They began crowding about the confused, blushing freshie, pumping his uninjured left hand.  Then some one shouted: 

“He’s all right, from the ground up.  He’s a Gridley boy!  He’s only a freshie in years, but he’ll get over that.  Now, up with Dick Prescott!  On your shoulders!  Give him the High School yell!”

Before he could even dodge, this High School freshman found himself going up in the air.  With all consideration for his injured hand the upper classmen rushed him out of the school grounds, onto the street, holding him aloft in the post of honor.  The other boys followed.  Even the few girls followed, waving their handkerchiefs, while a lusty roar went up: 

“T-E-R-R-O-R-S!  Wa-ar!  Fam-ine!  Pesti-lence!  That’s us!  That’s us!  G-R-I-D-L-E-Y—–­H.S.  Rah! rah! rah! rah! Gri-idley!”

“What’s all that racket back there?” asked Clara Deane, turning at the head of the street.  “Why, they’re yelling and carrying that odious little Dick Prescott.”

“Must be dragging him off to give him a ducking, as he deserves,” muttered Fred Ripley, gratingly.

“No, no!  It’s the school yell, and the girls are waving their handkerchiefs.”

“Then they must be canonizing the school sneak,” returned Ripley, frowning hard.

“Well, don’t wait to see,” urged Clara.  “We don’t care about mixing up too much with such a common crowd as the Gridley H.S. students are.”

“Prescott is nothing but a mucker, but he spoiled my coat, and I’ll make him smart for it!” uttered Fred, his face burning with sullen rage.

“You’ll only smirch yourself, Fred, by having anything more to do with such a fellow,” Clara warned him.

“When I’m even with the fellow, I won’t have anything more to do with him,” snorted Ripley.  “But I’ll wait, watch and plan for years, if I have to, to take all the conceit and meanness out of that sneak.  I’ll never quit until I can look at myself in the glass and tell myself that I’ve paid back the lowest trick ever played on me!”

CHAPTER II

DICK & CO.  GO AFTER THE SCHOOL BOARD’S SCALPS

In Gridley High School, sessions began at eight in the morning.  School let out for the day at one in the afternoon.  The brighter students, who could get most of their lessons in school, and do the rest of the work during the evening, thus had the afternoon for work or fun.

Often, though, it happened that there were parties, or school dances in the evening.  Then a portion of the afternoon could be used for study, if need be.  Saturdays, of course, were free from study for all but the dullest—–­and the dullest usually don’t bother their heads much about study at any time.