y
arranged the chairs and benches in rows. They had gathered chairs of all
descriptions from all over the school and the effect was finely
democratic. Doctor Emery's leather arm chair hobnobbed socially with a
plain pine chair from the dining hall and Mr. Buckman's favorite
hour-glass chair appeared to be trying to make an impression on Harry's
rattan rocker, the latter looking very dressy with its pink silk
head-rest.

[Illustration: "They had gathered chairs of all descriptions from all
over the school...."]

They went to dinner feeling rather more encouraged and found that Sid
had returned with good tidings. Hammond had learned of the entertainment
several days before and had been waiting eagerly for an invitation to
attend. And every fellow was coming, declared Sid. Roy, who had taken a
flying trip to the town for red and blue cheesecloth, reported excellent
progress on the last of the costumes. And Post, who couldn't eat any
dinner because he had been filling himself up all day with cough syrup
and licorice lozenges, thought he might be able to sing, after all. The
last rehearsal was at three o'clock, and after it was over Jack shook
his head dismally.

"I never saw such a bum show in my life," he declared gloomily. "And
talk about singing! Say, I wonder if we can bribe Post to stay away
to-night?"

"Why, I thought everything went beautifully!" declared Harry. "You wait
until to-night; they'll do a lot better."

"The chorus work was all right," said Chub. "And the tableaux were
simply swell. I do wish, though, that Bacon wouldn't look as though he
was going to die every minute!"

"But those jokes!" groaned Jack.

"Oh, never mind; I've heard lots worse ones," answered Roy cheerfully.

"Not outside of a Sunday newspaper supplement, I'll bet," said Jack.
"That one about Mr. Cobb and Miss Webb, and falling in love with her the
first time he 'spider' is the limit. I heard that when I was three
years old!"

"That's all right; folks like 'em old at a minstrel show," answered
Chub. "Old wine to drink, old books to read, old jokes to--"

"To cry over," prompted Jack. "All right. No use in cutting up rough
now. We'll have to make the best of a bad show. Just so long as Harris
and Kirby don't start to using their fists on each other during their
turn I suppose I can't kick."

"Well, let's go to supper," said Roy.

CHAPTER XIV

THE ENTERTAINMENT AND HOW IT ENDED

Entertainment for the Benefit of the