THE NEW PRESIDENT
Ray Wendell received an ovation as he took the chair. Prolonged
cheering greeted him, accompanied by cries of “Speech! Speech!” When
the noise had subsided, Ray began:
“Gentlemen, I have no speech, nor, unless I am much mistaken, do you
want one. I thank you most sincerely for your kindness, and promise you
in behalf of the nine that we will strive very hard to deserve your
interest. This is speech enough, I am sure.
“Of course you want to know what I think of our prospects in baseball
this year, and accordingly I say here to-night what I have said to many
of you personally――that I consider our chances very good. It is true
that we have only three of our old nine left, but the material which we
have to choose from in the class nines is good this year, and we ought
to have a fine team.
“Now as to the condition of the treasury――I have been informed by the
secretary that the funds of the Association are almost exhausted. Will
Mr. Larcom report on this? What is the exact balance in the treasury?”
Tony turned over the pages of his note book and figured busily for
several seconds.
“There is a cash balance of $39.50,” he finally called out.
“You can see from this,” continued Ray, “that the usual contribution
list will have to be started. You will all hear later from Mr. Larcom
concerning this, and I hope we can look for as generous support as in
previous years, for the nine needs an almost complete new outfit, and
a number of repairs will have to be made at the ball grounds, to say
nothing of the pay of the janitor and assistants at the club house, and
the expenses of our baseball tour.”
At this moment Alfred Carter, the leader of the College Glee Club, took
the floor and said:
“Mr. President, I want to offer the services of the Glee Club for the
benefit of the team. I have made arrangements to give a concert just
before the Easter vacation――that is, in about ten days, the proceeds of
which are to go to the baseball association. The concert will be given
in the large examination hall up stairs, and,” he added, with a smile,
“all members of the college are cordially invited to attend――price 50
cents per head.”
Carter sat down amidst a great stamping and clapping of hands.
Ray answered immediately:
“This is a most unexpected favor, Mr. Carter, and I thank you sincerely
in behalf of the Association for this benefit, which, I am sure, will
go a great way towards supplying the deficiency in our treasury. Is
there any further business before the meeting?”
“Mr. President,” asked Elton, “when does the convention meet this year?”
“I am forced to say that I do not know as yet. For some reason no word
has reached me from the secretary of the League, Mr. Slade of Halford
College, although it is much later than the usual date for sending such
notifications. Has Mr. Larcom received any word today?”
“No, sir,” answered Tony.
“I shall probably hear tomorrow, and it is more than likely that the
convention will be held on some day in the early part of next week. As
soon as definite notice reaches us, your representative will go on to
Berkeley, and a full account of the business of that meeting will be
reported in the _Chronicle_. This is as complete information as I am
able to give on the subject this evening. Is there any other business?
If not, the――――”
“Mr. President,” interrupted Tony, “may I have one moment? I have no
baseball business to bring before the meeting, but I have received
today a letter which is addressed to the ‘students of Belmont College,’
so I presume that this is the time and place to read it. Am I in order?”
Ray nodded.
“It is from Park College,” added Tony, taking from his pocket the
letter which I had read down at the boat house.
I watched the faces about me with interest, and I shall never forget
the rapid changes of expression that passed over them――first curiosity,
then eager attention, astonishment, anger, and finally scornful
amusement, as the challenging letter was finished.
When Tony sat down, there was a chorus of howls, accompanied by various
exclamations such as “What cheek! Want our cannons, do they? What are
they going to do about it? Tell them to come and get them! Maybe they’d
better ask for the whole town!――――”
Ray hammered on the desk.
“You have heard the letter, gentlemen. What shall we do with it?”
A sharp discussion followed. Some were in favor of answering it with a
heated reply, challenging Park College to do their worst, whatever that
might be, but the majority were of the conviction that any notice of
the letter at all would be unwise.
“Mr. President,” exclaimed one of the latter, “I move we lay it on the
table――_permanently_.”
“I have an amendment to offer,” said Elton. “I move we lay it under the
table. There is a waste basket there.”
“These motions are out of order. They have not been seconded,” said Ray.
“Then I don’t make any motion,” said Elton, rising again. “I merely
suggest that the best way to treat such a letter as this is to ignore
it utterly.”
All were coming around to this view of the matter, so that when Ray
asked again, “Gentlemen, what action shall we take in reference to this
letter?” no one spoke.
