 Mr. Warren listened to her patiently, and when
 
 JACK GOES TO UTOPIA. 105 
 
 she had finished took a letter from his desk which 
 he handed to her. 
 
 " You see I have been making inquiries," he ob 
 served, as he watched her read. " Schools of this 
 sort are cropping up all over the country. You 
 have no idea how many there are until you begin to 
 investigate. But I am told that this is one of the 
 best." 
 
 " Utopia- School. What a curious name ! " said 
 Mrs. Hall, musingly. 
 
 "It suggests progress and hope.'' 
 
 " Decidedly. But I don't care to have any ex 
 periments tried on Jack." 
 
 "Not even if he turns out a fine manly fellow as 
 a result of them ? " asked her friend, with a laugh. 
 " But you need have no fear that there is anything 
 unduly visionary in the curriculum of Dr. Meredith, 
 my dear Mrs. Hall. Those who know him best say 
 that his aim is merely to turn out his pupils, at the 
 end of their course, gentlemen and scholars." 
 
 " John Meredith. That is an attractive name ; 
 how old is he ? " 
 
 " A young man, but then remember we have faith 
 iu young men in this country. Between thirty-five
 
 106 JACK HALL. 
 
 and forty, I should say. By the way, he is neither 
 a clergyman nor a doctor; his Dr. means simply 
 that he has taken the University degree of Ph. D." 
 
 " The school was founded eight years ago, I see," 
 she said, referring to a prospectus inclosed in the 
 letter. 
 
 " Yes," he answered ; "it started with twenty-five 
 pupils and has now about two hundred, who rep 
 resent nearly every State in the Union. It was 
 founded by individual enterprise and generosity ; 
 half a dozen wealthy men, who, very likely, were as 
 puzzled what to do with their sons as you are with 
 Jack, put their heads together at the suggestion of 
 this young Meredith, who felt that he had ideas on 
 the subject, and subscribed the money to build a 
 tasteful schoolhouse, with dormitories for the boys, 
 and a wing for the master's own use, all under a 
 single roof. And now, not ten years later," Mr. 
 Warren reached out his hand for the prospectus, 
 which he perused an instant to refresh his memory, 
 " yes, here it is, now there are three new dormi 
 tories, each adapted to house sixty boys, a school- 
 house where the lessons are recited, which includes 
 a fine library as well, a chapel, and a gymnasium,
 
 JACK GOES TO UTOPIA. 107 
 
 all forming a large quadrangle. Within the quad 
 rangle is a foot-ball ground and a base-ball ground, 
 and around the foot-ball ground is a running track. 
 Outside there appear to be lawn-tennis courts, and 
 not more than a quarter of a mile away, a lake a 
 mile and a half long and a quarter of a mile wide, 
 on the banks of which is a boat-house. Add to this 
 picturesque country surroundings, good food, and the 
 personal supervision of the masters over the morals 
 and health of each boy, you will notice that point 
 insisted upon, and it seems to me that you have 
 a paradise." 
 
 " I could go and see him occasionally ? " 
 
 " As often as you please, I imagine. Five or six 
 hours in the train would bring you to him or him to 
 you at any time." 
 
 "But I shall miss him so much, Mr. Warren. In 
 England it is a matter of course to send boys away 
 from home, and the parents don't seem to mind it; 
 but we are more like the French, we cannot bear 
 to be separated from our children." 
 
 " I remember," replied Mr. Warren reflectively, 
 " being told by a young man who had been a pupil 
 at one of the large English public schools, Eton,
 
 108 JACK HALL. 
 
 or Harrow, or Rugby, I forget which, that 
 whereas his parents, who were then living in Lon 
 don, came to see him a number of times in the 
 course of the year, it was unusual for the rest of the 
 boys to receive a visit from a relation from one end 
 of a term to another. English fathers and mothers 
 like to affect not to have feelings, on the theory 
 that the display of emotion and affection tends to 
 make boys unmanly. They would consider one 
 who wept on parting with his mother rather a milk 
 sop, I imagine ; and on the same principle they con 
 sider it better discipline to keep away during term 
 time. But we have no such theory as yet, Mrs. 
 Hall." 
 
 " I should hope not," she replied. " I should feel 
 very badly if Jack did n't shed a few tears on part 
 ing with me. As for myself, I can't say what I 
 might not do in my despair. I suppose that I must 
 bring myself to it, Mr. Warren," she added. " You 
 feel sure that Jack will be well looked after? He 
 needs personal influence ; all the floggings and pun 
 ishment in the world would n't do him any good. 
 What he requires is to have his mind awakened to 
 the fact that there are more important matters in
 
 JACK GOES TO UTOPIA. 109 
 
 life than snow-balling and coasting and base-ball, 
 and to recognize that he owes something to others. 
 At present he seems to think that if the whim, seizes 
 him he is justified in playing the most disagreeable 
 tricks on people, even to the extent of ignoring the 
 rights of property, if Mr. Briggs is to be believed. 
 While remaining the manly, earnest boy that he is 
 in many ways, I wish to see him become more 
 thoughtful and considerate. Do you think Utopia 
 School will produce those results ? " 
 
 " So I am assured. We have no very old schools 
 of the sort in this country, therefore the testimony 
 must needs be imperfect as to their value. But, as 
 that letter informs you, Dr. Meredith's first aim 
 is that his pupils should be, at graduation, high- 
 minded youths." 
 
 " I suppose I must consent to it," murmured Mrs. 
 Hall presently, and so her resolution was taken. 
 
 Correspondence was at once opened with Dr. 
 Meredith, who suggested that Jack should come to 
 him after the Easter recess, as there happened to 
 be a vacancy in the school. Before this time Jack 
 had recovered from his illness, though he looked 
 somewhat pale and thin. His mother did not in-
 
 110 JACK HALL. 
 
 form him of her intention to send him away from 
 home until about a fortnight before he was to go. 
 Jack manifested, on hearing the news, unmitigated 
 satisfaction, but as the day drew near which was to 
 separate him from his mother, he became very quiet 
 and unlike his usual self. He sat beside her in the 
 evenings, his shock of dark hair nestled upon her 
 breast, while she gave him counsel as to what he 
 must be sure to do and not to do when he no longer 
 had her to watch over him. She made him promise 
 to study well and to obey his new master, and he 
 would listen in thoughtful silence to her instruc 
 tions as to keeping his clothes neat, and not forget 
 ting to say his prayers morning and night, and 
 sometimes to read his little Bible, her gift on his 
 tenth birthday. " And whatever you do, Jack, re 
 member, always speak the truth and never do any 
 thing mean." 
 
 " Yes, mother." 
 
 "Your father had a horror of falsehood above 
 everything else ; he used to say that he had no 
 patience with a lie. Ah, how I shall miss you, my 
 dear little man ! You will not forget me, will you, 
 Jack?"
 
 JACK GOES TO trPOPIA. Ill 
 
 Forget her ! Then was the moment for him to 
 fling his arms about his mother's neck, and kissing 
 her again and again, vo\v that he would be mis 
 erable away from her, and that he would far rather 
 stay at home, which whole-souled protestations 
 sounded sweet in the poor widow's ears, and helped 
 to ease the pang of parting. 
 
 Both she and Hannah were kept very busy in 
 getting his wardrobe ready. There were new sets 
 of shirts and stockings to be bought and marked, 
 and the old things had to be darned and generally 
 put in order. He was pleased beyond measure by 
 the purchase of a leather trunk, stamped with his 
 initials, to carry his belongings, which were numer 
 ous, and would have filled two or three trunks had 
 he been permitted to carry them all. It was diffi 
 cult for Jack to decide what to leave behind ; every 
 thing was dear to him, from his discarded rocking- 
 liorss with its moth-eaten hide to his latest treasure, 
 a small engine, which was operated by steam, and 
 which he had bought by saving up his pocket- 
 money. His room was full of toys : there were tin 
 soldiers and forts in the defense of which to employ 
 them, a splendid tool-chest, a theatre, a magic-
 
 112 JACK HALL. 
 
 lantern, and an assortment of marbles, shuttlecocks, 
 bats, and balls, the accumulations of his childhood. 
 He persuaded his mother to let him take the en 
 gine, but he was compelled to see most of the other 
 things, which Hannah stigmatized as truck, put 
 away to await his return. An exception was made 
 in favor of his favorite base-ball bat, which he was 
 to carry in his hand, a few tools, the shuttlecocks, 
 and his bag of marbles, all of which would take 
 up but little room, and which would be useful to 
 him at Utopia. 
 
 Outside the house, the news of his proposed de 
 parture had aroused great interest among his com 
 panions, who one and all expressed their envy of 
 what they considered his great good-fortune. Dubsy 
 Perkins was inconsolable, and Bill French announced 
 an intention of persuading his father to let him fol 
 low Jack in the autumn. Even Mr. Briggs, when 
 Jack for the fourth time in three days went into 
 the grocer's store to be weighed, remarked, with a 
 commendable degree of warmth, considering their 
 relations toward one another, " I hear we 're to 
 lose you soon, Master Hall." 
 
 " Yes, I 'm going to boarding-school, where there
 
 JACK GOES TO UTOPIA. 113 
 
 are two hundred boys, next week," replied Jack 
 proudly. 
 
 " I want to know," responded the grocer, and he 
 added a moment later, by way of expressing his 
 interest or gratitude, let us believe it was the 
 former, " Have some dried apples ? " 
 
 The invitation was meant to include the group 
 of half a dozen boys in the store at the time, who 
 accepted it. gladly, but with some wonderment. 
 Since the visit of Mr. Briggs to Mrs. Hall and sev 
 eral of the other parents, the behavior of his tor 
 mentors had shown marked improvement; though 
 they still meandered about and through his premises 
 on the smallest pretext, the pilfering had mostly 
 ceased, and the snow-balls found in his bread-basket 
 were less numerous. As, owing to his mother's 
 strenuous exhortation, Jack had restrained his fin 
 gers ever since from the barrel containing the beans 
 and dried apples, and the box of figs, the permit 
 dazed him for a moment ; but when he realized that 
 "Old Briggs "was actually " standing treat," his 
 heart felt warm toward his old enemy, and some 
 shame for his own cruel treatment of him was min 
 gled with his reflections.
 
 114 JACK HALL. 
 
 Indeed, Jack had also the satisfaction of parting 
 with Stiffy Bacon under peculiarly pleasant cir 
 cumstances. That gentleman's irate threats, as re 
 peated by Jack to the other fellows, had produced 
 such a feeling of alarm that none of them had 
 dared to venture on his premises ever since. On 
 one of the few balmy days which come early in 
 April to herald the approach of spring, the boys, 
 who had assembled at the corner to enjoy the first 
 game of scrub of the season, were astonished to 
 see Stiffy Bacon come down the steps of his house 
 with two new cricket bats and a set of wickets in 
 his hands, with which he advanced toward them. 
 The boys stopped their game and gazed at him in 
 bewilderment, scarcely believing their eyes and 
 half inclined to run. The sight of a Greek bear 
 ing gifts is not apt to be assuring, but in this case 
 there was no cause for alarm. Mr. Bacon stopped 
 a foot or two away, and addressing them all, but 
 more especially Jack, said : 
 
 " Young gentlemen, I am very much obliged to 
 you for being so quiet and behaving so well during 
 my wife's illness, and I ask you to accept this 
 cricket set as a token of my good will." Where-
 
 JACK GOES TO UTOPIA. 115 
 
 upon he held out the bats and wickets to Jack, 
 who received them mechanically, so utterly at a 
 loss was he in common with all the others to un 
 derstand what Mr. Bacon was driving at. The 
 fact was, that Mrs. Bacon had presented her hus 
 band with a fine baby a few weeks before ; but this 
 interesting circumstance was quite unknown to the 
 boys, who, accordingly, were feeling very shame 
 faced at the praise bestowed upon them, knowing 
 that they had been quiet for quite another reason. 
 
 The donor further heaped coals of fire upon 
 their heads by producing a cricket ball and the 
 bails for the wickets from his pocket, in response 
 to which there came a feeble murmur of " Thank 
 you, sir," from the group, who stood like gawks, 
 half frightened and yet very much pleased withal. 
 Jack, who, as the one to whom Mr. Bacon had 
 principally addressed his speech, felt that it was in 
 cumbent on him to make an appropriate acknowl 
 edgment of the gift, stood uneasily shifting his 
 feet and trying to think Avhat to say. As in the 
 case of Mr. Briggs, such unexpectedly friendly con 
 duct had produced a revulsion of feeling toward his 
 former enemy. Just as Mr. Bacon, after an awk-
 
 116 JACK HALL. 
 
 ward pause on both sides, was turning away, Jack, 
 seized by an inspiration, exclaimed, " Now, fel 
 lows, three cheers for Stif Mr. Bacon ! " 
 
 They were given with a will and a tiger, and at 
 the sound of them the gentleman in question 
 looked back evidently much gratified and lifted his 
 hat, for he could not help being extremely polite 
 even when he was most gracious. 
 
 " Thank you, very much, sir," several boys cried 
 now that the ice was broken, and Bill French was 
 hypocrite enough to add, "I hope Mrs. Bacon is 
 quite well again," which nearly caused a titter. 
 Jack, congratulating himself that the word " Stiffy " 
 had been repressed in time, struck up the song, 
 " For he 's a jolly good fellow," which was contin 
 ued by all hands until Mr. Bacon was in-doors 
 again. First and last the affair was a most auspi 
 cious one. and let it be hoped that henceforward a 
 perpetual truce was observed between the boys and 
 the Bacon family. 
 
 On that point Jack was never fully informed, 
 for he left home a week later for Utopia. When 
 the day actually arrived he was much too elated to 
 feel any severe pangs at leaving the dear old street
 
 JACK GOES TO UTOPIA. 117 
 
 where he had done so much mischief during the 
 past four or five years, and even his partings with his 
 friends were so jolly that nothing but the delight 
 ful prospect before him could have excused such 
 light-heartedness. 
 
 Mrs. Hall, like the brave woman she was, had 
 shed her tears in secret or was saving them up 
 until she should be left alone, for her face was 
 wreathed in smiles as she clasped her darling to 
 her bosom for one last hug after the driver an 
 nounced that there was no time to lose if he wished 
 to catch the train. Jack was in an exuberant 
 state of mind, for in addition to the proud con 
 sciousness that he was to travel alone for the first 
 time in his life, he had been allowed a full cup of 
 coffee for breakfast, which was a great treat to him. 
 Beside Hannah, who threw her apron over her 
 head every minute or two to hide her eyes, there 
 were Dubsy Perkins and Bill French and Harry 
 Dale in the hall to see him off, and each had brought 
 a parting gift. Bill French's was a knife with 
 eight blades including a gimlet, a cork-screw, and 
 other useful devices, which, as Bill explained with 
 pride, cost ten dollars. Beside it Dubsy 's present
 
 118 JACK HALL. 
 
 looked very insignificant, but a tip-cat made by 
 Dubsy was regarded in the neighborhood as a work 
 of art entitling its possessor to the congratulations 
 of his friends. " I made it on purpose for you, 
 Jack," said the manufacturer, with a look of genu 
 ine affection on his honest but not over-clean face. 
 Harry Dale had brought a book entitled " Every 
 Boy his own Carpenter," which gave directions 
 how to make everything under the sun. 
 
 Jack's new trunk had been strapped on behind, 
 and all was ready. After that last hug he ran 
 down the steps crying " Good-by, everybody," and 
 got into the carriage. The boys thrust their hands 
 through the open window for a final shake, and 
 just as the driver had said " Clk ! " to the horses, 
 Hannah came rushing out with some cold chicken 
 and a turnover done up in a napkin, which had 
 almost been left behind. 
 
 But at last he is really off, with his head out so 
 as to wave one more " good-by " to his mother, 
 and after he has drawn it in out it flies again on the 
 other side, for in turning the corner he perceives 
 old Briggs in his white apron standing on the 
 threshold of his store grinning like a Cheshire cat.
 
 JACK GOES TO UTOPIA. 119 
 
 " Good-by, Mr. Briggs, good-by!" he shouts, 
 while Hannah murmurs, " God bless his heart ; 
 there isn't a soul in the street who won't miss 
 him," a remark in which the worthy henehwoman 
 might have found herself, it is to be feared, in a 
 minority, if the vote had been taken. 
 
 Meantime, Bill and Dubsy and Harry, who being 
 each armed with a catapult have let fly simul 
 taneously some tolerably large shot at the little 
 window in the rear of the carriage as it rolls off, 
 one of which just misses the driver's ear, run to 
 the corner and watch until the carriage reaches the 
 foot of the street and turns again, being rewarded 
 by a final wave of Jack's arm as he catches a 
 glimpse of them, to which they reply with a pro 
 longed " Elm ehu. elm." Wafted on his way 
 by which familiar war-whoop of his childhood, 
 Jack Hall takes his first step forward in the battle 
 of life.
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 DR. MEREDITH. 
 
 UTOPIA SCHOOL takes its name from the small 
 town adjoining, to reach which Jack had to change 
 cars and run twenty odd miles on a country branch 
 after traveling several hours on the main line. 
 But time passed all too quickly for our hero, who 
 never wearied of looking out of the windows at the 
 landscape flying away behind, in the intervals of 
 exhausting the resources of the train peddler, a 
 boy of about his own age, in whose stock in trade 
 Jack took a keen and very soon a substantial inter 
 est. He let the books tossed on the seat beside 
 him be gathered up again without remonstrance, 
 though he cast sheep's-eyes at a small treatise on 
 base-ball with an illuminated cover representing a 
 player in the act of striking. A banana and a 
 small drum of figs were temptations, however, to 
 which he succumbed, and just as he was finishing 
 the last of a roll of lozenges which had won him
 
 DK. MEREDITH. 121 
 
 over after these were gone, the crowning attraction 
 of the day appeared in the form of prize packages 
 labeled to contain any number of useful articles 
 in the way of stationery and jewelry, and costing 
 only a quarter. But their more potent charm lay 
 in the further inscription, well adapted to dazzle 
 youthful eyes, " One package in every hundred 
 issued contains a hundred-dollar bill. This is guar 
 anteed by- the company. Try your luck." 
 
 Jack's reasoning was, that the quire of paper, 
 pens, pencil, sealing-wax, and " three separate ar 
 ticles of jewelry," which every one of them was 
 warranted to include, must be worth far more than 
 the price demanded. So in any event his money 
 would not be squandered, and there was no telling 
 for he was pretty lucky as a rule, having on one 
 occasion picked up a cameo pin in the street, and 
 on another a silver coin that he might not hap 
 pen on a package which had a hundred-dollar bill 
 in it. The one which the boy had left on the seat 
 looked plump and satisfactory. Jack squeezed it 
 and held it up for a moment to the light, but there 
 was nothing gained by that. When the boy came 
 back lie examined the dozen others in the basket 
 critically.
 
 122 JACK HALL. 
 
 " Did you ever see any one get a prize ? " Jack 
 asked, when he had completed the inspection. 
 
 " You bet your life," responded the peddler. *' I 
 see a young feller aboard the train just your size 
 find one of them hundred-dollar bills only last 
 week." 
 
 "Swanny!" said Jack; "I wish I knew which 
 one to choose." 
 
 " You pays your money and you takes your 
 choice," answered the lad impartially. 
 
 " Well, I '11 take this one, I guess," said Jack, 
 with a sigh, at last. 
 
 The one chosen was down at the bottom of the 
 pile, and looked a trifle bulkier than the others, 
 though they were all very much alike. The ped 
 dler had evidently little curiosity as to the result of 
 the selection, for he continued on his way the mo 
 ment after pocketing the quarter, rather to the sur 
 prise of the purchaser. Jack proceeded to open 
 the envelope with eager anticipation. The first 
 thing he noticed was a number of sheets of very 
 common ruled note-paper, beside which lay a lank 
 pencil, a penholder of a kind which can be dupli 
 cated for a cent, three pens, a half-dozen colored
 
 DR. MEREDITH. 123 
 
 wafers, a miserable bit of red wax, a few envelopes, 
 a ring set with, a small green glass stone, a bangle 
 of thin platinum, and a brass watch-chain. These 
 were the entire contents. Jack peeped between 
 the sheets of paper, but no bank-bill had been skill 
 fully concealed there. Ruefully he began to ex 
 amine the collection of trash which he had acquired 
 for twenty-five cents, and was wondering whether 
 the green -stone could possibly be an emerald, and 
 what he should do with his purchases, when the 
 train stopped and the conductor called out that 
 passengers for Utopia and certain other places must 
 change cars. Jack stuffed the contents of the prize 
 package into his pockets and obeyed orders. 
 
 Five minutes before Jack's train reached the sta 
 tion, a train from the opposite direction had arrived 
 with passengers from the West, one of whom, a 
 bright-looking lad, was already seated in the car on 
 the branch line which Jack entered, and it so hap 
 pened that when the conductor cried "All aboard" 
 the two boys found themselves the sole occupiers of 
 it. The new-comer was neatly dressed, was a bit 
 taller than Jack, slim and wiry, with a wide-awake 
 expression.
 
 124 JACK HALL. 
 
 The boys exchanged shy glances, and Jack 
 experienced a thrill of sympathy in observing the 
 torn envelope of another prize package lying at 
 the stranger's feet. Presently, with the restless 
 ness common to youth, the latter got up and, put 
 ting a hand on the arm of the seat on either side 
 of him, started to propel himself along the aisle 
 in the manner of an athlete on parallel bars, with 
 the result that, after a spasmodic jump or two, 
 he fell in a heap on the floor, whereupon he arose, 
 and, brushing the knees of his trousers, looked at 
 Jack and laughed. Then he proceeded on his 
 way, like an ordinary mortal, to the end of the 
 car, which, being the last in the train, commanded 
 an absorbing view of the road-bed over which they 
 were spinning at ever so many miles an hour. 
 Here he was soon joined by Jack, and the pair 
 stood side by side looking at the long line of 
 track, until the other boy said suddenly, after a 
 more than common oscillation of the swaying car, 
 which nearly upset them both, "That's nothing. 
 You ought to see how fast they go on the New 
 York Central." Then he added, " Going to Utopia 
 School?"
 
 DR. MEREDITH. 125 
 
 " Yes," said Jack. " Are you? " 
 
 The boy nodded. " My name 's Frank Hasel- 
 tine," he said. " I live in Cincinnati. My father 's 
 in Congress, and President of the Haseltine Iron 
 and Steel Works. I hate school, but father says 
 I'm to go to Utopia for six years, and then to 
 college. I 'd rather be a professional, would n't 
 you?" 
 
 " A professional ? I don't know what you mean," 
 said Jack doubtfully. 
 
 " A base-ball player, of course. I 'd like to be 
 on one of the champion nines. Foxy Ricketts, 
 who 's only five years older than I, is to be change 
 pitcher for the Red Stockings this season. He 
 used to be captain of the Rising Suns. That 's the 
 club I belong to. I 'm only third base in the second 
 nine, but I guess I'd have played catcher next year 
 if I *d stayed. What club do you belong to ? " 
 
 " The Massasoits," said Jack. 
 
 " Never heard of them," answered Haseltine de 
 cidedly. " What 's your name ? " he inquired. 
 
 " John Hall. Most people call me Jack, though." 
 
 " Where were you raised ? " 
 
 Jack looked puzzled. " Do you mean where do
 
 126 JACK HALL. 
 
 I come from ? Boston." As he felt that his an 
 swer seemed scant in view of Haseltine's details, 
 he added, "My father was a colonel, and was 
 killed in the war." 
 
 " Is that so ? I 've an uncle who 's a general. 
 He was wounded in the war but got well again. 
 If I can't be a professional when I grow up, I 'd 
 rather be a soldier than anything. What did you 
 play on the Massasoits ? " 
 
 " Short stop." 
 
 " That 's a first-rate position," responded Hasel- 
 tine, patronizingly. 
 
 After these remarks, the boys sat down side by 
 side and were soon deep in a cordial conversation, 
 very early in which they emptied their pockets for 
 the benefit of one another. Jack's new knife, all 
 the blades of which he opened admiringly, the tip 
 cat, and two splendid agate marbles were matched 
 by Haseltine with a fascinating little compass in a 
 shiny, round metal case, a silver-mounted whistle 
 in the shape of a dog's head, and, most exciting of 
 all to Jack, a tiny live snake in a wooden box, 
 which crawled and wriggled about its owner's hand 
 in a most approved fashion.
 
 DR. MEREDITH. 127 
 
 "He's real tame," observed Haseltine. "I've 
 had it six months. He lives on flies, and I 
 would n't lose him for anything ; would I, Bill ? " 
 he added, caressing the small reptile. 
 
 Jack was silent a moment. Then he asked, 
 " What '11 you take for the snake ? " 
 
 " What '11 you give ? " 
 
 " I '11 swap one of my agates for him." 
 
 " Not much. Will you give me the knife ? " 
 
 " I guess not. That knife cost a lot of money." 
 
 " It 's mighty difficult to get a snake tame as 
 Bill." 
 
 " Will you take both the agates ? " asked Jack 
 presently. 
 
 " Let 's see them," said Haseltine. He examined 
 the marbles critically. " What else '11 yon give ? " 
 
 " I '11 throw in a blood alley." 
 
 " Let 's see the blood alley." After inspection 
 he inquired, " What else you got ? " 
 
 " Is n't that enough ? I 'm willing to let you 
 have this, too," Jack said at last, indicating the 
 watch-chain. They had already compared experi 
 ences on the subject of prize packages. Needless 
 to say, Haseltine had been no more fortunate in
 
 128 JACK HALL. 
 
 finding a hundred-dollar bill in his, but though they 
 had come to the conclusion that the jewelry was 
 not quite up to the mark, there was sufficient un 
 certainty regarding its value to make the ownership 
 of it seem not wholly undesirable. 
 
 Haseltine weighed the chain pensively. " See 
 here," he said, " if you '11 give me the two agates, 
 the blood alley, the chain, and the ring, you may 
 have Bill. Is it a go?" 
 
 Jack hesitated ; he felt that he was asked to 
 pay a high price, but a glance at Bill, who in re 
 sponse to his master's effort to show him off was 
 wriggling delightfully, settled the question in his 
 mind. " Give me the snake," he said, handing 
 over the specified articles in exchange. Jack re 
 turned the little creature to his box and deposited 
 it in one of his trousers' pockets with the air of a 
 proprietor. 
 
 Just then the train stopped at a station, and the 
 boys, owing to the great uproar which was going 
 on outside, popped out their heads. The platform 
 of the station was crowded with young fellows of 
 all ages and sizes, some of them nearly grown 
 up. About half of them were in uniform, part
 
 DR. MEREDITH. 129 
 
 of whom wore drab flannel shirts trimmed with 
 blue and embroidered in the middle of the breast 
 with a large blue U? drab knickerbockers, and 
 blue stockings; the others, armless white shirts 
 adorned with a flaming constellation, red belts, and 
 nondescript trousers, which showed clearly to the 
 boys that they were in the presence of two rival 
 base-ball clubs and their respective constituents. 
 
 "I wonder which licked," said Haseltine ex 
 citedly, and under a common impulse he and Jack 
 started for the rear door. 
 
 But here their progress is blocked, for the boys 
 with the U on their breasts and their friends are 
 by this time clambering up the steps and beginning 
 to swarm into the car. There is a great hubbub 
 and shouting and shaking of hands between the 
 rival factions, which is followed by a sudden hush, 
 for the captain of the home nine a strapping- 
 looking country lad who reminds Jack of Joe Her 
 ring has got his men in a bunch together and 
 now cries, " Three cheers for the Utopias, boys ! 
 Now, one 
 
 "Hurrah!" 
 
 "Two"-
 
 130 JACK HALL. 
 
 "Hurrah!" 
 
 " Three " 
 
 " Hurrah ! " And then at the close came a de 
 licious " tiger-r-r," in which the entire juvenile pop 
 ulation of the town joined. 
 
 " The Utopias must have won," whispers Hasel- 
 tine. 
 
 " Why ? " asks Jack, who is really beside him 
 self with excitement. 
 
 " Because the others cheered first." 
 
 As the reverberation of the tiger dies away a 
 handsome, bronzed, athletic-appearing boy, with a 
 little down on his upper lip, and who seems to Jack 
 a man, steps to the edge of the platform, and swing 
 ing his cap above his head, exclaims in a dignified 
 tone, but with great enthusiasm, "Now, fellows, 
 nine rousing cheers for the Foxbridge Stars, and 
 any time they will come to Utopia we will give 
 them their revenge." 
 
 "'Rah, rah, rah, rah, rah, rah, rah, rah, rah! 
 Utopia-a-a-a ! " rings out on the air in short, sharp 
 response. 
 
 "Time's up, gentlemen," cries the genial con 
 ductor, who stands watch in hand. "All aboard ! "
 
 DR. MEREDITH. 131 
 
 He waves his hand to the engineer, the engine 
 gives a snort and a whistle, and amid a great shout 
 ing and waving of hats and bats and handkerchiefs 
 the train moves slowly away from the station, the 
 Stars and their satellites following it on its way 
 for two hundred yards or so, leaping like grey 
 hounds, until fairly distanced. 
 
 Jack, who has had the satisfaction of interpret 
 ing to Haseltine the cheers of the victorious nine 
 as an imitation of the Harvard University method, 
 watches eagerly the body of Utopia boys as they 
 pour into the car and take possession of the seats. 
 They are in tearing spirits over their success, and 
 for some time talk of nothing but the details of 
 the game, recollecting with enthusiasm the fine 
 points of play, Bedlow's pitching, Goldthwaite's 
 one-handed catch at second base, and, most glorious 
 of all, Ramsay's home run, which won the game 
 when the score was tied. Ramsay is captain, the 
 manly -looking fellow who proposed the cheers 
 for the Stars, and Jack feels, as he watches him 
 leaning back against the seat, with his hands rest 
 ing on the handle of his bat, and accepting mod 
 estly but with a smile of permissible pride the
 
 132 JACK HALL. 
 
 congratulations showered upon him, that he wou'd 
 give anything to be in his shoes. 
 
 The boys are of all sizes, for at least fifty, big 
 and little, have come down from the school to back 
 up the nine, and even to the smallest they are 
 decked with blue ribbons, stamped "Utopia" in 
 silver letters. No one pays attention to Jack and 
 Haseltine, who are sitting side by side at the end 
 of the car with their ears open. 
 
 "Won't the Doctor be pleased!" exclaimed one 
 of the players, breaking a momentary pause in the 
 rejoicing. 
 
 "What a pity he did n't come! " said another. 
 
 To this there was a general assent, after which 
 some one cried, " Give us a song. Jumbo." 
 
 "A song! A song!" repeated several jubilantly, 
 and then as the boy called upon did not immedi 
 ately respond, there was a universal call, "Jumbo, 
 Jumbo ! Hit her up, Jumbo ! " 
 
 Jack and Haseltine, following the direction of all 
 eyes, perceived an especially fat boy in the middle 
 of the car, who was just beginning the words of a 
 taking song, which was very spirited. After eacli 
 verse there came a ringing chorus, in which all 
 joined ecstatically :
 
 DR. MEREDITH. 133 
 
 "Stop that knocking; let me in; 
 Stop that knocking ; let me in ; 
 Oh, I tell you stop that knocking at my door." 
 
 This was always repeated, and every time they 
 sang it the swell of the voices grew louder and the 
 enthusiasm greater, until, what with the hammer 
 ing on the floor with bats to express the knocking, 
 together with the increasing tendency to sacrifice 
 harmony to sound, it seemed as though the roof of 
 the car would come off. It was a thorough pande 
 monium ; and Jack thought the occasional transpo 
 sition of the first phrase of the chorus into "knock 
 that stopping" one of the funniest things he had 
 ever listened to. 
 
 When Jumbo finished, Goldthwaite the second 
 base, who had made the one-handed catch, sang in 
 a rich tenor voice, "Aunt Dinah's Quilting Party," 
 which had a sentimental refrain about seeing Nelly 
 home by starlight, and made Jack feel pensive, 
 though he preferred the humorous song. Every 
 body sang the chorus with a great deal of senti 
 ment, especially Ramsay, who sighed perceptibly 
 when Goldthwaite pictured Nelly's hand as resting 
 on her lover's arm " light as oc an's fcam."
 
 134 JACK HALL. 
 
 Presently there were cries for " Jack Spratt and 
 his Wife," presumably a ditty, but who turned out 
 to be two inseparable friends thus nicknamed be 
 cause one was very stout and the other unusually 
 slim. The pair contributed an amusing double-part 
 song, which set everybody into peals of laughter, 
 and restored the spirit of hubbub subdued by pass 
 ing thoughts of Nelly. Just as the last verse came 
 to an end, the train began to slow up, and amid 
 shouts of "Here .we are," every one started to his 
 feet and made for the door. 
 
 "Utopia!" cried the conductor vociferously. 
 
 " As if we did n't know that, Henry," responded 
 the foremost as they rushed out. 
 
 Jack and Haseltiue brought up the rear, and 
 found themselves on alighting face to face with a 
 ponderous, hearty, red-faced man carrying a whip, 
 whose face was one broad grin as he listened to the 
 joyful tidings of the victory from a dozen lips at 
 the same moment. 
 
 " And won't the Doctor be tickled to death ! " 
 Jack heard him exclaim with a chuckle. " Mr. 
 Percy 's yonder," he continued, indicating with his 
 thumb a barge drawn by two horses, into which
 
 DR. MEREDITH. 135 
 
 the majority of the boys were already precipitating 
 themselves. " He could n't wait to hear who 'd 
 won. And so you beat 'em, did you ? Well, 
 well ! " 
 
 At the mention of Mr. Percy's name there had 
 been a further diversion to the barge, and only 
 three or four still remained, pouring a few last 
 details into the ears of the man with the whip, who 
 now asked,. " Has any one of you laid eyes on the 
 two new boys I 've come to fetch ? " 
 
 " Your kids are all serene, Horace ; I saw them 
 aboard the train," said a boy in answer. 
 
 " Master Hall, Master Haseltine ? " inquired 
 Horace, stepping forward as he caught sight of 
 Jack and his friend. 
 
 "All right," said Jack; "I'm Hall." 
 
 " And I 'm Haseltine." 
 
 " Checks, please," said Horace. Then pointing 
 to a vehicle half-wagon, half-carryall, a few yards 
 beyond, he told the two boys to get in while he 
 looked after their baggage. 
 
 Before they had well seated themselves, the 
 barge, filled almost to overflowing with its noisy 
 freight, started off at a goodly pace to the accom-
 
 136 JACK HALL. 
 
 paniment of fish-horns and fiendish cat-calls. As 
 it swept by the smaller conveyance a shower of 
 beans fell rattling about the ears of tlie new-comers, 
 which caused Jack instinctively to clap his hand on 
 the side-pocket of his jacket in search of his cata 
 pult; but before he could get at it the grinning 
 faces of his assailants were out of range. 
 
 *' By gum I " Jack muttered belligerently. 
 
 " It 's no use, any way," said Haseltine. " If 
 you had hit them, it would have been all the worse 
 for both of us afterwards. I expect to be half 
 killed as it is." 
 
 " What do you mean ? " asked Jack. 
 
 " They '11 haze us, of course. I know a fellow 
 who was made to jump into the river on a Christ 
 mas eve, and who, as the result of it, had pneu 
 monia and nearly died." 
 
 " At Utopia ? " 
 
 "No, it wasn't at this school; but they're all 
 alike. They make you stand on a table and recite 
 poetry, and do all sorts of monkey tricks." 
 
 " I would n't." 
 
 "You couldn't help yourself; they 'd stick pins 
 into you if you refused, or burn you with a red-hot 
 iron."
 
 DR. MEREDITH. 137 
 
 " They should kill me before I 'd do a thing," 
 said Jack stoutly, but, nevertheless, he continued 
 contemplative until their conductor arrived with 
 the trunks. A moment later they were off. 
 
 "That's great," Ho: ace observed with gusto, 
 after a period of reflective silence. 
 
 " What is ?" inquired Haseltine. 
 
 " The ball game. Them Stars has been all-fired 
 cocky since way back, and boasting as how they 
 could n't be beat. But they 're done for this time, 
 sure. Fourteen to thirteen tidy score, too ; that 
 home-run was what done it. Great boy, that Harry 
 Ramsay." 
 
 " He 's captain, is n't he ? " asked Jack. 
 
 " Yes, captain of the nine, and cute all round. 
 I tell you, the Doctor 's proud of him, and '11 be 
 mighty sorry when he goes to Harvard next year. 
 He is smart at his books, too." 
 
 " Tell us about some of the other players," said 
 Haseltine. 
 
 " Well, they 're all pretty stout. Bedlow 's a rat 
 tling good pitcher, and when he 's in shape it takes 
 an A 1 player to get base hits off him, I can tell 
 you. Goldthwaite 's good, too, at second base, and
 
 188 JACK HALL. 
 
 Bobby Crosby at left field, though he goes in more 
 for foot-ball. He '11 be captain of the eleven, fast 
 enough, when Burbank goes. He 's a great hand 
 at kicking goals. There ain't a better nor a 
 smarter set of boys in the country than the boys 
 of Utopia School, take 'em all together," continued 
 Horace, giving a flick with his whip to -emphasize 
 his words ; " and as for the Doctor, there ain't his 
 equal anywhere that ever I see. He 's a gentle 
 man, if there is one, and a scholar too, for the 
 matter of that. What he don't know ain't worth 
 
 i 
 
 knowing, I guess." 
 
 " What 's your name ? " asked Haseltine boldly. 
 
 " Horace Hosmer. The boys, leastwise those 
 who 've been here any time, call me Horace. I 've 
 done the driving for the school since it was first 
 started, and that 's a matter of close on ten years, 
 now." 
 
 " Much hazing ? " inquired Jack presently, in 
 what he intended to be an indifferent tone. 
 
 Horace glanced sideways at his questioner before 
 replying. "Fair to middling," he said gravely. 
 " Two boys died from it last term ; Doctor called it 
 chicken-pox ; but I know better," he added, with an
 
 DR. MEREDITH. 
 
 139 
 
 ominous nod. " I see them after they were laid 
 out, and they were a mass of bruises from the 
 crown of the head to the soles of the feet." 
 
 Haseltine nudged 
 Jack, who, it must be 
 confessed, felt uncom 
 fortable, and who ex 
 claimed, after a moment, 
 " I should- n't think Dr. 
 Meredith would allow 
 it." 
 
