school reopened the second monday in september, and long before nine o’clock the boys and girls began to gather about the steps, waiting for the janitor to open the doors.

hamlin had overtaken clark and freeman, and when the three reached the schoolhouse gate they found a goodly number there before them, and many voices called out greetings, especially to hamlin.

“there’s a newcomer,” clark said; “up there near the door.”

“the chap with the rosy locks?” answered hamlin. “yes, he’s new, but he seems to be making himself very much at home. he’s talking away with the old fellows as if he had known them all his life. there! jimmy’s opening the doors. let’s wait here a bit. i don’t care to hustle through that crowd.”

“evidently, he of the rosy locks doesn’t either,” remarked clark, noticing that the red-haired boy had not passed in with the throng, but remained on the upper step with two or three other boys.

[139]

“look at him, will you! well, if he isn’t a cheeky cad!” exclaimed hamlin a moment later, as the boy they were watching pulled off his hat and made a low bow to a group of girls passing to the other door. among these girls was gordon’s sister, and grace harlan, a cousin of hamlin’s.

“i’d like to punch his head for him. he doesn’t know those girls—not one of them spoke to him,” hamlin added.

“wonder if he’ll be in our section,” said clark, as the three boys passed up the steps.

“hope not,” replied hamlin. “we don’t want any of his sort in section d.”

a shout of welcome met them as they entered their own class-room, and clark felt happier than he had ever felt before in that school-room as one and another called out a friendly greeting. several took pains to speak to freeman, whose sensitive face showed his appreciation of the kindness.

“wonder if green isn’t coming back,” said gordon, noticing his vacant seat.

“no,” volunteered coyle, “he’s gone to work.”

gordon and hamlin exchanged glances of satisfaction at this information, and both thought, “one less of the antis.”

green had been one of the most disagreeable boys in the class, and very few felt sorry that he would come among them no more. several other seats[140] were vacant, but only one of the l. a. o.’s had failed to return. that one was bates, who had gone to boarding-school.

soon after the opening exercises were over, prof keene appeared with four new boys, and hamlin threw a doleful glance at clark, for the first of the new-comers was the red-headed boy whom they had seen on the steps. the second was a tall, handsome lad of perhaps seventeen, and the other two were ordinary looking boys of ordinary ability, not destined to have much influence one way or the other on the standing of section d.

of course the school could not get into smooth running order that first day, and the recess was prolonged to nearly twice its usual length. a group of the l. a. o.’s quickly got together in a corner of the playground, and, as hamlin, gordon, raleigh and sherman were among the number, the talk soon drifted to the subjects dear to all their hearts—the l. a. o. and the standing of d section.

“say, fellows,” hamlin began, “with green and henderson gone, seems to me we might get the few antis left to join us now. if they’d only do their best, we could easily put old section d at the top this year.”

“there’s crawford left—and coyle,” remarked one, doubtfully.

“coyle’s a bad lot, i know, but he’s only one; and[141] somehow, i’ve a notion that crawford has come back with different ideas, this term,” said gordon.

“why—what makes you think that?” questioned raleigh.

“i don’t know really,” answered gordon, thoughtfully, “only somehow there’s a different air about him. there he is over there, now.”

every eye in the group followed gordon’s glance to where crawford stood leaning against the fence. there was no one near him, and something in his attitude, and in the expression of his face, convinced more than one of the boys that gordon was right, and that crawford was changed somehow.

“suppose there’d be any use in asking him to join the l. a. o.?” questioned sherman, after a moment’s silence.

“i should say ask him, by all means. he can’t do more than refuse,” said gordon; “and we must ask the new fellows, of course. hamlin, will you interview rosy or the black-eyed chap?”

“neither. i’ll take the other two fellows,” said hamlin, promptly.

“all right, then i’ll see to the black-eyed fellow; and sherman, you might interview rosy. i’m going to speak to crawford, now.”

crawford looked greatly surprised as gordon approached, and yet more surprised when the latter made known his errand. he dropped his eyes, the[142] color mounted in his dark cheeks, and for a moment he was silent. then he looked gordon full in the face and said slowly:—

“do you really want me, gordon?”

“i certainly do, or i would not have asked you,” was the quiet reply.

“and the other fellows?” questioned crawford.

“i think we shall all be glad to have you join us, crawford,” said gordon.

