CHAPTER XIII.
THE ELECTIONS.
Thurston's resignation, as might have been expected, gave rise to aconsiderable amount of excitement and conflicting opinion. Nearly everyboy in the school saw clearly that he was both unworthy and unfitted tofulfil the duties of a prefect, but the peculiar circumstances underwhich he had, as "Rats" put it, been given "notice to quit," caused alarge number of his schoolfellows to side with him, and condemn theaction of the captain. Only a few of the general public knew exactlywhat the row had been. The Sixth Form authorities, refusing to becatechized, would answer no questions; while the other side took goodcare to spread abroad a very one-sided account of the affair.
The Wraxby match was fresh in everybody's mind. "Awfully hard lines Icall it," said the cricketers. "He won that game for us; why didn'tthey let him go on a few days more till the end of the term?"While those young gentlemen, of whom a few are to be found in everyschool, who cherish a strong dislike to anything in the shape of law andorder, were, of course, loud in their expressions of dissatisfaction atthe removal of one who always winked at their transgressions.
At the commencement of the winter session it soon became evident thatseven weeks of summer holiday had not dispelled the cloud which hadovershadowed the close of the previous term. No sooner had the firstexcitement of meeting and settling down subsided a little than thequestion of Thurston's deposal cropped up again, and caused an unusualamount of interest to be felt by all Ronleigh in the forthcomingelections.
Every school has its own methods of choosing those who are to fill theposts and offices in connection with its various institutions, and itwill be well to describe, in a few words, how this was done at Ronleigh,in order that the reader may follow with greater interest the workingout of an important event in the history of the college.
The elections took place twice a year--at the commencement of the summerand winter terms--their chief object being to appoint what was known asthe Sports Committee (who had the management of athletics and of theforthcoming cricket or football season), two librarians, and a keeper ofthe reading-room. In addition to this, when any of the prefects left,fresh ones were chosen in their places. Only members of the Sixth Formwere eligible for this office, which was not conferred before the choiceof the boys had been confirmed by the sanction of the head-master, andwas understood to last for the remainder of the recipient's school life.
On the second or third morning of the term a paper was posted up on thenotice-board in the big schoolroom, announcing the fact that theelections would take place two days later, and mentioning exactly whateach voter was required to do. Every boy who had been two terms at theschool received a voting paper, which he filled up at his leisure andhanded over to the returning officers at a special assembly called forthe purpose.
At the commencement of this particular winter term the schoolreassembled on a Tuesday, and on Thursday notice was given that theelections would take place on the following Saturday afternoon.
According to the usual custom, when fresh prefects were to be chosen,the names of all the Sixth Form boys who were not already holding thatoffice were mentioned on the notice, to show who were eligible for theposition. Thurston's name did not appear on the list; some one added itin pencil, another hand crossed it out, and an hour or two later it wasadded again, this time in red ink.
This simple action seemed the signal for a general agitation onThurston's behalf. His friends throughout the school openly proclaimedtheir intention of voting for him, and exhorted others to do the same.Almost to a man the Sixth and Remove sided with the captain, but Hawleyand Gull in the Fifth, Noaks and Mouler in the Upper Fourth, and otherfellows in the lower forms made up their minds to secure Thurston'sreturn, and set to work to carry out their project with a zeal worthy ofa better cause.
Two fresh prefects were required, and the friends of law and order wereunanimous in naming Fielding and Parkes as the most suitable candidatesto fill the vacancies. Rival posters appeared on the double doorsleading to the playground:--
REMEMBER THE WRAXBY MATCH,
AND
VOTE FOR THURSTON.
PLUMP FOR PARKES,
AND HAVE A
PROPER PREFECT.
But this method of carrying on the campaign was soon brought intodisrepute, owing to the fact that certain juveniles, seeing in this newidea of bill-posting a fresh field for practical joking, began to adornthe walls of the "grub-room," and other spaces which did not often comeunder the eye of a master, with placards exhibiting inscriptions whichhad no bearing on the elections--such irrelevant remarks as,"nooks Two wants kicking !" or, "_Lost_-my wits. (Signed) B. BIBBS," beingcalculated to occasion a considerable amount of strife and bad bloodwithout serving any useful purpose.
