When Purdy established the school, he stressed two principles: religion and corporal punishment. The first was now honored only in a mandatory Sunday worship service, but the latter was studiously maintained, probably in excess. "A paddle rightly applied brings a quick learner," Purdy had often said.
Although the school maintained its all-male class structure, the teaching staff now included a number of women as well as men. An outside observer would see nothing unusual in the behavior or training of the younger boys. Those in grades six through eight behaved much like boys in other schools. They occasionally acted up and had to be disciplined by the principal, who took a riding crop to their well-clothed backsides. The experience was not too painful, but the embarrassment of such a chastisement served to keep the younger boys in form.
Real discipline began when the boys reached grade nine--the first year of high school. Whereas younger boys were housed dormitory style in one large room overseen by a staff member, at grade nine each boy moved into a separate room shared by one of the seniors, the intent being to strengthen the boy's character and improve his learning ability.
Within the single freshman year, each boy experienced a crisis of pain that forced him to grow up with remarkable rapidity in both behavior and learning. By the end of that time, in fact, every fourteen-year-old was found to be behaving much like a seventeen- or eighteen-year-old. The boys also learned how to concentrate on their studies that year so that in the years afterward every sophomore, junior, and senior student was able to keep to at least a grade B average or above. Parents were highly pleased with this transformation, and the sophomores and juniors seemed to look forward with eagerness to completing their senior year.
The experience of being a freshman, however, was anything but pleasant. The boys were watched constantly by their senior roommates and any behavior transgressions were put on a list - "the Friday list," as it was called.
The best way to understand how this behavioral change was effected is to examine the first day of the freshman year for any one of the students, returning to Purdy School after the summer vacation. Let us consider, for example, James, who got off the bus with all the other students but was not allowed to go with them to the dormitory. Instead he was instructed to go to a waiting room where all the freshmen were to be assembled. There he was to stay until a senior came to take him to his new quarters.
This waiting was difficult for many of the freshmen because it could take a long time. When, in earlier years, these students had arrived back from their summer vacations they would quickly go to the dormitory to get rid of their suitcases and then outdoors to renew friendships from the previous years. But these freshmen had to stand or sit--some of them on their suitcases - waiting to be summoned.
The seniors, who had all been through this process when they were freshmen, believed that the waiting process would be good for their charges. It would build up their apprehensions and make them easier to deal with later in the day.
James was more fortunate then some since he only had to wait about an hour and a half before his particular senior arrived. A boy who had to wait as much as six hours might be almost in tears by the time his senior arrived, because, by then, he probably thought he had been forgotten.
The senior assigned to James was named Bruce. He took James upstairs to their room, one opening off a hall that was quite far from the dormitories for the younger boys and the rooms for the sophomores and juniors. Along each side of this hall were the other nine rooms that the seniors and their freshmen would occupy that year.
Bruce immediately told James that he was to be addressed as "master" or "sir" by all freshmen throughout the year, and never by his given name. If this instruction was forgotten or ignored, he said, he would make the appropriate mark on the Friday list. The senior then explained that the list would be a record of James' transgressions, and that "appropriate" punishment would be accorded on Friday evening before bedtime.
James had heard rumors in previous years that freshmen could be punished severely, but little was said of this because upper classmen never discussed such matters with those in the lower grades. James, in fact, had never before heard of the Friday list, even though such lists had been used almost since the school was first established.
He took the veiled warning seriously, partly because the senior put the matter in such a somber tone. And he secretly vowed to himself that he would do nothing that might result in being listed.
The senior next turned his attention to the things that James had brought with him in his suitcase. "Put it on that bed and open it," the senior said indicating James' suitcase and pointing to one of the two beds in the room.
James dutifully did so. On top of his clothes were several candy bars, an envelope containing some spending money that his parents had given him, a picture of his parents, and a teddy bear that he was in the habit of hugging when he went to bed. The senior immediately pocketed the candy bars and money, saying that these would not be needed for the time being and "might" be returned to James later in the semester.
James didn't like the tone of the "might" and rightly assumed that he would not see these items again. But he didn't protest since he could always get more money from his parents, and the senior's tone of voice was so severe.
"What's this?" the senior asked, holding up the teddy bear.
"It's my teddy."
"It's my teddy what?
"It's my teddy, sir," James replied quickly. But it was too late. The senior had already taken a notebook out of his pocket and was making a note of the neglect of "sir" in the response from James.