 " Well, he does try to stop it, but some of them 
 fourth -class boys are dreadful hard to manage. 
 There 's Jack Spratt and his Wife, for instance,
 
 140 JACK HALL. 
 
 I tell you they 'd as soon break every bone in a 
 new boy's body as not," continued Horace confi 
 dentially. 
 
 " They were the two who sang last," observed 
 Jack, gloomily, to Haseltine. 
 
 " There 's nothing really vicious about 'em, 
 they're just playful," Horace went on to say. 
 " But singing or no singing, if I were a new boy T 
 shouldn't want to have 'em down on me. It's 
 hard to say which is the worst, Spratt or his 
 Wife." 
 
 "What are their real names?" Jack inquired. 
 
 " Tobey and Donaldson ; but no one ever calls 
 'em anything but Jack Spratt and Wifey ; that 's 
 because they 're so thick together. Most of the 
 boys have nicknames of some sort, though there ain't 
 much sense in 'em if you come to think it over. 
 There 's the Spider and the Lamb, and the Tit 
 mouse and the Shark, and ever so many more. But 
 you '11 know all about it soon, for here we are," said 
 their mentor, as the pair of horses turned sharply. 
 
 They were borne swiftly through a gateway and 
 along a smooth, graveled avenue, under a vista of 
 fine trees which had evidently once formed the
 
 DR. MEREDITH. 141 
 
 approach to a private residence. On either side an 
 expanse of level field stretched away, which was 
 dotted with boys busy at play, of whom Jack got a 
 few glimpses as Horace, nodding to right and left, ex 
 claimed, "Lawn-tennis courts, base-ball practice 
 ground ; " though a bell pealing from beyond had 
 mostly caused a cessation of the games, and the 
 boys in the field on the right-hand side had begun 
 to throng into the avenue, or to cross it into the 
 other field. 
 
 " It 's supper-time," Horace vouchsafes to inform 
 his charges, who are craning their necks in absorbed 
 inspection of the score of young fellows in white 
 flannels, with tennis rackets in their hands, advanc 
 ing at an easy jog in detachments of two and three, 
 in response to the reverberating summons. It is 
 shorter for those who have been practicing scrub in 
 the left-hand field to keep straight on, for the ave 
 nue winds to the left along the top of that field, 
 until it reaches another arched gateway situated 
 midway between two spacious dormitories which 
 form one side of a large quadrangle. There is a 
 solid stream of boys passing through this gateway 
 on the way to their rooms to tidy up for supper,
 
 142 JACK HALL. 
 
 which will be ready in fifteen minutes in the old 
 schoolhouse, the original structure built by the 
 founders, which faces Jack as he is driven into 
 the quadrangle and finds himself squarely within 
 school bounds. 
 
 On his right stands the tasteful chapel, from the 
 tower of which the ten-minute bell is still ringing, 
 and just beyond it the gymnasium. Facing these, 
 at the other end of the broad campus, is the build 
 ing devoted to schoolrooms, and still another dor 
 mitory, all exactly as the prospectus, which Jack 
 had read many times, described. Both the exten 
 sive playgrounds, the one laid out for base-ball and 
 the other for foot-ball, lie deserted; for every one 
 within the quadrangle has hastened to welcome the 
 victorious nine on the arrival of the barge, about 
 which a cheering throng is now collected in front 
 of the old schoolhouse. 
 
 " There 's the Doctor on the steps shaking hands 
 with 'em," exclaimed Horace. " I tell you he 's 
 proud to-night. Look at that now ; it 's Ramsay 
 they 've got." 
 
 A cheer that does one's heart good had preceded 
 Horace's last words, occasioned evidently by some
 
 DR. MEREDITH. 143 
 
 compliment which Dr. Meredith had paid the mod 
 est captain, and thereupon a score of hands have 
 seiaed Ramsay and lifted him on to a phalanx of 
 shoulders. " 'Rah, rah, rah, rah, rah, rah, rah, rah, 
 rah ! Utopia-a-a-a ! " 
 
 Off they go tearing like mad, bearing their laugh 
 ing, struggling burden, who is plainly protesting 
 against so extravagant a tribute to his prowess, 
 to the ball ground and round the bases in fine 
 style, closely followed by another throng doing sim 
 ilar honors to Bedlow and Goldthwaite, picked up 
 together and transported side by side, each with an 
 arm round the other's neck. 
 
 Horace has reined in his horses in order to give 
 a satisfactory view of the ovation, which is so de 
 monstrative and engrossing that the ten minutes' 
 grace before supper would more than have slipped 
 away had not Dr. Meredith and two or three of the 
 masters interfered in time to send every one off to 
 his room just before the second bell rings. 
 
 It is pealing with a will when Jack and Haseltine 
 alight and stand hesitating on the steps of Granger 
 Hall, which is the name of the old schoolhouse, 
 uncertain for a moment what to do. The en-
 
 144 JACK HALL. 
 
 trance, in front of which Horace has drawn up his 
 horses, is on the hither side of that where the Doc 
 tor was congratulating the nine a few minutes ago, 
 and leads into the domain of Betty Martin, as the 
 housekeeper is called, who has charge of the domes 
 tic management of the whole institution, with head 
 quarters at Granger. This is her wing, flanked by 
 the great dining-hall where the whole school break 
 fasts and dines and sups together. The other wing 
 is devoted to the Doctor's private apartments. A 
 few boys still live in the old schoolhouse, which 
 not so very long ago was dormitory, refectory, and 
 class-room combined in one, but the mass have 
 been relegated to the three new, roomy dormitories, 
 known, respectively, as Rogers, Fullham, and Dud 
 ley, after the benefactors who gave the money to 
 build them. 
 
 It is Mrs. Betty Martin herself who appears, 
 smiling, on the threshold to relieve the uncertainty 
 of the two boys. She is portly and motherly in 
 appearance, and wins Jack's heart at once by sug 
 gesting supper in the housekeeper's room, and a 
 postponement of an introduction to the Doctor 
 until later. They feel a little weary with their
 
 DR. MEREDITH. 145 
 
 long journey and relish the fresh milk, the honest 
 bread and butter, and the slice of cold beef to 
 which they sit down, immediately after they have 
 dipped their faces in a basin of water under her 
 maternal supervision. Meanwhile the whole school 
 lias passed into the main hall, and after a short 
 silence, which Jack learns by and by marks the 
 blessing asked on the meal by the Doctor, who 
 always eats with the school, there begins a dis 
 tant clattering and chattering which is pleasant 
 music in the ears of the two new boys as they sip 
 the hot chocolate which Mrs. Betty has made to 
 warm them. This goes on for nearly half an hour ; 
 then follows a momentary creaking and scraping of 
 chairs and shuffling of boots that makes one think 
 a menagerie has got loose, after which there is a 
 rush for the door, which is midway between the 
 Doctor's and Mrs. Betty's entrance, and the school 
 comes trooping out again. 
 
 " Scrub one" 
 
 "Two" 
 
 "Three" 
 
 " Four " 
 
 " Five "
 
 146 JACK HALL. 
 
 "Six" 
 
 " Seven " 
 
 Twice that number of applicants are disporting 
 themselves in the direction of the ball ground, 
 which, though reserved at other hours for the work 
 of one of the regular nines, is free after supper to 
 the first comers. There is room on its ample sur 
 face for several games of scrub, and as the tide of 
 would-be players increases, the adjacent foot-ball 
 ground is usurped by some who prefer knock up, 
 two or three big fellows sending up sky scrapers 
 for the benefit of the many scattered over the field. 
 A few pass ball, and, though it is not the season 
 for foot-ball, there are always boys so fond of it as 
 to like to keep their hands, or more properly their 
 feet, in at all times of the year. A half dozen of 
 these practice kicking goals over the two bars 
 which mark either end of the foot-ball field. Al 
 though so soon after supper, a couple of boys, who 
 look as if they were cut out for rumiers, appear in 
 tights and start around the running track on time. 
 On the terraces in front of the various halls, a 
 number more leisurely inclined indulge in ring- 
 taw and various other games of marbles, which
 
 DE. MEREDITH. 147 
 
 make Jack think of his agates and wonder if Has- 
 eltine has not, in their possession, the best of the 
 bargain. 
 
 All this is visible from Mrs. Betty's threshold, 
 where the two boys establish themselves after sup 
 per while waiting for the Doctor to send for them. 
 Now and then small urchins favorites of Mrs. 
 Betty slip past them in search of a cooky, or a 
 taste of jam, relying on the good-nature of the 
 buxom housekeeper, which is not altogether to be 
 counted on, however, for if for any reason the pe 
 titioner does not happen to suit her he gets sent 
 about his business in a most summary manner and 
 has to slink out again empty-handed. It is a lovely 
 evening with a promise of summer in the atmos 
 phere, so enticing that the Doctor's wife is giving 
 her baby an airing prior to putting him in his 
 crib, while her other child, a pretty girl of five, is 
 skipping about before their door like a young 
 gazelle. Close at hand stands the Doctor, watching 
 contentedly the sports which nightfall must soon 
 bring to a close, smoking his cigar, and chatting 
 to some of the masters and boys. When a more 
 than usually good bit of play on the ball field
 
 148 JACK HALL. 
 
 takes his eye, he claps vigorously and cries, 
 " Played, Longworth," " Well played indeed, Hen- 
 shaw," with genuine enthusiasm ; and once when 
 the ball is knocked so vigorously that it runs out 
 of bounds and along the terrace up to the Doctor's 
 very feet, he picks it up and sends it back again 
 in a style that reveals abundance of muscle and 
 a physique second to none which any one of those 
 whose master, guide, and friend he is can boast. 
 
 It seems to Jack, whose ideas of masters are not 
 rosy, so to speak, wonderful that the boys and Dr. 
 Meredith are on such evidently familiar terms, sug 
 gesting an absence of awe on one side and the ex 
 istence of an almost fatherly interest on the other. 
 To joke with the teacher of one's Latin lessons 
 would have struck- him an hour ago as akin to mer 
 riment in church, or at a funeral ; and yet right 
 before his eyes is a state of things which startles 
 his preconceived notions most effectually and makes 
 him rub his eyes, especially when the head of the 
 school so far abates his dignity as to pass ball with 
 a wren of a boy no bigger than Jack himself. Al 
 beit a great weight is removed from his heart, he 
 looks on puzzled and bewildered, half expecting to
 
 DR. MEREDITH. 149 
 
 hear at any moment the thundering tone of au 
 thority assert itself and prove what he sees to be 
 only a deceitful lull in the conventional relations 
 between masters and pupils. 
 
 But the only voice of authority which makes it 
 self heard, scattering masters and pupils alike, is 
 the bell in the chapel tower, that breaks in pres 
 ently on the scene, but scarcely too soon, for the 
 twilight is at hand. It is time to go to the school 
 rooms for an hour before the day's work is over. 
 Thither the boys flock, and a few moments later 
 Jack and Haseltine are informed that the Doctor 
 is ready to see them in his study. 
 
 Jack's heart is sinking as he walks along the 
 corridor, but he keeps before his mind's eye the 
 picture which he has just seen, in refutation of his 
 fears. He knocks timidly, and in response to a 
 cheery " Come in " enters. It is a spacious yet 
 cosy room, a veritable study with books lining the 
 walls and scattered over the centre table, but bright 
 too with photographs on the mantelpiece, below 
 which a wood fire is sputtering and snapping gaily 
 on the hearth, and pictures, busts, and bric-a-brac 
 betokening that a woman's taste has helped to deco 
 rate it.
 
 150 JACK HALL. 
 
 - 
 
 " This must be Hall ; am I light ? How d'y do, 
 Hall? How d'y do, Haseltine? Glad to see you 
 both." So exclaims the Doctor, rising to greet the 
 two timid youths, speaking so pleasantly, and giv 
 ing them each so hearty a grip of the hand, that 
 they are kindled in spite of themselves and lift 
 their gaze to his. 
 
 How shall I describe the head master of Utopia 
 School ? A man in the prime of life, not quite 
 forty, tall, stalwart, and commanding, with a sunny 
 smile but firm mouth, piercing eyes before which a 
 sneak or liar might well quail, yet in which the 
 sincere, manly boy, the forlorn or puzzled boy, or 
 even the mischievous, disobedient boy who owns 
 his fault, might find the sympathy, encouragement, 
 or mercy which he needs. One sees at a glance, 
 which requires no discrimination, that there is 
 nothing small or petty about him, nothing of the 
 pedant, the martinet, or the ceremonious prig. It 
 is, perhaps, beyond the imagination of boys so full 
 of misgivings as Jack and Haseltine, to appreciate 
 all this at once, but their awe gives way to surprise 
 and their tongues are gradually loosened under the 
 influence of his reassuring words of inquiry in re-
 
 DE. MEREDITH. 151 
 
 gard to their journey, their families, and their past 
 lives, in the course of which his wife comes in and 
 perfects the welcome by her sweet voice. Hasel- 
 tine is the first to thaw, amusing them all by his 
 quaint frankness, which includes a confession of 
 Jack's and his experiences in the line of prize 
 packages, at the mention of which the Doctor looks 
 a trifle grave, but forbears for the present to utter 
 a deprecating word, deeming, without doubt, that 
 to check the boy in his first confidences might work 
 far worse results than could possibly follow from 
 the failure on his own part to point a moral. Ha- 
 seltine goes on to tell of their barter and exhibits 
 triumphantly the two agates, with the exclama 
 tion, " Which of us, do you think, got the best of 
 the swap, Dr. Meredith ? " 
 
 This frankness amuses them all ; and the Doctor 
 asks Jack to let them see the snake, which he pro 
 duces shyly. The little reptile vindicates at least 
 in his owner's eyes the wisdom of the trade 
 by a fine display of his wriggling powers ; after 
 which (the Doctor having chosen to abstain from 
 any expression of opinion as to whether he would 
 rather be in Jack's shoes or Haseltine's) the con-
 
 152 JACK HALL. 
 
 versation goes on easily for a few minutes. The 
 Doctor's wife, who regards Jack very kindly, per 
 haps because he seems less at ease than his more 
 forward companion, questions him about his home 
 and his mother, and makes him promise that if he 
 feels lonely he will come to her and let her know ; 
 all of which is so contrary to what Jack had ex 
 pected that he could almost cry with pleasure. As 
 for Haseltine, his relief is so great that he prattles 
 on like a mill-stream, to the evident entertainment 
 of his listeners, relating naively his impressions of 
 his long journey from the West, and his views of 
 life in general, including his intention to adopt base 
 ball as a profession when he grows up ; an an 
 nouncement which causes Mrs. Meredith to put her 
 handkerchief to her mouth to avoid laughing out 
 right. But it is no laughing matter to Haseltine, 
 who believes every word he is saying, and who pro 
 ceeds to describe with enthusiasm the exploits of 
 the Rising Suns, and the standing of the various 
 players composing that formidable nine. 
 
 " Base-ball is a fine game, and I don't wish to 
 speak a word against it," says the Doctor, when he 
 sees a fair chance to get in a word. " I dare say
 
 DR. MEREDITH. 155 
 
 that you will be a great acquisition to our nine, 
 in course of time, Haseltine, and you too, Hall, 
 though you tell me that your specialty is foot 
 ball. That 's a fine game, too. You boys will have 
 plenty of chance to consider the matter during 
 the next six years, but I rather think that you 
 will come to the conclusion, before you leave us, 
 Haseltine, that you would prefer to be in Con 
 gress, or the. manager of a railroad, or a merchant, 
 or a lawyer, than a professional base-ball player." 
 
 There was a pleasant twinkle in the Doctor's eye 
 as he paused, but though Jack felt that his mas 
 ter's prophecy might, perhaps, come true, Hasel 
 tine shook his head doubtfully. 
 
 " Both you little fellows are tired with so much 
 travel, I know," the Doctor went on, a shade more 
 seriously, " and I am going to send you off to bed 
 without much good advice. I shall take it for 
 granted that both of you are good boys, and anx 
 ious to obey the rules. You '11 be told what they 
 are to-morrow, when I decide upon the classes you 
 are to belong to. And now, before you go, I desire 
 to say just two things: the first of which is, that I 
 wish to impress upon you at the start to avoid
 
 156 JACK HALL. 
 
 falsehood and deceit. There are times when most 
 boys are tempted to lie ; when those times come, 
 be brave and speak the truth, for, believe me, there 
 is no vice more cowardly and degrading to the char 
 acter than any form of falsehood. It is mean, 
 contemptible, and unworthy of men. The prin 
 ciple of this school is self-government ; my desire 
 is, as far as possible, to let the scholars govern them 
 selves ; I trust to their honor largely, and I look to 
 see that trust respected." 
 
 Jack is listening with all his ears ; the room 
 seems very still, and the Doctor's wife is looking 
 gravely at the carpet. 
 
 " The other is this," the Doctor glanced espe 
 cially at Haseltine, though what he is about to 
 say is every whit as applicable to Jack's needs, if 
 he did but know it, "I believe enthusiastically 
 in all manly sports, and do my best to encourage a 
 taste for them in the school ; but let me remind you 
 that what you have been sent here for is not to be 
 come good cricketers, oarsmen, foot-ball kickers, or 
 even" here he smiled kindly "base-ball play- 
 ers. To desire to be proficient in any or all of these 
 games is a laudable ambition, but I pity heartily
 
 DR. MEREDITH. 157 
 
 the boy who, during his stay here, thinks of noth 
 ing else ; and I grieve to say there are a few who 
 do. Sport is an incident, not an aim of life, even 
 of a boy's life. You have been sent here to learn 
 to become high-minded, upright gentlemen, with 
 lofty aims and sterling good sense in the first 
 place ; in the second, and without this the first 
 can never be completely realized, to acquire a 
 good education by means of faithful study. Intel 
 ligent scholarship is the promoter of many virtues 
 and the key to success in after-life. Do you under 
 stand me, boys ? " he asks, at the conclusion of 
 these impressively spoken words. 
 
 " Yes, sir," the two lads murmur, in faint suc 
 cession. 
 
 " Then I will hand you over to Mrs. Martin, who 
 will show you to your dormitories," he says, touch 
 ing the bell. " Hall and Haseltine, I hope you will 
 each regard me as one of your warmest friends, and 
 never hesitate to ask my advice or assistance, if at 
 any time you are in need of either." 
 
 " Nor mine," adds his wife, drawing Jack to her 
 and kissing him on the cheek, which cheers him 
 mightily.
 
 158 JACK HALL. 
 
 " You must be good friends together, too," con 
 tinues the Doctor, looking from one to the other. 
 " Far East and far West ! Remember we are all 
 one nation, and that no part of it can get on without 
 another." 
 
 While, as a consequence of this recommendation, 
 the two boys are exchanging smiles, which, though 
 somewhat sheepish, express cordial good-will, Mrs. 
 Betty arrives, under whose guidance they take their 
 departure, after Mrs. Meredith has impartially be 
 stowed a kiss on Haseltine also, and the Doctor has 
 shaken them both by the hand in his hearty fashion. 
 They pass out of the old schoolhouse across the 
 quadrangle to Fullham Hall, where Mrs. Betty tells 
 them they are to be lodged. A short climb up 
 stairs and a turn or two through a corridor brings 
 them to a spacious apartment running half the 
 length of the building, with rows on either side 
 from one end to the other of what seem to Jack, 
 at first glance, like stalls in a stable. The parti 
 tions dividing these stalls which a second glance 
 proves to be sleeping-rooms large enough to contain 
 a bed, a bureau, and a row of nails for clothing 
 rise but ten or a dozen feet. The ceiling is far
 
 DR. MEKED1TH. 159 
 
 above ; two lines of windows let in abundance of 
 light, and one has only to breathe the cool air to 
 feel sure that care has been taken to make the 
 ventilation all it should be. At the end which 
 they enter is the comfortable-looking study of one 
 of the masters, into which they get a peep as the 
 housekeeper calls him to his door to introduce her 
 charges to him. They are to be quartered nearly 
 opposite to one another on different sides of the dor 
 mitory. Their trunks have already been brought 
 up and placed at the foot of their beds, which have 
 a neat and comfortable appearance. There would 
 be just room inside to swing a cat, if one should so 
 feel inclined, and it is easy to see that there can be 
 no difficulty in producing the effect of great cosi 
 ness by an artistic arrangement of photographs and 
 knick-knacks. Jack looks into several of the little 
 rooms and is charmed at the taste and cleverness 
 displayed in this respect. 
 
 It is not quite bedtime, but a few of the little 
 boys, tired out doubtless by the excitement of the 
 match, are already tucked up for the night, or, 
 partly undressed, are flitting between the dormi 
 tory and the wash-room, into which Jack and Has-
 
 160 JACK HALL. 
 
 eltine are next ushered to be shown the excellent 
 bathing arrangements. Each pupil has his sepa 
 rate set-bowl and soap and towels, and there is a 
 liberal number of bath-rooms, in some of which a 
 fine splashing is going on. At the doors of two of 
 these, Mr. Sawyer, the dormitory master, who has, 
 perhaps, made the arrival of the new-comers an ex 
 cuse for an unlooked-for tour of inspection, knocks 
 sharply, exclaiming, " Time 's up, Rogers. Been in 
 that tub long enough, Dickson ; " in response to 
 which, two watery faces peep out in respectful ex 
 postulation. 
 
 But now the chapel bell rings again, this time 
 for prayers, to be followed by a dismissal of all 
 but the oldest boys to slumber. Mr. Sawyer has 
 to go, but Mrs. Betty remains to see Jack and 
 Haseldne snugly established in bed, where Jack is 
 very happy to be, partly because he is very tired, 
 and partly because the hints on the subject of Jack 
 Spratt and his Wife, thrown out by Horace Hos- 
 mer, have filled his mind with grim forebodings. 
 He reflects that if he can conceal himself from 
 public view, he may yet be spared from torture 
 for another twenty-four hours, and makes haste 
 accordingly.
 
 DR. MEREDITH. 161 
 
 Mrs. Betty has taken her departure only just 
 before the boys who share this dormitory come 
 trooping in, making a din which puts sleep, for the 
 moment, quite out of Jack's head. It seems that 
 fifteen minutes are allowed to undress, after which 
 the lights are put out, all talking is forbidden, and 
 any one caught in another's room is liable to pun 
 ishment. The master at one end, and one of the 
 prefects who are certain of the older boys clothed 
 with a share of authority at the other, keep a 
 lookout for whispering or unlawful expeditions. 
 By degrees the tumult dies away, but before it has 
 wholly come to an end both Jack and Haseltine 
 have ceased to notice it. The assurance, in answer 
 to an inquiry hazarded by Haseltine at the last mo 
 ment of Mrs. Betty, who must have wondered at 
 the question, that Jack Spratt and his Wife sleep 
 in another dormitory, has done much to tranquilize 
 them. Though each listens intently in trepidation 
 for some minutes, weariness gets the better alike of 
 fear and curiosity so soon, that Mr. Sawyer, who 
 draws aside their curtains to see that they are all 
 right before the watchman on his rounds puts out 
 the light, is satisfied that they are fast asleep. 
 And so they are.
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 FIRST IMPRESSIONS. 
 
 How many of the fathers of the boys who are 
 reading this story look back on their school days 
 with any great degree of satisfaction as concerns 
 the time spent in the schoolroom ? Not a large 
 number, it is safe to assert, if the truth were 
 known. You young fellows do not appreciate your 
 advantages, or, at least, you have small comprehen 
 sion of what lessons and masters were like twenty 
 and thirty years ago. Not that we were badly 
 treated, in one sense. Even then floggings were in 
 tolerable disrepute ; the birch was practically dis 
 carded, and if the ferule was employed with some 
 frequency in extreme cases, its popularity as an 
 educator was on the wane. Our teachers, though 
 rarely genial, intended to be just, and though strict 
 were not harsh. Stiffness and constraint were still 
 deemed essential to secure decorum, but the czar- 
 like despotism which made the pedagogues of for 
 mer generations terrible had passed away.
 
 FIRST IMPRESSIONS. 163 
 
 On the other hand, we were one and all mere 
 machines for the acquisition of so much Latin, 
 Greek, and mathematics ; machines, of which some 
 ran faster than others and with a certain show of 
 brilliancy, but the best of which did their work in 
 the mechanical, unintelligent way that machines 
 invariably do. Most education then was a grand 
 system of memorizing, of getting by rote whole 
 pages of Latin grammar, and other subjects, so as 
 to be able to spin them off as fast as the tongue 
 could move without hesitation or mistake. If you 
 made either, and were ambitious, it meant disaster, 
 for there was always some slick-haired, pale-faced 
 lad on the watch to pick you up anywhere and 
 put you down a peg in the class as a consequence. 
 What feats of marvelous mechanism in this line 
 were daily performed with the dry bones of " An 
 drews & Stoddard's " and " Baird's Classical Man 
 ual " ! Ask your father, any one of you, if he can 
 repeat that memory-confounding list of adjectives 
 which have no superlatives. There are twenty-eight 
 of them, beginning with "adolescens adolescentior 
 young, agrestis agrestior rustic." If he cannot, 
 there was a time when he could, and when at
 
 164 JACK HALL. 
 
 least if he were what was called in those days a 
 good scholar he could rattle off, besides, the 
 twenty-six prepositions governing the accusative 
 and the nouns of the third declension with either 
 e or i in the ablative, not forgetting at the same 
 time that " occiput has only i, rus has either e or z', 
 but rure commonly signifies ' from the country ' 
 and ruri ' in the country ' ; met has rarely i." 
 
 We were expected to divine, apparently, for few 
 hints were given us of the beauties of Csesar and 
 Virgil and Ovid, of the Anabasis and the Iliad, of 
 the manners, thoughts, and customs of the Greeks 
 and Romans, and the relations of the classic tongues 
 to ours. But every one of us was expected, when 
 the master gave out from that gloomy little com 
 pilation on ancient geography, " Baird's Classical 
 Manual," Sybaris for instance, to be able, if called 
 upon, to answer like a flash : " Proverbial for the 
 luxury of its inhabitants ; " and then to continue in 
 sequence : " Thurii founded by the Athenians B. 
 c. 443, with whom were Herodotus and Lysias the 
 orator. In the west also, on the coast JElea, ffelia, 
 or Velia, the birthplace of Zeno and Parmenides, 
 the founders of the Eleatic School of Philosophy ; "
 
 FIRST IMPRESSIONS. 165 
 
 and so on until bidden to stop. It is no exaggera 
 tion to state that there were boys who, if started 
 at any point in its sixty closely printed pages, could 
 recite to the end without slip or falter, and yet 
 who had no further knowledge concerning the 
 places or individuals enumerated than was con 
 tained in the brief paragraphs of which those just 
 cited are prolix examples. 
 
 It may have been noticed by the parents, if not 
 by the. boys who have followed Jack's experiences 
 up to this point, that very little has been said on 
 the subject of his lessons, and that consideration 
 has been mainly given to his sports, his snow-ball 
 fights, his mischief-making, and what he did in 
 general outside the schoolroom. 
 
 Let us look the matter squarely in the face and 
 acknowledge that the least said regarding his 
 schooling before he went to Utopia the better. 
 But in justice to the masters who had to undergo 
 the discouragement of seeing their efforts to make 
 him learn prove of no avail, it should be stated that 
 the fault lay neither in them nor seriously in their 
 system of teaching. Already the theory of culti 
 vating the memory alone at the expense of the
 
 166 JACK HALL. 
 
 other faculties had fallen into disrepute in the pub 
 lic schools of his native city, and was being sup 
 planted by methods calculated to make boys and 
 girls think for themselves instead of developing 
 into mere machines. But it is to be feared that up 
 to this time the advantages of living in an enlight 
 ened age had been lost upon our hero, if the inter 
 est he took in his daily tasks be regarded as evi 
 dence. To tell the truth, he had been incorrigibly 
 idle ; his thoughts rarely kept themselves fixed for 
 five minutes at a time on any branch of knowledge 
 disassociated with the Frog Pond, Ma'am Horn, 
 Joe Herring, or some one or other of the interest 
 ing localities or personages whose acquaintance we 
 have already made. It had always been a moment 
 of supreme happiness to him when the bell sounded, 
 announcing that he was at liberty to pitch his 
 dog's-eared, pencil-marked books into his desk and 
 to depart for the day, and the hours preceding that 
 welcome summons were too apt to drag heavily 
 unless relieved by oases of mischief. It is no easy 
 task, be the master ever so conscientious, to engage 
 the interest of those boys in a large class who count 
 the school hours in much the same spirit that a
 
 FIRST IMPRESSIONS. 167 
 
 prisoner counts the weeks which must elapse before 
 lie is free. To one fond of his calling and ambitious 
 to have his pupils shine, the good scholars must in 
 evitably commend themselves, and he is only too 
 likely to let the rag, tag, and bobtail shift for 
 themselves, feeling, doubtless, that time and energy 
 spent in endeavoring to make them fond of their 
 books cannot fail to be wasted. It was to the rag, 
 tag, and bobtail emphatically that Jack had be 
 longed. With three or four other boys, among 
 whom was the ever faithful Dubsy, he had disputed 
 the doubtful distinction of being at the foot of 
 his class, and the monthly reports which he had 
 brought home to his mother were monotonous in 
 their uniform lack of excellence. 
 
 It will, therefore, be seen that the good advice, 
 regarding the purpose for which he had been sent 
 to Utopia, delivered by Dr. Meredith on that first 
 evening, was peculiarly adapted to Jack's needs, 
 
 and should have sunk deep into his heart. But 
 
 i 
 
 just as one swallow will not make a summer, a 
 single homily will rarely suffice to change an idle 
 boy into an industrious one. If the truth must 
 be told, there is reason to doubt whether Jack gave
 
 168 JACK HALL. 
 
 that part of the Doctor's lecture although it im 
 pressed him greatly for a. moment, I dare say, and 
 made him inwardly resolve to be very diligent for 
 the future a second thought after he went away 
 under the wing of Mrs. Betty. And if he neglected 
 to consider the matter further that night, he cer 
 tainly did not think much about it in the morning, 
 when, having escaped molestation from Jack Spratt 
 and his wife, he awoke and found himself face to 
 face with, and fairly entranced by, the great school 
 world. No wonder that the master who examined 
 the pair after breakfast, with a view to discovering 
 their acquirements, held up his hands in horror 
 upon making his report to Dr. Meredith, and ob 
 served, pathetically, that he was at a loss to decide 
 which of the two had made the worse showing. 
 
 " They both seemed bright boys when I saw 
 them last night," answered the Doctor. 
 
 " Oh, they 're bright enough," said Mr. Percy. 
 " I judge, however, that neither of them has ever 
 been made to study." 
 
 " Then we shall have to begin at first principles," 
 was the reply. 
 
 Accordingly Jack and Haseltine were enrolled
 
 FIRST IMPRESSIONS. 169 
 
 in the lowest of the six classes into which the 
 school was divided, but in the first of the two 
 divisions composing the class. As they were not 
 to take their places until the following morning, 
 they were free for the rest of the day to look about 
 them. They were left pretty much to their own 
 devices during the forenoon, for until half an hour 
 before dinner time the whole school was busy with 
 recitations and study. So they improved their op 
 portunities, to begin with, by wandering around 
 the large quadrangle, peering up at the buildings, 
 stepping for a moment into the chapel, where they 
 admired, with bated breath, the carving and the 
 stained-glass windows, and bringing up finally at 
 the gymnasium. Here they spent some time in the 
 inspection of the bars, weights, rowing-machines, 
 and other apparatus, the use of which was ex 
 plained very kindly by the superintendent, Dr. 
 Bolles, who introduced himself to them, and who, 
 at the close of his instructions, invited them into 
 his private office that he might take their measure 
 ments. After they had stripped themselves to the 
 skin, Dr. Bolles having entered their names, age, 
 and birthplace in a large ledger, a separate page
 
 170 JACK HALL. 
 
 of which was devoted to every boy in the school 
 proceeded to tap their bodies and to listen to their 
 lungs and hearts, in a very attentive manner. 
 Then he weighed them, ascertained their height, 
 and the number of inches they measured round the 
 chest, forearm, biceps, hips, and calves. 
 
 Haseltine, who was the first to go through the 
 ordeal, looked a bit lanky, stripped, and somewhat 
 flat-chested. There was not much flesh on his 
 bones, as was apparent from the manner in which 
 his ribs stuck out. 
 
 " You must learn to hold yourself up straight, 
 and not to stoop, Haseltine," said the superintend 
 ent, scrutinizing him critically. " You '11 become 
 round-shouldered if you don't have a care. You 
 should use the upright bars every day. Appetite 
 good?" 
 
 " First rate," answered Haseltine, looking rather 
 crestfallen at this depreciation of his physique. 
 
 " Food runs to muscle, then. No spare flesh 
 here," he observed, passing his hand over the little 
 fellow's frame. " Pretty wiry. Sound as a trivet ; 
 but those chest-muscles need strengthening ; we 
 must build you out. Good arm, very good," he
 
 FIRST IMPRESSIONS. 171 
 
 added, as Haseltine doubled up his biceps with a 
 smile of conscious pride. " Base-ball, I suppose ; 
 yes, out of all proportion to the left ; I thought so. 
 Ever been examined before?" Haseltine shook 
 his head. " I suppose not. You've come here just 
 in time. We '11 make a man of you yet. Now 
 Hall." 
 
 Jack was all of a tremble. In the first place, 
 the stethoscope business was rather alarming and 
 suggested all sorts of possibilities in the way of 
 broken wind and heart-disease, and then he did not 
 relish at all being picked to pieces before Hasel 
 tine. He wondered whether he looked equally 
 scraggy, and derived his first ray of consolation 
 from the complimentary expression of Dr. Bolles' 
 eye, as the superintendent (after taking several 
 measurements in silence) stood off and surveyed 
 him with evident complacency. 
 
 " Ah, Carlisle, good morning," Dr. Bolles ex 
 claimed to a delicate appearing boy who had just 
 entered the office. " There 's a good all round fel 
 low for you to model yourself on. No dyspepsia 
 in him. He does n't know what nerves mean. If 
 you don't grow up into a healthy, well-formed
 
 172 JACK HALL. 
 
 man," he continued to Jack, " it '11 be your own 
 fault. You 've got a good start ; you can't be a 
 Hercules, there 's not enough of you for that, but 
 you 're cut out for health if you take care of your 
 self. You 've been looked after at home, evidently. 
 That 'sail." 
 
 Jack put on his clothes again, feeling proud as 
 a peacock, and entirely reconciled to the fact that 
 Haseltine's biceps was bigger than his own. The 
 boy addressed as Carlisle, who was sauntering about 
 in the office quite at his ease, gave Jack and Hasel- 
 tine a critical glance from his handsome dark eyes, 
 and then examined for a few moments the doctor's 
 entries in the ledger regarding them. He was a 
 striking-looking lad, with an intelligent and at the 
 same time attractive expression, and though he was 
 slight and evidently far from robust, there was 
 nothing effeminate either in his appearance or 
 manner. 
 
 " How are you, to-day ? " Dr. Bolles inquired of 
 him. 
 
 " Oh, I 'm better ; I feel like a fighting-cock," 
 was the reply. 
 
 " You look better. But now, my dear boy, pray
 
 FIRST IMPRESSIONS. 173 
 
 give yourself a chance. You can't do everything, 
 be a ball- player, good oar, crack sprinter, and 
 the head of your class, all at the same time, with 
 your present physique, and keep well. Hall and 
 Haseltine," the superintendent added, " let me 
 make you acquainted with Louis Carlisle, our 
 champion short-distance runner, and poet laureate. 
 He has been in the infirmary for the past fortnight 
 because lie wouldn't take care of himself. I dare 
 say that if you two boys are so inclined, he will 
 stroll with you up to the lake to show you the 
 boat-houses and enlighten you a little as to how 
 we live at Utopia." 
 
 " I shall be very glad, I 'm sure," answered Car 
 lisle politely. " The walk will do me good." 
 
 He was half a head taller than either Jack or 
 Haseltine, and evidently two years their senior. 
 In a tone not unduly patronizing he proceeded to 
 make a running commentary on what they saw, as 
 they accompanied him a few minutes later on the 
 projected tour of investigation. 
 
 " What dormitory are you in ? " he inquired at 
 the start. 
 
 " Fullham," said Jack.
 
 174 JACK HALL. 
 
 " That 's mine, too. I 'ra to go back in a day or 
 two. It 's dreadfully lonely in the infirmary when 
 no one else is sick. I caught cold after winning 
 the hundred-yard dash, and Dr. Bolles says I was 
 threatened with typhoid. There 's the infirmary," 
 he added, pointing to a good-sized cottage in the 
 field behind Granger Hall. " You can just see it. 
 Every one who is sick is sent there. A year ago 
 there were eighteen cases of measles at the same 
 time. Can either of you leg it any?" he inquired, 
 eying them each in turn with a scientific air. 
 
 "I used to run pretty fast at prisoner's base," 
 said Jack. 
 
 " I 've practiced stealing second a good deal," re 
 plied Haseltine. 
 
 " There 's the track," continued Carlisle, indicat 
 ing the flagged half-mile course which surrounded 
 the football field. " Like to see it near to ? " 
 
 The boys assented and followed their guide over 
 the terrace for a few yards, until they came to a 
 kind of stand not unlike a witness-box, to which 
 they ascended. " Here's where the judges sit and 
 where we finish," he said. " We have athletic 
 sports, that is, running and jumping, and all that
 
 FIRST IMPRESSIONS. 175 
 
 sort of thing, twice a year, once in the spring and 
 once in the autumn. The spring meeting comes 
 off in about a month. The hundred-yard dash, 
 which I won, was an extra match got up by the 
 backers of Coleman, Junior. His brother, Cole- 
 man, Senior, who went to Harvard last year, was 
 champion of the school for three years, and he is 
 trying to follow in his brother's footsteps." 
 
 " Were" you ever licked?" asked Jack, looking 
 up in the crack runner's face with respectful admi 
 ration. 
 
 " Oh yes, often. Coleman, Senior, licked me 
 right along until the last time, when I beat the 
 school record. I dare say Jessup '11 make it warm 
 for me before long. He 's only in the fifth, but I 'd 
 almost back him to-day against Coleman, Junior. 
 Are you both in the sixth ? " 
 
 The boys nodded. 
 
 " I 'm in the third ; quite a patriarch, you see. 
 There 's no reason why both of you should n't make 
 good sprinters if you give your minds to it." 
 
