Paulson and Hudson entered the High School grounds
together, that morning, ten minutes before opening time. As the
quartette passed, several of the little groups of fellow students
ceased their talk and turned away from the four "soreheads."
Then, after the quartette had passed, quiet little laughs were
heard.

All four mounted the steps of the building with heightening color.

Before the door, talking together, stood Fred Ripley and Purcell,
whom the "soreheads" had endeavored to enlist.

"Good morning, Purcell. Morning, Ripley," greeted Bayliss.

Fred and Purcell wheeled about, turning their backs without answering.

Once inside the building the four young fellows looked at each
other uneasily.

"Are the fellows trying to send us to coventry?" demanded Dodge.

"Oh, well," muttered Bayliss, "there are enough of us. We can
stand it!"

Yet, at recess, the "soreheads" found themselves extremely uncomfortable.
None of their fellow-students, among the boys, would notice them.
Whenever some of the "soreheads" passed a knot of other boys,
low-toned laughs followed. Even many of the girls, it proved,
had taken up with the Coventry idea.

"Fellows, come to my place after you've had your luncheons," Bayliss
whispered around among his cronies, after school was out for the
day. "I---I guess there are a---a few things that we want to
talk over among ourselves. So come over, and we'll use the carriage
house for a meeting place. Maybe we'll organize a club among
ourselves, or---or---do something that shall shut us out and away
from the common herd of this school."

When the dozen or more met in the Bayliss carriage house that
afternoon there were some defiant looks, and some anxious ones.

"I don't know how you fellows feel about this business," began
Hudson frankly. "But I've had a pretty hot grilling at home by
Dad. He asked me if I belonged to the 'sorehead' gang. I answered
as evasively as I could. Then dad brought his list down on the
table and told me he prayed that I wouldn't go through life with
any false notions about my personal dimensions. He told me, rather
explosively, that I would never be a bit bigger, in anyone's estimation
than I proved myself to be."

"Hot, was he?" asked Bayliss, with a half sneer.

"He started out that way," replied Hudson. "But pretty soon Dad
became dignified, and asked me where I had ever gotten the notion
that I amounted to any more than any other fellow of the sa