If he had not recognized it before, James now realized that each of his responses was serious business, as far as the senior was concerned. He shuddered a little and again vowed to do nothing that might land on the Friday list.
"I like to sleep with Teddy, sir," James said lamely.
"I'm surprised," the senior replied. "Aren't you getting too old for such baby habits."
James blushed a little.
"Put that toy back in the suitcase. You won't need it this year. Also you can leave the picture in the suitcase. I won't have such things in this room."
"But they're my parents," James protested.
"You can depend on your memory of them while staying here." The senior picked up the picture and dropped it carelessly back into the bag. He then told James to take all the clothes out of the suitcase and put them neatly into the two bottom drawers of the bureau that stood near to the bed. He said that the top drawers were for his own things.
Next the senior told James to empty all his pockets onto the bed. This produced some coins, a pocket knife, an empty wallet, and some string. James was told to put the knife, wallet, and string into the suitcase and close it up. The senior pocketed the coins. He then told James to put the suitcase in the hall, outside of the door, where someone would take it and put it into storage.
That done, the senior said, "Take off your clothes and fold them up carefully on the bed."
James wondered what would happen next, but thought better of asking. He dutifully removed his shoes and socks, shirt, trousers, and underwear. The senior was now sitting on the other bed. He told James to stand in front of him.
James, in a show of almost instinctive modesty, covered his privates as he moved to the indicated position.
"Place your hands on top of your head," came the command.
James did as told and was startled by the fact that his master began to examine his penis and genitals, examine them closely and all over like a doctor looking for disease. It made him very nervous and seemed to tickle a bit. His face became tinged in red. But what worried James the most was the fact that his penis might suddenly become stiff, which sometimes happened spontaneously and was always an embarrassment, even when he had his trousers on. The examination continued until James was certain that an erection was beginning.
Then the senior told James to lower his arms and bend over. James did so with some relief until the senior told him to pull back his ass cheeks so that the crack would be fully visible. A new worry beset James. He didn't know why he was told to do this, but he had heard stories of boys being raped and how this was done. Was this to be his fate?
After what seemed an interminable wait in this uncomfortable and embarrassing position, the senior pinched one of his cheeks and said, "Be sure you don't misbehave too much this week, or your bottom will be so sore you won't want to sit down." He then told James to stand up again because he was now to be taught some of his daily duties.
The senior next said, "We will start with making beds. You will make both beds each morning before breakfast, and you will do it in the way nurses do it in the hospital or privates do it in the army. You will make the beds neatly and with 'hospital corners.' I will show you how, and then you must practice until you get it right. Watch carefully because, if it takes you more than three tries to get it right, I will mark the list appropriately." The threat made James particularly anxious to get this bed-making duty right the first time.
The senior proceeded to tear his own bed apart, the one he was previously sitting on, and remake it with 'hospital corners.' "Now go to it," the master said to James, as he tore the bed apart again.
James did his best to copy what he had just seen, but when he finished, the senior pulled at one of the bottom corners and showed James that he had not done a very good job. The bed was then torn apart so that James could try again.
The 'hospital corners' came out right the second time, but the master pointed out that there were still wrinkles in the sheets and blanket. "I want this tight," he said, "tight enough so that I can bounce one of these coins on it." He held up one of the quarters that had come from James' pocket.
On the third try James got the bed-making process right, much to his relief because there would be no entry on the list. James was then told to take his clothes off the other bed, put them away, and to tear up and remake his own bed. He did so successfully once more.
"Now we will turn to the order of the room," the senior announced. "The contents of every one of those drawers must be neatly arranged before you leave each morning for breakfast. Do you understand?"
James nodded.
"What do you say, freshman?" the master asked.
"Yes, sir," James hastily replied.
"On to the closet, then," the senior said. He motioned to the closet door that was near the head of his bed and opposite from the chest of drawers. "Open it," he continued.
James did so, and to his surprise saw five instruments of punishment hanging on the backside of the open door. There was a wooden paddle, a shaving strop, an inch-wide leather belt, a thin and flexible leather whip, and a slightly thicker bamboo cane. Each hung on its own nail by a loop or leather or string. "Those are hanging in the order I have assigned to them," said the senior. "Don't let me ever find them out of place. Is that understood?"
James replied, somewhat limply, "Yes sir." He took careful note of the order so that he would not forget it in the future.
"All items of clothing that I tell you to place in here are to be smoothed out and hung carefully," the senior continued. "And the shoes are to be lined up on the floor, one inch inside the door - no deviation." The last was said with such emphasis that James shuddered.