 This prophecy sounded agreeable to Jack and 
 Haseltine as they trotted along, one on either side 
 of him, on their way to the lake, passing out of the
 
 176 JACK HALL. 
 
 quadrangle through the same arched portal by 
 which they had entered it the night before, and so 
 over the base-ball practice field to the main road, 
 from which Carlisle presently diverged to take a 
 cut across the meadows. He explained to them, 
 among other things, that every one had to be inside 
 the quadrangle at the close of the curfew, as the 
 supper-bell at half-past six was called, on pain of an 
 interview with Dr. Meredith. 
 
 " Are you on the nine ? " inquired Haseltine, who 
 had been burning to ask the question. 
 
 "Not on the school nine. I was on the dormi 
 tory nine, but I 've decided not to play this year. 
 I 'm trying not to spread my butter too thin, as Dr. 
 Bolles calls it. He thinks I do too many things," 
 he added by way of explanation. " You know each 
 of the dormitories has its separate nine and foot 
 ball team, and there 's great rivalry between them. 
 Fullham beat Dudley the first match of the season 
 last Saturday, and plays Rogers this afternoon." 
 
 This announcement was very interesting. Be 
 fore they reached the lake, Carlisle had also in 
 formed them that there was a cricket eleven, a 
 weekly newspaper called " The Utopian," of which
 
 FIRST IMPRESSIONS. 177 
 
 he was one of the editors, a glee club, and four 
 eight-oared crews, the Atalantas, Orions, Nira- 
 rods, and Mohicans. " There are, besides, ten single- 
 scull shells and several pair oars," he said, leading 
 the way into one of the two tastefully built boat- 
 houses, perched side by side on the bank of the 
 broad lake, each with a covered piazza in front. 
 
 The main space in the centre, as they entered, 
 was filled- by the eight-oared racing-boats, the sight 
 of which lying side by side delighted and almost 
 awed Jack, who had never examined anything of 
 the sort, and who straightway made the resolution 
 that, no matter what else he did or did not do at 
 Utopia, he would go in for rowing. He had often 
 heard his mother tell that his father had been a 
 famous oar in his day, and he himself was entirely 
 at home in a dory, and able, in his own opinion, 
 already to scull nearly if not quite as well as the 
 fishermen at Nahant and Swampscott, whose com 
 panion he was wont to be in the summer time on 
 their expeditions after cod and haddock. He had 
 often wished to look at a paper shell near to, and 
 now his ambition was gratified. There were rests 
 on each side of the building, reaching nearly to the
 
 178 JACK HALL. 
 
 ceiling, along which the small boats were arranged 
 in tiers, and in one corner was a snug little room 
 hung with flags, and photographs of winning crews 
 and crack oarsmen, and furnished with a round ta 
 ble and chairs, where, Carlisle said, the Meetings of 
 the club were held. In the adjoining boat-house 
 were more boats, including an eight-oared barge, 
 of which, as Carlisle told them, Mrs. Meredith was 
 the coxswain whenever she was willing to go out on 
 the lake. 
 
 " It 's great fun here a little later in the season," 
 observed their guide as they sat down to rest on the 
 piazza after everything had been inspected. " On 
 a pleasant, still afternoon there are sometimes more 
 than twenty boats out, of one kind and another." 
 
 " Who 's the fastest rower ? " asked Jack. 
 
 " The Doctor is the crack single sculler." 
 
 " The Doctor ? Does he row ? " 
 
 "Oh, yes, indeed. He came pretty near being 
 beaten, though, last year. Whitehead crawled up 
 on him so that there was n't more than half a length 
 between them at the finish. You never saw such 
 excitement." 
 
 " Was n't he mad ? " inquired Jack, to whom
 
 FIRST IMPRESSIONS. 179 
 
 the idea of a master being beaten by one of his 
 scholars seemed most extraordinary. 
 
 " Who, the Doctor ? Not a bit of it ; he 's a true 
 sport," said Carlisle. "There was no one more 
 pleased than he at being forced to pull for all lie 
 was worth." 
 
 Further inquiry revealed that the Atalantas were 
 for the time being the champion of the eight- 
 oared crews ; and after a score more questions, 
 which Carlisle answered most good-naturedly, the 
 boys retraced their footsteps so as to get back iu 
 time for dinner. Seeing that their mentor was so 
 well disposed, Jack took occasion on the way to im 
 part a little of what Horace Hosmer had dropped 
 regarding Jack Spratt and his Wife, which Carlisle 
 listened to at first with no other comment than an 
 occasional sidelong glance, which struck them as 
 far from reassuring. Once Carlisle started to speak, 
 but some impediment in his throat checking him, 
 he seemed to change his mind, until Haseltine's re 
 mark that they were fortunate in being in a differ 
 ent dormitory from the formidable pair drew out 
 the laconic observation, " That won't help you 
 much."
 
 180 JACK HALL. 
 
 "Why?" asked Jack. 
 
 "Those fellows are all over the lot," was the 
 answer. " They 'd think nothing of snaking a new 
 boy out of bed in the small hours of the morning, 
 no matter where he was." 
 
 " But I wonder the Doctor allows it," said Ha- 
 seltine, hoping for a more satisfactory response to 
 this exclamation than it had elicited from Horace. 
 
 " Who 's to tell him ? " cried Carlisle sternly, 
 looking straight at the offender. " You boys may 
 count on one thing, and that is that tale-bearing 
 does n't go down at Utopia. Any fellow who told 
 tales here would be hustled out of the school, and 
 the Doctor 'd be the first to avoid him." 
 
 The decision with which these words were spoken 
 caused Jack and Haseltine to hang their heads 
 guiltily, and presumably to reflect that the coup 
 let 
 
 " Tell-tale tit, 
 
 Your tongue shall be slit, 
 And all the dogs in the town 
 Shall have a little bit," 
 
 formed a no less important part of the code of 
 youth than of childhood.
 
 FIRST IMPRESSIONS. 181 
 
 " It 's hard on new boys, I admit," continued 
 Carlisle,' after a moment, in a contemplative tone, 
 "and if those fellows keep on in their cruel Ways 
 they '11 kill somebody next." 
 
 " Horace Hosmer told us they did kill two boys 
 last term," said Jack, in a stage whisper. 
 
 "Yes," exclaimed Haseltine; "it was reported 
 to be chicken-pox, but he says he helped to lay 
 them out -after they were dead, and they were a 
 mass of bruises from the crown of the head to the 
 soles of the feet." 
 
 Carlisle looked very grave and nodded his head 
 with an ominous air. " I did n't suppose Horace 
 knew about it," he said ; " it was kept very dark." 
 
 " Then you knew of it ? " asked Jack. 
 
 " Bless you, yes. It ought to have taught Tobey 
 and Donaldson a lesson," Carlisle added gloomily, 
 " but it did n't. They 're just as bad as ever, this 
 term." 
 
 " What is the best thing to do if if they should 
 ever happen to fix on us ? " asked Jack presently, 
 with a slight gulp. 
 
 Carlisle whistled reflectively. " I '11 be doggoned 
 if I know," he replied at last. "I'd keep a stiff
 
 182 JACK HALL. 
 
 upper lip, if I were you, and be as sandy as you 
 can. They '11 let you off easily, perhaps, if they 
 see you 've got grit ; but if you funk, I would n't 
 give much for your chances of getting through with 
 a whole skin. I '11 say a good word for you in ad 
 vance. It may save you a broken leg or arm." 
 
 After the delivery of this speech, Carlisle in 
 dulged in a short, hysterical laugh, which seemed 
 to his listeners quite out of keeping with their own 
 feelings. But it was evidently a mere spasmodic 
 expression of sympathy, for his countenance im 
 mediately regained the expression of deep gloom 
 which it had worn ever since the subject of Spratt 
 a*nd his Wife had been introduced. 
 
 " Thank you very much indeed," answered each 
 of the boys in turn. 
 
 " Not at all not at all. I fear that my words 
 cannot avail you much," he responded. 
 
 They were now within school bounds again, and 
 there was only just time to go to their rooms before 
 dinner. Carlisle, in keeping with his previous 
 kindness, announced that as it might be advisable 
 to say what he had to say to Tobey and Donaldson 
 at once, he would take his dinner with the school. 
 
 * 

 
 FIRST IMPRESSIONS. 183 
 
 Accordingly, assuring the boys that he felt well 
 enough for this exertion, he started off at a lively 
 jog for the infirmary so as to be on hand. 
 
 Jack and Ilaseltine had been given provisional 
 seats at breakfast, but Mrs. Betty, who presided 
 over the younger boys, now assigned them to places 
 not far from one another at her own table. It was 
 an impressive moment, and one could have heard a 
 pin drop while the Doctor asked a blessing in his 
 clear,. manly tones on the repast spVead for his two 
 hundred hungry pupils, who stood behind their 
 chairs in long lines up and down the big hall wait 
 ing for the signal to fall to, which they did with a 
 vengeance you may be sure, when they got it. Dr: 
 Meredith and his wife, the married masters, and a 
 few of the prefects occupied a table on a platform 
 at one end of the room at right angles with the 
 others and overlooking them all. There was a mas 
 ter at the end of each, who did the carving and 
 kept good order. 
 
 The dinner was simple but extremely good. A 
 clear, honest soup well flavored with vegetables ; 
 ribs of roast beef carefully basted and neither done 
 to death nor so distressingly blue as some cooks are 
 
 *, I
 
 184 JACK HALL. 
 
 capable of sending it up from the kitchen ; potatoes, 
 tomatoes, macaroni, light bread, sweet butter, and 
 for dessert a cup of baked custard invitingly served. 
 Everything was clean and neat, thanks to the vigi 
 lant eye of Mrs. Betty and her assistants, and 
 thanks, first of all, to the founders of Utopia, who 
 laid it down us one of the principles of the school 
 that so everything must be. No extravagance, no 
 rich dishes, no wine or beer, but plenty of blood- 
 making, sinew-strengthening, bone-building food, 
 fresh, appetizing, and unspoiled. 
 
 I have seen school tables, and between you and 
 me private tables also, at which such a dinner as 
 that just described was made thoroughly unpala 
 table by the manner in which it was prepared ; 
 where the soup was a thin, unseasoned, straw- 
 colored fluid, the beef ruined by one of the ex 
 tremes of cooking already referred to, the vegetables 
 greasy, the bread clammy, the butter rancid, and 
 the cup of custard pale and watery. There are 
 persons who do not think such matters worth con 
 sidering, who believe that any time devoted to 
 making our daily repasts savory is misspent, and 
 that young people, boys in particular, should eat
 
 FIRST 1MPEESSIONS. 185 
 
 what is set before them without asking questions, 
 thankful that there is anything to eat at all. 
 
 It is easy to perceive that such doctrines are 
 thoroughly pernicious and unsound, if you reflect 
 that our capabilities as men and women are chiefly 
 dependent on what our bodies permit us to be, and 
 that the component parts of these bodies are de 
 termined in the main by the food we eat, the air 
 we breathe, the clothing we wear, and the sleep 
 we get. There is no greater mistake in the world 
 than to disregard the laws of health under the plea 
 that they are not worthy of notice ; and if they are 
 thus important for those of us who are grown up 
 to bear in mind as essential to human wellbeing, 
 how much more vital is it that the young should 
 be given every opportunity to fit themselves phys 
 ically for the battle of life. Bear this in mind, 
 boys, and when you are served with slovenly, un 
 wholesome cookery, protest with all your might. 
 Do not be ashamed to know and recognize good 
 things to eat. The temperate enjoyment of the 
 pleasures of the table is a legitimate and important 
 element of happiness. 
 
 Meanwhile our young friend, Jack Hall, has
 
 186 JACK HALL. 
 
 been enjoying his dinner mightily, though it is no 
 better, in truth, than what he has been accus 
 tomed to at home, which is not surprising if we 
 recall the double devotion of his mother and the 
 faithful Hannah, whose hearts are doubtless pretty 
 sore at this time. When his hunger is somewhat 
 appeased he ventures to gaze about him a little, 
 exchanging a few shy words with the boys near 
 him, all of whom seem friendly and willing to re 
 ceive him as a companion. He makes the acquaint 
 ance of Buck on one side of him, Horton on the 
 other, and Travers, Bailey, and Cunningham across 
 the table. Horton, who is a plump, talkative little 
 chap of his own size, points out to him the various 
 school celebrities, including Ramsay, Bedloe, and 
 Goldthwaite of the nine ; Burbank, the stalwart, 
 bearded captain of the fifteen ; and little, active- 
 looking Bobby Crosby, who, as Jack knows, is 
 expected to take Burbank's place next year; Ha- 
 zelhurst, the stroke of the Atalantas and champion 
 oar of the school (always excepting the invincible 
 Doctor) now that Whitehead has graduated ; and 
 Carlisle, who nods across the room in a friendly 
 manner from his seat with the big second-class
 
 FIRST IMPRESSIONS. 187 
 
 boys, so that Horton asks with interest, " Do you 
 know him ? " 
 
 " I was introduced to him this morning at the 
 gymnasium," replies Jack. " He showed Haseltine 
 and me to the boat-houses." 
 
 "He 's the smartest boy at Utopia, first rate at 
 games, head of his class, and champion sprinter. 
 There 's Coleman, Junior, sitting with the third 
 next to Jumbo, his real name 's Blair, but every 
 one calls him Jumbo because he 's so fat, he can 
 run pretty fast, and it 's neck and neck between 
 him and Jessup, that boy on the right of Mr. 
 Sawyer, but neither of them can catch Carlisle. 
 You ought to hear Jumbo sing; he's the best tenor 
 we 've got." 
 
 Most of this information is not new to Jack, but 
 he is glad to hear the heroes catalogued again at a 
 time when he can take a good peep at them. He 
 feels proud of his acquaintance with Carlisle, and 
 glances from time to time in that direction, for he 
 has not forgotten his senior's promise to speak a 
 good word for him. 
 
 " I wonder what 's up at the second form table," 
 says Horton presently. " Some one or other keeps
 
 188 JACK HALL. 
 
 turning round and laughing. There must be a gag 
 on you," he adds, turning to Jack, who has already 
 noticed this tendency on the part of the boys in 
 the vicinity of his benefactor. " Have you done 
 anything fresh ? " 
 
 " Not that I know of," answers poor Jack, who 
 is feeling far from comfortable. 
 
 The dessert is finished, and in another minute 
 dinner will be over. All of a sudden Carlisle gets 
 up, and after saying a word to the master at the 
 head of the table, crosses to one of those occupied 
 by the fourth class, and stoops to speak to two 
 boys sitting side by side, whom Jack recognizes 
 instantly as Tobey and Donaldson, the redoubtable 
 Spratt and Wife. He has not perceived them be 
 fore, though he has been on the lookout for them, 
 and now that he takes a glance at them they do 
 not strike him as very terrible in appearance. They 
 are good-natured looking enough, but appearances 
 are deceitful in this world, as Jack very well knows, 
 and he quails as he observes the gaze of the trio 
 rest on him and Haseltine alternately. Carlisle's 
 eyes sparkle as he talks, and he keeps his hand to 
 his mouth so that Jack cannot judge much by its
 
 FIRST IMPRESSIONS. 189 
 
 expression. Spratt and Wifey listen for a moment 
 or two in judicial silence, then a broad, convulsive 
 smile, which suggests, at least to Jack, the hilarity 
 of a hyena, overspreads the features of each, only 
 to be succeeded by a look of glowing fierceness, 
 which seems to the unhappy lads for Haseltine 
 is no less conscious of it than Jack to argue ill 
 for the future. While they are still beneath its 
 spell the school rises from table, and the two boys 
 are swept along to the terrace, where Carlisle pres 
 ently joins them, but only to draw them aside and 
 whisper the ominous tidings, " I 've done my best 
 for you, but they think you look too cocky," an 
 announcement which makes them both feel very 
 miserable. 
 
 Just then a big boy, bat in hand, and wearing 
 a large F embroidered on the bosom of his shirt, 
 accosted their mentor with the eager inquiry, 
 " Won't you help us out, Carlisle ? Dobson has a 
 game knee and can't possibly play." 
 
 " Wish I could, Chalmers, but I Ve promised 
 Dr. Bolles to let up on base-ball for the rest of the 
 term. I 'm only just out of the infirmary." 
 
 " Yes, I know ; but it 's mighty tough lines on
 
 190 JACK HALL. 
 
 us to have so many of our best men knocked up. 
 Potts had word this morning that his mother is 
 sick and started for home before dinner, and Plum- 
 mer bust his finger against the Stars yesterday." 
 
 " What 's the matter with Cochrane ? " 
 
 " Oh, Cochrane 's no good. He '11 fan himself 
 out every time, cock sure, on Bedloe's pitching. 
 We 're hard up for third base, and Cochrane 's use 
 less except in the field. They 've got their strong 
 est team," said Chalmers impatiently. 
 
 "What is it?" whispered Haseltine to Carlisle. 
 
 " Fullham against Rogers." 
 
 " I can play third base," continued Haseltine, to 
 Jack's infinite astonishment. 
 
 Carlisle laughed gayly. " Here 's your chance, 
 Chalmers," he said. " This new Fullhamite says 
 he 's an artist." 
 
 " What 's your name ? " asked Chalmers, scan 
 ning Haseltine from top to toe. 
 
 "Frank Haseltine." 
 
 "Have you played much?" 
 
 " I 've played third base on the St. Louis Rising 
 Suns for two years." 
 
 " Are you in practice ? " 
 
 " First rate."
 
 FIRST IMPRESSIONS. 191 
 
 There was an assurance about the applicant that 
 evidently impressed Chalmers. " Would you try 
 him ? " he asked Carlisle. 
 
 " He talks well." 
 
 " Talk is cheap," growled Chalmers. " Well, be 
 on hand, then," he said to Haseltine. "Get into 
 your togs as soon as you can. The game '11 be 
 called in fifteen minutes." 
 
 Haseltine looked radiant with delight as the 
 large boy strode away. " Do you think he '11 let 
 me play ? " he inquired beseechingly of Carlisle. 
 
 " I guess so ; he 's captain of the Fullham nine. 
 It 's a big chance for you, youngster^ to show what 
 you 're made of. Now run along and get ready." 
 
 Jack felt rather envious, but not so much so as 
 not to be thoroughly glad of his friend's good for 
 tune. Indeed, as he sat by while Haseltine got 
 into his flannels, he was very well pleased to think 
 that he was not going to play himself. It was 
 pretty evident from the way Haseltine had spoken 
 of the Rising Suns the day before, that they were 
 a much superior nine to the Massasoits, of which 
 club Jack knew that he had by no means been the 
 strongest player, a conviction which helped to rec 
 oncile him to being left out.
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 HASELTINE MAKES HIS DEBUT. 
 
 IT has been, and still is, the fashion in certain 
 circles to decry base-ball, and to hold up to the 
 youth of the country the superiority of cricket, as a 
 pastime. The arguments, such as they are, chief 
 among which is the plea that cricket is a more gen 
 tlemanly game, for the reason that one can play it 
 with exceeding comfort after -leaving school and 
 college as well or nearly as well as before, need 
 not be reiterated, inasmuch as there is no longer 
 room for argument. The case is closed. The boys 
 have heard what was to be said on either side, and 
 have come to a final conclusion in regard to the 
 matter. Base-ball is undeniably the national sport 
 from one end of the land to the other, and no 
 amount of chafing on the part of those who think 
 the decision unwise can make the long cherished 
 cricket of our English cousins widely popular on 
 this side of the water. And after all, if we ex-
 
 HASELTINE MAKES HIS DEBUT. 193 
 
 amine the reasons, the boys are not far out. Be it 
 said with bated breath and yet clearly and unequiv 
 ocally, that it requires more skill, far more skill to 
 excel at base-ball, as it is played to-day, than at 
 any other sport. Talk of muscle, nerve, wind, 
 quickness and correctness of eye, fleetness of foot, 
 temper, bottom, and grit, what one of these 
 qualities is not put in training when two closely 
 matched nines meet to play ball ? Try it, gentle 
 men of England, for yourselves and see. You will 
 have to come to the conclusion take my Yankee 
 word for it that there is' more in our game than 
 you think ; and what is more, you will know in 
 your hearts, though you will never acknowledge it, 
 that an all-day cricket match under the trees, re 
 lieved by respites for beef and beer and dawdled 
 the whole time, for you take things pretty lei 
 surely after every " over," is a tame affair, though 
 a very gentlemanly and delightful one, compared 
 with what we are able to show you under the head 
 of ball-playing. Don't mistake us, gentlemen of 
 England : we know that cricket is a grand old 
 game, we have watched it often (though it is a 
 trifle dull to watch), played it, too, and we continue
 
 194 JACK HALL. 
 
 to play it at times, but when you come to talk 
 about muscle and nerve and temper and bottom 
 and grit, and all that, as we have said already, we 
 are ready to back our national game against the 
 world. 
 
 Chalmers and Hackett, the captains of the rival 
 dormitory teams, are tossing up to see which nine 
 shall go in first, as the two new boys arrive on the 
 scene. Fullham wins and sends its opponents to 
 the bat. " Game called ! " cries the umpire, and 
 Haseltine has just time to throw off his jacket and 
 get into position at third base before Rainsford, 
 who is to pitch for the Fullhamites, enters the box. 
 Rainsford is known as " the kid " because of his 
 slight appearance. He is only in the fourth, but 
 his drop balls have proved successful teasers ere 
 this. 
 
 See how every player on the fielding nine has 
 his nerves taut as Billy Douglas steps to the home 
 plate to lead off, and poises his bat! They are 
 boys, of course, they have not the experience 
 and sinew of professional or college teams, but 
 they are sturdy fellows for all that. They mean 
 business : so does Billy ; there is blood in his eye ; 
 he hopes to start off with a three bagger.
 
 HASELTINE MAKES HIS DEBUT. 195 
 
 " One ball ! " cries the umpire. 
 
 " Two balls ! " 
 
 That won't do, Rainsford; you can't afford to 
 let him get his base on balls. Carefully now. 
 
 " One strike ! " 
 
 Ah, that 's better ; the kid is settling down to 
 his work. Now another ! A hit, a palpable hit ! 
 Away scuds Douglas with all the vim of his Scotch 
 forefathers, to get to first before the ball. No use, 
 Billy ; Goldthwaite has it at second easy enough 
 and pops it to Maitland, who, as every one knows, 
 is pretty sure to hold on to anything that comes 
 within his reach. A shout goes up from the Full- 
 hamites, who to the number of a score or more, in 
 cluding Jack, are grouped together on one side of 
 the catcher, which is answered by a bracing cheer 
 from a similar posse from the rival dormitory at 
 the other side. 
 
 Pousland, the next striker, makes a base hit, but 
 not to much purpose, since Hackett knocks up an 
 easy fly for the kid to absorb without difficulty, and 
 Johnson succumbs on a foul tip to Chalmers catch 
 ing under the bat in his iron mask and padded 
 gloves with an eye to second which Pousland is
 
 196 JACK HALL. 
 
 hoping to steal. But the third out settles that 
 question, and down goes a goose-egg for Rogers. 
 
 The formidable Bedloe is a brawny lad to look 
 at, and he has to back him Bobby Crosby at left 
 field and Harry Ramsay at first, making three of 
 the school nine against only Chalmers and Gold- 
 thwaite on the side of Fullham. Chalmers goes to 
 the bat to give his team courage, and sends a sky 
 scraper to centre field which is captured cleverly. 
 The kid falls a prey to an easy grounder to short 
 stop, and it looks as though the innings would pan 
 out poorly for the Fullhamites. But one can count 
 on nothing at base-ball until the last man is out ; 
 in testimony to which Hamlen, who comes next in 
 order, is given his base on called balls, steals sec 
 ond by a judicious slide, and is sent to third on a 
 fumble of a hot liner, a corker, which Jackson 
 hits to second, getting his base thereby. Then 
 Goldthwaite comes to the bat amid great applause, 
 and some one cries out, " Now for a grass-mower, 
 Goldy!" 
 
 Goldthwaite proves worthy of the confidence re 
 posed in him. Two strikes are called on him while 
 he waits for a ball just in the right place. He gets
 
 HASELTINE MAKES HIS DEBUT. 197 
 
 it at last, when Bedloe, hoping that the umpire 
 will call another strike (for until this year you 
 know three strikes was the limit), eases up and 
 throws in a slow one. Goldthwaite swipes with all 
 his might and sends the ball between left and cen 
 tre field, but clean out of reach of Crosby and 
 Plympton. A home run ! No, not quite, only a 
 three bagger. Goldthwaite holds his third, but 
 Hamlen and Jackson have scored. Two runs to a 
 goose-egg; not bad to start with. But there is 
 Ogden out on a foul and the innings over with 
 Goldthwaite still on third. 
 
 Three innings more on either side do not vary the 
 lead, for while Rogers gets a run in the third, Full- 
 ham caps it with a single in the fourth, and the score 
 is three to one. No chance now for a complete 
 whitewash, which some of the enthusiasts among 
 the lookers-on, encouraged by the start, have hoped 
 for. On the contrary, the shrewder mind knows 
 that it will be all Fullham can do to hold her lead. 
 Rogers has been settling down to work. Bedloe is 
 in fine form, and is being backed up bravely. They 
 are getting on to the kid, too, and pound him for a 
 run and two base hits in the fifth, being prevented
 
 198 JACK HALL. 
 
 from tying the score only by a magnificent double 
 play of Goldthwaite and Maitland. Then they put 
 the Fullhamites out in one, two, three order. 
 
 Haseltine has been doing fairly well, though as 
 yet he has had but two chances in the field, the 
 first of which, a fly, went up a moderate distance 
 and fell so plump into his hands that he did not 
 have to budge. The other, a gently ambling 
 grounder, shot between his legs just as he thought 
 he had it; an error which elicited from Horton, 
 who was sitting beside Jack, the unflattering excla 
 mation, " Beastly butter-fingers ! " However, there 
 is a style and general air of knowingness about him 
 which has attracted attention, and Chalmers has so 
 far continued his own confidence in him as to fling 
 twice to third in order to frighten men who were 
 off their bases, on each of which occasions Hasel 
 tine got on to the ball, and once came very near 
 putting the too daring adversary out. He is evi 
 dently no green hand, as he has further shown by 
 the way he handles the bat. Though apparently 
 too small to be a very formidable willow-wielder, 
 his first whack sent the ball far to right field, where 
 it was taken into camp very prettily, it must be
 
 HASELTINE MAKES HIS DEBUT. 199 
 
 owned. The second time he got his base on balls, 
 but was put out trying to steal second, in spite of a 
 most admirable slide on his stomach for several 
 feet. The decision of the umpire displeased the 
 crowd of Fullhamites, who manifested their resent 
 ment by crying " Not out, not out ! " vociferously, 
 and applauded Haseltine as he came in from the 
 base crestfallen and covered with dust. It had 
 been in the next innings that he muffed the 
 grounder, and he was now feeling very much dis 
 satisfied with himself and eager to wipe out these 
 spots on his record by some brilliant stroke. 
 
 The sixth innings adds another goose-egg to each 
 score, in spite of hard hitting on both sides, and the 
 seventh begins amid a hush of suspense. Jack can 
 scarcely sit still, he is so nervous with excitement, 
 and he is hoarse with spelling out at the top of 
 his lungs, after every favorable play, "F-U-L-L 
 H-A-M ! Fullham ! " which is the dormitory yell. 
 It is anybody's game, as Rainsford, the kid, well 
 knows, and he plants his feet in the box with the 
 air of one aware that the least let-up or carelessness 
 will be fatal. Pousland is at the bat again, and 
 whacks at the first ball. It flies whizzing in Hasel-
 
 200 JACK HALL. 
 
 tine's direction, but out of reach, and a shout from 
 the Rogers crowd rends the air. But it is short 
 lived, for the umpire, who is watching carefully, 
 cries, " Foul ball ! " Whereupon Pousland, who is 
 halfway to first, has to retrace his steps in a mel 
 ancholy fashion. Had it but struck just the other 
 side of the line, it would have been good for two 
 bags. He poises his bat again viciously. 
 
 " One strike," calls Prendergast, the umpire, who 
 is captain of Dudley. 
 
 There is a roar from Fullham, and the striker, 
 glancing round at the umpire sulkily, strikes the 
 tip of his bat against the ground and grits his teeth 
 as he makes ready for another ball. 
 
 " Foul, out ! " 
 
 The tick is plainly audible, and Chalmers' gloves 
 have closed firmly on the ball. Pousland drops his 
 bat and walks away in disgust. His place is taken 
 by Hackett, who strikes at the first two balls with 
 out hitting either, but sends the third over second 
 base skimming to centre, where Ogden jumps a lit 
 tle and holds it above his head, a pretty but not 
 very difficult catch, whereat the welkin rings. 
 
 " Here come Dr. and Mrs. Meredith," says Hor- 
 ton to Jack, as the uproar gradually subsides.
 
 HASELTINE MAKES HIS DEBUT. 201 
 
 Sure enough, they are close at hand, having come 
 down expressly to see the end of the match, and are 
 given good seats on one of the few benches supplied 
 for such celebrities. Several of the masters have 
 been watching the contest since the beginning, but 
 the presence of the head of the school is evidently 
 a new incentive to every player to good work, if 
 any were still needed. 
 
 Johnson is the third man at the bat. Prender- 
 gast calls one ball on the kid, and Johnson swipes 
 the next. It somehow or other gets past Gold- 
 thwaite, and before Hamlen can field it to Mail- 
 land the striker is safe at first. It is now the turn 
 for Rogers to howl, which it does with a ven 
 geance," R-O-G-E-R S ! Roger-r-rs ! " 
 
 Ferguson is to strike now. He is third base and 
 one of Rogers' heaviest sluggers. Hackett goes 
 down behind first to coach Johnson and tell him 
 when to try to steal second. 
 
 " One strike ! " 
 
 " One ball ! " 
 
 " Two balls ! " 
 
 Johnson, meanwhile, is bobbing up and down 
 hesitating whether to run or not. The kid, just as
 
 202 JACK HALL. 
 
 he looks ready to pitch the fourth, turns and makes 
 the gesture of hurling to first. 
 
 " Look out ! " bawls Hackett, and Johnson rushes 
 back to the base and plumps one foot on it. 
 
 There is no need for so much exertion, as it hap 
 pens, for Rainsford's throw is make-believe. He 
 has only pretended to fling the ball. Whereupon 
 he turns and pitches rapidly. 
 
 " Go I " holloas Hackett, excitedly. " Go-o ! " 
 
 " Three balls ! " cries the umpire. 
 
 Johnson is scooting for second at the top of his 
 speed. Although the pitch was a trifle wild, the 
 padded gloves are in the right place, and Chalmers 
 slams it to Goldthwaite, who claps it on to Johnson, 
 and holds up his hand claiming an out. But Pren- 
 dergast, who has rim forward nearly to the pitcher's 
 box in order to see distinctly, shakes his head and 
 waves Johnson to hold his base, amid deafening 
 cheers from the Rogerines, and groans from the 
 Fullhamites. 
 
 Let me say right here, boys, that the trick of 
 "downing" umpires is cowardly, and smacks of 
 the blackguard. Be careful, to begin with, whom 
 you select to act ; but when your choice is made,
 
 HASELTINE MAKES HIS DEBUT. 203 
 
 be men enough to keep your temper and accept his 
 decisions without kicking. It has come to be the 
 fashion among the great crowds that attend base 
 ball matches over the country, to abuse umpires in 
 language worthy only of Billingsgate, and even to 
 threaten them with personal violence. It is a mean 
 and contemptible method of bullying a man in a 
 position where he is powerless to defend himself, 
 and at a time when he needs to have all his facul 
 ties bent on the game, and no gentleman will take 
 part in it. 
 
 Johnson holds his base, and the kid prepares to 
 pitch again. 
 
 " Four balls ! " 
 
 Rainsford must be getting nervous. 
 
 " Five balls ! " 
 
 This will never do. 
 
 " Two strikes ! " 
 
 Ah, there ! Now or never ! 
 
 " Six balls ! Take your base." 
 
 Ferguson trots leisurely to first, and his place at 
 the diamond is filled by Plympton, the centre field, 
 who hits the first ball for a clean single between 
 short and second, letting in Johnson, and advanc-
 
 204 JACK HALL. 
 
 ing Ferguson a base. The score is tied, and the 
 hubbub is very disheartening to the backers of 
 Fullham. 
 
 " Looks sort of sick for our side," Jack hears 
 some one say to Carlisle, who is squatting not far 
 from him. 
 
 " Game 's young yet," is the cheery answer. 
 
 It is Bedloe's turn now. He advances confi 
 dently, and in imitation of Plympton's example 
 lifts the first ball and drives it to left field, where 
 Jackson gets under it, and sad to chronicle 
 drops it. Ferguson comes in, of course, and Plymp- 
 ton too, although he should have been out ; but 
 Chalmers fails to hold Goldthwaite's swift throw 
 from second. Five runs to three! Those muffs 
 were very costly. 
 
 Bobby Crosby hits an easy grounder to Hasel- 
 tine, which the little fellow picks up neatly and 
 throws to first. Maitland holds it, and the Roger- 
 ines are out at last. 
 
 Jackson is at the bat first. He hits hard, anx 
 ious, doubtless, to atone for his error ; but Hackett 
 is on deck at second and fields beautifully to Ram 
 say. There is a flutter of anticipation as "Goldy"
 
 HASELTINE MAKES HIS DEBUT. 205 
 
 steps to the front. Like several of his opponents 
 he swipes at the first ball pitched. " Hurrah ! 
 Look look is it a home run ? " Everybody is 
 on his feet following the ball to left field. Bobby 
 Crosby, there 's your chance. Gently now, or it 
 will be over your head. It is going faster than 
 it seems. Oh, well caught, well caught, youngster, 
 and well judged, too, which is more than half the 
 battle ! Right over your left shoulder and on the 
 full run, too ! O-U-T ! Everybody is cheering, for 
 even Fullham can afford to applaud a play like that, 
 and the Doctor, shouting as loud as any one, waves 
 his hat and cries, " Well caught, Crosby ! " Hard 
 luck, Goldthwaite. It was a good crack, but not 
 quite elastic enough. Who 's the next victim ? 
 
 It is Ogden, who pops up a fly which falls into 
 Bedloe's hand, snug as a bug, and the side is out. 
 
 " Confound it ! " says Horton, a sentiment which 
 Jack echoes at heart. 
 
 Ramsay begins the eighth with a single to right 
 field. Pousland goes out on a foul tip once more. 
 Hackett takes a base on balls. Johnson hits to 
 Jackson at left, who does not muff this time. Fer 
 guson, the slugger, swipes hard and misses.
 
 206 JACK HALL. 
 
 " One strike ! " 
 
 "Two strikes!" 
 
 Ramsay is on third and Hackett on second, so 
 that if Ferguson can make a safe hit there is a good 
 chance for two more runs. 
 
 " F-E-R-G-U-S-O-N ! Ferguson-n-n ! " 
 
 The kid examines the ball and puts down his 
 head to pitch. The slugger does not move. 
 
 " Three strikes ! " cries the umpire. " Out ! " 
 
 This is better, and revives somewhat the droop 
 ing courage of Fullham. Carlisle proposes three 
 cheers for the kid, which are given with great 
 enthusiasm. 
 
 " Now, Maitland," says Chalmers. 
 
 Charley Maitland waits for two called balls and 
 one strike before he gets the one he is hoping for. 
 Then he hits with all his might a driver to the in 
 ner centre field, where there is no one to catch it, 
 and takes his first. The kid, who receives another 
 round of applause as he steps to the plate, knocks 
 one to Johnson at short, who lets it by him this 
 time. 
 
 There are two on bases, Merriman. A good 
 deal depends on you. Pshaw ! straight into Ram-
 
 HASELTINE MAKES HIS DEBUT. 207 
 
 say's bands. Run, Rainsford ; run, if you do not 
 wish to be cut off at second. Safe ! but only just in 
 time. If Ramsay had not waited so long you were 
 a sure out. The Rogerines are taking a turn at 
 muffing. Next striker. 
 
 It is our friend Haseltine. He glances across at 
 Jack as he goes in. 
 
 " One strike I " calls Prendergast, though Hasel 
 tine has not. moved. 
 
 " Don't get flustered ; take your time, young 
 ster," says Chalmers kindly. 
 
 "One ball!" 
 
 This gives the ex-Rising Sun hero courage. 
 Charley Maitland and the kid are edging off their 
 bases ready to proceed the instant the ball leaves 
 the bat. 
 
 All of a sudden there is a terrific roar, and every 
 one starts up again, craning forward to see the 
 third base line. 
 
 " Run ! " bellows Chalmers to Haseltine, who 
 cuts away for first. But before he reaches it, the 
 umpire, who has shaded his eyes with his hand so 
 as to make no mistake, cries " Fair ball ! " and on 
 Haseltine dashes to second and again to third.
 
 208 JACK HALL. 
 
 Here Chalmers stops him with an emphatic " Hold 
 your base ! " Meanwhile, Maitland and the kid 
 have come home. The score is tied again, and the 
 uproar is prodigious. Panting but thoroughly 
 happy, Haseltine waits at third, and Captain Chal 
 mers takes his turn at the bat. 
 
 We are viewing the game through Jack's eyes, 
 to whom every safe hit and every good bit of field 
 ing seems marvelous ; but though the standard of 
 play may be higher among some of you older boys, 
 there can be no denying the absorbing interest in 
 spired at Utopia by these yearly contests for su 
 premacy between the respective dormitories, second 
 only to the occasional contests with nines from 
 other schools. The thrill felt by Jack as Chalmers 
 takes his position to strike is shared by every one 
 of the two hundred boys and their masters pres 
 ent. For by this time there is scarcely a soul in 
 the school who is not a spectator. Even Horace 
 Hosmer is squatting at the further end of the field 
 beyond the possible reach of the ball, and Jack can 
 see him clap his big hands in honor of Haseltine's 
 three bagger. 
 
 But Chalmers is at the bat.
 
 HASELTINE MAKES HIS DEBUT. 209 
 
 "One ball!" 
 
 Haseltine evidently has it in mind to try to steal 
 home, for if Chalmers does not get his first the side 
 will be out ; but " Goldy," who has taken the cap 
 tain's place as coach, cautions him with " Steady 
 now," and " Bide your time, youngster," not to 
 stray too far from the base. 
 
 " One strike ! " 
 
 Pousland, the catcher, hurls to third to intimi 
 date Haseltine, who dodges back in time to get his 
 foot on the bag before Ferguson can touch him. 
 
