Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1899-06-01
HAZING A SENIOR.

$3.50 Ay SoAAA yN~A oS
freshmen AVID sophomores were constant
ly trying to get the better of each other as
is their %prerogativs. We seniors of course
maintained a dignif1ed neutrality. We
were surprised to hear, however, that one
of our class, Osborne, had sided with the
freshmen.
A council was Immediately called Of
some half dozen choice spirits, presided
over by Teddy Langft, the strategist of
the council. 1t so happened that Barlow,
who was one Of the members Of the self
constituted vigilance committee, was
rooming with Osborne at that time. The
first difficulty we encountered was in de.
Gliding on the nature of the punishment.
"I'll tell you what Well do" suggested
Teddy. "We don't want to give him any
more than a good scare, so we'll just duck
him at the college pump, and then tie
him out for the rest Of the night. It'll
do him as much good as though we half
killed him and 1T won't be so risky for
u.s."
But hold on a minute" interposed
Barlow. "He keeps a big revolver in his
bureau drawer, and if he should happen
to hear us coming up the stairs he might
make things unpleasant. He'd be just
fool enough to shoot, and none of us Is
good enough to die yet"
"We can fix that all right" responded
Teddy. "We'll send you down ahead.
You can pretend to be at the bureau un-
dressing and in the meanwhile get hold
Of the gun. Then you car easily make
some excuse for going out again, and
We'll be waiting for you at the corner"
This plan met with approval, and the
next night, being moonless, was selected.
The appointed hour found us on the cor
ner above the house waiting the return of
Barlow, who had gone in search of the re-
volver.
In the meantime, the latter, as we dis
covered later, was encountering some un-
expected obstacles. When he entered the
bedroom that the two men occupied in
common, he found the gas turned low
and Osborne in bed and apparently sound
asleep.
This was the very chance he wanted,
and, stepping softly, he crossed the room
and began to search in the top drawers Of
the bureau where the revolver usually lay.
Suddenly he heard a sound from the
bed, and, turning round, he found him
self gazing straight into the muzZle of a
very determined looking revolver. He had
found the object of his search, but it was
in the grasp of Osborne, now very much
awake.
"You'd better come to bed" the latter
remarked in a quiet voice, and Barlow,
for once subdued and silent, obeyed with
out O murmur, not even stopping to re-
move his shoes or hat.
Wk{1c Ill kbse ~r,ce rsoi,,~ IN mn ~rovo
cooling our heels on the corner above and
wondering at the delay. Finally Smith
broke out:
"What's the use waiting here? Barlow's
got chicken hearted and won't come back
at all. Let's go ahead and do it without
him."
The front door was unlocked, but the
stairs were as dark as pitch, and in our ef'
forts to go up quietly we made about al
much noise as a squadron Of cavalry. UI
stairs we stumbled around and by dint Of
much cropping found our way into our vic
TINS study. Here we stood for a minute
or two crowded together and breathing
hard. Somehow we didn't like the looks
of things a little bit.
The room was as dark and quiet as the
grave, and there was something mysteri
Gus and inexplicable about Barlow's sud.
den disappearance. The thing that we
had started out to do didn't seem 80 very
grand or heroic now that we we're fairly
into 1t, and some of us couldn't help wish.
ing that the odds weren't SO fearfully
against poor Osborne.
The silence vas broken by that odious
Smith exclaiming In a loud whisper;
AgDchoD What fo11Dxuo Sryoskipo
forP" And he stepped forward and boldly
opened the door into the bedroom.
As he did so a shot rang out from the
direction of the he'd. Smith gave a cry Of
mortal agony, threw up his arms, spun
half around and fell face downward on the
floor. The two men nearest the door hall
a and half fell down the stairs and fled
for dear life, one of them never stopping
till he had put a mile and a half between
him and the scene Of his fright.
Lang1t and I were too much Mortified
to move, and stood stock still for a mo-
ment that seemed an age. Then Teddy,
in an awestruck whisper, suggested that
we get a light. After a good deal of blum.
dering around in the dark the gas was lit,
and there lay Smith, outstretohed on his
face in the doorway between the two
rooms, still as death itself. In the next
room the same 9rewsome darkness and
silence prevailed.
We knelt by Smiths side, and with
trembling fingers began to search for the
wound. There were no visible signs of
injury, but we were too badly frightened
to notice that, and our amazement was
understandable when the man who by all
right and reason ought to have been dead
as a stone sat up and laughed in our faces.
From the bedroom now came signs Of
life, and Barlow and Osborne appeared on
the scene, the latter still clutching the re-
volver that had created such consterna-
tion. I
you're a pretty pair, you are!" he re-
marked soornfully. "If I were as smooth
as you fellows, I'd leave college and set
myself up for a strategy board"
"That's right. Rub 1t in," Teddy
meekly replied. II know we're easy, but
all the same I'd like to know how it hap
pened."
Easiest thing in the world, " said Os-
borne. "Smith here was sore on you be-
cause his advice for tar and feathoring rue
wasn't received in the proper spirit, and
\ 80 he came around this afternoon and gave
y the whole scheme dead away. Then when
this precocious y~oungster,' = and he gave
Barlow a punch in the ribs with his re-
volver, ''came in tonight I induced him
to retire early, and there you are. II you
fellows had followed his example and gone
to bed early, there wouldn't have been
any trouble"
The joke was clearly on us, and we
could do nothing but grin and bear IT,
Albert Brill In Boston Globe.
Getting Started.
"We must eoonomize, mustn't wef''
said young Mrs. Torkins.
"I'm afraid 60" answered her husband.
well, Tim going down town today,