CHAPTER III
HELD BY THE ENEMY
A long moment of deep silence followed.
Harmon stared bewilderedly at the closed door. Of course, it was somesort of a silly joke, but it seemed so peculiarly at variance with allthat had gone before that he couldn't understand. Wondering, he waitedfor the door to reopen. Instead, however, came the voice of Joe Myers,subdued by the intervening portal but recognizable and distinct.
"Harmon, can you hear me?"
"Yes!"
"That's good. Now listen. It's too late to make that train, old man,and there isn't another until about nine o'clock. That would get youto Lakeville pretty late and faculty wouldn't like it, I guess. What'sthe use of starting the term with a black eye, eh? No sense in gettingin wrong right at the start, is there? It's a sort of a handicap to afellow--"
"There's plenty of time to get the train if you'll open that door,"replied Harmon impatiently. "What's the big idea, anyway? If it's ajoke it's a mighty poor one, Myers!"
"It isn't a joke," came the answer. "You see, it's like this. We hateto see a nice, decent chap like you spoiling his whole--er--his wholefuture career by making a mistake, Harmon. And you will make a mistakeif you go to Kenly. Why, you say yourself that you're not certain ofmaking the team over there! What sort of a school is it, I ask you,where a fellow of your--your caliber has to get out and dig for a placeon the eleven? Now, here you're sure of it. All you'll have to do willbe just put your name down at the office. Of course we don't know whatarrangement Kenly has agreed to make, and maybe we can't promise allthey have. You see, faculty here's sort of--sort of strait-laced. ButI'll promise you this much, anyhow, Harmon: Your first quarter won'tcost you a cent. We'll see to that. All you need is to--"
"I haven't the slightest idea what you're talking about!" protested theprisoner. "Open that door and let me out, or--or--"
"Now don't get peevish, _please_!" begged Joe. "Honest, we're doingthis for your own good, Harmon. Just think a minute and you'll see it.We're offering you a quarter's tuition and the full-back position onthe team. If Kenly can do any better, why, all I've got to say is thatthey're a lot of low-down cheats, after the way they talk over there!"
"But I'm not going to Kenly to play football!" exploded Harmon. "Idon't care if I never play! I'm going to--to _learn_!"
"Sure! Well, that's another reason why you ought to stay here. Everyoneknows that Alton's a better school for learning things than Kenly. Youdon't have to take my word for that, either. It's universally accepted.Why, gosh-ding-it, we've got a bigger faculty and a better one thanKenly ever thought of having! And we've got better buildings and abetter plant generally! Why, say, you can learn more here in a monththan you could learn at Kenly in a year!"
"Are you fellows crazy?" demanded Harmon. "Let me out or I'll kick thedoor down!"
"You can't do that," replied Joe equably. "It's two inches thick. Andno one will hear you, no matter how much row you make, for there won'tbe anyone on the next floor until tomorrow morning. So you might justas well get rid of that idea, old man. We need you right here at Alton,and we mean to have you. And you'll be mighty glad some day that we didthis. Of course, right now you're feeling a bit peeved with us, butyou'll get over that when you calm down and think things over. Maybeyou'd like to consider awhile. There's no hurry. How about it?"
There was no reply for a long moment. Then Harmon said in quite aplacid voice: "Will you please tell me again what you're getting at?Maybe I'm kind of dense, but it's all hodgepodge to me!"
"Sure! Here it is in a nutshell. We need you on the team--"
"What team?" asked Harmon patiently.
"Why, the football team, man! We need you a heap more than Kenly does,and we're willing to do anything in reason to get you. Maybe you won'tmind telling us what Kenly has offered you."
"For what?"
"Why, for--well, for going there."
"Kenly hasn't offered me anything. Why should she? I'm entering likeanyone else."
There was a silence. Then Joe's voice came again, somewhat more chilly."All right. It's your affair. If you don't want to tell, you needn't,but we wouldn't ever speak of it. I suppose you mean that we haven'toffered enough. Well, I'll have a talk with some of the fellows andsee what they say. You understand, Harmon, that whatever we do wedo without faculty getting wise. And, of course, whatever money wemanaged to raise would come out of a few pockets, because lots offellows wouldn't approve, and lots of 'em haven't got the money. Forthat matter, I don't altogether approve myself! If it was almost anyoneelse I'd tell him to go to thunder! Still, if Kenly can do this sort ofthing and get away with it--"
"Would you very much mind listening to me a minute?" begged the boyon the other side of the door. "Kenly isn't paying me money for goingthere. She hasn't offered to and I wouldn't take it in any case. Isthat plain?"
"Y-yes," replied Joe, "but--"
"Then why not stay here instead?" asked Bob eagerly. "You're sure ofmaking the team and it won't cost you a cent for tuition the firstquarter! We've got everything Kenly has and a lot she hasn't. Besides,it's a heap nicer playing on a winning team than on a losing one, andwe're going to lick Kenly this fall as sure as shooting!"
"That train's gone, hasn't it?" asked Harmon quietly.
"Just leaving the station," answered Joe in relieved tones.
"Then you might as well let me out of here."
"That means you've decided to stay?"
"No, it doesn't. I haven't any idea of staying. But--"
"You think it over," advised Joe. "We'll be back in half an hour or so.What have you got against Alton, anyway?"
"Nothing against the place," answered Harmon, "but a lot against thecrazy idiots in it! Open the door and stop acting the fool!"
There was a low-voiced conference outside and then Joe announced:"We'll let you think it over awhile, old man. There's no use gettingmad about it. We're doing this for your sake as much as for our own,and you'd ought to see that. That offer still holds good, remember.Maybe I'll be able to better it when I come back. I'll see--"
"Look here, you--you crazy loon! Do you mean that you're going aroundtelling the fellows that you've got me locked up here?"
"Well, I've got to tell them something, haven't I? I can't say--"
"Don't say anything! I don't want your money! I wouldn't stay here ifyou paid me a thousand dollars a week!"
"You mean that?" asked Joe dubiously.
"Of course I mean it! Now let me out!"
"Well, leaving money out of it altogether, Harmon, and all on thelevel: What's the matter with going to school here instead of overthere?"
"Why should I?" asked Harmon exasperatedly. "I started for Kenly andthat's where I'm going. You can keep me here all night and all tomorrowand all--"
"But that's not reasonable," protested Joe mildly. "Here we're givingyou a chance to--"
"Reasonable! Ha! Do you call what you're doing reasonable?"
"It may not look so, but it sure is! Hang it, man, we're trying to saveyou from making a perfectly rotten mistake! Look here, have you paidyour first quarter over there?"
"I have not, but that's got nothing to do with it."
"Of course it has!" returned Joe in triumph. "You aren't a studentthere until you've registered and paid your first quarter bill! Allright! Just pay your money here, old man: the tuition's the same! Whatdo you say?"
"_No!_"
"Well, I've said all I can think of," replied Joe despondently. "Youthink it over awhile, Harmon. There's no hurry: you can register anytime this evening before nine and tomorrow morning before twelve.We'll be back after a bit. You sort of think it over, eh?"
"I don't need to think it over! I haven't the least idea of doinganything so crazy! Come on and open the door now, and let's have an endto this--this silly nonsense!"
But there was no reply. Instead, there came to the captive the faintsounds of retreating footsteps. He listened suspiciously. Perhaps itwas only a hoax, perhaps Myers was still outsi
de. After a minute hecalled.
"That doesn't fool me!" he said. "I know you're still there!"
But there was no answer, and when another minute had gone by herealized that they had actually gone and left him there alone!