 " Two balls ! " 
 
 Well done, Chalmers ! Another shout, this time 
 louder and more star-striking than any yet evoked, 
 bursts forth from the Fullhamite ranks. There is 
 ample reason for it, too. Both Bobby Crosby and 
 Plympton are in full career after the ball, which is 
 bounding beyond them at a fearful pace. They make 
 superhuman efforts to overtake it, and Bobby re 
 turns it magnificently, but to no purpose, for Chal 
 mers has made a clean round of the bases and is 
 safely home. As for Haseltine, he has trotted in 
 comfortably and is sharing with the captain hand 
 shaking and back-slapping from a score of palms.
 
 210 JACK HALL. 
 
 He knows that the score is now seven to five, and 
 that he has wiped out his early errors. His happi 
 ness, already complete, is made ecstatic by the con 
 gratulations of the Doctor, who comes up to him 
 just as he is on the point of going over to Jack 
 and says, "You're beginning bravely, Haseltine ; 
 if you go on at this rate you will be in training for 
 the school nine before long." 
 
 " The school nine ! " Could there be a more en 
 viable compliment to a new boy on his first day at 
 Utopia? He sees Mrs. Meredith smile at him from 
 her seat and clap her hands. He touches his cap 
 in sheepish fashion, and with cheeks aflame is glad 
 to get down beside Jack and, riding his bat, watch 
 Hamlen strike. 
 
 "Ah!" 
 
 This time the cry of triumph is premature. The 
 ball goes afield grandly, but Billy Douglas is under 
 it before it falls, and Hamlen makes the third 
 out. 
 
 The Rogerines are rather quiet. They have only 
 this inning in which to win the game. But the 
 nine is not going to give in without making a hard 
 fight for it, you may be certain. Two runs will tie
 
 HASELTINE MAKES HIS DEBUT. 211 
 
 and three put them ahead. Not so very many to 
 get, if fortune favors them and they can work in a 
 batting streak. 
 
 Plympton is the first on the list of strikers. He 
 is a determined-looking fellow, with a bull-dog sort 
 of jaw. 
 
 "One strike!" cries the umpire. 
 
 The Fullhamites shout, but the batsman, what 
 ever his feelings, never winks an eye. He is dan 
 gerously cool. 
 
 Whack ! One can hear the sound all over the 
 field. The bat is split as completely as ever oak 
 was riven by the lightning. But now Rogers has 
 a right to shout. Another home run just in the 
 same place as Chalmers', and just as perfect. The 
 din is deafening, and the prospects for a tenth 
 inning look very favorable. 
 
 " One more in the same spot will tie them," ex 
 claims Hackett, as Bedloe nods at the kid to show 
 he is ready. 
 
 " One ball." 
 
 " Two balls." 
 
 " One strike." 
 
 " Three balls."
 
 212 JACK HALL. 
 
 " Four balls." 
 
 " Five balls." 
 
 " Six balls ; take your base." 
 
 Rogers howls once more. Bedloe has a level 
 head, and knows enough to play a waiting game. 
 Perhaps he has reasoned that the kid is young, and 
 may lose his head in a tight place. It looks a little 
 like it, now ; if he does, there are sluggers enough 
 on the nine to knock him out of the box. 
 
 It is Crosby's turn next to have a hack at him. 
 
 " One ball." 
 
 He hits the second. It is a scorcher to short 
 stop, which strikes one of Merriman's feet and 
 bounds into the air. Merriman looks in one direc 
 tion and the ball comes down in the other. Before 
 he can collect himself Bedloe is safe at second and 
 Crosby at first. 
 
 Now, Harry Ramsay, captain of the school nine, 
 is your chance. A rattler from you like that you 
 struck yesterday, ought to win the game. One 
 could hear a pin drop, it is so still. The excite 
 ment is almost painful. 
 
 " One ball," calls Prendergast. 
 
 " One strike."
 
 HASELTINE MAKES HIS DEBUT. 213 
 
 " Ah-h-h ! " 
 
 That cry is because Bedloe has stolen third and 
 Crosby second. Chalmers, a little bewildered it 
 may be, has hesitated until too late which to throw 
 to. 
 
 Ramsay has hit the third ball. What a paste ! 
 Where is it? Where has it gone? He is tearing 
 to first. Great heavens ! what is the matter ? Is 
 the game 'over ? Everybody on the Fullham side 
 is dancing and screaming and waving like mad. 
 The crowd is mixing with the players, and Crosby 
 and Bedloe and Harry Ramsay are coming in from 
 the bases with a shamefaced air. 
 
 " What is it ? I don't understand," asks Jack 
 of Horton, who is shouting loud enough to burst 
 a blood-vessel. Jack knows that Haseltine has 
 stopped the ball and done something big, but it 
 was all so quick, he cannot quite make out what. 
 
 " A triple play all three out," Horton answers. 
 
 " H-A-S-E-L-T-I-N-E Haselti-n-n-n-e ! " 
 
 A moment later Jack understands, it all. The 
 ball from Ramsay's bat had gone straight into Ha- 
 seltine's hands, and though it had almost knocked 
 the little fellow over, he had managed to hold it,
 
 214 JACK HALL. 
 
 to step on to third before Bedloe, who had started 
 for home, realized the situation, and then, keeping 
 his wits still about him, put it in to Goldthwaite, at 
 second, with all his might, just in time to cut off 
 Bobby Crosby, who was between the bases. Three 
 out side out at one fell swoop. Bull luck, as the 
 Rogeriues said, in speaking of the game after 
 wards. 
 
 It was luck, of course, that the ball went just 
 where it did, making such a combination possible ; 
 but many an opportunity in life, no less favorable 
 than Haseltine's, is lost every day by the inability 
 of man or boy to avail himself of it. The ex-third 
 base of the Rising Suns was equal to his emergency 
 when it came ; though, between ourselves, it was 
 always a wonder to him that the ball had stuck in 
 his hands. He had caught ifc before he knew it. 
 
 So the dormitory match was over, and Fullham 
 champion for another year, by the close score of 
 seven to six. It was a proud moment for Hasel- 
 tine when Harry Ramsay, the great school captain, 
 went out of his way to shake him by the hand and 
 tell him that he was sure to make a strong player 
 in a year or two. He received quite an ovation,
 
 HASELTINE MAKES HIS DEBUT. 215 
 
 and made the acquaintance on the spot of most 
 of his own dormitory, and many from Rogers and 
 Dudley. Jack stood by thoroughly satisfied with 
 his friend's success and proud to be the bearer of 
 his jacket. Really, to rejoice at another's triumphs 
 is quite as sterling a trait of character as to bear 
 modestly one's own. 
 
 As the two boys were returning to their dormi 
 tory in company with several others, they were 
 overtaken by Carlisle, who, after a few words of 
 congratulation on Haseltine's play, brought a host 
 of fears, which the excitement of the afternoon had 
 banished, back to the minds of both of them by 
 observing in a low tone, 
 
 " I 'm sorry to say Jack Spratt and his Wife will 
 be all the more down on you after this. They are 
 Rogerines, and it 's the cockiest thing a new boy 
 has done for a dog's age." 
 
 This was very depressing, and took the edge de 
 cidedly off the happy frame of mind in which they 
 would fain have remained. The game had con 
 sumed most of the afternoon. There was an hour 
 and a half of recitation remaining before supper, the 
 practice at Utopia being to have recitations from
 
 216 JACK HALL. 
 
 nine until half-past twelve, and from half-past four 
 until six, during all but the last two months of the 
 school year, in order to let the boys have the best 
 hours of sunshine on the playground. In another 
 week the rule was to change, and study would fol 
 low dinner, as the afternoons were growing long 
 and favorable for sport. 
 
 When supper was done there was singing twice 
 a week, and this was one of the evenings. All the 
 school gathered informally in the big schoolroom, 
 where, sitting round anyhow and anywhere, masters 
 and boys mingled together, chatted, and listened to 
 songs supervised by the singing-master, Mr. French, 
 but entirely spontaneous. After the singing was 
 over, there was a short lee-way before bedtime, and 
 every one was left to his own devices. Most of the 
 boys went back to their dormitories, but the sixth 
 class had the run of Mrs. Meredith's parlor during 
 half an hour, where there were quiet games and 
 puzzles of various kinds to amuse them. 
 
 In returning to Fullham from this last-named en 
 tertainment, it was necessary, of course, to traverse 
 the quadrangle. When Jack and Haseltine were 
 about fifty yards from Granger, proceeding without
 
 HASELTINE MAKES HIS DEBUT. 217 
 
 suspicions, .they became suddenly aware of several 
 figures in masks and long cloaks, looming up ahead. 
 At the same moment their feet were tripped up 
 from behind, a rope quickly and strenuously twisted 
 around their bodies, and a large hand compressed 
 upon each of their mouths. They had no time to 
 cry out. After a few frantic, futile efforts to get 
 free, Jack ceased to struggle, and permitted himself 
 to be bound by his captors, whom he assumed with 
 a sinking heart to be no other than the notorious 
 Spratt and Wife. A bandage had been fastened 
 over his eyes almost immediately, and, helpless as 
 a dead man, he was borne along in silence for a con 
 siderable distance, as it seemed to him, at a slow 
 jog trot. Presently the procession stopped, con 
 fronted by some obstacle, and Jack was able to dis 
 tinguish the voice of Carlisle remonstrating with his 
 persecutors. He heard him say distinctly, " They 
 are good fellows, both of them, I assure you ; let 
 them off this time." 
 
 " They 're too beastly cocky," was the reply, in a 
 shrill, hyena-like tone. 
 
 " That 's so," broke in another with a no less 
 bloodthirsty modulation, whom Jack judged to be
 
 218 JACK HALL. 
 
 Wifey. " I vote we smash every bone in their 
 bodies." 
 
 " On to the torture chamber," continued the first 
 speaker, a sentiment which was received with an 
 approving Ah-h-h ! by the others present. 
 
 "I've done all I could to save them," observed 
 Carlisle, with a gloomy sigh of resignation. 
 
 Jack, who had been laid upon the ground during 
 this interlude, now felt himself being carried up a 
 flight of winding stairs and along a corridor, to an 
 apartment where, after some whispering on the part 
 of those about him, he perceived that he was being 
 lowered into a narrow box. This, it suddenly oc 
 curred to him, was a coffin. A fear which brought 
 the perspiration out in cold patches seized him. At 
 its height the cover was pressed down, and he was 
 left to his own gloomy reflections, which included 
 the expectation of stifling. But though the space 
 was contracted and the air hot, he experienced no 
 real difficulty in drawing breath. 
 
 Here he lay for what seemed an eternity, listen 
 ing to the preparations which were evidently going 
 on around him. He could hear the hum of conver 
 sation and occasionally a smothered laugh, but the
 
 HASELTINE MAKES HIS DEBUT. 219 
 
 voices bad all the shrill, fiendish pitch of those 
 which had replied to Carlisle's protestations. What 
 were they going to do with him? Was he dead 
 already, and was this his funeral ? He stirred one 
 of his legs a little and pinched himself to make sure 
 that he was alive. Yes, he was still in the flesh. 
 The torture, then, was yet to come. Well, what 
 ever happened, he would die bravely. Not a groan, 
 not a cry. for mercy, would he utter. He would be 
 game to the last, and his tormentors should not have 
 the satisfaction of seeing him funk while they were 
 breaking his bones. A tear did come to his eye as 
 he thought of his mother, and how she would miss 
 him ; but he braced his nerves as he felt it trick 
 ling, unwilling to be guilty of weakness, even under 
 the shelter of the coffin-lid. 
 
 At this moment he was lifted, box and all, and 
 placed on what might be a table. Immediately the 
 cover was raised, and in spite of his bandage the 
 fact that the room was lighted became apparent to 
 him, while a low chorus of groans suggestive of ani 
 mals eager to slake their thirst in human blood vi 
 brated on his imaginative and frenzied hearing. 
 Then there was a hush preliminary to the dreadful
 
 220 JACK HALL. 
 
 remark which proceeded from the foot of the coffin, 
 "Are the irons red-hot?" 
 
 " They are, your Mightiness." 
 
 " Let the neophyte's arm be bared." 
 
 Jack, though ignorant as to the meaning of the 
 word neophyte, did not doubt for an instant that 
 he was referred to. He was seized straightway 
 on either side and raised to a sitting posture. The 
 rope was unbound from his right arm and those in 
 charge of him were about to roll up the sleeve of his 
 jacket, when the voice of his Mightiness enjoined, 
 
 "Let the left be seared instead of the right, for 
 in case the neophyte chance to survive the opera 
 tion he will thus not be disabled in his base-ball 
 arm. It is fitting that rnercy should temper jus 
 tice." 
 
 This piece of executive clemency was scarcely 
 reassuring to poor Jack, for the reason that there 
 was evidently occasion to believe that he would not 
 outlive the torture about to be inflicted on him. 
 He gritted his teeth to avoid trembling, and tried 
 to show no signs of fear, while the assistants bared 
 his forearm well up to the elbow. Just when they 
 had completed their task there came a loud knock
 
 HASELTINE MAKES HIS DEBUT. 221 
 
 at the door, and whoever went to answer it an 
 nounced, after a moment's delay, with a chuckle of 
 exultation, " The other neophyte is dead." 
 
 A savage yell of pleasure followed this announce 
 ment, which was a dagger, as it were, in the bosom 
 of our hero. Haseltine dead ! He had been tor 
 tured, doubtless, in another chamber and had not 
 been able to endure the agony. 
 
 But .there was no time for reflection. A power 
 ful wrist had grasped his arm and was holding 
 it out at full length. Then something which felt 
 like a glowing coal was pressed down on it with 
 force and imbedded in his flesh. Jack knew that it 
 was the red-hot iron. The pain was terrible and 
 he was tempted to cry out, but by biting his lips 
 he managed to restrain himself. Somehow or other 
 the suffering did not increase after the first few 
 moments, and as he was wondering at the circum 
 stance he was astounded to hear, " Let me go ! 
 let me go ! " uttered in a voice of agony close at 
 hand. The conviction that it was Haseltine's voice 
 eclipsed the consciousness of pain, and in another 
 instant his arm was let go, the bandage snatched 
 from his eyes, and Jack found himself in a blaze of
 
 222 JACK HALL. 
 
 light, surrounded by a host of laughing counte 
 nances which greeted him with a roar of laughter. 
 
 At first he was completely dazed and unable to 
 credit his senses ; then, as he gradually took in the 
 situation, he perceived that he was sitting upright 
 in an old shoe box lined with a shawl and supported 
 by a table. Not more than a yard away sat Hasel- 
 tine in a similar predicament, with his left sleeve 
 rolled up, and looking extremely sheepish. On a 
 throne an arm-chair surmounting a pile, the 
 component parts of which were concealed by a 
 table-cloth was perched Jack Spratt, wearing a 
 paper crown, bearing a cricket bat as a sceptre, 
 and sharing royalty with Wifey at his side in fe 
 male attire, intended to simulate a queen, but sug 
 gesting to practiced eyes a gown borrowed for this 
 occasion only from Mrs. Betty Martin. A row of 
 Apollinaris bottles, in each of which was a lighted 
 candle, blazed along the edge of the dais, at either 
 wing of which stood a score of schoolboys shaking 
 with merriment at the appearance of the two un 
 fortunates. 
 
 Jack's first reflection was one of self -congratula 
 tion that he had not cried out. Then it occurred to
 
 HASELTINE MAKES HIS DEBUT. 223 
 
 him to glance at bis arm, a proceeding which was 
 the cause of another burst of laughter. To his sur 
 prise, there was no mark of any sort beyond a 
 slight redness which was scarcely noticeable. But 
 his skin looked somewhat wet, as though water had 
 been brought in contact with it. 
 
 After a moment, his Mightiness, having induced 
 silence by a wave of his sceptre, exclaimed with 
 great seriousness, " The chief executioner will read 
 the indictment against the neophytes." 
 
 Whereupon, to Jack's intense surprise, that func 
 tionary stepped forward in the person of Louis Car 
 lisle, fantastically attired in a black Oxford gown 
 and carrying a meat chopper as the symbol of his 
 office. Having bowed to their majesties, he gravely 
 drew forth a manuscript and addressed the two 
 bewildered lads as follows : 
 
 " Know all men by these presents, that you, John 
 Hall, of Boston, Massachusetts, and you, Frank Ha- 
 seltine, of St. Louis, Missouri, are greener than the 
 grass when it flourisheth in the early days of sum 
 mer, fresher than paint just after it is spread on 
 the door of a mansion, more guileless than the kid 
 which gambols in the pasture beside its female
 
 224 JACK HALL. 
 
 parent. You have been sent here with your mouths 
 wide open and ready to swallow anything that is 
 stuffed into them. Such innocence is praiseworthy 
 in the extremely youthful, but a time comes in the 
 experience of us all when it is meet to be unde 
 ceived even at the expense of dire mortification. 
 
 " Learn of me and be wise. Firstly and fore- 
 mostly, you have been made sport of victimized 
 fooled, or, to speak more succinctly, sold. You have 
 been made egregious asses of, and led to believe 
 that you were to be the victims of physical vio 
 lence, to have your bones broken, your heads 
 punched, and what not. You expected to be hazed 
 and we did not like to disappoint you ; hence the 
 midnight seizure, the rope, the bandage, the coffin, 
 the red-hot iron, the branding. You have been 
 taught to tremble at the blood-curdling names of 
 Jack Spratt and Wifey. Behold them in the flesh 
 and bow before them. ! You came here stuffed with 
 old women's yarns, and Horace Hosmer has loaded 
 you up to the muzzle with a fresh supply. Poor 
 little lambkins! " 
 
 As Carlisle paused in his sarcastic peroration the 
 audience broke into another shout of laughter,
 
 HASELTINE MAKES HIS DEBUT. 225 
 
 which caused Jack to blush vividly. He appreci 
 ated now for the first moment that he had been the 
 victim of a huge practical joke. 
 
 " Secondly," continued the orator, with a wave of 
 his hand, " let whoever will search the universe 
 from one end to the other, and I defy him to pro 
 duce two more thoroughly mild and amiable speci 
 mens of the genus homo than Tobey and Donald 
 son, who" have been made to figure as monsters of 
 cruelty for your edification. In justice to them, 
 neophytes, I bid you approach them. Exhume 
 yourselves, so to speak, and go up to examine 
 them. You will perceive that they are perfectly 
 harmless, and even unusually good-natured fellows. 
 You may touch them without fear that one of your 
 bones will be dislocated. Approach, neophytes, 
 they are prepared to embrace you." 
 
 Again everybody laughed, while Jack and Hasel- 
 tine looked at one another, at a loss, not unnatu 
 rally, to know whether the order to leave their 
 coffins was to be taken seriously. But this uncer 
 tainty was solved when his Mightiness reiterated, 
 at the same time removing his crown and assuming 
 an exaggerated expression of meekness, "Approach, 
 neophytes, we are prepared to embrace you."
 
 226 JACK HALL. 
 
 In a shamefaced manner, but doing their best 
 to enjoy the laugh against themselves, which now 
 made the room ring, the two boys clambered down 
 from their boxes and walked toward the throne. 
 Its grinning occupants sat for a moment enjoying 
 the confusion evinced by the poor lads before them, 
 then Jack Spratt put out his hand and said, 
 
 " Shake, neophytes. My bark is worse than my 
 bite." 
 
 " Me, too," piped Donaldson, in semblance to a 
 female falsetto, which elicited a roar. 
 
 "Thirdly and. lastly," exclaimed Carlisle, after 
 Jack and Haseltine had finished this hand-shaking 
 and been relegated to their coffins, on the edge of 
 which they were permitted to sit, "thirdly and 
 lastly," he repeated, " there is a moral to all this, 
 without which our efforts in your behalf might be 
 misunderstood, and that is, don't be too English. 
 You boys for I address you no longer as neo 
 phytes, but as Utopia boys must get out of your 
 heads that an American school is just like an Eng 
 lish one, for it isn't. You've come with the idea 
 that we have fagging and hazing and all that sort 
 of thing, but it 's a mistake. There is n't a fag at
 
 HASELTINE MAKES HIS DEBUT. 227 
 
 Utopia, and if a big boy wants anything done he 
 has to do it himself. Every tub stands on its own 
 bottom here, and a sixth-class boy is just as good 
 as a first. No running errands no cleaning out 
 studies no cuffing ! That may be English ; but 
 it isn't American, is it, fellows?" 
 
 " Not much," answered several voices. 
 
 " We 're all equals here. There may be a bully 
 or two, I don't say there is, but there may be 
 in any school. There 's no system of bullying, 
 though, and no boy thinks he has the right to 
 order others round. If he tried it on he 'd soon 
 find out his mistake." 
 
 " That 's so." 
 
 "And now, fellows," continued Carlisle, whose 
 satirical tone had changed to a pleasant seriousness, 
 " I tell Hall and Haseltine, in all our names, that 
 we 're glad to have them at Utopia ; and some day 
 they'll bring credit on the school, for they are 
 both plucky boys. Hall didn't whimper once to 
 night ; he was game from the word ' go ' ; and we 
 Fullhamites haven't forgotten that triple play of 
 Haseltine's, and we shan't for a good while to 
 come."
 
 228 JACK HALL. 
 
 Whereupon the chief executioner, having divested 
 himself of his robe of office, emphasized the plaudits 
 of the roomful of boys by coming forward in easy, 
 smiling fashion to grasp the two victims of his 
 oratory by the hand, in which example he was 
 being followed by every one, when a knock at the 
 door introduced Mr. Sawyer, the dormitory master, 
 who had come to ascertain the cause of the merri 
 ment. He stood on the threshold looking round 
 the small study it was Carlisle's own packed 
 with boys, quite unable, it was evident, to explain 
 the signification of the boxes, blacking-bottles, and 
 various paraphernalia of royalty which met his 
 sight. Some of the participants seemed rather dis 
 concerted by his appearance, but there was a gen 
 eral disposition to laugh, and one boy exclaimed, 
 
 " You ought to have heard Carlisle, Mr. Sawyer; 
 he was really as good as Dr. Meredith." 
 
 This necessitated an unfolding of the whole affair, 
 which was listened to somewhat dubiously until it 
 appeared to the master's satisfaction that no real 
 harm had been done, and that the moral deduced 
 to justify the high jinks was not without its value. 
 Mr. Sawyer was fain to laugh himself at the vil-
 
 HASELTINE MAKES HIS DEBUT. 229 
 
 lainous traits ascribed to Spratt and his Wife, and 
 took occasion to clinch the lesson imparted by say 
 ing, as he patted Jack on the head by way of 
 sympathy for his discomfiture, 
 
 " So you expected to be a fag, did you, my little 
 man ? We have nothing of that sort here, you may 
 take my word for it. Come," he added, " it is time 
 for prayers and bed." 
 
 While they were undressing, half an hour later, 
 Haseltine whispered to Homer, "What was it they 
 put on my arm which stung so ? " 
 
 " A lump of ice, you loony."
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 SETTLING DOWN. 
 
 THE remaining weeks of the school year passed 
 very rapidly with Jack. Indeed, before he had be 
 come accustomed to his new life they were gone. 
 After Carlisle's peroration the two new-comers 
 were allowed to drop into the obscurity which 
 befits small boys, and to find their natural level 
 among their associates. They made friends easily, 
 and Jack in his letters home described Utopia in 
 glowing terms. The lack of a wherry of his own 
 seemed to be the only drawback to his happiness. 
 So picturesquely did he lay this want before his 
 mother that she wrote back that if he made a fair 
 showing in the way of scholarship by the end of 
 the term he should have one, with the consent of 
 Dr. Meredith. Poor Jack little knew his own pro 
 pensities in imagining that he would find slight 
 difficulty in fulfilling this condition. 
 
 But as there were several wherries belonging to
 
 SETTLING DOWN. 231 
 
 the school, he was able within a very short time to 
 gratify his ambition to handle the sculls. He and 
 Horton went down to the lake before breakfast one 
 mom ing, especially to engage two crack boats for 
 the afternoon, as there was a great demand for 
 them at this time of the year. Jack started off 
 confidently, hoping to dazzle the occupants of the 
 float by the knowingness of his style, but at the 
 third stroke caught a crab which nearly upset him 
 and made him extremely cautious henceforwai'd. 
 After paddling about a little he managed to get 
 the knack of keeping his balance in the cranky 
 concern, but he had to own to himself that he 
 knew very little about rowing, and must begin to 
 learn all over again. 
 
 This was rather a come-down for Jack, but he 
 was not alone in his discomfiture. In spite of 
 Hasel tine's brilliant performance against Rogers, 
 his place on the Fullham nine was filled by con 
 valescent players, and he had to endure the morti 
 fication of becoming one of the herd who practiced 
 scrub. It galled his pride to be unattached. That 
 the ex -third base of the Rising Suns should be 
 shunted off to find equals among the mass on the
 
 232 JACK HALL. 
 
 practice-field wounded him to the quick. However, 
 he went in hammer and tongs to improve his game, 
 with a determination to be satisfied with nothing 
 short of the captaincy of the school-team at last. 
 It did not take him long to convince the younger 
 boys that he was an authority on base-ball matters. 
 He knew the standing of every team, and the record 
 of every player in the country, and once a week 
 he received from home a newspaper devoted to the 
 interests of the national game, every item in which 
 he could repeat by rote. 
 
 There is a certain number of people who argue 
 that it makes very little difference after all whether 
 a boy studies at school or not, provided he is turned 
 out at the end of the curriculum an upright, honor 
 able gentleman, with a clean mind, a manly tone, 
 and generous instincts. While, us between the at 
 ternatives of inferior training in the way of books 
 and neglect of the moral character, one could 
 scarcely hesitate which to avoid, the parent con 
 tent to have his or her son graduate merely a good- 
 natured, well-mannered, easy-going athlete has 
 sadly misconceived the proper relation between 
 master and pupil. Indeed, it may be said that
 
 SETTLING DOWN. 233 
 
 nothing can be more deplorable than a system of 
 education which does not stimulate excellence in 
 scholarship, unless it be one that promotes it at 
 the expense of high principle. We often hear it 
 said that the chief benefit of school or college is 
 the effect on character. Very good ; but surely it 
 is no error to maintain that the character of the 
 boy untrained to use his mind intelligently is not 
 highly to .be extolled. This idea, boys, of becom 
 ing easy-going and nothing else is a very unfortu 
 nate one to entertain, especially in our country, 
 where every man is expected to contribute in some 
 way toward making the world more civilized, and 
 a sweeter, happier place to live in. We need to 
 day the services of keen, disciplined minds in ac 
 tive life, and in its quiet walks those who love 
 learning for her own sake, and are ready to devote 
 patient days to the pursuit of ripe scholarship. 
 
 Fortunately for Jack though he was slow to 
 think it fortunate Dr. Meredith was determined 
 to have as few dunces as possible at Utopia. He 
 was a fine scholar himself, and had to help him a 
 corps of enthusiastic instructors, most of them men 
 fresh from some university. Experience had al-
 
 234 JACK HALL. 
 
 ready taught him that chronic idleness and dislike 
 for study cannot be cured in a fortnight. Hence 
 he and his assistants were content to peg away at 
 incorrigible pupils without expecting to work won 
 ders all at once, but never yielding an inch nor los 
 ing ground once gained. 
 
 This studying business was the only part of the 
 school programme which Jack did not thoroughly 
 enjoy. He started off in his old way by merely 
 glancing at his lessons and floundering through 
 them as best he could, never doubting that after a 
 lecture or two on the subject of idleness, he would 
 be permitted to lag along at the foot of the class 
 without remark. He was used to being brought 
 up with a round turn once a month or so, and after 
 the scolding was over knew that he was safe to 
 relapse until the next time. But he could count 
 on that comfortable condition of affairs no longer. 
 The continual pegging away referred to, of which 
 he was now the victim, was inexpressibly irritating. 
 His masters he had a different one in almost 
 every study excited both his resentment and his 
 wonder by patiently trying to make him take an 
 interest in his tasks. Instead of being ordered in
 
 SETTLING DOWN. 235 
 
 a peremptory tone to " sit down," after an egre 
 gious mistake, he was kept upon his feet and not 
 only told the answer (generally from the lips of 
 some other boy), but asked to repeat it, and to 
 remember it too at the next recitation. This was 
 harassing, especially so when he found himself 
 obliged to spend part of the afternoon in the school 
 room instead of on the playground, because he 
 persisted -in considering his lessons of no account. 
 His little soul was fairly in a ferment of indigna 
 tion. What was the use of study, he would ask 
 himself. As for books, he would be glad for his 
 part never to see another, unless, of course, one of 
 adventures on the sea or in the far West. Would 
 Latin or arithmetic make him a better oar or a 
 surer short-stop ? Not a bit of it, he was certain 
 of that; and so, masters or no masters, he was dis 
 posed to let his lessons slide. 
 
 Accordingly, Mrs. Hall was made to feel badly 
 by receiving, soon after Jack went home for vaca 
 tion, a report of his progress as a scholar very far 
 from satisfactory, accompanied by a few lines from 
 Dr. Meredith, calling attention to the fact that her 
 son was inclined to be lazy, and urging her to use
 
 236 JACK HALL. 
 
 her influence to correct this failing. She did, and 
 so persuasively, that Jack promised with sobs and 
 he was thoroughly penitent to turn over a new 
 leaf when he went back. He got his wherry, too, 
 in spite of not deserving it, for his mother had not 
 the heart to disappoint him, which gives one the 
 opportunity to suggest that perhaps Jack had been 
 a little spoiled ever since he was a baby. How 
 ever, if our mothers did not make light of and 
 forgive our shortcomings, who would? Neverthe 
 less, I think he had been sent to Utopia School 
 none too soon for his welfare. 
 
 There were changes, of course, when he returned 
 in the autumn. Harry Ramsay, Bedloe, and 
 Goldthwaite of the nine, Burbank captain of the fif 
 teen, and Hazelhurst the champion oar, were gone 
 and their places as leaders filled by others. Bobby 
 Crosby was, on the whole, cock of the school, being 
 captain of the foot-ball team and a rousing fellow 
 generally. The kid, who was only in the second, 
 had been promoted to pitch for the school nine, 
 and Chalmers the old captain of Fullham had suc 
 ceeded Harry Ramsay, which left two vacancies on 
 the dormitory nine, for one of which right field
 
 SETTLING DOWN. 237 
 
 Haseltine was selected, an unusual honor for so 
 young a player. 
 
 Both he and Jack felt quite like old boys in com 
 ing back as members of the fifth class, and entered 
 upon the new year in the best of spirits. Foot-ball 
 was the school game just now, at which neither of 
 them was slow in acquiring some proficiency. 
 Early in November the autumn athletic meeting 
 was to take place, and there was much training 
 among the competitors for the various events. 
 The school interest which had been much exercised 
 over the two-hundred yard dash waned greatly, 
 however, when it became known that Louis Car 
 lisle had withdrawn, thereby giving a walk-over 
 (according to the general opinion) to Coleman, 
 Junior. Rumor was loud in some quarters in de 
 scribing Carlisle's action as a " squawk," and Jack 
 found difficulty in understanding the reasons which 
 the champion gave for his refusal to run. 
 
 It is not easy to explain the origin of friendships, 
 but ever since the evening when Jack had acted so 
 pluckily in not crying out when he felt what he be 
 lieved to be the branding-iron on his arm, Carlisle 
 had shown an interest in him. If this were not
 
 238 JACK HALL. 
 
 the cause that had attracted the older to the new 
 boy, it may have been the lack of jealousy which 
 our hero had showed at Haseltine's success against 
 the Rogerines. At any rate, for some reason or 
 other Carlisle had taken to him from the very first, 
 evincing a liking by superintending Jack's rowing 
 on the lake ; asking him to walk on Sunday after 
 noons ; and, now that as a member of the second 
 class he had a study to himself, by inviting his 
 young crony to share its comforts whenever he 
 might see fit to do so. The good will thus shown 
 was duly appreciated, and the intimacy between 
 them became marked and firmly established. 
 
 At first Jack was chiefly absorbed by and grateful 
 for the instruction in the way of handling the oars, 
 and of making progress in the various sports in 
 which he was interested, which he received from 
 his new friend, so that he thought of very little 
 else ; but he found it pleasant, nevertheless, to es- 
 tablish himself from time to time in Carlisle's cosy 
 apartment and listen to his mentor prattle on about 
 whatever happened to be in his mind at the mo 
 ment. Carlisle had a way of ignoring the young 
 ster's presence and of talking as though he were
 
 SETTLING DOWN. 23D 
 
 all alone, merely appealing to Jack in much the 
 same way as one will appeal to an imaginary sec 
 ond self, not expecting an answer. Indeed, Jack 
 was quite incapable of answering the conundrums 
 proposed to him in this manner, and much of what 
 he listened to was very perplexing to him. He en 
 joyed it, however, though he found it very difficult 
 to understand how anybody could spend so much 
 time over . books and study as Carlisle did. His 
 amazement found voice when, early in the term, 
 Carlisle announced his intention not to try for the 
 school nine, and to knock off from exercise of every 
 sort except a daily row on the lake to keep himself 
 in condition. 
 
 " What, not go in training for any of the run 
 ning races ? " asked Jack. 
 
 "No." 
 
 " Why not? You 're sure to win." 
 
 " I think I am," Carlisle answered, with a smile. 
 " There's no one that I know of who's come up 
 since last year." 
 
 " There 's Coleman, Junior," said Jack doubtfully. 
 He did not suspect his friend of funking, but the 
 remark popped out in spite of himself.
 
 240 JACK HALL. 
 
 " Yes, I know. Some of the fellows will say 
 I'm scared. Well, let them. I don't care. As 
 I 've told you before, Jessup will beat Coleman, if 
 nothing happens. I can't afford to waste my time 
 merely to please a few fellows." 
 
 Jack could not understand speaking of winning 
 the championship of Utopia on the running track 
 as a waste of time. 
 
 "Shan't you kick foot-ball either?" he went 
 on. 
 
 "No; I Ve had my fill of games for the present," 
 Carlisle answered, in his soliloquizing way. " I 've 
 made up my mind that it pays to do a few things 
 well, and to stick to them instead of straying all 
 over the lot. I 've kept going at full pitch in sixty 
 different directions ever since I was your age, and 
 it 's time to quit. I can't stand it, that 's the long 
 and short of it. ' Je plie et ne romps pas,' is a 
 motto that can be run into the ground." 
 
 "What does that mean ? " asked Jack. " I sup 
 pose it 's French." 
 
 " Tough on my accent," responded Carlisle, with 
 a grin. "Yes, it's French, and means 'I bend and 
 do not break.' But bending is about as uncomfort 
 able as breaking, in the long run, youngster."
 
 SETTLING DOWN. 241 
 
 " What are you going to do then ? " continued 
 his interrogator, for Jack like most American boys 
 was not to be deterred from obtaining information 
 for lack of persistence in asking questions. 
 
 " I 'm going to study, chiefly." 
 
 " Study ? " Jack stared aghast. " I should n't 
 think there 'd be much fun in that," he added, after 
 a pause. 
 
 " Because you don't know anything about it." 
 
 " I hate study," observed Jack dogmatically. 
 
 " Oh, no, you don't." 
 
 " I tell you I do. I detest it ! " 
 
 " Oh, no, you don't, for you have no conception 
 what it is," replied Carlisle, laughing. " I don't 
 believe you ever did an hour's real study in your 
 life." 
 
 This view of the case had not occurred to Jack, 
 and he was not prepared to gainsay the statement. 
 Something prompted him to glance around the room 
 at the rows of books nearly covering two walls of 
 the den, and the three or four poetically conceived 
 pictures in tasteful frames to which he had never 
 given a second thought before. On the table were 
 writing-materials and other paraphernalia suggestive
 
 242 JACK HALL. 
 
 of a student. "You see," continued Carlisle qui 
 etly, " I 'm fond of study. I really enjoy Latin and 
 Greek and history. "We're just beginning Homer, 
 and there are parts of it that are delightful. I 
 don't care much for algebra, but they say it strength 
 ens the mind. I shan't go in for anything very 
 desperately, though, this year," he added. " I Ve 
 been thinking over Dr. Bolles's numerous lectures 
 to me on the subject, and have decided to limit my 
 self to three things, study, the school paper, and 
 rowing, and not to overtax myself at any one 
 of them. If I don't, Dr. Bolles says there is no 
 reason why I should n't grow rugged. It '11 be 
 pleasant to feel at the end of each day that I 
 have n't used up every spark of vitality I possess." 
 To Jack, whose ideas of responsibility were at 
 this time excessively vague, this sort of talk must 
 have sounded almost unintelligible. However, it 
 soaked in with everything else that was part and 
 parcel of his daily experience; and whatever he may 
 have thought of the views expressed, he lived to 
 see Carlisle's prediction regarding Coleman verified 
 by Jessup's comparatively easy victory in the two 
 hundred yard dash at the athletic meeting in 
 November.
 
 SETTLING DOWN. 243 
 
 These half-yearly meetings were great occasions 
 at Utopia. In addition to the foot-races, which in 
 cluded both long and short distances, there was rope- 
 climbing, fence-vaulting, standing and running high 
 jumps, sparring and wrestling in three classes, - 
 feather, middle, and heavy weight, and a tug of 
 war between teams from the several dormitories to 
 end up with. Altogether the scene was decidedly 
 Olympian-. There were so many events that al 
 most every boy felt that he had a chance in one di 
 rection or another. Jack entered for the feather 
 weight wrestling, but only to be thrown, after a sav 
 age tussle, flat on his back, and to have his shoul 
 ders pinned to the ground by Carpenter, who, though 
 a year older, was just about his size. It was a very 
 even contest, though, everybody admitted. He also 
 was one of the field of seven who contested with 
 Jessup the two -hundred yard race, having been 
 advised by Carlisle to go in just to show what he 
 was made of, and he was rather proud at coming in 
 fifth, being beaten by Hopedale, of the next higher 
 class, only by a shave. Haseltine, who also entered, 
 was sixth, which was a considerable comfort to 
 Jack.
 