The Lower School was in a fever heat of excitement, and it is quitepossible that the little pleasantries which have just been alluded towere occasioned by difference of opinion on the one absorbing topic ofthe day. The close of the previous holidays had witnessed a generalparliamentary election, and with the details of contests which had takenplace in their native towns vividly impressed upon their minds, theyounger boys, from the Lower Fourth downwards, threw themselves into thepresent conflict with an amount of energy and spirit which was not to befound in the more sober and deliberate action of their seniors.
The greater number of the old "Happy Family" had now been removed intothe Lower Fourth, and this form in particular was rent with opposingviews, and shaken with continued outbursts of hostility between therival factions. The Triple Alliance were loyal to the old _regime_, andwere supported by "Rats," Carton, and several of their old friends.
"Acton saved us from getting into a row after that 'coffee-mill'business," remarked Diggory.
"Rowland gave Noaks a dressing down when he hit me in the mouth," saidJack Vance.
"And old Ally boxed Mouler's ears when they made me upset that paint,"added Mugford.
"Rats" declared that he meant to conduct what he called a"house-to-house visitation," and accordingly, beginning at the bottom ofthe form, the first person he called upon was Grundy, a great lout ofsixteen, who had been at the tail end of the Lower Fourth for the lasttwelve months. As it happened, Grundy was a strong partisan of theopposite side, and not only refused to vote for Parkes, but, seizinghold of the unfortunate canvasser, proceeded to twist his arms and pinchhis ears for daring to oppose the election of Thurston.
Fletcher Two, whose sympathies, as might have been expected, were withhis brother's chum, organized open-air meetings in one corner of thefield where the big cricket-roller could be used as a platform.But here, again, the love of larking which is so characteristicof the lawless small boy came into evidence, and with that touch ofnature which makes the whole world kin, friend and foe alike joined inthe spree of interrupting the proceedings. Just when the oratorhad reached the most important point in his harangue, and was pouringforth a torrent of impassioned eloquence, the platform would begin tomove, or the audience would insist on turning the gathering into animaginary "scrum," and almost crushing the life out of those whohappened to be in the middle of the crowd.
Poor Bibbs especially became a target for the humour of the electors.According to Fletcher's instructions, he had written out a speech andlearned it by heart; but though he was being continually called upon todeliver it, he never got beyond the opening "Ahem! Gentlemen," before asudden movement of the platform precipitated him into the arms of hisirreverent hearers, or a shout of "Play up at the cocoa-nuts!" followedby a shower of acorns, bits of stick, and pieces of turf, caused him tojump down and hastily seek shelter behind the roller.
For two days, especially in the Lower School, the excitement continuedsteadily to increase, and small boys being seized in out-of-the-waycorners were made to assert at one time that they would vote forThurston, and at another that they would vote for Parkes or Fielding,and so
, in order to escape with a whole skin, were forced to commitperjury at least a dozen times between the hours of breakfast and tea.
One incident, which as far as the Lower Fourth was concerned tendedconsiderably to embitter the contest, is worthy of record as a notablefeature of this memorable campaign.
The occupants of dormitory No. 13 were rabid Thurstonians; dormitory No.14, on the other hand, in which slept the Triple Alliance, Maxton,"Rats," and Carton, were to a man supporters of Parkes and Fielding.On Friday evening the two doors, which were exactly opposite to eachother, being left open, the process of undressing was enlivened by acontinual fire of abuse and insulting remarks, which might have led to aregular scrimmage between the two parties if the presence of theprefect, patrolling the passage, had not prevented either side fromadvancing beyond the threshold of their own doorway.
"I wouldn't vote for a chap like Thurston, who goes boozing in a common'pub' like the Black Swan," cried "Rats;" "but that's just the sort ofman for you. You're a cheap lot, the whole crew of you!"
"Look here, young 'Rats,'" retorted Fletcher junior from the oppositeroom, wandering rather wide of the subject in hand. "Why don't youwrite home and ask your people to buy you a new pair of braces,instead of mending those old ones up with string? You look just like ayoung street arab, and that's about what you are!"
"Don't you fellows talk about broken braces, and looking like streetarabs," cried Diggory, "when only yesterday old Greyling sent Stokes outof class and told him to go down to the lavatory and wash his face.That's a sample of you Thurstonians!"
