Page:The spirit of the leader (IA spiritofleader00heyl).pdf/208

 seemed a good lark. A craftier idea moved him to join the Safety Committee. As a member of the committee he would wear a committee arm band. He could, if he so elected, patrol the corridors for a part of each study period—this in addition to his regular periods of patrol. Under school law and school custom he would be immune from questioning as to why he came and went. He would be free to come and go—and the Candy Kitchen, home of sundaes, sodas and delectable sweets, was only a matter of a dozen steps across the street.

From the moment school opened in the morning until it closed in the afternoon, with the exception of the noon hour, the Candy Kitchen was forbidden ground. More than one Northfield boy, hazarding the blockade for the sake of a frosted chocolate or a pineapple frappe, had been discovered in his sin of transgression and had been punished. Twice had Jim Fry suffered penalty. But now he saw before him a safe passport to forbidden delights. As a member of the Safety Committee he could openly cross Nelson Avenue and enter the place. His excuse could always be that he was searching for Northfield defaulters. Not that he ever expected to be questioned; but it was good to have an excuse already prepared should the need for it ever arise.