CHAPTER XXII
ON PROBATION
By mid-afternoon the news was all over school and conjecture was rife.Alton took it as a fine joke and laughed and chuckled enjoyably.Hillsport had been paid back in her own coin, and painting the footballscore on Principal Handley's sacred wall was considered a veritablemaster-stroke of genius! Decorating the premises of Hillsport's chiefof police was also looked on approvingly, for, while it lacked themagnificence of the other effort, it nevertheless held a touch ofdaring that kindled youthful enthusiasm. Some of the seniors shooktheir heads and soberly predicted trouble, but others, knowingthemselves innocent, were unconcerned with that feature of the affair.They wouldn't have to suffer, so why worry? Oddly enough, the identityof the heroes remained a mystery, although many fellows looked wise andpretended to be able to tell a lot if they would. To Bob and Martin andthe others it seemed impossible that none should recall the fact thatthey had remained behind when the car that bore the football playershad left the school. But things had been confused that afternoon andexcitement had reigned, and if anyone did recall that significant factnone made mention of it. You may be certain that none of the fourjogged the memories of any of the others!
Hall restrictions, or hall bounds in student phraseology, wasordinarily not a very severe infliction. You went to chapel, classesand meals as usual, but for the rest you stayed in your dormitorybuilding and let the world wag along without you. You were allowedthe freedom of the recreation room downstairs and you could, if thehall master saw fit to allow, visit other fellows in the building. Solong as you were not engaged in athletic activities you didn't suffergreatly, although after a few days the regime began to seem decidedlymonotonous. In Willard's case hall bounds was a real punishment sinceit meant no more football, and he had very dreary thoughts that Mondayafternoon. As required, he had acquainted Manager Ross of his forcedabsence from the field, and Ross had scowled and scolded, and evenstormed a little, but had not, apparently, connected the fact with thehappening at Hillsport on Saturday night.
Willard didn't dare prophesy to himself what the outcome would be.He had a well-developed notion that fellows had been expelled fromAlton School for misdemeanors no more heinous. In any case, he wasquite certain that there would be no more football for him that fall,since even if, by a miracle, his punishment should be ultimately noworse than at present, a week or a fortnight of absence from practicewould end his usefulness to the team. Coach Cade, he reflected grimly,wasn't going to hold the left half-back position open for him! Therewere moments when he felt somewhat aggrieved and when he told himselfbitterly that it wasn't fair that he should be made the goat for thewhole crowd. But second thought did away with all that. If he couldkeep the others out of it, he decided, he would do it ungrudgingly,even if it cost his dismissal. After all, the success of the footballteam was the big thing, and, although he couldn't help any longer withhis playing, he could help a whole big lot by keeping his tongue still.
If Willard couldn't visit outside Haylow, there was nothing to preventoccupants of other dormitories visiting him, and after practice thatafternoon four disturbed and perturbed youths sat in Number 16 andfaced a puzzling situation. Martin was strong for confessing andmaking a public apology to Doctor Handley at Hillsport, in the hopethat the Alton faculty would be lenient. He was decidedly obstinatein the matter, and it took much persuasion from Willard and Cal toalter his view. Bob was the least talkative of the four. He said hewas perfectly willing to do whatever the others decided was best, buthe offered no opinions. Bob blamed himself for the whole affair, fromfirst to last, ignoring the fact that Cal had originated the scheme,and insisted that if it hadn't been for his carelessness it would neverhave been connected with Willard. _Mea culpa_ was written large onBob's countenance and Martin's repeated assertion that they were alltarred with the same brush--an allusion that made Cal wince, in view ofthe fact that his gray suit was costing him two and a half dollars forcleansing--had no effect on his melancholy.