"Do you know how to polish shoes?" asked the senior.
"Yes sir," James replied. He had done this once or twice at home when his father insisted that he try to look more presentable.
"Good, then I don't have to teach you. Every morning, before breakfast, check your shoes, and mine, to make sure that they are not scuffed or in need of a polish. If any of the shoes are not in perfect condition, then clean them right away."
"Yes sir," James replied. He was getting worried. There seemed to be so many duties that had the potential of getting him into trouble by a mark on the Friday list.
The senior next turned to the table at the end of the room. It was placed between the ends of the two beds. On one side of the table was a chair, which faced the door to the room, and on the other a stool that was high and looked none too comfortable to sit on.
"This is the desk we will share for doing our homework. The chair is mine. Don't you ever dare sit in it! The stool is for you. Every afternoon after class, you will return here to do your homework. You will not go out to play, as the little boys do. I will be here too, to do my homework and to make sure that you are doing yours. You will do it properly, and I will make sure you do so by checking you from time to time as you work. There will be no shirking! I will expect you to get As and Bs in your class work. If you don't stay up to snuff, you will feel it on your backside Friday evenings. Is that understood?"
"Yes sir," James answered, a bit of a quiver having crept into his voice. He felt quite weak and vulnerable standing there in his birthday suit, listening to all these instructions.
"Go put on your clothes," the senior now said. "It's about time for supper."
James was relieved to be able to dress again, and he dutifully followed his senior to the dining room where they had supper at separate tables. James ate with the other ten freshmen. All of them looked worried, and no one spoke during the meal other than to ask his neighbor to pass one of the dishes.
The first week of school is always difficult, but it was particularly so for the freshmen at Purdy School. Each of them had to arise early to the sound of a clock alarm, and immediately take off their pajamas. Then, according to the instructions of their roommate seniors, they had to do a series of exercises--push ups, knee bends, toe touching, etc. The number was always determined by the physical limits they had reached the day before. If a boy did not show enough effort at this early hour of the morning, a mark would be made on the Friday list so that discipline could be administered later for this infraction.
During the exercising, the senior would take a few minutes to examine the freshman's pajamas and bed linen to see if there was any bed wetting or any telltale marks of the freshman having had a wet dream the previous night. Such might lead to moments of great embarrassment and even marks on the Friday list.
Exercises over, each boy, still buck naked, was required to make the beds and straighten up the bureau, closet, and desk. If any shoes had to be shined, this was also the time for that task.
Next, the senior handed a towel to his charge to be wrapped around the boy's middle, as they both were now heading to the showers. There, dutifully, each freshman had to wait until his senior had completed his showering so that they could help him dry. Then the freshman was allowed to taste the spray. Each freshman had to dry himself with the already damp towel that the senior had just finished using.
Returning to their rooms, the freshmen were then allowed to dress and go to breakfast. After that, classes all morning until lunch. The afternoon was also filled with classes, until four p.m. Pre-freshman students, sophomores, and juniors were allowed free time for the rest of the afternoon and didn't do their homework until after supper. But that was not the case with the freshmen. They had to immediately return to their rooms at the closing bell in order to do their homework under the surveillance of their senior masters, until supper time.
Each senior sat on one side of the desk and each freshman on the other. The seniors watched their charges carefully to make sure that they were studying and not just daydreaming. The seniors also did their own homework at this time, but, of course, because they had been trained in the same way when they were themselves freshmen, they knew how to finish their own Homework quickly and correctly.
Thus they had time to stop their freshman charges occasionally to quiz them on the knowledge just gained from study. The seniors also checked every bit of written work to make sure that it was accurate and neatly done. If not, the boy would have to do the work over again. The seniors were never very tolerant when the freshmen made mistakes during the periodic quizzes. Such mistakes, if repeated, resulted in marks being placed on the Friday list.
After supper, each freshman was again marched to the desk for continued study on that day's homework. By this time each senior would, probably, have finished their own homework and be ready for some free time. The seniors in the evening often left their rooms with the instruction to their charges, "Don't let me see you away from the desk or lagging in your effort when I return. I will, from time to time, look in at the door to make sure." Because each freshman had his back to the door, the boy was never sure when, or if, he was being observed. The result was that each freshman sat there working hard at their studies, or at least trying their best to do so, in order to keep marks from being added to the list.