 244 JACK HALL. 
 
 But the contests with the gloves were what took 
 his fancy more than anything else, and he was fired 
 at once with the desire to learn boxing. This was 
 easy to do, for Dr. Meredith was decidedly of the 
 opinion that boys should understand the art of self- 
 defense, which was accordingly taught at the gym 
 nasium by Dr. Bolles and his assistant, to all who 
 desired to receive instruction. There were a good 
 many competitors for distinction in this line, and 
 the rivalry resulted in some hitting and receiving 
 of tolerably hard knocks, which now and then bore 
 fruit in the shape of a bloody nose or black eye in 
 spite of well-padded gloves. And yet, notwithstand 
 ing all this emulation, it was very rarely, if ever, as 
 Jack soon realized, that the combatants had occa 
 sion to make practical use of the knowledge thus 
 acquired, so long as they were at Utopia. Indeed, 
 it may almost be stated as a general truth that the 
 American boy does not go in for the deliberate slug 
 ging contests one reads about as common among 
 the youth of the Mother Country. Unless from a 
 spirit of sheer imitation, it is unusual, I believe, 
 for you young fellows to settle bad blood by a cut- 
 and-dried fight after the manner of " Tom Brown
 
 SETTLING DOWN. 245 
 
 and ' Slugger ' Williams," with whose thrilling 
 set-to you should all be familiar. Plenty of you get 
 mad and in the heat of the moment slap a fellow's 
 face, or slang him until he cuffs you ; and then there 
 is give and take for a few moments, in the course 
 of which science may get in an upper cut or some 
 such telling stroke; but your friends are almost 
 certain to drag you apart before much damage is 
 done, and hold you back until you have cooled 
 down. The idea of forming a " ring " with backers 
 and sponges " to fight it out " does n't seem to 
 occur to either of you, or, if it does, public opinion 
 and by that I mean school opinion is against 
 you. I rather think that any boy, whether a Uto 
 pian or otherwise, can count on the fingers of a 
 single hand the number of regular out-and-out 
 fights in the course of his school-days he has either 
 participated in or been present at. 
 
 There must be some reason for this, and you do 
 not need to be told that American boys are neither 
 effeminate nor afraid to use their fists when occasion 
 requires. Lack of pluck is not a national failing. 
 We stood up at Bunker Hill against bullets long 
 enough to convince our enemies that there was met-
 
 246 JACK HALL. 
 
 tie in us, and there are graveyards within walking 
 distance of every lad under the stars and stripes 
 who may read this story, in which can be noted the 
 tribute of posterity to those who died in defense of 
 their country. There is no sort of doubt that our 
 boys can hit straight from the shoulder whenever 
 it is worth their while to do so. 
 
 I have an idea it may be a mistaken one, 
 though I am fatuous enough to have faith in it 
 that the world in growing older has grown wiser, 
 and less cruel and brutish. We elders proscribed 
 duels long ago on the score that they were unmanly 
 and inconsistent with the requisites of Christian 
 character; and dreadful as are the preparations which 
 even to-day are going on in so many countries of 
 the globe with an eye to deadly strife, there can be 
 no doubt that civilized nations are much less ready 
 to plunge into war than they used to be, and much 
 more inclined to submit their differences to arbitra 
 tion. There are cynics at least they seem such to 
 me who maintain that there must always be wars 
 
 until the end of time, if for no other reason than to 
 
 
 dispose of the surplus population, and that national 
 
 reluctance to engage in them proceeds from eco-
 
 SETTLING DOWN. 247 
 
 noraic rather than humanitarian scruples. But 
 those of us who still believe that mankind is surely, 
 even if slowly, making progress toward a higher 
 state of civilization, cannot but be of the opinion 
 that wholesale resorts to force to settle disputes 
 must inevitably become less and less frequent, from 
 the growing conviction among human beings that 
 they are a relic of barbarism. Already has this con 
 viction made such headway that the most autocratic 
 governments would hesitate at the present day to 
 declare war without first invoking the aid of referees, 
 if the matter at issue were capable of peaceable so 
 lution. 
 
 In like manner it is fair to believe that the doc 
 trine of forbearance is so much in the air that you 
 boys have become inoculated with its spirit, and 
 have learned to abstain from blows until every 
 other remedy has failed. There is no cowardice in 
 such a policy. Mere fighting for the sake of fight 
 ing savors of the brute, not of the gentleman. But 
 this is to be borne in mind notwithstanding, though 
 I have no doubt that you do not need the prompt 
 ing : when you are struck, hit back with all your 
 might. Be slow to strike the first blow, or to pro-
 
 248 JACK HALL. 
 
 voke assault, but beware of letting forbearance out- 
 ruu its usefulness as a virtue. Sunday-school teach 
 ers may argue as they will, but the world will never 
 learn to applaud or to respect the man or boy who 
 allows his rights to be trampled on without stubborn 
 resistance. 
 
 December brought with it ice and snow, coasting 
 and skating, which for the time being overruled all 
 other sports and interests for Jack. For a good four 
 months the school was face to face with winter, 
 which means in this country something worthy of 
 the name, genuine stinging cold, which makes 
 boys' cheeks glow if they move briskly, but numbs 
 their fingers if they sit still; and a roaring fire in 
 the great schoolroom in the evening, around which 
 it is the fashion to group and sing. At this last- 
 named trysting - place serviceable friendships are 
 formed, and, in the case of Jack, an old one is 
 renewed. December brought with it Bill French, 
 the same Bill as of yore, and yet developed, as it 
 were, in that he is no longer the street urchin of a 
 year ago, indifferent as to his clothes and hair. Bill 
 h;is spruced himself eminently, and is quite the lit 
 tle gentleman now in his cut and manner. He does
 
 SETTLING DOWN. 249 
 
 not take much part in sports himself, but he knows 
 all about them, and is eager to back this sprinter or 
 that oarsman for anything from a nickle up to five 
 dollars, which is a fabulous sum at Utopia, as you 
 may well imagine. He has at the very outset created 
 a profound sensation by managing to retain green 
 backs to the amount of five times that sum about 
 his person, in spite of the school rule that all 
 money, save a very small stipend for the pocket, is 
 to go into the Doctor's strong-box for safe-keeping. 
 
 k ' How did you manage to hold on to it ? " whis 
 pered Jack, whose admiration for Bill's cunning 
 ways is still deep. 
 
 44 Did n't give it to him, that 's all." 
 
 44 Did n't he ask you for it ? " 
 
 44 What if he did ? It 's my money, not his. 
 Father gave it to me, and I mean to spend it as I 
 choose." 
 
 This deliberate springing in the teeth of author 
 ity was something new at Utopia, and, like most 
 novelties, gave its originator notoriety at once. 
 Jack felt proud at being on such terms with the 
 new school favorite, who before long took upon 
 himself the airs of a leader among the younger
 
 250 JACK HALL. 
 
 boys, with revolt as a motto. The Doctor was all 
 very well, but he, Bill French, was not going to 
 bend the knee to any Doctor, no matter how wise 
 and good. He had come there to have a good time, 
 and he meant to have it. 
 
 It took Bill some months, naturally, to raise his 
 standard. His methods, as you know, were for the 
 most part underground like the mole. He did not 
 believe in being found out, and he had no intention 
 of getting into open trouble with the powers that 
 were, if he could help it. His fad was for manag 
 ing and directing, and he was content to suggest, 
 and to let others work out his theories without ask 
 ing for more than a tithe of the glor} r . Great 
 schemes must move slowly to insure success. 
 
 So Bill to the ordinary eye appeared rather a 
 desirable addition than otherwise to the make-up 
 of the school. He had always been rather quick at 
 his books, and found no difficulty now in taking a 
 respectable place in Jack's class, where he kept his 
 head above water easily, thus hoodwinking one of 
 the eyes of Argus. Where Bill really showed him 
 self in his true kidney was about the aforesaid fire 
 on cold winter nights, when he had an opportunity
 
 SETTLING DOWN. 251 
 
 to fascinate the circle snuggled around him by hints 
 as to what might be done if one only dared. Many 
 listened, and Jack most eagerly of all. Were they 
 not Americans ? Bill argued. And when did a 
 true-born patriot, whether man or boy, put up with 
 being hedged about with laws which he despised ? 
 As a proof of what might be accomplished in the 
 way of resistance without difficulty, the arch-con 
 spirator excited the envy of all whom he took into 
 the secret by exhibiting on his return to school at 
 the beginning of the fourth-class year a pair of 
 white mice in the corner of one of his bureau- 
 drawers. Nor was Bill stupid enough to let them 
 remain there long enough to fall under the eagle 
 eye of Mrs. Betty, who was liable to come prowling 
 round at any time with power paramount to over 
 haul to her heart's content. When the little crea 
 tures, a month later, presided over a family, an 
 other triumph for their proprietor, it was in the 
 pocket of a pair of trousers hanging harmlessly 
 from a peg. 
 
 The influence of genius such as this was hard to 
 resist, and had it stopped here, authority might 
 justifiably have been disposed to regard it without
 
 252 JACK HALL. 
 
 concern ; but Bill was not always so happy in his 
 infringements of the law. He was wont to exhibit 
 with pride a small silver case in which reposed real 
 cigarettes, no blood-sucking rattan subterfuges, 
 but the genuine aristocratic article, which he was 
 in the habit of smoking when he could safely do so 
 with the air of a thorough-going sport, as any one 
 at Utopia who witnessed the performance would 
 agree. At such times Bill was a decidedly agree 
 able companion. In the first place he could talk 
 knowingly by the hour on dogs and horses, a sub 
 ject which was imperfectly understood at Utopia 
 prior to his arrival. All the cant phrases of the 
 stable were at his command, and he replenished 
 them by the perusal of a weekly sporting paper to 
 which he subscribed, and which put Haseltine's 
 base-ball sheet completely in the shade. In his 
 opinion, life at the school was tame, and stood in 
 need of thorough reorganization. 
 
 Much as Jack admired Bill, he was not really 
 surprised to hear Carlisle observe, some weeks after 
 the first appearance of that wily youth, " I don't 
 care much for your new friend, youngster." 
 
 " Why not, Louis ? "
 
 SETTLING DOWN. 253 
 
 " I guess he 's sneaky, is n't he ? Looks it, any 
 way." 
 
 "He's mighty smart," answered Jack evasively. 
 
 " I dare say." 
 
 " You ought to like him," pursued Jack, " for 
 he 's a first-rate scholar. He could stand a good 
 deal higher if he chose to study." 
 
 Carlisle laughed. " I set store by study I know," 
 he said, " but it is n't a free pass to my favor, as 
 you appear to think. Strange as it may seem, I 
 prefer you, idle as you are, to your industrious 
 friend. And by the way, Jack, you have been 
 worse than ever, lately. You must brace up or 
 you will have the Doctor down on you." 
 
 Both were silent for a moment. It was some 
 thing new for Carlisle to lecture, as he would have 
 called it. He had always shrunk from preaching 
 to his friend deliberately, intimate as were their 
 relations, preferring to indicate by chaff and indi 
 rect suggestions what might be in his mind regard 
 ing Jack's needs. But these few words were spoken 
 so seriously that the culprit looked at him aston 
 ished. 
 
 There was a reason for them. Dr. Meredith,
 
 254 JACK HALL. 
 
 having great faith in the influence for good which 
 the larger boys at a school like Utopia can exert 
 upon their juniors, lost no occasion to impress upon 
 his favorites their duty in this respect. Only the 
 day before he had chanced upon Carlisle strolling 
 down toward the river alone, and had joined him. 
 
 " You 're looking better, Louis, I 'm glad to see. 
 Your more sober life agrees with you." 
 
 Somehow or other the Doctor knew the imper 
 fect joint in the armor of every one of his pupils, 
 and he was no less prompt to seize an opportunity 
 to speak a word of encouragement, than he was 
 courageous in probing a weakness to the core. 
 
 " I 'm in first-rate condition, sir. Gained five 
 pounds this term." 
 
 " I wish, now that your hand is in, you'd see 
 what you could do with Hall," the Doctor had con 
 tinued. " I am disturbed at the way the boy is 
 going on. He seems a manly, spirited fellow, and 
 I like him, but he won't study. In fact, he 's get 
 ting more of a shirk every day." 
 
 " Yes, sir, he does n't study much, that 's a fact," 
 observed Carlisle. 
 
 "A word from you, Louis, might do an immense
 
 SETTLING DOWN. 255 
 
 amount of good. He'd listen to you when he 
 would n't to me." 
 
 Carlisle had hung his head and remained silent. 
 He knew very well what Doctor Meredith meant, 
 for had he not observed Jack's idleness with in 
 creasing regret, and yet been content to pass it off 
 with an occasional jest? All his talk during their 
 intercourse had been about himself, concerning 
 which he could discourse glibly enough ; but such 
 speculation as he was wont to indulge in, however 
 suggestive to an intelligent listener, was scarcely 
 the sort of pabulum by which to convert a hobble- 
 de-hoy offender like Jack. He had been conscious 
 for some time of what with his disposition to call 
 things by their right names he considered his own 
 selfishness and self - absorption, and this solicita 
 tion of the Doctor's thrust them forward into the 
 light. 
 
 " I know what you would say," his master had 
 continued. " You have a horror of sermonizing. 
 You don't wish to spoil your relations with him, as 
 you think, by being serious. You are right, Louis, 
 in that. But I don't believe, if you look at the 
 matter squarely, that you would drive Hall into his
 
 256 JACK HALL. 
 
 shell by letting him see that you don't approve of 
 his present way of going on." 
 
 " He knows I approve of study." 
 
 " Yes, for yourself," had answered the sagacious 
 Doctor. "Let him understand thoroughly that it 
 is just as imperative for him." 
 
 " I '11 try, sir," the older boy had answered, after 
 a pause. 
 
 " I shall be infinitely obliged to you ; and while 
 we are on the subject, what sort of a boy is this 
 William French ? I understand that he and Hall 
 are old cronies. Don't answer if you'd rather not," 
 had added the Doctor, who sympathized with the 
 code of honor which prompts a schoolboy to abstain 
 from speaking ill of one of his companions. 
 
 " He does n't seem to me very straightforward," 
 had blurted out Carlisle, instigated perhaps by a 
 desire to protect Jack from the evil machinations 
 of the new-comer. 
 
 44 Indeed! That is not a pleasant trait. Thank 
 you, Louis. Such boys as you can do a great deal 
 to help me, if you only will, without in any way 
 impairing your obligations as ' good fellows.' " 
 
 The first i-esult of this conversation has been in-
 
 SETTLING DOWN. 257 
 
 dicated. Carlisle's words, limited as they were, 
 came at a moment when Jack was sorely in need of 
 them. Although he made no comment at the time, 
 other than to look grave, and though he sought to 
 brush the remembrance of them away as speedily 
 as possible, he was nevertheless face to face with 
 the consciousness a consciousness of which he 
 had caught occasional glimpses before of late of 
 dissatisfaction with himself. What was more, it 
 enthralled him like a net, and the more he struggled 
 held him the tighter. Vague lack of content with 
 one's own career is not synonymous with an inten 
 tion to reform, but it is a step in the right direction. 
 Jack would never be able to feel again, except 
 through utter callousness of soul, that satisfaction 
 in wrong-doing which exists before the sense of re 
 sponsibility is awakened. 
 
 There is little further to chronicle regarding the 
 second year of Jack's school-life, which sped along 
 from week to week without revealing much outward 
 change in his daily routine of duties and pleasures ; 
 the former endured with unwillingness and neg 
 lected so far as was possible, the latter participated 
 in with untiring enthusiasm. In the class-room he
 
 258 JACK HALL. 
 
 was the same mischief-making, idle urchin as ever, 
 distinguished for his dog's-eared, caricature-lined 
 books of study, and an utter ignorance of their con 
 tents. On the playground every faculty seemed 
 alert, and all his energy centred in excelling at 
 whatever pastime he was for the moment fascinated 
 by.
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE BIG FOUR. 
 
 As a fourth-class boy Jack fairly felt his oats, and 
 with justice, if one considers what a satisfactory 
 status was- meant by that term at Utopia. A fourth- 
 classer had nothing to learn, so to speak. He knew 
 all the ropes. He had at his fingers 1 ends every 
 thing connected with the ways of the school, and 
 was entitled to regard himself as untainted by green 
 ness of any description. Pride and some bumptious 
 ness were the result, but more particularly a rattling 
 way of doing things as though those engaged in 
 whatever was in hand had unlimited confidence in 
 themselves, as indeed they had. To be a fourth- 
 classer, if one were a prominent fellow, was the 
 same as being one of the cocks of the lower school, 
 and a person to be deferred to whenever any matter 
 was mooted concerning the more juvenile half of 
 the body politic. 
 
 Taking the list by and large, there were no more
 
 260 JACK HALL. 
 
 prominent fourth-classers in their year than the 
 quartette who trained together under the pseudo 
 nym of " The Big Four." These were Jack, Ha- 
 seltine, Bill French, and Horton. In justice to Bill, 
 his name should have been written first, for it was 
 he who had conceived the idea of welding into one 
 compact body the best material in the class, with a 
 view to cooperation in various directions. To his 
 brain was due the origin of the mysterious secret 
 society, of which he and his three pals were the 
 units. At Utopia, where there had never been a 
 secret society up to this time, whoever referred to 
 " The Big Four " spoke with bated breath, as of an 
 organization very little understood, and in awe of 
 which it was incumbent to stand. 
 
 Bill came back after vacation full of the scheme, 
 and found little difficulty in making its merits ap 
 parent to Jack. After some cogitation the number 
 was swelled by the election of Haseltine and Hor 
 ton. The constitution was a sort of cross between 
 the Declaration of Rights and such an instrument 
 as a community of bandits might have drawn for 
 mutual protection. It began as follows :
 
 THE BIG FOUR. 261 
 
 "ARTICLE I. 
 
 " This society is organized to secure to free-born 
 American citizens the enjoyment of their natural 
 liberties." 
 
 A sentiment distinctly praiseworthy, at least on 
 the surface, and broad in its scope. After this gen 
 eral definition of usefulness and certain provisions 
 as to name, membership, and grip, appeared a few 
 by-laws, embodying a most salient code of behavior, 
 among which was the third, to wit : 
 
 " No member shall, on pain of expulsion, kiss any 
 female except his mother." 
 
 To cap and clinch the whole, thus heading off 
 treachery at the start, it was laid down, 
 
 " Whoever shall at any period of his existence 
 divulge, or in any manner make known, the secrets 
 of this society, or shall with or without malice-afore 
 thought break its laws or abandon its principles, 
 shall suffer death with torture, to be inflicted by the 
 members for the time being, except as otherwise 
 herein provided." 
 
 This joint production, for each of the four had a 
 hand in its composition, was solemnly signed and 
 sworn to at midnight in the lavatory where the
 
 262 JACK HALL. 
 
 whole society assembled by concerted action. To 
 make the oath more binding, the pen was dipped in 
 the blood of the successive signers, at Haseltine's 
 prompting, who fully believed at the time that who 
 ever should violate it could not escape a lingering 
 death. He even went so far as to suggest that a 
 burning-glass focused upon the abdomen would 
 probably produce as exquisite suffering as any of 
 the appliances known to inquisitorial or savage tor 
 turers. To Jack belonged the credit of devising the 
 already quoted clause relating to women, the recep 
 tion of which was unequivocally enthusiastic, and 
 seemed to them to stamp the organization at once 
 as a manly body, proof against Delilahs, or all 
 feminine influence except that prescribed by early 
 piety. 
 
 " I hate girls ; they 're silly little things," con 
 tinued the originator of the by-law in question. 
 
 " I 'd like to see one of them try to kiss me ! " 
 said Haseltine. 
 
 The latter idea did not seem so repulsive to Bill 
 and Horton, though they acquiesced in the provision 
 as smacking of wisdom, on the whole. Indeed, 
 almost from the start, there was a difference of
 
 THE BIG FOUR. 263 
 
 opinion, scarcely perceptible at first, bat constantly 
 growing wider, as to the real functions of " The Big 
 Four." 
 
 To Jack and Haseltine it stood for freedom, and 
 defiance of authority in any form, and especially 
 defiance against the Doctor, to be evidenced by dis 
 obedience, as the spirit might move, whether in the 
 way of marauding expeditions or midnight feasts. 
 Caution, more than was absolutely necessar3 r , was 
 disregarded by them, and concealment was a policy 
 which they despised. They were indifferent, not 
 only as to what authority might think, but even 
 as to whether authority was aware of what they 
 were up to. War to the knife, without mercy or 
 compromise on either side, was what they craved, 
 proudly confident of their ability to trample au 
 thority in the dust. 
 
 But the other two were wiser in their generation, 
 with the wisdom of the serpent. They believed 
 distinctly in lying low, and in masking the counte 
 nance both metaphorically and literally. " Do 
 wrong by stealth and blush to find it fame," would 
 have seemed to them an admirable epitome of their 
 views. And just as their methods savored of craft
 
 264 JACK HALL. 
 
 and nnderhancledness, so their favorite acts of 
 defiance for in throwing off authority all were 
 united were apt to be such as would not bear 
 the light of day. Vice is a parasite that flourishes 
 best in the shade. There Bill French's whisper 
 sounded most seductively, and his " I say, fellows, 
 I know what let 's do," was least easy to resist. 
 
 Such was the attraction of this new interest that 
 Jack thought of but little else. Not only did he 
 begin to neglect Carlisle, but he ceased to feel his 
 old ambition to excel at games. At the spring 
 athletic meeting of the year before he had followed 
 Carlisle's advice to hold off for another six months, 
 but when the time came the following autumn he 
 failed to make as good a record as when he had first 
 appeared on the track. He was only seventh this 
 time in a field of eight, being almost distanced by 
 Hopedale, whom he had pressed so close on the pre 
 vious occasion. Such were his disgust and morti 
 fication that he thereupon had his name scratched 
 from both the feather- weight wrestling and the 
 feather-weight sparring, in each of which events he 
 had intended to be a competitor. He felt thor 
 oughly angry, and the secret cause of his anger was
 
 THE BIG FOUR. 265 
 
 the consciousness that it was all liis own fault. He 
 had not taken the trouble to train, so certain was 
 he in his self-conceit of sweeping all before him. 
 Now, like Achilles in his tent, he preferred to sulk. 
 He would cut sports altogether. The game was 
 not worth the candle. But in his heart was a sore 
 spot. He had meant to win that race. He could 
 see Carlisle's eyes fixed on him gravely as he slunk 
 away panting and fairly blown at the finish, 
 and recalled his friend's subsequent reproof. 
 
 " The trouble with you is that you want the 
 earth, Jack. You can't expect to win without buck 
 ling down to it beforehand." 
 
 " I 'in in first-rate condition," Jack had growled. 
 
 " Over-trained, then, perhaps," had been the sar 
 castic answer. 
 
 Even in rowing his pet hobby he could not 
 boast of having made any marked progress. Al 
 though in the two upper classes there was no aquatic 
 luminary at the moment, a very clever oarsman 
 was developing in the person of Tom Bonsall of 
 the third, a clean-cut, well-shaped fellow, some ten 
 pounds more beefy than Jack, and at once his secret 
 admiration and despair. To watch Tom row, fairly
 
 266 JACK HALL. 
 
 goaded him into fury. He was only a year ahead 
 of Jack, and yet he was in the Mohicans, and, what 
 is more, was able to boast, after the autumn races, 
 that he belonged to the champion crew. The long 
 victorious Atalantas, weakened by the loss of Hazel- 
 hurst, were a poor second. Then and there Jack 
 vowed, when he realized what had taken place, that 
 he would from this moment have but one object in 
 life : to transfer the laurel from his rival's brow to 
 his own. 
 
 A very pretty sentiment, and quite at variance 
 with the cynical communings of a fortnight earlier, 
 when he had resolved to renounce sport utterly. 
 But it is one thing to make vows, another to carry 
 them out. Jack had not overestimated, even in 
 his inner consciousness, his lack of condition, both 
 physical and moral. When one is distinctly flabby 
 in body and soul alike, a good resolution is too 
 apt to resemble one of these rockets that flare up 
 grandly and gaudily for a moment, only to leave 
 the night the darker through their inability to last. 
 To feel virtuous and heroic during a transcendent 
 hour is not much to boast of, unless one has the 
 grit to stand firm when face to face once more with
 
 THE BIG FOUR. 267 
 
 the commonplace and the every-day, those disarm 
 ing begetters of temptation. 
 
 But .one must not be too hard upon poor Jack 
 because liis vows proved no more stable than do 
 those of all of us at some time or other. For at 
 the worst he was not a very hopeless case. Even 
 when sitting up in the lavatory into the small 
 hours of the morning, sipping beer and playing 
 " penny nap," the height of schoolboy dissipa 
 tion,. one who could have seen into his heart 
 would not have despaired of him. It was some 
 thing that he did not smoke, not because of the 
 harm which Bill French's cheroots might have 
 done him, but because he could not forget that he 
 had promised his mother not to smoke anything, 
 be it rattan, sweet-fern, or tobacco ; and to break 
 his word, and most of all to break it to her, was 
 synonymous in his mind, as it well should have 
 been, with a very abandoned moral condition. And 
 yet curiosity in part, and in part an unwillingness 
 to be left behind in "knowledge of life" by the 
 other members of his illustrious society, induced 
 him to follow in whatsoever directions he was led, 
 in spite of the fact that this new and daily more
 
 268 JACK HALL. 
 
 troublesome factor in his general make-up, his 
 conscience, pricked him, and took away much of 
 the satisfaction of his discreditable doings. 
 
 What would his mother have said if she could 
 have seen him at one of these cunningly devised 
 nocturnal parties? Her constant prayer has been 
 that her innocent boy may not become prematurely 
 old in the so-called ways of the world, a knowing 
 little gentleman, rotten before he is ripe, without 
 enthusiasm, without heart, and without hope. Is 
 there a parent who will not sympathize with this 
 mother's petition to heaven? Civilization is regard 
 ing with increasing alarm the menaces of the r.n- 
 educated poor; but its invocation rather should be, 
 "God save us from the educated rich," educated 
 and graduated in the sloth and vice which eats into 
 the soul as no other canker can. Rich men's sons 
 who do nothing for humanity but sneer, are a 
 harder burden for Atlas to bear than all the host 
 of the starving unemployed. 
 
 But even in his present stage, when it seemed as 
 though Bill French's wisdom carried all before it 
 in the councils of the Big Four, Jack much pre 
 ferred the life of the border ruffian to that of the
 
 THE BIG FOUR. 269 
 
 sly voluptuary. Bill's fun, though he had his part 
 in it, appeared tame as compared \\ith the ecstasy 
 which proceeds from more obvious peril. To carry 
 away a quart of lager under one's waistband, to go 
 in debt to the amount of half a dollar if one's luck 
 was bad, and to show up next morning sallow and 
 watery-eyed, but very spruce and stylish as to one's 
 collar and tie, proud as the distinction was, did not 
 set Jack's -veins a-throbbing as he delighted to have 
 them, throb. If Bill had been consulted in the 
 premises he would doubtless have maintained that 
 his friend was not yet educated up to the point 
 where he could appreciate at their proper value the 
 advantages open to him. To this juvenile Epicu 
 rean the plots which the two more boisterous 
 spirits were constantly unfolding involved a need 
 less waste of vitality, from which he shrank more 
 and more in proportion as the serpent's wisdom 
 became his own. It was not policy, however, even 
 if it were possible, to resist at all times the ex 
 pressed desire of half the society. As a consequence, 
 vitality ran riot in minor manifestations, such as 
 the pilfering of neighboring hen-roosts, the sealing 
 up of the lock of the schoolroom door, the firing of
 
 270 JACK HALL. 
 
 a tar-barrel in front of the Doctor's very window, 
 and panted for more. Every one by which is 
 meant school opinion was delighted, and with 
 finger on lip whispered mysteriously, " Big Four." 
 
 As for Jack and Haseltine, they trod the earth 
 with the demeanor of gods, and after dark put 
 their heads together. Presumptuous youth is slow 
 to be content with moderate glory. Had Phaeton 
 escaped destruction he would have wearied of driv 
 ing his father's horses in a fortnight, and been 
 thirsting fora fresh exploit. Our heroes, who had 
 up to this time escaped detection, were harassed 
 by the feeling that authority took too little heed of 
 the cuffs they administered to it. The bonfire had
 
 THE BIG FOUR. 271 
 
 been put up with almost calmly. The next act of 
 defiance should be such as could not be passed over 
 without exposing their enemies to ridicule. 
 
 It was not altogether easy to hit upon a device 
 worthy of their prowess and yet within the pale of 
 permissible barbarity. For undoubtedly nihilistic 
 as were Jack's and Haseltine's designs, there was a 
 limit which they were not prepared to overstep. 
 Although it might be that in the estimation of 
 them both hanging was too good for the Doctor 
 and his assistants, any plot endangering human life 
 was, perchance regretfull} 7 , but none the less firmly, 
 discarded. On the other hand, to burn the head 
 master in effigy, a proposal which emanated from 
 the seething brain of young Horton, struck the 
 conclave as a superficial bit of mischief, which, 
 however showy from its impertinence, would never 
 theless inflict no real suffering on him at whom it 
 was aimed. 
 
 Bill French, as was apt to be the case, even in 
 matters outside of his own department, so to speak, 
 settled the question finally. 
 
 " I say, fellows, I know what let 's do," he said 
 one evening, after they had been sitting silently
 
 272 JACK HALL. 
 
 racking their brains for a considerable time," " let 's 
 blow something up." 
 
 " Blow what up? " queried Jack, somewhat scorn 
 fully, thus showing that gunpowder and nitro 
 glycerine had already entered into his dny-dreams, 
 but had been renounced for lack of suitable mate- 
 rial'on which to experiment. 
 
 u The tool-house." 
 
 " Great Csesar ! " ejaculated our hero with en 
 thusiasm, "the very thing! Why have we never 
 thought of it before ? " 
 
 Whereupon Jack, by way of further ecstasy, 
 began to execute a muffled clog-dance to a low 
 whistling accompaniment. 
 
 " Sh ! You 11 have Sawyer down on us like a 
 thousand of bricks if you don't let up," objected 
 Bill. 
 
 The quarters of " The Big Four" were no longer 
 in the lavatory, where their only light had been 
 the proverbially capricious splendor of the moon, 
 and where no whisper was too low for safety. At 
 the beginning of this school year one of the studies 
 occupied by the two upper classes, which had be 
 come vacant owing to the illness of its proprietor,
 
 THE BIG FOUR. 273 
 
 had been boldly appropriated by the society. A 
 piece of cloth over the keyhole and other appli 
 ances along the floor-line prevented the rays of the 
 solitary candle which illumined their meetings from 
 betraying them ; and there they sat like four young 
 ghouls, Avith masks upon their faces, or close at 
 hand ready to be donned at the first signal of 
 danger. 
 
 The tool-house referred to was a modest struc 
 ture behind the gymnasium, which served Horace 
 Hosmer for the use which its name suggests, and 
 was besides a general storehouse in which to stow 
 odds and ends out of place elsewhere. It stood in 
 a position well adapted to shelter from discovery 
 the mooted scheme on the fulfillment of which the 
 energies of the Big Four were now resolutely bent. 
 To obtain the needful ammunition required time; 
 but on returning to school at the close of the 
 spring recess the united accumulations of the con 
 spirators' pockets were found to be two small cans 
 of powder, a bunch of cannon-crackers, a piece of 
 slow-match, and several fuses. The last-named 
 were especially valuable for the reason that, to in 
 sure the safety of the society, a sufficient period
 
 274 JACK HALL. 
 
 must elapse between the touching off the mine and 
 the explosion to allow those participating to cross 
 the quadrangle and be hauled up again in the 
 basket which was to be let down from the study 
 where their meetings were held. 
 
 This does not look much like reform, Master 
 Jack. Seeing you in such a guise at twelve o'clock 
 at night though no one would ever recognize you 
 in your ferocious mask with the flowing horsehair 
 mustache and your coat-collar muffled about your 
 ears makes one wonder whether you were really 
 in earnest when you made your vow not to rest until 
 you had defeated Tom Bonsall at the sculls. No 
 use in our moralizing now, however, for wild horses 
 would not keep you from your part in the tragedy. 
 And indeed there is something rather winning, al 
 most exculpating as it were, in the proud though 
 mistaken consciousness of a righteous cause resplen 
 dent in your every movement and gesture. One 
 sighs to see such energy and ardor of spirit ex 
 pended in so mean a task. Even you would admit, 
 if squarely taxed on the point, that you have no 
 real grievance against the Doctor except that he is 
 determined to make you study and to make you
 
 THE BIG FOUR. 275 
 
 obey. " Yes, but that is the point at issue," you 
 would doubtless answer. " We prefer idleness and 
 insubordination. Why should we obey ? " 
 
 On the night selected for the explosion, duly at 
 the appointed hour the four boys crept on tiptoe 
 from their respective dens in the large dormitory to 
 the usual spot without disturbing anybody. Each 
 brought with him part of the necessary parapher 
 nalia. They proceeded immediately to draw lots to 
 decide which two should perform the actual deed. 
 The other pair were to remain behind to lower the 
 basket down and pull it up again. It was solved 
 by the process known as " freezing out." Each 
 took a cent from his pocket and laid it on the 
 table. There were three heads and one tail. Bill 
 French's was the tail. He was therefore by previ 
 ous agreement to be one of the home-guard. With 
 trembling hand Jack deposited his coin for the sec 
 ond time. Not to be able to light the fuse himself 
 would rob the affair of half its sweetness for him. 
 
 His was a head. 
 
 " A head," said Haseltine. 
 
 "So's mine," said Horton. 
 
 " No choice, then," said Bill. "Toss again."
 
 276 JACK HALL. 
 
 This time Jack got a tail. He leaned forward 
 feverishly and perceived that Horton had one also. 
 
 " A head," said Haseltine. 
 
 " You stay with me, then," said Bill, who was 
 qnick-witted in emergencies. "Let's get to work. 
 Sooner it's over, the better." 
 
 Jack's heart gave a bound. It would have suited 
 him to have had Haseltine with him, and he whis 
 pered in the ear of his favorite pal some words to 
 that effect. It was everything, however, to be going 
 himself, and he was well aware that Horton was no 
 slouch on such an occasion. 
 
 It takes but a few moments to adjust the rope, 
 and the two lads, after stowing the combustibles in 
 their pockets, are ready to descend. Jack is the 
 proud bearer of a small dark lantern, which gives 
 him an additionally burglarish air. He flashes it 
 once or twice playfully in Bill's face, much to that 
 worthy's dissatisfaction, who is even more nervous 
 than usual, going now and again to the door to lis 
 ten after enjoining silence by an agonized " sh ! " 
 
 But everything is as still as the grave. Being 
 finally satisfied on this score, Bill proceeds with an 
 air of gravity to uncork a couple of bottles of beer
 
 THE BIG FOUR. 277 
 
 from which he fills four glasses, the property of the 
 society and kept in a cupboard in the corner. 
 
 Each of the Big Four having doffed his mask 
 lifts one of these from the table and surveys his 
 fellow-members with dignity, waiting for the word 
 of command from the Pater Primus, as the pre 
 siding genius is styled, before putting the beaded 
 beverage to their lips. 
 
 " Brothers of the Big Four," begins Bill. " Once 
 again .we are met together to maintain justice and 
 to resist tyranny. Here 's success, and destruction 
 to our foes." 
 
 "Success, and destruction to our foes." 
 
 As the voices echo his words the four glasses 
 softly clink against one another. Then the heroes 
 drink. It is a solemn rite to Jack. His blood is 
 all on fire. 
 
 "We will die game," he utters grandiloquently, 
 as he drains the last drops, and slips back his mask 
 over his face much as a warrior would have re 
 placed a helmet. 
 
 He goes to the window and tries the rope. It is 
 strong enough for six times the necessary weight. 
 He is putting one foot into the basket a large
 
 278 JACK HALL. 
 
 clothes - basket filched the day before from Mrs. 
 Betty's department when Bill again enjoins 
 silence and bends his ear. 
 
 " It 's all right, Bill," whispers Jack. 
 
 " I don't half like it," replies the Pater Primus. 
 " If we 're caught, it means expulsion cock sure." 
 
 " Who 's going to catch us ? It is n't the time 
 to squawk now." 
 
 " Who wants to squawk ? " protests Bill. 
 
 " Lower away." 
 
 Down goes the basket slowly but surely with its 
 living freight. Practice in former exploits has 
 made the descent seem less ticklish than at first to 
 the young aeronauts. 
 
 Jack and Horton having reached the earth in 
 safety walk cautiously but rapidly across the part 
 of the quadrangle which lies between them and the 
 gymnasium, pass behind that building, and a mo 
 ment later are in the tool-house. So far as danger 
 to other property is concerned there is no reason 
 why the tool-house should not be blown up : a re 
 flection somewhat comforting to Jack, who in spite 
 of his elation is conscious of a qualm or two as he 
 realizes what he is about to do. No one can pos-
 
 THE BIG FOUR. 279 
 
 sibly be injured, he argues, and the tool-house is 
 really of no use. 
 
 By the light of the dark lantern they arrange 
 the cans of powder in such a manner as to be most 
 effective, and lay the fuse. Then Jack, who has 
 lighted a bit of slow match, after taking a peep 
 outside to make sure that all is clear, sets fire to 
 the train, which has been timed to burn for ten 
 minutes, so as to permit every one to get back to 
 bed before the shock comes. This done, the two 
 imitators of Guy Fawkes slip out into the dark 
 ness and make a bee-line for home. 
 
 Somehow or other there is very apt to be some 
 little flaw capable of ruining all, even in the most 
 skillfully arranged plot, and, happily or unhappily, 
 as you choose to regard it, the one in question 
 proved no exception to the general rule. More 
 over, it was through the carelessness of our friend 
 Jack that matters did not turn out wholly as was 
 expected. Although quite aware that Argus in the 
 person of Horace Hosmer slept in an L of the 
 gymnasium, the window of which commanded a 
 view of the premises doomed to destruction, Guy 
 Fawkes was rash enough not to close his lantern
 
 280 JACK HALL. 
 
 until just after stepping into the open air, so that a 
 few rays managed to shoot themselves directly into 
 the watch-dog's eyes with the effect of rousing the 
 vigilant sleeper from his couch and inducing him 
 to take a peep outside. It was all dark now, but 
 suspicion once awakened is not easily allayed in a 
 faithful soul, and Horace's was of the faithful kind. 
 Hastily pulling on a pair of boots and diving into 
 an overcoat, he vaulted over the window-sill, and 
 put in an appearance on the other side of the 
 gymnasium before the boys were more than two 
 thirds across the quadrangle. 
 
 Trepidation has eyes in the back of her head, as 
 we well know. Consequently this new presence 
 on the field of night was spotted by Horton even 
 before Horace's well-known stentorian voice broke 
 
 in upon the stillness with, 
 
 \ 
 " Come, now, what 's your business ? " 
 
 There was no time for parley. Increased speed 
 had forestalled the bark of Argus, and inc-reased 
 speed answered it. The wings of fear vibrated 
 fiercely in the darkness. The pursued had this 
 advantage that they knew that unless they reached 
 the basket in time to get clear of terra firma be-
 
 AN ESCAPE.
 
