THE COLLEGE AND THE CIRCUS
ing excitedly. Stehman saw that he had made a fool of himself, and so made no reply. The room was now filled with murmurs for a moment. "Well, he's the last man I'd have believed it of!" Stehman heard some underclassman say: then a laugh or two. They were laughing at Jack Stehman. The Chairman rapped for order.
"As I was remarking, Mr. Chairman, self-preservation is the first law of Nature. Therefore I wish to point out, and shall now do so, if not interrupted, that it is our duty to protect ourselves as a college against the attacks of ruffians who visit our town. It is our duty to wipe out the disgrace of last year and prevent its being repeated—prevent our Alma Mater from being plunged into deeper disgrace." ["Yes! Good! Right!"] Holland's trick had worked, and he went on, feeling that he had the sympathy of his hearers:
"If, in the eyes of the world, we, as an undergraduate body, are cowed by ignorant cowboys and greasers, where will our prestige go—where will our strength be? Who
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