CHAPTER V
PRINCIPAL AND PRINCIPLES
Wayne’s opportunity to protest came earlier than he expected. When heentered Bradley Hall in the middle of the forenoon to get his Frenchgrammar he found an official-looking note in the mail box. It provedto be from the principal and requested Wayne’s presence at the officeat noon. The latter made hard work of the French recitation, and tookno interest in the doings of Bonaparte in Egypt for thinking of theapproaching interview and strengthening the arguments which were toconfuse the principal and put the iniquitous school law to rout.
He found the principal’s secretary and two pupils, who assisted in thework, occupying the outer office. Professor Wheeler was engaged, butwould see him in a moment. Wayne took a chair, resenting the delaywhich required him to nurse the state of virtuous indignation intowhich he had worked himself. The quiet of the room, disturbed only bythe scratching of the pens or the rustling of paper, presently exerteda depressing effect, and he felt his courage oozing out of him. Thenthe secretary arose and went into the inner room. When he returneda moment later he left the door ajar and Wayne caught a glimpse of awarm-toned apartment, a portion of a high bookcase, and the corner of abroad mahogany desk. From within came a slight shuffling of uneasy feetand the noise of a turned page. Then came the sound of a closing book,and a voice, which Wayne recognized as belonging to the principal,broke the silence:
“Now, my boy, I’ll speak with you. What is your name?”
“Carl Gray, sir,” answered a very boyish voice.
“Ah, yes; you’re in the lower middle class?”
“Yes, sir.”
“I have received a complaint from Porter, in the village. He informs methat you have owed him a bill since last term and that he can not gethis money. Is that true?”
“Yes, sir.” The boy spoke in low tones, and Wayne, without seeing him,knew the state of trepidation he was in and wondered if he would behaveso cravenly when his turn came.
“You knew the rule about such things?” asked the principal. “You knewthat pupils are not allowed to contract debts?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Then why did you do it, Gray?”
“I--I wanted some things, and so-- Porter said that he would trustme----”
“Let me see. You played on one of the nines last spring, didn’t you?”
“Yes, sir; on the junior class nine.”
“Yes. Well, Gray, when you knock a good clean base hit what do youdo? Do you run over toward the grand stand and then back toward thepitcher’s box and so on to first base, or do you go there as directlyand as speedily as you know how?” A moment of silence followed andWayne grinned.
“Directly, sir,” said the boy inside finally.
“Yes, I should think so. Well, now, when you start to make anexplanation apply the same rule, my lad: go just as directly andquickly as you can to the point. As a matter of fact, you knew that youwere disobeying the rules of the Academy, and preferred to do that thanto go without some things that you wanted. Isn’t that so?”
“I-- No, sir, I didn’t----”
“That isn’t just the way you would put it, Gray, but isn’t it correct?”
“Yes, sir, I suppose so.”
“Do you have an allowance, Gray?”
“Yes, sir; fifty cents a week.”
“But you don’t find it large enough?”
“I wanted some baseball things and some clothes. We had to haveuniforms.”
“I see. Did you think when you had the things charged to you that youcould pay for them?”
“Yes, sir. I meant to pay a quarter every week, but somehow, sir----”
“The quarter wasn’t there when you wanted it; I see. Well, Porter mustbe paid. He is not blameless in the affair; he knew what the rule isabout giving credit to the pupils, and I shall see that he gets no moreof the school trade. But that doesn’t alter the fact that you owe himthe sum of twelve dollars. Can you pay it?”
“No, sir, not right away. I will pay him fifty cents a week. I offeredto do so a week ago and he said he must have the whole amount, and Iwas saving it up.”
“H’m! How much have you saved?”
“A--a dollar.”
“Slow work, Gray. Now, I shall settle this bill and send the account toyour parents. Have you anything to say about that?”
“Oh, sir, please don’t! I’ll pay it as soon as I can, sir; I will givehim every cent I get. Only please don’t send it home!”
“Your family is not well off, Gray?”
“No, sir. I have only a mother, and she couldn’t pay it without--withoutmissing the money dreadfully, sir. If only you will not let her know!”
“You should have thought of that before, Gray. I should like to spareyour mother as much, perhaps, as you; but the rules are strict and Ican’t see my way to making an exception in your case. I shall have tosend the bill to your mother, sir. Let it teach you a lesson. Thereare lots of things in this world, Gray, that we think we must have, butwhich we can do very well without if only we realize it. It is hardsometimes to see others possess things that we want and can not have.But luckily the world doesn’t judge us by our possessions, but by ouraccomplishments. I don’t believe that the football clothes which yougot from Porter enabled you to play better ball or stand better in yourclass, and it’s very unlikely that any of the boys thought you a finerfellow for having them. In future live within your income--that is,your allowance--and if you want to pay off the debt save your moneyinstead of spending it, and when the amount is saved return it to yourmother. That would be an honest and a manly act. That is all I have tosay to you, my boy.”
“I will, sir,” answered the culprit earnestly. “But won’t you--couldn’tyou please, sir, not send----”
“That can’t be altered, Gray,” answered the principal kindly. “I amsorry. Good day.”