 THE BIG FOUR. 283 
 
 fore the janitor was upon them they were "gone 
 coons." Not a word was spoken by either of the 
 terror-stricken incendiaries, but their flight was 
 that of those who have but one hope. 
 
 Jack was the first to arrive. Happily for the 
 hunted, their companions had not been napping, 
 but were keenly on the watch for them. The 
 basket was ready. Guy Fawkes leaped into it and 
 squatted down, closely followed by his mate. 
 
 " Pull for all you 're worth." 
 
 Those above, quick to perceive that there was 
 mischief in the wind, set themselves to their task 
 with such good will that the aerial car fairly 
 bounded from the ground in its ascending ^course. 
 But none too soon. Hardly was it beyond the reach 
 of a tall man when the cause of all this undigni 
 fied haste came tearing round the angle of the 
 dormitory. Horace made one desperate leap in the 
 air, only, however, to scratch his nails against the 
 bricks in falling back. By the time he had re 
 gained his balance the basket was at the top, and 
 he could only catch a confused impression of gro 
 tesque faces surmounting youthful bodies before the 
 masqueraders were safe indoors, and fleeing like
 
 284 JACK HALL. 
 
 stealthy deer to their respective quarters, where they 
 lost no time in slipping off their clothes and get 
 ting into bed. So precipitate was their flight that 
 they neglected to return the beer - bottles and 
 glasses to the cupboard in which they were ordi 
 narily concealed, an oversight which filled the ner 
 vous Bill with dismay when it occurred to him after 
 his head was on the pillow. As for the basket, it 
 fell backward from the window-sill the moment it 
 was empty, almost on to the head of the astonished 
 Horace, who examined it curiously. 
 
 " Well, well," he muttered, " these are fine do 
 ings. My eyes ain't what they used to be, but 
 I 've a pretty decided notion as to who you are, my 
 young masters, all the same. What in time were 
 you up to, I wonder ? Ha ! what 's this ? " 
 
 Horace, from a constitutional habit of thorough 
 ness, had been passing his hand over the bottom of 
 the basket, and his last exclamation was due to the 
 fact of its coming in contact with a small article 
 which on inspection proved to be a pocket-knife. 
 
 " H'm," he chuckled, " Heaven sends biscuit to 
 them as has no teeth, as the minister used to say. : ' 
 After which pertinent observation the honest fel-
 
 THE BIG FOUR. 285 
 
 low slipped the treasure trove into his pocket and 
 was taking up the basket again with a view to ap 
 propriating it as evidence, when a loud crash pro 
 ceeding from the direction of the gymnasium awoke 
 the echoes of Utopia. 
 
 " Holy Moses ! " ejaculated the janitor, as he 
 turned just in season to behold a column of smoke 
 and rubbish rise in the near distance. Whereupon 
 he started as fast as his legs could carry him to the 
 new scene of action. 
 
 Needless to say, the four conspirators heard with 
 mingled sensations of joy and anxiety the reverbe 
 ration which informed them that their efforts had 
 not been in vain. To Jack at least the noise, 
 though clearly perceptible, was not so loud as he 
 had hoped and anticipated. It had been his ambi 
 tion to have not only the whole dormitory awak 
 ened, but authority itself startled from sweet slum 
 ber and forced to put its head out of doors in 
 search of cause and effect. He experienced, there 
 fore, some little disappointment from the fact that 
 only two or three boys within reach of his own 
 observation were awakened, and even they turned 
 over to sleep again after listening for a moment
 
 286 JACK HALL. 
 
 for further developments. He was much too wide 
 awake himself to sleep, but lay revolving in his 
 mind the probable consequences of Horace's unto 
 ward interruption. Had Argus recognized them ? 
 That was the all-important point, uncertainty as to 
 which was far from pleasant to Jack, despite his 
 boasted indifference to authority. Visions of being 
 dismissed from Utopia floated with disagreeable 
 persistency before his mind's eye. What would his 
 mother say ? He might well ask himself that ques 
 tion. 
 
 Although the repose of authority was not dis 
 turbed, authority heard with amazement on the 
 following morning the news which Horace had to 
 tell it immediately after breakfast 5 and Jack could 
 have no reason this time to complain that authority 
 was slow to take notice, if the buzz of rumors float 
 ing about the school were any index of authority's 
 state of mind. The impression produced on the 
 youthful mind itself by the announcement of what 
 had taken place was profound. There was an exo 
 dus at once to view the ruins, over which the faith 
 ful janitor was presiding with a sphinx-like grin 
 that to Jack, who had strolled down with the rest
 
 THE BIG FOUR. 
 
 to behold the result of his handiwork, did not seem 
 
 reassuring. 
 
 At the first opportunity the guilty parties held a 
 hurried consultation for mutual encouragement and 
 the comparing of notes. Nothing was forthcoming 
 except that the Doctor, after visiting the scene of 
 the explosion, had granted an audience to Horace 
 Hosmer, with whom he was still closeted. Mean 
 while the ordinary school programme was going 
 on as usual. Such suspense, though wellnigh un 
 endurable, was relieved in due time. Late in the 
 afternoon a summons came that French, llorton, 
 and Hall were to go to the 1 room at once, 
 
 but separately, and in the order named. 
 
 There was only time for a passing word between 
 the trio. 
 
 " Mind we tell the same story and stick to it," 
 whispered Bill in Jack's ear before he followed the 
 messenger. " We never knew anything until we 
 heard the explosion." 
 
 Jack stood watching the receding figure of the 
 Pater Primus with a troubled air. The situation 
 seemed decidedly perplexing. Authority, for some 
 reason or other of its own, saw fit that those com-
 
 288 JACK HALL. 
 
 ing after should have no opportunity to hear what 
 was in store for them from friendly lips. Conse 
 quently the third conspirator on the list was ushered 
 into its injured presence without knowing what had 
 been the experience of his predecessors. 
 
 Doctor Meredith, who was alone, greeted the cul 
 prit gravely and said, after a moment's hesitation, 
 in a composed but serious tone: "During the last 
 six months, Hall, there have been a number of very 
 troublesome bits of mischief perpetrated in the 
 school. The property of people in the neighborhood 
 has been molested, fireworks have been discharged 
 in the yard without permission, and a genei'al dis 
 position to break rules on the part of a certain num 
 ber of individuals has been apparent. I have been 
 very slow to take notice of this, hoping that the 
 matters complained of were merely the result of 
 the high spirits natural to boys. But I have been 
 very much annoyed by it, for up to this time I have 
 had to deal with nothing of the sort at Utopia." 
 
 During the pause which elapsed before he contin 
 ued, Jack was able to congratulate himself that his 
 previous endeavors had not been so much ignored as 
 he had at one time feared.
 
 THE BIG FOUR. 289 
 
 " Last night," his inquisitor proceeded, still more 
 gravely, " as you must be already aware, the tool- 
 house was blown up by some malicious person or 
 persons. Doubtless it was done as a practical joke, 
 and I am willing to believe that whoever was en 
 gaged in the affair did not appreciate the serious 
 character of the act committed. But all the same 
 it was an abominable piece of mischief, and one 
 which it is my duty and intention to investigate 
 thoroughly, with a view to putting down, once and 
 for all, the spirit of reckless insubordination which 
 it is now evident to me has broken out here." 
 
 Once more the Doctor paused, as though he 
 expected some observation from his auditor, who, 
 having none to make, sought refuge from his own 
 discomfort and his master's penetrating eye, by 
 looking down at the floor. 
 
 " I have sent for you, Hall, to ask if you were 
 concerned in the affair." 
 
 The room seemed painfully still to Jack, and the 
 silence which followed this inquiry oppressive. How 
 should he answer the question ? If the Doctor 
 knew all, why had he not taxed him directly with 
 having blown up the tool-house, instead of asking
 
 290 JACK HALL. 
 
 him if he was concerned in it? The doctor evi 
 dently had suspicions merely, and was groping in 
 the dark. What was there to prove his guilt ex 
 cept his own admissions ? 
 
 During the brief interval in which these thoughts 
 were passing through Jack's mind, he was conscious 
 of his interrogator's eye bent on him searchingly 
 yet beseechingly, as it were. 
 
 " You have not answered me, Hall." 
 
 "Yes, sir; I was." 
 
 Jack was too self-absorbed to notice the sigh of 
 relief which the Doctor gave vent to. One could 
 have heard a pin drop. 
 
 " I am very sorry to hear it. You were not alone, 
 I judge," added his master, after a moment. 
 
 " I lighted the fuse myself, sir," was the diplo 
 matic reply. 
 
 " I see that you do not choose to name your asso 
 ciates." 
 
 " I have not said that I had any," Jack answered 
 stoutly. 
 
 "I respect your views on that point, and shall 
 question you no further in the matter. As for your 
 own conduct, there is but one word to characterize
 
 THE BIG FOUR. 291 
 
 it," continued Dr. Meredith, " shameful. I do 
 not understand what motive you can have had to 
 destroy the property of the school. What was 
 your motive ? " Jack looked sheepish. " I sup 
 pose it was sheer love of mischief," pursued the 
 Doctor, as though soliloquizing. 
 
 " Yes, sir." 
 
 " Have you not always been well treated here ? 
 Have you any cause of complaint?" 
 
 " No, sir." 
 
 " What in one sense is even a more serious mat 
 ter, empty beer-bottles and glasses were found this 
 morning in the vacant study. They belong to you, 
 I take it?" 
 
 Jack bit his lip. This charge was harder to as 
 sume the entire responsibility for. But he was in 
 for it now and must face the music. 
 
 " Yes, sir," he replied, rather dejectedly. 
 
 The Doctor was silent for a moment. " Hall, I 
 am very much disappointed in you," he said, in a 
 manner so unexpectedly genuine that somehow or 
 other the words cut like a knife into the sensibili 
 ties of poor Jack, and in a sudden flash he saw his 
 own conduct almost in its true light. " This is not
 
 292 JACK HALL. 
 
 the first time, by any means, that I have had occa 
 sion to be disturbed at your conduct. I cannot 
 have at this school," he added, " boys who drink 
 beer on the sly and blow up buildings. I have not 
 quite decided what action I shall take in your par 
 ticular case. You may go for the present. When 
 I want you I will send for you." 
 
 Jack stood hesitating. " May I ask a question ?" 
 he said. 
 
 " What is it ? " 
 
 " How were we found out ? er that is, how 
 did you know it was I ? " 
 
 " The janitor thought he recognized you ; but 
 he was not sure. If you had seen fit to tell a false 
 hood you might have escaped. I thank God, my 
 dear boy, that you had courage enough to resist 
 that far worse fault than the faults you have been 
 guilty of." 
 
 There were tears in the Doctor's eyes, and a 
 strange tremor in his voice, that brought drops to 
 Jack's own, of which he became conscious when he 
 was outside the study-door. He had never felt so 
 miserable in his life, and yet knew that he was 
 proud of the course he had taken.
 
 THE BIG FOUR. 293 
 
 A few minutes later he was eagerly confronted 
 by his associates. 
 
 " He does n't know anything, does he ? " ex 
 claimed Bill. 
 
 " What do you mean ? " 
 
 " You did n't let on, of course ? He asked me 
 if I had anything to do with blowing up the tool- 
 house, and I told him no. So did Horton." 
 
 " But you did," said Jack. 
 
 " Do you mean to say you gave us all away ? " 
 shrieked Bill. 
 
 " Your names were n't mentioned. I was n't go 
 ing to lie about it. The Doctor asked me if I 
 was n't concerned in it, and I said I was." 
 
 " Hang me if you aren't the biggest flat I ever 
 struck ! " 
 
 " That 's so," said Horton, who, as you must 
 know by this time, was only an echo of Bill, which 
 is a pretty feeble kind of part to play in life, as 
 parts go. 
 
 " If you had only kept your mouth shut we 'd 
 have been all right. Horace only guessed at us," 
 continued the irate Pater Primus. " I 'd back you 
 for a flat against the world."
 
 294 JACK HALL. 
 
 " That 's so." 
 
 " Shut your head ! " growled Jack. " I don't 
 want to hear any more guff from either of you. 
 I wasn't going to lie for you or any other fellow, 
 Bill French." 
 
 " We '11 kick you out of the society, see if we 
 don't. You 've broken the oaths, and you '11 be 
 mighty lucky if we don't vote to make cat's meat 
 of you," persisted Bill, who, when his imagination 
 got working, had a nasty tongue, as the saying is. 
 This last fling so enraged our hero who has 
 become, I think, just a little bit of a hero in spite 
 of his shortcomings that he made a dash at his 
 chief insulter with a view to slapping his face. 
 But the prudent William had made sure of his 
 distance before venturing upon so exasperating a 
 speech. 
 
 Jack was in no frame of mind to pursue his ma- 
 ligners. He felt very much down in the mouth. 
 Now that the prospect of being sent home in dis 
 grace was imminent, the advantages of remaining 
 a Utopia boy seemed very great. He could not 
 bear the thought of being expelled, and yet he 
 knew that he could scarcely hope for any less seri-
 
 THE BIG FOUR. 295 
 
 ous sentence. The others would get off, and he 
 would have to bear the brunt of it all. 
 
 In his agitation he started off at a rapid pace 
 without heeding where he was going. Chance led 
 him toward the lake, and a few moments later he 
 was in his wherry pulling fiercely from sheer des 
 peration over the tranquil water. There were not 
 
 % 
 
 many scullers out this afternoon, but he recognized 
 in the distance the shapely figure of Tom Bonsall, 
 whose clean-cut, sweeping stroke it was not easy 
 to mistake. Jack ground his teeth as he reflected 
 not only that he and Tom could not at present 
 be regarded as rivals, but that they now never 
 could become so. Stung by the bitterness of the 
 thought, he plied the oars savagely with a reck 
 less expenditure of energy. When at last he 
 gave in for a moment from sheer exhaustion, his 
 shell shot close past another, narrowly escaping a 
 collision. 
 
 " Whoa, there! Hold your horses ! " cried a well- 
 known voice. 
 
 It was Carlisle's. At any other time Jack would 
 have been only too glad of his friend's company; 
 now his inclination was to get away from every-
 
 296 JACK HALL. 
 
 body. Without remark he began rowing again 
 with lightning speed, evidently to the surprise of 
 Carlisle, who, after watching him for a moment, 
 proceeded to follow in his wake, taking it quietly, 
 but pulling a long, steady stroke. Jack was deter 
 mined to throw him off, but though he struggled 
 with all his might, his pursuer crept up on him 
 inch by inch without seeming to make any special 
 exertion. So frantically did he work to keep the 
 lead that he soon began to splash, and finally, to 
 his utter disgust, caught a crab just as Carlisle was 
 lapping him. Before he could recover himself they 
 were abreast. 
 
 " My dear youngster," began his friend without 
 observing Jack's face, " you will never learn to row 
 if you spend yourself so soon. You can't keep 
 that stroke up. It 's simply suicidal." 
 
 " Why can't you let me alone? What right have 
 you to follow me ? " was the fierce reply. 
 
 Naturally Carlisle looked completely bewildered. 
 " No right, if you don't want me to," he said quietly. 
 Then he added, with kind solicitude, " What 's up, 
 Jack ? Are you ill, old fellow ? " 
 
 Jack shook his head after a moment. He
 
 THE BIG FOUR. 297 
 
 was looking the other way to hide his welling 
 tears. 
 
 " Tell me what 's the trouble. Perhaps I can 
 help you," said Carlisle presently. 
 
 "It isn't one thing: it's everything," sobbed 
 Jack. "However, there '11 be an end of it to 
 morrow," he continued enigmatically. 
 
 " What do you mean by that? " 
 
 "It was-I who blew up the tool-house last night." 
 
 "You, Jack!" Carlisle exclaimed, aghast. "How 
 could you ! " 
 
 Then realizing instantly that this was not the 
 occasion for reproof, he hastened to ask, " Does the 
 Doctor know ? " 
 
 "Yes," said Jack, who had turned his face to 
 observe the effect on his friend of the first an 
 nouncement. 
 
 A few words made Carlisle familiar with the 
 whole story. Jack did not hesitate to inform him 
 just how matters stood, knowing that his senior 
 would be in honor bound not to mention to others 
 the conduct of Bill and Horton. 
 
 " There can be only one end to it," he said, in 
 conclusion. " He '11 make an example of me for
 
 298 JACK HALL. 
 
 the good of the school. Well, let him," he added, 
 his voice again breaking, " 1 don't care." 
 
 " Yes, you do care. The cowardly sneaks ! " 
 ejaculated Carlisle. 
 
 " If they had owned up, there would have been 
 three instead of one, that 's all. It would n't have 
 helped me any. I 'm glad of one thing, Louis : 
 Horace did n't spot Hasy." 
 
 The other was silent a moment. " It 's all my 
 fault," he burst out at last. " I ought to have 
 protected you against that fellow. I marked him 
 as a low-lived beggar before he had been here a 
 week. The trouble is, I am so miserably selfish 
 that I am taken up with my own affairs all the 
 time." 
 
 44 Indeed, that is not true, Louis. On the con 
 trary, you 've been at me all the time trying to 
 keep me straight. It 's no one's fault but my own. 
 I see it plainly now. I 've made an ass of myself, 
 and the result is I shall break my mother's heart 
 by being expelled." 
 
 44 Time enough to talk in that style, youngster, 
 when it happens. I '11 see the Doctor myself," 
 continued Carlisle. 44 Perhaps he '11 be willing to
 
 THE BIG FOUR. 299 
 
 give you another chance. There 's no harm in try 
 ing, at any rate. If he can be made to believe that 
 you 're ready to turn over a new leaf, I know he '11 
 let you stay. But you must promise me, Jack, 
 that if he does, you will make a fresh deal all 
 round," he added, earnestly. " I 'm slack enough 
 myself, Heaven knows, and not fitted to give ad 
 vice to any one, but I 've lived two or three years 
 longer than you ; and have learned at least that a 
 fellow can't do everything that he wants in this 
 world. One has to recognize it sooner or later. 
 The trouble with you, as I told you once before, is 
 that you want the earth. You can't have it, and 
 the sooner you make up your mind to the fact the 
 better for you." 
 
 " I will do my best, Louis, I promise you. I 
 wish though I thought that there was ever a chance 
 of rny being half so good as you." 
 
 " Nonsense, youngster. You 've no idea," he 
 added, " of what a poor thing I am." 
 
 " You are looking in first-rate condition this 
 term," responded Jack, with a just perception of 
 how to please his friend. "I never saw a fellow 
 improve so in appearance as you have in a year."
 
 300 JACK HALL. 
 
 " It 's Dr. Bolles' lectures," said Carlisle, with a 
 gratified smile. " I owe it all to him." 
 
 " And if I ever improve," observed Jack quietly, 
 u I shall owe it all to you, Louis."
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 UP-HILL. 
 
 THREE days later the whole school was called 
 together directly after breakfast to hear a commu 
 nication from Dr. Meredith. No one knew pre 
 cisely, what was in the wind, but all sorts of rumors 
 had been floating about ever since the morning 
 subsequent to the explosion. The only one of these 
 that appeared to have substantial foundation was 
 the report which had gained currency within the 
 last twenty-four hours that Horton was to leave for 
 good. The reason was not known beyond a gen 
 eral suspicion that his departure was connected with 
 the destruction of the tool-house. When it was 
 ascertained that he had actually gone early in the 
 morning without bidding good-by to anybody, the 
 excitement was at fever heat. What added to the 
 mystery was that Jack Hall, whose confession of 
 the daring deed had leaked out, still remained. 
 
 Utopia was puzzled, to say the least, and was
 
 302 JACK HALL. 
 
 very prompt in filing into the schoolroom to listen 
 to the expected solution of the enigma. Thither 
 the Doctor came too, on the stroke of the hour, 
 looking sad, and accompanied by all the masters, 
 who ranged themselves about him as at one of the 
 school exhibitions. Before him on the desk lay a 
 suggestive ferule, the unaccustomed sight of which 
 caused expectancy to stand on tiptoe. 
 
 " Boys of Utopia School," said Dr. Meredith 
 with solemnity, " as you all know, an unpardon- 
 ably malicious piece of mischief was committed 
 against the school property a few days since. It 
 was the last and most offensive in a series of delib 
 erate acts of insubordination which have caused me 
 much annoyance, and which I have put up with too 
 long, I am inclined to think, for the best good of 
 those concerned in them. By chance," continued 
 the Doctor, after a moment's delay, " suspicion fast 
 ened itself on certain members of the school, who 
 were sent for by me and questioned on the subject. 
 One boy confessed to having been directly connected 
 with the explosion ; the others denied alt knowl 
 edge of it. As it happened, the evidence pos 
 sessed by us was not definite enough to convict as
 
 UP-HILL. 303 
 
 against his own word any one of those suspected, 
 with a single exception, and I will add that at the 
 time I had no knowledge which of the boys sum 
 moned this exception applied to. The janitor who 
 pursued the incendiaries on the night in question 
 found in the basket, which was left by them hanging 
 from the window, a penknife. This penknife," said 
 the Doctor slowly, " was proved to belong, I regret 
 with deep -sorrow to state, to one of the boys who 
 had denied in unqualified terms any knowledge of 
 the outrage which had been committed. That boy 
 is no longer a member of this school. I have 
 written to his parents to remove him, and early this 
 morning he left Utopia. 
 
 " If there is anything that is odious to me," he 
 continued presently, after the murmur which fol 
 lowed this announcement had subsided, " and which 
 I am determined to root out of this school at any 
 cost, it is falsehood. I made a point to caution 
 each one of you against it, my dear boys, at the 
 time you entered Utopia, and my constant prayer 
 is that your souls may be kept clean from this 
 deadly foe to character. What is most threat 
 ening to-day in the outlook for the noble develop-
 
 304 JACK HALL. 
 
 ment of this great democratic country of ours is 
 the tendency to condone too easily embezzlement, 
 breaches of trust, bribery, and other forms of pub 
 lic and private dishonesty, the kernel of which is 
 deceit, and in the fostering of which lies national 
 ruin. If," he said, looking round the schoolroom, 
 " there is any boy here to-day who is so unhappy 
 as to have a lie on his conscience, I beseech him as 
 his master and his friend to let it be there no longer. 
 Any punishment that he may be called upon to 
 bear will be as nothing compared with the evil 
 which concealment will work upon his character 
 and life." 
 
 As the Doctor paused and seemed to be waiting 
 for some one to step forward, each boy glanced at 
 his neighbor, wondering for the most part who was 
 meant. Jack, who had been listening with fever 
 ish impatience to every word, refrained from look 
 ing directly at Bill, but managed to take a peep at 
 him sideways. To all appearances the Pater Pri 
 mus was completely at his ease and indisposed to 
 follow the hint thrown out to him. No one stirred, 
 and the silence, which became oppressive at last, 
 was broken by the master, who resumed rather 
 sadly :
 
 UP-HILL. 305 
 
 " When the boy who was manly enough to con 
 fess his wrong-doing left my presence the other day, 
 I thought that it would be necessary for me in or 
 der to maintain the dignity of the school to inflict 
 the most serious punishment in my power that 
 is expulsion. I should have hated to do so, for I 
 like the boy, deeply as I deplore the rank insub 
 ordination arid gross idleness of which he has been 
 guilty since he came to Utopia. I am ready to be 
 lieve that it will be more for his good to remain 
 among us than to be sent away in disgrace ; and I 
 am heartily glad that the greater fault committed 
 by another enables me to exercise leniency in his 
 particular case. I have been given to understand 
 by those interested in him," pursued the Doctor, 
 " that he is sorry for his ill behavior and anxious 
 to turn over a new leaf. I shall give him the 
 chance to do so ; _ but I am obliged nevertheless 
 not to pass by without serious notice the wicked 
 breach of discipline which he committed in wan 
 tonly destroying the property of the school. There 
 was no excuse for the act whatever, and it was sin 
 gularly unprovoked and impertinent. Therefore I 
 am compelled to have recourse to a form of pun-
 
 306 JACK HALL. 
 
 isbment which, except in the most extreme cases, 
 should not be employed by a master. I am glad to 
 say that never before while I have been at Utopia 
 has it been necessary for me to whip a pupil. I am 
 about to do so now because of the unusual nature 
 of the offense of which he has been guilty. Hall, 
 you will come forward to receive a public whip 
 ping." 
 
 There was a painful silence, and then poor Jack, 
 who had been sent for by the Doctor late on the 
 previous evening and informed as to what was in 
 store for him, arose and walked down the aisle. 
 His blood was boiling with shame and anger, but 
 at the same time he had made up his mind to sub 
 mit to the flogging and to bear it without flinching, 
 in acknowledgment of the kind words of encourage 
 ment and friendship which his master had spoken 
 to him when he told him Avhat his punishment was 
 to be, words which made Jack see more clearly 
 than before how reckless and foolish he had been, 
 and resolve with bitter tears before he went to sleep 
 to try once more to resist temptation. Now, gall 
 ing as was the ordeal, and though the tears of mor 
 tification welled into his eyes in spite of resolute
 
 UP-HILL. 807 
 
 biting of the lips, he walked quietly up to the 
 desk. 
 
 Dr. Meredith had risen and stood ready with the 
 ferule. 
 
 " Hold out your right hand, Hall." 
 
 Jack obeyed. 
 
 Down came the blows one, two, three, four, 
 five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, 
 thirteen, fourteen, fifteen ; no love pats, but gen 
 uine hard stinging blows which were meant to hurt, 
 and which did hurt. 
 
 " Now, the other hand." 
 
 Fifteen more followed no less scorching than their 
 predecessors. 
 
 " That will do. You may take your seat." 
 
 Jack, whose only consolation at the moment was 
 that he had not winced, got back to his desk some 
 how or other, and heard as in a daze the faltering 
 voice of his castigator in conclusion : 
 
 " I hope to heaven, my dear boys, that it will 
 never be necessary for me to do such a thing again. 
 I would much rather, believe me, that every one of 
 those blows had been on my own hands. The pain 
 would have been far less than what I suffered in in 
 flicting them."
 
 308 JACK HALL. 
 
 A moment later Jack knew that the school had 
 arisen and was pouring out of the room. He had 
 covered his face with his hands and bent his head 
 upon the desk. Sob followed sob in quick succes 
 sion, and his heart seemed to be bursting. Carlisle, 
 who had remained behind, stood over him and 
 stroked his head gently. After such an experience, 
 a nature strong and virile as Jack's must needs find 
 a vent for its pent-up anguish. But bitter as were 
 his feelings, he knew in his heart that he had de 
 served his punishment. 
 
 It was many weeks before Jack recovered his 
 spirits. At first he walked about with a crestfallen 
 air, like one in disgrace. He kept apart by himself, 
 and instead of the spirited leader of old, seemed 
 subdued and unimpi'essionable. He did not enter 
 for the spring events either at the athletic meeting 
 or on the lake, and was judged by many to have 
 lost all interest in sports. His changed demeanor 
 gave a chance to Bill French to circulate the opinion 
 expressed at the time of his confession, that he was 
 a flat, and such is the tendency of boys to deprecate 
 what they cannot understand that there were some 
 who in their surprise at his apparent, listlessness
 
 UP-HILL. 309 
 
 adopted Bill's view of the case. Even Haseltine was 
 staggered at his friend's lack of enthusiasm over the 
 prowess of the school nine, which, under the cap 
 taincy of the " Kid," had been plucking unexpected 
 laurels from visiting and visited teams, and rallied 
 him on it. Hasy, by the way. had been very sore 
 at heart himself that Jack alone should have had 
 to bear the brunt of the tool-house escapade. Ac 
 cordingly, -after musing over the matter for a fort 
 night, he had gone one day to the Doctor, without 
 mentioning the matter to any one, and made a clean 
 breast of his own participation in the affair, with 
 the expectation and almost with the hope of being 
 made to suffer for it. But, quite to his astonish 
 ment, Dr. Meredith, after hearing his story and 
 thanking him for having had the courage to own 
 up, which was unquestionably the manly thing to 
 do under the circumstances, declined to take advan 
 tage of the confession further than to talk to him 
 kindly for half an hour on the desirability of a 
 little more steadiness and more interest in study 
 on his part. 
 
 " If only you felt half the concern regarding a 
 poor recitation that you do about muffing a fly,
 
 310 JACK HALL. 
 
 you would be at the head of your class, Haseltine," 
 the Doctor had said genially, a proposition which 
 to his listener had seemed to border almost on the 
 ludicrous. As if, forsooth, comparison could be 
 made as to the relative importance of the ability to 
 hold on to a difficult sky-scraper and any excellence 
 in the class-room under the sun ! 
 
 Hasy's opinion on this point was so unqualified 
 that a certain disposition to take his lessons more 
 into account, which Jack was beginning to show, 
 struck the young base-ball enthusiast as stronger 
 evidence than any other adduced of his friend's un 
 natural condition. Not that he for a moment went 
 over to Bill French's faction, indeed, his con 
 tempt for that worthy's behavior had been quite in 
 proportion to Jack's, but as he found it impos 
 sible to understand how his crony could derive sat 
 isfaction from this new habit of trying to learn his 
 lessons beforehand instead of letting them be ham 
 mered into him in the schoolroom, he was naturally 
 puzzled and felt almost provoked. Indeed, his dis 
 approval of his friend's behavior was so sweep 
 ing that he failed to perceive that Jack in a quiet 
 way was getting into very good form on the river
 
 UP-HILL. 311 
 
 by force of daily practice under the tutorship of 
 Carlisle. Because Jack did not spurt, and ap 
 peared indisposed to tackle any and everybody, the 
 impression was current that even in rowing, as in 
 everything else, he was down on his marrow- bones. 
 
 So far as his own feelings went, it cannot be de 
 nied that Jack was far from cheei-ful during the 
 weeks intervening between the date of his punish 
 ment and the end of his fourth-class year; and 
 when vacation was at hand, he looked back on his 
 efforts at improvement with a glum heart. Secretly 
 and almost sullenly he had tried hard to redeem 
 himself ; but though others might see indications of 
 progress, it seemed to our hero as though he was 
 just as much in the slough as ever. He had always 
 entertained the fancy that if at any time he should 
 take it into his head to do well at his books and 
 become a pattern of exemplary conduct, he would 
 find it a perfectly simple matter to do so. Accord 
 ingly the poor fellow was now learning the lesson 
 which so many have to learn, that continued neglect 
 and frowardness can only be atoned for by humilia 
 tion and despondency. 
 
 These were principally experienced in regard to
 
 312 JACK HALL. 
 
 his lessons, as he found slight difficulty in avoiding 
 flagrant breaches of the rules now that the meet 
 ings of the Big Four were discontinued. The illus 
 trious society had never been actually disbanded ; 
 but the transportation, so to speak, of one of its 
 choice spirits, and the lack of cordiality existing 
 between at least two of those remaining, had 
 caused a hiatus in its proceedings which still gaped. 
 An overture on the part of the Pater Primus to 
 meet and talk matters over was rejected by Jack and 
 Haseltine with scorn ; and though Bill would have 
 liked to get together by himself, as the saying is. 
 and expel his mates with a view to reorganization, 
 he probably had some doub.ts regarding the consti 
 tutionality of such a proceeding, or else was afraid 
 of having his head punched, for he abstained from 
 action in the matter. 
 
 But keeping up to the mark in his Latin and his 
 tory and algebra was a very different affair, as Jack 
 realized as soon as he tried to buckle down to work. 
 He scarcely knew what to do in order to study, and 
 it seemed at first as though he used to make a better 
 showing when he trusted to luck, the prompting of 
 those beside him, and. the various other straws at
 
 UP-HILL. 313 
 
 which struggling dunces clutch when floundering in 
 recitation. The exhibitions of ignorance which he 
 made, now that he was bent on distinguishing him 
 self, covered him with confusion in the presence of 
 his instructors, and his hopeless attempts before 
 hand to compass the mysteries of irregular verbs, 
 subjunctive clauses, and other grewsome obstacles 
 in the pathway of learning, reduced him to despair. 
 He detested study more than ever, and felt as though 
 he should never be anywhere but at the foot of his 
 class, struggle as he would. Pegging away seemed 
 to make no difference. Could any one, he asked 
 himself, tell from their respective showings in the 
 schoolroom which had prepared his lesson in ad 
 vance, Haseltine or he ? 
 
 When a boy has acquired a reputation for idle 
 ness, it naturally takes time to convince those in 
 authority over him that he is trying to do better. 
 Some masters of course are quicker than others in 
 noting the symptoms of change, which, as has been 
 intimated in Jack's case, are not apt to be obvious 
 at the start ; and the masters at Utopia were no 
 exceptions to this rule. Although several of them 
 had discrimination enough to recognize in the poor
 
 314 JACK HALL. 
 
 boy's halting, blushing efforts the germ of awakened 
 ambition, there were one or two who, with his re 
 cent whipping in mind, judged these signals of dis 
 tress as indications that he was obstinately contin 
 uing in his old ways. Consequently his mistakes 
 were treated by them with severity, which took the 
 form, according to the disposition of the master, of 
 stern reproof or of sarcasm. It was in vain that 
 Jack's eyes filled with tears on such occasions, 
 for his misguided tormentors saw in them merely 
 the simulated grief of the crocodile or unrighteous 
 anger. 
 
 The cup of his bitterness was filled to overflow 
 ing one day just previous to the end of the term, 
 when Mr. Opdyke, his Latin master, called him up 
 to recite in Virgil in the presence of some visitors. 
 Mr. Opdyke, though ambitious that his class should 
 make a good appearance, being also a very conscien 
 tious man, felt obliged to conduct the recitation just 
 as he would have conducted it had no stranger been 
 present, and consequently to call up a sprinkling of 
 poor as well as of good scholars, in order to give a 
 just impression as to the general average. 
 
 Jack trembled in every limb as he heard the un 
 welcome "words :
 
 UP-HILL. 315 
 
 " Hall, you may go on." 
 
 The class was reading the third book of the 
 jEneid, and the passage which had fallen to Jack's 
 lot began with the five hundred and sixty-first 
 line : 
 
 " Haud minus ac jussi faciunt ; primusque rudeiitetn 
 Contorsit laevas prorara Palinurus ad undas ; 
 Lagvam cuncta eohors remis veiitisque petivit. 
 Tollirtiur in coelum curvato gurgite, et idem 
 Subducta ad Manes imos desedimus unda. 
 Ter scopuli clamorem inter cava saxa dedere : 
 Ter spumam elisam et rorantia vidimus astra." 
 
 Jack managed to scan it through tolerably well, 
 and then began to translate. 
 
 " Not less than commanded they did " 
 
 " Mind your tense, Hall." 
 
 " Er do " 
 
 " Go on. ' They do not otherwise than com 
 manded.' * 
 
 " At first " 
 
 " Well ? What does ' primus ' agree with ? " 
 
 " Palinurus," says Jack at length. 
 
 " Correct. ' And Palinurus was the first to turn,* 
 or, literally, ' Palinurus first turned.' What is 
 'contorsit' from, Hall?"
 
 316 JACK HALL. 
 
 " Contorgo," essays Jack valiantly. 
 
 " Nothing of the sort. Anybody ? " 
 
 " * Contorqueo,' " cries a small lad, who has shot 
 up his hand. 
 
 41 Correct, Barrows. ' Contorqueo.' Go on, Hall." 
 
 "And Palinurus was the first to turn the rud 
 der" 
 
 "Where do you find anything about rudder?" 
 inquires Mr. Opdyke, with the irony of desperation. 
 
 " Rudentem.' " 
 
 "Indeed! Barrows, tell Hall what 'rudentem' 
 means." 
 
 " A rope," suggests the youth named, too elated 
 evidently by his first success. 
 
 "Timmins?" 
 
 "Don't know, sir." 
 
 " Brown ? " 
 
 " Roaring." 
 
 " That 's right. What part of speech is it ? " 
 
 "Present participle, accusative case, from 'rudo.' " 
 
 
 
 " Correct," says Mr. Opdyke. " ' Rudens ' means 
 *a rope,' Barrows. Some authorities ascribe its 
 derivation to 'rudo' on account of the rattling 
 noise made by a rope. Conjugate ' rudo,' Barrows."
 
 UP-HILL. 317 
 
 " * Rudo, rudire ' " - 
 
 "Haseltine?" 
 
 " ' Rudo, rudare ' " 
 
 " Brown ? " 
 
 " ' Rudo, ru'dere, rudivi, ruditum.' ' : 
 
 " Correct ; ' rudire, to roar, bellow, bray, rattle.' 
 'Rudentem proram, the hissing prow.' Quite the 
 other end of the ship to what you thought it, Hall. 
 You may continue." 
 
 There is an audible titter, which enrages poor 
 Jack, who remembers that he had spent a good ten 
 minutes the night before in trying to arrive at the 
 meaning of " rudentera." He staggers on through 
 the next line by dint of Mr. Opdyke's explanation 
 that "remis ventisque" means "with oars and sails," 
 and is a regular phrase for "using every effort." 
 He gets a little heart by successfully conjugating 
 " tollimur " and explaining the metaphorical use of 
 " Manes," his knowledge of which is directly trace 
 able to study, if his master did but know. He gets 
 a cropper, however, in endeavoring to struggle 
 with "desedimus," which he had looked for in vain 
 under the heads of desedo, desedeo, and disedeo. 
 When the omniscient Brown tells him that it is
 
 318 JACK HALL. 
 
 Jthe preterit of desido, Jack is ready to kick himself 
 in his disgust. 
 
 Only two more lines remain, over which Mr. 
 Opdyke, believing, perhaps, that the context is a 
 little difficult to master, is disposed to assist him, 
 as, for instance, by explaining that "cava saxa" 
 refers to " the rocks at the bottom of the sea," and 
 that " ter spumam elisain," which Jack has not in 
 correctly rendered " the foam thrice dashed to 
 pieces," is significant of the mariners' seeing the 
 sky through a curtain of foam. 
 
 " By the way, Hall, give the principal parts of 
 elisam." 
 
 Jack flushes proudly. Again hard work is its 
 own reward. 
 
 " Elido, elidere, elisi, elisum." 
 
 Mr. Opdyke may be surprised, but he does not 
 show it. He is the sort of man who expects his 
 pupils to know their lessons, and displays emotion 
 only when they fail. Besides, " elisam," though a 
 revelation to Jack, had several times made its ap 
 pearance before during the year. He merely says 
 shortly, 
 
 "Well, finish."
 