Ray looked about for several seconds. “There being no motion, the
matter is dropped,” he said. “If there is no further business the
meeting is adjourned.”
Immediately there was a roar of mingled conversation, whistling, and
shuffling of feet as the meeting broke up, and the crowd pressed out
through the large double doors.
When the room was nearly empty, and just as I was passing out, Ray
Wendell, who was still standing at the platform, and talking with Tony
Larcom, called out,
“Hullo, Elder, wait a minute.”
I turned around, and, as I walked back, Ray said,
“We were just speaking about you, Harry. You know each college sends
three delegates to the convention――the president and secretary of the
Association, and a member of the nine. I have selected you to go with
Tony Larcom and myself. What do you say?”
“Only too glad,” I answered; “but how about Dick Palmer? I don’t want
to crowd him out if he wants to go. You know, he has been a member of
the nine as long as I have.”
“Oh, that is all right. You have the advantage because you were
a regular member of the nine from the start, while Dick was only
substitute year before last. I have spoken to him, and he acknowledges
that you have the choice by all odds.”
“All right,” I said, “I can go next week.”
“I don’t know yet for sure when it will be, as I said in the meeting.
It is curious I haven’t received a word. I ought to have heard long
ago. If I don’t get a letter tomorrow morning I will telegraph to
Slade.”
“Well, a few hours’ warning is enough for me,” I answered. “Good
meeting tonight, wasn’t it? Lots of excitement and enthusiasm.”
“Yes,” said Tony, “and what puzzled me more than anything else was Len
Howard. No wonder I fell flat. I was simply paralyzed. He must have
been crazy to make such a proposition.”
“Perhaps,” said I, looking at Ray, “he was trying to work off a grudge
he has had against you ever since you went out one Saturday afternoon
last month and beat him in tennis on his own court.”
“Oh, I don’t think there was anything personal in it. I don’t think
Howard nurses any grudge against me.”
“Well, don’t bank on that, Ray,” said Tony. “I happen to know that he
had a lot of money upon that tennis game, and it ground him terribly to
be beaten.”
“Is that so?” rejoined Ray, raising his eyebrows in surprise. “I never
suspected there was anything back of it when he asked me to play with
him that afternoon. Now, I remember he did seem to take his defeat
pretty badly. Still, it was his business. I had nothing to do with it.”
“Howard is very conceited about his tennis playing, so you injured him
at his most sensitive point.”
“Well, I’m sorry and yet, I don’t believe he bears a grudge against me.”
“He may have more reason now, after his humiliation this evening.”
“Well, let him, then,” said Ray. “He brought it on himself. If he
was foolish enough to bet, he must suffer the consequences, and if
he _will_ make foolish speeches, as he did tonight, he must stand
the result of that, too. He can’t blame me. I haven’t time to bother
with him――which reminds me that I have to prepare for a recitation in
astronomy tomorrow, and I must get about it at once or I won’t be in
bed before midnight.”
He looked at his watch as we walked out of the room.
“Phew!” he exclaimed. “It is half past nine――I’m off――you will hear
from me later――good night.”
And Ray walked hastily away toward Warburton Hall, the handsome new
dormitory in which his apartments were located.
As I parted company from Tony Larcom, my first intention was to go
immediately to my room, but the air being balmy and inviting, I walked
leisurely down the wide pathway toward the gate. Once there, I seated
myself by one of the old cannons, and gave myself up to the pleasant
influences of the quiet night.
I was thinking over the incidents of the meeting, its interesting
results, and how they would affect our baseball prospects. Then I
fell to contrasting the noise and excitement of an hour before with
the silence that now reigned over the peaceful campus. A sense of
drowsiness came over me as I pursued these contemplations, a drowsiness
that gradually increased until my head sank down, and at last,
stretching myself out at full length, I fell asleep.
How long I lay so I do not know, but I was suddenly aroused by the
sound of low voices close beside me. I lay still indifferently,
thinking that it must be a couple of students enjoying the night air
like myself. The low whisper and the general tinge of mystery with
which they moved about, however, aroused my suspicions. Thinking some
mischief was brewing, and that it would be fun to startle them, I
roused up and exclaimed,
“Hello! who’s there?”
The results far surpassed my expectations. There was a quick
exclamation of alarm, a sharp scuffling of feet, a black shadow shot
past me, and then I felt a terrible, crushing blow on the side of my
head, which rolled me over and over into the pathway, where I lay
stunned and bewildered.