A slender and very white-faced boy passed out with averted eyes, and amoment later Wayne found himself in the inner office. The principal wasleaning back in his big armchair thoughtfully polishing his glasses.He did not look up at once, and Wayne had an opportunity to study theman who for over twenty years had wisely directed the affairs of oneof the largest preparatory schools of the country, and who in thattime had gained the reverence and affection of thousands of boys.Wayne saw a middle-aged, scholarly looking man, whose brown hair wasbut lightly frosted about the temples, and whose upright and vigorousfigure indicated the possession of much physical strength. There wasan almost youthful set to the broad shoulders, and Wayne was certainthat the muscles won years before in his college crew were still firmand strong. Indeed, those muscles, although Wayne did not know it, werekept in perfect condition by as much bodily exercise as the principalcould crowd into a busy life, and his prowess with a golf club was amatter of pride and admiration among the boys. There was a kindly lookin the brown eyes that were presently turned upon the waiting lad.
“Are you Wayne Gordon?”
“Yes, sir.”
“You’re in the upper middle, aren’t you, and this is your first year atHillton?”
Wayne again assented.
“And I dare say you are not perfectly acquainted with the rules of theAcademy yet; I can understand that. It takes some time to learn them,even though we try not to have very many. Professor Beck tells me,Gordon, that you have been absent on three occasions from gymnasiumwork and have failed to make any excuse. I presume you had some verygood reason for not attending on each occasion, did you not?” The toneand manner were so kindly that Wayne found himself wishing that he hadsome presentable excuse; but in the next moment he remembered hispurpose and answered uncompromisingly:
“I stayed away on three days, sir, because it was not convenient toattend. I don’t consider that you--I mean the faculty--has any right tocompel a fellow to--to do gymnasium work unless he wishes to.”
“Indeed!” was the quiet reply. “And how do you arrive at thatconclusion?”
Whereupon Wayne very earnestly and at much leng
th presented his viewson the subject, maintaining a respectful but undoubtedly ratherirritating tone of complacency. Once or twice the listener frowned,once he smiled, as though in spite of himself, at some high-soundingphrase from the boy. When Wayne had finished, a little breathless, theprincipal spoke:
“Are you a member of the debating club, Gordon?”
“No, sir,” answered Wayne, surprised into an expression of ordinarycuriosity quite unbecoming a great reformer.
“You should join. I think you have the making of a very lucid andconvincing speaker.” The boy strove to detect an expression of ironyon the master’s face, but saw none. “Unfortunately, in the presentcase you have selected a side in the debate that is not defensible.And, also unfortunately, I have neither the time nor the inclinationto enter the lists with you. But I will say one or two things on thesubject. In the first place, it is a waste of your time to considerwhether or not the faculty has the right to make the rule regardingphysical training; the indisputable fact is that the faculty hasmade the rule. For the sake of argument--although I said I would notargue--let us assume that the faculty has not the right. What can youdo about it? The rules are not altered, after ten years, on the demandof one scholar out of a school of some two hundred. If the pupil standsfirm and the faculty stands firm what is going to be the result? Why,the two must part company. In other words, the pupil must leave. Do youthink it is worth it?”
“But it’s wrong, sir, and if I accept the--the arrangement I amindorsing it, and I can’t do that.”
“But maybe it isn’t wrong; we only assumed it to be, you remember. Youdon’t care for athletics?”
“Not much, sir; I like riding and shooting and fishing, but I don’tsee the good of fussing--I mean exercising--with dumb-bells andchest weights and single sticks; and it tires me so that I can’tdo my lessons well.” The principal raised his eyebrows in genuineastonishment.
“Are you certain of that? Maybe you have not given the thing a fairtrial. We believe here at Hillton that it is just as necessary to keepa boy’s health good as his morals, and our plan has worked admirablyfor many years. The rule regarding ‘compulsory physical education,’ asyou call it, is not peculiar to Hillton; it is to be found at everypreparatory school in the country, I feel sure. A capability for goodstudying depends on a clear brain and a well body, and these, in turn,depend on a proper attention to exercise and recreation. The firstof these we demand; the other we encourage and expect. Who is yourroommate?”
“Donald Cunningham, sir.”
“Indeed! And does he have very much trouble with his studies?”
“No, sir; but he has been at it for two years--the gymnasium work, Imean. I’m not used to it, and I find the studies difficult, and if I amtired I can’t do them.”
“If gymnasium work tires you it is undoubtedly because you have nothad enough of it. And it shows that you need it. Professor Beck isvery careful to require no more in that direction from a boy thanhis condition should allow, and to render mistakes impossible thephysical examination of every pupil is made when he enters, and againat intervals until he leaves school. Now, I will speak to ProfessorBeck; maybe it will seem advisable to him to make your exercise alittle lighter for a while. But I expect you to report regularly at thegymnasium, or, if you are feeling unfit, to tell me of the fact. Wewon’t require any boy to do anything that might be of injury to him.Will you promise to do this?”
“I can’t, sir. It is the principle of the thing that is wrong.”
“I can’t discuss that with you any longer, Gordon; I’ve done so atgreater length than I intended to already. You must obey the ruleswhile you are here. If you do not you must go elsewhere. When is yournext gymnasium day?”
“To-morrow, sir.”
“Very well; I shall expect you to be there. If you are not I shallbe obliged to put you on probation, which is a very uncomfortablething. If you still refuse you will be suspended. I tell you this nowso that you may labor under no illusions. I do not complain becauseyou hold the views which you do--they are surprising, but not againstdiscipline--but I must and do insist that you obey the rules. Thinkit over, Gordon, and don’t do yourself an injury by taking the wrongcourse. If you want to see me in the morning, after you have slept onthe matter, you will find me here. Good day.”
“Good day, sir, and thank you for your advice; only----”
“Well?”
“I don’t think I can do as you wish.”
“But,” answered the principal earnestly, “let us hope that you can.”