The Plastic Age - Percy Marks (classic literature books txt) 📗
- Author: Percy Marks
Book online «The Plastic Age - Percy Marks (classic literature books txt) 📗». Author Percy Marks
When An American Sets Out To Found A College, He Hunts First For A Hill.
John Harvard Was An Englishman And Indifferent To High Places. The
Result Is That Harvard Has Become A University Of Vast Proportions And
No Color. Yale Flounders About Among The New Haven Shops, Trying To Rise
Above Them. The Harkness Memorial Tower Is Successful; Otherwise The
University Smells Of Trade. If Yale Had Been Built On A Hill, It Would
Probably Be Far Less Important And Much More Interesting.
Hezekiah Sanford Was Wise; He Found First His Hill And Then Founded His
College, Believing Probably That Any One Ambitious Enough To Climb The
Hill Was A Man Fit To Wrestle With Learning And, If Need Be, With Satan
Himself. Satan Was Ever Before Hezekiah, And He Fought Him Valiantly,
Exorcising Him Every Morning In chapel And Every Evening At Prayers. The
First Students Of Sanford College Learned Latin And Greek And To Fear
Chapter 1 Pg 2The Devil. There Are Some Who Declare That Their Successors Learn Less.
Hezekiah Built Sanford Hall, A Fine Georgian Building, Performed The
Duties Of Trustees, President, Dean, And Faculty For Thirty Years, And
Then Passed To His Reward, Leaving Three Thousand Acres, His Library Of
Five Hundred Books, Mostly Sermons, Sanford Hall, And A Charter That
Opened The Gates Of Sanford To All Men So That They Might "Find The True
Light Of God And The Glory Of Jesus In The Halls Of This Most Liberal
College."
More Than A Century Had Passed Since Hezekiah Was Laid To Rest In
Haydensville'S Cemetery. The College Had Grown Miraculously And Changed
Even More Miraculously. Only The Hill And Its Beautiful Surroundings
Remained The Same. Indian Lake, On The South Of The Campus, Still
Sparkled In The Sunlight; On The East The Woods Were As Virgin As They
Had Been A Hundred And Fifty Years Before. Haydensville, Still Only A
Village, Surrounded The College On The West And North.
Hezekiah'S Successors Had Done Strange Things To His Campus. There Were
Dozens Of Buildings Now Surrounding Sanford Hall, And They Revealed All
The Types Of Architecture Popular Since Hezekiah Had Thundered His Last
Defiance At Satan. There Were Fine Old Colonial Buildings, Their Windows
Outlined By English Ivy; Ponderous Romanesque Buildings Made Of Stone,
Grotesque And Hideous; A Pseudo-Gothic Chapel With A Tower Of
Surpassing Loveliness; And Four Laboratories Of The Purest Factory
Design. But Despite The Conglomerate And Sometimes Absurd
Architecture--A Doric Temple Neighbored A Byzantine Mosque--The Campus
Was Beautiful. Lawns, Often Terraced, Stretched Everywhere, And The
Great Elms Lent A Dignity To Sanford College That No Architect, However
Stupid, Could Quite Efface.
This First Day Of The New College Year Was Glorious In The Golden Haze
Of Indian Summer. The Lake Was Silver Blue, The Long Reflections Of The
Trees Twisting And Bending As A Soft Breeze Ruffled The Surface Into
Tiny Waves. The Hills Already Brilliant With Color--Scarlet, Burnt
Orange, Mauve, And Purple--Flamed Up To Meet The Clear Blue Sky; The
Elms Softly Rustled Their Drying Leaves; The White Houses Of The Village
Retreated Coyly Behind Maples And Firs And Elms: Everywhere There Was
Peace, The Peace That Comes With Strength That Has Been Stronger Than
Time.