“gordon—i don’t suppose you know what it is to be ashamed of yourself through and through. i do—and i don’t enjoy the feeling.” there was a ring of pain in crawford’s voice as he spoke, and gordon could not question his sincerity. he held out his hand saying, heartily:—

“the best of us go wrong so often that we can’t afford to be hard on anybody who is honestly sorry, crawford. i want you on our side this year to help us make the old central proud of section d.”

crawford grasped the offered hand and then turned away without another word, but gordon felt that the look on his face was more eloquent than any words could have been.

when he went back to the group in the corner and reported his success, some of the boys looked doubtful. they found it hard yet to believe that crawford was in earnest, but at least they were glad to be able to hope that he would no longer lead the idle and troublesome element into fresh mischief.

[143]

“if coyle could only be gotten rid of, now,” remarked raleigh, “we might hope to make a fine record this year, so far as deportment goes. it remains to be seen what kind of students these new fellows are.”

“that black-eyed chap looks as if he had brains,” remarked reed.

“looks to me as if he thought he had the monopoly of brains,” put in hamlin.

“he does have rather a high and mighty air,” said sherman. “may be only shyness, though. some fellows put on airs like that when their hearts are in their boots.”

“he isn’t troubled with shyness—anything but,” retorted hamlin.

“neither is rosy, for that matter,” remarked clark laughingly.

“you’re right there, clark,” said hamlin; “but there goes the bell. say, gordon,” he added, as they moved towards the door, “can’t we have a meeting of the l. a. o. to-morrow, to let these new fellows get an idea of what we want to do this year?”

“all right,” responded gordon, “we’ll say after school to-morrow, then.”

when, the next day, gordon called the meeting to order, his face beamed with satisfaction as he looked around and saw that almost the entire section was present. the only exceptions were coyle,[144] barber, one of his special friends, and the black-eyed boy whom gordon was to have invited to join them.

this was the first of these meetings at which clark, freeman or crawford had been present, but certainly no one in the room was more interested than these three, who for such different reasons had hitherto been absent.

gordon was usually very quiet and rather reserved, but he was very fond of the central high school, as his father had been before him, and he had come back full of the desire that it should stand as high, if not higher, this year, than in the old days when his father was so proud of its reputation. so, to-day, he was so eager and so full of enthusiastic plans for raising the standard of the class, and gaining for it first rank in the school, that before long the other members of the l. a. o. caught something of his spirit, and all sorts of plans and propositions were made. it was unanimously resolved that every member should do his very best in class, and that not even the drill or ball games should be allowed to interfere with the great object.

three of the new boys were present at this meeting, but only dixon, or “rosy,” as he was already dubbed in the class, made any remarks. he was on his feet half a dozen times, asking questions, making suggestions, or offering amendments.

when the meeting was over, and all but gordon[145] and hamlin had left the room, the latter threw himself into a seat exclaiming, “well, i reckon we’ll get enough of that rosy before the year is ended! he’s of a retiring disposition, isn’t he?”

gordon laughed. “he won’t have so many questions to ask next time,” he said.

“won’t? don’t you believe it. he’ll always have a raft of ’em to reel off. he may be a very nice chap, but deliver me from having anything to do with any more of the sort. but how about his royal highness with the black eyes? wouldn’t he condescend to accept the invitation?”

“no,” said gordon quietly, though his face flushed at the question.

“oh, come, gordon, you might as well out with it. your face gives you away. what did he say?”

“well,” said gordon with a half laugh, “he drew himself up and looked at me as if i were a toad or a snake, and remarked that he had come here to study—not to fool away his time in clubs or any such nonsense, and that he would thank me to leave him alone.”

“whew!” whistled hamlin, “he’ll be pretty popular here, won’t he?” then he added, indignantly, “well, if he isn’t a cool customer! i reckon he’ll be let alone emphatically, hereafter.”

“yes,” said gordon, “but there’s one good thing. if he’s a fine scholar, and i fancy that he is, he’ll[146] help the section that way, in spite of himself; and certainly, that sort of a fellow won’t be cutting up or getting others into mischief, so he won’t work against the l. a. o.”

“that’s so,” answered hamlin; “but what a chump he is to take such a stand as that, and lose all the good times he might have here.”

“yes,” assented gordon, “but see here, hamlin, let’s not tell the other fellows anything about this. it would turn them all against him, and i don’t think he’s likely to make many friends anyhow.”

“evidently he does not care to make any,” said hamlin.

“it seems not, but you know if the fellows get set against him, some of them will do their best to make it hot for him. you and i don’t want to have any hand in that sort of thing, so we’ll keep mum about this—shan’t we?”

“oh, i suppose so,” grumbled hamlin. “i feel as if i’d like to kick him myself, and i reckon most of the boys would feel the same way. we’ll let his royal highness severely alone, since that’s his pleasure. by the way, what is his name, anyhow?”