The only freedom permitted for these miserable freshmen was during the day on Saturday and Sunday afternoon (Sunday morning held the mandatory worship service that Purdy established as a requirement for all students and staff when he wrote the constitution for the school). But this was just the first week of the school year and none of the freshmen had yet experienced the freedom of the weekend.
That Friday each freshman, after supper, returned to his room in a state of apprehension and agitation. They all knew that something was about the happen, but none knew for sure what this might be. They only knew that whatever it was it would involve discipline administered according to the by now often cited Friday list.
James nervously entered the room with his senior, who closed the door after him. "Take off your clothes," the senior ordered, "and stand over here (motioning toward his bed) with your hands on top of your head. James hastened to comply.
The senior then began, as he had on the first day, to examine James' penis and genitals. The senior ran his fingers up and down the penis until it began to harden. James, although the sensation was somewhat pleasant, did not at all like this involuntary activity because he had no control over the way his organ was responding.
The senior then stopped when the organ was quite stiff, and said, "It's time to consider your behavior during your first freshman week. Do you think you've been well behaved?"
"I tried," James said in a rather feeble voice, "but not all the time."
"Not all the time, indeed. The list has gotten longer every day. Tell me how you misbehaved."
James was not expecting this. Instead of being told what he had done wrong, he apparently was expected to remember all his transgressions--he now remembered there had been many--and relate each of them to his master. He stood there, mouth open, trying to remember and decide which ones to vocalize. His interest became so focused on the problem that the stiffening in his penis abated and it returned to its normal flabby condition.
"Well, hurry up," said the senior. "We haven't got all evening, you know."
James decided it would be wise to start with the time he missed most of the questions on the algebra quiz that the senior had given him on the second day of their homework session. "I didn't learn my algebra well enough last Tuesday and was not ready for your quiz," he stammered.
"Correct, and what else?"
James moved to the mistakes he had made in his English homework on Thursday, but the senior stopped him.
"Not only did you mess up in the algebra quiz," said the senior, "but your written algebra work that afternoon was sloppy, and you had to do it over again. Right?"
"Yes, Sir," came James' reply.
"Since you forgot, that offense your punishment for it will be doubled. Understand?"
"Yes, Sir."
James was then allowed to go on to the English homework, and this time he was more careful to describe each of the mistakes he made at that time. The senior looked at his list and nodded as James described them.
"What about your work in class?" the senior asked next. "I checked with your teachers earlier today, and so you can't try to hide anything from me."
James was flustered. What was it that the teachers might have said about him? Did the English teacher see him when he secretly passed a note to the boy at the next desk? To be on the safe side, he decided to confess this action. "In English I passed a note to Mark," he said.
The senior did not have this on his list, since the teacher had not actually seen it, but he indicated no surprise and glanced at the list in a way that suggested it was already there. "That's a serious offense," he said. "You better learn soon that you can't get away with anything this year. You are here to study and learn how to behave. I am going to make sure that you do."
This interrogation continued for more than forty-five minutes. Every aspect of school life and personal behavior was covered. Whenever James neglected to name something on the list that he had done wrong or not done when he was supposed to do it, he was told that this would double the punishment for that offense.
The inquisition seemed interminable. It reminded James of a program he had seen on TV--an interrogation of prisoners by the Japanese during the Second World War. All he wanted now was for the questioning to end and the punishment to begin. Surely whatever he had coming would be less painful then these questions directed at him as he stood there so bare and venerable.
Finally it ended with the senior saying, "Pull your stool into the center of the room, and place yourself over it, bottom up."
James did as he was told.
The senior then opened the closet door and took out the wooden paddle. He had decided to start with this instrument as it would give James' bottom a nice red glow after he had been paddled for awhile. The senior might select another instrument a little later when the glow was clearly evident.
The senior also opened the door into the hall so that anyone passing by might see the upended rear of the now very nervous and anxious freshman.
Other doors were apparently also open along the hall because James could hear the splat of paddles elsewhere and the cries of "Ouch!" "Please no more!" and the crying and moaning sounds of boys in great distress. These sounds, of course, increased his anxieties, and he knew he would soon be adding notes to the chorus.
The first splat of the paddle on his left cheek stung terribly. But James kept silent as his buttocks reared a little at the impact. The next stroke landed on his right cheek and it was even more painful. The paddle blows continued at regular intervals, and soon James began to howl in pain. He pleaded that the punishment stop and that he be given a chance to do better next week. But the senior ignored his pleas.
