Page 28 - The Adventures of a Freshman

A fellow does not like to feel that he is doing something his father does not approve of, no matter how old or
independent he is. Mr. Young had not once written a line to Will at college, and through Mrs. Young had only
sent the most formal messages. The Freshman concluded that his father hated him. There came a time when
he found how mistaken he was.

One day, about a week after college opened--though it seemed to Young more like seven weeks than seven
days, because he had seen and felt so many new things and, though he was not aware of it perhaps, because he
had developed so much--at any rate, one afternoon just one week from the time he had first met Channing and
his crew, Young heard about another new thing. This, too, resulted in developing him a good deal.

It was a Wednesday afternoon, and he was on the way across the quadrangle after "English," no longer feeling
lost or out of place on the campus, for he knew by this time nearly all its nooks and crannies and the names of
most of the buildings. "There are 225 acres in the grounds," he had written home to Charlie in another
cheerful sounding letter, "and we have over thirty buildings." And he told with pride something of the
Revolutionary history of Nassau Hall, "the venerable brown building they called 'Old North,' once the largest
building in this hemisphere and for a time the most important." But that was not the reason he felt so proud
just now. It was because he was walking beside little "Lucky" Lee.

[Illustration: THE HERO OF THE BELL-CLAPPER. Lee was one of the most prominent and popular men in
the class.]

Lee was the class secretary and treasurer, and one of the most prominent and most popular men in the class.
He had sprung into considerable class prominence when he sprang upon Young's shoulders that night in the
rush. But the next night he climbed still higher and into greater fame by scaling the belfry of Old North at
dead of night, where, with the aid of Stevens, his room-mate, he carried off the bell-clapper, "and that was a
great thing, I tell you," Young wrote home.

"Of course, no Freshman class would be respected," Linton, the Junior, had explained the next time he and
Nolan had come to "talk hall" with Will--who explained it to Charlie--"they'd be disgraced if they didn't steal
the bell-clapper. The college authorities expect it to be done. They have a barrelful of new ones down in the
cellar. When the rope is pulled and they find the bell doesn't ring, they simply fork out a new clapper and
climb up and fasten it on, and then start in to ringing as though nothing unusual had happened."

None the less it was a daring deed, and Lee and Stevens had come within a small margin of getting caught by
stealthy Matt Goldie, the chief proctor. But they weren't, and the big heavy clapper was now in the city of
Trenton, being melted down into many diminutive souvenir clappers (to be worn as watch-charms by the
whole class) at this very moment, while Lee was walking across the campus and Young beside him was
hoping that the fellows who called him "Thank you, marm!" could see him now.

Just then "Minerva" Powelton, the recently chosen captain of the class baseball team, joined Lee and Young,
or rather he joined Lee; he paid little attention to Young. He had been brought up to keep away from boys
whose family he knew nothing of, and he considered Young beneath him in every way. He got over it in time.

"Say, Lucky," he said in a low tone, putting his arm fawningly around little Lee, "the Sophs will be getting out
the procs pretty soon. We'd better watch out."

"Naw," said Lucky, with the conviction of superior knowledge. "Not till after Saturday's game, at the earliest.
Why, in my brother's Freshman year they did not do it till after cane-spree."

"Well, we'd better keep our eyes peeled, all the same," said Captain Powelton.