The New Boy at Hilltop | Page 5

way he took it!"
Kenneth smiled modestly under the admiring regard of his roommate.
"Gee!" cried Joe, glancing at his watch. "It's after six. Come on to
supper. Maybe if we hurry they'll give you a place at our table."
Kenneth picked up his cap and followed his new friend down the stairs.

On the way he asked:
"Is that chap Hyde a particular friend of yours?"
"N-no," answered Joe, "not exactly. We're on the team together, and he
isn't such a bad sort. Only--he's the richest fellow in school and he can't
forget it!"
"I don't like him," said Kenneth decidedly.
Hilltop School stands on the top of a hill overlooking the Connecticut
Valley, a cluster of half a dozen ivy-draped buildings of which only one,
the new gymnasium, looks less than a hundred years old. Seventy-six
feet by forty it is, built of red sandstone with freestone trimming; a fine,
aristocratic-looking structure which lends quite an air to the old campus.
In the basement there is a roomy baseball cage, a bowling alley, lockers,
and baths. In the main hall, one end of which terminates in a fair-sized
stage, are gymnastic apparatus of all kinds.
It was here that Kenneth found himself at four o'clock the next day. His
trunk had arrived and he had dug out his old basket-ball costume, a red
sleeveless shirt, white knee pants, and canvas shoes. He wore them now
as he sat, a lithe, graceful figure, on the edge of the stage. There were
nearly thirty other fellows on the floor amusing themselves in various
ways while they waited for the captain to arrive. Several of them
Kenneth already knew well enough to speak to and many others he
knew by name. For Joe had made himself Kenneth's guide and mentor,
had shown him all there was to be seen, had introduced him to a
number of the fellows and pointed out others and had initiated him into
many of the school manners and methods. This morning Kenneth had
made his appearance in various class rooms and had met various
teachers, among them Mr. Whipple, who, Kenneth discovered, was
instructor in English. The fellows seemed a friendly lot and he was
already growing to like Hilltop.
Naturally enough, Kenneth found himself the object of much interest.
He was a new boy, the only new one in school. At Hilltop the athletic
rivalry was principally internal, between dormitory and dormitory. To

be sure the baseball and football teams played other schools, but
nevertheless the contests which wrought the fellows up to the highest
pitch of enthusiasm were those in which the Blue of Upper House and
the Crimson of Lower met in battle. Each dormitory had its own
football, baseball, hockey, tennis, track, basket ball, and debating, team,
and rivalry was always intense. Hence the arrival of a new boy in
Lower House meant a good deal to both camps. And most fellows liked
what they saw of Kenneth, even while regretting that he wasn't old
enough and big enough for football material. Kenneth bore the scrutiny
without embarrassment, but nevertheless he was glad when Joe joined
him where he sat on the edge of the stage.
"Jim hasn't come yet," said Joe, examining a big black-and-blue spot on
his left knee. "I guess there won't be time for much practice today,
because Upper has the floor at five. They're going to have a dandy team
this year; a whole bunch of big fellows. But they had a big heavy team
year before last and we beat them the first two games."
"Don't you play any outside schools?"
"No, the faculty won't let us. Perfect rot, isn't it? They let us play
outsiders at football and baseball and all that, but they won't let us take
on even the grammar school for basket ball. Randy says the game is too
rough and we might get injured. Bough! I'd like to know what he calls
football!"
"I don't understand about the classes here," said Kenneth. "I heard that
big chap over there say he couldn't play because he was 'advanced' or
something. What's that!"
"Advanced senior," answered Joe. "You see, there's the preparatory
class, the junior class, the middle class and the senior class. Then if a
fellow wants to fit for college, he does another year in the senior class
and in order to distinguish him from the fourth-year fellows they call
him an advanced senior. See? There are five in school this year. Faculty
won't let them play basket ball or football because they're supposed to
be too big and might hurt some of us little chaps. Huh! Hello, there's
Jim. I've got to see him a minute."

And Joe slipped off the stage and scurried across to where a boy of
about sixteen, a