Because no number of strokes had been stated as his proper punishment, James had no idea when this all might come to an end. His bare legs shuddered in sympathy with the vibrations of the paddled buttocks. There was only a brief pause as the senior moved from the paddle to the strop. The senior didn't use any of the other instruments. He had decided to keep these for a later date when James had become less sensitive to the paddle and strop.
When the senior finally stopped, James was crying like a baby. His bottom was scarlet red, and he knew it would be a long time before he would again be able to sit down comfortably.
"Stand up," the senior said.
With great effort, James eased himself into a standing position. He was still sobbing from the pain.
"Go over to the wall and stand facing it," the senior ordered. "Toes and nose touching the wall."
James did so as quickly as he could. He desperately wanted to rub his posterior, but instinctively knew that he couldn't do this without permission.
"Stand like that until I tell you to move," the senior continued. "And don't you dare touch your hands to your bottom." James held his hands to his sides not daring to move them.
"I am now going out of the room for a few moments," the senior said. "But I will be watching you from the doorway, so don't move out of that position."
James was frozen to the wall. His buttocks ached, but there was nothing he could do about it. He wished that he could somehow let his parents know what was happening to him in this freshman year, but the senior censored all his mail and made him rewrite letters to his parents that the senior thought not appropriate.
James stood there for what seemed an endless amount of time, and then, suddenly, he heard the voices of a group of seniors, perhaps all ten of them. The were in the room talking among themselves about the victim against the wall.
One of them was saying, "That ass doesn't seem red enough. Are you sure he has been properly punished?"
James groaned inside. Was he going to get more of this treatment, he wondered. He doubted if he could take much more without fainting.
Another senior asked what were some of the things he had to be punished for, and his senior replied, "This boy still acts like a baby sometimes." He then went on to tell them that James arrived for the school year with a teddy bear that he said he liked to sleep with and to describe the incident on the first evening when James had not properly wiped himself. The embarrassment to James of everyone knowing what had happened turned his face almost as red as his bottom was. The senior then went on to describe some of the other incidents that had taken place during the week--the most embarrassing ones, of course.
The other seniors seemed to take delight in the pain that they thought each recounting of these incidents must have had on James. They all poked fun at him in his distress and called him the baby of the class. James tried to hold back his sobs, but they came anyway.
One senior came over and began squeezing one of his buttocks and then the other. James twitched from the pain of having the bruises touched in this way. The senior then slipped his hand between James' legs and grabbed his penis, pulling on it a little. James winced.
After about fifteen minutes, all the seniors left the room and James, not knowing whether they would return or not, continued to stand facing the wall, toes and nose touching, with his arms at his sides.
It was not until an hour and a half an hour later that his senior returned and told him he could now put on his pajamas and go to bed. "If you don't do better this next week," the senior said, "next Friday it will be worse." With that the senior left the room and James got ready for bed.
He tried to sleep lying on his stomach that night, but he found rest difficult. He also stood as much as possible on Saturday, as did all the other freshmen, and again slept on his stomach Saturday night.
After supper they all returned to their rooms. The senior immediately told James to take off his clothes again, saying, "One thing more you need to understand is what it will feel like on Friday evening if you mess up this week."
He told the naked James to place the stool in the center of the room and bend over it with his rear end sticking up so that it could easily be reached. He was also told to keep his hands flat on the floor at all times. The stool was of a height that allowed his feet and hands to be flat on the floor when his bottom was high and in a good caning position. James became quite fearful of what might happen next, but he did as he was told.
"I am going to demonstrate each of the five discipline instruments for you so that you will know what may happen if you misbehave," the senior said. "I will pat your backside with one after another until you have felt them all. Then you can know what to expect in the future."
The paddle landed on his right buttock, a healthy swat. James let out an "ouch," even though it was not applied with much strength. Next came the shaving strop, applied with one swat to his left buttock. Another "ouch," came from his lips. This one hurt more than the first. The belt, rod, and cane came next, each to an opposite bun and each hurting more than the last. James held back his tears and tried to hold back his vocal responses, but they eluded him. Finally the senior hit him once with the palm of the hand.
"You can get up now," the senior said. "That was only a small taste of what will happen Friday if you are not careful. I will be watching you every minute this next week to see how well you are behaving."
James winced. This kind of punishment was nothing like the mild whippings he had experienced from his father in the past.
"You will now study until bed time," the senior said. On the desk lay two piles of books, put there apparently while they were at supper. "That pile is yours, the others are mine. Don't get them mixed up or you'll be sorry."
"Yes sir," James answered. He was now getting used to saying this.