“somebody said it was everett st. john. perhaps it’s on the strength of his aristocratic name that he puts on so many airs,” replied gordon.

on the outer steps a group of boys stood talking and laughing—among them, rosy. he stepped[147] forward, and slipped his arm familiarly through hamlin’s, as the latter came down the stairs with gordon.

“i say, hamlin,” he began, not in the least disconcerted at hamlin’s straightening out his arm like a poker, “i wish you’d introduce me to grace harlan. she’s a cousin of yours, isn’t she?”

“miss harlan is my cousin,” answered hamlin coldly, “but i never introduce boys to her except at her own request.”

“ho, ho, rosy—got squelched that time,” snickered coyle, as hamlin and gordon passed on.

“oh, that’s nothing. i’ll get somebody else to introduce me. miss harlan is the prettiest girl i’ve seen in an age,” responded rosy serenely, while hamlin was growling in gordon’s ear, “introduce him to grace, indeed! i think i see myself doing it.”

being a little late next morning, hamlin took a short cut to school, passing through a side street where he seldom went. he was going along at a rapid pace when he saw dixon come out of a door half-way down the block. when hamlin reached the place he glanced up at the still open door. it was a low saloon.

“dear me,” he thought, “i wish that fellow had never come near the central. it was bad enough before, but now that i know that he goes into such[148] holes as that—what am i to do about it? he’ll probably get other fellows in there, too. wonder if i ought to tell bobby.”

but to “tell on a fellow,” even in a case like this, was very repugnant to hamlin.

“i can’t do it yet a while,” he decided, “but i’ll keep a sharp eye on him, and if i ever see him in such a place again, i’ll warn him that i’ll report him unless he stops it.”

dixon was standing by the school gate, and greeted hamlin with the utmost cordiality, seeming not to notice the coldness with which the other responded. it was impossible to freeze dixon—he simply would not be frozen.

on this morning the regular recitations were to begin, and gordon, clark and hamlin were eager to hear the new boys recite, that they might judge whether they would be helps or hindrances in that which our boys were so anxious to accomplish this year—to make d the banner section of the school.

they knew that two other sections, at least, were as eager and as determined as they to hold the first place, and one or two poor scholars might bring the record down in spite of all that could be done by others in the class. so eyes and ears were alert that morning in section d.

the first recitation was that of the latin class. clark had easily held first rank in this, though[149] hamlin, gordon and sherman were all excellent scholars. the lesson this morning was from virgil, and according to the usual custom, the class was seated, each boy standing only during his own recitation.

“reed, you may begin,” mr. horton said, “and when you have read five lines, the next may continue.”

one after another, the boys rendered the lines, and, though some had blundered, nobody had failed when it came to clark. clark never had been known to fail in latin translation. the others attended to his recitation only because it was sure to be better than their own; but to-day they wanted him to get through so that they might listen to everett st. john, who was the next in order.

the lesson was from virgil, and clark’s lines ended with the words of æneas, which he translated thus:—

“by its own fortune, a tempest drove us, carried over different waters, to the libyan shores—if by chance, the name of troy has come through your ears. i am the pious æneas, known by fame above the air, who carry with me in my ship the penates torn from the enemy. i seek italy, my country, and a race from greatest jove.”

as clark took his seat, st. john rose and said coolly:—

[150]

“those last lines were very roughly rendered, mr. horton. it is much better this way:—

“a tempest, by its own chance, drove us, borne from ancient troy (if, perchance, the name of troy has reached your ears), over various waters, to the african shores. i am the pious æneas, known by fame above the sky, who bear with me, in my fleet, the penates snatched from the foe. i seek italy, my fatherland, and an ancestry that sprang from sovereign jove.”

then, without noticing in the least the astonished and indignant glances of the boys, who resented the criticism on clark, not so much because it was clark, but because it was the finest latin scholar in the class, st. john proceeded with his own five lines, translating not only very correctly, but into choice and elegant english.

mr. horton’s face expressed his satisfaction at such an acquisition to the classical department. he even forgot the rudeness shown to clark, who had come to be one of his favorite pupils, so greatly did he enjoy the thought of teaching such a scholar, and he turned with a sigh to the next boy, whose lame, halting sentences formed so great a contrast to st. john’s.

nobody except the one reciting paid much attention then, until dixon arose. it was impossible to ignore dixon anywhere. already he had succeeded[151] in making both friends and enemies, and now the eyes of all the class were fixed on him.