 UP-HILL. 321 
 
 " We see," starts off Jack, with confidence, but 
 he is brought up short with another " Mind your 
 tense." 
 
 " We saw the foam thrice dashed to pieces and 
 the roaring stars." 
 
 "What?" 
 
 " The foam thrice dashed to pieces " 
 
 " No, no ; translate ' rorantia astra.' '' 
 
 "Roaring stars," answers Jack, a trifle less as 
 suredly than the first time. He had felt morally 
 certain when he was preparing the lesson that this 
 must be the meaning of the phrase from the look 
 of it. 
 
 " Indeed ! " comes again with withering scorn 
 from his master's lips. " Did you ever see a star 
 roar, Hall? I have heard of boys roaring, but 
 never of stars." 
 
 A shout of amusement from the class, which Mr. 
 Opdyke is not very prompt to suppress, greets this 
 somewhat significant sally. When it has subsided, 
 poor Jack, who is scarlet with confusion, having 
 been told, " That will do," after taking his seat 
 hears Brown once more correct his error by explain 
 ing that " rorantia " is the neuter accusative plural
 
 322 JACK HALL. 
 
 present participle of " roro," from " ros, dew," and 
 that "rorantia astra" means "dripping stars"; 
 as, to quote the after-remark of Mr. Opdyke for 
 Jack's especial benefit, " any boy might have found 
 out by looking in the lexicon." 
 
 Jack's heart, as he sat down, was sore within 
 him. The visitors, smiling in spite of themselves, 
 had evidently heard enough, for they now rose 
 and began to thank profusely Mr. Opdyke, whose 
 impassive calm boded no good, as the class well 
 knew, to those who had been found wanting. In 
 the midst of the leave-taking the bell rang, which 
 was the signal for the close of the recitation, and a 
 moment later the master turned and said, "Next 
 time we will stop at line six hundred and eleven. 
 I wish to speak to Hall a moment." 
 
 When every one else was gone Jack approached 
 the desk with compressed lips and with every dis 
 position to break down and sob. He had studied 
 his Virgil hard, as he thought, and though the 
 passage which he had been called upon to translate 
 was the last in the lesson, he was not conscious 
 of having shirked it. He had done his best, and 
 what a pitiful showing his best was! However,
 
 UP-HILL. 323 
 
 although his doll seemed very full of sawdust, he 
 was not going to give old Opdyke the satisfaction 
 of perceiving his complete unhappiness. 
 
 Accordingly the Latin master, who believed him 
 self an adept in reading youthful character, con 
 ceived the sullen air of determination manifested 
 by the culprit before him as consistent with a 
 purpose to remain a dunce, and, acting on this 
 presumpti.on, regarded the offender sternly, and 
 said: 
 
 " My patience is exhausted, Hall. I have put up 
 with your negligence until I can do so no longer 
 with any respect for myself or regard for your 
 good. I shall report your case to Dr. Meredith 
 forthwith. There is nothing you can say which 
 will alter my determination," he added sharply, as 
 Jack seemed about to speak. 
 
 " Very well, sir," Jack answered. 
 
 Mr. Opdyke gathered up his books and was gone 
 without bestowing a look on his unhappy victim, 
 who, led by that which he had just heard to fore 
 see his dismissal from school, went sadly to his 
 room, bewailing his unlucky stars "rorantia as- 
 tra." The Doctor would surely take in very bad
 
 324 JACK HALL. 
 
 part this report of neglected studies coming so soon 
 after his former disgrace. 
 
 In his unhappy plight he decided to go to Car 
 lisle, to whom he told the story of his misfortunes 
 and from whom he obtained the sympathy he was 
 in need of. For Carlisle had not failed to observe 
 Jack's efforts to overcome the difficulties of the 
 JEneid in spite of his young crony's unwillingness 
 to come to him for help, and was able with sin 
 cerity to support the dejected lad's protestation 
 that he had really studied hard. 
 
 " Studied ! You have studied like a Trojan, 
 Jack. It 's an outrage in Opdyke to accuse you of 
 negligence. It serves you right, though, for not 
 letting me tutor you a bit. ' Rudentem, the rud 
 der,' and what was the other ? Oh, yes, 
 'roaring stars.' Excuse my laughing, old fellow, 
 you outdid yourself." 
 
 " I don't care so much what Opdyke thinks," 
 said Jack ruefully, "but I can't bear to have the 
 Doctor suppose I 'm the same old quarter of a dol 
 lar. It's no use my trying to learn anything, 
 though. The harder I work the worse exhibition 
 I make. When you 're gone next year, I don't 
 know what '11 become of me."
 
 UP-HILL. 325 
 
 " But I shan't be gone. I 'm going to remain 
 another year." 
 
 " Really ? " exclaimed Jack jubilantly. " What 
 has induced you to change your mind ? When did 
 you decide ? " 
 
 " Only this morning. I Ve been talking it over 
 with Dr. Bolles, and he thinks it would be more 
 sensible of me not to go to college for another year. 
 There 's HO hurry, for I 'm only seventeen, and 
 though I 'm feeling first-rate he believes that by 
 waiting I should build myself up completely. So 
 I 'm to pass my entrance examinations this June 
 and come back to the school as assistant in Latin 
 next fall. It 's all arranged ; and you '11 have to 
 mind your P's and Q's, I can tell you, when you 're 
 reciting to me, youngster." 
 
 These last weeks of the school year were always 
 busy ones in every sense. Beside being examina 
 tion time, at the close of which was the annual ex 
 hibition day when the parents and friends of the 
 boys came often from a great distance to see their 
 sons declaim or recite in public, they were busy 
 also in an athletic way. On the morning preced 
 ing that on which the prize declamation was held
 
 326 JACK HALL. 
 
 it had become an established custom for the four 
 eight-oared crews to compete together and subse 
 quently for the best single scullers at Utopia to de 
 monstrate by a two-mile contest which could pull 
 the fastest. During the same week also the school 
 nine endeavored to pit itself against the most for 
 midable base-ball team that could be lured to 
 Utopia. 
 
 This year, as you already know, Jack took no ac 
 tive part in either of the aquatic tussles. He saw, 
 as was expected, the Mohicans again crowned cocks 
 of the hike, chiefly owing to the dashing stroke set 
 them by Tom Bonsall, and heard with a feeling 
 akin to envy the statement go the rounds that Tom 
 was to have a walk-over in the single-scull contest. 
 There were no entries against him, and by paddling 
 over the course he would have the right to claim 
 the silver cup annually put up as a prize by a gen 
 erous patron of the school. Somehow or other 
 there was just at this time a dearth of fast scullers 
 among the boys of the first two years, and here 
 was a third-classer sweeping all before him without 
 opposition even. 
 
 The single-scull race had been fixed for as late
 
 UP-HILL. 327 
 
 as possible in the afternoon, in order to give any 
 one who had taken part in the four-oared contest 
 time to get rested. But, naturally, as few foresaw 
 any amusement in watching Tom go over the course 
 alone, interest in the event was very slight until 
 the rumor got abroad shortly after twelve o'clock 
 that Carlisle was going to have a try for the cup. 
 It had already been announced early in the day not 
 only that he had come out at the head of the school, 
 but that his standing in the way of scholarship was 
 proportionately higher than that of any previous 
 Utopian. No one was surprised at this ; but the 
 news of his entry for the single sculls caused a ver 
 itable sensation, which found voice in a general 
 prediction that he would be beaten. As for Jack, 
 when he heard it, he waved his cap above his head 
 and shouted himself hoarse. He had such faith in 
 his friend's ability to do anything that he tried to 
 do, that, as astounding as the announcement was, 
 even to him, Jack would not permit himself to 
 doubt the result. The odds were ostensibly against 
 Louis, it is true, for Tom was the pink of condition 
 and was open to slight criticism in the way of 
 style, as Jack was very well aware, and I don't
 
 328 JACK HALL. 
 
 think our hero was quite able yet to appreciate 
 to the full the value in such an affair of steady, 
 systematic training void of splurge or notoriety, 
 although familiar with the fact that his friend was 
 in excellent practice. And yet, notwithstanding, 
 Jack had a hope which from the first amounted 
 almost to conviction that Carlisle would win. 
 
 It was a great race that battle royal between 
 Tom Bonsall and Louis Carlisle, and properly is 
 recorded among the famous rowing matches of 
 Utopia School. If this book was not devoted 
 chiefly to the experiences of another hero, I should 
 like nothing better than to describe in detail how 
 the two oarsmen, who were well matched in point 
 of size, pulled an even race to within a quarter of a 
 mile of the finish at a pace but little below that of 
 the best school record ; how the younger boy in his 
 desire to overcome his antagonist increased his 
 speed and gained a lead of half a boat's length, to 
 the delight of his backers, only to get blown and 
 yield his advantage, inch by inch, until the rival 
 shells were once more abreast ; and how Tom in 
 his distress then lost his head and begun to splash, 
 giving an opportunity for his senior's steady, thor-
 
 UP-HILL. 329 
 
 oughly digested stroke to bring him to the fore and 
 win the race with comparative ease amid the vocif 
 erous cheers of a rapturous crowd, among whom 
 there was no one more wild with transport than 
 our friend Jack. It was a fit ending to the victor's 
 career at Utopia, a career which had won him no 
 enemies, and gained for him the respect and affec 
 tion of masters and pupils alike, most of whom, 
 however, as they admired him walking up to the 
 boat-house, apparently still fresh and a picture of 
 ruddy health, had but little appreciation of how 
 largely he owed his great increase in vigor to knowl 
 edge of his own needs and to self-restraint quali 
 ties whose value in the foundation of character it 
 would be difficult to overestimate. 
 
 But for lack of space I might doubtless narrate 
 also with abundant circumlocution, and not fear to 
 tire those of you most fond of base-ball, how the 
 Stars won a victory by a single run a ten in 
 nings game from the school nine in spite of the 
 stimulating presence of applauding friends some 
 of them of the gentler sex decked with the Uto 
 pia color ; and despite, too, the fact that the " Kid " 
 was in magnificent form, and our friend Hasy had
 
 330 JACK HALL. 
 
 been within a foi'tnight, on account of his brilliancy 
 at the bat and in the field, made permanently a 
 member of the team in the position of third-base 
 man, which you will remember was the same proud 
 position he filled when with the formidable Rising 
 Suns. How the defeat came about it was not easy 
 to explain, as every one had felt sure of the game, 
 which suggests that we are very apt in this world 
 to come to grief when we despise our adversaries. 
 It was a good thing for the " Kid," however, and 
 for Haseltine too, to have the conceit knocked out 
 of them, as I have no doubt the Doctor thought 
 also, seeing that the nine had carried all before 
 it hitherto during the term. It does not do for 
 boys, or for men either, who wish to hold their own 
 and to go on improving, to get too cocky. 
 
 Notwithstanding these diversions, Jack could not 
 help feeling very nervous in regard to the outcome 
 of Mr. Opdyke's report to the Doctor, of which he 
 had heard nothing, although a fortnight had now 
 elapsed since his pitiful recitation in Virgil. Since 
 then he had been in to the yearly examinations in 
 the various subjects allotted to boys of his year, 
 but without feeling much encouraged to believe
 
 UP-HILL. 331 
 
 that he had made a good showing. It was a new 
 experience to him to be worrying as to whether or 
 not he had answered this or that question correctly, 
 and yet he was so wrapped up in trying not to be 
 at the foot of the class that he could think of noth 
 ing else. It seemed to him as though he could no 
 longer bear the thought of being regarded as an 
 idle, lazy fellow. 
 
 Before breakfast, on the morning of the school 
 exhibition, he received word that he was to go to 
 Dr. Meredith's study, a summons which made him 
 feel sick at heart, for he believed that he knew 
 what was in store for him. Greatly to his surprise 
 he was greeted by the head master with a pleasant 
 smile, and could scarcely believe his ears as he lis 
 tened to these words : 
 
 " Hall, your work during the past term has been 
 a great improvement on what you have done be 
 fore. There is great room for improvement yet, 
 my dear boy, but if you continue as you have be 
 gun there will soon be no cause to complain of 
 you." 
 
 There can be little doubt that Jack went home 
 for vacation with a light heart, especially when I
 
 332 JACK HALL. 
 
 add that he had the satisfaction of being assured by 
 Carlisle, just before they parted for the summer, 
 that if he would only stick to his present stroke 
 and not try to get on too fast, he would certainly 
 in time give that rising young oarsman, Bonsall, all 
 he could do to keep his laurels. 
 
 " I 've taught Bonsall a lesson, though, that 
 he '11 be quick to profit by, if he 's the clever fel 
 low I judge him to be," said Carlisle. " You 've no 
 child's play cut out for you, youngster; it'll be 
 nip and tuck between you, and all I can say is, let 
 the best man win when the time comes. I hope I 
 shall be on hand to see the struggle."
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 NIP AND TUCK. 
 
 WITH the beginning of the third-class year Jack 
 entered upon the second half of his life at Utopia. 
 One day early in the new term he dropped into 
 the more spacious study to which Carlisle, in his 
 capacity of assistant in Latin, had been promoted, 
 and falling into a chair exclaimed, " I say, Louis, 
 I would like something to read." 
 
 " To read, my dear fellow ? With all my heart. 
 What shall it be?" 
 
 " That 's what I 've come to you to tell me. 
 I 've never read anything and I want to begin." 
 
 As you have doubtless noticed, Carlisle had 
 hitherto in his intercourse with Jack kept in the 
 background his most cherished tastes, and rarely, 
 if ever, made allusion to books or other kindred in- 
 tei'ests, feeling sure that he would not find a sym 
 pathetic listener. But from this time forward the 
 scope of their friendship was greatly widened. It
 
 334 JACK HALL. 
 
 was a simple matter for the older boy to gratify 
 the desire of his interrogator, and before many 
 weeks had passed by Jack had become an eager 
 devourer of literature, held in check from proceed 
 ing too rapidly, however, by the injunction to digest 
 thoroughly what he read. 
 
 " I only wish I had had somebody to impress the 
 importance of that upon me when I started," Car 
 lisle remarked to him early in their new intercourse. 
 " I read everything I could lay my hands on as fast 
 as I could see the words. Consequently I forgot 
 half what I read." 
 
 " Were all these books given to you ? " asked 
 Jack, indicating the modest little library of which 
 his friend was the happy possessor. 
 
 " No, indeed. I purchased most of them with 
 what I have saved from my spending money. Long 
 before I was your age I used to save up every cent 
 I got to spend in books. I shall never forget my 
 delight when I was able to buy the copy of ' The 
 Lady of the Lake,' above your head there." 
 
 Jack had never read " The Lady of the Lake." 
 Indeed, he had never read any poetry in his life, and 
 what is more, had in his ignorance cherished the
 
 NIP AND TUCK. 335 
 
 belief that poetry was silly stuff, fit only for girls 
 and milksops, and quite beneath the notice of a 
 masculine individual like himself. This belief he 
 was obliged to confess ill-founded after finishing 
 the thrilling encounter between Snowdon's knight 
 and the formidable Roderick Dhu. In fact, so 
 great was his delight with both this poem and 
 " Marmion," which Carlisle introduced him to im 
 mediately after, that he saw fit to learn passages 
 from each of them by heart, much to tho bewil 
 derment and ill-concealed disdain of Haseltine, in 
 whose presence he was disposed to rehearse them. 
 
 " ' Come one, come all, this rock shall fly 
 From its firm base as soon aa I,' " 
 
 he began one morning while they were dressing, 
 assuming a martial attitude before the bath-room 
 door, and armed with a base-ball bat. 
 
 " Oh, come off," said Haseltine contemptuously. 
 " Quit that stuff ! " 
 
 " It is n't stuff"," expostulated Jack. " You ought 
 to read it ; it 's immense." 
 
 "What is?" 
 
 '"The Lady of the Lake,' by Scott. There's 
 4 Marmion,' too."
 
 336 JACK HALL. 
 
 " ' Charge, Chester, charge ! on, Stanley, on ! 
 Were the last words of Marmion,' " 
 
 he added, waving the bat. 
 
 " Anything about base-ball in it ? " 
 " Of course not, Hasy. It 's poetry." 
 " I don't see what difference that makes. Any 
 way, I guess prose is good enough for me." 
 
 " Will you read l The Lady of the Lake ' if I 
 lend it to you ? " asked Jack. He was genuinely 
 eager to share the pleasure of his new discovery. 
 
 Haseltine did not commit himself on the point, 
 but Jack left the volume in iiis crony's room, and 
 experienced the satisfaction a few days later of hear 
 ing him ask, carelessly, 
 
 " What did you say the name of the other book 
 was?" 
 
 " Marmion.' " 
 
 " I guess I '11 look it over now that my hand 's in." 
 This was scarcely enthusiasm, to judge by the 
 mere words; but Jack knew well that Haseltine 
 must have been greatly interested in order to have 
 said even so much, an estimate which was confirmed 
 a fortnight later, when the base-ball devotee ac 
 cepted an invitation to read two hours in every
 
 NIP AND TUCK. 337 
 
 week with him and Carlisle. This arrangement, 
 which lasted through the year, soon became a source 
 of extreme delight to both the boys, who listened 
 with open ears to the various pieces of verse which 
 their mentor selected for their edification. Carlisle 
 took pains to explain that he was himself a mere 
 student and beginner, and to encourage diversity of 
 opinion, and consequent discussion, in regard to the 
 merits of what was read. It must have been inter 
 esting to him to note the gradual change which took 
 place in the tastes of his auditors, though be it said 
 that Haseltine, to the lust, refused to admit any. 
 passage in the realm of verse to be superior to that 
 which described the once sneered-at duel between 
 the Scottish king and the Highland rebel. Both 
 their hearts, and more particularly Jack's, were 
 opened, however, to the beauties of more thought 
 ful poetry, which, and also the feelings and aspira 
 tions begotten by it, became new and working in 
 fluences in their lives. 
 
 I am quite aware that this side of Jack's career 
 cannot be made to appear so attractive to you boys 
 by means of description as some of the more pictur 
 esque matters in which he was engaged ; but if he
 
 338 JACK HALL. 
 
 were called upon to-day to state what period in his 
 school life he looks back upon with the greatest sat 
 isfaction since going out into the busy world, I know 
 that he would specify that during which he acquired 
 his love of reading and interest in refined thought. 
 You remember that, though, when he went home 
 encouraged by Dr. Meredith's kind words at the end 
 of his fourth-class year, he was certainly entitled to 
 great credit for having made so determined a fight 
 against his inveterate habit of idleness, he was at the 
 time little more than a rough, harum-scarum sort of 
 & boy, a plucky one, I admit, with plenty of good 
 stun in him, but nevertheless comparatively 
 thoughtless, and confined in his interests to the 
 ball field and boat-house. Before another year had 
 passed, while he was once more in excellent spirits, 
 there was something about his expression which 
 caused the other boys to speak of him as older-look 
 ing. But Carlisle and the ever-observant head of 
 the school recognized with pleasure that his graver 
 countenance and less flighty manner were signifi 
 cant of more than seniority. 
 
 Our hero's prowess in the way of sport was 
 chiefly marked this year by his selection as one of
 
 NIP AND TUCK. 339 
 
 the Atalantas, in whose boat he was given the posi 
 tion of number four, and had the satisfaction of do 
 ing his best to make the crew formidable opponents 
 of the still victorious Mohicans. The Atalantas had 
 fallen to the rank of third on the lake in the last 
 race in which the four eight-oared crews had met ; 
 but this infusion of new blood there were two 
 other additions beside Jack enabled them to come 
 in second in the spring contest, and not a very bad 
 second either. So fresh were they in fact at the 
 finish, J;hat Tom Bonsall had to call on his crew for 
 an extra spurt when he supposed the race already 
 won. 
 
 Jack managed also, before another twelvemonth 
 had passed, to throw Carpenter flat on his back 
 and pin his shoulders to the ground in' the middle 
 weight spring wrestling, in retaliation for that ath 
 lete's victory over him when they were both classed 
 as feather weights. He wisely recognized his lim 
 itations on the running track, however, which a gain 
 of ten pounds in weight had intensified, by not try 
 ing to compete with Jessup, who was still easily first 
 as a sprinter. If Hopedale, who, you will recall, 
 had beaten him twice in previous years, had been
 
 340 JACK HALL. 
 
 still at Utopia, Jack might have found it difficult to 
 resist the temptation of making another struggle 
 for supremacy ; but his old antagonist was no longer 
 at the school. It was a wise decision on his part, 
 for the champion succeeded in lowering Carlisle's 
 famous record amid tumultuous applause. 
 
 Jack's general reputation at this time was as a 
 good all - round man ; a reputation which he was 
 urged to maintain by the intelligent superintendent 
 of the gymnasium, Dr. Bolles, between whom and 
 Jack there was mutual cordiality of feeling. . Dr. 
 Bolles, as you will remember, had been pleased 
 by Jack's compact physique from the first day he 
 laid eyes on him, and had ever since lost no occa 
 sion to drop valuable hints as to how it might be 
 improved and taken care of. Jack had long ago 
 learned from this source the weak points in his 
 make-up, and was well versed in his instructor's 
 theory, that it was foolish for boys to cultivate 
 chiefly those parts of the body which were especially 
 well developed. In the opinion of Dr. Bolles, ath 
 letics were intended as a means for improving the 
 health and structure of the young, not as an end to 
 the pursuit of which they should devote their entire
 
 NIP AND TUCK. 341 
 
 energies ; and he was emphatic in his cautions to 
 Jack not to be led astray in this respect. 
 
 " Remember," he would say, "that however im 
 portant it may seem to you to win this or the other 
 match, the real object of exercise is to fit you for the 
 serious work that you will be called upon to do as a 
 man. The moment you sacrifice everything to 
 sport, you are to all intents and purposes a profes 
 sional, which is the last thing you were sent to 
 school to become." 
 
 Although this view of athletics was novel to Jack, 
 he was forced to admit to himself that it was in 
 keeping with the other ideas regarding human duty 
 and obligation which had suddenly been revealed to 
 him as a consequence of his more sober life and the 
 masterpieces of intelligent thought with which his 
 mind was being brought in daily contact. He was 
 able now to understand Carlisle's previous determina 
 tion not to dissipate his energies in too many direc 
 tions, and to pursue his training at the oar with the 
 aim first of all of keeping in good condition so as to 
 be able to fulfill his school work satisfactorily. Study 
 did not come easy yet to Jack. Far from it, in fact. 
 It takes a long time to recover lost ground and cover
 
 342 JACK HALL. 
 
 new at the same time. Often indeed he felt pretty 
 well discouraged and inclined to believe that he 
 should never do anything at his books. Though by 
 no means dull, he possessed little more than average 
 brightness, which made the contrast which he could 
 not help forming at times between himself and his 
 mentor stand out with painful distinctness. Carlisle 
 was so quick-minded, and acquired everything that 
 he undertook to learu so easily, that Jack could not 
 help expressing openly his despair of ever coming 
 within understanding distance even of his friend. 
 
 " Nonsense ! " Carlisle would reply on such occa 
 sions; "you were a little late in beginning, that's 
 all. Persevere, youngster, and you '11 come out all 
 right in the end." 
 
 There was good advice in this, for though Jack 
 would never be likely through lack of natural abili 
 ties and taste to equal his senior in intellectual acu 
 men, there was no reason why he should not become 
 an excellent scholar and graduate with distinction 
 by means of that very valuable quality which is 
 too apt to be depreciated as a gift known as per 
 severance. Some boys will always be by disposition 
 quicker witted and more brilliant than their fellows,
 
 NIP AND TUCK. 343 
 
 but it does not follow by any means that the prizes 
 of after-life fall to these " Admirable Crichtons." 
 Stubborn, bull-dog, up-hill climbing and untiring 
 determination to succeed will many a time win 
 place and honor when easy-going talent goes to the 
 wall. Don't let any one persuade you, boys, that 
 you can equal all at once some companion who learns 
 his lessons twice as easily as you do. God gives un 
 equal gifts to his children, and if the one you have 
 in mind is as resolute as you, no amount of industry 
 will enable you to catch him. But, though your 
 abilities may appear commonplace to begin with, 
 you have no idea how many of those exasperatingly 
 clever fellows you will leave safely in the rear be 
 fore the race of life is over, if only you make the 
 most of yourself by persevering unflaggingly from 
 start to finish. 
 
 One day not long before the summer vacation 
 Carlisle came into his study, where Jack who had 
 the run of it happened to be pegging away at some 
 lesson, and dropping into the window-seat began to 
 look over the just issued copy of " The Utopian," 
 the school paper, of which he had been an editor 
 until he graduated, and to which he was still an 
 occasional contributor.
 
 344 JACK HALL. 
 
 " The Utopian" was conducted by a board of six 
 taken from the three upper classes, who solicited 
 articles and poems from the entire school, and was 
 a breezy neat-looking little publication containing, 
 beside local items of interest and detailed accounts 
 of the triumphs and reverses of the nine, the fif 
 teen, and the other athletic organizations, numerous 
 imaginative pieces in prose and verse. Carlisle had 
 for several years been one of its strongest support 
 ers, and both in the capacity of " funny man " and 
 poet had done much to keep its columns readable. 
 Consequently he was familiar with the pseudonym 
 and style of the usual contributors. 
 
 After reading out one or two stray bits of humor 
 which he came across and over which he chuckled 
 contentedly, and dubbing as " dishwater " a poem 
 involving a love affair which doubtless he judged 
 appertained rather to the mind's eye than to the 
 experience of the narrator, he was silent a moment. 
 Then he said : 
 
 "I wonder who ' Juvenis ' is." 
 
 " Juvenis ? " asked Jack, with apparent noncha 
 lance, glancing at him furtively. 
 
 " Yes ; there 's a fellow signs himself ' Juvenis '
 
 NIP AND TUCK. 
 
 345 
 
 to some lines on the Ocean. It is n't a very original 
 subject, but whoever he is, he has seen the ocean 
 any way and knows what it looks like. It is n't 
 bad at all," he added. 
 
 If the ex-editor had chanced to regard his com 
 panion's face at the moment he must have obtained 
 
 an instant clue as to the identity of the unknown 
 rhymester. Jack was tickled to death, so to speak, 
 for this was the first information he had received of 
 the acceptance of his poem which he had inclosed 
 and addressed to the editors of the Utopian a fort 
 night before in the secrecy of his own room, and
 
 346 JACK HALL. 
 
 with very little hope of its escape from the waste- 
 paper basket. To have in addition to the conscious 
 ness of knowing that it was actually in print, Car 
 lisle of all men vouchsafe a word of praise in its be 
 half seemed to him like piling Pelion on Ossa. At 
 least he felt as much up in the world as he could 
 possibly have felt if standing on a pinnacle composed 
 of those two mountains. 
 
 While he was deliberating whether or not to re 
 veal his authorship, Carlisle renewed the conversa 
 tion by asking to Jack's infinite amusement : 
 
 " Why should n't you try your hand at something 
 of the sort, youngster? If poetry isn't in your 
 line, write prose." 
 
 " What 's the use ? " responded our hero, with a 
 well simulated attempt at indifference. 
 
 " What's the use of anything ? In the first place, 
 composition teaches you to systematize your thoughts 
 and to express yourself with clearness. I believe, too, 
 in cultivating the imagination. Of course every 
 fellow who writes verse is n't a poet and is apt to 
 be a fool if he thinks himself one, but his mind 
 gets pleasure and profit out of the exercise. Take 
 these lines I just spoke to you about," continued 
 Carlisle, " they 're not much as poetiy of course."
 
 NIP AND TUCK. 347 
 
 " Oh, no," interjected Jack, a little dolefully, off 
 his guard. 
 
 " But the author must have derived a great deal 
 of satisfaction from writing them, and can evidently 
 do much better work with practice. If you ask 
 ' what 's the use,' I can't express it to you in dollars 
 and cents, but I 'in mighty certain that everything 
 of that sort is good for one, and helps one to under 
 stand life better." 
 
 Jack began to laugh merrily. " That 's the best 
 rise I 've seen for a long time," he said. 
 
 " I fail to see the rise." 
 
 " You will, though, when I tell you that I am the 
 author of the Lines on the Ocean." 
 
 " You, Jack ! Well, that 's a good one on me, 
 I admit. You might have let me into the secret, I 
 think," added Carlisle reproachfully. 
 
 " You see it was not a very original subject " 
 
 " None of that, now. You may thank your stars, 
 youngster, that I did n't pitch into your verses. I 
 might have stabbed you to the heart unwittingly." 
 
 " In which case their authorship would have died 
 with me. I knew you 'd feel obliged to tell me ex 
 actly what you thought of them if I showed them 
 to you, so I kept mum."
 
 348 JACK HALL. 
 
 " Well, you 've heard my opinion of them, and I 
 don't know that I have anything to add except that 
 for a first attempt they 're highly creditable," said 
 Cai-lisle. 
 
 Jack was excessively proud of his new accom 
 plishment, and lost no time in showing the verses 
 to Haseltine, who, after reading them to the end, 
 observed laconically, 
 
 " They 're not up to ' The Lady of the Lake.' " 
 
 Beyond this general criticism Haseltine did not 
 choose to commit himself, but being nowadays less 
 disposed than formerly to sniff at matters uncon 
 nected with base-ball, he also abstained from any 
 observations in depreciation of poetry writing. But 
 though, as we have seen, not wholly unamenable to 
 culture, Hasy was true, heart and soul, to his first 
 love. No arguments had yet been able to shake 
 his unswerving allegiance to base-ball, and, as a 
 consequence, his daily increasing proficiency at that 
 game was giving him an enviable reputation on the 
 diamond, so much so, that it was universally con 
 ceded that he would succeed the " Kid " as captain 
 of the school nine at the beginning of the coming 
 year. His fielding was really remarkable for so
 
 NIP AND TUCK. 349 
 
 young a fellow. He seemed to be in a dozen places 
 at the same moment, and the batsman who dared to 
 let anything drive within a wide radius of third 
 base was sure to be discomfited. His base run 
 ning was a marvel to behold, and his batting record 
 by no means inferior. His most recent ambition 
 was to pitch, and his twisters had already brought 
 him into repute on the several occasions when he 
 had been ealled into the box to relieve the " Kid." 
 In his studies he managed to tag along just above 
 the bottom of the class. A certain brightness, a 
 clever knack of guessing correctly, it might be 
 called, saved him from absolute disaster, and made 
 him popular with his masters despite themselves. 
 
 With the opening of their second-class year both 
 Jack and he found themselves among the leaders 
 of the school. Its cock was now undeniably Tom 
 Bonsall, who, in addition to being a member of the 
 first class, stroke oar of the Mohicans, and cham 
 pion sculler of Utopia, was justly entitled to be 
 styled a rattling good fellow. Tom had, however, 
 the air of feeling his oats, as the saying is, in spite 
 of the lesson in humility which Carlisle had taught 
 him, and, if he had a fault, was open to criticism
 
 350 JACK HALL. 
 
 on the score of vanity. What Tom Bonsall could 
 not do was not worth doing, school opinion gen 
 erally held, which was a sentiment full of danger 
 to his career unless he chanced to possess an uncom 
 monly level head. 
 
 Both Tom and Jack had filled out amazingly dur 
 ing this last twelvemonth. Tom was still the heav 
 ier of the two, and was a year older to boot ; but 
 his rival looked beefy enough and sinewy enough 
 not to excite invidious comparisons. Indeed, if one 
 had looked them in turn squarely in the face, I 
 think he would, if a shrewd judge, have been struck 
 by how clear Jack's eyes were and how fresh and 
 free from pallor or staleness his complexion was, 
 slightly to the prejudice of Tom, who, to tell the 
 truth, had got a little into the habit of smoking 
 cigarettes and being careless about his condition. 
 It is pretty hard for a fellow as popular as Tom not 
 to have to suit everybody more or less in order not 
 to lose ground, and as Bill French and two or three 
 others of the same stamp had a certain amount of 
 influence in the school, he thought it good policy to 
 keep on the right side of them, though disapproving 
 of their general ways. This is a dangerous sort of
 
 NIP AND TUCK. 351 
 
 game to play, and finer fellows at the start even 
 than Tom Bonsall have learned it to their cost. 
 
 But little reference of late has been made to the 
 wily Bill, for the reason that after the tool-house 
 episode his intimacy with Jack perceptibly waned. 
 But though he has not figured in these pages, it 
 must not be supposed that he had ceased to be a 
 potent influence at Utopia, or, alas ! that he had 
 changed in character. Bill's lie set an effectual 
 seal on any budding virtues that may have been 
 dormant in his soul and crushed them hopelessly, it 
 is to be feared. Bill was not a villain, in the ap 
 proved sense of the word. Quite otherwise, in fact. 
 He had plenty of good points in that he was clever, 
 entertaining, and, on the whole, amiable ; but the 
 trouble with him, as you have, I hope, appreciated, 
 was that he was a coward. His tastes and impulses 
 led him to avoid all that was open and above board, 
 and to prefer just the opposite. You remember how 
 he displayed these traits earlier in his career, and 
 you will readily understand that now, instead of fol 
 lowing any of the pursuits which the manly boys at 
 the school took delight in, he found his chief grati 
 fication in posing as a flawless dandy, by which word
 
 ,352 JACK HALL. 
 
 " flawless " I do not refer to his moral attributes but 
 to his personal appearance. Bill and his set for 
 he had a number of more or less ardent disciples in 
 this proclivity aped with wonderful precision so 
 far as they dared, and much further in secret than 
 the laws allowed, the manners of weary men about 
 town who think they know everything about life, 
 and are tired of what they know. Even in the 
 days of the Big Four this had been somewhat 
 Bill's drift, but he had developed it latterly to per 
 fection. 
 
 I bring him before you again that you may take 
 one last glimpse of him and his ways, and form 
 your own opinion regarding them both before he 
 vanishes from our sight forever. I wish with all 
 my heart that I were able truthfully to state that 
 he came to grief before he left Utopia. To inform 
 you that he was sent away on account of his evil 
 example would be much more satisfactory from the 
 point of view of romance and retributive justice, 
 than to write as I am forced to do, that, although 
 he was suspected and disapproved of by the mas 
 ters, he managed to keep his ill doings so dark that 
 he was never actually found out up to that time.
 
 NIP AND TUCK. 353 
 
 But we must take facts as they are, not as we 
 would like to have them. I do not wish to give 
 you the idea that Bill was hopeless, though I re 
 gret to add that since he graduated from Utopia 
 he has done little to encourage one to believe that 
 he will ever be a useful member of society, but it 
 must be borne in mind in estimating character that 
 the stereotyped villain such as was referred to just 
 now is a- rare exception except in city slums, and 
 that the sort of person most dangerous to the wel 
 fare of our community as it exists at present is 
 not the cut-throat or burglar whom the policeman 
 knows very well how to deal with, but the sneer 
 ing advocate of licentiousness and self-indulgence 
 and low standards of honor. Boys like Bill do not 
 become thoroughly bad all at once. They deterio 
 rate gradually. One thing leads to another, and 
 though if no redeeming influence is brought to bear 
 upon them in time their degeneration is wofully 
 certain, there is often little about them to attract 
 the unfavorable attention of those who do not know 
 them well. Sometimes they are never found out 
 at all by the world at large ; but you may be pretty 
 sure that, as the years roll by, if they do not reveal
 
 354 JACK HALL. 
 
 themselves by their unworthy deeds or the expres 
 sion of their faces, their hearts are sad and sore. 
 Life has lost for them its savor even in an evil sense, 
 and everything seems to them as the poet says, 
 " weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable." But to be 
 anxious that vice should be its own punishment, 
 much less that wrong-doers should have strict jus 
 tice meted out to them, is concern unworthy for 
 thorough-going characters to entertain. Let the 
 bad boys go their ways, and do not trouble your 
 heads with wondering when and how they will be 
 made to suffer for their unrighteousness. You will 
 have plenty to do to guide your own footsteps and 
 to steer clear of the pitfalls which have engulfed 
 many a lad secure in the consciousness of his own 
 power to resist temptation. For my part I pity 
 Bill French and hope sincerely that he may yet 
 turn out a decent fellow. 
 
 Meanwhile, with Carlisle away at college, where 
 he had entered with flying colors, the new year 
 saw Jack thrown on his own resources, which, 
 though a doleful experience at first on account of 
 his separation from his dear friend, was perhaps 
 just what he needed to give force to his character.
 
 NIP AND TUCK. 355 
 
 He had become one of the older boys of the school, 
 and instead of looking up to others was in a posi 
 tion to be looked up to himself by the lads in the 
 lower classes, the consciousness of which was not 
 slow to breed in him a sense of responsibility as 
 to keeping an eye on youngsters who, like himself 
 
 not so very long ago, were in need of a helping 
 
 \ 
 
 hand. He was now also one of the six editors of 
 " The Utopian," an honor conferred upon him in 
 virtue of several articles both in prose and verse 
 which had emanated from his pen as a result of the 
 favorable reception accorded to his Lines on the 
 Ocean. His pseudonym " Juvenis" was well known 
 in school circles, and his energy in securing both 
 contributors and subscribers never faltered. He 
 was the means of introducing a number of new 
 features into the paper, most popular among which 
 was a series of florid, but racy and pertinent obser 
 vations on the national game appearing in every 
 issue signed enigmatically "Third Base," which was 
 merely an ostrich-like concealment of the identity 
 of the captain of the school nine. Haseltine had 
 regarded the proposition to become literary to this 
 extent with favor from the very outset, and from
 
 356 JACK HALL. 
 
 the very outset also his lucubrations were so im 
 mensely popular that extracts from them found 
 their way into the columns of the real press of the 
 county, much to the satisfaction of their author. 
 
 But deeply in earnest as Jack had grown to be 
 in his efforts to do his duty and to please his 
 mother, which two ends not unnaturally were sy 
 nonymous in his mind, and faithfully as he stuck 
 to his school work during his year in the second 
 class, he was looking forward with anxious but 
 keen and determined anticipation to the day when 
 he should have the opportunity to row man for 
 man against his rival, to decide once for all which 
 was the better oarsman of the two. It had become 
 a matter of school knowledge and discussion that 
 these two crack scullers for they were now both 
 recognized as such were to settle this question at 
 the spring races, and great was the difference of 
 opinion as to the result. Each had his enthusiastic 
 backers who believed in their champion's ability to 
 leave his opponent far in the rear, and but little 
 else was talked about out of school hours but the 
 respective merits of Tom Bonsall and Jack Hall. 
 