"Move the stool back to the desk, and sit down. It's never too early to start your studies."
"But sir, I don't know what the assignments are yet," James protested.
"Then you can start at the beginning and study everything," the senior replied.
James dutifully pulled up the stool and sat down. He took a grammar book from the pile and began to read the introduction. Very dull stuff. But he dared not disobey. He didn't like sitting there nude at all. It made him feel very uncomfortable and exposed. He continued to look at the text, though his mind wandered a great deal--to the duties he would have to perform, to the vulnerability of his unclothed condition, to the instruments of discipline he had so recently felt. He understood almost nothing of what he was reading.
His senior sat in the chair on the other side of the desk and looked through the texts he would be using for this semester. Occasionally he looked at his charge, wondering how long it would take to bring him into shape.
After a couple of hours the senior rose and announced that it was time for bed, much to the relief of James who was still struggling to figure out the meaning of some of the words he was seeing for the first time in his grammar text.
"Take a towel from the drawer and wrap it around your middle--and get your toothbrush. I will take you to the bathroom."
James did as he was told, wondering why he couldn't go to the bathroom by himself. But he dared not ask.
There were other freshmen with their seniors already in the bathroom urinating and brushing their teeth. James went to an empty sink and brushed his teeth, while his senior watched every movement he made like a hawk. When he finished, the senior made him bare his teeth so that they could be checked to be sure that he had done a good job. The other freshmen were being put through the same routine so that, though they all felt embarrassed at this treatment, there was comfort in the fact that they were all having to do it.
After this inspection, James realized that he had to move his bowels and so he entered a stall and sat down. Finishing, he wiped himself and walked out of the stall. His senior stopped him.
"Bend over and pull the cheeks back," came his senior's order. Somewhat embarrassed because the others in the room were now watching him, James did as he was told. The senior reached into the stall for some paper and rubbed it down James' crack.
"Stand up," the master ordered. James did as he was told. "What's this?" the senior now asked, holding the paper with a telltale brown streak in front of James' face.
"I...I guess I didn't wipe myself well enough," James stammered.
"You certainly didn't," the senior said with an implied threat in his voice. "Apparently you never learned to keep yourself clean when you got out of diapers."
Others in the room giggled. James now felt more humiliated than he had at any time in his life, and certainly more than he had at any time during that day.
"Get some more paper and do it properly," the senior ordered.
James did as he was told, as everyone else in the room looked at him doing so. He wanted to disappear right there and then, and prayed that this might happen. After he was done wiping himself, the senior ordered him to bend over and pull back his cheeks again other freshmen in the room.
Red faced and feeling like a tiny boy who had been reprimanded by his mother, James returned to the room with his senior. He was instructed to put on his pajamas and go to bed. The senior then left the room and James, alone, now got his first chance to break down and cry into his pillow.
The Christmas season was coming, and most of the boys at Purdy School were looking forward to the holidays. None of the freshmen or seniors, however, were being granted vacations. All the parents of the freshmen students had been informed that, since the freshman year was such an important stage in their sons' development, they would need to stay at the school through that period. The parents of the seniors were told that they were needed at the school for a special project. Thus the parents wrote letters of encouragement to their sons saying that they would be missed but that the parents understood the importance of education and that their Christmas presents were on their way.
Five days before Christmas day Purdy school was mostly emptied and the miserable freshmen were told that they would be assigned cleanup duties throughout the building during the season when there would be no formal classes.
Two of the freshmen, Carter and Frank, planned to run away and go home so that they could spend Christmas with their families. Late Saturday afternoon the two boys disappeared, and some of the seniors went to find them. They were soon located attempting to climb over the high wall that surrounded Purdy School. They had not tried the gate because they knew it was either locked or guarded.
The two boys were brought back to the school, and all the remaining students--freshmen and seniors--were assembled in the library to confront the would-be escapees. Carter and Frank stood there, now fully undressed, with their legs about two feet apart and their hands on the top of their heads. They were visibly distraught.
One of the seniors announced to the others that Carter and Frank had broken school rules and put the whole freshman class in jeopardy. They were therefore going to be punished and denied all the privileges accorded the other freshmen during the Christmas season. The matter, this senior said, was most serious.
Another senior then said, "During the next two weeks, you will all be given a holiday from the Friday evening interrogations, and all punishments will be suspended unless any one of you fouls up badly. That holds for all but Carter and Frank, who because of the way they have acted will be punished right now. They will also be given all the worst jobs to do during the next two weeks. And none of you freshmen are to talk to them or associate with them in any way."
