Young reached over, grabbed the big Sophomore's wrist and freed his
little classmate. "Hi! Deacon!" cried a disagreeable voice somewhere in
the rows of Sophomores before him. Young was devoting all his energy to
the little fellow whose nose was now bleeding; this did not seem to
bother the latter, for he wriggled around, nimbly clambered up on
Young's big shoulders, then kneeling on them and having free play for
his arms he began to strike right and left at the Sophomores beneath him
as fast as he could, and he seemed to be able to strike both fast and
hard.
Seeing his pluck those behind him now plunged forward harder than ever.
"Yea-a-a--the cannon--the cannon, we've got it!" cried the little
fellow.
Young felt himself brushing up against something hard and solid. Sure
enough it was the big iron breech of the old cannon that he had seen
standing muzzle down, in the centre of the quadrangle.
The little fellow jumped down from Young's shoulders upon it, and began
to lead a cheer, though he did not know how to do it very well. But he
waved his hands about his head and everyone yelled exultingly. They had
won.
Then Jack Stehman, the Junior coach, hustled the little one off, jumped
up on the cannon himself and led a cheer in the right way. The little
fellow was out of sight now, but not out of memory. He was a hero.
Meanwhile some of the other Sophomores had zealously rushed some of the
other Freshmen off the quadrangle and were shouting themselves hoarse
for _their_ victory down by Clio Hall, but the Freshmen had the cannon.
That was what they were after all this time, as Young now learned.
"It's all over now. Go home, you fellows," said the hoarse-voiced
Juniors, silencing the exuberant Freshmen.
"We rushed them, though, didn't we?" eagerly asked a Freshman with
necktie gone and coat torn half off. Young saw it was his small comrade.
"'Course you did," said Jack Stehman, his voice sounding gruff and
authoritative. "Go to your rooms as fast as you can; Sophs'll haze tar
out of you if they catch you to-night. They expected to have an easy
thing of it."
The little fellow had spied Young. "Good-night," he said, holding out
his hand, "much obliged for what you did. My name's Lee."
"Young is my name." They shook hands. "Hope you aren't hurt," Young
added, smiling.
"Nope; see you again. Good-night."
The Freshmen now began to scatter in all directions in the darkness,
some of them limping and some of them going slowly because out of
breath; and some had fewer garments than when they left their rooms. But
all had a great deal more class spirit, and that is the object of the
cannon rush. There was not one among them who would have missed it for
anything.
Young reached his room without adventure. He limped a little as he went
upstairs, but he did not know it.
He had been in his room but a few moments when a knock came at the door.
He had had no callers before this.
"Come in," said Young, cheerfully. He thought perhaps it was Lee.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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