 As Tom was to graduate this year, this was
 
 NIP AND TUCK. 357 
 
 Jack's last chance to prove himself his superior. 
 Consequently neither of them allowed the other 
 to outdo him in practice, and though apparently 
 they both avoided testing each other's mettle in 
 advance, their respective shells were visible at 
 opposite ends of the lake at least once a day during 
 the spring preceding the race. 
 
 Great preparations were made for the contest, 
 and in order that the scullers might be perfectly 
 fresh, the eight-oared race was fixed for the day 
 after. But great as was the excitement, it was 
 nothing compared with what it became when, a 
 week before the important event, Dr. Meredith 
 announced his intention of competing for the prize 
 himself. 
 
 The report ran like wildfire through the school. 
 4i Have you heard the news ? " every one asked his 
 neighbor. " The Doctor is going in for the single 
 sculls against Bonsall and Hall. He has n't rowed 
 in a race, you know, since Whiteside crawled up 
 on him so." 
 
 Whiteside's struggle was, of course, merely a 
 tradition to five sixths of the boys, but it was one 
 which had been handed down from class to class
 
 358 JACK HALL. . 
 
 as an event yet without parallel in the annals of 
 Utopia. The very fact that the Doctor had never 
 entered a race since then had been tacitly accepted 
 as proof that there were no longer competitors 
 among his pupils sufficiently formidable to render 
 a victory on his part otherwise than easy, and it is 
 needless to state that the present announcement 
 was regarded as a profound compliment to the 
 condition of aquatics at the school. As to what 
 the result of the race would be, few saw room to 
 doubt. The Doctor was always in condition ; the 
 Doctor was always in practice ; the Doctor was 
 sure to win. 
 
 The opinion of the many was shared also by his 
 Iwo competitors, who discussed the matter from 
 every standpoint. Neither of them could hope to 
 beat the Doctor, but they were resolved that he 
 should not carry off the prize without pulling for 
 all he was worth from start to finish. So Tom and 
 Jack vowed on the evening before the race as they 
 stood side by side on the boat-house flat, watching 
 their adversary shoot over the water in a final 
 practice spin. If gritted teeth and determination 
 could be of avail, the head of the school had no
 
 NIP AND TUCK. 359 
 
 sinecure in the task which he had taken on 
 himself. 
 
 The appointed day dawned bright and still. Jack, 
 who had lain awake during the early hours of the 
 night through excitement, was awakened from a 
 deep, refreshing sleep by a well-known knock, 
 which caused him to leap out of bed and open the 
 door. 
 
 " Louis, where on earth did you spring from ? " 
 
 " Jack, how are you? " 
 
 The two boys stood shaking hands and laughing 
 delightedly for some moments before Carlisle it 
 was he of course saw fit to explain in answer 
 to his friend's question that he had run up from 
 college on purpose to see the race. There was a 
 leeway of three days, he said, between two of his 
 examinations, and he had managed to get away. 
 
 " It was awfully good of you, Louis." 
 
 " Nonsense, youngster ! I had promised to come 
 if I could, you know, and I would n't miss it for 
 the world." 
 
 " Have you heard whom I am to row against ? " 
 asked Jack feverishly. 
 
 Carlisle nodded. He had been told everything
 
 360 JACK HALL. 
 
 by Horace Hosmer driving up from the station, it 
 appeared, and been waylaid moreover by half the 
 school, eager to know his opinion as to the result, 
 and to give theirs. 
 
 " Have I any show, Louis, do you think ? " 
 
 "You ought to know better than I, Jack. I 
 have n't seen you row for a year." 
 
 " I can't bear the idea of coming in third. Some 
 how I feel as if I should have a better show if the 
 Doctor were out of it." 
 
 " Too late to talk that way now," said Carlisle. 
 "You must brace." 
 
 " Oh, I 'm braced, never fear. It 's merely like 
 talking to another self to talk to you." 
 
 The race had been fixed for ten o'clock. The 
 lake was reported to be like a mirror, and the day 
 unexceptionable from an oarsman's point of view. 
 Jack ate a fairly substantial breakfast at eight, and 
 at Carlisle's suggestion remained quietly until nine 
 in his own room, from which he emerged in an 
 overcoat worn over his boating costume, a crimson 
 and black striped jersey and crimson handkerchief, 
 the uniform of the Atalantas, and a nonde 
 script pair of trowsers. Haseltine was waiting be-
 
 NIP AND TUCK. 361 
 
 fore the door with a trap, borrowed from one of 
 the farmers, so as to spare his champion the un 
 necessary fatigue of a walk, in which the three 
 bestowed themselves. Hasy announced that the 
 Doctor and Tom Bonsall had already gone down 
 to the boat-house. 
 
 The quadrangle, as they jogged through it, looked 
 completely deserted, and not a head was to be 
 seen in any of the dormitory windows, a condition 
 of affairs which was fully accounted for by the 
 appearance of the lake and its borders when they 
 arrived. Every boy who possessed a boat was out 
 in it, and the water was dotted with every variety 
 of craft from a Rob Roy canoe to the steam launch 
 recently presented to the school by a fond graduate, 
 which was occupied by Mrs. Meredith, the judges, 
 and some of the principal guests whom Founders' 
 Day as the annual exhibition was called had 
 brought to Utopia. The launch flew proudly the 
 school colors, blue and white, which properly were 
 worn to-day only by the Doctor, who was just 
 stepping from the float into his shell amid great 
 applause as Jack alighted from the vehicle. The 
 stand, which had been erected a few rods from the
 
 362 JACK HALL. 
 
 boat-house, and which was just opposite to the 
 finish, was crowded with visitors, many of whom 
 were ladies in gay attire, and the members of the 
 school, while the country people from miles around 
 were ranged along the shore. It was a scene cal 
 culated to quicken the pulses of any one with a 
 spark of enthusiasm. As for Jack, when he started 
 to strip off his overcoat he was trembling all over, 
 and could feel his heart going like a trip-hammer. 
 
 The course was to be two miles in all ; straight 
 away for a mile to a flagged buoy, and back again 
 to another flagged buoy abreast of the boat-house. 
 Two of the first class were to be judges, a third to 
 be judge at the further buoy, and Mr. Percy had 
 consented to act as referee in case of any dispute. 
 Stoddard of the second class, and stroke oar of the 
 Nimrods, was to send the contestants off by firing 
 a pistol at the proper moment. 
 
 Jack was the last of the three to get into his 
 boat. 
 
 "Is everything all right?" whispered Carlisle, 
 who was bending over him holding the shell at the 
 float. " Don't spurt until you have to, remember.'* 
 
 " O K," answered our hero.
 
 NIP AND TUCK. 363 
 
 "Let her go, Smith," said Haseltine jocularly. 
 " Keep your courage up, old man," he added to 
 Jack. 
 
 Carlisle shoved the shell out, retaining his grasp 
 on the oar nearest him until there was clear water. 
 Jack paddled a few rods and then shot off at a 
 comfortable pace up the lake, followed by the 
 wistful gaze of the spectators eager to gauge his 
 powers. He caught a glimpse of Tom Bonsall, in 
 a white shirt with a purple star on its bosom, and 
 a purple handkerchief bound stylishly across his 
 forehead, resting on his oars and watching him. 
 Jack had no idea of wasting his energies by show 
 ing off. He had time just to warm himself up a 
 bit before the signal to get into line. He pulled 
 steadily and quietly for a few hundred yards, taking 
 a last glance at his equipment to make sure that 
 everything was all right. 
 
 He had scarcely turned to come back when the 
 pistol sounded, and by the time he reached the 
 starting line the Doctor and Tom were in position. 
 According to the lots drawn that morning Jack 
 was to be in the middle, with Tom inside ; so he 
 paddled in between them. Stoddard spent a few
 
 364 JACK HALL. 
 
 moments in making first one and then another 
 retire or move forward a few inches, then asked 
 sharply, - 
 
 " Are you ready ? " 
 
 Jack felt almost beside himself in the short in 
 terval that preceded the discharge, and his throat 
 seemed parched. 
 
 Crack ! 
 
 The three pairs of blades flashed through the wa 
 ter at the same moment, and neither boat seemed 
 to gain any decided advantage as they bounded 
 away from the buoy amid the cheers of everybody. 
 
 " Hurrah for the Doctor ! " 
 
 " Hit her up, Tom ! " 
 
 " Bully for you, Jack ! " 
 
 It took our hero some minutes to get his head 
 clear enough to be able to perceive what he was 
 doing, as compared with his opponents. He rowed 
 on and on excitedly without realizing anything, 
 He was conscious of rowing a rather quicker and 
 more jerky stroke than usual. His eyes were misty 
 and his throat drier than ever. The cheers of the 
 spectators were growing fainter, and he felt that it 
 was time to settle down to work. He made a gulp
 
 NIP AND TUCK. 367 
 
 and looked about him. On his right was Tom 
 pulling like grim death, at a rate which seemed to 
 lift his boat almost out of the water. The stern of 
 Tom's shell was nearly on a level with the back 
 sweep of his own oars, which showed plainly that 
 Tom had not far from half a length's lead on him. 
 On the other side was the Doctor in his blue and 
 white jersey, rowing steadily and smoothly as clock 
 work, njeck and neck with him. 
 
 " Softly now," said Jack to himself. " This is 
 too fast company for me. If Tom can keep this 
 racket up he '11 get there first. My only chance is 
 to let up a bit." 
 
 Accordingly he lessened the number of strokes 
 to the minute by making each of them longer and 
 more sweeping, with the immediate result that he 
 felt in better shape, and that Tom had gained no 
 further advantage on him. But there was no let 
 up to Tom. He had the lead and was bent on 
 keeping it. 
 
 They were too far off now for the shouts to reach 
 them. Not a sound was audible to Jack but the 
 slight plashing of the oars in the water. Over his 
 shoulder Tom was struggling onward, and abreast
 
 368 JACK HALL. 
 
 of him, pulling with apparently no effort whatever 
 and watching alertly the movements of his rivals, 
 could be seen the dangerous Doctor. But Jack, 
 too, felt calm now and fresher than when he started. 
 He can even put a little more back muscle into his 
 stroke, he thinks, as he feels his grip tighten on 
 the oars with the consciousness of growing vigor. 
 A few more sweeps like that will close up the gap 
 between his out-rigger and Tom's. 
 
 But why does not the Doctor bend to his work 
 to keep him company? The Doctor is pulling a 
 waiting race evidently, and is going to let his 
 rivals blow themselves against one another before 
 he has an oar in the fight. Otherwise surely he 
 would not have let Jack forge ahead so that he has 
 to look round the corner now in order to watch 
 him. The Doctor is an old hand and has seen 
 many a race lost by too lively a pace at the start. 
 
 " Steady," reflects Jack, again trying to keep 
 cool as he realizes that he has a lead over his most 
 dangerous enemy. " Don't hit her up too lively." 
 He appreciates the Doctor's tactics, and is not 
 going to fall into the trap if he can help it, even 
 though Tom, spurred on by swift pursuit, has put
 
 NIP AND TUCK. 369 
 
 on more steam and is holding his own bravely. 
 They are not far from the flagged buoy now. Jack 
 can see it distinctly and has in mind that he must 
 be careful to avoid a foul. They are likely to pass 
 it in the order in which they are at present, about 
 half a length apart, and Tom has the inside water. 
 All three are pulling like well-oiled machines, and 
 not a symptom of distress comes from either boat. 
 
 Tom -turns first, and very cleverly too, close to 
 the buoy so as to give no one a chance to cut in, 
 and starts for home, but the others are at his heels 
 and right after him. Jack in passing catches the 
 eye of Sampson, the judge at the turn, and feels 
 cool enough to nod in friendly fashion. Halfway, 
 and he is still fresh as ever ! He would like to try 
 to press Tom, but for fear of the cool, deliberate 
 Doctor barely astern. He remembers Carlisle's 
 caution not to spurt until he has to, and only bends 
 strongly and firmly to his accustomed stroke, which, 
 however, is losing him no ground to say the least. 
 Tom is evidently uneasy and is working to shake 
 him off, forgetful, it appears, of his experience in 
 forcing the pace a year ago. But Tom is a better 
 oar than a year ago, and perhaps has taken that 
 into account.
 
 370 JACK HALL. 
 
 Ah there ! The Doctor is waking up at last, 
 and is putting in some stronger work ; nothing 
 very strenuous, but lively enough to warn Jack that 
 he must have his head about him if he hopes to 
 keep his lead to the end. One thing is certain 
 now: Tom will have to row faster or give in; after 
 which reflection Jack slightly quickens his stroke, 
 and without, actually spurting bends every muscle. 
 Now or never ! They are only half a mile from 
 home, and a waiting race may be delayed too long. 
 Already they are within ear-shot of the encourag 
 ing shouts of the crews and scullers on either side 
 of their path, who have come out to meet them 
 and are rowing back to be in at the finish. Now 
 or never ! Will Torn be able to quicken his pace ? 
 That is the question. He does quicken it, so much 
 so that he is rowing desperately fast with short 
 lightning strokes, which come so rapidly that it is 
 difficult to note the interval between them. Bril 
 liant, magnificent ! " but," as some one who knew 
 said of the famous charge of the Light Brigade, 
 " it is not war." It is slaughter, my dear Tom, 
 and simple ruination. You cannot keep it up. 
 Even as it is, in spite of your splendid pyrotech-
 
 NIP AND TUCK. 371 
 
 nics, Jack's long steady swing is holding you, and 
 what is more, pressing you into the bargain. 
 
 " Steady now," murmurs Jack between his teeth. 
 He knows from Tom's exertions that his rival is 
 spurting and putting all his vitality into his pace. 
 A terrible moment of sustained effort follows, at 
 the end of which the leader lashes the air with a 
 misplaced stroke, the water splashes, and our hero's 
 shell surging forward comes on a level with its 
 forerunner, battles with it for twenty yards of 
 struggling agony on the part of the doomed cham 
 pion, and leaps to the front at last, just in time to 
 meet the sweet music of the prolonged triumphant 
 din of shouts and cheers sent down the breeze from 
 afar by hundreds of voices. Jack is ahead, and 
 only a quarter of a mile left ! 
 
 Tom is beaten. And now for the Doctor. Where 
 is he ? What is he doing ? No need to ask that 
 question, friend Jack, if you lift your eyes. Tom 
 is beaten, not only by you but by the Doctor also ; 
 and though your most dreaded enemy is still in 
 your rear, the nose of his boat is almost on a line 
 with your stern, and he is quickening at every 
 stroke.
 
 372 JACK HALL. 
 
 What a babel of cheers and exclamations bursts 
 forth from the waving, transported crowd along the 
 bank and on the benches of the densely packed 
 stand ! They begin to know who is who now, and 
 can tell beyond the shadow of a doubt that the 
 crimson and black and the blue and white are hav 
 ing a noble struggle for the lead. 
 
 "Jack Hall is ahead! Hall! Hall! No, he 
 is n't ! Hit her up, Doctor ! Hurrah for Hall ! 
 Hurrah for the Doctor ! Tom, where are you ? 
 Bonsall! Bonsall ! H-A-L-L! Hall-1-1!" 
 
 The tumult is maddening. Can it be possible 
 that Jack Hall, who, on the whole, before the race 
 was rated lowest of the three, is going to break the 
 school record and beat the invincible Doctor in one 
 and the same breath? It looks like it, if he can 
 hold his own for two hundred yards more. It looks 
 like it decidedly, and there is plenty of clear water 
 still between the winning goal and the foremost 
 shell ; and see, the Doctor is spurting with a ven 
 geance look! look! and is he not gaining, 
 too? 
 
 "Doctor Meredith is ahead! No, he's not 
 Hall's ahead! Huzza! hurrah! Hall, Hall, hit
 
 NIP AND TUCK. 373 
 
 her up, Hall ! Look out, Hall ! The Doctor wins ! 
 No he does n't ! Hall wins ! Hurrah ! Jack, 
 where are you ? " 
 
 The Doctor has crept up, no doubt about that. 
 The nose of his shell is now well beyond Jack's 
 out-rigger, and he is speeding like the wind. Jack 
 is feeling terribly tired, his throat that he thought 
 parched at the start burns as if it were on fire, and 
 his eyes 'seem ready to start out of his head. His 
 crimson handkerchief has fallen over his eyes, but 
 he gives himself a shake and it falls to his neck, 
 leaving his brow refreshingly free. He has van 
 quished Tom any way. So much to be thankful 
 for. Tom is a length behind, struggling still like 
 the man he is, but hopelessly vanquished all the 
 same. Jack turns his head, remembering to keep 
 cool if he can, and sights the goal. Not more than 
 one hundred and fifty yards left! The reverber 
 ating yells and cheers are setting his blood ablaze. 
 He can scarcely see, but he knows he has not 
 spurted yet. He is neck and neck with the Doctor 
 now. There can be nothing to choose between 
 them. 
 
 "The Doctor wins!" "Not a bit of it; Hall
 
 374 JACK HALL. 
 
 wins ! Good on your head, Jack ! Keep it up, 
 Doctor! Go in, Hall!" 
 
 The time has come now, our hero knows, to put 
 in any spurt that is left in him. Gripping the 
 handles of his oars like a vice and shutting his 
 eyes, Jack throws all his vital powers into one 
 grand effort, which, to his supreme happiness, is 
 answered by a great roar from the shore. 
 
 "Hall! Hall! Hurrah! Nobly done, Hall! 
 Hall wins ! Row, Doctor, row ! " 
 
 The Doctor is rowing with all his might, you 
 may be sure of that ; but he has not counted on 
 the staying powers of his adversary. He can do no 
 more than he is doing, and this final spurt of Jack's, 
 exhausting as it must have been were the race to 
 be a quarter of a mile longer, will carry the day. 
 The Doctor can hardly catch him now. 
 
 Jack has opened his eyes and takes in the situa 
 tion. The din of applause is tremendous. If he 
 can hold out for half a dozen strokes more, the vic 
 tory is his. 
 
 One. 
 
 "Hall! Hall! Go in, Doctor I" 
 
 Two.
 
 NIP AND TUCK. 375 
 
 " Three cheers for Hall ! One, hurrah ! 
 Two, hurrah ! " 
 
 Three. 
 
 " Three, hurrah ! H-A-L-L ! " 
 
 Four. 
 
 " Hall wins ! Hall wins ! " 
 
 Five. 
 
 "Hurrah! Huzza! Hurrah! Hall! Hall! 
 Doctor !- Doctor ! " 
 
 Six. 
 
 Panting, breathless, and bewildered by the deaf 
 ening cheers, Jack is made aware only by the sight 
 of the flagged buoy shooting past his oar-blade that 
 he has won the race and is champion of Utopia. 
 A second later the Doctor's shell glides beside his 
 own, and his master is the first to shake his hand 
 in hearty congratulation. 
 
 "You beat me squarely and fairly, Hall. It 
 was a grand race. You are the better oarsman of 
 the two." 
 
 Tom Bonsall, coming up on the other side, is 
 scarcely less generous, though he looks a little 
 sheepish, poor fellow, and winded and pale. Ex 
 citement keeps Jack up, and he paddles in gamy
 
 376 
 
 fashion to the float, where he is welcomed by a 
 score of hands and lifted on to the shoulders of his 
 enthusiastic friends, who, cheering like mad, carry 
 him up to the boat-house. 
 
 " Well, old man, you did it after all," said Car 
 lisle, who was grinning like a Cheshire cat in his 
 enthusiasm. " To tell you the truth, I did n't 'be 
 lieve you could get away from the Doctor."
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 HASELTINE MAKES HIS CHOICE. 
 
 A YEAR has elapsed, and once more Founders' 
 day has come round at Utopia. The exercises of 
 the graduating class and the prize-giving have 
 taken place in the morning, and now every one is 
 digesting at leisure the excellent collation provided 
 shortly after noontime prior to repairing to the 
 quadrangle to witness the base-ball match which is 
 to conclude the day's entertainment. 
 
 In one of the studies in Fullham dormitory 
 sacred to the older classes two boys are seated en 
 gaged in earnest conversation. The room, a cosy 
 little den, owes evidently much of its comfortable 
 and somewhat artistic appearance to the good taste 
 of one of its owners, who, no other than our old 
 friend Jack, grown still more manly in figure and 
 with the same open countenance as when we saw 
 him last, is discussing with his chum Haseltine the 
 untoward news which the latter has received a day 
 
 1
 
 378 JACK HALL. 
 
 or two before of his father's financial ruin. The 
 blow has fallen most unexpectedly on the poor fel 
 low, and though the change in his plans which the 
 calamity must necessarily induce has given him but 
 small concern as compared with that which he has 
 felt for his father's unhappiness, it is important 
 now that he should think and talk about what he is 
 to do. He was to have gone to college, for which 
 he has been preparing himself with considerable 
 industry during the past year, but that is out of the 
 question now. He has his way to make in the 
 world, and the only point to be considered is how 
 he can best manage no longer to be a burden on his 
 family. 
 
 " The worst thing about it," Haseltine continued, 
 "is that I shan't see any more of you, Jack. I 
 don't care so much about the money on my own 
 account, but I should like to have spent four years 
 with you at Harvard." 
 
 "It'll spoil half my pleasure in being thereto 
 have you away," said Jack. " We must manage 
 though somehow to keep up our friendship. We 
 can write to one another at least." 
 
 " I hate letters, that is, writing them. My
 
 HASELTINE MAKES HIS CHOICE. 379 
 
 spelling would shock you, Jack. If I were a lite 
 rary character like you, now, it might answer." 
 
 " Don't talk nonsense, Hasy." 
 
 " Who 'd have thought three years ago that 
 you 'd have graduated third in the class and taken 
 a prize for a poetical translation from Ovid? If 
 only now I 'd followed suit," he observed somewhat 
 sadly, " I might have got the place of private tutor 
 to some rich swell or other, married my employer's 
 daughter, and rolled in my own carriage, while you 
 were still grinding at the university. As it is, I 
 shall soon either be breaking stones on the high 
 way, or playing cash-boy in a retail dry-goods 
 store." 
 
 "I dare say," responded Jack, "the Doctor could 
 get you some place as tutor. A few months of 
 hard work would give you the necessary profi 
 ciency." 
 
 " But I want to begin work to-morrow." 
 
 There was a short silence, and then Jack said 
 slowly, " Of course, Hasy, I suppose you 've 
 thought of base-ball? You ought to have no diffi 
 culty in getting a salaried position in some club, 
 you know."
 
 380 JACK HALL. 
 
 "I dare say I could," was the quiet answer. 
 " How I should have jumped at such a chance a 
 few years ago ! " continued the school captain, toss 
 ing from hand to hand from force of habit the base 
 ball which he held. He is in shirt and knicker 
 bockers, ready for the game appointed to take place 
 in half an hour between the school nine and one 
 of the strongest professional teams in the country, 
 which, on its way east, has been induced to stop at 
 Utopia. " I was a foolish boy then, and now, 
 well, I'm foolish enough still, but I think I've 
 learned something in these six years." 
 
 " Oh, Hasy, I 'm so glad to hear you talk so. Do 
 you know I lay awake all last night thinking about 
 you, for I was afraid that with your fondness for the 
 game you 'd jump at the chance to become a pro 
 fessional. Forgive me, old fellow, I did you injus 
 tice." 
 
 " That 's all right, Jack. No wonder you thought 
 so, I'm such a base-ball crank. But I may have to 
 jump at the chance notwithstanding. It may be the 
 best thing I can do. Fifteen hundred or two thou 
 sand dollars a year is not to be met with every day 
 in the week. It may be my duty to take such a 
 place if it is offered, Jack," he said gravely.
 
 HASELTINE MAKES HIS CHOICE. 381 
 
 " I think almost anything would be better as a 
 profession than that." 
 
 " I can see that it would. Whatever I used to 
 think, I recognize that to have to spend the best 
 years of my life as a base-ball player would be a 
 terrible misfortune. This school and the Doctor 
 have taught me that there are more worthy ambi 
 tions than that, and though I have n't said much 
 about it, I Ve looked forward to something better. 
 However, I must n't abuse base-ball, for it has been 
 a good friend to me, Jack ; and I believe that it 
 has done me a heap of benefit not only physically, 
 but in teaching me endurance and perseverance and 
 the value of discipline. I feel as if I could take 
 hold first-rate from the start of any business I 
 entered, just because of my training at base-ball. 
 And if it comes to the worst," he added, " I think 
 I shall be able to make a good professional." 
 
 " I 'm sure you will, Hasy, if it comes to that. 
 But something else will be certain to turn up, see 
 if it does n't." 
 
 " It '11 have to turn up pretty soon, then, I 'm 
 afraid," replied Haseltine. " It 's time to go," he 
 continued, looking at his watch. "The game '11
 
 382 JACK HALL. 
 
 be called in fifteen minutes. It may be my last 
 for a long time, at least as an amateur, and I 
 mean to give the Gray Stockings a hard fight 
 to win." 
 
 The two friends proceed toward the quadrangle, 
 where already a crowd is collecting in anticipation 
 of the match. The large stand for spectators, which 
 is one of the conveniences added to the grounds in 
 Haseltine's day, is rapidly filling up, and just as 
 the young captain arrives upon the scene the Gray 
 Stocking team show signs of emerging from the 
 tent erected for their comfort, where they have been 
 dozing since dinner. The sight of them is suffi 
 cient to restore Haseltine's spirits, and almost to 
 make him feel that he would be very well content 
 after all to become one of them. They are strap 
 ping fellows certainly, and the way they toss about 
 the ball during the few minutes' preliminary prac 
 tice allowed them is very admirable. 
 
 And now from the main doorway of Granger Hall 
 come out a large party intent upon being present 
 at the game, consisting of Dr. Meredith and his 
 masters, together with several patrons of the school 
 and a number of ladies, who troop across the field
 
 HASELTINE MAKES HIS CHOICE. 383 
 
 to seats reserved for them behind the wire screen 
 at the back of the catcher. The Gray Stockings 
 have won the toss and have sent the school to the 
 bat. The professionals, from their jocose demeanor, 
 evidently regard the affair in the light of a spree 
 or picnic ; and the pitcher grins convulsively in 
 stepping into the box, as though the idea of playing 
 ball against a parcel of boys struck him as a colos 
 sal jest. 
 
 The school nine looked like striplings certainly 
 when compared with their sturdy opponents, but 
 they are in the very pink of practice and condition, 
 and have moreover eaten sparingly of the good 
 things provided at the collation, so as to be fit as 
 possible for the match. A breathless interest per 
 vades the audience. A game against a real profes 
 sional team is something unknown in the annals 
 of Utopia. 
 
 " Three out, side out," calls the umpire, as the 
 third striker on the home nine knocks an easy 
 grounder to short stop, who pops it gayly to first 
 base. 
 
 It is now the visitors' turn at the bat, and all 
 eyes are bent on Haseltine as he plants himself
 
 384 JACK HALL. 
 
 firmly to deliver the first ball. There has never 
 been such a pitcher as he at Utopia. As compared 
 with his curves, the once famous pitching of the 
 " Kid " is remembered as second-rate. It has 
 hopelessly baffled not only the pertinacious Stars, 
 but other still more formidable clubs. It remains 
 to be seen what these genuine ball-tossers will do 
 with it. 
 
 " One strike ! " 
 
 The captain of the Gray Stockings and one of 
 the most prominent sluggers on the nine has swiped 
 at the first ball and missed it, whereat his compan 
 ions smile and one of them guys him with 
 
 " Even money you strike out, Bill." 
 
 There is a hush, and then the umpire calls 
 
 " Two strikes ! " 
 
 Applause proceeds from the benches and titters 
 from the visiting team. 
 
 " Three strikes out." 
 
 The school is too much in earnest to regard the 
 incident as ludicrous, and the crowd cheers raptu 
 rously to see the vanquished slugger retire from the 
 plate ; but one of the managers of the professional 
 nine, who happens to be traveling with them and is
 
 HASELTINE MAKES HIS CHOICE. 385 
 
 sitting just in front of Jack, bursts out into loud 
 guffaws of amusement, which are repeated still 
 more abundantly when the next striker misses the 
 first two balls and only saves himself from a simi 
 lar fate by batting the third weakly into the very 
 hands of short stop, who has no difficulty in disposing 
 of him at first. The third man hits a foul tip which 
 the catcher holds on to cleverly, and the innings 
 is over. 
 
 " That 's a great lad," exclaims the manager, who 
 is in a bee line with the pitcher and so can judge 
 of the delivery. " He can twirl the sphere like a 
 good one. Backus and Lawson out on strikes ! 
 That 's the best joke of the season." Whereupon 
 he bursts out laughing again, so that his fat sides 
 shake with merriment. 
 
 It would take too long to give the details of the 
 great match, though indeed there is not much to be 
 recorded in the way of run-making on either side. 
 It is from first to last a pitcher's contest, and though 
 the school can do nothing against the Gray Stock 
 ing battery, seven goose-eggs represents the score 
 of the visitors at the end of the seventh inning. 
 To the uproarious delight of all Utopia the heavy
 
 386 JACK HALL. 
 
 hitters of the professional team come to grief one 
 after another in rapid succession, sometimes by 
 striking out, and sometimes by knocking easy balls 
 into the field, which are without difficulty captured 
 by their opponents. No longer do the giants grin 
 and turn derisive hand-springs. An air of serious 
 devotion to business has come over them, and every 
 nerve is being strained to save the game. 
 
 "Play ball play ball," their captain reiterates 
 with increasing vigor. 
 
 But it is in vain that he beseeches or commands. 
 Somehow or other Haseltine's curves are too subtle 
 for the visitors and they go down like nine-pins ; 
 and as in turn they sheepishly carry out their bats 
 or return to home plate, the manager's derisive 
 laughter adds a sting to their disgust. 
 
 Meanwhile, among the friends of Utopia, the 
 young pitcher is the hero of the hour, and every 
 body is asking questions about him in the intervals 
 of the frantic applause which rewards his successes. 
 
 " A right-minded, ingenuous, capable boy," re 
 sponds Dr. Meredith, in answer to a query of one 
 of the patrons of the school sitting beside him. 
 " He has received -sad news from home within the
 
 HASELTINE MAKES HIS CHOICE. 387 
 
 past few days, I regret to state. His father who 
 was reputed to be a very rich man has failed, 
 disastrously though not dishonorably I am given to 
 understand, and the son will not be able to go to 
 college as he had expected. There is a large 
 family seven beside this boy, I believe." 
 
 " Is he a good scholar ? " asks the gentleman 
 after a moment. 
 
 " To tell the truth, he is not very fond of his 
 books, though he has done better at them during 
 the last year. I think he would have been able to 
 pass the college examinations, but it is by no means 
 certain. He has plenty of ability though of the 
 practical sort. I have often been struck by the 
 energy and executive talent he has shown in rela 
 tion to base-ball, which, by the way, almost amounts 
 to a passion with him," says the Doctor, with a 
 smile. 
 
 A shout of triumph interrupts their conversation. 
 Another of the Gray Stockings the first striker 
 of the eighth innings having in base-ball par 
 lance fanned the air thrice in vain, flinging his bat 
 angrily on the ground, walks back to his seat. 
 
 " H-A-S-E-L-T-I-N-E ! Haselti-n-n-ne ! " chants 
 the whole school.
 
 388 JACK HALL. 
 
 The manager slaps his knee. " I must have that 
 fellow," he exclaims admiringly. 
 
 Jack catches the remark. He has heard also 
 what has passed between Dr. Meredith and Mr. 
 Holgate, the patron of the school, who are sitting 
 on the bench immediately behind him, and while 
 he is reflecting on the possible consequences of 
 Haseltine's prowess, he hears Mr. Holgate say : 
 
 " I happen to know of a chance for an active 
 young man who is n't afraid of work, on a railroad 
 far West in which I 'm interested. I 'm inclined to 
 think that as our base-ball friend has his way to 
 make in the world and is not cut out for a scholar, 
 it would be the best thing for him if I put him into 
 the place, though if you say the word I '11 pay his 
 way through college." 
 
 Jack's heart gives a bound. He cannot help lis 
 tening, and he awaits eagerly the Doctor's reply, 
 scarcely knowing what he wishes it to be; for 
 deeply as he desires his friend's companionship at 
 Harvard, he is able to appreciate the wisdom of 
 Mr. Holgate's reasoning. 
 
 " I think," says Dr. Meredith slowly, " that you 
 are right, on the whole. Haseltine will make an
 
 HASELTINE MAKES HIS CHOICE. 389 
 
 excellent business man. The position on the rail 
 road will suit him best, everything considered." 
 
 " It is a place in which he will have an opportu 
 nity to make himself very useful, and if he does, 
 promotion will be sure to follow," continues Mr. 
 Holgate. " Holloa ! that 's the first square base hit 
 I 've seen to-day." 
 
 It is not only a base hit, but a two bagger in fact, 
 which comes just in the nick of time to let in one 
 of the Gray Stockings, who was on second when 
 Captain Backus batted the ball with a vim born of 
 triple humiliation. Twice before in the course of 
 the game the visitors have had men on bases, but 
 the terrible battery of the school boys has shut 
 them out from a run. But now they are able to 
 breathe more freely. The succession of goose-eggs 
 is interrupted and the game theirs, if they can pre 
 vent Utopia from scoring. But the run has come 
 only just in time as two of the visitors are already 
 out. Lawson, however, not to be outdone by the 
 Captain, follows with a terrible drive far over the 
 left field's head, who is a no whit less clever fielder 
 than Bobby Crosby used to be, which brings him 
 and Backus both home, and makes the score three
 
 390 JACK HALL. 
 
 to nothing in favor of the Gray Stockings, which 
 is all they get. The school nine amid intense ex 
 citement then go to the bat, and though they do 
 their best to pound the ball they are whitewashed 
 in one, two, three order, which brings the game 
 to a close, as of course the Gray Stockings, being 
 already ahead, do not need their ninth inning. It 
 has been a plucky fight, though, and one which 
 Utopia will remember with pride for years to corne. 
 
 As Jack was about to mingle with the crowd 
 with the view of being the first to hug Haseltine, 
 he felt a hand on his shoulder and heard the Doc 
 tor's voice exclaiming, " Hall, I should like to in 
 troduce you to Mr. Holgate, who was one of our 
 founders, you know." 
 
 Jack shook hands with the pleasant-featured 
 gentleman, who said kindly : 
 
 " I saw you, Hall, if I am not mistaken, among 
 those who received prizes this morning, as well as 
 in the winning crew yesterday afternoon." 
 
 Our hero blushed with honest confusion. He 
 was prouder of having won the prize for a metrical 
 translation from the classics, however, than of hav 
 ing led the Atalantas to victory, for there had been
 
 HASELTINE MAKES HIS CHOICE. 391 
 
 no Tom Bonsall this year to dispute it with him, 
 and every one knew in advance what the result 
 would be. It had always been a source of keen 
 regret to Jack that Tom's arm was so lame after 
 the famous single-scull match that he had been 
 obliged to stay out of the eight-oared race. He 
 would have liked to have had one more struggle 
 with his old rival just to prove beyond the shadow 
 of a doubt who was the better man. But now Tom 
 was in college, and there was no one left to dispute 
 with him the supremacy of the lake, for the Doctor 
 had openly confessed his own inferiority. 
 
 " It was a fine game, sir, was n't it? " Jack said, 
 with enthusiasm, as the three turned at. the sound 
 of the cheers which the Utopians were bestowing 
 upon the victors. " Haseltine outdid himself." 
 
 " Hall and Haseltine are great cronies," observed 
 the Doctor to Mr. Holgate. 
 
 " Your friend seems a fine fellow," said the gen 
 tleman. 
 
 " He 's a splendid fellow, indeed, sir," answered 
 Jack. 
 
 The Gray Stockings returned the cheers of the 
 home nine and were preparing to get into the
 
 392 JACK HALL. 
 
 vehicle which was to take them to the train, when 
 Jack, who had been looking through the crowd in 
 search of Haseltine, caught sight of him and the 
 base-ball manager in earnest consultation. There 
 was an expression in his friend's face that told 
 Jack even at this distance that the young pitcher 
 was fascinated by what was being said to him. Im 
 mediately Jack clambered down from the stand and 
 hastened toward them. As he came up to them 
 the manager was shaking hands with Haseltine, and 
 Jack heard him say just before he stepped into the 
 omnibus : 
 
 " Think it over and write me. The offer stands 
 open as long as you like." 
 
 After the omnibus had driven off followed by the 
 acclamations of the school, Jack threw his arms 
 ecstatically around his chum and cried, " You did 
 wonders, old fellow. It was glorious ! " 
 
 Haseltine made no response at first, and Jack 
 noticed that his eyes were full of tears. 
 
 "Jack," he said at length, " he has offered me 
 the position of change pitcher on their nine at a 
 salary of two thousand dollars. It 's a big honor 
 for so young a fellow," he added, with an air of 
 pardonable pride.
 
 HASELTINE MAKES HIS CHOICE. 393 
 
 " But you did n't accept, did you ? " asked our 
 hero excitedly. 
 
 " No ; I told him I 'd think it over." 
 
 " Hurrah ! " cried Jack. 
 
 " What do you mean ? " 
 
 " No matter. Wait, that 's all. There 's better 
 news for you than that, and you '11 think so too 
 when you hear it." 
 
 Footsteps close at hand caused the boys to turn, 
 and Haseltine's hand was cordially grasped by Dr. 
 Meredith. 
 
 "You out-Haseltined Haseltine, to-day, Mr. 
 Pitcher," the master said, then drawing him aside 
 out of the hearing of Jack and Mr. Holgate, he 
 informed him of the offer made by that gentle 
 man, which I am sure you will all be glad to hear 
 he accepted. 
 
 Five minutes later the head master and the two 
 boys are walking slowly over the quadrangle to 
 ward Granger Hall, where they are to take tea 
 with the Doctor, their last tea at Utopia. As 
 they reach the threshold, Jack stops and looks back 
 for a moment over the playground where so many 
 of his happiest hours have been passed, and says 
 simply,
 
 394 JACK HALL. 
 
 " We shall miss the dear old school, shan't we, 
 Hasy?" 
 
 " Indeed we shall, Jack." 
 
 " And the school will miss you, my dear boys," 
 answers the Doctor, laying a hand on a shoulder of 
 each of them. "It needs the example of just such 
 boys as you East and West. God bless you 
 both, and give you strength to devote your man 
 hood to manly deeds 1 "
 
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