ed students.

"My rights! Humph! I value them too highly to throw them away by any
such stupid conduct as you suggest," answered Willis.

Lindsley, thinking that Tremere and Willis did not understand their
plan, volunteered to explain that they did not intend to use any
violent measures; that they meant to be entirely respectful to the
officers and to the faculty.

"Disobedience is disobedience, whether you are respectful or
disrespectful; whether you say 'no' squarely, or 'excuse me;' only the
former is less cowardly than the latter," said Tremere, in reply. "As I
understand the matter, you are getting up a row, asking fellows to
write to their fathers to take them away from the ship."

"All hands, up anchor, ahoy!" shouted the boatswain, at the main hatch.

Raymond returned to the mess-room, while the two incorruptible fellows
hastened to their stations on deck.

"Now we are in for it!" said Lindsley.

"Let us stick to our text," added Raymond, fearful that some of the
party would back out as the decisive moment had come.

"Ay, ay! Stick to the text!" added Hyde.

"Hold on, and I will see how many fellows answer the call," continued
Raymond, nervously, as he stationed himself at the door of the room,
where he could see the seamen who went up the ladder.

"Count them," said Lindsley.

It was an exciting moment to the rebels, for however real they believed
their grievances to be, probably not many of them were satisfied with
the expediency or the justice of the measure they had adopted to
redress them.

"Only twelve!" exclaimed Raymond, when the last of the faithful had
ascended the ladder.

"That's bully!" said Hyde, rubbing his hands with satisfaction at the
assumed success of the scheme.

"Are you sure that you counted right?" inquired Lindsley.

"I counted ten, and added Tremere and Willis to the number, for they
had gone up before I began. I didn't expect even as many as that would
go."

But the enthusiastic rebel had made a blunder. A portion of those who
intended to obey orders, having no motive for remaining below, had gone
on deck as soon as they finished their suppers. Sixteen of these, added
to the twelve who went up from the steerage, made the twenty-eight who
first answered the call.

"Only twelve!" repeated Hyde.

"If we have nearly the whole crowd, we can do something more than
explain our position," said Lindsley.

"I'm not in favor of doing anything more than that," added Raymon