"Look here!" shouted the boy alluded to, springing out of bed, andappearing in his night-shirt at the opposite end of the dormitory."You know very well that Grundy flipped a pen full of ink over me,and that was why I had to go out and wash my face."
"I know you looked altogether a different fellowwhen you came back," returned Jack Vance: "I hardly knew you!"
There was a momentary pause in the discussion, and Bibbs, thinking thisa suitable opportunity for the delivery of his speech, stepped forward,and took up his stand in the doorway. Hardly, however, had hepronounced the opening "Ahem! Gentlemen," when a cake of soap, flung byMaxton, struck him a violent blow in the pit of the stomach, and he wasstill rolling and groaning on his bed in the throes of recovering hislost wind when the prefect arrived to turn out the light.
The occupants of the two dormitories lay down, but not to sleep.
"You mark my word," said Diggory, "as soon as the prefects have gonedown to supper those chaps from over the way'll come across and pay usout for throwing that soap. We'd better put a chair against the door."
"Look here!" remarked Fletcher junior to his room-mates. "I shouldn'tbe at all surprised if Maxton and those other fellows in No. 14 comeover and try to rag us; let's lie awake a bit and listen."
For half an hour all was quiet and still, and the watchers in No. 14were turning over and preparing to go to sleep, when "Rats" started up,exclaiming in a whisper, "They're coming! I heard some one in thepassage. There 'tis again! Jump up, you chaps, and let's make asortie."
Now, strange to say, an exactly similar alarm had just been given byFletcher junior in No. 13, and the reason was simply as follows:--Mr. Greyling, the master of the Lower Fourth, in walking towards hisbedroom in slippered feet, was seized with a sneezing fit, and haltingjust outside the two dormitories, gave vent to his feelings with a loud"Et-chow!" After a moment's pause he sneezed again, and had hardlydone so before both doors were suddenly flung open, and with a cry of"Ah, you sneaks!" and another of "Come on, you blackguards!" a crowd ofwhite-robed figures rushed out, brandishing pillows and startlingMr. Greyling to such a degree that he exclaimed "Great Scott!" anddropped his candle.
What followed is too sad to be related in detail. Mr. Greylingscattered largess in the shape of lines among the crowd, and the nextday the occupants of the two dormitories went about thirsting for eachother's blood.
On Saturday, just before morning school, the voting papers werecollected, and directly after dinner the boys assembled to hear theresult of the poll. According to the usual custom, no masters werepresent. Allingford presided, and the excitement was intense.
A hush of expectation fell on the crowded room as the captain mountedthe platform on which stood the head-master's desk. Up to the presenttime elections at Ronleigh had been little more than a matter ofform, but on this occasion every one felt that something more was atstake than the mere distribution of the school offices.
"Gentlemen, the business of this meeting, as you are very well aware, isto announce the result of the elections.
"The following," continued Allingford, referring to the paper which heheld in his hand, "have been chosen to act as the Sports Committee:Myself chairman, Oaks, Acton, Rowland, Parkes, Redfern, and Hoyle.
"The two former librarians, Clarkson and Lang, have been re-elected.
"Dale, who for some time past held the position of keeper of thereading-room, having left, the choice of a successor has fallen betweenLucas and Ferris, who, singularly enough, both received the same numberof votes. Each of these gentlemen being equally ready to withdraw inthe other's favour, I exercised my prerogative as captain of the school,and gave the casting vote in favour of Lucas."
At this there was a slight murmur among the audience, though whether ofdissent or approval it was impossible to tell. The interruption wasonly momentary, for every one was too much interested in the nextannouncement to care much what became of the post of keeper of thereading-room.
"As you all know, two vacancies have occurred among the prefects, tofill which the following gentlemen have been chosen, and their electionduly sanctioned by the head-master: Parkes and Fielding."
The words had hardly passed the speaker's lips when the whole room wasin an uproar. Cheers, howls, whistling, and the stamping of feet filledthe air with an indescribable din; members of the Lower Fourth foughtone another across the desks; and it was some minutes before Allingfordcould obtain sufficient silence to enable him to finish his speech.
