A moment later the sophs appeared, hurrying along the street toward the scene of the encounter.

“’Umpty-seven!  ’Umpty-seven!  Rah! rah! ’rah!”

Then the signal was given for the freshmen to break away and take to flight, which they promptly did.

“Oh, soph—­oh, my poor soph!” cried many taunting voices.

“Good-evening, gentlemen!” called Bandy Robinson.  “Shall I toss you down soap and towels?”

“Say, fellows,” cried Lucy Little, “don’t you think it is rather warm out this evening?”

“Hello! hello!” shouted Rattleton.  “Has it been raining, or did we have a small shower?”

Then Merriwell’s beautiful baritone voice pitched the chorus of a familiar negro melody, in which the triumphant and delighted freshmen joined: 

  “Git erway from de window, mah love an’ mah dove! 
  Git erway from de window—­don’t yeh heah? 
    Come eround some odder night,
    For dere’s gwine ter be er fight,
  An’ dar’ll be razzers er-flyin’ through de air.”

The sophomores retired to a safe distance and then challenged the freshmen to come out and fight.  They called them cowards and other things, but the freshmen laughed and taunted them in return.

“Is—­er—­King Browning present?” yelled a freshman, leaning out of a window.  “If so, I’d like to inquire if he means to attend the party this evening.”

“If he does,” said another freshman, “he will be able to obtain a dress suit down at Cohen’s, price ‘von tollar ber efenin’ to shentlemen.’”

“Oh, you wait till we get at you fresh ducks!” shouted back an angry sophomore.  “We’ll make you sweat for this!”

“Go on! you’re only fooling!” sang the freshmen.

“We’ll show you we’re not fooling!” excitedly declared Punch Swallow.  “We’ll scalp a few of you!”

“Ah!” cried Bandy Robinson.  “He is a bad man!  Methinks I can detect his cloven foot.”

“You’re wrong,” laughed Merriwell.  “But you may have been near enough at some time to detect his cloven breath!”

The three freshmen who were leaning out of one of the upper windows repeated in chorus: 

  “Punch, brother—­punch with care,
  Punch in the presence of the passenjair.”

Another freshman shouted: 

“Say, Swallows, give us a lock of your hair.  It’ll save the expense of gas in my room.”

“I’d like a lock of it, too,” declared another.  “I’m troubled with rats, and I haven’t any paris green handy.”

“Oh, rats!” yelled twenty voices.

“Hello, Parker!” cried Little.  “I hear you were held up last night?  Is it true?”

“Oh, yes,” said Rattleton.  “He’d been down to Morey’s, and that was the way he got home.”

“But oh, what a difference in the morning,” sang the freshmen.

“Ask Rattleton if he means to join the Indians?” called a soph.

“Or will he Sioux for damages?” put in another.