In the end it was Willard whose words produced conviction. "You fellowsmake me tired," he declared impatiently. "What's the use of going allover it a dozen times? The whole thing's just this: If you fellowssqueal on yourselves it isn't going to do me any good, so far as Ican see, and it'll just about bust up the team. With the best rightguard and left tackle out for the rest of the year, what's going tohappen? You know plaguey well they can't find fellows to fill yourplaces in the little time that's left. We'd get licked good and hard,and that's all there is to that. As for faculty being lenient, well,maybe they might be, but you can bet being lenient won't let any of usplay football! If we'd done something perfectly mean and putrid I'dsay fess up and take the medicine, but we haven't. We didn't any of usknow that Doctor Thingumbob lived in that house. We were just playinga practical joke and the rest was simply tough luck. You fellows justkeep your silly mouths shut and go on and play football and lick thehide off Kenly. That's all you need to do. I'll take the punishment,whatever it is, and keep right on smiling. There's just one thing Iwon't stand for, though." Willard looked at Bob and Martin fiercely."If I get canned and you fellows don't beat Kenly I'll come back hereand I'll--I'll mighty near kill you!"
"Oh, dry up," muttered Bob. "You know blamed well we'll claw the wooloff those guys, Brand! You don't have to talk that way."
"It isn't right, though," said Martin.
"It's as right as anything we can do," asserted Cal. "We haven't doneanything criminal, even if faculty thinks we have. Brand's got theright dope, fellows. There's no use killing off the team just to--tosalve our consciences. Look here, I don't play football. I'll go inwith Brand. Maybe Mac will be easier if there's two of us."
"Oh, don't play the silly goat," begged Willard. "What good would itdo? Where's the sense of two getting canned, maybe, instead of one?Stop chewing the rag, for the love of mud! And pull your face together,Bob, before it freezes that way. Gosh, anyone would think you weregoing to be hung! You fellows beat it out of here before someonesuspects, and stop _looking_ like the criminals you are!"
Willard carried the day.
During the next few days Doctor McPherson summoned various studentsbefore him and questioned them, but learned nothing new. The weeklyfaculty meeting was held Wednesday evening, and Thursday morningWillard found a buff envelope on the mail board in the lower corridorof Haylow. Inside was a request that he call on the Principal thatafternoon at half-past four at his residence.
"Would you pack up now or wait until afterwards?" asked Willardsmilingly of Martin. Martin, however, refused to treat the matter solightly, and growled and fumed at a great rate. At four-thirty Willardpushed the button beside Doctor McPherson's front door and was usheredinto a book-lined room on the right. The Doctor arose to meet him andshook hands, a ceremony dispensed with at the office. Then, when thevisitor was seated, the Doctor picked up a typewritten sheet from thedesk and handed it across.
"Read that, please, Harmon, and tell me whether you wish to sign it,"he said.
It was a letter to Doctor Handley, at Hillsport School, apologizingvery humbly and, at the same time, very gracefully for what hadhappened. It stressed the fact that the writer had not known that hewas defacing school property and was offered "on behalf of myself andmy companions who participated in the regrettable act." Willard read itthrough carefully and laid it back on the edge of the desk.
"Yes, sir," he said, "I'll be very glad to sign it."
"Very well. I am also writing to Doctor Handley and the two letterswill go together." The Doctor dipped a pen in ink and handed it toWillard and the latter placed his signature at the bottom of the sheet.
"Thank you." The Doctor laid the sheet aside and faced the boy again."We gave some thought and discussion to your case last night, Harmon,and, I am glad to tell you, decided to accept your version of theincident. That is, we reached the conclusion that your statement to theeffect that you and your companions were not aware of the fact thatyou were defacing Doctor Handley's property was true. While you havebee
n with us but a short time, your hall master and your instructorsspoke extremely well of you, and that weighed in your favor. It wasdecided that you are to go on probation for the balance of the term,a penalty which you will, I think, realize is far from extreme.Probation, as you doubtless know, requires a certain standing in classand exemplary conduct. It also denies you certain privileges, amongstthem participation in athletics. I may add that as fast as your fellowculprits are discovered a like penalty will be awarded to each. I hopethis will be a lesson to you, Harmon. There is a very distinct linebetween harmless fun and lawlessness, and I trust that hereafter youwill recognize it."
Willard returned to Haylow too relieved over his escape from theextreme penalty to let the matter of probation trouble him for thetime. Martin, returning from practice shortly after, performed a danceof triumph and joy. "That's great, Brand!" he declared. "I don't mindtelling you now that I was fearing the worst. Of course, I didn't letyou see it-- What are you laughing at?"
