CHAPTER XXV
A PETITION
Phil, Tom and Sid stood staring blankly at one another. Sid still heldthe broken hat, until Professor Tines came up and took it from him.
"Ruined, utterly ruined!" murmured the teacher. "My best hat!"
"We--I--that is I--didn't know it was your hat," stammered Tom. "I threwthe ball through it."
"You didn't know it was my hat?" asked Professor Tines, as if suchignorance was inexcusable. "Whose did you suppose it was, pray?"
"Some galoot's--I mean some freshman's," stammered Phil. "You see, itwas hanging from a window in the freshmen's dormitory, and----"
"It was not hanging from the window of any student in the first yearclass," declared the instructor pompously. "I had sent my silk hatto one of the janitors, who makes a practice of ironing them. He hadfinished it, and hung it out to air, when you--you vandals came along.I distinctly saw you throw at my hat, sir," and Professor Tines shookhis finger at Tom.
"I--I know it, sir. I admit it," confessed the captain. "Only--only----"
"We didn't know it was your hat, sir," went on Sid. "I'm afraid it'squite--quite unfit to wear, sir," and Sid tried to put the flappingpiece back into place, for the professor had dropped the tile, and Sidhad picked it up.
"Unfit to wear! I should say it was. Fit to wear! Why I intenddelivering a lecture on 'The Art of Repose as an Aid to High Thinking'and now, sir--now, you young vandals have ruined the hat I was going towear! It's infamous--infamous! I shall have you expelled! I shall letyour parents know of your shameless conduct! I shall have you dismissedat once!" and the irate professor shook his fist first at Tom, then atSid and then at Phil. "Your conduct is a disgrace to the school!" hewent on. "Here, give me my hat!" and he fairly snatched it from Sid."Come with me at once to Dr. Churchill. He shall know about thisoutrage!"
"If you please, Professor Tines, we didn't know it was your hat," wasabout all Phil could think of to say.
"So much the worse. You thought it belonged to some defenseless student,and that you could ruin it with impunity. But I shall soon show you howmistaken you were. Come with me at once!" and Professor Tines, holdinghis hat in one hand, seized Tom's coat sleeve in the other, and led himtoward the president's office, followed by Phil and Sid.
"I--I have a tall hat, which I'll give you, until you can have this onefixed," spoke Sid, as they walked along.
"Until I get this one fixed? It is beyond fixing!" declared Mr. Tineswrathfully.
Good Dr. Churchill looked pained when the three culprits were usheredinto his presence.
"Look here, sir! Look here!" spluttered Professor Tines, his voicefairly trembling as he thrust the battered hat close to the president,who was near-sighted. "Just look at that, sir!"
"Ha! Hum!" murmured the doctor. "Very interesting, I should say. Veryinteresting."
"Interesting?" and Mr. Tines stood aghast.
"Yes. I presume you have been illustrating to your class the effect ofsome explosive agent on soft material. I should say it was a verycomplete and convincing experiment--very complete, convincing andinteresting. I congratulate you."
"Congratulate! Interesting experiment!" gasped the irate "Pitchfork."
"Yes. It was very well done. My, my! The crown of the hat is almostcompletely gone. Almost completely," murmured the doctor, lookinginterestedly at the dilapidated tile. "What sort of an explosive did youuse, Professor Tines? I trust your class took careful notes of it."
"Explosion!" burst out Professor Tines, looking as if he was likely toblow up himself. "That was no explosion, sir! My best hat was ruined bya baseball in the hands of these vandals, sir! I demand their expulsionat once."
"Baseball?" queried Doctor Churchill.
"I threw it, sir," declared Tom quickly. "I'm very sorry. I did not knowthe hat belonged to Professor Tines, and I will pay for it at once," andthe captain made a motion toward his pocket.
"Let me have the whole story," requested the president, and Tom thoughtthere was a twinkle in his eyes. Professor Tines related most of it,in his usual explosive fashion, and the lads could only plead guilty.The owner of the hat ended by a demand for their dismissal, and Dr.Churchill said he would take the matter under advisement, but there wasthat in his manner which gave the culprits hope, and when he sent forthem a little later, it was to pass the sentence that the three of themmust go shares in buying a new hat. Tom wanted to stand all the damage,but Dr. Churchill, with a half-laugh, said he must mete out punishmentall around.
"I say, will you lend me my share of the money, for a few days?" askedSid, of Tom, when they were on their way back to the room.
"Sure!" was the answer. "Say, what do you do with all your cash, Sid?"for Mr. Henderson was known to be well off.
"I--er--Oh, I have uses for it," replied Sid, and he hurriedly turnedthe conversation.
The nine played Richfield, a strong college team, on Saturday, and wasnearly beaten, for just when some good hitting was needed, Pete Backus,who was filling Sid's place, went to the bad. Randall did manage toget the lead of a run, and kept it, due mainly to Tom's magnificentpitching, but the final score was nothing to boast of, though Randallcame home winners.
"We certainly do miss Sid," remarked Tom, as he was sitting beside Phil,in the train on the way back. "If there's anything that's going to makeus win or lose the championship this year it's batting, and that's Sid'sstrong point. I wish we could get him back on the team."
"Maybe we can."
"How?"
"By getting up a petition, and having all the fellows sign it. Maybe ifthe faculty understood what it meant they would vote to rescind theorder not allowing Sid to take part in games."
"By Jove, it's worth trying!" cried Tom. "We'll do it! I'll go talkwith Ed Kerr and Mr. Leighton."
The manager and coach thought the plan a good one, and a few days latera petition was quietly circulated. Nothing was said to Sid about it, forfear he would object. The students were anxious to get their names down,and soon there was an imposing list.
"I want to get the freshmen now," decided Tom, one afternoon, when thepetition was nearly ready for presentation. "I'm making a class affairof it, each year's students by themselves, and I let the freshmen gountil last. I'll see Bascome, who is the class president, ask him tocall a meeting, and have his fellows sign."
Tom sought out Bascome a little later, and explained what was wanted,asking the freshman to call a session of his classmates.
"In other words you want me and my friends to help you out of a hole?"asked Bascome, and he was sneering.
"That's about it," answered Tom, restraining a desire to punch theoverbearing freshman. "We want to strengthen the nine, and we can doit if we can get Henderson back on it."
"Then you'll never get him back with my signature nor that of myfriends!" cried Bascome. "I'll get even with you fellows now, forthe way you've treated me!"
He was sneering openly. Tom looked him full in the face.
"You sneaking little cad," was what he said, as he turned away.