The assembled freshmen said nothing and just stood there waiting to see what would happen next.
At this point still another one of the seniors turned to Carter and Frank saying, "Stand facing each other--no, stand further apart." The two boys did as they were told, glancing anxiously at one another as they did so.
"Now bend over and grab your ankles," said the senior. "Get your two miserable asses high in the air." This, as both boys knew, was the position for punishment, and they now also knew that they would be punished in front of all the other freshmen. It was the first time that year that any of them had been punished in front of the others. Both silently determined to take it without complaint so that the other freshmen would know they were not sissies.
"Line up," continued the senior, now speaking to the eight other freshmen. "Since the actions of these two have endangered your whole class, you will assist in their punishment."
The freshmen lined up as directed.
"You may each give Carter and Frank four hits with the palm of your hand," said the senior. "I would suggest that you hit them twice on each cheek, but you can apply all the slaps in one place if you wish. In any case, hit them as hard as you can with each stoke. If you go easy on them, we may make you stand there beside them, bare assed and ready for punishment."
The threat was clearly not said in jest, and the boys, as each moved behind Carter and Frank, did their best to make them feel every whack fully. By the time the eighth boy had completed his four strokes on each backside, the color of the bottoms was a rosy red. Some of the boys also had sore palms because they were not used to using their hands in this way.
But the session was not over yet. Now the seniors lined up, and there was no restriction put on the number of whacks they could apply. Carter and Frank found the pain intense. Neither could keep their resolve to show no sign of distress. Carter began to moan and Frank to cry. It seemed the punishment would never end.
But then the blows stopped and the two miscreants were told to stay in their bent over position until told otherwise. Some of the seniors now turned their attention to the eight freshmen who were standing there watching the performance. Telltale bulges had appeared in the front and below the belts of several of the boys. Each was trying to hide their erection by placing their hands in front over the zippered area.
"All of you drop your pants," said a senior to the eight freshmen. There was no longer any way to hide the erections. They did as they were bid and also put their hands on top of their heads when told to do so.
The seniors then commenced to make fun of the distended organs on several of the boys. "You really enjoyed seeing that spanking didn't you? Ralph," one senior said to a very embarrassed boy, who pretended that he didn't hear the remark. "Even when you stretch it all the way out, Carl, it doesn't amount to very much, does it?" said another to an equally red-faced lad. There were other comments and much laughter on the part of both seniors and freshmen before the group was allowed to pull up their trousers again and go to their rooms.
Meanwhile Carter and Frank were still bent over with their painful rears high in the air, as they had not yet been told that they could stand up. One of the seniors told them they could do so, and each unbent painfully. They were now told that the next day they would be assigned to clean the three bathrooms in the school, and that they would start immediately after breakfast.
"Go to bed now," one of the seniors told them. It's going to be a long and hard day for you."
Both boys were only too glad to return to the safety of their rooms and the relative comfort of their beds. They did so quickly.
The dining room next morning seemed somewhat deserted. The only long tables that had any place settings on them were the one for the seniors and the one for freshmen. The tables usually set for other students and staff were empty. They were home vacationing. There was, however, a small table set for two, obviously intended for Frank and Carter. The two boys took their places and ate in silence, knowing that any conversation on their part might be met with a paddle. Conversation at the other tables was as brisk as it was on any normal day.
At the end of the meal, one of the seniors informed the eight freshmen that they would be cleaning blackboards and straightening books in the library that morning--the afternoon and evening would be free time. The two at the separate table would be cleaning the bathrooms and have no free time, a statement that caused some snickering among the eight freshmen.
Frank and Carter were then marched to the bathroom that had been assigned to the youngest students, now on vacation. As the two boys entered the room they could see that it had been a long time since this facility had had much attention. The floors were dirty, towels lay in piles in one corner, and some of the toilets hadn't even been flushed.
The senior who accompanied the two boys closed the door and told them to disrobe. "I don't want you to get your clothes too dirty," he said. "Also," he pulled a small whip out of his sleeve that neither boy had noticed he was carrying, "if I have to hit you with this punishment instrument for slacking, I won't have to wait for you to drop your trousers."
Both boys shuddered as they looked at the instrument. They quickly removed their clothing and hung it on nails sticking out of the wall. Their backsides were still red from the punishment they had received the night before.