“good!” thought gordon, as dixon read smoothly on. “he won’t pull us down, and if st. john’s as good in other things as he is in latin, he’ll help us up in spite of himself. guess he’ll go ahead of clark. i’m sorry for clark, though.”

and much the same thoughts were in the minds of many of the boys when the recitation was over. slowly, but surely, the feeling that had been so strong against clark was dying out. some few of the boys still stood aloof from him, however, and recalled, at intervals, the charges made against him early in the previous year. but hamlin’s strong friendship for him, and his own quiet, steady doing of his duty, and holding himself apart, yet without any show of enmity or ill-feeling, had had their effect upon his schoolmates, and most of them were ready now to be friends with him; while all, whether friends or not, were proud of his scholarship, and had come to look upon him as the leader of the class in that line. so they were inclined to resent st. john’s arrogant assumption of superiority, and to wish that clark could “dig in and get ahead of him,” as reed expressed it.

in mathematics it was much the same, though here hamlin and gordon stood almost as high as clark; would have stood quite as high, if they had[152] had clark’s power of concentration and application.

“i’ve had to learn how to study,” he had said once to hamlin. “if you and gordon had been obliged to do it, as i have, i shouldn’t be a bit ahead of you.”

with everett st. john, it was not necessity, but the instinct of a born student that gave him the power to grasp and master whatever he studied. in the geometry class, his clear, concise demonstrations awakened at once the despair and the admiration of most of the class, while they aroused in our three boys an eager determination to work as they never had worked before over those lines and angles.

gordon drew a long breath, as he joined clark and hamlin at recess.

“well, one thing is certain, and that is that st. john is bound to help our record, if he keeps on as he has begun,” he said.

“yes, and carry off all the prizes, too,” grumbled hamlin.

“that’s so,” said freeman, who was standing by. he spoke sadly, for his only chance of a college education lay in his gaining one of the scholarships offered as prizes to the senior class.

“well,” laughed hamlin, “he may win all the scholarships, but he certainly can go to but one[153] college, so somebody else is bound to have a chance.”

“that reminds me,” said clark, “i heard last evening that two new scholarships had been offered.”

“where?” asked half a dozen voices.

“one to lehigh, and one to jamestown college, i believe.”

“good!” said hamlin. “that makes six scholarships, and if his royal highness—mr. everett st. john—should come out no. 1, as likely as not he would not go to any college that offers us a scholarship. he’s so high and mighty that he’d probably go only to the toniest and most expensive college in the country.”

“rosy came out pretty well, too,” said reed.

“yes, better than i thought he would,” said gordon. “anyway, i’m glad that neither of ’em is likely to pull us down. i believe old section d has a fair chance to come out no. 1 this year.”

“certainly looks like it,” responded hamlin, “and nobody has worked harder to bring it about than you have, gordon.”

“i’m so glad that raleigh concluded to come back this year,” was all gordon answered.

for several weeks things went smoothly in section d. mr. horton was delighted, for a more orderly class-room could not be desired. once in a[154] while, coyle and barber would try to start some mischief, but they were in far too great a minority for anything of that sort to prosper. by the first of november, they and st. john were the only members of the class who were not also members of the l. a. o.; and to be a member of the l. a. o. this year meant to be not only pledged to use all one’s influence for good order in the class-room and gentlemanly deportment in all places and at all times, but it also meant now to be fully determined that no effort should be spared on the part of each member to place section d at the head of the old central.

in short, gordon and hamlin had succeeded in imparting their enthusiasm, in greater or less degree, to every boy in the class with the exception of the three mentioned; and this enthusiasm received fresh impetus at the weekly meetings of the l. a. o.

besides, the duller boys of the class were continually watched and helped by the class leaders, and helped in such friendly fashion, and so thoroughly, that their pride was not hurt, and a healthy ambition to help themselves was being awakened in them.

decidedly the most unpopular boy in the class was everett st. john, but this fact troubled him not at all. so long as his schoolmates let him alone, he cared not the least what they thought of him, and they did let him severely alone, for, after a week or[155] two no one ever spoke to him. those who had ventured to do so had been met so coldly, not to say rudely, that they had no desire to repeat the experience. but however much they might dislike him, they could not fail to appreciate and admire his ability. never before had section d had such fine recitations as st. john’s in latin and english literature.

the inevitable result was that those who had stood highest in the class heretofore were stimulated to fresh effort, and soon found themselves doing much better work than they had supposed themselves capable of doing—to mr. horton’s great satisfaction.

nor was the spirit of ambition limited to section d. it spread to other sections, and other teachers began to be encouraged by increased application, and consequently, better recitations in their classes.

it was a singular fact, that this most unusual improvement in the spirit of the school should have been so largely due to a new scholar who cared nothing whatever about the school, and was solely interested in himself and his own work; but so it was.