Pawtucket tribune. (Pawtucket, R.I.) 1890-189?, 1893-06-20
A SURPRISE PARTY.

tne spring souleStef, bearing with him an
ancient hairuloth trunk, marked In white
letters, up. n. D." for Merton Hall My
talent rather beggars description of the
youth. He was tall and lank, clothed with
wondrous III fitting suit of homespun.
His pale, melancholy face and innocent
blue eyes looked out from under the broad
brim OF "wideawake," which would Ger
tainly have done credit to any patriarch.
as II asking something from humanity
which humanity had never been able to
extend TO him. He had asked sympathy.
In return he had always received ridicule
and imposition. He received plenty Of 1t
upon his arrival at Merton Hall, having
tramped up from the station, distance of
four miles, over muddy road. his cowhide
boots covered with mud, running the
gantlet OF lot of elegant college youths
who were playing cricket on the campus.
The boys stopped playing cricket at sight
Of him, toe astonished to continue. Never
had anything quite so verdant entered the
precincts of Merton Hall And Algernon
Upperten, who was merely watching the
cricket game from afar, put up his single
eyeglass and wondered audibly II he came
from the ark When the little haircloth
trunk arrived In company with several
others OF larger and more aristocratic ap-
pearance from the station, there were
shouts Of desisive laughter In the lower
hall The new boy was certainly food for
the CODA Who can say what visions Of
midnight festivities at which the new boy
should be guest of DnoY danced In their
hsadsf
Merton Hall boys were not slow Neves
In the annals Of the school had they been
noted for that characteristic. and the dons
OF the university had gpown prematurely
old and gray in their endeavors to hCid the
reios OF government over them. Thnt thsy
had not bean entirely successful was noted
In the Frequent outbursts Of misrule and
midnight mauInuding, In which the help
less victim proved to be some innocent and
unsuspectlag stndept..a uawoomeY. not up
to tho varied and Interesting amusement
called BAKING The boys OF '0S were no
less reckless than their pgudecessoss, and
tho dots had been powerless to check the
overflow OF spiritA 10 aesist them they
had called in the services Of younger and
enthusiastic man, Professor Van Loo, who
promised to break up the system Of hazing
as practiced at Merton Hall or die In the at
t1npt. He had as yet had no occasion TO
forfeit hix lease on lie In defense Of his
policy.
When Philander Harrow Darrow entered
Professor Van Lco's classroom, attired in
his antiQuated garments, sidled into a seat
stumbled and stammered over the simple
questions put 30 him, series Of compre
hensfvc winks went around that genial cir
Gle of college youths
Before noon OF that day Algeruon Upper.
ten and his faithful allies had planned for
a surprise party in honor Of Darrow-an
initistory step into the Upper Kingdom Of
the HypopolorumA The preliminaries-
few sheets for q ghostly tout ensemble, q
bucket OF tar, pillow Of feathers. rope
That was all, and yet in the gloom OF the
night such tragic results to be developed
Darrow, wandering aimlessly up and
down the deserted cricket ground, his eyes
fastened studiously upon Che pages of his
Latin grammar. ran into Bob Stivers--sc
cidentally, ot cousaA
studying, heyp
Darrow raised his melancholy eyes slowly.
Reckon I'll hev ter dew heap o. that
fore gut threw" he said lsconicaliy.
Stivers laughed. II gve@ you'll hev ter
dew heep of something else II you're goin
to get on In this institution. Say, Darrow,
did you ever have surprise party'" Stiv-
ers chuckled amusedly.
"S'prise partyf Yes. they're common out
our way"
GIL, JOu 10 Hoin W udNc Ouo tOul9nb
See here, Darrow, !" and Stivers drew little
nearer In confidential way. better keep
your eyes open till the clock strikes ~ and
be prepared. The boys are rather rough on
q fellow sometimes Why, do you know,
they took fellow once-a new fellow from
mp oountry-stripped him. tarred aud feath-
cred him and tied him up in tree and left
him there till morning"
Darrow was evidently much agitated
He trenlbled visibly "You don't mean to
say-they wouldn't'-he gasped.
YES, they would" interrupted StiverA
"You don't know 'em. They'd do any
thing"
Stivers went of iaughingly. He had
served the Hypopolorums a good trick
Only last week he had been turned out Of
the society for some slight thing, and now
he had warned their intended victim.
Then Stivers grew to wondering what
sort of preparation an unsophistcated
"greeny" like Darrow could make against
such magic set rs that to which Alger
non Upperten belonged
1t was II by the village clock. Darrow,
I'm his little room, sat coming his Latin
grammar.
As the last stroke of the bell died away
the young man arose and shaded his lamp
till only subdued twilight flooded the
apartment. The melancholy expression OF
his face vanished; there was slight stern
ness in the pale blue eyes; the stoop In his
shoulders was gone. He looked really hand
some in that moment. Laughing amused
ly, hetook bunch Of keys from q nail on
the wall, and crossing the room fitted one
of them into the lock Of the little hair
trunk The lid fell back, revealing the
contents of the trunk-a pair of boxing
gloves, bells and weights OF various sizes
and other paraphernalia Of pugilistic out
ft.
perhaps I had better be prepared. |"
laughed Darrow Wonder how many Of
them I am expected TO entertain"
He took up the bells, threw of his Ill ft-
ting coat and stood there In the center of
the little room. a splendid type Of physical
manhood, finely developed biceps and ex-
ercising muscles that showed the perfeo-
tion of an athlete II was almost the trans
formation Of Jekyll. Dsrrow had been
acting o part since his arrival ss Merton
Hall BY i2 o'clock Darrow's room WA
dark, Darrow himself resting composedly
under downy quilts, when the ghostly train
moved down the silent corridors, and Al
gernon Upperten himself fitted q key neat
ly into the lock; they moved into Darrow's
quarters without molestation, hardly pre-
pared for the warming reception they were
about to receive. Space forbids description
~ q