As soon as this decision had been made Hawley withdrew from the door, but there was no pressure upon it from within, and for a moment the assembled freshmen stared blankly at one another as if they feared that their game had escaped them and that they themselves were the ones to appear in the unenviable light.  Will Phelps advanced as if he was about to open the door, but a silent gesture from Hawley caused him to abandon the project.  As he stepped back the latch clicked and the door was suddenly opened.  Evidently the inmates were surprised that the door was free, and three or four cautiously stepped forth to peer into the dimly lighted hall.  Before they were fully aware of the true condition of affairs they were seized by the waiting freshmen.  There were sounds of a momentary struggle, but when those who were within the room attempted to come forth the door was quickly closed in their faces and they were prisoners again.  The four who had been seized were quickly bound, and then the assembly turned once more to the door itself.

“We’ll go in,” said Hawley, “and you musn’t let a soph get past you.  We must hold every one in there.  Now then!” he added, as he pushed gently against the door.

But the door failed to yield to the pressure.  For a moment the astounded freshmen knew not what to make of the unexpected resistance, and then as a slight sound from within the room could be heard, Hawley grimly braced himself against the door and whispering to his classmates began to exert all his strength in his endeavor to open it.

For a brief time it resisted all their efforts, and then with a resounding crash it suddenly yielded.  But it seemed to the startled freshmen as if the very walls themselves were giving way.  There were the sound of falling pieces of furniture and in the midst of the confusion several of the sophomores suddenly darted from the room, and before their enemies could recover from their surprise had gained the head of the stairway and were fleeing from the building.

“Take after ’em!  Don’t let ’em get away!” called Hawley.  “Hold on, it’s all right,” he quickly added as he perceived Mott in the room.  “We don’t care for anybody else for we’ve got the ringleader right here.  Let ’em go!  Let ’em all go!  We don’t want anybody else.”

There was a momentary hesitation on the part of the sophomores as if they were minded to stand by their classmate, but as they peered about them it seemed almost as if the entire freshman class were present, and instantly discretion became the better part of valor, and they fled in a body from the room and also from the building.

Several of the freshmen had seized Mott by this time, and his desperate attempts to free himself were unavailing.  Peter John had been quickly freed by Will Phelps, and then Will said hastily to Hawley: 

“We’ve stirred up the hornets’ nest enough, haven’t we?  The sophs will be back here with all their class.  Shall we let him go?”