PLANNING THE HAZING
"What's your object?" asked Jack, as he linked his arm in that of his
chum, and the two strolled over the campus.
"Object in what?" inquired Frank Racer.
"In looking into the mystery that seems to be hanging about this
William Chase."
"Oh, I don't know as I have any particular object, except that I always
like to solve a mystery--if I can. And again, I don't like to see any
Riverview Hall lad act as this fellow does. It isn't a good sign. So,
if it's all the same to you, Jack, we'll see what we can do toward
getting at the bottom of this."
"Sure, I'm with you. And Andy will be in it, of course."
"He will if he can stop fooling long enough," rejoined Frank, glancing
over to where his brother was still surrounded by a group of lads
intent on learning the trick of the fall.
"Oh, Andy can settle down when he wants to," remarked Jack. "But let's
go up and see what sort of a room you're going to have. Ward and I
picked out ours, and there's one next to us that----"
"Say no more!" exclaimed Frank. "Andy and I will take that one. Hi,
Andy!" he called in a tone of voice that his brother knew would allow
of no further trifling.
"Coming!" yelled Andy, and with a last push that sent a would-be
masterer of the art of tripping sprawling to the grass, the younger
Racer ran to join his brother and Jack.
Frank looked toward the dormitory which the strange new lad had
entered. He was no longer in sight, and as the elder Racer lad thought
of his queer actions he wondered more and more.
"Here's something that needs looking into the first day we get back to
school," he mused, as, surrounded by his chums, all talking at once, he
walked toward the dormitory where he had roomed with his brother during
the last term.
And now, if you will grant me a few minutes, I will tell you, as
briefly as I can, something more about the Racer boys, and the affairs
in which they have figured as set down in the previous books of this
series.
The first volume was called "The Racer Boys," and in that I detailed
how the two were at their summer home in Harbor View, and how they
solved the mystery of the identity of a lad in a wrecked motor boat.
Andy and Frank Racer were the only sons of Mr. and Mrs. Richard Racer,
of New York. Mr. Racer was a wealthy silk merchant. Andy was about a
year younger than Frank, and of a fun-loving nature, always ready for a
trick or a frolic, and generally so impetuous that he acted first and
thought afterward. Frank was inclined to be the opposite, in that he
was filled with determination, and he usually carefully thought out his
plan of action before venturing to do an important thing.
Still, Frank liked fun, and was not a second behind his brother when it
came to having a good time. He was fond of athletics, as indeed they
both were, and they had made good showings on track and field.
How they had a battle with a whale, and how they brought the lad ashore
from his wrecked boat; how they got on the track of the unscrupulous
man who sought to harm him, and how they finally learned who "Paul
Gale" was--all these are told in the first book.
In the second volume, entitled "The Racer Boys at Boarding School,"
our heroes found themselves in a different atmosphere. Their parents
decided to send them to some institution of learning after their summer
of activity at the shore, and for this purpose Riverview Hall was
picked out. Almost at the start there was trouble. On the boat going to
the school Frank and Andy defended a girl from the rude talk of a man
who turned out to be Professor Thorndyke Callum, one of the teachers at
Riverview Hall. Naturally Mr. Callum "had it in" for the two lads.
"Oh, what a punk school!" Andy Racer had exclaimed on reaching
Riverview Hall. And indeed, though his language might not have been
polite, it was very descriptive.
Riverview Hall was afflicted with "dry rot." It had fallen upon evil
days, the trustees had no money to hire good instructors, and, indeed,
there was hardly enough cash to keep the institution going. Dr. Wesley
Doolittle, the head master, was doing his best, but he was more of a
scholar than a financier.
In consequence the buildings were almost in ruins, there was hardly a
decent bed in any dormitory, the football gridiron and the baseball
diamond were overgrown with weeds, the rowing shells were wrecks, and
the few lads at the place were dispirited.
Shortly after the advent of the Racer boys all this was changed.
Frank and Andy were at first much discouraged at the poor condition
of the school, but they agreed to "stick it out," and they did. They
reorganized the football eleven, put the grounds into shape, fixed
up a racing shell, got the baseball nine in running order, and soon
Riverview Hall was again among the champions.
Then a millionaire, seeing a great football game in which our two
heroes played, and learning how much they had done for the school,
invested a large sum in it. So that Riverview Hall came into its own
again, and among the improvements was the withdrawal of Professor
Callum.
But before all the projected improvements could be made something else
happened, as you will find related in detail in the third volume of
this series, entitled "The Racer Boys to the Rescue."
Because of the failure of the heating system of the school there came
an enforced vacation in the winter. The school had to close for repairs
and the students went to their several homes.
Frank and Andy Racer took advantage of the unexpected vacation to go to
the Maine woods on a hunting trip. Their uncle was a lumberman in that
cold region, and the boys planned to go to one of his camps. They did
go, taking Jack Sanderson and Ward Platt with them.
But, before they left they heard bad news from Tom Crawford, a student
at Waterside Hall, a rival school of that attended by our heroes. Tom's
little brother, Len, who was an invalid, had been at a sanitarium in
Maine, and had wandered off in the woods. Then he was captured by some
unscrupulous lumbermen, who held him for a ransom until the Racer boys
got on the trail, and went to the rescue.