As Hugh Carver Hastened Up The Hill From The Station, His Two Suit-Cases
Banged His Legs And Tripped Him. He Could Hardly Wait To Reach The
Campus. The Journey Had Been Intolerably Long--Haydensville Was More
Than Three Hundred Miles From Merrytown, His Home--And He Was Wild To
Find His Room In Surrey Hall. He Wondered How He Would Like His
Room-Mate, Peters.... What'S His Name? Oh, Yes, Carl.... The Registrar
Had Written That Peters Had Gone To Kane School.... Must Be Pretty Fine.
Ought To Be First-Class To Room With.... Hugh Hoped That Peters Wouldn'T
Think That He Was Too Country....
Hugh Was A Slender Lad Who Looked Considerably Less Than His Eighteen
Years. A Gray Cap Concealed His Sandy Brown Hair, Which He Parted On The
Side And Which Curled Despite All His Brushing. His Crystalline Blue
Eyes, His Small, Neatly Carved Nose, His Sensitive Mouth That Hid A Shy
And Appealing Smile, Were All Very Boyish. He Seemed Young, Almost
Chapter 1 Pg 3Pathetically Young.
People Invariably Called Him A Nice Boy, And He Didn'T Like It; In Fact,
He Wanted To Know How They Got That Way. They Gave Him The Pip, That'S
What They Did. He Guessed That A Fellow Who Could Run The Hundred In 10:
2 And Out-Box Anybody In High School Wasn'T Such A Baby. Why, He Had
Overheard One Of The Old Maid Teachers Call Him Sweet. Sweet! Cripes,
That Old Hen Made Him Sick. She Was Always Pawing Him And Sticking Her
Skinny Hands In His Hair. He Was Darn Glad To Get To College Where There
Were Only Men Teachers.
Women Always Wanted To Get Their Hands Into His Hair, And Boys Liked Him
On Sight. Many Of Those Who Were Streaming Up The Hill Before And Behind
Him, Who Passed Him Or Whom He Passed, Glanced At His Eager Face And
Thought That There Was A Guy They'D Like To Know.
An Experienced Observer Would Have Divided Those Boys Into Three Groups:
Preparatory School Boys, Carelessly At Ease, Well Dressed, Or, As The
College Argot Has It, "Smooth"; Boys From City Schools, Not So Well
Dressed Perhaps, Certainly Not So Sure Of Themselves; And Country Boys,
Many Of Them Miserably Confused And Some Of Them Clad In Kollege Kut
Klothes That They Would Shamefacedly Discard Within A Week.
Hugh Finally Reached The Top Of The Hill, And The Campus Was Before Him.
He Had Visited The College Once With His Father And Knew His Way About.
Eager As He Was To Reach Surrey Hall, He Paused To Admire The
Pseudo-Gothic Chapel. He Felt A Little Thrill Of Pride As He Stared In
Awe At The Magnificent Building. It Had Been Willed To The College By An
Alumnus Who Had Made Millions Selling Rotten Pork.
Hugh Skirted Two Of The Factory Laboratories, Hurried Between The Doric
Temple And Byzantine Mosque, Paused Five Times To Direct Confused
Classmates, Passed A Dull Red Colonial Building, And Finally Stood
Before Surrey Hall, A Large Brick Dormitory Half Covered By Ivy.
He Hurried Up-Stairs And Down A Corridor Until He Found A Door With 19
On It. He Knocked.
"What Th' Hell! Come In." The Voice Was Impatiently Cheerful.
Hugh Pushed Open The Door And Entered The Room To Meet Wild
Confusion--And His Room-Mate. The Room Was A Clutter Of Suit-Cases,
Trunks, Clothes, Banners, Unpacked Furniture, Pillows, Pictures,
Golf-Sticks, Tennis-Rackets, And Photographs--Dozens Of Photographs, All
Of Them Of Girls Apparently. In The Middle Of The Room A Boy Was On His
Knees Before An Open Trunk. He Had Sleek Black Hair, Parted Meticulously
In The Center, A Slender Face With Rather Sharp Features And Large Black
Eyes That Almost Glittered. His Lips Were Full And Very Red, Almost Too
Red, And His Cheeks Seemed To Be Colored With A Hard Blush.