"Why, you crazy chump, I could see all along that you thought I wasgoing to get canned! You've been about as jolly as an undertaker!"
"Honest? Well, I'll tell you one thing you don't know, son, and that isthat if they had canned you I'd have gone along. I made up my mind tothat!"
"What good would that have done?" jeered Willard.
"Never mind, that's what would have happened," replied Martin doggedly.
"Well, don't be too care-free and light-hearted," laughed the other."Mac says that as fast as you chaps are found out you'll get the samemedicine."
"He's got to find us first," chuckled Martin. "If he was going to do ithe'd have done it before this."
"Well, I hope you're right. How did practice go?"
"Fine! We scored three times on the second. Son, we've got a real teamthis year!"
"Who was at left half?"
"Mawson most of the time. Longstreth had a whack at it, too. We'regoing to miss you there, Brand."
"Much obliged," answered Willard dryly. "I guess you'll worry along,though. What's it like to be on pro?"
Martin's face sobered as he shook his head. "I've never been there yet,and I hope I never shall, but I guess it's sort of fairly rotten!"
And so it proved to be. While Willard was no longer confined to thedormitory, he was not allowed to go on the field and was debarred frombeing outside the school property after six in the evening, and thelatter restriction meant that the movies, unless he chose to attend inthe afternoon, would know him no more until after Christmas Recess.The hardest feature of his punishment, however, was the requiredstanding in all classes. Marks under 85 drew frowns of disapproval, andWillard reflected that the rule that kept him inside the grounds in theevenings was not such a bad one, for only by spending the evenings indiligent study could he hope to scrape through.
Being forbidden attendance at practice or games did not, however,prevent him from witnessing the game with New Falmouth High Schoolon Saturday. He saw it, although at a distance and in a ratheruncomfortable attitude, from Felix McNatt's window in Upton. McNatt'sroom, while not on the end of the building overlooking the field, wasnear the corner and, by opening a window and leaning well out Willardcould see all of the gridiron save the stretch of it close to thenearer stand. Fortunately for his comfort, the day was only mildlycold. New Falmouth High was not a formidable antagonist and Altonhad no difficulty in running up 34 points while the adversary wassecuring 7. Afterwards it was stated throughout the school that McNattwon that game single-handed, but that was an exaggeration. True itis, though, that the full-back carried the ball over for four of thefive touchdowns and was largely instrumental in securing the fifth!Willard observed from his aery with mingled emotions that Mawson wasfar from effectual on attack, although he played a consistently goodgame on defense. Cochran, at right half, had an off-day, and Moncks,who took his place in the third quarter, was not much better. It seemedto Willard that the Gray-and-Gold deserved a larger score than shegot, for she followed the ball closely, played hard and showed realend of the season form throughout. Two penalties in the last periodundoubtedly saved the visitor from a worse drubbing. The visitor'stouchdown was honestly earned in the first few minutes of play when GilTarver's forward-pass to Lake fell into the hands of the enemy and ablue-and-white-legged youth raced thirty-odd yards and fell across thegoal-line. A nimble-footed quarter-back added another point.
The New Falmouth game passed into history and Alton faced the next tothe last contest with confidence. Oak Grove Academy was always a worthycompetitor, and this year was to meet Alton on Oak Grove ground, butthe Gray-and-Gold had reached her stride and the only question thatconcerned her adherents was the size of the score and whether Oak Grovewould be represented in it. Kenly had played a stiff game with LorimerSaturday and had won it in the last five minutes, the final score being16 to 13. Although the best Alton had been able to do against Lorimerwas to play her to a 3 to 3 tie, the Gray-and-Gold nevertheless foundencouragement in the Kenly-Lorimer game, arguing that Alton's presentplaying was fifty per cent better than it had been a fortnight ago,granting which a meeting between Alton and Kenly on Saturday would havefound the former easily superior. Whether this reasoning was correct ornot, certain it is that neither players nor adherents doubted Alton'sability to beat Oak Grove Academy in most decisive fashion at the endof the week. But this was before Mr. Kincaid, physics instructor, puttwo and two together and beheld a great light.