"This," he said, in conclusion, "is the result of the present election.I believe there has been some little difference of opinion among you,especially in regard to the selection of the two fresh prefects; thereare so many worthy fellows in the Sixth that one can hardly wonder atyour finding some difficulty in making your choice. One thing iscertain--namely, that the two gentlemen who have been elected towhat is and always has been a very honourable position at Ronleigh areeminently fitted for the work. The duties of a prefect are oftendifficult, and the reverse of pleasant; but I think you will agreewith me when I say that in any large school it is eminently satisfactoryto find that a certain amount of the government and discipline can beentrusted to the boys themselves, and I feel sure that you will giveParkes and Fielding the same willing support as you have always accordedto myself and the other prefects."
As the captain finished speaking, Hawley, Gull, Noaks, and several otherboys sprang to their feet, their appearance being the signal for a freshoutburst of cheers and groans. Young "Rats" commenced to hiss like asmall steam-engine, while Grundy made frantic but futile attempts toreach over from the desk behind and smite him on the head with a Frenchdictionary.
"If any one wishes to speak," said the chairman, "he is at liberty to doso; but, of course, we can't have more than one at a time."
With the exception of Hawley, those who had risen sat down again.
"I want to ask," said the former, "what were the numbers in the votingfor the prefects?"
"Parkes received fifty-six votes, and Fielding forty-eight."
"Did Thurston receive any votes?"
"Yes."
"How many?"
"That," returned the captain, "is a question which, for certain reasons,I think it would be best not to answer."
"I think," interrupted Gull, rising to his feet, amid a murmur ofexcitement, "that we have a perfect right to insist on the figures beingmade public; everything in connection with th
ese elections ought tobe fair and open."
"I don't think," answered Allingford quietly, "that any one has ever hadreason to accuse me of being unfair in any of my dealings; it is exactlybecause I think it would be hardly fair to Thurston himself that Ipropose not to publish the number of votes awarded to unsuccessfulcandidates."
The subject of this remark sat in the front row but one, lolling backagainst the desk behind, with his hands in his pockets and a sneeringsmile on his lips.
"I don't care what you do," he exclaimed, with a short laugh. "I canguess pretty well what's coming."
"There!" cried Gull; "you hear what Thurston says. Now let's have thefigures."
"Very well," answered the captain. "If you insist, you shall have them.The number of votes for Thurston was sixty-one."
"Then, if he got more votes than either Parkes or Fielding, why isn't heelected?"
"Because the doctor would not sanction it. The names have to besubmitted to him for approval, and he appointed Parkes and Fielding."
"Did you try to influence him to overlook Thurston?" demanded Gullangrily. But an immediate outburst of such cries as "Shame!" "Shut up!"and "Sit down!" showed the speaker he had gone too far, and rendered itunnecessary for Allingford to reply to the question.
"I think," said Fletcher senior, rising to his feet when thisinterruption had ceased, and looking round with a foxy smile on hisface, "that, with all due respect to the gentlemen who have been electedas prefects, it is a great pity that the doctor should not haveconsented to confirm the choice of the school, and reappoint Thurston.I think if the matter were laid before him in a proper light he might beinduced to reconsider his decision."
"Well, will you go and see him about it yourself?" asked Allingford,with a slight sneer.
"No; of course I shouldn't go alone," returned Fletcher. "I think it'sa matter that should be taken up by the whole school."
There was a moment's lull in the proceedings, broken only by a confusedmurmur of voices; then Acton jumped to his feet. The football captainwas popular with everybody, and the sight of his jovial face and sturdyfigure was greeted with a burst of cheers.
"Look here, you fellows," he began. "I'm no speaker, but I can sayenough to serve the purpose. I think we are very much indebted to ourcaptain, not only for presiding over this meeting, but for what he hasdone and is always doing for the good of the school. I rememberRonleigh when it wasn't such a decent place as it is to-day. A lot ofthings went on here when I was a kid that wouldn't be put up with now,and I don't think the school ever played such good games of cricket andfootball as we see at the present time. A lot of this, you may take myword for it, is due to our captain, and I think we can't show ourappreciation of his work in a better way than by giving him threecheers. Now, then, take the time from me. Three cheers for Allingford.HIP, HIP, HURRAH!"
The big assembly shouted till the roof rang and the windows rattled;then the meeting slowly dispersed, a feeble attempt to raise threecheers for Thurston being met with as many groans as plaudits.