CHAPTER XX.
A CONTEST AT THE GYMNASIUM.
With the laying of the ghost, excitement dropped temporarily fromthe life of Queen's School. It was the time for work now, and rightvaliantly did every one study, making up for some of the lost time inthe glorious fall days which invited one out in the open to waste thehours. Examinations were coming along, and the evenings were put inporing over the books.
Mrs. Armstrong was a visitor at the school for a day at this time,and Frank conducted her around the grounds, to the boat-house, thefootball field, the baseball field and the gymnasium. She wanted toknow where they had trapped the ghost, and he showed her. It was ahappy day for Frank, who pointed out the various things of interestaround the old school as if they belonged to him personally.
Mrs. Armstrong noted the look of health on her boy's face, and wasglad. She felt that he had already gained something physically, foreven in the short time he had been at the school he seemed to haveincreased in stature. She told Frank that he was growing like a weed.
"You think I'm growing. Just cast your eye on Jimmy," said Frank."Jimmy grew bigger every day of football and he is as hard as a stonewall. Feel his muscles. Come on, Jimmy, show the lady." And Jimmyobligingly flexed his biceps and offered the bunched-up knot ofmuscles as a proof of his growing power.
"And look at David there. He's going to be the champion strong man ofQueen's, if he doesn't look out. He spends all his spare time down atthe gym. You should see him dipping on the parallel bars and doingstunts on the flying rings. Patsy has to actually drive him out ofthe place," which was a fact. "David has made up his mind to be a'champeen.'"
"I can't do anything else, Mrs. Armstrong," said David. "And I've gotso much to learn that I have to keep at it."
David had set his heart on winning a place on the gymnasium team, andto do this he had taken up the work he was best fitted for. Owingto his light body and a natural strength in his arms, he was alreadyable to do things in raising himself with his arms, which a boy fullydeveloped, of greater general strength, might have accomplished onlywith the greatest difficulty.
David's strength of arm was in evidence one day at the gymnasium whenthe four friends, David, Frank, Jimmy and Lewis, were on the floor.A certain amount of physical work in the gym was called for by theschool requirements, or, at least, a certain time had to be spentin some kind of exercise. Boys who took part in any of the outdoorsports were not called upon to do work on the floor during the periodof practice of the teams they represented. To Lewis, who was indolentof body, the hour in the gym was the hardest of the day, but hemade his task as light as it could be. His way of exercise was tostroll over to a chest-weight and give it two or three pulls with thelightest loads he could find for it, and then walk to the other endof the gym for two or three pulls at some other piece of apparatus.Patsy kept after him, but athletic work for Lewis was like pullingteeth.
On the day in question, the four boys had just about finished theirwork and stopped by the end of the parallel bars.
"How many times can you dip?" said Jimmy. Dipping, as of courseevery one knows, consists in raising oneself up and down from a bentposition of the arms to a straight position, the weight of the bodybeing carried entirely on the arms during the raise and drop.
"I don't know," said Frank, "never tried."
"Go on and show your speed," said Jimmy, "it will be good practicefor your pitching arm. All good pitchers have lots of muscle, youknow."
"Yes, go ahead," said David, "we'll all try."
Frank, thus urged, swung up on the end of the bars. "Count for me,"he said, as he let himself down between the bars and straightened up;"I'll need all the wind I've got."
Jimmy began, "One, two, three, four, five, six, good boy,keep a-going--seven, eight,--getting pretty heavy, eh? Nine,ten--eleven, twelve--going, going, gone;--no, he has one more inhim,--thirteen--don't stop there, it's unlucky." But Frank had stuck.He got down all right on the fourteenth dip, but could not straightenup. He dropped off, puffing. "Gee, that's work," he said, "Go ahead,you try," indicating Jimmy.
"No," said that individual, "I want to see Lewis try it."
"Oh, I'm not feeling very strong to-day," said Lewis, "I'll do itsome other day."
"Here, here, no shystering," said all hands. "We all agreed to do it.Take your turn."
So Lewis reluctantly struggled to a position on the bars. "I'llcount," said Frank. Lewis let himself down gingerly, and there hehung. He was heavy and fat. He made desperate efforts to push himselfup again, and struggled and kicked, but although he got part ofthe way up, he couldn't straighten those arms, although the bloodwas almost bursting out of his cheeks in the effort. The boys werehowling with laughter.
"Kick with your left leg."
"Hold your mouth straight, and you'll make it."
"Get a step ladder."
"Give him a push."
"Get an elevator."
These and other suggestions the tormentors offered Lewis as he hungthere struggling. Finally, in despair, he let go and dropped to thefloor.
The boys were screaming with laughter, and Lewis was not any too wellpleased.
"Good work, Lewis, you did it just half a time. That's a record."
"Try it yourself," said Lewis, "I told you I didn't feel very strongthis afternoon. I've got a lame wrist, anyway." Lewis always had anexcuse.