"You, Frank, start on the urinals," said the senior. "And Carter can do the toilets. After those are clean, then wash the floor and walls of the shower stall, the rest of the floor, and the windows. I want it all finished by noon, so no slacking." He motioned to the cleaning equipment that had been left in a corner of the room.
Frank went over and picked up a toilet brush to begin on the first of six urinals, starting high up and working down toward the base. He had to get on his knees in order to brush at the screening that covered the base of the urinal. Suddenly he felt his head being pushed down by the senior until his nose was against the dirty screening.
"Use your fingers as well as the brush, prick," said the senior. "Get every little scrap of paper and other stuff out of those holes. The brush can't do it all."
The smell at the bottom of the urinal was terrible and Frank was thankful when the senior let go of his head so that he could move away a little. He immediately did as he was told and began to pick out the little bits of matter that had been caught in the holes of the sieve. It was tedious and smelly work, but he dared not stop his efforts or he might feel the sting of the whip that the senior brandished through the air occasionally as a reminder to both boys.
Meanwhile, Carter was working furiously on the toilet bowls. Some of those that had not been flushed properly were obviously stopped up. He pumped a rubber plunger up and down vigorously in order to get them working properly again. Under his breath he cursed the mechanisms and secretly prayed that the plunger would do the job. If it didn't, he had no idea what he could do to clear the bowls. Fortunately the plunger did do the job and soon all the latent feces had gone down into the sewer.
Then Carter was able to clean the bowls, which he did on his knees with a brush. But as he was dealing with the second bowl, he, like Frank, found his head pushed down, and his face became wet in the waste water at the bottom of the bowl.
"Get in there and clean under the rim," was the seniors command. "Do it right, you dunce!"
From then on Carter leaned into each bowl to be sure that he could see under their rims and clean them properly. He also found old chewing gum on the outside of some of the bowls that he had to scrape away.
After the first hour of such work, the senior was replaced by another one to whom the whip was passed. The senior replacement immediately reminded Frank and Carter what would happen if they slacked in their work. And so the morning progressed, each hour seeing a fresh task master arrive to replace the senior in charge.
The two boys did finish the bathroom by lunch time, when they were allowed to dress again and go to lunch. And immediately after lunch they were taken to the second bathroom to repeat the process of the morning. It was a most tiring day for both of them, but they had not been whipped again.
After supper they were told to go to bed and get their rest as the next day would likely involve even harder work. Both boys, dead tired, fell quickly into a sound sleep.
So the next four days progressed. They worked on the third bathroom, scrubbed the floor of the gymnasium, and did other tiresome jobs. They were only allowed to wear their clothing when they scoured pots and pans in the kitchen. This was so that the kitchen help wouldn't have to look at their bare bodies. Every hour the supervising senior was replaced so that none of the seniors would become tired of supervising the two miscreants. But Frank and Carter were allowed no rest except at night. The other freshmen rather enjoyed their light morning work and free afternoons and evenings.
Packages arrived for all the boys, and the seniors placed these under a Christmas tree they had constructed. Neither Frank nor Carter knew if anything had arrived for them because, if any had, the seniors didn't tell them so. The two washed down stairways all afternoon of Christmas eve. When done, they dressed and went to supper.
There were only two long tables set for supper that evening, and the one for the freshmen had ten places. As Frank and Carter entered the dining room, they were told that their punishment was over and they could again join their classmates for the meal. With much relief they sat down and joined in the happy conversation.
After supper, the freshmen accompanied the seniors to the library where the lighted tree loaded with presents was standing. One of the seniors played Santa Clause and passed out the presents. Frank received a new bathrobe and three board games from his parents, and Carter got a small radio and tape player. But there was more. The seniors gave each of the boys a box of candy, the first they had seen that school year. It was most appreciated.
They then all sang Christmas carols as they ate the candy, and each freshman was soon sitting next to or being cuddled on the lap of his particular senior. It was a Christmas eve they would never forget.
But the pleasantness of the post-Christmas days were soon to end. As the other students returned from their homes, the routine of the first half of the year was resumed, and every Friday evening the freshmen had to stand naked before their seniors to answer for their behavior during the past week. They howled and cried as they were punished, and they worked with a new intensity at their studies. All of them had become or were well on their way to becoming A students.
So the rest of the year progressed. Toward the end all of the freshmen had forgotten their promise to themselves to tell their parents of their mistreatment so that they would not have to return to Purdy. Now they looked forward to the day that they would, themselves, be seniors and have their own freshman to chastise. They began to live in delicious anticipation of that day.