Mingled, indeed, were the feelings with which the boys heard this
ultimatum from Mr. Larmore.
After he had dropped his sarcasm, they believed that he would at least
be fair with them, and accordingly, when they heard his terms, they
could scarcely believe their ears.
But they managed to control their feelings and, bowing curtly, turned on
their heels and strode from the office.
Once out in the hallway they gave vent to their indignation.
"My word! Princy must have had something awful mean for breakfast to
have accumulated such a grouch!" exclaimed Misery.
"But we can't blame him so much," returned Longback. "What sticks in my
craw is that old Tony Farelli, who was janitor at Rivertown High when
most of our fathers and mothers were students, should have laid the
trouble to the Pi Etas."
"He must have some good reason for thinking it was some of us," returned
Dawson, "because Tony has always been square."
"Seventy dollars is going some," declared Jerry. "It looks to me as if
the Pi Eta chapter room will be closed for some time to come."
"Shall you pay it? I suppose you'll assess the members equally?" asked
Harry.
"Pay it! Well, I should say not!" retorted Dawson, angrily. "Princy can
nail up the door of the chapter room first!"
"Now, don't go to making any threats, Tom," interposed Longback. "The
thing to do is to have a meeting of the Kappa Phis and Psi Mus to decide
what shall be done."
"How about us?" demanded Jerry. "Being the victims, it seems to me we
should have a little say in the matter."
"There you go again," retorted Dawson. "You freshmen never can seem to
understand that it is part of your training to do as your betters tell
you. Inasmuch as just about all the Kappa Phis are old Pi Eta men, you
can be very sure that nothing will be decided upon that will lower the
dignity of any Pie Eater."
While they were talking, the boys were standing upon the porch of the
school building.
In the meantime, the principal had started on his rounds of the various
rooms, immediately upon the departure of the student committee, and it
was only a short time before he had learned that all the Greek letter
men had cut their classes.
Angered at such action, Mr. Larmore was stalking back to his office,
when he chanced to espy the committee members through the glass in the
door.
Hastening his steps, he pushed open the inner door, yanked the knob of
the outside one so that the door came open with a jerk, and faced the
boys.
"Why aren't the Greek letter students at their classes, and what are you
doing out here?" he demanded.
"I can only speak for myself, sir," returned Dawson. "I am out here
because I'm not going to school to-day."
Only the tone in which he spoke saved the boy's speech from being
grossly disrespectful, but the principal had sufficient understanding of
scholars to know that it would not be well for him to press the matter
farther, and without another word, he closed the door and returned to
his office.
"Wow, but Princy's mad!" ejaculated Jerry. "Let's get hold of the other
fellows and decide on our plan of action just as soon as we can."
This suggestion met with the approval of the other members of the
committee, and forthwith they hied themselves down the hill.
As they reached the foot, they met a crowd of boys hurrying toward them.
"Princy's closed the Pi Eta room," cried several of them, as they
gathered about the members of their committee.
"We know it," returned Dawson. "And what's more it will stay closed
until the Pi Etas pay seventy dollars, which Mr. Larmore says is the
amount of the damage done in the physical laboratory--and that, I opine,
will be some time in the far distant future."
At first the other boys refused to believe this announcement, but they
were quickly assured of its authoritativeness, and when its full
significance dawned upon them they stared at one another blankly.
"I can also tell you that Princy's very sore because the Greek letter
men have cut their classes."
"My word, but the prospect looks cheerful, doesn't it?" commented
Socker. "Where will the Pi Eta bunch meet, now?"
"The graveyard seems the most appropriate place," asserted Misery.
"You'll have to do without your chapter room," laughed Dawson. "In the
meantime, the Kappa Phis and the Psi Mus are going to have a meeting to
decide what you shall do."
"That's awfully sweet of you," mocked one of the freshmen. "I do hope
you won't decide on anything that it won't be perfectly ladylike to do,"
and turning to his companions he exclaimed: "Come on, fellows, let's go
down to the river and have a hockey game."
"You'll do nothing of the sort," countermanded Dawson, as a dozen or so
of the boys started off to get their skates. "It's up to you boys to
find Tony, while the rest of us are holding our consultation."
"But what's old Tony got to do with it?" chorused several of the group.
"Everything, seeing that it is he who told Princy the Pi Etas were in
the laboratory," returned Longback, dryly.
"But there isn't one of us Tony wouldn't recognize--except, of course,
Watson."
"That's it, exactly," asserted Dawson.
"Can Watson prove an alibi?" demanded a voice from the outside of the
crowd which had been constantly increasing, as the word had passed
around that the delegates had concluded their interview with the
principal of the Rivertown High School.
"Who said that?" demanded Jerry, indignantly.
No one, however, made any response.
"I'll wager the fellow who said that thing is the one who broke the
apparatus," declared Paul.
"Of course, I----" began Harry.
"Keep quiet! Shut up! Don't answer him! Forget it!" shouted several of
the boys, effectually drowning Harry's words.
"You mustn't forget you're a Pi Eta, and that a Pi Eta is never
doubted," said Jerry.
"Hear! Hear!" mocked several of the upper classmen.
"Seriously, though, you mustn't waste any more time," interposed
Longback. "You noble spirited Pi Etas go find Tony, and we'll have our
confab; then you may meet us in the hall in front of the Psi Mu chapter
room."
The freshmen, however, did not wait to hear the last of the taunt, and
breaking up into bands of two or three, they started out with the
purpose of locating the janitor.
"Why not look for him at the school," suggested Harry.
"Because, this is his day to go to Lumberport," returned Jerry. "He
always goes over there every Thursday to draw money for school
expenses."
"Maybe he hasn't gone yet. Let's go round to his house," suggested Paul.
Quickly, the boys who were natives of Rivertown set out to guide their
new chum to the house where the janitor lived; but when they arrived
they were disappointed to know that he had been gone some two hours.
"Are you the young gentlemen he was expecting to bring him money?" asked
Mrs. Farelli.
"Money for what?" asked Paul, surprised.
"I don't know, sir. He just said some young men were to bring him some
money and I thought it might be you, so I was going to tell you he said
to take it over to Lumberport and leave it at Rector's cigar store for
him, as he won't be back for a couple of days."
"Then he hasn't gone on school business, to-day?" exclaimed Jerry, with
a rising inflection in his voice.
"No, sir."