It was Jimmy's turn and he mounted the bars. Frank counted, andJimmy, who was remarkably strong for his years, being a sound andsturdy youngster, dipped down and swung back again no less thannineteen times before he gave it up.
"Whew!" said Frank, "that beats me. I guess you're it."
"No," said Jimmy. "David hasn't tried yet."
"I guess I can't dip that many times," said David, preparing for histrial. "Patsy says it's one of the hardest things to do and showsactual strength. I can't measure up with much success against Jimmy."
But nevertheless he climbed to the position on the bar. "Count forme," he said to Frank, and Frank began, while David swung up anddown with the regularity of a pendulum. He passed Jimmy's figureswithout a bit of effort apparently, reached twenty, and then the boysbegan to open their eyes. He did not stop at twenty, but kept it upwithout fatigue until he reached the great number of forty-two times.Then he stopped, but looked as though he might have continued forfive minutes longer.
"Hats off to David Powers," said Frank, which, seeing that they hadno hats on, was not a thing difficult of accomplishment. "Isn't hethe dandy little dipper?"
"He certainly is," agreed Jimmy. "How on earth do you do it?"
"Oh, I'm built for it," said David, looking down at his twisted legs."Patsy says all my strength has gone to my arms and shoulders. Hesays the record for the dip is 66, made five or six years ago by oneof the football fellows."
"I'll bet you beat it before you get through," said Frank, admiringly.
"I'd like to."
"Then the record you made would go down over on the wall there tostay until some other fellow did better."
"I don't think I can ever do it, but as it is one of the few things Ican do, I'll keep busy at it," said David.
Patsy strolled up at this moment, and they told him what they hadbeen at.
"You can never beat David Powers at dipping or pulling up on thehorizontal bar. Did you ever see him climbing the rope? He's beendown here in the mornings, learning how to do that."
"O-ho, Mr. Powers," said Frank, "is that where you sneak off toin the mornings, down to the gym, eh? Well, you are out after therecords, aren't you?" But there was a note of pride in Frank's toneas he looked at the little chap.
"Come on, David, show them how a cat goes up a rope," said Patsy. Heloosened the climbing rope from the side of the gallery, and let itswing to its position with a clear space of twenty-five feet to therafters, where it was attached by an eye-bolt. David moved over tothe rope by the aid of his cane, with which he could get around inthe gymnasium, seized the rope and went up it hand over hand, like asailo
r. It seemed hardly more than a half dozen breaths before he hadreached the very top of the rope, touched the rafter, slid down therope, and was with them again on the floor.
"There's only two fellows in this whole school who can beat that,and even now I think he'd give them a good tussle if it came to acontest. Before the winter is over we'll have the gym trials, andthen you'll see some good contests. I'm backing this young fellowFreshman to win some points if he keeps up his improvement," saidPatsy, laying his hand on David's shoulder. David smiled in a pleasedmanner and looked down.
"Well, I'll take good care I don't get into any rope-climbingcontests with him; I'd come out at the little end of the horn," saidFrank.
"And I'll dodge them, too," remarked Jimmy.
"And I'm thinking of entering the dip contests and the rope-climbingmyself," said Lewis, which raised a laugh.
"Lewis, you could climb a rope if it was stretched along the ground,all right," said Jimmy, "or if you had a convenient elevator."
"You are all very discouraging to a really good athlete. Some dayI'll show you fellows," said the disgruntled Lewis.
It was a few days after the incident in the gymnasium that the scoutsof the Gamma Tau looked in on Jimmy and Frank again, but they weremet with the same answer. "This is the last time," Cuthbert said toFrank. "We've got about all the men we want now. We'd like to haveyou both come in. And don't forget that you can't get very far inthis school without the help of Gamma Tau."
To this very direct threat both boys who were sought, answered firmlythat if they couldn't get along without Gamma Tau they would have todo without the delightful backing of that autocrat society. Frankwas so outspoken that he raised Cuthbert's ire before the call wasover; and the caller intimated that if Frank had any ambitions in thedirection of the baseball nine in the spring he might as well burythem, for he couldn't get on it.
"Why, Simpson, the captain, is one of our biggest men, and I thinkyou're a fool not to play for his friendship."
But the argument had no strength with Frank, who saw more and morethe bad effect of the fraternity in the school life. It made a cliqueof fellows who considered themselves a little better than the boyswho were not in its membership.
"You fellows are going to have a tumble some of these days. You can'trun things here all the time."
"Well, I guess we can run them as far as you're concerned, Mr. FrankArmstrong. You can set that down in your diary and refer to it nextspring about baseball time. Good night. Remember, it's the last callfor dinner."
"All right, Mr. Cuthbert. I know it is considered an honor to begiven the chance to come in, but I'm going to stay outside, for Ithink I can do better without Gamma Tau. And if I can't, well, thenI'll have to do worse. If you fellows don't look out, some one willstart another society."
"It's been tried," said Cuthbert, now at the door with his hand onthe knob. "It's been tried two or three times, but it never comes toanything. All I can say is, that you are letting a good chance go.But fools will be fools. Good night."