When his determination had been accepted by his mates, some of them had made use of their opportunities to enlarge upon the perils that lay before him--perils for the most part from the terrible sophomores who were supposed to be going about seeking their prey with all the fierceness of a roaring lion. Peter John had listened to the marvelous tales that were poured into his ears, but so far as his expression of face was concerned, apparently they had been without effect. Nevertheless, deep in his heart Peter John had stored them all and his fear of the class above him had increased until at last just before he departed from home he had written to his friend Will Phelps informing him of his fears and begging that he and Foster would meet him at the station and protect him from the fierce onslaughts, which, he confessed, he expected would await him upon his arrival. This letter Will Phelps had found at the little post office when he made inquiries for his mail, and upon his return to his room it had provided the basis for the conversation already recorded. "We'd better go right down to the station, then, Will," Foster had said. "All right. Peter John will be in mortal terror if he shouldn't find us there. He probably believes the sophs will have a brass band and knives and guns and will be drawn up on the platform ready to grab him just the minute he steps off the car." "Not quite so bad as that," laughed Foster. "But we'll have to help the poor chap out." "Sure. Come on, then," called Will as he seized his cap and started toward the hallway. "Hold on a minute. Wait till I lock the door." "'Lock the door?' Not much! You mustn't do that." "Why not?" "It isn't polite." "What are you talking about?" demanded Foster. "Just what I'm telling you. Freshmen mustn't lock their doors, that's not the thing. The janitor told me not to, because the sophs will take it as a challenge to break it in. He said the college had to put sixty new locks this summer on the doors here in Perry." "Looks as if something had happened for a fact," said Foster slowly, as he glanced at some huge cracks that were plainly visible in the panels. "Sure 't'll be safe?" "It'll be all right. The janitor says so. Come on! Come on, or we'll be too late!"