"Hullo," He Said In a Clear Voice As Hugh Came In. "Who Are You?"
Hugh Flushed Slightly. "I'M Carver," He Answered, "Hugh Carver."
The Other Lad Jumped To His Feet, Revealing, To Hugh'S Surprise, Golf
Knickers. He Was Tall, Slender, And Very Neatly Built.
Chapter 1 Pg 4
"Hell!" He Exclaimed. "I Ought To Have Guessed That." He Held Out His
Hand. "I'M Carl Peters, The Guy You'Ve Got To Room With--And God Help
You."
Hugh Dropped His Suit-Cases And Shook Hands. "Guess I Can Stand It," He
Said With A Quick Laugh To Hide His Embarrassment. "Maybe You'Ll Need A
Little Of God'S Help Yourself." Diffident And Unsure, He Smiled--And
Peters Liked Him On The Spot.
"Chase Yourself," Peters Said Easily. "I Know A Good Guy When I See One.
Sit Down Somewhere--Er, Here." He Brushed A Pile Of Clothes Off A Trunk
To The Floor With One Sweep Of His Arm. "Rest Yourself After Climbing
That Goddamn Hill. Christ! It'S A Bastard, That Hill Is. Say, Your
Trunk'S Down-Stairs. I Saw It. I'Ll Help You Bring It Up Soon'S You'Ve
Got Your Wind."
Hugh Was Rather Dazzled By The Rapid, Staccato Talk, And, To Tell The
Truth, He Was A Little Shocked By The Profanity. Not That He Wasn'T Used
To Profanity; He Had Heard Plenty Of That In Merrytown, But He Didn'T
Expect Somehow That A College Man--That Is, A Prep-School Man--Would Use
It. He Felt That He Ought To Make Some Reply To Peters'S Talk, But He
Didn'T Know Just What Would Do. Peters Saved Him The Trouble.
"I'Ll Tell You, Carver--Oh, Hell, I'M Going To Call You Hugh--We'Re
Going To Have A Swell Joint Here. Quite The Darb. Three Rooms, You Know;
A Bedroom For Each Of Us And This Big Study. I'Ve Brought Most Of The
Junk That I Had At Kane, And I S'Pose You'Ve Got Some Of Your Own."
"Not Much," Hugh Replied, Rather Ashamed Of What He Thought Might Be
Considered Stinginess. He Hastened To Explain That He Didn'T Know What
Carl Would Have; So He Thought That He Had Better Wait And Get His Stuff
At College.
"That'S The Bean," Exclaimed Carl, He Had Perched Himself On The
Window-Seat. He Threw One Well Shaped Leg Over The Other And Gazed At
Hugh Admiringly. "You Certainly Used The Old Bean. Say, I'Ve Got A Hell
Of A Lot Of Truck Here, And If You'D A Brought Much, We'D A Been
Swamped.... Say, I'Ll Tell You How We Fix This Dump." He Jumped Up, Led
Hugh On A Tour Of The Rooms, Discussed The Disposal Of The Various
Pieces Of Furniture With Enormous Gusto, And Finally Pointed To The
Photographs.
"Hope You Don'T Mind My Harem," He Said, Making A Poor Attempt To Hide
His Pride.
"It'S Some Harem," Replied Hugh In Honest Awe.
Again He Felt Ashamed. He Had Pictures Of His Father And Mother, And
That Was All. He'D Write To Helen For One Right Away. "Where'D You Get
All Of 'Em? You'Ve Certainly Got A Collection."
"Sure Have. The Album Of Hearts I'Ve Broken. When I'Ve Kissed A Girl
Twice I Make Her Give Me Her Picture. I'Ve Forgotten The Names Of Some
Of These Janes. I Collected Ten At Bar Harbor This Summer And Three At
Christmas Cove. Say, This Kid--" He Fished Through A Pile Of
Pictures--"Was The Hottest Little Devil I Ever Met." He Passed
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