After their fun and adventures in camp the Racer boys and their chums
returned to school, for the improvements were so far under way that it
was more comfortable. The winter term passed, and the spring one came,
with the Easter vacation. Then once more, the students went to their
homes, and now, the start of the term that would end in the beginning
of summer found our friends back again at Riverview Hall.
The school had not formally opened as yet, though many of the boys,
including our heroes, had arrived to take possession of their rooms and
get their belongings in shape. When Frank and Andy got there they found
many of their chums to greet them, and the manner of that greeting I
have already indicated.
"Well, fellows, what are we going to do?" asked Ward Platt, as he sat
on Andy's bed, and tried to kick over a pile of clean clothes on the
floor. Andy had taken them from his trunk and was about to put them in
the bureau drawers. "Let's think of something flossy."
"Yes, it'll be flossy all right if _you_ think of it," rejoined Andy.
"Oh, it will, eh?" and with that Ward succeeded in reaching, with
the toe of his foot, the pile of collars, cuffs and other things. In
another second they were scattered about the room.
"Here! what did you do that for?" yelled Andy.
"To show you that I could do something flossy," was the answer, and,
with a quick motion, Ward took a back somersault over the bed, landing
between it and the wall, where Andy could not reach him.
"I'll punch your nose!" went on Andy, as he saw his scattered garments.
"I'll----"
"You'll cool down," advised his brother, in a quiet voice. "If you
don't you'll have Flopps in here to help Mrs. Stone keep order."
"That's right," added Jack. "I saw Flopps just now spading up a flower
bed, and he's right close."
"Oh, get out!" rejoined Andy. "Look at my clean collars and----"
"No business to call names," mocked Ward, from his place of vantage
behind the bed. "Beg my pardon, and I'll call it square."
"I will--like pie!" exclaimed Andy. "The next time I catch you
alone----"
"Now, now," came soothingly from Jack. "Go easy, boys. Don't get to
scrapping so soon. We've got to stick together this term. There are
lots of Freshmen--a big class--and they'll have it in for us, most
likely. I was just wondering what we could do to 'em."
"Haze 'em," suggested Frank. "They'll have to have it sooner or later."
"Then the sooner the better," chimed in Andy. "Say, fellows, I've got
a great scheme!" and in his eagerness to impart a joke he forgot his
enmity against Ward, who ventured to come from behind the bed.
"Out with it," commanded Jack.
"Yes, we'll never have any peace until he does," commented Frank.
"And maybe not much afterward," added Ward. "That's the worst of Andy's
jokes--there's always a come-back to them."
"Oh, you get out!" exclaimed the younger Racer lad. "I can think up
just as good jokes as any of you fellows."
"Yes, but the trouble is that you get caught at 'em," added Ward, who
seemed bound to pick at Andy.
"Let's hear what this one is," suggested Jack, who scented trouble
between the two chums unless the dispute was quelled. "Go ahead, Andy.
We'll all listen. Land knows we need something to wake us up. I've been
here three days now, and not a thing has happened. We've been waiting
for you two brothers to come and start something."
"Oh, I'll start it all right," declared Andy. "Now I've just thought of
something in regard to this hazing. It'll be great!"
He went to the door, opened it softly and looked out; then closing and
locking it, rejoined his companions. They had gathered in the room
Frank and Andy had picked out--a room next to that occupied by Ward and
Jack.
"Why all this gum-shoe business?" inquired Frank.
"Some of the Freshmen might be listening," replied his brother. "I saw
one or two looking at us rather sharp as we came up here. We can't be
too careful. Now for my plan."
His voice dropped to a whisper, as his companions drew more closely to
him, and in a low voice Andy imparted his plan, pausing now and then
to listen at the door. But, as far as he could tell, no one tried to
listen at the portal.
"What do you think of it?" demanded Andy, at the conclusion of his talk.
"Great!" exclaimed Jack.
"I'll take back all I said about you," added Ward.
"If we can get the things it will be sport," declared Frank.
"Oh, we can get 'em in town all right," asserted Andy. "And I've got
the cash, too."
"You ought to have--the first of the term," commented his brother, with
a laugh.
"And now let the black work begin!" hissed Jack, after the manner of a
stage villain. "Them is hard words, Kate!"
"You must give me them papers, villain!" exclaimed Frank, with mock
heroics.
"Aw, cut out the fooling and get down to business, fellows," pleaded
Andy. "There's lots to be done if we want to go at this hazing proper."
"All right, we're with you," assented Ward.
A little later four figures were seen strolling across the campus in
the direction of a trolley line that ran to the town of Riverview. The
boys were gone for some time, and there were many whisperings among
them, as they came back, almost late to supper, for which Mrs. Stone,
the matron, cautioned them.
A little later darkness covered Riverview Hall. That is the proper way
to begin to tell this part of the story. Deep, dark, black darkness. In
fact, as Andy remarked, you could easily tell that it was night.
From their rooms stole four figures.
"Are you all right, fellows?" whispered a voice.
"Of course, Andy," answered Frank. "Don't ask so many questions.
Someone will hear you."
"Well, I don't want any slip-up," declared the younger Racer lad. "Is
everything all right?"
"These whiskers tickle my face," complained Ward.
"A pity about you," snapped Andy. "Cheese it! Here comes someone!"
The four lads, who had reached the basement of the dormitory, crouched
behind some packing cases, and waited in tense silence for what was to
come next.