Page 33 - The Adventures of a Freshman

"By George, you're right--the sneaks! They must have begun early."

It was too dark to make out anything but the first three lines in big letters:

"ATTENTION! YE FOUL AND FOOLISH FREAKS OF FRESHMEN!"

"It hasn't been up long," said Young. "The paste is still wet." He began to tear it down.

"They must be near here," whispered Lee. "We'd better first go and meet— "

"Sist! who's that?" said a low voice in the darkness.

The two Freshmen stood motionless.

The voice now whispered, "Ninety-blank this way." It sounded friendly, but the thing for Young and Lee to
do was not to wait to see whether it was friend or foe but turn, and run in opposite directions and then bring up
afterward at their appointed meeting-place where the others were. That indeed was Lee's impulse, but, "Wait,
it's one of our fellows," said Young, innocently, and just then several figures darted in at them and before
Young or Lee could do anything more they were surrounded on all sides, seized by the arms and held tight.

"No use scrapping, fellows," said one of them in Young's ear, triumphantly. "We've got you, we've got you."

Just then the first figure walked close up to Young, turned the slide of a detective's dark-lantern, and
remarked, calmly, as the dazzling light shone on Young's blinking eyes: "Yes, this is the old Deacon; well,
well, that's good! that's good!"

It wasn't necessary to see the face. Young recognized the disagreeable, sneering voice.